The Lady and the Hound- Divination

by A M Nixon

  “Girls, I really don’t think you should eat the jerky, it doesn’t look right.” Mary said.

  Erika’s face turned into a scowl. “Why not?”

  “Sweetie, you will have to trust me on this, okay?”

  She had to be vague, being careful not to raise suspicion from the others. Erika agreed but wasn’t thrilled about it. Debbie ate the jerky, without a care for Mary’s concern. It had been a long time since anyone had eaten anything other than chicken, and she could see why they would be reluctant to trust her. She didn’t want the girls to know what she had witnessed, at least not yet. To Mary, Debbie was obnoxious and acted like someone who’d been around the block a few times for her young age. She reminded her of the crackheads she knew from her drug days and hoped Debbie wouldn’t get Erika into any trouble. Erika got up to put her tray away, before she left it, she grabbed two pieces of the jerky and put them in her pocket.

  Out in the courtyard, Mary asked the two henchman where Uly was, to find out what they’d say. They acted as if they’d never met the man. “You know who I’m talking about, the older gentleman you practically carried to the medical trailer.” She said.

  “Oh yeah, the Major will make an announcement any minute about him, it should answer your questions,” One henchman said. The two turned their backs and abruptly walked away.

  The PA system chirped as the Major’s voice came over the speaker.

  “I have news. First, we are due to get supplies next week if all goes well. We have communication from DC and the President is well and assures us that the refineries will be rebuilt and that the cell towers will be repaired, after setting up temporary housing and hospitals. I didn’t get information on locations that are safe yet, but I’ll keep you posted. On another note, one of our campers, Ulysses Johnson, left us to find his children. One of the military personnel from the base picked him up early this morning. That is all.”

  Mary raised her eye brows and looked over at Hope, who was shaking her head and mouthing the word “liar,” trying not to let any of the other women or Erika, hear her. A few minutes later, one of the henchmen was talking to one of the kitchen staff. “look old lady, carry your weight and you’ll be fine. You’re lucky the Major put you in the kitchen, otherwise….” His voice trailed off, and he looked at the other henchman. They both burst into laughter. Mary knew what he meant. The old woman he was talking to roomed in her barracks. Her name was Vera, and she looked to be in her 70s. Mary knew Vera would end up like Uly if she wasn’t careful. She hurried along, slightly stumbling as she shuffles to the barracks. Mary and Hope went inside behind her.

  “Don’t worry about him Vera. He’s a jerk. I would avoid him every chance you get.” Hope said.

  Vera, looking down, with her shoulders slumped. “I’m lucky to have survived this long. There is no way I’d make it out there by myself,” she said, sighing. “I buried my husband of 40 years a few weeks before the ‘event.’ I looked forward to spending the life insurance and planning a trip to Europe. It was my reward for 20 years of his ED and his condescending mouth.” Vera chuckled. “The sad thing is, without our monetary system, all that life insurance is worthless. All that suffering and waiting for nothing. I planned to get plastic surgery and was looking forward to finally getting caressed by a man again.”

  Mary looked at Vera and realized it had been a long time since she herself had been with a man: one who loved her and would touch her gently as if she were a precious gift bestowed upon him. She wasn’t the only one with a cold-hearted ex. She knew it would never happen for either of them. It gave her another reason to tough it out in the woods. Make her way back to Maryland, take her chances. Maybe that was the major change the Tarot cards were talking about?

  “Vera, do you have children out there?” Mary asked.

  “Oh yeah, I have three and they’re in their 40s, spread all over the country. I’d give anything to know if their states were out of harm’s way.”

  Mary sensed the Major was holding something back while making his announcement, her intuition telling her as much. Her next mission would be to get into the comm room, without getting caught. The women went back to their assigned duties and Mary to the library. There, she could figure out a reason she needed to be in the comm room. She checked the shelves for something that had to do with radio transmissions, or equipment. She would have to wait for the right time.

