“Love and Family During the Great Death”
Chapter 18: Death Comes Calling
“So what the hell happened out there? My guys showed up and found the place a mess, completely ransacked, with dead bodies all over.”
“Well, Ben, it was a mess. But just so you know, we took all the weapons and ammunition to insure no one else would have access to it, so if you can find whoever is in charge of the materiel, I’ll gladly hand it over.”
Sheriff Benjamin Adams laughed over the radio. “Right now there’s no existing government. The so-called Federal government is fighting for its very existence, the military is in open revolt against the Pentagon, and no one is paying anyone, so everyone is fleeing in droves. I doubt anyone will come to claim anything, and I certainly don’t want any of it. I have enough trouble with people wanting to challenge us, if we had that many weapons stored here we’d be fighting off people constantly. You’re better equipped to defend it than we are. You’re isolated, you’re hard to reach, and you can easily see anyone approaching. Plus, right now you’ve got a lot more people there than I have in my entire police force.”
“All right, we’ll hold onto them, but if anyone makes a claim, call me and I’ll bring them to you. Personally, I’m not looking forward to have any quasi-military outfit showing up on my doorstep demanding I turn over a large amount of guns and weapons.”
“OK, that makes sense. While I’m not anxious to be caught in the middle of something like that either, I don’t mind acting as an intermediary. Now, what exactly happened?”
“It looks like a band of survivalists were driving around, attacking every source of guns they could find. I don’t know how much they’d gotten. We stumbled across them as they were looting the armory, but we also found the local gun shop after they’d raided it. We have his stuff as well. You might have better luck contacting him.”
“Yeah, I’ve been afraid of the survivalists for a while. I figured they’d start acting out sooner or later, and of course, once they do, they’d come after any source of guns. Frankly, I was expecting them to attack us first. As for the owner of the gun shop, I’m sad to say he didn’t make it. We found him dead in his home. His whole family perished with him. So was there any sign of who they were? Were there any survivors, any prisoners, and did you get any information from them?”
“There weren’t any survivors. There were a bunch of them, six in fact, and I suspect one had some military background, but they weren’t well trained or organized, so I’m pretty sure the military guy didn’t have any actual combat experience. They knew enough to back each other up and to operate in an organized fashion, but they couldn’t seem to stick with any one plan of action, and their actions showed they had no idea what they were actually doing. If they’d thought to post a guard we’d never have been able to take them.”
“Yeah, I saw where they tried shooting their way out by launching rockets against reinforced walls at close range. No one with any actual combat experience would be stupid enough to try that. Any idea where they were from?”
“Well, the license plates were West Virginian, so it looks like they weren’t from far away, but I have no idea if they were local or not. For all I know, they may already have a bunch of weapons from other places stashed away and just waiting for some other group to find and use. They could also have others they’d left behind who may have other weapons. But no one seemed very talkative, so we have no clue. Frankly, when you’re defending yourself against people armed with both body armor and combat weaponry you don’t stop to discuss much. Basically we focused on head shots rather than risking they’d shoot us in the back if we didn’t.”
“Man, speaking of people with no combat experience, remind me never to piss you off.”
“Don’t worry, I don’t take to shooting anyone very easily. But I’ll be damned if I allow people to wantonly threaten or destroy my home, or any of my friends or family.”
“Well, since we no longer have access to our computers or any statewide or national records, we’ve got no way of tracing who they may have been. No one recognized them, so they weren’t locals, that much is sure. What’s more, I’m sure they aren’t the last who will try something like that, so personally, I’m glad you took the temptation away. The armory represented a giant magnet for anyone who has an ‘each man for himself’ mentality.”
“Yeah, that and liquor stores, I’m sure.”
“Well, most of the liquor stores have already been stripped. Most people just grab what they want, and then smash the other full bottles just for the fun of it, so hopefully there will be a shortage of drunkenness for a while. I’m sure someone will start their own stills, but right now there isn’t much alcohol to go around.”
“Well, I just wanted to check in, but I’ve got to check up on everyone. I figure I’ve got a couple of very traumatized teens at the moment. By the way, how’d our new guys work out?”
