Pulse

by David Lisenby

  “Take the peppermints in exchange for your pig sticker,” Kay said. “Wouldn’t want anyone thinking they didn’t get a fair deal here.”

  The man reached down and grabbed the hard candies and shoved them in his pocket. He looked at Kay and nodded before backing away and then turning to walk out of the store with his partner. The knife and the weevil infested rice remained on the counter.

  “You wanna’ get those bugs out of my store?” Kay said after the men left.

  “Yes, Dear,” Harold said as he grabbed the knapsack and walked out the front of the store.

  Jake pulled out his radio and keyed it up. “Come in Loretta,” he said.

  “Go ahead, Little Cuz,” she answered.

  “You may want to keep your eyes out for those two,” Jake responded. “They aren’t supposed to come back so let us know if they do.”

  “10-4 Little Buddy,” Loretta said. “Ya’ll aight?”

  “We’re good,” Jake said into the mic.

  He looked at the knife. “Want me to put that in the display case with the others?” he asked, looking up at Kay.

  “10-4 Little Buddy,” she answered with a smile.

  Outside, Harold carried the infested rice up the road to dispose of it. He watched as the two men turned the corner and faded out of sight. He had a feeling that he would be seeing them again. He didn’t look forward to it, but he knew in his bones that it would come to pass.

  For the next couple of hours everyone at the Landing went about their normal business. Abe, Rickey, Whisper and Will returned from their trip to deliver the care packages. River had stayed behind to help Shiela Mae with the garden. The two ladies working together were able to get the harvest done early and were now working with Roxie to start preparing dinner for the evening.

  Pam had decided to hang around for the rest of the day and was sitting on the swing with Arlene talking about herbs, spices, and other natural remedies. She figured she could learn a few things that might benefit her friends in Kountze and be able to enjoy another one of the awesome home-cooked meals they always had at the Landing.

  Bonus!

  Kenneth and Jerry were in the shop banging away at one thing or another while Bobby leaned on the door laughing at them. Phil, Jake and Harold had all but finished the new root cellar, hanging the door on front of it and packing fresh dirt around the perimeter. The kids were all playing on the playground, taking their last break of the day.

  The air was filled with a mouth-watering scent as the light wind carried the smokehouse aroma toward the Main House. Most of the recent kill from the hunt was now hanging inside being bathed in the pecan smoke. Tommy, Ellen and John were out back working on a new building that would soon become the new schoolhouse.

  Loretta was in her usual spot in front of the security monitor. “Hey, Jake,” she said over the radio, knowing he always had his ears on.

  “Yes ma’am,” he replied pretty quickly.

  “Can you come up and tell Arlene that our girls is comin’ round the bend and should be here in a minute,” she said. “It looks like they’s bringin’ company with ‘em.”

  “10-4, Big Mama,” Jake said. “I’m on it.”

  Loretta could see her cousin coming from behind the chicken coop and stroll over to the swing. He said something to the two women that caused Arlene to jump to her feet. She hurriedly walked over to the back gate and made her way around to the side of the house. She was obviously excited to see what her daughter had brought home.

  As the girl scouts and their entourage made it to the driveway, Arlene stopped in her tracks and covered her mouth with both hands.

  “Mama,” Lyss yelled as she started running toward her mother.

  “Lyss?” Arlene said. She then screamed, “Oh my God!” and started running toward her daughter. “Alyssa,” she yelled. The two women met and hugged in a powerful embrace, tears pouring from both their eyes as they danced in their hug.

  All eyes turned to witness the reunion of mother and daughter, although nobody knew exactly what was going on. Everyone quickly made their way to the source of the screams they had heard. Nobody understood a word the two women said to each other through the sobs.

  “So, your baby Squirrel goes out and gathers the nuts and brings them home to the nest,” Squirrel said sarcastically to her mom, “and you want to hug the nuts? Where’s the love for the Squirrel?

  Arlene looked at her youngest daughter and reached out to her. “You did good, Baby Squirrel,” she sobbed. “You did good.”

