Defending Home

by Jeffrey Miller

  *****

  The day was spent relaxing. The temperatures never got so cold that even a fire was needed. Ben was sitting next to Nate. They were busy talking about a song that was playing on the radio. It was an old song that Ben knew the words to. It was from the group Kansas, “Carry On, Wayward Son.”

  Nate laughed and asked Ben how he knew the song and every word so well.

  “When I was with my grandma, she liked to watch spooky TV shows. One show was called Supernatural and they played the song at the beginning many times,” Ben explained.

  Nate remembered seeing the show before.

  “I used to love that show too,” Nicole said, hearing the title. She leaned forward to Sammie’s side and spoke.

  “I really just loved the two actors the most. They were kind to the eyes,” Nicole said, winking at Sammie.

  Sammie laughed, knowing the show, but she kept that to herself. “Nate, have I told you lately that I’m very glad you are home?” Sammie said, whispering to him after getting his attention.

  Nate turned and replied. “Sammie, when I saw you walking across the field yesterday, I was elated. I can’t tell you how glad I was to be home,” Nate said in a sad voice.

  “Nate, what’s wrong?” Sammie clued in to there being something he wasn’t telling her.

  “I can’t talk about it here, Sammie. Later, maybe we can talk.”

  Sammie had not seen him this way before. He seemed weak and slightly depressed now. She had not heard Henry mention much about getting the girl home safely. She wondered if Henry even knew what was wrong, if anything, with Nate. She couldn’t force him to talk; instead she decided to hold his hand a little tighter for now.

  Nate felt her grip and appreciated it. He pretended not to feel it, but he was having issues with the day before. It wasn’t the taking of lives; it was the closeness he came to losing his own that bothered him deeply. He had been in many battles, but yesterday he went in full throttle guns blazing and almost died. He knew better, and it almost cost him everything. Why had he become so brazen to believe he was untouchable? He would need to come to grips with this.

  ****

  The evening was coming and so was the smoked elk. Nate went back to the house to grab a few jackets and Sammie tagged along. On the way back, she inquired as to what was wrong.

  Nate stopped at the porch of the home. “Sammie, I almost didn’t make it back yesterday,” he said, looking down at the ground and feeling almost ashamed to admit it.

  “What do you mean? You got the girl home. What happened? We really didn’t hear much about what actually happened,” Sammie explained.

  It was true; no one knew what happened. They just assumed Nate and Henry went into the woods, found the girl, and took her back. Maybe it was because no one wanted to know what truly occurred.

  “Yes, we got the girl home. My dad had to stay behind; he wasn’t in shape enough for what needed to be done. Another former soldier and I went up higher into the mountains to locate the missing girl. She was being held captive by Russian soldiers. We didn’t plan to do anything with it just being the two of us. However, circumstances changed, and she broke free. I got her, but I had to remain behind to give her cousin – the guy I was with – and her time to escape. I had to engage seven heavily armed professional soldiers. They had me pinned down basically. Fortunately, Kyle showed up just in time,” Nate explained.

  Suddenly Sammie realized that today could have been a funeral. She jumped into Nate’s arms and hugged him. She started to cry.

  “Nate, you are alive. God wanted you alive for a reason. I don’t think that you almost died. How can that be? We don’t ‘almost’ do anything. We are blessed with those around us. God makes things happen for those He sees deserve it, and fights for those who can’t fight for themselves,” she said.

  “I want to believe that,” Nate replied, still holding her in his arms.

  “Nate, you have to believe that. You are here and still alive. Are you sure that for once you just maybe became frightened?” she asked.

  Nate pulled her away. “Of what? I’m not scared of any man,” he said with bravo in his voice.

  “No…of losing what you now have,” Sammie replied.

  Nate then understood she was right. In the past, he didn’t have a family like this. He thought of country first; to protect his family at home…yes, but not like this. She was right; the beautiful redhead was right. He smiled, feeling better now. He softly moved in to kiss her.

