No Normal Day III (West)

by Richardson, J.

  Bull was holding up his front leg and whining. It took quite a bit of coaxing to get him to let her lift him up under his middle and start moving him back to camp. David checked out the dead snake and then followed behind Pat and the others. Cody and Ashley decided to bring in the horses and get them tied up. Shawna threw down a blanket and Pat slowly lowered the big dog. She looked totally stricken as she murmured, “Poor ole boy, easy boy,” to the whimpering companion.

  David said, “I checked out the snake, it was a large Copperhead.”

  “I know,” Pat looked up, her eyes wet, “I saw the damned thing.”

  “Well, actually that is not so bad,” David continued, “Large Copperheads usually only expel enough venom to scare away their attacker, they control what they inject. It is also normal for them to stay still after they strike, they continue to use their camouflage as protection. If you know your animal was bitten by that type of viper, the vet usually gives no kind of treatment other than something for pain and swelling and infection of the wound site.” Pat and Shawna looked at the self taught “vet” David with amazement.

  “How do you know that?” said Pat.

  David said, “Oh, just study and listening to the vet in the church group. Anyway, we have some antibiotic cream and we can give Bull some meds for pain. He won't be good for several days and he will need a bed in the wagon. I think he will survive.”

  Pat jumped up and grabbed David, nearly knocking the breath out of him. Then she abruptly let go and put her hands in her pockets, “That's great. Thanks David.”

  He said, “There is one thing, he possibly could have some damage to that leg, some muscle or tissue loss.”

  “Okay...okay. He's hurting, where is that medicine?” said Pat.

  They got the dog a little more comfortable. He got lots of attention that evening as he lay on the blanket by the fire, everyone was relieved to know that he would probably survive the attack. Of course, the thought of what if it had been one of them, hung in their minds. Reminders of the caution they had to constantly take. They would have to compensate for the loss of Bull's watching and warnings for now. The attack made them realize how much they had come to depend on him.

  ***

  With the injured dog bedded down behind the wagon seat, it was time to move towards the unknown environs of the town ahead. It was less than an hour on the road when the small caravan clopped and creaked into the silence of the highway town. For about twenty minutes, they saw nothing other than the usual deteriorating cityscape. They were approaching the tall overpass that took the Interstate highway over the western road, still no signs of life. Most of the way there had been a path through the dead automobiles. As they moved through the shadowed overpass, a short distance ahead there was a solid wall of cars.

  Cody looked to both sides of the road. He nodded to David to drop behind the wagon, as they had discussed during their strategy meeting. To their right was a sprawling old shopping mall. They started angling towards the parking lot in a gallop. Cody, Ashley and Shawna were leading, Pat and the wagon being followed by David. About half way across the wide grassy shoulder of the road, shots rang out from the overpass. Pat's camo fatigue cap went flying away. Cody slapped his horses flank and the caravan picked up their pace to a run. The wagon bumped off of the curb and there was one loud howl from Bull, with Pat yelling eey-yah-go-mules. David in the behind and Shawna in the front, pulled up and started firing off shots at the overpass. After a barrage of fire, they fell in behind the others who were dashing along the outer street of the mall parking lot. Shots were still raining down from the overpass.

  When the caravan reached the end of the parking lot they moved back up on the highway. They had to slow their speed to maneuver around the cars but they were finally leaving the town on the opposite side. They were out of firing range and saw no one following, so they pulled off into a picnic area to regroup. PFC Pat was calming the dog. Rubbing her hand across her own head, a tiny bit of blood stained her fingers. The others dismounted and came back to the wagon to check on her and Bull.

  Ashley spotted the blood, “Pat, are you okay?”

  “Yeah, but the bastards killed my cap,” she growled.

  Ashley said, “Let me take a look.” Pat's head was just grazed. They cleaned it and put some antibiotic cream on it, the stuff that Beth and Jack had called magic elixir. Bull had taken quite a bouncing beating, they gave him some more pain medication. Everyone else came out mostly unscathed except for a few scrapes and bullet ripped clothing. Ashley had a gash on her lower leg where a shot burned right by.

