The Unchanged (Book 3): Safe Harbor

by Starnes, T. M.

  Mrs. Gale frowned at her hand, let me go, and gave Janessa a hug. “I’m a hugger, sweetheart. If you made it this far, and as young as you are to be anyone’s nurse, you deserve a hug. I love the hairstyle.” She indicated Janessa’s slowly returning hair. Great for the weather we’re having.”

  I motioned at Julie. “This is Julie Nakamora. From many places and she does many things.”

  “Why look at you!” She lifted Julie’s bronze arms up and examined her yoga outfit, her tunnel piercings, her nose ring, and her floppy sun bonnet. “A fashionista! And beautiful too. Excellent style! We need to talk.”

  Julie gave her a hug and let her go. “I like you already.”

  I introduced everyone else and then pulled Cheyenne forward.

  “This is Cheyenne Stegall, same hometown as Janessa. She’s been our resident cowgirl and sharpshooter. She’s been riding shotgun with me since this started.”

  Mrs. Gale looked Cheyenne up and down. She noticed her wounds, her shorts, her halter top, her legs, her arms, and then she glanced at me still holding Cheyenne’s hand.

  Without a word, Mrs. Gale gave Cheyenne a hug, I let Cheyenne’s hand go to return the hug. Mrs. Gale whispered something in her ear, Cheyenne’s eyes flew open and they started laughing together.

  “Yes, ma’am. I am. And he is.” Cheyenne smiled.

  “What?” I asked.

  “You certainly have a type, Taylor,” Mrs. Gale said. “You like the beautiful ones, but they have to be tough too.” She took Cheyenne’s hand. “He hasn’t dated many women seriously, not even in high school. He’s a loyal young man and doesn’t treat people badly. He was always one of my favorites. You both are mighty lucky.”

  Cheyenne blushed!

  I wrapped my arm around Cheyenne’s waist.

  “Mrs. Gale?” a young Asian woman indicated our people as she came forward. “Should we check them in and find them a place to stay?” Her accent sounded Bostonian.

  “Please, Lee.” Mrs. Gale turned to everyone and raised her hands. She then projected her voice, used to being heard over the shouts of unruly teenagers. “Hello, everybody! I’m Mrs. Gale. I’m glad to see everyone made it! I’m temporarily in charge until our people get back. Right now, let’s get you checked in and find you some food, water, and a place to stay. We’re running the rec center on limited generator power, so make the most of it. These people behind me will help you. If you have babies and toddlers, go with Lee here.” She raised Lee’s arm. “She has supplies for them. Including diapers, fresh ones, in case they need it.”

  Lori and Sheila yelled out thank you to her which caused a staccato of laughter.

  Mrs. Gale leaned into me, “Did you lead them all here? My goodness, Taylor, this is a lot of children.”

  “Yes, ma’am, he sure did,” Janessa confirmed. “He’s kept us together.”

  “He got us here.” Cheyenne nodded. “You have no idea all the things he’s done over the past week to keep us alive.”

  Julie, crazy Julie, teared up, “Yeah, he saved us, one way or another.”

  Randy put an arm around Julie’s shoulder. “He gave us hope.”

  “We trusted him with our lives. Some didn’t make it, but if it weren’t for him,” Patty wrapped her good arm around Randy’s free one, “I don’t think any of us would have. And we wouldn’t have had a goal. We would have given up. But he made sure we didn’t.”

  Murmurs of agreement grew as Mrs. Gale quietly watched me.

  They began clapping, cheering me, of all people, me.

  Every person here was a hero, had survived the most insane of odds and were cheering me. I just gave them a place to go. Helped who needed helping. Doing the best that I could. I couldn’t have got them here without each of them helping too.

  It didn’t feel right, we had lost so many on our way here.

  Cheyenne leaned back from me and wiped dirt off my cheek.

  “You deserve this.” She whispered, wiping more dirt from my other cheek.

  I shook my head.

  “Yeah, you do. Don’t argue with me.” Cheyenne cleared my cheek again. “You won’t win.”

  The world swam for a second.

  “Whoa.” Cheyenne braced me. “Taylor?”

  “Taylor? Are you okay?” Mrs. Gale asked.

  “Sifu?” Diego asked, stepping forward.

