“Those are jogging chairs,” Harold answered. “Kay used to participate in races; like 5k’s, half-marathons and marathons. She would ride in the chair and someone would push her on the course.”
“That would make a good trailer for the lady to take her pilot home in,” Tommy said. “We might have to make adjustments, but it should work.”
“Take one of ‘em if you need it,” Harold said. “There are some tools over in that shed if you need ‘em.” He knew the jogging chairs were pretty tough and would probably be able to handle the rough journey.
The two men walked over to one of the jogging chairs and checked it out. Tommy lifted one end and it unfolded in an awkward way. Harold chuckled and then showed his uncle how to unfold the chair and lock things in place to make it useful. Tommy then pulled the chair over to the tool shed.
Bear, who had been watching from near the side fence, walked over where Tommy was working to adjust the chair.
“Whatcha’ doin’, Uncle Tommy?” he asked. “Plannin’ on takin’ someone for a ride?”
“Somethin’ like that,” Tommy answered. He walked into the shed and grabbed a few tools that he thought he could use, as well as a roll of tie-wire. He placed them in the seat of the chair and then started pushing the chair toward the back of the property. Bear did not follow. That looked too much like work and he certainly didn’t want to get in the middle of that.
As he walked back toward where the pilot had been carried, Tommy met up with his son. John was heading to the house to see if there was fuel to fill the tank of the four-wheeler. He was confident his dad would come up with a way to carry the man, which it was now obvious he had. The next step would be ensuring the four-wheeler was prepared for the trip.
A few minutes later the pilot was secured in the modified jogging chair. The chair was secured to the back of the four-wheeler and the machine had a full tank of fuel. The trio had wired a large piece of black plastic around the chair to prevent the man’s body from being on full display as it traveled across the county. With the task complete, they returned to the backyard to join the rest of the group.
“You better step back, boy,” Tommy could hear Roxie’s voice as she shouted at someone. He could tell that she wasn’t happy. There was some sort of commotion going on near the fire pit. They picked up their pace to see what was going on.
“Hey,” someone shouted.
Harold hurriedly came out of the back door when he heard shouting. “What’s going on?” he asked as he got near the small group of people near the fire pit.
“I barely cooked enough for the folks who was here,” Roxie said angrily, “This one here wants to be a greedy-gut and take more than a fair share of stew.” She shook her wooden spoon toward Bear, who was standing near the pot with a ladle in one hand and a large bowl of steaming stew in the other. A very large bowl.
“Why you gotta’ be a pig, Bear?” John asked as he approached from near the back gate.
The situation seemed to be escalating rapidly.
“Ya’ll leave my baby alone,” Loretta yelled from the other side of the yard.
One of the twins started crying as she ran toward her mother, who was still trying to rearrange the storage building. Ashlyn peered toward the irate group as she scooped her young daughter up in her arms. She certainly didn’t approve of a bunch of adults yelling at each other in front of small children.
“Bear,” said Harold, “don’t you think you took more food than you should have? Do you know how many people there are here who were looking forward to something to eat?”
“I ain’t ett in two days,” Bear retorted. “I gotta’ have a lot of groceries to keep me goin’. I din’t get this fine body by missin’ any meals.” He cradled the bowl closer to his big belly, not willing to give any of the stew back.
Roxie snatched the ladle from his hand while he was distracted. “Well, you best go get yor own groceries,” she said. Everyone could see the fire in her eyes.
The younger twin started wailing.
“Calm down,” Beetle said as she walked into the fray. “He can have my share.”
All eyes turned toward the dark-haired girl. She wasn’t known to back up her brother, so it was quite surprising for her to offer her own meal for him.
“He’s hungry,” she said. “I don’t mind passing on a meal to feed someone who hasn’t eaten in two days. Even him.”
Bear smirked. He liked this change of direction for the conversation. “Yer cornbread, too?” he asked, staring directly at Roxie.
“Yes, Jerk,” Beetle said through gritted teeth. “Don’t push it.”
