Kiamichi Reunion: Book Five of the Kiamichi Survival Series

by C. A. Henry

  Massey checked the pulse in Helen’s neck. “It’s strong. She’ll be okay. Stevie, you wanna guard Helen, or help Jeff clear the house?”

  “I’ll go with Jeff. It’s quite a distance to the back from here. If I open the front door, can you carry her in?”

  Massey looked at her like he couldn’t believe she needed to ask. “Of course. I’ve spent my last several summers baling hay. I can lift a bale in each hand and throw them up onto the stack. Helen is tall, but she’s kinda skinny. I can carry her.”

  “We’re all skinny, except you. Your family was better prepared than most. We’ll be back in a sec.”

  Jeff and Stevie ran around to the back door and quickly cleared the house, then Stevie unlocked the front door and Jeff ran out to hold the gate wide for Massey.

  Massey maneuvered to get Helen through the door without bumping her against anything, then headed through to the hallway. He looked back at Stevie and nodded toward his grandmother’s bedroom.

  “Could you turn back the covers in there, please?”

  Stevie did as he asked, and Helen didn’t stir at all when Massey laid her gently on the bed. Jeff came in and checked the bandages, noting that the WoundSeal had done its job well.

  The three younger people moved to the living room and sat down. Jeff sprawled on a recliner and let out a huge sigh.

  “You would think that what we just did would be at least a little upsetting. We killed several men, and that hadn’t even crossed my mind until now. I was too busy to think about it.”

  “Yeah, I hear ya,” Massey said softly. “I thought I’d probably feel at least a little bad about taking the lives of other humans, but I don’t. I really don’t.”

  “That’s because those monsters weren’t human,” Stevie snarled. “Those men were animals. I’m glad they’re dead. I’ve seen what men like that do to women and girls. Men like that raped my mother. I heard them yell at her, threatening her if she didn’t tell them where I was. I’m not sorry at all. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

  “I don’t know if they raped the females in my family,” Massey replied, “and I don’t want to know. I do know they killed them, and burned their bodies, like they never mattered at all. You’re right, Stevie: those men were animals. They deserved to die, and it’s a little safer around here now that they’re dead.”

  “It crossed my mind that maybe we should bury them,” Jeff commented. “That thought was very brief. They don’t deserve a proper burial. Let them rot. Let the wild creatures eat their flesh. Massey, I wish we’d come along in time to help your family. I wish we could have stopped them sooner, but at least we know those guys won’t be murdering anyone else.”

  Massey nodded. “I can’t let myself think too much. If I do, I’ll fall apart. We were a tight family. I loved my parents. They were wonderful, solid people. My brother and I were best friends. We had such plans for the future. My little sis was a real cutie. Smart little thing, and talented. She could sing like an angel. But I can’t think about what happened right now. I have to keep going. I have to make sure I live life to the fullest, like they’d want me to.”

  “Massey,” Stevie put a hand on his arm. “I’m going to go sit with Helen, but first, I have a suggestion. I have nothing to remember my family by, except last year’s school photo of my brother, but you have pictures. Why don’t you get a baggie and put some of those pictures in it, so you’ll have them always? Maybe you can pass them to your children someday. Don’t let your family be forgotten.”

