by Boyd Craven
I couldn’t make out anything but her in the gloom, but somewhere a small light was blinking. It wasn’t bright enough to illuminate everything, but I could pinpoint it now that my eyes had adjusted.
“What is this place?” I asked her.
“It used to be a communications bunker—”
“Bunker?” I asked her, surprised.
“Not like you think. ‘Ma Bell has these all over the country from when they had the big old computers to run the old phone lines in the seventies and eighties. When the area was upgraded, this place was decommissioned and abandoned. The lumber companies in this area never use it, and we sort of cleaned it out and took it for ours. The way in is almost impassable unless you come in on foot.”
“Something about being dug into the hillside?” I asked, stretching, remembering an old conversation.
“Something like that,” she whispered as a flashlight lit up at the far end and a happy bark greeted me.
15
I had passed out again or fell asleep. I didn’t remember which. I found myself laying on what felt like a canvas topped cot. A small candle was burning on a wooden produce crate that was stood on end. My head felt like a rung bell, and my eyes like they had been scooped out and replaced with crushed glass. The headache I’d had earlier was nothing like the one I had right now. I rolled on my right side, listening to the cot squeak, pulling the rough wool blanket half off me. My left arm was still in a sling, but I could make out in the candlelight that my shirt had been removed and fresh bandages were put on. A low woof sounded outside a louvered door.
“Is he awake?” a feminine voice asked.
Two excited barks and claws scratching the door answered whoever asked. It didn’t sound like Jessica, but it looked like I was going to find out as the door opened. I squinted as brighter light blinded me. I held up a hand as a figure walked in the door, my dog rushing ahead of her, before a smaller figure followed.
“It’s ok, Wes,” she said, “It’s Emily.”
“And it’s me, Mary, and your doggy, Raider!” the short figure said happily.
I tried to sit up, but the world swam. Raider pushed his head under my hand, and I started scratching his ears as my eyes adjusted to the light.
“Where are we?” I asked her, trying to sit up again.
Emily hurried to my side, pushing my dog back with a hand and wrapped her arms around me. I could feel her thin figure against my bare chest as she used her upper body strength to lift me more or less into a sitting position. I helped as much as I could, until I had my back against what felt like a block wall. Both of us were breathing hard from the effort, and I realized something. I could see and smell that she’d recently bathed. No longer was she the grimy and dirty woman I’d first met. Instead, she was dressed in clean clothing and looked pretty. She backed up, pushing her hair out of her face and blew out the candle. Maybe to prevent all of us from knocking it over? Now that my eyes had adjusted, I could see that the room I was in was barely six feet by eight feet, and there was an LED light on the low ceiling outside my room.
“Momma says you’re in the closet, but someday you’re going to come out,” Mary said.
My eyes must have shown my surprise, because Emily snickered.
“What?” I asked her, feeling something stir within me.
“This used to be a storage closet,” Emily said by way of explanation. “In case you were sick, they kept you away from the others. Kind of like quarantine.”
“Oh, ok,” I said, rocking forward.
Raider put his head across my legs in a hug, then turned and walked to the doorway, making a low whining sound.
“Your doggy has to go to the potty,” Mary said. “I’ll take him to Miss Jessica.”
“I… ok?” My thinking was slow, and my thoughts were confused. Hungover, that’s what I felt like.
“After they got you down here, you passed out. We kept waking you up to feed you, but whatever they are giving you makes you sleepy. It’s been two days.”
Morphine, I remembered Jess saying she’d given me a small dose when they moved me. Had they done it again?
“Oh, ok. Where’s Jess?” I asked, instantly regretting it as I saw a hurt look come across Emily’s face.
“She’s outside working with her dogs.”
“Oh, ok. I’m surprised to see you two here,” I told her.
She sat down on the floor, her legs going under the cot next to mine and she put her elbows on the bed, her chin on her hands.
“I had nowhere else to go. My husband’s grandpa is dead, my sister-in-law’s gone with the kids.”
“Were they captured?” I asked in surprise.
“I doubt it,” she said softly. “They had a plan of where to go, and we all made a pact that if one of us didn’t make it, we’d take the kids and bug out to an old fishing shack.”
“Oh, they aren’t there?” I asked, curious and hoping they’d all made it away from Spider’s crew.
“I don’t know where it is. I’m a recent member of the family, if you consider I married the youngest of the boys seven years ago.”
“And I went and—”
“Don’t,” she said, looking up and putting a gentle hand across my lips. “He made his choices a long time ago, and to be honest, I’m sort of glad he’s gone.”
I was shocked. It must have been the drugs. That had to be the drugs. I’d probably killed her husband, and she was happy—
She pulled up her shirt, exposing part of her bra. I was going to look away, but I saw a line of scars on her side, round, like bullet holes. Dozens of them. I stared, and then reached out with my good hand and touched one. It was raised and the size of a pencil eraser in diameter. She shivered, and I snatched my hand back, realizing what I was doing. She pulled her shirt down, covering them.
“He liked to hurt me, burn me with cigarettes. Said my screams got him off,” she said, meeting my gaze.
“He abused you.”
