Pulse

by David Lisenby

  The horse reared and then took off running. Beetle and the rider rolled on the ground in a heap. The impact knocked the breath out of the tiny girl. It also winded the man. He raised himself on one knee.

  “What the hell?” he shouted. About that time Squirrel was on top of him, hitting him on the head with her clinched fists. He tried to push her away, but Beetle joined in the hitting and kicking. He fought to stay on his knees and swat away what felt like an entire hive of yellow jackets that were repeatedly hitting him from all directions.

  He did the only thing he could do. He bundled up in a ball and covered his head with his hands. The girls then took turns kicking him as he lay on the ground.

  “I’m not here to hurt anyone,” the man said between kicks. “I was just checking up on ya’ll. Would you stop kickin’ me now?”

  The beating slowed down as the two girl scouts appeared to recognize the voice yelling at them. They weren’t sure, so they didn’t completely stop.

  “You best identify yourself,” Beetle said. She then kicked the man in the ribs, eliciting a load moan from him.

  “Chief Whiteside,” a male voice said. “I’m a lawman.”

  The two girls immediately stopped their assault. They almost felt bad about hitting and kicking the Chief. Almost.

  “Think you might want to announce that you’re stopping by after dark before you come this way again?” Squirrel asked.

  “I think I might just do that,” Whiteside said as he climbed to his knees again. He held his hands up in defense, just in case the crazy young ladies had any more ideas about kicking and hitting him again. He was more embarrassed that he had been caught off guard than he was about being beat up by two little girls.

  Well, maybe not.

  The lawman made his way to his feet, looking around to see if there were more people involved in the attack. It felt like there were 20 of them.

  “You really shouldn’t be sneakin’ around in the dark like that,” Beetle said, rubbing her elbow. She had scraped it during the tussle.

  “I was just making sure things were alright here,” Whiteside said breathlessly. “Looks like ya’ll have it under control.” The lawman then whistled. His horse came walking up slowly, apparently hesitant to get himself involved in another incident.

  “Everything alright out there?” came a voice over the radio.

  “We’re good, Mama,” Beetle said into the radio. “Just ran into an unexpected visitor. He’ll be on his way in a minute.”

  Chief Whiteside stood there for a moment, calming his trusty steed, Tonto. He watched the two girls closely. A couple of months ago, he figured, these were two typical teenagers whose biggest worry in life was getting likes on Facebook and fending off boys. Now they were responsible scouts who were honing their skills and becoming formidable warriors. The stood there, strong and confident. He knew that he would become allies with these two. If for no other reason than to keep from getting stung by them again.

  “What frequency do ya’ll use to communicate with each other on?” he asked. The girls looked at each other, hesitant to share the information with anyone. The lawman could tell what they were thinking as well as they did.

  “Look,” Whiteside added, “I’ll only share that info with my men so that we can get in touch with ya’ll before we swing by. I don’t want you young ladies to be roughing up any of my guys. It’s for our safety as well as ya’lls.”

  Squirrel handed the lawman her radio. He keyed it up just long enough for the LED readout to display the frequency. “This ya’lls primary channel?” he asked. She nodded. He took out his own radio and set the channel in his que as Landing.

  “We’re sorry for jumpin’ on you like that, Chief,” Beetle said.

  “Don’t be,” Whiteside responded with a slight chuckle. “It’s good to see that ya’ll are keepin’ an eye out. I don’t expect that ya’ll are gonna’ be taken by surprise again.”

  “No, sir,” Squirrel interjected. “We’ll be the ones doin’ the surprisin’ in the future.”

  “I believe that,” Whiteside said, rubbing his neck. He raised his foot and placed it in the stirrup. After climbing on the saddle, he looked down at the two girl scouts. “Ya’ll did good here tonight,” he smiled. “We’ll be monitoring ya’lls channel from here on out. If there’s anything we can do to be of assistance, just give us a shout.”

  “Thank you,” Beetle responded.

