Magnetic

by David Lisenby

  There were a couple of chuckles in the room. “So, you’re part owner now,” said Roxie. Good enough for me. Can we borrow it to go get some of Tommy’s things?”

  “As long as someone can take me home sometime today, I don’t care what happens to that old truck,” Arlene said. “It served its purpose by getting Levi home. I’d appreciate it if it can get me home, too. Buna is a long walk away and, frankly, I’ve had my share of walking for a while.”

  “I’ll go talk to Beetle and see what she thinks,” Tommy said. “I just live three or four miles away and it shouldn’t take very long to grab a few things. If that’s alright with everyone?”

  “Sounds like a great plan to me,” Arlene replied. “Anybody have a problem with that?” Everybody shook their head no.

  Tommy went out and found Beetle was in the garden with Allie. They looked to be picking peas; Allie was picking one row and Beetle was on another. Harold and Jake were carrying a bale of t-posts toward the garden from up near the house.

  “Hey Beetle,” Tommy said when he was close enough for her to hear him without shouting, “you mind if I use your truck for a few minutes?”

  Beetle stood up and looked at Tommy. “I don’t have a problem with it,” she said. “Ask Arlene.”

  Ray Lynn came walking by with a roll of wire on his shoulder. “I thought that was Roxie’s truck,” he said.

  From somewhere off in the distance came the sound of an atv. Everyone stopped what they were doing and listened. It sounded like it was out on the pipeline on the other side of the patch of woods. The motor revved up as if it were accelerating. It sounded like it was getting closer. They all listened.

  - - -

  Pam had stayed around the airport for two days waiting for her husband to return. She wanted to be sure she was there when he got back, for he knew she was always there for him. She certainly didn’t want to let him down now – or ever.

  When the bearded man came along and jumped into action the minute he found out that his father, the man C. C. had taken up for a flight, still hadn’t returned, Pam knew that she should do the same. Sitting around waiting was driving her nuts anyway.

  The pair rode out in a general direction that would eventually take them north of Silsbee. Being familiar with the county from the perspective of thousands of feet up gave her an insight that was invaluable, especially since things were so crazy in the world at the moment.

  Pam really didn’t want to take a chance of running into anyone that may want to separate her from her four-wheeler. She knew that wouldn’t happen. What she really didn’t want to do was shoot someone today.

  Jerry was pleased to see that the lady in front of him on the atv obviously knew what she was doing. He tried to avoid civilization as much as possible. People weren’t really his cup of tea. Sure, interaction with some humans was necessary at times, but he preferred as little interaction as possible. He knew the area like the back of his hands, especially the numerous pipelines that snaked their way through the county. That knowledge served him well.

  As they made their way down a sandy road, Pam and Jerry swayed as one atop the four-wheeler. It almost looked like a dance as the leaned this way and that, with the tires spraying rooster tails of sand into the air. A slight right turn put them on a pig trail that an untrained eye would have never noticed. Both riders had to duck their heads as they putted along; the trail was not much higher than about four feet with large branches threatening to knock them off the back of the atv.

  They rode this way for about two miles before coming out on another unpaved road. The path was less sandy and more of a muddy mess. Jerry knew they were farther away from the creek than before. When the road intersected with a pipeline, he knew where they were. It wouldn’t be long before they came to an area where houses were. And people.

  Pam slowed to a stop and shut off the motor. The silence was deafening. She stood up on the foot pegs and reached over the handle bars to retrieve a small cooler that had been secured onto the front rack. Jerry hadn’t noticed that before but was grateful as Pam pulled out a bottled water and honey bun and handed it to him. She also grabbed one of each for herself.

  “I can see the resemblance between you and your dad,” Pam finally spoke. “You have the same eyes.”

  “Really?” Jerry replied. “Hmmm.”

  “And you’re just as chatty,” she said. “Never give a person to get a word in edgewise.” Jerry cocked his head to the side and looked at the back of the head of the lady before him. She turned and smiled at him over her shoulder.

  “We’re about to come up to highway 418,” Pam said. “Most likely there are going to be people milling about. I’m gonna’ have my hands full trying to control this mule so you’re going to have to keep an eye out for trouble.” She reached down and pulled a .45 from a concealed holster beneath her left leg.

  “You know how to use one of these things?” she asked as she held the weapon up, handle first. He reached up and gently took the weapon from her. “I’m gonna’ trust that you won’t shoot me in the back of the head and take my rig.”

  “I’m no threat, ma’am,” Jerry said.

  “Good,” Pam said. She reached beneath her leg again and retrieved the full magazine from its resting place. She held it up for Jerry to see. “You might need this.”

  “I was wonderin’ if you wanted me to throw it at anyone attacking us,” he said as he took the magazine and inserted it into the pistol. He pulled back the slide, loading one in the chamber. He was actually surprised the lady had such a large handgun. He was impressed.

  The two finished eating their snack in silence. Jerry rolled up his wrapper, with the sticky frosting on the inside, and placed it in his shirt pocket. He reached up and placed his arm on Pam’s shoulder with his palm up. She placed her wrapper in his hand, rolled up the same way. He shoved it in his pocket. When she reached her hand up, he placed his empty water bottle in it. Both empty bottles were placed in the cooler, which was then secured where it had come from.

