Desperate Times Two

By

Nicholas Antinozzi

Published By: Nicholas Antinozzi

Copyright © 2011 by Nicholas Antinozzi

Cover Design by Steve Peterson

Edited by Sue McInnis MS

AMAZON EDITION

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase another copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this ebook and you did not purchase it, or if it was not purchased for your use only, please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy.

The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarities to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

Forward

The last of the free Americans lived on canned food, bottled water, and fear. They lived on the edge, waiting to be killed or captured by the very soldiers sworn to protect them. Desperate to survive, they lived as criminals because their own government had made it illegal for them to exist as free men and women. Centuries of precious knowledge, wasted.

The reservations had simply been renamed and were now called relocation camps.

Those who remained lived on their wits and whatever foresight they may have had. Despite all of these hardships, most agreed it was the dearth of outside information that bothered them the most. Gone were the days of cell phones and internet connections, television and radio, newspapers and mailboxes. Information had become a privilege, tightly controlled by those who remained in power.

They lived as castaways with only blind faith and a sliver of hope that they would ever make it back to their former lives.

Chapter 1

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” – The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The economic cataclysm had shattered their fragile system in mere hours. Most of the population had been caught unprepared and had subsequently been herded like cattle into relocation camps. Jimmy Logan had been lucky, for he had friends who had seen this coming and had wisely planned ahead. He followed them north, and they left a trail of tears behind them. Death seemed to be waiting behind every corner as desperate souls, trying to evade capture by the National Guard, fought to save themselves and their families from starvation. Jimmy had buried more friends than he cared to remember.

The nine who remained had become as close as any family. Jimmy certainly thought so, but he had been orphaned during his senior year of high school. Theirs was a diverse group, and like many families, they had their fair share of differences.

Ken and Patty Dahlgren, the host couple, were in their early sixties and were childless. Before the crash the Dahlgrens had owned a small fabricating shop that had fallen on hard times. The Dahlgrens had invited many of their employees and neighbors to their lake home in Ely, Minnesota. They had seen the looming crisis and had prepared for its arrival. Ken made the hard choices, while Patty acted as his physical conscience. Ken stood six feet four and still possessed the build of an athlete. He wore his silver hair clipped short, and his square jaw demanded respect. Patty ran the house and was a mother to all. She could usually be found smiling or offering encouraging words. They had spent their lives working side by side and were inseparable.

Ken immediately put the group to work, and they painstakingly constructed a log wall around the perimeter of the yard. This gave the lake home the appearance of an old-fashioned military fort. That wall had saved their lives when they were attacked by their party-animal neighbors. Many had died.

Julie Hartman, Jimmy’s girl, was in her early thirties and had tagged along to Ely with a friend. She saw the world as being black and white with very few exceptions. Julie had the girl-next-door good looks, and she prided herself on her fitness. She had learned to use a gun and had killed when she had to. Before Black Friday she had been engaged to a man who had also foreseen the crisis. He had unceremoniously dumped her and had quickly moved away. In Julie’s mind, Jimmy still had a lot to prove to her. She wasn’t about to give her heart away to be broken. The two had been high school sweethearts, but Jimmy had drifted away after the car accident that had claimed his family.

Bill Huggins was Jimmy’s former neighbor in the manufactured home community just outside of Crown. Bill’s ex-wife had dropped Cindy, their seventeen year old daughter, on his doorstep at the first sign of trouble. Jimmy knew Bill was incapable of providing for his daughter, and he had invited both along to join him on the trek north—without permission. That decision had almost cost Jimmy his place with the group. Bill was a very gifted mechanic, but hadn’t worked in years because of a phantom back injury. Overweight and out of shape, Bill spent his hours seeking food while avoiding work. Conversations with Bill seemed to revolve around his physical condition and complaints about whatever was on his mind at that particular time. People avoided Bill, who had a knack for putting his worst foot forward.

Bill had redeemed himself by saving them all from a certain death.

Cindy, lost in the middle of two self-centered parents, had turned to Goth. She had shown up on the Dahlgrens’ doorstep wearing black lipstick, silver chains, and black clothing. Over the course of their stay, Cindy had grown out of her Gothic stage and had settled in with the rest of the group. Inspired by Rita, Patty’s loner friend, Cindy had come out of her shell and had finally been accepted as an adult.

Dr. Ted Benson, who insisted everyone call him Doc, had known the Dahlgrens for decades. Doc was often mistaken for a logger. He preferred flannel and his frazzled, salt and pepper beard didn’t fit his profession. He was also nearly seven feet tall, broad in the shoulders, with hands large enough to palm beach balls. Doc was liberal in his politics and was outspoken when it came to his beliefs. He had arrived after being rescued from his hospital by Jimmy and his friend, Jon. Jon had been wounded in a later rescue attempt and had died at Doc’s hands.

Burt Sharpen, a retired Minneapolis homicide detective, had arrived at the Dahlgren compound with a group of Christian Fundamentalists. Lost, he had followed them because he had no other options. He had been stranded after renegade bikers had killed his friend and had disabled their vehicle. The only African American of their group, Burt, carried himself with a cop’s swagger and confidence. People were drawn to him because of his quick wit and dark sense of humor. He was also a big man, but whereas Doc was tall, Burt was closer to average height and built like a cement block.

Jimmy had worked for Ken and had been instrumental in their survival. He was a former boxer, clean cut, and addicted to his cigarettes. Alone in the world, he had been taken under the Dahlgrens’ wing and had been working his way up the ladder when the crisis struck. He had been engaged to Paula Peterson, the spoiled daughter of wealthy parents in the suburbs of Minneapolis. Paula had abandoned Jimmy on Black Friday, but she and her family had somehow managed to find Jimmy when their fortune had suddenly disappeared. Paula’s parents had been killed, and she now resided in a relocation camp. Jimmy, unaware Paula was trying to find him, had fallen in love with Julie in the interim. Paula’s sudden arrival on the scene had caused many problems, and some of them still lingered.

They had nearly been fooled into thinking the crisis had passed. A police cruiser had arrived, and two uniformed men had told them all just that. There had been a mass exodus to Ely, where once again the National Guard had set a trap to capture the unwitting. Jimmy and the others had only escaped by the barest of margins.

During the days and weeks that followed their return to Ken’s lake house, Jimmy could see something in his friends he had failed to notice in the economy—they were slipping into a Great Depression of their own. The big house became as quiet as a mausoleum as everyone became lost in their own thoughts. They had been promised the worst was behind them and that they could return to their homes. They had been promised law and order had been restored, which had been nothing but calculated lies. They had fallen for the lies, and the bitter truth had hit them hard. The National Guard was still rounding up people like stray cattle, penning them up in relocation camps and shooting those who resisted. To Jimmy, it seemed everyone had resigned themselves into thinking they would be the next to go. He certainly felt that way.

The daily grind had ground to a halt. Ken had suddenly quit giving orders and spent his days tinkering on small projects. The other men shuffled around the property without purpose, and each day became as the one before. The meals were all variations of the same canned theme; conversations became short and strained. Smiles, once vibrant and plentiful, had become increasingly rare as the days turned to weeks.

At first Jimmy had fought against the current of apathy sweeping their camp. He had seen it coming, and he had even warned the others against it. Like all forms of apathy, it was highly contagious and impossible to shake. After a short but spirited battle, Jimmy gave up and floated downstream into his own pool of depression. Bill and Rita drifted apart while Ken and Patty clung to each other for support. Doc and Burt distanced themselves from everyone, including each other, and rode their own waves of despair. Julie could usually be found with her nose buried in one of Patty’s collection of paperback novels. Jimmy began to feel as if she had traded him in for a fantasy world of words. He could wander off for hours, and it was rare for her to even comment on it.

They had become prisoners in their own home. Time seemed to stand still as one summer day slowly elapsed into the next. Some days it rained, while others it did not. That was what they talked about at the breakfast table. Someone was sure to mention the temperature while they had their lunch. Dinner had become a time to speculate on tomorrow’s weather.

Jimmy began taking long walks outside their compound to stay in shape and to see if anyone else was out there. Nearly three weeks would pass before he practically bumped into the stranger. There had been no gun-pulling or warnings, and the two men walked up to each other like old friends. Jimmy was starved for information from the outside world, and the man was able to satisfy some of his hunger.

He introduced himself as Tony Clerk, and he had carried the mail in his previous life. He was a large man, roughly Jimmy’s age, with cherub cheeks and long black hair that hung to his shoulders. He had an easygoing manner which he explained away as having nothing left to lose. Tony wore a backpack and a shotgun slung over one shoulder, carrying a scoped rifle in a pair of meaty hands. A revolver hung at his hip. Jimmy took the weapons in stride as times had changed. Jimmy carried one of the M-16s and a small backpack containing a sandwich, a bottle of water, and two extra clips of ammo.

The two men sat down on the side of the road under the shade of a tall pine. A midafternoon breeze had picked up, but it was warm and sunny. Squirrels chirped and birds called from inside the woods as if everything was right in the world. Jimmy traded his sandwich for some beef jerky which he ate slowly. Tony Clerk did the same with Jimmy’s sandwich.

“So,” Jimmy asked, lighting up a cigarette. “Where are you headed?”

Tony smiled before answering. “I’m going to a place called Bailey’s Lodge,” he said, unable to contain the excitement in his voice. “Have you ever heard of it?”

Jimmy nodded. The Lodge had been around forever, and although he had never been there himself, he had heard quite a bit about it. Bailey’s had a reputation of being a first-class operation that catered to the well-to-do who were looking for wilderness with amenities.

“I heard they have a pretty good thing going on up there,” Tony continued. “They don’t turn you away, and they don’t ask any questions. Supposedly there are a few hundred people living there, and the owner has enough chow to feed thousands. At least that’s what I heard. You don’t know what to believe these days. The old guy who told me sure seemed like he was telling the truth, said he was going to go find his kids and bring them back there.”

“Really?” asked Jimmy, somewhat shocked that there was another camp within ten miles of his own. “What else did he say?”

“He said that it’s share and share alike. He said everyone was treated as an equal. I know it sounds like he was full of crap and too good to be true, but you had to meet this guy. He didn’t look like a liar and he really had no reason to. I met him on the road. It was getting late and we made camp. This was over a week ago, just north of Duluth.”

Jimmy had stretched out in the tall grass, smoking with his hands on his chest, looking up at the blue sky and slowly absorbing what Tony was telling him. This would be big news in his camp. He listened as Tony relayed what the old, nameless man had told him about how things were run at Bailey’s. What struck him most was when Tony went on to say Bailey’s existed with some sort of official permission. The old man didn’t say how, but he had insisted they were safe from the Guard there.

Jimmy would smoke three cigarettes during their visit at the side of the deserted highway. He gave his new friend the abbreviated version of their experiences since leaving their homes at the beginning of the crisis. Tony listened, said all the right things, and asked all of the right questions, but he never said a word about what he’d gone through himself or how he’d survived these past months. Jimmy thought about that, waiting for the information to be offered, curious about why it wasn’t. The longer he thought about it, the more he decided it was better to leave it alone. Tony seemed like a good man, and he certainly had his own reasons for not sharing.

Jimmy invited Tony to eat dinner and spend the night with them. He wasn’t sure how much Ken would like it, but he found he really didn’t care. Tony gratefully accepted Jimmy’s offer, and the two men hiked the few short miles back to Ken’s. Tony went on to talk about some other things that the old man had told him about Bailey’s. He said the camp was run by an old hippie and that the people acted as if it were 1969. He also said with a wide grin that there were supposed to be ten times as many women there as men. “I’m a lonely man,” Tony had said. “And I like those odds.”

Jimmy nodded, thinking Tony had just spoiled his own chances of ever going to Bailey’s. Julie would never say it, but she would hate that type of competition; Jimmy was sure of it. She had always had a jealous streak; this had been an issue during their past relationship, and Jimmy doubted it was something people could change about themselves.

The sun was still high in the sky when they arrived at Ken’s at just after four in the afternoon. Whitecaps rolled across Ken’s lake, and the wind whistled in the trees. Tony seemed impressed by their wall as he looked at it with an appreciating eye.

“Open up!” hollered Jimmy. “I’ve brought a friend home for dinner!”

Tony smiled at Jimmy as they waited for the gate to be opened. “You guys aren’t cannibals, are you?” he asked.

“Nah,” Jimmy said. “Still, you might not want to get too close to Bill while he’s eating. You might lose a finger.”

Tony nodded. He had heard quite a bit about Bill Huggins during the last few hours. Jimmy wondered if he’d given him an adequate amount of warning.

Ken embarrassed Jimmy by grilling Tony for twenty minutes before allowing him inside the gate. Burt joined him, but he simply stood in front of Tony like a human polygraph. It wasn’t until Burt gave Ken the nod that Tony was allowed inside the compound.

They were met on the other side of the gate by the rest of their number. They were led to the picnic table in the back yard. Tony, red-faced and flustered by the attention, retold the others much of what he had told Jimmy as they sipped powdered lemonade from plastic glasses. Ken listened for only a short while but disappeared back inside the house. Jimmy suspected why, but he didn’t follow him inside. Ken was going to have to get used to the fact that if what Tony was saying were true, they would likely lose some of their number. Life here had grown stale, and their wall would offer no protection from the National Guard.

They suddenly had an option.

Patty and Rita made a cake they devoured after yet another dinner of beef stew. Tony seemed to soak up the attention. For that one night everyone came out of their shells and things returned to normal. Bill boasted to Tony about how he had saved the day. Rita sat next to Bill, and once again she seemed to hang on his every word. Ken and Patty cheerfully bickered over small details about what had made them decide to prepare for such a calamity. Doc asked Tony if Bailey’s had a clinic, while Cindy openly dreamed of some type of school and kids her own age. Julie sat next to Jimmy, clutching his hand with unabashed excitement. Jimmy waited for Tony to say something about how the women outnumbered the men, but he never did.

Tony left the following morning after breakfast with a big smile and a wave.

Chapter 2

The day would pass and would be followed by another, but the next day the conversation turned away from the weather and headed straight to Bailey’s. This was a huge development, and everyone had seemed to need a few days to digest the news. The breakfast table that morning was buzzing with discussion. Ken listened for a few minutes before standing up and raising his arms. “I want you all to know,” he said, calmly stating his position. “That Patty and I are extremely grateful for everything you’ve done for us, and none of you need to worry about us should you decide to go stay at Bailey’s. There will be no hard feelings, and you are all welcome back at any time. This is our home and we’re staying, and that’s final. Does everyone understand me?”

“Oh,” Bill said. “You guys gotta come along. We’ll take that place over.”

“No, we don’t,” replied Ken. “And I suggest you not try anything so foolish. You don’t know anything about those people, only what we heard from Tony. My advice is to go over there and check it out. The roads are as safe as they’re ever going to be. You could even drive there if you felt like risking it. I’m thinking it’s about ten miles from here.”

“That’s good advice,” Burt said. “Thanks, Ken, but I’ll be staying on if you don’t mind.”

“Oh, isn’t that nice?” asked Patty. “God bless you, Burt. Of course you can stay with us.”

Ken nodded and looked at Jimmy for just a second. Jimmy knew what the look was for, but he knew better than to commit without knowing how Julie felt.

“I hate to say this, but I think I agree with Bill,” Julie announced. “I think we should all move to Bailey’s. I don’t think we should split up, and if what Tony said was true, we wouldn’t have to worry about the Guard anymore.”

“She’s right,” said Doc. “I think divided we fall.”

Ken shook his head in a way that left no doubt he would stand alone if he had to. There was no way he would abandon his home. Patty’s expression told the same story, and just like that, their camp had become divided.

Ken continued to shoot Jimmy glances from his side of the breakfast table, and Jimmy found he couldn’t meet Ken’s cold blue eyes.

Lunch at the picnic table lasted two hours as the discussion bordered on open hostilities. Ken defended his right to defend what he owned, while Julie and Doc both hammered Ken and Patty with rhetorical questions. Jimmy rode on the fence as long as he could, but Ken finally called him out on it. “What do you think, Jimmy?” he had asked. “Do you take us for a couple of fools?”

“That’s not fair,” said Doc, rising to his feet and standing behind Jimmy. He put both of his hands on Jimmy’s shoulders. “Don’t put him in the middle of this. Can’t you see that he’s torn enough the way it is?”

“That’s a crock of shit, Doc,” Ken said. “All I’m asking for is his opinion.”

“He feels like I do,” said Julie. “We want everyone to leave as a group.”

The sun suddenly seemed very hot, and the air grew thick. Jimmy could remember no such conversation, and he turned to question Julie about it, but Ken cut him off. “How nice of the both of you to decide what’s best for me and Patty,” he said, sarcastically. “Tell Jimmy he doesn’t need to worry about us; we’re fine. You might also want to remind him that without our help, he’d either be dead or locked up inside a relocation camp. I suppose that goes for most of you,” he added, wistfully.

“Kenneth,” Patty reprimanded. “You can check your attitude at the door. I’m hearing entirely too much pride in that voice of yours. I don’t need to quote the Bible here, do I?”

Ken frowned, but he backed down and continued to pick at his beef stew. Jimmy wanted to rush to his defense. He had never even considered that Ken and Patty would leave their home. He was confused about why Julie had told such a whopping lie, but he didn’t think this was the right time to call her out on it. He sat in a red-faced silence, angry that each of them seemed so comfortable dragging him into the fray. Burt’s eyes told him that he understood. Doc seemed to be mulling it over.

“Jimmy thinks you’re a crazy bastard,” Bill suddenly blurted out. “He thinks you’re going to get Patty killed.”

“That’s a damn lie and you know it!” roared Jimmy.

“What else did he say?” Ken growled, taking to his feet and pointing at Jimmy.

“That he’s sick of stew. And we should all go to Bailey’s as a group.”

“Liar!” shouted Jimmy from his place at the picnic table.

“Is that so?” Ken asked as his face grew dark with the approach of an emotional storm. “What have we done to deserve this type of treatment? I told you all that you were free to go and not to drag us into it. I’m sorry you feel that way, Jimmy, you should’ve spoken up if you didn’t like the stew. I could have run to town and picked up some groceries. Maybe I could have gotten us all a nice pizza.”

“Stop it, Ken,” Jimmy said.

“I’m just getting warmed up.”

“Kenneth,” Patty said, “please.” She then gathered up her plate and rushed into the house.

“I’m sorry, dear,” Ken said, slowly standing up from the table and crossing his arms. “You ungrateful bastards,” he said. “We give you everything we have, and you kick us in the face for it? Excuse me? Look at what you’ve done, upsetting Patty like that and insulting the both of us. I want you to go and to go as soon as possible. Am I making myself clear?”

“As a bell,” snipped Julie.

“As the moon,” added Bill.

“I’m staying,” said Rita.

“Me too,” agreed Burt. “I’m with you, Ken.”

“Look,” said Cindy, showing wisdom beyond her years. “We shouldn’t be fighting about this. This is foolish, and it isn’t getting us anywhere. Ken said it’s okay if we want to go check out Bailey’s, and that’s what I’d like to do. I want to hang out with some kids my own age. Is that so difficult to understand? We shouldn’t have to feel like we’re betraying you, Mr. Dahlgren. That’s not fair, either.”

“Ken. Please, Cindy, call me Ken. You’re right, and I’m sorry for blowing up like I did. I was hurt and so was Patty. We’ll get over it. Look, we don’t want to lose any of you. Can’t you see that? We’re like a family here. You’re making us feel like the ugly girl at the dance. That’s not right.”

“I’ve been the ugly girl at the dance,” replied Cindy. “Looking back, I can see it was because I chose to go against the grain.”

“Well put,” said Doc. “Brava.”

“You mean bravo,” said Bill. Doc rolled his eyes.

“All right,” said Ken, holding his arms up in defeat. “My whole point is that none of you has any idea of what to expect when you get to Bailey’s. That fella, Tony, he might have been given some good information. He may have also been sold a bucket of crap. You just don’t know. Why don’t you go and have a look for yourselves and then make up your minds. That is the prudent course. That’s all I have to say on the subject.” He quickly picked up his plate and followed Patty into the house.

“Nice going,” muttered Burt as he picked up his half-eaten plate of stew. “How quickly things change,” he added, ominously.

“I agree,” said Rita, and she quickly followed Burt up to the house.

“Why did you guys lie like that?” Jimmy asked, waiting for the screen door to close before he spoke. “What kind of bullshit was that?”

“I’m sorry, Jimmy,” Doc said. “That was my idea. You can go ahead and hate me if you’d like. I thought you would be the deciding factor. I thought Ken might listen to reason and hoped he would listen to you.”

“But you guys put words in my mouth.”

Julie took Jimmy’s hand. “Only because we love the Dahlgrens, and we want to stick together. We don’t want to leave them here.”

“You insulted their food, Bill,” Jimmy said. “That was a cheap shot, and you made it sound like I was the one who took it.”

“I was adlibbing,” replied Bill. “I had to say something.”

Jimmy groaned and covered his face in his hands.

“I propose that we take a vote,” said Doc. “All in favor of driving over to Bailey’s tomorrow, please signify by raising your right hand.”

Jimmy uncovered his face to see each of them had their right hand in the air and that all eyes were on him. Reluctantly, he joined them.

The following morning was warm, and the air was thick with humidity. The morning was also as silent as any they had spent at the house. Jimmy felt sick to his stomach every time he and Ken made eye contact. He found that he couldn’t even look at Patty. He would tell them the truth, but not until they returned. There had been enough division, and it was time to stop the bleeding.

They packed enough to spend a long weekend at Bailey’s should they be invited and should they decide to stay that long. Doc gave each of them silent instructions as he took control of the planning. It was he who decided they all go in one car, Bill’s Honda, and that Jimmy would ride in the cramped backseat with Julie and Cindy. Jimmy went with the flow, feeling more confused with each passing minute. Julie was especially attentive that morning, and she gave him no fewer than four long kisses when they found themselves alone. The kisses were a powerful argument to hold his tongue, which is just what Jimmy did.

There were no goodbyes as they opened the gate and walked across the gravel road to Bill’s waiting Honda. After cramming their gear into the trunk and themselves into the car, Bill fired up the little Japanese engine, and they drove away from the compound in a cloud of dust.

The feeling of rats fleeing a sinking ship began to settle into Jimmy’s gut. He could also feel the excitement of the others, and it felt almost as if they were dancing on Ken’s grave. Jimmy hated that feeling, and that was when he decided it was up to him to find as many faults as he could about Bailey’s and to point them out to the others. He would sabotage their little excursion, but carefully. This was wrong, all of it. Ken and Patty had laid it all on the line for each of them. And now, here they were, ready to abandon them for the next new thing that came along.

“Turn here,” Doc said to Bill, pointing to his left.

“I don’t think so,” replied Bill.

“He knows where he’s going, Bill,” said Julie. “He lives up here, remember?”

“I know how to get there.”

“Dad,” exclaimed Cindy. “Will you just listen to him?”

“Fine,” said Bill, and he jerked hard on the wheel on the gravel road. The Honda lurched to the left and quickly back to the right which caused the three passengers in the back to be tossed around like crash test dummies.

“Slow down!” ordered Julie, as they untangled themselves in the crowded backseat.

Bill drove at a steady speed and they bounced along the potholes in the overloaded Honda. Both windows were open, and warm humid air washed over Jimmy’s sweating face. He felt totally out of control of the situation, and he hoped that Bill wouldn’t kill them all. Suddenly Bill hit the brakes and slowed the Honda down to a crawl. “Look,” Bill said, pointing to the road ahead of them.

The carcass of a bull moose was stretched out on the road ahead of them, looking sad and defeated in the gray morning light. As they drove closer, they could see the moose had been stuck by no fewer than three arrows and savaged by carnivores. They didn’t see the unfortunate hunter until they had driven past the body of the moose.

“Holy crap,” said Bill.

The hunter had been torn to shreds. A compound bow lay not far from the savaged body.

“Oh, my God,” shrieked Cindy. “What happened?”

“The wolves got him,” Doc said. “These woods have been hunted out, and my guess is that they’re starving. I’ve never seen anything like it. Fascinating.”

“Not for the hunter,” said Julie. “That must’ve been awful.”

Bill continued to drive, and both Jimmy and Julie turned to get one last look at the grotesque spectacle. Jimmy wondered how long the man had been dead. He wondered where he had come from and if he had a family waiting for him to return with food. The thought made him sad, and he pushed it away. He had seen enough death and wondered when it would stop being so commonplace. He hoped it was soon.

Doc instructed Bill to make another left turn, followed by a quick right. They drove the last five miles in silence. The big billboard on the side of the road told them they had reached their destination. Bailey’s was just one mile ahead. Someone had taken a spray can and had painted Utopia in red paint onto the billboard. Jimmy shook his head to himself; nothing in this new world even vaguely resembled Utopia, and using the word seemed almost blasphemous. They drove on, and the road wound around through the woods. A lake bordered the road on the right. Tall white pines stood like sentries at the entrance. There was a shack there, perhaps used by school children waiting for the bus in the morning. Two men stepped out.

They recognized the first one immediately. It was Tony Clerk. He gave them a big wave and an even bigger smile. “Hi guys,” he said. “I was hoping you’d show up!”

The other man was short and stocky, and his expression was cold and uninviting.

Bill and Doc opened their doors and stepped out of the Honda, allowing Jimmy, Julie, and Cindy the room to squeeze out into the gray light. “Hi Tony,” Jimmy said, shaking the big man’s hand. “I see they’ve already put you to work.”

“I’m just filling in for Chuck for a few days,” Tony said. “He’s out hunting.”

Jimmy and Julie exchanged a glance, but they said nothing.

“Really?” asked Bill. “Because we saw a hunter all ripped apart by wolves or something. There isn’t much left of him.”

Jimmy groaned as the stocky man charged Bill. “What are you talking about?” he nearly shouted at Bill. “Where did you see this?”

“Oh, about five miles back. There was this dead moose there, and he was next to it. They really chewed him up.”

The stocky man pushed Bill back towards the Honda. “Show me!” he ordered.

Bill shrugged his shoulders and looked at Jimmy. “I suppose I could. I was hoping to get something to eat first.”

“Get in the car!”

The group watched in silence as Bill climbed behind the wheel and the short man jumped into the passenger seat. Jimmy thought he saw tears in the man’s eyes. Bill fired up the little car, and he quickly made a three-point turn before speeding back in the direction they’d come from.

“Who was that guy?” asked Julie.

“That was Myron,” said Tony, shaking his head. “Chuck is his brother. I sure as hell hope that wasn’t him you ran across. He’s all Myron has left.”

“Was he a bow hunter?” asked Doc.

Tony’s expression was enough to answer the question. He sighed and scratched his head. “I should have gone along with them,” he mumbled. “Myron’s going to need me.”

“Well, it’s too late for that,” said Doc.

A man of about Jimmy’s age was walking down to greet them, and Tony suddenly straightened. “Mars,” he said, “these are the people I was telling you about. They saw a dead bow hunter on the road.”

“Chuck?” asked the newcomer.

“Has to be,” said Tony. “One of their people took Myron out to see the body.”

“How did he die?”

“They seem to think he was attacked by wolves.”

“That’s a real bummer, man.”

Jimmy thought that was an awfully strange response to something so serious. He studied the man whom Tony had called Mars. He stood a good five inches taller than himself, and he carried at least forty pounds more muscle. He wore a red tank top over blue jeans, and with his blonde feathered hair, he looked like he had just stepped out of the seventies. He was clean shaven with glowing white teeth. The more Jimmy studied the man’s face, the less he liked it—a face that looked sculpted with piercing blue eyes over an unblemished nose and a square jaw that exuded confidence.

“I’m sorry,” the newcomer said, “how rude of me. My name is Mars, and welcome to Utopia.”

“Hi,” said Cindy and Julie in a single voice.

“Pleased to meet you,” said Doc.

“Hey,” said Jimmy, forcing a smile onto his face.

Mars asked each of them a few questions using their correct names, which Jimmy thought was odd. Names seemed lost on him the moment after he was introduced to someone new. Mars gave them all a salesman smile, and he nodded in approval. “Groovy,” he said. “Prepare to step back into a simpler time.”

“That shouldn’t be too tough,” chuckled Jimmy. “I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all been living in the Stone Age.”

Mars seemed to think about that for a moment before he spoke. “We’re trying to make the best of it, man. So, we chose an era that reflected our values and modeled our society after that period of time. The sixties fit us like a glove. We try to live in harmony with nature, if you can dig that. It’s really beautiful.”

“I lived through that era,” said Doc, scratching his bushy beard. “I hope everyone isn’t all hopped up on drugs. I wouldn’t want any part of it.”

Mars laughed. “Whoa, I never said anything like that. Look man, we don’t have any dopers here. Out in Utopia, we get high on life. Our drugs are love, music, and fresh air. Are you pickin’ up what I’m layin’ down?”

“I can dig it,” Julie said with a wide smile.

“Far out,” said Mars, returning her smile.

“Give me a break,” said Jimmy.

Julie slapped Jimmy on the arm, just hard enough to sting. “Keep your comments to yourself. We’re guests here, so don’t embarrass the rest of us.”

“Yeah,” said Cindy. “Why do you always have to be so negative?”

“They’re right,” agreed Mars. “You’re a real Debbie Downer, man. All I ask is that you open your minds and groove on what’s goin’ down. How hard could that be?”

All eyes were suddenly on Jimmy, and the girls both wore pleading expressions. Jimmy rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. “Fine,” he said. Jimmy took Julie by the arm. “Excuse me,” he said. “Can we have a moment?”

“That’s cool, man,” Mars said to Jimmy, putting his hand on Cindy’s shoulder and staring into her eyes. “Let me guess, you went to UMD. No, wait; I’ll bet you went to an Ivy League school. Am I right?”

Cindy was giggling as Jimmy led Julie out of earshot. Doc stared at them in exasperation, obviously wanting to get on with the tour. He crossed his arms and whistled some nameless tune.

“Where are you taking me?” asked Julie. “What’s going on?”

“I’ll tell you what’s going on,” Jimmy said. “Do you think you can quit acting like you’re thirteen years old? He’s not Brad Pitt, Julie. My God, could you be any more obvious?”

Julie whirled on him and her eyes grew dark. “Excuse me? Are you a little bit jealous? Funny how things change, isn’t it? When Paula was following you around like a lost puppy, that was okay? Now you’ve got a little competition and you’re seeing green. For your information, I’m not interested in him. He’s not my type.”

“Oh, give me a break.”

“No, I like my men stupid and insecure, just like you.”

“Perfect,” said Jimmy.

“Come on. Let’s go see what all the fuss is about. Don’t worry; I promise not to throw myself at Mars. Have a little faith, will ya?”

Jimmy nodded his head and followed Julie sheepishly back to the others. “What about Bill?” he asked. “Shouldn’t we wait for him?”

“He can catch up with us,” said Mars. “I’m sure Myron will take good care of him.”

Jimmy caught Tony’s eye, and his expression was grim. Jimmy felt sorry for Bill. They were probably loading Chuck’s bones in the back of the Honda right now, and that would be rough.

Chapter 3

They followed Mars up the road and past acres of bright green ferns scattered among the tall pines. The gravel road looped around and took them away from the lake before doubling back. Wildflowers dotted the landscape, and birds called from the trees. They were in a northern version of a jungle, and Jimmy couldn’t help but to admire its beauty. The air was warm, but then the road dipped the air noticeably cooled, and the hint of a mist hung suspended in the woods.

The road climbed again, and suddenly it opened up to reveal the majesty of what Mars had called Utopia, formerly Bailey’s. The old lodge was built out of pine logs, and it towered three stories above them. Log cabins lined the lakeshore where children played on a long, sandy beach. There were numerous outbuildings painted in shades of green and brown, each of them blending perfectly into the setting.

And that was when Jimmy began to notice something strange. Either most of the men had gone out hunting or Tony had been right about the ratio of men to women. Looking around, Jimmy thought he had died and gone to heaven. There seemed to be girls everywhere. Most were dressed in shorts and bikini tops, and he suddenly felt Julie’s elbow in his ribs. “Ouch,” he said.

“Try to keep your eyes in their sockets,” Julie hissed.

Mars must’ve heard the comment because he stopped walking and waited for them to join him. “We had over two hundred students visiting from Saint Catherine’s at the time of the collapse. We couldn’t send them away.”

“All girls?” asked Cindy.

“I’m afraid so,” answered Mars. “There are some young dudes too, but not many. We had about fifty other guests at the lodge when the bottom fell out. One group tried to leave in a caravan, but they had to turn around in Ely. Good thing too. We heard the National Guard was there and that they were rounding the citizens up and shipping them to relocation camps.”

“That’s true,” agreed Doc. “We’ve seen it.”

“That’s a bad trip,” Mars said, shaking his head, sadly. He then suddenly perked up. “Dr. Benson, would you mind if we started in our little clinic?”

“Please, call me Doc. Everyone else does. I’d love to.”

“We all have our special skills, and in case you decide you want to join us, it’s my responsibility to assign you each a position that suits you best. Everyone pulls their own weight here, man. We don’t want any loafers.” He then turned to Cindy. “Of course, you’ll be excused for classes. You’re going to love our school.”

Jimmy groaned inwardly. He was playing them like fish. Why couldn’t any of them see it? There was something bad here; Jimmy could smell it. People began to emerge from the buildings curious, wanting to get a good look at the newcomers Jimmy thought. Very few were men. That was when Jimmy began to notice something even more peculiar. Was it his imagination, or did all of the men have something in common? It was as if Mars had hand selected each of them to ensure that he had as little competition as possible.

“I’ll have to be honest with you, Doc,” Mars said, as he walked next to Doc at a leisurely pace. “The clinic isn’t much more than one of the smaller lodges. We house the clinic in a six-bedroom unit right down on the lake. Cool, huh?”

“Right on,” said Doc.

Jimmy elbowed Julie as he nodded his head at Doc. “Right on?” he mouthed to her, raising his eyebrows as far as he could.

“Quit staring at all of the girls,” Julie mouthed back at him. Her eyebrows were cross, and there was red in her cheeks.

“There it is,” Mars said as they topped a small rise that overlooked a private cove in the lake. Eight sprawling, multi-family lodges stood at the water’s edge. There was a private beach down on the cove. A volleyball game was in progress.

Julie’s elbow came in low, and Jimmy was only just barely able to block it. The all-female volleyball game had stopped, and it seemed as if all eyes were on him.

“The clinic is right here,” said Mars, pointing to the lodge that sat just to their right and closest to the beach.

“Sweet,” said Doc.

Mars smiled and led them all to the long porch that stood in front of the cavernous redwood lodge. “I’m afraid our doctor wasn’t able to make the trip. I’m not sure what happened to him. You know how it was,” he said, nodding his head.

Doc also nodded his head every bit as vigorously as his counterpart. He probably thought he had just died and gone to clinic heaven.

“We do have three RNs on staff, and—knock wood—they’ve been able to treat our sick and injured. I’d say we’ve been pretty lucky.”

“Damn right, you have,” replied Doc.

Fifteen minutes later they left a smiling Doc at his new beachfront clinic.

Mars was soon dropping Cindy off at the school which was housed in one of the end lodges. Cindy’s escort was a boy about her own age, and the two began a conversation about Constitutional law before they had left them on their own. Jimmy had never seen Cindy look happier. “Looks like you just made her day,” he said, shaking his head with a smile.

“You either got it or you don’t,” Mars said.

Jimmy wanted to punch him in the nose.

“That was impressive,” said Julie. “Good luck finding a fit for either of us.”

“Don’t bet against it,” replied Mars with a sly smile. “You’re tan and athletic. You wouldn’t happen to be a swimmer, would you?”

Julie nodded. “I can swim.”

“This is the land of ten thousand lakes,” said Jimmy. “Of course she can swim.”

“Some of them can’t swim,” Mars said, pointing to the volleyball players. “And we need a lifeguard.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Hey baby, would this face lie?”

Jimmy actually reached down to where his holster would’ve hung. He set his jaw against the flood of angry words that threatened to escape from his lungs.

“I don’t have a suit,” said Julie.

“That isn’t a problem. We’ve got a bikini for every shape and size in the camp store. I’m afraid the beach is by the single cabins. They aren’t as nice as the lodges. You’d have to take one of those and share it with Cindy. Is that cool with you?”

“Sure,” Julie said dreamily.

They walked back to the commons area, and Mars led them to a two-bedroom log cabin that needed nothing more than fresh air. Jimmy was so angry that he stayed outside and smoked as Mars gave her the tour.

They left a smiling Julie shaking her head in wonder.

