by David Rogers
Sitting up slowly, Jessica glanced at Austin. He still lay on his back, his bruised chest rising and falling steadily. The bruises had spread in the night, turning the skin across most of his left chest, side, and abdomen an ugly mottled color she was all too familiar with since banging up her knee. She caught herself admiring the view a little; he was handsome despite the unsightly injuries, and shook herself in an attempt to stop gawking.
“Things to do.” Jessica told herself. Swiveling her legs off the bed, she cautiously tested her knee by pushing lightly against the floor, then feeling around the joint. It didn’t feel swollen, but it ached some. Not sharply or deeply, but enough to remind her she wasn’t at full mobility yet. But when she rose she was able to limp slowly into the bathroom without having to pick the cane up off the floor. Very slowly.
She used the toilet, then started to wash her hands before she remembered Austin’s comment about the water. Finally she risked it, making sure to use lots of soap. It came from a pump bottle on the sink’s edge that proclaimed it was anti-bacterial, and she made sure to only lightly rinse her hands before using a washcloth to thoroughly scrub her skin off.
Back in the bedroom she reclaimed the Shield and reholstered it at the small of her back, then picked up the MP5 for good measure. She liked the stubby ‘sub-machine’ gun a lot more than she would’ve ever expected; it was reassuring. As she checked it over Candice lifted her head and looked around.
“Good morning.” Jessica smiled slightly, her voice soft.
“Are we okay?” Candice asked, her eyes flicking over the weapon in her mother’s hands.
“So far.”
The girl’s head turned, and she regarded Austin for a moment. “Is Austin okay?”
“Let him sleep. He’ll need rest to heal. Do you need to use the bathroom?”
Candice nodded and slid out of the bed, weaving around Jessica to disappear into the bathroom. Jessica waited until she heard the toilet flush, then waited a little more, then pushed the door open when she heard the faucet turn on. Candice was at the sink, having just wet and soaped her hands. She looked up in surprise as the door opened.
“Turn off the water.” Jessica told her. “It might not be safe. Lather up and I’ll fetch one of the pitchers so you can rinse.
Candice nodded, though her expression seemed a little confused as she turned the faucet off. Jessica limped around to the other side of the large bed and picked up the second pitcher. She paused to lay a hand lightly on Austin’s forehead, then smiled in relief. He didn’t feel warm. And the bandages didn’t seem to have picked up much blood during the night, which was another good sign. If he were still bleeding they would be soaked.
“He’s going to make it.” she thought as she rejoined Candice and poured a steady stream from the pitcher so the girl could rinse off the soap. There wasn’t much water left in the pitcher when she finished, but it was enough for someone to have a decent drink. She replaced it on Austin’s side of the bed, considered a moment, then moved her purse to the middle of the bed where she’d slept. She hoped that would be enough for him not to worry.
She had no intention of abandoning him. He was going to get better, and she needed the help he could provide when he did. They all needed each other now.
“Want to stick with me?” she asked Candice.
“Where are we going?”
“Downstairs to see if we can’t find something to eat.”
“Okay.”
“Good. Grab the cane for me in case I need it.” Jessica said, pointing at where it lay on the floor next to the bed. While Candice retrieved it, Jessica limped over to the door and laid her ear against it, listening intently. After a few seconds she slid the armoire out of the way as quietly as she could and cracked the door open to look out. The hallway was clear, and she still heard nothing.
Moving slowly, as much out of caution against the unknown as for her bad knee, Jessica led the way downstairs. The house was much more cheerful now, daylight having robbed it of its former oppressive gloom and threat. She checked the doors and windows on the first floor before going into the kitchen, but all were still closed and intact; even the big door in the garage. Nothing was disturbed.
And there were no zombies.
“Alright, so let’s see what might be around. Whatever you do, don’t open the fridge or freezer.” Jessica told Candice when she assured herself nothing else had taken up residence since their arrival. She knew days without power would have likely left anything in the icebox well on its way to becoming rank.
The kitchen cabinets had some things, but the real score was a shelf in the laundry that apparently was where the former occupants had kept the bulk of their pantry. She selected some cans and boxes, then tried the stove. It had gas burners, but nothing happened when she turned the knobs. No hiss of fuel.
“Damnit.”
“We can’t cook?”
Jessica shook her head. “I guess not.”
“What about that?” Candice asked, pointing at the sliding glass doors in the dining room. Jessica looked, then limped over to check more closely. The doors opened out onto a patio of very weathered brick. The ‘back yard’ went on for acres, showing only scattered trees and the patch of garden she’d noticed last night. On the bricks though, off to the side, was a simple little barbecue grill.
“Hmmm, that might work, but we need something to burn, and a way to light it.” Jessica nodded. Other than some rusting patio furniture, the grill was the only thing out there. Her dad had kept an outdoor closet for his grilling supplies, but she didn’t see anything like that here. “Candice, look through the drawers for me. You know what a can opener is?”
“There’s no power.”
Jessica smiled. “No, an old fashioned one. It sort of looks like a nutcracker with a little handle you can turn.”
“I’ll look.” Candice said dubiously.
