We spent the rest of the afternoon in the house waiting for the troops to come back from chasing the shooters. Around four o’clock, we heard the vehicles approaching. Mark went out to the hummer and learned they shot four of the shooters and captured one, but at least one got away.
I was devastated to learn that in the course of capturing the one shooter, PVT Cooper was shot and killed. I wanted to go out to the Humvee and kill the prisoner tied to the front hood of the vehicle, but Mark stopped me.
“We need information. We are taking him back to the school to interrogate him. When we are done, we will have a military trial and decide his fate.”
“Where is Private Cooper?”
“A couple of the guys went to get a truck to go get him. We are going to bury him here at the school. He died for this community, and it is fitting that he should be allowed to rest here.” Mark rubbed his face, his eyes welling up just a bit. “He was so excited to be a part of the reconstruction. It’s really all he could talk about: getting this community back to normal and seeing families move back in. Geeze, he was just a kid himself, but he talked about one of these days fixing a house up here for himself and maybe having a family of his own. He was such a good kid.” Mark got silent and turned away for a few minutes.
Suddenly, he turned back to us. “Gather everyone up and let’s get back to the school. There’s a lot we need to do before we head back to the farm. I’ll send one of the vehicles back for Kiara and John. Lionel, will you stay with them?”
Lionel looked at Mark as though he were crazy. “Of course I’ll stay with these two. Where did you think I would go?”
Mark gave a tired smile. “Thanks, man. I just want to be sure these two are taken care of.” He then looked at Marcie and me. “Can you two take care of cleaning up Red a little and maybe wrapping him up in a tarp or something? I don’t want Lynn to see him like this.” Marcie and I by now were both in tears, but we agreed to take care of Red.
An hour later, all of us were back at the school. Several of the soldiers had already dug a hole in the school yard. They chose a pretty area, with several trees and a concrete bench nearby. We all gathered around as several of the soldiers carried Private Cooper’s remains out and gently placed him in the waiting grave. Mark stood at the head of the grave and bowed his head for a few minutes. When he looked back up, he looked at each of us.
“Today has been a rough day. We lost two of our own, both of them young men in their prime. And for what? For trying to make life better for the citizens of this area. They were not playing politics. They weren’t trying to hurt anyone. They were only trying to help, but those cowards who shot them don’t want to see anyone helping. They don’t want to see anyone make this country better. They don’t want to see the suffering stop. As we say goodbye to Private Nicky Cooper, remember that he died trying to help make this world a better place. He gave his life to protect yours, and in my book, that makes him a true hero. Not a movie star or a football player kind of “hero”, but a young man willing to do what it takes to make this world a better place. We will all grieve his loss, but we also need to celebrate his life, and continue to do whatever we can to defeat those killers and take our country back. It’s what Coop wanted.” Mark suddenly stopped talking and grabbed the shovel. He scooped up some dirt and tossed it into the grave. He then handed the shovel to the person next to him. All of us took a turn silently putting a shovel full of dirt into the grave and then passing the shovel. After everyone had a turn, we all turned and went back into the school. Two soldiers stayed behind and finished filling in the grave.
CHAPTER SEVEN
It was a very sad and quiet group that pulled into the outer berm of the farm that evening. Top went on ahead to find Lynn and break the news to her about her brother. Scooter drove the truck carrying Kiara, John, and Lionel over to the clinic. Marty, Tim, Jose, and Marcie decided to walk back to the house with the boys. They wanted to walk slowly so that Top would have time to talk to Lynn before anyone else saw that we were back.
“Tom, I want you to come with me to the clinic please. We need to do a better job cleaning your arm, and we need to check on Kiara and John.” Tom nodded and put his good arm around my shoulder as we walked. I knew we needed to stay busy or else the reality of the day would sink in. There would be enough time to break down later this evening after we broke the news to the rest of the farm family.
The clinic was crazy busy when we got there. James was busy working with John’s shoulder injury. He called Clark in to help. Even though Clark was a veterinarian, James needed assistance with the repair, and Lionel was tied up working with Kiara. I was glad to see Amy, Samantha, and Maureen were also helping. I pulled Tom over to the only empty corner of the clinic and had him sit down while I scrubbed up and got the supplies we needed to clean and properly dress his wound. It only took about fifteen minutes, and we were done. Before I let Tom leave to go check on the others, I gave him a shot of antibiotics and told him he could not do any work with that arm for at least a couple of days. He smiled, thanked me and gave me a kiss on the forehead before leaving the clinic.
After Tom left, I scrubbed up again and went to see who I could help. Most everyone was busy helping James, so I went over to Lionel and Amy, who were working on Kiara’s exit wound. They had flushed the wound well, and Lionel was now stitching it up.
“Can I help?” I asked.
“We have this under control right now. Would you go check on John’s wife? I think her name is Lois. She rode back in the truck with us and is probably waiting outside.” I nodded and left the clinic. At first, I didn’t see anyone, but then I noticed a young woman sitting on the ground against the side of the building. She had obviously been crying. I sat down next to her and told her that they were still working on her husband, but that they were almost done, and he seemed to be doing OK.
