The Lady and the Hound- Divination

by A M Nixon

  All she remembers is rolling head over heel down the embankment. A kid in military fatigues ran to her.

  “Mam, I’m so sorry. My radar picked up your vehicle and I was checking for occupants. Then I saw you going over the edge.” He said. He apologized profusely and helped her to her feet.

  Mary couldn’t be mad at the kid, he was a welcome sight, she didn’t want to have to brave the walk in the smoke all alone. “My car died, and I heard your trucks so I thought I’d see if you could help.” Mary said as they walked to her vehicle.

  “I won’t be able to do anything about your car right now. My name is Charlie, by the way. I can take you back to the base so you can clean up and we’ll go from there.” They grabbed the blankets, food, water and gas she had and placed it in his truck. While on the way to the base, Charlie told her he would gather the latest information he could find about Maryland and let her know.

  When Mary finished getting changed into her last set of clean clothes, a hoodie belonging to her Ex and her pajama jeans, she walked around the barracks. No one was there but a few soldiers and they looked like they were waiting to deploy to at any moment. When she found Charlie, he was looking down at a desk, with several papers stacked on it.

  Charlie looked over at her and apologized. “I’m sorry mam, but I can’t find anything specific about Maryland. It’s still standing as far as I know, but as far as food, water, gas, things you would need to get there, there’s no way to know for sure. I can tell you what you already know is correct and we don’t know when we’ll get back to life as we knew it again. All I can do for now is take you over to the camp where we have taken the others.”

  “The camp? What about my car? I would like to have that, just in case.” Mary said, worried she would be stuck without a means of escape if she didn’t like the camp.

  “I can’t help you there, at least not any time soon. But when we come up periodically you can hitch a ride and we might be able to do something then.”

  Mary would have to wait. She was out of choices.

  “Our base set the camp up a few years ago for training. The military purchased the land, and it came with a house and a few buildings and we added our mobiles to use for staff. We’ve been taking people that have been rescued over to it and some have shown up when they ran out of food.” Charlie said.

  “Can I get information about Maryland and updates while I’m there?”

  “We have a good set up, you should get regular updates. You might not like that we have to back track. The camp is closer to where you started. It’s only a few miles from Old Gap.” Charlie said.

  Mary would ask him what the camp looked like, but she was sure she already knew from one of her dreams. What’s worse is she is closer to the cottage than she is to her goal. Mary didn’t want to go to a camp, she wanted to find Flea, Chance and Kit. They were special in their own way. Flea, a female, just wandered onto her property one day as a puppy. Someone had dumped Flea on her street because it was so remote. When Mary went to give her a bath she had so many fleas, her all white fur changed to black with them. She named her Flea because of it. Chance was a rescue. He is a big galoot of a Golden Retriever and was too much for an elderly couple to handle. They placed an ad and Mary picked him up the same day. Kit was a gift from Dickie after her cat Prince died. They were her children and the only ones she’d ever have. They meant everything to her.

  “Is there any way to get to Maryland by military means?” Mary asked. Hoping for a yes.

  “I’m afraid not. We are trying to get everything sorted and personal trips we can’t do. Our base and one other within a 500-mile radius are the only ones left standing on the east coast.”

  All she had to do was wait out this weather and the camp and Mary could leave and try to get back to her car, get her babies and go back to the cottage. She knew it was wishful thinking, but it was the only thing keeping her going.

  Chapter Three

  The Camp

  On the way to the camp Charlie explained how things there were set up.

  “The man in charge is Major Kemp, he was a reservist, and he volunteered to oversee operations until the military can establish which branch would be responsible. We haven’t received orders from DC. Yet. For now, only the bases that are operational are communicating with each other. The only electricity anyone has is by gasoline-powered generators and solar.” Charlie said.

  “I’m curious how many women are at the camp. You know, those that are alone, but still made it to the camp.” Mary asked.

  “As far as I know, we have taken at least 20 women to this location and a few made it there on their own. Many of them are young, but a few are your age.” Mary looked over at Charlie and wished she had used the box of hair dye sitting on the edge of her bathroom sink, instead of moving it out of the way every time she brushed her teeth. The gray growth was almost an inch by now, there was no way to hide her age, even if she looked decent, the young men always seemed to know she was as old as their mommies.

  “How are you feeding everyone? I’m sure it’s not easy. The grocery store by my house was almost out of everything when I left.”

  Charlie hesitated, “mostly with what we had stored up and what is local from some farms nearby. The local stores in nearby Pennsylvania and Virginia gave us some of their inventory since many locations had no electricity. The food needed to be cooked or taken somewhere like the camp where we have refrigeration. At least until the gas runs out or the sun no longer shines.”

  He smiled and winked at that and asked Mary why she was on the road. She told her story and asked what the rules were.

  “Major Kemp is in charge and there are a few reservists’ friends working for him. The rules are to get along and help wherever you can. As far as law and order go, there is no one to enforce it right now. It’s a scary situation even if you have a rifle in each hand. We’re all figuring it out as we go. None of my training ever prepared me for this scenario.” Charlie said.