Jimmy wondered where Mars would take him, and he followed him wordlessly up the path and away from the lake. Jimmy swore that something had changed about the man, who looked as if a light behind his eyes had been switched off the moment they left Julie at her cabin. Finally, after they had walked for nearly ten minutes, Mars began to speak. “You’ll be working in the kitchen,” he said, the sixties washed clean of his voice. “You’ll do whatever they ask of you. They start work at four in the morning, and some nights I know they aren’t cleaned up in there until nearly nine. That’s all I have for you to do. You can either take it or leave.”

“You’re kidding me, right?” Jimmy asked.

“I certainly am not,” Mars said, crossing his muscular arms. “Look, I’m a busy man, and I don’t have time for this. Where did you work on the outside? What special skills do you have?”

“I can paint,” Jimmy said, sheepishly.

Mars laughed. “That’s great. You’ll be the first guy I call when we feel the need to change the color scheme around here. You people. I swear. The writing was on the wall for years, and none of you bothered to read it. I’m offering you a job, a chance to join us and become part of all of this. I think I’m being extremely generous.”

Jimmy didn’t think so. Still, he knew if he refused that Julie would be furious with him. How bad could it be? “I’ll take it,” he grumbled.

“Of course you will,” Mars said.

Chapter 4

The kitchen was in the back of the great log building that stood in the middle of the compound. Massive white pines had been felled to create a visually stunning dining room. The two-level room had a sixty-foot ceiling and a stone fireplace against one wall the size of a school bus. Oak dining sets filled the room, and stuffed creatures adorned the walls. The tall ceiling boasted two long skylights. A long window stood against the far wall, and it looked out of place in such an elegant room. Jimmy would find out it had been recently created to allow the diners to be served cafeteria style.

Jimmy was quickly introduced to the staff, and before he even had time to think, he found himself seated with three others, peeling potatoes into a green trash can. Jimmy had never seen so many potatoes. His coworkers peeled away quietly as if he had interrupted them by invading their circle. Two of the three were women, probably grandmothers, Jimmy thought. The young man was large and doughy-looking; he had a bowl haircut and wore a lost expression on his boyish face. He peeled slowly, as if manual labor was something new to him. Jimmy tried to make conversation, but each time he was completely ignored. An hour passed, and his hands began to ache.

The man who ran the kitchen was named Merlin, and he pulled Jimmy off potato peeling, only to direct him to a large pile of red onions. “I want them diced. Can you do that?” Merlin asked him, as if he were five years old.

“I think I can handle it.”

“Good.”

Jimmy chopped for half an hour before excusing himself from the kitchen. “I’m getting some air,” he said to anyone who cared to listen. His cheeks were puffy, and his eyes were on fire. He hated onions. He stepped out the back door and nearly collided with Julie.

“There you are,” Julie said, suddenly looking concerned. “Oh my God, are you all right? What’s going on in there?”

“I was peeling onions,” Jimmy said, rubbing at his tortured eyes.

“Oh, I thought maybe…”

“Nothing like that; they weren’t beating me.”

“Good. I just love it here, don’t you? I saw Cindy earlier, and she is so excited. She’s met a boy! You remember the kid who we met at the school? He’s her age, and they really seemed to hit it off. You know what we have to do, right?”

“What?” Jimmy asked, lighting a cigarette.

“We have to talk Ken and Patty into coming here. We’re safe here, can’t you see that? They have some sort of agreement with the National Guard. Ken doesn’t have that, and they could be taken away any day. We’ve got to make them see the light.”

Jimmy wanted to burst out laughing. “Julie,” he said, trying to keep his voice calm. “Do you really think Ken is going to give up what he has? Can you see him peeling onions? Are you out of your mind?”

Julie shook her head. “I know. I never said it was going to be easy. Still, I think there’s safety in numbers and that we have to give it a shot. Their lives could depend on it. I want you to think about it and how we should approach them about this.”

“He’s never going to go for it,” Jimmy said, taking a drag off his cigarette and exhaling the smoke in a long stream.

“You!” shouted a voice from the back door of the kitchen. “What are you doing?”

Jimmy turned to see Merlin standing at the door. “The onions were getting to my eyes,” he said. “I needed to get some air.”

“Well, you’ve had quite enough,” spat Merlin. “Now, put out that cigarette and get back in here. We have a schedule to keep. You’ll get a fifteen-minute break in about an hour.”

Jimmy grimaced. “I’ll be right there,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” Julie whispered. “I know this isn’t easy for you. I’ll see if I can’t talk to Mars and get you moved into another job. You can do this, Jimmy. You can do this for me.”

Jimmy rolled his eyes, but Julie stepped close and kissed him softly on his mouth. “For you,” he said. “I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

“Good, I’m proud of you. Tough it out and something good will happen. I can feel it. I think we’re all going to be very happy here. I’ve got to run. I’ll see you tonight.”

They kissed under Merlin’s scornful glare, and soon Jimmy was back at his chopping block of onions. Time passed so slowly that Jimmy was sure there was something wrong with the clock on the kitchen wall. No one spoke, despite Jimmy’s repeated attempts to strike up a conversation. The old women muttered a few words here and there, and the man-child said less than the old women, but at least he would make eye contact with Jimmy. Merlin was in and out of the kitchen. He was about Jimmy’s height and weight and looked to be in his early sixties. He had a fringe of white hair and a goatee to match. Like the others, Merlin was a man of few words. He gave them plenty of instructions and paid them just enough compliments to leave them wanting more. Jimmy wondered about that as he worked.

The potatoes were boiled and mashed and set into a large steam table. Merlin handed Jimmy a hair net and a pair of thin plastic gloves. “Put these on,” he said. “I don’t care if you don’t wear them when you’re working, but you have to have them on when you’re serving food.”

“Doing what?” Jimmy asked, hoping he’d heard him wrong.

“You’re manning the spuds,” Merlin said. “Grab that apron off the hook and put it on. They’ll be here soon.”

“But, I’ve never served food before.”

“Nothing to it,” Merlin said. “You stand at the window. I’ll give you an ice cream scoop and you ask one scoop or two? Plop, plop, you see? Nothin’ to it. Just get through this, Jimmy. I’ve got big plans for you.”

Jimmy groaned and thought of his days back in high school and of all of the lunch ladies that had served him. He didn’t want to be a lunch lady. Merlin stepped behind him and removed one of the white aprons from where they hung on the wall. He handed it to Jimmy and motioned for him to put it on.

“The hairnet, too,” said Merlin. “Make sure all your hair is covered, and don’t take your gloves off until everyone has been served. Look, they’re starting to file in. Just holler if you run out of spuds, okay? I have some more on the stove.”

Jimmy wanted to protest. He stood there wearing his apron and hair net, feeling as if he had just let Merlin steal his manhood. Jimmy didn’t have long to think about it, and before he knew it he was scooping potatoes and plopping them down on the passing plates. He avoided eye contact with anyone, and he could feel his face grow flush with embarrassment. He promised himself that when dinner was over that he’d never don another hair net. He thought about Ken and was happy that he couldn’t see him now. How had it come to this? The line of young women seemed endless, and most smiled at him as if he were a puppy in a window. Jimmy’s face began to burn.

The first thing he saw was her bare navel, a navel he thought he recognized, and he lifted his head slowly to see a smiling, bikini-top wearing Julie. Mars stood behind her, and he gave Jimmy a smile that made him want to tear off his hairnet and launch himself out the serving window.

“Hey baby,” said Julie. “Isn’t this just the coolest place ever?”

“Oh yeah,” said Jimmy. “This is really groovy.”

“So glad you’re diggin’ it, man,” said Mars. “I so knew that you would.”

Jimmy ignored him. “What sort of dinner outfit is that, Julie? Are you kidding me?”

Julie smiled her half-smile and nodded her head. “I knew you would say that,” she said. “I was working, and Mars was kind enough to tell me that we had just enough time to catch dinner. I’m starved. I didn’t bring a wrap, but Mars told me it was casual. Besides, most of the people here are girls. Give me a break.”

“One lump or two?”

“Two.”

Jimmy dropped two fat scoops onto Julie’s plate and turned to face Mars. “One lump or two?” he asked, trying his best to hang onto at least a shred of dignity.

“One,” said Mars, his eyes resting on Jimmy for one disrespectful moment before dropping to Julie’s lower back.

“Hi Jimmy!” Cindy hailed from behind Mars, waving her silverware at him.

Jimmy had been about to smash Mars in the face with his scooper, but instead he plopped a scoop down onto Mars’ plate and turned his attention to Cindy. She was absolutely beaming. “Hey Cindy,” he said, forcing a smile onto his face. “How are you?”

“I love it here,” Cindy gushed. “Two scoops please. There’s an entire group of kids my own age, and we’re studying Constitutional Amendments. Can you believe it? I aced that stuff in high school.”

Jimmy barely heard her as he watched Julie and Mars continue walking down the serving line. “That’s great,” he said, mechanically scooping two scoops of white potatoes onto Cindy’s plate.

“Have you seen my dad?” she asked.

“Huh?” Jimmy asked, watching Julie toss her head back with laughter at something Mars had said.

“My dad. I haven’t seen him since he left with that guy. I’m getting worried about him.”

Jimmy tore his eyes away from Julie and gave Cindy his full attention. There were only a few stragglers behind her, and they seemed happy talking amongst themselves. Jimmy hadn’t seen or heard anything about Bill. He had half expected him to show up for work in the kitchen. “I’m sure he’s fine,” Jimmy said, trying to sound as confident as possible. “You know your how your dad is.”

“That’s what worries me.”

The last of the dinner crowd continued to stream into the mess hall, and Jimmy continued to serve them. Julie and Mars sat together at the opposite end of the majestic log dining room. From where he stood, they looked like a couple of love-struck teenagers. Julie, wearing shorts and her bikini-top, sat laughing as if she was having dinner with Jerry Seinfeld. Doc came in, flanked by what Jimmy assumed to be his staff, and he barely seemed to notice Jimmy. He stood there, scooper in hand, completely dumbfounded by the recent turn of events. They all seemed to be so happy, and none of them even seemed to care that he had been stuck in the kitchen.

“Good job, Jimmy,” Merlin said from over Jimmy’s shoulder. “That wasn’t so bad, was it? Listen, go ahead and dish yourself up a plate and go out and join your friends. We’ll meet back here in about half an hour to start cleaning things up. You did a good job, and I want to talk to you about a promotion. Have you done much cooking?”

Jimmy shook his head. He had no desire to spend another hour in the kitchen, but Merlin seemed to be so impressed with him that he didn’t have the heart to say so. “I can make a mean frozen pizza,” he said.

Merlin slapped him on the back and laughed. “Not any more, you can’t,” he said. “Go ahead and eat. I’ll hold down the fort.”

Jimmy had lost his appetite, but he knew in a few hours it would return with a vengeance. He dished himself up two scoops of potatoes and continued on down the line. After serving himself, Jimmy removed his hairnet and apron. He then walked out into the crowded dining room. He would die before he joined Mars and Julie, who seemed oblivious to anyone, save themselves. Cindy was surrounded by teenagers and was sitting very close to the same boy she had first met at the school. Like Julie, Cindy looked ten times happier than she’d been since they’d left home. He stood there feeling like the new kid at school.

“Excuse me?” a soft voice whispered into his ear. “Why don’t you sit with us?”

Jimmy turned to see a tall blonde girl with a dazzling smile. He began to refuse, but he stopped himself. “I’d love to,” he said. “Thank you.”

He followed the twenty-something blonde to a long table where no fewer than ten of the college girls were sitting. Although it would have been easier for him to sit with his back to Julie, Jimmy chose to sit on the other side of the table. The girls sitting next to him giggled with delight. They asked him dozens of questions, and they seemed to hang on his every word. More girls joined them at the table, and they explained how things worked at the camp, taking turns and interrupting each other when necessary. Jimmy found out that the camp was governed by a group called the Equals. Mars was an Equal, and there were only two others in the camp. There was also a dark-skinned Jamaican woman named Venus. She was in charge of the few rules in camp, and it was she who doled out the punishment. They all agreed she was a fair woman but that you didn’t want to cross her.

The girls continued to fill Jimmy in. Pluto, the man who owned Bailey’s had renamed it Utopia. He was an old hippie from back in the day, and his dream was to recreate the magic of living in that era. He encouraged the slang and the music and everyone seemed eager to please him. “It’s really groovy, man,” a girl named Emily had said. “Peace, love, and Jimi Hendrix.”

Jimmy found himself actually enjoying himself. This wasn’t so bad. He was still angry with Julie for abandoning him, but she certainly had and he was no shrinking violet. He had as much a right to make new friends as Julie did. That was what he was thinking to himself as Julie and Mars stood from their table. That was when she finally spotted him and her expression suddenly darkened. Jimmy gave her a half wave and returned his attention to the table. There were so many questions, but a single comment stood out from the others and it rang in his ears. “There goes Mars with another victim,” the girl had said.

Jimmy didn’t give Julie the satisfaction of catching her eye as she left the mess hall. She was a big girl, and if she didn’t see what was happening here, she needed to wake up and smell the coffee. Jimmy continued to talk and laugh with the girls, shamelessly flirting with all of them at the same time.

“I see you’ve made some friends,” Merlin said, tapping him on the shoulder. “Tell them you can rejoin them in about two hours. We’ve got cleanup to do.”

Jimmy groaned.

“Can I help?” asked the girl named Emily, who was sitting next to him.

“Sure,” said Merlin, looking stunned. “There’s plenty to do. Thank you.”

“What about me?” asked a raven-haired girl.

“Me too?” asked a thin redhead. “I want to help.” She then openly winked at Jimmy, and all of the girls roared with laughter.

The entire group stayed behind and helped clean the dining room and kitchen. They were done in just over half an hour. “Jimmy,” Merlin said. “I’ll give you anything you want. We don’t pay anything, but I’m in charge of the food chain. I can make sure that you’re the first in line. Look at this place. I haven’t seen it this clean since the first day I got here. You’re my magic man. Hang on. I’ve got a little present for you.”

Jimmy excused himself for a moment, assuring the young women that he would return, and followed the old man back into the kitchen. Merlin instructed Jimmy to wait at the top of the stairs and quickly disappeared down into the basement. A moment later Merlin appeared carrying two gallon jugs of blood-red liquid. Balloons were still affixed to the tops of the bottles. “Be careful with this stuff,” he said, giving Jimmy a knowing nod. “Go out and join your friends, but I want the bottles back when they’re empty.”

“Thank you,” Jimmy said, smiling. “Thanks a lot.”

“I was young once,” Merlin said. “Besides, I can’t afford to lose you. Go out there and work your magic.”

The girls squealed with delight at the sight of the wine bottles. They had returned to their original table, and Jimmy’s spot sat vacant and inviting. The sun had finally made an appearance, and warm beams of light fell from the glass panels above. Glasses were passed around, and an entire gallon was drained on the first round. Jimmy found the wine tasty, but it really had a kick to it. The girls continued to talk and laugh, and each of them flirted openly with him as if he were the prize in a contest. By the time they refilled their glasses for the second round, Jimmy was feeling pretty good; he had all but forgotten about Julie.

Somebody produced a portable CD player, and it began to play a mix of eighties rock. Some of the girls began to dance and continued to dance as they drained their second glasses of wine. More girls joined in, and they cleared a dance floor by moving some tables and chairs. Merlin arrived with another bottle of wine and began to dance like a man possessed. The girls urged him on, opening the third bottle and helping themselves.

Jimmy suddenly felt happier than he’d been in years. The wine had given him a good buzz, and the music seemed to soothe his soul. The girls were letting themselves go on the dance floor, and they were calling his name. Glass in hand, Jimmy decided to join them.

The party continued as the light changed to a brilliant orange and the sun began to set across the lake. Jimmy let himself go, as if he were celebrating the greatest night of his life. He wasn’t a very accomplished dancer, but boxing had taught him rhythm and the music moved his feet.

It wasn’t until the last bit of sun had disappeared behind the trees that Jimmy noticed Julie and Mars had returned. He nearly laughed out loud when he saw the expression on their faces. They both looked furious. Jimmy, a little drunk, waved them onto their makeshift dance floor. “Come on,” he shouted. “There’s plenty of room!”

Jimmy could see the thick veins bulge in Mars’ neck, and even in this light he could see that Mars’ face was the color of a cherry tomato. He stalked over to the offending CD player and shut it down with an exaggerated fling of his wrist. “Would somebody explain to me what is going on around here?” he asked.

The large room was suddenly as quiet as a public library.

Chapter 5

“We’re just dancing,” said Emily defensively. “Merlin said it was okay.”

“We’re not hurting anyone,” said Merlin in a pleading voice.

“Maybe you are, and maybe you aren’t,” said Mars. “I think Julie would disagree with you. Jimmy is her boyfriend, her fiancé. What type of message is he sending her? How would you ladies feel if you were her? There are a lot of single dudes here, including me,” he then turned and faced Merlin. “And how would you feel if Julie was your daughter?” Mars then turned and pointed at Jimmy. “What kind of man are you, anyway?”

“Oh,” said Jimmy, not moving an inch and determined not to back down. “So, it’s all right if the two of you cozy up for a nice dinner, huh? And you,” he said, pointing at Julie. “You show up to have dinner in a bikini? Give me a break. Oh, don’t act so offended, Mars. You knew damn well what you were doing. Both of you did.”

“I told you about the bikini,” snapped Julie. “And we sat at that table and talked about you! I was telling Mars about how happy we were and how much I was looking forward to being your wife. He never came onto me, not even a little bit! We were talking about you, Jimmy. We were talking about us!”

Jimmy felt his stomach roll as things suddenly got fuzzy. The girls all began to file out of the dining room without so much as a good-bye. Merlin gathered his empty wine bottles and returned to the kitchen.

“I think you two should rap,” said Mars. “You really messed up, dude. Julie’s way too good for you.” He instead turned and left them where they stood.

Jimmy wanted to counter that parting shot, but he thought it was time to cover up and roll with the punches. Julie was wearing one of Ken’s faded flannel shirts with the sleeves cut off. The shirt hung down to her knees, and it made her look like a little girl. She was fuming with anger, and tears were running down her cheeks.

“What do you have to say for yourself?” she asked.

Jimmy tried to shake the cobwebs in his head. “Do you want a glass of wine?”

“No, I most certainly do not.”

“Oh, well then, let’s see. I’m sorry, baby. I thought you had hooked up with Mars.”

“Hooked up with Mars? Do you take me for a whore? Wow, I don’t even know how to respond to that. You’re a goddamn jackass, Jimmy. What would Ken and Patty think of what you’re doing? What if Cindy hears about this? Oh, and she certainly will. Do you know how humiliating that is going to be? I can’t believe you!”

Jimmy looked down at his feet and noticed one of his tennis shoes had become untied.

Julie continued, her voice filled with conviction. “Don’t just stand there like a stupid dog and hope that I forgive you! I want to hear your side of the story. Or, maybe you don’t think I deserve to know. I had no idea you had such a low opinion of me. How could you do that?”

Jimmy felt as if his knees were going to buckle and that he was about to hit the canvas. “I’m so sorry, Julie,” he said. “Please forgive me. One thing just led to another. I wasn’t actually with any of them. I was just here.”

“Oh, that’s a likely excuse. You didn’t notice the way those bitches were looking at you?”

Jimmy shrugged his shoulders. “I’m sorry. I did notice. I also noticed you and Mars as you ate your dinner. I watched the two of you leave together. Don’t act as if that wasn’t supposed to hurt me. You left me to fend for myself while the two of you went off God knows where.”

“I already told you, nothing happened!”

“How was I supposed to know that? Nothing happened here, either. We had a few glasses of wine and somehow we started dancing. That’s it.”

Julie’s eyes began to dart around the empty room. “No more dancing!” she shouted. “Don’t you ever do anything like that again! Do you hear me? And I want you to stay away from those girls. That’s an order. I love you Jimmy, but you’re pushing me to my limit. I won’t put up with this bullshit.”

“I know.”

“Then why the hell did you do it?”

Jimmy couldn’t answer that. His mind was a muddy river of jumbled thoughts and childish justifications. Jimmy shook his head and slowly walked over to Julie. He put his arms on her shoulders. “I’m sorry, let’s not fight. I get the message.”

Julie buried her head into his shoulder and began to weep. She pounded on his back with considerable strength, and he did nothing to stop her. They stood that way for a long time as the fight gradually left her body. She finally dried her eyes on his shirt and looked up at him for a kiss. Jimmy kissed her with as much tenderness as he’d ever kissed any woman in his life.

Jimmy slept in a small room in Merlin’s cottage behind the mess hall. The long day had worn him out, and he slept like a baby. All too soon, Merlin was shaking him by the shoulder. It was time for work.

He didn’t see Bill until just before breakfast. He walked right into the kitchen, and Jimmy was surprised to see that he was wearing a dark blue mechanic’s uniform. “Hey, Bill,” he said, making a show of checking his left wrist. “What’s the occasion? It isn’t even noon yet.”

“Hey, man,” said Bill with a big unshaven smile. “I heard you were working here. I’m supposed to get the coffee and doughnuts for the guys in the shop. After breakfast, I’m going to drive back to Ken’s. Would you want to ride along?”

Jimmy scratched his head. The strong wine had given him a hangover. “I thought we were staying for a few days?” he asked. “Things aren’t working out, huh? I understand. I think we should all leave and just as soon as possible. This is no place for people like us.”

Bill looked at him with his mouth hanging open. Nearly twenty seconds passed before he shook his head at Jimmy. “We all voted to stay. I thought you knew that. I’m going back to get the rest of our stuff, man.”

Jimmy felt thunderstruck. He had never even considered staying here on a permanent basis. They just couldn’t spend one night here and decide to throw away they had worked so hard for. That was ridiculous. Utopia might be a nice place to visit, but they were living on borrowed time. Jimmy had learned from bitter experience that their new world devoured the weak. Besides, despite what they said, Ken and Patty were counting on them to return. He then thought about that. They were counting on him to return. “I’m not staying here,” he said flatly. “Nobody asked me what I thought.”

“Does Julie know that?”

“No, Julie doesn’t know that,” he replied angrily.

“That’s going to blow her mind, man.”

“Will you knock it off and quit acting like a hippie?”

“But I like acting like a hippie. You should try it. Mars says it gives us a sense of community, like we’re part of something special.”

“That’s a bunch of horse shit. I don’t like that guy, and I think there’s something wrong with this place. He’s bad news, Bill. I can feel it.”

“Where’s the coffee and doughnuts?” Bill asked, looking uncomfortable. “I should really be getting back to the shop.”

“I don’t know anything about that. You’ll have to find the old guy. His name is Merlin. What time are you leaving? I’m going back with you.”

“Don’t you think you should talk to Julie first?”

“Mind your own business. Just make sure you don’t leave without me.”

Jimmy wouldn’t see Julie that morning, nor would he see Doc or Cindy. Bill was back at the kitchen half an hour later, and after a heartfelt apology to Merlin, Jimmy and Bill left the kitchen and got inside Bill’s idling Honda. The morning was breezy and cooler with a blue sky that should have been full of promise. Bill drove away as the camp slowly came back to life. Bill drove with a Billy Idol cassette playing in the old car stereo. Jimmy didn’t mind as Bill continued to nudge the volume up. Jimmy had a lot on his mind, and he needed the time to think. Was he doing the right thing? He thought so. Did it hurt? More than anything he had ever done. The thought of leaving Julie with Mars was killing him inside, but he knew that he owed his life to the Dahlgren’s.

To Julie, he owed only his heart.

Chapter 6

Ken listened to Jimmy as he explained the situation while Bill wandered around and gathered up what he knew to belong to Cindy and Doc. “Do you know how long he and I have been friends?” Ken asked, shaking his head and wearing a sour expression. “Over forty years. I can’t tell you how disappointed I am in him.”

“I can’t believe Julie decided to stay,” replied Jimmy.

“Patty and I have helped Doc through some rough times. We’ve always been there for him. Does it seem fair to you that he’d abandon us in our greatest hour of need?”

“No,” admitted Jimmy. “That’s what she did—she abandoned me.”

Ken looked at Jimmy and shook his head. “I’m sorry kid, but you’ve got to let it go. The two of you weren’t married, and there’s plenty of other fish in the sea.”

Jimmy wanted to laugh bitterly into Ken’s face, but he knew better. The only fish he was interested in was swimming away from him. These were bad times to lose friends, but losing your woman right now seemed a heck of a lot worse to Jimmy.

Bill came out again with another armload of stuff, and he and Ken watched him carry it to the Honda. “Hey!” shouted Ken. “That isn’t yours!”

Bill smiled sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders. Ken grunted something and set off across the lawn to Bill’s car. Jimmy followed, but he stood ten feet away as Ken began digging inside the open hatchback.

“This isn’t theirs,” Ken said, grabbing a beach towel and holding it up for the world to see. “Where did you find it? In my closet?” Ken tossed the towel to the ground and kept on digging. “Are you kidding me?” he asked, pulling out a dented AM/FM radio that looked older than he did. “Do you know how long I’ve had this radio?”

“Patty gave it to me,” Bill said, swallowing hard. “I didn’t know.”

“Ah, bullshit! What about this screwdriver? This was hanging above my workbench. I suppose Patty wanted you to have it, right?”

“Actually, the screwdriver is mine,” Bill said. “That’s the truth.”

Ken’s expression turned from sour to hostile in the blink of an eye. He slammed the hatch down on the Honda and stuck a finger in Bill’s chest. “You can have the screwdriver. Just get the hell out of here. You’re a lazy son-of-a-bitch, Huggins. Tell Doc he can kiss my ass. You’re all traitors in my opinion. Now get that piece of shit off my property!”

Bill looked like a kicked puppy, and a tear ran down his cheek. Jimmy had seen him pull this trick a number of times, but something told him that this time he was seeing the real McCoy. Bill’s hands were trembling as he fumbled for the door handle. Jimmy turned away, only to see Patty and Rita standing up on the deck. They had seen and heard the entire confrontation. Jimmy thought it was odd that Patty hadn’t intervened. Jimmy turned back to face the car as the engine started. Bill then gave Jimmy the look of a condemned man on the gallows. He drove through the gate, and Ken quickly closed it.

“Did you give him my radio?” Ken called up to Patty.

Jimmy didn’t wait around to hear the rest. He lit up a cigarette, and with a heavy heart he walked up the hill to the backyard. He sat at the picnic table and thought of everything that had happened to them since they’d left their homes in Crown. He thought about Julie, and he wondered if he had made a mistake by leaving her there. He knew he should have spoken to her and at least expressed his feelings. She would be as angry as Ken; hurt, disgusted, spiteful, and a whole lot of other unpleasant things that Jimmy didn’t want to consider. All he knew was at this moment was that he missed her dearly.

Just when Jimmy felt as if he had hit rock bottom, Patty showed him that pits like these had no bottoms. She did so with a single question. “Jimmy,” she asked, “have you seen Whiskers?”

Whiskers was Patty’s cat, and their decision to leave her behind had been difficult. Ken had explained that Whiskers was an old cat and that it wouldn’t be right of them to have a strict no-pet policy if they allowed themselves to bring their own family pet. Privately, Ken explained to Jimmy that in case this thing lasted longer than they expected, family pets might get cooked over a fire. Jimmy smiled at Patty. “Don’t you remember?” he asked. “We left Whiskers back in Crown to look after your place.”

“Oh, don’t lie to me,” said Patty. “I know she’s up here.”

Jimmy couldn’t believe his ears. He looked at Patty and saw that her eyes were bloodshot and nearly bugging out of her head. Jimmy knew instantly that something was terribly wrong. She looked like a lost twin sister who appeared to be on the verge of losing her mind.

“Whiskers!” Patty called. “Come to mamma!”

The screen door slapped shut, and Ken stood on the concrete slab outside the door. He put his hands on his hips and scratched his head. “Patty,” he called. “Whiskers is still at home. I’m sure she’s fine.”

“Quit lying to me!” screamed Patty. She suddenly turned on Ken and pointed a finger at him. “The vacation is over, I want to go home. Now help me find Whiskers, and then we can start packing.”

Jimmy and Ken exchanged a look, and Jimmy saw the raw fear in Ken’s face. Not knowing what to do, Jimmy stood from the picnic table and put his arm around Patty. “Don’t worry,” he said, softly. “We’ll find Whiskers. Come on—maybe she’s hiding inside the house.”

“I looked everywhere, and she’s not in there.”

Ken suddenly took Patty by the waist and led her back toward the house. “Jimmy’s right,” he said. “You know how that darn cat is. If she doesn’t want to be found, you could look all day for her.”

“That’s right,” agreed Jimmy.

“She’s probably scared,” Patty said. “We can’t leave without her.”

“We would never do that,” lied Ken, giving Jimmy one last confused look as he opened the screen door.

Jimmy watched them as they disappeared inside the house. He lit another cigarette and sat down with his back to the table, facing the house. The whole world seemed to be falling apart, and he seemed helpless to stop it. He sat there dreading the thought of going back inside the house. Then, just when he thought that things couldn’t get any worse, they suddenly did.

The distant drone of a helicopter broke the silence, and Jimmy’s head snapped back as he stared into the blue sky. The drone grew much louder, much faster than any single helicopter had the right to. Jimmy groaned as he realized he was hearing the sound of many helicopters with their countless chugging rotors whirring, and they seemed to be flying straight toward them. He scrambled to his knees and ducked under the picnic table.

They flew in low—olive green monsters flown by homegrown pilots. Jimmy saw that many of these were the double-rotor choppers. Through the cracks of the table, Jimmy could see that those were full of soldiers. Some manned massive machine guns that were mounted just outside the open cargo doors. Jimmy began to tremble.

The sound was deafening. It continued on and on as the helicopters lumbered their way north. They flew in pairs that stretched out across the bright blue sky. Jimmy’s heart nearly stopped when he realized where they were headed. They were heading straight for Utopia.

Jimmy could see Ken’s face pressed up against the kitchen window. He found Burt in the upstairs window. He returned his attention to the sky and realized that the parade in the air was ending. A single chopper flew at the rear, a sleek black one, and Jimmy grimaced as he saw the helicopter swoop down in their direction. Jimmy watched with gritted teeth, through eyes that were barely slits, and was absolutely certain that he was about to die. The helicopter stopped its descent at just above the tree line and hovered directly above him. Jimmy risked a look at the house, but Ken and Burt were gone.

The roar of the blades threatened to blow the picnic table into the next county, and Jimmy clung to the wooden crossbar with all of his strength. Thirty seconds passed. Jimmy saw the gunner shake his head, and the chopper began to slowly lift away.

Quickly, with one hand, the gunner pointed his fingers into his own eyes. He then pointed directly at Jimmy. The gesture was conclusive—Jimmy had been spotted. The fact that the helicopter was now rising fast and turning tail told Jimmy that all things weren’t as they seemed to be. There were still decent men and women serving in the armed forces. Jimmy found that the simple gesture had suddenly filled him with hope.

Jimmy waited for his body to quit quivering and was finally able to crawl out from under the table. Ken and Burt were already standing outside the back door. Jimmy brushed himself off and jogged over to join them. “What the hell was that all about?” he asked. “Did somebody start a war with Canada?”

“That was some crazy shit,” said Burt.

“Listen,” said Ken. “Can you still hear them?”

Jimmy could still hear them as they seemed to be hovering somewhere off in the distance. Ken had just confirmed his greatest fear. The choppers were now above Julie, in a camp that didn’t have so much as a single bullet to defend itself with. “Oh, shit,” spat Jimmy.

Ken scratched his head and put his hands on his hips as he stared off into the northern sky. “We can’t leave them there,” he said. “We’re going to have to go after them.”

“You are out of your mind,” said Burt. “How many choppers did you count? That’s not our fight.”

“But they’re unarmed,” stammered Jimmy.

“That’s not our fault,” quipped Burt.

“Our fight or not, I’m heading up there,” stated Ken. “I’m not leaving my friends behind.”

“I’m with you,” said Jimmy.

“Will you listen to yourselves?” asked Burt, throwing his hands up in the air. “Have you guys gone crazy? Each of those birds was full of soldiers. How are we supposed to fight an army? Will you just tell me that?”

“I’m not sure, but I’m damn sure going to try.”

Jimmy nodded. “Me too,” he said. “Let’s go!”

The screen door suddenly slapped shut behind them, and Patty charged out of the house like a mad bull.

“Holy shit,” whispered Burt.

“Oh my God,” said Jimmy.

“Patty!” shouted Ken.

“Whiskers!” shrieked Patty. She continued running, dressed only in her bra and underpants. “Whiskers!”

Jimmy and Burt traded looks, and both of them headed inside the house. Whatever was about to happen, they had no desire to see it.

Rita stood in the kitchen crying. “What’s happening?” she moaned. “Will somebody please tell me what’s happening to us?”

Chapter 7

“Look Ken,” Burt said later that afternoon. “You have to stay here with Patty. Jimmy and I will head over to check out what’s going on at Bailey’s. There’s no way I’m letting you walk out that gate.”

Ken wiped a tear from his cheek and continued to stare at the workshop floor. The three men had adjourned there after Ken got Patty to take a powerful muscle relaxant that he had found with Doc’s remaining gear. They had lit a lantern and three Camels, and they stood silently smoking in the oily light. “You’re right,” Ken finally admitted. “I can’t leave her alone, not like this.”

The next hour was spent gathering gear and making plans. They would walk to Bailey’s. To take a vehicle was deemed too risky. Ken outfitted each of them with as much hardware as either man wanted to carry. He told them to stay off of the roads as much as possible and to keep their ears open. Jimmy couldn’t believe how much time had elapsed since they’d heard the first chopper. The afternoon shadows were already starting to grow as the sun began its slow descent in the western sky. Ken packed enough food for a small army and filled two canteens with bottled water. They packed what they could and quickly ate what they couldn’t.

There were no tearful goodbyes at the gate, just three determined men shaking hands and wishing each other luck. Jimmy and Burt immediately decided that Ken had been being overly cautious. They would walk the road, at least halfway, and then move into the woods. There simply wasn’t time to take such precautions.

They stuck to the gravel roads that crisscrossed the Great Northwoods, roads that were nearly orange with dust from the iron ore that area was famous for. They would talk from time to time, but they were mostly silent. There was just enough of a breeze to keep them from overheating under the afternoon sun. Squirrels ran in the trees, and they called after them from the safety of their branches. An occasional eagle flew above them, and unseen songbirds whistled their catcalls as the two men passed by. Jimmy was fighting the urge to run; the fear inside of him seemed to be growing in leaps and bounds with each crunching step he took.

Jimmy’s feet began to hurt just as the sun hit the tops of the trees.

Twilight lingered for what seemed to be hours, and a full moon slowly appeared in the dark eastern sky. “How far is it now?” Burt asked for what seemed to be the tenth time in as many minutes.

“I don’t know. Maybe a mile or two,” whispered Jimmy. “We should really try to keep quiet. There could be patrols.”

At that moment, a wolf howled a lonely cry that echoed long into the night. Burt and Jimmy exchanged a look as another wolf answered the first. This wolf was much closer.

“You have got to be kidding me,” whispered Burt.

“Oh, shit,” muttered Jimmy, remembering all too clearly the shredded body of the hunter.

That wolf was answered by another which sounded even closer than the second one. Jimmy and Burt began to run. “We’ve got to find shelter,” huffed Burt.

They ran nearly half a mile when they suddenly heard the familiar roar of a rotor blade. That one became many in only a few seconds’ time. Flashing lights suddenly appeared in the night sky. Ken had been right. The helicopters had landed at Utopia. Why they seemed to be leaving now was anyone’s speculation. Jimmy found that he was too scared to fathom a guess. Had the choppers frightened off the hungry wolves? Jimmy doubted it. The thundering helicopters only served to mask the howling they had heard only moments earlier. Jimmy and Burt crouched down in a small stand of pines at the side of the road as the first helicopter flew above them.

They left as they had arrived, like a great flock of steel geese. Jimmy prayed that they weren’t using night vision goggles or some other type of sensor to detect human life on the ground. After what seemed like an eternity, he thought he had his answer. The helicopters continued flying, and after a short while even the sound of their beating rotors had become only a whisper in the night sky.

A second later, that silence was suddenly broken.

“Don’t move a muscle,” commanded a deep voice from directly behind Jimmy and Burt.

“Oh, shit,” muttered Burt.

“Don’t talk, either,” warned the voice. “Now drop those guns and lay down flat with your arms and legs spread wide. Do you understand me?”