There was silence. Roxie fumed as she looked over to Harold.
“All right, Bear,” Harold said with a level tone, “you just used up your one goodwill offer. There won’t be another. Everyone gets their fair share of food here as long as they earn it.” He turned his gaze toward Beetle. “She earned this meal and passed it on to you. I won’t allow that to happen again.”
He looked back toward Bear. “You will have to earn your next meal,” he said. “Nothing comes free here. You get what you work for. Nothing more. Nothing less.” Harold walked right up to Bear and stood inches from his face. “Do you understand what I’m tellin’ you?”
“Aww, Uncle Harold,” Bear said with a grin on his face, “you ain’t gotta’ worry about me. This here stew is gonna’ give me the energy ta’ pull my own weight.” He reached his empty hand down and slapped his engorged belly a couple of times. “I got plenty of weight ta’ pull.”
The look in his eyes told Harold that Bear understood, no matter how he tried to use warped humor to get out of the pressurized situation.
Bear turned his gaze toward Roxie as he held out his bowl of stew. “How ‘bout that cornbread, Sweetie,” he smirked. “Two slices.” Roxie reached into the pan and removed two slices of hot cornbread. She held it over the bowl and ground it up, pieces falling into Bear’s stew. She never diverted her stare from his evil eyes.
Harold wanted to say something else to Bear, but he opted to refrain at the moment. Time and place; this was neither. He stood there as Bear smirked, grunted and then walked away with his hearty meal.
“Kay and I will take a smaller portion,” Harold said softly. “So will Abe and Sierra. And we’ll split two slices of cornbread between the four of us. That should make up the difference and allow Beetle to still have a smaller share.”
Roxie nodded as she walked Bear stroll away. Her face and neck were glowing red. “Let it go, Rox,” Harold said. “He’ll learn his lesson; one way or another.”
Roxie exhaled.
“Beetle,” Harold said as he looked at the young lady. “I’m proud of you for what you did. That was a good thing to do, but you aren’t going to go hungry on his account. We’ll all share the extra burden of our unexpected guests. Just take a smaller portion and we’ll be alright.”
“Yes, sir,” Beetle said meekly. “Thank you.”
With the tension eased, everyone lined up and made themselves a bowl of stew. By the time Arlene and Jerry came out to fix their bowl they were amazed to see that there was plenty left. They wondered if there was something wrong with the delicious food since everyone else had not eaten much.
After everyone had eaten that evening there was stew remaining at the bottom of the second pot. The food was amazing. Even Jackson loved it. The selflessness shown was even more amazing.
Chapter 11
A long night
Harold and Abe stood side by side next to Alice’s grave. It was hard for Harold to tell his son that his grandmother had passed away. Abe had a great relationship with her. He knew, however, that she wouldn’t live much longer. That was before the pulse.
Now he wished he had the opportunity to talk to her one more time. Abe remembered that the last thing he had said to her was “I love you,” but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to tell her one last time. Sometimes you have regrets, even though there is absolutely nothing to feel bad abou
t.
Neither spoke. They were both wrapped up in their own thoughts. Sometimes words don’t need to be spoken, even though there is so much that can be said.
At the main house Arlene was getting ready to leave and go back to Buna. She was waiting by the truck with Ray Lynn while Beetle talked with her mom. They had decided they would drop Tommy off at his place where he could check on things before they headed further north, and Tommy was at the side of the truck chatting with Ellen.
“I really don’t like you goin’ on a joy ride,” Loretta said to her daughter. “It ain’t safe to be trapsin’ around the country, especially in a truck that belongs to someone else.”
“Mama,” Beetle said, “it’s not safe anywhere anymore. If it weren’t for this lady Levi would still be layin’ on the side of that railroad track – dead. I still can’t believe you left the house to come find me. That’s what we’re doin’. We’re helpin’ Arlene get to her daughter.”
“But her daughter is an adult,” Loretta said. “She can take care of herself.”
