Surviving Day By Day (Book 2): Fears, Flames, and Future

by Allensworth, Audra

  Then her mind quickly changed lanes as she thought of Colt. The night before, when he had kissed her, came back into her mind’s eye. How surprisingly happy she felt, but also how worried too, all at the same time. Worried about the memory he still had of Jessica and worried about how he would have felt about it if she hadn’t stopped him.

  Just then a noise made her turn around. There was Colt; he had gotten up and managed to get his jeans up and had gotten to the edge of the hall hopping and struggling to walk back to the bathroom. Within seconds Beth came up beside him and gently placed her arm around his waist, “And just where do you think you are going, Mister?”

  Colt looked over at her with a look of “Really?” but thinking of how nice it was that she was there helping him he grunted from being sore and stiff, “The bathroom, I am a grown man and I needed to go. I simply thought that I could…”

  Beth interrupted him and said, “Yes you can, but I am here and you need to realize that you have stitches in your leg and shoulder plus your broken collar bone, you are going to need help.”

  Colt let her help him balance and soon he was standing in the bathroom in front of the toilet. He stood there for a minute to let Beth leave, but she just stood there, he looked over at her, “Umm I think I think I can get this from here.”

  Beth smiled at him, “I’m not leaving, but I promise not to watch.”

  Colt sighed, he knew better than to argue, “Fine turn around at least.”

  Beth snickered and turned her back, “Better?”

  Colt shook his head wondering if he could go with her standing right there, but the fear was unfounded because his bladder was too full. Once he finished he quickly figured out he couldn’t even fasten his own pants, “SHIT!”

  Beth turned to look what was wrong and then silently went to him brushing his hand aside, “Stop being such a man! Ask for help!” Colt growled but made no other reply. Beth helped him to the kitchen, “It looks like Alden is up, I see coffee out on the fire. Do you want to go out or stay in here?”

  Colt hopped and leaned a little more on Beth, “To be honest, coffee sounds better each day.”

  As soon as Beth helped Colt over to the table, she held him close to her and with the other arm she quickly moved the chair out helping his sit down. “I will go get some coffee for us both. I think that coffee would be alright for you to have.”

  Once Colt was safely seated she went over to the cabinets and retrieved two cups. “Be right back.” Beth made her way outside and grabbed the coffee pot. Pouring both cups she went back inside and set the cups down. “I saw Ceara and Maximus out the front window how about we get you out there and we can see how she is doing?”

  Beth helped Colt and walked with him to the front porch. As the two got to Ceara’s cabin Beth grabbed a lawn chair for Colt so he could sit down, then turned and went back to the cabin to get the coffee. As she returned she saw Colt just sitting there petting Maximus. She looked at Ceara, “Morning, I see Maximus is doing a lot better. How are you doing Ceara?” asked Beth. Ceara seemed a little distant but Beth just chalked that up to the happenings of the night before.

  Ceara looked at Beth, “Pretty good…… just waking up and getting a little fresh air.” Ceara looked to Colt “How are you doing?”

  Beth walked over to Ceara and chuckled, “He’s ok, just being a man this morning, but he will be better after a cup of coffee. How’s Charlie doing?”

  Ceara looked back over to their cabin then answered, “I think he’s ok. When I got up he looked like he was having some sort of a bad dream or something and I just thought that I would come out and talk to Maximus.”

  Beth put her hand on Ceara’s shoulder, “Ceara, after last night and with everything that took place, I wouldn’t be surprised if we all have bad dreams for the next few nights to come. I wish things would have been different, but we all know this is the way that the world is now.”

  Ceara thought back to the events and then, in particular, about the boy she had been thinking about earlier. Too much had happened and the one thing that she was certain of was that she was glad that she was still alive and everyone else was too.

  Beth looked back up to Colt and Maximus. Both were appearing to become friends, which was a good thing. They both had war wounds now and this caused Beth to laugh. Ceara looked at Beth a little surprised and asked, “What?” Beth looked at Ceara, “Look at the two of them over there. They’re talking about their war wounds. Both of them now have stories and it seems that they are getting along just fine.”