Jimmy and Burt did as they were told, facing each other with their hands nearly touching. Jimmy wanted to scream with frustration. They had come so close. The only thing that kept him from doing so was the fact that the man had yet to state his business. There was still hope, and Jimmy clung to it like a life vest.

“Did you get the drop on them?” asked another man’s voice. He seemed to be about twenty feet behind them.

“I got them,” answered their captor. “What the hell do we do with them?”

“Are they military?”

There was a pause as the sounds of crickets returned to their ears. “I doubt it. One of them is just an old guy.”

“Shoot, why didn’t you say so?” asked the new voice, and there was a sound of crunching twigs as he approached. “Who the hell are you assholes, and why are you out here?”

“I was getting to that,” said the deep voice.

The beam of a flashlight suddenly blinded Jimmy, but not before he was able to make out that both of these men were dressed in combat fatigues. Jimmy had no doubt that both men had gone AWOL once the choppers had set down. He couldn’t blame them, and he tried to use it to their advantage. “Are we ever glad to see you,” Jimmy lied. “You’re not going to believe what’s going on around here.”

“That’s right,” agreed Burt. “There’s some crazy shit goin’ on.”

“I say we kill ‘em,” said the man who had remained hidden.

“Go ahead,” said his friend. “I’m not gonna do it. The old dude is a brother.”

The other man cackled with laughter. “Brother or not, I’m gonna cut his throat. That should get those damn wolves off our trail.”

“How many times do I have to tell you?” answered the deep voice. “Wolves are afraid of men. We’ve got nothing to worry about.”

There was the distinct sound of a long blade being pulled from a sheath. “I’m sorry about this, guys. Nothin’ personal.”

The wolves exploded from the brush with such ferocity that neither soldier had a chance to move. There were three, then four sets of gnashing teeth. Their viscous growls were only matched by the high-pitched screaming of the soldiers. Both men tried to run and were repeatedly attacked as they did so. In the moonlight Jimmy saw one of the men go down in a heap as one of the wolves had grabbed him by the throat and violently twisted him to the ground. The soldier screamed a gurgling cry, but even that was cut short.

Jimmy and Burt both rolled to their feet and quickly retrieved their weapons. They started running, heading deeper into the blackness of the woods. They had run for a full minute before they noticed that they weren’t alone. A howl pierced the night behind them. That howl was answered quickly by another much closer voice. Jimmy knew they had one chance, and he shouted it to Burt. “We have to climb into the trees!”

Jimmy dared a look at his friend, and he saw with astonishment that he had not only found a tree to climb, but that he was already nearly five feet off the ground in a stunted pine that had twisted into a misshapen corkscrew. Jimmy put on a burst of speed as he tried to find his own tree to climb.

The pine was tall and straight, but it had decent limbs that seemed to be within reach. Jimmy flung his rifle to the ground, and he leapt for one of those limbs. The wolf was right on his tail, and as Jimmy grabbed the limb, the wolf caught hold of the leg of his jeans. Jimmy hung suspended in the air while the wolf thrashed angrily at his ankles. The animal was heavy, and it would have pulled him down to his death, had not the jeans material torn. The animal howled with rage, but Jimmy was already scrambling up the limbs of his tree.

Jimmy’s hands were sticky with sap, and his cheek was badly scraped, but he was alive. He found a good limb to perch on, and he caught his breath, watching the shadows as they angrily slunk around below him. He wondered about the wolves. Doc must’ve been right—the woods had been hunted out and the only thing left to hunt was man. Jimmy hoped that they had enjoyed the two soldiers. He then thought about the helicopters and what all of that meant. Jimmy feared that they would find Utopia as empty as Ely had been.

Jimmy dozed off and on, and all too soon the early birds were calling as the sky took on the purplish color of morning. The sound of screaming men as they were ripped apart was still fresh in his ears, and Jimmy found that he was still too afraid to move. He scanned underneath his tree, but there seemed to be no sign of the wolves. The woods hung suspended between night and day, and what little light there was wasn’t enough for him to distinguish a stump from the body of a wolf. Jimmy decided to wait until he could safely do so.

“Jimmy?” called Burt’s booming voice from somewhere in the softening gloom. “Are you out there?”

Jimmy smiled to himself and shook his head. “I’m up here!”

A moment later he was staring down at Burt. “You can get down now, the wolves are gone.”

“I must’ve dozed off,” said Jimmy.

“Sure.”

Jimmy climbed down, and Burt handed him his rifle. Jimmy blindly wiped the pine needles from the stock and checked the barrel with the tip of his finger. “That was something you don’t see every day.”

“Thank God for that,” Burt said. “How far do you think it is from here?”

“Maybe a mile or two, but not much further than that. Don’t you think we should wait a little while longer? I’d kinda like to see what we’re up against.”

“No, this is the time to strike, while everyone is sleeping.”

Jimmy slung the M-16 over his shoulder. “If anyone is even still there,” he said, praying he was wrong.

Burt chuckled. “Don’t worry, Jimmy. I’m pretty sure they’re still there. I’ve been thinking about that, and it came to me when I was up in that sticky damn tree. I’ll explain later. Let’s move.”

They set out across the woods and found the road ten minutes later. Things were a little brighter on the open road, and they walked quickly to make up for lost time. Jimmy held his rifle at the ready, his senses on high alert. He stole a glance at Burt and saw that he was also ready for action. Last night had taught them a serious lesson about being careful. The sky had turned from purple to red and was now nearly orange. Brilliant sunbeams shone on puffy white clouds, making heaven seem just a little closer.

“Hey, Jimmy!” shouted a familiar voice from the woods.

Jimmy and Burt both turned and leveled their rifles in that direction. Jimmy’s heart pounded in his chest, and his throat felt full of sand.

“Don’t shoot us, you damn fools!” Doc said, stumbling out of the woods.

Jimmy and Burt quickly raised the barrels of their assault rifles and exchanged a look of shock. Doc, wearing a pair of Bermuda shorts and a white shirt, was fifty feet away and walking with his hands high in the air. Behind him was Bill.

Doc quickly explained their situation. Bill had stopped to see Doc at the clinic about his back pain when they heard the first helicopter. They began to run when they saw the sky fill with them. With Doc leading the way, they ran into the woods and hadn’t stopped until they were over a mile away. “If it wasn’t for the damn mosquitoes, I might have even got some sleep,” he said, scratching at the numerous bites on his bare arms and legs.

“So, you have no idea of what we can expect back there.” said Jimmy. “What do you think, Doc?”

“I really don’t know what to make of it. They were there an awful long time, and I didn’t hear a single gunshot. I thought that was a good sign.”

“What you got to eat?” asked Bill, eyeing Jimmy’s backpack.

Jimmy shook his head and stripped off his pack and handed it to Bill. When Bill reached for the canteen, Doc immediately snatched it away from him and took a long drink before handing it off. Jimmy then told them about what Patty had done, with Burt filling in the bare spots of the story. Doc looked as if someone had drained the blood from his face.

Bill handed Doc an apple which he gratefully accepted. “Alzheimer’s,” he said, holding the apple in front of his tired eyes. “Or some other form of dementia. Poor Ken, poor Patty! That’s just horrible.”

Jimmy agreed. “Like we said, Ken is really hoping you’ll come back and take a look at her.”

“By all means,” Doc said. “Let’s get moving!”

“Wait,” said Jimmy. “We’ve got to go back for Julie and Cindy. We can’t just leave them there.”

“I think they escaped,” said Bill.

“Why’s that?” asked Jimmy. “Did you see any sign of them? Do you know where they are?”

“No, I just think that they could have got away, that’s all. We were able to do it.”

Jimmy gritted his teeth but said nothing.

“Look, you do whatever you want,” said Doc. “I’m not going back until I have a look at Patty. This is serious; she may have had a stroke.” He then took a bite of his apple, turned, and started walking up the red gravel road.

“Shit,” said Burt. “We can’t let him go alone. What about the wolves?”

“I’ll be fine!”

“The wolves will eat you,” said Bill. “You wouldn’t catch me dead out there.”

“Will you at least take a gun?” asked Jimmy.

“I don’t believe in them,” Doc called back over his shoulder. “Don’t worry about me!”

Jimmy pushed Burt in the back. “Go,” he said. “I’ll take Bill and find the girls. You make sure Doc gets back to Ken’s.”

“I’m sorry, Jimmy. You’re right. We can’t let him walk back alone. Good luck.”

Jimmy smiled and shook his head. “Thanks,” he said.

“Don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

“I won’t.”

“I’m going to have to listen to his liberal-assed bullshit all morning.”

“He sometimes makes a lot of sense.”

“That’s what scares me about him,” Burt said, sticking out his right hand. “I’m serious—be careful. Check it out and get back to Ken’s. We can go in tonight.”

Jimmy nodded his head slowly, and the two men shook hands. Bill quickly stuck his hand into the mix which broke the moment and sent Burt on his way.

Bill took Jimmy’s hand and pumped it twice. “We can do it, brother,” he said. “Give me a gun, will ya?”

Jimmy stared over Bill’s shoulder as Burt caught up with Doc. He couldn’t help but be a little envious of him.

“So,” Bill said. “What are we doing, anyhow?”

Chapter 8

They walked along the road in silence, and about a quarter mile from the front gate they began to travel cross country through the woods. The morning sun was still just below the trees, and they jogged in the dingy light. This was the first time that Jimmy had ever seen Bill actually run. He thought about it, deciding that Bill’s fear of wolves was a powerful motivator. Jimmy thought it was worth remembering.

Jimmy watched the gate and the little bus-stop shelter for nearly ten minutes. One thing seemed certain: there were no soldiers here. They would be guarding that gate. There would be a checkpoint, just like there had been in Ely. “There’s no one up there,” he whispered to Bill who stood gasping for air with his back against the tree next to him.

“Are… you sure?”

“Sure enough.”

“I don’t like it, man... I say we wait out here and watch the gate for a few hours… They might have tanks in there.”

“Tanks? Are you kidding me? Listen, I didn’t want to scare you, but we’ve got at least a dozen wolves on our trail. Can’t you hear them?”

“I can’t hear anything… but my own breathing.”

Jimmy gave a startled look over Bill’s shoulder and then spun and sprinted for the gate. He ran for nearly fifty yards before he risked a look back at Bill. He needn’t have looked, for Bill was hot on his heels and perhaps even gaining on him. Jimmy ran up to the gate and stole a look into the bus shelter. There was no one there. This sent him a mixed message, and he tried to block it out. Where was everyone?

He ran another two hundred yards inside the compound and took refuge behind a covered fishing boat on a twin-axle trailer that was parked in a little spur that led into the woods. Bill fell in right behind him. Jimmy looked at him and wanted to laugh. Bill had taken on a greenish color. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open, and it made him look like a mounted bass. He held his hands up for Jimmy to stop. This was also as Jimmy had planned it. “Wait right here,” Jimmy said. “I’m going to go in for a closer look.”

Bill rapidly shook his head as he fought for air.

“I wasn’t even running,” Jimmy lied. He then began to unstrap the back corner of the boat cover. “Climb up into the boat, and I’ll be back here before you know it. You’ll be safe in there.”

Bill looked at the boat and then back into the woods. He leaned over and put his hands on his knees and nodded his head. Jimmy had known that he would only take Bill so far. He didn’t want to feel responsible for getting him killed, nor did he want Bill to get the both of them killed. He thought with any luck he just might live to talk about the day’s events. Bill, winded and panting, climbed into the back of the boat with a thud. Jimmy refastened a few of the straps and once again set out running.

The gravel road wound around to the back of the property before it made a switchback and wound up in the middle of the compound. Jimmy followed it halfway and then turned and cut cross country. The woods there fell away into a deep ravine, and Jimmy’s feet fell silently on countless generations of pine needles. The other side of the ravine was steep and rocky in places. Jimmy need to stop three times to climb when he could run no further. Now it was his turn to be tired. Jimmy pushed himself to the top of the rise and nearly stumbled out onto the road, right into the quiet camp. He ducked for cover and waited while he fought to catch his breath.

With his heart in his throat, Jimmy peered up above the knoll. He could see the lodge and the mess hall from here, along with a number of cabins on the placid lake. There were people milling around the kitchen entrance to the mess hall. Upon closer inspection, Jimmy recognized them as his former co-workers. The man-child appeared to be checking the kitchen door every thirty seconds while the old women rattled on about something or other.

Jimmy squatted back down and thought about this. There had been survivors inside the camp. Maybe it really was true, he thought. Maybe they had some type of special permission to stay here from the National Guard. How else could he explain those people up by the kitchen? Jimmy made a quick decision. He took off his backpack and stashed it and his rifle behind the knoll. He covered them with a layer of pine needles, but only enough to partially conceal them in case he needed that rifle in a hurry. He did the same with the holster, opting to carry the .38 Smith & Wesson in the small of his back, with his shirt hanging over it. He then slipped up onto the road and casually strolled toward the kitchen.

The women completely ignored him, and Jimmy passed them without uttering a sound. He thought if he was going to get any information, it would be out of the young man. He wished he remembered his name. He stared curiously at Jimmy as he approached and quickly spun around and tried the kitchen door again. “Merlin must have forgotten to set his alarm clock,” said Jimmy.

The young man looked completely lost and on the verge of tears. His t-shirt was on backwards and inside out with the tag hanging under his chin. Jimmy wondered what had happened to the man’s family. He decided to keep walking around to the side of the mess hall. He’d hoped to get a few words out of someone, but he saw that was unlikely to happen anytime soon. The windows were still dark, and Jimmy pressed his face to the glass to see if anyone was inside. What he saw made him gasp.

The mess hall was a complete disaster. There were glasses and empty bottles and cans strewn from one end to the other. Peanut shells littered the floor and tables which had been moved away from the center of the room. Balloons drooped like tumors from the majestic beamed ceiling. Hand-painted signs had been posted on the walls. Welcome Home, Troops! Jimmy shook his head, but suddenly everything became clear to him. Mars had played his hand brilliantly. He had seen the end and had known what to expect. He decided to support the military effort and created Utopia—home to nearly two hundred homeless college girls—deep in the Minnesota wilderness. As much as Jimmy hated to admit it, he could see value in that.

The bottom line was that the National Guard had come here to party down. Jimmy thought about that and a second later was running toward Julie’s cabin.

There was no sign of life. Plastic cups and crushed beer cans littered the walkway, and the air stank like the inside of a portable toilet. There would be serious hangovers today, Jimmy thought, and Julie had better not have one. He wasn’t sure why he had the right to think this way, but that didn’t matter. He slowed to a fast walk when he felt the big revolver shift. He nearly tripped over a pair of forgotten shoes and half a bottle of single malt scotch. Jimmy left the shoes but took the bottle.

The blinds on Julie’s cabin were down, and Jimmy tried the door without knocking. Finding it locked, he began to pound on it.

“Who is it?” shouted Julie, with a great deal of ferocity.

“Who do you think it is?” Jimmy barked back.

Julie flung the door open and stood there staring at him with her teeth bared and crazy-eyed. She was dressed in a pair of his plaid boxers and a white cotton t-shirt. Her hair was wild with sleep. “Where the hell have you been?” she growled at him.

“What are you talking about?” asked Jimmy, totally thrown by the question.

“You’ve been gone for twenty-four hours!” she shrieked at him. “And you have the nerve to ask me, what I’m talking about? You son of a bitch! Which one was she, huh? I’ll bet it was that blonde, wasn’t it?”

Jimmy’s jaw dropped. “I rode with Bill out to Ken’s. I thought he told you.”

“You liar. I asked Bill and he said he never saw you!”

“What the hell are you talking about? That’s crazy. Why would he do that?”

“Oh, was he supposed to be covering for you? I wasn’t born yesterday, Jimmy.”

Jimmy could hear doubt finally creeping into her voice. “I don’t know why Bill does what he does, but I rode to Ken’s with him, and I can tell you everything he packed on his return trip.”

Julie grimaced at him, and a tear fell down her cheek. Jimmy rushed inside and shut the door. “You’d better not be lying to me,” she sobbed.

“I’m not. We saw the choppers and got out here as fast as we could. God, Bill is such an asshole. Patty had a stroke or something; she’s really losing it. She was outside and running around in her underwear.”

Julie held both hands to her mouth, and her eyes grew wide.

“It’s not funny,” Jimmy said.

“I never said it was.”

They exchanged a quick hug, but he knew the battle was far from over. Jimmy stood at the counter, and Julie sat at the kitchen table. The cabin looked clean. There was no sign of beer cans or plastic cups. No sign of company in the night. Jimmy knew better than to ask. He continued to tell Julie the story of how they had been saved from the two deserters by the hungry wolves. He then told her of his own narrow escape and how they were forced to spend the night up in the trees. He finished with his stashing of Bill in the back of a fishing boat. Jimmy saw that the bedroom door was closed as was the bathroom. He thought to ask her what she had done last night, but thought better of it. She would tell him on her own time.

Jimmy found that he couldn’t wait. “How was the party?” he asked.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Was I not supposed to have noticed? Aren’t you going to ask me where I found this bottle?” Jimmy set the bottle down hard on the small kitchen counter. “What the hell happened here last night?”

“That depends on which here you’re talking about. Nothing happened here. Yeah, they had a party out there. A bunch of kids were able to let loose and forget about this shithole we’re all in.”

“Those soldiers have killed their own citizens,” Jimmy said in total amazement, “and suddenly it’s okay to party with them? Whoa! You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Do you think those girls would be better off in a relocation camp?” Julie asked, staring coldly at him and crossing her arms.

“I never said that.”

“We don’t know if those soldiers killed anyone or not.”

“Let me get this straight,” said Jimmy as he began to pace. “Mars just stumbles into this. He has his own private harem until the National Guard shows up for some R&R. How convenient for him. Can’t you see that he set this all up in advance? He planned it all out.”

“Give me a break, Jimmy. He did no such thing. Those girls just happened to be up here, and if it wasn’t for Mars, they would all be locked up. Do you want to spoil it for them? I don’t think you want to do that. I think you’re wondering if I thought it was okay to party with them. Well, I was there until midnight, Jimmy. I had a good time, and I came home alone. We would have had a good time together had you not left without saying goodbye. That was totally inconsiderate of you.”

“Bill told me that all of you voted to stay, whether I liked it or not.”

Julie spun in her chair and pointed a finger at him. “That’s bullshit and you know it!”

“That is not bullshit, Julie. That’s exactly what he told me. I felt like you had all found your own little slice of heaven. That’s why I left without saying anything.”

“You just hated working in the kitchen. I know you, Jimmy.”

“Will you quit trying to put words into my mouth? I’m telling you the truth.”

Julie sprang to her feet. She stomped to the bedroom door and threw it open. Jimmy stole a peek inside and saw that it was empty just before she slammed the door shut. Jimmy stood there wondering what to do. He was angry with her for doubting him, still angrier with Bill for lying to the both of them. Bill seemed intent upon splitting them up; but why would he want to do that? The door suddenly opened, and Julie emerged wearing a tired Viking’s jersey over blue jeans and tennis shoes. She had her hair pulled back into her I don’t give a shit, ponytail. “Take me to Bill,” Julie said. “I’m going to kick his ass.”

“I want you to come back to Ken’s with me,” Jimmy said. “You can come back here if that’s what you really want to do. I just think that with Patty’s condition, it’s important for us to be there. I know it would mean a lot to Ken.”

“What about Cindy?”

“Cindy will be fine. Besides, her dad will be here.”

Julie thought about that for a long moment. She gazed into Jimmy’s eyes and suddenly smiled. “Okay,” she said. “I’m going to write a quick note and then pack a bag. We can be on the road in five minutes.”

Jimmy took her into his arms, and they exchanged a passionate kiss. He held her against his chest and quietly cursed himself for ever doubting her. “I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you, too,” she whispered back.

Jimmy released his grip from the small of her back. “Come on, we’ve got a long walk in front of us.”

“Who said we were walking?”

Jimmy stared at Julie as an impish smile spread across her face. “Are you saying that we should steal Bill’s car?”

“I prefer to think of it as borrowing,” she said. “We can pick the guys up along the way and be there in time for breakfast.”

“What about Bill?”

“What about him?”

Jimmy smiled and shook his head.

Chapter 9

Five minutes later they walked out of Julie’s cabin and up the little path that led to the road. Loons called from across the misty lake on what promised to be a gorgeous day. Jimmy reached out and took Julie’s free hand. He laughed to himself as he imagined Bill still hiding from imaginary wolves inside the covered fishing boat. He was going to have a long wait.

The keys were in the ignition, and with Julie’s hand on his knee, Jimmy drove the Honda out of the compound and out to the main road. He drove slowly, figuring that Burt and Doc couldn’t be too far ahead of them. “Keep an eye out the back,” Jimmy said. “They’ll probably run into the woods when they hear the car.”

A little more than three miles from the gate, Julie gave Jimmy’s knee a squeeze. “There they are,” she said, pointing up ahead and off to their right.

Jimmy smiled. There was no sign of Burt, but Doc’s attempt at hiding in the thin bushes at the side of the road was almost comical. His red flannel shirt stood out like a sore thumb in the bright green foliage. Jimmy pulled the Honda over to the side of the road and killed the ignition.

“I can see you,” Julie called out her window.

Doc untangled himself from the bush, and Burt stood up from the ditch. They mumbled something to each other as they walked up to the car.

“We thought you were Bill,” Burt said.

“What if I was?” asked Jimmy. “You’d rather have walked back to Ken’s?”

“That’s right,” said Doc. “That man drives me crazy.”

They all got a good chuckle out of that. Jimmy and Julie got out of the car and climbed into the little backseat. Burt walked around to the back of the car and opened the hatchback. He put his M-16 in the open trunk space and closed the hatch. “Where’s your gun?” he asked Jimmy.

Jimmy sighed. “Oh crap, I forgot all about it. We’re going to have to go back.”

“For a gun?” asked Doc, rolling his eyes. “I’m just going to keep walking.”

“Where did you leave it?” asked Julie.

“Nobody is going to find it,” Jimmy said. “Look, let’s get back to Ken’s, and I can come back for the gun, later. I’d hate to go back and run into Bill.”

“Okay,” said Burt, as he got in behind the wheel. “Your call. I would have driven you back.”

“Will you just drive?” Doc asked. “Time could be critical. We have no idea what’s wrong with our friend. For all we know, poor Patty could be dying.”

If Doc’s intention had been to get the Honda moving, his comment certainly succeeded. The Honda groaned with all the extra weight, but soon they were flying down the long gravel road. The little car shook and shimmied, and dust billowed behind them in an angry red cloud. Julie clutched Jimmy’s hand, and he could see the fear in her eyes. Doc turned in his seat, wild-eyed, and he laughed like an escaped lunatic. Burt didn’t seem to notice and continued to push the twenty-year-old car to the limit. Jimmy thought Patty would outlive them all.

Jimmy hadn’t given himself the chance to wonder what was wrong with Patty. He did so now, letting his mind wander in a thousand untethered directions. What if it was a stroke he thought; what could they do for her? The same could be said for Alzheimer’s or any form of dementia. He didn’t know of any medications for those conditions, and even if there was, he doubted that Doc would’ve had the foresight to have taken any from the hospital. Maybe she got into some bad beef? Jimmy shuddered at the thought. If Patty had Mad Cow Disease, they could all have it. He imagined people stumbling upon them at Ken’s, with the entire camp in the late throes of the brain-wasting malady. That would be pretty ugly, Jimmy thought.

The Honda rumbled on the washboard road, and the interior began to fill with dust. Windows were cracked open. Jimmy could feel Julie’s nails biting into the palm of his hand. What if Patty had simply cracked? Jimmy didn’t want to think about that, but he couldn’t help himself. What could Doc do for her? Would Ken allow Doc to dope her up like they did to those crazy people in the movies? What if she wandered off? The log that locked their gate was heavy, but Patty was a big woman with a man’s shoulders and a good deal of lower-body strength. There was nothing stopping her if she wanted to leave the compound. This frightened Jimmy, for he knew if she did get lost that Ken would search for her until he took his last breath.

The car slid around a familiar corner, and they were suddenly on the opposite side of Ken’s lake. Jimmy could see the house across the water. The freakish log wall made it look imposing, even to him. He wondered what was happening behind those walls. Jimmy’s mind then drifted to the possibility that Patty had suffered a stroke. He had heard that they were sometimes like earthquakes, small and large, with devastating aftershocks. What could Doc do for her, then? How could he even possibly diagnose her condition? Jimmy thought about that and didn’t think Doc could not with any degree of certainty. The crisis, Jimmy thought, had set medicine back one hundred years. He hoped he was wrong in his assumption.

The road dipped back into the woods and away from the lake where it would around a pair of corners. Burt was driving like a man on fire, and the air inside the car was thick with tension.

“Slow down. We’ve had our fun for the day.” said Doc. “I can’t operate on myself!”

“I’ve got it,” said Burt.

“Slow down!” shrieked Julie. “You’re going to kill us all.”

“Hang on!” Burt shouted with a teenager’s smile.

Jimmy’s heart jumped in his throat as Burt took the hairpin corner, and the Honda slid toward the ditch. Burt roared with baritone laughter, twisting the steering wheel with confidence. Doc was shouting something at Burt, and Burt began shouting back at him.

And Ken was suddenly standing in the middle of the road in front of them. He held his rifle at the ready. “Stop!” screamed Jimmy.

“You damn fool!” cried Burt, his creamy eyes nearly bulging out of his head. “Get off the damn road!”

Ken must have heard him and quickly dove headlong into the ditch. Burt had his feet planted on the brakes, and the Honda bucked across the gravel, down into the opposite ditch. Julie screamed, and Jimmy saw what was about to happen. He threw himself into Julie and held her tight. He was familiar with the rock; it was three times the size of Bill’s Honda. There was a sound of crunching metal, and Jimmy was thrown into the back of Doc’s seat. The engine squealed like a stuck pig and suddenly died as the oncoming wave of dust hit them.

Ken was at the passenger door in what seemed like only a second later. “Are you okay?” he shouted. “Are any of you hurt?”

Doc held his fist cocked as if he were about to punch Burt in the nose. “I don’t think so,” he shouted back to Ken as he turned in his seat. “Are you two all right?”

“Yeah,” said Jimmy, who found that for some reason he and Julie had started to kiss.

“Sorry,” said Burt. “We would’ve been fine if you wouldn’t have been standing in the middle of the road. “This is your fault, Ken. What the hell are you doing out here?”

Ken walked to the front of the car and put his hand on his chin. Then he slowly shook his head. Steam hissed and coolant gurgled, and Jimmy smelled a foul odor as the doors were forced open. Doc helped Julie out of the car while Burt went to check the damages. Jimmy extracted himself from the backseat and joined the others at the front of the car.

Ken chuckled. “I was out for a walk. Does Bill know you have his car?”

“Nope,” muttered Burt.

The car was ruined. Jimmy could clearly see that it would never move again under its own power. Steaming green antifreeze dripped from the wounded radiator as blood-red transmission fluid gushed from a severed artery.

“I think we should all pray for Burt,” Ken said. “Bill is really going to be pissed.”

“You drive like a maniac,” Julie said, pointing her finger at Burt. “You’re lucky you didn’t kill all of us!”

“I know,” said Burt, sheepishly. “I’d be missing out on all of this.”

Doc took Ken by the shoulder. “How is Patty?” he asked. “As you can see, I got here as fast as I could.”

“Stop it!” protested Burt.

“She’s fine,” said Ken. “She just had a little spell, that’s all. That could happen to anyone. We’re all under a lot of stress out here.”

Doc nodded. “Right you are,” he said. “Just the same, you won’t mind if I take a look at her, will you?”

“Fine by me, but you won’t find anything wrong with her. She’s much better now.”

“I’m sure she is,” said Doc. “I’m sure she is.”

“You drive like a damned idiot, Burt,” Ken said, quickly changing the subject.

The hatch on the Honda had sprung in the crash, and Burt lifted it up and hefted the M-16 up and out of the trunk. Everyone stared at him for a long moment. “That’s right,” he said, holding up the rifle in front of him. “I don’t want to hear any more shit about my driving. I’m sorry, and I know Bill is going to be mad as hell, but that was my first accident in over forty years of driving.”

“Tell that to your insurance agent,” said Doc.

“Enough,” said Julie. “Burt’s right, we have to let it go. We’re here now, that’s all that matters.”

“That’s what I’m talkin’ about,” said Burt. He then slung the rifle over his shoulder and started walking. Jimmy thought it was because he wanted to get away from the scene of the crime.

There was a pause, and then everyone joined him. Burt allowed them to catch up and then began talking about the soldiers that had gotten the drop on them. He then followed it up with their subsequent rescue by a pack of wolves. Julie and Doc began to talk about how things were at Bailey’s and how they had renamed it Utopia.

Ken shut them down. “I don’t care what they do over there,” he said, flatly. “That has nothing to do with me, and I’m not going to give my thoughts to anyone on how they conduct their business. Do you understand that? I don’t want to hear about those people.”

The only sounds for a long while were made by the songbirds, the squirrels, and the sound of their own feet on the gravel. With the morning sun over their shoulders, they walked into their mimicking shadows. Jimmy thought about Ken’s strange request. He wondered why Ken wasn’t curious about the people at Bailey’s. Jimmy knew that he would have a thousand questions if he were Ken. Still, he thought that it said something about the man’s character. He had already made up his mind that he didn’t like the place, and that was enough for him.

“So,” asked Julie, “how is Rita?”

“Well, I suppose she’s just fine,” said Ken. “You’ve only been gone for two days.”

“A lot can happen in two days,” Julie replied, a hint of challenge in her voice.

There was another moment of silence before Ken replied. “Sorry,” he said. “You got me there.”

Ken had left the gate unlocked, and they entered the sleepy compound. Jimmy had so many memories of this place, but very few of them were as quiet as it was right now. He looked up at the house and waited for Patty to come bursting out the front door, across the porch, and down the stone steps to greet them. That was her trademark. Jimmy caught Ken’s eye; he shook his head, barely a fraction of an inch, but it was enough to let Jimmy know that Ken missed it, too.

Ken and Doc walked up the stairs, and when Jimmy went to follow, Julie grabbed his arm. “Let’s give them a few minutes alone, okay?” she whispered. “This is awkward.”

Burt had already taken a seat on the stone steps and cupped his chin in both hands with his elbows resting on his knees. “Forty years of driving,” he mumbled to himself.

Ken and Doc disappeared inside the house, and a short time later Rita walked down to join them. She was wearing pajama bottoms and one of Patty’s old bathrobes. Her thick hair seemed to be growing grayer by the hour, and Jimmy could see the circles under her eyes. Rita and Patty had been like sisters since arriving here, and Rita wore her worry like a mask.

“Hi Rita,” said Julie. “How is she?”

Rita shook her head and quickly looked up to the sky. “I don’t know. According to Ken there’s nothing wrong with her.” A tear rolled down her cheek, and she swiped it angrily away with her hand. “I know better. She’s losing her mind.”

Jimmy grimaced and Burt sighed.

“Tell me what she’s been doing,” whispered Julie, looking up at the house.

Rita gave her head a little shake and held her trembling hands over her face. “She forgot who I was,” she said, and then she started to weep softly.

Julie took Rita into her arms. “Doc is here now,” she said. “He’ll get it figured out, and Patty will be better in no time. You’ll see.”

“I don’t know, Julie,” Rita sobbed. “You haven’t seen her. I don’t know what anyone can do for her. She needs a real hospital and a lot of doctors. I just feel so bad.”

Julie held her tight for a long moment, and Jimmy could see that she was fighting to stay strong. “Have you put on any coffee yet?” she asked.

Rita shook her head and forced a smile on her face. “I’m sorry,” she said. “You three must be starved. Let’s us girls go up and get something cooking.”

“We’ll stay out here,” said Burt. “Just give us a call when you’re ready.”

Julie looked to Jimmy for approval, and he nodded his head. He could eat, and he had heard enough of Rita. Doc could help her; Jimmy was sure of it. For some reason Rita’s grim diagnosis had seemed like an insult directed at both Doc and Patty. She needed some faith, thought Jimmy, and to keep her opinions to herself. He watched them as they walked up the winding concrete steps to the three wooden steps that led to the bright red porch. Julie opened the door, and they disappeared inside.

“Got a smoke?” asked Burt.

“Yeah,” Jimmy said, digging out his crumpled pack. “Two left. You’re in luck.”

“Well then,” said Burt. “I must be on a roll. This has been a really shitty day.”

“And we haven’t even had breakfast,” Jimmy said, lighting his Camel and passing the pack and lighter down to Burt.

Burt lit his cigarette and handed Jimmy back the lighter. The empty pack he crushed with frustration as he smoked. “I think we should talk about what happens if something happened to Ken and Patty,” he said, turning his head to face Jimmy.

Jimmy sat on the step above Burt and took a deep draw on his cigarette and exhaled slowly. “There’s nothing wrong with Ken,” he said. “And Patty is going to be fine.”

Burt gave Jimmy a knowing nod and turned away. “Right,” he said. “And this is all going to be over tomorrow, and we can all go home as if it never happened.”

“That’s not fair.”

“I’m not going to let you bury your head up your ass. There damn well is something wrong with Ken and you know it. If we lose Patty, we’ll lose him. Those two are a matched set. Don’t you see that?”

Tears streamed down Jimmy’s cheeks as he realized that Burt was right. Jimmy let them fall, and he smoked like a condemned man. “What are we going to do?” Jimmy finally managed to ask.

“We’re going to have to get out of here. I suppose we’ll have to go live with the hippies. We won’t be safe here, not without Ken. I don’t think either of us has what it takes to step in and fill those shoes. Bill certainly doesn’t. No, we’ll have to hit the road and hope that they’ll take us all in.”

“You don’t think Patty is going to die, do you?”

Burt shrugged his beefy shoulders. “I hate to say this, but if she gets worse it would be a blessing if she did.”

“You ever say that again and I’ll break your nose,” spat Jimmy. “Do you understand me? Never talk like that again.”

Burt smiled sadly and continued. “Have you ever known someone with Alzheimer’s?”

Jimmy shook his head. He didn’t want to hear this, but he felt powerless to stop it.

“My mom had it. They called it ‘sudden onset.’ It didn’t come on this quickly, but it came on pretty damn fast. Seemed like one week she knew me. and the next week I was a complete stranger. Rita is right. Patty needs a team of doctors.”

“But Patty doesn’t have Alzheimer’s,” Jimmy said, trying to fight his emotions.

“Doesn’t she?”

Jimmy shook his head, as if that would change things.

“Things got really bad before she passed on. My old man—you would have loved him—he stayed by her side right up until the end. He died in his sleep a month later. Doctors told me what I already knew. He died of a broken heart.”

Jimmy saw the big man’s shoulders heave with half-buried emotions. Burt flipped his cigarette onto the green lawn and buried his face in his hands. He sat there like a lost child, sobbing quietly. Jimmy forced himself to think about what Burt had said. Deep down, he knew that Burt was right. Ken couldn’t survive the day without Patty. There was no denying it; they would have to leave here if anything happened to her. This place would hold too many memories.

A loon called from across the lake, and the lonely sound it made went unanswered by nature. The loon’s call was like a knife to Jimmy’s heart.

Chapter 10

Julie eventually called them to the kitchen. They ate their breakfast of canned meat and powdered eggs at the kitchen table. Sunbeams reflected brilliantly off the lake and shimmered on the kitchen walls. Hot coffee was sipped, and the conversation once again turned to the weather. Ken and Doc were still with Patty in the master bedroom. Jimmy could hear bits and pieces of their conversation but nothing he cared to listen to.

After breakfast the men were politely ushered outside. Jimmy could see that Rita was still having a lot of trouble keeping it together, and he had no desire to sit and listen to Julie tell her how everything was going to be fine. Jimmy crept down into the basement and fetched a fresh pack of cigarettes. He joined Burt in the backyard at the picnic table. He offered Burt a cigarette, and they smoked silently, each lost in their own thoughts.

“Winter’s coming,” Burt finally said. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to cut and split some wood.”

Jimmy nodded. Winter would be there before they knew it, and he was secretly dreading it. Winters were bad enough in Crown two hundred miles to the south. Up here winters were long brutal seasons where temperatures regularly flirted with forty below zero. Surviving the winter wasn’t going to be easy. Ken had a decent supply of wood, but Jimmy doubted if it was enough to last until spring. He followed Burt down into the basement and into the garage. The saws were there and so was the gas can; they sat bundled together under a thin veil of cobwebs.