  Cheyenne’s hand went to my forehead, “Oh shit. You’re burning up!” She leaned down and tore my leg bandage away. “Damn! Damn! Janessa, get the antibiotics we-”

  Julie grabbed me as I toppled forward, which made everyone stop cheering. Cheyenne slowed my fall, still hanging on to me.

  “We’ve got medical supplies inside,” Mrs. Gale said as Randy pulled my arm over his shoulder to support me. Julie took my other arm over her’s. I didn’t have the strength to resist.

  “I’m going to help Julie get the right antibiotics!” Cheyenne yelled, “If you have ice, put some on the back of his neck. Cool him off slow!” She ran after Janessa. “We’ll have to take out the stitches and drain the wound!”

  “I’ve got it!” Janessa yelled. “I’ll get my books!”

  Mrs. Gale lead the way into the rec center.

  “Oh, lord. That doesn’t look good.” Mrs. Gale whispered but I could still hear her. “How long has it been like that?”

  “Why didn’t you tell us it got infected, you bonehead,” Julie grumbled at me. “Cheyenne could have driven the Jeep.”

  “It’s not that bad,” I argued. “I just have a fever.”

  We hurried through the entrance. I recognized the basketball area they set up as a triage area. We had a competition here one year with my kung fu school. The lights were bright inside and there was no breeze. It was so hot.

  “No, you have an infection.” Julie disagreed.

  “Over here.” Mrs. Gale said. “Put him on this stretcher. We can move him to a cooler area once he’s lying down.”

  I shook my head. “I just need some water. It doesn’t even hurt.”

  They set me down. Patty pulled the rest of the bandages away and pressed down on my leg. Patty jumped back, and Julie, standing at my feet, ducked as if something flew by them.

  “Did that-?” Julie nodded at Randy. “I’ve got his feet, get his head. Mrs. Gale show us where to go. Patty, you get Janessa and Cheyenne and come find us. Mrs. Gale? Do you have any medical people, nurses, or anything like that?”

  “No. We’ve got a Sea Scout and two Girl Scouts and lots of lifeguards with basic first aid training.” Her voice sounded strange, nervous almost.

  “Okay, okay.” Julie, wow she’s strong, walked backwards, set the stretcher down, turned around, facing away from me, and picked me back up.

  Julie’s head looked weird. The fish swimming on top of her shoulders kept looking back at me.

  “Julie, your fish looks mad.”

  The fish turned and looked at me over her shoulder, “What fish?” The fish said with Julie’s voice.

  I looked up at Randy above me, “Doesn’t her fish look mad?”

  Randy looked down at me. His beak opened and shut and his red-chin-chicken-wattle-thingy at his neck shook as he spoke.

  “Yeah, her fish looks mad. Just lie there. You’re going to be alright.”

  Seeing his chicken head nod up and down along with Julie’s angry fish made me start giggling.

  Mrs. Gale took my hand. “It’s going to be alright, Taylor. It’s going to be alright.”

  She had a fish too!

  Why does she have a fish like Julie?

  Why do all the women have fishies on their shoulder?

  Why would anyone need a fish on their shoulder?

  And what happened to their heads?

  They don’t got no head!

  Chapter 14

  A huff of air in my face woke me.

  “King?” Cheyenne whispered. “Get away from there. Eat your food. You need it, you skinny puppy, you.”

  A strong grip turned my left arm up, elbow dow
n, and I heard a tapping over my head.

  I opened my left eye.

  Yep. I’m dead. There’s an angel. An angel with attitude, but still an angel.

  Cheyenne checked a tube from a hanging IV bag connected to my arm. She wore fresh clothes. New cut-off jean shorts, a white tank top, tied at the waist, and she was scrubbed clean. Her hair was washed and damp, soaking her top. Lucky me! Nice purple bra! A few of her stitches looked fresh including the big one across her chest. Restitched. She smelled nicer than she had in days.

  She picked up a bottle from the low plastic table beside the cot I lay on and shook it.

  “Okay, let’s wash that hair. Make you all handsome.” She whispered.

  She reached for my head, saw me looking at her and she jumped back, startled.

  Then she gave me a whack on the shoulder. “Don’t do that!”

  I grinned. “You look nice.”

