by Jay Morris
“Where are the bikers?” I asked.
“Trash pile” he said, “I’ll burn them tonight so the smoke won’t show.”
“How many?” I asked.
“How many what?” he asked.
“Bikers numb nuts” I snapped.
He looked at me, “Forty one” he said.
Forty one, forty one assholes who wanted to take what wasn’t theirs, forty one dirt bags who hurt and killed little girls and old ladies. I tried to count the deaths in my mind but it didn’t add up.
“Are you sure? I thought it was more like 30 or 35.” I said.
“Yeah, I’m sure, I carried every single damn one to the pile last night.”
He paused then added “Then I pissed on them.”
I almost laughed at that but then felt it was probably a good idea and if I got a chance I would do it myself. Hopefully it would grease their way to Hell.
“What took you so long to help us?”
I asked suddenly realizing that he hadn’t joined the fight right away. He kept the binoculars to his eyes and on the horizon.
“There were six that went around back, I had to take them out first.”
“Really?” I asked. “Yeah, 5 dudes and a blond chick.”
He was quiet a moment longer then added “Like I said, forty one.”
“How did you kill six?” I asked. “
Propane tanks, when they got near them I punched a hole in it with the 45-70, they froze and with a second round they blew up.”
He was silent for a minute. “A propane tank killed them like that?”
I asked. “Not all the way” he answered.
I decided I really didn’t want to know what that meant and 41 it was. I forced Tucker to go downstairs and get some sleep, I would keep watch for the others or anything else. He thanked me and then promised to check on the girls. He rose slowly, painfully and headed towards the stairs. I saw blood on the back of the chair where he had been sitting.
Later that morning Karen brought the girls up to the roof. Both were traumatized but clearly Gina was in worse shape. Gina was between Lucy and Karen, and would not release her grip on their hands for any reason. Karen called me over and we sat the girls at one of the umbrella tables,
“Mr. Tucker is working in the kitchen, he asked us to not go in there right now.”
Karen said, her eyes wide with dismay. At least five people had died in there including Mrs. Boudreaux and Mrs. King, it had to be a slaughter house. I was actually grateful he was doing that, no kid should have to see carnage like that. Tucker made lunch and brought it to the rooftop garden. It was chili. Pickles, saltines and some of those well preserved fruit pies that every quickie mart in the nation seemed to carry. Tucker let everyone pick their pie first but he seemed relieved to see that the one left over was apple, he crumbled it into his chili. What a weird dude.
We all stayed on the roof for most of the afternoon, when Karen asked about the bus.
“It was fitted out with beds along one wall, a couch was bolted on the other. There were boxes everywhere but most only had some kind of liquor in them.” he answered.
We waited for the MRAP, we waited for our friends, to no avail but at six Tucker tried his antenna thingy and he seemed excited,
“Okay they seem confused, almost in a panic and our target group isn’t broadcasting at all.” he announced.
“That’s a good thing isn’t it Mr. Tucker?” Karen asked.
“Yes Karen, it’s a very good thing.” he answered.
But I could tell he was worried about our people not returning on time.
Later we left Karen and the girls on watch and I waited by the dead while Tucker drove a pick up down from the field where we parked everything. We carried Mr. Livingston down the stairs and out to the truck. We loaded the rest of our dead and drove them up to the hill where the Franks, their cousin and Janae Livingston were buried. We didn’t bury them though, neither Tucker nor myself wanted to be away from the others for long even though Karen was alert and was never without her rifle anymore. We decided to stay on the roof that night, there was running water and even a toilet in a little bathroom so Tucker and I carried up sleeping bags and pillows for everyone. I took first watch while Tucker went down and torched the bodies of the bikers where they lay in the deep gully we used for refuse. The steep sides of the gully hid the light and the darkness hid the smoke but nothing could hide the smell of our burning enemies. As I watched Tucker head back to the lodge I thought about that smell. What it meant, that there were dead down there, dead bastards and to my shock I realized I liked the idea that at that very moment their eyes were bursting and their fat was dripping on the ground, they deserved it. All of them from the Big Man to Fat Guy to Skinny Woman who helped Lucy, they were nothing but shit now and I was happy about that.