She nodded. “At first, I played along, thinking that’s what a good wife was supposed to do, but the little things became bigger things, then worse things, until he was burning me and beating me. If I hadn’t come down here for his father’s funeral, I would have had filed for divorce already. If… the country hadn’t gone to hell, that is.”
I didn’t know what to say.
“And then you come along. My daughter was half delirious with happiness when you gave her a candy bar and food, and you told me my husband was dead. I could have wept for joy, but my sisters-in-law… their marriages weren’t the hell that mine was.”
“I’m sorry,” I said lamely.
In the distance, I heard a door slam, and I pulled the blanket a little bit closer to me.
“Don’t be,” she said, taking my hand in hers. “I just wanted to say thank you, again. You saved us more than once. I don’t think I can ever repay you properly.”
The last bit was said with a grin and being a guy, I thought of a couple of ways she might repay me but squashed that right away. Jessica had my heart, and the drugs must have been making me a bit loopy. Attraction happens, but it didn’t mean you had to act on it, and I wasn’t smitten with Emily the way I was with Jess. I let her hand go to scratch my face where an itch had developed.
“Somebody had to keep an eye on you, and Carter is busy watching the others, so I volunteered.”
“Thank you,” I said, wondering how I had lost so much time. “Is there a restroom anywhere around here?”
“Yes, do you think you can stand?” she asked me.
“I don’t know,” I said honestly.
“Well, come on,” she said, pulling her legs out and standing, offering me her arms.
I took them and was surprised at how much stronger I felt once I made it to my feet. I wobbled a bit, but the small woman wrapped her arms around me, almost like she was trying to hug the life out of me.
“Ready?” she asked as I breathed heavily.
“Yeah,” I said, one arm around her
shoulder.
I used the bathroom and showered on my own. I marveled that the bunker had running water. It wasn’t hot, but more room temperature, which wasn’t very warm either. It seemed to be a constant sixty-five degrees, though I didn’t hear a furnace going anywhere. I remembered that the ground temperatures stayed constant, but knew an air exchange had to happen so mold and mildew didn’t develop. A mystery for another day. Getting dressed though…
“Just let me help you, dammit,” Emily said from the other side of the bathroom door.
The bathroom had a bench, two shower stalls with a handicapped chair, two free-standing toilets with a dividing will between them, and two sink basins. It was almost commercial, like an upgraded truck stop bathroom.
“I got this,” I said, trying to get one leg through my pants.
“Who do you think cleaned you up while you were out cold?”
“You?” I asked.
“Yes. So, open the door before you open the wound in your shoulder up, or fall and hit your head. I’ve seen it all already.”
The bench was beside the door, and I looked in frustration at the sweatpants I was trying to put on. I’d almost done it but had turned one leg inside out. Having only one arm to do things while feeling dizzy wasn’t helping. At least I’d gotten my boxers on myself. Reluctantly, I turned the handle, unlocking it at the same time. Emily came in and pushed me upright gently.
“Seriously, you shouldn’t be doing this on your own,” she scolded.
“I’ve been getting dressed, going to the bathroom, and showering on my own, all my life.”
“Maybe you should try showering with others,” Jess said from the doorway as Emily was straightening out the pant leg I’d turned inside out.
“You volunteering?” I asked her, looking up and smiling.
She grinned and walked in, letting the door close behind her.
“Absolutely,” she said, kissing me on the head. “Emily, thank you for everything.”
“I’ve almost got it…” Then she pulled my waist, and I stood up with both legs in the correct pant legs.
“This is awkward,” I told Jess, who just grinned and shook her head. “She’s been—”
“Oh she knows,” Emily told me.
Knows what exactly? I pulled the pants up.
“We’ve been taking turns watching you and sitting by your door,” Jessica explained.
I heard a demonic sounding woof that seemed to shake the floor from outside the bathroom. The sound echoed around the tiled room. Jess backed up and cracked the door. Diesel pushed his way inside and headed straight for me. He was rumbling in a low way that made me break out in goose flesh. He pushed Jessica aside with his greater bulk and I sat down, backing up to protect my vitals, my hands in front of me to ward off an attack.
He pushed his head into my hands, then turned his head, licking me and rubbing his face all over my hands and legs. I sat there as he made that low rumbling sound.
“Dogs have glands on their face. Diesel here is marking you as one of his pack.”
“His pack?” I asked.
“He thinks he’s in charge here. Sometimes, we go along with it,” Jess said with a grin as Emily patted the big dog’s flank and scratched his back.
Diesel’s head was almost the size of a basketball, and I put my hands on the side of his head and rubbed his face. His rumble was louder, and he pushed me in the side. I grunted in pain as my left arm was moved.
“That’s enough,” Jess said to him, smacking him on the rump. “Wes, let’s get your shirt on and take you for a tour.”
“Sure,” I said, looking at the shirt that was left for me.
It was a white Hanes undershirt, a tank top. In another life I would have called it a wife beater. I held it up in one hand and saw Emily watching me. She grinned, shrugging her shoulders. She got the reference without me saying anything. It made sense though; it would keep fabric off my shoulder. I pulled it on with the help of the ladies and, when they helped me up, I felt better still. The shower had done wonders for me, though I suspected the effect was mostly mental.
