The Shelter: The Aftermath

by Ira Tabankin

  “I got them.”

  “Jay, how did your toes feel when you tried to move them?”

  “They felt they were encased in cement. It took me a long time, but I did move them.”

  “That’s excellent progress. I want you to try to move them four times a day. I want you to squeeze my fingers. Push your leg up against my hand, good. Let’s try to move your feet. That’s very good. You’re moving your toes on your right foot. Let’s try the left, excellent. You’re making good progress.”

  “When can I get out of bed?”

  “Not for a while. I think you need to get stronger.”

  “Doctor, I really need to get out of this room. I know the Captain is coming to address us today, I would like to be at the meeting.”

  “I don’t know how that’s possible.”

  “I stocked four fold up wheelchairs, couldn’t I use one of them to attend the meeting?”

  “Lacy, if I allow him to go and he can sit in the wheelchair will you stay with him every minute?”

  “Of course.”

  “I haven’t looked at the wheelchairs since we entered the shelter, I need to inspect them and see if Jay can sit in one before I decide. Jay, please repeat back to me the three words I showed you.”

  Lacy was praying that Jay would be able to repeat the three words, she wanted to give him a hint, Doctor Basco asked her to wait outside so she couldn’t give him any hints. Lacy was allowed back into the room by a smiling doctor. “He remembered. I ordered the chair to see how he does.”

  “Thank you, doctor.”

  Ricky rushes to the cafeteria to tell people that Jay couldn’t remember anything this morning before he pressed the call button. The worry and fear increased in his neighbors and friends. They worried he wouldn’t remember how to lead and defend them.

  Chapter 20

  Jay pulls himself to the edge of the bed so he can slide into the wheelchair. He quickly learns getting out of bed is a more difficult task than he ever gave any thought to. He has to use his arms and upper body strength to pull himself off the bed. As soon as he sits up, he loses balance and falls back against the bed, in more normal times it would make a decent comedy skit. Today, he’s getting pissed that he can’t even sit unassisted. He looks confused and worried,

  “Doc, what’s wrong?”

  “Jay, People who have been bedridden for a long time usually have a few issues being vertical for the first time. It’s normal for you to be weak. If it continues, there might also be a problem with your inner ear or maybe your heart. Let me check you over.”

  Todd, who’s standing in the doorway smiles saying, “Dad, it can’t be your heart, you don’t have one. Everyone knows you’re a heartless, thoughtless, dark side Republican. There’s only a lump of coal in your chest.”

  “You better hope I don’t remember that. When I get better, I’m going to teach you a lesson in respecting your elders.”

  “You’re not my elder, you’re a dinosaur.”

  Lacy smiles knowing Todd’s trying to goad Jay into using his strong will to get him focused and out of bed. She’s happy Todd is playing with Jay’s emotions trying to get him to force himself out of bed and light the fire in his belly.

  “Jay, try to sit up, I’ll place pillows behind you for support. I’m going to perform a quick exam.”

  Doctor Basco listens to Jay’s heart, he asks Jay to follow his eyes with his finger. He checks his strength by Jay squeezing the Doctor’s fingers.

  Lacy looks on whispering, “God, please heal Jay.” Todd overhears Lacy’s prayer while smiling because he’d just silently asked God to use his healing power on Jay.

  “Jay, I want to run a quick EKG, lie back down.”

  “Doc, is there something wrong?”

  “I’ll know more after the EKG.”

  The wires are quickly attached to the sticky pads placed on each ankle and Jay’s chest. The machine hums and spits out twelve inches of chart paper. Doctor Basco looks at the chart. He bends over listening to Jay’s heart.

  “Nurse, please remove the wires and pads, you can put the EKG away.”

  “Well?”

  Doctor Basco sits down on the side of the bed. “Jay, you have a defective aortic valve. It’s regurgitating. When you sit or stand, the blood doesn’t reach your head quickly enough. The result is you feel dizzy. When you sit or stand pause a moment to get your balance, you’ll be alright.”

  Lacy looks on concerned, “Is he going to be alright?”

  “One day, he’s going to need a valve replacement. It’s not a major operation, other than it’s an operation on his heart.”

  Todd yells into the room, “He doesn’t have one.”

  “He does, I found it. I too was surprised he had a heart. I wasn’t sure he had one either. If we had a fully functional hospital, he would be in and out in two~three days. Today, I don’t know. “Maybe Captain Black knows of a fully functional hospital. Most of those close to us or in Nashville were looted for their drugs. Many were torched.”

  Lacy looks at her husband and the doctor, “Is he going to be able to function normally until a hospital is located?”

  “Yes, he has to be careful about falling. Falling harms more people his age than the heart valve does.”

  “Asshole, I’m sitting next to you, I heard that. I’m not that old.”

  “Shut up, when you’re in my hospital, I’m in charge. If you don’t behave, I’ll sedate you.”

