We had gotten into the habit of using the time right after dinner every day to give a report for each team. This helped keep us all aware of what everyone else was doing, and also was a chance to recognize people’s hard work. Tonight, Zoe Flinn stood up and said she had an announcement. Mabel, the first pregnant pig, was ready to farrow and would probably deliver piglets by morning! Of course, everyone wanted to go out to the barn right away to watch, but Zoe said that because Mabel was a gilt, or first time mom, we could not disturb her, as it may agitate her and put the piglets at risk. She asked everyone to please stay away for now.
The security team reported they had not seen any signs of trespassers, although they did hear ATVs this morning. Frank requested we use the dinner bell on the porch as a signal for trouble – if it was rung slowly, one ring at a time for an extended time, it meant everyone needed to be ready for problems. Constant ringing of the bell meant a crisis, and everyone needed to report to battle stations. The security team identified where everyone needed to be if there was a major crisis or invasion. The three pregnant ladies would take all of the younger kids downstairs to my basement. There were people assigned to each foxhole, to the observation post, and to shooting positions near each berm. Clark, Maureen, and their girls would gather all the animals and secure them in the barn. Others were responsible for securing the house and workshops. The medical team would man the infirmary, and would make themselves available to wherever the action was happening. We actually have had two drills so far, and each one went better than we thought it would.
Father Dan reported he is hearing about more and more violence, and not just in big cities. There have now been numerous terrorist-type attacks on various targets, including explosions in apartment complexes, roads being attacked, and even a jet plane shot down. He reported hearing that the government was calling all of our troops back from overseas to help deal with the violence, although he did not hear that from an official source. Of course, that required Congress to repeal the Posse Comitatus Act, which is the law that prevents the military from being used to enforce laws in the United States. Knowing how divisive our Congress has been over the past few years, I thought it would take an act of God to get them to agree on this. Patty asked Father Dan if he heard any kind of timeline for bringing the troops home and all he could say was that it supposedly had already started. He was also reporting that he heard people were attacking neighbors for food, that there had been a lot of murders, and that there was very little in the way of law enforcement as law enforcement officers left their jobs to protect their families. Father Dan made contact with many of the folks in my forum, and most reported that they were in good shape. Nobody gave details, but it sounded like many had done like us and formed large groups for protection and support.
Tom then made the suggestion that since we had been working hard all week, Sunday afternoon should be a time for people to relax and have fun. The security team would still have to maintain patrols and observations, but all other non-critical work could be put on hold for the afternoon. Chris and Jon said they would set up the croquet set on the front lawn and that maybe we could have some teams compete for the Croquet Champ crown.
Chapter 13
Sunday was a beautiful, sunny day. Father Dan held a lovely church service in the pole barn and I was surprised to see that everyone not on security duty showed up. He even preached a short uplifting homily focused on faith; having faith that God would take care of us through this crisis, and that we should have faith in each other as well. We sang a few hymns, including my favorite hymn of all time, “Onward Christian Soldiers”. It was a lovely non-denominational service, and at the end, everyone seemed to look a bit more peaceful. After the service was over, people wandered off to do various chores before lunch and the Croquet Tournament scheduled that afternoon.
After lunch, Tom and I were sitting on the front porch chatting with James and Samantha when Father Dan came running over. “James, do you know someone named Dr. Lionel Wilkes? He said to tell you “Thundercats Ho” and you would understand.”
James looked startled. “You talked to Lion-O? Where is he? Is he OK?” Father Dan explained he had not talked to Dr. Wilkes, but one of his radio contacts in Riverdale said Dr. Wilkes and a few others were at a church in Riverdale looking for James. He went on to say since he didn’t know who Dr. Wilkes was, he felt like Tom and I needed to know about this.
“Lion-O was my room mate and best friend all through medical school. He was a big fan of the old cartoon Thundercats, and that’s how he got his nickname of Lion-O. He did his pediatric residency at the same hospital that I did my surgical residency. Even though we went off in different directions after residency, we’ve stayed close over the years. I have no idea who would be with him, since he is an only child and was not married the last time we talked a few months ago. You say he is in Riverdale looking for me? That doesn’t sound good. He had a really busy pediatric practice in Charlotte.”
Father Dan said he would get in touch with his contact in Riverdale and get more details of what Dr. Wilkes needed. He promised that as soon as he knew something, he would let us know.
About a half an hour later, Father Dan called us back together. “My contact says Dr. Wilkes is looking for you because he needs a place to stay. He has three adults and three children with him. One of the adults is hurt pretty bad and may not survive. They are at the Methodist church right now, but things are pretty dicey in town and they are not very safe where they are.”