  When Harold came up to the group, Squirrel reached into her backpack and pulled out the baggie of herb. “I got something for you, old man,” she said as she tossed it to him. He caught it and looked at the treasure in his hands.

  “You done good, Squirrel,” he said. Everyone laughed. “You wanna tell us who this fine-looking young lady is?”

  “Everybody,” she said, “this right here is Hunter.” She pointed to the young man standing next to Beetle. “And I’d like to introduce this beautiful young lady, Alyssa Silva.”

  People started walking over to shake the newcomer’s hands.

  “Did you say Silva?” asked a voice from the back of the crowd. The focus turned to Jerry.

  “Yes, Sir,” Squirrel said with a huge grin, “my sister, Alyssa Maria Silva.”

  Jerry looked at the girl. Her eyes were so familiar. He looked at Arlene. The eyes were the same. She nodded her head.

  He knew.

  She knew that he knew.

  He turned and walked away.

  Chapter 6

  Over at the county seat

  Detective Allen crawled from behind the steering wheel of the 1951 Chevy pickup and slammed the door behind him. He walked to the front of the truck and popped the hood. As he raised it and held it open, Lieutenant Vincent reached under the hood and removed the coil wire, placing it in his side pocket. This had become routine for the two men during the past couple of weeks that they traveled together.

  The detective was a grey-haired old codger who had been in law enforcement longer than most of the current deputies had been alive. He had served in the Secret Service during the Nixon administration and had devoted over five decades of his life to law enforcement. His dedication and commitment to the job had prevented him from retiring years ago.

  It was ironic that once he finally decided that it was time to turn in his badge and start spending more time on his ranch restoring old cars, a worldwide catastrophe would happen. He was 47 days away from retirement. That close.

  The lieutenant was a 16-year veteran of the force. The first 12 years were spent undercover as a narcotics officer. He was a lot younger than his new partner, but that didn’t mean he was a rookie by any means. They say each year undercover gives a deputy five years’ worth of street experience. Vincent thought that estimate was a little on the short side. He felt old.

  Unlike the detective, Vincent planned on retiring as soon as he reached the 20-year milestone. He wanted to be able to enjoy his family while he was still young enough to do it.

  After the pulse, it took a week before the Sheriff’s office was able to put together a skeleton crew. Most of the deputies were busy taking care of their families and weren’t able to go back to work. The ones who did return were mostly the more mature lawmen whose children were already grown or had no family that needed them. The others were simply dedicated men who lived to walk the thin blue line.

  Det. Allen and Lt. Vincent were tasked with tracking down the men who had been terrorizing the county for the past week. They were meeting with Sergeant Whiteside at the campgrounds to see if he had anything new on the Kirby-Hill case. It was obvious that the fire that burned down the historic home had been arson, which meant they were looking for cold-blooded murderers.

  As the lawmen walked through the different campsites, they were saddened at the sight of the young families that dominated the population. There were hundreds of people who all seemed to have blank looks on their faces. Conv
ersations were hushed as the two imposing men walked by.

  “Jason,” the detective said as he walked up to the city police sergeant and shook his hand.

  “Detective,” Whiteside said as he returned the greeting. He then shook Vincent’s hand and nodded to him.

  Det. Allen then shook hands with the man Sgt. Whiteside was standing with. “Dale,” he acknowledged his friend. Dale Shackleford was Lead Investigator at the District Attorney’s Office. He had been in law enforcement almost as long as the detective and was a well-known and well-respected fixture around Kountze.

  “Any new information on our suspects?” Det. Allen asked the men.

  “Not much more than what we already knew,” Whiteside answered. “Those Conner boys were obviously the leaders of the group. We talked to one of their girlfriends and found out that the brothers were pissed off that night because they were kicked out of the house for bullying some of the other people staying there.