  *****

  Two weeks had passed since Henry and Nate returned home from finding Audrey. Winter had arrived with its full force, and much earlier than everyone had anticipated. The snow was accumulating very fast. Nate stood on the front porch as he did every day for the past few weeks…waiting. Ben was quickly learning the skills needed to hunt rabbit. He became very good at the hunt. Nate looked at his watch and wondered why he hadn’t come out yet. He knew Ben was up due to the fact that they shared the same room. Nate turned to go back inside. When he opened the door, he was struck with the smell of strong coffee, and he knew his dad must be making some on the wood burning stove. He walked over and grabbed a clean mug of the counter. Nate looked around and didn’t see anyone. He could hear the distinct sounds of an axe and figured his father was out back cutting firewood. Nicole and his mother were nowhere to be seen.

  Nicole came into the kitchen in a rush.

  “Nate, it’s Ben; something is wrong with him,” she said, waiving him to follow.

  Nate sat the coffee down and quickly found Ben in the bedroom lying down. He appeared to be very hot and sweating. He was complaining of muscle cramps and said he felt nauseated.

  “Nate, I think he may have the flu,” Betty said. She was holding Ben close.

  Nate moved next to Ben on the other side of the bed. He reached down and felt his forehead with the back of his palm just as his mother had done to him at the same age. Indeed, Ben did feel very hot.

  “Nicole, would you go get some water?” Betty asked.

  Nicole nodded and headed to the kitchen where the jug water was sitting near the sink.

  “I’m sorry, dad. It just hit me all of a sudden like. I woke up, and when I stood up, it hit,” Ben said.

  “Just relax, Ben,” Nate said.

  This was one of the things that Nate feared the most. The reliance on modern medicines often took care of these issues, but with there being no place to go get treatment made things very difficult.

  “Ben, I will go get Sammie, she was a nurse. Maybe she will know what to do, or have something she can give you,” Nate said, leaning over and kissing Ben on the top of his head.

  Henry walked in as Nate was preparing to go see Sammie.

  “What’s going on?” Henry asked. Nate updated him. Henry took up a folding chair and parked himself next to Ben. Henry started telling Ben some funny stories as Nate left.

  When Nate stepped off the porch, his feet sank nearly two feet into the snow. The wind was picking up out of the north. He slowly made his way across the expanse to Gene’s home. He could see smoke rising from their chimney, and he caught a smell of the burning wood. Looking down at the snow-covered ground, Nate noticed several rabbit tracks.

  “Guess you all get to live another day,” he said out loud, looking around for the little bunnies. He didn’t see any.

  Nate was trying hard not to think about how sick Ben might get. He wasn’t prepared for matters like this. In the normal course of everyday life, this wasn’t that big of a deal anymore. However, ‘now’ wasn’t normal life; having no access to common medication or doctors could mean disaster.

  He knocked on the door to Gene’s home. Someone had recently been on the porch because there was a hot cup of black coffee steaming on the side table next to the chair.

  Gene came to the door. He was dressed in a coat with a ski hat on. Nate figured it was his coffee.

  “Morning Gene. Hey…Ben is sick,” Nate said as Gene opened the door to let Nate inside.
>
  “Oh, Nate…what is wrong with him?” Gene said, moving a blanket from the sofa. The home was cozy, but with the temps outside, any draft from opening the door meant it being cold for a bit.

  “Not sure really, either the flu or pneumonia. That’s why I’m here. I was hoping Sammie could check him out,” Nate said.

  Gene yelled for Sammie who was in the back section of the home helping her mom with something. Sammie came in quickly thinking her father needed help fast.

  “Sammie, Nate is here. It’s Ben, he is sick,” Gene said as he watched Sammie move closer to Nate.

  She places her arm around Nate. “Oh no, Nate. I’m sorry. Let’s go look at him,” she suggested as her nurse side kicked into gear. Gene went to get Mattie and they all headed over to see Ben. Ben had become a part of the family; it was almost like he was a grandson to them now.

