The Broken and the Dead
Chapter 22: Day 21

The next morning was a very somber affair, Rico and Kyle had retrieved Janae’s body and wrapped it first in several layers of white linen sheets, then in an old blue tarp. We all gathered up on the hill except for Kyle who took over sentry duty for Mrs. Driscol so she could attend. It was very much like Mrs. Frank’s funeral except that after Mrs. Livingston read from the bible and after we sang the same two hymns; Mrs. Livingston told us about Janae; how she was a sweet child, how she would gather wild flowers from the hill between their business and their home for her. How she sang beautifully at their local church. I felt my stomach filling with acid and my anger, my hatred for Old Man Tucker was renewed. She told a story about how when she was little she would trail after her big brother Darnell, never missed one of his football games, never missed a track meet and how he inspired her to play sports herself. How she was a great athlete and probably could have gotten a scholarship for track.

Mrs. Driscol was crying silently and Lucy hid her face in Elaine’s chest as she held her. I wanted to go back and shoot OMT myself but then something happened, something changed. Mrs. Livingston told us about how she started to smoke pot and how she drank and ran around. Her last two years of high school turned into one never ending parent-teacher conference. How things got worse after high school, how they didn’t see her often, how she ran with a bad crowd and I knew she was telling the truth because I had seen them. I had watched them die. Mr. Livingston held her hand as she told the story of a beloved, beautiful daughter, her gifts and loving nature, and how they were corrupted and she was lost. She asked God to forgive Janae her faults, she asked that God remember her in her innocence and hold their little girl in his embrace once more and love her until they could all be together again.

They started to walk down the hill as a group, everyone reaching out to the heart broken parents who somehow managed to maintain their dignity and replace forgiveness amidst their suffering. I stayed with the Deputy to fill the grave but as I paused in my efforts to watch them walk slowly towards the lodge, I could see Old Man Tucker standing on the roof, watching the funeral, watching the results of his own actions. The fruity of his vile labor. I wondered how he could sleep at night.

After that I went back to the house, cleaned up a bit then grabbing a back pack I joined Lt. Klein and Rico out front as they made the final preparations for our departure. Lt. Klein was talking to Mrs. Driscol working out their radio communication schedule and what to do in an emergency. She said we would be back sometime tomorrow evening, but if something delayed us she would contact the lodge as soon as possible. Lt. Klein looked a bit uncomfortable as Mrs. Driscol hugged her but she smiled and said that we would be careful and that they should keep extra careful watch until we returned. As we got into the Humvee I saw Lucy and Elaine on the porch and they waved to me and Elaine called out for me to be careful and listen to Rico and the Lieutenant. I of course had to do the official 10 year old eye-roll in response. Once we made the service road and Rico took the exit on the highway we started to make good time. Klein was in the passenger seat and I was in the back, I was to watch the driver’s side “flank” and the Lt. would watch the passenger side. Rico’s knuckles turned white as he held onto the steering wheel and stared straight ahead down the highway. I thought he might be having a stroke or something so I tapped the Lieutenant on the shoulder and nodded in Rico’s direction when she turned around to see what I wanted. She watched for a minute then she said

“Rico, relax Okay? Just stay frosty.”

Rico jumped a bit when the Lieutenant spoke but he nodded and took a deep breath then let it out slowly before answering,

“Yeah Lieutenant, sure thing, I was just...well it has been a while since we left the lodge.”

The Lieutenant said

“I know, but we have to stay sharp alright?”

I rolled my eyes for the second time that morning and checked the magazines for my M4.

After that we drove in silence and I scanned the sides of the road but saw nothing more than a few bodies and burned out wrecks. My thoughts wandered and I found myself day-dreaming of before, of barbeques and playing four way catch with Billy and our dads. I imagined Billy making fun of me because of Karen Morena.

’You’ll get cooties!’ ghost Billy laughed.

’No I won’t!’ dream me snapped back.

