Alden had turned and was walking toward Charlie, “get some shovels we got graves to dig.” He hadn’t gone a few feet when he heard Biffs voice in a whisper. “It’s okay son, we’ll be with them soon.”
Alden spun back around but it was too late. Biff had pulled a pistol from his side and shot the boy, then himself.
Charlie’s eyes were wide as screamed. “NOOOOOOOOO.” Ceara screamed, ‘MY GOD.” Tabitha and Alden in unison yelled, “FUCK.”
Heath simply sat back on the Humvee his mouth open as tears came to his eyes. Alden walked over to the bodies as Heath looked up,
“Why the hell did we even come down here? Why the fuck did we waste are fucking time and risk our fucking lives for this shit.”
Colt was standing in the yard just a few feet away from the bodies. He raised his head and was just looking around, “It’s my fault… I brought him over. It’s all my fucking fault.”
Alden reached down and picked up the pistol shoving it in his belt. He then knelt and gently rolled the young boy over then lifted him and walked into the cabin. As he came back he stood on the porch and looked out at his own family.
Beth walked up behind Colt and ever so gently touched his back. Colt trembled but was madder than anything else. Quickly he turned and walked away like most typical men, but Beth knew a little more about Colt than he himself thought anyone knew. Colt had walked over to a huge oak tree where he hit his fist as hard as he could; pieces of bark flew off after the impact.
Beth reached out and grabbed his bloody hand and caressed it as a Mom would have. “Colt, let’s walk over here.” Colt turned looking directly towards Beth and when their eyes met that was when tears began to form. Gently Beth put her arm around his waist and guided him on a little path. “Colt, we did what we did cause that is the kind of people we are. These people here…” as she turned around looking at the family that was dead, then back to Colt, “This man did what he thought that he had to do for his family. Grant you, to us Colt, TO US it was wrong but we are different. This was his world,”
Beth so wanted to say RedneckVille but she thought that would not have any tact to it so slowly she continued, “Colt, he just didn’t see any hope, and if this has been the way he has grown up all of his life then his answer was right…. To him hope was gone. His wife laid dead, along with his other boy and now being left with his youngest son and him… his heart just couldn’t take it.”
She found a wooden bench where she helped Colt sit down then sat beside him, “Alden said it himself, we will have to be on the move here in a couple days or so. These people right here would have to move on without us around, and that would be pretty damn hard. Hell, we are all scared and yet we are still trying to take one day at a time.”
Beth felt like she was just being a broken record and that was when she decided to stop. Brushing the hair out of her face and the tears that were now on her chin, she looked over at Colt, “I am glad that you were there in that Rover when you found me and I am damn glad you took me in.” Slowly she leaned over to the side of his face and gently placed her lips on his cheek and whispered, “you did what you thought was right and so did Biff.”
Alden looked at Tabitha, “You get Biffs legs and let’s get them in the house” Tabitha reached down grateful she didn’t have to get his shoulders. The two carried him in, laid him on the bed next to Jeff. As they turned Charlie came in carrying Jr. Ceara and Heath were behind him with Carol Ann. With bodies placed on the bed neatly Alden looked at his family, “You all gather what we can use, only food and weapons no personal stuff.”
Tabitha turned and walked out of the small bedroom and saw a gun rack on the wall. She found a canvas bag to load the two guns in. Next to the gun rack was a gun safe, she tried the handle and it opened. Inside it were a couple more rifles, a pistol and several boxes of ammunition. She loaded the bag up and turned to walk out to the Humvee when saw another compound bow by the door along with a crossbow. “Charlie, grab those can you?”
Charlie saw the bows and reached down. While picking them up he saw a wooden crate that held arrows for both weapons. Laying the bows on top he picked it all up and walked out placing it in the back of the Rover. Ceara had used Wal-Mart shopping bags and had packed up all the canned goods. She saw a picture of Jesus at the last supper and went to reach for it. Alden’s hand gently touched her arm. “I said no personal stuff.”
Ceara turned to him, “I don’t mean any disrespect to them, I was just thinking of Charlie. He might like to have that around, being raised in a Catholic orphanage.”
