Away from his back and more at the ready now, Wayne's hands held his rifle. “I am going out to the big warehouse, near the water plant. You know, you make your payment to the power police there,” he let out a small sound of derision. “It's the headquarters for the militia, pretty much the town hall now, I guess. Any kind of organized recovery groups operate from there. I want to meet the militia leader and offer help.”
The man looked ahead and behind them, like he was torn about which way to proceed. “You feel confident that this group, this leader has good intentions?” he asked.
An explanation followed, about why Wayne trusted Clayton, who vouched for the militia leader. Also, about his own children and other young people, determined to be part of the restoration cause. The man pushed back his hair, adjusted a pistol holster at his waist, “I think I will go with you, friend. That is, if you think the young folks will have any use for an old broken down guy like me.”
Wayne laughed and slapped him on the back, “We are sure going to find that out, friend. Let's get on to the warehouse. I don't think I want to travel back through this part of town, very late in the day.” A large metal building loomed in their distant view and the two men moved towards it.
***
Dana's hiking boots clonked on the spidery cracked pavement, next to Chris's. The two women covered the same ground that Chris's father walked over earlier, towards the city. They both carried a pistol inside their puffy jackets and a rifle slung across their backs. The heavy knit caps covered their hair, more for warmth on this day, than just for disguise. To not have a male, a father or a brother that walked right beside them, felt strange. Family and friends made a reluctant acknowledgment that the two women must be allowed to move around on their own and provide their own protection. They moved now, through the old downtown to the big clinic just to the east. It lay right on the edge of the square and before you reached the newer retail strip of the city.
They passed a couple of people, all bundled up and no one extended them a greeting. When they reached the clinic, Dana pounded on the heavy front door. A small window in the door allowed her to see a man who walked with a cane and made his way up the long hall to the door. The doctor from the farm, lifted the big bar and let Chris and Dana inside. His wife stood behind him and welcomed them. Dana gave him a big hug, “Hi Doc, you going to give us a tour?”
They passed the first small room, Angel dabbed at a cut on a man's arm with antiseptic. Dana paused, a little surprised, “Hello, Angel, you working here?”
“Oh, just a little. Doc persuaded me to come over a day or two a week,” she answered. “Chris, how are you?”
“I'm good, nice to see you,” said Chris and they moved on down the hall. The clinic was not near as huge as the hospital that was about three blocks away. When the big event happened years before, the hospital eventually stood abandoned, the drugs looted. So sprawling and massive, there was no way to hold on to any security and of course, no one continued to work there. The doctor, his wife and a couple of nurses that he knew, salvaged all that was left and usable from the hospital. They set up the smaller clinic as best they could.
After about a year, they even raided two separate veterinarian clinics in the area. In one, they found the vet murdered and the place looted, however, not everyone knew, as the doc did, that many animal antibiotics are as useful as human medications. They took all the meds that they could find. He also knew of a pet store in the newer part of town that dealt heavily in aquariums and fish. They found a lot of fish antibiotics there. The doctor and his wife, the two nurses and anyone who would volunteer worked long hours and tried to offer some help to the community.
As time went on, more and more deaths occurred, disease became rampant. When so many became ill and weakened, like Chris's mother, it was beyond the limited scope of the clinic to save them all. Sadly, the population thinned from death and from people leaving the town, simply not as many people. The good thing from that circumstance, the toxic atmosphere somewhat diminished. One of the nurses became ill and died and the other disappeared, never found.
These days, neither the doctor or his wife could work long hours at the clinic. For years, a young man came to the clinic to help, more or less a physician by his own self teaching and the doctor's patient tutelage now, he backed up old Doc. Three or four local young people came to the clinic on a regular basis and learned some basic first aid. Angel had some very brief nursing training, years before the catastrophic event happened. Her pregnancy with Allie had put an end to it. The necessity to care for her daughter made her take the job on the paddle wheeler and ironically led her to a husband and father for Allie and a new life. Doc talked her into volunteering.
It was the best they could do and they definitely were glad that Dana and Chris wanted to be involved at the clinic. The two women left with a promise to come to the clinic three or four days a week. Doc, his wife and Angel brought a horse and wagon, they would leave well before dark for the farm. It was a dreary day, late in the afternoon, but Chris and Dana had plenty of time to walk back to the neighborhood. They talked about the clinic as they walked back through the old downtown, in no big hurry.
Dana said, “That doctor guy, how old do you think he is?” Earlier, Doc introduced them to the self taught apprentice physician.
Chris smiled, “He was kind of a nice looking man, huh? I think he's probably about thirty. Hard to tell these days. Life is a bit rough on all of us.” They chatted as they moved along, built the bond of their new friendship.
It happened so fast. They walked on the shady side of the square, passed a darkened doorway and in a flash, Dana fell to the ground. Her scream echoed across the plaza, she curled up a tight ball. Chris dropped to her knees, “Oh, My God! Dana....”
Viciously jerked back by the strap of her rifle, a hard boot kicked Chris in the ribs. She reached inside her jacket for the pistol and the same boot came down on her wrist, the gun dropped. She began to kick and fight, dragged along, she saw a wet stain of blood spreading on the back of Dana's jean's, right above her boot. It looked like her friend had passed out, someone grabbed onto her limp arm and pulled her.
