by Mark Goodwin
Catfish looked tenderly into Alisa’s eyes. “Sorry, sweet pea. JC is right. She ought to have got you out of that place. She had her chance and she didn’t. She’s got to go. You don’t know that she won’t make it. If she travels smart, finds a community, and gets around the right folks, she could make it. But I have to agree with JC’s sentence.” Catfish turned to Bret. “And it’s a heap lot better deal than that one is a-fixin’ to get.”
Alisa looked at Gwen. “I’m sorry. I tried.”
Tears were streaming down Gwen’s face. “I know. And they’re right. I should have shot Jena and got you out of there.”
JC bent down, took out his knife, and cut the ties off of Bret’s feet. “Stand up. You’re on trial.”
Bret worked his way up the beam into a standing position.
JC pointed the knife at him. “You are being accused of kidnapping and extortion. How do you plead?”
Bret made an incoherent noise through the duct tape wrapped tightly around his mouth.
JC ran the edge of the knife between Bret’s cheek and the tape, cutting it free. “How do you plead?”
“Not guilty. Do I get a lawyer?”
“Guilty. I recommend death by gunshot.” JC turned away. “Catfish, how do you rule?”
“Guilty.” Catfish stuck his hands in his overall pockets. “I concur with the recommendation, death by gunshot.”
“Alisa?” JC said.
“Is she on the tribunal? You can’t have a victim being a judge!” Bret’s voice was frantic.
Alisa walked up to him. “No telling how many other girls didn’t have someone like Gwen to get in your way.”
“I’ve never done anything like that. I promise.” Bret shook his head from side to side as he begged.
“Either way, now that society has melted into oblivion, you’d be free to be the real pervert that you are, if we set you free.” She stared at him with her hands on her hips.
“No. I’ll be kind. I’ll do the right thing. I would never do that.” Bret continued to implore her.
Alisa looked at him. “I hope that’s true, but I can’t see inside your heart to know for sure. And I can’t take a chance that you’re bluffing. Then I’d be responsible if you ever did that to someone else. If it is true, take the next few minutes to ask Jesus to forgive you and ask him to let you in his kingdom, because you’re going to be meeting him, real soon.” Alisa turned back toward JC and Catfish. “Guilty. I agree, death by gunshot. I ask that the tribunal grant the convicted five minutes to consider his life and ask forgiveness of his maker.”
JC looked at Catfish who nodded. JC looked at his watch. “Five minutes granted.”
Bret began screaming hysterically. “I want to appeal. This isn’t fair! I haven’t killed anyone! You can’t just kill me! Oh please, please, please!”
Alisa looked at him. “You’re wasting time. You really need to be asking God to forgive you.”
Bret just hung his head and continued to cry.
Steven handed his shotgun to Danny and walked over to the condemned man. “Would you like to ask God to forgive you? Do you want me to pray with you?”
Bret looked up. “I want you people to forgive me! I want you to let me go! Who are you anyway? You can’t judge me. None of you are any better than I am.”
Steven lowered his head. “I’m not judging you. And I’m no better than you. I needed to be forgiven just like you do. Jesus came to earth to die for my sins and for yours. All you have to do is accept the free gift.”
Bret spoke softly to Steven. “Bro, please, get me out of this. Talk to your boy. Tell him to let me go and he’ll never see me again. I swear.”
Steven sighed, walked back over to Danny, and retrieved his shotgun. “I’ll be waiting for you guys outside.”
JC looked at his watch. “Time’s up. Alisa, you, Jack, and Danny wait for us outside.”
“Can Gwen come outside with us?” Alisa stood by the girl.
“No. She needs to see this. She needs to remember this, every time she thinks about bringing somebody over here to get even or every time she thinks it might be okay to come back to town. Because if either of those things happen, I’ll kill her. Remembering this might save her life.”
Alisa turned away from JC and stormed out the door.
