The Systemic Series - Box Set

by K. W. Callahan

  The group was largely left silent after this revelation. Joanna hadn’t attended the meeting, her right eye having bruised and swollen badly from one of Jim Wardlaw’s blows. I’m sure she was traumatized by the incident, and was probably still in shock. Knowing her and how strong she was, I guessed she was probably embarrassed by the wounds although she had no reason to be. I’d taken a few good shots of my own and had a swollen left jaw, a very stiff and painful hand, and there was some severe bruising and several abrasions around my neck and throat.

  “Do you think they’ll come after us looking for revenge?” Dad asked after I’d finished relating the gist of our journey and had opened the floor to questions.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “If it was up to the Wardlaw boys, I’m sure they would. But now that they’re gone…or at least one of them is, I’m not really sure. As I said, Richard seemed like a pretty level-headed individual, but we don’t know how things went down after they discovered our presence there.”

  “Maybe they don’t know who it was,” offered Pam. “Maybe they don’t know it was us who were down there.”

  “It’s possible,” Ray said. “But I’m willing to bet they probably know. All they have to do is follow our tracks, which in the snow wouldn’t be too hard.”

  “My hope is that they’ll be thankful to be rid of the Wardlaws,” I said. “I think Richard will be at least. It seemed like he was taking some flak from the Wardlaw clan, so he could be glad that at least one of them is out of his hair. But who knows for sure.”

  “Either way, we’ve got to be ready,” said Will. “The next day or so will probably be the most critical period during which we’ll really have to be on our toes and prepared for anything.”

  * * *

  Will, Ray, and I all crashed out after the meeting. We were physically and mentally exhausted; plus, I wanted to get the rest while we still could just in case anybody from town showed up with plans of retaliation for what had happened to the Wardlaw boys.

  It was nearly eight o’clock when Claire gently woke me.

  “You want to eat some dinner?” she asked, softly rubbing my back.

  I’d chosen to sleep in one of the upstairs guest rooms in order to be away from the noise of the kids and other family members. It was cold in the room, but I’d put extra blankets on the bed and was warm and toasty beneath the covers.

  I rolled over onto my back and Claire continued her massaging along my shoulders and chest. “No thanks.” I said. “Not really hungry right now.” I lifted one side of the mound of covers. “Get in,” I said.

  Claire slipped off her shoes and obeyed, snuggling up tight against me, still rubbing my chest. “I’m so glad you’re home,” she whispered softly, her breath tickling my ear as her hand moved down to my abdomen. “I can’t tell you how worried I was.”

  “I’m glad to be home,” I said, my hand finding her knee and then moving slowly up her thigh.

  Suddenly I thought about Joanna and feelings of guilt coursed through me. Guilt that I’d thought about Joanna while lying here beside Claire. Guilt that Joanna had kissed me. Guilt that Joanna was alone right now with no one to comfort her. Guilt that I cared. Guilt that I hadn’t mentioned to Claire what had happened in Tipton with Joanna.

  But then I realized I was being silly. It wasn’t my fault that Joanna had kissed me. It wasn’t my fault that Joanna cared about me. I hadn’t done anything to deserve her affections other than be a decent individual. And there was nothing I could do to help her deal with those emotions. I had Claire, and I was happy with Claire. And right now, I was going to enjoy Claire, the only woman I’d ever truly loved.

  CHAPTER 18

  I did eventually eat later that evening, and then I went back to bed. I awoke late the next morning to a bright blue sky and sunshine. Claire had risen hours earlier.

  I got out of bed and immediately went over to the window. My stomach was in knots as I looked outside, expecting to see vehicles in our driveway or armed gunmen trying to storm the castle, but there was only the bright reflection of the sun against the white snow and the view out over the leafless trees that surrounded our domicile.

  I breathed a sigh of relief. With every passing hour, I felt better about our chances of not being attacked by the residents of Tipton in reprisal for our incursion into their town.

  I dressed and went downstairs. It was nice to see that things were proceeding as normal around me. People were having breakfast, cleaning up sleeping areas, making beds, and generally getting on with their chores and lives.

  Ray, Will and Pam were having breakfast at the kitchen booth that faced out over the backyard. I joined them, sliding onto the cushioned seat beside will.

  “Get enough sleep, big brother?” Will asked.

  “Yeah. What about you guys?”

  “Yup,” Will nodded.

  “Uh huh,” Ray mumbled over a bite of squash cake sprinkled with sugar.

  “Good,” I said.

  In the center of the table was a plate with a stack of squash cakes piled on it. Sharron was in the family room at the fireplace using a cast iron pan to fry up more. I took three cakes for myself, sprinkling a healthy dose of sugar on each of them.

  “Think they’ll come?” I asked quietly.

  “The longer we can go without them making an appearance, the less likely they’ll attack,” said Ray.

  “I think we should be on watch tonight,” I told them. “It might take a day or two for them to organize and get up here. We should probably take the third-shift watch for the next few nights at least.”

  “Better than having to hike our asses all the way into town and back,” said Will.

  “No shit,” scoffed Ray.

  “Well, at least we have some idea of what we’re up against,” I told them.

