by Payne, T. L.
Williams Junction, Arkansas
Event + Nine Months
Jason led the way down a short, dark hallway to a bedroom in the front of the house. He drew in a quick breath as he entered the room and moved to the opposite corner, his rifle pointed at the man in the bed.
The smell hit Savanah long before she entered the room. Curtains billowed in the breeze from the open window.
Savanah stepped walked to the window and held the curtains away. “Kathy, you can come in now.”
A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Savanah’s cheek. Her face flushed and bile rose into her throat. She fought back nausea as Kathy stepped into the room.
“Kathy, this is Evie and her grandfather,” Jason said.
The man was lying with his head facing the windows. His purple, massively swollen hand was propped up on pillows. Necrosis extended past his wrist. If gangrene had set in, there would be nothing she could do for him. Savanah’s heart broke. How was she to tell Evie that her papaw was going to die? She said a silent prayer for the girl and the man and moved to the side of the bed.
“Hello. I’m Savanah Fontenot.” She looked to Jason. “Blanchard.” Jason gave her a slight smile. It was the first time she’d had occasion to use her new last name. “Your granddaughter said you had an injury. I have some medical supplies with me. Do you mind if I take a look and see if I have anything that might help?”
The grandfather slowly rolled his head to face her. She watched as his chest rapidly rose and fell. He was pale and weak. Sweat beaded on his brow. Savanah placed her medical kit on a chair next to the bed and removed a cotton cloth. She looked at Jason and pointed to his pack. “I need water.”
Jason removed a canteen of water and moved toward her. The man tried to sit up. “It’s okay, Papaw. They’re here to help you,” Evie said from the doorway. The man settled back onto the bed. His eyes met Savanah’s.
“I’m just going to wipe your face and then take your temperature. Is that all right?”
His mouth opened and then closed without making a sound. Savanah took that as a yes. After pouring water from the canteen onto the cotton cloth, Savanah wiped the sweat and grime from his face and then placed the back of her hand against his forehead. She didn’t need a thermometer to know if he was burning up with fever, but he felt really hot. Gangrene had set in and there was nothing that could be done for him.
Savanah glanced over her shoulder at Evie. What could she do that wouldn’t do more harm than good. If she attempted to cleanse the wound, all she’d be doing was causing the man more pain. Could his heart even take it? She reached into her bag and removed the jar marked "white willow bark” containing the inner green layer of willow bark she’d cut into small pieces, dried, and then crushed into a powder. She turned to Evie. Do you have a way to boil water?”
The girl nodded.
“I need to make a tea. Can your papaw sit up to drink?”
“I have to hold him up for him to drink water.”
“Jason, can you help Evie boil enough water for a cup of tea. I need at least two cups.”
Jason glanced down at the man and then to Savanah before turning and following Evie out of the room. Savanah was confident the man wasn’t a threat, but Jason was either leery to leave her alone with him, or he knew nothing could be done for the man and she was just trying to get Evie out of the room to figure out what she was going to do.
Dishes clanged in the kitchen as Jason and Evie went about their task. Kathy stood next to the window, her rifle in the low ready.
“I told her to leave me,” the man said. His voice was hoarse and barely audible.
“I’m sorry, I can barely hear you,” Savanah said.
He turned to face her. “I tried to get Evie to leave and go to Lake Sylvia.”
“Alone?” Kathy asked, judgment in her tone.
His eyes moved to look at her then back to Savanah. “You can take her with you.” It was more of a statement than a question. He was giving them permission.
Savanah touched his shoulder and nodded slowly. Tears welled in his eyes. “I have four children. One is Evie’s age.”
He closed his eyes. “Bless you.”
“I’d like to try to clean your wound. Would that be all right? I have some herbal pain relievers.”
He opened his eyes and glanced down at his hand. “I think we are well past that now.”
“Maybe not,” Kathy said. She took a step toward him and leaned forward to study his hand before turning her gaze to Savanah. “We might try maggots.”