“Is he going to lose his arm?” she asked.
“It doesn’t look like it, based on what the doctors were doing. As I was coming out here they told me to tell you just that he was doing well, and you could probably come see him in about an hour.”
“Oh, thank goodness. I’ve been so worried. I left the kids back at the school with my sister, and I was scared I’d have to go back and tell them their daddy lost his arm… or worse. I can’t thank all of you enough for taking care of John.”
I wasn’t sure exactly what to say. “I can’t tell you it is our pleasure, because nobody can take pleasure in what happened today. I will tell you I am very grateful we have the resources we needed, including doctors, nurses, and medications to be able to take care of him. You mentioned kids. How many kids do you have?”
“We have three kids. Robbie is the oldest, and he is seven. Then Elaine, who is six, and Brittany is two. My sister Caroline is watching them right now until we get back. How long do you think the doctors will keep him?”
“Let’s wait until they are finished, and we can ask. I’m sure they will at least keep him overnight. We can fix you up with a cot so you can stay near him if you want. It will probably take a while for him to wake up after the surgery, so I will bring you some dinner while you are waiting.”
“Thank you, I totally forgot about dinner, I’ve been so worried. After the doctors talk to me, is there a radio I can use to call back to the school and let Caroline and the kids know what’s going on?” I nodded.
“I’m sure we can get Mark to call on the military radio and give them an update.”
I spent a little more time talking with Lois, in part to make sure she was okay and taken care of, but deep down, I recognized I was stalling. I knew the next place I needed to go was to see Lynn, and I was dreading having to talk to her about Red. I was more than grateful that Top was going to break the news because I just didn't know what to say. I mean, what do you say to a young woman who just lost her only living family member? Finally, though, I excused myself from Lois and headed over to Lynn’s apartment. As I approached, I could hear her crying, so I knew T
op told her. I stopped outside their door and said a little prayer for help to make my words comforting to Lynn. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Top let me in and stepped outside. I saw Lynn sitting on the couch. As soon as she saw me, she ran over and gave me a hug, crying on my shoulder. I held her for a minute or two as though she was my child. Finally, she let go, straightened up, and led me to the couch, where we both sat.
“Thank you for coming to check on us. I can’t believe after all he went through that he is gone.”
“Lynn, honey, I’m so sorry. It doesn’t seem real, but it is.”
“Were you there when...it happened?”
“Yes, we were watching the guys on the roof. They were having a contest to see who could finish their section of the roof first. Red’s team won, and he was cheering his team when he was shot. It was an instant thing, and I know that he did not suffer.” Lynn kept quietly crying as I talked to her. After a minute she looked up at me.
“Zoe is going to be heartbroken. She and Red were starting to get close. At least Red is with his wife and baby now. He was just starting to be able to talk about losing them without crying. At least they are all together. Has anyone talked to Zoe?”
“I don’t know,” I answered. “My first thought was making sure you were okay. Tom was headed back to the house to talk to everyone else.”
Lynn seemed to be getting some control of her emotions. After a couple of deep breaths, she asked, “Where are we going to bury him?”
“What do you think about up on the hill near my grandparents? It is one of the prettiest areas on the whole farm.”
“I think that would be perfect. Thank you for sharing your grandparents’ resting place with us.”
“It is our family cemetery, and Red is family. It’s only right that he should be there. I am going to head over to the house. I am worried about the boys, since they were there through all of it. I also need to get some dinner for Lois, the wife of the man being worked on in the clinic. Do you want me to bring you and Top some dinner?”
“No, I think we will go over and get dinner ourselves. I can’t hide away from this, and you just reminded me that I need to be around my family.” I gave Lynn another hug and headed home.
Even before I got to the house, I could see groups of people scattered in the front yard and on the porch. Many were hugging, and almost everyone was tearful. Father Dan was moving between groups trying to offer support, but it was obvious that everyone was grieving. Although some in the group had already experienced loss before coming to the farm, this was our first loss here. Our little haven from all the madness in the world seemed to get just a little bit less safe, a touch less comfortable.
I saw Tom sitting on the porch with the six boys who were with us today, and I hurried over to them. This was a very traumatic event for them, and I was worried. Yes, these boys survived the attack from the motorcycle gang last winter, but that was not really the same. The gang was trying to hurt us, and none of us grieved over the deaths of gang members. Today was different. Red was a part of us and was especially important to the boys. It seemed like the boys were doing a little better than I expected. No tears at the moment, and they were telling each other stories about things they did with Red. Tom was just sitting there, listening and nodding, and occasionally laughing with the boys. As I walked up to them, everyone seemed to get quiet. That was awkward.
“Don’t let me stop you guys. It sounds like you all have some really good memories to share. I just wanted to let Tom know I’m going to get Lois’ dinner and then Lynn and Top will be over for dinner in a few minutes.” Tom nodded okay, and I left, headed for the dining hall.
Janet saw me enter and came hurrying over to me. “Are you okay? How is Kiara and the man from Riverdale?”
“Kiara is doing fine. They were finishing up cleaning her wound as I was leaving. The other man, John, has a pretty serious injury, but James, Grant, and Samantha seem to have it under control. I actually came over to get a dinner to bring to John’s wife.”