Off the street, inside; it smelled dank and Chris's eyes tried to adjust to the dark. Her side throbbed, her wrist already swollen. She could only make out a couple of silhouetted large figures and smell more than just the mildewy odor of the building. Not a sound heard from Dana, what if she is bleeding to death. She felt her knit cap jerked off and a stinking hand ran through her hair, down her face. She bit and immediately spit out a nasty taste. A string of curse words erupted, the figure kicked at her. Fortunately, in the dark, the kick only caught the side of her leg. She inched back. “You bitch!” came from the foul mouth.
I cannot panic, thought Chris. I have to get away, back to the clinic, get help. I have to get help for Dana.
The other shadowed figure spat out, “You stupid ass! Get the flashlight, so we can see this piece.”
NOW, Chris's mind said, Go, now! She pushed herself up and moved her feet. The figure reached for her and she punched out with her fist as hard as she could, she made contact with some part of the man's face. He howled and stumbled around, she forced her feet to move. On the street, she ran as fast as could, ignored the agony in her side. She must get back to the clinic. At the end of the buildings she rounded the corner and ran smack into a hard body. She flayed her arms, stomped on the booted feet in front her and screamed bloody murder.
Clayton grabbed her shoulders and shook, “Chris...Chris it's me. Oh crap, where is Dana?” Chris fell against him, knew that she couldn't pass out, although her head spun. He pulled her close and backed up against the brick wall, “Where-is-Dana?”
Chris caught her breath, “She is around there, inside a building...these two thugs, they...they pulled us inside. Dana is hurt, Clayton.” She already felt guilty, regretful. She should've been more careful, more watchful.
He pulled a pistol from his waist and put it in her han
d. “I want you to stay right here, understand?” She nodded. “How far down?” he said.
She said about three doorways, dark, no door. He moved along the sidewalk, sidled along with his back against the storefronts. He heard the men as they argued, it sounded like it was deep inside the next building. Some scuffling noises and a beam from a flashlight wildly bounced around the abandoned store. He took a flashlight from his coat pocket, with his rifle firmly in one hand and the light in the other, he stepped into the doorway.
His light showed nothing at first, slowly he moved deeper into the dark, along a row of empty shelves. Then the beam captured the thugs as they pushed and jabbed at each other. Clayton's rifle exploded and one of the men dropped. The other man disappeared into the ebony back of the building. Dana's moan came from the floor. He did not pursue the escaping scum, he sprayed the light to locate his sister. She curled on the dirty floor, not really conscious, he lifted her in his arms and hurried back to Chris.
They immediately ran towards the clinic. Chris pounded frantically on the front door and the young would be doctor unlocked. He shouted, “Doc!” and hustled them into a small room. Clayton laid his sister out on a treatment table, she seemed to be half awake and her jean's leg was darkly soaked.
Angel joined them, she pushed the brother and friend from the small room. “Let them take care of her, you two wait out in the hall,” she said gently.
Clayton and Chris sat out in the hall and nervously waited. She told him exactly what had happened. “Why were you there, Clayton? You weren't following us were you?”
“No, I wasn't. I went to the warehouse headquarters to meet your dad and the militia leader. Your father left earlier for home and I stayed to discuss some things with the leader. I was just headed back to the neighborhood.”
He put his hand on hers, she flinched. The wrist was tender. “Listen, it has nothing to do with you or Dana being strong and competent. I am sorry, but things are still very unstable around here, and it's just a fact, women are big targets. My father just lectured me today about traveling alone.”
“I know you're right, we were just enjoying each other's company. I should've paid closer attention. I'm glad you were there,” she said, her voice not so strong.
The doctor came out and explained Dana's status. “She is going to be fine, lost quite a bit of blood. We still have a limited amount of testing serum, she is AB. Clayton, you could donate some blood in case we feel she needs it. I have seen this before, the slimes tried to slice her Achilles tendon. It completely cripples someone. When they are through with you, they don't care whether you die or not. Luckily, her heavy boots kept them from that and they sliced her calf further up. It will heal, but it won't be quick or painless. We need to keep her here for a couple of days, though.”
Clayton said, “Here? What kind of security do you have here? Who stays on duty?”
The younger doc said, “The militia men take turns guarding here, especially if we have anyone that needs to stay. As far as medically, I will keep an eye on her tonight and some of the others will take a turn, until she can leave here.”
Chris's knees felt pretty weak, her swollen wrist went to her side and she gasped. Doc said, “Chris, you are hurt. Let me look at you.”
A tear escaped down her cheek, “One of them kicked me in the ribs, it hurts like hell.”
Clayton swept her up and said, “Where to, Doc?”
He tried to ignore the knot in his chest that felt like a vise. Just like the other day, at the farm, this could have been so much worse. He didn't want to acknowledge how much that seemed to matter. Thank god, his sister was going to be okay. And this girl in his arms must be solid as a rock, heavier than he would have expected...yet, as he lowered her to the treatment table, he thought that he wouldn't mind holding her a little longer.