“He’s probably not going to like us firing these things up,” Burt said, hefting one of the chainsaws. “We’re going to have to risk it sooner or later.”

Jimmy nodded. “I just need to do something. What could be taking Doc so long?”

“I’ve got no idea, but I’m not a doctor.”

Jimmy told Burt of a fallen elm tree over at the abandoned lodge. The two men were soon attacking it, shirtless, in the bright morning sunshine. Jimmy didn’t know when Ken had shown up, but Ken seemed to be there right away with a full plastic jug of water he wordlessly helped haul the brush into a pile. They worked that way for over an hour.

Doc arrived and he sat down on a fat chunk of elm. The saws were silenced, and the men gathered around him. Jimmy was sweating. and his mouth felt dry. He lit up a cigarette and found himself handing out three more.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with her,” Doc said, scratching his Paul Bunyan beard with long fingers. “I can’t be sure, but it doesn’t seem like Alzheimer’s. I think it might be some type of post-traumatic stress disorder.”

“Well,” said Ken. “That’s good news, isn’t it?”

“Sure,” said Doc, not sounding so sure himself. “These things come and go, and no one is really quite sure why. I haven’t seen much of it up here, but I have done some reading on the subject. Again, I could be wrong. Without my books or the internet, I’m pretty much flying by the seat of my pants. All we can do is keep an eye on her and pray for her to recover.”

“Can’t you give her something?” asked Burt.

“No way,” said Ken.

“I wouldn’t know what to prescribe her,” said Doc apologetically, still scratching his salt and pepper beard. “What she needs is rest, and she absolutely refuses to take anything.”

They talked some more, and soon the four men were working furiously on the huge old elm. The chainsaws screamed under the hot sun and seemed to be speaking for all of them. Jimmy couldn’t remember feeling so helpless. Julie joined them, dressed in blue jeans and one of Ken’s flannel shirts, and she hauled brush and held limbs to be cut. Jimmy was glad to see her and at one point he kissed her. “I love you,” he said, holding her chin in his hand.

“I love you, too,” she said, smiling sadly.

The splitting was difficult as the stubborn elm fought against the sharp bit of Ken’s splitting maul. The sun continued to rise in the sky, and the bottle of water slowly drained with each parched sip. Julie and Doc found a pair of rakes, and they cleaned up the broken branches from the sun burnt grass.

How long Rita stood there screaming at them was uncertain. Jimmy killed his saw just in time to hear her say that Patty had disappeared. “I was so tired, and it seemed like I was only sleeping for a few minutes,” moaned Rita. “She’s not in the house!”

“Okay,” Julie said. “She couldn’t have gotten too far. Let’s split up and find her.”

Jimmy waited for Ken to scream at Rita, but he simply set down the maul and gave her a hug. “Julie’s right,” he said. “We’ll find her.”

“I think I already have,” said Doc, holding one hand up above his eyes like a visor and pointing out onto the lake with the other. “Look, out there on the lake. I think that’s her.”

There was a moment of silence as everyone concentrated on the area that Doc was referring to. Between the pines on the far side of the wide bay was obviously a canoe paddled by a single person. Jimmy strained his eyes, but the paddler was much too far away to distinguish.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” grunted Ken.

“Oh my God,” exclaimed Rita. “What is she doing out there, and where the hell is she going?”

“Rita,” Doc said calmly. “You’re acting hysterical, and that isn’t helping matters. Pull yourself together, woman.” He then turned to Ken. “Take me with you. It’s going to take the both of us to haul her into your boat.”

“Sounds good,” said Ken. “Let’s go.”

“I’m sorry,” whispered Rita.

The two men began to jog in the direction of Ken’s dock and hadn’t covered twenty feet when Julie shouted a question at Ken. “What about the key to your boat?”

Ken, who had been leading, held his arms out like wings and stopped dead. He then turned to face Julie. “They’re hanging on the board in the kitchen.”

Julie turned to face Jimmy and he smiled at her. “Good thinking,” he said. “They wouldn’t have gotten too far without the keys.”

Julie gave him a confused look.

Burt finally intervened. “I think she’d like you to run up to the house and get the keys.”

Jimmy nodded. “Oh yeah,” he said. “I’m on it.”

“Run!” shrieked Rita.

“Rita,” warned Doc.

Jimmy set off at top speed and covered the quarter mile as fast as he could. He liked being the fastest guy in camp. There was a transferrable skill, he thought. He then wondered if working in the kitchen hadn’t damaged his ego. He ran through the open mouth of the gate and up the hill to the backyard. He threw open the screen-door and charged up the three wooden steps into the kitchen.

And there stood Patty Dahlgren. She was dressed in a fuzzy white robe and matching slippers.

“Patty,” exclaimed Jimmy. “We thought you were out on the lake.”

Patty smiled and sipped from a bottle of water. “My,” she said. “Look what the cat drug in.”

“How do you feel, Patty?” Jimmy asked, feeling relief rush through his body.

Patty gave him an odd, almost sly look that confused him. “I feel great now that you’re here,” she said. “I’ve missed you.”

Jimmy backed away as Patty removed her glasses and shook out her hair. “I’m really happy to hear that,” he stammered. “I have to tell the others that you’re here.”

“Oh, Ken,” Patty whispered. “You don’t have to tell anyone right away, do you?”

Jimmy could only nod as his feet propelled him out of the kitchen and down the steps in a single bound. He was around the corner of the house before the spring slapped the door closed. Holy crap, thought Jimmy. He nearly tripped going downhill and pinwheeled his arms to keep from tumbling forward. He knew that he was trying to outrun a memory that would probably haunt him for the rest of his days. He wondered to himself, who was that out on the lake? Old cigarette smoke began to stir in his lungs before he was halfway back to Ken. Jimmy began to wheeze and cough as he fought for air. Still, he pushed himself. He was the fastest man in camp, and he was determined to prove it.

Everyone was standing down at the lake when he arrived, huffing and wheezing. “That’s not… Patty,” he said, between two breaths. “She’s up in the kitchen!”

Ken twisted and gave him a look as if he had lost his mind. “Are you sure?

Jimmy bent down and put his hands on his knees. He nodded his head. “I just talked to her. She thought I was you.”

“The hell you say,” growled Ken, and without another word began to run to the house.

“If that isn’t Patty, who the heck is it?” Burt asked.

“Whoever it is,” Julie said. “They’re getting closer.”

“I’m going with Ken,” announced Doc. “Be careful; we don’t know who that is.”

“I think we can handle one person in a canoe,” Burt said. “Go help Ken.”

“I’ll go with you,” said Rita.

“No,” said Doc. “You should stay here. Ken and I will take care of this.”

There was an uncomfortable silence as Doc jogged away, and soon Rita was sobbing. “I’m not hysterical,” she moaned. “I’m really not.”

They stood there for nearly five minutes, hands cupped over their eyes, before Julie finally recognized the paddler. “Oh my God,” she said. “That’s Bill.”

“You’ve got to be shittin’ me,” exclaimed Burt. He stuck his hands on his wide hips and curled his lips back in an angry snarl.

“Calm down,” said Julie. “You’re getting hysterical.”

“Oh, that’s so funny,” Rita said, sarcastically.

Burt began to laugh, and soon they were all laughing, even Rita. Jimmy laughed until his eyes watered and his stomach hurt. Of course he knew that Bill was going to be furious with both him and Julie. Still, he thought that would be small potatoes compared to how angry he was going to be with Burt. Bill didn’t have much in this world and had loved his Honda. Each time he was reminded of that, Jimmy was caught in another fit of laughter. Bill deserved it, he thought, especially after what he had done to both him and Julie. Bill had every right to be angry with them, but Jimmy wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easily, not because of what boiled down to a simple car accident.

“He’s going to kill me,” mumbled Burt.

“Not if I kill him first,” said Julie.

“Don’t let me stop you,” Burt replied, backing away from the lake.

Jimmy could now plainly see that it was Bill. He would stroke the paddle half a dozen strokes and glide to a stop. Thn he would repeat the process. Jimmy shook his head in embarrassment.

“He doesn’t look happy,” said Rita.

Julie stepped towards the water, balled her hands into fists, and struck a Dempsey-era boxer’s pose. “His day is about to get worse,” she hissed.

Bill had obviously seen them, and his meandering canoe was pointed, more or less, in their direction. “You stole my car!” Bill bellowed across the water.

“This is going to be ugly,” muttered Burt. “You know, technically, it wasn’t me who stole the car. You guys did that.”

“Don’t worry, Burt,” Jimmy said. “Let Julie handle this.”

“You stole my car!”

“I hate confrontation,” said Rita. “I don’t care what Doc says, I’m going up to the house.”

They all ignored Rita, and she slipped away, unnoticed. Bill was less than two hundred feet from shore and picking up speed. Julie marched down to the water’s edge and planted her fists on her hips superhero style. Bill’s tongue hung from the side of his mouth, clenched between his teeth. His eyes were wild with anger, and his red face was coated with sweat. He dug deep with his paddle and pushed with all his strength. The canoe hit the sand beach with a sharp, ripping sound. Bill used the paddle for support and practically leapt from the canoe. Jimmy had never seen Bill like this, and he’d known him for a long time.

He came straight for Jimmy. “You left me out there, man!” he shouted in a froth of spit. “And then you stole my car!”

Julie stepped in front of Bill. “And what about you?” she asked, furiously pointing at Bill with both hands. “You’re a goddamn liar!”

Bill’s head looked as if a pinball was rattling around inside his brain. He pointed both of his fingers at Julie, mimicking her perfectly. “You’re a goddamn liar!”

“Oh, shit,” grumbled Burt.

“Let her handle it,” Jimmy repeated.

“Why did you tell Jimmy that we had all decided to stay at Bailey’s?” Julie barked. “And why didn’t you tell me that Jimmy had come back here? I was worried sick about him, and you knew it!”

“Me and Jimmy was just fine until you came along,” Bill spat, his face bright red with anger.

Julie’s eyes blazed with unbridled fury. “You’re a sick man, Bill Huggins,” she growled. “I feel sorry for you.”

“Where’s my goddamn car?”

“You want your car? Follow me,” Julie replied, waving her arm at Bill.

“Yeah, I want my damn car. I am so out of here, man.”

Jimmy and Burt stood, shell-shocked, and watched the two of them stomp away with Bill staying a safe ten steps behind Julie. Jimmy scratched his head. “This isn’t good,” he said. “Do you think we should follow them?”

“Hell, no,” replied Burt. “I think I’m going up to the house.”

“You will stay right here. We’re both going to take our lumps.”

Burt grunted and slowly nodded his head. “I wasn’t kidding, that was my first accident. That never would’ve happened if Ken hadn’t been standing in the road. You know that, right?”

“I know,” Jimmy said, watching Julie and Bill as they stalked off down the gravel road. Julie’s hands were in the air as she screamed something at Bill. “Oh, crap,” he said. “This is so bad.”

“Like I don’t know that? Give me a smoke.”

They stood there and smoked. From their vantage point they could see a distant Bill as he stood at the corner. There was no mistaking his reaction as he put both of his hands on top of his head.

“Son of a bitch,” muttered Burt. “I’m so sorry.”

Jimmy watched Bill as he sprinted around the corner of the road, behind the woods, and out of sight. “It could have been any of us driving,” he said.

“But I was showing off. That should have never happened.”

Jimmy knew he should feel some pity for Burt, but he didn’t. Burt had been driving like a maniac and had put all of their lives in jeopardy. They stood there quietly for what seemed like a short eternity. Julie finally emerged with Bill two steps behind her.

“Here it comes,” said Burt.

“Yep.”

They marched back, and their voices became clearer with every step. Bill was screaming about his wrecked car while Julie roared with indignation. Jimmy thought that he’d rather be anywhere on the planet right now, even locked inside a relocation camp. This was a volatile situation, and he’d seen enough of those recently—enough to last a lifetime. He and Burt exchanged a worried look and returned their attention to the road.

“I don’t give two shits about that piece of crap!” shrieked Julie. “You’re a meddler, Bill Huggins, like some kind of comic book character. I can’t believe a word that comes out of your mouth!”

“You smashed up my car!”

“I wasn’t driving!”

“Who was driving?”

“Burt was!”

“Oh, shit,” whispered Burt. “That’s right! I was driving your car, man. I’m so sorry, it was an accident.”

Bill’s eyes grew huge, and he screamed something unintelligible. He suddenly began to jog towards them. At fifty feet away he began to scream again. He suddenly stopped and picked up a rock, and then to Jimmy’s astonishment hurled it at the men. The rock sailed harmlessly above their heads. Bill dug down and picked up another stone. That rock skipped two feet to Burt’s side and caused him to jump.

“Knock it off!” Jimmy screamed. “Bill, grow up, will ya?”

The words seemed to hit Bill like a freight train. His face seemed to crumple, and his hands began to tremble. To Jimmy, he looked like a young teen caught shoplifting. Bill let out a short wail and suddenly began to run back to the safety of his canoe.

“That’s right, you asshole, get the hell out of here! Go back and crawl under your rock!”

“Julie!” shouted Burt. “Enough of that shit!”

But Jimmy knew Julie, and it was going to take a lot more than that to stop her once she had a full head of steam. “I hate you, Bill Huggins! Do you hear me? I hate your guts, and I never want to see you again!”

Bill held his hands over his ears as he ran. Jimmy couldn’t remember ever seeing anything so pitiful. “That’s enough,” he said to Julie, taking her firmly by the arm. “Mission accomplished!”

Julie turned in his grip, and he could see the anger drain from her face. Bill was now at the water, pushing the canoe out into the lake. He was bawling like a baby as he did so, and it caused his timing to be off as he tried to hop into the canoe. He was up to his knees when he tried heaving himself inside, but he slipped off in a great splash of water. The canoe continued out to sea, and Bill, soaking wet, charged after it in a mad, soggy scramble.

“Will you help him, Jimmy?” pleaded Burt.

Jimmy moved in that direction, but Bill had somehow managed to claw his way into the old aluminum canoe. “You can go to hell!” Bill bellowed at them as he began to stroke the paddle into the water. “I hate you, too!”

They watched him paddle away in silence. Somehow Bill seemed to have found another gear. The canoe was a distant memory in only a couple of short minutes. Jimmy closed his eyes and said a prayer.

“I shouldn’t have been so hard on him,” Julie said. “I’m sorry about that. He just makes me so mad. I really don’t hate him. I just don’t understand him.”

Jimmy shook his head. He was angry with Julie. Bill may have fit every name she had called him, but he was still Jimmy’s friend. For all intents and purposes, she just shattered his fragile ego and had drawn a definite line in the sand, claiming him for herself. Jimmy didn’t think she had any right to do that or to tell him he wasn’t welcome back at Ken’s. That wasn’t her decision to make. Bill had accompanied Jimmy back to Bailey’s not knowing what they were up against. He had also saved all of their lives from the radical Christian Fundamentalists. He deserved better, despite all of his faults.

Julie seemed to be reading his mind. “Oh, shit,” she said. “What did I just do?”

“I think you made an enemy,” said Burt. He then turned and slowly walked back towards the house.

“Oh, Jimmy,” Julie said, a tear falling down her cheek. “I was out of control. I should have never said those things to him. Oh, dear. You should have seen his face when he saw his car. He screamed like a little girl.”

Jimmy shook his head and took her by the hand, happy that she could at least see the error of her ways. “Come on,” he said. “There’s nothing we can do about Bill right now. He’s just going to have to get over it.”

Julie stood planted where she was, watching the canoe as it grew smaller. “Why does it seem like everyone is going crazy?”

“I don’t know; maybe because we are going crazy.”

They slowly walked back to the compound. Jimmy, eager to change the subject, tried to explain what had transpired in the kitchen. Patty had indeed thought he was Ken. Jimmy, embarrassed, had left out the part that she had made a confused pass at him.

“That’s insane,” said Julie, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I was insane. That wasn’t me back there. You know me, Jimmy. I’m not like that.”

Jimmy, suddenly struck by how bizarre the entire day had been, asked something he immediately regretted. “What if we all have Mad Cow Disease?”

Julie seized onto that with both hands. “That would explain everything!” she cried out. “How long does it last?”

Jimmy stared at his shuffling feet and flatly lied. “I don’t know,” he said.

Chapter 11

They walked through the gate, and Julie shoved it closed. Jimmy slid the lock into place. They had done it so many times that it had become routine. Jimmy wanted to tell Julie that his theory was just that—only a theory. She was adding up things out loud, narrowing it down to the canned meat in the cupboard. “We’re going to have to toss it all out,” she said, “or we’re never going to get better.”

They walked up the hill and found Doc and Rita sitting in the sunlight at the picnic table. They were talking in hushed tones and stopped the moment they noticed the two of them. Jimmy and Julie exchanged a puzzled look.

“Where’s Burt?” Jimmy asked.

“Haven’t seen him,” Doc said, dismissively.

Rita suddenly turned on Julie. “How could you have said those things to him? What if he forgot to tell you that Jimmy came back here? Have you ever thought about that?”

Jimmy knew then that Rita had heard it all.

“Jimmy thinks we all have Mad Cow Disease,” Julie said, ignoring Rita. “And I think he’s right.”

Doc held his hands up and shook his head. “That’s not possible,” he said.

“Oh, isn’t it?” asked Julie. “What the heck do you know? We sure as hell could have it, and it would certainly explain things around here.”

“Listen to me, Julie. We don’t have Mad Cow Disease. That is inconceivable.”

“And why is that?”

“Because it would kill us all!”

Julie hadn’t been expecting that. Jimmy could see it in her face; he grimaced. “I didn’t say that we had it,” he said. “All I did was ask, ‘What if we did?’”

“I told you, and we’d all die in the throes of lunacy. Do you want to believe that’s going to happen?”

Both Jimmy and Julie shook their heads. “But you can’t be sure that we don’t have the disease, can you, Doc?” Julie asked.

“I certainly cannot.”

“I’m not crazy,” said Jimmy. “I think Doc’s right.”

“I’m not crazy, either,” said Rita.

They all turned to stare at Rita for a second before Doc broke the silence. “I think Patty had a small stroke. That’s my personal opinion. Julie, you and Rita have been under a lot of pressure, and it’s only natural for that to throw you off center. I don’t think any of us are crazy. I do believe that some of us need to check their tempers, while others should keep their fears to themselves.”

Jimmy agreed with Doc and nodded his head. Julie sighed and joined him. Rita studied a bug that was crawling across the table but never nodded or said anything.

The following week was cooler as fall began to creep up on summer. Jimmy and Julie put aside their differences and were nearly inseparable. They shared themselves as if for the first time, and their love grew in leaps and bounds. Jimmy could feel it, and he felt somehow ashamed of himself for feeling so good. Patty showed little, if any, progress. Ken stood by her side and said precious little to anyone else. When he did talk, it was to relay some huge accomplishment of Patty’s. There were times when Jimmy wondered if he could hear himself; the miracles that he spoke of were so minuscule, it sounded like it would take her twenty years to make a complete recovery.

Burt and Doc spent their days playing cards and doubling up on odd jobs. Rita took over in the kitchen, which nobody seemed to mind. She didn’t say much anymore, and Jimmy thought she looked like she’d aged a decade in a week’s time.

One afternoon, ten days after the incident at the lake, Julie turned to Jimmy in his bed and she tenderly cupped his face in her hands. “Jimmy,” she whispered, “I want to get out of here. I can’t take it, anymore.”

Jimmy groaned, and the moment was spoiled. Two days would pass before Julie brought it up again. They were down on the dock, fishing for crappies in the cool of a drizzling morning rain. “I want you to come along with me,” she said. “I want all of us to go, and I don’t want to come back. This isn’t my home.”

“I can’t leave Ken and Patty,” Jimmy said, quietly. “You know that.”

“What about me? I love you, Jimmy. I want to marry you.”

“I want to marry you, too.”

“So, what are we waiting for? They have a judge over there, and he can get us hitched. I want to spend the rest of my life with you—can’t you see that? I just can’t stay here. This place is just too depressing. I feel like I’m suffocating.”

Jimmy had known this was coming. He had known it from the minute she had agreed to accompany him back here. He had no idea what to say to her. He could no sooner lop off his own hands than he could leave Ken and Patty in their hour of need. He could see the boredom in Julie’s eyes, and it had been there from the second things returned to normal. “I can’t go with you, not right now,” he said. “If you really want to go, I’m not going to stop you.”

Julie nodded, bravely. “I thought you would say that,” she said. “I’m sorry, Jimmy. I just can’t take it, anymore.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can. Maybe I can even talk the rest of them into joining me. I just can’t leave here with Patty being like she is. You understand that, right?”

Julie nodded her head. The next morning she loaded up her things into a Chevy pickup whose owners were either long dead or captured. After a passionate kiss, Julie shifted the truck into drive, and she never looked back.

The following days matched Jimmy’s emotions, endlessly gray and unseasonably cool. Wherever he turned, there was something or someone that reminded him of Julie. He purposely stayed out of the porch where she had slept on one of the single beds. He found himself avoiding Rita, simply because she would ask him how he was. Board games had become out of bounds as each one held another memory of Julie. Jimmy would spend his days hiding from Julie’s ghost, and he was rarely successful for more than a few minutes at a time.

Jimmy’s depression deepened with each passing day. He began sleeping in his clothes, and he gave up shaving. He avoided looking at himself in the mirror. The stranger who stared back at him with dark circles under red-rimmed eyes also reminded him of Julie. There were times when he thought he was on the verge of losing his mind, but he found that oddly comforting. A big part of him envied Patty. She seemed to start a new life every morning.

There were jobs to do, and he forced himself to rise to the tasks at hand. There was still trash to take care of and wood to chop. Storm windows needed to be exchanged for the screens, but they needed to be cleaned first. The boats were landed, scrubbed, covered, and parked under the pines. The men hauled in the dock, one heavy section at a time. They stacked it neatly, and Ken secured a large blue tarp over it. Red appeared in the trees and brown in the grass. Winter was coming.

Chapter 12

Horror found them when they least expected it. The experience would slap the depression from Jimmy and force him to make decisions. Just before lunch as Jimmy sat on his bed and watched September rain smear against the storm window, he heard the sound of running feet. His door was thrown open, and Rita stood there with eyes wild with fear. “Have you seen Patty?” she nearly shrieked at him.

Jimmy shook his head and he sprang from the bed. A full-scale search of the house was on. and everyone seemed to be shouting Patty’s name at the same time. A minute later, as Jimmy was coming out of the tuck-under garage, Ken tossed Jimmy one of the musty hooded raincoats that had hung on the basement wall. “She’s not in here,” was all Ken had needed to say. They each buckled into one of the rubber raincoats, and he and Jimmy charged up the stairs and out of the house.

The cold wind and driving rain worked together to strip the leaves from the trees. They split up, and Jimmy searched the back of the property, starting with the shed. “Patty!” he called every fifteen seconds or so. “Where are you?”

Ken was suddenly behind him and spun Jimmy around like a rag doll. “The gate is open!” he screamed. “The damn gate is wide open!”

“Shit!” cried Jimmy. “When was the last time anyone saw her?”

Ken’s rain-spattered face said it all. He shook his head and shrugged. “Let’s go!” he cried. “I’ll take the road and you search the cabins. She couldn’t have gone far!” They ran to the gate and wordlessly split up.

Jimmy searched the deserted lodge first. “Patty?” he called. The smell of decaying garbage assaulted his senses, and squirrels and chipmunks seemed to be crawling everywhere. “Patty?” The front door hung open, and pooled water shimmered in the breeze. The old place was going to hell in a handbag, and Jimmy found that he could care less.

He may have been searching for an hour without any sign of her before Jimmy stopped in one of the cabins and lit up a cigarette. The raincoat may have been old, but he was as dry as a bone. He tried to think where Patty would have gone. His fingers shook with cold and fading adrenaline. He cursed Julie for not being there to help them. Another pair of eyes might mean the difference between life and death. There were four more cabins to search on this side of the lake. They were strung along the water on a narrow peninsula of land that was known as The Point. The last cabin was nearly a mile from Ken’s, and Jimmy couldn’t imagine that she’d have ventured out that far.

He left the cabin, tossed his cigarette, and marched directly into the wind. Fat raindrops slapped against his clenched face as his raincoat flapped like a wet flag behind him. He bypassed the next set of dark cabins. Ken’s lake boiled like an angry sea while crows desperately clung to the pine branches above him. Jimmy passed another cabin, but he set his sights on the last one. The old log cabin had been painted dark brown for as long as Jimmy could remember, and it stood like a sentinel at the edge of the water. The cabin now looked dark and forbidding. Suddenly a terrible thought crept into his brain: Suicide. Jimmy tried to push it away, but like the crows, it clung to the limbs of his mind with sharp talons and refused to move.

At the end of the peninsula the shaggy grass had been sunburned to a crispy brown. There was something about it that reminded Jimmy of death. The thought ran back to suicide, and Jimmy violently shook his head. “Patty!”

The old door was still in perfect working condition and Jimmy opened it, slowly. “Patty?” he called, quietly. “Are you in here?”

The small living area was covered in dust and cobwebs, and once he closed the cabin door, all sound ceased to exist. The poor light offered by the rain-covered windows caused all the colors inside the cabin to turn to a shade of gray. “Patty?” Jimmy asked in his normal voice. There were two interior doors inside the cabin; the first led into the small bathroom. Jimmy quickly closed the door and moved to the other one. Jimmy could suddenly smell Patty’s lilac perfume. He steeled himself for what was on the other side of the door. He knocked. “Patty? It’s Jimmy.”

He then waited for a full ten count.

He opened the door and found Patty lying flat on her back with her arms spread wide. Her eyes were closed, and Jimmy gasped at the sight. Tears shot down his cheeks like spit seeds of melon. “Oh, my God,” he cried. “Patty!” He quickly unbuckled his raincoat and rubbed his wet hands on his dry shirt. “Patty?”

One arm suddenly flopped to her bosom, and Patty seemed to rise from the dead. Jimmy choked on his tears and the snot that hung from his nose. “Whiskers?” Patty called out, looking as confused as ever.

A shape crawled out from under the bed and suddenly leapt next to Patty. Jimmy groaned as he recognized the animal. He rushed to the side of the bed, wiping the tears from his eyes. “That can’t be,” he said. “That can’t be Whiskers.”

Patty sat up and pulled the affectionate feline close. “Well, Jimmy,” she said, the sleep still thick in her voice. “It most certainly is.”

“Do you remember me?” Jimmy asked, sitting down and giving Patty a quick hug. “Oh, God, we’ve been so worried about you. How do you feel? How did you find Whiskers? Why are you out here?”

Patty reached over to the bedside table and picked up her thick glasses. She calmly put them on and smiled. “I didn’t find Whiskers; she came to find me.”

“But,” Jimmy gasped. “That’s impossible.”

“Nothing is impossible if you have faith,” Patty said. “I prayed for her to find me.”

“Patty!” cried Ken, from over Jimmy’s shoulder.

“Hi, honey,” Patty said with such peace in her voice that Jimmy got up and backed away.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Ken stammered, moving past Jimmy and onto the bed. He reached out and took the metal tag from the mystery cat’s collar. “Oh, my,” he gasped. “Sweet Mother of Jesus!”

Jimmy tossed his raincoat onto the corner of the bed and bolted from the room, out the open door and into the rain. He then ran as fast as his legs would carry him.

Doc spent nearly an hour with Patty and much longer than that digesting his own diagnosis. He confessed this to Jimmy and Burt on the following afternoon as they sat at the picnic table eating their lunch under what had become a blue sky. Patty Dahlgren was not only out of the woods, she seemed to have somehow increased her mental capacities since Jimmy had discovered her sleeping in the cabin at the end of The Point. “She now has what’s called a photographic memory,” Doc had said, seemingly flabbergasted. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“That’s some crazy shit,” said Burt. “Last week she didn’t even know her own name.”

“Whiskers did it to her,” Jimmy said. “How else can you explain it?”

Both Doc and Burt gave him looks that made Jimmy stare down into his plate of beef stew. He knew it sounded crazy, but there was no denying the fact that she had recovered the minute she was reunited with her beloved pet. “I’m glad you brought that up,” said Doc, standing his spoon up in his stew. “I want to address that issue. Some animals possess an incredible instinct for being able to find their way home. Obviously Whiskers has that gift. I believe that Patty’s shock at seeing her long-lost friend was enough to jump-start her sputtering brain. I’m fairly certain now that she was suffering from post-traumatic shock syndrome. I also believe that her shock was so great that it opened up hidden chambers in Patty’s own mind.”

“What are you saying?” Burt asked, pushing his half-eaten stew to the middle of the table.

“Patty Dahlgren now has total recall.”

“Poor Ken,” said Burt, rubbing his chin.

“So,” Jimmy said, “what you’re telling us is that Whiskers had nothing to do with this?”

“Whiskers was simply the catalyst that sparked this phenomenon. There has been no miracle here. You men have to know that there is no such thing as a miracle. There is no Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy, or Easter Bunny, either. Miracles are how simpletons describe complex situations. That’s the lazy man’s blanket explanation. That’s a miracle! Hogwash. Everything can be explained once you eliminate the impossibilities.”

“Miracles are God’s work,” Jimmy corrected. “Everyone knows that.”

“Damn straight,” agreed Burt. “I’ve seen miracles before, and this was definitely one of them. Quit trying to explain everything. You’re cheapening what really happened here. Don’t you believe in God?”

Doc suddenly stood and took the defensive. “What if I don’t? I don’t think either of you can fathom what I’ve been through. Do you think I’ve never prayed? I’ve prayed hundreds of times. I’ve prayed over that many dead bodies and a hundred more! I prayed for God to give them another chance. Do you think I enjoy informing families that they’ve lost a loved one? I prayed, and it never brought a single one of them back to life. There is no God, only science.”

“I feel sorry for you,” said Jimmy.

“Me too,” agreed Burt. “I’m going to pray for you.”

“Don’t patronize me,” spat Doc. “I knew you wouldn’t understand.”

Now it was Burt’s turn to stand. Jimmy was amazed at how much weight the big cop had lost. He thought it was at least fifty pounds. Burt was no longer the three-hundred-pound heart attack in waiting. He was now a two-hundred-fifty pound baldheaded wedge.

“Are you going to hit me, Burt?” Doc asked.

“No, I’m going to ask you to stop,” Burt said in what Jimmy imagined to be his cop voice. “You have every right to your opinion, but you can keep it to yourself.”

“This is still the United States of America, and I can say whatever the hell I please.”

“You can say anything you like to me or Jimmy. You’re just not going to say it to the both of us together.”

Jimmy leaned forward and dropped his spoon.

“What type of rubbish is that?” asked Doc, who now stood toe to toe with Burt.

Burt set his jaw as he stared up at the doctor. “This isn’t rubbish to me. The way I see it is that you’re talking about our Father. I’m not going to let you do that in front of my little brother.”

“Oh, please,” muttered Doc, but he turned away, and it seemed as if Burt had won the round.

Jimmy would replay that conversation over and over in his brain while he lay in his bed that night. He wondered how a doctor, of all people, could not see that they were all walking miracles. He really did feel sorry for Doc, and he prayed that he would find some faith before it was too late. He also wondered about Burt and about what his actions said about his faith. Jimmy had heard many theological arguments over the years, but none that ended with the threat of bodily harm. He found that he greatly admired Burt for making his stand. The next day he would retell the story to Ken. There was a moment of stunned silence before Ken nodded his head and smiled. “I didn’t think he had it in him,” he said of Burt.

The four men spent most of the good-weather days out cutting and splitting firewood. The air was crisp, and flocks of ducks and geese flew overhead. In Jimmy’s opinion, that proved they were much smarter than humans. Jimmy was secretly dreading winter. There was a sense of urgency to their work as September faded into mid-October. Their woodpile had mushroomed until it was nearly the size of a two-car garage. The hard work had paid off in other ways as well, Jimmy noticed. The exercise had been good for all of them, and it brought them closer together.

Patty had completely recovered. She would sometimes sit with Jimmy in the kitchen and talk in great detail about his parents. There he sat and sipped his coffee while Patty spun her stories with Whiskers turning circles around her ankles. He knew Patty enjoyed telling the stories as much as he enjoyed hearing them. He still missed his parents, and he looked forward to their talks.

One night as he and Burt sat out in the cool night air smoking their cigarettes, they heard the wolf pack hunting just outside the gate.

“Those damn things give me the creeps,” said Burt.

Jimmy listened. The howling voices seemed to be singing to each other, not a hundred yards from where they sat. The howling suddenly stopped, and there was a terrified bleating sound followed by ferocious snarls and a scream that nearly sounded human. Burt crossed himself and continued to smoke. That screaming sound would haunt Jimmy for a long time.

Chapter 13

The next morning Jimmy woke up to bright sunshine streaming through the upstairs windows. He sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He could smell strong coffee calling him from downstairs, and he quickly dressed. The other beds were empty, and the air upstairs in the big bedroom felt warmer than it had in weeks. Jimmy couldn’t remember the last time he had slept this late and felt a little bit guilty for doing so. Sleeping in had been Bill’s thing, and Jimmy had no desire to earn that type of reputation. He walked down the creaky stairs and opened the door into the kitchen.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Patty said. She had already poured Jimmy a cup of coffee and handed it to him with a warm smile. “Just the way you like it.”

Jimmy took the cup gratefully and sipped. “Thank you,” he said, clearing the sleep out of his voice. “Where is everyone?”

“Sit down and I’ll tell you.”

Jimmy sat down while Patty bustled around the counter. Whiskers was at her feet, affectionately turning circles around her ankles. Jimmy watched the gray cat for a moment and was amazed at how much fur had collected on Patty’s blue jeans. He then looked at the floor and saw small clumps of it.

“Ken and Burt are out foraging. I’ve had second thoughts about what’s right and wrong these days. I think the good Lord will forgive us for borrowing a few things that we really need. Ken promised to leave a note if he so much as takes a stick of wood. That’s the Christian thing to do.”

“Right,” said Jimmy, only half paying attention to her. He had picked up his coffee cup and was dabbing out a short strand of gray hair. Cat hair lay sprinkled on the table, and he subconsciously rubbed the sleeves of his shirt.

“Ken wants another generator. And do you know what, Jimmy? I don’t feel guilty about sending him out to go get one. I just feel so liberated. Do you want to know something else? I put together a shopping list. I told him to look for one of those boom boxes and some more candles. Do you know how many candles we’ve used since we lost the generator?”

“Uh-huh,” Jimmy muttered, watching Whiskers stop spinning for a second. Jimmy gasped when the cat suddenly tipped over on its side.

Patty looked down and brushed the back of her hand across her forehead. “Oh, my tired baby,” she said, scooping Whiskers into her arms and scratching behind her ears without concern. “This is my little miracle cat. God sent her to me.”

Jimmy took another look at Whiskers, and he could see a small bit of the cat’s tongue hanging out of its mouth. He didn’t like the looks of that. “What about Doc?” Jimmy asked. “Did he go with them?”

“No, Doc is down in the workshop. Here, eat a sandwich. We’ll be eating lunch in an hour. I’m making stew.”

Jimmy stood from the table and accepted the peanut butter sandwich. Stew again, Jimmy thought, remembering the good food at Bailey’s. Jimmy hugged Patty warmly and then picked up his cup. “That’s great news, Patty,” he said. “I’m going down to see Doc. I need to talk to him about something.”

Patty continued to pet Whiskers, and the fur continued to fall out in clumps. She seemed oblivious to it. “Okay,” she said with a bright-eyed smile.

Jimmy stuck the sandwich into his mouth and opened the door to the basement with his free hand. “See you at lunch,” he said, taking the first stair and closing the wooden door behind him. He pulled the sandwich from his mouth and took the three steps down to the outside door. Jimmy could see Doc out there twenty yards from the house, seated on top of the picnic table and facing out into the woods. Once again, Jimmy stuck the sandwich in his mouth as he pulled opened the outside door.

Doc turned at the sound of the screen door slapping back into place. He waved at Jimmy and smiled. Jimmy then chomped down on the sandwich and pulled it away with his free hand. He walked slowly, careful not to spill the still steaming cup of coffee. He sat down next to Doc. “How’s it going?” Jimmy asked. “Have you seen Patty’s cat? I think you need to take a look at her.”

“I already did,” Doc said, with just a touch of resignation in his voice. “I think its dying.”

“Oh, shit.”

“You can say that again.”