  Ceara thought about when Colt had let Maximus get shot and how that had made her so mad, but seeing the two of them over there and thinking about what Beth had just said did cause Ceara to smile. “Yeah Beth…. You got a point there.”

  Tabitha had been up since Maximus barked; she was walking through her cabin looking around for Alden. She must have been sleeping soundly when he had gotten up, because when she woke up he was gone. When she hadn’t found him in the cabin she went back into the bedroom and got out a fresh pair of jeans and a black tee shirt that said ‘Not A Morning Person’ written in big bold hot pink letters across the chest. After she was dressed she went to make the bed and noticed some blood stains on the sheet where Alden had been sleeping. Quickly she turned and began to look once again for Alden. Her thoughts went to wondering if something had happened to him and if he walked out alone, was he ok? How long had he been up?? All these questions were running through her mind.

  Quickly she went to the front door and went outside. Hearing the laughter of Ceara and Beth, Tabitha ran over, “Any of you all seen Alden???!”

  Beth looked up and replied, “No, we just got up moving around. Isn’t he in you alls cabin?” Tabitha looked around and nervously said, “No... I I sleeping sound cause when I woke up he wasn’t around, I never heard him get up. I went to go get dressed and when I was making the bed I noticed blood stains on the sheets where Alden had been laying. I checked all over the cabin and he’s not there!”

  Ceara looked over to Beth then back to Tabitha. “Was there a lot of blood?”

  Tabitha answered, “No, but enough to cause me to think that something is wrong.”

  Beth looked up at Colt and seen Maximus sitting there with him. “Has anyone seen Tonto?”

  Ceara looked around and said, “Nope, the only one that was out here this evening was Maximus.”

  Suddenly everyone looked at one another and Tabitha went back to her cabin to get her gun. Beth walked behind her and said, “Let’s go check the woods. I am sure he went out for one of his walks and took Tonto with him.”

  Beth was trying to stay calm but was a bit worried that something might have happened to their leader and this really caused her to move faster. After Tabitha flew through the door she headed back to the bedroom and grabbed her piece. Beth went over to the bed and examined the amount of blood. Looking at where the placement of the dried blood was on the bed told Beth that is the wound was somewhere around the lower back. The blood was pretty dried and that told her that he had been gone a while. Just as Beth was about to turn around and check on Tabitha, she was already out of the room and headed out the door. Beth quickly jogged up behind her and before she knew it they were all standing over by Ceara again.

  Charlie’s dreams had been nothing but replays of the day before but with one twist. All the dead rose again, over and over. No matter how many times or ways he killed them, they just kept coming. Maximus’s barking brought him out of the dream He looked to the door and saw Ceara and Maximus sitting there, then closed his eyes and drifted off again. The next dream was peaceful to start. He was back home just walking down a street. People were passing him by going the other way when he suddenly saw Ceara. Charlie reached out and she simply smiled and walked away. He then saw Beth and Colt on the other side of the street; they were walking hand in hand and laughing. He turned back and Tabitha was directly in front of him, only she was wearing a Nun’s habit. She had no makeup and her hair was not s
howing but it was her face. She was talking, but no words came out. He could only read her lips that seemed to keep saying Run! She passed by him and as he turned, he watched the sky turn to a blood red. All the people stopped walking and turned towards him, their face changing into grotesque forms of dead. Charlie began to run as the others were giving chase. In front of him stood a tall thin old man, “Alden,” he mouthed but his words did not come out. The old man turned and it was Alden but he had turned into one of them. Charlie screamed and woke up sweat pouring off of him. Getting up he went to the bathroom. After relieving himself he splashed cold water on his face and then headed out to the porch.

  Seeing all of them there, he could tell by the looks in their eyes something seemed to be wrong. Ceara heard the door open and turned to him, “Alden’s missing and Tabitha thinks he may be hurt.”

