As I came up on the porch, Jamie was laid out in front of the door. The dress that was so pretty before was now covered in blood and pulled up onto her chest. Doc was looking at a dressing covering a wound in her abdomen.
“Did it exit?” Doc asked.
“I don’t know,” Jamie replied.
“We didn’t even look,” Jess said.
“I’m gonna roll you over and take a look. It’s going to hurt.” Jamie gritted her teeth and nodded. Doc gave instructions to Jess and Fred on how to roll her onto her side. Working together, they gently rolled her to her side. Jamie let out a yelp, and Doc quickly ran a hand along her back and looked. It was smeared with blood.
“Looks like it went through. We need to get another dressing on it,” Doc said as he started digging through his bag. Finding the bandage, he and the girls applied another dressing to the exit.
“I’m starting to get cold,” Jamie said.
“I know. Just hang in there for another minute and we’ll get you fixed up,” Doc quickly said. Looking at Fred, he said, “Get some blankets.”
Fred gabbed blankets from the girls’ beds and brought them back. They wrapped Jamie up and moved her into the living room. Doc took a space blanket from his bag and unfolded it, laying it out on the sofa. Then he had the girls help him get Jamie laid out on it. They elevated her feet with some pillows, and she started to feel a little better. Doc then started an IV, giving her a precious supply of fluid.
“We need to get to town,” Doc said.
“There’s no way we can go tonight,” I said.
“Will she be alright until morning?” Jess asked.
“I can hear you,” Jaimie moaned.
“Yeah. She can make it until morning, but we need to leave as early as possible.”
Seeing that Jamie was taken care of, I went to Mel. She was sitting on the edge of Little Bit’s bed with her. A faint glow from the lantern in the living room barely lit the space. I sat down on the side of the bed and wrapped my arm around them.
“You guys alright?” I asked.
Mel nodded. “Yeah. We’re fine. She’s just scared.
Little Bit peaked at me. “They came into the house.”
I was thunderstruck. “What?”
“They came in through the sliding glass door. Didn’t you see it?” Mel asked.
I leapt to me feet. “Hell no, I didn’t see it!”
Mel grabbed my arm. “They’re dead.”
I looked at her. “They? How many?”
She held up three fingers but said nothing. I looked out the door, then back to her. “I’ll go check on it.”
As I was walking out of the bedroom, I heard Sarge’s voice in the living room. Glancing in, I saw him and Thad, and went the other way into the kitchen. There were two bodies on the kitchen floor and another lying just outside the shattered glass door. They were dead alright, and the floor was covered in blood.
I grabbed one of the bodies by the feet and dragged it out onto the back porch. As I dropped the legs onto the deck, Thad came through the door with the second one.
“Thanks, man,” I said.
Thad nodded. “No problem. There’s six more on the road down by Danny’s house.”
“Six? Holy shit.”
Thad smiled. “There’s more out back where Dalton set up his little trap. Whatever he put out there, it sure worked. There’s pieces of them hanging in the trees. They’re splattered all over the place.”
Doing some quick math, I said, “So somewhere between twelve and fifteen of theirs are dead.”
“And only one wounded on our side,” Thad said.
“We just got lucky is all. It can’t last forever.”
“Come on, Morg. We’re doing pretty good. We’re holding our own.”
“What happened with the six down the road?” I asked.
“We came running out the gate at Danny’s and ran slap into them. Mike and Ted crashed into them and they all went flailing to the ground. Me and Sarge got to work on them, and we killed ‘em all.”
Nodding, I noted again. “We’re lucky.”
Thad gripped my shoulder. “I’ll take lucky any day, Morgan.”
Seeing just how lucky we’d been really weighed on me. Shaking my head, I said, “But what if our luck runs out. We’ve got to fix this once and for all. If this keeps going, luck isn’t going to cut it.”
We went back in the house. Mel had put Little Bit to bed. Mel said she was upset because she didn’t have her blanket. It was on Jamie at the moment. She finally settled down when Mel gave her one of my poncho liners. As we were talking, Dalton stuck his head in the door and nodded for me to follow him.
Once outside, I saw he had a grim look. “What is it?”
He pointed to the bench on my porch. I looked and saw Jace and Edie sitting there. It took a moment for it to sink in. But looking in the direction of their house, I could see the fire that still raged there.
“Is there any chance?” I asked. His reply was a slow shaking of his head. I looked at Thad. “Still think we’re lucky?”
Chapter 4
Thad and I stood staring at the scorched and smoking remains of the house. It was early and a heavy fog blanketed the ground, giving the entire scene a spooky feel. The air was heavy with an acrid odor of fire and loss. Little was left, the frame of the mobile home really the only thing recognizable. Thad leaned on a shovel as he surveyed the scene. Of all things that have happened to this point, I’m sure this was the hardest thing for him to look at. But he revealed nothing as we stood in silence.
“I’m not looking forward to this,” I said.
“It’s an unpleasant thing,” Thad replied.
“At least they got the kids out.”
Thad glanced over. “How are the kids?”
