by DJ Cooper
Shrugging, he continued, “Am I missing something with these women?”
Ray shrugged and said, “I didn’t like leaving them either.”
Mark looked shocked and said, “You didn’t?”
Ray said, “No, we knew she killed Rita and we’re pretty sure she killed Kevin, her own husband. Who’s next? I would have taken the law into my own hands if Amy hadn’t argued for them.”
Mark looked at him, “Really?”
“Yep, I said we should string them up.” He replied.
Mark asked, “Do you think we will hear from them again?”
Ray said, “If we do, I’m not waiting for a committee. I’ll shoot both them bitches on sight.”
Mark replied, “Well, I for one hope we don’t.”
The evening was quiet and there were no fish for dinner, but a great big pot of Spam and corn chowder with tons of biscuits. Watches were in twos, each pair taking a four hour shift.
In the morning they broke camp and made for Mandy’s Parents. Both she and Aaron were quiet, no one even at times aware of their presence. Amy asked her if everything was ok, she just said they didn’t want to be a burden. Amy reassured her that they were not a burden, and said it was their pleasure.
Patting her hand, she said, “We don’t mind, we’re going that way anyway.”
Mandy thanked her and said, “Once we get there my parents have a lot of stuff stored. I’ll make sure you are supplied for your journey. “
Winking she continued, “And I’ll see if we can find something other than Spam.”
They both laughed as they got into the vehicles and prepared to leave their camping area. Matty was already in the back silently staring out the window at the water.
Amy felt bad, “A boy so young should not carry the thoughts of guilt he has.” She whispered to Mandy.
Mandy replied, “Maybe when he gets to his father it will be better.”
Matty spoke just a single word saying, “Dez”
Amy was shocked and asked, “What did you say buddy?”
Matty replied, “Dez, I wanna see Dez.”
Amy looked at him, he had tears in his eyes as he stared blankly out the window at nothing but trees as they whizzed past.
Reaching into the back seat she brushed a lock of hair from his eye and said, “I know buddy, we are going there. Pretty soon you will see them both.”
Sitting forward, she turned and looked at John, then shaking her head she choked back tears. John reached over and took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze he nodded in understanding.
Mandy leaned forward and whispered, “Who is Dez? Is that someone in his family?”
Amy turned and said, “No, that is his father’s girlfriend Destiny. That is where we are going, to her place in Kentucky.”
Mandy nodding in understanding said, “Oh, okay. I have heard the name a few times but didn’t know who it was. He seems very fond of her.”
John looked back saying, “She really is good to him.”
Matty tears full flowing turned and looked at everyone with angry eyes and said, “I need to get there to keep her safe!”
Amy reached back for him and asked, “Safe from what buddy?”
He looked down and said, “Bad people.”
Amy reassured him they would get there as soon as they could and that she would be safe until he got there to protect her. Not satisfied with the response he insisted she was in danger and they needed to hurry. John told him they would do their very best to get him there soon.
Travel that day was quiet, sticking to only smaller roads they avoided many of the towns and cities along their path.
Stopping in a parking lot of an abandoned office they paused for lunch. John sat by himself absent minded he munched on his sandwich as he watched the bright red maple leaves fall from the trees.
Mesmerized, he watched as the breeze shook them from their perch high in the air. Considering the journey that lay ahead of them and what was behind. He wondered as they fell into blood red piles on the ground, if it were an omen speaking towards what they would face. Like tiny embers from a fire rising, the blazing colors of fall illuminated by the sunlight reminded him of the world that was quickly fading into the ashes of what was once considered a civilized country.
Packed and ready to move on the group pushed for Mandy’s family. Hoping they would be safe for the night and given something other than Spam for food as Mandy promised, looking forward to some rest and a change in diet before continuing their trek southward kept spirits a little brighter.
All of them except Matty, who retreated further away from even Amy, as the miles faded into memory; he seemed to fade with them. She worried he would retreat so far into his own misguided guilt they would never be able to bring him back.
The smells of burning debris and smoke filled the air each time they drew near a town. Left… right… left… right… they would turn as though they were mice in a maze, trying to get to the end of the road while avoiding hazards along the way.
Dickie and Ray were in the lead with the Jeep with Jules and Georgia to help with the mapping. Since the shooting at the warehouse, Dickie refused to let Jules and Georgia out of his sight.
Approaching an intersection Dickie’s arm could be seen held upward closed fist out the window. Everyone stopped, then frantically, his arm began to wave for them to pull off the road. The road was narrow with trees on either side, the shoulder was level and grassy with only a slight cement ditch that was easily crossed.
The Jeep and the two trucks could easily pass into the woods with the four wheel drive on but the cars could not. Quickly they emptied what they could from the cars and ran into the woods to hide with the trucks.
It was only minutes until they saw why the cover. A large group of motorcycles pulled up to where the cars were parked and began to scavenge what they could use from them. Holes were drilled in the gas tanks for the fuel and the food left in the trunk along with two sleeping bags and some other items.
