Home Invasion

by A. American

  “I think we should send out a long-range patrol. Send some folks down to the turnpike. I wouldn’t go any further than that. Have them stop and talk to people, and see if anyone’s seen or heard anything. At least we’d have an idea if they were up that far. If not, then we do it again in a week or so. I don’t think it’s a good idea to wait for them to drive into town before we know they’re here.”

  Sheffield hesitated. “I don’t know. Sending people out has a lot of risk.”

  “It’s their fucking job,” Sarge spat back. “It’s what they’re supposed to do.”

  Livingston looked at Sheffield. “We could send a couple trucks out the 429. They can hit the turnpike in less than an hour. It’s a high-speed route. Shouldn’t be too big a deal.”

  Sheffield thought for a moment. Then he nodded. “You’re right. We need to have a look. As soon as there’s a break in the weather, we’ll send them out.”

  Sarge disagreed. “I say we send them soon, while the weather is shitty. If there are any commies in the area, they’ll probably hunker down during the weather. It’ll give our guys cover. We already know they were in Crystal River, so they are around. We just need to figure out where.”

  “And they know someone is around with capabilities too, thanks to your guys.” Sheffield shot back.

  Sarge snorted. “Good! They need to be worried. They got no idea who it was or where we are. That’s an advantage for us.”

  Sheffield fidgeted. “I’m just nervous we could cause a confrontation. One we couldn’t win.”

  Sarge leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “That’s just the cost of doing business. If these fuckers are anywhere near, and it seems pretty sure they are, it’s only a matter of time before they find their way here. And if they are anywhere close, they probably already know we’re here. This place isn’t a secret. So it’s better we get out in front of it. I’d rather meet them someplace out there,” Sarge pointed to the south, “than in the streets of Eustis.”

  Livingston was nodding his head. “I agree. If it comes to a fight, I’d rather we pick the spot.”

  “What about the Chinese. Heard anything on that?” Sheffield asked.

  Sarge cocked his head to the side. “Don’t you guys have a radio around here? You’re not listening to what’s going on?”

  “We have AM/FM radios but we’re not picking anything up.”

  “I’ll get with Cecil. He’s got a ham rig and can listen to the shortwave bands. That’s where we’re picking all this up. But as for the Chinese, if they don’t pull that fleet out, the Navy is going to nuke it.”

  Sheffield’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “What? They’ll just launch against all of us!”

  Sarge scrunched his face and shook his head. “I doubt it. Not a full exchange anyway. It’d be a waste of their weapons. What’s left to nuke here? They may hit a few select places. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near DC or Colorado Springs. But the rest of us would probably be okay. Of course, they could hit Patrick and MacDill. Maybe even Eglin. That could cause us some trouble.”

  Sheffield sank back into his chair. “That’s the last thing we need. There’s no way we could even attempt to deal with fallout.”

  “We’ll just have to hope it doesn’t come to that,” Livingston said.

  “Alright then. I’m going to send some of the guys up in the morning. If you can have a couple of gun trucks ready, that would be good. Pick some solid people to ride with them. I’ll come up here and we’ll monitor the mission together,” Sarge said.

  “I’ll also put together a QRF of a couple more trucks.” Livingston said. “Just in case.”

  Sarge smiled. “Now you’re starting to think.” He stood up and stretched. “I’ll see you boys in the morning.” And he turned and headed to the door.

  Sarge walked out of the armory in a spitting rain. It was the kind of rain that made it hard to tell which way it was coming from. The wind was picking up and the drops seemed to come from everywhere. He pulled his hat down a little lower on his head and walked out towards the road. Looking around, he muttered to himself, Where the hell are you, Morgan?

  We agreed to hold the hearing after the weather let up and left the PD. Walking outside, the weather had turned to windblown rain. Dalton and Aric ran for the truck as I looked up into the sky before walking out and climbing in.

  “Gonna be a nasty few days,” Aric said.

  Shutting the door, I replied, “Looks that way. Let’s go find the old man and head back to the ranch.”