“Good. Look in the drawers for me. If you find one, or any lighters or matches, put them on the counter.”
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to check the garage to see if there’s any charcoal. Don’t leave the kitchen. If anything happens, run upstairs to the bedroom and wake up Austin.”
Leaving Candice digging through drawers, Jessica limped into the garage. Sure enough, against the far wall she saw an open bag of briquettes, plus lighter fluid. They weren’t very heavy, but it was awkward trying to hold them so the weight came down on her right leg as she carried both back inside.
“Is this a can opener?” Candice asked, displaying one that looked remarkably like the kind Jessica had grown up with in her own mother’s kitchen.
“I miss you mom.” Jessica thought sadly before she answered Candice. “Good job. And I see you found some kitchen matches. Looks like we’re in business.”
Jessica checked the backyard carefully before opening the sliding doors, but it was clear. With Candice helping to keep watch, Jessica built a fire in the grill and managed to warm up some food without burning it. The kitchen turned out to be very well equipped with cookware, so when she finished cooking she put an enormous soup pot on the grill and filled it in a few trips using smaller pots to ferry water from the kitchen sink. Even if her knee was intact, she wasn’t up to carrying what had to be somewhere between five and ten gallons of water comfortably.
She insisted on eating at the table in the dining room, but because it was inside more than because it was a table, while she waited for the pot to boil. After she was convinced the water had been heated properly, she used a long spoon to knock the coals apart so they’d start to die out, then carried the rest of the food upstairs with Candice’s help.
“I was beginning to worry.” Austin said when she pushed open the door. He was sitting up against the headboard, awake and watching when she appeared.
“How are you feeling?”
“Hungry. I smelled the fire. Everything okay out there?”
“No problems.” Jessica said as she set the baking sheet
she’d pressed into service as a tray on the end of the bed.
“Austin, are you okay?” Candice asked as Jessica took the soup pot of tea from her.
“I’ve been better girlie-girl.” he admitted. “But I think I’ll turn out fine once I get some healing behind me. What’d you ladies bring me?”
“Green beans, cream of chicken soup with plenty of rice, and crackers.” Jessica said as she dipped a glass into the pot to fill it. “And sweet tea; extra sweet, actually. I figured you could use the energy. No ice though.”
“Thanks. Smells good.”
“Good. I was afraid you might not have an appetite.”
“Nope, starving.”
Jessica moved the tray up the bed so it was within his reach, then sat on the hope chest beneath one of the windows. “I boiled some water too, though getting it up here in any quantity could be a chore.”
“Sorry I can’t be more help.”
“No, I need you focused on healing.”
He cocked an eyebrow at her as he tried the soup. “I’m going to be at least a month getting back to normal. Probably longer.”
“I know. I wasn’t complaining.”
Austin inhaled a good portion of the chewy soup in short order, though she could tell every breath he took hurt. When he started to slow down he gave her a long look. “So, talk to me.”
Jessica shook herself a little. “About what?”
“I know you too well by now. You’re not going to just camp here without a plan.”
“I’ve been thinking things over.” she admitted.
“That’s good. Spill it.”
Jessica shrugged slowly. “Right now we’re safe, I think. The area seems to be somewhere between deserted and dead, which should mean we’ll be okay.”
“Unless something happens, probably.”
“There’s a lot of food downstairs, enough for maybe a week or so, but I’m not sure how long the charcoal’s going to hold out. We might be down to cold cans tomorrow or the day after.”
“Are there any tools around?”
“Like what?”
“Saw, axe, anything like that?”
Jessica thought back to what she’d seen in the garage. “I think so.”
“Then with some effort we can come up with some wood. Or, you can, at least.”
“I don’t know the first thing about chopping down a tree.”
He grinned. “I was thinking branches and bushes. Anyway, it might not be that pleasant, but as far as I know anything that comes out of a can we can eat straight if push comes to shove.”
Jessica nodded, though she knew it might take some effort to get Candice acclimated to that sort of thing. She also suspected it would come up sooner or later; if not here, than elsewhere. “I think we should camp here at least through to next week. Give you a chance to recover some.”
“You’re the boss.”
“Austin!”
He set the pot of soup aside. “I’m serious. Does it look like I’m in any shape to call the shots? I barely made it into the bathroom and back.”
“Why? Your legs aren’t hurt.” Candice remarked.
Jessica gave her daughter a sharp look. “Candice, that’s rude.”
“What?” Candice protested, then reddened. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
Austin waved a hand placatingly in the air. “It’s alright, I know what you meant. I don’t guess you know very much about how we’re all put together, do you?” Candice shook her head, trying to avoid Jessica’s still stern gaze.
“Well, in a nutshell, a lot of muscles in your chest and back and sides come into play when you use your arms and legs. I can push myself, but that just moves around the hurt parts and keeps them from getting good healing done. If I push too hard, I’m not gonna get any better.”
“And we don’t need that.” Jessica nodded. “So for now, I’m content to just rest. For you to rest. Here’s as good as anywhere for the moment, and it’s not like we’ve got somewhere else to be. ”
“Mom’s got it.”
“Even with as much as you eat I think we’ll be okay for a while.”