  Mary wanted to be back at the cottage, under her covers until the world straightened itself out. But she was here now and had to see it through.

  “So, it’s just this Major Kemp and a few guys. Are you going to be around?” Mary said.

  “I’ll come by periodically to check on everything and when I receive news, I’ll radio it to major Kemp at the communications trailer. A truck with supplies should come by every two weeks if there are supplies to be given.” Charlie said.

  Mary thanked Charlie for the ride and the info and asked if he should locate a way for her to get to Maryland by transport to let her know. He said he had a few things to discuss with Major Kemp and he will meet up with her for their introduction before he leaves.

  The camp was set up with several white trailers, the kind that are used as temporary offices. There were five on one side, one with a communications sign and another with Mess hall. One looked to be attached to an old shed, and another with a storage sign on it. One trailer had a medical symbol. The other side had several double and triple wide trailers. Two of the doubles had signs, one with Women’s quarters and another with Men’s on it. There were a few civilian looking buildings, since the military acquired the land with the buildings already on it. Behind the farm house was a small graveyard which may have been for the families of the people who used to own the house.

  Feeling like a kid on her first day in a new school, she approached the women’s quarters. Mary walked in and right away was at ease. There were only four women in the bunk area that held 10 beds in the large room. She was thankful it wasn’t over crowded. One of the ladies came up to her and introduced herself.

  “Hi, I’m Hope Torres. I’m from Virginia. I was brought over after I went to the base. I see you’ve met Charlie.” Hope said.

  “Yes, he’s a nice kid. I’m Mary Contreras, nice to meet you.”

  “If I wasn’t 62, I’d be talkin to that boy.” Hope said as she laughed and nudged Mary.

  Hope carried herself well and didn
’t look that much older than Mary. Hope, she knew, was Mexican. A fine form of one with her reddish brown flawless skin and long wavy platinum hair. Her wrinkles looked like they were positioned to enhance her looks, not distract from them. The two could almost be sisters, even with the 20 plus age gap, but Mary was still fighting the grey and her skin was lighter being mixed Mexican and white. Hope showed her to the bunk next to hers and told her she had been there for a week and already knew everything there was to know. She had a charming personality and Mary couldn’t wait to find out her story.

  The other women introduced themselves and went about their conversation. Hope noticed the small slight and whispered, “Don’t worry about them, they take a while to warmup to people, they barely spoke to me when I first got here.”

  Mary wasn’t concerned about what they thought, she figured she wouldn’t be there long enough to get to know them, anyway. “I’m here because my car died while I was on the road. I’m on my way to Maryland and hopefully I won’t be here long.”

  Hope shot her a ‘that’s what you think,’ look. “Hopefully you’ll make it, I wish we had more news on what’s going on out there—it’s nerve racking. We all have a family and no way to know if they’re alive or dead.”

  Mary thought about her Mother. She didn’t know if she was alive or dead and her father and sisters. It was too much to think about.

  “I want my internet back, or at least television, hell I’d settle for a VCR and some old video cassettes.” Hope said.

  Mary would appreciate that too, anything to distract from her current situation. She was never the type of person who relied on her phone for everything. She didn’t put her kindle on her phone, and the screen was too small to watch anything on it. Now it was only good for recording video and taking pictures. And without, “the cloud,” they were only as good as the storage installed on them.

  Mary told Hope she was to be introduced to Major Kemp and she would come back and settle in. Hope shot her a concerned look.

  “Watch what you say in front of that man, he is the epitome of a male chauvinist and thinks he is the President or something. That’s why we’re all in here, we’re sort of hiding out.” Hope warned.

  “I definitely will, and I have experience with those kinds of men, I lived with one for twenty years.”

  Hope and Mary laughed at that as she walked out into the courtyard and looked for Charlie. He was talking to a man in fatigues, who must be major Kemp. He had a crew cut and was good looking for a man in his 40s. He reminded her of Esai Morales. She always had a crush on him, but Hope’s words were still fresh in her mind. She walked over to both men and introduced herself. The Major wasn’t at all impressed with her, barely attempting to make eye contact, like Dickie used to do, and he wasn’t much for small talk. He shook her hand and told her effective 8 am the following morning she was to report to his office to see what skills she had so they could put her to work. The Major nodded in her direction and pulled Charlie away towards his jeep.

  Mary could remember a time when men like that would get tongue-tied in her presence. She always considered it cute and flattering, but this total brush off was not something she liked, no, not one bit. If she had the time and a box of hair dye, she would have made him a project and most assuredly win him over. But his attitude turned her off and reminded her of Dickie. She would never want to have anything to do with him. She was sure he treated Hope the same way, hence her opinion of him.

  Back inside the woman’s quarters, Mary went to her bunk and got to know Hope. Their stories were similar. Hope divorced her husband back in the 80s. She, before the “event” as Hope called it, was a teacher and owned a spirit shop in Dahlgren. Not the alcohol type of spirits but more of a shop where one could buy tarot cards, books on alchemy, candles and all things spiritual. She knew there was a reason she liked Hope the minute she met her. She could feel her energy and knew they would get along. Hope told her about her sobriety many years ago and how it changed her life.