  “You ladies have a safe night,” Whiteside said as he lightly kicked Tonto’s flanks. The horse turned into the reigns and began trotting away.

  “You, too,” Squirrel said as the lawman rode away.

  Once he was out of sight, both girls exhaled and stooped to the ground. “That scared the crap outta’ me,” Beetle said. Squirrel looked into her eyes for a second and then broke out in a nervous laugh.

  “Me, too,” she said. “I didn’t know who in the heck you were jumpin’ on. He was so big.”

  “I know, right?” Beetle said. “But you were right there for me, Squirrel friend. You had my back.”

  “Of course,” Squirrel replied. “We’ve gotta stick together, Beetle Bug. That’s what girl scouts do.”

  The girls sat there for a couple of minutes catching their breath before returning to their rounds. The walked along the tree line, east down the pipeline. They checked around the twisted metal of the wrecked plane and then headed back toward the woods that separated them from the Landing.

  Walking down a trail, they soon found themselves at the two-story house where the Ferrell’s used to live. They stopped just inside the woods and looked at the huge live oak tree that was bathed in the soft moonlight. It was beautiful. So serene. So majestic.

  “Somebody really should move into that place,” Squirrel whispered. “It’s been a month and the Ferrell’s still haven’t come back.”

  “Yea,” Beetle said softly. “Uncle Harold said he didn’t want to infringe on their property. He said they had come to an agreement about that a while back.”

  “But neither of them is still here,” Squirrel said. She could sense that she said the wrong thing as soon as the words came out of her mouth.

  Beetle hung her head. “I know,” she said. “But I still respect what Uncle Harold had to say. He was a good guy.”

  “I’m sorry,” Squirrel said. “I didn’t mean …”

  “I know,” Beetle interrupted. “You’re right. That’s a lot of living space that’s just going to waste.” There was a moment of silence. Squirrel reached out and lay her hand on her friend’s shoulder.

  “Maybe I’ll talk to Kay tomorrow and see if she has a problem with your mama and sister movin’ in to the house,” Beetle added. “There are two bedrooms upstairs that we can take. It would be nice to have my own room again that’s not in a tent. And I bet Hunter would love to be let loose in that garage.”

  “That sounds like a great idea,” Squirrel said. “It would be nice to have my mom and two of my sisters under one roof.”

  The two girls looked at one another and then gave each other a hug. As they shared the tender moment, Beetle notice a faint sound of people talking somewhere nearby. It sounded like it was over at Harold’s Hideaway (which is what she had come to call the place where her uncle used to sneak away to when he wanted to smoke a little pot. Truth be told, she had even joined him a few times and burned a bowl with him.)

  “Do you hear that?” Beetle whispered. She tilted her head toward the hideaway.

  “What is that?” Squirrel answered, cocking her head to the side and listening intently. She could her something but wasn’t quite sure what it was.

  There it was again. It sounded like people were talking. But who was it?

  The two girls released their embrace and slowly stood up. Very quietly they walked toward the sounds, making sure they didn’t step on any twigs or walk too loudly. They eased closer until they saw a dim light breaking through the trees. It was at the hideaway. They got even closer and could tell that there were two peo
ple sitting on the stumps, facing each other.

  It was Arlene and Jerry. They were leaning in toward one another, holding hands and talking. The girls got as close as they dared and then squatted down and listened.

  “How could he even think that?” the girls could hear Arlene ask. “Everybody here has been so good to him and treated him with nothing but kindness and respect.”

  “I know,” Jerry said softly. He sounded frustrated. “I don’t get it either.”

  They sat in silence for a minute before Arlene spoke again. “Well, if he really feels that way, I guess there’s nothing I can do about it.”

  “What really sucks is that he won’t even listen to me,” Jerry said. “He’s always been hard-headed, but I just can’t fathom why he feels this way. He’s an intelligent man, but this is just downright stupid.”

