After the Fall: Jason's Tale

by David E. Nees

She glared back at him. Her fists clenched at her side. She looked as if she was going to argue, but Jason stared back. His face grew hard and cold. She finally turned away. “Nothing else will work,” she mumbled almost to herself.

  Sarah just stared at Jason. She was caught off guard by the intensity of the exchange. “So what do we do?” she said after some silence.

  “I don’t know yet. But I want it settled that we don’t kill Billy and no one acts without my okay. That’s critical. Do I have everyone’s agreement on this?” Anne offered her yes, as did Sarah. Catherine glared at him for some time and then just turned away.

  After an awkward pause, Anne asked, “What’s next?”

  “I’d like to catch Billy alone, get the drop on him, disarm him then play it by ear. I’m not sure, but I think he has to have a chance to not be a problem for us. I need to set the boundaries and let him know the deadly consequences of breaking them.”

  “So you’ll kill him after you talk to him, because that will be the end result. He’ll be back,” Catherine said.

  “Maybe so,” Jason responded tersely.

  “The results are the same in the end.”

  “I’m creating an opportunity for Billy to do the right thing, then it’s up to him.”

  Chapter 6

  Early the next morning, well before dawn, Catherine got up, quietly dressed, took her carbine and pistol and stole out of the house. In the dark, tempered only by the slight bluing of the eastern sky, presaging the coming dawn, she made her way into the woods and towards the Turner farm. Once in the forest, she worked her way up onto the ridge. She was headed for the still, hoping she would catch Billy starting to work on a batch of liquor.

  Dawn found her comfortably hidden in the brush with a commanding view of the still. She snacked on some venison jerky and water while she waited. Soon after the sun came up, still quite early, Billy came into view carrying a bag of corn. The still was strategically situated in a low hollow near a small spring. He got the fire going, filled the kettle with water from the spring and started cooking the grain. Then he sat down, his back against a log, with his rifle laid aside and began to relax. After pulling his cap down over his eyes he started to nod off.

  The birds began their chirping as everything went quiet. Catherine could smell the corn beginning to boil. She slowly stood up and aimed at Billy’s rifle. She needed to take his weapon out of action so he wouldn’t go for it. She squeezed off a round and the rifle went flying away from Billy. He jumped up with a wild, confused look and started for the rifle. Catherine hit it with another round.

  “Stay where you are. Don’t move and you won’t get hurt!” She shouted, pointing her carbine at him.

  “What the fuck? What’re you doing?” he asked.

  “Sit back down. Now!” Catherine shouted in her most commanding voice.

  “What’s going on?” Billy asked, but he sat back down on the log. “What’re you doing here? You’re not supposed to be here.”

  “I want to talk about what you did at our farm, you spying on us, peeping through the windows.”

  “Who told you that? I didn’t do anything,” Billy replied acting offended.

  “Don’t lie about it. Sarah saw you. And I saw you sneaking away through the orchard.”

  “You can’t prove that,” Billy was now defensive. “And you shouldn’t be here. You know my pa don’t want you here.”

  “It’s proven as far as I’m concerned. Don’t keep trying to deny it.” Catherine ignored the rest of Billy’s comments.

  “So what? I ain’t saying I did, but what’re you gonna do about it, if I did?”

  “That’s what I’m here to talk to you about. I could just shoot you right now and then Sarah and I don’t have to worry about you spying on us—”

  “You ain’t gonna shoot me.”

  “Don’t bet on it. I killed my share of those guys at the bridge. I don’t mind killing you if I think you’re a threat to me or my sister.”

  Billy looked at Catherine. She could see the doubt creep into his expression. He wasn’t sure she was bluffing. She kept her rifle trained on him.

  “You don’t control me. You can’t tell me what to do,” he finally blurted out.

  “I don’t. But I can tell you what you can’t do when it comes to our farm.”

  “I ain’t talking to you. You can just fuck off.”

  “Billy. You got one chance to get out of this without getting shot. You better talk to me.”