  Recovering, she went down on her knees, set the bottle down and took my face in both hands and gave me a passionate kiss.

  She tasted like toothpaste and mouthwash. I probably tasted like old shoe and jerky.

  She finished and peered into my eyes. “Welcome back.”

  “How long was I out?”

  “A few hours. It’s night.”

  I could hear the hum of a generator and large floor fans blowing somewhere around me. The breeze felt good.

  King nudged up beside her and I reached over and scratched his furry red head. “You been keeping her safe, King?”

  “Yeah, he has. The kids here want to play with him, but since he’s a support dog, that’s not good for him.” She caressed my cheek.

  “Where’s our friends?” I tried to lift my head and look around.

  The rec center was quiet. Several people lay in cots around the basketball court floor. I could see Janessa asleep in a cot a few feet below my own feet, snoring loudly, twitching in her sleep. Demetri was asleep near her in his own cot.

  The rest of the occupants appeared to be here as staffing for a contact point and information center, much like when hurricanes have struck in the past. Several of the people asleep also had IV bags hanging above them. Their skin was bright red. Probably collapsed from heat exposure or exhaustion.

  “Mrs. Gale found empty houses and hotel rooms for most of them to stay in. That’s an organized lady.” She kept her voice low. “Randy and Patty are shacking up in a place nearby, so they can get to the plow in a hurry. Julie is sleeping in her green monster.” Cheyenne grinned. “Julie says she’s waiting on you to wake up and she’ll stay there till you do, then she’ll settle on a place to stay.”

  “The others?”

  “The toddlers are temporarily adopted by parents and grandparent survivors here who lost family. Lori and Sheila are staying together at a daycare center nearby with other caregivers. Lori is still upset about the dead kids killed by the Toad man.” She pointed past my head. “Lexi and Mia won’t leave here. They said when you get better, they’ll pick a place to stay like Julie; they’re leaning toward staying with her. Diego was here until an hour ago. He stood watch all day by the time we showed up and was exhausted but went home to sleep.”

  I tilted my chin toward my right leg, “So how bad is it, Doc?”

  Cheyenne wrinkled her nose. “We had to take the stitches out. You were filled with pus. Maybe something in the ocean made it turn bad a lot quicker. You’ve got an open wound under your bandages. The open wound looks bad, but it’ll heal. We cleaned it out and pumped you full of antibiotics. You squirted Julie and Patty by the way.” She pointed up. “You were dehydrated too, with a 104-degree temperature. It’s down to 100.2 now. Most of the people around you are dehydrated. This is the emergency center right now. Mrs. Gale says no one could get to the hospital in . . . Mare’s Head?” I nodded that I knew where she meant. “They’re thankful for the supplies we found, and they intend on sending someone out to get more supplies back on the bridge eventually.” She noticed me rubbing my leg bandage. “Do you want to see?”

  I nodded, and she helped me lean up on my elbows.

  She pulled the bandages back.

  Yech.

  The four-inch long gash was red on both sides and wet looking. It looked like a long, open-faced, pizza hoagie. You could see the different layers of skin and muscle. I flexed my toes and the angry skin pulled and relaxed. I couldn’t feel anything though.

  “Okay, lie back down now.” She replaced the bandages.

  “It looks clean.”

  Cheyenne smiled, “Thanks to the supplies and Janessa’s dedication to her studies, we did an excellent job. You’ll need to leave it uncovered as much as you can, so it can air out. Keep it covered otherwise. It’s covered right now because you were trying to scratch it while you were out. I’m gonna leave it like that until tomorrow, then we’ll restitch it.” She sat back on her heels and studied me as she rubbed King. “Okay.” She turned solemn. “We have to talk.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “You’re pregnant?”

  “No,” Cheyenne smirked. “Why? You got a problem with it if I was?”

  “Well, not really, it’s been only three days since we started . . .” I waved my hand. “Y’know.”

  “Having incredibly satisfying sex?” She smiled. “Cause that’s what you should say.”

  I grinned. “Oh, that’s what I’m sayin’. Yes.”

  She smirked. “No dummy, I’m not pregnant. Nothing tore or slipped off and I’m on the pills I found in the CVS back in South Carolina.” She leaned forward and kissed me on the lips and leaned back. “No. We need to talk about your mental state.”

  I waited.