  David rummaged around in the wagon and came up with a straw western hat. “Guess you will have to be a cowgirl now,” he said, handing it to Pat. She plopped it down on her head and they all smiled at the giddy-up soldier. They needed to let the horses cool down after that run and check out the wagon's condition.

  Cody said, “I don't think we should stop for long, someone could be following.” After about a thirty minute rest, watching the road the whole time, they continued down the western road. They needed to move some distance from the town and get travel time in before making camp for the night. They did not spot anyone the whole afternoon. Still, Cody had an uneasy feeling about the town. They could have fared much worse but he kept a nervous watch behind and around them, trying to dispel that “someone is following us” feeling.

  The weary travelers camped that night without incidence. Infection being a big issue in these days, they kept a close watch on Ashley, Pat and the dog's injuries. They made sure they were clean and treated. It was a sultry and uncomfortable night and they all took watches. They were tired and a bit beat up but still felt the need to move on down the road, so the caravan moved out early the next morning. They pushed and managed to get in about twenty miles. A stand of trees close to a creek that was down to just a trickle of flow, was their stopping place the second night after the town.

  The fire that they had built earlier in the evening was dying down to low embers. They had moved Bull and his pallet near the fire, he had made no effort to get up. David assured them that the dog's instinct was to rest and that he would get better. Pat managed to get him to drink water and eat a bite or two of dried meat. There was a haze of pale moonlight, mostly the camp and surrounding woods were dark. David had taken the first watch and sat on a bucket at the edge of the trees.

  A dirty hand came around his mouth and a rock came down hard on his head. He slumped to the ground. Three men moved into the camp with their rifles drawn. There had been no warning from the suffering shepard and no time for the four at the campsite to react. One of the invaders spat out, “You throw your guns over here. Get them horses saddled and that wagon hooked up...now!...move.” The other two bearded and grubby men pushed at the girls with the barrel of their guns.

  Ashley and Shawna started saddling up the horses. Shawna whispered in a panicked voice, “Where's David?” Ashley nodded a negative, holding a hope that he was in the woods and would come to their aid. Cody and Pat moved to harness the mules to the wagon.

  The first guy sneered, “Hey, soldier girl, what's wrong with the dog?”

  Pat said, “He's real sick.” She started to say snake bite but had a second thought, “He got bit by a raccoon...might be rabies. You better stay away from him.” The man stumbled back a step.

  They continued to hold the guns on them, tried to look around the camp somewhat. They didn't like the idea of the dog, however. One of the men climbed up in the wagon and started steering it away from the camp. The remaining men mounted the horses and grabbed the reins of the other two. “You try to follow us and we will shoot you dead.” He shot about three shots into the ground in front of them, spraying grass and dirt into the fire, making it crackle and snap. They galloped past the wagon and the wagon picked up it's pace, they moved into the inky distance and disappeared.

  As soon as they faded into nothing, Shawna wailed, “Oh god, where is David?” They all moved towards where he was standing
guard and found him moaning on the ground. Shawna knelt beside him and tried to bring him around, “David, honey...are you okay? Wake up, David please.” He was not responding and they couldn't see a thing. Cody and Pat picked him up and moved him back towards the fire. Ashley threw some more limbs and leaves on the fire. Cody reached in a vest pocket and pulled out a flashlight, shining the beam up and down David. They spotted the bloody hair, Cody instantly felt helpless. Everything that they had, all the carefully gathered and planned supplies that had been allowing them to survive, was gone. All the preparations that made it possible to conquer the difficulties they had encountered, vanished into the night with the three outlaws. How had this happened...how had he let it happen? How was he going to help David?