Jimmy went to take another bite of his sandwich and froze with it just two inches from his open mouth. The sandwich was coated with cat hair. Jimmy’s stomach lurched, and he flung the remainder of the sandwich out into the woods. He then turned and looked over his shoulder up to the house. The sun felt warm on his skin, and he guessed it to be in the mid-sixties, which was rare these days. A woodpecker hammered against a nearby tree as a bumblebee floated lazily in front of them. Jimmy wiped at the corners of his mouth and tried to forget about the sandwich.

“You know we have to get back there, don’t you?” Doc asked. “We can’t stay here.”

Jimmy did know that. He had been fighting the urge to leave for weeks. Life without Julie had been hard, and he missed her more with each passing day. Still, he knew that he owed a great debt to the Dahlgrens, and it would be very difficult to leave them behind. “What about the others?” Jimmy asked. “How are we going to talk them into leaving here?”

Doc paused and looked up to the sky. “I don’t think wild horses could pull Ken and Patty away from this place. This is their home.”

“I can’t imagine Ken lasting two hours over there. That’s not his scene, man.”

Doc chuckled at that. “No,” he said, “I highly doubt Ken would groove on life in a commune. I think it would blow his mind.”

Now it was Jimmy’s turn to laugh. He tried to imagine Ken growing out his hair and trying to fit in with the hippies. Jimmy found that he couldn’t do it. Ken was too set in his ways, and he wouldn’t understand what was going on over there—not in a million years. Jimmy even had a hard time grasping it and he considered himself very open-minded. “We wouldn’t be that far away. We could come back and check on them whenever we wanted to.”

“That’s what I was thinking. We could visit every week or so. I do think they’ll be fine out here alone during the winter months. The snow will be here soon, and the roads will be impassable until at least April. That will keep the riffraff out, and God knows they have plenty of beef stew to last another decade.”

“What about Burt and Rita?” Jimmy asked.

“I’m not sure. Burt is a lot like Ken. I’m not all that certain that he’d like it over there. What do you think?”

Jimmy thought about it and he shook his head. “You’re right. I can’t see him digging that lifestyle.”

“We can ask him, but we’ll have to be upfront with him on what he can expect. I’ll mention it to Rita, but I highly doubt she’d ever leave Patty.”

“How do you think Patty will handle us leaving? She seems pretty strong now that Whiskers is here. Almost like her old self.”

“That stupid cat is what has me worried.”

Jimmy stared over at Doc, but the bearded man would not return his gaze. Jimmy didn’t know what to say. “What about Whiskers?” He asked, immediately wishing he hadn’t.

Doc turned to Jimmy with fire in his eyes. “That damn cat traveled over two hundred miles just to come up here and die? My head hurts just thinking about it. Our dear Patty is in denial, and she’s going to be crushed. Ken won’t talk about it. He is just so happy to have his wife back. Can you blame him? We have to leave here. I can feel it in my bones. We’re going to be snowed in soon, and I don’t want to be stranded here.”

Doc had never spoken so sharply to Jimmy, and he reeled back from where he sat on the picnic table. “Oh,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” said Doc. “I just have a bad feeling about all of this. I didn’t mean to dump all of it on you.”

Ken and Burt showed up at just before noon. They had taken the Mack, and Jimmy heard the diesel long before the truck rolled up in the driveway. Jimmy and Doc pulled back the lock and swung open the heavy gate, allowing Ken to drive inside. The day was warm, and the sun shone above them in a vivid blue sky.

Ken was the first to step out of the truck. He carried a silver boom-box in one hand and a brown shopping bag in the other. “Take these,” he said to Jimmy, “and come around to the back. I want to show you what we picked up.”

Jimmy hoisted the boom box onto his shoulder. He heard the front screen door slap shut and turned to see Patty heading down the stairs. Jimmy smiled and pointed to the boom box. Patty nodded and returned the smile.

Ken flipped the latch and tugged up on the roll-up door. The cargo area was stacked waist high with supplies. A bright red generator sat at the back end. Burt and Doc joined them at the back, and Doc whistled at the sight of their big haul.

Ken nudged Jimmy’s arm. “Look up toward the front. Do you see those green crates? We came across those in the basement of a farm house. The guy had a fake wall. Burt found them.”

“What the hell are they?”

“Two .50 caliber automatic weapons and a ton of ammunition. There’s also a crate of grenades, and I’ll be damned if they don’t look live.”

“You found a generator,” exclaimed Patty, “and a boom box? You did leave a note with our address, didn’t you? We agreed on that, remember?”

“Of course I did,” said Ken without an ounce of conviction.

“Let me take those from you,” Patty said to Jimmy, peering inside the shopping bag that was full of compact discs. “Carly Simon, Neil Diamond, Barbara Streisand... Thank you so much! Does this thing have batteries?”

“Yes, and we have a hundred more to fit it,” said Ken with a smile. “We didn’t miss lunch, did we?”

“Don’t worry. I held it for you. Give me about ten minutes.” Patty then gave them all a wide smile, kissed Ken on the cheek and walked away with her gifts.

“Holy crap!” said Jimmy. “Hand grenades?”

“I don’t like it,” said Doc. “What do any of you know about these weapons? Burt, have you ever thrown a hand grenade or fired a gun that size?”

“Hell, no,” answered Burt. “But I sure as hell can learn.”

“I wonder what happened to the guy who owned those.” Jimmy said. “Did you find him?”

“The place was clear, and it didn’t look like anyone had been there,” said Burt, climbing up into the back of the van. “We were looking for winter gear. Can you believe this shit? Come on, let’s get this unloaded.”

Jimmy and Doc exchanged knowing glances as they carried the treasure in through the garage door and into the basement. Finding all of this wasn’t going to make it any easier for them to convince the Dahlgrens to leave. There were stacks of cases of beer and soda, boxes of canned foods and candies, a fifty-five gallon drum of gasoline and enough top-notch winter gear for a small army. Jimmy’s heart sank a little more with each trip out to the van.

The workshop was lit by two lanterns that provided a yellowish light. The men gathered around the new weapons. Jimmy watched as Ken and Burt unpacked the massive .50 caliber rifles. The guns looked sinister to him, almost as if could kill on their own. They smelled of oil and looked nearly new.

“This one is mine,” said Burt with something very close to pride in his voice.

Doc must have picked up on it. “Do you have any idea what one of those can do to a human body?” he asked, with his long arms crossed at his chest. “I don’t even want to discuss the hand grenades.”

Ken set the butt of his rifle on the floor, and the tip of the barrel nearly touched the dusty rafters above his head. “Sorry, but if you’re trying to make me feel guilty about having the firepower to protect us from God knows what, it’s not going to happen. Look Doc, I understand how you feel. I really do. These are different times.”

Doc took a step back and looked up into the rafters. “Don’t you ever feel like we’re crossing a line and losing ourselves in the process? Think about it. What’s next, a Sherman tank? Maybe you’d like to run out and pick up a good flamethrower or some landmines. Or how about a bazooka?”

“Talk to me when people begin to respect our right to exist,” growled Ken, admiring the sleek lines of the rifle. You can think what you want, Doc. We open up with these, and I think people will think twice about messing with us.”

Jimmy backed up next to Burt, and they exchanged a look. Both men carried a good argument, and neither was backing down.

Doc’s hands fell to his hips, and he turned on Ken. “Maybe those guns are going to have the opposite effect. People are going to want them.”

“They’ll have to pry them…” Ken began, before Doc cut him off in a booming voice.

“I know, out of your cold dead hands! And who is going to look after your wife? Have you thought about that? Look what we’ve become! You’re not protecting us from an approaching army. We’re killing our neighbors. My God, man, it’s time to come up with a new plan.”

“Oh,” Burt said, jumping into the fray. “And what would that be? Should we open the gate and tie a white sheet on the flagpole? You can kiss my ass.”

“There’s no need for that,” Jimmy said, trying to put an end to this argument. “Let’s all calm down. Patty is probably looking for us.”

Ken returned his rifle to the open crate and stood up. “We go back a long ways, Doc. And I respect your opinion. I think it’s time that we both agreed to disagree. There aren’t many of us left and we need to be strong.”

Doc was still staring at Burt. “How old are you, Burt?” he asked. “I’m sixty, and if you want to rumble, just say the word. Don’t you ever speak to me like that again, do you understand me?”

Jimmy felt helpless as he watched the situation spiral out of control. Burt pushed past him and walked to within a foot of the taller man. “I’ll speak however the hell I choose,” Burt growled. “You want to rumble? Let’s go.”

“This is crazy,” Ken said, holding his arms up. “Knock it off!”

Doc stared at Burt for a moment and then turned and headed for the door. Burt followed, hot on his heels. The screen door to the garage slapped twice, and Jimmy stared at Ken, open-mouthed. “This is bad,” he said as he followed Ken into the garage and out into the bright sunlight.

Doc led Burt to the middle of the frost-flattened lawn. He turned and settled into some type of karate fighting pose. He suddenly looked to Jimmy like Paul Bunyan in a Jackie Chan movie. He crouched low and held one of his large hands up by his ear while holding the other out in front of him in an angry claw. His face was red, and his nostrils were flared. Jimmy had never seen the man like this.

“I forbid this!” Ken screamed.

Burt stood with his back to Jimmy and Ken. The dark-skinned man was rolling his head like a boxer before the bell. He raised his fists and moved in like a freight train.

“Stop this!” shrieked Patty from the deck above them. “Ken, get out there and make them stop!”

“I’m trying!” Ken shouted back at her.

Jimmy couldn’t take his eyes off of the fight. At first he had been worried that Burt would tear Doc apart. Burt wasn’t as tall as Doc, but he was thick and wide in the shoulders. He was also a cop, retired or not. Jimmy soon gained a new respect for Doc, watching as he deftly avoided Burt’s punches.

“I’m warning you,” Doc hissed to Burt. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Show me what you got,” beckoned Burt.

“Kenneth!” screamed Patty.

That got Ken moving, but by then it was too late. Burt had ducked his head and charged Doc with his arms opened wide. Jimmy thought he looked pretty spry for a man of his years. Doc twisted, and with a speed and agility that astonished everyone, he kicked Burt in the upper arm with the toe of a giant hiking boot. There was a snapping sound, and Burt howled in pain.

“You son of a bitch, you broke my arm!”

“I warned you,” Doc shouted back, holding his large hands in the air. “You all heard me!”

“What did you do that for?” Burt continued on, holding his arm painfully. “You didn’t need to do that, you bastard.”

“Oh my God!” exclaimed Patty.

“You all heard me!” Doc repeated. “I warned him!”

“We heard you. Now you’re going to have to fix it!” Ken snapped back. “You both get in the house, and I want that arm in a cast.”

Jimmy stood back and watched the comedy of errors play out. He felt terrible for both men. Ken continued to berate both of them as Patty rushed to Burt’s side. Doc held his hands over his face and looked as if he were about to cry. Rita charged out of the house and took the steps two at a time. Jimmy shook his head and returned to the basement. He tore open the cardboard on one of the cases of beer and removed one of the warm cans. He then popped the top and he drank.

Chapter 14

The next few weeks were windy and gray; drizzle fell from the sky, and what little foliage had been left on the trees was now gone. Jimmy spent many hours standing in the porch window. He would stare off at the lake, but he was there to keep an eye on the gate. Some part of him expected to see Julie standing out there, while more parts of him thought this to be an outlandish idea. Jimmy felt a knot growing in his stomach as he thought about what Doc had said. They were going to be snowed in soon.

Burt and Doc had made their peace, but Jimmy noticed that the good friends no longer had deep conversations. Long before they fought, they had argued good-naturedly about how the country had come to this point and about what needed to be done to fix it. Jimmy hadn’t known much about politics before arriving up at the lake, but he could now tell the difference between a liberal and a conservative. Jimmy was worried about the loss of their banter. Had politics suddenly become off limits? Both men had made great arguments, and Jimmy had listened to many. He would watch as Doc’s face got red and his bushy eyebrows twitched; then he would turn to Burt and see fire in his brown eyes and deep creases in his forehead.

Burt had grown quiet, and Jimmy wondered if Doc didn’t have him on something for the pain. Jimmy thought this might be the case—at least he hoped it was. The white plaster cast contrasted sharply with Burt’s ebony skin. Doc’s words and conversations had grown increasingly shallow over recent days. He shied away from giving his opinion, and he spent a lot more time reading than he had in the past.

Whiskers had grown bald in spots and moved lethargically when she moved at all. Jimmy rarely saw her eat. No one would speak about Whiskers, and the skinny cat slowly became the elephant in the room. Ken and Patty were spending a lot of time in their bedroom at the back of the house with the door open while Patty knitted and Ken strummed the strings of his twelve-string guitar. Ken was a fair guitar player in Jimmy’s mind, which was something he’d tried to pick up a few times in the past. The music would echo inside the quiet house, and Jimmy found it soothing. Rita had also drawn into herself. She would join Jimmy at the front window, and the two of them would exchange knowing smiles. Those smiles were growing sadder. There was no mistaking that.

Jimmy could feel the house closing in on them.

He wondered about how the others were doing—Julie mostly—but he also wondered how Cindy was faring in school and how Bill was doing at his job. Had Julie and Bill settled their differences? Jimmy hoped so. He thought about how things were at Bailey’s. Jimmy also thought about his own limited transferable skills. What did he really have to offer a group in such a society? These were humbling thoughts, and they shook him to his very core. Jimmy had hated working in the kitchen. Working there had seemed a challenge to his manhood. This, too, stuck to the back of his head like a magnet on steel. He wouldn’t go back there to work in the kitchen, and this thought made Julie seem farther away.

The skies finally cleared, and the air became crisp. A skim of ice formed on the lake, and Jimmy found himself suddenly dreading winter. He began to hike in the mornings, and he foraged inside the empty cabins and houses along the way. This was how he discovered the snowmobiles. Jimmy had come across a comfortable log home that looked as if someone had used it for target practice. There were bones in the yard, stripped clean by the wolves, and Jimmy avoided looking at them. He went inside and found that the house had been ransacked, perhaps many times. Yet Jimmy had found enough small treasures to nearly fill his backpack. The undisturbed pole shed sat way in the back of the heavily wooded property. Jimmy thought that it had likely been hidden out there by the leaves.

He tried the doors and windows and found them to be locked. This had become increasingly rare. Jimmy’s heart nearly skipped a beat after he kicked the door open and entered the dark, stale pole shed. Jimmy saw them sitting there and counted twice. There were six of them—six snowmobiles sitting under canvas covers, looking to him like wrapped Christmas presents under the tree. Jimmy pulled open both of the overhead doors, and morning daylight streamed inside.

The building was roughly forty by sixty feet long, and the owner had obviously spent a lot of time out there. Jimmy had heard of such places, but he had never seen one for himself. He found himself standing inside a man cave, complete with a bar, pool table, kitchenette, bathroom, and a workshop to die for. Jimmy smiled and shook his head sadly. All of this was such a waste. He walked over to the snowmobiles and began to remove the covers. Each of the machines seemed to be newer and in better condition than the one before it. The next to the last snowmobile had thirty miles on it and looked like something from another planet. Jimmy admired it for a long moment, claiming it as his own before walking to the back of the shop and lifting the last cover.

The machine was bright yellow, and the handles were chrome. The seat was long, and the track was supported by groups of little wheels. Jimmy thought the snowmobile had to be older than he was—much, much older than he was. The old machine was in excellent condition, and Jimmy lifted the hood. The one-cylinder engine looked as clean as it probably had on the day it rolled off the assembly line. Jimmy chuckled as he examined the heavy monster. There was no suspension, and to Jimmy, the snowmobile looked like a Model-T Ford. He then went to the bar and lit up a cigarette. He was happy for the first time in many days. He had found enough snowmobiles for all of them, and it seemed like a miracle.

The first real snow of the season fell during the second week of November. The snow began to fall in the afternoon and didn’t stop until the next morning. Jimmy and Doc were sitting on the porch as the sun began to break through the clouds.

“That’s it then,” whispered Doc, looking over his shoulder. “I’m getting out of here while I still can. I’m going to borrow one of your snowmobiles and head over to Bailey’s. I think you ought to follow me there.”

Jimmy held his hands to his lips and walked over to the open French doors. He then peered inside the living room. Orange flames leapt inside the fireplace, and Jimmy could feel the heat. Burt was lying on his side on the sofa, his casted arm resting on his hip. Burt’s eyes were closed, and no one else was in the room. Jimmy returned to Doc.

“I’ve given it a lot of thought. I can’t stay here, not for the winter,” continued Doc. “I should be where I’m needed. So should you.”

Jimmy still hadn’t said a word, and Doc stared at him without expression. “They don’t need me over there,” Jimmy said. “I think I’m gonna pass.”

Doc’s face tightened, and he narrowed his eyes. “Julie needs you. Cindy needs you. And like it or not, Bill needs you. These people here, they don’t need us. There will be no more attacks, no more visits by the National Guard. Winter is here, and all anyone can do now is hunker down and wait it out.”

“I’m not going back there to peel potatoes for eight hours a day. That’s bullshit.”

“Look, I’m a doctor and they need me. I’ve thought about this. I’m going to tell them that you and I will stay for as long as we’re happy there. I highly doubt they’ll put you back on a potato peeler.”

Jimmy’s head snapped back, and he stared at Doc in amazement. This was the answer to his prayers. He missed Julie terribly, but he couldn’t leave the Dahlgrens. Now if Doc was right, the danger had passed with the arrival of the new-fallen snow. Jimmy knew that there were no guarantees there, but he felt that Doc was most likely correct in his summation. People do hunker down for the winter, especially in northern Minnesota. What really stuck inside Jimmy’s head was how Doc planned to keep him out of the kitchen. There was no way they’d stick him back in the kitchen, Jimmy was sure of it. Doc had giftwrapped the plan and now was handing it to Jimmy.

“Well?” asked Doc. “What do you think?”

“What time do we leave?”

“Excellent. I’m going to go tell Ken and Patty. Don’t worry about them; they know all about this. They think you should go patch things up with Julie.”

“You guys have been talking about me?”

Doc gave Jimmy an odd look. “Yeah,” he said, walking towards the open doors. “What else are we supposed to do up here?”

Jimmy wanted to respond to that, but Doc’s long legs carried him quickly into the next room. Jimmy stood in the window and stared out at the snow-covered lake. Just like that, everything had changed, and he suddenly had something to look forward to. He rubbed his hand across his jaw and quickly sniffed at his armpits. He was going to have to get himself cleaned up.

Jimmy drew water from the tap into Patty’s big iron kettle. He then set it on the gas stove, set the burner to high, and went upstairs in search of something to wear. The air was much cooler up here, and Jimmy shivered as he picked through his rumpled clothes. Jimmy hadn’t thought about his wardrobe much since they’d arrived at Ken’s. He owned exactly three pair of jeans, six shirts, and half a dozen changes of socks and underwear. Thankfully, Ken had outfitted him with winter gear.

Jimmy felt funny as he stood in front of the mirror after his sponge-bath. He couldn’t help feeling as if he and Doc were betraying the others. He also badly needed a haircut, and one of his back teeth had begun to ache. He stuck his finger in his mouth and probed the tooth. The ache quickly became a pain, and he pulled his hand away. He was going to have to ask Doc to do something about that.

When Jimmy emerged from the bathroom, he was surprised to find Doc standing out on the porch. Two black duffel bags which looked ready to split at the seams sat next to the door. Doc stood at the window in his ill-fitting winter jacket. The sleeves ended midway down his forearms, and Jimmy thought he looked like a big kid in a poor family.

“Are you packed?” Doc asked. “I’m ready to go.”

“Not yet, but that’ll just take a few minutes.”

“I’ll wait here.”

“Where is everyone? Don’t they even want to say goodbye?”

“No, they don’t. I’m sorry, go now and get packed.”

Jimmy stood in stunned silence for a moment. He then turned on his heels and quickly walked back into the kitchen, around the table and to the stairs. He paused at the window. Ken was splitting wood with an axe while one-armed Burt, Patty, and Rita, helped him with the heavy logs. Patty caught his eye in the window, and she quickly looked away. None of them were smiling. Jimmy sprinted up the stairs as his eyes began to mist over. He jammed his stuff into his bag and ran back down the stairs to pack his shaving kit. A few minutes later they stood at the wall. Jimmy pulled back on the snow-covered log that served as a lock, and Doc shoved on the heavy gate. The gate groaned in the cold air.

“Should we tell them we’re leaving so Ken can lock up?” Jimmy asked, feeling rotten about how they were leaving.

“They know we’re leaving. Ken will be down soon.”

“What the hell happened back there? I thought you said that they would be okay with us leaving.”

Doc pushed the gate back to the closed position and he shouldered his bags. His face was pale, and he looked as if he were in pain. “Let’s not talk about that now. Let’s get moving.”

The snow rose to the top of their boots as they walked down the white ribbon of gravel road. Jimmy led the way, and Doc followed; neither man said a word. The snow seemed to absorb the sound, and Jimmy could hear nothing except the sound of his own feet crunching through the snow as he plodded ahead. Again he wished for a pair of sunglasses. The sun was high in a blue sky, and the rays reflected off of the clean powder. Jimmy shook his head as his mind kept returning to how they had left. They walked for nearly fifteen minutes before they reached the long driveway into the woods. Jimmy led them past the house and to the back of the property. He opened the big garage door and was relieved to find that everything was as he’d left it.

The walk hadn’t been that long, but the snow had made it difficult. Both Jimmy and Doc set down their bags and sat themselves down in a pair of leather recliners for a quick rest.

“This is nice,” Doc said, looking around, appreciatively. “I wonder who owned this place? There was a time when I knew everyone up here.”

“Tell me what happened back there.”

Doc stiffened and scratched at his salty beard. “I suppose I need to tell you the truth. Just promise me that you’ll hear me out. No interruptions, all right?”

Jimmy stood, narrowed his eyes and nodded his head.

“I lied about how Ken and Patty felt. I needed to get you away from there.”

“No!”

“Jimmy, you promised,” Doc said, shaking a long finger in his direction. “You don’t owe your life to Ken and Patty Dahlgren. There is a woman who loves you not ten miles from here. That should be your focus. Do you have any idea how lucky you are? I’m trying to help you. You need to understand that. No, Ken said a mouthful, and I’m glad you didn’t have to hear it.”

“I can’t believe you lied to me,” Jimmy said, collapsing back into the chair. “Why didn’t you just tell me the truth? Sure, I miss Julie. That doesn’t mean that I was ready to abandon the others. What if something happens to them?”

“Like what? They have hand grenades and .50 caliber automatic weapons, remember?”

Jimmy didn’t like the sarcasm in Doc’s voice. “To protect themselves,” he added. “What do you have against that? They have every right to do that.”

Now it was Doc’s turn to stand. He got up and walked behind the little bar. “I’m sick and tired of that whole frame of mind. We have to change that or we’re all doomed. You, me, Ken, everybody—we’re all in this together. We are not the enemy. The government and the military are who we should be fighting. This is all about divide and conquer, Jimmy. Divide and conquer!”

Jimmy watched Doc as he twisted the cap open on a bottle of whiskey. He held the bottle to his lips and took a swallow. He grimaced and offered the bottle to Jimmy.

Jimmy held out his arm and nodded. “So, what is Ken supposed to do if he gets attacked again?”

Doc handed Jimmy the bottle and sat back down in his chair. “You don’t understand what I’m saying. Look, Ken needs to wake up and smell the coffee. He needs to form some alliances, and if he had a lick of sense, he would pack up everyone and head to Bailey’s with us. He’s putting all of their lives in jeopardy. Can’t you see that?”

“Why should he have to give up what he has?” Jimmy asked, taking a swig from the bottle. The cold liquor burned in his throat and warmed his insides. “Ken has every right to stay there and protect his home.”

“You are one hundred percent correct. I’m not arguing that. All I am saying here is that we are all in this together. We need to get our act together before it’s too late!”

Jimmy stood up and handed Doc the bottle. Doc twisted the cap back into place and slid it into the side pocket of his nylon jacket. Jimmy walked over to the uncovered snowmobiles and sat down on the one that he wanted to ride. “I still can’t believe you lied to me,” he said, shaking his head. “That was wrong and you know it.”

“Go back, if that’s what you wish to do. Ken will understand.”

Jimmy gave half a laugh and shook his head. “Maybe in a few days, I’m going to let him cool off for a while. I do want to see Julie.”

“I know you do, so let’s get this show on the road. How do I drive one of these things?”

Jimmy looked at Doc and began to laugh. He waved Doc over to where he was and quickly explained the basics of operating a snowmobile.

“That’s all there is?” Doc asked. “Where are the pedals?”

“There aren’t any,” Jimmy groaned. “Look, the throttle is here, and the brake is over there. This switch kills the engine. Just twist the key to start it.”

Doc smiled and nodded, and again Jimmy saw the big kid in the large man. Doc walked back to retrieve his bags. “Will these fit in the trunk?” he asked. “I’ve got medical supplies in this one, so we have to be careful with it.”

“There aren’t any trunks. We’re going to have to figure out something. I was hoping the guy would have a toboggan or something else we could tow our gear in. Do you need both bags? Maybe we could come back for one of them.”

Doc grimaced and shook his head. “I can walk,” he said.

“We’re not walking,” Jimmy said as he walked around each of the machines. All of them had single seats, and they all looked built for speed. Jimmy’s eyes fell on the bright yellow antique. The old snowmobile had a seat long enough to fit two full-grown men. Jimmy looked at their bags and back to the old machine. “Fine,” he said, gesturing to the yellow Skidoo. “I can fit everything on that one. Let me make sure it still runs.”

The machine coughed, caught, and belched blue smoke on the third pull. Doc smiled, a bit guiltily. “Think of it as riding a piece of history,” he shouted over the loping, one-cylinder engine.

Jimmy toyed with the choke and pointed to the overhead door. “Open it up!” he commanded. “And grab me that rope over there. We may need it. I don’t like the sound of this thing. He was serious—it didn’t sound like anything he had ever heard. The machine was older than he was. He spun the cap on the fuel tank and saw that it had been topped off. Doc opened the door, and Jimmy rode the old sled out of the garage on one knee. Smoke rolled out of the pole shed and out into the blue sky. Doc jogged over to his snowmobile and hesitated. Jimmy rode the Skidoo around the yard and watched Doc as he tentatively sat down on the seat.

Jimmy’s Skidoo suddenly bucked violently, nearly throwing him over the handlebars. He jerked his head back to see what he’d hit. The split log looked like a speed-bump in the white snow. Jimmy slammed on the handbrake, stopping the lumbering machine. Doc suddenly shot out of the pole barn on the Polaris and was now heading towards Jimmy at a very high rate of speed.

“Oh shit,” Jimmy mumbled to himself.

Doc’s Polaris screamed by at break-neck speed and missed Jimmy by no more than three feet. Jimmy gasped as he saw the big man suddenly leap from the seat and begin to barrel-roll toward the woods. Jimmy squeezed the throttle, watching as the Polaris exploded into pieces against the trunk of a fat birch. The Skidoo responded like a drunken mule, and he cursed his luck. Jimmy lost sight of Doc as the giant rolled into the woods behind his machine. The Skidoo found more buried treasure, and Jimmy mowed it over without looking back.

Jimmy was sure he’d ridden faster lawnmowers as he raced to the woods. There was no speedometer on this model, and Jimmy’s ears rang from the blaring engine of the Skidoo. It suddenly hit him that Doc could be dead. The guilt hammered at him as he wondered what the others would think when he told them that Doc had never ridden a snowmobile. They would blame him for Doc’s death. Jimmy thought again and opted not to share that bit of information with the others. The Skidoo backfired, but it picked up speed as the old engine began to buzz. Jimmy stood on the floorboards and hunched over the controls. He quickly found where Doc had hit the ground. Jimmy could not believe how far the big man had rolled before he suddenly found him, lying face-down in the powder. Jimmy was sure he was dead.

Jimmy jumped from the Skidoo as it stopped and raced to Doc’s side. “Doc!” he shouted. “Doc, are you all right? Can you hear me?”

Doc’s massive hand shot out and took Jimmy firmly by the ankle. “Why didn’t you tell me they were so damn fast?” croaked Doc. “Oh, shit.”

Jimmy caught his breath as relief flooded his system. “Did you break anything?” he asked. “Come on, let me help you up.”

Jimmy’s leg was suddenly pulled out from under him so violently that Jimmy thought it would snap like a twig. “Ouch!” he shouted as he fell to the ground.

“I asked you a question!” bellowed Doc.

“I thought you knew.”

“Don’t ever assume such a thing,” Doc grunted, releasing his grip on Jimmy. “Your shoddy instructions nearly cost me my life.”

Jimmy sat up and kept his mouth closed. Doc was right, and he felt terrible about that. Doc sat up next to him and got to his feet. He stood towering over Jimmy, swaying like a battered boxer. He brushed himself off and groaned. “I’m sorry,” Jimmy said, sitting up in the snow. “That won’t happen again.”

“I’ll ride the yellow one,” Doc said. “It’s old like me.”

Jimmy nodded, and after Doc checked himself over, they were ready to leave. Doc was covered in bumps and bruises, but thankfully nothing seemed to be broken. Jimmy carefully explained how to run the stubbornly slow yellow machine. Jimmy chose the snowmobile he had wanted from the start, and soon he was breaking a trail for Doc who followed along on the Skidoo.

The ride would take them almost forty minutes as Doc managed to get stuck no fewer than four times. They were stopped half a mile from Bailey’s by two men who stood by a makeshift gate across the snow-covered road. Jimmy shut off the engine and took off his helmet. The men were dressed in blaze orange hunting gear which Jimmy thought was odd. The taller man wore a purple stocking hat and walked with his hands in his pockets.

The men, both strangers to Jimmy, approached him cautiously. They looked past Jimmy to the Skidoo as it approached. Doc was waving and now rode the snowmobile like a seasoned pro. He killed the engine, and peace once again returned to the world. Doc took off his helmet and smiled. “I can’t believe what a fool I’ve been. These things are great!”

Jimmy looked again at the men and was surprised to see that neither one carried a gun. “Where’s your rifles?” he asked. “You didn’t know who we were. We could have been anyone.”

“Exactly,” said a tall, elderly man. “All are welcome here. We’re done fighting each other, and no one carries a gun here. That’s the new rule.”

Jimmy laughed. “Yeah, right,” he said. “No guns; that’s funny.”

“No guns,” growled the younger man, without any humor in his voice. He stood with his arms folded across his chest.

Jimmy thought these men had lost their minds. “You can’t be serious. How do you expect to defend yourselves?”

“I told you, no guns!” shouted the other man, and Jimmy quickly turned to face him. He was short and thick and built like a feed bag. He looked to be in his forties; his clean-shaven face was cold and impassive, but his simple statement hung in the air as a challenge.

“You guys are nuts,” said Jimmy, saying it directly to the short man. “When did things change?”

“Two months ago,” spat back the stumpy man in a crushed-gravel voice. “You have to leave your guns with us. Do it, or you have to turn around. So get up and spread ‘em or get the hell out of here.”

“I have no problem with that,” said Doc, politely. “I’m a doctor, and I don’t believe in bloodshed.”

Doc stood and hunched over the hood of the Skidoo. The old man quickly patted him down. “He’s clean,” he said after a brief search. “You,” he said, motioning to Jimmy. “Set your weapons on the seat of your snowmobile. We don’t want any trouble.”

Jimmy looked at all three men, groaned, and slowly began to disarm. He was carrying three loaded handguns, and he felt suddenly naked as he set the last one of Jon’s prize Colts on the shiny seat of the new Polaris. “I’m going to want these back. Are you going to give me a receipt or something?”

“You can have them back when you leave,” the old man said, assuredly.

Doc and Jimmy split up once they were inside the compound. Doc was anxious to get back to the medical facilities, while Jimmy wanted to clear the air with Julie. He was surprised to find her alone inside the cabin she shared with Cindy. Julie was wearing her dark hair braided, and Jimmy tried to remember if he had ever seen it that way. He found that he liked it. A fire blazed in the stove, and the heat felt good on his skin. He shed his winter gear and seated himself on the sofa. The first minutes were awkward, but Julie seemed happy to see him and offered him a can of soda. Jimmy took that as a good sign. He had been worried that she wouldn’t see him at all.

“So,” Jimmy said, snapping the ring of the aluminum can. “How have you been? I’ve been worried about you.”

Julie looked at him for a long moment. “I didn’t think it would take you this long to come back. How are the others?”

“Pretty good,” said Jimmy. “Doc rode out here with me. I think he’s going to stay this time.”

“What happened?”

Jimmy thought about that and shrugged his shoulders. “I think Doc caught a bad case of cabin fever. You know what I mean, just like you did.”

“That’s not fair, Jimmy. I just wanted to be around other people. I wanted a chance to survive all of this. I wanted my freedom back. Doc probably feels the same way. That wall we built back at Ken’s works both ways. Can’t you see that?”

The revelation hit Jimmy hard, and he stared down at the floor, unable to meet Julie’s gaze. He had no doubt that Ken had them construct the wall with the best of intentions, and it had served them well when they had come under attack, but there was a bitter truth to what Julie was saying. The wall now served to imprison those who lived there. “I know Ken wasn’t thinking that way when we built the wall.”

“Of course he wasn’t,” Julie said, opening up the belly of her little woodstove. She took the poker from against the wall and stuck it inside the flaming stove, her face glowing in the firelight. “But you can’t deny what has happened.”

Jimmy shook his head, eager to change the subject. “Tell me about your new job,” he said. “What are you doing now that the swimming season is over?”

Julie wrestled a chunk of wood into the stove and quickly shut the door. A haze of wood smoke hung in the lamplight. Julie brushed her hands against her hips and smiled. “I am now working in human resources, thank you very much.”

“I suppose that means you work next to Mars, doesn’t it?” Jimmy said, and he immediately wished he could take back the question. It had just slipped out, and he miserably fumbled the recovery. “I know you like him, Julie. You don’t have to hide it.”

Julie’s smile disappeared, and she crossed her arms. “No,” she said. “I am not working next to or underneath Mars, if that’s what you’re trying to say.”

“I didn’t mean that.”

“Like hell you didn’t! I know you, Jimmy Logan. You can be a jealous bastard, and I hate that about you. You know what? I do like Mars. He’s a good man. Look at everything he’s trying to do here. Why can’t you see that? I’ll tell you why—it’s because your damn jealousy gets in the way. You’ve got to let it go. Besides, I’m not his type. He has his choice of any of the college girls. He also knows that I’m in love with you, and believe it or not, he respects that.”

“I like your hair that way.”

“Don’t change the subject!”

“I’m sorry. That guy just got under my skin. I didn’t mean to accuse you of anything. I love you, too. Things are just so crazy, and with you being out here alone for so long, what was I supposed to think? I saw the way he was looking at you, Julie. Fine, you want me to give him another chance, I promise that I will. Maybe we just got started out on the wrong foot.”

Julie’s face softened, and she let her arms fall to her sides. She walked over to Jimmy and cupped his face in her hands. “Thank you,” she whispered, kissing him softly on the mouth. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you, too,” Jimmy said, taking Julie by the hips and pulling her close. He fell flat to his back on the sofa, and Julie moved with him, their mouths never losing contact with each other. Jimmy could feel his heart pounding against Julie’s chest as she passionately pressed against him.

The door behind them suddenly opened and quickly slammed shut. Julie leapt to her feet, tossing her long hair back over her shoulder.

“I heard Jimmy was back,” Bill said, standing on the rug by the door in snow-covered boots. He had grown a pair of fat sideburns which made him look like a poor Elvis impersonator.

“Have you ever heard of knocking?” Julie asked, angrily. “You have no right to just walk in my home!”

“My daughter lives here. I don’t have to knock.”

Jimmy groaned. They were picking up right where they had left off. He sat up and gave Bill a half-hearted wave.

“There you are, man,” Bill said, his face lighting up like a hundred watt bulb. “Hey, I want you to know that I don’t blame you for what happened to my car. That’s all water under the river, okay?”

Jimmy had wondered about how Bill would accept his return. The last time he had seen Bill, he had been furious with him, and as much as he hated to admit it, he had felt terrible about what had happened. He smiled and nodded his head.

“That’s water under the bridge, you idiot,” Julie grumbled.

“Why don’t you go jump off a bridge,” Bill shot back. “Why do you always have to be so mean?”

“Maybe if you had knocked, I wouldn’t be so mean. What do you want? Don’t you have something to fix?”

“I do have something to fix; that’s why I’m here.”

“There’s nothing wrong here,” snapped Julie. “Can Jimmy and I have some time alone? That doesn’t seem like too much to ask.”