  Over the next several days, the brutality against women and the elderly ramped up. Mary worried whether the Major or his henchman would deliberately set up the elderly to be put in harm’s way; for the food. Without people assigned to enforce the laws—if laws were still in effect—and without accountability, there wasn’t anything to stop the men from overpowering them. Their threats were getting worse.

  Hope told her that when she went to check on the women at the big house, one said the Major and his crew were raping anyone who protested when the Major told them they were chosen to re-populate the world. Some women felt obligated as if it were a calling. The others were reluctant to say anything for fear of being sent out of the camp and into the woods nearby. Some of the younger women were locals, and their families had told stories over the years of a Bigfoot-type creature. The locals also talked about strange noises that didn’t mimic other local animals or birds. Mary recalled that her uncle mentioned similar stories. That fear would keep them trapped at the camp, and so far, there was nothing she could do about it.

  Mary found a radio book but couldn’t figure out why she would need to take the book to the Major in the first place. She came up with an excuse. She would say she came across the book and being curious, wanted to know what the device and the room looked like. She cleverly waited for the Major and his crew to start their walk to the big house. She entered the comm trailer and it was empty. She looked around for Intel, whether it be notes or letters. After the third drawer, she found a ledger and inside were the locations of all the area’s considered safe zones. She took photos with her phone and put the ledger back where she found it. With the radio book still in her hand, she walked out and into the courtyard. A man she had not met before was looking at her suspiciously. Mary assumed he may be a lookout. Thinking fast, she smiled and handed him the book. He looked at her curiously.

  ”I was bringing this book to the Major. I took a chance he was in the comm room. I figured he and the guys might need it for reference.” The lookout’s expression changed from suspicion to one of curiosity.

  ”That’s a good idea. I might check it out myself.” He said.

  Mary told him to keep it and return it to the library when he finished reading unless the major wanted it.

  Safely in the shed room, Mary looked at her phone and enlarged the photos. She learned the meteorites impacted much of the desert, and a few major cities, but the majority of the meteorites, as the ledger called them, were small and only wiped out 300 to 1000 miles each. The larger ones did more damage, but luckily, some smaller ones only disrupted trees and wild life the size of a country field. The ledger said the consensus from DC was that the meteorites had been strategically placed to wipe out power plants, cell towers and oil refineries. Mary knew meteorites didn’t have a mind of their own. What kind of power could manipulate objects from space?

  From what was on the map, a few major cities were hit, but the population was not reduced as drastically as first imagined. It was the aftermath with food shortages, power outages and contaminated water that were killing people. Mary knew from a curious internet search in 2013, when a meteor struck Chelyabinsk, Russia, the difference between meteors and meteorites. Meteors disintegrated once they hit the Earth’s atmosphere. Meteorites were the meteors that survive the Earth’s barrier and then disintegrated when over land, loaded with heated gases. Impacting Earth with the strength of TNT.

  She looked at Maryland on the map from the ledger and it was still intact and considered a clean zone. Though it was in the path of a small strike, there was the “expectation of mass survival.�
� As written in the ledger. Mary was relieved by the news, but since one meteorite had landed within a few hundred miles of her old house, where her babies were, she still didn’t have all the answers she needed. Feeling sorry for herself, she believed if Dickie were dead, he had gotten the better deal, again. Especially if life at the camp was an example of the new normal.

  When Mary got back to the barracks, Hope was staring into the supply closet, finding items to throw against the walls. All the while cussing under her breath. The other ladies had taken the opportunity to leave the room.

  “I can’t take this. I want to take your knife into the Majors office and cut him up, like he did Uly.” Hope said as she lobbed a roll of toilet paper at the wall.

  Mary was worried someone would overhear. “Rushing in there—with only the one knife and no back up, just the two of us—would be instant death. They’re the ones with the automatic rifles. How they got them is insane. But you can see the futility of it, can’t you?” Mary was motioning for Hope to sit down on the bunk beside her. “We don’t want to end up feeding the whole camp with our fat asses, do we?” She said, trying to lighten the mood.

