by Ray Wench
Mark started to reply, then realized he didn’t have one.
Lynn came up, followed by Caleb. She seemed relieved, stopping in front of him, her face flushed. For a moment, he thought she was going to hug him. A few awkward seconds later, she lowered her head and turned away.
Mark turned to the house.
“Hello, in the house, anyone still alive in there?”
A shaky male voice responded after a slight delay. “Yes, we’re still alive.” It almost sounded like a question, as if he didn’t believe his own words.
“Does anyone need medical attention?” Lynn asked.
“Yes,” a female voice called.
“No,” a harsh male voice countered. “How do we know we can trust them?”
“Maybe because we just risked our lives to save you,” Mark shouted. “Look, there’s a nurse out here who can help your wounded if you need it. We’re not coming in unless you ask, but it sounds like you could use some help.”
There was some quiet murmuring inside then the first voice called out, “Okay, but just the nurse.”
Lynn turned to get her things from the SUV. Mark grabbed her arm and stopped her. “Hold on,” he said. She tensed. Then to the house, “That’s not happening. As much as you don’t trust us, we don’t know you. I’m not letting her come in unprotected. I’m coming too. Just the two of us.”
“What can we do? We need the help!” the woman said.
The man continued to negotiate. “Leave your weapons outside.”
“Again,” Mark said, “not gonna happen. If we didn’t want to help you in the first place, we could have let those animals overwhelm you. We’re not a danger to you. We aren’t going to be unprotected either. Now you decide, but those injured are not getting any better while we talk.”
“Please,” the woman cried, “just come in and help us.”
Mark released Lynn’s arm and nodded for her to go. She went to the SUV to collect whatever supplies she brought.
“You others,” Mark said to the kids, “go round up anything of value, especially the weapons. Hey, where’s the van?”
“Back at the house,” replied Darren. “When we saw the extra car coming to join the fight we thought you might need some help too. We didn’t want to get the van shot up so we found the SUV with keys in it.”
“Yeah, my mom got real military on us and began giving orders.”
“She was really cool,” commented Darren.
“Yeah, she was, wasn’t she?” Ruth added.
Mark smiled at Lynn as she came back.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing. You kids get going. We’ll be out shortly.”
Mark went to the destroyed front door and stepped in. He had restrung the rifle and held a handgun in a two-handed grip, ready, but aimed at the floor. He held up a hand toward Lynn to prevent her from entering. A body lay on the floor just inside the living room.
“Let’s not get trigger happy here.” He looked around the collection of scared people. They all held weapons pointed in various directions. He nodded at the two men who had them pointed at him. “Agreed?”
No one spoke.
“Oh, for God’s sake.” An older woman pushed her way from the back. “Stop being so stupid! Why God gave men testosterone is beyond me. He should have given it to women who would know how to use it properly.” She grabbed the barrel of one of the rifles and pushed it up. “Mary is going to die without help, and if she does, I’m going to blame you.”
She turned toward Mark. “Please, help her. She’s my sister.”
Mark relaxed the gun so it hung at his side and motioned for Lynn to step in. Without looking at anything else, Lynn went straight to the wounded woman. While she had everyone’s attention, Mark took the opportunity to do some examining of his own.
The defenders consisted of five adults, three male. If any children were on site they were not evident. They all appeared to be in their fifties by Mark’s estimation. One of the men had blood leaking down his arm, but didn’t seem to be aware of it.
“Looks like you got hit too,” Mark said.
The man looked at it and shrugged it off. “Just a scratch.”
“Still it should be cleaned and bandaged. You can’t risk infection. You want me to do it?”
“No,” he said. His tone was angry.
Mark shrugged. If the man didn’t want help, he wasn’t going to beg him.
Lynn stood up.
“It looks like she took a bullet in the side just below the rib cage. It appears to be still in there. I didn’t want to probe too much without putting her under somehow. I can’t tell how much damage has been done internally without getting in there and I’m not a surgeon. I have knowledge, but no practical experience. Still, I may be the best bet she has. You all discuss it and let me know what you want to do.”