“You mean, Billy, Adrian and Frank? They were great. They came in and refused to shake hands or take their masks and gloves off. They set to work burying all the bodies we had on hand, then asked if there was anything more they could do. When we suggested they might want to go looking for bodies, they said they weren’t crazy about interacting with people. I replied they wouldn’t be likely to, and when I suggested they could use our trucks and we’d supply both the gas for the job and a refill for their car for payment, they agreed to do what they could. They’ve been gone for a while, so I assume they’ve been having some luck finding more bodies. I’m looking forward to speaking to them when they get back so I can get a more reliable death count than I’ve had recently.”
“OK, if you see them, tell them not to work too hard. But we’ll keep the food warm whenever they show up.”
After they finished, Erica was quick to speak up. “You know, I hate to say it, but thanks for taking everyone out of the house. Normally the same girls have been doing the broadcast every day and we’ve been letting them carry the load, but now that I’ve done it myself, I feel much more comfortable with it.”
“Well that’s good. I’ll have to discuss what you’ve learned today, as I’m sure it’s vital, but right now I need to talk to the girls about what we’ve been through.”
Erica agreed that had precedence and got back to operating the short wave radio, making notes of what she’d already learned during the day.
“Maggie, where are Alice and Amy?” David asked, after having searched the house for them. “I wanted to talk to them about what they experienced.”
“Good luck. You’re too late. They both took off for the firing range you set up. They grabbed a couple of the M4s we brought back with us, and plan to learn how to use them.”
“What? Those aren’t ours. We shouldn’t be using them like our toys.”
“Then you should have explained that to them. But I don’t think you have to worry, I’m sure the National Guard unit will be glad to get their supplies back, and they aren’t likely to question whether we had to use a couple in getting them back. Besides, the people we kept from stealing them used much more than we’re likely to.”
“Still, it’s the principle. I don’t want the girls to think we’re entitled to use whatever is in the house. We’re trying to preserve the rule of law here, and we can’t do that if we don’t respect the laws of ownership.”
“Again, you should have talked to the girls when we got here. But you can find them out at the target range.”
“Great, so they’re blowing the targets to shreds firing the guns at full auto?”
“Don’t be silly. Listen carefully. I realize your house is fairly well insulated, but do you hear any rapid fire shots?” Maggie asked. David took the time to do so, and noticed he didn’t. He could hear an occasional single shot, but that was about it.
“They’re more interested in being able to defend themselves. Amy felt ill-equipped to defend herself, especially using a shotgun when everyone else had M4s or pistols. She couldn’t really get close enough to anyone to defend herself.”
“OK, I can see that—even though in the close quarters of the armory the shotgun was probably a better weapon—but how are the girls themselves? I was afraid they’d be having a crisis about having killed someone, but instead they’re out practicing how to kill the next person more efficiently.”
“Again, you’ll have to discuss that with them. I suspect you’ll find that out tonight when they either crawl into your bed or not. But right now they’re more concerned with knowing how to defend themselves. They found themselves dangerously unprepared, even though they did an excellent job of it. You should really be proud of them. And now they’re trying to ensure they won’t be in a similar situation when and if it happens again.”
“Well, what about you? How are you holding up? You had to kill your first man today, and that’s got to have been a maj—”
“David, don’t worry about everyone else so much. I did what I needed to do when you were threatened. I realized that if I didn’t you could have been killed, so it was an easy decision for me. I’d do the same thing if we were attacked, and I hope everyone else here would do the same thing. Frankly, after the other girls hear about what happened, I’m sure everyone else will be out practicing, too. Even little Erica.”
“OK, as long as you think you’re doing OK. We’ll talk later, and if you have troubles at any point, feel fre—”
“David, stop worrying so much. If I need your help I know where to find you. Now go find those girls and help them learn how to fire those rifles properly. You’ll have to teach the rest of us later.”
Approaching the makeshift firing range he’d set up, David noticed Alice and Amy taking turns firing single shots at a distant target, taking time to carefully aim, check their sights, firing, then when both finished, examining the results and discussing what they needed to try next.
“Hey girls, I was wondering what you were up to.”
“Hey, Dad, after what we went through today we wanted to make sure we knew how to handle these things.”