  “She said that they started drinkin’ and the more they drank the madder they got. They rounded up a bunch of their friends and chained up the doors before they sat the house on fire. When the men ran off their girlfriends stayed at the campground. They ain’t exactly the most upstanding females, but they knew their men had gone too far.”

  “Did she say where they may be headed next?” Lt. Vincent asked.

  “She didn’t know for sure,” Whiteside answered. “Dale talked to her a few minutes ago, though. That’s what we were talking about when ya’ll walked up. Did she have any ideas, Dale?”

  “She told me that they were probably going to Indian Hills,” Dale said. “She said a couple of the other men in the group had friends that live there, and they figured it would be a good place to lay low for a couple of days.”

  “Did she know about the massacre?” Det. Allen interjected.

  “I don’t think so,” Dale replied. “She has family that live there, too. She seemed genuinely concerned for their safety.”

  “There hasn’t been any chatter around the campground about it, as far as we can tell,” Whiteside added.

  “We had a suspicion that the two incidents were tied together,” Det. Allen said. “There aren’t that many people who would kill so many innocent people in such a brutal fashion. Even in this day and age.”

  “Did I tell you that Jarome Conner has a strong fondness for his Bowie knife?” Whiteside asked. “Seems he has a history of cuttin’ people up whenever he gets in a fight.”

  “Yea,” said Lt. Vincent, “I had a run-in with him a few years back out at Clear Lake. Thought I was gonna’ have to shoot him before he finally dropped his blade. I knew he’d end up killin’ somebody one day.”

  “Looks like he’s stepped up his game,” Det. Allen said. “Guess we better get on over to Indian Hills and see if there is anything we missed yesterday. We need to find those boys before they have a chance to hurt anyone else.”

  “Pam left this morning headin’ over to Silsbee,” Dale said. “I’m going out to the airport to see if she’s made it back yet. She was supposed to be going to the Landing with some goods to trade. Would you boys mind keepin’ an eye out for her on your way down 418?”

  “Not a problem,” Det. Allen replied. “We were actually going to swing by the Landing after we leave Indian Hills ourselves to see if they have any coffee.”

  “Well I may see ya’ll there,” Dale said. “If she’s not at the airport I’m going to stop by Silsbee PD to drop off some hay and then go on to the Landing.”

  “If any of ya’ll happen to see my brother tell him my wife expects him over to the house for dinner tomorrow night,” Sgt. Whiteside said as the men shook one another’s hands.

  The four lawmen parted and went their separate ways. As Det. Allen and Lt. Vincent walked back through the crowd of squatters, they took mental notes about the faces they saw and the demeanor of those they passed by. People seemed to be stand-offish, but nobody appeared to be threatening. Even as they approached the classic truck, nothing seemed out-of-the ordinary.

  But, then again, what was ordinary anymore?

  At the truck, Det. Allen gently rubbed his hand over the cherry red hood of his baby. This was the exact same make and model as his first-ever vehicle oh so many years ago. He had spent countless hours and way too much money restoring the truck, but now it was all worth it. He was one of the few members of the Sheriff’s Office who had a working vehicle. It was this truck that had attracted Lt. Vincent to team up with the aging detective.

  Hood up. Coil wire reinstalled. Lawmen loaded. The truck was fired up and the lawmen were off to face their next challenge.

  Chapter 7

  Not what one would expect

  Harold stepped out of the shower and grabbed his towel and began drying himself off. It had been a long day. Every day was here lately. He looked into the steamed-up mirror and saw a blurry image looking back at him. He reached over and grabbed his glasses from the shelf over the toilet, placing them on his face.

  Not a whole lot of good.

  He rubbed the towel over the glass. Other than leaving a sprinkling of lint, the action cleared up the surface of the mirror. He again looked into it and saw a figure peering back at him. This time it looked just like him.

  Oh. Emm. Gee.

  “I’ve got to get a better mirror,” he thought to himself.

  As he stood there brushing his teeth, Harold thought about how fortunate he was. Here he was, in the midst of the most devastating disaster that had affected mankind in modern history, yet he was able to enjoy a hot shower before enjoying a delicious meal surrounded by the people he loved the most. He was truly a blessed man.