  “Damn it.”

  “Nurse, please bring me 10 cc of…”

  “You win, I’ll shut up.”

  “It’s good to be the boss. Jay, the nurse is going to show you how to sit up, how to handle the dizziness, you’re going to listen to her. If you don’t and you return with fall caused broken bones, I’ll stitch your mouth closed.”

  Todd covers his mouth laughing.

  “Todd, be careful, the day will come when you’ll be in here. I’ll get my revenge on you.”

  “I’m out of here.”

  “Jay, I’m going to help you into the wheelchair so you can attend the meeting. I don’t want you tiring yourself out too much.”

  “Okay. I understand. Let’s go, I want to be in the cafeteria before anyone else arrives. I want to be there to welcome the Captain and John. In fact, I want to spend a few minutes privately with John before I meet with the captain.”

  Lacy nods in agreement, “I’ll arrange it.”

  @@@@@

  Captain Black and John return to the shelter where everyone has been awaiting their return. Fred welcomes them as they step through the portal. “John, Captain, we have wonderful news, Jay is awake. He’s coherent, he’s making sense and doesn’t appear to have any mental disorders.”

  John smiles and hugs Fred, “That’s the best news I’ve heard in a long time. I know enough to know that there’s always bad news when the good news starts a conversation.”

  “There are two minor issues, one being the feeling in his legs is taking longer than anyone expected to return. He can’t stand yet. The other is he’s suffering from some short term memory issues which seem to come and go.”

  Captain Black asks, “What does your doctor think?”

  “He hasn’t told us yet. We’re just happy to have him back with us.”

  Captain Black asks, “Will it be possible for me to speak with him?”

  “We can ask the doctor. I don’t see why not. Lacy talks with him all of the time. John, what can you tell us about the farm?”

  Before John can respond, Captain Black raises his hand saying, “John, let’s wait until the meeting. I would think it best if everyone heard the news at the same time.”

  “Okay.”

  Fred looked at John with questioning eyes. John replied by shrugging his shoulders informing Fred something was wrong, but he couldn’t say what it was. They stopped to chat with everyone they see. Lacy greets them in the hallway before they reach the cafeteria. She hugs John whispering in his ear,

  “Jay wants
to meet with you before he meets with the Captain.”

  John nods, “Captain, there’s something I need to take care of. Why don’t you allow Lacy to show you some more of the shelter? I’ll only need a few minutes.”

  “Okay, Lacy, where we should we visit?”

  “I thought you might like to see our school and play area.”

  Knowing he’s being led away from the cafeteria so that John can meet with Jay he nods his agreement while thinking, Jay must have summoned John. I hope he keeps his mouth closed about my surprise. I’ll follow along with what they want in order to see what happens at the meeting.

  John sees Jay sitting in the wheelchair, “Jay, it’s great to see you out of bed. How are you feeling?”

  “I’ve been better. Our time is short, what can you tell me about the Army and the Captain?”

  John sits next to Jay, he leans over whispering in Jay’s ear. Jay’s eyebrows rise in surprise. “He repaired and rebuilt our homes? What did he do to mine?”

  “He’s had people finishing your castle working 24 hours a day. On the other hand, they’ve removed most of our mines and traps.”

  “John, is he friend or foe?”

  “I’d have to say friend, but he wants something, something big. It’s something only you can agree to. It’s going to be up to you to agree or disagree to his request.”

  “Do you know what it is?”

  “Jay, I gave him my word, please don’t ask me to break my word.”

  “Will what he wants hurt us?”

  “No, I think it will help, however, you’re the only one who can make the decision.”

  “Thank you.”

  @@@@@

  Lacy leads Captain Black on a mini tour while checking her watch, Captain Black asks, “Have we given your husband and John enough time to talk? Can we return to the cafeteria now?”

  Lacy blushes nodding, “I think so, let’s return to the cafeteria.”

  “Lacy, it's okay. I expected Jay to want to chat with John before the meeting. I wasn’t surprised nor hurt by it. If Jay hadn’t asked to see John before the meeting, I would have lost some respect for your husband. He’s very smart. I've liked and respected your husband since we discovered your well-defended farms. I very much look forward to meeting him.”

  “Captain, my advice to you is; he has a short temper, he doesn’t like bullshit. He hates it. He also doesn’t like to be told what people think he wants to be told. Tell him the truth. Tell it to him straight up. Tell him the good and the bad. He’ll make a decision and tell you his reasons for making it. Some think he has a closed mind; he doesn’t. He listens to input, he discards BS advice and may not listen to those who BS him. Don’t treat him like a child, don’t talk down to him. He’s a very fast learner.”

  “Lacy, thank you. I’ll make sure I treat him as an equal.”

  They turn around to walk back towards to the cafeteria.

  @@@@@

  Lacy and Captain Black arrive at the cafeteria thirty minutes early, they see John, Fred and Todd sitting with Jay. Jay smiles at Lacy and the Captain.