Danny and Jack followed. Seconds later, Danny heard the loud crack of JC’s pistol. The sentence had been carried out.
Steven glanced over at Danny. “Swift justice, huh?”
Alisa was sullen. “Yeah. I don’t know who the bigger monster is.”
Jack didn’t appreciate that comment. “Hey, Alisa. I understand that you’re upset, but my dad risked his life. Heck, he risked my life to come save you. He’s doing what he believes is right, what he thinks has to be done to keep you and everyone else around here safe. This is a different world, and you should be grateful that there is somebody around who can make the tough calls. And remember, no one else had a clue how to effect your rescue. So they could have all had the best intentions about coming to get you, but chances are, you would have rotted away, tied up in that house if it wasn’t for that monster in there.”
Alisa started crying and walked back to the house.
Jack shook his head. “That came out a little harsher than I intended it to.”
Danny nodded. “I think she knows you’re probably right. And she appreciates what your dad did, and what you did.” Danny patted him on the back. “And so do I.”
Catfish walked out the barn door. “Who wants to volunteer to help gather firewood?”
Danny gave a somber nod. Knowing that the kindling would be used for the pyre gave him a different feeling than building a campfire. It caused him to examine the frailty of life and left him with a cloud of melancholy hanging over his head. “Ichabod,” he whispered to himself. Yes, they had been successful in the ambush, survived the raid on the house, and brought Alisa home safely. Justice had been meted out, but he felt no glory in any of it.
Catfish looked at Steven and Jack. “Does that mean you two would rather drag the stinkin’ corpses to the wood pile?”
Jack shook his head and quickly followed Danny. “No, I’ll help Danny with the wood.”
“Me, too.” Steven did likewise.
“Hee-hee-ha.” Catfish’s giggle was slightly sadistic.
Danny, Jack, and Steven soon had a fair pile of wood stacked roughly three feet high at the center.
“That should do it. We’ll let Gwen load the bodies and we’ll get them lit up. The buzzards are getting antsy.” JC pointed at the carrion birds circling overhead.
Gwen turned her head in disgust as she dragged one after another of her fallen acquaintances to the site of the pyre. “I can’t get them on top of the wood.”
Steven leaned his shotgun against the wall of the barn and walked over to help her.
Danny felt a pang of guilt, knowing he should help as well. He picked up Steven’s shotgun and took it over to the tree where Catfish was standing. He leaned his rifle and the shotgun against the tree. “Can you watch these?”
Catfish gave him a nod, and he walked over to the wood pile to assist Gwen and Steven. Jack also helped out, and all the bodies were finally lying atop the pile of brush and timber.
JC walked over to the pile, took out a lighter, and started a small fire near the center. He stood and walked back over near the barn. “This isn’t going to smell like apple pie, so you guys might want to head on back to the house. Catfish and I will watch the fire and make sure it doesn’t go out or get out of control.”
Gwen stood motionless near the growing flames.
JC pointed at her. “Hit the road. Make sure we never see you again. If we do, you’ll wish you’d died here today.”
“Can I at least go back to my house and get my things before I leave town?”
“I don’t care what you do. Just make sure you are out of the county by sundown.”
Gwen walked lifelessly toward the gravel path which led out to the
main road.
Danny, Steven, and Jack walked back toward the house.
Alisa came running out of the house toward Gwen.
Danny sprinted to catch up with her. “Hey, wait up.”
Alisa slowed her pace so Danny could reach her. “I put together a few things to help Gwen get to wherever she’s going.”
Danny looked at the small backpack that Alisa was carrying. “No guns, right?”
“No. Some food, our little camping stove, water purification tablets, and a canteen.”
Steven and Jack soon reached their location.
Alisa looked at Jack. “Please don’t tell your dad. I just want to give her a few things to help her survive, and I don’t want to fight about it. But I’m going to do it either way because it’s the right thing to do.”
Steven stuck his free hand in his pocket. “I’ve got that one-person tent. We never even used it. And we should give her a Bible. She’s going to need someplace to go for hope.”