“Yeah, we have no desire to be firing a short range shotgun when everyone else is equipped with automatic rifles,” Amy replied.
“How’s the arm, Alice?”
“It’s fine. It’s still sore, but Maggie did a good job taking care of it.”
“Just be careful. You’ve got to work and exercise it. The problem with gunshot wounds like that is that they tend to tighten and limit movement, making it difficult to use your arm.”
“Yeah, Maggie mentioned that. She gave me a couple of exercises to do during the day to try to keep it moving, yet not tear the stitches she put in.”
“Man, you’re so lucky,” Amy responded. “I’d love a gunfight scar. It’s a wordless testament to how tough you are. It’s like a tattoo that posers aren’t allowed to get.”
“Yeah, well don’t go standing in front of any bullets in order to get one. They’re a pain in the butt, and they’re best avoided,” David warned her.
“Speaking of which, I wanted to discuss what you’d been through. You both killed your first man today, and I was expecting to talk you through it, so I’m surprised to find you out here practicing for your next gun fight.”
“I’m sure it just hasn’t hit home yet, and I’m sure we’ll come looking for you when we’re unable to sleep tonight, but right now we’re both trying to work out our fear issues,” Alice carefully explained as she broke her gun down and began cleaning it. David was surprised she could do so without having had anyone show her the process or what to clean. He’d actually brought his gun with him so he could show them how he cleaned his own rifle, and instead it looked like he’d have to get a lesson on how to disassemble an M4 from them. “We were both terrified that we were outgunned, and that if we didn’t do something that you and Maggie would be killed. Thus we were damned if we did and damned if we didn’t. That’s not a good place to be.”
“Yeah, I guess I can see that. You do realize that these aren’t our guns, though, don’t you?”
“What do you mean?” Amy asked, looking at him quizzically as she, too, started to break her own gun apart.
“We only took these to keep them safe. Using them ourselves makes us no better than the people trying to steal them. They aren’t ours. They belong to the National Guard unit here.”
“And where were they?” Alice asked pointedly. “Why aren’t they out helping people? It seems to me that we’re doing the work of the National Guard around here.”
“As far as I’m concerned, there is no more National Guard,” Amy replied. “The national government is in disarray, there’s an open revolt against the government, the Army, Navy and Air Force are collapsing; just where do you think those National Guard members are at the moment, and who do you think is going to pay for the upkeep and protection of their equipment?”
“Still, we can’t just ‘claim’ ownership of something that isn’t ours. That’s theft, and we’re trying to preserve order. You can’t defend something when you undermine it at the same time. The idea is that we’ll hold on to these until someone shows up to claim them. When they do, we can ask them whether they represent a responsible national organization or not, and what claim they actually have on the weapons, but taking them for ourselves is just wrong.”
“That might very well be,” Alice replied, lifting the rifle barrel to see how clean it was, “but we risked our lives today trying to defend what they’ve abandoned. We came close to getting killed for it. If we’re to defend against others who are out stealing these types of weapons, we need to know how they work. I see this more as a defense and education effort. We’re not using them willy-nilly. We can return them if they want them, but while we have them we’ve got to be prepared to defend both them and us.”
“Look, I can see your point of view, and I’m not going to stop you from getting more familiar with the guns, but don’t get too attached to them. They aren’t ours, and we can’t lay claim to them. As soon as someone makes a claim on them we’ll have to turn them over.”
“They’ll have to pull them from my cold dead hands,” Amy replied in a low raspy imitation of Charlton Heston. Both girls broke out laughing.
“You should be careful what you say, because it may come back to bite you. There are more than a few people who would be willing to do just that. After all, I’m sure anyone connected to the people we killed today would be more than glad to do just that.”
“We know, Dad, that’s why we’re out here getting used to handling these things,” Alice answered in a cool voice.
“Well, besides these not being our guns, we also won’t be able to take a large collection of M4s everywhere we go. If you girls want, I can give you some spare handguns we just picked up. Again, they aren’t ours, but the owner isn’t able to reclaim them at the moment. If someone tries, I’ll just pay them for what we felt it necessary to use. That way you’ll be better able to defend yourselves without looking like the very jackboots we’re trying to defend against.”
