Not Dead in the Heart of Dixie

by R Kralik

  That'll teach him a lesson about going out alone.

  The man doing the shooting walked right up to Mick and began talking to him like he was an old friend. Mick was so flabbergasted that he didn't know what to say, but that wore off fast and they both started talking like magpies.

  Have you ever heard of a boy named "Sue?" Well, I have (snort). Actually his name is Saitou Yamatsu, but he says everyone just calls him Soo. That's the way it's engraved on the back of the watch his boss gave him for his 10th anniversary at the seafood place, so that's the way I'll spell it in this diary.

  Soo comes with a tiny wife named Hisa and a tiny twelve-year-old daughter named Meredith. Yep, they named her Meredith after one of Hisa's college professors.

  Soo and Hisa are both of Japanese descent and met in college at the University of Alabama in Birmingham 14 years ago. They were in their second year of studies. They married a year later but had to drop out of school when Hisa became pregnant with Meredith. They both needed to find jobs that would pay enough to support a baby. Student loans and the income from Soo's fast food job just wouldn't do it. They were living in a studio apartment and living paycheck to paycheck.

  Soo was studying adult education and wanted to teach college, and Hisa was a third year resident, training in the pediatric ward when this mess started. They were both going to college again, and Soo was working at a local upscale seafood restaurant. He was the head manager.

  One evening, the National Guard came into the restaurant to "recruit" new guardsmen. Soo and Hisa were having dinner together, which was a rare occasion because of the small amount of time third year residents have.

  When the guardsmen came in, Soo and Hisa slipped out the back door and took a taxi to their apartment. They sent the neighbor/babysitter home, grabbed Meredith, loaded their old, worn out motorhome, and headed north.

  They've been married 13 years and both are now Americans. Meredith was born exactly 39 weeks from their wedding night. She was born in good old Bama', so she's a southern girl no matter what anyone says.

  Soo asked me if the apocalypse means he doesn't have to pay off student loans. I just laughed and told him the bank would "hunt him 'til the end of time, and to the edge of earth, and beyond." The look on his face told me he knew I was kidding.

  Marisa and I are totally in love with Hisa. She is really cool! We’re extremely happy to have an “almost doctor” here. Carisa loves Meredith too. Mick and Jason won't say they love Soo, but Mick did say he "seems like a really good guy." Hee hee, Men!

  They've been living beside the gas station and guarding it with a .22 LR for several days. Mick was shocked to find out that was the only gun they had. Soo says he has about 45 rounds of ammo left out of a 500 round box.

  They shot over, and around, anyone who came near the station. They just wanted to scare them away. The only living things they shot were HDI's, and they shot about 35 of them. Soo said it took four or five .22 bullets to put down just one HDI. He burned their bodies in a trash dumpster at the back of the gas station.

  They've been eating junk food and drinking soda and juice from the cooler inside. They had a small amount of food in the motorhome, but they didn't use much of it and were saving it until they had no choice. They wanted to eat all the junk at the gas station before it went bad.

  They've been extremely cold, and built a fire in a burn barrel to get some heat and warm up a few cans of soup they found in the gas station. They were out of propane and gas and couldn't find the keys to the gas station tanks. They wouldn't have made it here if Mick didn't carry one of the five-gallon gas cans with him every time he goes out. He poured it in their tank and they followed him home.

  You should see that motorhome. I think it’s from the fifties! Soo lived in the motorhome on a campground before he and Hisa were married and he never got rid of it. Hisa hated the thing until the apocalypse happened. They'll be parking in the front yard about half way up the hill on a flat spot that's been bare forever. I can't even get grass to grow there.

  They have nowhere else to go, but said they'll willingly leave if they become a burden to us. Both Soo and Hisa say they’re good workers and will do anything we ask of them. I can't send them away. I just can't. I have a good feeling about them.

  I told Soo he could start by digging a fire pit so I can get this stinkin’ pile of laundry done. He seems eager to please and said he'd be happy to do it.