The image her words brought made Savanah’s stomach turn. She’d heard of larval debridement, but laboratory-bred maggots were used in the medical treatment. After being placed on the wound and covered in a dressing, the maggots would feed on the dead tissue; leaving healthy tissue alone.
“It’s worth a shot,” Kathy said.
“Where are we going to get them,” Savanah asked, fighting back the bile rising in her throat.
“I’ll be back,” Kathy said and turned toward the door.
While Kathy went in search of the larva, Savanah turned her attention to what she could do to make the man more comfortable. She avoided looking at the wound. Instead, she focused on the man’s face. His beard was salt and pepper colored, but his hair was still dark brown. Despite the grimace of the pain, he had relatively few wrinkles for a grandfather.
“What’s your name?” Savanah asked him.
“Mark.”
“You’re Evie’s grandfather?” she asked, pulling on a pair of surgical gloves.
“Her mother was my stepdaughter, but I raised them both. My wife and daughter are buried out back. They went last winter. Food was scarce. I made a trip to Lake Sylvia to trade for food and brought back a nasty virus. My wife and Evie’s parents didn’t survive.”
“Evie said you got your hand caught in a trap.”
“I was trying to set a beaver trap. I thought I had it set but it closed on my hand. I had to have Evie get it off. It took a while. The skin wasn’t broken, so I thought it was okay until it started swelling.”
Savanah examined his upper arm for red streaking, a sign of severe infection that can lead to sepsis and death. She saw none, only the black, necrotic looking tissue on the top and palm of the man’s hand. The swelling caused by the trap crushing his hand must have led to the necrosis.
“Here’s the hot water, Savanah,” Evie said, brushing past her and placing it on the table beside her grandfather’s bed.
Savanah stirred in the white willow bark powder and Jason helped Mark sit up to drink it.
“Thank you,” Mark whispered as Jason lowered him back onto the bed. “Get her out of here.”
Evie’s eyes grew wide as her mouth dropped open.
“Get Evie out of here. Take her away from this place.”
“No, Papaw,” Evie said and ran to his side. “No. I’m staying with you.”
Mark turned to Savanah. “Please!”
Evie began crying uncontrollably.
Savanah wrapped her arms around the girl. “We won’t abandon him, Evie. We’ll do everything we can. Okay?”
“Promise?” Evie said between sobs.
“I promise. We’ll do our best,” Savanah said.
Savanah didn’t know how much time the man had left, or how long they could wait. Will would, no doubt, throw a fit. He, Jason, and Walker were all due back on duty at Little Rock soon. There would be no way any of them would leave without her.
“There are doctors at our shelter in Texarkana,” she said, looking at Jason. She hadn’t mentioned it before because she didn’t think there was anything a doctor could do for Mark, and the trip there would only cause him excruciating pain, but there was a chance she could be wrong. Evie would believe it was worth a chance.
“Let’s go, then,” Evie said, her eyes brightening. “How do we get him there?”
“No,” Mark said. He waved his good hand in the air dismissively. “No. I can’t ask you to…�
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“We live at the shelter. We came up here to see if we could find land to settle on and make our new home. My children are back there. We have to go back anyway. We can just take you with us,” Savanah said, forcing the corners of her lips into a smile.
Mark scanned the room, his eyes landing on Jason who was looking at the floor. Savanah knew what Jason was thinking. The man would likely die on the road. She’d considered that but at least Evie would know they’d done everything they could. She could move on without guilt or hatred toward them. Savanah could also move forward without regret. Somehow, they’d just need to convince her brother.
While they were discussing how they’d move Mark from the house to the truck, Kathy returned with a bucket in hand. She held it out. “I found blowfly larva. Not as many as I’d like, but enough, maybe.”
Once again, Savanah’s stomach turned at the thought, but what harm could it do at this point. She took the bucket from Kathy and placed it on the bedside table.
“This might be painful, I don’t know. It’s dead tissue so you shouldn’t feel it. If you do, let us know and I can flush them out.”