“What’s a ‘jackboot’?” Amy asked, looking up in confusion.
“Never mind, we’ll discuss it later. But basically it’s a reference to when the Nazi were taking up arms and making threatening gestures to everyone around them.”
“Got it, no grand parades downtown, no indoctrination camps, and no invading Poland,” Amy summarized.
“You kids are getting too smart for your own good. Anyway, I’m glad you’re handling this so well. Where did you get the gun cleaning kits?”
“They were in the supplies we picked up. There were scopes, nettings, camouflage outfits, all kinds of stuff,” Alice said. “They even had the manual on how to clean them as well.”
“Look, one last thing, let’s try to keep this quiet, OK? I don’t want the other girls getting upset, and I don’t want everyone making a mad dash for these very dangerous weapons.”
“We won’t talk it up, but we’re not going to deny anything if they ask,” Alice told him flatly. “We’ve learned to trust each other, and we’re not about to start keeping secrets at this point.”
“Right,” Amy agreed. “I think the trust we’ve established with each other is more valuable than any short term gain you’re hoping to gain by hiding this information.”
“Well, just keep in mind that you need to be preparing for your broadcast. Since the other girls are gone, you’ll be on soon, and you can’t rely on the other girls to update you on what’s been happening since they aren’t here,” David reminded them.
“OK, we’ll be in soon. There are a couple of more things that we want to try first.”
“Yeah, like full auto,” Amy quipped as David started to walk away, carrying his plain gun cleaning kit with him. He groaned, but he’d been expecting it, so he couldn’t really complain too much.
“Hey, guys, I heard good things about your work today. How’d it go?” David asked, approaching the three guys who’d been helping the sheriff deal with the increasing amount of dead bodies.
“Hold on, David,” Adrian called out, holding up his hand to warn him away. “We’ve got trouble. Frank started running out of steam midday. We’d thought he was simply tired, so we let him sleep it off in the back seat, but he’s gotten much worse. He’s feverish, barely able to stand, and his face and body are now covered in the marks that he only had a few of this morning.”
Instead of stopping, David halted just long enough to pull on the gloves he always carried with him.
“Here, let me help. It looks like you’re having trouble handling him on your own.”
“Please, you’ve done enough for us. We’re already exposed, and we don’t want to risk compromising you any more than you’ve done by welcoming us.”
“Nonsense, I know how to protect myself. If it wasn’t for you, we’d have been the ones helping to bury bodies today. We can’t stop living and contributing just because of the threat of death. All you can do is limit the risk, but we’ve likely already been exposed simply by breathing airborne contaminants. If we’re going to get ill, we’ll get ill whether we help or not. But if we refuse to help, then other diseases will multiply and spread, normally easily controllable diseases like dysentery. But leaving infected bodies lying out would just spread the disease much more rapidly.”
David reached them midway through his little speech, and helped steady Frank and assisted the others in guiding him into the little camper they’d been staying in.
“Look, you really don’t need to do this. We’ve got it in hand, and—”
“Hey, quit protesting. I’m not about to leave anyone I’ve invited in alone when they get sick. Sure, I could let you two handle Frank, but then what would happen when the rest of you get sick? No, we can’t live our lives in abject fear of risk. You minimize it, but you don’t avoid it.”
By then they’d reached the camper, and David asked the obvious question while they were lifting Frank in through the doorway.
“Have you two considered how you’re going to deal with your own exposure? Staying in this poorly ventilated camper shell isn’t going to be terribly healthy.”
“Well, like you said, we can hardly ignore him. We were discussing it on the way back, after it was apparent he’d taken a turn for the worse,” Billy explained. “We really don’t want to expose the rest of you more than you already have, but we thought we’d start sleeping outside. Although we’ve got sleeping bags, we’re afraid of possible cross contamination. But since you’ve wrapped the mattresses in plastic we felt they’d be better protected against the elements, and we wouldn’t have to worry about what to do with them afterwards.”
“Well, the plastic wrap wasn’t to protect us from cooties,” David insisted as they lowered Frank into the bed. “I’d originally gotten them because most beds easily double in weight simply from the amount of dead skin cells, dust mites, and dust mite poop they accumulate. However, it’s also important when someone gets sick, so that if they soil themselves you can clean it up easily. It just makes sense.”