She walked out on the porch. Mark followed.
“Can you do it?”
“I think so. I’ve never done it before. I’ve assisted a few times and that’s the extent of my expertise. Depending on where the bullet is lodged, I’m pretty sure I can get it out. The problem is if there’s any internal damage I can’t see or fix. We also don’t have the right equipment, facilities, drugs, or tools to do it properly. I could do everything right and she still might die.”
They went back in and stood over Mary, who clutched her stomach, moaning from the pain. “Please, help me,” she said hoarsely.
“Mary, I’m not a doctor. I’ll do the best I can. That’s all I can promise.”
The other woman started to cry. “Help her if you can … she’s my sister.”
“I’ll need some things. The men can start gathering them while you and I get her ready. We need to get her up on a solid table with as much light as possible.”
Mark decided to check on the kids. He found them sitting on the tailgate of the SUV. Caleb had his arm around Ruth, who was crying.
“It’s just been too much for her,” he explained. “All the violence and the dead bodies, it’s just been too much … for all of us.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s been hard on you kids. You handled things better than I thought you might.” Mark looked away for a second. He had forgotten they were just kids. Less than a month ago they’d been texting, playing sports or video games, and watching crazy stuff on TV. They never dreamed they’d be in gun battles or running for their lives. They could’ve gone their entire lives without seeing a dead body outside of a funeral home. How many had they seen in just a few days, including friends and family? They were doing pretty well, all things considered.
It wasn’t what I would want for my own kids, but what can I do?
“I’m sorry you have to go through this. I really am. I wish it could be another way. Maybe someday it will be. But you can’t get to someday if you don’t survive today. You did what you needed to do. And you probably saved a few lives today, including mine.”
Mark started back toward the house. It was important to keep them occupied and not let them dwell on all the death that surrounded them. “We need the gas from these cars. Why don’t you guys go through some of these houses and see if you can find some gas cans and some tubing to siphon with. You remember what I showed you, I’m sure.”
A shrill scream made Mark stop at the front door. He didn’t want to go in; he knew what to expect. He didn’t think there was much hope for the poor woman, but they had to try. To do otherwise would be inhuman and they’d seen enough of that kind of behavior. The scream came again. He swallowed hard and went inside.
Fifteen
They were all gathered around the kitchen table. Two of the men were holding the wounded woman’s arms and legs down. She had a dish towel in her mouth to bite down on. The other woman assisted Lynn while the man with the injured arm and the attitude sat in a chair in the corner with his rifle in his hands and his head down. His eyes were closed and Mark couldn’t decide if he was sleeping or praying.
“What can I do to help?” he
asked.
Lynn handed him some latex gloves. “Take that flashlight and shine it down in the wound,” she said without looking up. “I’ve had her swallow a sleeping pill and a large slug of cough medicine with codeine. She’s feeling woozy, but the pain is still severe. I’m trying to reach the bullet without injuring her further.”
Lynn probed with a metal skewer. “Ah, there it is. Okay, hold her tight. I’m going in for a closer look.”
The woman moaned. It would be a blessing for all if the poor woman would pass out.
“I’ll have to widen the hole to get it out. It hit the rib and is turned slightly. I was hoping to be able to pull it straight back out. I’m not sure these tweezers are wide enough or long enough to get a grip on it but it’s all I’ve got to use.”
“What are you going to use to cut her with?” Mark asked.
Lynn held up an Exact-o-knife. “I sterilized it, it should work.”
Mark took the tweezers. Depending on the caliber of the slug they might need to be widened. He looked at the hole then back to the tweezers, then he bent them so the gap was wider.
“Okay, here comes the hard part. Hold her tight.”