  Charlie shook his head then listened as Tabitha explained what she saw. Stepping off the porch he reached down and took Colt’s coffee cup and took a sip. Colt didn’t resist but he looked surprised that Charlie would do something like that. Handing the cup back to Colt he turned and looked around the turned to the others. “Okay let’s just calm the fuck down.” He said it in a very even tone. Ceara almost giggled at hearing him cuss.

  “One of the first things Alden taught me was that not everything was as it appeared to be. So let’s just stop and look at this. Alden’s gone and so is Tonto. That means he has gone out doing what he does best protecting all of us. As far as the blood on the bed; I can only guess that like a lot of us he took some shrapnel or had been wounded slightly. Alden’s no fool, if he was hurt bad he’d have one of us look at it.”

  Charlie glanced at each of them, “The last thing is look at us, we’re all wounded in one way or another, and we ain’t professional soldiers, so none of us needs to be going off all Rambo or Commando to save him. We need to stay put until morning when we have light. I for one do not want to walk up on that old man and his dog in the woods in the dark. That is a life ending scenario to me.” Charlie looked at the group as he finished, then began to walk towards the steps of his cabin. He stopped and looked at Ceara and whispered in her ear, “That’s more talking than I’ve ever done in my life.” He kissed her gently. “I’m going to get some coffee if there’s any left.”

  Tabitha looked over to Beth then back over to Colt. Charlie did have a point but it still bothered her none the less. Beth calmly began speaking, “Tabitha, I hate to say this, but I do agree with Charlie. Tonto is with him, I know it. I say we do as Charlie suggested because I do need to check on his and Colt’s injuries. If we were to go out, those guys wouldn’t be able to make it quite yet. We can all figure out what to have for supper and just rest for the night and who knows maybe Alden is out trying to find us all something to eat. He is pretty damn good at that shit I must say.”

  Beth was grabbing at straws to try to get Tabitha’s mind off of going. In fact she was doing it for herself too because down deep inside, if it was to be known to any of the others, she was shitting bricks with worry over him.

  Tabitha looked at Beth, then out to the woods, “I guess you’re right…..it’s just that…”

  Beth interrupted, “I know Tabitha, but come on for just a minute…say he is out and about looking for Wanderers or better yet just having some ‘Me’ time. If Alden was to come back seeing all of us worrying incessantly over him, just what do you think that old man’s reaction would be?!!”

  Tabitha chuckled and did her best deep voice Alden impersonation, “Damn cupcakes!”

  Beth chuckled and put her arm around Tabitha’s shoulder, “Ya, you’re right, HIS cupcakes……so let’s just relax.”

  Tabitha laid her head on Beth’s shoulder and smiled, “Thanks Beth, I never had too much family when I was growing up and now that I have you guys I just can’t bear the thought of losing any of you all, if ya get what I am talking about.”

  Beth nodded, but stood there quietly with Tabitha looking out into the woods, not saying a word, just looking and praying that he was alright.

  Alden had walked for about an hour when he found a dirt service road. Stopping and looking up at the sky the stars were shining bright. Looking at his Timex watch he touched a button and the compass came up and glowed. Getting his bearings, he knew from the maps which way to go on the service road.

  Walking another half hour he found the ranger station he was looking for. He knelt in the woods just beyond it and watched for signs of movement, then tapped Tonto on the back; “Search” Tonto took off across the field. The darkness was intense so that he had to depend on Tonto for smoking out any Wanderers or live people. About fifteen minutes had past when Tonto came walking up and sat down.

  Alden knew it was safe so the two proceeded into the field. Reaching the station he explored it quickly. He found two large tanks on stilts. Turning the valve on one it spewed liquid. He turned it off and smiled at Tonto, “Gas station opens tomorrow at dawn. He walked a little further and found several sheds that were locked. Taking his knife out, he pried the latches open. One was simply a storage shed of old maps and paperwork for the parks campground and cabins. The next two were gold mines. Both held large crates of canned goods that the park had sold in a little general store.

  He finished his walk finding the horse trailers. Both looked in good working order. “Let’s get out of here boy. The kids may wake up and find Grandpa gone and wet themselves.”