“Jimmy needs a job, and unless he wants to go back to the kitchen. I came to tell him that I got him a gig in the shop,” Bill said, turning to Jimmy. “Big Al is excited to meet you, man.”

“That’s great,” Jimmy said, honestly. The thought of going back to the kitchen was eating at him. “Thanks a lot, Bill.”

“Don’t mention it, brother. I’m just so glad to have you back. You’re going to like it in the shop. This is going to be just like old times, man.”

“This is just like old times, and you picked up right where you left off,” Julie said, scornfully. “Is that all, Bill? Jimmy and I have a lot to talk about.”

Bill frowned and gave Julie a cold stare. “Why do you hate me so much?” he asked. “What did I ever do to you?”

“I don’t hate you, Bill,” Julie said. She softened her tone and held her hands out in exasperation. “I haven’t seen Jimmy in a long time and I’ve missed him. I’m a woman and he’s a man. Get the picture?”

A smile slowly crept across Bill’s face, and he nodded his head. “Were you guys getting ready to do something?”

“No,” Julie said, shaking her head. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Bill. I said that I wanted to spend some time alone with him. That’s it. A lot has changed around here, and I wanted Jimmy to hear it from me, first.”

“She’s right, man,” Bill said, turning to face Jimmy. “We’ve got our own Council called the Equals. We’re ruled by the planets, brother.”

“Ruled by the planets?” Jimmy asked. “What the hell is going on around here?”

“Don’t look at me,” spat Julie. “He knows everything; go ahead and ask him.”

Jimmy was disappointed by Julie’s open hostility towards Bill. While Jimmy knew that she had never cared for the man, she’d always treated him with courtesy. “Who are the Equals?”

“We’re all Equals, man,” Bill said. “That’s the first thing you’ve got to know, man. Isn’t that right, Julie?”

“Yes,” hissed Julie. “That’s how it’s supposed to work around here.”

“Whatever,” replied Bill. “So there is a group of these cats who makes sure everyone is treated as an equal. It’s pretty cool, man.”

Julie took three steps and stood toe to toe with Bill. “Will you stop it? They aren’t cats, they’re people,” she said, hooking a thumb back towards Jimmy. “And his name is Jimmy Logan, not dude or man. And another thing, those sideburns make you look like a mangy lion. Now, will you leave us alone?”

Bill’s jaw dropped open, but just for a second. “Rrrr!” he growled, clawing at the air with both hands.

“That’s enough, Bill,” Jimmy said.

“I can take a hint,” Bill said. “I’m out of here, man. I’ll catch you later.”

Jimmy watched as Bill turned on his heels and swaggered to the door. He looked back at Jimmy, held both hands to his cheeks, pointed to his mutton-chops and back to Julie. “Oh yeah, I’m a lion,” Bill said, drawing the words out with satisfaction. He smiled and walked out into the afternoon sunshine, closing the door behind him.

“I can’t even look at him,” said Julie. “Please tell me that he’s not peeking in the windows.”

“He’s gone,” answered Jimmy, more confused than ever. “What the hell has gotten into him?”

Julie walked to the door and twisted the lock, shaking her head. “Big Al has gotten into him. Please tell me that you aren’t going to work for that Neanderthal. He’s gross, Jimmy. Look what he’s done to Bill. Do you want to look like him?”

Now it was Jimmy’s turn to shake his head. “Look,” he said, grabbing Julie by the shoulders and directing her to the sofa. “Sit down with me and explain what the hell is going on around here.”

Julie took a deep breath and nodded. “A lot has changed here. Most of it is for the good. Don’t get me wrong. I love it here. I want you to love it, too. I just get so angry with people like Bill and Big Al. They’re going to ruin it for everyone.”

“Going to ruin what?”

“They’re going to ruin Utopia.”

The urge to laugh was almost too great, but Jimmy managed to contain it. The serious tone in Julie’s voice warned him that laughing would be a bad idea. They sat down, and he took her by the hands. “Start from the beginning,” he said. “I want to know everything.”

The conversation lasted nearly an hour, with Julie spelling out the rules of communal living inside the compound. The Equals, as Jimmy understood them, were like the town council back home in Crown. There were three council members, or Equals, as they preferred to be called here. Julie explained how they were selected and what each of the three brought to the group. She also went on to tell Jimmy why they had chosen to adopt new names for themselves.

“Pluto is the unofficial leader, but you’d never hear him say that. He wrote our charter and is pretty much responsible for everything here. You’ll really like him; everyone does. I can’t wait for you to meet him.”

“You have to be kidding me,” Jimmy said. “Another planet? That’s just crazy. I suppose Mars is one of these Equals, isn’t he?”

“Of course he is. He’s not the man you think he is. I want you to forget about everything that has happened and get a fresh start. Can you do that for me?”

Jimmy groaned, but he nodded his head. He would try to forget; he just doubted if he could forget the way that Mars had been looking at Julie in the mess hall.

“Good, thank you for that. Pluto is pretty old. I think he’s got to be close to seventy. I guess he was some kind of political activist during the Viet Nam War. He’s behind all of the slang, and he encourages us to use it. I don’t, but a lot of the others do. Anyhow, he made a lot of money writing books on the environment. He made enough to buy this place and outfit it to support us for years if necessary. He’s pretty damn smart.”

“Ken did the same thing,” Jimmy said, defensively. “He’s pretty damn smart, too.”

“Did I say he wasn’t?”

Jimmy shook his head.

“Pluto hired Mars to set everything up. He was in the Army or something. Mars spent two years getting things ready up here in case the economy crashed. They both knew the crash was coming and that it was just a matter of time. They operated the resort right up until the end.”

Jimmy nodded, thinking how strange it was that an old war protester and an ex-soldier would be working side by side. “You said there were three of them,” he said. “Don’t tell me—is his name is Uranus?”

“That’s not funny.”

“Trust me, I’m not laughing,” Jimmy said, wondering how Julie couldn’t find humor in his little joke.

“She goes by Venus, Jimmy. She’s a little on the tough side, so be careful what you say when you’re around her. She’s got a lot on her mind. I work for her, so please don’t embarrass me. She enforces the codes, and it’s her way or the highway, trust me.”

Jimmy took a deep breath. He’d heard enough. “Let me get this straight,” he said, letting go of Julie’s hand. He stood up and walked to the stove. “The three Equals are in charge and they changed their names to planets. I’m supposed to take these people seriously?”

“Okay, I understand that this all must sound strange. You’ve just got to trust me. Give it a few days. You’re going to love it here. I love it here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

“What happens when the National Guard changes their mind about this place? Have you thought of that? You saw what happened in Ely. I’ve got to tell you, I’d feel a whole lot better about this if we were armed. I don’t know Pluto, and I sure as hell don’t trust the Guard. Does your council have public meetings?”

“Equals, Jimmy. We have Equals here. Yes, they get together once a week. They meet tomorrow after dinner.”

“Good. I want to be an Equal; that’s the point, isn’t it? We’re all equal here, am I right? I just don’t think we should be here with our pants hanging down to our ankles. I know you all have the best of intentions, but we need armed guards. We have to be able to protect ourselves.”

Julie shook her head. “Protect ourselves from what? You don’t get it. Our protection is getting our hands on as many guns as we can and melting them down into scrap. We’re done killing, Jimmy. There’s been too much of it.”

Jimmy’s head snapped back when Julie said scrap. “What the hell do you mean, it was melted? I was told that I’d get my guns back. I had Jon’s Colt!”

“Keep your voice down,” hissed Julie. “We tell everyone that, and they have all grown to accept it as they see how things work around here. I’m sorry about Jon’s gun. I know it meant a lot to you. You’ve got to look at the bigger picture here. Let me tell you something—I would rather die than to have to kill again. We all feel that way. If you feel differently after tomorrow night’s meeting, I want you to go back to Ken’s. I have given up violence, and I refuse to be a part of it.”

Jimmy returned to the sofa as he turned Julie’s words over inside his spinning head. He loved Julie, maybe now more than ever. If he wanted to stay here with her, he had to give up his weapons. He looked at Julie, and she nodded her head, just an inch, but it was if she could read his mind. Jimmy knew in his heart that he couldn’t give up on Julie. He was going to have to find a compromise. He was going to have to find a handgun. He was going to have to lie. “Fair enough,” he said, nodding his head. “I’m going to be the most open-minded dude you ever met. I love you, Julie. I’ve missed you.”

Julie nodded and smiled but said nothing.

Jimmy would think of little else that day. He had told he loved her twice, and both times Julie had left his words at the curb.

Chapter 15

Jimmy ate his dinner with Julie in the back of the crowded mess hall. There was no sign of anyone he knew, and he was happy for that. Julie continued to fill in the missing pieces of the past few months. They returned to Julie’s cabin after dinner, and on their walk there, Julie pointed out Bill’s cabin. “That’s where you’ll be living,” she had said. “Sorry, but Cindy and I are already sharing a room.”

Jimmy nodded. Bill’s cabin was dark, and only a faint trickle of wood smoke could be seen coming from the chimney. One of the front windows was broken, and it looked as if Bill had stuffed the star-shaped hole with dirty laundry.

They visited for another hour after dinner until Julie complained of a headache. Jimmy gave her a hug and a quick kiss. “I’ll head over to Bill’s,” he said. “Get some rest, sweetheart. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Julie smiled. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she whispered. “Good night.”

Jimmy found Bill inside his cabin, squatting at the cold wood stove. “Hey, man,” he said. “I hate these damn things. The wood always burns up.”

Jimmy kicked the snow from his boots and he joined Bill at the stove. “Let me get a fire going,” he said. “This place is freezing.”

“I’m so glad to see you, man,” Bill said, moving around the small cabin and lighting candles. “You’re going to love it here. This place is just crawling with babes.”

Jimmy barely heard Bill as he rambled on about all of the young women in camp. He could see his own breath as he carefully fed small pieces of birch-bark into the stove. He blew softly into the embers and was rewarded with a small orange flame.

“And there is no competition, brother. This must be what heaven is like. All I have to do is smile at these girls, and I can see it in their eyes, man. They want me. I’m not kidding. There are hardly any guys here.”

The birch-bark began to crackle as hot flames licked up around the fat logs that Bill had foolishly loaded into the dormant stove. Jimmy began to feed the flames with more strips of the white bark.

“You know, the chicks thought I was pretty hot back in high school,” Bill said in his most serious voice. “Oh yeah, I had this Dodge Dart, and that car was always full of girls. So I know when girls are interested in me, man. I can tell.”

The bark burned hot, and the logs began to snap and crackle as they slowly caught fire. Jimmy could feel the stove begin to do its job. Satisfied, he left the door to the stove cracked open and stood to his feet. Bill was still talking.

“She’s a single mom with five kids, but what do I care? She’s barely thirty. You’re going to like her. Still, I have to make sure she knows that I’m not looking for a girlfriend. I don’t want her to get the wrong idea. This place is a goldmine, and I’m gonna do me some prospecting. Oh, yeah.”

Jimmy smiled and nodded his head. He hadn’t really heard a word of what Bill had said. He was already beginning to feel trapped. He sized up the cabin and found himself staring at the faded towels that were stuffed into the broken window. The temporary repair looked as if it had been done by a drunk. Jimmy spied a wide roll of gray tape on the counter. “A man’s best friend,” he whispered to himself.

Bill hadn’t missed a beat and was still talking.

Jimmy shook his head. He walked into the little kitchen area as Bill rambled on. There was still plenty of tape left on the roll. He began to open cabinets as he looked for something to tape over the hole in the window. The kitchen was filthy and smelled of old food and dirty socks. Jimmy continued looking. He picked up one of the flaming candles and walked into the bedroom.

“You can take your pick,” Bill said. “I’ve slept in both of them, and they’re both too soft for my back. I sleep out here on the couch.”

Jimmy grimaced. The bedroom was a total disaster. There was a single bed against one wall and a queen sized against the other. The sheets were tangled and hanging off the mattresses. There was no sign of pillows or blankets. Bill had tied a rope from one end of the room to the other, and his laundry hung from it. Jimmy found what he was looking for in the closet. It was a stout cardboard box that had been broken down and stored in the back.

“We were just walking by, being cool,” Bill said, lost in his own story. “They didn’t have the blinds closed or nothing. There was like ten of them, man. They knew we were out there, they had to know.”

Jimmy shook his head and held up his hands. He didn’t want to hear it, and he told Bill so. “I need a knife. Will you go find me one?”

“I was going to do that,” Bill said. “I just haven’t got around to it. Good. That was the piece I was going to use,” he said, pointing to the flat piece of cardboard. “Maybe you should let me do that.”

Jimmy shook his head. “Knife?” he asked again.

“So you should really hear this from me,” Bill said, opening and closing the little drawers in the kitchen. “Mars is after Julie.”

The statement struck Jimmy like a freight train.

“And she likes it—I can tell. That’s why I think you should dump her, man. There are so many chicks to choose from. A dude shouldn’t be tied down.”

“What do you mean?” Jimmy asked, trying to keep his voice level. “And you’d better not be lying to me.”

Bill found a crusty butcher knife in the sink and approached Jimmy with apprehension in his eyes. “I didn’t mean nothin’ by it, honest. I can just tell these things, you know?”

Jimmy didn’t know, and he snatched the knife away from Bill and turned his back on him as he sized up the hole. “Keep going, Bill. You said she likes it.”

“I can see it in her eyes. Mars is a handsome guy. I think so. I mean, I’m not gay or nothin’. You know what I mean, not that I’ve got anything against it. I thought Jon was really a cool guy. I miss him.”

“Tell me about Julie!” Jimmy snapped, turning on Bill with the butcher knife clenched in his right hand.

“That’s all there is. I could see it in her eyes. That Mars is handsome, and if I was Julie, I’d be interested in him. The chicks here really dig him.”

Jimmy stared at Bill for a long moment, shook his head and resumed cutting his cardboard. “You don’t want me to be with Julie, do you?”

“I just don’t like the way she controls you,” Bill said, backing away. “You know how she is. And you can see that she doesn’t like me. I saved her life. That ought to count for something.”

Jimmy hated to admit it, but Bill was right. Julie didn’t like him, and he had saved her life. Didn’t he deserve to be treated better? Jimmy thought so. There weren’t many of them left, and despite Bill’s many faults, you didn’t turn your back on your own people. Jimmy decided to forget about what Bill had said about Julie and Mars. Obviously, Bill had personal reasons for wanting to hurt Julie.

Bill took advantage of the silence to continue raving about all of the beautiful women in their camp. “Twenty to one,” he said, rubbing his hands together as he paced in front of the wood stove. “Mars was definitely right about one thing,” he said.

“Yeah, what’s that?”

“The name of this place: Utopia. This is just how I imagined it should be, just without the pizza.”

Just before turning in that night, Jimmy began to carefully probe Bill for information. The small cabin was cozy warm, and Jimmy had taken down Bill’s clothesline. He continued to ask questions as he made up his bed. Something told Jimmy that Big Al had his own agenda. He and his men seemed to be the village rebels. If there were weapons to be found, Big Al would know where they were. He walked out and stood with Bill in the dirty little kitchen.

“Do you want a sandwich, man?” Bill asked, scratching his hairy belly with both hands. He walked over to the counter and began to hack away at a loaf of freshly baked bread.

“No, thanks,” said Jimmy. “How do you feel about the no-gun policy? I’m really having trouble with that. What do the others think?”

Bill cut the loaf into quarters and spread nearly half an inch of peanut-butter on one of the slices. “You sure you don’t want one?” Bill asked again. “This bread is pretty tasty, dude.”

Jimmy gritted his teeth. He didn’t like being called dude or man. Still, he knew that he would have to pick and choose his fights. He watched Bill reach his hand up under his t-shirt to his opposite armpit, and, much like a dog, he groaned with pleasure as he scratched himself. He then used both hands to smash his sandwich down on the counter. Peanut butter oozed out from the sides, and Bill dabbed at it with his fingers, sticking them into his mouth. He tore the flattened sandwich in half and made a gesture, offering half to Jimmy.

Jimmy shook his head. “How does everyone feel about the policy? I just can’t see everyone buying into it.”

Bill took a huge bite of sandwich and began to chew, open-mouthed, as he returned to the sofa. “I don’t buy into it,” Bill said, pausing swallow. “But we got no choice. Can you dig it?”

Jimmy turned his head away, but the sound of Bill’s chewing was making him sick to his stomach. Worse than that was Bill’s sudden fondness for slang. Jimmy had known him for a long time, and he’d never heard him speak this way. “I don’t understand how everyone could just give up their weapons. That doesn’t make sense. You guys have to have some stashed somewhere, right?”

Bill swallowed and wiped the excess peanut-butter from the corners of his mouth with the back of his hand. “Not as far as I know, man. It don’t matter; nobody is going to bother us. We’re connected.”

Jimmy shook his head, undressed, and crawled into bed. He felt vulnerable, and he couldn’t shake that feeling. This was the first night since he’d left home that he hadn’t slept with a gun. He found that he didn’t like it.

The following morning was windy and gray. After what seemed like an eternity, Jimmy was able to rouse Bill and get him out of bed. Bill put on yesterday’s clothes and yawned. “Big Al wants to meet this morning,” Bill said, stretching his arms. “We should head over to the shop and get some coffee.”

The shop smelled of cutting oil and burnt steel, two smells that made Jimmy homesick for his former life. Jimmy wanted to laugh as he looked around. The dirty shop looked as if it belonged to a group of teenagers. There was a ping pong table in the middle of the room where greasy wrenches, beer cans, and what looked like a pile of men’s white underwear sat next to red and blue paddles. A pinball machine with its lights on stood against the wall, walls that were covered in pilfered street signs and wrinkled Walmart posters. A unicycle lay at Jimmy’s feet. Big Al lumbered across the shop to greet them. He was dressed in a mottled blue bathrobe, and he wore black slippers to protect his feet from the filthy cement. He looked tired, and his muttonchops looked they were spiked from sleep. “Dude, what the hell are you guys doing here?” he growled. “Is it after ten?”

“Chill out, homey,” Bill shouted across the shop. “This is my main man, Jimmy.”

Bill introduced Jimmy to Big Al, and Jimmy could feel himself being sized up. Big Al stuck his hand out, and Jimmy shook it. Big Al had a firm gripm and Jimmy’s hand came away feeling sticky.

“Nice to meet ya,” Big Al said in a gravely pirate’s voice. “Billy-Boy has been talkin’ ‘bout you since the day he showed up. Ain’t that right, Wart?”

Jimmy gave Bill a hard look and Bill visibly wilted.

“He sure has,” screeched a strange, whistling voice from behind an open door. Jimmy had never seen Wart, and the voice conjured up images of gargoyles and garden gnomes. A toilet flushed, and a skinny man suddenly rushed out from the door, pulling his robe closed and cinching the tie. He was short and wiry and olive skinned. Jimmy guessed him to be somewhere between thirty and forty. The man named Wart had babyish skin covering a hard face. Wispy brown hair covered his head, and he wore the poorest excuse for muttonchops that Jimmy could imagine. He never took his eyes from Jimmy as he slunk their way. Jimmy decided that he either looked very good for his age or he didn’t.

Jimmy looked from Wart to Bill and then back to Wart.

“Jimmy, this is Wart,” said Big Al. “Wart, this guy has had more tail than a toilet seat.”

Wart, who couldn’t have been more than five feet tall with his boots on, stuck out his right hand and smiled. “Hello, Jimmy, pleased to meet you,” he whistled.

Jimmy looked at the hand and back to Wart’s comic book face. Wart smiled a smile that was missing two front teeth.

“Poor bastard,” growled Big Al. “Lost his teeth, just yesterday.”

Wart’s eyes never left Jimmy’s face, and his hand seemed planted in front of him. Jimmy wasn’t about to shake that unwashed hand. He desperately looked for a way out of the awkward situation. Then he remembered Howie Mandel. Jimmy struck a boxer’s pose and moved to fist bump the little man.

Wart’s hand stayed open, and he now looked hurt.

“Wart’s a good dude,” said Big Al, tilting his head back and jutting out his chin. “You got a problem with him? Go on, shake the man’s hand.”

“Hi,” Jimmy said, and he stiffly offered his hand to Wart. “Pleased to meet you.”

Wart took Jimmy’s limp hand and pumped it for all it was worth. He started to chuckle. Big Al suddenly slapped Jimmy on the back and began to laugh. Jimmy turned to Bill and saw that he had been in on the joke. All three men were now roaring with laughter, and Jimmy smiled nervously.

“He’s a keeper,” rumbled Big Al. “Don’t worry. Wart wasn’t doing his business in there.”

“Or was I?” Wart whistled cryptically. He then bent over and picked up the unicycle. Still laughing, he hiked up his bathrobe and sat down on the one-wheeler. “I can’t remember what I did in there.” He then began to ride the unicycle around the shop with all the skill of a Ringling Brother’s clown. Jimmy watched him with amazement and quickly excused himself and moved toward the bathroom. Wart pedaled towards him, and he reached out as he glided past, stroking Jimmy’s cheek with his right hand.

“Knock it off!” shouted Jimmy.

Like three drunken hyenas, the other men laughed at Jimmy. Wart spun around the ping pong table and was headed for another run. He smiled crazily, bobbing his head back and forth to the pumping of his scrawny legs. Jimmy hurried to the bathroom and slammed the door behind him.

The bathroom looked like something out of a bad movie. The sink looked as if it belonged inside a condemned building. Hair covered toothbrushes lay scattered on the crusty vanity top. The sink was heaping with fresh ashes. Jimmy found the soap and washed his hands under the hottest water the tap would offer. He scrubbed until they had been scalded to a hot-pink color. He scrubbed his face in the same manner.

He opened the door and returned to where Big Al and Bill still stood. Big Al had one arm propped on Bill’s shoulder and pointed a meaty finger in Bill’s face.

“He works for you, man,” Big Al grunted, completely ignoring Jimmy. “If you have any problems with him, he goes straight to the kitchen. Make sure your homeboy knows that they start work at four in the damn morning.”

“Homey spent his first day in the kitchen,” Bill said, smiling at Jimmy. “The dude is cool, bro.”

Jimmy wanted to scream. This was not Bill, not the Bill that he had known for so many years. He bit his tongue and returned the smile. “That’s me,” he said, “one cool dude.”

“Right on,” Bill said, giving Jimmy the double thumbs-up.

“He’d better be,” Big Al said. “We got a good gig here, and I don’t want anyone screwing it up for us. Billy-Boy here says you don’t like our policy against guns. Tough shit; that’s the way it is, and if you don’t like it, lump it. Right, boys?”

Wart wheeled past them. “Lump it, lump it,” he whistled. He then dropped lightly to his feet and artfully scooped up the unicycle. “No guns, Mr. Bond. But we got plenty of hot chicks to choose from.”

Jimmy turned on Bill, and Bill withered again. He suddenly understood that whatever he told Bill would be shared with anyone who chose to listen.

“That’s right,” Big Al said. “There’s twenty to one out there. Can you dig it?”

“Not many ugly ones,” said Wart, who was still smiling. He set down the unicycle, walked over to the workbench and picked up a pack of cigarettes. “Care for a smoke, man?” he said, offering the pack to Jimmy.

Again, Jimmy stared at Bill. The Camel cigarettes looked all too familiar, and it only took a second for Jimmy to make the connection. He took the pack and shook himself out one. Wart stuck the lighter into Jimmy’s face, and Jimmy lit up. “Thanks,” he said. “So what else has Bill said about me?”

“Says you’re a chick magnet,” Wart said, slyly. “Says you have to beat them off with a stick, daddy-o. I’ll bet you do.”

“Yeah?” asked Jimmy. “Well, Bill says a lot of things.”

“Let’s get some chow,” said Big Al, waving at Jimmy to follow him. “You want some toaster waffles? We were just eating. I’ve got the best maple syrup you’ve ever tasted.”

“Righteous,” said Bill.

They sat together drinking hot coffee and eating four boxes of syrup-drenched waffles. Jimmy found that Wart did most of the talking. The little man explained how things worked down at the shop. They worked at their own pace; no one understood what they were doing, and sometimes they just wanted to drink beer and play games. The shop was off limits to everyone except the mechanics and the Equals. The Equals avoided the place like the plague. They were well rewarded for performing their mechanical miracles and near the top of the food chain. The dingy shop had its own kitchen, complete with a stocked freezer and loads of canned foods. The shop also had its own sleeping quarters, laundry room, and one of the largest flat-screen televisions that Jimmy had ever seen. Jimmy couldn’t help wonder how much better the shop would look if it were cleaned. He then wondered how many days it would take to accomplish that.

Chapter 16

Wart gradually grew on Jimmy, as did Big Al. They were very odd, but they seemed to accept him into their fold, and that meant something to him. They had a live and let live philosophy; both men had lost everything they had ever had, and they were only trying to make the best of the world they now lived in. Jimmy understood that, and it gave them all a common ground. He caught himself using the words “man” and “dude,” which was a little disturbing. By the time they finished breakfast, Jimmy had pretty much forgiven them all, even Bill.

“I’m going to lay down,” yawned Big Al, stretching his arms wide. “Wake me up for lunch, dude.”

“Me too,” said Bill, perfectly imitating Big Al’s motions.

Wart stood from the table. “I’m going to go work on the drains in the women’s shower. You want to tag along?” he asked Jimmy.

“No,” he said. “I’m going to pass this time. Go ahead. I think I’m going to clean this place up a little bit. You dudes don’t mind, do you?”

Big Al studied Jimmy for a moment. “Hell, no,” he said. “I’ve been after these two slobs to pick up after themselves like forever. Thanks, man.”

Wart shrugged his shoulders. “Whatever,” he said. “You’re going to miss the show.”

Jimmy didn’t think Julie would approve of him inside the women’s shower, no matter what the reason. He eyeballed the mess around him and wondered if he hadn’t spoken too soon. He didn’t have long to think about it. Wart dressed, slung a tool belt around his narrow hips and headed out the door without another word. Bill and Big Al retired a moment later, and Jimmy found himself alone.

What Jimmy couldn’t understand was how three grown men could live in such a pigsty. He found an unopened box of lawn and leaf trash bags, and within an hour he had filled close to a dozen bags. He stacked them by the overhead door, wondering where they needed to be taken. He swept the floor and wiped down benches, tables, and countertops. He attacked the bathroom like a man on fire, wearing rubber gloves and using pure bleach. He tried to organize things the best he could, but with so many unfinished projects laying around in various states of disrepair, it wasn’t easy.

Still, Jimmy found that he was quietly enjoying himself. He was in a shop again, and he was making a difference. He thought about taking a break, but he wanted to get as much done as he could before Wart returned. He thought about Wart and chuckled. He had never met anyone as outlandish as the little man. He wondered what Jon would have made of him. He could hear both Bill and Big Al snoring from behind the closed doors of the two small bedrooms. They seemed like twins separated at birth. Jimmy found a scrub mop, and he mopped both the kitchen and bathroom floors. He was sweating, picking up speed as the minutes slipped away.

The bleach began to irritate his eyes and his lungs, and Jimmy decided to step outside to catch some air. He nearly collided with a group of young women who were standing outside the door. Three of the girls were blonde, and two of them were probably sisters, thought Jimmy. He guessed them to be in their mid-twenties and perhaps members of the same track team. They were all tall and lean, and their smiles were infectious. Jimmy found that he couldn’t wipe the smile from his own face.

“We’ve been talking about you,” the tallest of the three blondes said as she stopped jogging just a few feet from where he stood. “Heather thinks you’re cute.”

“He is cute,” giggled one of the other girls.

They suddenly circled him and began to pepper him with questions. Where did he come from? Did he think the soldiers would come back and visit them? Did he have a girlfriend? Jimmy fought to keep their names straight. Heather was the brunette; that was easy. The blondes were Marie, Ashley, and Samantha. Marie had been the first to speak, and Ashley and Samantha were indeed sisters. They spun him around, firing questions at him and laughing at his answers. All four of the girls seemed to be staring straight into his eyes, and Jimmy found himself blushing.

“Doesn’t he have the cutest dimples?”

“Sorry, my sister doesn’t get out much,” Ashley said. “Besides, there aren’t any good-looking boys here.”

“You mean there weren’t any good-looking boys here,” said Marie, slyly.

“I’m a boy,” Bill nearly shouted from behind Jimmy.

“Eww,” groaned one of the girls.

Jimmy turned to see Bill, Big Al, and Wart, all wearing their matching overalls and smiling dreamily at Jimmy’s new friends.

“We’ll see you around, Jimmy,” Marie said, with a flash of smile and a wink. “Come on, girls. I think it’s safe to shower now.”

“Bye, Jimmy,” cooed another of the girls.

Jimmy was smiling and turned to say good-bye. That was when he saw Julie standing with her arms crossed, not ten feet away, halfway behind a towering white pine. Her face was red, and her eyes were blazing.

“Yes, sir,” said Big Al, slapping Jimmy on the back. “You can stay, Jimmy. You’re a regular chick magnet!”

“You’re my hero,” whistled Wart.

“Umph!” whooshed Julie as she turned on her heels.

“Oh-oh,” said Bill. “This isn’t good.”

Jimmy was already chasing after Julie, trying to remember if he had said anything really bad to any of the girls. He knew that he hadn’t. The problem was what he hadn’t said to them. He hadn’t told them about Julie.

She was sprinting now, running away from him with reckless abandon across the new-fallen snow and into the woods. She was wearing a red ski jacket over a pair of blue jeans. Jimmy could hear her up ahead of him, and she was crying. She suddenly cried out in pain and fell face first into the snow. There was the sound of crunching glass, and the snow around Julie’s face began to turn red. She didn’t move.

Chapter 17

“Worst fractures I’ve ever treated on a woman,” Doc told Jimmy. “I’m afraid there isn’t much I could do to set them. She’s going to take it hard. You damn well better be there for her. If you so much as look at another woman, I’ll have you bounced out of here so fast, it’ll make your head spin. Do you understand me?”

Jimmy nodded. They had just left Julie’s cabin, and he had seen Julie’s ruined face. Broken nose, broken cheekbone, and perhaps a cracked orbital socket; Doc wasn’t quite sure. She had tripped face first into a small pile of discarded engine parts that had been buried under the snow. Jimmy saw her as having just gone twelve rounds against the champ. Doc had completely sedated her once they reached Julie’s cabin. She was holding her face, moaning, and sobbing into her cupped hands. When Doc finally got her to pull them away, both he and Jimmy gasped. Julie began to wail, and Doc jammed her with something that put her down in under two minutes.

“Boil me a pot of water, now!” Doc had shouted.

Jimmy didn’t hesitate. He ran to the kitchen and found a saucepan, set it on the stove and dumped bottled water into the pan. When he returned, Jimmy saw that Doc had his tools sitting on the nightstand next to Julie’s bed. They were stainless steel, and to Jimmy they looked ancient and painful.

Doc rummaged in his bag and pulled out a pair of scissors. “Come on,” he said to Jimmy. “I’ll hold her up while you cut. Her hair has got to go.”

“I can’t do it.”

“You damn well can and you will!”

“She’s going to hate me.”

“Just do it,” growled Doc.

Jimmy took the scissors and moved next to Julie. He didn’t know where to start, and he couldn’t stand to stare into her ruined face. Her cheeks were black, and her nose looked like a smashed plum.

“Just start chopping. We don’t have all day!”

And Jimmy chopped. Tears ran down his cheeks as he began to lop off her beautiful thick, black hair, in great hunks and clumps. “I’m sorry, baby,” he whispered as he cut. “I’m so damn sorry.”

After what seemed like an eternity, Jimmy had Julie looking like a new Marine. Doc gestured for Jimmy to get up, and he gently laid Julie back down on her bed. He then walked past Jimmy out into the kitchen.

Doc came back into the room holding the saucepan with a pair of mismatched oven mitts. He set the pan next to the bed and asked Jimmy to close the door and wait in the other room. He whispered that he was going to have to set the bones without the help of an x-ray and that she may cry out in pain. He told Jimmy not to worry about that.

The next two hours were the longest of Jimmy’s life.

A half hour into his wait, a solid-looking woman came to the outside door and knocked. Jimmy wiped his eyes and slowly went to the door. He took a deep breath and opened it.

“How is she?” asked the dark-skinned woman with a slight Jamaican accent as she pushed past him.

“Doc is with her now. You can’t go in there.”

“Do you know me?”

Jimmy gave her a puzzled look. She wore a colorful dress that she filled out with a big-boned frame. Her black hair hung in dreadlocks, and she wore a pair of John Lennon sunglasses that she didn’t bother to remove once she was inside. She was a formidable woman, and Jimmy knew without asking that this was Venus.

“That’s right,” she said, removing her large boots. “Now tell me something. Who is in there with the doctor?”

“Julie is in there.”

“Idiot! Who is in there assisting the doctor?”

Jimmy quickly turned away from her intense glare. “No one,” he hissed.

“Men!” she cried, disgustedly. She quickly spun on her heels and charged into Julie’s bedroom. She closed the door firmly behind her, and Jimmy could hear a hushed argument ensue from behind that door. The argument lasted only seconds, and soon all Jimmy heard were Julie’s painful groans and whimpers.

Julie’s beautiful face was set in a thick, white plaster cast. Two impossibly small holes allowed her to see, while two others allowed access to her nose and mouth. The cast went all the way to her shoulders. She was out cold, and Venus had covered her up to her neck with a quilt.

Jimmy looked down and stared into the face of a mummy. Somehow, he knew he was to blame.

Venus made him go back to the shop, promising that she would send for him when it came time for him to watch over her. “This is a terrible thing,” she said. “And I feel sorry for you, Jimmy. Now it is time to act like a real man. Do you know how to do that, young Jimmy? She is gonna need a real man.”

Jimmy nodded.

“You stay away from all of those little tarts, you hear me, boy? You don’t want to mess with me and my friends. Don’t you dare stray on that poor girl. I would have to hurt you.” Jimmy looked into Venus’ face, and he never doubted her for a second. She then broke into a warm smile. “I was kidding. I just want you to know that I’m going to be watching you. Your friend Bill Huggins told me all about you. I know your kind. Oh, yes, I surely do. You best steer clear of temptation. This place has too many young women, and they’re all lonely. You stay away from them.”

Jimmy nodded again, but this time he was starting to get angry. He had heard enough, and he set his chin and began to reply to her blunt accusations.

She shut him down with a bellowing laugh. “That’s being a man,” she said. “That’s what Julie needs. Go now. I will call for you.”

Jimmy turned up his collar and walked back to the shop with his head down. A stiff breeze had kicked up, and he was peppered with sleet as he walked. The tears had begun again after he had walked out of the cabin. This was certainly all his fault. He should have walked away from those girls, right away, and if he had done so, none of this would have happened. Jimmy was sure of it. He couldn’t get the picture of bald-headed Julie and her Halloween face out of his mind. He knew he was going to have to try. The shop loomed ahead, and he didn’t want the guys to see him crying.

He walked in the same door he had come out of when they heard the choppers. The garbage bags still sat where he had left them which immediately stuck in his craw. There was life on the other end of the shop, and smoke hung in the air. Jimmy could see three forms huddled around something—a blue flame sizzled, and hot red sparks sprayed to his freshly swept floor. He was done cleaning, and they obviously didn’t appreciate it. Jimmy made his way around the ping pong table and saw that it was once again littered with nuts and bolts and a new-looking snowmobile ski. Jimmy stopped and stared at the object of the mechanic’s attention. He saw them hacking away at what he was sure to be the skeleton of his beloved Polaris. Anger turned to rage.

Wart saw him first and stood defiantly between Jimmy and his counterparts. “What the hell are you guys doing?” screamed Jimmy. “You have no right to do that!”

Big Al and Bill stopped what they were doing and turned to face him. And that was when Jimmy noticed the fourth man standing in the shadows. “That’s where you’re wrong, man,” the man said. “I ordered them to do it. Have you ever heard of global warming?”

“What?” Jimmy shrieked. “Who the hell are you?”

“I am called Pluto,” he said. “And you’re about two seconds away from walking out of here—forever. Can you dig it?”

Jimmy quickly reassessed the situation and decided that it was time to try another tactic. “I’m sorry,” he said, scratching his chin. “I’ve had a bad day.”

The man studied him for a long moment. He was tall and thin with long gray hair and a beard to match. He made Jimmy think of what George Harrison would have looked like at seventy. Pluto wore strings of love beads over a faded flannel shirt. His blue jeans were ripped in the knees and tucked into a pair of moon boots. He stood at an angle with his hands on his hips. He dropped his arm and waved Jimmy to follow him over to the kitchen. “Come on, I’m going to brew us a pot of tea. We need to rap.”