“That may be so, but I’ll bet you dollars to donuts that most people suffering from this didn’t think to invest in them before this occurred,” Adrian pointed out.
“No, although these things are hardly expensive, they’re fairly hard to find. What’s more, no one really likes them on pillows, so those are even harder to find. If you find the pillows too hard to sleep on, don’t hesitate taking them off. If you do, we’ll just be sure to burn the pillows that have been exposed afterwards. After all, the important thing is helping everyone recover. The more people we can have survive this sickness, the better our chances of surviving it are overall.”
“That’s pretty brave talk, coming from a group that’s managed to avoid it so far,” Adrian remarked. “Do you think you’ll feel the same when it’s someone close to you that gets sick?”
“Frankly, I’m not so sure. Right now I’m trying to remain logical and practical, even though I feel like running and screaming. But if something threatened one of my girls or my daughter, I’m not sure I’d feel quite so principled.”
“Well, at least you’re honest,” Billy responded. “As for us, this brings it that much closer. I figure we’re not that far from what Frank’s going through right now. So at the moment, this ‘community works’ idea of yours is the best way to keep us from focusing on it.”
“You sure you don’t need to discuss it, thrash it out a little?” David asked.
“No, quite frankly I figure I’ll have plenty of time to consider it when I’m lying in bed, shivering like Frank is. With any luck I’ll be too incapacitated to think about it much, but while I’m able to do something to distract myself, I will, especially something that makes me feel like I’m making a difference with the remainder of my life.”
“Well, you three are certainly an inspiration for the rest of us. I’ll see about having the girls bring you a steady supply of liquids. You’ve got the hose already connected nearby, so if things get… messy, you’ll be prepared. I’ll also try to stop by frequently, or at least have someone else stop by. Whatever we can do, just let us know.”
“We will, David, we will,” they both answered as Billy set about wiping Frank down and Adrian began dragging their sleeping supplies outside.
“Hey, the others should be home soon, and once they do things are going to get crazy. Frankly I’m amazed at how professional you’ve been. Instead of pestering Alice and Amy you’ve been working hard,” David told Erica, encouraging her as she continued to prepare for their broadcast.
“We told them to describe what happened later tonight, when we’ll have time to appreciate it, but right now it would just be a distraction,” Erica replied. “There’s a lot to go over. You should sit down; I need to brief you about it first, though.”
“OK, go ahead, I’ve already been dealing with bad news, what’s so important this time?” David asked, not bothering to sit down.
“I specifically asked the people at the hospital how long someone with symptoms is likely to last. They said that the lifespan of the illness, for lack of a better word, has been shortening. It used to take up to a week, but now it’s down to only a couple of days.”
“Is that from when they show symptoms, or from when they get sick?” David asked, alarmed for what this would mean for the boys.
“From the first symptoms, and what’s more, it seems the disease is mutating, getting more efficient as time passes. The death rate has skyrocketed. Very few people arriving in the hospital are surviving, so they’ve given up on cremating them and are simply piling them up outside.”
“Isn’t that a health hazard all its own?”
“Yes, but frankly there’s not much else they can do. There are not enough beds to leave them in the hospital, and if they just stacked them along the hallways of the hospital, they’d soon be unable to move. And everyone knows to stay away from them outside. In fact, people wait until as long as possible before entering the hospital now, for fear of exposure. Many families simply pull up, shove their loved ones out of the car and leave, hoping to reduce their risk of contamination.”
“Great, that really illustrates the caring potential of people,” David remarked sourly.
“Hey, if it means the difference in your family’s survival, I don’t think it’s an entirely unreasonable compromise. At least they’re taking them somewhere they can receive some kind of treatment,” Erica countered.
“Well that’s depressing news. Frank’s become very sick. I have no idea when he first developed symptoms since he was hiding it, but that doesn’t leave him much time.”
“Frankly, I think he’s an exception. It sounds like he’s already had it for several days, and if this escalation continues, he might be one of the last ones to last this long,” Erica explained.
“What about the other news?” David asked, wanting to get the rest of the bad news out of the way.
