Chapter Eighteen
Karl and Ely were back at the cabin and were unloading the trailer. Since Linda had come out to help them, it didn't take long. Then Karl went into the main floor bathroom to see just what he would need to mount the salvaged toilet in place of the one that was smashed. It was after he was outside again and looking for something to use as flooring that Ely came running out of the house.
"Karl." She screamed. "Trudy just called on the walkie talkie, someone knocked her out and he must have forced Keri to go with him, When she woke up, Keri was gone and we've got to go find her."
"Where is Trudy?" Karl snapped. "Have you got your Dad's .45 or did Trudy have it? I'll need my rifle."
"I want to come with you. I can use the revolver." She said quietly. "Are we taking the tractor?"
"It makes too much noise. He could hear us coming. That's probably why he came up the hill after all this time. Now answer me woman, where is Trudy and did she have the .45 or did you?"
"Oh, I have it," She patted her pocket. "All they had was Keri's shotgun. Trudy was at the shed. She sounds terrified and I don't think she wants to move until someone comes."
"If she's unarmed, I can't blame her." Karl said.
"She's not unarmed. Keri is. Trudy found Keri's shotgun near her when she woke up."
"What? That doesn't make bloody sense. Keri wouldn't abandon her shotgun."
"I know and if she'd have had a chance, she'd have fired it to let us know she was in trouble, if nothing else. I'm really scared that something terrible has happened to her."
Just then Linda came running out of the house carrying Karl's rifle and a blanket.
"Trudy called back again." She shouted "Keri is there too. Trudy thinks you should come fast but it sounds like Keri can't walk. You'll need the tractor and trailer"
"Has she been raped?" Karl almost whispered.
Linda just nodded.
"Ely, bring the tractor and trailer." Karl ordered grabbing the rifle out of Linda's hands and wheeling around.
It was the first time Ely had ever seen him run and although she wanted to shout at him to stop, at the same time she wanted him to hurry even faster. Instead of calling, she raced for the tractor and was astounded when Linda leaped aboard the trailer. She shoved the throttle as far forward as she could to make the tractor move as fast as it could possibly go. Even at that Karl was rapidly leaving them behind. He had disappeared down the path and into the trees before she had even swung the tractor around to follow him.
Karl wasn't used to running but he knew he was in good shape and he knew that he needed to get to Keri and Trudy as fast as he could. It didn't matter if he suffered for it later and he knew he could easily outrun the slow moving garden tractor. His eyes were scanning the trail, checking to see that he wasn't taken by surprise and he set a pace that he felt he could keep up for the whole distance to the shed at the wye. As he pounded along he realised that part of what he was doing was burning away his sheer rage and preventing it from overtaking his reason. He had to do something physical to keep his mind clear and running was his answer.
Crossing the bridge, he slowed slightly and became more cautious. The next few hundred yards were too near to the shed for him not to be careful. Then when he was less than a hundred yards away from it, he heard the sound of a shotgun blast ahead of him. He broke into an all out run and levered a shell into his rifle as he ran.
When he rounded the last corner he could see Trudy, bruised and bleeding, desperately trying to pump another shell into the chamber of the shotgun. Then he noticed Keri lying in the shed but he also saw another figure. A man was running down the hill toward the dock. He snapped the gun to his shoulder and shot but he was certain at the instant he pulled the trigger that he had missed. Blaming the miss on his laboured breathing, he levered another shell into the rifle only to have his target disappear in a dive for the shrubs at the side of the trail. On the off chance of hitting the fleeing fugitive as well as to scare him into staying away, he pumped two more shots off in rapid succession, both in the general area of scrub brush where the figure had disappeared.
He paused and listened, hearing the crashing of a large figure through the scrub brush that grew on the steep grade. He carried on, knowing he could move faster on the trail than the fugitive could move in the dense brush. A glance toward Trudy and Keri as he raced past them was all he needed to spur him on, seeing in that glance the torn clothes, the bruised faces, the blank looks of terror.
A cold calculating rage that he had never felt before took over his mind and his body. He wanted revenge! He wanted to destroy! Although he didn't bother to analyse it, the flaring rage he felt was the same as the sheer destructive anger of his long dead ancestors, the Viking berserkers. The only way they had found to satisfy a rage that strong was by death and destruction and at that moment Karl's blood was as rapacious as his ancestor's blood had ever been.
Now walking along the trail, he found he could almost keep pace with the sounds of the fugitive. Even though his breathing was ragged and his heart was pounding, somehow he still managed to walk fairly quietly. He only had to stop once, and then only for a moment, before he caught the sounds again. Karl had the advantage of knowing the terrain. He knew that up ahead a rock face loomed and the fugitive would have to come back out onto the trail where he could see him. He paused at a curve in the path, stepping behind a small bush that was about a hundred feet from where the figure would have to appear and he waited. While he waited, he mentally counted the number of shots he had used, three, that meant he had four left. He was sure that no one had shot the rifle since he had reloaded the clip after shooting at the stray dog that morning.
The sounds from the bushes had grown quieter, then suddenly a figure appeared on the edge of the path and turned to face him. Karl fired - just once. He watched the figure jerk backward, then slowly crumble to the ground. He waited a moment or two, looking for any sign of movement. Finally he turned away. Feeling somewhat relieved that he had removed the immediate threat, he walked resolutely back up the hill, now limping heavily and having a hard time catching his breath. Perhaps he had enough energy to help Keri. He fervently hoped so
As Karl slogged back up the hill, his body aching and his mind in turmoil, he heard the rattling motor of the little garden tractor. Then he realised that he had been hearing it get closer for several minutes but had relegated it to a part of his mind that he usually ignored, disturbing sounds that were unimportant to his present task. However, now it meant something to him. Help had arrived for Keri and Trudy. He could quit worrying quite as much. His pace slowed, even though he knew if he didn't hurry he would possibly have to walk all the way back to the cabin. It was just that it seemed he was having a hard time summoning the energy to climb the grade and his breath wasn't coming as easily as he would have liked. He knew that part of his lassitude could be blamed on the fact that he had just exerted himself more than he usually would have. However he also knew that part of the tiredness was because he was feeling guilt now.