“Let me show you our place,” Jess said, putting an arm under my good shoulder. “Thank you, Emily. Is it ok if Mary plays with the dogs?” she asked the shorter woman who was on my left side, her arm around my waist.
“Of course,” Emily told us, giving me a wave. “Let me know when you need a hand or need me to take over, so you can get some rest.” She let me go, and I was standing on my own.
“I will,” Jess told her.
“I think I can walk on my own now.”
“You can’t fall and hit your head, Wes.”
Her words hit me funny, and I grinned.
“What’s so funny? You cheating death, or scaring me half dead?”
“No, it’s… It’s stupid. Never mind.”
Emily had turned left out of the doorway, and I followed slowly, pulling the door open.
“Try me.”
“Grandpa’s buddy is Lester Doyle. Me and him… growing up… He’d always say, “Hey, Wes” and I’d say, “Hey, Les”, and now that I have you in my life it’s, “Hey, Jess”.”
She shook her head and put an arm around me as we walked slowly. The corridor was short and opened up into a larger room I’d seen earlier. We passed the door to my closet ten feet from the opening.
“Yeah, that is sorta dumb,” she said, tickling my left side, “but it’s funny too. In a way.”
“So, tell me about this place.”
It had once housed computers and a way to energize or power the old phone systems. The original purpose wasn't a nuclear hardened shelter, but one that was away from the elements. Places like these had been built all over the country to house equipment. Building it underground gave a natural method to keep the computers and generators cool. Because of that, the facility had its own water catchment, filtration, and septic systems. Jessica’s father had left much of the largest equipment in place and sold the rest for scrap to fund their prepping. I marveled that places like this even existed. Supposedly if a trunk of phone lines went down, a team would work here on re-routing or reconnecting things, so communications always went through, hence the reason they had bathrooms, water, etc.
“Where does the power come from?” I asked, noting that what lighting there was, was sparse but bright.
“Solar panels hidden near the top of the rock pile,” Jess said, leading me to the center of the semi-circular room where several couches were pulled into a rough triangle, “but most of it comes from hydroelectric. We have a couple setups running from an artesian well spring. It’s not much, not enough to run more than lights, but it’s what we have.”
“I’m glad for it,” I said, marveling at the difference in the light.
I’d gotten used to candle and alcohol lamp light, but the harsh bright white of the LEDs was comforting.
“It isn’t much, it’s a little cold… but…”
I looked around the semi-circular room and saw a line of doors and pointed, about to ask about them.
“Bedrooms and storage,” she said. “It was a spot that was mostly free of equipment. Dad knocked together some walls for privacy, put in some doors… We sort of have the emergency fall back location of everyone in the group.”
“How come nobody else claimed it first? My grandpa said a group has been in this area for decades.”
“Timing. When they built this place in the late sixties, early seventies, guys like Henry already had their own spots built up. When it was abandoned in the 90s when fiber optic started getting popular, we were worried the land around here was going to be sold. That’s when Henry subleased it from the lumber company for a fishing camp. Supposedly a twenty- or thirty-year land lease, but we had to concede access, so they could get to the rest of the state land.”
“But how did you end up with a sweet ass bunker right out of Doomsday Preppers?” I asked, a hint of amusement coloring my words.
“Lucky,” Jess said, letting me si
t on one of the couches.
They weren’t comfortable like the ones we had at home, and I realized it was home built and upholstered. Probably the only way to do things, this remote. I saw several furry streaks and heard Mary’s laugh, then the pounding of feet with a murmur of voices. Yager and Raider jumped over the back of the couch next to Jessica as the back of it got rocked, and I got a big tongue on the back of the head. I turned, and Diesel gave me another kiss on the side of the face. I wiped it off as Mary ran up to us, red faced.
“My momma said to tell you that your momma said that dinner is ready.”
“Oh good,” Jessica said. “You want to eat outside, or in here?”
“First things first,” I asked her, “How’s my grandparents?” I felt guilty for not asking before now, but I was way out of my element.
“Good, last I heard. I think Jimmy has sore ribs from laughing at your grandparents’ antics.”
“They are a hoot. I wish Raider could stick with them,” I said, watching him turn to look at me as he heard his name.
“We thought about that while you were in the canvas tent, but he didn’t want to leave your side. Your grandma said he needed you, so she never took him back.”
“Yeah,” I said, “I still wish…” I let my words trail off.
I hadn’t seen my grandpa at all since I’d said my goodbye, with the whole ‘just in case’ awkwardness. I wished I could see him, talk to him.
“Mister Wes,” Mary said loudly, surprising me. I’d forgotten she’d run up behind Diesel.
“Hiya, kiddo.” I looked her over. She was clean and in fresh, new-looking clothing, her hair braided loosely.
“Did my candy bar help?” she asked, being serious.
“I think so?” I said, not sure if I’d ended up eating it or not; there were lots of gaps in my memory.
“Good,” she said and hugged my good shoulder from behind me and then took off.