  Massey stared into her eyes for a long moment, then smiled. “That’s a wonderful idea. I would probably have focused on food and weapons so much I would have forgotten the really important stuff. Thank you, Stevie.”

  ~~~~

  Helen woke several hours later to find Jeff checking her wound. She frowned, then remembered what had happened. She cleared her throat to let Jeff know she was awake.

  “Well, Sleeping Beauty has awakened!” he joked. “How do you feel, Helen?”

  “Like I’m a hundred years old instead of almost sixty. My mouth is really dry, and I think someone is holding a branding iron to my side, but other than that, I’m great. Was anyone else hurt? Did we get them all?”

  Jeff cut off her questions. “Your wound is long and wide, but very shallow. By the way, you and I will have matching scars. Massey said the guy was shooting a .40 caliber, so it’s a good thing he didn’t get a solid hit. I don’t think we can stitch it up, but I also don’t think it really needs it. I’ll get you some water and let the others know you’re awake, then I’ll answer your questions. Be right back!”

  He found Stevie in the kitchen, watching out the window, and Massey was standing at the living room window, doing the same thing. He told them that Helen was awake, and they both headed to the bedroom while Jeff got Helen some water.

  He entered the bedroom to see Stevie straightening from giving Helen a gentle hug. He held the glass for Helen, then turned to Massey and asked, “Hey, buddy, out of habit, I turned on the faucet in the kitchen and water actually came out. You still have running water. How’s that happening?”

  Massey grinned. “Our well is powered by the sun. The panel is on the roof of the well house, but I guess you didn’t notice it. The toilets flush, we can wash clothes in the sink or bathtub, and we have water to drink.”

  “That’s awesome,” Stevie interjected. “My clothes and Helen’s need a good wash.”

  Massey looked at her, then at Helen. “I think my aunt’s clothes would fit you, at least as well as what you’re wearing. We could go to my uncle’s place and retrieve them if you want. Those thugs only burned the barn and the sheds, but there should be some things in the house and the bunker we can use. At least, I don’t think those guys took all the clothes and such. I saw them with the animals and some supplies, but I bet they took mostly food, and left the clothes behind. I really don’t want to go back, but I will if it will help you all.”

  “We’ll think about it and come up with a plan,” Helen murmured. “You wouldn’t happen to have some soup or some kind of light food I could eat, would you?”

  Massey grinned. “Of course. Is chicken noodle soup okay?”

  “Sounds great. And I’m pretty sure I can make it to the bathroom, with Stevie’s help. You gents get lost for a few.”

  The two men left the room chuckling and without a word, Jeff went to a window to survey the area outside. They all knew that standing guard was going to be how they spent a lot of their time from that point on. Massey dug a packet of soup mix out of the plastic tub and dumped it in a pan with some water.

  Jeff glanced over and asked, “How are you going to heat that?”

  “This stove is really old. It’s propane, and the tank got filled right before the Collapse. We didn’t use much during the summer, and Mom did some of the cooking with her solar oven, so we get to cook indoors now with no problem. This doesn’t light itself, though. I have to use a match.” His actions fit his words as he lit the burner and set the pan on it.

  ~~~~

  After they had all eaten, the younger folks visited with Helen and answered all her questions. She wanted details of the fight, and each one told their part of it.

  “But did we get them all?” she demanded.

  Massey shrugged and looked at Jeff before answering. “To tell the truth, I’m not absolutely sure. Jeff and I were checking bodies when he realized that we hadn’t seen you or Stevie yet. We ran to check on you, and kinda got distracted by the fact that you’d been shot.”

  Helen frowned. “But you got the ringleader. I hope.”

  “Yes. Pitts is most definitely dead. So are Nunneley and Reeves. I don’t recall seeing Donnie Dunn, though. The man who shot you was somebody I didn’t know. We didn’t get a chance to check all of them.”

  “That’s not good. There’s no way to know if one or more of them were somewhere else when we got there. I don’t like it,” Helen stated flatly.

  “We’ll set up a guard
schedule and as soon as you’re able, we’ll move out. We don’t have to cross the river immediately, but we probably shouldn’t hang around on this farm any longer than we have to. If one of them is still alive, I think this is where he’ll come first. We can camp out in the woods,” Massey assured her.

  “Or we could move back to the studio. It’s more secluded than this place,” Stevie offered.

  “The studio?” Massey laughed. “Is that where you were before you came here?”

  “Yes. We stayed there until Jeff’s knife wound healed enough to move, then we came here to get the inner tubes.”

  “That little building belonged to one of my mom’s dearest friends. We called her ‘Aunt Charlotte.’ My parents let her put that little building out there, so she’d have a quiet place to paint. She’d come out four or five times a year and stay for a few weeks each time. She’d also started giving my sister art lessons. Did you notice that some of the paintings on the walls here are Charlotte’s work?”