Part of his guilty feelings came from the fact that two women he felt responsible for had been attacked and injured but even more than that, he felt guilt for the actions he had taken afterward. He had shot a man. He had shot a man in cold blood and with the intention of killing him. Trying to force himself to forget that and to move faster didn't seem to be of any use. The combined guilt seemed to weigh on him, almost crush him and the weight seemed to grow with every step.
Wearily, eyes to the ground, he forced himself to walk slowly but steadily uphill, He found he was holding the rifle by the barrel, so tired that he was using it as a walking stick. Then suddenly, he stopped, surprised to see someone's feet, someone was standing in front of him, When his eyes lifted, they met Ely's.
"Are you okay?" She asked quietly.
He nodded, then handed her the rifle, not wanting to carry it any farther, almost unable to even lift it to hand it to her.
"You shot him."
Karl nodded slowly, realising that she hadn't asked if he had killed the bastard.
"Don't you dare feel guilty." Ely declared firmly. "If ever a bastard deserved to be strung up by the balls, it was him."
"Keri?" The name was a question, about her present health and yet about her future health and her happiness.
"I don't know yet." Ely replied. "Now, do you think that you can drive the tractor?"
He nodded, and leaning on her as she walked at his side, he moved to the seat of the tractor. To his surprise both Trudy and Keri were already slumped in the trailer, wrapped in a blanket.
Later he would remember starting the tractor and seeing Linda walking in front of him with Keri's shotgun and he'd remember looking back to see Ely walking behind with the rifle, but he could never remember driving back to the cabin that afternoon. He did remember getting to the cabin, walking inside, and sinking into his favourite chair, and he'd remember that after that, he felt safe. Somehow he was able to relax.
Actually, it only took seconds for him to fall asleep.
When Ely and Linda arrived at the shed, they found Trudy holding Keri tightly in her arms.
"Karl shot 'im, I think." Trudy whispered. "Jus' now, jus' one shot."
"Easy Trudy." Ely said quietly as she draped a blanket around them both. "Now Keri, where do you hurt?"
"All over . . . Son of a bitch . . . sodomized me . . ." She sobbed, then her voice drifted off and then she began to cry in earnest.
"We didn't bring bandages or anything. We didn't think of that." Ely apologised to Trudy who still held Keri tightly.
"S'no worry." Trudy growled. "Le's go home. Please."
Ely was almost as worried about Trudy's slurred words and apparent head injuries as she was about Keri's rape and mauling. It looked like Trudy might have a concussion and all Ely could hope for was that there was no permanent brain damage. Keri had obviously been beaten, perhaps choked, but Ely knew her sister was a fighter. She hoped this attack hadn't affected her spirit. After having seen Karl run off like he had, she was worried about him too. She turned to Linda.
"We have to get these two home quickly, and we've got to keep them warm, but I'm worried about Karl, so. . . ." As she spoke, she was carefully wiping the dried blood and dirt from Trudy and Keri's faces with a clean handkerchief that she'd dampened from the rainwater falling off the roof.
"I just looked down the path. Karl is coming but he's awfully walking slowly." Linda broke in. "I'm still worried about being attacked. What if there's another savage bastard out there?"
"Just keep that fucking shotgun handy." Ely ordered. "I agree we can't take a chance but I think Karl will be worn out, so it's going to be up to us. I've never seen anything like this."
"Look, You've got the revolver. You go help Karl because when I saw him, he did look wasted. I'll get these two in the trailer and covered up. Then we'll get to fuck out of here."
To Ely's surprise, even though Karl was moving slowly, he appeared to be breathing well and his colour was good. However when he handed her the rifle instantly after seeing her and hardly spoke, she knew that he was exhausted. Walking at his side, she helped him to the seat on the tractor and then helped Linda settle Keri and Trudy for the ride back to the cabin, carefully instructing Keri that she had to keep Trudy from falling asleep. Because she knew that he'd be frantic with worry, Ely radioed her father to let him know that they were all on the way back to the cabin but she kept the conversation extremely terse.
For Ely the walk back to the cabin felt like it took a year. She worried every step of the way. As a nurse, she knew what she was going to have to do but she also knew they had neither the equipment, nor the people to do the job of caring for all three of her family properly. On top of that she was worried that they might be attacked again. Maybe there was more than one raping bastard on the island. She decided they needed help and she was determined to get it somehow.
Every few yards Ely found herself walking faster and closing up on the trailer to check that both Keri and Trudy were all right, watching the way they moved, listening to any words spoken, checking to see that they were warm under the blanket and fussing about them in general. As well as that, her eyes were constantly roving over their surroundings, looking for trouble, worried about a possible attack. Her admiration for Linda had grown even more. Linda had accepted that they needed to be the protectors for now and had worked calmly and efficiently to get them away from the shed and it's terrible associations. Now she was calmly and deliberately walking ahead and taking the lead, protecting them with the shotgun.
In actual fact, Linda was terrified. At one point in her life, she had been involved with a man who had beaten her and she identified with the pain of both of the victims. It was only Ely's strength and reason that held her from running away in sheer panic. Yet because of Ely, she fought down the terror and resolved that any son of a bitch who attacked them wasn't going to get a second chance to hurt anyone. She fought back her tears as she marched ahead of the tractor because she knew that if she cried, she would go to pieces. For her, the march back to the cabin became a declaration of a growing strength. She could be strong. She could be dependable. She didn't have to take second place to any man or woman. That walk back to the cabin became her proof to herself that she could hold her head up with pride. It became the day she learned to conquer her worst fears.