Danny nodded, and Steven ran toward the house.
Jack smiled at Alisa. “I won’t say anything.”
Alisa patted Danny on the arm. “Tell Steven to meet us out by the road on the other side of the hedgerow. I’ll have Gwen wait there until he comes.”
Danny looked at Jack. “Can you relay that message? I don’t want to leave Alisa alone.”
“She’s not going to hurt me, Danny.”
He grinned. “I know, but we have to travel in twos. Buddy system, remember?
“Come on then.” Alisa resumed her brisk pace.
They caught up with Gwen right before the end of the long gravel drive. Alisa presented her with the backpack. “Here’s a few things to help you get by.”
Gwen’s eyes welled up with tears as she took the backpack. “Thank you.”
Alisa hugged her. “You’ll be okay.”
Gwen nodded.
Danny looked back toward the house. “Steven has a couple more things to give you if you can hang out for a while.”
Minutes later, Steven arrived, carrying the tent and a small New Testament Bible. He handed them to her while he caught his breath.
“Thank you.”
“The tent is brand new.” Steven breathed heavily between words. “The Bible is small, so it won’t take up a lot of room or weigh you down, but if you read it, it will be worth more than gold.”
She flipped through the pages. “No one ever gave me a Bible.”
“It will change your life.” Alisa smiled.
“I could use that.” Gwen looked closer at the pages. “Maybe I will read it. I listened to what you were trying to tell Bret. You guys all think God will listen if I talk to him?”
“I know he will. He can’t wait to hear from you,” Steven said.
“I’ve got a lot of things to think about.” Gwen stuck the small Bible in her back pocket. “And plenty of time for thinking.”
“Take care,” Alisa said.
“Thank you for everything, Alisa.” Gwen began walking away.
“I wish I could have done more,” Alisa said.
She turned around for one last look. Gwen’s face was filled with regret. “I could have done more. I wish I had done everything I could have.”
CHAPTER 9
But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.
Psalm 5:11-12
Danny held Alisa’s hand as they found a seat for church Sunday morning. Dana and Steven had done a remarkable job of cleaning the blood stains off of the dirt floor. Danny had spread some hay around on the floor for good measure, but the lingering memory of what they had done in the exact same location just two days earlier made it difficult for Danny to maintain an attitude of worship inside the old barn. He looked over at the spot where JC had executed Bret. Then, his eyes moved toward the beam where Gwen had been held, awaiting her sentence. He wondered if she had survived the past two nights on her own.
He looked over at Alisa and ran his finger along the side of her beautiful brown hair. A feeling of gratitude swept in and washed away all of the dirtiness from the events of those days. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I was going out of my mind when I didn’t know where you were.”
She clutched his arm with both hands and sighed. “It’s good to be home.”
As they sang the old hymns that Nana had selected for the morning, Danny focused on rejoicing with his wife and his friends rather than paying attention to Catfish’s poor timing and out-of-tune notes on the harmonica.
Steven had prepared another great message, on hope and perseverance from II Corinthians 4. Danny listened and drew strength from the words of encouragement. Danny glanced over at Rusty who was sitting near the door, facing the opening.
The old farm dog had been ever vigilant since Alisa’s abduction. Even though Danny had kept him from seeing the prisoners and dissuaded him from sniffing around the ashes where they’d disposed of the bodies, Rusty somehow knew something had happened that wasn’t quite right. Rusty had taken to staying up all night, even though people from the group were keeping an around-the-clock watch for unwelcome guests.
Danny turned to look at Rusty again when he noticed him stand up suddenly.
Rusty made a low growling, “woof.”
Danny patted Alisa on the leg. “I’ll be right back.”
JC had noticed the movement in Rusty as well and walked to the door to meet Danny, with his snub-nosed revolver drawn. “Draw your weapon and let’s have a look around outside.”
Danny pulled his Glock from his waist and followed JC’s lead out the door. “Did you see anything?”