  Once he was finished brushing his teeth and shaving, Harold walked into the adjoining bedroom where his wife was brushing through her short brown hair.

  “Nice outfit, Babe,” Kay said with a slight smile on her face. “Is that want you’re wearing to dinner?”

  Harold looked down at his nakedness. “People are already scared enough,” he said. He grabbed a pair of underwear out of the drawer next to him and slipped them on. Kay held up a t-shirt. When he walked over and reached out for it, she quickly hid it underneath her shirt.

  Harold smile slyly as he bent over and placed his lips on the tender lips of his loving wife. Their kiss was passionate. Kay barely noticed as her spouse reached underneath her shirt and wrapped his hand around the t-shirt. As he broke the kiss, he pulled his hand away, pulling his t-shirt with it.

  “Awww,” Kay said. “I was hoping for a little appetizer before we eat dinner.”

  Harold smiled as he pulled the shirt over his head.

  “Maybe a little dessert after?” he said. “That stew smelled pretty good.”

  Kay pouted.

  Harold leaned over and placed another kiss on his wife’s lips. The passion was still there. He gently caressed her cheek as they kissed.

  Standing up, Harold slipped on a fresh pair of overalls before sitting down to slip on his shoes. He watched his wife as he tied his shoes. She was still messing with her hair. His heart almost burst with pride, knowing that the woman of his dreams was sitting right in front of him.

  Kay looked away from the mirror to see her husband staring at her. “What?” she asked playfully.

  “Do you know how much I love you?” Harold asked softly.

  “I only know that I love you more,” she answered.

  “Not,” Harold said. “You’ve brought so much joy and happiness to my life, Sweetie. I don’t know what I’d do if you weren’t here. I’d be lost. You are definitely the greatest part of me. Thank you for loving me.”

  “What’s gotten into you?” Kay asked with a slight blush on her cheeks.

  “You,” Harold answered. “You got deep inside of me and stole my heart away while I was lost in your eyes.”

  He walked over and kissed his wife again. This time the kiss was soft. Tender. Intense.

  “I love you,” Harold said as he stared into the eyes of true love.r />
  “To infinity,” Kay said, barely audible.

  “And beyond,” her man finished the sentiment.

  “You sure about that appetizer?” Kay asked. She knew the answer but wanted the man she loved to know how much she wanted him.

  “No,” Harold answered. He bent down and lifted his wife out of her wheelchair. He kissed her passionately as he carried her and then lay her down on the bed. She was surprised. Not disappointed. Pleasantly surprised. It was about 30 minutes before either of them would leave the bedroom.

  Outside, Ray Lynn and his crew were just getting back from town. He pulled the trailer back to the warehouse to unload the goods they had traded for that day. As he and Will unloaded the trailer, Whisper and River sorted the items and put them in the areas where they would be stored. They made a pile for the things they knew Kay would want for the store and another for the fresh produce that would need to be carried to the root cellar where it was cooler.

  Most of the kids had been picked up by their parents, so the kids from the Landing were all gathered in the Main House watching a dvd. This was a treat for them before dinnertime on the days when they were good at school. This also gave the teachers a chance to unwind with their husbands for a few minutes after a long day.

  Arlene and her girls were gathered up in the treatment room, still catching up on things they had missed out on in each other’s lives over the past month. They were chatting away and giggling like a bunch of teenagers. Beetle learned a lot about her friends as she sat and listened to the chatter.

  Everyone else was finishing up their daily chores and getting ready for dinner. This was one of the best parts of the day and everyone was looking forward to the fellowship that came with the final meal of the day.

  * * *

  Harold had a grin from ear to ear as he walked through the kitchen of the underground bunker. Kay had decided that she was going to stay in bed and let him go and get their dinner and bring it back to the bus. He knew that she just wanted to have dessert afterwards; even after having an appetizer.