“I’m an adult, too, Mama,” Beetle responded. “I’ve been takin’ care of myself a long time.” She could see that her words stung her mom. It hurt her heart to do that.
“Look, Mama,” Beetle continued. “I gave my word that I would help Arlene home. I ain’t breakin’ my word. I’ll be back in a little while. You’ll see.”
“I’m jes worried about you, baby girl,” Loretta countered.
“And I’m glad you do,” Beetle said compassionately. “That tells me you care.” Beetle smiled and leaned in to give her mom a hug. She couldn’t remember the last time she had hugged her. “Love you, Mama,” she whispered in her ear.
“I love you, too,” Loretta said, tears welling up in her eyes. “You get on back her quick-like.”
Beetle squeezed her mom a little tighter before releasing the hug. She gave her a little smile then turned and walked away. For some reason she saw her mom in a completely different light than she had only a day ago.
Ray Lynn climbed into the driver seat of the truck, slammed the door shut and shouted, “Load ‘em up,” as he turned the key and brought the motor to life. Arlene looked toward the house one last time and then walked around and climbed in the passenger seat. Tommy and Beetle loaded up in the back.
Beetle winked at her mom. “Stop your worryin’, woman,” she said with a smile. “Worryin’ just gives you wrinkles.”
“Good grief,” Loretta said, “I ain’t got room for any more wrinkles on my old face.” She waved at her baby girl as the truck started rolling up the driveway. Beetle waved back. She hoped she would see her again soon.
As the rumble of the truck faded away, Jerry sat beside his father and held his hand. The old man hadn’t opened his eyes since they found him, but his breathing seemed to be getting better. Jerry sat silently, lost in thought. He wondered if he would ever get the chance to apologize to his father for causing the rift between them.
On the other end of the house, back in the master bedroom. Jake and Allie were sitting on the bed with their children. Jake was reading the kids a bedtime story, a ritual they chose to continue regardless of the situation around them. It had been a long day and they were all pretty much worn out. The sun was going down and the small family welcomed the calmness of the moment.
John and Ashlyn were in the spare room with their twins. John sat in a chair rubbing Silvadene into his burned skin. He relished the soothing affect it had, as well as the peaceful sound of his wife as she sat on a pallet on the floor with their girls. She was singing them to sleep. It was working.
“Yes, Jesus loves me,” she sang. “Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so.”
Jerry could hear the soft voice of the radiant mother as it drifted across the quiet house. He strangely felt comforted by her voice and the words she sang. He wondered what was with everyone, trying to push religion on him. It was his choice if he wanted to believe or not, wasn’t it?
He glanced down at the table next to his father’s bed. His eyes focused on a pair of scissors. Was that some kind of message?
Oh. Emm. Gee.
Roxie and Ellen finished washing the supper dishes and then sat themselves down to enjoy the last of the sweet tea. The two were about the same age and were pretty much raised the same way, so they clicked together well. The chatted for a while about this-and-that.
Roxie finally stood up and stretched, saying she was going to go in the trailer and fix her a place to sleep for the night. Ellen and Tommy were going to spend the night in the storage shed after he got back from the house. She remained seated in front of the fire pit, watching the burning wood as it turned to a pile of embers. She thought about adding a little more firewood but decided it would be best to save as much wood as possible. Goodness knows they would need it.
Loretta and Bear were offered a place in Harold’s mancave to sleep for the night. There were few options. Harold said they could work something out for the future the next day, when there was a bit more time to prepare. Loretta sat on the cot she was going to sleep on and smoked the last cigarette she had bummed from Abe (which she had been asked not to do) while Bear sat on a stool and plundered through the desk drawers. He found several small items that he felt Harold didn’t really need and shoved them into his pockets. “If he didn’t want someone to take ‘em he wouldn’t have left ‘em out,” he thought as justification.
