Story Time

by Linell Jeppsen

  “…And around and around it would go; a whirling dervish of death and destruction caught up in its own momentum, trapped by the planet’s atmosphere. I felt tears of fear fill my eyes, and turned to put my arms around my little brother.

  “He held me while I sobbed. ‘Sssh,’ he whispered. ‘It’s gonna be all right, remember? The aliens said that we are in the continuing…continues…whatever they called it. We just have to hold it together for a while. Prepare.’

  “I stepped back and wiped a sleeve over my eyes. ‘Sorry, Zack, it’s just the thought of what’s happening to all those people. Millions—billions of people!’ I could hear the hysteria in my voice, and gulped hard to stop the flow of fright.

  “‘Let’s go sit down for a minute, okay?’ He nodded, and followed me over to where our farm tractor sat, bucket down, in the snow. I climbed up into the cab and scooted over on the torn bench seat to make room for my brother. We cracked the side windows open and sat in silence for a moment.

  “‘Why do you think she did it, Zack?’ I whispered.

  “He shook his head and shrugged. ‘I don’t know, Nay. Some women will do anything to be with their man.’ Glancing at me, he added, ‘Some men would do the same for their women.’

  “Carla Cline, the wife of one of Trumble’s men, had snuck out sometime in the night, three days earlier, taking her four children with her. I couldn’t understand it. At least the children were as safe as they could be here, with plenty of food and a doctor on hand.

  “‘But to take the kids…to subject them to…that?’ I gestured toward the tree line. ‘It’s hell out there, Zack. At least that’s what Michael says. Randy was talking about it, too.’

  “Zack shrugged. ‘You know that a mother, even a bad one wouldn’t leave their kids behind if they decided to leave. Naomi, you can’t let it get to you!’ He turned toward me and took one of my frozen hands in his. The scar on his forehead gave him a rakish look, and long red-gold curls framed his face. I leaned forward and tucked his hair behind his ear.

  “He grimaced irritably. ’Nay…I love ya, but you got to stop doing that sort of thing! It makes me look like a baby!’

  “‘Sorry.’ I muttered, taking my hand back. He grabbed it again and stared into my eyes.

  “‘It’s okay, Sis…really. About Carla and the kids, they’re gone. It was their choice and they have to live with it. If you mope around here, all depressed about it, the others will pick up on it. It’s not good for morale, see? I know you’re tender hearted. It’s one of the things I love about you, but you are the leader here now, and everyone looks to you for guidance…well, you and Steve and David.’

  “I stared at my hand in his, and bit my lips. It was true. I saw the members of the Harmony ranch watching us, watching me. They looked to us for guidance, for hope, for ballast in the stormy sea our lives had become. I wished, for the thousandth time, that they would look elsewhere.

  “There was a knock on the tractor door panel, and Zack looked down. Then he opened the door. Michael stood there with Josh. My lieutenants, Steve and David, were coming up behind them. Something about the grim and focused look on Steve’s face told me something was wrong.

  “‘What’s wrong?’ I asked. Michael stared at me and for a moment, I saw something in his eyes. It was a look I knew all too well…it was the look I tried desperately to hide from prying eyes, from Michael’s eyes: the look of love.

  “I tore my gaze away and stared at Steve who said, ‘There’s movement at the edge of the forest, Naomi. It looks like Trumble’s people are coming back.’

  “My heart twisted in my chest. The people of Harmony had just gotten back to something resembling normalcy. We had just now begun to breathe again, and now this? I heard the warning bell and scrambled out of the tractor and into Michael’s arms. He was only trying to help me, to keep me from slipping, but couldn’t seem to let go. His big hands were warm, his eyes like molten pools of dark chocolate. I stepped back quickly and felt my face blush with yearning, desire.

  “Then we were all running to the front of the house. Steve and David led the way. As we went around the corner of the porch, Michael grabbed my arm. I looked back and saw him shake his head. Gently, but firmly, he held me in place and walked ahead of me. He was trying to protect me with his body, if need be, from the people who were approaching the ranch.