  When they got to the cabin, Sammie sat down next to Ben. First thing she did was remove a thermometer from a tool bag of medical supplies she brought with her. Ben slipped it under his tongue. In a few minutes, Sammie removed the thermometer and read the numbers.

  “Ben, you are the proud owner of 102-degree temperature,” she said, looking back over her shoulder to everyone standing in the room.

  Nate was seated on the other side.

  “Ben, tell me how you feel. Any pains, shortness of breath, dizziness, tummy issues…whatever?” she asked. She was looking through her bag of over-the-counter meds.

  Ben started to talk, then coughed some. He seemed very tired to everyone standing around.

  “I feel very tired. I just started coughing early this morning. Sometimes it’s hard to catch my breath,” he said, holding his hand to his chest.

  Sammie removed her stethoscope and listened to his lungs.

  “Say the letter E and hold it for me,” she asked Ben. He did as she asked. She held the scope on his back after sitting him up.

  “Say the letter A and do the same thing.”

  Ben did as he was told. Sammie made a face that Nate knew wasn’t good. She was listening for the sounds of fluid moving around the air sacs.

  “It could be pneumonia; but regardless, you need to rest and take some of these things. You need to drink a lot of water and try to cough up as much as possible, Ben,” Sammie suggested. She removed some cough suppressants and Tylenol.

  “I will help keep an eye on you, Ben,” Sammie said.

  Betty was already setting up a place for her to stay in the house. Sammie stood and walked out of the room. Nate followed her. Everyone else stayed in the room except Henry.

  “Nate, I hope this isn’t bacterial pneumonia. I don’t have the right kind of antibiotics for that,” she said.

  “There is also the chance this is walking pneumonia or something different; we really can’t tell without a chest x-ray. We might know more in a few days if he starts coughing up yellow mucous,” she added.

  “And if he does?” Nate asked.

  Sammie held his hand as she spoke. “Then he really would need antibiotics because it would likely be bacterial,” she replied.

  “Great. I will just run to the nearest hospital and grab some,” Nate remarked sarcastically. But the thought may not be too far from reality if things became worse. He was certain that by now all the hospitals would have been ransacked.

  “We can go to my hospital and see what’s going on. I don’t think they are open and haven’t been for months. Weeks before you arrived here was the last time I was up there to grab as much supplies as I could. But I’m willing to go there to see,” Sammie suggested.

  Nate thought about what she said. He would love to go for many reasons. If they could get their hands on good meds for future events, it might be worth it. However, the risk was high, but he was willing for Ben’s sake.

  “Do you truly think there would be anything left of value for this?” Nate asked.

  “Nate, can I add something to this?” Henry asked.

  Nate turned to his dad. “Sure…of course dad,” Nate replied.

  “Before we left the ranger station, I overheard that preacher say he had found a cabin that had all kinds of supplies; including medical stuff. He even said that he wondered if the person who once lived there had been a doctor because of all of the medicine bottles and other trauma looking equipment.”

  Henry had no reason at the time to mention it, but knowing of what condition Ben had taken meant maybe this was a better option than traveling into a town.

  “Nate, if he is right, I need to go with you. I will know what to look for,” Sammie suggested.

  Nate knew she had to go, but he was torn over having Sammie stay since she was a nurse, versus having her going with him.

  “I agree that makes sense, but you are also needed here,” Nate replied.

  Mattie walked in, having been listening to the conversation.

  “Nate, she can go. I’m a nurse also…or was.”

  Nate didn’t know this, but he saw the smile on Sammie’s face. She hadn’t told him; it just never came up.

  “Well, ok…I guess we are going, but we need to go ASAP!” Nate added.

  “I will be ready in fifteen minutes,” Sammie stated.