  As I drove out of the parking lot, I saw Kelley running towards us, waving. I stopped and he quickly hopped into the back. “Thanks, Morgan. I didn’t want to be stuck here during this storm. Looks like it’s going to stick around.”

  “It’s a tropical storm. Gonna get worse before it gets better,” Aric said.

  Driving towards the armory, I saw the old man standing in the rain at the curb. He was the only person outside. Everyone else, everyone with any sense, was inside somewhere. Pulling up, he opened the passenger door and looked at Aric. “Get your ass outta my seat.” Dalton’s head rocked back as he cackled.

  Aric shook his head and got out, climbing in the back beside Dalton. Looking at him, Aric said, “That’s why you didn’t try to sit up front, isn’t it?”

  Sarge got in and slammed the door, brushing water off his arms. Holding my fingers about an inch apart, I said, “A Chicken’s got a brain this big, and it knows to get out of the damn rain.”

  He swiped at my fingers but I moved my hand and sniggered. “If your ass had been on time, I wouldn’t be out there in the damn rain!” Sarge shouted back at me.

  I looked over my shoulder at Dalton and said, “I don’t remember making a schedule of when we were coming back. Do you?”

  Dalton started to reply but the old man cut him off. “Would you shut up and drive?” I pulled away and headed out of town. “Stop by the farm on your way by,” Sarge said.

  We drove through the rain towards the farm. The rain was growing in intensity and began washing the piles of leaves and debris down the sides of the road. I’d become so accustomed to seeing the trash in the road, I hardly noticed it anymore. But seeing stretches of clean road made me realize just how bad things had gotten.

  “I’m getting soaked back here!” Aric shouted. Rain was pouring through the open turret.

  “Oh dry up, you damn whiney baby!” Sarge shouted.

  Aric shook his head as he tried to wad himself into the corner of the backseat, away from the rain. We pulled into the farm and stopped in front of the tents used by the security element. They’d strung a tarp over their fire pit and were standing around under it. The old man didn’t hesitate. He immediately climbed out and stomped through the rain towards them.

  “You going with him?” Dalton asked.

  “Hell no. I’m not getting soaked,” I replied.

  “I’m just happy to have a ride,” Kelley said from the back of the Hummer.

  Dalton opened his door, saying, “I’m already wet.”

  He walked over to the tarp and had to stoop to get under it. Sarge was talking to the guys gathered there.

  “No, no one around last night,” One of the Guardsmen said.

  Sarge looked out over the field and nodded. “That’s good. I doubt anyone will be out in this crap today.”

  “We’ve still got a fire team out there.” Another said.

  Sarge nodded. “I wouldn’t leave them out in this shit all day. Call ‘em back in so they don’t get drowned out there. Just keep your eyes open.”

  One of the Guardsmen laughed. “They’ll like that. We drew straws to see who was going out.”

  “Alright. You fellers try and stay dry today,” Sarge said and he turned and headed back to the truck with Dalton in tow.

  Getting back in, Sarge shook the rain off his clothes and said, “Let’s roll.”

  “Wonder where Cecil is?” I asked, looking around.

  “He went home according
to them,” Sarge said with a nod towards the men under the tarp.

  Rolling through Umatilla, the market was empty, as was the rest of town. Here, there was even more trash in the streets because there were more people. The garbage was being washed into the gutters and causing them to overflow. The truck sent off huge waves of water as we passed through them.

  “At least the rain is cleaning some of the trash off the streets,” Aric said, looking out his window.

  “Just going to wash it into the lakes. Sad people can’t take care of their garbage,” Dalton lamented.

  “World’s full of shitheads,” Sarge replied.

  As we got closer to Altoona, I asked Kelley if he wanted me to drop him at home.

  “That’d be great. Better than walking in the rain,” he replied.

  He directed me to his house and I stopped under a large oak tree in the front yard. Kelley got out and grabbed his things and carried them to the front porch. Running back to the truck, he shook my hand and said thanks for the ride.

  “No problem. You going to want to go back?” I asked.

