Not Dead in the Heart of Dixie

by R Kralik

  Amber and Michael took one bite each and refused to eat any more. Marisa said "Kids! They can be so finicky," and she laughed. Rebecca and Toni laughed with her. I ate mine, but I didn't want to. I should be grateful to have something to eat.

  Toni's really nice. She told us she'd like us to call her by her first name instead of "Mrs. Masterson." She says David was the love of her life. He had some kind of problem with his immune system. I feel bad for her. She's having a rough time with his death.

  She said that Rebecca didn't inherit David's health problems.

  They had Deuce with help from a fertility doctor. His looks came from his "genetic donor" according to Toni. She calls a sperm bank a "Biological Fertility Shop." Geez!

  They cleaned the dishes and then spent an hour or so chatting with Nana, Elaine, Hisa, and me before heading home.

  Everyone’s working on various projects and I plan to do some serious housecleaning. See ya later.

  3:45 PM...

  The crews that went out this morning were due to return for lunch. Nana and I were ready for them.

  I saw Jesse, Jeremy, and Deuce heading up the hill with the cattle trailer attached to the Silverado. They had the trailer packed to the gills with a huge round bale of hay and a lot of square bales. They found something interesting behind the barn.

  It was the hippy bus and it almost looks authentic. I'd swear it was from the sixties if I didn't know it was a newer model.

  There’s eight people living in the bus. The leader is Samuel. I'm guessing he's in his sixties. He looks clean, healthy, and happy. He doesn't seem to be crazy and is actually aware of what year it is.

  There are two younger men. I'd guess they're in their mid-twenties. There are two younger women in the same age range. There's also two teenage girls and one teenage boy.

  They must have raided a specialty boutique 'cause they're all dressed in hippy gear complete with peace-sign jewelry. If I remember correctly, their names are Isaac, Greg, Nicholas, Sabrina, Isabella, Chastity, and Anna. Samuel is grandfather to Nicholas and Sabrina.

  They call themselves "Gypsy Traders," and they travel within a 50 mile radius of town, trading what they find for food, water, and supplies to keep themselves alive. They told us there are HDI's all over the area and we need to really be careful about going into barns and farm houses. In the city, they have to fight HDI's for anything they find unclaimed.

  They all seem like smart people. They're kind, and polite, and seem to genuinely care for one another. I didn't see any weapons but Jesse says they have several.

  I didn't go inside the bus and couldn't see through the windows because the bus has curtains. Jesse says there are two sets of double bunks on each side and an actual recliner in the back. Every space is filled with things they trade. They have a large blue barrel in the back that holds drinking water. Jeremy said they also have a fold-up charcoal grill

  They wouldn't have lunch with us. They ate their own food and came inside to visit after they’d finished.

  They left a few minutes ago to continue along their trade route. We traded half a barrel of water for something great.

  We finally have a rooster! They have two more roosters but one is enough for us. They had two bunnies and several piglets as well.

  They said they could visit every 10-12 days, if we wish. We told them we'd like that.

  Nana put in an order for elementary school books and they said they may be able to get them, but town is crawling with HDI's and she shouldn't get her hopes up.

  Our little white chickens are currently getting acquainted with their new red boyfriend whom I've named "Rusty." Yay! I'm hoping for baby chicks soon.

  Pop told us to continue taking the eggs until the hens start looking broody. He said to use one of Amber's crayons to mark the end of any egg we leave. We intend to leave six eggs for each hen and take the rest for cooking. My fingers are crossed.

  It takes 21 days for chicks to hatch, and we'll need to have a heat lamp in the coop because it's still cold outside. I have several heat lamps that I use during kidding season. We'll need a generator and Pop said we could take the small one from his house.

  Dane came back with a couple of pretty good ideas and some great news. He found a backhoe, but has to figure out how to get it here because he doesn't think our flatbed trailer is strong enough to carry its weight.