When they came out of the trees and into the clearing in front of the cabin, both Ely and Linda heaved a huge sigh of relief. Karl had hardly gotten the tractor stopped when George and the two kids came out onto the porch. Mary-Beth instantly ran to her mother and with Ely's help got her to her feet and walking inside. Once she was on the porch, George insisted on supervising her care.
Ely turned to help Keri and found that Linda was doing that, so she helped Karl who seemed to have stiffened up on the ride back. He actually didn't seem to be in pain, it was as if he was simply very, very tired. His breathing seemed fine and she was able to check his pulse as they walked arm in arm and she was satisfied with it too. As soon as he sat back in his favourite chair he seemed to relax and then fall asleep. Since she knew that was exactly what he needed, she sighed in relief knowing she had only two patients to worry about for now. Then she found that her father had prepared for their return. He'd had the kids fill both the tub on the main floor and the tub upstairs with hot water. Both of the women could be warmed and cleaned up from their ordeal at the same time.
George simply took charge of Trudy's care. He and Mary-Beth helped her undress and slip into the tub on the main floor. They washed her as well as kept her conscious and somewhat active. When she was warm and slightly recovered from the shock and chill, they dressed the wound on her forehead, helped her into a warm set of pajamas, and helped her to a seat in the living room so she could have some soup that they had prepared. Ely and Linda took over caring for Keri although mostly that broke down to helping her bathe, applying some salve to some of the scratches on her body, making her as comfortable as they could, and keeping her company at all times. In fact Linda took up position at Keri's side once she fell asleep, telling Ely that she would handle any little problems, but warning Ely that she might call if she needed help with something she couldn't handle.
Ely went downstairs and looked around. Trudy was being coddled by both Mary-Beth and George and her colour was coming back to normal, so were her speech patterns, she was no longer slurring her words. In fact she complained that she must have been hit on the lower jaw on the right side, pointing out a developing bruise to prove the point. When Ely checked inside her mouth, she could actually see the line of cuts where her teeth had gouged out small bits of flesh. Finally after checking Trudy's eyes to see how they reacted, she sighed in relief.
"No concussion?" Trudy managed a small smile.
"It doesn't look like it, so if there was one, it was minor. Do you still want to go to sleep?"
"Not as much as I did." Trudy started to shake her head and then grimaced. "But that son of a bitch must have really hit me hard. My whole head hurts, from my collarbone up, including all of my neck."
"You're going to be very stiff for several days." Ely advised. "From what you said, he hit you hard enough to throw you a few feet and then still give you that bump on your temple. I'm not sure which one knocked you out."
"I imagine the first blow did." Trudy answered. "At least now I know how a prize fighter feels when he gets hit with a knockout punch."
"We're lucky you woke up when you did."
"How is Keri?"
"Right now, she's resting and Linda is acting as combination guard and day nurse. She's got Keri's shotgun loaded and sitting within easy reach on one side and a glass of water with some pain pills on the other. I've left her a sleeping pill as well that she can give Keri, just in case she wakes and gets restless. To be honest, I wouldn't want to go into that room unannounced, not the way Linda is acting."
"Hmph, look who's talking. What's that lump in your pocket that just happens to be the size of a Colt .45?"
Ely just smiled and moved over to take Karl's pulse and check his breathing as he slept. She looked up at Trudy and nodded slightly, then even checked the dog. He was the most delighted to see her of all her patients, happily thumping his tail on the floor and panting softly as she checked him. When she stood back up, he did too.
"Well, did you need to go outside?" She asked and was surprised when Bruno began to labouriously limp toward the door.
David must have been very bored at simply trying to stay out of the way. He pushed away from the window that he had been staring out of and joined them as Ely let Bruno out. To Ely's surprise, Bruno had very little trouble with going down the front steps and although she could see him actually quiver when he did it, he used all four feet as he clambered down them. After that, even though he moved slowly and limped heavily, he was quite mobile. As she and David watched him from the front porch, she felt David grasp her hand.
"He's getting better but he smells pretty bad in the house, doesn't he?" David smiled up at her.
"Yeah." Ely laughed softly. "Did you overhear your Dad and I talking about him this morning?"
"Naw, I and Mary-Beth were talking and she said somethin' about it. I was telling her that maybe we should get his winter shelter and put it on the porch like Dad does when it gets rainy and cold. He's panting so much in the house and drinking a little bit all the time too, like he was hot. I bet he'd like laying out here where he could see more, better'n laying in there and not being able to see nothing."
Bruno came limping back, seemed to look at the stairs for a moment, then heaved himself up and onto the porch. Even though Ely held the door open for him, he walked over and sniffed around just under the kitchen window as if looking for something, then he sighed as he slowly settled down, resting against the wall of the cabin.
"That's where Daddy puts his shelter." David announced. "I know where he keeps it if you'd like to put it up."
Ely went around the side of the cabin with David and found the shelter he had talked about. It turned out to be three pieces of plywood that snapped together and hooked onto eyes screwed in the logs under the window. She could see that it would form a roofed and walled shelter that was open on one side which would face down the length of the porch. When they moved to put it up, Bruno moved away and David quickly ran inside to get the dirty old blanket that the dog had been laying on. When the two walls and roof were up, he laid the blanket inside and the dog walked over, sniffed at it and then to Ely's surprise, limped inside, turned, and settled down quite happily, laying there panting and thumping his tail as he looked up at them.
"Well, he acts like he's happy." Ely remarked.
"Of course he is." David scoffed. "He's in his house now."
"Did everyone say he doesn't like dog food?" Ely asked.
"I don't know. I do know that Dad has a couple of huge bags of it in the cool room though. Should I get him some?"
"Yes, and you'd better bring out his water bowl too. Set it close by, but not so close he'll knock it over if he moves, okay?"
"Sure Mom." David dashed off. "You'll watch things, huh?"
"Pardon me?"