Alden looked to the door then back to Ceara and nodded. She placed the picture in its own bag. Heath had gathered the Coleman lanterns and cans of gas to fill them. Placing them in a wooden box, he headed out the door. Alden walked around the little house throwing paper and bits of wood from the fireplace. He walked out and returned with a gas can he had found in the shed. He poured the gas on the bodies then scattered the rest of the gas as he walked to the door.
Throwing the can back in he took a piece of newspaper lighting a cigarette with his lighter then lit the paper and threw it in the front door. The gas caught fire quickly as Alden stepped back turned and walked to the Humvee, which Heath had moved away from the house. Everyone was standing there just looking at the house going up in flames. Charlie was holding Ceara, Beth had her arm around Colt, even Heath and Tabitha were holding and squeezing each other’s hand. As the fire engulfed the house the roof caved in. When it did Alden climbed in the Humvee, “MOUNT UP.” The rest climbed into the vehicles and they drove away. No one spoke a word as they made their way back to Alden’s house. All had the same thought; they knew in their hearts, that all they had was today…..
Chapter 14 – A Hard Reality
As group pulled back up to Alden’s home, everyone seemed to be on autopilot. The fresh supplies, for the most part stayed in the Rover. Ceara had brought out some of the bread that Carol must have baked that day; she wanted to make a stew. Ceara had always had bread with stew and now she would share that with the others. As she climbed the steps she glanced over at them, “These clothes are going to be a nightmare to clean.”
Alden chuckled, “If everyone gets changed now, you can use the washing machine but the dryer is off limits. That would drain the generator too fast.”
Ceara brightened up, “Do you think we could do maybe three loads?” Alden nodded, “Make’em count, I don’t want it used any more than that.”
Ceara called out, “Ok, everyone go get all your jeans plus your clothes from today! We will actually have clean jeans!”
Ceara watched as everyone but Colt went to their stuff, she went to Charlie, “I don’t think Colt is ok, he hasn’t looked at any of us at all.”
Colt sat on the ground looking in the direction of the family’s cabin, watching the smoke fill the sky. Charlie gave Ceara a kiss, “I’ll go talk to him.”
As he started turned to go to Colt, Ceara stopped him, “Honey, I think Alden is going over.”
Charlie looked from Alden to Colt, “Ok, well Alden does know the right things to say.” He turned back and started digging in his bag again.
Colt sat with his back against the tree, the bark was digging into his bad shoulder but he didn’t care. He felt pain and because of him, Jeff would never feel again. Alden stepped up leaning on the tree looking out to the woods, “Rough day…”
Colt kept his eyes averted, “Yeah, it was”
Alden walked over to a wood pile and picked a large fairly round piece about two feet long, and about a foot and a half wide. He lifted it easy enough and dropped it on its end right beside Colt, then went over and grabbed a thick stick. Alden went and sat on the stump. Colt was now watching out of the corner of his eye; Alden had pulled out his knife and was stripping the bark off the stick. They sat like this for several minutes before Colt broke the silence, “How could he do that?”
Alden continued whittling on the stick, “Don’t know.”
Colt pic
ked up a piece of the stripped bark and began drawing in the dirt, “I don’t get it, he could have offed himself and I would have taken the kid with us.”
Once again Alden just continued with the stick but not saying a word. Colt just sat there waiting, and then blurted out, “You wouldn’t stop me either, I wouldn’t have left him there to die.”
Alden flipped the knife burying part of the blade into a tree, “Didn’t say I would stop you, but what you have to ask yourself is, what Biff was thinking? When Jessica died and came back, did you ever think about putting the gun to her head and then yours? What if you had a kid, would you want them doomed to live in a world like this?”
The silence was deafening for several minutes before Colt tossed the strip of bark away, “Yeah, I did think about killing myself when she was gone, but if we had a baby or even a boy Jeff’s age I would have stayed alive to keep him safe.”