Karen, Tucker and I took turns on over watch. Each of us staying up a while with our replacement until we were sure they were all together and alert. The night was quiet except for the crickets and the sobs from Gina and Lucy as they slept and dreamed of horror and loss. The last time I woke him I could tell that Tucker was fading, he was pale and had trouble standing without leaning on something. There was a pile of bloody bandages and several empty squeeze tubes of triple antibiotic that explained his weakness. He didn’t ask for help and I didn’t offer it.
Day 28
When the sun forced me to open my eyes they felt like they were full of sand.
“About time.” Tucker said.
He was sitting in the shade of one of the umbrellas and was drinking water from a 2 liter soda bottle.
“You look like crap old man.” I said.
He snorted, “Well, I feel worse.” He said.
I found that pretty funny and I chuckled quietly. I looked over to Lucy and Gina, they were splayed out on a pallet of blankets, sleeping in the shade of another umbrella. A desk top oscillating fan was keeping them cool. Thank God for solar panels I thought.
“I thought it was supposed to be fall?” I said, not really asking the question.
“Yeah, seems more like the fourth of July than almost October” Tucker agreed.
We sat and watched the girls sleep, every once in a while one of them would groan or cry out, my heart wept for them. It wasn’t fair, we struggle, bleed and die fighting the monsters but people still have time to inflict even more pain on one another. Tucker was forcing fluids and his hands were trembling. He looked like he was going to doze off so I kicked his foot.
“Hey, wake up jarhead.” I said with a bit of sarcasm.
He laughed and adjusted himself a little.
“I was more teacher than soldier you know.” He said with a bit of slur in his voice.
I nearly called him a liar but I settled for “Bullshit.” He laughed again
“No, really I was only in the Corps for few years I taught high school math, physics, and biology for 15 years, and low level calculus and comp science for more than twenty.”
“I thought you were a hot shot special forces or something.”
I said a small smile on my face.
“Who me? Why would you think that?”
His words were slow, he was taking a breath between each one, damn hard to understand. Tucker was dying.
“Hey!” I kicked his boot again, “stay awake killer.”
He shook his head and took another drink of water. He looked at me, “I’m sorry John, I don’t think I have much...”
“Screw you Tucker.” I said interrupting him.
“You made a promise you jerk, and I’ll be damned if you are going to get out of it so easily.”
I half laughed, I must be channeling my mother or something.
“I can’t, I’m so tired.” he said.
“Damn it! I said, I got up and shoved him back up into a sitting position.
“What?” he rumbled.
“There are monsters out there Tucker.”
I sat next to him and kept him from falling over.
“Monsters in black armor and monsters that look like us, you, God damn it, are our monster.”
I shook him again,
“Our monster and we need you and you don’t get to die, not yet.”
He nodded “okay, okay” he said.
I had to keep him talking. “Tell me about your kids Tucker, tell me about your kids.” I said.
He nodded and smiled “Great kids, love them so much” he was interrupted by a coughing fit but then he continued, “Smart and strong, each so unique, but so...”
He started to doze off again so I shook him awake and he seemed to pick up mid-sentence,
“…wanted my life to mean something, something for them.”
“You are an ass” I said, “You had it all and when your wife got fed up with your crap and left, you buried yourself away and waited to die.”
He harrumphed but didn’t disagree. I was running out of things to keep him going, it shocked me that he was so broken, broken inside and out and for a long time before the crap hit the fan, but the truth was we needed him.
Suddenly Karen cried out,
“They’re coming! They’re coming!” I looked at her and she was jumping up and down, she was waving her arms at them but suddenly she stopped.
“What?” I asked.