  “Captain, welcome to our shelter.”

  “Thank you. I’m amazed at the shelter. I've been eager to meet you since we arrived. You did a hell of a job building and protecting it. My people also like your castle. We are wondering if you’re planning on making chainmail armor and acquiring horses. Planning any jousting tournaments?”

  “We passed on chainmail, we’re going directly to full body armor, head to toe. No lances or jousting. I like M4s and shotguns.”

  “I’m sure you do. How are you feeling?”

  “I’ve felt better, given I was shot a few times, I’m doing okay. I can’t stand too well yet. Doc said I could attend the meeting if I used the wheelchair. To be honest with you, without it, I would be in bed. I feel useless and worthless spending all day in a hospital bed.”

  “Jay, you’ll be up and around very soon.”

  “Captain, thank you. Captain, did you say your name was Black?”

  “That’s correct. You’re looking at me like we’ve met before. If we’d had, I would have remembered you. The captain notices a very strange look come over Jay’s face. “Jay, is something wrong?”

  “No. It’s not something I want to discuss right now. Maybe later.”

  “If I can ask, what happened to your previous home?”

  “A tornado struck our house. There was nothing left but debris, no ruby shoes, no wicked witch. I looked for Toto and didn’t find him either.”

  “Of course not, we’re not in Kansas, we’re in Tennessee. Had we been in Kansas you would have found your rainbow.”

  Lacy and John shake their heads, Lacy lightly whacks Jay in the back of his head. “That wasn’t even funny.”

  “I thought it was.”

  Captain Black smiles, “I did too.”

  “You’re both two of a kind.”

  “Jay, let me change the subject, why a castle versus rebuilding your house?”

  “Captain, look at history, castles have stood for centuries, they’ve been used to defend areas for thousands of years. Built right, one will stand up to a heavy storm, the walls are bullet proof, small high windows will make it almost impossible to break in. The walls are very well insulated making it cool in the summer and warm in the winter. I think that covers it.”

  “Too bad you don’t have a moat to go along with it.”

  “Our moat is our fighting trench. Plus we have a trench cut in the driveway and the yard is mined. I’d suggest you tell your people not to wander the fields or my lawn, while Todd told me the mines have been safed, there are hundreds of hunting traps and punji pits. Your people can get badly hurt if they’re not careful. I wouldn’t want any of the saving Calvary to be harmed by our defenses.”

  “Jay, I think we’ve found most of your mines and traps. We have ground penetrating radar which has enabled us to locate your buried surprises for uninvited visitors. My specialists are very impressed with your defensive design.”

  “Thank you. Our security chief, John laid out the plan. Even with all of the mines and traps we’ve been overrun twice. We were able to attrit the hell out of the invaders but in the end we lost.”

  “No, you didn’t. Any battle you walk away from is a win. You saved your people. You got overrun twice and only lost one person? I wish I had such a good record. You should be very proud of what you’ve accomplished. You’ve proven yourself to be a very good commander.”

  “Captain, I’m very sad, I lost one of my neighbors, a man who wasn’t a soldier, he was a patriot, he took up arms next to me to defend his home. He took up a rifle to defend what was his from those who wanted to take away what was his. He lost his life, it was my fault he died. I’m not a good leader, I cost one of my friends his life. I got a number of my friends wounded. I got shot. I should have died versus losing a neighbor.”

  “May I sit?”

  “Please do.”

  “Jay, listen to me. I know you never served in the military. I know you didn’t have any formal military training. Even without formal military training, you put together a defensive group that was able to drive off much larger groups. You were outnumbered, you were outgunned. You stood up to the Russian Spetsnaz! Jay that’s the best forces they have and you beat them. Your defensive plan beat them. We captured a handful of demoralized, leaderless Russians. If you hadn’t built your defenses, they would have taken over the farm, using it as a base of operations to bring havoc to the local area. They would have killed hundreds. You saved hundreds of people. Your planning saved your neighbors. Don’t feel sorry for yourself. I know how the guilt over losing someone eats at you, it’s like a shark eating your insides. I’ve been there. I’ve had to write the letters home. Nothing hurts more than writing those letters. Don’t let yourself be consumed by guilt. You didn’t do anything wrong. You saved all of the people in this shelter. In fact, Jay, please allow me to salute you. This is the first time in our current mission that we’ve
arrived on site to find people doing well and surviving the meltdown. You’ve got nothing to be ashamed about.”

  “Captain, everyone’s home was trashed, many lost family treasures. Many lost keepsakes which can’t be replaced. Many…”

  “Jay, stop it. We’ve been to towns where the people are walking skeletons, they are starving to death. We’ve been to towns which are being ruled by warlords who have taken slaves. We’ve driven through towns that were empty without a sign of anyone. They just disappeared. This is the first area we’ve entered where the homeowners fought back and won.”