by Cooper, DJ
Matt went out the door to the front of the house to greet their friends. “Hey guys, bet ya ran out of gas. I kept telling you to put some away for a rainy day.”
He smiled at the others with them, giving Gary a sort of knuckle rub to the head; this should indicate to Gary that they understood the bandana.
They shared a look and with that Matt didn’t figure these kids to be any real threat. He thought maybe they were just desperate. Either way, they would feel out the situation and try and diffuse it first.
Matt hollered back inside, “Hey Dez, Gary and Kimber are here.”
Then he looked to the others and said, “I’m sorry. I don’t know your names.”
The guy standing next to Gary began to stammer. Sensing the uneasiness and wanting to lighten things up, Matt said with his joking Boston accent. “No worries theah guy, any friend of Gary and Kimber’s is a friends of ours.”
Motioning for them to follow him, he began walking across the yard. “Let’s head over to the gazebo. Indicating the house he said, “No one wants to be in there right now. The girls are cooking up some concoction that smells about like death itself. It had me gagging earlier.” Matt began to laugh but Gary and Kimber only slightly smirked.
The visitors looked uncomfortable but not overly cautious, possibly thinking that they’d found an easy mark. This was precisely what Matt was trying to get them to think because he wanted to get their guard down.
They all sat around the fire pit just outside the gazebo. Matt started the conversation. “So Gary, what made you leave Danville?”
Trying his best to pull off the whole Boston thing, Gary fell into line and said, “Well theah guy, there weren’t any more hookahs and beeahs left at the Walmaht. So, we thought we may as well come ovah and see owah good buddies out heah in this areah.”
Matt laughed loudly and said, “You ahhh learnin theah guy.”
As Matt was entertaining their guests the others were getting into position. Noticing this, Matt looked at Kimber and asked her what was wrong. “You’re looking a little uptight, girl.”
Kimber winced and said that she needed to use the bathroom. Matt waved his hand, motioning toward the house. “You know where it is. Do me a favor and fetch Dez while you’re in there.
“That is if you can stand the smell.” Laughing at his own words, he added, “I swear, that woman can be slow as molasses in January.”
The girl that was with them stood. “I need to go too; can I go with you?”
Kimber motioned for her to follow her up to the house. It was obvious to Matt that the girl did not want Kimber giving them away.
Smiling the thought crossed both Matt and Gary’s faces. ‘Little does she know what awaits her inside.
Matt thought quickly, one down, two to go. Now, how to go about splitting these other two. He asked no one in particular. “Hey, y'all hungry?”
They all nodded that they were.
Matt said to Gary, “Well then, Gary, how bout if you head up to the barn to see if Janice has finished dinner.”
Looking toward the barn and then back to the two teens and Gary, he continued, “Y’all got here just in time for dinner. We would love for you to stay and join us.”
He went on to say that he would wait for the ladies and just as before one of the kids went with Gary, the other one obviously wanting to cover Matt. After Gary and the younger boy left, Matt looked right into the eyes of the kid still sitting there. He leaned forward and in his annoying “gotcha” tone he said, “So theah, guy, looks like it is just you and me.”
The kid began to look around and nervously asked, “What could be taking the girls so long?”
Matt laughed out loud. “Did you honestly think you would just waltz in here and do… What? Like really theah guy, what was your plan?”
The kid went to reach for his gun when Matt put up his finger and shook it side to side, nodding no, no, no and then pointed to the four red dots on his body. The kid put his hands down and in a valiant attempt at intimidation said, “The others will be back shortly.”
Matt replied with almost a chuckle and in a condescending tone while shaking his head. “The others never had a chance.”
He smiled at him while continuing to shake his head. He put his hand out. “Gun, slowly.” The kid reluctantly handed over the gun. Matt motioned for him to get up and go to the mess hall.
They were all in the mess hall talking when Janice brought each of their invaders a plate of food. They looked at her in disbelief and after looking at each other began eating hungrily.
During that time Matt and the others got the story from Gary and Kimber. It seemed they were ambushed at the end of the road by these three who demanded any food they had.
Kimber spoke up in their defense. “Listen, while I know it is wrong the way they went about it, I don’t think they’re a band of murderous thieves. They’re just kids. Honestly, I think they were just hungry.”
Dez decided maybe a woman’s touch was needed and approached the table where they were eating.
She sat down in front of them and asked in a kind voice. “Why did you ambush our friends?”
It was a little blunt but got the point across. They all looked sheepish and had their heads down as she continued, “Do you live around here?”
No one would answer so Dez tried a different approach. “Did you know that we’re working with the sheriff to keep this kind of thing out of our area? I guess if you can’t help us understand why you ambushed our friends we’re going to have to call him. We’ll have him bring an extra car when he comes tomorrow so they can take you in. You can answer the questions at the police station instead.”
She paused, waiting for a response. Yet the kids still said nothing.
Getting up from the table, turning back before walking away, she said, “Enjoy your meal and let me know if you would care for more. Y’all kinda look like you could use seconds.”
At that, the girl blurted out. “Wait, please. Why do you feed us after what we tried to do?”