  Hope settled down and rolled her eyes. Mary knew she was out of her tantrum phase.

  “Listen, I found what I was looking for at the comm room. The Major had a ledger, and it said we would have communication with the outside world soon, and who knows, maybe they’ll send military personnel to run this place. We can tell them everything that’s been going on. I wish Charlie would make an appearance, I think we can trust him to do the right thing, if he knows what’s been happening here.” Hope calmed down and shook her head in agreement.

  During the night, the high winds that had been threatening the safety of their barracks finally died down. Everyone was in their bunk wide awake. Hope and Mary on one end of the barracks, with Debbie and Erika on the other side, at the same end. One could usually hear the conversation from across the room.

  “It feels like something is crawling on my leg.” Hope said, scratching her leg.

  “It’s nothing.” Mary said.

  “Or it could be a giant spider.” Erika offered as she and Debbie started to giggle.

  “Now don’t go planting that seed girls. Hope, it’s nothing. Critters don’t come out until the spring.”

  “Or it could be a giant spider,” Erika said again, and this time Mary had to laugh. The more she thought of it she laughed a little louder, then Erika said it again. Frustrated, Hope jumped out of her bunk and rubbed up and down both legs, and then all over her body. She pulled back the covers looking for a critter.

  “See, nothing there. Maybe it was the spirit of a giant spider.” Mary said and Erika and Debbie laughed as Hope rolled her eyes.

  “I get that it’s funny but I’m too frustrated with everything to laugh. Sorry guys.” Hope said, climbing back into bed. She worried that Hope’s frustration would start something they couldn’t finish.

  Mary, Hope, Erika and Debbie walked over to the mess hall as they did every morning.

  “The Major is eating in here this morning, how wonderful.” Mary said. Giving Hope a sarcastic grin.

  “I think I’m going to be sick.” Hope said.

  Erika and Debbie were acting as if they weren’t part of the conversation, waving to the Major, like it was an honor that he graced them with his presence. Mary looked over at Hope, who noticed the same thing and they both rolled their eyes at each other. Then started to laugh.

  The major must have thought they were laughing at him, because he stared at Hope while they did it. Hope, not one to back down, locked eyes with the Major; she couldn’t help but give him a dirty look. He walked over and asked her what her problem was. Mary looked at Hope and shook her head. Without hesitation, and staring straight ahead, not making eye contact with the Major, Hope started talking. “First, I don’t like how you’re treating the women at the big house. They told me what you and the others are up to and it makes me sick.” She paused for a breath. “And, I will say something to Charlie the next time he comes here.”

  The major, with a stone evil look, bent down and stood within inches of Hope’s face and said, through gritted teeth, “That’s if you’re here to tell him.” He looked over at Mary as if the message were meant for her too and walked back to his seat. She didn’t want to battle with him, but Hope has dragged her into it.

  Back at the barracks, Mary paced back and forth as she bit her nails. “You’ve done it now. He’ll find a way to get rid of us—it’s only a matter of time.” Mary said.

  “We’ll have to be ready for him.” Hope said. “In the meantime, we keep doing what we always do. Besides, I didn’t say anything to him about the other stuff.”

  “No, you didn’t, but if he knows we know about the one secret, he might assume we know the rest.” Mary was careful about mentioning what happened to Uly in front of Erika and Debbie. She looked at each of her friends. “We can’t take any chances. We are never to be alone with anyone associated with the Major. Especially if they have those creepy lion’s heads on their hands. You got that?” Mary looked at Hope, Erika and Debbie. They nodded in agreement. Erika and Debbie went out to the courtyard. It seemed the matter was settled for the time being.