The speed at which they picked over the carcass of the vehicles was astounding. Each person going here and there like a choreographed routine, John whispered to Danny, “They must be doing this up and down the roadways.”
Danny nodded and motioned off to the left, where a guy was standing and leaning into a tree.
One of the other members of the gang shouted at him, “Jim, c’mon man let’s go.” He shouted back, “Hold on, can’t you see I’m trying to take a piss?”
Zipping up his zipper he looked in their direction, the expression was quizzical, like he wondered if he’d seen something, but shrugged it off and returned to the gang.
John didn’t realize he was holding his breath and let out a long sigh when they began to leave. Leaning over to Ray he asked,
“Do you think we should camp or keep moving?”
Ray said, “I’m not sure, but either way we are too close to the road right here.”
John waved for Dickie to join them, they came over with Jules spreading the map out for everyone to look at.
Pointing at two intersecting roads that didn’t even have names on the map she said, “We are here. Those guys came from the north and left to the east. We are only about thirty miles from Mandy’s family.”
John looked at Ray and said, “I think we shouldn’t risk it, if we go over that hill we can cold camp for the night.”
Roger volunteered to scout the area for an acceptable camp while everyone else repositioned the supplies they salvaged from the cars before abandoning them. Afterwards, they sat behind the trucks and waited for Roger’s return.
After about fifteen minutes Roger returned with good news. He said there was a gully between two hills about five hundred yards to the west of where they were.
Ray asked, “Terrain acceptable for vehicular travel?”
Roger replied, “Roger that.”
Ray shouted, “Ok everyone, let’s move out and make camp.”
Moving the vehicles around behind some low
bushes and covering them on the road side worked out well hiding them even further from view. Lined up at the top of the gully they also made good cover from the road. Below the vehicles tents were set up in the flat area with a makeshift latrine across the gully. Smoke was already in the air so a small fire was started to cook on and Mandy and Melinda began to make the evening meal.
John came walking to the cooking area and practically pleading he asked, “Coffee?”
Melinda turned with coffee pot in hand and smiling said, “Quick as I can get this pot on.”
John smiled, thanking her and turned to chat with Dickie about the last thirty miles to Fallen Timber. They checked the map and determined they were in the Black Moshannon State Park and why they had seen so few people. Getting to Fallen Timber meant they would have to pass very close to Osceola Mills and while it wasn’t a city it was not like the small towns they had been passing.
Roger said, “I think we should try for Fallen Timber in the morning but stop short of Osceola Mills so we can scout it before trying to pass.”
John said, “I agree, it may be that it is like most of the smaller towns we’ve passed and be deserted, but this one is big enough to worry me.”
Ray said, “Agreed.”
Mark and Dickie nodded in agreement and they adjourned to go see what was for dinner. John smelled something wonderful and hurried over to ask what they were cooking. He was sure it wasn’t spam again, it smelled too good.
Approaching, he inhaled deeply, trying to decipher what that delicious odor was. Looking to the ladies practically pleading with his eyes for it not to be spam, hesitantly he asked,
“What’s cooking?”
Melinda grinned at Laurie, who said, “Stew.”
John said, “It smells divine, for once not spam.”
Melinda giggled a little as Laurie shook her head saying, “Why are you always hating on the spam? You’re the one who stored it all?”
John replied, “I didn’t think I would be eating it for every meal.”
Laurie shaking her head said, “Well, I guess the old hindsight adage is appropriate here. “
Turning to walk away, she added, “It’s not easy on those of us trying to keep spam interesting you know.”
John nodded and said, “I know and you do a wonderful job, I’m sorry to complain.”
Brightening up his look he said, “But hey, it’s not spam at least.”
Laurie looked at him laughing out loud saying, “Who said it isn’t spam? I said it wasn’t easy keeping it interesting. I feel like I have succeeded in that task as even you did not know it had spam in it from the smell. I guess the taste test will be the judge, you might as well start things off and give us your unbiased opinion,”
Melinda snorted, “Ha, Unbiased.”
Laurie handed John a bowl of the stew and he went off to sulk with his spam stew while she continued to dish it up. Sitting on the hillside he dipped his spoon into the stew and drew up a nice bite with both a potato and carrot. He paused to blow on it to cool it off and took a bite. He was amazed at how tasteful it was, although he could still tell it was spam; he thought it was very good.
He held up his spoon calling out, “Well done ladies.”
Waving the spoon like sceptre, while the ladies all bowed. Mandy was the one who used some of the spices and bouillon cubes to give it a more beef stew like taste. Everyone was very grateful for the effort they put into making it feel like beef stew. As he looked at this raggedy bunch he felt a warm sense of gratitude he had their company.
Chapter 16
“The Camp”
“In the concentration camps, we discovered this whole universe where everyone had his place. The killer came to kill, and the victims came to die.”
-Elie Wiesel
The morning was warm with a slight breeze, fall was the only way John could describe the smell in the air. It was both a pleasurable scent and yet disturbing because it meant winter was closing in on them.
It took them almost two weeks to go the roughly four hundred miles to where they were now. John thought it was about half way and if it took them another two weeks it would be the first week of November before they would arrive in Kentucky.