“I’ll put a plate together for her. You make sure you come back and eat something, too. I know how you get when you are stressed, and you forget to eat, so I will bug you until you do.”
I had just a twinge of aggravation at that, but then I realized Janet cares about me and was just trying to help. “Thank you, my friend. I’ll come back as soon as I take the plate to Lois and check on the folks in the clinic.”
An hour later, I was back at the clinic. Kiara’s treatment was finished, and Lionel had taken her back to their apartment to rest. John and Clark were done with John’s surgery and Samantha was finishing up his dressing. Lois was sitting in a chair next to John, holding his hand.
“How is he doing?” I asked Samantha.
“He is doing better than I thought he would when he first came in. James and Grant were able to fix everything, so as long as John doesn’t get an infection and does therapy after the incision heals, he should regain full use of his arm.”
“That is great news.” I turned to Lois. “I’ll bet you’re relieved it went so well. I brought you some dinner.”
Lois smiled her thanks and took the plate I held out to her. She dragged her chair over to the desk and began to eat.
“Samantha, have you eaten yet?”
“No, but I need to stay here with him for a while until he is completely awake.”
“I can do that. Go find James and get some dinner. I’ll stay until one of you is ready to come back. What do I need to do?” Samantha handed me the chart and told me to just watch for bleeding and monitor vital signs and especially his breathing.
“I think I can trust you with my patient for a while. Try not to mess anything up – we have him in good shape and I expect him to be in the same shape when I get back.”
“Yes ma’am.” I stood up and saluted her. She left, laughing. Lois looked at me with a bit of a nervous expression on her face.
“Um, do you really know how to take care of him?” she asked, timidly.
I started to laugh. “I’m sorry, Lois. Samantha and I were just being silly. Yes, I’ve been a nurse for a long time and know exactly what needs to be done.”
“Oh, good. I was scared for a minute there. It’s hard enough to see John going through this and being in a strange place with so many people that I don’t know. Thank you, though, for everything you people are doing to help us.”
“It is our privilege to be able to help. We are trying to be good neighbors. If we ever want to put our society and our country together, we will all need to pitch in and help each other however we can.”
“I agree with you.” Lois looked resolute. “Before the collapse, people were too focused on themselves, and didn’t seem to be all that interested in helping others unless it was for some politically correct popular issue. I mean, look at the issues with separating families at the border. Everyone was up in arms about that, even though it has been going on for years. It wasn’t until the issue was made political that all these people started caring. And who cares about the kids when citizens wind up going to jail? I wonder what all those people are doing now. Are they helping their neighbors or did they just find something else to protest? I hope if we can ever get this country back together again, we can learn how to be nicer to each other.”
“I hope so, too. We have to start somewhere, so I guess we start here. We need to get your community fixed up and settled so we can get more communities started just like it. As we start up each community, I hope that everyone working together will help people build relationships and learn to like their neighbors and care about each other. If we can do that in Riverdale, then maybe others can follow our example in other places.”
“Do you think it is possible? I mean, look at what happened today when we tried to do something good. There are still evil people in the world. Will those evil people let the rest of us live in peace, or will we be fighting for the rest of our lives?” Lois looked so sad. Of course, she and John both had a
lready been though quite a bit even before the episode today. I tried to smile and look confident as I answered.
“We will have to defeat evil. We need to be examples of how people should act, with respect and caring for each other. Instead of ignoring evil like most people did before the collapse, we will have to confront it head on and defeat it. We’ve made it this far, and we will continue to make it. My prayer is that our kids will eventually inherit a peaceful world.”
Lois was about to answer when John suddenly groaned. In an instant, she was at his side. “John, honey, are you okay?”
John opened his eyes, still groggy from the medications he had been given. “Where am I? What happened?”
I stepped over to his cot. “Hi, John. You’re at Langston Farm. You were shot today and had surgery, but you are going to be alright.” John looked around, looked at Lois, smiled, and closed his eyes. I did a quick check of his vital signs, charted them, and checked his dressing. Thankfully, it looked good and I didn’t see any blood leaking through.
“He will probably do that a few more times over the next hour or so as the medication wears off. Once he wakes up, he is going to hurt. By then James and Samantha will be back and James can see about giving him something for pain.”
“Won’t that just make him sleep more?”
“Yes, it probably will, but sleep is good for him. Sleep gives the body a chance to work on healing itself. Would you like me to bring a cot over here next to him so you can get some rest, too?”
“Yes, thank you. I didn’t realize how tired I was. Now that I know he is okay, I can try to catch a nap if I won’t be in the way.” I moved one of the cots over close to John and handed her a blanket and pillow.
“I’ll wake you up if anything changes or if he needs anything.” Lois laid down and within minutes, she appeared to be asleep. I sat next to John, watching him rest. He did not appear to be in any distress, and so I just sat there quietly waiting for him to wake up. After about forty-five minutes, James and Samantha came back. I pointed to Lois asleep on the cot and handed Samantha the chart. I told her that he only woke up once and went right back to sleep and that his vitals remained stable.
Premonitions: Book 2: War Page 9