Alden sat examining the fully stripped stick, “So you mean that if you saw no hope and your son had watched his mother die, that you can’t imagine that the thought might cross your mind. When you know that the same fate could be awaiting your own son.”
Colt sat silent, he didn’t want to answer. He was still too mad at Biff to admit that the man might have had a reason. Alden looked over at Colt, “Biff kept his family together this whole time, but he had just fought with us in two fights, then he watched as his wife and son were bitten. Did you notice that he didn’t even give us time to take care of it for him? He did what he knew he had too, and then the impact hit him.”
Alden looked off into the trees again, “His family was gone, and he gave up, he wanted them to be together again.”
Colt stared at him, “He shot his son in the fucking head, he could have given him a choice!”
Alden actually laughed a sad laugh, “A choice…you really think that, do you? And just how would he ask that young boy? Hey do you want to leave with complete strangers or go be with mom, oh and by the way son, that means I have to shoot you.”
Colt glared at Alden, “You know what I mean!”
Alden stood and retrieved his knife looking it over, “Colt, people are going to die around us, some are going to be eaten, some will choose Biff’s way out, and truth is there ain’t nothing we can do to stop it. I won’t blow smoke up your ass, this world is nothing but death. What happens around us, be it friends, families or just strangers along the way, their choices are theirs.” Turning to look at Colt straight in the eyes, “You feel responsible for Jeff…”
Colt broke in, “I talked him into going over there. I sent him to his death.” His voice broke at the end.
Alden shook his head, “You’re looking at this wrong son, when you first saw Jeff he was a boy behind his mother. Once she was gone, he still stayed with her trying his best to hold on to the only life he knew. Maybe his father knew the boy was too weak or maybe Jeff was a bit slow, and Biff knew he wouldn’t survive in this world and didn’t want to face ending another son’s life. Biff did the choosing. He chose to go with them and in his mind make them a family again. Either way you slice it Colt, I think once Carol Ann and Jr were gone, he saw no hope.” Alden sat back down and picked up the stick he’d been working on. “I can’t fault a man for his decisions in this day in age.” Alden began to whittle at it as he let his words sink in.
Beth watched Alden talk to Colt for a while hoping that he would have some luck in helping him feel a little bit better. If it was one thing that she could count on, it was that Alden had a fatherly way about him, and maybe that was just the thing that Colt needed. Just then out of the corner of her eye Beth saw Ceara gathering dirty laundry and she knew that she had tons of it herself that needed to be done. Beth quickly made her way back to the Rover and got all of her dirty clothes. As she was about ready to make her way to the cabin she saw a bag that had Colt’s clothes and she figured that she would do them up for him which would be a nice surprise. To Beth, clean clothes always made her feel better; especially after a hot shower, but if she couldn’t have the hot shower now, fresh clean clothes would be the next best thing!! With a huge load now in her arms she went outside to find Ceara so that they could sort the clothes.
Ceara found the laundry room and wasn’t surprised to see just a basic washing machine, no bells and whistles. Beth came in and tossed her and Colt’s clothes on the floor, “I’m going to change then I’ll help you out with this.”
Ceara smiled, “Yeah, I am going to change too. Hey, where are you changing?”
Beth looked a little confused, “OH, I guess in Alden’s bedroom.”
Ceara moved to the doorway, “Would you mind if I changed in there too?”
Beth laughed, “Not a problem, come on.” Beth was already holding her change of clothes, Ceara ran to the front door, “Be right back!”
Ceara got to her jeep pulling out a set of clothes, then headed back inside to join Beth in Alden’s room. She stood there for just a second, “Where’s Tabitha?”
Beth shrugged, “She’s a big girl, she is probably already changed and back outside.”
Ceara looked across the room, “Hey Beth.”
“Yeah?”
“Alden has a shower in here, if you want to, you go ahead and shower, I can get one after you. I don’t know about you, but I want to wash the fight off me. Be sure to lock the other door, it leads to the kitchen.”