  “Not really. We were kinda busy, you know. What happened to her? Have you heard?” Stevie asked.

  “She called and told my mom that she’d be staying in Jackson until things settled down. She’s one of those people who thought the Collapse would be a short-term event. A couple of days after that call, the phones stopped working. I hope she’s okay, but in Jackson, I have my doubts.

  “I started to suggest something, but I don’t think I can do it. My uncle’s bunker is empty now, but to go stay there after what I witnessed…I just don’t think I can.”

  “Massey, we understand,” Helen assured him. “I don’t think I could handle that, either. Is there anything there that’s important enough for Jeff to go after? I’d never ask you to return to that place, but if there’s something you want or need, we’ll figure out a way to get it.”

  “Let me think about it. It’s been a long day, and you need to rest.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  January 13-14, the Barnett farm

  Jeff, Stevie and Massey worked out a schedule for standing watch and started going through the food stores and clothing, choosing what they needed to take with them. Massey also found some wood and hand tools in the barn, which he used to make four large brackets. He screwed two of them into the door and attached the others to studs in the wall on each side the door. Then he slid an oak two-by-four through the brackets.

  Jeff watched as Massey finished his project, looking impressed with the younger man’s ingenuity and skill.

  “That’s a great way to secure that door. Where’d you learn to do that?” he asked.

  “I worked some with my Uncle Gene. He made all sorts of things out of wood, and I found that I enjoyed working with saws, sanders, and lathes. So did my brother. Our plan was to finish our classes at a vocational school, where we were learning to make furniture, and open our own business. I guess that was just a dream.”

  “No. It’s still something you can do. Don’t give up your hopes for the future. Your brother… hell, your whole family, would want you to keep living your life, doing what makes you happy.”

  Massey nodded. “I know. It’s just hard to see the future when every day seems to bring changes. Nothing we plan, nothing we build, is going to last. At least, that’s the way it seems sometimes.”

  “When we get to Oklahoma, I’ll be splitting off from this group and heading to a town nearby. If things don’t work for you in Kanichi Springs, come to McCurtain. We’ll make a place for you,” Jeff promised.

  “I appreciate that, Jeff, but I have no idea what the future holds, and I can’t make that decision until I see how some other things turn out.”

  “Uh-huh. I suspect that you might have a reason for holding off on deciding, a reason you may not even understand yet, but I won’t push you on it. I’ll just say I wish you luck, buddy. I’m going to concentrate on staying alive and keeping this group together and safe, whatever happens. I literally owe these gals my life. I was so weak with hunger and infection, I would have laid out there and died in the woods, if they hadn’t found me.”

  “And I owe all three of you,” Massey insisted. “In my lust for vengeance, I would have gone after those guys by myself, and almost certainly gotten myself killed. I’ll never be able to repay you all for taking me in and helping me get rid of the rats.”

  “You are very welcome. It felt good to hand out some justice for a change. I wish I knew where to find the guys who attacked me and stole my supplies. I’d sure like to dish up some justice to those three.”

  “We better check on Helen. You think her wound is going to heal okay?”

  Jeff snorted. “I’m no doctor, but I don’t think any bacteria could bring that woman down. She’s something, isn’t she? She said she’s almost sixty, but she sure doesn’t act like she’s slowed down any. I’m going to put some of her oils on that graze today. That’s what she used on the hole those punks put in me, and the healing was obvious in less than a day. I’d heard about oils before, but I had no idea what they can do.”

  “My mom said that oils are in the Bible over two hundred and fifty times,” Massey explained, “and they’re a gift from God. She used them on us all the time. It didn’t matter what the ailment was, she’d grin and say, ‘There’s an oil for that!’”

  “I thought Helen’s wound was a lot worse than it was, because of all the blood. There aren’t any major blood vessels there, and I don’t understand why it bled so much. I really don’t think the wound itself is going to slow her down much, but she’ll need some time to regain her strength. And every day we spend here means colder weather on the trip. I know it’s nothing like the cold they have up north, but being outside all the time is going to sap our energy. I’m not looking forward to it.”