  Beetle touched her friend on the arm and mouthed the words, “What are they talking about?” to her. Squirrel squinched up her face and shook her shoulders, indicating that she was just as confused.

  “Duh,” Arlene said, shaking her head. “Maybe he got hit on the head harder than I thought he did when that plane crashed. It must’ve jarred all the common sense out of him.”

  Jerry shook his head. “Is that your professional opinion?” he asked sarcastically.

  “I’m just trying to find any logic in it,” Arlene said. She straightened her back and looked into Jerry’s eyes. “Are you planning on going with him?” she asked straightforward.

  The girl scouts looked at each other with surprised looks on their faces.

  Oh. Emm. Gee.

  “Of course not,” Jerry answered. “I’ve been wandering around lost for over a year. I finally found what I’ve been looking for and there’s no way I’m going to just walk away now.”

  He squeezed Arlene’s hands for effect. She noticed.

  “Does anybody else know?” Arlene asked.

  “He’s been talkin’ to some people,” Jerry answered. “There may be others who agree with him, but I’m not sure. He’s a pretty persuasive man sometimes.”

  “Well,” Arlene said, “We’re just going to have to face this head-on. I’ll bring it up during breakfast in the morning and get everything in the open so anyone who doesn’t already know will find out where he stands. Then we can find out where everybody stands.”

  “Do you really have to do that?” Jerry asked. I mean, can’t we just wait a few days and see what happens? Maybe it’ll blow over. Maybe he’ll realize how crazy the idea sounds.”

  “No, Jerry,” Arlene said. “We can’t do that. This is like a cancer. If we don’t open our eyes to the seriousness of it and do something about it in the early stages, it is only going to grow and get worse. Sooner than later it will be completely out of control and there won’t be anything we can do about it.”

  Jerry sat in silence for a few seconds before he exhaled loudly and said, “You’re right. We need to take care of this as soon as possible. Why prolong the agony?”

  Arlene looked into Jerry’s eyes. She could see that this hurt him, but she knew that they had to address this.

  “Look, Jerry,” She said softly. “I don’t like confrontation any more than you do. By the same respect, I can’t just sit back and take a chance that harm will come to the ones I love. My daughters have been through enough. I worry about the two that are out there on their own. I can’t help them. But I can help the two that are here. I can protect them from a bad influence.

  “The people here are good people. They genuinely care for each other and for those in the community around them. I have grown to love them; to care about them like I am confident they care about me and my girls. I don’t want to see them torn apart. I don’t want to lose what we’ve built here. I don’t want to lose you.”

  Beetle’s jaw dropped. Where did that come from?

  Squirrel smiled. Broadly. Go, Mama.

  “I don’t want to lose you, either,” Jerry said. The couple leaned in toward one another and embraced.

  “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Jerry said softly. “Nobody is ever going to come between us. Not even my father.” He leaned in and kissed her gently on the forehead. He then gazed lovingly into her eyes.

  “You call that a kiss?” Arlene said as she cocked her head to the side. Jerry smiled, placed his hand on the back of her head, and pulled her into his lips. The kiss was very much a step up from the previous one.

  Very much.

  Arlene melted into his arms.

  Beetle was still stooped over with her mouth ajar, while Squirrel was still smiling – an even bigger smile by now – when they turned and looked at each other. They slowly stood in unison and backed away from the intimate scene playing out before them.

  When they were far enough away that they believed they couldn’t be heard, the walked a little faster back toward the majestic oak. Beetle was in a surprised shock, but Squirrel was giddy with excitement.

  “What just happened over there?” Beetle asked. She was so confused.

  “Mama and Jerry were sittin’ in a tree,” Squirrel sang, “k-i-s-s-i-n-g.”

  Beetle reached over and slugged her friend in the shoulder. “I saw that,” she said sarcastically. “But how did it happen?”

  “Well,” Squirrel said, rubbing her injured shoulder, “He put his hand behind her head and pulled her to him. Then he shoved his tongue down her throat.”