  They're out in the yard trying to get the motorhome set up and level. I'm heading over to visit with Nana so we can figure out how we're gonna feed three more mouths.

  1:00 PM...

  I made chicken soft tacos for lunch. Soo, Hisa, and Meredith gobbled them up like they were starving.

  Nana took an apple pie from the freezer this morning, and it was thawed enough by lunchtime to cook and serve with the tacos. We all got full pretty fast. There's nothing left of the taco's, or the apple pie.

  Soo headed out to start digging the fire pit. Hisa helped me and Nana clean the kitchen after lunch. We're mostly using paper plates but I had a skillet and several pieces of silverware to wash.

  Marisa swept, and then took Amber and Caleb to try and get them to nap. She'll end up napping with them. One symptom of MS is fatigue.

  We wiped the table down and went to the living room to sit in front of the fire, get warm, and have girl talk. Carisa and Meredith are in Carisa's room, looking at cool stuff and having girl talk themselves.

  5:00 PM...

  I'm lying in bed, trying to recover. I started feeling sick at my stomach about two hours after lunch. I sat there, hoping it was just gas pains. It wasn't. I had to get up and run to the bathroom.

  I was making all kinds of sounds that you never want anyone to hear you make, especially new people. Then, I called Ralph into my pants. I felt much better after that. I started laughing hysterically and yelled for Carisa to go get Mick.

  Mick helped me get cleaned up and put one of his t-shirts and a pair of sweat pants on me. He put me in bed and covered me with three cozy blankets. I was feeling sick and I had two more trips to potty town, but I didn't call Ralph again.

  I noticed that someone put an extra bucket in the bathroom in case I needed it, and they kept the water bucket for flushing nice and full. Someone who’s very thoughtful left a clean hand towel and wash cloth on the vanity beside the toilet.

  My tummy still feels awful and I don't want a bite of supper. I don't even know what they're having and I don't wanna know.

  Nana, Hisa and Marisa are getting everyone fed. No one else got sick, so it couldn't be the chicken or pie. I'm just gonna lay here and die for a little while.

  Mick took my pants out and rinsed them down. You know a man loves you when he'll rinse vomit out of your pants. It's a darn good thing that laundry’s getting done tomorrow. Bye for now.

  Monday, January 13

  I feel okay this morning. I'm still weak, but I must get laundry done.

  Mick and Soo lined the fire pit with rocks, started a fire, and let it burn down to coals. We have a bag of charcoal nearby so we can throw in a brick every now and then to keep the fire hot.

  They used two railroad ties from our front flower bed, placing one on each side of the fire pit. They put one of the horse troughs on top of the railroad ties and filled it only a third of the way up with water because we're getting nervous about our water supply.

  It's been over the fire for about half an hour and it’s warming up pretty fast. I should be able to start laundry in another half hour or so. The second trough is a third full of clear, cold, rinse water.

  Mick has the clothes line strung and I have a bag of clothes pins and a bag of chip clips. You know, those clips you use to keep your chip bags closed? Yep, chip clips. You use what you've got and I've used chip clips for many things.

  I'm sorting clothes, sipping coffee, and eating a few saltines while the laundry water gets warm.

  The gang had cold cereal for breakfast and used the last of our goat milk. We ar
e now milk-less for at least two weeks.

  Several of our does are due to kid next week. It'll be a week after they kid before we use the milk. We usually wait two weeks but this year, we need the milk. We need to make sure the babies get enough as well.

  I have enough goat feed to last a couple of months. Then, we'll need to loot barns for leftover hay and check the feed store 20 miles away. I pray there's something left.

  Mick, Soo, Jason, and Jeremy are headed out to take Jeremy to his own home this morning. I don't know if he'll return.

  He thanked me profusely and says we saved his life. I told him that he saved his own life and we were just here to aid him in the task. I hope his family is okay and everything works out.

  They took the truck and the Jeep. They're gonna check a couple of grocery stores while they're out. I hope they’ll find something good, but I'm not counting on it. I wanted to go but I don't feel strong enough and I have to get this stupid laundry done. Nana says Pop is running out of undies, and we can't have that!