Similar dire warnings followed one after another until I said

’Billy look, she’s not you but she isn’t too icky really.’

Ghost Billy wore the weirdest smug face, he crossed his arms, and looked like he was about to say something when Lt. Klein shook me

“Johnny? Johnny, wake up. We’re there.”

I hadn’t realized my daydream had become an official night time one and I stretched and yawned before grunting out my response of “mughumpn”, or something like that anyway. We were descending the steep road onto the riverside town’s main street. I could see the Post Office and the nearby warehouse just like OMT had described. But there was always some truth in what OMT said, that was why it so hard to expose the evil in him.

Rico drove slowly and I could see two men with rifles on the roof of the post office but they didn’t seem aggressive towards us, just interested. Rico shut off the Humvee right in front of the main entrance and almost immediately a knot of 8 people appeared from inside. Some carried weapons but all wore smiles and they quickly descended the steps and surrounded us, we were all hugged and patted on the back, we shook hands with everyone and one of them actually kissed me one the cheek. We were bombarded with questions as they led us inside:

“How many soldiers did we have?”

“Were we in contact with the government?”

“Why didn’t Mr. Tucker come back?”

We tried to answer them but it wasn’t until a man hushed everyone else and introduced himself as Evan Moore were we able to catch a moment to gather our wits and answer the questions more properly. I let the Lt. do that, while Rico watched on intently I quietly wandered around the building. They had done well, cases of canned goods, bottled water, soda and ramen noodles were stacked over my head along one wall. Sleeping bags and mats opposite that. I walked between the camp beds and sleeping mats a strange feeling coming over me. I kept my rifle shouldered but the feeling I was being scrutinized would not go away. As I turned a corner and started up the stairwell to the second floor when I heard them behind me; children. I turned around to face them.

“Is that a real gun?” a boy a little older than me, maybe all of thirteen, stood at the head of a pack of about eight children; the youngest about five, the oldest a girl with hollow vacant eyes who looked to be perhaps fifteen.

I was dumbfounded, “Sure, yeah it is.” I said.

“Where did-ja get it?” the boy asked.

I was having problems figuring out what he was asking so I said truthfully.

“The armory?”

“Duh, no shit Sherlock, I meant why do they let you carry one?”

I looked at them and realized none carried weapons, I had the .308 M4, a 9mm Beretta and my newest addition a 6” hunting knife in a sheath on my belt, I suddenly felt over dressed for the party. I didn’t feel very comfortable so I rested my hand on the holster and released the strap that held the 9 mm in place. The sound of the Velcro caught them off guard and there was a pause. The boy was quite a bit bigger than me but I had the feeling he hadn’t been in many actual fights and probably none with the Zs, he said

“Let me see it.”

“I don’t think so.” I said.

The rest of the group was silent as we played out a game of nerves,

“Why not?” he asked.

He stepped closer. My eyes didn’t leave his and he hesitated when I didn’t back up.

“First, Its mine, second I don’t know you.”

“Give it here!” he demanded.

He reached for my rifle, he should have reached for the hand gun instead because as he reached for the rifle on my shoulder I drew my pistol and whipping it up as fast as I could I hit him on the side of the temple with it and down he went. I stepped back expecting a charge from the others but they stood frozen in place, what is wrong with these guys I thought. The boy moaned when a woman’s voice broke the tension,

“JOHNNY! What on Earth are you doing??” Janey demanded from the doorway behind me.

I turned and went right up to her, she was holding herself up with both hands on the door jamb, her leg was in one of those nylon braces people wear when they have a knee injury.

“Janey!! I barked and went right to her, wrapping my arms around her. She oophed a little but I felt her patting my back, she was alive and as happy to see me as I was to see her.

“I’m glad to see you too.” She paused, “why did you hit David?” she asked.

I looked back and saw that some of the others were helping him to sit up.

“I didn’t shoot him.” I said defensively.