  Alden grabbed a one pound can of Choc Full O Nuts coffee and started to head back. The walk back was quicker than going out he knew the route now. Using the service road and what he knew from the maps, he soon found the black top that led right to the camp. Using the roads, the walk back took less than an hour. He could hear the voices from the cabins as he came around his truck. “You cupcakes want to keep it down, you all sound like you’re having a frat party here.”

  Ceara waved to him, “Way to cause everyone to worry! Where were you and did you ever think to let anyone know you were leaving?”

  Alden cocked his head and laughed, “I’m a big boy and my mother isn’t here now is she?”

  Ceara smiled, but it made her wonder what the woman that raised him was like. Colt leaned forward in his chair, “Alden, Tabitha said there was blood in your bed, you ok?”

  Ceara cut back in again without giving Alden time to answer, “Let me guess, you are fine and no need to worry… Well we are worried, so answer the question just to appease us.”

  Alden walked to the edge of the cabin, “If you cupcakes want answers, you will wait long enough for me to get a cup of coffee and get seated.”

  With that he disappeared around the cabin. Everyone sat in silence waiting for him to return, each looking at the other wondering just how hurt he was. Ceara didn’t notice him limping or even wincing when he moved so she didn’t think it was bad.

  Alden came back around with a fresh cup of coffee and a chair, “Anybody want to tell me why we are out here and not out back where there is a fire to light the area and coffee, not to mention the ability to cook food?”

  Ceara blushed and took the lead on the explanation of her coming out just to talk to Maximus and well it just ended up like this. Alden sipped his coffee but never sat in the chair he brought, “If that is the only reason we are out here then I suggest we move to the back and get some dinner going.”

  Everyone started getting up but Tabitha put her hands on her hips, “You did not answer the question about you!”

  Alden smiled at her, “No I didn’t did I, I might after I have a full belly.”

  Colt stood reaching out for Charlie for support, but grabbed his hurt shoulder making Charlie go to a knee, Colt immediately apologized. “Oh shit Charlie, I am sorry man, I forgot about your arm. Are you ok?”

  Charlie stood back up holding his arm with a bead of sweat on his brow, “I’m ok, no worries Colt. No harm done.” He moved to the other side giving Colt his good shoulder, “Let’s get you back there.

  Colt laughed, “Dude tha
t ain’t going to work either, broke collarbone on that side.”

  Beth immediately came over and gently put her arm around Colt’s waist, “Here I am, now you walk with me….. we can move as slowly as you like.” Charlie looked over at Beth then looked to Colt, “Yeah bud let’s all hobble back there together….”

  All of them then walked, limped and hobbled around back and after getting back by the fire, Charlie began to laugh, Colt snickered, then as if contagious Beth started laughing too. However, Beth couldn’t see what was so funny, “What the hell are we all laughing about?”

  Charlie snickered then replied smugly, “We are all walking like we are going to play bridge with the seniors down at the local geriatric society lodge!”

  Beth damn near tripped, then caught herself and began laughing harder. “C’mon guys we got to sit down because the SENIOR is going to want to start his pow wow and I have to play nursie to all of you.”

  Colt chuckled as he began to sit down, “Well, can you at least warm your hands up the next time you go to check my wounds?”

  Charlie damn near fell on the ground, “Guys we are having too much fun here.”

  Once Colt was settled, Charlie took his seat, and Beth went over to grab a lawn chair and sat between both of the guys. Ceara sat to Charlie’s right and watched as Alden built the fire and made more coffee, “So I was thinking, we could use the last of the meat that Alden got to make a big pot of stew. I looked through our kitchen and found one of those huge pans. I can grab that and Tabitha if you would, you could grab some of the can veggies we got from the farm.”

  Alden smiled, “Good idea, I’ll cut up the meat and brown it up for you.” Ceara nodded, and headed into their cabin for the pot. By the time she got back Tabitha had gotten the vegetables and Alden was working on the last of the meat tossing it in the frying pan. “Ok, I got the pot and I filled it with water to cook everything.”

  Tabitha shook her head, “Girl you never done much cooking did you?”