Harold and Abe were in the small patch of woods, sitting on the stumps in Harold’s usual spot. Harold had a hit off his bowl while Abe shuffled dirt with the tip of his shoe. He didn’t smoke (weed) but didn’t have a problem with his dad takin’ a toke every now and then. He pulled a cigarette out of his box and fired it up.
“Do you guys have enough supplies for all these people?” Abe asked. “There are more here than I figured there would be.”
“We’ll make it work,” Harold said. “The way I see it, we’re going to need as many people as we can trust to make it through this. It’s already bad out there and it’s only been two days. Just imagine what it’s going to be like this time next week. We’ve already caught a guy takin’ tomatoes from the garden.”
“So that’s why ya’ll have the new fence,” Abe said. “You think that’s gonna’ keep people out?”
“It’s a deterrent,” Harold said. “I’m gonna’ set up some security cameras tomorrow so we can keep a better eye out. Even with that, though, we’ll need help protecting what we have here. We set ourselves up because we knew that there was no way we could get Kay from one place to another if the crap ever hit the fan.”
“The crap has definitely hit the fan,” Abe said with a slight chuckle. “I think it sprayed some everywhere.”
“Right,” Harold replied. “For the bigger part, I believe we have a good group here. Everyone has something to offer for the betterment of the entire group. If we work together, we can work through this. There’s no way I can do it all myself, that’s for sure. I can offer some food, some water, some comforts that are hard to find now. That’s a start. But it’s only a start.
“The past, as we knew it, is gone. It went away the minute that EMP went off. If we’re going to have any kind of future, it’s going to take a village. One or two people can do great things. Sooner or later, though, everything they work for can, and likely will be taken away. It’s not right, but it’s the reality we live in now.”
“I get that,” Abe said. “We came here because we knew that you were prepared for something like this. I guess everyone else had the same idea. I’m just concerned that there isn’t enough food for everyone. Just look at what happened with the stew.”
“Right,” Harold replied. “A key thing I said earlier is that it will take a group of people that we can trust. I trusted everyone here up until that moment. If nothing else, it opened my eyes to the fact that we can’t just welcome anyone with arms wide open. If they have something to offer and can, and will, contribute to the group, we can give them a
chance. We can feed ‘em and give ‘em water.
“By the same respect, if anyone proves they can’t be trusted we will have to take action. We’ll have to police our own and remove any bad seed that comes into our group. We can’t provide too many second chances. People will start to take advantage if we do. We can’t let that happen. We’ve got to take care of our group. I believe we need to choose a core group of people that we trust the most and come up with guidelines and rules.”
“You’re right,” Abe said.
“Of course I’m right,” Harold said with a chuckle. “Didn’t you get the memo?”
“No,” Abe retorted. “My email stopped working.”
Harold took another hit from his pipe. That was unusual for him. He usually only took one.
“I’m gonna’ go put Kay to bed and then come back and keep watch out here for a while,” Harold said. “I’d hate to lose a cow or pig because nobody kept an eye on ‘em. We need those animals more than ever now.”
“Good idea,” Abe said. “I can keep an eye out, though. You go ahead and get some sleep.”
“I’ll wake you up in a little while,” Harold said. “I can get the animals to the barn easier than anybody. They know me and will come when I call ‘em. Besides, it’s gonna’ get dark soon and nobody knows this place better than I do.”
“You’re right,” Abe said. “Again.”
Harold smiled.
The father and son made their way to the tater shed and then down into the bunker beneath it. Kay and Sierra were just finishing up watching Dirty Dancing. Of all the movies in the collection, they chose that one. Kay had only seen it about a hundred times, so it was still a new movie to her.
Harold suggested that Abe and Sierra sleep in the bunker, which the young couple readily agreed to. He pulled back the panel holding the tv and exposed the entrance to the side room and showed them inside. He pointed out where the cots and bedding were stored and then left them to make themselves acquainted with the space.
It took several minutes for Harold to get Kay in the bed and settled in. She was grateful to discover her husband had stored an I-Pad in the bus that was charged and filled with an extensive collection of her favorite music.
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