“Nope, but Rusty did. Could’ve been a rabbit, could have been something worse.”
Rusty barked again, but louder as he looked toward the hedgerow that ran along the road.
JC opened the door and yelled inside, disrupting the service. “We’ve got company!”
Danny saw two people dressed in military clothing and carrying rifles come around the opening of the hedgerow. He thought quickly about how poorly suited he was to engage a hostile with a rifle at a distance.
“Don’t shoot!” the bearded man from the road yelled. He held his rifle by the barrel and waved his hands.
Danny looked closer. “Nick? Cami?”
By now, everyone from inside the barn was standing around the barn door. Danny was elated to see his sister and ran toward her. Nana followed him, moving faster than he’d seen her move in years.
When he reached her, Danny hugged Cami as hard as he could. “Long trip, huh?”
“Yeah, long trip.” She laid her weary head on his shoulder.
Danny stepped back to look at her. She was very thin, but no visible injuries. “You’re okay? Do you need medical attention?”
“No, just a hot bath, a big meal, and a soft bed.” She smiled.
“In that order?” Danny winked.
She tousled his hair. “In that order.”
Danny shook Nick’s hand. “Good to have you back. It’s been a little rough around here.”
Nick let out a tired laugh. “Rough around here?” He looked at the house, the barn, and surveyed the fields and tree line. “You ain’t seen rough yet.”
Danny’s joy was tempered by the foreshadowed grief that Nick implied. “I guess you guys saw some hard scenes out there, huh?”
Nick’s face was extremely slender, weathered, dry, and seemed ten years older than it’d looked when Danny saw him less than three months earlier. His face was reminiscent of that first pitiful cow that Danny had seen in the graveyard, when all of this nightmarish reality was merely a bad dream. There was no going back to that time, so Danny knew better than to entertain such a thought. This was how life would be from this point forward — the new normal. Danny had to accept it for what it was.
Nick’s distant eyes looked to
ward the road they had just come in on. “Unimaginable. People are starving, killing each other, fighting over scraps, and doing the unthinkable just to stay alive, just to continue their miserable existence for one more day.”
Danny could tell that Nick didn’t want to get into any more detail. “Well, you’re home now. Come on in and let’s get you something to eat.”
Nick turned and looked Danny in the eye for a moment. It was as if he had something to tell him, something urgent, and something Danny needed to know right now. Danny waited for him to speak but heard nothing.
Danny was caught off guard by what he thought he saw on Nick’s face. Was that fear? No, it couldn’t be. Nick was a soldier; he had been through two tours of duty in the desert. Nothing scared him anymore.
Finally Nick broke his empty stare, put his hand on Danny’s arm, and smiled. “That sounds like a plan. Let’s go eat.”
The church service was over. All the attendees gathered around to express how happy they were that Nick and Cami had made it home.
JC patted Danny on the back. “You were scheduled for night watch tonight. I’ll cover your shift. Enjoy being with your sister tonight.”
“You guys aren’t going to hang around? Nana is going to cook up a storm.” Danny could see JC’s disappointment. Seeing Cami return was a painful reminder that his son Chris was still not home. And over a month after the event, the odds were getting slimmer and slimmer.
“No, I’m setting up some trip wire alarms around my place. I want to get that done before dark.”
Danny shook his hand. “You’ll have a reunion soon, and if you’re scheduled for night watch, I’ll return the favor.”
JC forced a smile. “I hope you’re right.”
Alisa walked up and took Danny’s hand. She had evidently figured out why JC was feeling so low. “Bye, JC.” It was the first time she had spoken to him since he’d banished Gwen.
He turned to wave then motioned for Jack, Melissa, and Annie to follow him home.
Danny took Nick’s backpack and carried it the rest of the way to the house. Alisa did the same for Cami. Danny looked over at his sister. “I missed you. I prayed for you every day; we all did. I’m glad you’re back.”