“I can see that.” she said.

I could tell that wasn’t what she wanted to know. I sighed deeply and said

“Dipstick here went for my rifle.” I said.

“Ahh, I see. Well, kids don’t carry weapons in this camp.” she said.

She turned and I helped her limp to a nearby bed.

“That’s stupid.” I said, “How can they defend themselves?” I asked.

Janey said “They don’t have enough to go around, hardly any ammo either. Didn’t Mr. Tucker tell you guys that?”

I uncomfortably said something along the lines of that he might have but we came to check on things ourselves. She asked who had come with me when I told her, she asked why didn’t Tucker come back and I said that I would explain later when the group of kids entered the room with us.

It turned out that hitting David was kind of a big deal, his father was on guard duty but had been sent for and there was no shortage of people who seemed intent to shove their big ol’ honkers in where they were not needed. They were yelling at Janey which I thought was pretty stupid so after a bit I decided that I had enough and I told them to knock it off. They looked at me like I was the one being stupid, but only for a moment because they immediately started to talk over me like I wasn’t there again. So I picked up my pack and rifle and started towards the stairs but I was suddenly brought up short by a man who grabbed onto my rifle sling and demanded that I turn it over to him. Well, that was what he was in the middle of saying when I spun around and pulling the hammer back on my M9, shoved it up towards his face so that it tilted his head back a bit when it came to rest under his chin.

“AS YOU WERE JOHNNY!” came a harsh female voice as Lt. Klein entered the room from the opposite stairwell. To be honest I didn’t really know what that meant but the man, who turned out to be David’s Dad, froze so I did too. I didn’t turn to face her; I kept my eyes on the big man who still hadn’t released my rifle. She didn’t reach for my pistol which was a good thing because my finger was on the trigger and the safety was off.

“Lower your weapon, Johnny” she commanded in a softer voice.

“Not until peckerwood here releases my rifle.” I answered.

I heard Rico snicker and he stepped closer untangling the man’s fingers from my weapon. I lowered my pistol but only to gut level. One of the new people asked what was going on, the man said he was confiscating weapons from “this kid”. I nearly shot him but I kept my cool and didn’t say anything. Everyone started to talk at once so the majority was ushered from the room. I listened how dangerous it was to let kids near weapons, how I had struck David unprovoked and how I clearly didn’t understand firearm safety. Klein waited for my response so I told her that they were dicks, how David had tried to take my weapon, how his father had done the same thing and what I did in each case. I then told them I knew Tucker’s rule of gun safety: Never point a gun at a person unless you are willing to kill them. I let that sink in a bit then sat down.

Dr. Carter and Lt. Klein spoke for a minute before they reprimanded everyone who was remotely involved: David, his Dad, me, Janey, the kids, the adults. Basically we had to agree to play nice, leave stuff alone that wasn’t ours and not kill each other. I kept glaring at David’s Dad just to impress upon him the fact that I would NOT be disarmed; ever. My death beam flickered over to Janey when she whispered that I sounded a lot like Tucker; that hurt my feelings but I was able to recover quickly enough.

That night we made a radio call back to the lodge prior to having a formal meeting with the leaders of their group. Lucy insisted on telling me about her adventures during the day but she assured me that not to worry I would get so see her soon. Tucker also asked to speak to me just as I was about to hand the mic over to the Lieutenant.

“John?” He said, “Look, I want you to keep an eye open if you can for potential fighters, people we can count on.”

I cringed at his use of the phrase “we can count on”, but to be honest I was curious as to why he didn’t ask the Lieutenant so I asked him.

“Because you know what it takes just as much as the L.T. Besides I trust you more than anyone else.”