  He nodded. “Yeah. I’ve got a couple pairs of boots to repair and I traded all the shoes I took with me.”

  “So it was a good trip then.”

  “Yeah it was,” he replied and looked up at the rain. “When this mess stops, I’ll go back.”

  “I’ll find you after the rain,” I said and started to back out.

  Where the road went from paved to dirt near the bunker, there was a huge puddle. I slowed as the truck dropped into it and sent up a huge wake as we passed through it. Looking around, there was standing water in the pastures and a small river flowing down the road. We found Jess and Doc under the tarp at the rear of the bunker. They’d cut a small tree and used it to prop up the center of the tarp.

  Stopping, I asked, “Y’all treading water?”

  Doc had a poncho on and stepped out to the truck. “Yeah, it’s really coming down now.”

  Sarge leaned forward and asked, “What’s it look like inside that bunker?”

  Doc looked over at him and replied, “A cesspool.”

  “Damn,” Sarge muttered.

  “We’ll have to dry it out later,” Doc replied.

  Sarge shook his head and said, “Probably have to shovel it out too. Maybe even bring in new dirt.”

  Nodding, Doc replied, “Probably.”

  We headed for the house and parked the truck at Danny’s. I was surprised to see the rocking chairs empty, and we went into the house. The kids were putting a large puzzle together with Bobbie in the living room while Danny snoozed on the sofa. Kay was sitting in a chair reading a book and looked up when we came in.

  “Where’s Mel?” I asked.

  “Everyone is at home.” Kay replied. Looking out the window, she added, “It’s just a nasty day. Good time to nap.”

  “I guess that’s about all it’s good for,” I replied. “Guess I’ll join them.”

  I found the girls watching a movie on the laptop. Mel was taking a nap. “What are you guys watching?” I asked.

  “Goonies!” Little Bit replied gleefully.

  “Oh, that’s a good one,” I replied as I stripped off my gear.

  “You going to watch it with us?” Taylor asked.

  I thought about it for a minute. “I’m going to go find mom first.”

  “She’s asleep,” Little Bit replied, without looking away from the computer.

  She made me smile. It was cool to see the girls so enthralled. A movie was a real treat today. Even if they had seen it a hundred times. “I might be back,” I said.

  “You’re going to go to sleep too. You know it,” Lee Ann chimed In.

  “It could happen,” I answered with a wink as I went through the bedroom door.

  Falling onto the bed, I put my arm over Mel. She made some unrecognizable noise, but didn’t wake up. So I relaxed and quickly fell asleep.

  Jess sat on an empty bucket and looked out at the rain. “This is ridiculous.”

  Doc was leaned against the bunker. Taking a deep breath, he said, “I kind of like it. It’s cleaning the air. Washing the dust away. I always like it right after a rainstorm.”

  She looked up at him. “Yeah. It does smell better after it rains, doesn’t it?” She looked out at the road again. “But it’s going to be so muddy and messy.”

  Doc nodded. “You know when you start cleaning the house, you always make a little more mess. I see it like that.”

  Jess grinned and looked at him. “You always so positive?”

  Doc shrugged and ducked into the bunker, stepping nearly knee deep into dank water. He grabbed an empty bucket floating in the putrid soup and exited. Setting the bucket down, he sat on it and leaned back against the logs. Looking around, he replied, “When given the choice to be happy or unhappy, which would you choose?”

  “Happy of course.”

  “There you go. That’s why I’m always upbeat. Given the choice, I’d rather be happy. There’s so much in this world I can’t control, so I don’t worry about it.”

  Jess thought about that for a minute. “I don’t know if I could do that. There’s just so much going on. So much to worry about.”

  Doc sat quietly for a minute before replying. “That’s true. There is a lot to think about. But does your worrying about it change any of it? You have the choice of how you spend your energy. You can sit around and fret about things you have no control over, or you can choose to roll with it and deal with what you have to when you have to. I guess it has a lot to do with living in the moment, kinda.”

  “That makes sense,” Jess replied. Then she looked around at the rain and mud and said, “But what can you possibly take away from this moment?”