James looked devastated. “I hope Lion-O isn’t the one hurt. What do you think, Denise? Do we have room to take them in? I will vouch for my friend completely, although I don’t know anything about the people with him. What do we need to do?”
I suggested we call everyone together to have an emergency meeting. If everyone agreed to bring them in, we would then tackle how we would go get them. Tom ran to gather everyone together, and within 15 minutes everyone except the folks on security duty was there.
I stood up in front of the crowd. “OK, let’s make this quick. A dear friend of James’ is in Riverdale looking for asylum after leaving Charlotte. He is a pediatrician, and James vouches for him completely. He has three adults with him and three children. One of the adults is critically injured, but we don’t know what kind of injuries. It doesn’t sound like he has much with him, so if we bring in these seven additional people, we will feed and shelter them with supplies we were going to use for ourselves. Are there any questions or comments before we vote?”
Samantha said, “I’ve met Dr. Wilkes, and he is truly a good man and would be a benefit to our community.” There were no other questions, so we put it to a vote, and I was not at all surprised that the vote was 100% for bringing them in. I thanked everyone and asked Frank what the best way would be to go get them. He suggested we take Tom’s box truck and one of the pick-ups. We got maps out, and planned the best route to the Methodist church. James and Samantha put together some medical supplies, and Chris, Chuck, and I volunteered to go with Frank and James to get them. In addition to medical supplies, we put water and blankets in the back of the box truck, along with a couple of electric lanterns, as that is where we would put Dr. Wilkes’ group to bring them back. Frank suggested taking a few minutes to put some spare plywood sheets up against the sides of the truck to give some extra protection. It took about twenty minutes, and we were all armed and ready to go. We decided to go out through the emergency gate we made. Jon, Marty, and Tim closed the gate after we left and agreed to be there with fence repair materials when we got back to re-secure the gate and reinforce it. We grabbed a set of radios, did a communications check with Father Dan, and headed out.
The road to Riverdale was empty, and we did not see anyone until we were almost in the town. The first thing we saw as we approached was smoke. It looked like there were a number of fires burning, and I wondered if these were accidental, or if they were set on purpose. We started seeing people, but everyone seemed to be moving rather
furtively, scattering away from us as we drove past. The first fire we passed was a convenience store. There were no police, no fire trucks, and the building looked as though it was left to burn itself out. I noticed as we passed that many store windows were broken. Some were boarded up, but not all. There seemed to be trash everywhere. What was once a peaceful southern town now looked like a third-world country. We quickly pulled up to the front doors of the Methodist church, and James jumped out of the truck and rushed into the church. The rest of us moved a bit more cautiously, with Chuck and Frank staying outside to guard the trucks. We went into the dark nave of the church to see James with a very tall, distinguished black man whom we guessed to be Dr. Wilkes. Dr. Wilkes looked to be in his early forties, with short black hair streaked with grey over the temples. In spite of the fact he looked exhausted, he had smile dimples and twinkling eyes. I could see why he would be successful as a pediatrician – kids would be drawn to him in spite of his height. James saw us and brought Dr. Wilkes over to introduce him to us. I am a tall woman, but I had to look up to see him, as he must be at least 6’6” tall. He insisted we just call him Lion or Lionel, and seemed incredibly happy to see us. He then introduced his traveling partners. First, he introduced Amy Chen, his office nurse. Amy looked as though she had fought a battle, and we found out later she had. With Amy were her three children, Tonya, age six; Tori, age four; and Tyler, age two. Lionel then introduced his office manager, Lynn Jessup. The third adult in his group was Lynn’s brother, Marvin Reddick. Marvin had been shot in the shoulder and had lost quite a bit of blood. We did not want to spend a lot of time standing around, so we quickly loaded everyone into the back of the box truck. Nobody had any luggage except for two very small raggedy backpacks carried by Lynn and one of the kids, and Lionel, who had a small medical pack. James jumped into the truck with his medical kit. I jumped in too, thinking James may need some help. The guys then shut the door on the truck and we headed for home.
I was guessing we were within a few miles of home when suddenly we heard shots being fired, the ride got really bumpy, and the truck sped up. I called Chris on the radio and asked what was happening. It seemed a few people decided to try to stop the two trucks by running out into the road in front of us. They were armed and fired first, so Frank and Chris shot back. At least two of the attackers were down, and the rest quickly backed off. The guys drove around for a couple of minutes to be sure nobody was following us, and then headed for the emergency gate. Frank hopped out of the truck to provide protection for the guys as they secured the gate and replaced the camouflage. They quickly swept out the tire tracks and generally got rid of any evidence that two trucks had just driven though here.