  “We stopped and stared out at the forest that surrounded the front pasture. I heard and saw no cars approaching and wondered if it was a false alarm. Then I saw a flash of pink. I heard footsteps behind me and turned around to see at least a dozen men and women walking up with deer rifles, and shotguns in their hands. They moved ahead of me and waited. I started to join them, but Michael’s hand held me back. I turned to stare at him, and he murmured, ‘You make too good of a target, Naomi. There could be a sniper in the trees.’

  “Zack looked over his shoulder and growled, ‘Do as he says, Nay. No heroics.’

  “I was frustrated, but I also knew that Trumble would love to take me out—me and Zack, and Josh; one after the other. I moved slightly to the left, so I could peer past David Tolliver’s shoulder.

  “The tree-line was about 400 feet away, and I had to squint to see who was approaching. I heard the exclamations of surprise and consternation from the people who surrounded me, and then I saw them. Carla’s children were walking up the gravel road toward the house. Her littlest girl—I thought her name was Tina—wore a dirty, pink parka and carried her favorite stuffed animal, a kitty named Fluff.

  “Her siblings walked behind her; twin boys named, Karl and Kevin, and the oldest girl, a teenager…was her name Raven…Maven? I couldn’t remember. They all looked pale, scared, and half-starved. The girl herded the kids ahead of her and I saw her almost stumble, as though she was dizzy, or ill.

  “‘Wait!’ I cried. ‘Hold your fire!’ It was probably a stupid thing to do; the kids could have been some sort of bait for the tree-sniper, but I didn’t care. I darted between David and Zack and ran down the driveway toward the children.

  “I saw Tina start to cry when she saw me. She ran toward me, holding both arms up, and bawling. An errant ray of sunshine caught the green glass of Fluff’s eye, and then the little girl was in my arms. Within moments, I was surrounded by Carla’s children, all of whom were sobbing in fear and exhaustion.

  “‘Where is your mother?’ I asked, and fresh wails filled the air. My brother Zack glared at me, and shook his head. ‘One of these days you are going to get yourself killed.’

  “I nodded and said, ‘I’m sorry, Zack, but it didn’t look like these guys were much of a threat.’ Then I listened as the oldest girl spoke.

  “‘My mom said we had to get back to Daddy. I didn’t really want to go, but Mom said we had to, so we snuck out and dug under the fence. Thing is, when we got there, Dad acted like he didn’t like us anymore.’ Her shoulder’s shook with grief.

  “‘He acted real strange, real scary. There’s this new guy in charge now, some guy named Dwight Engle and some sword…I don’t know. He told my dad that we had to come back here, though. When the little ones heard that, they started crying. Daddy smacked Kevin so hard he knocked out his two front teeth.’

  “Raven ran shaking hands over her eyes, and took a deep, gasping breath. ‘Dad he—he always gave us a smack if we were bad, but it’s like he’s gone crazy or something. Miss Naomi…I think he killed my mom!’

  “‘What…why?’ I gasped.

  “‘I…I don’t know. I heard them fighting and then Mom started screaming…I think she’s dead, or she never would have let us come back here by ourselves!’

  “I put my arms around the girl as she sobbed. Looking down, I saw the boy, Kevin, with his swollen, bloody face and the shell-shocked look of an accident victim.

  “I said, ‘Come on, you guys. Let’s get you inside, okay? We’ll fix you up something to eat and have Doctor Andy look at that mouth of yours.’

  “We turned around, my soldiers and I, with the new
orphans of the war between the Angel’s Sword and the Harmony ranch; never realizing, until it was too late, that a Trojan horse, named the Tox flu, had just been set loose within our walls.”

  Chapter 27

  The following excerpts are compiled from interviews and written accounts of Dwight Engle and his followers (CHURCH OF THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST) and the faction group (THE ANGEL’S SWORD).

  By no means do the statements reported in the following reflect the opinions of the writers or reporters of the facts herein; furthermore do we note, that most of the accounts recorded here were given by war criminals and enemies of the state prior to EX 2016. Steven Cummings, reporting for The New World Chronicle.