Lynn placed the razor against the torn flesh of the wound. Instantly, the woman began screaming and kicking. It was so forceful one leg broke free. Lynn looked both men in the eyes to make sure they were ready, then made her first incision. That was enough to send the tormented woman mercifully into unconsciousness. A collective sigh escaped them. Lynn worked faster now, trying to get finished before Mary woke up.
Fifteen minutes later, after multiple failed attempts, the bullet came free, clattering off the table and down to the floor. She widened the hole some more and tried to locate any internal damage. Minutes later, shaking her head, Lynn said, “I think that’s it. I can’t see anything else. There’s too much blood and no way to clear it to see past it.” Lynn used regular white thread to close the wound up after dousing it with disinfectant. Putting a bandage over the wound, Lynn stepped back and everyone relaxed.
“That’s all I can do for now. You will have to watch her. The bandage will have to be changed and you will have to check for fever and redness at the stitches. Keep her feet up and keep her warm.” She shrugged. “Other than that, all we can do is pray.” She went into the kitchen to clean herself and the equipment using bleach and hand sanitizer.
They’d never introduced themselves. “My name’s Mark, that’s Lynn.”
The man who had been holding the wounded woman’s arms offered his hand. “I’m James and I want to thank you for all you and the lady there did for us.” Mark shook it and looked at the others as James introduced them.
“That’s Artie down by the feet, and Frank is the one in the corner. His wife Mary is the one on the table and my wife’s the one standing. That’s Maggie.”
“I know you’re not going to be able to move Mary yet, but this house no longer looks defensible. You may want to think about moving to a house you can secure.”
“Don’t you be worrying about where we’re gonna be,” Frank said, standing up. “We’ll take care of ourselves.”
His tone was defensive, making Mark bristle.
“Now, Frank, these good people helped us. There’s no cause to be talking to them like that.”
Frank walked to the table and looked down at his wife. “I don’t think it’s in our best interest to be telling anyone what our plans are.”
Mark stared at Frank. “And it wasn’t in our best interest to intervene in your fight. Fortunately for you, there are still some good people left in the world who are willing to stick their necks out for others.” He turned back to James. “If you need any help you can find us at 5942 Eaglewood. There are plenty of houses next to us that we could help you fortify and defend. In this new world, it’s good to have friends. You’re welcome anytime. Lynn, we should be going.”
“I’ll check back with you tomorrow if you’d like,” Lynn said to Maggie.
“That would be real nice, and thank you, for everything.”
Lynn smiled and gave her a reassuring hug.
Loaded in the SUV, Mark asked, “What do you think?”
She shook her head. “I just don’t know. I couldn’t find any internal damage but I was only guessing at what to look for. She’ll be lucky to avoid infection. There are just no drugs to fight it and no blood to replace what she’s lost. Depends on how strong she is. I’ll know probably in about two days.”
“You did real good in there. I was impressed.”
Lynn looked at him searching his face. After a few seconds, she turned and mumbled, “Thanks.” She brushed a strand of hair from her face and looked out the side window.
Sixteen
Back at the house they unloaded the SUV and left it in the street. It might not hurt to have an extra vehicle available with the amount of people they had living there now.
They hauled the wood paneling and two-by-fours from the van. Mark had pried off a basement wall. It wasn’t exactly the same as what was up already but it was close. Once they put the shelves in front of it, no one would be able to tell the difference. They spent the rest of the day constructing the women’s sleeping quarters. Mark ran a line of two-by-fours along the floor from the wall he had constructed to the far basement wall and anchored them to the concrete. Using the remaining wood, he made supports that tied into the floor joists above, then nailed on the paneling. Alyssa shone a flashlight along the floor, sides, and ceiling to make sure no light penetrated. Mark used caulk to fill in where needed. He cut a section of the original paneled wall to use as a privacy door between the two rooms.
Meanwhile, Lynn supervised the setup of the space. They cleaned the walls and ceiling of any spider webs and painted the basement wall a light green. Next she had the girls put down throw rugs they had collected to add warmth. They had found one fold-up bed and placed it at the far end. Until other beds could be found, the two girls would be on sleeping bags with foam padding underneath them. Those could be rolled up and stored out of the way.