  Mary walked over to Hope who was sitting on her bunk. “you know, I got a message the other day about Erika, it said ‘all is not what it seems,’ what do you think it meant?” Hope paused. “I think it means Erika and her little friend Debbie are up to something and you should be cautious. I know you rescued her from the big house, and you feel some maternal urge towards her, but she’s got a mean streak in her. She may not share the feelings you have. That’s what the message meant, I’m sure.”

  Mary looked at Hope and realized not once in her lifetime had she ever had a friend like her. She wished she’d met her back when she was in her 20s. They could have had a lot of fun together. If she ever made it back to the cottage, she would bring Hope there to live with her.

  Chapter Six

  The Fool

  Mary headed to the library as Hope was leaving for KP duty. When Mary returned to the barracks Hope wasn’t back yet. She waited until lunch was almost over, assuming Hope stayed behind for extra duties in the kitchen. When Mary walked into the mess hall and didn’t see her, she went back to the kitchen area and asked the two women there where Hope was. The last time they noticed her, they were storing leftovers and she was headed out back with supplies. With her heart pounding out of control, she went to the storage area. There were what looked to be water stains and a bucket half full of soapy pink water. Mary didn’t have to be a detective to know something happened to Hope there and someone tried to cover it up. Mary remembered a trick she used to get blood out of carpet and clothing. She went to the medical trailer and grabbed a bottle of peroxide. When she poured it over the area where the water stains were, it foamed up from the chemical reaction to an enzyme in blood. So, someone had bled on this floor. That’s all she knew so far. Were they holding her somewhere? There was blood, but she couldn’t be sure it wasn’t chicken blood. Mary looked around and before she could think of the possibilities, there was a drum that wasn’t there the night she witnessed the Major preparing Uly for jerky.

  Mary hesitated. She didn’t want to look inside but her intuition was leading her to it. The drum had what looked to be blood on the outside. Whoever cleaned the storage area must have forgotten to clean the drum. She couldn’t open it in broad daylight. Since the Major and his crew weren’t in eyesight, she had to take the chance and move it somewhere they couldn’t find it. In case her friend was in the drum, she didn’t want them to have access to her body. The only place she could think of was the shed. Mary turned the drum on its edge and carefully rolled it two trailers down, staying behind the trailers as she did it. Everyone was finishing lunch in the mess hall, so she had less chance of being seen. As she rolled it, she realized how light it was. If Hope was in there; she was a petite, 110-pound women. She knew something was in
it by how uneven the weight was. Whatever was inside the drum was leaning to one side.

  Looking for another way into the shed from the back, there was a slight difference in the shed’s outer walls. It had a dark line going from the top near the roof, all the way to the bottom. The military might have placed another entrance to the shed, other than the hatch, but from the inside Mary never noticed a second exit. It must be cleverly hidden and seemed like something the military might do. She reached under the wall where the dark line was for a latch. Just as Mary suspected, it was there. She pulled on the handle and the door clicked open. She would have to raise the drum up two feet to the ledge of the floor, but she was buzzing with adrenaline, not wanting to get caught. Mary was able to lift it and roll it on its edge into the shed room. She closed the door from the outside and pushed until the latch caught. It did give her a chance to see where the door was from the inside, so she could use it in the future. Mary would have to wait until after dinner to find out what was inside.

  Mary tried to get back to the library, and the shed room, but the Major and his crew of henchmen, now the size of a small army, were entering buildings and checking under the trailers, looking for something. Mary knew it was the drum. Deciding to stay out of sight, she read a book on her bunk and only left to go to dinner with Erika and Debbie. She was trying to stay calm as if she didn’t care if Hope were missing or not. Her acting job appeared to pay off as the Major came over and asked her where her friend was. “I assumed you had assigned her somewhere. You mean you haven’t seen her Major?”

  He looked at one of his crew and shook his head, and said,” I gave her an assignment which took her outside the camp. I’ll have to send the crew out to find her. But Mary, prepare for bad news if something attacked her out there.” He said.