I scrambled up to stand next to her. Only the MRAP was slowly creeping up the drive and it was a wreck. There was no sign of the Humvee. Smoke was billowing from under the hood and it looked like it had been beaten with an ugly stick. No one was at the machine gun mount and big chunks of armor had been peeled away, the massive gashes revealed its’ interior.
“Oh my God” Karen said and she darted down the stairs, I followed her. I was relieved to see that Tucker was crawling over to wake the girls. What a schmuck I thought as I hit the stairs.
The doors were open by the time I got there, I saw Mrs. Driscol leaning into the back and Karen was helping her.
“Elaine? Elaine?”
I called for her then ran around to the other side, frantically looking for her. I ran into Mrs. West, her head was wrapped in a bloody bandage and her upper arm was dressed the same way.
“Johnny.” She said quietly.
“NO!” I screamed I tried to get past her to find my sister I pushed Mrs. West out of the way.
“Elaine?”
I heard Mrs. West, her voice was quiet and strong but not unkind.
”She isn’t here John, she didn’t make it.”
“You are a liar!” I yelled.
She put her hands on my shoulders,
“John, we three are all that is left.”
I tried to get away, I hit her again and again until she pulled me to her and held me and didn’t let me go, she was saying something but I don’t recall what it was. She ran her fingers through my hair. I don’t know how long I stayed like that but it was long enough to get Deputy Weir inside and for Mrs. Driscol to find the field surgery kit and for her and Karen get to the roof.
How long she held me I don’t know but it was long enough that I didn’t think I had any tears left. Somehow we ended up on the front steps, and Mrs. West was still holding me, not speaking just humming a song that sounded sweet and a little like a lullaby.
“You ready to go inside?” she asked.
I nodded; she took a bandana from a pocket, wet it with her mouth and started to wipe the tear stained dust from my face. I was so much in shock I just let her do it. She helped me up and we went inside.
To my surprise Tucker was on one of the couches. How they got him downstairs I don’t know. Gina and Lucy were on another with Amy, they were awake but had their heads in her lap and Amy was gently running her fingers through their hair just like Mrs. West had done for me. . I could tell they all had been crying, except for Tucker of course, who was unconscious. We sat on a third couch even though its stuffing was poking out of a dozen bullet holes. Karen was in the kitchen, so Mrs. West went to help her, Deputy Weir was on the roof. So Amy, Lucy, Gina, West, Weir, Tucker, Karen and I were all that was left. I didn’t think I could bear it. I shut my eyes and went to sleep.
It was early afternoon when I awoke I looked around, Mrs. West was gone but had been replaced in the chair opposite me by Deputy Weir, fast asleep. He had a huge bandage on his left cheek and another above the left eye. He was asleep and I could see a scratch on the eyelid connecting the two bandages. A millimeter from losing an eye or worse, I shook my head.
“Morning.” Mrs. Driscol said from behind me.
I sat up and saw her finishing up something on a still sleeping Tucker.
“Hi Mom” I said, it wasn’t until I said it did I cringe. She just smiled as she dropped a bloody bandage into a pail.
“Has he been asleep the whole time?” I asked.
“For the most part.” She answered. “He did wake up long enough to tell me he would be dead if not for you.”
I shrugged.
She sat there a minute more then asked
“Were you the one that treated his wounds?”
I shook my head no then said that it had been all Tucker. She sighed
“I thought not, I didn’t think you would be stupid enough to try and super glue a 6 inch cut like that.”
She had a strange smile and it made me smile too. She had just called Tucker stupid. The wounds on his thigh were not so bad though, shotgun pellets?” I shrugged again. She kind of laughed,
“Apparently he tried to get them out with a pair of needle nose pliers and made a total mess of things. I finished them up, and put some stitches in for him.”
I looked at Tucker he was still pale but his breathing was more regular.
I asked about the ambush, she sighed and looked away then said
“We decided that when we could we would all sit down and trade stories, no one wants to tell them more than once I suspect.”