Jimmy’s new coworkers went back to savaging his Polaris, and he followed Pluto into the semi-clean kitchen. The old hippie seemed to know his way around the kitchen, and he quickly filled a tea kettle and set it on the stove. “Bummer about your old lady,” Pluto said.

Jimmy nodded his head in agreement, even if he didn’t like Pluto’s slang.

“Okeedokie,” said Pluto, motioning for Jimmy to take a seat at the table. “Let me shed some light on that brain of yours. We are pacifists here. Bill says you might try to lay your hands on some guns. That would be a bad plan.”

Jimmy gritted his teeth and vowed to never speak to Bill again.

Pluto stroked his beard as he spoke. He had yellowish teeth and fingernails, and Jimmy guessed him to be somewhere closer to seventy five. His piercing blue eyes never seemed to leave Jimmy’s own. “I own all of this. I call the shots. I make the rules.”

Jimmy couldn’t let that pass. “I thought you called the shots as a team, the same way you made up the rules.”

Pluto smiled. “Good point,” he said, lacing his long fingers together in front of him. “I should have said that differently. Think of our little community as a big ball of clay. I had to form it into that ball, and I had to do it alone, you dig? I decided that guns were out. Guns kill people. Don’t you believe any of that bullshit anyone tells you. Guns kill people, and I don’t like guns. Men may trade punches, but take the firearms out of the equation and both fighters will likely walk away. I’ve seen enough death, man.”

“We all have,” said Jimmy. “I just think that you’re taking a huge risk.”

“Oh, really?” Pluto asked, looking amused. He sat back in his chair and spread his hands before him. “Even if, and I’m saying this just for argument’s sake, even if everyone here carried a gun, how long do you suppose we could hold out against a group of determined men? You’ve seen the people here. Which one of them would you want to have your back in a foxhole? We’re not fighters, and we’ll never be fighters. Not that any of it matters because this is about so much more than that.”

Jimmy thought about that as he glanced over at the three vultures picking apart his Polaris. Pluto was right; he certainly wouldn’t trust any of them with his back, especially Bill.

Pluto continued. “This is still the United States, and we have to remember who we are. We’re not blood-thirsty killers. We’re trying to make a stand here by doing what’s right. We’re trying to set an example up here for the whole world to see. That’s why the National Guard doesn’t bother us. We have nothing to hide, and we pose no threats. Everyone is welcome here, providing they check their weapons at the gate.”

“What if they refuse to check their weapons and come in, anyhow?”

“There is always that unfortunate risk, for that is the nature of man. We have to assume that risk and deal with it when the time comes.”

“What happened to your voice?” Jimmy asked with a smile. “Don’t you mean, when the time comes, man?”

Pluto smiled and nodded his head in defeat. “You saw through my little act. Please keep it to yourself, if you don’t mind. Let me explain. You didn’t experience the sixties or even the seventies. Those were beautiful times. We had a revolution that swept the country, and we became a force. Those first flower children started a wave that washed the blood from the eyes of an entire country. You should have seen it. We were making love, not war. We began to demand changes in how things were done. We demanded that people begin to see that we were all in this together. We demanded civil rights!”

Jimmy listened as Pluto built up steam. He was standing now, pacing behind the table, and he suddenly pointed at Jimmy.

“You should have seen us. We organized marches and rallies. We quit tolerating racism and sexism. We stood against the war. We were punched and kicked and called names, but we stood our ground. You won’t find this in any history books, but the hippies of the sixties changed everything. I should know. I was one of them. Things didn’t change overnight, but our belief system gradually took root, and it continues to grow. Our first liberty is the pursuit of peace and tranquility, young man. Don’t you ever forget that. We stood for peace, and we will continue to do so. I’m trying to get people to identify with that era. I’m doing it with language. You’ll see; it’ll grow on you, man.”

An air compressor suddenly sprang to life, and the shop vibrated with sound. Pluto got up from the table and checked his kettle. Jimmy thought about what he’d just been told. He then began to wonder what would have happened if Ken’s group had simply joined up with the group at the Birkland Lodge. How many people had died? What had they died for? Then he thought about Sister Margaret and her followers. Jimmy shook his head. What would have happened if they had also joined them? He knew one thing for sure: his friend Jon would still be alive.

Pluto set a cup in front of Jimmy. He had never tried tea in his life, but he sipped at it, and he found that it wasn’t half bad. “Thank you,” he said.

“And who says that real men don’t drink tea?” Pluto asked, sipping from his own cup. He then sat down and smiled, but the smile was tired, and his eyes were weary. “Look, I know what you’re thinking. We are taking a huge risk up here. We understand that. Life is full of risks, young man. You have to stand up for what you believe in or nobody is going to listen to your message. No matter what we do, there is always going to be someone out there with the means to take this from us. They could very well kill us all. Our defense is that they can have it and that there is no need for bloodshed. Even if we had a hundred guns, someone would show up with a thousand. That’s the insanity of war. We won’t have it here.”

Jimmy nodded. “Fair enough,” he said. “I’m not sure that I’m one hundred percent behind all of this, but you make a good point.”

“Fair enough,” said Pluto. He then took a sip of his tea and sighed. “The truth is that we’re all flying by the seat of our pants these days. Nobody has any idea of what to do next or when things will return to normal, if they ever do. We just don’t want to lose sight of who we are. I don’t want to kill anyone. Look at me. I’m an old man. I just want us to make our stand, right here. We’re the last of the hippies, and we have to survive all of this to ensure that people hear our message. Love is all you need, man.”

Those words would ring inside Jimmy’s ears for a long time.

Chapter 18

The next few weeks passed slowly, but Jimmy found that despite everything that had happened the change of scenery had been good for him. Snow continued to fall, and it soon was nearly impossible to walk where it hadn’t been shoveled. He missed the Dahlgrens. He thought of them often, but it was good to see new faces and to develop new routines. Jimmy got used to eating organic foods, and he was amazed at how much better he felt. Venus dealt him a severe blow when she told him that Julie wouldn’t see him. Jimmy had sat with her twice before she had delivered that message. “This is a hard thing for her,” Venus had said. “But it will pass.”

Jimmy asked about her every day, but almost three weeks later, Julie still refused to see him. Doc fell back into his practice and into the beatnik lifestyle. He began wearing love beads and sunglasses, and he would flash Jimmy a peace sign when he saw him, but they seldom talked. Jimmy knew that he still held him responsible for Julie’s injury. Meanwhile, he spent his days with the mechanics, and he soon had the shop looking as he felt it should—clean and orderly.

Music seemed to follow him everywhere. When he was in the shop, Big Al would usually play classic rock and occasionally some country. When Jimmy ventured out into the commons areas, he would usually run into small groups of musicians as they practiced. Some of these musicians seemed awfully talented to Jimmy, but since no one ever used last names in the camp, he never knew if he was listening to anyone of note.

There were some rules to get used tom and what surprised Jimmy was how everyone seemed to follow them, despite the lack of a police force or even a formal disciplinary policy. A few families wandered into their camp, the last stragglers in what had become the great northern migration. They seemed to adjust quickly to the way things were run, and most seemed eager to prove their worth. Jimmy thought that when people worked for pride and not money, almost nothing was impossible. He also thought that by setting a standard and providing a clean shop and a positive attitude, he had rubbed off on the men he worked with. They no longer took naps after breakfast, and gradually they began to work as a team and attack what needed their attention.

Jimmy stayed close to Bill while he was out of the shop, and it worked fairly well for protection from unwanted advances. Venus would remind him every so often that she was keeping a close eye on him. Jimmy would assure her that she had nothing to worry about. As the days turned to weeks, this became more of a challenge. More than one of the women in camp had made it clear to him that she was interested. Some still fawned after him, while others were more subtle. He would think of Julie and her plaster face, and that was usually enough to guide him through temptation. That didn’t mean that it was always easy.

He didn’t think it was fair of Julie to shut him out like she had. He began to resent that, and the feeling was undeniable. He wondered what she would look like when Doc removed the cast. Yet he knew in his heart that she was the woman for him as long as she would have him. He would love her no matter how she looked.

Jimmy learned more about Mars in the coming days. He had spent six years in the Army, and his skills were in organization. He set the schedule and made sure everyone knew what was expected of them. Jimmy was amazed at how he seemed to have an answer to each and every problem they faced. “Work smart,” Mars would say. He was good at matching people to problems, and the result was a well-oiled machine. Jimmy couldn’t help notice that he seemed to go through women like there was no tomorrow. All he could do was watch with a little envy as Mars spent time with a multitude of women.

Wart caught him watching Mars one day in the mess hall. “I’d give my left arm to be that dude,” Wart had said. “But, if there was ever a contest, I’d put my money on you. He’s burning through these chicks like cigarettes, man. They’re onto his shit.”

Jimmy shrugged his shoulders and took another bite of his rice. “Maybe,” he said, “but that’s his business, and it has nothing to do with me. Remember, he’s single and can see who he wants. I’m not.”

“That’s right. And when was the last time you saw your Julie?”

“That’s not fair.”

“All I’m saying is that he’s not even in your league, man,” Wart whistled in his distinctive voice. “You could have any of those babes. All you’d have to do is snap your fingers.”

Jimmy wasn’t taking the bait. Wart talked to Bill, which meant that anything he talked about would be yesterday’s news in only minutes. Still, he couldn’t help thinking about what Wart had asked him. When was the last time that he had spoken to Julie? He knew it had been over a month, maybe as long as six weeks. Venus continued to reassure him that Julie was healing and would soon want to see him. She explained that Julie’s wounds were more than skin deep and that those wounds took longer to heal. Jimmy had spent many hours reflecting on what had happened on that terrible day, and the passing of so much time had only muddied the waters. With each passing day, Jimmy felt less responsible for Julie’s injuries and angrier that she still refused to see him.

The days became shorter. Christmas came and went, and the New Year ushered in bitter subzero temperatures. Jimmy began spending more and more time locked up in the shop. He had a new admirer, and as much as he tried, he was having a hard time keeping her out of his thoughts. She was an Asian woman about Jimmy’s age with long black hair and piercing brown eyes. She had arrived alone on a pair of cross-country skis the week before the holidays, and her name was Jasmine.

Jimmy wasn’t the only one to notice her. Mars seemed immediately smitten with her, and Jimmy watched as he gave her the white glove treatment. Although he couldn’t be sure, Jimmy thought she had spurned his advances. She said it with her eyes.

Once Mars followed her eyes, and it was as if a light bulb flashed. Jimmy quickly averted his gaze, but there was no mistaking the accusing look that the Equal had flashed him. That was when Jimmy began to avoid the commons. Jasmine seemed like a very nice girl, even if he had never spoken to her. He just didn’t want the temptation. Besides, Mars was obviously interested in her, and the right thing to do was to be out of the picture.

Late at night, Jasmine and Julie would duke it out in his dreams.

Chapter 19

One afternoon at the end of January, Jimmy heard the familiar buzz of a high-performance snowmobile engine. Doc had been allowed to keep his trusty Skidoo, and he puttered around on it to make house calls. Jimmy could see it parked outside Julie’s shuttered cabin each day just after breakfast and an hour before dinner. The sound he now heard was definitely not the Skidoo. The snowmobile buzzed straight up to the shop, and the engine was killed. A moment later there was a knock at the door.

“Get that, will ya, Jimmy?” Big Al called from behind him. “If its Gloria, tell her I’m not here. Okay?”

Jimmy smiled. He thought of Gloria as the female Bill Huggins. That wasn’t quite right, but it was close enough. Gloria had obviously discovered steroids and was probably the strongest person in the camp. She had Popeye arms and a Neanderthal forehead, and Jimmy guessed that she weighed in at somewhere around two hundred pounds, not an ounce of which was fat. Gloria was a big woman, and nobody knew that better than Big Al, who now sported what he called love bruises on his arms.

Jimmy opened the door, but he only found Tony Clerk standing outside in the cold. Tony quickly stepped inside and unzipped his jacket. “Hey Jimmy,” he said with a smile. “You’re just the guy I’m looking for.”

“Good detective work, man,” said Jimmy.

“Thanks, brother,” Tony said. “There’s this big black dude down at the gate, and he’s looking for ya. He says his name is Burt.”

Jimmy smiled, thanked Tony, and ran to find his Sorel boots.

The day had been cold, but there had been no wind, and the sky hadn’t been this blue since mid-October. Jimmy wore his Columbia jacket and jogged all the way down to the gate, wishing he had asked Tony what Burt had wanted. Had something happened to Ken and Patty? Had they been overrun? Maybe they had been taken by the Guard. Jimmy was out of breath by the time he arrived at the gate. Burt Sharpen stood there, holding a semiautomatic hunting rifle. Jimmy could see that Burt was genuinely glad to see him, and he took that as a good sign. He suddenly wondered how Burt would feel about their no-gun policy.

“Jimmy,” Burt said. “Would you please explain to these fine men that I am a Minneapolis Police Detective, and that it is not only my right to carry a weapon, it is my duty as a sworn peace officer.”

Standing next to Burt was Tony’s partner, Myron. Jimmy had never liked this man, and he wondered why anyone had thought it was a good idea to grant him any power. Jimmy thought he had a classic case of short-man syndrome. Myron eyed Burt and grinned. “Then you are going to have to get a warrant,” he said with a smug grin.

“Jimmy?” Burt asked. “I’m trying to be patient here. Tell your man that I’m all right. Ask him to stand down.”

“Look,” Jimmy said. “He’s on the level, man. He’s a cop, and it’s the law. He does have to carry a gun.” Jimmy had no idea if that were true or not, it just seemed like the right thing to say.

“He’s not getting in!” shouted Myron.

“The hell I’m not,” said Burt. “Move it or lose it, buddy.”

Myron smiled, and Jimmy saw nothing but emptiness. This man had probably been a bar bouncer somewhere, and he looked eager to prove himself. He went for Burt’s rifle, meaning to snatch it away from him. Burt was waiting for him. The butt of the rifle suddenly shot up and caught Myron right in the middle of his square jaw. His feet flew up in the air, and Myron landed flat on his back. The second he opened his mouth in protest, Burt shoved the barrel of his police revolver down the man’s throat.

“Don’t think it, don’t say it. I am a police officer, and I don’t give two shits what you think. You will never take my weapon. No one takes my weapon!” Burt was now kneeling on Myron’s chest, his eyes blazing fire. “Nod your head if you understand that.”

Myron nodded.

Half an hour later, Jimmy and Burt stood in a conference room before the Equals. Tony Clerk and Myron stood on their end of the big table. Jimmy guessed this was their version of court. The biggest difference here was that the defendant was heavily armed.

“That’s when he stuck his gun in my mouth!” Myron was ranting. “I refuse to be treated that way. I want him out of here!”

“Myron,” Mars said. “Mellow out, man.”

“Yes,” agreed the grizzled Pluto. “This isn’t about what you want. This is a much deeper issue. I’ve seen the man’s credentials, and they look legit to me. The question here is what we should do about him.”

“He stuck a gun down my goddamn throat!”

“You will leave now!” Venus ordered, taking her feet and jabbing a thick finger at Myron.

Myron looked thunderstruck. “Oh, I see it all now,” he hissed in a lilting voice, thick with emotion. He turned on his heels and bolted to the door. “Just remember, I was only doing what you asked me to do. This is on you. This is on you!” He walked out and slammed the door behind him.

The long room wasn’t very large, and the slamming door echoed off the knotty pine walls. Jimmy shook his head, wondering exactly what the loud mouth was warning them about. Tony Clerk looked at Jimmy uneasily.

“Your friend has a very big mouth,” said Venus. “The next time he opens it like that, I will walk him to the gate. You make sure he knows that.”

“I will, I will,” said Tony. “I just want you to know that Myron is a righteous dude. Please don’t come down too hard on him. He’s very emotional. He found his entire family gunned down inside their church. He’s a little messed up.”

Jimmy and Burt exchanged a sorry look.

“We all know about what happened to his family, just as we all have our own story,” said Pluto. He turned to Burt. “Look man, this is my place. My rule is no guns, and I have a thousand reasons why if you ever care to debate me, but that one is set in stone.”

“I am a cop and you know that,” plead Burt. “Here you are,” he said, setting the big rifle down on the table. He then unzipped his jacket and removed his two .38’s from his matching shoulder holsters. “There you go. Are you happy now?”

Mars shook his head. “How do we know that he’s telling the truth? Dude could still be packing. Tony, pat him down.”

Venus again stuck her finger out, and this time she pointed to Mars. “Nobody is going to pat this proud man down, no sir! She was holding Burt’s wallet up to her eyes, and she slapped it on the table. “Why, as I live and breathe, Burt Sharpen.”

Burt smiled, but it was obvious that he had no idea who Venus was.

“No,” Venus said. “You would not remember me, Burt Sharpen. But I never forget a name or a face. Do you remember a young man named Scoot Hoover?”

Burt scratched his bald head and scrunched his nose. “That was a long time ago. Bullet wound to the chest? Cashier at Mutt’s Liquors—that Scoot Hoover?”

“That was my nephew.”

“I nailed the two punks that did that.”

“I know you did. Thank you. He was an angel.”

There was a moment of silence as Burt and Venus exchanged a sad look. Jimmy thought about how the world was really a small place, full of strange intersections.

“Fair enough,” said Pluto. “Burt, as long as we have your word on it. You are not carrying any other firearms?”

“I am not,” said Burt.

“That’s good enough for me,” said Pluto. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go have a cup of tea. Mars, would you care to join me?”

Mars shook his head. Jimmy could tell that he was still stinging from Venus’ rebuke and by Pluto’s siding with her.

“I wasn’t asking,” Pluto said with half a smile.

“Can I go now?” Tony asked. “We don’t have anyone at the gate. I don’t think Myron will be back today, and I’m going to need a new partner.”

Mars jumped on it. “Burt, say hello to your new partner. Tony, this is Burt. There, done. Let’s split.”

A minute later Burt, Jimmy, and Venus stood talking in the empty conference room. Jimmy was shocked at how soon things heated up.

“You can tell me,” Venus cooed. “You’re still armed, aren’t you?”

“I’ll never tell,” replied Burt with a grin.

“I could search you, myself.”

“Only, if you let me search you first.”

“Aren’t you the frisky one?” Venus gushed.

The door opened, and Tony Clerk stuck his head in. “Are you ready, Burt?” he asked.

“No, he’s certainly not ready!” Venus shot back.

“But… I don’t want to do it alone,” stammered Tony.

All three of them turned to face the door. “Are you afraid to be alone?” Venus asked with a warm chuckle.

Tony looked down and nodded.

“What do you need me to do?” Burt asked. “Stand at the gate with you?”

Again, Tony nodded.

“That sounds like cop work to me. Let me get my stuff on. Got any donuts?”

“Leaving me just like that?” Venus asked. “We were just getting to know each other. I know all about men like you.”

Burt turned and suddenly took Venus’ chocolate hand and he lifted it to his lips. He then softly kissed it. “That’s where you’re wrong, sister,” he said softly. “You’ve never met anyone like me, and you never will.” He then bowed and followed Tony out the door.

“Oh, my,” exclaimed Venus after a long moment. “Why didn’t you tell me that your friend was Burt Sharpen?”

Jimmy smiled at Venus. She was holding both hands to her chest and staring at the door with such passion that Jimmy thought she would run the men down. “He’s a good man,” Jimmy said. “No, I take that back,” he said, scratching his chin. “He’s a great man.”

“I can tell, Jimmy. Oh, yes, I can surely see it in those bright eyes of his.”

To avoid congestion in the mess hall, dinner was served between five and seven, and Jimmy knew Tony Clerk was usually first in line. That day was no exception, and Jimmy met them at the door at five o’clock sharp.

“Hey, guys,” Jimmy said with a smile. “How did it go down at the gate?”

“That was a complete waste of time, and I felt like someone should have painted a target on my back,” grumbled Burt. “But that’s just my opinion.”

“Guns kill people,” Tony said, sticking his hands on his hips.

Burt struck the same pose. “People kill people, you moron! You libs, you really crack me up. What planet are you from? I’ve been working homicide for twenty years, and I have yet to meet a gun that pulled its own trigger.”

Tony visibly bristled and struck a sidelong stance. Jimmy thought it looked very feminine. Jimmy looked at Burt, but he wasn’t giving Tony an inch. He looked like an offensive tackle, twenty years out of the game. He returned Tony’s glare with a hard stare of his own. Jimmy wondered what had happened down at the gate. He had obviously walked straight into an argument, and he knew he had to try to stop it.

“I don’t want you down at the gate tomorrow, man,” stammered Tony. “I’d rather stand guard by myself.”

“Good!”

That was easy, Jimmy thought as Tony spun around and rushed inside the mess hall. “What was that all about?” he asked, frowning at Burt and showing his disappointment. “Haven’t you ever heard of blending in?”

“Look at me, Jimmy,” Burt said, tapping his own chest with his fingers. “I haven’t been able to blend in since I was six years old. Besides, from what I’ve seen, I’m the only brother in this whole compound.”

“Let’s get inside and eat. We can sit at the other end of the room from Tony.”

“Well, am I?”

“Are you what?”

“Am I the only brother in camp?”

Jimmy nodded as he thought about it. “Yeah, I guess you are.”

“Venus is single, isn’t she?”

Jimmy saw where this was headed. “As far as I know,” he said, opening the door for his friend.

Burt smiled. “I was hoping you’d say that. So your buddy Bill came down to the fence and filled me in on everything. Poor Julie, I’m really sorry. She’s still not talking to you? That’s bad…”

Jimmy’s muscles began to twitch, and he felt his face begin to turn red. He followed Burt inside and directed him to the short line at the kitchen window where the meals were served cafeteria style. They each grabbed a tray and some silverware and got in line.

“Smells good,” said Burt. “I sure am hungry.”

“What else did Bill say?” Jimmy asked, trying to be casual about it.

“Oh, I don’t know,” said Burt, stepping up to the window. “He was down there for almost two hours. He said an awful lot.”

“I’ll bet he did.”

They were handed steaming plates of spaghetti, and they found a table as far away from the sulking guard as possible. Jimmy saw Tony steal a look at them with something very close to loathing. The lines of tables could easily seat three hundred at a time, but there were only about twenty souls inside the big redwood room. A fire glowed in the fireplace, and the mess hall smelled of garlic and wood smoke.

Burt dug into his food with vigor. He had helped himself to six pieces of garlic bread and had finished two before Jimmy had even begun to eat. Jimmy was furious with Bill, and he knew he had to warn Burt about him. Bill was a blabbermouth of the highest order.

Burt drank deeply from his water glass and smiled. “What time does she eat?” he asked, setting his glass down. “I can sit here all night.”

Jimmy shook his head and smiled. He was happy for both Burt and Venus, for it seemed almost serendipitous that the two should be together. A few minutes later, Burt suddenly smiled.

“There she is,” he said. “Do you think she’ll sit down with us?”

Jimmy shrugged. “Slow down, buddy. She’s not going anywhere. You’ve got to be cool, man.”

Burt gave Jimmy a strange look. “You sound just like one of these hippies. Don’t forget who you are, Jimmy. Look, maybe when you get to be my age you’ll understand this. I’m all done wasting time. I’m done pussyfooting around, and I’m done hiding how I feel. I want to spend the rest of my life with that woman.”

“You don’t even know her.”

“I know enough. Look, she’s sitting down all alone,” Burt said, rising to his feet and picking up his tray. “I’m goin’ in.”

Jimmy laughed as he watched over his shoulder. Burt moved in like a man on a mission, and the people between him and Venus were forced to scatter to avoid being run over.

“Excuse me?” asked a soft voice. “Would you mind if I sit here?”

“Not at all,” Jimmy replied absentmindedly, watching as Burt set his tray down and sat down across from a smiling Venus.

“Thank you,” replied the voice.

Jimmy shook his head and turned around, and he found himself staring straight into the eyes of his admirer, Jasmine. He felt his heart skip a beat. “Hi,” he said, thinking he had to get out of there.

“Please, will you sit with me while I eat? I don’t know anyone here, and I hate eating alone.”

“Huh?” said Jimmy, feeling tongue-tied. “I mean, sure.”

Jasmine smiled coyly, and she spun her fork in her spaghetti, then set it down and took a sip of water. “My name is Jasmine Ling, and I’m thirty-two years old. I have lost everyone I ever had in this world. I like old movies, long walks, good tequila, and anything by the Black Eyed Peas.”

Jimmy didn’t know how to respond to that, and he could feel his mouth hanging open. Jasmine Ling was smiling now, her brown eyes never leaving his.

“This is the part where you tell me your name. You do have a name, don’t you?”

“Jimmy… Jimmy Logan.”

“Jimmy Logan,” Jasmine said, rolling his name off the tip of her tongue. “I like that name. Tell me Jimmy. Why is it that you always look so sad?”

Jimmy was desperately searching for a way out. He knew it was only a matter of time before Bill showed up to eat, and he didn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea. “I’m not sad,” he said. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind, that’s all.”

“Nice try,” she whispered across the table. “Will you let me take your blues away, Jimmy?”

“What?”

“You’re not making this easy. Look, I don’t want to be your girlfriend, and I don’t want to have your children. There. Is that better?”

Jimmy smiled and nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “I was a little worried there for a minute.”

Jasmine frowned and shook her head. “Maybe you can try reading between the lines here, okay? I can’t believe I’m doing this. Let me spell this out for you. I am drug and disease free, and I work out two hours each and every day. I’m also one of the most spontaneous women you’ve ever met.”

Jimmy’s eyebrows raised and he reached for his tray. “Whoa,” he said.

“I want to have a physical relationship with you.”

“No, that’s probably a bad idea,” Jimmy muttered. “Let’s forget you said that.”

“You can trust me, Jimmy. I’ll never tell anyone. I know all about Julie and her accident and how she won’t see you. Go ahead and tell me that you’re not lonely. Tell me that you find me unattractive. Tell me that you don’t find me desirable. I’ve caught you looking at me. I just want to show you that the feeling is mutual.”

Jimmy was sweating now, and his eyes were darting around the room as it slowly began to fill up. Jasmine continued to stare at him seductively, and he suddenly felt the toe of her shoe run up the inside if his calf.

“Mars would have me, but I really don’t want to go there with him. He’s been with nearly every girl in the camp. That’s why I want you, Jimmy. No strings attached, I promise.”

As Jimmy struggled to find the words to say to Jasmine, Mars approached the table at great speed. His feathered hair flew behind his ears, and his blue eyes were as cold as stones. “My, isn’t this cozy?” Mars asked, barely concealing his distaste. “Jimmy, what’s going on here?”

Jimmy was about to stand and excuse himself from the weirdness, but for some reason he wasn’t moving. He sat back in his chair and eyed his rival. “Mars,” he said. “I believe you’ve met Jasmine. I promised her that I’d sit with her while she eats.”

“How noble of you,” replied Mars, with plenty of smug in his silky voice. “I think it’s time for a shift change. Jasmine and I are good friends, and I have something I want to talk to her about.”

“Talk to me later, Mars,” Jasmine said, picking up her fork. “I’m trying to make friends here.”

Mars seemed taken aback by her comment. He studied Jimmy for a minute, and his gaze gradually grew into a glare. “Take a hike, Jimmy.”

Jimmy knew he should follow that advice—knew it with every fiber in his body. Still, he didn’t move a muscle. Mars was challenging his manhood, and Jimmy wasn’t having any of it. “I think I’ll wait until she’s finished her dinner, thanks,” Jimmy said.

Mars grew red in the face, and he looked back and forth between the two with pure contempt. “Fine,” he said. “If that’s the way you want to play it. Jasmine, I’ll be talking to you after dinner.” He then turned his back on them and walked away.

“You are my knight in shining armor,” gushed Jasmine. “Thank you.”

Jimmy had turned in his seat and was watching Mars leave the mess hall. He knew he should have listened to him and that he had somehow created more trouble for himself.

“Who’s a knight in shining armor?” asked a familiar voice. “Jimmy?”

Jimmy spun around and found Bill sitting down next to him. His tray held a triple portion of spaghetti and nearly a dozen hunks of garlic bread. Wart was hot on his heels, and he sat next to Jasmine. “Hello, beautiful,” he said, and he winked at Jimmy. “Do you mind if I sit here?”

Jasmine smiled and rose from the table. “I’m sorry. I was just getting up to go. Jimmy, it was very nice meeting you, and I hope you’ll think about what I said.”

Jimmy nodded and quickly wished he hadn’t.

“Enjoy your dinner, dudes,” Jasmine said with a bright smile. “I’ll be seeing you around.”

This last comment had been directed to Jimmy, and Bill looked back and forth between the two of them with his cheeks stuffed full of half-chewed spaghetti. He watched Jasmine walk away with all the subtlety of a fox watching a stray chicken. “She’s so damn hot,” Bill managed to say as he stuffed some garlic bread into his open mouth.

“I’ll say,” said Wart. “She’s four-alarm fire hot. Jimmy, you dog!”

“There is nothing going on!”

Bill and Wart studied him for a moment, and they both began to chuckle. Jimmy wanted to scream as he wondered how everything could have gone so wrong in such a short amount of time. He shook his head. “Believe what you want,” he said, picking up his tray and rising to his feet. “I’m going back to the shop.”

Wart and Bill both began to speak at once, but Jimmy didn’t hear a word of it. He knew where he had to go, and nobody was going to stop him. This foolishness had to end. Julie was going to see him whether she liked it or not. He slipped on his jacket and breezed out the door into the frigid night air.

Jimmy lit up a smoke and thought about what he should tell Julie. He quickly settled on the truth; this was no time for lies, and Julie deserved no less than to hear it from him. He hadn’t really done anything, and he needed to explain things to Julie. He only wished they would remove the cast from her face. He missed that face. He missed that woman.

The walk took him nearly his entire cigarette, and he paused about a hundred feet from the front of Julie’s cabin. He was shocked to see that the blinds had been opened. Candles lit up the inside of the cabin, and they cast a warm glow from within. Jimmy snubbed out his smoke and slowly made his way to the cabin. His heart was racing inside his chest as he thought about how he would explain this mess.

Ten feet from the front door, Jimmy suddenly froze in his tracks. Julie wasn’t alone.

Mars was inside with her.

Jimmy gritted his teeth and growled in anger. He slowly moved away from the door and hid in the shadows behind a birch, studying the big window and trying to decipher what was going on inside. Mars was talking, and it seemed to Jimmy as if he was pleading with her. Julie, her casted face looking orange in the candlelight, was pacing the room and covering her plastered ears. Jimmy didn’t think it looked good.

He stood there for nearly five minutes before Julie rushed into his rival’s arms and held him tight. Jimmy felt like a wounded animal and wanted to scream. Mars seemed to see him out in the cold shadows, even though Jimmy thought it was impossible for him to do so. He had his hands on Julie’s back, and he was slowly running them up and down. He was smiling with such satisfaction that if Jimmy would have had a gun, he just may have used it. When the two finally broke for air, Julie went to the window and slowly closed the blind.

Jimmy then ran back to the shop with tears of helpless anger streaming from the corners of his eyes.

The explosion nearly knocked Jimmy off his feet. The shop, their beautiful man cave, blew up like it had been filled with hydrogen gas. The walls bulged out, and most of the roof seemed to be raining down from the sky. Flames shot almost a hundred feet into the night air, and Jimmy could feel the heat as it tried to blister his skin. He rolled away on the snow and checked himself for any injuries. Had he arrived a minute sooner, he knew he’d be a dead man. He stood helplessly as people ran towards him from all directions.

They fought the fire and contained it to the shop. A headcount was taken, and they waited a while before doing another. They had lost two of their group in the blast. There was no sign of Big Al or Gloria, nor would there ever be again.

Chapter 20

Losing Big Al was a heavy blow to the mechanics. Burt had taken the last of the cabins, a small one-room dwelling that had been fashioned into a cabin out of a shed. Wart, Jimmy, and Bill were each assigned their own ice fishing shacks to live in until they could find more permanent housing. The shacks were small and rustic, but they were heated with LP gas furnaces and had been designed to protect their occupants from the cold. They came equipped with a gas burner for cooking, a sturdy but battered kitchen table, and steel folding chairs. Homemade bunk beds sat on each end of the small fishing quarters. They were in need of a good cleaning and airing out, but they provided the men a place to get away from the world. As luck would have it, there were three of them, and they sat down by the frozen lake. The men took turns shoveling the two hundred foot path out to them. The shacks were painted olive green, and each boasted a picture window with a lake view.

Wart would spend nearly a week locked away in his little shack. He and Big Al had known each other in their previous lives. Jimmy could see the pain in his eyes, and he looked even more pale than usual. Not to be outdone, Bill began wearing a black armband that he fashioned out of an old dress sock. He walked around the camp looking sad—some said a little too sad—and it took him many days before he could deal with his loss and return to work. Jimmy also missed Big Al, but he missed a lot of people these days. The sad truth was that life went on, with or without them. Jimmy spent his days combing through the rubble and salvaging what he could. Some of the tools had survived, hand tools mostly, but they were a welcome sight.

Pluto and Venus shared the caretaker’s house across the camp from where the shop had stood, while Mars lived alone in a doublewide trailer that sat a hundred feet behind the house. There was a garage there, and Jimmy decided to ask Pluto if it would be all right to set up shop there. Pluto couldn’t see why not, but he explained that Mars had some things stored in the garage and that he would have to run it by him. Jimmy nodded, fully expecting what was about to come. Jimmy tracked down Pluto the following day outside the mess hall and cornered him on it.

“What do you mean?” Jimmy asked, unable to hide his disappointment. “Where the heck are we supposed to work?”

“I know, Jimmy,” Pluto had said, looking red-faced and embarrassed. “Mars says that he has some very valuable things stored in the garage. I’m sorry.”

“But you own the garage, not Mars. Tell him to get his shit out of there.”

Pluto’s eyes narrowed. “Mars was here from the beginning. None of this would be possible without all of his hard work and dedication. You watch what you say about him, young man. I agree; you men need some space, and I’m working on getting it for you. Look, Jimmy, I’m sorry for your loss, and I want to help. Maybe we should talk about your feelings. You miss Big Al, don’t you?”

Jimmy shook his head. “Yeah, everyone misses Big Al, and no, I don’t want to talk about it. Listen, we need a shop as soon as possible.”

“I feel your pain, Jimmy. I can see it in your aura. Big Al was a good man. Go ahead and let it out. You’ll feel better, I promise.”

Jimmy opened his mouth, but there were no words that seemed appropriate for the situation. Instead, Jimmy spun on his heels and returned to his work.

Burt had all but disappeared from the moment that Jimmy had left him inside the mess hall. He and Venus had instantly hit it off, and they seemed suddenly joined at the hip. Jimmy asked Burt what he thought had caused the explosion, but Burt only shook his head. He said that these things happen, and that he was sure it was accidental. Jimmy wasn’t so sure about that. He thought he had made an enemy on the day Burt arrived, perhaps more than one.

Bill and Cindy spent little, if any, time together. Cindy spent her days attending classes and her nights in the company of Seth Pason. Seth seemed like a decent kid, and he seemed completely smitten with Cindy. Jimmy was happy for them, but he missed his conversations with Cindy. She seemed to have grown up overnight.

Julie still wouldn’t see him, and Jimmy had grown bitterly angry that she seemed to have plenty of time for Mars. She still hadn’t left her cabin, and it was very rare for him to catch a glimpse of her. Seeing her in the plaster mask always made him feel a little queasy. Those few moments were enough to remind him of what she was going through. The cast was to be removed soon, and everyone seemed quite nervous about that.

On the fourth night after the explosion, there was a light tapping on the door to Jimmy’s fish shack. Dinner had been served three hours ago, and he wondered who would bother him at this hour. He knew from experience that Bill didn’t knock. Could it be Julie? Jimmy checked his hair in the mirror and quickly chewed a breath mint. The tapping started again, and Jimmy opened the door. Jasmine stood there. In one gloved hand she held a gallon jug of wine; the other held two wine glasses.

“I never drink alone,” she said, stepping by him. “Brrr… it’s cold out there.”

“Look,” Jimmy said, quickly lowering the blinds on the big window. “You can’t be here. We can’t do this.”

“What, two friends can’t share a bottle of wine?”

“You know what I mean.”

“Let’s start over,” she said, setting the glasses down on the table and unscrewing the cap to the bottle of Italian Lambrusco. “I’m Jasmine. What a beautiful place you have here.”