Dana would sleep for a long while. The wagon delivered Chris and Clayton to the neighborhood. Tightly wrapped is the treatment for ribs, the wrist wasn't broken, it got wrapped also. Clayton had let them take blood for his sister. Doc went inside for a minute and talked with Wayne, “No way to soft pedal it, friend. There is still plenty of danger out there. Thank goodness, both of the women will be okay. Dana will have a heck of a scar.”
Clayton stood, waited for the older man to speak. He knew that it was so hard for him, just like all of the parents, to let the young people break away. Wayne looked at his daughter and said, “Well, that is exactly what this alliance is about. We're going to all work to make this place safer and clean it up. Maybe someday, people will safely walk the streets again.” Even though this filled him with apprehension, he said to his daughter, “Chris, this is not your fault. Doc is right, our world is still full of peril. You did very good by getting away and Dana is going to be okay. I am proud of you.”
They said their goodbyes and the horse pulled the wagon towards the woods, there was just enough daylight left for them to reach the farm before dark. The doctor's wife held the reins, with Doc on the seat beside her. Angel, her rifle on her lap, sat in the back.
CHAPTER THREE
Now Showing
The fan of light swept up the dark aisle that slightly angled up. Allie's fingers hooked in the waist loops of Brent's jeans, she followed him and the light up to the top of the rows of seats. They turned sideways and moved down the row, dropped into the cushioned seats, which made puffs of dust float around them. Even in the blackness of the theater, the big white screen in front of them was dimly visible. Something skittered along at the end of the aisle, he flashed the light in the direction, didn't capture a glimpse of what was most likely a rat. She lifted her booted feet up and put them on the seat in front of her. Brent leveled the light at the big screen and circled it around.
Allie laughed, “What is this place, Brent?”
“Oop-ps,” the flashlight slipped and he caught it before it hit the floor. “It's a movie. Haven't you ever been to a movie theater?” A circle of light illuminated her face and reflected off her glasses. He could smell the clean soap smell of her fluffy hair. She nodded, no.
“Well, didn't I see a television at the farm house?” he said.
She said, “Yeah, sometimes there are moving pictures on it. It is pretty boring though, just a lot of talking about the weather and something called the government and news. Uncle Dan said that is a bunch of pop-pa-gandy. We don't ever turn it on much. We do listen to the radio, there's music that is fun to hear, when we can find a station. There's a short wave radio and I have heard some of the adults talk to other people, back and forth. Aunt Linda says it is other survivors, far away from us.”
Brent said, “You mean propaganda, I think. That means you really can't trust what is being said.”
“I guess that is probably true, because Uncle Dan and Daddy and Louis, they stomp around and say bad words when it is on,” said the young girl, who had basically no experience with life before the event.
“Okay, well this was fun to watch, this wasn't news and weather. On that big white screen, all kinds of moving pictures lit up. Beautiful colors, exciting and funny stories and the sound, the music filled the whole theater from all sides.” All caught up in remembering the few times he went to the theater and enjoyed a movie, he said “Actually, television was not always just news and boring stuff, either. You could watch tons of stations and hundreds of programs.”
She looked at the huge white screen, tried to imagine, “Wow, that must have been amazing!”
Brent had an idea, “Hey, lets look around. See...up above us, I think the movie came blasting out from there. Let's find that place, let's explore.”
She reached out for his hand, “Sure, you lead, show me where to go.”
***
Earlier in the day, Allie worked with the two young girls who were new to the farm. Nearly a month since the three rescued children arrived, they seemed much more comfortable and trusting of their new family. For now, the older men worked with the young boy. Although, everyone on the farm learned gu
n safety and self protection, they wanted to proceed carefully and slowly with the eight year old. The family liked to kid hers but Allie was very competent and a patient teacher. She explained to the girls that if they learned how to protect themselves, they wouldn't have to fear so much, someone bad like the people who kidnapped them.
One of the girls, the quieter one that still seemed unsure of the farm family, said, “He didn't kidnap me...he was my father.” Her face looked hard and sad.
“Oh-h,” said Allie. “Hey, I never knew my father, he didn't want to be with me. One day, I asked Clay if he would be my daddy. He told me, daddy is just a word, what really matters is when people love you and take care of you. Later, when he married my mother, he said that he would always be my daddy. You know what? He was right, though. You have lots of folks here to love you and take care of you, that is all that matters.”
The girl smiled and said, “Thanks, Allie. Now, show us about the gun.”
Dan walked up, a short while later, “How are you girls doing?”
Allie said, “Just fine, the girls are learning about how to clean and take care of the guns for now. Hey, Uncle Dan, are you going in to see Dana today?” Dana was back at the neighborhood house now. Even though her mom and dad had tried hard to convince her to come home and heal, she stayed determined. She said she would not let the incident send her running to the farm. Her father and often her mother visited her regularly. Her injury three weeks behind her, she grew stronger everyday.
Dan said, “Actually, Louis and I are going to take the wagon in today and take Dana over to the clinic to be checked out.”
The Days After (The Tenth Year) Page 4