  Massey scratched his head, looking thoughtful. “You know, all the men and some of the women in my family were hunters. Sometimes we camped for a week or two in wilderness areas. We made trips to North Dakota and even Canada, so we have cold weather gear. Long underwear, wool socks and caps, insulated coveralls, gloves, sleeping bags. It’s all at my uncle’s, if it hasn’t been stolen. It’s going to tear my heart out to go back there, but I need to suck it up and take one of you over there to see what we can use. It’ll be hard, but it needs to be done.”

  “We have to plan this carefully,” Jeff warned. “Whatever we take, we have to carry, and we also have to get it across the river. My first thought is to get everything we might need and bring it here, sort through it, pick the most useful items, and cull it down until we each have a pack we can handle. Speaking of packs, mine was taken. Stevie found one in a box in the garage, but it’s kinda small, like for a woman on a day hike. You wouldn’t happen to have something bigger, would you?”

  Grinning, Massey slapped Jeff on the back. “We have some awesome gear, and we’ll find something for you. My dad’s Osprey Aether AG 50 would probably work for you. It’s made to carry a long-haul load. Now, who should go with me, and how will we transport the stuff from there to here?”

  “Do you have a wheelbarrow or a handcart of some kind?”

  “Good idea! There’s a garden cart in my uncle’s loafing shed. It’ll hold a lot, too. So, do you want to go with me? That’ll leave the gals here alone.”

  Jeff tried to hide his smile, but his eyes gleamed with a teasing humor. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Stevie is tough as nails, but outside of the past several days, she’s inexperienced. Helen needs to stay quiet, and while I think Stevie has great instincts and skills, guarding the place and keeping Helen down is a big job. She doesn’t need that much responsibility yet. I think you and Stevie should go, and I’ll stay here to hold down the fort.”

  Massey stared at Jeff, trying to see a hidden meaning in his words, then shook his head and went to tell Stevie that they’d be going after the supplies at the bunker first thing in the morning.

  ~~~~

  Well before daylight, Stevie woke to a light tap on the door of Massey’s little sister’s room. S
he’d slept, as usual, in her clothes, so she’d be ready to move if any emergencies popped up in the night.

  She got up and tiptoed to the door, opening it a crack. Massey stood there, already wearing his coat and carrying his rifle.

  “Give me just a minute. I need to put on my boots and use the bathroom, then we’ll go,” she murmured sleepily.

  Massey grinned and nodded. “I’ll wait in the living room. I just woke Jeff and he’s already on guard. Hurry, though; we want to leave before it gets light.”

  Three minutes later, Stevie was ready. She and Massey slipped out the front door and headed straight into the woods. The moonlight filtered down through a light fog, making the forest look both beautiful and spooky. Wisps of mist swirled around them as Stevie followed Massey, barely keeping him in sight.

  Stevie wasn’t sure how long it took, but the trip seemed quicker than she’d expected. Massey signaled for her to come forward, and they stood behind a large tree at the edge of his uncle’s property. Nothing moved.

  Leaning down to whisper in her ear, Massey told her, “I’ll go to the bunker entrance. It’s kinda hard to get to. I’ll check it out, make sure there’s nobody in there, then I’ll wave at you if it’s safe.” He took a deep breath, as if steeling himself for re-entering the place where his family died.

  At Stevie’s nod, he stepped into the open and strode quickly across to a small garden shed, carefully avoiding even a glance at the remains of the barn. She watched him enter, then a few minutes later, saw his arm appear, his hand beckoning her to join him.

  Stevie stepped through the door, and Massey showed her a path through the junk piled around. From the front, the stacks of lawn chairs, yard decorations, tools, and boxes seemed impenetrable, but Stevie could see as they moved through the maze that it was cleverly planned. Massey opened the bunker entrance and gestured for her to enter.

  The bunker was bigger than Stevie had imagined. It was a round tube, probably forty feet long, with a level floor. Built-in bunks lined the walls, with a tiny kitchenette and a bathroom at opposite ends.