“That’s most of it, but it’s the scale we’re talking about. Everyone is being impacted now, and most services that had already been curtailed have been abandoned. There are dead bodies piling up in city streets as city workers are either too sick to work or they’ve fled the area. Many people are chipping in, like Billy and the others have, operating the equipment to do the mass burials themselves, but once the equipment breaks, or the gas runs out, or there’s no one left to run it, the operations simply cease.”
“What about the war going on between the Pentagon and the surrounding regions?”
“It sounds like it’s stopped. There was talk that President Daniels died, and he was the last in the chain of succession, so they’ve been trying to find a replacement. But those in power have simply stopped listening to General Pendril, so people suspect either the Pentagon has turned against him, or that he’s gotten sick as well. What’s more, a submarine surfaced in the Potomac River and fired a couple of rounds into DC itself, and that got everyone to back down real quick, since it showed that the Navy not only has working ships, but that their power supplies were running while those in DC aren’t.”
“Well, aside from the wide number of deaths, what else is happening? What about rioting? I can’t believe we’re the only people that have had survivalists striking out.”
“Actually it looks like everyone is staying indoors, trying to weather the storm, as it were. There were riots earlier about food shortages, but those played out pretty quickly. Now there are scattered robberies and thefts, but frankly I suspect many of the armories and gun shops have already been abandoned, so it may just be that they aren’t reporting what’s actually happening. Or it may just be that the survivalists have been stocking up for a while now, and only those who weren’t prepared will be venturing out at the last minute as panic begins to set in.”
The radio began squawking and David could hear it was Sheriff Adams, so he picked up the microphone.
“This is David, what’s up, Ben?”
“Bad news. First, is Maggie there?”
“No, she’s not. It’s just Erica and I.”
“Well, I’m sad to say that I just found Reggie’s body in his shop. It looks like the people he had working for him just left both him and the shop and fled, so I closed the place up and sealed it off. You’d better inform Maggie about it. I’d stop by myself but I’m not doing much better. I’ve lost all but a single officer and a receptionist that’s manning the radio, so we can’t get around as much anymore. What’s more, I think I’m taking ill myself, so I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to work.”
“That’s too bad, on both fronts. Of course I hope the best for you, but is there anything we can do for you?” David asked.
“No, I figure you’ve got your hands full, especially with having to give this news to Maggie. You’ve already done so much, especially with what Billy, Adrian and Frank did today. I’ll let you know where I stand, as I know we check in frequently. So far I’m showing a few symptoms, but I’m not sick yet, so I’m basically just waiting for the ax to fall.”
“OK, we’ll continue to check in. Just be sure not to overly stress yourself, OK.”
“Yeah, it’s not like I don’t have a bunch of other people to do my work for me, oh wait, I don’t,” he teased, before he began coughing for a bit.
They signed off and David turned to the girls. “You take care of the broadcast and I’ll go talk to Maggie. I’m sure everyone will want a full accounting of everything tonight, so you’ll manage to hear what you missed then.”
And with that David set off to face another uncomfortable task. It wasn’t something he exactly looked forward to, but he knew it was necessary and he knew it would have to come from him. He just hoped that she could cope with it a little better than Bob had. He really didn’t need to lose three productive members of the household in as many days.
“Are you serious?”
“Sadly, yes. I’m hardly likely to joke about something as terrible as this. The Sheriff just called and informed us that he’d found the body. Apparently everyone there had simply left, leaving him there and the shop open, so Ben closed the shop up and took care of the body.”
“He just took it? So he’s going to what, just bury it in a mass grave with a bunch of people I don’t know in an open field somewhere?”
“Maggie, you’ve got to realize what you’re saying. While it would be better to have him buried where you can pay your respects, given the risks this sickness represents it doesn’t make sense to expose people unnecessarily, and there isn’t anyone to handle the preparation and burial of the body. The few funeral homes there were have been overwhelmed, and most are no longer even operating due to the sickness.”
“But we could have done something, after all, you did it for Flora’s parents, and you never even knew them.”