Just for a moment I felt a little sorry for the son of a bitch, the only one he thought he could count on hated him. But I said that I would then I leaned out of our vehicle and called over to the Lieutenant so she could get her report in too. I walked inside and sat at the table where the meeting was to be held and waited. I got several strange looks but I ignored them. A few moments later Rico and the L.T. came in and sat next to me. Janey hobbled in and sat on the far side of Rico so she was between us and where their people were going to sit. Eventually Dr. Carter, Mr. Moore and two other people I didn’t know yet came in and sat down. The two new comers were introduces as Jeff Blaine and Diane West. Mr. Blaine was in his late seventies and was in charge of keeping track of their supplies and such. Ms. West was in her late thirties or early forties; she was thin and had a hard looking face with a pinched nose. As far as I could tell she was there because no one was brave enough to tell her not to be.

It didn’t take long for the nitty gritty to be set out for us. They had too many people and not enough weapons. They had some supplies but eventually would need more food. A fellow named Finch had rigged up a boiler in the back and they were distilling river water so that wasn’t an issue. We were thirteen and they were forty seven, a nice round sixty in all. The Post Office was actually a lot bigger than the lodge but not as comfortable, the Post Office was more defensible but not nearly as well hidden nor did it have the food production potential but it was closer to scrounging opportunities. Then Lt. Klein told them we had brought four M-4 carbines and six M-9 pistols. We brought about 500 rounds of 7.62 NATO for the M-4s and 400 rounds of 9mm for the pistols. They seemed quite happy about that and then she said we were prepared to leave our radio behind assuming we could work up a power supply for it. As far as food went we really couldn’t supply much right now but perhaps we could assist in scrounging efforts. Both groups agreed that keeping a low profile and not drawing any attention from the Z2s was imperative.

After some discussion it was decided that we would be taking seven people from their group home with us. They said that they had several operating vehicles and between one of those and our Humvee transportation should not be an issue. Ms. West spoke for the first time and taking out a slip of paper she read off a list of seven volunteers who would be leaving with us in the morning. There was Candace Hardy and her two daughters, Gina and Jordan, a college student named Kelsey Longacre, Genevieve Boudreaux who was from New Orleans originally but had retired here several years before, Sarah King who had run a local diner and a man named Vernon Lowe, a retired mechanic. I looked over at Rico and he shrugged so I turned to look at Lt. Klein but she wouldn’t make eye contact and wasn’t saying a thing so I did.

“That’s bullshit.” I said.

“Johnny!” Janey interrupted but I wasn’t going to let this go.

“Look, these may be nice people and all but how are we going to feed and protect them? You gotta give us at least one fighter in the bunch.”

I said the anger in my voice barely disguised.

“That’s enough Johnny.” the lieutenant said.

But when I looked at Dr. Carter he knew I was right and he wouldn’t look at me either.

“The boy’s right, Lieutenant” Dr. Carter said, “but we just don’t have the personnel, we can barely provide for ourselves here.”

There was a moment of silence then Ms. West spoke up “I’ll go.”

The reaction was immediate,

“NO!” Mr. Moore said, “Diane, we need you too much!”

Ms. West didn’t take her eyes off of me.

“No, Walt, you don’t, you needed Clay and he is dead.”

There was a moment of silence then Dr. Carter raised both hands in mock surrender.

“Alright, fine, Diane will go too if that is okay with you.” he said but to my surprise he wasn’t looking at Lt. Klein he was looking at me.

I suddenly felt uncomfortable; I had grown used to these people treating me like a kid so this was a new deal for me. I looked around the table from Rico to Janey and the Lt. then finally back to make eye contact to Ms. West.

“Fine, you will be fine.” I said a little waver in my voice but everyone seemed to settle down after that. We were shown to a room for the night and we crashed.

Later that night, in the total darkness, I heard Janey speaking;

“Johnny? You awake?” I grunted affirmative and she said “That was amazing.”

“What was?” I asked. “How you got those people to listen to you. Can you imagine yourself doing something like that a month ago?” she said. I was silent for a moment, trying to remember a month ago, I failed, so I answered her honestly;

“No, no, I can’t.”