  “You want to stretch your legs before we go?” Pam asked.

  “I’m good,” Jerry answered.

  Pam then kick started the atv, clicked it in gear and the pair were on the way once again. Jerry kept a keen eye out for trouble.

  The two riders continued their journey, swaying in rhythm to the turns and dodging mud holes. They did well, but not good enough to keep from getting peppered with enough mud along the way to make Jerry’s beard a matted mess. That didn’t matter to either of them, though. They were on a mission.

  A couple of times during the next few minutes they crossed paths with other people who were either walking along the roadway or watching from their property at the people passing by. Nobody appeared to be a threat. Pam and Jerry were both silently pleased with this.

  Once the pair crossed over the highway, they found their way through another pig trail to another pipeline. This one ran parallel with Hwy. 418 on the north side of town. It was the first one that was a possibility of where a plane could attempt a landing if something had gone wrong with it. Pam knew that C. C. was an experienced pilot who would find such a place if it was necessary.

  A couple of times during the next few minutes of travel found the pair of riders making detours due to fences and/or gates that blocked their forward progress. These were really nothing more than deterrence’s for someone familiar with an area, though, and did not stop them. Instead, the fences and gates only served to slow them down.

  One of those sections that was blocked by gates was near Lee Miller Road, a blacktop road that was well traveled by people familiar with it as a way to bypass the trains that seemed to always block the main roads in town.

  Pam steered the four-wheeler off the pipeline and into the woods near it as they approached the gate blocking their way. They made their way through the patch of woods to a clearing near a house. They had to go through a ditch, which was full of water, to get to the blacktop road. Both riders got soaked to the bone, but a
t least a couple of layers of mud got washed away.

  Pam had to find a break in the fence on the other side of the road before resuming their progress. She had to drive about a quarter-mile down the road before a path presented itself. Within minutes, though, the two were on their way down the pipeline once again.

  In a short time, Jerry could see something shimmering in the light in the distance. He pointed it out to Pam, who was also able to see it. Neither could tell exactly what it was, but both knew that it didn’t belong on a pipeline. The closer they got, the clearer the picture before them became.

  Pam accelerated. It was an overturned plane. It was C. C.’s plane. She recognized the color scheme of the twin-engine Cessna 310. Pam’s eyes filled with tears. She had found him. He was just ahead. But the plane was on its top. Was her loving husband alright? She had to get to him and find out if he had been injured in the crash. She had to get to him …

  The moment Jerry realized they had found the plane they were looking for his heart sank. It was clear that the plane had not caught fire, but the fact that it had crashed was a major cause of concern. His dad was a tough old codger, but would he survive a plane crash. He knew the odds were against anyone surviving when a plane falls from the sky. He was anxious to find out.

  When they reached the plane, Jerry was off the four-wheeler before it even stopped. He ran up to the wreckage and fell to his knees, peering inside the broken windshield. All he could see was a man with a shard of wood penetrating through his head. It was obvious the man was dead. The man was still strapped to his seat, the pilot’s seat. This was C. C. There was nobody in the seat beside him.

  Jerry could hear the motor of the atv stop running. He knew Pam would be at the plane in seconds. He didn’t want her to see her husband like this. He stood and turned around just in time to see Pam standing behind him. It was too late.

  “Noooooooo,” she wailed. “C. C. Please God, let him be alive.”

  Jerry reached out and hugged the distraught lady. His heart ached for her. He knew there was no hope for the pilot.

  “Help me,” came a feeble voice from inside the plane. The voice was weak and raspy, but Jerry recognized it.

  “Dad,” he said as he quickly turned toward the twisted metal of the plane. “Dad! Where are you?” He ran to the side of the plane and tried to pull the door open. The window was still intact, but the fuselage was buried several inches into the mud. He tried to pull the door open again, to no avail.

  Pam fell to her knees and cried as she looked through the cracks in the windshield into the open, lifeless eyes of her husband. The man she loved. The better half of her.

  Jerry ran around to the other side of the plane, feverishly looking for a way to get inside to help his father. As he rounded the tail section, he could see a small group of people approaching from the nearby woods. There were three or four men and a couple of women.

  He returned his attention to the task at hand and scurried to the opposite side of the plane.

  There was no way in from this side. The frustration level maxed out and Jerry stopped, raised his eyes toward the heavens and shrieked,” God, please help me.”

  Just then the men in the group reached the plane. “Is there anyone alive in there?” asked one man.

  “My dad’s in there,” Jerry answered. “Please help me get him out.”

  One of the men, a grey-haired guy who was apparently the leader of the group, stepped back and looked at the wreckage. He took just a moment and then said,” Jake, ya’ll come over here and give me a hand.” The remaining men and women joined him.

  “Let’s lift up here, with the wing,” he said. “When we get it up, Beetle, you try and get the door open. Allie, you see if you can find something to prop up the wing or to slide under the plane, so it won’t sink back in the mud.”

  All the men positioned themselves around the fuselage and at the wing to give themselves the best leverage. Jerry joined them, standing nearest the pinned door. Allie didn’t have a problem finding something to use as a prop. There were pieces of wood scattered all around the crash site.