  Soo has a book on traps and snares. He's gonna make a few this afternoon and set them out in the woods tonight. I hope we get a squirrel, or a rabbit, or a big ol' medium rare steak. We're going to be desperate for meat in a couple months.

  Carisa and Meredith are in the basement, organizing our food supplies.

  Jeremy put together all the shelves that Mick and Jason brought home and there's room for more. Carisa said she’ll allow Amber and Caleb to help by bringing cans and boxes to them one at a time. That way she won't have to carry anything heavy and can organize shelf by shelf.

  I'm off for my first laundry experiment. See ya later.

  8:30 AM...

  Nana came out, all bundled up, to help me with the laundry. She says she's going nuts not walking on her treadmill every day and she needs some serious exercise. My only fear is that she'll work me under the table.

  I dipped out a bucket of warm water, poured it in an old washtub, and started scrubbing undies. A little over 30 minutes later the water was cold and my hands were so numb that I could barely feel them.

  I came inside to warm my hands by the fire while Nana gathers up two pair of those expensive gloves that fit like a second skin. She's also looking for two pair of yellow dishwashing gloves that come up to the elbows. She thinks we can put the expensive gloves on, and put the yellow dish gloves over them. I'm willing to try it.

  I'm headed to the motorhome to see if she found the gloves. My hands hurt now that they're gettin' the warm back in 'em.

  11:30 AM...

  The world has gone crazy.

  Nana and I finished one and a half loads of laundry before we heard vehicles flying up the driveway and a lot of yelling at the front of the house. We left our second load of laundry in the rinse water and headed around front to see what all the commotion was about..

  Soo has been shot.

  The bullet went through the meaty part of his upper arm. It went in one side and out the other. The exit wound is worse than the entry wound.

  The men carried him in the house to the dining room table. Hisa came running up the hill to see what all the yelling was about as the men were carrying him in. She told Mick she needed whatever medical supplies we had.

  Mick grabbed a tote of bandages and other supplies. He placed it on the buffet beside the table. Hisa yelled for alcohol, so I quickly ran to the bathroom, grabbed a bottle, and brought it to her.

  Her hands were moving so fast that I had trouble keeping up. She went into that tote and grabbed all sorts of stuff. She grabbed a clean dish towel and began cleaning the wound while ignoring Soo's screams of pain. I think she was talking to herself while she was working because her lips kept moving but no sound came out.

  She cleaned the wounds, smeared antibiotic ointment on both, and sent Meredith down to their motorhome for a bag of medications.

  While Meredith was gone, Hisa stitched up the wounds with the only sewing needle I could find. She bandaged and taped up the parts of Soo's arm that were now ventilated and wrapped gauze around his arm several times.

  Meredith came back with the bag. Hisa dug through it, grabbed a pill bottle, took two pills out, shoved them in Soo's mouth and screamed at him to "swallow them!" She stood up from her crouch over Soo… and fainted.

  We went into a frenzy again. Jason lifted Hisa off the floor and laid her on the couch. I grabbed a cool, wet washcloth and placed it on her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open a few seconds later. "I don't know what happened" she said. "I stood up and went right out, probably from the stress of seeing Soo hurt." The third year resident in her was coming back to the forefront.

  We sat her up, and Carisa heated enough water over the fire for tea. We practically had to force Hisa to sit there for a few minutes, sipping tea, before we let her go back to Soo. He was still lying on the table and was out like a light. Mick and Jeremy were watching over him.

  Hisa was worried about the mess she made and began picking up boxes and wrappers until Marisa told her she would take care of it. Hisa looked grateful and went back to Soo.

  I told Hisa that I didn't think it would be a good idea to send Soo back to the motorhome for his body to heal and fight the cold at the same time. I thought we should put him on the sofa bed in our living room and she could sleep on a thick pallet on the floor. Meredith could sleep in Carisa's room.