Mark nodded his acknowledgment and turned to face the windows once more. “Evie, I need more boiling water. Would you mind?” Savanah didn’t need the water, but she didn’t want to traumatize the girl any further.
“I’ll go with you,” Kathy said.
“Jason, you want to help me?” Savanah asked.
Jason shook his head but said yes as he moved around the bed and stood beside her. After placing the larva in and around the open sores on the top of Mark’s hand, Jason held the man’s arm up while Savanah wrapped it. It had to have hurt like hell, but Mark never complained. While she removed her gloves, Jason helped Mark drink the last of the willow bark tea. What he really needed was morphine or a good bottle of Scotch.
“Now we need to go explain this to my brother,” Savanah said.
Jason smiled. “Yep. I’ll be right here when you get back.”
“That’s how you’re going to be?” Savanah teased. She stood and addressed Mark. “Fine, then. I’ll take Evie with me, if that’s okay with you, Mark.”
“You can take her. It’s okay to leave me.”
Jason placed a hand on Mark’s shoulder. “We’re going to take care of her, sir. Savanah is going to go get the rest of our group and bring the truck back. We’ll be at the shelter in a jiffy and the docs there can get you fixed up. You won’t have to worry about Evie. There’s tons of food there and kids her own age. She’ll love it there.”
“I’ll be right back,” Savanah called to everyone over her shoulder as she left through the front door, followed by Jason. One way or another she’d have to convince Will that it was the right thing to do.
Thirteen
Savanah
Williams Junction, Arkansas
Event + Nine Months
Will placed both hands on top of his head and inhaled deeply. Savanah waited for the reaction she knew was coming. He looked to the ground and shook his head.
“We can’t just leave this child and her dying grandfather out here alone. You know it would be a death sentence for the girl too.”
“Why would you ever think I'd leave an old man and a child out here to die?” Will asked, his tone low and soft.
“We don’t know them or who they're with. but…”
Will lowered his hands and crossed his arms over his chest. “It's not that, Savanah.”
“The government wants people brought to the shelter. What’s the issue here?”
Will shifted from foot to foot. He uncrossed his arms and ran a hand over his close-cropped hair. There was something he wasn’t telling her.
Savanah put her hands on her hips. “Spill it, big brother.”
Will’s eyes darted from Jason to Walker and then back to Savanah. He hesitated.
“Well?”
“Well.” Will cleared his throat and stuffed his hands inside his pant pockets. “You see, it’s like this…”
“We don’t have permission to be here, do we?” Savanah asked, finishing for him.
“Not exactly.” He gestured to Jason as if asking for his help.
Jason took Savanah’s hand in his. “We thought it would be better to ask forgiveness than permission. Getting authorization to reside outside the safe zone would require a lot of wasted effort and paperwork, and the higher-ups don’t want to start granting exemptions.”
“But Stephens…”
“She agreed. It’s unlikely that anyone from the government will be patrolling this region again. Unless…”
“Unless there is a need to,” Savanah said.
“Exactly. If we bring in civilians from this region they’ll be questioned, and if they reveal that there are still people living up here, they might feel the need to revisit the area.”
“Missing two people would cause them to send out the military? I don’t see that. You guys are much too busy to retrace the area you’ve already cleared because of two stragglers.”
“Because of Lake Sylvia,” Will said.
Savanah cocked her head slightly and narrowed her eyes. “Lake Sylvia? What about it?”
Will and Walker shared a knowing glance. “There’s a community there. A thriving community.”
Savanah’s mouth fell open. “How? How do you know this?” She thought it odd when Mark said he’d wanted Evie to leave him and go there. He hadn’t revealed that there were people there. People. A community. Free people.
“We just received a visit from their welcoming committee,” Walker said.
Savanah threw her hands into the air and spun on her heel to face Jason. “Did you know about this community?”
Jason held his hands out, palms out, and took a step back from Savanah. “Not until this moment.”