Dez smiled, half turning back to them. “Cause y'all looked hungry and if you were hungry enough to try that stunt, then you NEED some help.”
With a small grin she shook her head and headed back to the others. “Let me know if ya wanna talk about it.”
Dez walked over to the rest of them. Smiling a little before she got near enough to whisper, “They’re just hungry and scared. Give it a few,” making bets that they would be spilling their guts in five minutes or less. She then went over to Janice and asked if she could get a pot of coffee going.
Janice smiled at her as if she were a mind reader. “Already did. Care for a cup?”
“You are definitely the queen of the mess hall.”
They laughed a bit, joking around over different things. “You know, they look like kids. Try not be too hard on them.” Janice said, raising her eyebrows and glancing toward where the teens were sitting.
“I know that. I’m just giving them a moment to stew on things.”
Janice liked Dez; she always thought both her and Matt were kind folks. They were a little scary at times but that was mostly because they always seemed to know and be ready for things. They were not like the crazy guys with George’s group, she thought… more grounded.
After a few minutes the girl approached Dez. “I want to talk.”
Dez motioned her to a corner of the barn where they sat to talk. The young girl explained that they were supposed to be hunting. “We’ve not been able to get anything.” Hanging her head, she said, “We’re lousy hunters.” There was a long pause while she picked at her fingernails. Looking up at Dez there was a tear in her eye. “My father had done all the hunting but he fell from his tree stand last week. We didn’t know what to do. He isn’t looking too good.”
She told her that the two boys were her cousins and that they’d come to stay with them a few weeks ago.
“What’s wrong with your father?”
“My mom thinks he has a
broken ankle and he got a big gash on his side.” Wiping the snot from her nose she sniffled. “Mom tried to patch him up but we only had a few Band-Aids. It’s oozing something awful and it smells really bad.”
As she continued her story, Dez found out that they’d run out of food a few days back. The kids were trying to find something to eat for the family. By this time the girl was crying constantly. She was sobbing and gasping as her words stuttered between gasps. Dez patted her on the back and told her not to worry. She handed her some sodas and said they were for her and the two boys and sent her to sit with her cousins while she talked to the others.
Dez went to Janice and asked her if she could whip up a large pot of stew and pack it for travel. “I know it won’t be your usual slow cooked goodness but I’m sure the family will love it.” Janice nodded to her and began chopping carrots and potatoes.
She returned to where Matt and the others were to explain the situation. Gary told her he thought it might be something like that. “We knew there was something to it and could see their condition. We felt bad for them and didn’t exactly know what to do otherwise.” Looking a little sheepish, he continued. “We were complacent. It was a quiet trip and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. We were stupid for just walking up the road the way we did.”
Dez put her hand on his shoulder. “It was good you brought them here. A little uncomfortable, but still good.”
They got everything ready to take the pot of stew to the family. Dez explained to Rebecca what the girl had told her. She gathered some medical supplies and prepared to go help with the father. She would be going when they took the kids and the food back to their home.
When Dez went to Rebecca and told her about the father’s injuries, they both agreed it sounded like his wound was badly infected. They didn’t want Rebecca to go but she insisted that she would need to see the wound.
Dez and the others prepared some boxes of food. They included dried beans, some deer meat, some of the canned vegetables and some fresh ones from the garden. They grabbed a 12 pack of soda, chips and some chocolate because they knew some goodies would lift the family’s spirits.
Dez and Rebecca took one vehicle with the supplies and the girl while Sam and Jeremy carried the boys in their truck. They headed out to take the kids to their home and see if they could help the father.
When they arrived at the family’s home the girl’s mother stood on the porch with a shotgun. She looked tired and dirty. Her hair was knotted and her clothes looked like she had been in them at least a week.
Not wanting to alarm the family, Dez sent the girl in to speak with them. Afterward, the mother came out in tears. She apologized to them, saying how upset she was with the kids for doing such a thing.
Sam told her, “No worries ma’am, I think they know now that this is not a clever idea. We told them how they could have all ended up dead. Honestly, I think we scared them pretty good.”
Rebecca stepped forward with the bag of medical supplies and asked if she could see her husband. The woman led the ladies to the bedroom as the men unpacked the food and supplies they brought.
The woman spoke, still crying. “I don’t know how I can repay you for this kindness.”
Sam told her, “You can send those three up to our place in a few days so they can come help with the garden and…” He paused and laughed a small laugh, “be taught how to hunt.”
He then asked her if they had water and heat. The woman said that her husband was trying to figure those things out. She explained that after he fell and became ill they just started getting water from the creek and boiling it in the fire pit out back.
Matt, Sam, and Dez talked and thought it was only right that they help this family. They told her that they would take a look around at the house for some things to help them with what they needed.
Dez and Rebecca noticed the smell of his infection. It struck them immediately upon entering the room. Rebecca looked at the wound and expertly began to work on cleaning it. It was deep. He had needed stitches but she didn’t want to close it due to the infection.
She packed it with a mixture of honey and sugar and bandaged it up. They gave the man ibuprofen and a large dose of Cipro. It was the strongest antibiotic they had. Time would tell if it would be strong enough.