  He also found a lumber yard with a huge amount of logs stacked along each side of the large path down the middle. He says there's probably a log splitter in the main building but he doesn't know how much power it'll take to run it. It'll probably be built in and industrial sized, and he doubts we can get it here.

  It'd save a lot of time if our guys don't have to fall trees for logs. The problem will be loading the heavy logs onto one of the log trucks at the lumber yard. We can hot wire the log truck if we can't find the keys, but Dane didn't see a truck with a loading device. Hopefully, they can do it with the backhoe. We'll need 11 or 12 logs to get 10 feet of fence.

  Dane says he'll worry about that after he gets concrete from both Lowe's stores. He wants to go to the first one tomorrow. He plans to store the concrete in our garage and basement. I told him to look for gas ovens as well.

  Jason brought home the gas oven and all the canning jars from the little old man and woman's house across the woods today. Marisa was very happy.

  Pop and Mr. Hobbs finished spreading goat manure.

  I feel like a gazillion things are going on at the same time. See ya later.

  11:00 PM...

  Jesse and Deuce were fishing when two HDI's came walking out of the Masterson's pond this afternoon. Jesse said they looked like no other HDI he's seen. They were massively bloated and purple, like a dead body that's been in water for a while. Their skin was stretched until it was somewhat translucent.

  He was stunned, and his first shot hit one of them in the chest instead of the head. Deuce said the HDI popped like a water balloon and sprayed goo and black water everywhere. Jesse said their voices were low and their snarling sounds had turned to growling sounds. We told them not to bother fishing there anymore because none of us will eat anything that comes from that pond.

  Deuce wants to know if we have a pistol he can use. I'll have to talk to Toni and Pop about it. He's only twelve years old. I don't know what the right decision would be.

  Jeremy's been spending a lot of time at the Masterson place. He and Rebecca "enjoy each other’s company." He doesn't spend a minute alone when he's splitting wood and working there. I told Mick to give him some of the condoms we brought back from Walgreens. He's 21 and she's 19. Something's bound to happen when they spend time alone, if it hasn't already. That's really none of my business, I suppose.

  Mick's driving me completely bonkers. He wants to get out of the house and work so badly that he can hardly stand it. He's annoying everyone that comes in the house.

  Hisa says he can try to do a little light work in another day or two. He's off the pain medication and says he feels good. His wounds are healing nicely. He's getting around pretty good and plans to abandon the cane tomorrow.

  The men were talking about utility poles again. Jason said that the average telephone pole is forty feet long with six feet buried in the ground, but a better rule of thumb is to bury one-third of whatever pole you're planting. He got that information from a job he had before he met Marisa.

  I'm pretty sure we'll use the logs at the lumber company if we can get them, even though they aren't treated.

  I told Mick that Lilac and Geraldine need to get out of the barn and into a field for grazing. He rolled his eyes and said he'd have Jesse, Deuce, and Jeremy start on it tomorrow unless Dane needs them for digging.

  They have one side of a fence finished already because they plan to use the chain-link fencing that's along the side of the compound. The cows will have to shelter under trees until we have time to build another barn.

  We had smoked ham from the house across the woods along with green beans, rice,
and rolls for supper. We had lots of ham left. Nana said she'll use it for ham biscuits in the morning and ham sandwiches with homemade bread for lunch.

  I have supper duty and I haven't yet decided what I'll make. I'm leaning towards beef burrito's since I wanna use the ground beef we got from Caleb's house before we open any more home canned ground beef.

  I think I have two more packages of flour tortillas in the downstairs freezer. After those are gone, we'll have to make tortillas from scratch.

  The freezer downstairs is bare in some spots and I told the kids to fill the empty spots with water in two-liter bottles. That'll help keep the efficiency level up in the freezer.

  Dane wants his and Jason's lunch "to go," tomorrow. Elaine will take care of packing it for them.

  I'm yawning, so I think I'll head to bed.

  Bye for now.