  Tribulations –

  For a little while, there was a sense of peace on the Harmony ranch. The arrival of the Canadian hippies was a welcome relief, and the source of much speculation and debate amongst its members. Steve Zakar thought we should destroy the weed they brought, and so did many others—people who were frightened of the illegality of the substance, and were sure its introduction would cause mass orgies and universal stoniness.

  Andy insisted on keeping it, however. He had always believed in the healing properties of THC, and felt that Randy and his small family had given the Harmony citizens a great gift. It was placed under lock and key, along with the rest of the medical supplies, guns, ammunition, and money, in the root cellar in Naomi’s basement.

  Our relative peace and quiet came to end, however, on October 20th, with the return of Carla Cline’s children. Just the look on Andy’s face was enough to alert me that something was wrong. Naomi and Zack brought the children into Pastor Edgington’s medical tent. The first thing I saw was one of the little boys ruined face and mouth. The boy, whose name was Kevin, had lost two teeth and his face and nose were so swollen he could hardly breathe.

  Andy took one look at the kid and walked over to comfort him in much the same way a parent would. He felt the boy’s forehead and glands. I don’t know why I was watching my partners face at that moment, but I saw the shock in his glance as his eyes met mine. He laid the boy down on the cot, covered him with a blanket, and said he would be right back with some medicine.

  Then he walked to his med-kit and withdrew a number of germ/guard facemasks.

  “Put it on, Steven, right now, and wipe your hands with these,” he barked. “When you’re through…no, do it better than that! Wipe your hands thoroughly, Steven…all up and down and between your fingers! Pastor, Jenny, Josh…put these on and wash up!” My lover’s face had gone pale, and his eyes were wild with fright.

  “What is it, Andy?” I asked quietly.

  “I think this child has the flu, or typhoid, or the plague for all I know…anyway Steven, you and Josh need to find those kids and anyone who has had contact with them, and bring them back to this tent. Right NOW!”

  Josh and I stared at one another for a moment, and then took off running. It was too late, however. By the time we found the other kids (in the kitchen, being fed stew and bread) the disease had spread like wildfire. The children had been in brief contact with no less than fifty-two people when they reentered the Harmony compound.

  Within days, the Tox flu claimed the lives of over fifty people. Within a week, half of our citizens were either dead or dying. Tox flu was similar to Swine flu; high fevers, dehydration, flux, and eventual respiratory failure, but with the added kick of radiation poisoning. People who got it literally burned up, from the inside out.

  We didn’t know what to do with all of the sick people. At first Andy, Ralph, Jenny, Josh and I kept the stricken patients in the tent. Then, when more and more people turned up sick, tents were added to the original structure. If there was one good thing about Tox flu, it was that the gestation period was quick. If a patient got the flu and survived it, they could be up and out of bed within a few days. If, however, the person succumbed, the disease boiled through them like molten lava, killing with appalling efficiency.

  By November 1st, 172 people had died, including Pastor Edgington, his Sunday school teacher, and a part-time EMT, Jenny Mitchum, David Tolliver, and Naomi’s little brother, Josh.

  I thought that I was going to die as well, but I was one of the few who contracted the disease and lived to tell about it. I arose from my sickbed two days later, weak as a kitten and twenty pounds lighter, but alive. Most of the people who fell ill did not survive the ordeal. Mourning fell over the people of Harmony like a shroud.

  Another thing that fell on Harmony was ash and arctic cold. The brisk, prevailing winds that kept us safe after the Yellowstone caldera erupted returned with a vengeance, layering us in sooty sheets of ice and toxic clouds of brimstone. The ground froze solid, making the burial of our dead impossible and forcing us to burn the bodies like the Vikings of old. It was only the seventh of November, and we were mired in the depths of winter.

  That same day the remaining people of the Harmony ranch had scheduled a graveside service for their loved ones. There were 148 bodies to dispose of. Those poor people were stacked up like cordwood in the pasture in front of the main house. Pastor Edgington’s wife, Katie, although bowed down and stricken with grief, volunteered to say the eulogy for the dead. The services were planned to start about 2 pm. I was helping Andy disinfect the beds and sheets in the medical tent when Michael entered.