"Well, I was keeping an eye out at the window, you know, just in case."
"Was that Grandpa's idea?" Ely asked.
"No, everybody else was busy and somebody has to do it right?" He shrugged. "Can I get Bruno some food now?"
"I guess you're right Sunshine. You go ahead and I'll wait right here for you." She smiled with tears in her eyes as she gently let her hand rest on his little bald head for a second.
It was only a moment or two before he was back with a dog dish brimming with dried dog food.
"Can I sit out here with him for just a bit Mom?" He asked quietly, getting a short nod from her head in reply before she went inside again.
Ely went inside and glanced at Karl, saw he was still resting comfortably and noticed that George, Mary-Beth and Trudy had moved to the kitchen table where Trudy and George were having a cup of coffee.
"You must be feeling better." She semi-questioned Trudy.
"Still a bit woozy on my feet and I hurt like hell, but I want to stay away from analgesics for now. George and I were just discussing our drug supply. Do you know what Karl has at hand?"
"I believe he has quite a bit." Ely answered softly. "Keri would know better than I do, but I imagine it might be stale dated. I do know that when we were down on the 'Skolka' there was a fair amount that I packed. It was mostly anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesics, but some of them are types even I'm unfamiliar with. Knowing Karl's habit of being prepared, I imagine somewhere in the freezer or the cold room there are more."
"Ah, that shouldn't be a problem, George just picked up a new computer program that will help us decipher which ones we can use for this sort of thing." Trudy gestured toward her neck. "What I'm worried about is the fact that Keri was raped, and the bastard who did it might have had STD's. What the hell would we do for that?"
"Jesus, you have unpleasant thoughts." Ely scowled. "I think we'd have to get some help somehow but I don't know how. Dad, you've been very quiet, what do you think?"
"Well, my thoughts at the moment are that we should all gather together and consider our options before we do anything major. I fully believe that right at the moment we are in an exceptional position to maintain a defence, if we remain within certain limited boundaries. However with the exceptional happenings of the past twenty four hours, we have had our noses rubbed in the fact that we are no longer unassailable." He paused and gestured toward Mary-Beth. "As a modifier to that, Mary-Beth and I had been monitoring the short wave prior to your return and there seemed to be a particular focus of the Military radio personnel in their efforts to contact people in specific areas. In each case, they seemed to have a specific warning that they wished to pass on and an offer of assistance often accompanied that warning. Karl's and my call signs and several call signs for other local short wave operators have been amongst those called."
"So what you're saying is that we might be able to get help from the military?" Ely asked.
"Perhaps. However I believe we need to discuss this with the whole group before we even approach them. Since we shouldn't actually be in residence here at the present time, legally we may be in a slightly untenable position. On top of all else, if they were to arrive here they would inspect Karl's boat. I believe they would find evidence that it had been used recently."
"Dad, we have every right in the world to be here and I think you'd be surprised at the boat. When I saw her this morning, she looked like she hadn't been used in months."
David had come back in from looking after the dog and was standing at her side. He touched her hand and looked up at her hopefully. "Did I do a good job on the boat Mom? Did it look like Daddy wanted it to?"
"You did an excellent job, Sunshine." She grinned, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "You can ask your Dad when he wakes up. He'll tell you how good it was."
David almost glowed he was so proud of himself and everyone at the table had to grin. Ely noticed that without asking anyone else he moved back to sit looking out of the window.
George got a thoughtful look on his face. "That's all very well. However, would it pass the inspection of experienced Navy personnel? Don't forget that they are experienced with the ravages of salt water and its environs."
"Dad for fuck sake, how many steam engineers do you know of who are in the Navy? I think both Linda and Karl were almost shocked at how bad the 'Skolka' looked. You could just see that both of them wanted to go to work and set her to rights. Take it from me, no one is going to believe she just came back from a trip. And don't forget that damn rockslide in the cut. If they see that with the tide ripping through it there's no way they're going to believe we came in through there recently. Hell, the cut would scare most people anyway and that slide just made it look impossible. The only reason we can get the boat through there is that we happen to have one of the best damn ship's captains on the whole west coast at the wheel."
"Oh, I think you or Keri could bring a boat through there without any difficulty . . ." George started to say.
"Maybe, now that Karl has taught us how." Ely interrupted. "Dad, you just don't seem to understand. I'm not saying that I think they would believe it totally impossible, just that I think we could get them to believe us without any difficulty, no matter what story we told. At least we could as long as we kept to that story and as long as we didn't make any slips of the tongue about things we couldn't know about without having been anywhere else."
"Oh, I understand that." He smiled. "However, I was under the impression that it was almost impossible to disguise wear and usage on any mechanical contrivance."
"That's just it Dad, Karl wasn't trying to disguise wear and use, He was just trying to disguise the polish that comes from recent use. We tried to make it look like the boat had sat for three weeks, not for three days. Now I was just wondering, has anyone listened to the shortwave or the weather for a while? When Karl wakes up, he's sure to ask."
"I've been a little involved. . . ." George gestured toward Trudy.
"That's no excuse now." Trudy interrupted. "I can sit with you and listen to the radio just as well as resting here. If I need anything, we can ask Mary-Beth for help."
When she stood to move, Ely noticed Trudy favoured her left side but she didn't comment. Instead she turned toward the stairs, explaining that she should check on Keri and Linda. Upstairs, she found Linda lying with her arms around Keri, who seemed to be asleep.
"Is she resting okay?" Ely whispered when Linda looked up at her.
"Um hm." Linda murmured. "I did give her that sleeping pill but she seems to rest easier if she's held gently."
"That shouldn't be a surprise I guess." Ely smiled slightly. "Are you okay for a while? Do you need a break?"
"I'm fine, but to be honest I'm almost asleep. I might doze off. Do you think that would be okay?"
"I can't see why not, in fact it might be a good idea. Someone might have to stay up tonight and be on guard again."