November in Kentucky wasn’t what it was in Massachusetts, but it was still getting quite cold especially in the evenings. He hoped Mandy’s parents would have some warm clothes or blankets they could spare. Mostly for the women and kids. Matty and Georgia were generally dressed pretty warmly, but he also knew Rita did not grab any winter wear for him.
“John…. Earth to John.” Amy shouted
John looked up, “Hua?”
Amy said, “You with us?”
John replied, “Yea, sorry was just thinking about our travel time and trying to figure out how long it will be till we get there.”
Amy stood, hands on her hips and said, “Mhmm, well can you take a break from your calculations to help us with the fire?” Winking she cooed, “I promise there is coffee in it for you.”
John nodded and got up, walking toward the fire pit, looking at it, he could see the fire going nicely. Confused, he looked at Amy, and suddenly everyone jumped out shouting,
“Happy Birthday!”
He’d forgotten it was his birthday. After shooting Amy a death look, he told everyone, “Thank you.”
Matty came running up to him, saying, “But we have pancakes with frosting on them.”
He said, “Oh well that is different, I guess we better eat them.”
Matty seemed a little brighter for the first time in days, although he didn’t smile he did hop up on a rock and jumped off, then went and sat near Georgia and Aaron. They were close to own age and he seemed to be more at ease around them.
John approached Amy and said with raised eyebrows, “Pancakes and frosting?”
“Yeah.” She said, “Get it? PanCAKE?”
He replied, “That’s just wrong.”
Amy said, “Chill out grumpy pants, I have syrup for you. They are even blueberry pancakes, Matty found some blueberries over the other hill and picked them for your birthday pancakes.”
This choked John up, that after all he had been through to be so thoughtful, he went over to Matty and thanked him for the blueberries saying,
“Those blueberries made it the most extra special birthday pancakes I ever had.”
Matty smiled a real smile and hugged John saying, “Happy Birthday Uncle John.”
John enjoyed the pancakes, maybe more than any he had ever eaten before. He sat eating his pancakes, thinking about the journey that lay ahead and found himself again worried about the time it took them thus far.
After breakfast John grabbed a second cup of coffee and sat down with Roger and Dickie to discuss moving forward. They planned to try and make the thirty miles before noon by moving quickly down the main road until they reached Osceola Mills. Being a slightly larger town they thought it best to go around it.
With the plan all set and the camp packed up they packed into the three vehicles. The loss of the cars made the seating space cramped. Danny’s leg was healing, but it was still difficult for him to use it. He sat in the Jeep with Roger with Melinda and Laurie in the back seat. John’s truck had a full back seat so he and Amy had Mandy and Aaron come with them, Matty liked having Aaron to hang out with and it kept his mind off things. Ray rode in the back of John’s truck as lookout and since Dickie would be in the back of Mark’s truck Jules and Georgia also rode with them.
This left Mark’s truck, which had space in the back for seating, but not full seats. He and Renee sat up front while Kimmie and Jenny sat on the jump seats facing each other.
Driving for a little over an hour and so far the day was uneventful and even peaceful. The air was crisp with the sights and smells of fall. It was hard to think of all that was wrong with the world when leaves of red, orange and yellow were lazily falling in the breeze.
Roger turned down a dirt road that was not on the route they previously mapped out. J
ohn wished for the communications they were looking for that night they went into the warehouse area. The vehicles followed down the long dirt road to a cell tower site. Parking they all got out and clamored for information about why they stopped.
Roger said, “We need to take a break and I need Amy to come up here and take a look at Danny’s leg.”
John waved Amy over and said, “Can you go have a look at Danny’s leg?”
Amy said, “Sure, what’s up?”
Roger said, “I’m not sure, but I think there is something wrong and he isn’t saying.”
Amy let out a heavy sigh, saying, “Men, needing to be all tough and shit. More like stupid.”
Amy knew as soon as she approached him that something was very wrong. Danny was sweating and looked to have a greyish or ashen colour about him. Amy knew instantly that he was in critical shape.
Wearing sweat pants to fit over his bandages she quickly stripped them off of him. She wasn’t expecting the sight she saw. The leg around the bandage was bright red and as she touched it he winced in pain. It was swollen and hot to the touch. Already knowing what she would find she gently cut the bandages off. She lifted the bandaging and turning her head to the side as the odor of the infection assaulted her.
Looking at Laurie she said, “Laurie why didn’t you tell us?”
Laurie was crying as she said, “He didn’t want to slow us down.”
Amy scolded her, “Well, it is definitely going to do so now.”
Calling out for John and barking out orders for boiling water and some clean bandages she had everyone hopping and jumping double time.
She had them set up an area where he could be stretched out and under a cover. Jules came over to help her as Dickie and Roger got a fire going. John approached her with apprehension knowing she would be demanding something bigger from him.
Amy looked at him with pleading eyes, saying, “Let’s talk a minute over there.” She pointed to an area away from the others.
She began, “John we need antibiotics and a good amount of them.”