  “You think you’re so hot? Just because you took part in the battle? Shit, I’ll bet you just hid in the woods. Me and Pa, we shot and killed those guys. More than you probably done.”

  “You’re thick in the head.” The conversation was not going well. “I figured it would be a waste of time and I was right. There’s no sense talking to you.” She paused, then said, “Here’s the deal. You don’t ever come onto the Whitman property…ever. If you do, I’ll shoot you on sight.”

  “You wouldn’t.”

  “I would. I’ve warned you and from this point on I’ll have no problem shooting you.”

  “You don’t scare me,” Billy said, but his voice carried some concern. He was not sure just how seriously to take Catherine. She was acting dangerous. “Jason know you’re here? Bet he don’t want you up here, talking like this.”

  “Jason doesn’t have anything to do with this. It’s about me and you. You can’t spy on me or my sister any more. You can’t come on our property any more. I’m serious.”

  Catherine began to feel it was all futile. She was struggling to make Billy respect her resolve. Now, talking to Billy made it harder to think so casually about shooting him. The gang members, all strangers, bad men, all clearly attacking the family, bent on hurting and killing, were easier to shoot. It had all been from a distance and with no communication. But here she was, talking to Billy, someone she used to ride with on the bus when the schools were open. She realized her mother may have been right. Billy was a person—a someone. She would have a hard time shooting him. Somehow she had to make him believe that she could shoot him and that he would suffer if he came on the Whitman farm.

  When Jason and Anne woke up, they discovered Catherine gone.

  “Sarah, do you know where she went,” Anne asked her youngest daughter.

  “No. She must have left while I was asleep. I never heard her,” Sarah replied.

  “She took her weapons,” Jason said after looking around. “I think she went to ambush Billy.”

  “Oh my God,” exclaimed Anne. “We told her not to do that. We have to stop her.”

  “I’ll go. It’ll be faster with me alone. I know about where the still is. Maybe I can get there before anything bad happens.”

  “Yes. Go right now,” Anne said.

  He grabbed his rifle and 9mm and headed out of the house on the run. Twenty minutes later, with a rush of relief, he heard the voices as he approached the still. Billy and Catherine were talking.

  As Catherine was considering how to make Billy believe she was serious Jason called out.

  “Catherine, it’s me, Jason. I’m coming in.”

  Billy looked up, hoping the interruption might be an opportunity. But Catherine, after the briefest glance towards the sound of Jason’s voice, focused her attention back to Billy. There was nothing for him to do but sit still.

  “Now you’re going to get it,” he said.

  Catherine ignored him. “What are you doing here,” she demanded of Jason as he walked into the clearing.

  “I could ask you the same thing. Do you remember what we agreed to last night?”

  “He’s still alive,” she responded.

  “What’s gone on?” Jason asked.

  Catherine relayed her conversation with Billy. “It seems as though he’s too thick to understand how serious this is…and that I mean business.”

  “So what do you want to do?” Jason asked.

  Catherine thought for a moment, then said, “Watch him.” She grabbed a me
tal cup from the board lying on the ground next to the cooking fire. “Wait here,” she called and walked through the trees. About 30 yards into the brush, Catherine hooked the handle of the cup over a branch. From the camp, you could hardly see it. Billy looked from Catherine to Jason, but didn’t move. Jason kept his eyes on Billy.

  She walked back into the camp, “Now watch, Billy Turner. You see that cup behind me?” she asked.

  Not waiting for an answer, she turned and quickly brought her rifle up to her shoulder, sighting for only a brief second, and fired two quick rounds. The cup went flying; no one could tell if it was the first or second shot that hit it.

  “Shit,” Billy muttered.

  “Billy,” Catherine fixed him with her hard gaze. “You didn’t get to see me in the battle, but I killed my share of those bad guys you saw dead—at the farm and at the bridge—and I will also shoot you on sight if I see you on our farm. Now that you’re warned, anyone on the farm will shoot you if you come on the property. That’s the deal. And don’t think if you see Jason go off into the woods that we’re easy targets for whatever you’re thinking. I’ll kill you just as quickly as Jason will.”