"But what if I'm asleep and she needs something?" Linda seemed quite worried.
"Honey, if Keri needs something, she'll let you know. Besides, if she wakes and finds you cuddling her, it's going to put her mind at ease. Now, I'm going to go find something to do. If you need anything though, just call. Mary-Beth will be inside and she can run to get me if I happen to be outside. Okay?"
"Okay." Linda sighed and relaxed.
So even though Ely had several people she felt she needed to look after, she had help. In actual fact, she found that she had time on her hands. It was strange but she felt she needed to keep busy and she could see that David was growing bored as well. She decided that they needed to do something constructive, so leaving word with the others, she set out to see if she could fix that damn broken toilet even though she had never done anything of that sort before. She double checked to make sure she had her dad's .45 in her pocket, then she took David with her and set out to find the flooring that Karl had said he was looking for. Once they were out on the porch she heard the cow lowing. She realised that there was little food in the pen they were in and that they were probably both hungry and thirsty.
"David, I think the cow and calf would be better off in the goat pen. Can you show me where to find a rope that I can lead the cow with?"
"Sure Mom, Dad keeps the ropes in his old house." He smiled at her with his gap-toothed eight-year-old grin, then he sobered. "Mom, is he okay? Dad doesn't usually sleep in the daytime, does he?"
"He's okay." She smiled down at him as they set out for the old cabin. "He's just very tired and he's still recovering from getting poisoned years ago."
"Well, what about Trudy-Mom and Keri? Will they be okay? Did that bad guy hurt them?"
"He hurt them pretty badly." She admitted. "But I think they'll be okay if we treat them really well."
"They looked awful bad when you came back." He whispered. "Did Daddy chase the bad man away or did he shoot him?"
"I think he shot at him, but I don't know for sure if he hurt the bad man or not." She said, choosing her words carefully. "I think we should still be very careful, don't you? Maybe the bad man had a friend with him."
"He's mean. He hurt Bruno too." David announced as they got to the door of the old cabin. "I don't think anyone that mean could have any friends."
"Well, they probably wouldn't be the same kind of people that you and I would call friends, but he might have people he felt he could trust along with him." Ely said quietly. "Almost no one is completely alone. We all have people we like more than others and trust somewhat, even the most hateful people do."
"Well, I sure don't like him." He said forcefully. "He hurts too many people that I do like."
"I agree with you." Ely had to smile, realising that her eight-year-old boy was back, now he wasn't trying to act quite as grown up.
They stepped up onto the front porch of the old cabin and a sad sweet feeling rushed over Ely. She was remembering helping Karl build this house years ago. She thought back to the fun and the hard work she had shared with Karl and Keri doing it. With a sigh, she reached above the door trim and took down the key that was still hidden there so she could unlock the door. Unlocking and opening the door seemed to be like opening the door into her past and she hesitated a second or two before actually going inside.
Once she had walked forward and was standing in the kitchen / living room area, she simply stood for a moment. This room was so full of memories!
She had loved being in this house with Karl and even though it had been built from a cheap kit, purchased from a building supply firm and flown to the island in pieces, ever inch of it seemed to bear Karl's stamp of skilled craftsmanship. She remembered him discarding whole sections of the plans and drawing modifications. When she had asked why, he had explained that his changes were either stronger or more efficient and he'd taken the time to explain why. She'd learned to admire Karl's skill as they built this house. It wasn't that she hadn't seen him as a skilled worker before, but she learned to admire his talents even more because he had taught both her and Keri as they worked, gladly sharing his knowledge and expertise.
"Mom." David interrupted her reverie. "Daddy keeps things like ropes and that over here, in this room."
He pointed to the room that had been the main bedroom. When they entered the room, Ely paused at the door and David turned back to look at her questioningly.
"Did you know you were born in this room, David?" She murmured quietly, feeling even more nostalgic.
"Unh huh, I guess, I think Aunt Keri told me. There's all the ropes. Which kind did you want?"
The matter of fact answer surprised her and yet it did a lot to settle her down as well. At that moment, she could see him as a miniature of Karl and she realised that he was being remarkably responsible for an eight-year-old. The burst of pride was tempered by her realisation that she had allowed herself to mentally wander from her immediate goal but she wasted little time chastising herself. Instead she quickly chose a rope and they headed outside to move the cow and calf to the goat yard.
Moving the old cow and calf presented hardly any problem since the cow was acting quite tame and the calf hung at her side like glue. She caught the cow, slipped the rope around its neck and with David following at a distance, led the cow and the calf over to the gate to the goat pen. Leading the cow inside and releasing her, Ely quickly walked back to the gate because the billy goat instantly came to investigate this new addition to the animals in his domain.
"Old Billy wouldn't hurt you, Mom." David grinned at her as she slammed and locked the gate.
"Maybe, but I don't trust him." Ely said shortly.
She turned back to the pen, to watch the old cow and the billy goat get acquainted. The cow was being protective of her calf and the goat was being territorial. After a few moments of posturing and veiled threats by the goat and a few snorts and head shakes by the cow, they seemed to decide that neither posed a threat to the other. The goat sauntered off as if he had put the old cow in her place and the cow lowered her head to sniff the sparse grass in search of a meal before wandering of toward the watering trough. Ely sighed and noted that the goat pasture did look a bit lean for the number of animals and made a note that they would probably have to move the animals to the larger pasture downslope.
"Well, they seem okay." She sighed, turning to David. "Now young man, we can put this rope back. Then since I originally came outside to find something we could use to fix the floor where the rock crashed through the bathroom, maybe you can help. Do you have any ideas where we could find some thick plywood?"
He frowned and shook his head. "I know where Daddy has some new stuff, but it's all full sheets, not any small pieces."
They returned the rope to the old cabin and while they were looking around inside it to see if they could find a piece of wood, Mary-Beth came running in to tell Ely that Karl was awake and looking for them. They cut short their hunt and hurried to see what he wanted.