  Wednesday, March 5

  It's 8:30 AM and I only have a few minutes to write.

  Jeremy came up the hill late this morning. He spent the night at the Masterson house, so we didn't think anything of it when he didn't show up for breakfast.

  It's cold this morning, so he decided to build a fire and warm up the front room before everyone else in the Masterson house crawled out of bed. He walked into the garage where the family keeps their firewood and saw something large hanging from the ceiling in a back corner. He went to investigate.

  It was Toni Masterson. She hung herself.

  The first thought that came to my twisted brain was that we wouldn't be eating any more peppermint oatmeal. Someone needs to slap me, hard.

  Toni left a suicide note and Jeremy brought it with him for me and Mick to read.

  She wrote that she couldn't stand to live without David any longer, and she couldn't bear her life the way it's been since the world collapsed. She listed all her valuable jewelry and property and where it was physically located.

  She left the house and property to Rebecca and Deuce. Rebecca will have full ownership until Deuce turns eighteen. Then, the house and property will be half his. If Rebecca sells the house, half the money will be put into a trust fund for Deuce to withdraw when he turns eighteen.

  If the world never goes back to normal, she trusts that Rebecca will do the right thing and give Deuce half of "anything of value" that comes from the benefit of owning the house and property. Deuce will be able to claim half the property and live in the house, or build his own on the property, when he turns eighteen.

  The note told Rebecca that, if she loved Jeremy, she should marry him before allowing him to take up permanent residency there. They have "have her blessing to marry and raise many children."

  David has a brother who, last she knew, lived in Boston with his wife and three children. They are "well established," and have no need or desire for the Alabama property. David and his brother were estranged and haven't spoken in seven years. She wrote that they are to have nothing to do with raising Deuce because they are "narrow-minded and hateful people."

  Until he turns eighteen, she leaves guardianship of Deuce to Mick and myself. Jeremy says he's packing now, to come and live with us.

  This is too much, too fast.

  Mick's jaw is almost laying on the floor and I'm right there with him.

  Jeremy wants to marry Rebecca and Deuce is coming to live with us.

  Oh, crap!

  2:00 PM...

  Toni Masterson is buried beside her beloved husband. Pop said a few words and we all said the Lord's Prayer before heading back up the hill. Nana made lunch and there was barely any conversation to go along with it.

  Rebecca and Jeremy went back inside the Masterson house and didn't come up for lunch. The marriage idea hasn't been mentioned again. I'm sure they'll talk about it when they're good and ready. I don't plan to push them on the subject. Surely, they aren’t serious about it. They barely know one another.

  All the kids, except Deuce, are at Marisa's house and it’s very quiet around here. Hisa's at Clinic Diane and Nana's in the motorhome. Pop and Mr. Hobbs are working on the garden spot and everyone else is either gone, or working on whatever they had originally planned for the day. Mick is dozing in front of the fire.

  Deuce is in Marisa's old bedroom. We saw him at lunch and haven't heard from him since. We all understand why. It must extremely difficult to lose a parent, and he's lost two.

  I have no idea how to raise a boy. I had two girls, and raising boys is somewhat of a mystery to me. Mick and I both agree that we'll do the best we can for him, and we told him so. He only nodded as he headed down the hall to his new room.

  I still plan to make burritos for supper. Valerie will be my helper and I'm looking forward to spending time with her. She runs around the place just like Carisa and Merry. On occasion, she stares into space. You may have to repeat whatever you've said during those spells. She snaps out of it pretty quick and goes right back to whatever task she was working on before her mind wandered.

  I'm gonna knock on Deuce's door and see if he needs anything. Then, I'm gonna straighten up the house and clean the bathrooms before I have to fix supper.

  I hope Dane and Soo get back from Lowe's soon. I feel nervous about having people off the compound today.

  See ya later.

  11:30 PM...

  I don't know where to begin.

  Something horrific happened this evening. I can't think of any word strong enough to describe it. I'll be as brief as I can before I go on to the other news of the day.