“They’re at Bobbie’s. She’s taking care of them. Doc checked the skin pop on them earlier and said Jace was positive for antibodies, but didn’t appear to be sick. Said there’s a chance he was able to fight it off. Edie was negative.”
“That’s good. But now those babies have to grow up without their momma and daddy,” Thad lamented.
“That may be true, but they’re not going to be alone,” I replied. Then I looked at Thad. “They’re a part of our family now, and we’ll raise them, all of us.” Thad nodded and I added, “you’re a big uncle now, again.”
Thad smiled. “Guess that makes Sarge the crazy grandpa then.”
Laughing, I replied, “Yeah, ole mean ass grandpa.”
Thad chuckled and turned his attention to the grizzly task before us. “You ready to do this?”
Letting out a long breath, I responded. “No.”
“Me neither. But let’s get it done.”
With gloved hands, we worked our way into the remains of the house. It didn’t look like we’d find their bodies; the fire was intense and left little. We picked through the debris carefully, respectfully. It was an unpleasant task. As we worked, Sarge showed up with several of the guys.
“You find them?” Sarge asked.
I was knelt down picking my way through a large black pile. “Not yet.”
“I doubt you will. That fire was hot.”
I rose to my feet. “We’ve got to get those bastards. This is twice now. They need to pay in a big way.”
Sarge nodded. “They will. We’re going to stomp their dicks in the dirt.”
Looking at Ted, I asked, “How’s the ear?”
Ted reached up and rubbed the bandage over his ear. “Fucking gone.”
Mike gave him a little punch on the shoulder. “Come on, man. Chicks dig scars.” Ted glared back in reply.
“Speaking of chicks, how’s Jamie?” Thad asked.
“She’s doing OK, but Doc wa
nts to get her to town. Which is why we’re here, you’re supposed to meet the engineers at the power plant,” Sarge said.
“I know. I just wanted to find them.”
“We’ll get some other folks over here to continue the search. We need to get on the road.”
“Go ahead, Morgan. We’ll take care of this,” Thad said.
Wiping sweat from my face, I said, “I also have to close up the broken sliding glass door. Not to mention clean all the blood off my kitchen floor.”
Thad smiled. “I’ll take care of that too. I’ll just get a door from one of the other houses around here. They’re pretty standard, and we should find one that will fit.”
I left Thad with Mike and Ted to keep looking. We went over to my house where Sarge’s Hummer was waiting. Doc came out the door holding one end of a collapsible stretcher. Ian had the other end and Jamie was lying on it with her eyes closed, wrapped in a blanket. Aric was inside the truck and helped pull her inside. She winced a couple of times as it wasn’t the easiest thing to get her inside.
Once she was in, Ian sat down beside her and wiped a couple loose strands of hair from her face. He smiled and said, “You’re going to be alright. You’ve got to come back so I can see what you look like in that dress.”
Without opening her eyes, she replied, “Pshh, fat chance. Are you coming with me?”
“You want me to?”
“You need adult supervision. Someone needs to keep an eye on you.”
Ian smiled again. “Alright. I’ll go so you can keep an eye on me.”
I asked Aric where he was last night. I hadn’t seen him since the shooting began.
He nodded at Ian. “I was with him. When the shooting started, we moved to flank the truck. Then the damn thing blew up. Almost killed us. A couple of guys got out of it and we shot their asses.”
“Oh, ok. That was you guys shooting up there. We didn’t know who it was,” I said.
“It was us alright. I just wish we had been down here to help deal with all these assholes,” Ian added.
Looking around, he asked, “Where’s Perez?”
Ian snorted. “Oh man, he’s sick. Got the shits real bad. You thought he was a pain in the ass before. Holy hell. He’s the biggest freaking baby I’ve ever seen.”
“Is he alright?” I asked.
Ian nodded. “Yeah. Doc checked on him. He’ll get over it.”
“Tell him to suck it up,” Sarge said.
“What was the explosion back there?” I asked, pointing to the rear of the neighborhood with my chin.
“That was a couple trying to get out I think. They hit Dalton’s surprise. There’s pieces of them hanging in the trees back there,” Sarge replied.
“Let’s get this on the road. We need to get Jamie to the clinic,” Doc said.
Whispering, I asked, “How’s she doing, Doc?”
“She’s alright, but might need surgery. That’s why I want to get her to the clinic. There’s only so much I can do here.”
We loaded up. Doc sat in the back with Jamie and Ian took the turret. I drove and Sarge rode shotgun. We didn’t want to take too many people from the neighborhood. We didn’t know what these guys may try next. As I pulled around two bodies lying in the road next to the still-smoking truck, Sarge said, “Good work, Ian.”
This truck was like the others, an MRAP. I shook my head, thinking back to the days in the Before when people would look at you like you were crazy for being upset that the DHS was acquiring such equipment. But I have to admit, even I didn’t foresee this.
I pushed the speed on the old truck, not wanting to waste time getting Jamie to the clinic. It was odd seeing the market in Altoona busy with people trading. They surely had heard the shooting last night. Maybe they didn’t care. Not that I expected anything from them. After all, they had more pressing issues, like feeding themselves and their families.