“Sorry.” he chuckled, then winced a little, clasping lightly at his bruised chest.
“Sure, milk it for all it’s worth.” Jessica grinned back.
“Don’t make me laugh.” he said tightly, though his expression was amused. “I’m not kidding, I’m pretty sure some of my ribs are broken.”
“What if the people who live here come back?” Candice asked.
Jessica studied the girl, but she couldn’t fault the question. “We’ll just have to talk to them. If they want, we can leave. But they might not be coming back.”
“Where do you think they went?”
“There’s no way to know.” Jessica said calmly as Austin started working on the green beans. “We’ll worry about it if it comes up.”
Candice nodded uncertainly, and Jessica gave her a reassuring look. “We’re going to let Austin finish eating, then we’ll get his bandages changed. After that, I guess poking around the house some more would be a good idea. There might even be some clean clothes that’ll fit us.” she said, fixing Austin with a speculative eye. “Though that could be pushing providence too far.”
“I think I remember how to sew if it comes to that,” he said wryly, “though anything I attempt will probably end up looking like he—heck.”
“Austin.” Candice said.
The big man switched his attention to her at the foot of the bed. “What’s up girlie-girl.”
“I’m sorry I . . . I didn’t mean to make you get shot.” she said timidly. “I . . . I was scared.” She swallowed. “I was trying to be brave, but I was really scared.”
Austin exchanged a swift look with Jessica, then set the green beans down on the baking sheet. “Come around here Candice.”
Candice darted a guilty, unhappy look at Jessica, then moved hesitantly to the bedside next to Austin. He reached out slowly with his left arm and put his hand on her shoulder. “It’s not your fault I got shot.” he told her. “It’s Eckert’s fault, and he’s dead now. He was selfish and mean, so I won’t lie and say I’m sorry he’s dead. If he hadn’t been such a bas— bad guy, none of this would have happened.
“What your mom said last night was right; what you did was very dangerous. Very dangerous. You understand that?” Austin’s voice was gentle but firm.
“Yes.” she whispered.
“Especially because you don’t have any practice or training with weapons. And because he was someone who had a lot. You got lucky. We all got very, very lucky. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
Austin patted her shoulder lightly, suppressing a wince so the pain only crinkled the skin around his eyes a little as he moved his arm. “Now I’m not mad, not even a little. I hurt, and I need to get better, but that’s okay. It doesn’t bother me except that it means I can’t help out very much until I do. I’m not happy about having to wait and rest, but I’m not mad. Do you believe me?”
Candice looked at him for several seconds, then nodded slowly.
“Good, because I’m not. Your mom and I will have to talk it over, I think, but it might be a good idea if we spent a little time teaching you about guns so if you need to do something that dangerous again you won’t need to be so lucky.”
Jessica opened her mouth as his eyes flicked to her, then paused. She hated the idea of Candice handling a weapon, but she couldn’t honestly tell herself it might not be necessary. Liking it or not had nothing to do with it. Things were not the way they’d been before, and pretending couldn’t put them back.
She nodded slightly, pain flickering in her gaze as she looked at Austin. He nodded even more subtly as he gazed at her, then looked back to Candice. His voice took on an even sterner tone.
“That doesn’t mean either of us want you to go looking to use one. I know I don’t want either you or your mom to need to, and I know your mom definitely doesn’t like it. But as dangero
us as it is that you might need to use a gun, it would be even more dangerous for you to not be able to if you had to.” He glanced briefly at Jessica again, then sighed. “You want to hear a secret?”
Candice nodded, and he grinned slightly. “I don’t like to have to use guns. Anytime I need to, it’s like I’ve failed.”
The girl shuffled her feet a little. “But you carry a lot of them.”
“I do. That’s because it’s my job to be dangerous. But I’ve had a lot of training, since I was still in school. And even though I know a lot about using guns, that doesn’t make it any less risky. Look at me now. I know a lot and I was a soldier in the Army and I still got hurt. That’s what I mean when I say it’s dangerous. Anytime you put your hand on a weapon, bad things can happen. Very bad things. Especially if someone bad is there ready to hurt you. It’s just that sometimes you have to take that chance or even worse things could happen to you or your mom.”
“Or you.” Candice’s voice was still small and quiet.
“Or me.” Austin agreed. “Does all this make sense?”
Candice was silent for several seconds. Jessica eventually couldn’t take it, and spoke up. “It’s okay to ask questions sweetie. You need to understand what Austin’s saying.”
“Are we going to be safe?”
Jessica’s insides twisted around and she had to slash quickly through the pain to hold her face and voice steady as she spoke, ignoring the fear and terror as it fell aside before her focus on her daughter. “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure we are, and Austin is too. But everything is different now, so it would be a lie to say I know things are going to work out. We’re going to have to always be careful, all the time. Maybe things will get better, but we have to be ready for them to stay bad until we know for sure, for nosy kisses sure, they’re actually better. Until me or Austin know they are, we all have to act like they’re not.”
“We have to keep being brave.”
“That’s right. Careful and brave.” Jessica nodded. “That’s what all your rules are about.”
“And yours too.”