I nodded.
“Looks like you had a tough time too.” she added.
I nodded again. Amy changed the subject.
“Tucker nearly bled to death because he was too proud or too stupid to ask for help.”
I didn’t say anything so she asked
“How did he get stabbed?” she asked.
“I don’t know, the kitchen?” I guessed.
“Ahh, the kitchen. It was pretty bad in there it seems.”
I looked at her strangely then asked
“Why do you say that?”
“All the blood; even the grout is a rusty brown, the wrecked cabinets and island, the bullet holes, stuff like that.” She said.
“He wouldn’t tell me what happened in there.” I added.
After a bit I got up and went towards the kitchen; I saw Lucy and Gina in the dining area, they were on their knees on the floor working really hard on something. I walked over to them;
“What are you guys doing?” I asked.
Neither looked up, Gina said “Important work.”
Lucy added “Yep important work. THE most of all.”
Gina said “Yep. THE most of all.”
As if I was supposed to know what that meant, I moved around to see what exactly what it was. There were crayons all over the place and on a piece of poster board they were drawing most detailed portraits of our dead. I almost broke into tears, they were all there. Everyone we lost, I could easily recognize them, they were standing in two rows, one above the other, holding hands like paper dolls, and they all were smiling. Mom and Dad, Mrs. Hartly, a man I somehow knew was Gina’s father, Jordan, Billy, Elaine, Kyle, the Livingstons, Rico, Lieutenant Klein, Janey, and on and on. The girls were drawing flowers all around the outside edge. I saw that Lucy’s tongue was poking out the side of her mouth and Gina’s eyes were nearly crossed with the effort.
“This is THE important ‘I LOVE YOU’ picture.” Gina said.
“Yep, that is what it is, we can say ‘I love you’ every day.” Lucy added.
“Yep, every day.” Gina stated with conviction.
“Gina, who tol
d you about THE important ‘I love you’ picture?” I asked.
“Lucy tolded me” she answered.
“Lucy? Lucy who told you?” I asked.
She sighed then said as if I was an idiot
“Karen tolded me, but everyone knows about THE important.”
Emily echoed “Yep, everyone knows about THE important.”
I smiled and just said “Yep.”
And with a heavy heart but a real smile on my face I walked away and silently vowed to kiss Karen the instant I next saw her.
The kitchen was empty but it was apparent someone had tried to clean it up, Amy or Karen I thought, maybe both. I found some scraps in a pail, picking it up I went out the back and up the hill to the Before. It was still there, this time it was pacing, circling the perimeter of its cage. When I entered the clearing it started to charge but it seemed to draw itself up short when it recognized me. It seemed confused then it walked on its all fours over to its food bowl and knelt there on its knuckles, knees and toe claws.
“Hey there.” I said.
“Whirrr*click*” it responded.
I pushed the pieces of chicken, steak fries, and cabbage leaves through the chain link and into its bowl.
“Whirr*buzz*click”
I stepped away and sat down in my usual place it started to eat. As it ate I swear it was purring, well purring the way a giant cockroach would but purring never the less. I told the Before about the battle and the deaths. It took me a second to realize that it was finished eating and that it was sitting and listening to my tale of agony and loss. It blinked at me, twice. Those weird four part, boney eyelids moving in and out; clicking eerily, like the lens of a camera each time. I know it didn’t understand the words but maybe, just maybe it understood pain.
I smiled at it, it rose and went inside the back of the trash truck, and I heard the click and the splash as it emptied its bowels out of my sight. What the Hell? It hopped back down and wandered over to its water bucket and drank. When it did I gasped, its exoskeleton was nearly healed, new shiny material stood out sharply against the slightly duller stuff surrounding it. I told the Before that I would be back and went back down the hill to the lodge.
Once back in the kitchen, I saw Mrs. West and Karen were putting a bunch of edible things on a tray, lots of things from the fridge and several cans and an opener.