After looking at his ankle she felt it was not broken but more likely he had a bad sprain. She put some cold packs on it. Even though it had already been a week she wanted to try to reduce the swelling.
Without an x-ray they couldn’t be sure it wasn’t broken until the swelling went down. Rebecca instructed the woman to give him the ibuprofen and Cipro every 6 hours and not to miss a dose. Admonishing her, “for them to work he has to have them consistently.” Wrapping his ankle, she continued. “A few days more and he wouldn’t have made it.” Handing her the mixture of sugar and honey along with a handful of large gauze pads she was instructed to change his dressings every time she gave him the meds and that he was to eat and get plenty of fluids.
Rebecca was worried. She knew her experience was limited and what he really needed was a doctor but none had been around since the power went out.
They told the woman they would return for their helpers in two days. Rebecca said that she would return then to check on his condition. In the meantime they would try to find a doctor for him.
As they were preparing to leave, Dez pulled the large container of stew and two fresh loaves of bread out of the truck and gave it to her. “Our Janice is a fabulous cook and I hope your family enjoys dinner. Hopefully, you can get your husband to take in some of the broth.”
Sam told her to keep everyone home. Looking specifically at the teens, he said, “There are some very, very not nice folks out and about. If your husband gets worse send the kids up and we will return sooner. Otherwise, stay here.”
Chapter 14
“Day by Day “
“There is only one thing worse than fighting with allies, and that is fighting without them.”
-Winston Churchill
Early the next morning Matt recruited Joe and Cameron to help him with the plastic for the porch. Cameron was full of questions about the girl he saw yesterday. He thought she was cute and asked if he could go help them when they went to their place tomorrow.
Matt and Joe exchanged a glance and laughed. “You can go but only if this porch gets done today.” He was busily stapling up plastic and strapping, working harder than either of them could remember him working before.
Joe turned to Matt and whispered, “Would you look at the boy go? Put a pretty girl in his sights and he turns into the energizer bunny.” Matt and Joe laughed hard.
Dez was watching them and told Rebecca it was good to see Matt laugh. He was usually the comedian; he and Jeremy would often make her angry with their antics, and she often wished they would take things more seriously.
Lately, though they’d both been so serious and she was musing how she thought it was silly that she missed these antics. Rebecca commented that what was funny is how trivial things that would just set a person off could also be exactly what they loved the most.
Toni was a teacher before the ‘reset’ as they had all come to call it. She talked to the parents in their group about educational issues with regards to the kids. The parents loved the idea of some time to keep up with studies although the kids hated it.
Ariel was the youngest of the children at just four years but even she was to attend. Toni set up the mess hall into a classroom and had them attend classes for math, spelling and various other subjects.
They were to go from the breakfast meal until the lunch meal. After lunch the studies would shift to life skills from different adults. The kids especially liked that part of the day. It served a dual purpose, allowing parents to have some time to do things they needed to do, as well as being educational for the children.
All in all, there was a varied class, and she had the older kids help with the younger kids.
Ariel was four as
well as Loel’s son, Josh, so they were grouped together. Josh would remind everyone when they said he was four, “But almost five.” They would be in the same grade along with Dylan who was six, and generally willing to tell everyone that he was the “oldest and bravest.” They were all placed at the kindergarten table.
Loel and Sarah’s twins Nina and Axel who were twelve, and Frank’s two kids Frank Jr who was fourteen and Suzette who was eleven were at the next table for middle school.
No one really knew Frank and Sarah’s kids or Sarah for that matter. While they worked around the place like everyone else she always kept them separate and would school them during the day herself. Frank had told his wife it was a promising idea for the kids to get involved with the other kids to help them fit in better.
Sarah was heavy set and shy with red hair and freckles all over. Frank told Matt it would take time for her to come around because she was not an outgoing person. He said that he thought if it were not for him and the kids she would probably have been agoraphobic and never leave the house. Janice liked her a lot and told the others Sarah would come around even though she was just painfully shy and insecure.
Janice laughed and told Dez, “With a beauty like Charleigh around any woman would feel insecure.”
She went on to ask Dez how she kept all the boys at bay.
Connor promptly replied, “With a shotgun.”
They all laughed, except Connor, who had to make the point. “Seriously. I was afraid to ask her out for the longest time. Between that and Jeremy no one dared.”
Dez said, “Aw c’mon, I wasn’t that bad.”
Conner huffed. “Really? We all heard about the guy you said you would shoot if he put his hands on her.”
Dez laughed. “Well then, aren’t you glad I did?”
Connor smiled and nodded.
After lunch the sheriff and Ryan came over with a couple of the other guys to check out their place and pick up Frank. They spent some time walking around checking out the security. It was recommended they get some form of barrier up in a few places. Ryan told them they were wide open in the event of an attack. He suggested that they could probably park the vehicles in the yard in such a way that they could be used for defensive positions. He also said they should string cans up in the woods to send an alarm if anyone ran into them. This would at least give them some warning if anyone were coming in from the woods.