  “Ughhhhhh,” said Beetle as she slugged her friend on the other shoulder.

  “Owwww,” Squirrel said. She was still smiling, though.

  “Mama told me and Lyss that she really liked Jerry while we were eating tonight,” Squirrel said. “She was so afraid that we’d be mad because she liked someone else than Daddy. We told her that she was crazy. We love Daddy, but we want her to be happy. Daddy would want that, too.”

  “I get that, but that was just a couple of hours ago,” Beetle said. “Don’t you think she moved on it too fast?”

  “She’s had feelings for him ever since she met him,” Squirrel said. “He’s a lot like Daddy. I like him.”

  “So, you’re ok with you Mom tongue-wrestling with Jerry?” Beetle asked.

  “I don’t want to sit there and watch it, but yea, I’m ok with it,” Squirrel answered.

  “Then I guess it’s between them, Squirrel friend,” Beetle said. “I call the bedroom that’s not over the master bedroom.”

  Squirrel looked sideways at her silly friend. “You’re so weird,” she said.

  “That’s why you love me,” Beetle replied with a cheesy grin. Squirrel grabbed her by the neck and gave her a big hug.

  Chapter 18

  Second watch

  It was around one in the morning when Jake made his way to the control room to start his shift. Ellen was already there to man the monitor. Loretta had a fresh pot of coffee ready and was talking to the girls, who were finishing up their last round for the night.

  The small group sat and talked about what had happened during the early shift. When Beetle and Squirrel told them about what had happened with Chief Whiteside, everyone was equally amused and impressed. It was a funny story, but it also showed that the two girl scouts were capable of taking care of themselves (as if there was any doubt). Ellen was glad to hear that the lawmen were going to be monitoring their frequency.

  Soon the girls said their good-nights and headed to their quarters to get some sleep. Loretta had already gone and laid down on her bed and was already passed out. Ellen and Jake talked for a few more minutes before it was time for the man scout to take a stroll around the perimeter.

  The cameras were good, but they only showed so much with their limited range. It was imperative for someone to make sure the areas out of the camera’s sights were secure. Jake didn’t mind. Walking helped him stay awake.

  As he headed to the other side of the workshop, Jake realized that it wasn’t as muggy as it usually was this time of night. He figured it wouldn’t be much longer until the nights
would be getting cooler and autumn would roll in. He was looking forward to that. Summers in Southeast Texas can be terrible.

  “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity,” Jake thought. “I call B. S. The heat sucks.”

  He walked along the edge of the junk cars that separated the Landing form Freddie Costner’s place. Freddie used to work on Toyota’s and had amassed quiet a collection of old cars that he salvaged parts from. They could be considered an eyesore, but they sure provided a wall of protection on that side of the property.

  He neared Shiela Mae and Rickey’s trailer out by the garden and didn’t see any movement in the area, so he kept moving. He did notice a rabbit in the garden. He took the slingshot out of his waistband and loaded it with a marble. The rabbit toppled a couple of times from the force of the marble pegging its head.

  Jake walked over and picked it up. He’d take it up to Ellen after finishing the round where she could skin it. Then he’d take it to the smokehouse and add to the collection in there. It wouldn’t be long before there would be enough rabbit meat for a pot of dumplings.

  Rabbits loved the fresh greens. Jake loved the rabbit meat cooked into collards or dumplings. That made for an ideal pairing.

  He gutted the animal and placed it in his knapsack before checking around the garden to see if there were any more critters. No luck. He figured that was a good thing for those who liked veggies more than meat.

  He was a carnivore and dang proud of it.

  Jake made his way toward the pastures. He passed by the oak grove. It was sure quiet there. Peaceful. Harold and Kay had picked the right place to put the graveyard.

  As he walked toward the front fence, Jake saw a figure coming from near the barn. He knew it wasn’t Uncle Tommy; the person was too thin. It must be David. He started walking in that direction. He had a pretty good stride and whoever it was didn’t seem to be in a hurry.