Chris was driving the box truck and drove right up to the infirmary, where he let us all out. James and Lionel picked up Marvin and carried him to the treatment table where Samantha stood waiting. Lionel looked around, and shook his head. James directed him to the bathroom so they could both wash up before attempting to help Marvin. Meanwhile, Samantha had already put on gloves and gowns and had begun to cut Marvin’s shirt off.
I didn’t think Amy, her kids, or Lynn needed to be watching, so I gently coaxed them out of the infirmary. Amy and Lynn looked terrified, and Amy’s children would not let go of their mother. All of them looked dirty, as though it had been weeks since their last bath. Both Amy and Lynn had scratches on their arms and faces. I asked if they wanted to take a shower and maybe change into clean clothes, and they looked at me in astonishment.
“You have running water?” Amy asked. I told her we did, and we started walking towards the house. Patty and Stacy came out of the house and met us part way. I asked Stacy if she could find some clothes to fit everyone, and she hurried off towards the conex that held extra clothes. Patty walked with us as we went into the house.
“Patty, can you help Lynn to the basement shower? Stacy will bring some clothes, and there is plenty of soap and shampoo down there.” Lynn, who had yet to say anything, looked at Amy, who nodded and told her it was okay to go with Patty. Amy and I took the children up to my bedroom, where we filled the bathtub with warm water and bubbles. The kids quickly stripped down and got into the tub. I told Amy I’d stay with the kids while she took a shower, and she gratefully smiled. Marcie came in just then with a robe for Amy and a stack of clean towels. While Amy showered, we scrubbed all three kids and washed their hair. We had to change the water in the tub twice because the water was so dirty after we washed the kids. After the second refill, we let the kids soak a little while we cleaned their finger and toe nails. The kids at first were very quiet, but Marcie and I just talked softly to them. It took a few minutes, but finally Tonya, the oldest girl, smiled and told us her name. She thanked us for being so nice to them. I asked her if they were hungry, and all three kids looked at me and nodded. I asked Tonya how long it had been since they had anything to eat and she said it had been two days. All together, the kids were in the tub for about 45 minutes and finally were starting to look clean and a little more relaxed. We got the kids out of the tub and wrapped them in big towels to dry them. Stacy had brought in some extra underwear, pants, and tee shirts, so we helped the kids to get dressed. About that time, Amy came out of the shower wrapped in the robe. Stacy brought clothes for her, too, so we took the kids down to the kitchen while Amy finished getting dressed. Marcie gathered all of the dirty clothes and put them in the washer. She said she didn’t know if she could salvage them, but she would try. If they fell apart in the washer, I was sure they could be used for patches or patterns or something.
Amy joined us in the kitchen about the same time that Lynn and Patty came up from the basement. We heated up some soup and got some milk for the kids. They just looked at the food, but did not touch it. I encouraged them to eat, but to eat slowly so they didn’t get sick. Amy started to cry, and said,”I don’t know how I can ever repay you for your kindness to us and to my kids.” I told her there is no repayment, she would do the same if roles were reversed. Lynn then leaned over to Amy and spoke for the first time. “Are we safe?” she asked.
Oh, my God, I thought, what have these people been through? I decided to wait until the rest could join us before I asked more questions, so I just told Lynn that yes, she and all of them were safe.
When they were almost done eating, Mandy came into the kitchen. Her eyes lit up when she saw the two little girls at the table. “Aunt Denise, you found friends for me!” The girls smiled at each other, and Tonya asked her mother if they could go play. I told Mandy they could go in the living room to play but not to go far. Tyler, the little boy, came over and climbed into his mother’s lap, where he quickly fell asleep. When Amy and Lynn were done eating, we all went into the living room to wait for James and Lionel.
We waited almost three hours before James and Lionel finally came in. Both men had showered after finishing surgery, and although both looked tired, they also had the look I am used to seeing on surgeons’ faces when things go well. Lionel sat down on the couch next to Lynn, and James sat in one of the arm chairs.
“Well?” I asked.
“It took a lot of work, but we think he is going to make it. He was shot in his shoulder, and the bullet splintered his collar bone and lodged in his shoulder blade. He lost a lot of blood, but we were able to get the bullet out and clean up all of the splinters. The bullet did not hit any major organs, but there might be some nerve damage. It will take time for his shoulder to heal and to see what kind of function he gets back in his arm.” James said.