  Doc laughed. “Well, I can’t stop the rain, so there’s no sense in giving it any of my energy. I’m just happy I’m sitting under this tarp and not having to be out there in it. There’s almost always a worse alternative.”

  Jess laughed. “Okay, I get it now. Look on the bright side.”

  Doc nodded. “It can always be worse.”

  Jess watched him for a long while. Doc sat and watched the rain fall. He held his hand out and let the water running off the tarp fill his hand to overflowing before turning it over and letting it run off the back of his hand. He seemed content to be right where he was.

  She stood up and pulled her bucket from the mud. Carrying it over to where Doc sat, she set it back down and sat on it, pushing it into the mud with a bubble, burping sound. Doc laughed at her when her face turned red.

  “That wasn’t me,” Jess said, embarrassed.

  Doc held his hands up and laughed, saying, “Hey, It’s your lie, you tell it.”

  “Whatever,” Jess replied as she leaned back against the logs. She fidgeted with her hands for a moment before saying, “You’re right. I’m going to focus my energy on things that matter.” With that, she reached over and took Doc’s hand.

  He looked down at his knee where their hands sat. Giving her hand a light squeeze he looked at her and said, “This is certainly worth our energy.”

  Jess smiled and looked down at her feet. She squished them in the mud as she played what he said over in her mind, worth our energy. She was giddy, then felt foolish. She wasn’t a high school kid after all. But this still felt good. She looked up at him and smiled, saying, “Yes it is.”

  The two sat quietly for the rest of the afternoon. Jess never moved her hand, nor did Doc. They both were, for the time being, happy in the moment. This was more of an achievement for Jess than Doc, who could sit quietly for long periods of time, content to simply be. Whereas Jess was always on the move and had a hard time sitting still. But being around Ronnie had a calming effect on her, one which she enjoyed.

  I don’t know how long we slept. When Little Bit came in saying she was hungry, the room was just as gloomy as it was when I had lain down. Mel sat up and looked at her. Little Bit was standing at the door of our room, holding the door open.
r />   “You’re hungry?” Mel asked.

  Little Bit nodded. “I want something to eat. Is there anything here?”

  Mel sat up and stretched. “Yeah. I can make something.”

  “What?” Little Bit asked.

  I rolled over and echoed the question, “Yeah, what do we have?”

  Mel stood up and replied, “It’s a surprise. But you’ll like it.”

  Little Bit started to bounce up and down. “Can I help! Can I help!”

  Mel walked to the door and put her hand on Little Bit’s head. “Sure. You want to help cook?”

  “I do, I do!”

  “Alright. Come on,” Mel said as she headed for the kitchen.

  I pulled a pillow into a hug and said, “Call me when it’s ready.”

  “Whatever, lazy ass!” Mel called over her shoulder. I heard Little Bit laugh. But I didn’t care. I was comfortable. The rain lowered the temperature and made it very comfortable in the house. If it wasn’t for the humidity, it’d be perfect. There was a lot of moisture in the air because of the rain. And the wind was picking up outside as well. It made me think about lighting a fire in the fireplace to drive some of the moisture out of the house. But that could wait. I was enjoying the cool day for a change.

  Mel went out to the kitchen and took a big bowl out of the fridge. I could hear her talking to Little Bit.

  “I put the basics together yesterday,” she said.

  “What is it?”

  Mel placed a large cast iron skillet on the stove and said, “We’re going to make fried mush!”

  Little Bit clapped her hands. “I love fried mush!”

  Mel placed the bread pan full of cooked cornmeal from the fridge on the counter. Using a knife, she began to cut slices. With Little Bit’s help, they laid them out on a plate.

  Hearing this, I got up. I liked fried mush too! Wandering into the kitchen, I said, “Did I hear something about fried mush?”

  “Yeah!” Little Bit shouted. “Me and Mommy are making it!”

  Mel took a large mason jar out and dug into it with a spoon and dropped the grease into the pan, saying, “I wish we had bacon fat.”