  Chapter 10

  Time to Ride

  Nate was moving at a good pace. He had Sammie sitting behind him on the four-wheeler. The rack on the back was holding two packs and other gear including some gasoline for the extra distance involved. He had no real idea of how far the cabin was, and they would need to get directions from the Russian priest. Sammie was holding onto Nate firmly; she had buried her face into his tall back peeking over his shoulders at times. The snow was deep, and Nate hoped it would not get deeper the higher they went. So far, the ATV was having no issues and they made good time, but it was getting colder.

  Nate had packed a good tent with a few extreme temperature sleeping bags. The tent was a two-person tent, and he didn’t even think twice about having Sammie in it with him. He would be on his best behavior…he told himself. He took a few minutes to explain to Ben what he was doing. Ben was so tired from coughing. His fever seemed lower, but he was not with it, and soon he fell to sleep on Nate.

  Nate trusted Mattie and everyone else to take care of Ben until they returned; hopefully with something that could help Ben’s condition.

  “Hang on, we are going up a steep hill soon,” Nate yelled back at Sammie.

  She nodded. She could feel a very large side arm on his hip. They also had two large caliber rifles strapped to the rack. The only thing they lacked was good firewood. Nate stuffed a few small dry logs and kindling in a sack and tied it down, but they couldn’t bring more because of the weight. He would cut as needed along the way.

  The trail he was on was the same one he and Ben took up to the area where he had his first encounter with Dillon and Randy. He didn’t like to think of that time; not because of meeting them, but more of what might have occurred if he was given the chance. They both had no idea of how lucky they were. Nate also considered though he had some luck as well. They could have killed them both just as easily.

  The scene of trees with no leaves to speak of, and the freshly fallen snow was beautiful. Sammie loved the view; even from an ATV. She wished none of this was happening. She diverted her mind off of Ben’s condition by thinking that soon, she and Nate would finally have time to try having a real relationship. It was happening, but it was slow. Current times made it that way. The bonds they built were growing, and she could feel a difference in Nate and his approach to her.

  She hugged him harder as she thought about the times they had recently…just being close and kissing. Nate felt the tightness of her hug, and turned and gave her a wink. She liked seeing him happy. She loved how confident and determined he was about everything. Now he was on another mission. This mission was of vital importance and could mean possible life or death for Ben. She knew it, and was she was sure he did, but she wouldn’t discuss anything but positive thoughts.

  ****

&
nbsp; Back Home

  Ben woke up. He saw Sammie’s mother sitting next to him, along with his grandpa. She was bringing a glass of water to Ben’s lips, trying to get him to drink. Ben managed to get some down before coughing it back up.

  “Where is dad?” he mumbled.

  Mattie applied a cold rag to his forehead.

  “He and Sammie went to find some medicine for you. They won’t be gone too long. Now try to drink some more water,” she said.

  Ben took the glass and tried again; this time keeping it down longer. His fever was still high, but not like it was before. Mattie had Henry take a wet towel out into the snow and let it get cold then bring it in to apply to Ben’s hot body. Mattie also removed some Tylenol and had Ben take them to help with the fever. No one could be certain what he had, but Mattie was sure it might be contagious. Everyone had to wear bandanas over their face when they came in. Washing hands also became very important. In Mattie’s opinion, he was exhibiting more signs and symptoms of pneumonia than the flu. The wheezing and coughing up sputum alone were signs enough, but the added chest congestion and lung sounds told the rest of the story.

  “That’s good, Ben…drink as much as you can. If you think you can, in a bit we will give you some hot chicken soup,” she said.

  Ben nodded. He was not hungry, but he trusted her that he needed food.

  “Where did dad and Sammie actually go? Did they go to a town?” Ben asked, trying not to cough.

  “No, they went to that ranger station and to those people you met. He wants to talk to them about someplace that might have medicine. They will be back soon; maybe a few days at the most,” she replied, not wanting him to focus on that right now, but she knew he couldn’t help but worry.