Beth laid her clothes on a chair, “I won’t take long at all, give me five minutes.” Before Ceara could even answer Beth had ran into the bathroom and stripped as quickly as she had shut the door. She turned on the water and allowed it to warm for a minute or two and when it got hot, that was it. Beth wasted no time. She acted like it was Christmas morning. The hot shower was so exhilarating that she couldn’t remember the last time she had been this excited about something as simple as a hot shower. Beth did keep true to her word for she quickly bathed then turned the water off so that Ceara would have enough hot water. After Beth was completely dried she put on a comfy pair of sweatpants and a white tee shirt.
When she got over to the sink she wiped down the mirror and looked at her reflection. It had been quite some time since she had taken a look at herself. Her hair was a little bit longer and her face hardly looked the same without makeup. Beth considered herself a very pretty girl when wearing just a little makeup, but with none on she looked almost plain Jane. Taking a very deep breath Beth realized that this was the first time she had taken a few moments for herself and she so needed them. When she was finished she gathered up the pile of her dirty clothes and made her way back out to where Ceara was. “It’s all yours and oh my god!!!!! What a hot shower does for ya!!!”
Ceara grabbed up her clothes and headed for the shower, within fifteen minutes she was clean and dressed walking back to the living room in a clean t-shirt and pajama bottoms. Alden and Colt had joined everyone else in the living room and Alden cocked his head looking at Ceara in his pajama bottoms, Ceara blushed, “We are washing the jeans and I don’t have any sweats.”
Alden laughed, “Well at least roll them up before you trip and break something.” Ceara dropped on the couch rolling up the bottoms.
Charlie walked in carrying an armload of dirty clothes. It wasn’t until he walked past all of them that they noticed the only thing he was wearing was a pair of blue striped cotton boxers. Ceara was laughing as she cried out ‘CHARLIE WHAT THE HELL.”
Charlie stopped long enough to turn and see all their expressions, “What are you complaining about, you got what you wanted ,you’re in Alden’s pants.”
Everyone erupted into a fit of laughter, except Ceara whose face was almost as red as her hair. As Charlie walked past Alden on his way to the pantry, Alden smiled over his coffee cup, “good one kid. They all needed that,” He said it so only Charlie could hear. Charlie winked and went on.
Ten minutes later Charlie came back in the room still wearing his boxers but he was drying his hair with a towel. He had a can of beer and sat down next to Ceara. She glared
at him and moved a little away. Charlie took a sip then looked at Alden, “I have a question that may get me hit?”
Alden looked down at him as he was standing in a doorway. “Be careful what you say, she ain’t looking too kindly at you.”
Charlie took another sip and set his beer down, “Well, I know that Ceara took a shower and so did Beth and now me all within the last hour.”
Alden stepped away as Colt headed for the bathroom, looking to Charlie, “Careful son I’m warning you,” Alden said.
Both Beth and Ceara were sitting there looking at him. “Charlie smiled, “It’s no secret that women take long hot showers. So how big is your hot water heater? Or did you two share?”
Alden jumped back into kitchen as Ceara grabbed Charlie’s beer and poured it on him. “Now that’s enough, damn you. Shower with that,” She said as she got up.
Charlie was laughing as he grabbed at her hand, “Ceara I’m just kidding. Please… come on, I’m not serious.” Beth and Alden were both laughing again when they heard a scream from the bathroom.
Colt came back through house back pedaling as Tabitha was wrapped in one towel and snapping another at Colt screaming, “PERVERT DID YOU GET AN EYE FULL?”
Colt’s eyes were full of terror and he started stuttering, “I… I … I didn’t know you… she was in there. I … I didn’t even see her come in the house.”
Tabitha snapped the towel at him again, “It’s called the back door, while you were all in here, I saw Charlie walk out so I went right in and took a quick one.”
With that Alden spit his coffee into the sink and set his cup down. Tears came to his eyes as the laughter roared from him. Tabitha turned and glared at Alden and snapped the towel at him, ‘DAMN IT YOU KNOW WHAT I MEANT.”
Alden said, “oh yes I do, this old man has been around for a while and I know about backdoors and quick ones.”
Surviving Day By Day (Book 2): Fears, Flames, and Future Page 24