  Pat saw the look of despair in the eyes of her newly acquired friends. PFC Pat had been on her own for a lot of miles and years, she was not easily defeated. The soldier girl stood, rubbed her hands together and said with a firm voice, “Okay. My rabies story at least scared the scum bags from doing much real searching. My backpack is over there by that tree. Let's get it and see what we have to take care of David. We unloaded a couple of gallons of clean water for the night. Shawna get that towel you hung up earlier and let's get that wound cleaned.”

  While they were cleaning the wound, Ashley holding the flashlight, David started rousing slowly. He was dazed and hurt but he was coming around. “Wha..the hell..appened?” he slurred.

  “Sh-sh, be still,” said Shawna and kissed him on the forehead.

  Pat had lived out of that pack for a very long time, it had a lot of basic necessities in it. They found some first aid supplies, got David's head treated and wrapped and gave him some aspirin. They had all thrown their sleeping bags out of the wagon when they first arrived. Shawna rolled out David's bed and got him settled on it. Since the thieves had not bothered to even search them, they all still had a small pistol and knife. Everyone kept those two items in their boots. They just stood around, feeling stunned and lost without their wagon full of supplies, without the horses. Bull was still sleeping by the fire, he had barely moved through the whole incident. Cody was so angry and frustrated, there was no way he was going to sleep right now. Shawna was going to stay up with David. Actually, they thought they needed to keep him awake for at least a while. They had no idea if he had a concussion or how bad the head injury was. It looked bad, swollen and he had a huge headache. Ashley and Pat decided to try to get some sleep so they could relieve the others later.

  Shawna was sitting beside David, speaking to him quietly. Cody was squatting by the fire, keeping it going for light and safety. He heard a slow clop...clop, in the distance and drawing slowly nearer. He was instantly alert, “Damn it, they are coming back.” He shook Pat and Ashley, “Listen...” They all were awake and had their pistols ready. The small weapons felt terribly inadequate but they were better than nothing. Bull raised his head and gave a weak low growl. The clopping was close and the black figure of a horse moved across the grass. It stopped and started grazing. Cody raised his pistol, he could still not make out the horse or rider. He moved with caution towards the shadow and realized that there was no rider. It was his own chestnut mare, the saddle hung sideways, the reins dragging along the ground. He peered into the dark, surveying the surroundings, still looking for the outlaws returning. He didn't see or hear anything. He moved to pat the horse's neck and capture the reins. The scabbard holding his rifle still was attached to the saddle. He led the horse back towards the camp. Shawna exhaled in relief and sat back down beside David. Ashley started laughing, “I'll be damned. I left the saddle loose, I was hoping the mare would sling that scum to the ground.” They were all glad to see the mare.

  The morning came bright and hot. They had all gotten very little but some sleep. David had managed to sit up and he seemed more lucid. He raised his hand to his sore head and winced, “Boy, feels like a boulder fell on me,” he said.

  Cody said, “Not quite but it was a pretty big rock. How are you feeling?”

  “Not good...hell of a headache.” muttered David. “What happened?”

  Shawna told the story. David looked around, “No s—t! The wagon...our supplies? The horses and mules?” He spotted the mare, “Why didn't they take the chestnut?”

  “She slung one of them off and came back,” Cody grinned.

  David said, “What are we going to do?”

  Bull had shakily raised up to sitting and Pat was giving him a drink. She gave him a pat and said, “First, we better take a look at what we do have.”

  The coffee and coffee pot had been put by the fire the evening before, ready for morning and the two gallons of water sat there. Ashley said, “Okay, I am going to make us some coffee and we will talk.”

  Shawna moved the saddle behind David and got him propped up. All of them kept a small amount of personal things rolled up in their sleeping bags. Each had a little bag with various necessities or things that were important to them. They had their own cup and were responsible for keeping it clean. The five friends had a cup of coffee and started to discuss the status of their survival.

  Cody was feeling better, they would make a plan and work together, they could overcome this. He said, “What's gone is gone. There is nothing we can do about it. Going backwards and fighting an unknown enemy is not an option. We have to work with what we have and use our heads and keep going.”