  Jeremy came in the front door about an hour before supper. There was snot and tears running down his face and he had trouble catching his breath long enough to tell me what had happened.

  Mick was napping in the bedroom and Deuce was still in his new bedroom.

  I'd heard several gunshots earlier, but I thought it was Jesse and Jason having target practice because Jason had planned for a little pistol training with Jesse while they worked on the cattle fence.

  Jeremy and Rebecca were sitting in front of the fire at the Masterson house when they heard noises. Jeremy thought it was us, bringing food or something. He went to the door and opened it.

  There were three HDI's digging in Toni Masterson's grave.

  They had her body out and were eating her as they fought over pieces of meat they'd pulled free. There was a fourth HDI dragging one of her arms and head into the tree-line.

  Jeremy turned to grab his rifle and found Rebecca standing behind him, watching the HDI's with a shocked look on her face. He told her to stay in the living room while he took care of the HDI's

  He said his mind was as clear as it's ever been. He shot the three HDI's smack dab in the center of their foreheads. He began looking for the one that had disappeared into the woods with Toni Masterson's arm and head.

  He quickly located the HDI by following a bloody trail through the leaves where the monster had dragged the body parts.

  It was sitting on a rock in the middle of the woods, trying to pull flesh off the severed arm with its teeth. There was another HDI headed straight toward it.

  He shot both HDI's and grabbed the arm, but he couldn't find the head. He heard howling coming from further back in the woods and he turned and ran back to the house. He left the arm beside the destroyed grave before going inside.

  Before he entered the house, he heard Rebecca screaming. His heart dropped and he thought he was gonna pass out.

  Rebecca was lying on the rug in front of the fire, screaming at the top of her lungs. He finally got her calmed down enough to stop screaming. Her body began jerking with loud, uncontrollable, sobs while she rocked back and forth. Her eyes were distant, like she didn't even know he was there. He held her and talked softly for several minutes before she emotionally came back to him.

  He told her he was going out to take care of the grave and head up the hill to let us know what the gunshots were about. He left her softly crying, but coherent, in front of the fire.

  There were parts of Toni Masterson and the clothing she'd been wearing spread a
ll around the area. He kicked the HDI bodies off the grave and began gathering bones, organs, and other pieces of Mrs. Masterson to bury again. He searched for several minutes and couldn't find the arm he'd brought back through the woods. He was struck with terror.

  The sun was going down. It took him a good bit of time to find every piece he could before he was satisfied enough to fill in the grave and run up the hill to our house.

  On the way here, he fell apart. He's beside himself over the fact that the arm he placed beside the grave is missing. He's afraid Rebecca will find it when she's out in the yard, or that there are HDI's hiding and watching the house.

  I was holding him and rubbing his head when I looked up and saw Deuce standing in the hallway door. He turned and walked back to his room without a word and he wouldn't come out for supper. Mick's in there with him now.

  I sent Jeremy to get Rebecca and bring her here. I told him just to hold her, talk to her, and tell her everything would be okay. He headed back as the rest of the crew was coming inside to eat.

  I don't want to write out everything Jeremy said to me, but I will tell you that he cares for me like a Mother, and my heart was breaking for him. I was almost frozen with fear, waiting for him and Rebecca to come up the hill and inside the house.

  He wants to move Rebecca into Marisa's house until he can get something built inside the compound. I told him he’d need to speak with Marisa and Jason about it but I'm sure they'll agree.

  I didn't say a word about it to anyone other than Mick. I'll make sure the men help get rid of the HDI bodies first thing tomorrow morning.

  There are more HDI's back in the woods and we need to stay as close to one another and the compound as we can. No one goes out alone, day or night, until they get the fence up.

  Even though the wind has been taken out of my sails, I need to write down everything else that happened today. Some of its good news. I need to keep a record in case any future history students or my quadruple great grandchildren get a chance to read this diary.