  “Would have been nice to come out of it without more problems than we went in with though,” said Will.

  “Yeah,” I agreed. “But you can’t always plan that stuff. I mean, things were going good until…” I stopped talking as Joanna walked into the kitchen.

  “Good morning,” I said.

  “Morning,” she said mechanically, heading past the squash cakes to prepare herself a cup of tea.

  “Not hungry?” I asked.

  “Not really,” she said, taking her empty cup and tea bag over to the fireplace where a kettle of boiling water hung.

  As she worked to fill her cup, Ray leaned in close over the table. “She okay?” he asked, a questioning look on his face.

  I shrugged.

  “She’s been awfully quiet since Tipton,” Will leaned in.

  “You didn’t see the guys who kidnapped her,” I said. “Knocked her around pretty good.”

  “Probably did more mental damage than physical,” Ray said. “Back in the FBI, we studied the effects of kidnapping and how it can affect the victim’s personality and…”

  He quieted as Joanna came back with her steaming cup of tea. She looked at us, then moved to get a plate, took a squash cake, and went back upstairs.

  “Anyway,” Ray continued quietly, “these types of situations can mess with a person pretty good. Somebody should probably talk to her.”

  We all looked at one another in silence.

  “Maybe one of the other women?” Pam offered.

  “Yeah,” Will quickly agreed.

  “Sounds good to me,” I chimed in. Then I thought about it for a minute. I really didn’t want Claire getting involved least there be a bit too much divulgence of information. “I have an idea of who to ask. I’ll take care of it.”

  Everyone nodded and looked relieved at not having to undertake the task.

  I finished my squash cakes and cleaned my plate; then I went to do a quick check of supply levels. We’d burned through a lot of our fuel for the generator and that was of slight concern. We had maybe a gallon left at most. I was thinking about making another scouting mission when it warmed up a bit to see if we could find any other sources of gas – abandoned h
omes, vehicles, or whatever – in the surrounding areas but away from Tipton.

  And while we’d been doing most of our cooking in the fireplace whenever possible, we’d still used up most of our propane supply for our camp cook stove. We still had half a small camp-sized container left and a little bit in a larger tank that we had found connected to the Coughlins’ outdoor grill when we’d arrived.

  Our meat supply had also dwindled again, so I made sure that Will and Ray knew that this was a priority and even offered to help them if they needed it, which they said they didn’t.

  “Just give us a few days,” Will said. “Don’t worry. We’ll get something.”

  While I had confidence in them, I had to admit, it was nice peace of mind to have Sharron and her garden backing us up should their efforts fail.

  I went and found Dad who was on day-shift watch duty in the front office of the upstairs master bedroom. He was standing at one of the windows looking outside. Emily was there with him, keeping him company as I figured she would be. She was sitting in a large sofa chair, wrapped in multiple blankets, and reading a book. It was a cozy little scene and I hated disturbing them, but they didn’t seem to mind.

  “Good morning,” I said as I entered.

  “Good morning,” they greeted me in return.

  “Everything going okay?” I asked Dad.

  “So far, so good,” he nodded. “Pretty quiet.”

  “Just the way I like it,” I smiled.

  “What can I do for you?” he asked, knowing my presence was more than just a social one.

  “Well, I was kind of hoping that you both could help me with something.”

  Emily lowered her book to listen.

  “Back in town…in Tipton,” I continued, “when Joanna was taken. I think it kind of, well, I don’t know exactly how to say it…”

  “Messed her up a little?” Emily offered.

  “Yeah,” I said. “Something like that. Anyway, I was just wondering, since you two are well…” I paused, searching for the right terminology, “…of a later generation…”

  “Older,” Dad said. “It’s okay, we know we’re the old folks here,” he smiled at me.

  “Well, I just thought it might be easier to comfort her or whatever. I’m not really sure if there’s anything we can do to help her work through any mental trauma that may have been done. She might need to do that on her own. But I thought that if she wanted to talk to someone, I mean really open up, it might be easier to do so with someone who had…well, I guess who had more life experience or who wasn’t as close to her own age. I don’t know if it will help or not. I guess I just wanted to let you know in case you notice anything. I don’t think we should treat her any differently, but maybe, I don’t know, just be a little bit more careful around her.”

  “I think you’re on the right path,” Emily agreed. “She’s seemed a little distant…cold, since you all got back. I noticed that right off. So if the opportunity presents itself, I’ll do what I can, but I won’t push.”

  “Same here,” said Dad.

  “Thanks,” I said, feeling some slight relief. “I appreciate it. It was pretty rough down there.”

  “How are you doing?” Emily asked, giving me a sweet look of concern.

  “Holding up,” I gave her a half smile.

  “You’re doing great,” she nodded.

  “Thanks,” I accepted her praise somewhat abashedly. “I appreciate it.”

  Getting back downstairs, I spent the rest of the day unpacking supplies from our trek and putting them away, cleaning and checking weapons, harvesting wood, and nervously checking the whole time for any signs of trespassers – but there were none.