  Pat said, “Well, you know I have a lot of stuff in my backpack. I still have a few water purifying tablets and a small filter. Some first aid supplies. We all have our sleeping bags. We have the coffee pot and the big pan we cooked in last night.”

  “Of course, we are not going to have anything to cook,” said an exasperated Ashley.

  “Not true,” said Cody, “We still have some guns, we can hunt.”

  David said, “That can that I was sitting on last night was full of rice.”

  Shawna went for the can and they started gathering their belongings in a pile. It was not much, but they did have some basics. They all had their small pistols, Cody had the rifle. They didn't have a lot of ammo but everyone kept some on them and in those little personal bags. Thank goodness, Jack's maps were still in the bag on Cody's saddle. They had the bucket of rice and there was some salt and pepper, utensils, their five bowls and a bundle of dried venison stuck down in the large pot, from the supper the night before.

  Cody looked over at Bull, who had laid back down. “We will need to make some sort of sled that the mare can pull, it will have to hold Bull and our supplies. If we stay here a day or two and make our preparations, maybe David will be up to riding. It is going to take a lot more work and thought to survive now.”

  Shawna said, “When we start moving again, we can scavenge. Remember, how we used to go on trips to search for supplies?”

  “Yeah,” said Ashley, “I don't think we will find much food out there, but we will probably be able to find some other things still around. I think all of us girls have a spare shirt and maybe everyone has an extra pair of socks in their bags, but that's about it.”

  Cody stood up and took a big breath, “Let's get busy. We will have to start thinking right now about at least one meal today. David, you eat some of that jerky and get some rest. While it is still early, I am going to take the rifle and go back into those trees. Maybe I can get a rabbit or a bird. We can't let the fire go out completely.”

  Pat said, “I will fill the pot with water from the creek. We will filter it best we can, put a tablet in it and put it on the fire.”

  Shawna said she would check on David and Bull's wounds and get them treated. Ashley would go along with Cody. When they all finished these jobs, they would start working on a sled. They all took a slice of jerky, finished the coffee and went to the work of the day.

  By the evening, they did not have a sled but they had a good idea of how they would construct it. They would use saplings and rope that Cody had carried on his saddle. He had a large hunting knife and Pat had a saw device made
from wire. Their sled would be more of a litter. It took some creative thinking to come up with materials to make the harness straps for the horse. They would use the web strapping from Pat's backpack and also have to cut up the rifle scabbard from Cody's saddle. They would take one of the sleeping bags and put their supplies in it, tying it on to the back of the litter and place the shepard and his bed in front of that. Their boots would not be good for walking, like they were for riding. They would have to just do the best they could and hope to find something better up ahead.

  Ashley took a rabbit that Cody shot and made a stew with the rice. The challenge had been to transfer the water they were purifying to another container. They finally had to empty the rice out of the bucket and tie it up in one of the girl's shirts, so they could use the five gallon bucket. After using the rest of a gallon of clean water for the stew, they would have that container. They agreed that they best fill the bucket though, they had no idea what water would be there as they traveled. They stayed two more days, a total of three at the camp. Pat rigged up a pole and line and caught two fish from a deeper part of the creek. Cody shot a couple of dove with his rifle. The eating was lean. They ran across a berry patch, some wild scallions and a nest with three small eggs in it. At least rice was filling.

  David and Bull were both up and hobbling around like old men, by the evening of the third day. They were improving, yet neither would be up to long days of walking. The next morning, their supplies were tied down in the sleeping bag on the litter, Bull and his bed secured to the front. It was attached with their improvised harness to the mare, David was in the saddle. They all had a strip of the last of the jerky. The map showed that they would be heading towards a small community. They might make it today, with their pace slowed to walking it could take until tomorrow. It was now into the third week of June and the heat was stifling. The travelers trekked along, looking for any place that might hold a promise of supplies.