Lynn asked if she could go see him, but James told her he was still sleeping, and she should wait. He told her there were two very capable nurses watching over her brother right now, and she should just let him rest. Just then, Janet called the two men into the kitchen, where she sat them down and put a bowl of soup, a couple of slices of fresh bread, and a big glass of milk in front of each of them. James smiled and thanked Janet, but Lionel jumped up and gave her a hug. Janet laughed, and hugged him back. I just shook
my head. A month ago, Janet was one of the shyest people I knew. Boy, the apocalypse really brought her out of her shell!
I sat down at the table with James and Lionel. “In a little while, we’ll get everyone together in the pole barn. That way, we can introduce you to everyone, figure out where you will sleep, at least for now, and, most important, hear your story. Let me just give you a brief introduction to how we do things here.” I explained how our community came to be, the various work teams, and told him a little bit about each of the people in the group.
Later that afternoon, everyone gathered again in the pole barn. Each person stood and introduced himself or herself and explained what his/her role was in our community. Finally, after our entire group made introductions, Lionel stood.
“The ladies with me asked me to introduce them and tell our story. As most of you know, I am a pediatrician in Charlotte. James and I have been great friends since our first day of medical school, when, for some reason, we were paired as roommates. The ladies with me are Lynn Jessup and Amy Chen. Lynn was my office manager in Charlotte. Amy is a registered nurse and also worked in my office. When things started getting really bad in the city, I called Amy and Lynn to my office and suggested we try to get to a smaller town. My first thought was Riverdale since I knew James was there. Phones had stopped working in Charlotte, so I was not able to call ahead for reservations.” Everyone smiled, and James just rolled his eyes. “Amy and her husband Ken gathered the kids, as much food and supplies as they could carry, and came to the office. Lynn, her brother Marvin, his wife Elizabeth, and their baby Nina did the same thing. We wound up camping in my office for a few days, and at first it was not too bad. My office was big enough that we were not too crowded, and we had lots of toys and stuff to keep the kids busy and quiet. Ken, Marvin, and I would go out on scavenging trips to find food and more supplies to get ready for our great escape here. We lost power five days ago. Four days ago, we came back to discover a gang of four men found the office and broke in. Amy and Lynn took the kids, locked themselves in my office, and hid under the desk. Elizabeth and the baby chose to hide in the bathroom. Unfortunately, the baby started to cry, and Elizabeth’s hiding place was found. The men grabbed her, threw the baby down, and took turns raping Elizabeth. When she tried to fight back, they killed her. We came in right as that was happening. Marvin went crazy, and went after the guy who had just killed his wife. That’s when he got shot. Ken and I were able to kill the others in the group, and we found the baby had died as a result of being thrown to the floor. That’s when we decided we needed to get out of there. We packed all we could into our backpacks – even the kids had backpacks – and jumped into my SUV to drive here. We had to use back roads and drive through fields to avoid roadblocks and roaming gangs. After about five hours, we stopped to take a bathroom break and to fill the SUV’s gas tank from the spare cans I kept in the back. We stopped in the woods, about fifty feet from a small creek. Ken offered to do the gas, while the rest of us headed down to the creek to get the kids washed up and to try to help Marvin. Lynn had her backpack, and I had mine since it held my medical stuff. I think Tonya kept hers on her, too. While we were at the creek, we heard a shot and the car starting. I ran back to find Ken was shot in the head, and our SUV with everyone else’s backpacks and our food and water was taking off down the road. That left us with three backpacks and a badly wounded man. We used some tree limbs and the tarp from Lynn’s pack to make a travois, and then we took turns pulling Marvin on it. It took us a few days to make it to Riverdale, and we spent a lot of time hiding and changing our path to avoid trouble. We ran out of food after a day or so and had to use the water filters in my pack. We were seen a couple of times, but were able to get away without getting shot. I was so grateful to finally reach Riverdale and see the Methodist church was still standing. I left the others in the trees and approached the church and was blessed to find the minister was there with a number of his congregation. He allowed us to come in, and when I mentioned James’ name, he got on his HAM radio and called around until he found someone who recognized his name. Then you guys came and rescued us and here we are. We are all a bit fragile right now after losing people we loved, so please bear with us. We are incredibly grateful for the welcome you’ve given us, and we will all work hard to earn our keep here.” With that he sat down. I looked around, and there was not a dry eye to be seen. Even the men had tears in their eyes as they listened to the horrible things that had happened to Lionel and his group. Tom, probably seeing that I was pretty emotional at the moment, stood up and thanked Lionel for sharing his story.
Premonitions (Book 1): The Farm Page 16