  Mary added her own story. “I had a visitation dream one night. I was standing on my deck, summer time, wind flowing, and there were these white saucer shaped lights meandering through the trees. As the lights came closer, they appeared to be men on thrones.” Hope smiled as if she were listening to a tall tale.

  “I know, yes, it’s weird but it was a dream. Anyway, one man on a throne appeared right in front of me, the others I could see were hovering a few feet away, but their faces weren’t clear. The wise looking older man had grey hair and a beard and when he was in front of me, he reached out his hand. He had long fingers, longer than normal. Which I knew was weird, but I could sense he was someone sent down from God. I had prayed the night before for help. I was frightened but I took his hand anyway. I assumed I had passed a test because he smiled at me. After that dream, I no longer had the urge to drink from that moment on.” Mary said.

  “I was at rock bottom too, when I finally stopped. The spirit world works in mysterious ways, and differently for all of us.” Hope said.

  “I’ve always had some psychic abilities, but it wasn’t fully developed. I kept at it and started using a pendulum to contact my guardian angel and guides and added divination cards and went from there. When I could use the pendulum with my mind, asking it to move in any direction, I knew I had guides on the other side.” Mary said.

  She hesitated to tell her about the suicide attempt but knew Hope would understand. “I did have a weak moment, after my relationship ended, I took some pills, but a vision of the cottage I eventually moved into, made me change my mind.”

  Hope looked at her with real concern, and Mary knew they had so much in common, it was fate they be in this camp together.

  Hope’s duties were KP or kitchen slave as she called it. The older woman did the cooking and took turns on who did the cleanup. They had egg’s, all the eggs they could want since the property used to be a chicken farm and the previous owners had left a few coops. The military kept the coops for the mess hall and to keep a remnant of what used to be there. The chickens were dwindling, and someone would have to raise the chickens, rather than eat the eggs.

  There was another aspect Mary found a little creepy. Hope told her the young women were brought to the big house. It seemed to be set up as a hangout for the men at the camp. There were only two families at the facility, and they had the triple wide trailer. The older women were in the women’s quarters and the older men in the men’s quarters. Hope noticed whenever they had a young, unattended woman brought in, the major would see to the woman personally, escorting her to the house. The 4000-square-foot-mini-mansion had five bedrooms and a finished basement. Hope had only been in it by accident when one young woman had taken ill. Many of them were sleeping double or triple in each room.

  “Why they don’t house them with us?” Hope said. “It’s very suspicious. Maybe they’re being held there to be taken advantage of.”

  The camp had a medical trailer but no real doctor yet. Since the area surrounding the camp was so remote, the military assumed the number of civilians at this camp would be at a minimum. Most people didn’t think of going to the base where Charlie was, and must have fended for themselves in the homes they were in. Some people at this facility came from areas to the north. Pennsylvania and one as far as New York, citing the same issue she had. They were in their cars and had run out of gas or broke down and brought to the camp.

  She learned as much as she could from Hope and the other women when they got to talking. Hope walked Mary over to the mess hall for dinner. The hall had enough room for everyone housed at the camp, including the younger women from the big house. One young woman caught Mary’s eye, sitting by herself, hunched over her plate. Striding casually over to the young women, Mary asked what her name was.

  “Ericka.” She said. She seemed timid and alone, afraid of this strange place. Immediately Mary wanted to protect her. “I don’t like being at the big house. The men have been coming around every night, asking me to do
things—sexual things, I’ve never done before.” Erika said. “I refused to do what they wanted, and they told me I would have to eventually if I wanted to stay at the camp.” Mary wanted to walk into the Major’s office and confront him, but what could she do? He had the power—for now. The constant propositioning must have made living at the big house unbearable. Mary glanced over at Hope, who was mouthing “What?” with a curious expression.

  “I want you to stay at our barracks; don’t go back to the big house tonight. I’ll get your stuff in the morning. There is a bunk right next to mine and I’ll make sure no one touches you.” Mary said. Erika looked grateful for the offer and agreed to go to their barracks with them.

  After Mary got Erika settled in her bunk, she fell asleep so fast she wondered if the kid had slept at all the week she had been at the big house. “What are we going to do about this? We can’t let them get away with it.”

  Hope, shaking her head in disgust, said, “Who do we tell? There’s no law enforcement to speak of, none of the law enforcement officers are getting paid anymore, besides, they have their own families to worry about. It’s like we’re back in the wild west.”

  ”We have to find a way to take the Major down a notch or two.” Mary said.

  Hope suggested they ask the spirit guides. “Maybe they can give some guidance through the cards as to how we handle the Major.”

  “I need to find a place where I can be alone and quiet and see what I can get.” Mary said.

  Hope told her about the library trailer. They needed someone to oversee it, and she could ask for that assignment when she speaks with the major in the morning. The trailer is attached to an old shed, it might give them the privacy they need. Pendulum’s, divination cards, communing with angels or spirits were not mainstream activities, and Mary didn’t want to freak out her fellow bunk mates.