“Are they friendly or are they a threat?” Her mind was racing, but she was pretty sure, if they were a threat, Will would have wasted no time getting them all the hell away from there. She just needed to hear him say it before her mind could believe there was an actual community with which they could trade and provide mutual defense of the area.
“They seemed pretty friendly, but…”
“So we could establish a mutually beneficial relationship with them. Do they have children?” Her eyes widened. “A doctor—do they have a doctor or nurse—even a medic?”
“They said they have an Army medic—with combat experience,” Walker said.
Savanah grabbed Jason by the biceps and jumped up and down. “We can take Mark there. He wanted Evie to go there, remember.”
“I don’t know if they’re accepting people, Savanah,” Will said. “I never asked about that.”
“But they implied. Why else tell you they had a medic.”
Will shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s worth a try. If not, we have to take Mark and Evie back to the shelter with us. We can tell them not to reveal where they came from. They’ll do that for us.”
Will placed both his hands on top of his head and huffed.
“Let’s go ask them,” Savanah said, tugging on Jason’s arm.
Evie squeezed Savanah’s hand tight every time her grandfather cried out in pain as they moved him into the bed of the pickup. They sat him back against the cab of the truck and placed pillows around his hand and arm trying to stabilize it so it didn’t move as they drove through the rural Arkansas countryside from Williams Junction to Lake Sylvia. Mark seemed to be doing his best not to let Evie know just how much pain he was in, but Savanah could see it all over his face. She hoped he would survive the trip.
Six miles southwest of Williams Junction they encountered a roadblock just before the turn to Lake Sylvia near a little cabin in the woods. A well-worn path led from the cabin to the road where nearby trees had been cut and dragged across one lane of the roadway. The other lane was blocked by an old truck.
Jack stopped the truck near a gravel drive about four hundred yards from the roadblock and Will hopped d
own from the bed. Jason raised himself up to go, but Savanah grabbed his arm. “Are we sure they’re friendly? It could be a trick.”
“Only one way to find out. If it goes to shit, Savanah, Jack will get y’all the hell out of here. Don’t even look back.”
“What? No, Jason.”
He pulled her into an embrace and whispered, “You have a responsibility to these people, Savanah.”
Tears welled in her eyes. The thought of having to choose between her family and the rest of the group was more than she could fathom. She had to trust Will’s instincts and that he wouldn’t put them all at risk. “Okay, but please be careful. Don’t take chances. I need you.”
“I won’t. I love you and those kids.”
“I love you, too,” she said as Jason threw a leg over the bed and climbed down.
“Hey there!” Will yelled. “It’s Will Fontenot. We met Bryant and Lisa over at Williams Junction. They said to stop by.”
Savanah twisted around and watched as the truck blocking the road pulled behind the logs, opening the right lane of the highway.
“We didn’t expect you so soon.”
A big man dressed in cut-off shorts and Western boots came into view. He waved his arm, gesturing for them to pull through the roadblock. Will and Jason climbed back in and Jack pulled ahead. Savanah’s pulse raced as they drove past the checkpoint. She prayed they weren’t driving into an ambush.
Motor homes and travel trailers were visible from the road and the lake came into view as they reached the parking lot for Lake Sylvia Recreational Area. Women and children appeared to be bathing near the shore. Everyone turned to stare at them. No one seemed overly alarmed at their presence. No one ran or brandished weapons. A man and woman ran toward the truck and Jack stopped.
“I’m told you have an injured person,” the man said.
Jack nodded.
“Drive down to the last RV on the left. I’ll meet you there.”
Savanah sat with Evie on a wooden bench outside the motor home as Tom, the medic, and Alice, the nurse, examined Mark. Evie swung her feet and nervously chewed her fingernails as they waited for news. Meanwhile, Jason, Will, Walker, and Jack received a tour of the camp’s grounds and the improvements the group had made there to make it a more sustainable community. Savanah could hear August’s wife, Pam, talking as she and another woman approached them.