  “You still won’t acknowledge that you’ve become disassociated from your pain. Your leg had to have been killing you and you didn’t even know it was as bad as it is.” She took me by the hand and laced our fingers together. “I know I have PTSD. Right, King?” The dog looked up at her as she said his name then she looked back at me. “We all have that now. I know I lock up. This is the most restful I’ve seen Janessa in days. She knows she has night terrors. I freeze. You ignore your pain. Demetri’s become codependent on Julie and Janessa. Julie tries to laugh everything off. Did you really think she was crying only on your shoulders when she needed to? She does it on mine too. She misses her girlfriend, she was in love, for real. You give her better comfort, being a fellow nerd and all.” She smiled which made me smile. “Julie was popping her gum so loud, by the way, it was hurting our ears while we worked on you. Oh! And-” She reached over to the plastic table and held up a small, brown, wrapped piece of candy. “She found you some of these.”

  “Tootsie Rolls!” I snatched it from her and ripped it open, popping its heavenly, sweet, glorious, blessed by the gods and goddesses of all creation, goodness, into my mouth and chewed slowly.

  Cheyenne smirked. “You can thank her tomorrow.”

  She waited until I calmed from my overpowering pleasure.

  “But you’ve got to start thinking about what you could do to yourself. And don’t blame it on your martial arts training there, kung fu man. This is a mental block thing you’re doing.”

  I winked at her. “You worry about me.”

  “Pfft. I worry more about King. At least he’s useful.” She smirked, trying to be tough. “Promise me, you’ll start paying more attention to your wounds and your health.” She tightened her fingers in mine. “I like you being around . . . you mean a lot to me. Promise me.”

  I reached down and pressed my leg wound. I really didn’t feel anything. So, I pressed harder.

  “Stop.” She took my hand away. “Doesn’t that hurt?”

  I slapped my hand down lightly on the wound, my leg involuntarily jerked. I felt only minimal pain.

  “Taylor! Stop that.” She grabbed both my hands, still whispering, trying not to wake anyone else.

  I sighed. “Okay. You’re right. I’m not feeling that. I mean. I feel it. But I don’t feel the pain. I do have a problem. I’ll try to pay more atten
tion to what’s happening to my body.”

  Cheyenne stared at my leg. “You really didn’t feel that?” She frowned and lifted the bandage. “Now you’re bleeding. Don’t do that anymore. I don’t like it, and I’ll hit you if you do.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” I admired how shiny her hair was. “You took a shower?” I lifted a few stray hairs from her cheeks.

  She kissed my palm. “Yeah. But I found a dry shampoo for you they use in hospitals that I was going to wash your hair with before you scared the crap out of me.” She picked the bottle back up and pushed King out of the way. He headed for his food bowl.

  “Nice.” I smiled and lifted my head. “Then, by all means, shampoo me, woman,” I commanded.

  Cheyenne gave me an offended look. “Don’t get used to this. I’m almost used to the way you stink. And the hair maggots taste good late at night when I have the munchies.” She poured the shampoo on my head.

  “You’re nasty.”

  “Yes. I am. That’s why you better enjoy me more than those stupid tootsie rolls.”

  Meh. It’s pretty even, both are fantastic, but I won’t tell her that.

  I kept my mouth shut and let her shampoo my hair. By the time she was finished and forced me to take some medications, I drifted off to sleep watching King at Cheyenne’s side. I woke once, sometime later to find Cheyenne, kneeling, resting her head on my belly with her arm protectively stretched over my body, softly sleeping.

  * * *

  The next morning, after everyone finished worrying over me, why, I don’t understand, meh, maybe they like me, just a little, we decided to drive out to my family’s house before everyone else woke up and before Mrs. Gale would report for her shift and we could make plans after that.

  My fever broke before sunup, and an hour after that, I could stand. Cheyenne caught me standing beside my cot when she woke and shoved me back down. There’s something to be said for not feeling but a fraction of pain, I guess. Janessa woke and reprimanded me too. Then I had to put up with it from Julie. Then Lexi. But I received a reprieve with a happy flurry of hand signing from Mia and a hug. Demetri was chatty, telling me what I missed while I was passed out, which wasn’t much, and informed me of the comings and goings of our group and who had inquired on my health.