  Turning to Jason she said, “I’ve done my talking. He still may not believe me. Maybe you can talk some sense into him, so I don’t have to shoot him.”

  Jason turned to Billy, “You get the picture? You don’t come on the property unless invited. It’s shoot on sight, for you.”

  “I wasn’t doin’ nothin’,” Billy responded, sullenly. “And you don’t control me.”

  “The girls identified you,” Jason replied. “That part’s settled. And it’s not a matter of controlling you, it’s a matter of you doing what you’re told,” Jason said.

  “Do you know what she was doing that night? She was acting like a dog in heat.”

  “Billy, you’re treading on thin ice,” Jason’s voice turned cold and hard. Billy shut up. “You better believe Catherine. She means what she says and I’d hate to see you get killed.”

  Billy looked from Jason to Catherine. He was stunned by her shooting skills and now less sure that she was bluffing. He never expected this girl, who he had gone to school with, would turn out to be so dangerous. He shuffled his feet in the dirt and leaves but didn’t say anything.

  Jason paused, then continued, “You’ve got some good skills. You’re very good in the woods and you’ve proven yourself to be a brave fighter.”

  Billy looked up at him with a puzzled expression. He didn’t get many compliments.

  “I would hate to lose those skills. They’re useful. The valley needs them. In the future, we’ll all need to work together for everyone’s benefit. There are probably still bad guys out there—”

  “Like the ones we killed?”

  “Yeah, like the guys we all killed. You know how bad they are…and how dangerous. The valley has to work together to make sure we’re ready if that ever happens again. But right now, you have to agree to what Catherine said. You cannot come onto the Whitman farm…ever. You’ve been there once, maybe more, but no more. That is what you have to agree to.”

  “What if I do?”

  Catherine now spoke up, “One of us will kill you on sight.”

  “What if I shoot you first?”

  “Listen carefully to me,” Jason said. “I’ve killed over 20 men, I’m a better shot than you are and I can move through woods as well or better than you. And Catherine is just as good as me. She saved my life in the last battle. Here’s the important thing: I don’t bluff and neither does Catherine. She means what she says…and so do I. I promise you, you will not win that battle.”

  Billy took off on a different tack, “What do you mean about us working together?” he finally asked. “Can’t do that if I can’t come on the farm.”

  “We’ll talk about that later,” Jason replied. “When you’ve shown you’re ready, I’ll call on you. Now, you agree? The Whitman farm and the Whitman girls are off limits.”

  Billy sat quiet for a moment, trying to maintain some control over the decision forced upon him. “I guess so…don’t have much of a choice, do I?”

  “Not now, but every time you think about it, you’ll have a choice. I hope you’re smart enough to realize it’s a life or death choice you’ll be making.”

  Jason started to go, then paused and turned back to Billy, “Remember, everyone’s a good shot on the Whitman farm. You’re outgunned. It’s better to be an ally than an enemy. Just keep to the agreement and we’ll all be fine. If you need to contact me, leave a note in the mail box at the road.”

  “Well, don’t you come onto our property, including this still,” Billy retorted.

  “Fair enough. If any of us need to contact you, we’ll leave a message in your mailbox. We won’t come on your property.”

  “What about my gun? She broke it. I need something to hunt with.”

  Jason thought for a moment, “I’ll get a replacement from the house, drop it by your mailbox tomorrow.”

  “How ‘bout one of them semi-autos?” Billy figured he’d lobby for an upgrade.

  “I’ll get you something that will work.”

  “You ain’t very generous.”

  “And you’re lucky to be alive, considering how mad Catherine was yesterday. Now you should go and then we’ll leave.”

  “I got to cook the mash.”

  “You can come back to finish later. We’ll watch you leave and then we’ll go.

  “Don’t forget what we said…and what you saw here,” Catherine added.