  “On three,” the grey-haired man said. “One. Two. Three.” Everyone lifted. The plane made a loud “plop” sound as it was raised and the suction of the wet ground released it. Allie quickly shoved pieces of wood under the raised plane. Beetle jerked on the door and it flew open.

  Once Allie had shoved several pieces of wood underneath it, the men all lowered the plane to its new resting place above the mudline. Jerry looked inside and saw his father, battered, bruised and bloody laying on the roof of the plane. He looked terrible, but at least his eyes were open.

  “Jerry?” the man said. “How did you find me?”

  “Luck,” Jerry answered. “Sheer, unbelievable luck.” He smiled for the first time in a long time. And to think it was brought on by seeing his father after all this time apart was bittersweet.

  As Jerry crawled inside the fuselage to see how to free his father, Allie looked over and saw Pam sitting on her knees in the mud. She hadn’t noticed her there in all the excitement. She walked over to her, knelt beside her and wrapped her arm around her. She looked toward the plane and saw another man inside it, sitting upside down, dead.

  “I’m so sorry,” Allie said to the lady. “Come with me and let’s get you some dry clothes.” Pam looked at the stranger. The sun was directly behind her and it looked like a halo surrounded her caring face. She was an angel.

  “C’mon,” Allie said as she stood up slowly. “You don’t need to be here.” Pam rose slowly. The two ladies started walking toward the tree line. Pam didn’t have any idea who this lady was or where she was taking her, but she knew that she was right. She wanted to be with her husband, but she couldn’t bear to look at him like this.

  Jerry couldn’t see anything holding Bobby in the plane. He was twisted and contorted in an unnatural way, but he didn’t appear to be pinned in the wreckage. The men outside the doorway were looking in and offering their assistance. The grey-haired man suggested they pull the injured man from under his arms while Jerry lifted him by his legs.

  As they lifted, Bobby groaned. “How bad are you hurt?” Jerry asked.

  “I don’t know,” Bobby said hoarsely. “I’ll live. Just get me out of this damn coffin.”

  The men continued with Bobby moaning and groaning all the way. They soon had him out of the fuselage and onto the damp ground. He was covered with cuts and bruises.

  “Let’s take him to the house,” the grey-haired man said. “Arlene can look at him and patch him up.” The other men gathered to lift the injured man.

  “Who are you?” Jerry asked as he looked into the grey-haired man’s eyes.

  “Oh, sorry,” said the man. “I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Harold Lindsey. Nice to meet you. Can we get this man to the house and get him a little medical attention now?”

  “Thanks, Harold,” Jerry said. “Let’s roll.”

  Chapter 7

  The magic bus

  As the men were carrying the injured man toward the house, Arlene had heard of the incident and met the men in the back yard. She knew right away that the man probably had broken ribs by the way he was writhing as he was being carried. Well, that and the bruising she could see through his torn shirt.

  They carried him in and put him in Alice’s room. The hospital bed and various medical supplies were already in there, so that was the logical choice. Jerry stayed by his bedside as Arlene cleaned Bobby’s wounds and applied antibiotic salve and bandaging to the open wounds. A couple of times Jerry tried to help but was turned away because Arlene didn’t want his dirty hands in her sterile field.

  Tommy and John returned to the pipeline to retrieve the pilot’s body. Ray Lynn and Jake went to the back to finish the fence. Beetle and Ellen returned to the garden to finish harvesting while Allie helped Pam wash up and change in to dry clothes (which happened to be the same size that Roxie wore). Ashlyn was busy playing with the kids and Roxie busied her
self filling buckets with water, knowing that the group would be needing plenty for cooking, washing and flushing the toilet with.

  Harold and Kay sat at the dining room table drinking a glass of tea and talking. Their house was much too big for just the two of them but much too small for all the people who were now there.

  “Babe,” Kay said, “I think it’s time for us to go to the bus. That way Jake and Allie can use our room. Besides, I really don’t want to stay in this house without Alice. It just feels creepy.”

  “I understand,” Harold replied. “We’ve got to figure out what to do with everyone. There’s plenty of space here for everyone, but we’ve just got to make sure everyone’s comfortable. Well, as comfortable as possible.”

  “Roxie’s got a lot of stuff in the truck that needs to be unloaded,” said Kay. “She needs to know where to put it.”

  “O. K.,” Harold responded. “How does this sound? Roxie can put her things in the little travel trailer since it’s only big enough for one. Jake and Allie can have our room. The kids can stay in there with them tonight. John and Ashlyn can stay in the front room tonight and then convert the storage building into a place for them to live in tomorrow. After that Ryder and Marie can stay in the front room.

  “Beetle can stay in my mancave, since she already slept in there last night,” he continued. “Tonight, we can use the sleeping bags and cots in the living room and dining room for everyone else. We can figure out where everyone else can make their own tomorrow.”

  “I guess that’s the best we can do for now,” Kay said. There were a couple of gutted camper trailers, two more storage buildings and the loft of the barn for people claim and convert to fit their needs. There was more than enough work left to be done today to worry about the other things.