When they finished replacing the shelves and reloading them, they all collapsed on the floor of the main room, exhausted. The kids' resilience impressed Mark. If they still had any thoughts of the gun fight earlier, they carried them in silence and did not let it show.
They were discussing what to have for dinner.
“What sounds really good to me is pizza,” Caleb said.
“Yeah, it does. Too bad we can’t pick up the phone and order some,” Darren replied.
They laughed, but as it faded away they all fell silent. They might never again be able to order pizza. Mark could see the change on their faces.
“Well, who says we can’t?” he said.
“Yeah, right,” Alyssa said, placing her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands. “Let’s just pick up the phone and see who answers.”
Mark ignored her and stood up, trying not to show how tired and sore his body was.
“Don’t need a phone to make it ourselves, now, do we?” He bobbed his head from side to side in mock attitude.
They all lifted their heads and Mark could see a flicker of hope in their eyes. He walked into the storage area and came back out with a bag of flour, a small packet of dry yeast, and some seasonings.
“You want pizza? I’ll make you pizza. Who’s gonna help?”
No one spoke at first.
“Hey, you gonna sit around moping, crying about what you can’t have, or are you gonna get up off your lazy butts and make the best damn pizza you’ve ever had?”
Lynn jumped up, put on a tired smile, and said, “I’m in.”
“Awesome. Why don’t you check and see what we’ve got for toppings.”
“Darren, in the bottom left-hand side of the cooler there should be two bags of shredded cheese. It’s not mozzarella but it’ll do.”
“Ruth, get me a large bowl from supplies. Alyssa, I need three bottles of water. Caleb, upstairs in the cabinet to the left of the stov
e you’ll find two round pizza pans. One is solid, the other has a bunch of holes in it. Bring them both. And be very cautious. Look around before you start moving.”
Everyone moved with a more excited step. It was amazing what something that reminded them of more normal times could do for their dispositions.
Mark went about making the dough, adding olive oil, onion powder and basil to the mix. Lynn opened a small can of tomato paste, mixed in some Italian seasoning with garlic powder, and stirred in water until the sauce was smooth. After kneading the dough, Mark covered the bowl with a towel and they all sat around impatiently, watching it rise.
Half an hour later, they were all tired and extremely hungry so, rather than let it rise to its fullest, Mark worked the dough again. He tossed it and stretched it until it was close to round, then formed it to the holed pan. He spread the sauce on then let Lynn top it with canned mushrooms and cheese. Darren turned on the gas grill in the cave. Mark placed the pan on the grill and they all stood around and anxiously watched the pizza cook. Mark had to widen the small opening in the dirt ceiling to prevent the cave from filling with smoke. The pizza to cooked quickly over the open flames.
Mark pulled the pan off the grill, slid the pizza onto the other pan and told someone to slice it while he stretched out a second pie and placed it on the grill. He sat down to enjoy his two slices but before he took a bite, he scanned the quiet group. They were munching happily. It made him smile. It felt like … family.
His mind wandered a moment to his own family. He looked at Lynn and felt guilty. He wasn’t trying to replace his wife and son; he just needed the feeling of family.
“Okay,” Alyssa admitted, “This is the best pizza I ever had.”
Mark smiled and pushed the guilt away. It was what it was.
“I told you,” he bragged.
The others agreed. They were easily done before the second pie was ready, waiting for it to bake. The second one lasted a little longer than the first, but they were all smiling and full when it was gone.
After clean up and bathroom breaks, they fell into their various sleeping accommodations. The girls having their own space made a lot more room for everyone. It also made it less stuffy. Lynn ushered the girls into their room. She stopped as her glance caught Mark’s eyes. They locked for a few seconds before Lynn smiled, lowered her head, and closed their door.