When Karl had awakened after his short sleep, he felt very sore but physically relaxed. His mind was a different matter however.
In an instant, he took in the fact that he was in the cabin and that it was quiet. After that his first thought was about the fact that they were all home and all alive. Then he began to worry about Keri and Trudy. He wondered whether they were going to be okay and then if they were going to be mentally scarred by what they had been through. From there, his mind jumped to worry about the child that Keri was carrying and then to the frightening thought that perhaps either the child or Keri herself had been injured in the attack on her. By that time, he was sitting up and leaning forward, ready to leap out of his seat, wanting somehow to do something, anything. He needed to act in some way. He realised he was now tense, his body no longer relaxed. He forced himself to sit back and think.
And then the thought hit him. He had shot a man!
He had stalked a man and he had shot him in cold blood!
He remembered how he had felt and was frightened by the memory of the anger he had felt inside himself.
He needed to protect his family and yet he wasn't sure what to do. He had left a man for dead and the body was in an exposed place, just off of a trail that they all used. He couldn't tell his family that he was a murderer for fear that they would be implicated and yet he had to tell them so that they could be prepared. He could feel the tension rising in his body and with the tension he knew would come pain. He tried to will himself to relax but knew it wouldn't be successful. He had to talk to someone and that decision did more to relax his tension than any amount of willpower or any pill would have.
He sighed deeply but softly and after he did, he heard someone trying to walk quietly toward him. That's when he realised that he had closed his eyes as if he had been trying to appear asleep to any casual observer. He opened his eyes to see Mary-Beth, her eyes snapping wide open as she jerked in surprise.
"Sorry Karl, did I wake you?" She almost whispered. "I was just checking for Mommy to see if you were okay."
"No, I was awake." He sighed. "Where is everyone?"
"Mommy and Daddy are in your den, listening to the radio, Ely and David are outside doing something, I think looking for stuff to fix the bathroom and Linda is upstairs, keeping an eye on Keri. Ely gave Keri a pill and I think she's sleeping. I was just lookin' for Evinrude, but I think he's hiding, he don't like Bruno much. Would you like me to get you a cup of coffee?"
Karl thought for a moment and realised that if he had to share his feelings of guilt, as well as work out what to do, the first person he should trust was George, at least with this sort of thing. Then he realised that Trudy would have to know as well. However, he certainly didn't want to burden Mary-Beth with the certainty that he had shot a man. At her age, he didn't think she should have to worry about something like that.
"I would like a coffee." He smiled at her. "And I think I should talk to George and Trudy. After you bring me the coffee, could you step out on the porch and watch things for a few minutes. I know Ely and David are out there but someone should be watching from here at the house."
"Bruno is out on the porch too." She smiled. "He needed to go out and didn't want to come in again. David showed Ely how to put up his shelter by the window, so he's laying there. "
"Oh? Well, could you check to see he's okay while you're out there?"
"Sure." She grinned at him and then scurried off to the kitchen to get him his coffee.
Karl found that he felt stiff when he tried to get up and knew it was because he had been pushing himself for the last few days. The walking and running he had done earlier hadn't helped either. He was limping as he headed to the den and when Trudy saw him, she frowned.
"Don't get up." Karl ordered. "If you want to know, I'm just stiff, not hurt. Okay?"
"Take a muscle relaxant and a pain killer." She ordered.
"Mary-Beth?" She called. "Get Karl's pills and something for him to drink, please."
Karl knew enough not to argue with her. When things had settled down and Mary-Beth had gone outside on his errand he turned to George and Trudy.
"I think I'm in deep trouble." He said quietly.
"I don't." Trudy said emphatically. "You were defending Keri and me from a rapist."
"But. . .?"
"Karl, we have discussed what happened between ourselves while you rested." George intoned. "Although none of us were in position to actually see your shot, we can make the assumption that since you felt the rapist was of no further danger to anyone, you allowed your exhaustion to overtake you. It is our belief that had you not felt that safety, you would never have done so."
"I stalked him like I was hunting a wounded animal." Karl whispered. "After I shot him, I was positive enough of my shot that I didn't even check to see if he was dead. What if he wasn't? What if I left him laying there wounded and suffering? I wouldn't do that to any animal I was hunting."
He'd sat down on the edge of the bed and was holding his head in his hands and staring at the floor. Trudy moved to him and lay a hand on his shoulder.
"Karl, what you did was only natural." She tried to reassure him. "You were protecting your family from an animal who was attacking them. I don't think you walked away because you were cold hearted. I think you walked away because you had removed the immediate threat and you knew Keri and I needed your help."
"I only wish that were true." Karl sighed. "But the thing is, what do we do now?"
"I've been contemplating that." George answered. "I believe we should hook up the transmitter and contact the military, since they have been attempting to contact us. We can at least report that we have been under attack and perhaps they have some form of assistance that they can give us."
"I agree with him." Trudy said quietly. "If we tell them about the attack on Keri and me, as well as the attack on Bruno and the goats, the fact that you fired a rifle at an attacker will be plainly seen as self defence."
"But I intended to kill a man." Karl sighed. "I lined him up the sights of my rifle and I shot him in cold blood."
"I would have done exactly the same thing if I had been capable of doing so." George growled. "That was not a man. That was an attacking animal who threatened all of us. He had attacked Trudy. He had raped Keri. He was in the process of attacking Trudy a second time when you arrived on the scene and found her defending herself. You shot at him to protect her and the rest of us. There is no blame that can be attached to you."
"But he'd run away, George. I chased him down and shot him in pure anger." Karl was now growing argumentative. "I stalked him, like I was stalking a wounded bear and when I got a clear shot at him, I dropped him. But he wasn't a bear, he was a man."