  Later in the day, I even took a walk with Will down the entry road just to check things out at the entry gate and scout the hunting situation. Everything looked quiet and normal, but the only signs of wildlife were a few small snowbirds that flitted away nervously whenever we got near.

  After dinner, I relaxed for an hour in the library, reading from Thoreau’s Walden, and then I went to join Will and Ray on watch. It was a long night, but we managed to stagger it between the three of us so that none of us were on watch for more than four hours, which allowed all of us to get some sleep too. It wasn’t the best scenario, but it gave the rest of the group some time off from the night watch, while at the same time not being overly-exhausting for the three of us.

  Incorporated as part of our regular routine each morning – right before the night-shift ended – the person on watch was to go outside and start the vehicles, just to let them run for a minute or two and ensure that the batteries didn’t die in the cold weather and that everything was working and ready to go should we ever need them.

  This particular morning it was my turn at the task. As I stepped outside, the bitterness of the early dawn air hit me full on in the face like an icy smack, but in a way, it felt kind of good, almost refreshing, and I breathed deeply of the cold crispness. As I walked in the darkness to the garage, I detoured to unlock the garden wall’s front door and make a check the front drive. There, I paused, taking a moment to gaze up at the vast spread of still visible stars in the pre-dawn sky. Even after being out here for several months, it still amazed me at just how bright and beautiful the night sky could be and how many constellations were visible. It was so unlike Chicago where the city’s lights had cast a purple-orange haze over all but the brightest of stars which might on occasion be confused with the multitude of jet liners crisscrossing their way across the sky, gently purring their presence from above.

  Now there was none of that, and all was peaceful.

  Suddenly, from the corner of my eye, I sensed movement near the forest.

  I squinted at the tree line near the garage where I could see shadows moving. I swung the rifle hanging on my shoulder around in front of me. I stood, uncertain, deciding whether I should check out the movement on my own or go back inside to get help. I was afraid that if I left, I might lose sight of the intruders, but I was also afraid that if we were under attack and the trespassers got the drop on me, then nobody inside would know that they were in danger.

  I decided to take a chance and check it out myself, releasing the safety on my rifle and keeping my finger tight on the trigger. I told my brain that if anything happened it needed to ensure that as one of its last impulses, it squeezed my finger hard enough to fire of at least one round as a warning to the rest of the group inside the castle.

  I pressed myself up against the side of the garage and slid along against it for cover. Eventually, I reached the structure’s corner where I could more safely watch the spot where I’d seen the movement. From this point, I could just barely make out three distinct forms standing near a cluster of large trees. They remained motionless for several seconds and then one began to move toward me.

  I raised my rifle slowly – careful not to give away my position, my finger still tight on the trigger – took aim at the nearest figure, aimed, and fired.

  The sound of the gunshot ripped through the morning silence. The shadow dropped heavily to the ground and lay motionless. It didn’t utter a sound. The other two forms disappeared into the darkness of the forest behind them almost instantly. Moments later, I could hear a commotion behind me as Will and Ray ran outside.

  “John!” I could hear Will yell. “John, where are you? Are you alright?”

  “Over here,” I called, as I walked over to the lifeless form on the ground.

  Will and Ray ran up to me, breathless, rifles at the ready.

  “See,” I said, grinning and pointing proudly to the large buck I’d just taken down, “I can earn my keep around here just as well as you two jokers.”

  They both laughed and breathed sighs of relief. “Punkass, you worried the shit out of us,” said Ray. “I was sure we were going to come out here and find you wounded or worse.”

  “Come on,” I said. “Help me get this bad boy around back, will you?”

  “Screw that,” Will said. �
��That sucker is huge. I’ll find some ropes and we can string him up in the trees and butcher him right here. I’ll go get some rope and the rest of the stuff we’ll need.”

  “I’ll help you,” said Ray.

  “Sounds like a plan to me,” I told them. “I’ll hang tight here.”

  Others from our group had begun cautiously trickling their way outside to see what the commotion was.

  “Nothing to see here,” I told them. “Just got us some meat for the next few weeks.” I couldn’t hide my pride. I usually wasn’t the big breadwinner for the family, and I had to admit, it felt good.

  Even Joanna came out with Shane. She looked at me standing there in all my glory and smiled. It was the first time I’d seen her smile since we’d been back, and that made me feel even better. Then Claire came out with Jason, and Joanna quietly disappeared back inside.

  Claire gave me a big hug and kiss, “You done good, Daddy,” she smiled at me proudly.

  Jason toddled over to me and I picked him up. He pointed at the big buck on the ground, “Big deer! Big deer all dead. Daddy do?” he said in amazed confusion.

  “Yes…Daddy do,” said Claire. “Daddy got us lots of food,” she said, handing the little fella over to me.

  “Mmm, food. Food good. I like lots of food.” Then he said, “Why deer die?” in his bewilderment at the whole situation.

  “The deer died so we could have food,” I told him.

  “But how deer make food?” he went on, confused.

  I kissed his sweet little cheek and handed him back to Claire, content to let her try to explain it all to him.

  Then I took a few moments to revel in my success. It felt good to take care of the people I loved.

  I had to admit, I was starting to feel just a little bit at home in this new world of ours.