As we came into Umatilla, I noticed the old Kangaroo there was busy as well. I briefly saw a sign that said milk. It intrigued me, and I made a mental note to stop by on the way back. As we passed the old Golden Gem plant, I hoped we’d be able to get the turbine running. And I really hoped these engineers knew something about it. The car barricade was opened as we approached, and I was able to pass straight through. Pulling up in front of the clinic, the staff was there waiting for us. Jamie was quickly unloaded and taken inside. I watched the doors close behind Doc as he followed her in. There was nothing I could do in there, and I’d only be in the way. After a brief moment, Doc came back out the door and handed me the bloody blankets.
I looked at them and instantly recognized one of them. It was Little Bit’s. It was originally made for Taylor by one of my aunts and was passed down to each new baby girl. It was a mess now, but somehow we’d have to clean it up. Little Bit would surely want it back. It also made me think of my aunt up there in Jacksonville. She was alone, my uncle having passed away a couple years ago. He was a good man, retired Coastie. I always enjoyed visiting them as a kid. They had three sons, and I’m sure those boys were taking care of her. I hoped so anyway. It really drove home the idea of not taking your loved ones for granted. You never know when the last time you see them will be THE last time you see them.
“Let’s go to the armory and find those engineers,” Sarge said.
We pulled up to the back gate and parked. As we were getting out, Cecil walked up. “Mornin’, fellers. I hear you guys had a hard night.”
Sarge nodded. “You could say that. But they got the worst end of it.”
“That’s good. Something needs done with ‘em though or this is just going to keep happening.”
Sarge spit in the dirt. “And we’re going to do just that.”
As they were talking, Shane with the Eustis PD came up. “Hey, Morgan. What are we going to do with the kid we have locked up? It’s getting to be a pain in the ass having to watch him and the guy from the other night.”
“You’re going to have to watch them for now. We’ve got bigger fish to fry at the moment. Anything else going on?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No. It’s actually been kind of quiet.” As we were talking, a guy with a neatly trimmed beard ran up.
“Hey, Shane. I fed the prisoners. You need anything else?”
“Not right now. Thanks.” Shane replied.
“I’ve got a couple of things I need to do. I’ll be back later.”
As he walked off, I asked, “Who’s that?”
“Oh, that’s Micah Revelle. He wants to join the PD. He helps out with little things, takes some of the work off us,” Shane replied.
“He from around here?” I asked.
“No, I don’t think so. He came in a few days ago. Seems eager enough and does whatever we ask.”
I looked at the guy as he walked off. Something about him just didn’t sit well with me. Looking back at Shane, I said, “Keep an eye on him.”
“Micah? He’s fine. You don’t have to worry about him.”
“I have to worry about everyone.”
Sarge returned and said the engineers would meet at the barricade out of town. They went to get their truck. Cecil was going to ride with us. We mounted up and pulled out onto the road. I drove down to the Lake Eustis canal and we got out to wait. I waved at the guys on the barricade when gunfire erupted right behind me. I dove to the ground as Ian opened up with the SAW from the turret.
Looking up, I shouted. “What is it?”
Pausing for an instant, Ian shouted back. “I don’t know!” And he went back to work with the machinegun.
I got up and saw Sarge firing wildly into the water of the canal. Sarge was screaming his ass off as he pumped round after round into the water. I looked at Ian and waved, “Cease fire! Cease fire!”
He stopped and looked ov
er the smoking weapon at me. “What is it?”
“Hell if I know.”
I turned back towards Sarge just as he jumped off the road into the water. “What the hell?” I said as I stepped up and peered over the edge. There was Sarge in the water shouting to himself.
“I got your ass! I got your big ass!” He looked up at me. “Morgan, get yer ass down here!”
I sat on the edge of the road and dropped into the water. “What is it?”
Sarge heaved, and an alligator’s head bobbed out of the water. “I got his ass! I finally got me a lizard!”
“All that for a damn gator?” I asked.
“What is it?” Ian shouted.
“I got me a big ass lizard!” Sarge shouted back.
“You’re out of your damn mind,” I said.
“All that for a gator?” Ian asked from the road. I looked up to see him standing over us.
“I think the old man has lost his mind,” I said.
“Quit yer belly aching and help me drag this thing out of here,” Sarge barked. He was smiling from ear to ear.
“You want to put that in the truck?” Ian asked.
“Hell yeah. We need the meat, and this is my lizard! And I’m taking it!” Sarge shot back.
I helped Sarge drag the beast from the water. But we needed Ian’s help to get the nearly nine-foot reptile up to the road.
“Damn this thing is heavy!” Ian grunted.
Sarge was almost vibrating with excitement. He looked at Ian wide-eyed, “I know! It’s huge, ain’t it!”
Ian shook his head. “What the hell are you going to do with it?”
Sarge looked at him like he was an idiot. “We’re going to eat it, dipshit. What did you think we’re going to do with it!”
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