“Yeah, but they died of natural causes. As much as I hate disrespecting my friend’s body, I dislike risking those I love to further threats, thus I support him in this. The sooner they can bury the bodies the better it is for everyone. If you like, we’ll set up a memorial for Reggie. That way you can pay your respects there and use it to commune with him. Personally, I don’t think his soul is going to care where it’s buried. If he sticks around long enough to watch what we’re doing, he’d be more concerned that you’re safe, and he’d be pleased that you remember him more than he’d be concerned where you did it.”
“I guess you’re right, still, it’s hard adjusting. It feels like I’m just throwing my husband out with the trash. Despite how much we allowed each other to ‘fool around’, we really cared for each other, and I loved him tremendously.”
“I know you did, Maggie. I know you did. That’s why it took me so long to act on your suggestions. I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t cause problems between the two of you. As wonderful as making love to you was, and as much as I love you, I loved you both too much to want to risk hurting either of you by doing something stupid.”
“David, it wasn’t stupid, and Reggie was comfortable with it. We both told you so. I wouldn’t worry about what we did. But I’m just not sure how to react. I feel like I should cry, but there’s been so much going wrong recently and it seems like just one more thing. I just don’t know how to respond.”
David moved forward, taking her into his arms and holding her. She didn’t resist and clung to him, saying nothing.
“Don’t worry about the tears. They’ll come when you need them. Until then just remember him and honor his memory. That’s the important thing. But you’re right, there’s a lot going on, and it’s hard taking the time to mourn when we’re facing so many life threatening issues.”
“That’s just it. I’m sure I’ll mourn him in my own way late at night, when I’m lying there all alone. For now, there’s just too much going on. As you’ve seen with the girls, we each feel needed here. We’ve been helping the community, and we support each other. If we’d received this news earlier, and I’d taken to bed like Bobby has, you might not have survived that scene in the armory. As much as I loved Reggie, you’re my family now, all of you, and I can’t very well allow myself to sink into oblivion.”
“Just take as much time as you need, when you need it,” he cautioned her. “We’ll understand. But we appreciate your wanting to help, and we certainly want your assistance, but if you need some time to—”
“No, I don’t think I need the time right now. Right now I need to stay focused. It just doesn’t seem real at the moment. Give me a few moments, then I’ll get started on helping out here. The other girls will be home soon, and they’ll need to know what happened and that you and the girls weren’t taking unnecessary risks.”
“Don’t worry about doing anything. We can handle dinner. If you want to show up to talk, you’re wel—”
“You? Fix dinner? I can just picture you and the girls trying to fix something. No, I’ll prepare something. The other women will be hungry when they get home, and they won’t appreciate dealing with whatever you manage to throw together. Besides, I’ve already started it.”
“You do realize that I’m perfectly capable of…. Never mind, I’d really appreciate it if you could do that. The fact that you can keep going when something like this happens means a lot to everyone,” David told her. He figured it was easier swallowing his own pride over everyone assuming he didn’t know how to take care of himself. It was an assumption all the women seemed to have, yet they wouldn’t allow him in the kitchen long enough to prove them wrong. But he’s been feeding himself for years, and he’d taken care of Alice as well, so it wasn’t like he was stumbling around in the kitchen. But this was more important than his own pride.
“I’ll tell you what, tell me what to do and I’ll help,” he offered.
“That’s OK. I don’t really need that much help. But if you could, I think I could use a drink, a nice stiff one.”
“You’ve got it. We’ll have a toast to your husband. He deserves that much. And I’ll prepare a memorial outside so we can have a service in the morning.”
“Thanks, I’ll appreciate that. It would be nice, and I’m sure the girls would like it as well.”
Dinner, as late as it was when the other women arrived home after having gotten the new animal supplies, was a sedate affair. Ellen had warned the others about what had happened when she’d shown up with a couple of new SUVs driven by the girls, but they were hungry for the details, especially when they returned and saw the hummer and the tanker parked outside. Amy and Alice detailed what happened at the armory and everyone quizzed them on the details, with both Linda and Ellen fretting over the risks David and the others had put themselves in. Surprisingly, Linda didn’t get overly upset about her daughter getting shot, which David considered strange. Instead she seemed resigned, as if she knew her daughter was going to be exposed to this kind of thing from now on, and there wasn’t anything she could do about it anymore. David thought he should discuss it with her, but figured she’d find him when she was ready. Once the others got over the shock of it, though, the girls grilled Alice and Amy about what it was like having killed someone.