  Marisa reminded us a couple days ago that there was still propane in her huge tank behind the house trailer, and the trailer has a large propane heater in the living room. The oven also uses propane.

  She suggested they stay in her house trailer and turn on the heater. I'm more than worried about that since the trailers close to the road. Hisa wants to take her chances.

  Jason went down and turned on the heater. The place was warming up nicely when the men carried Soo down there. Hisa and Meredith grabbed bedclothes from their motorhome and went to the house trailer.

  The pills Hisa gave Soo were pain pills, and she has several more, so he'll be gettin' some sleep over the next few days.

  She’s putting him on an antibiotic regimen to ward off any bacteria that may be lurking. I told her I'd have one of the guys bring down a tote of the antibiotics we got from Walgreens and she can go through it to look for what she needs. I'm praying that Soo will be okay. Hisa says it was a clean through-and-through shot and the only thing she's really worried about is infection.

  Jeremy was in severe emotional pain. He sat on the floor and didn't want to move. He asked Marisa and Jason if he could build a fire at Caleb's house and stay there tonight. They said it was fine.

  I reminded him that the windows haven't been boarded up, but he didn't seem to care. He's already headed over there. I believe he wants to be alone for the rest of the day.

  We all looked at each other. No one really wanted lunch except for the kids and Pop. Nana said she’d fix PB&J sandwiches in the motorhome and the rest of us should stay in front of the fire and gather ourselves before going on to other tasks.

  Marisa cleaned the table and floor with bleach, then she joined Mick, Jason, and me in front of the fireplace and they told us what happened. I'll type it out for you later tonight, but right now I have to get back to the laundry and do what I can.

  I feel a little woozy and sick. I'll grab a few more saltines and my coffee thermos on the way out. I don't wanna go back out there, and I feel like I'm about to call Ralph, but it has to be done. Thank goodness Jason, Marisa, and Nana are able to help.

  9:30 PM...

  Nana and Carisa made little veggie pizzas for supper. They used Bisquick and home canned tomato sauce. They opened cans of spinach, carrots, corn, green beans, and diced tomatoes. They sprinkled the last bag of mozzarella I had in the freezer over the top of the veggies and baked them in Nana's motorhome oven. Those little pizzas were yummy! We had sliced peaches to go along with them. I ate like a horse. I'm feeling much better after having a good meal.

  Mick took Pop back home this afternoon and they brought bac
k a couple of propane canisters, several cases of canned food, a ton of Nana and Pop's clean clothes, and Pop's F350 truck.

  Pop's happy for the moment, but he says those are the last of the propane canisters and we'd better start thinking about how we're gonna cook and eat. I told him we could cook on Marisa's gas stove in the trailer. He said "Nana's not gonna stay that close to the road for any length of time." That means I'd lose our number one cook unless... Mick needs to get that cook stove. He needs to get it, like, yesterday.

  We got almost all of the laundry done. It's hanging all over the house and back porch because it started raining. We had to grab everything off the line before we ran in the house.

  We brought it all in 'cause Mick said that it would freeze overnight and not lose any moisture. The weight could pull the clothes line down. I decided I was not gonna pick up clean laundry out of the dirt and wash it again. So, it looks like a clothing store threw up in here. I'll finish the remaining laundry tomorrow morning if it isn't raining.

  If you want to see something funny, watch a big, tall, burly guy with ill-fitting yellow dish gloves try to ring out clothes and hang them on a line. That's all I'm saying about that, Jason!

  Hisa and Meredith didn't come up for supper. Hisa threw together something from their motorhome on Marisa's gas stove. Carisa begged me to allow her to spend the night down there in the warmth. I told her there was no way I was allowing her to stay in that trailer so close to the road with its thin walls. So, Meredith is staying up here tonight and they're in Carisa's room, hanging their clean, damp, undies all over the place to dry. They’ve become "BFF's," which stands for "Best Friends Forever."

  Carisa was mortified when Caleb came walking into the living room with a pair of her panties on his head. I thought she was gonna breathe fire and scorch us all for laughing.