  Billy got up. There was no more to say. He headed back down towards his farmhouse. Catherine and Jason watched him. Then Jason grabbed Billy’s old rifle and they headed back home.

  When they got home, they were greeted by Anne and Sarah who were relieved to find no one had been shot. Catherine related what she had done and what she had told Billy. Jason added that it was the right solution and then told them about Catherine’s performance. It was a good opportunity to build her up. She allowed a pleased look to cross her face at the dramatic way Jason told the story. Where there had been a solid wall between them since his rejection of her there now seemed to be a fence. Catherine still maintained a line of separation but he sensed they might now be able to communicate across that line.

  There was a 30-06 among the weapons they had collected after the battle at the house. It was a semi-automatic with a five shot magazine, higher quality from what Billy had been using. Jason took it up to the Turner mailbox and left it there with what ammunition he could find. The family kept a regular lookout, but didn’t see any more signs of Billy.

  Chapter 7

  As they prepared for the coming winter, Jason and Anne looked for opportunities to spend time alone together. He wondered about Anne’s more frequent allowances of their intimacy, but, not wanting to mess up a good thing, kept quiet.

  After making love one day, he asked, “You’ve been less reserved this past month. Aren’t you worried about getting pregnant?”

  Anne lay on the bed looking at him with a loving smile, full and satisfied and unapologetic, “I’m not worried about getting pregnant…you see, I am pregnant.” She was beaming as she said it. “After the battle my desire to be close to you was so strong. I wasn’t paying attention to my schedule and I let it slip. Now I find out that I’m still quite fertile. New life is on its way and we are creating it,” she beamed.

  Jason’s mouth dropped open. He didn’t know what to say. A child of our own!

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I wanted to be sure…and I didn’t want to worry you.”

  “Aren’t you worried? I thought this was dangerous for you.”

  She pulled his face close to hers. “I am a little. But it will be all right. I’m experienced, and my girls came easy enough. Now that it’s happened, I feel I am ready for this. You’ll be a father in the spring.” There was a joyful gleam in her eyes.

  “Have you told the girls?”

  “Not yet. I�
�ll know when the time is right, but it’s not now. We can just enjoy the fact that we don’t have to worry about me getting pregnant.” Her eyes were alight with excitement as she spoke.

  The fall rains came. The torrents lashed at the windows and searched out every crack in the house. With the rain, the weather grew colder. There were no more signs of any gangs. Their hidden valley seemed to have returned to its former state as a forgotten place off the beaten path.

  One cold, rainy morning Anne sat the girls down in the kitchen. “You remember when I told you that Jason and I were going to live as a couple? That we considered ourselves married?”

  The girls nodded.

  “Well, I have some good news to announce. I’m pregnant. We’re going to have a baby next spring.”

  The girls looked at their mother in shock. “You can’t be,” Catherine exclaimed.

  “Well, I can, and I am.”

  “But there’s no hospital around. How will you have a baby with no doctors or a hospital?” Sarah asked.

  “Women have had babies without hospitals for thousands of years. It is a very natural thing to do,” Anne replied.

  “Aren’t you too old? And isn’t it too dangerous?” Catherine asked.

  “Apparently I’m not too old, or it wouldn’t have happened. Since I have had you two already, my body is better prepared than if this were a first pregnancy at my age.”

  “But it’s more dangerous now…I mean without doctors or medicines,” Catherine continued.

  “Yes it’s more dangerous, but not impossibly so. I had the two of you in a hospital, but I did it naturally. It wasn’t the easiest thing I have done, but neither of you were hard births.”

  “Still, you’re putting yourself in danger,” Catherine said.

  “A first birth is the most dangerous and generally sets the tone for the others,” Anne replied. “And I have Jason and both of you to help.”

  “Not me,” Sarah responded.

  “Well, I won’t force you,” Anne said with a knowing smile. “Catherine, can I count on you to help?”

  “Of course,” she replied. “I don’t think Jason will be much help in this area. Do you have any books I can read to get ready?”