"Karl, as a man, would you have attacked a woman and then brutally raped another? Would you have allowed your dog to attack another man's animals or would you have attacked the other man's dog? Would you have hidden out in the first place and then have attacked from ambush when the opportunity presented itself?" George was insistent. "That animal happened to have the shape of a man, but it was not a civilised human. Had I been there in your place, I would have shot that animal as well. Any man would have done the same."
"No, George, not any man." Karl said coldly. "I can't forgive myself that easily and I'm confused. In one way, I feel I should turn myself in. In another way, I feel I could hide the crime and no one but our small group would know what happened."
"Hiding your actions might be well and good, if we knew for certain that you had actually disposed of all forms of the threat on our well being, but we do not." George murmured then spoke clearly. "Do you know that the rapist was alone? Do you know for certain that the dog is gone? You believe you saw him washed out to sea, but did you see the body? In fact after you shot the rapist, did you see that he was dead? You say you shot him, but did you actually check his heartbeat? Are you certain that we are safe from further threat?"
"George, are you saying that I should contact someone and tell them I killed a man?"
"No, I am not. What I am trying to convince you to do is to ask for assistance." George sighed deeply. "My belief is that the reason that the military is contacting specific people in specific areas is that there is a threat of some kind which is particular to that area. In each case that I have heard where a call back has been made to them, they have offered advice and have even offered assistance. Your call sign has been used, as has mine, as have several call signs for other local people. I believe there is a threat in this local area and I believe that they should be advised of our situation. Perhaps the threat they are attempting to warn people in the local area to is this particular madman we have been dealing with."
Karl looked like he was about to speak but George lifted a hand as if to silence him.
"I feel we should report the attacks upon us and I believe we should make it plain that we have fired upon our attackers, however I do not feel we need to specifically mention the fact that you feel you actually succeeded in hitting one with your rifle fire. None of the rest of us saw that shot and I for one would feel much better if it were either verified, or proven to be incorrect. I believe that when they realise that there are four women, two children, a cripple in a wheel chair and a semi-disabled man who are attempting to protect themselves from attack by an unspecified number of marauders that they will offer aid in some form or another."
"George, I shot that guy." Karl snapped.
"Did you?" George snapped back. "Where is your proof? Did you actually see that he was shot? Or is that wishful thinking on your part?"
"George, you know how well I shoot. How many times have I gone deer hunting and come back empty handed? I hit what I aim at."
"When? You mean eight or ten years ago? Were you under the kind of stress you were feeling today? Were you using new ammunition or was it old ammo that had lain around for years? Were you tired when you made your shot? Was it a clear shot or were there trees and bushes in your line of fire? Is it possible that the rain might have affected your shot?" George fired his questions rapidly. "I'm not really saying that I doubt you hit him. What I am saying is that there are many variables that could have altered what you did and those variables could have prevented a kill. There is no reason you cannot admit having fired upon our attacker and do so in all honesty. You cannot say that you killed him because you do not even know that and you have admitted that much yourself. Personally, I want that bastard dead. I want to know that you drilled him and that he died in agony. But I refuse to believe that until I receive confirmation from an unbiased witness."
George paused and then continued. "I am certainly not criticising what you have done in any way shape or form, but I believe it is time we tried to get help if we can do so. Ely has told me of the skill you used in disguising our usage of the 'Skolka' so that it would appear not to have been moved. We have enough earthquake damage to make it seem reasonable that we have been struggling to recover and along with the fact that we have been under attack, we can make it appear that we retired to this cabin as the most easily defended position for our family. I feel that at present we are in a relatively secure position but I am unsure if we will be able to continue our lives uninterrupted by the threat of attack in the future and I do feel we need aid if we can arrange for it."
"Karl, I agree with him." Trudy said quietly. "If we can get help, I think we should ask for it. We can tell them we had transmitter problems or something since we didn't call them before now."
Karl simply looked thoughtful for a moment, then he sighed deeply. "I think we all need to talk about it before we get in contact with the military. I know that it has to happen eventually. I just want to be sure that everyone agrees that it should be now."
"I think Ely has sedated Keri at the moment." Trudy said quietly. "That means that we could have Mary-Beth go get Ely and David from outside, then Ely could go upstairs and check with Linda. If Keri is resting easily, Mary-Beth and David could go upstairs and while one watched Keri, the other could keep an eye out from the upper deck off of the bedroom. That way at least Ely and Linda could be included in the discussion. In the condition she is in, I think Keri would be better off resting but I believe she'd agree to ask for help."
Ely and David were in the old house when Mary-Beth came bursting in the door.
"I thought you were here." She giggled in a high-pitched voice "Could like you to come to the house? I think it's 'portant."
"Is Karl awake or is something wrong?" Ely asked instantly.
"Unh huh, he's awake, and ever'body is okay. We don't have to run, I just did 'cause I wanted to."
"Okay then, let's go." Ely smiled at her. "You too, David."
As Ely stepped out of the old cabin and stood on the front porch with the children, she felt as if eyes were on her. She couldn't place it. She just had an uneasy feeling and she quietly told the kids to stick close to her. When she locked up the door, instead of putting the key to the door back where she had found it, she dropped it into her pocket and while she had her hand there she adjusted the revolver so she could get at it easily. Turning slowly, she paused and looked all around her. She could see the questioning look in David's eyes and she smiled to reassure him.
Leading the way, she stepped down from the porch and began to walk toward the newer cabin but she walked carefully and didn't relax until she and both kids were inside. She sighed heavily and then found herself looking at Karl who seemed about to ask her what was wrong.
"Maybe I'm just paranoid." She said quietly. "But when we came out of your old cabin, it felt like someone was watching us."
"You didn't see anything?" Karl asked.
"No, nothing! And I did look around carefully."
"I wonder?" Karl grabbed the rifle and stepped to the door. "I think I want to have a look and I want to see if Bruno is restless."
"I never thought to check if he was acting . . ." Ely started to say, but Karl was already outside and closing the door behind him.