  He asked Andy if he could have a minute of his time, and sat down on the nearest cot with a weary sigh.

  “What is it, Michael? Are you showing symptoms?” Andy’s voice was raw with guilt and fatigue. He was not to blame for all the deaths—I knew that, and so did he—but he still felt the need to shoulder the burden. Penicillin was useless against the Tox flu, and there wouldn’t have been enough saline in the biggest hospital to alleviate the suffering of so many sick people.

  I thought it remarkable that Andy’s judicial use of sanitation, chamomile tea, and marijuana had saved as many as it did under such crude circumstances. Nevertheless, Andy was overcome with grief, frightened of a rebound outbreak.

  Michael shook his head though. “No, doc. It’s something else.”

  Michael glanced at me, and I stammered, “Oh…sorry. I’ll leave.”

  Michael said, “No, Steven. Why don’t you stay?”

  I nodded and sat down, waiting.

  Michael shrugged and pulled his hand out of a makeshift blanket that had been made into a coat. I gasped, watching as Andy strode over to look at what had become of Michael’s palm. Andy reached down to turn the hand over and jumped back with a yelp of pain.

  Michael’s right hand was a mass of torn, burned and bleeding flesh. It literally smoked with heat. I winced in sympathy.

  “It’s the Remi, doc. It’s been acting up a lot since the kids came and all the trouble started.” Suddenly, the big man started to sob; great, gulping gasps of grief shook his body as he bent over in sorrow.

  “It’s my fault…all of it!” he wailed. “The Remi tried to tell me something was wrong. It got hot when the kids first walked up the road, and I ignored it. It was trying to warn me that a threat was coming, but I didn’t understand how little kids could harm us. When Nay ran out to meet them, the Remi started to fire up like it was going to start blasting, and I ran the other way, so no one would get hurt!”

  I sat down on the cot next to Michael, hoping it would support both of us. I patted Michael’s back and tried to comfort him, while Andy bustled about with salve, disinfectant and clean bandages.

  “Oh, what have I done?” Michael groaned.

  It was true, I suppose, that Naomi’s actions held dire consequences for the members of the Harmony ranch. She should have stayed back and sent the children packing. She should have been more cautious, cynical, and suspicious. Her uncle, Allen, would have been, but she wasn’t. She was just a young woman with a soft spot for kids, caught up in a situation with no way out; left holding the bag for a bad decision, one most of us would have made despite the consequences, because we are only human.

 
Although none of us knew it yet, Dwight Engle had inserted the deadly probe into our midst, because he was both more and less than human. He heard about our ranch from as far away as Montana, and with super-human determination and against all odds, he had come all this way to take it from us. Someone, probably Carla Cline, told him about our protective bubble and he decided to take that as well.

  He was a sociopath; a cruel, vindictive, charismatic leader who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted, and right now, what he wanted was being held by us. So, his goal was to remove us so he could achieve his objective. We were nothing more to him than an anthill to be kicked aside.

  It was not Naomi’s fault that the Harmony ranch was Engle’s most prized target. Yet, she was almost prostrate with guilt over her decision to give the children shelter. It did not help that her little brother had perished from the ravages of the disease. She was inconsolable, and would not eat, drink, or receive help of any kind from those that loved her. Her brother, Zack, was both frightened by what had happened, and angry with his sister for what she had done…and now, for what she was becoming. He stormed around the ranch, white with grief, snarling with pent-up rage.

  Unfortunately, many members of Harmony’s community held Naomi to blame for the deaths of their loved ones. Zack had called a number of men out already, more than ready to pound with his fists first, and ask questions later. Steve had broken up four fistfights, and received a dislocated shoulder for his trouble. Although Zack usually got the better end of the deal, Andy had fixed one broken nose, two sets of black eyes and three cases of split lips and loose teeth. Sick of it finally, Andy told Zack to knock it off, or else!

  Naomi retreated to her room, while whispers and blame slithered around her like venomous snakes. Michael sat outside her bedroom door, acting as both a guard and a grief counselor. Now, the guard was on his knees, bereft, confused and in pain from the fierce weapon he carried; a living, thinking creature who seemed as confused as its host.