However, once that excitement settled down, and after the recap of the day’s events, the impact of the other news hit home. Between the news about Ma, Frank and Reggie, no one was really ready to say much of anything. They all crowded around Maggie, trying to reassure her, but she still wasn’t quite ready to deal with it. Instead she suggested a toast, and David poured shots of whiskey for everyone, smaller shots for the girls, but David decided if the current events didn’t call for an exception of the normal rules for the girls, then he didn’t know what did. Needless to say they didn’t think much of it, though they went through with it to honor everyone’s memory.
After that they just cuddled up, listening to music and sharing the space commiserating with each other. That didn’t last for long, and Ellen suggested everyone head to bed. David quietly asked Maggie if she wanted company, but she told him she didn’t think she was ready for that yet, wanting to think about what she’d shared with her husband on her own, instead. David then asked Alice and Amy whether they needed to spend time alone with them, but they both said they wanted to see how they did on their own instead, just to see whether they’d have any problems. If not, they’d rather wait until they felt it was more necessary.
David wasn’t sure it was a good idea to ignore what they’d been through, but he wasn’t ready to force therapy on them at the moment. If they thought they’d be more ready to talk later, then he’d respect that. As he and Ellen headed upstairs Linda stopped them, telling them she’d appreciate spending time with them if no one else would. So the three of them went upstairs together, although they simply held each other and talked into the night, no one having much in the way of amorous thoughts.
David was preparing coffee while Ellen fixed breakfast with Alice pouring orange juice. However, they were disturbed by someone knocking on the door. Curious, David waved the others back and cautiously approached the door. After checking the viewer, he opened it and found Billy Adams waiting for him, standing well back so he wouldn’t risk infecting him.
“I just thought I should tell you that Frank died this morning,” he informed him. “We were going to take care of it, but we didn’t know how you wanted to handle it.”
“Give me a second and I’ll give you a hand. I’ve got a tractor we can use, we can get some help carrying the body and once we’re finished we’ll have a service for both him and Reggie.”
“Hey, we were only here for two days. We really don’t expect you to—”
“Nonsense, you were guests, and it would help everyone deal with what’s happening if we take the time to do this properly. I don’t think anyone wants to gloss over any single death, for fear the same may happen to them. Thus everyone will be glad to attend.”
“Well, OK, if you say so.”
“I do. Give me about five minutes to tell everyone what’s—”
“David?” Linda called. David ignored her and tried to continue, but she interrupted him again.
“Can’t you see I’m talking? This is important,” he told her.
“I’m sorry, but I think you’d better come. Caitlyn came looking for you, I’ll let her explain what’s wrong.”
“I’ll be back in a minute, it seems there’s something going on.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it. We appreciate what you’re doing, and we know there’s always a lot going on,” Billy told him.
David turned, closing the door before he turned to the others.
“Frank’s died. Grab some masks and the shovel and pick out of the garage and we’ll try to bury him quickly,” he told Ellen and Alice, who simply nodded and headed off. David then turned to Caitlyn. “Now, what’s this about?”
“Just follow me,” she told him, and headed towards the living room. Curious, David followed, wondering what the girls could have gotten into this early in the morning.
She led to a cot on the floor that Bobby used to sleep at night, since he allowed Maggie to use the single couch. As David approached he got a sinking feeling in his stomach. As they neared, Bobby wearily rolled over as if he was too tired to get up this early in the morning, but when he did, David noticed several prominent open sores on his face.
“I came in to help get Bobby moving, since he’s been so out of it the past couple of days, but as soon as I saw his face I knew you’d want to know right away.”
“You did right,” he assured her. “Now we just have to figure out how we’re going to handle this.”
It was a dilemma, all right, and one they hadn’t prepared for, even though they knew it was likely to happen sooner or later. Death had not only come calling, but disease and pestilence had taken up house in their own home. Trying to protect the girls from death was going to be much more difficult, now that it had moved in with them.
Join Crumbly Writer’s Discussion Group to ask questions, make suggestions or offer critiques.