She stepped close to the door and looked out but didn't move to join Karl. Out on the front porch, Karl swung his eyes rapidly from one side to the other and then looked over at Bruno who was resting easily. The dog looked up at him and thumped his tail in greeting. Karl moved over and knelt near him, then gently patted his head.
"What do you say Bruno? You're not acting like there's any danger and you'd warn us wouldn't you?" He said quietly more to be saying something than for any reason.
The big dog seemed completely relaxed, and Karl didn't stay outside for long. When he went back inside, all the grownups but Keri were gathered around the kitchen table.
"I didn't see anything unusual." He said quietly, setting the rifle down near the door.
"I didn't see anything either." Ely agreed. "It was just a weird feeling of being watched. Maybe it's simply the tension we're under."
"We've all been through enough shit to be tense." Linda barked. "I don't blame you a bit for feeling wound up. I feel like I'm ready to snap. Look at me, carrying this damn shotgun around like it was a necessity. I don't like this idea of being under siege at all."
Karl looked at her and wondered how much of that emotion was fear and how much was the PMS she'd said she was suffering from then decided it didn't matter.
"Look, the reason we are all together is that we need to make a decision that will affect us all." He said quietly. "George has heard short wave radio broadcasts that seem to offer assistance by the military to people who are having problems and seems to think we should contact them to ask for help."
"We've talked about it, when you were resting." Ely said quietly. "The only question is, exactly what do we tell them?"
"Since I'm the only one of you who's new to the island, I'm not sure I should get a vote, but if I do have a say, I think I agree we should call for help if we can get it." Linda said just as quietly. "The only thing is how do you explain me being here if you were here all along? Surely to goodness they could trace back that I was wrecked at home by the tidal wave and that means I had to get here later."
"Didn't you say you were out of port when the tidal wave hit?" Karl asked.
"Well, yeah, I'd been out on the hook for two days but . . ."
"Who is to say that you didn't sail here and someone else sailed your boat back?" He replied.
"But I lived in the wreck for days." Linda protested.
"And who knows that?" Karl argued. "Look, no one is going to go by exact dates around that time, things were just too damn confusing. Things will be remembered as having happened either before the earthquake and the tidal wave or after them. It was a traumatic experience and very few people are going to have come through it without being slightly muddled. I left my friends before the earthquake. I was at sea when it happened, but who's to say that I hadn't picked you up and brought you here for a visit then we were trapped here when that rock fell into the gorge? Maybe a friend agreed to sail your boat home and was caught in the tidal wave that wrecked your boat? You wouldn't even know that your boat was wrecked."
"And we could have flown back here to meet Karl when he got back." Ely added. "We knew approximately when he was coming back and we actually would have been here before the earthquake hit, we had a flight booked and everything. Instead Keri had to go see her doctor and he changed her appointment by a day. We actually were supposed to fly out an hour or so before the earthquake hit so I'll bet our expected flight was registered and if those records were saved, we'd be listed as being here."
"I believe I should be the person to actually contact the military." George spoke. "So let's be sure we have our story straight. Trudy, Ely, Keri and the two children flew here along with me. I believe it best if we say that we saw Karl and Linda arriving at the island as we circled to land and we were on our way to the dock to meet them when the first earthquake actually struck. We clambered aboard the 'Skolka' and were going to escape to sea, but found our way blocked by the rockslide in the gorge. Since we were trapped, we decided that we were probably safest moored to the buoy in the middle of the bay until the earthquakes settled down. If we did leave any signs of residence aboard the boat, that explains them."
"Not bad, George." Trudy smiled. "It does give us a bit of leeway."
"Well, they'll have a hard time believing the 'Skolka' sailed that recently." Linda grinned.
"Especially since Karl and I pulled out the burner and the pressure pump as if they needed repairs." Ely added soberly.
"A boiler can have pump problems at any time, Linda, and I might have limped home." Karl said quietly. "And I do like one or two of the points about George's tale. It allows for any recent wear and tear that they might see and it explains Linda being here without going into detail."
"I think Keri would be quite willing to tell them Linda was her 'close' friend." Trudy smiled. "You could have met up with her along the way and convinced her to come home with you as a surprise for Keri."
"I suppose. Does anyone have a problem with any of that?" Karl asked. When no one spoke up, he headed for the den and began to hook up the transmitter.
In a few moments, he turned to George. "Well, it's your show, do you want to call them now or what?"
George glanced at the clock and shook his head. "They have been broadcasting every two hours and I'd like to listen to them once more before I feel we should respond, but I'm wondering if we should try to reach anyone else in the interval. Normally I suppose, we would try to contact the RCMP if we were in dire straits. It would seem natural to attempt to contact them now."
"George, assume that we had the receiver operating all along, we'd know enough to have heard them call us by call sign. Why not respond to them now?"
"Because they may not be on the air and I do not wish to call attention to ourselves by broadcasting unduly." George answered with a wry grin. "I considered what you said about broadcasting our position and I realised that triangulation could be done by cretins and thugs as well as by the military. Since we will be explaining that we are presently under duress, I do not wish to add to that duress. I will keep my broadcasts short and I will not give out our physical location over the air, both the military and the RCMP will know the location of the island well enough."
"Damn! Good point." Karl grinned. "So, how long before you expect them to broadcast again?"
"Almost an hour. I was wondering if in that hour, you might work toward repairing that flush toilet on this floor? I do find the stairs to be rather difficult and I resent having to pee in a can so someone else can dispose of it." There was a pleading note to his voice that moved Karl.
He just smiled and said "I'll get right on it, George."
Leaving George with the radio, he went looking for the wood and the pipe repairs he would need. Ely insisted on joining him. Finding all the bits took longer than he actually expected it to, but he did find everything he needed although he was going to have to be innovative in his repairs. With Ely's help he carried the bits and pieces back to the cabin.