Jimmy shook his head and chuckled. The truth was that he was starving for some conversation as well as thirsty for some alcohol. The problem was going to be keeping her at arm’s length. He promised himself to resist temptation; he reasoned with himself that Julie could see Mars and prayed to God that no one would find out that he and Jasmine were spending time together. He took the glass she offered him.

“To new friends,” Jasmine said, clinking her glass against his.

“To new friends,” said Jimmy, nearly blushing as he saw the way she was looking at him. He took a sip of wine and sat down at the table. “Have a seat. You can’t stay too long. I have to get up early.”

Jasmine nodded as she took off her winter jacket. Jimmy took another sip of wine when he saw what she was wearing underneath. “Tomorrow is Sunday,” she said, shaking a finger at him. “You don’t have to get up for anything.”

Jimmy took a deep breath as she tipped her glass to her lips and drank. Jasmine’s winter clothes had hidden a body that practically demanded attention. She wore a low-cut blouse that revealed bone china skin and a fair amount of cleavage. Her jeans looked painted onto her long legs, and she obviously hadn’t been lying about her workout schedule. She smiled at him in a knowing way, picked up the bottle and refilled their glasses. She then sat down on one of the bottom bunks and patted the spot next to her. “Come on, I promise not to bite,” she said, seductively.

Chapter 21

Jimmy wasn’t sure what time it was when Burt suddenly burst inside the cabin. Bright sunshine followed him in, and it hurt Jimmy’s red eyes. Burt was holding his service revolver.

“Thank God!” Burt said. “I thought they’d got you.”

“You thought who had got me?” Jimmy asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and quickly sitting up. “What the hell is going on?”

“Your friends Myron and Tony,” Burt said, peering out the door. “They’ve lost it, man. They’ve got guns, and they’re holding everyone hostage in the mess hall.”

Jasmine was gone, and Jimmy sighed with relief. He spotted the empty glasses on the table; there was no hiding the lipstick on one of them. “Slow down. Tell me what happened. What do they want?”

“They want a million dollars and a helicopter,” growled Burt, closing the door. “How the hell should I know? I’ve got Venus staying with Julie and Doc, but we need someone to ride back to Ken’s and bring back some firepower. I can’t take ‘em with this,” he said, holding the black revolver in front of Jimmy’s face. You’ve got to ride, Jimmy. The whole camp is counting on you.”

“Son of a bitch.”

“There’s no time for that. Get up and get some damn clothes on! My machine is still parked down at the gate. Here, take the key.”

The morning sun was bright, and Jimmy’s head ached from the wine. He ran as fast as he could to the gate and was relieved to see Burt’s machine parked there. He rode the Polaris hard, like a man possessed, and he tried not to think of anything except the matter at hand. This proved to be difficult as so much had happened so quickly. When Jimmy hit the opposite shore of Ken’s lake, he pulled all the way back on the throttle and held it there for nearly a minute. The speedometer needle buried, and Jimmy’s eyes watered as the screaming snowmobile flew across the hard-packed snow.

The wall still stood, and Jimmy could see wood smoke coming from the stone chimney of the house. Snowmobile tracks led from the lake to the gate, and Jimmy followed them with reckless abandon. He slammed on the brakes and slid nearly fifty feet before coming to a stop, just an arm’s length away from the timber wall. “Open up!” Jimmy croaked, trying to find his voice. “We need help!”

What amazed Jimmy more than anything was the speed of their turnaround. Not even a half hour had passed before he and Ken had armed themselves to the teeth and were heading across the lake back to Bailey’s. Ken had asked Jimmy to explain himself, and he had asked very few questions. There was only one thing to do. Patty hugged Jimmy and told them both to be safe. Rita promised to keep an eye on things while Ken was away. Jimmy didn’t need to ask what she meant by that. The remaining two snowmobiles from the pole shed stood next to the house. Ken chose the larger onem and the two set out at high speed.

Jimmy had to stop halfway back. Ken roared in behind him as Jimmy ran three steps into the woods, pulled off his helmet, and fell to all fours. He then became violently sick into the virgin white snow. Ken looked away as his idling machine covered up Jimmy’s tortured groans.

“Are you gonna be okay?” Ken asked as Jimmy wiped the corners of his mouth and followed his footsteps back to his machine. “You look like shit.”

“I’ll be all right. I just needed to do that.”

“Did we have a little too much to drink last night?”

“Something like that.”

“I suppose Julie is hung over, too,” Ken said. “This is exactly why you can’t drink like that. You need to keep your wits about you, kid. I was hoping to get her a gun before we storm the place. Maybe we should just move in and do it ourselves.”

Jimmy nodded, realizing for the first time that Ken had absolutely no idea of what had happened to Julie. The thought made him gag, but he fought down the urge to be sick and climbed on his snowmobile. “I think that’s our best bet. Let’s just kick the damn door open and rip some shit. These two are a couple of punks. They’ll throw down their guns as soon as we show up.”

“I hope you’re right, kid. I hope you’re right.”

The morning sun nearly blinded Jimmy as they headed east down the winding trail. Tall white pines dotted the rolling landscape, their snow-covered limbs offering brief interludes of shade as they raced underneath them. Jimmy guessed the temperature to be in the single digits, which seemed warm compared to what they’d recently experienced. The only wind was generated by their speeding snowmobiles, and it sent tiny shivers of cold down to the bottom of Jimmy’s Sorel boots. They were close.

Faces seemed to flash in front of Jimmy, the predominant one being the china doll profile of Jasmine. Julie’s former face was a close runner up. Patty, looking saddened and disappointed, followed Julie. The last face he saw was that of an angry Venus. Jimmy swallowed hard and tried hard to push them out of his thoughts.

He carried an M-16 slung over his shoulder, as did Ken. He had two holstered handguns at his side, exposed for the world to see. Ken had a .44 Magnum stuffed into his belt and a .38 Special tucked into his boot. They passed the gate at over eighty miles per hour.

Burt was waiting for them behind the old woodshed outside the mess hall. Jimmy and Ken drove straight for the steps, and they wasted no time waiting for Burt. “Lay down your guns,” screamed Ken. “That is, if you want to live!”

Jimmy and Ken exchanged a glance, and Jimmy slammed his shoulder against the glass double doors without ever checking to see if they were locked, and they burst open in a cascade of broken glass. Jimmy rolled to his feet and came up with the assault rifle. He felt strangely calm as people began to scream in terror.

A gunshot sounded, and Jimmy watched as a young man was violently thrown back in a shower of blood. Jimmy quickly spun on his heels as another shot whizzed past his ear. Tony Clerk stood there with a handgun; his crazy eyes told their own story. He fired again. Ken then stepped through the door like a hunter with all the time in the world. He leveled his M-16 at Tony, took careful aim and slowly squeezed the trigger. The shot caught him low in the throat, and dark blood exploded from the wound as Tony was violently thrown backwards onto the hardwood floor. There were more screams, and Jimmy began to frantically search for Myron in the frenzy of movement. The mess hall was full beyond capacity, and everyone seemed to be running toward the exits.

“Did you get them?” Burt asked, fighting for breath.

“I got one,” Ken said, kicking the Colt from Tony’s quivering hand. “Go to hell, you bastard,” he said. Ken then pressed the barrel of his gun onto Tony’s forehead and pulled the trigger.

Burt exchanged a worried look with Jimmy as Ken walked over and retrieved Tony’s sidearm. “Burt,” he said above the din in the big room. “This looks like the Colt I gave you. How did that creep get his hands on it, and where’s the other one?”

“We can talk about that later,” said Jimmy, ripping the gun away from Ken and tossing it to Burt. “There’s still one more of them here, somewhere. We’ve got to find him.”

Ken looked at them skeptically, and Jimmy knew that he suspected something close to the truth. He shook his head in disgust. “Tell me who I’m looking for,” he growled.

Jimmy quickly explained what Myron looked like until Ken looked satisfied. Burt kept his distance as he covered the room with the big handgun. They split up, and each moved to an exit where the screaming had died away and the residents were funneling out the open doors into the bright sunshine. Gunpowder hung in the air, and the room stank of that and fresh blood. A woman groaned impatiently as she waited her turn.

When the big room was empty, the three of them searched it from top to bottom. There was no sign of the other shooter.

“What is he armed with?” Ken asked.

There was the loud crack of a rifle from somewhere close, but well away from where they stood. Jimmy’s heart stopped as he thought the gunshot seemed to come from down by the cabins. Ken said something, but Jimmy was already scrambling for the door.

He ran as fast as his legs would carry him, managing somehow to keep his balance on the icy footpaths. Jimmy was breathing hard and trying to keep a level head. Automatic gunfire exploded from the rifle, and it confirmed Jimmy’s worst fears. Myron had found his forgotten M-16 and the backpack of ammo. A tear streamed across his cheek and over his ear.

A long row of tall pines separated him from the cabins that were strung alongside the shore. A lone shot rang out, followed shortly by a quick burst. Jimmy dared a look over his shoulder, and he saw Ken and Burt following him perhaps fifty yards away. Jimmy reached the end of the pines and ran into the open. A shot exploded from Julie’s ruined window and passed close enough that Jimmy could hear it whizzing by. He quickly stopped and doubled back to the last pine for cover.

He stole a quick look around the gnarled bark of the pine and gasped. There were five bodies scattered on the snow around Julie’s cabin. None appeared to be moving. A squirrel chattered from an unseen limb above him. Jimmy estimated that eighty feet separated him from Julie’s front door. He needed a plan.

Ken and Burt ran up behind him, and Jimmy signaled for them to stop. They were both winded, and Burt doubled over to catch his breath. When he stood up Jimmy could see the look of absolute terror in his dark-skinned face. Jimmy had never seen it there before, and it scared the hell out of him.

“He’s in the cabin?” Burt asked.

Jimmy nodded.

Ken stuck his head around the tree, and another shot rang out, hitting inches above Ken’s head in an explosion of bark. “Christ almighty,” Ken said. “Look at all the bodies. We’ve got to move on this guy.”

Burt bulled his way past the both of them and disappeared past the protection of the fat trunk of the pine. “No!” screamed Jimmy, but it didn’t do any good. He and Ken exchanged a look, and they both followed him out into the killing field.

Myron stood smiling at the window. He held a stoic-looking Venus in front of him with one thick arm held under her bosom. He held Burt’s other Colt under her chin. “Come on, big boy!” he called to Burt. “You can watch your girlfriend eat a bullet!”

“You bastard!” cried Burt, racing toward the two of them with reckless abandon.

Myron squealed with delight as Burt approached. “Take a good look, you piece of shit! This is on you!”

“No!” roared Burt and suddenly lifted his revolver and quickly pulled the trigger. The shot came from the hip with terrible consequences.

Jimmy gasped as he watched Venus ripped from Myron’s hands in a shower of blood. Burt had hit Venus, and Myron stood looking at him for a second in complete shock. That was all the time he needed, and Burt put three shots into the little man before he hit the ground.

Jimmy and Ken ran behind Burt and stood next to him. He shook like a leaf as he stood at the shattered window. He was sobbing like a baby as Jimmy and Ken quickly tried to console him before going inside to assess the damage. Burt wailed as Jimmy and Ken ventured inside the little cabin. There was no doubt that Myron was through with his killing spree. His corpse was lying in a dark pool of blood; his eyes were open, and to Jimmy, they still looked confused in death.

“I’m sorry, Venus!” called Burt from the window. “I had to take the shot. I’m so damn sorry!”

And to Jimmy’s horror, the next sound he heard was the sudden explosion of Burt’s Colt. When he turned to the window, Burt was gone.

“Oh, my baby!” groaned Venus, weakly. “Help my poor baby.”

Chapter 22

The next few hours were unlike any Jimmy had ever experienced. Despite the horror of the moment, he nearly cried out in joy at the sight of Julie as she emerged from the cabin. She appeared to be in shock as she lethargically rushed into Ken’s arms.

Ken gave Jimmy a confused look. Julie’s plaster mask completely hid her identity, and Ken was still reeling in the moment. Jimmy knew he should say something, but he knew that this was no time for explanations. He quickly ran to Burt’s side and found himself screaming as he dropped to his knees next to his fallen friend. “Damn you!” he cried to the heavens. “Why?”

The snow around Burt’s head had turned into a bloody slush, and Jimmy’s tears fell like rain as he checked Burt for a pulse. Jimmy’s own heart nearly stopped when he discovered that Burt’s heart hadn’t. “Help!” he screamed. “He’s alive! He’s alive!”

Julie was next to him a moment later. “Shit!” she screamed in a voice that was muffled by her mask. “Go inside and grab me some towels, Jimmy. Do it now!”

Jimmy never understood why he did what he did, but he reached his hand around Julie’s neck and drew her to him; he then planted a fat kiss on the mouth-hole of her cast.

“Oh, Jimmy,” Julie moaned. “I’m so sorry.”

“I’m the one who’s sorry,” groaned Jimmy as he rose to his feet. “I love you, Julie.”

“I love you, too,” Julie answered, her hands balled into fists of conviction.

That was all Jimmy needed to hear. He sprinted into the cabin where he found Ken holding an armload of white bath towels. “How is he?” Ken asked, dumping half the load into Jimmy’s open arms.

“I don’t know,” Jimmy answered, honestly. “But he’s not dead.”

“I’ll look after the woman. She’s hit in the shoulder.”

“Venus,” Jimmy said. “Her name is Venus.”

“Right,” said Ken. “Venus. What about the one in the mask? What’s her name?”

“That’s Julie.”

“Damn it Jimmy! I leave you on your own for a few months and look at the mess you’ve made! Get out there! Don’t you dare let that man die!”

Jimmy felt like he’d been sucker-punched, and he bared his teeth at Ken. “None of this is my fault,” he growled back before leaving Ken to help Julie with Burt.

Julie carefully bandaged Burt’s head, and just as she finished, Doc ran to up to join them. “Head wound, maybe a cracked skull,” Julie said, as if she had any medical training. “I couldn’t see any of his brain.”

“That’s because he doesn’t have any,” Doc said, sadly. “We’ve got to get him inside. Help me, both of you.”

Bill appeared next to them right after they’d finished the heavy lifting. “What happened?” he moaned, still wearing his black armband. “What the hell happened?”

Jimmy helped Ken with Venus; they gently put her in the single bed next to Burt. They then plugged Julie’s shattered window with blankets as she helped Doc tend to the wounded.

“Come on, Jimmy,” Ken said. “We’d better take care of those bodies. We can’t leave them out there like that.”

Jimmy understood, but the last thing he felt like doing was handling dead bodies.

“My back,” said Bill. “I’m sorry.”

Jimmy wanted to bust Bill in the mouth, but he only shook his head as he followed Ken out into the day that had once been so promising.

What struck Jimmy first was the total lack of support from the other members in camp. Where is everyone? Jimmy thought to himself as he and Ken heaved on the lifeless arms of a middle-aged man. Jimmy thought he recognized the man, but he had a hard time looking at his face. The top of his head was missing, and gray matter hung from the wound like spoiled jam. They dragged the body to the back of the cabin.

“We’ll put them all back here,” said Ken. “We’ll need to find a tarp to cover them. Do you think you can handle that?”

“Yeah, I’ll be right back.”

“Not now! Let’s get the bodies back here, first. Can you handle that?”

“Yes,” snipped Jimmy. Ken was starting to wear thin on him, and he needed to draw a line somewhere. This was that somewhere. “Cut the shit. This is hard enough as it is.”

Ken only gave Jimmy a hard look as they returned to the killing field for another body. They worked in silence, dragging the bodies behind the cabin and placing them side by side in a gruesome slumber party.

The last casualty had suffered a bullet wound to her neck, and she died with her hands clutching her own throat. Jimmy gasped as he realized that the pretty dead woman with the snow-colored skin was Jasmine.

“You know her?” Ken asked.

“Yeah,” Jimmy croaked. “I’ve seen her around.”

“Damn shame. So young,” Ken said. “Come on, grab her arm. Let’s finish this.”

Bill was standing over the bodies when they arrived with the lifeless body of Jasmine. He looked at her and then to Jimmy. He then stuck his hands in his pockets and walked away, never saying a word. Jimmy’s next task was to find the long-lost M-16 and to hide it until Ken could return it to his basement. He only hoped that the awful truth wouldn’t come out. Many people had died because of his carelessness, and Jimmy felt a growing emptiness in his belly.

They waited inside Julie’s cabin as life slowly returned to the outside world. Bodies were tearfully claimed, and most of the blood and gore was cleaned from the snow. Ken and Jimmy sat at Julie’s table and drank hot coffee spiked with some Irish cream. Ken surprised Jimmy by actually listening to him with only a few interruptions as he tried to explain the events of the past days and weeks.

“Communists,” said Ken, shaking his head.

“It’s not like that,” Jimmy said, defensively. “They’re good people.”

“They may be good people; they’re just misguided. This mess, this day, should teach them a few lessons about their way of life. If only one of these people would have had a gun, think of how many lives would have been saved.”

“I know. I tried to tell them. I really did.”

“But you gave up your guns to get inside here. I just don’t understand that. How could you do that?”

Jimmy shook his head as he tried to think of a reason. “That was the only way I could get inside,” he managed, hoping it was enough excuse for Ken.

“Oh, that’s a steaming pile of bullshit, and you know it. Goddamn it kid, wake up and smell the coffee. Nobody takes your guns. Do you hear me? Nobody!”

And as if they had been waiting outside the door for Ken to say just that, Pluto and Mars walked into the cabin without knocking. “That’s where you’re wrong,” Pluto said, glaring at Ken from the open door. “I’ll be taking your guns if you plan to stay. Don’t you think they’ve killed enough people?”

“Kiss my ass,” growled Ken.

Bill slunk back inside the cabin and took a seat next to Ken and Jimmy at the table. “Don’t mess with this guy,” he said to Pluto and Mars. “He’s a crazy bastard.”

Jimmy slapped Bill on the shoulder and nearly sent him over the back of his chair. “Will you shut your damn mouth? This is serious!”

Bill looked hurt, but he said nothing as things inside the cabin began to heat up.

“You’ll have to leave now,” Mars said, crossing his arms in front of him. “We don’t allow guns here. Get your asses out of those chairs and get the hell out of here.”

“I didn’t do anything,” said Bill.

“He wasn’t talking to you,” Pluto snapped.

“I’m not going anywhere without my friend in there, and right now he’s fighting for his life,” Ken said. “I’ll be happy to leave once I know he’s going to make it.”

“Then give me your weapons,” demanded Mars.

“Try and take them from me,” hissed Ken.

“Ken,” said Jimmy. “Come on. Let’s be reasonable. This is their place.” Jimmy instantly regretted those words as Ken’s face contorted with rage.

“Listen here you pansy-assed piece of shit, nobody is taking my guns! Let me guess?” Ken asked, standing to his full six foot three and pointing a finger accusingly at the newcomers. “You must be Mars and Pluto. What the hell kind of names are those? Are you playing some sort of game here?”

“Give me your guns, old man,” Mars demanded again, this time between gritted teeth.

“Listen here you snot-nosed punk,” Ken shot back. “I’m nobody’s old man, and anytime you want to try me, you can give it your best shot. I’ll snap your goddamn neck.”

“He will, too,” said Bill. “He’s a crazy bastard.”

“Enough!” shouted Pluto. “You must be Ken, I’ve heard a lot about you. This bickering is getting us nowhere. Let’s back up and start over.”

“After he gives up his weapons,” Mars quipped.

Pluto turned on his counterpart and pointed to the door. “I’ll handle this,” he said. “You go out there and help manage this crisis. People are going to be looking to us for some direction.”

Mars held his hands out in front of him and stared into them helplessly. He snarled at both Ken and Jimmy before turning away from Pluto and walking out the door.

Chapter 23

Jimmy sat in silence as Pluto and Ken had a heated discussion about gun control. Bill tried to interrupt only once, and Ken rewarded him with a hard slap to the face. “Keep your yap shut,” he warned, closing his hand into a fist. “Or you’ll get one of these.” Bill whimpered as he rubbed his flaming-red cheek, but he said nothing.

“That’s a perfect example of what I’m talking about,” said Pluto, stroking his long beard thoughtfully. He was dressed as he usually was, entirely in denim, and his long gray hair was tied back in a ponytail. “Your anger is uncontrollable. What gives you the right to slap that man? Who are you to threaten him with violence?”

“Have you ever met this guy?” Ken asked, incredulously, hooking a thumb back towards Bill. “He’s a goddamn fool, and he never knows when to shut his damn mouth. He’s got one friend in this world, and that’s Jimmy.”

“That’s not true,” whispered Bill. “I’ve got friends.”

Jimmy glared at Bill and held his finger to his lips. Ken shook his head and returned his attention to Pluto. “Look,” he said, scratching the gray stubble on top of his head. “We can argue about this all day long. I respect you, and you have every right to run your camp as you wish. I think you’re nuts, but you’re the boss. The second that Doc tells me that Burt is ready to move, I’m out of here, and I’ll never be back. Okay? The bottom line is that I’m not going anywhere without my friend, and I’m not giving up my guns.”

“Can’t you see what’s right in front of you?” Pluto asked. “Your guns killed a lot of people here today. None of this would have happened if you and your friends hadn’t shown up with your firearms. You right-wing nut jobs never cease to amaze me. This is all on you—all of it! What part of that don’t you understand?”

“Get off your soapbox, you commie asshole,” Ken fired back. “I didn’t kill anyone who didn’t need killin’. You can’t hold me responsible for what your people did here today. If it wasn’t for me and Jimmy and Burt in there, you might all be dead by now. You goddamn pacifists are all the same, always blaming someone else for your own bullshit.”

“My people were just fine until your people showed up,” retaliated Pluto. “There were no guns here and everyone got along just fine. There was no killing because there were no guns for anyone to kill each other with.”

“We need our guns for protection.”

“You need them for protection from each other. How twisted is that?”

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Warmonger!”

“Can it, leftie!”

“Are you going to hit me? Would you hit an old man? Should I be afraid of you?”

“Guys!” shouted Jimmy. He’d heard enough of this argument. The time had come to do some damage control. “Look, you’re never going to agree on any of this. You both make valid points, and I respect both of your opinions. Can we all just agree to disagree? This arguing has got to stop.”

Doc suddenly stepped out of the bedroom. His flannel shirt was splattered with blood, and he looked as if he had aged ten years. “He’s a long way from being out of the woods,” he said. “But, God willing, I think he’s going to make it.”

“Thank God,” said Ken, holding his hand to his heart.

“Venus should be all right, too. She took a round up by her shoulder, and it passed through her without doing too much damage. I think she’ll recover fairly quickly.”

“Can I see her?” Pluto asked, already moving to the bedroom door.

“Just for a few minutes. I’ve still got some work to do.”

“I’m going in to see Burt,” said Ken. “Jimmy, don’t you dare let anyone touch those firearms. Do you understand me?”

“Let it go, Ken,” said Doc. “I heard every word of your argument. I’ve heard enough.”

Doc followed Pluto and Ken into Julie’s bedroom, and he quietly closed the door behind them.

“That Ken is a crazy bastard,” said Bill.

Jimmy roared back with a fist, and Bill ducked his head. “Will you just shut your damn mouth? Why do you always have to say something stupid? You’re driving me crazy.”

“You shouldn’t talk to me like that.”

“Why the hell not? It’s the truth!”

“Because I know, Jimmy. I know everything.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You spent the night with that dead Asian chick,” whispered Bill. “I saw it. I saw her leave this morning before it got light out.”

Jimmy felt as if he would be physically sick, and his knees suddenly became weak. He sat down next to Bill and stared at him, stupidly. “I will kill you if you repeat that ever again,” Jimmy whispered. “I promise you, Bill. I’ll make it as painful as possible, and I’ll send you to hell screaming.”

“That’s no way to talk to a friend. Who said I was going to say anything?”

“Bill, you’ve never kept a secret your entire life. That’s going to change right now. Look, nothing happened. We shared a bottle of wine and had a nice talk. She’s dead now, and none of what happened last night is anyone’s business.”

“Who’s dead?” Julie asked from behind them. “And what happened last night?”

Jimmy’s heart dropped when he caught Bill’s eye. Bill was enjoying this, and he could barely contain himself. He then turned to Julie and smiled. “Nothing happened last night,” he said. “Nothing at all.”

Once Ken and Pluto got past their political differences and found some common ground, the two men found that they really weren’t all that different from each other. After they visited their friends, they returned to Jimmy and Bill out in Julie’s living room and began discussing their current situation. There seemed to be a lot of fighter jets flying north these days, and both men speculated on what that might mean.

“Canada was better prepared for this than we were,” Pluto said as he ate peaches out of a can. “They have more natural resources and fewer people. I’ll bet we’re up there trading with them. That’s the only thing that makes sense.”

Ken nodded. “That’s possible,” he said, thoughtfully. He had finally shed his jacket and bibs, and he now sat at the table wearing a pair of blue jeans and a faded flannel shirt. “We could also be sizing them up. Why trade for what you can take?”

“I pray that you’re wrong. We’ve got enough trouble without starting something with the Canadians.”

“I agree. There’s another possibility: what if Canada has been invaded? How would we ever know?”

“We wouldn’t,” said Jimmy. “We could be at war with the entire world and we’d never know it.”

“That’s what I think,” said Bill. “This is World War Three. We’ll probably get nuked any time now.”

Ken looked at Bill and grimaced. “Let’s not turn a few fighter jets into the Third World War, okay? I was just trying to make a point. We have got to find a way to make contact with the outside world. Do you have a ham radio?”

Pluto nodded. “We have one, not that anyone here is what you’d call an operator. The few people we’ve managed to make contact with are much like us, just trying to survive.”

“They said it’d be like this,” Ken said, “those guys on the internet that everybody called nut-jobs. They predicted this every step of the way. Why didn’t more people listen to them?”

Pluto sat up straighter in his chair and smiled. “Thank you. I was one of those nut-jobs. I had a blog that I wrote in every day. I was quite popular. Maybe you read some of my stuff. My blog was called A View from Pluto, VFP for short, ever hear of it?”

Ken thought about that and shook his head.

“I heard of it,” said Bill.

Jimmy groaned, and Ken covered his face with his big hands.

“Bill,” Pluto said, “would you mind following me up to the main house? I have some plywood there and we really should cover this window before it gets cold again.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” agreed Bill.

Ken stood and followed both men to the door, waiting until Pluto had zippered up his parka before taking his hand and shaking it. “I’m glad we finally got to meet,” he said. “Like I said, I’ll be gone as soon as I know that Burt is out of the woods. I have a wife at home waiting for me.”

“Please understand that you’re more than welcome to join us permanently. You’d just have to give up your guns.”

“Not a chance.”

“I knew you’d say that. Good-bye, Ken. And good luck.”

“Good luck to you too, Pluto.”

The two men exchanged smiles and a warm handshake. Pluto walked out the door and Bill followed, sticking his hand in Ken’s chest. Ken rolled his eyes, but he gave Bill’s hand a quick shake.

“Thanks for all your help, man,” Bill said.

Chapter 24

Ken rode out of camp with all of his rifles right after Doc assured him that Burt was out of immediate danger. Before leaving, when he and Jimmy were alone, he took one of the Colts and an extra clip of ammo and stashed them in the ceiling of Julie’s kitchen. “You can call that insurance,” he said. “It ain’t much of a policy, but it’s better than none at all.”

Later that night when Jimmy was once again all alone with his thoughts, he had time to shed a few tears for Jasmine. He stared into the blackness of the fish shack and wondered what caused people like Myron and Tony Clerk to snap like they did. They had appeared to be regular guys, but a lot of people had proven they weren’t what they appeared to be. There had been a lot of tragedy—too damn much of it—Jimmy thought, and people were at their breaking point. He’d seen it first hand and he knew it to be true. He was one of those people. The last thing Jimmy thought before he fell asleep was his promise to Bill. He hoped that Bill had understood him because he hadn’t been kidding. He really would kill Bill if he told anyone about their secret. He fell asleep that night thinking torturous thoughts.

The next few days passed in a blur of activity. There were people to tend to, bodies to stow away until the ground thawed, and for Jimmy and Julie, there were sparks to rekindle. Doc explained that Burt had somehow missed his mark and that the bullet had merely creased his skull, “the damn fool,” he had said, adding, “good thing he’s a terrible shot.” He also said that it was nearly time to remove Julie’s cast and see if the bones in her face had mended. As kindly as he could, he reminded the two of them to be prepared for the worst. Julie assured him that she was, and Jimmy took her hand and nodded in agreement.

Burt regained consciousness two days after the incident and was overjoyed to the point of tears to see Venus in the bed next to him. The following morning, Burt shocked both Julie and Jimmy by getting up in the middle of the night and pushing his own bed across the bedroom next to Venus’ bed. Julie found them cuddled up together when she went to check on them. “Look at this, Jimmy,” she whispered.

Jimmy got up from the sofa and walked over to stand next to Julie. He smiled and shook his head. When Julie was leaving the room to fix coffee, Burt asked if she minded closing the door. “And knock when you come back in, okay?” he whispered.

“You’re terrible,” chuckled Venus. “Ouch, oh, quit making me laugh, Burt Sharpen.”

“I will not close this door,” said Julie, “and no monkey business. My God, Burt, show a little respect.”

“But that’s just what I’m trying to do. I’m showing this beautiful woman as much respect as I can.”

“Well,” Julie said, putting her hands on her hips. “You can respect her later. That’s my bed you’re in.”

Burt, despite Doc’s warnings, was out of bed and moving around camp just four days after the shooting. The days had grown suddenly warm, and melting snow dripped from the roof of Julie’s cabin. Jimmy was pacing Julie’s kitchen when she came out of the bedroom. “What’s wrong, baby?” Julie asked, moving in front of him and placing her hands on his hips.

“I don’t know,” he said, shaking his head with half a smile. “I just feel restless. I think it’s the weather.”

“I know what it is. You’re worried about Ken and Patty. Why don’t you hop on Doc’s snowmobile and go see how they’re doing? We’re fine here. Just come back in the morning. I’m sure they’ll love seeing you, and they’ll appreciate an update on Burt.”

“Really?” Jimmy asked, thinking that Julie had just read his mind. “I’ll be back after breakfast. I promise.”

Julie stepped into Jimmy and pressed her body against his. “I know you will,” she whispered. “I’m going to ask Doc to remove this damn cast today.”

“I should be here with you.”

“I don’t want you here. Please. I want to do this alone.”

Jimmy reluctantly agreed, and he was soon dressed in his winter gear and went out in search of Doc. The first person he ran into was Wart who had finally dealt with his emotions and seemed to be back to his old self. He caught Jimmy walking out of Julie’s cabin and he joined up with him. “How’s it going, brother?” Wart asked, slapping Jimmy on his butt.

“Knock it off. What will people think?”

“Let ‘em think what they want. Who gives a shit?” Wart said. “I’m bored to death. Let’s go over and work on the women’s shower.”

“There’s nothing wrong with the women’s shower.”

“I know, but there could be.”

Jimmy laughed. “No, I’m going to have to pass. I’m getting out of here for the day. I’m heading back to my people to check on them.”

“Christ, Jimmy, my people? What are they, Indians? Take me with you. I need to get out of here.”

Jimmy thought about that for a moment. “Okay,” he said. “But you need to be on your best behavior, all right? We’ll go ask Doc if you can borrow his Skidoo. There’s no room on Burt’s Polaris.”

“What Polaris?”

“The snowmobile that Burt rode in on. The same one that I rode to Ken’s and back.”

“Nobody told you?” Wart asked, narrowing his eyes at Jimmy. “Mars had us take it apart. You know—carbon footprints and all of that bullshit. I thought that you knew.”

“Son of a bitch,” muttered Jimmy. “Are you kidding me?”

“I’m not. What happened between you guys? He sure doesn’t think much of you.”

“Come on Let’s go find Doc. We can both fit on the Skidoo. I’ll explain everything on the way there.”

“Can I drive?”

“I don’t care,” Jimmy said with a sigh. “Let’s just get the hell out of here.”

Doc happily agreed to lend them the snowmobile. “Just bring her back in one piece,” he said. “That’s my baby.”

Wart had obviously spent a lot of time riding snowmobiles; he rode the old machine with confidence and pulled over after they left the gate at Bailey’s simply to adjust the carburetor. They rode without helmets, and warm sunshine heated their cheeks.

Chapter 25

They arrived at Ken’s at just before noon. Wart looked up at the timber wall and shook his head. “Holy shit,” he said. “I thought you were kidding me. That’s really impressive, man.”

“Thanks,” said Jimmy. “Ken!” he shouted up to the house. “Can you hear me?”

“What do you think?” Ken asked from high on the other side of the wall.

Jimmy and Wart looked up to see Ken covering them with an M-16. “Hey, man,” Wart said, sticking his hands in the air. “Don’t shoot.”

“Who are you?” Ken asked, not bothering to move the barrel of his gun away from them. “Who are you and why are you here?”

Jimmy smiled and shook his head. “It’s all right, Ken. He’s a good guy.”

“He’s a communist, isn’t he?”

“I don’t know,” said Jimmy. “Are you a communist, Wart?”

“Nope, I’m just a Wart. I think that makes me an independent.”

“You hear that, Ken? He’s not a communist. He’s an independent.”

“Bah,” said Ken, turning away and disappearing behind the wall.

Jimmy knew that Ken didn’t think much of independents; he said that they diluted the issues and talked out of both sides of their mouths. Ken opened the gate and allowed them inside. Wart putted the Skidoo inside the compound and killed the engine. Patty was already heading down the front stairs, and Rita was waving in the window. Jimmy rushed to Patty and the two embraced.

“Jimmy, it’s so good to see you,” Patty said, kissing him hard on the cheek. “Can you stay for dinner? Is everything all right?”

“Everything is great and I can actually stay overnight, if that’s okay with you.”

“What about this one?” Ken asked, nodding his head at Wart.

“They rode in here together, dear,” Patty said, speaking to him as if he were an idiot for asking. “They can ride back together in the morning.”

“I thought you were going to say that,” Ken said.

“Don’t look so happy about it, pops,” Wart said in his whistling voice. “You might crack your face.”

“You interrupted my target shooting.”

“Really?” asked Wart. “Whoa, like I’m sorry. Let’s start this over. Nice to meet you, sir; my given name is Mort West, but my friends call me Wart.” He then walked over to Ken and stuck his hand in his chest. “I love guns, I sure do.”

Ken’s face softened, and he took Wart’s small hand into his own and shook it. “Ever shoot one of these?” he asked, nodding to the M-16.

“Can’t say that I have,” answered Wart. “But I’d love to learn.”

“You vouch for him, Jimmy?” Ken asked.

“Of course he does,” answered Patty. “Go on and bring Morton out back and show him your little shooting range. You know you’re dying to do it. Just be in for lunch. We’ll be eating in an hour.”

Ken rolled his eyes. “Come on,” he said to Wart. He then turned to Jimmy. “What about you, kid? Want to crack off a few with that .50 caliber?”

“He certainly does not. Jimmy is coming inside to visit with me and Rita. You boys run along. I’ll call when it’s time to eat.”

Rita met them at the front door and gave Jimmy a big hug. “Oh Jimmy,” she said, “it’s so good to have you home.”

Jimmy returned the hug and smiled. “Thanks Rita, it feels good to be home.”

Patty smiled with such unbridled joy that Jimmy thought she looked drunk. The two women ushered him into the kitchen, and he was soon drinking hot coffee out of his favorite cup. All seemed right in the world. The kitchen smelled of fresh baked bread, and Patty set a plate of sugar cookies in front of him. “We baked these yesterday,” she said with pride. “I knew you would be here. Didn’t I, Rita?”

“She certainly did. She’s been watching for you all morning.”

“How could you have known that?” Jimmy asked. “I just came out here on a whim; actually, it was Julie’s idea. She’s getting her cast cut off today, and she didn’t want me around.”

“Jesus told me that you’d be here for lunch. You know me, Jimmy; I never doubt the word of the Lord.”

Jimmy shook his head in amazement. “Well, He sure does work in mysterious ways.”

“I prayed that you’d come back to us. There’s no mystery there. I prayed that you’d come back to stay.”

Jimmy’s heart fell at hearing the words. As much as he loved Ken and Patty, he knew that Julie was happy in her new home and that he could never leave her again. He smiled bravely and took a bite of one of the big sugar cookies.

“Tell us about Bailey’s,” Rita urged, taking a seat across the table from him. “Ken says that all the people there are communists and named after planets. Is that true?”

Jimmy laughed. “Not really. You know how Ken is.”

Patty nodded her head with enthusiasm. She was wearing a white blouse over blue jeans, and Jimmy thought she looked better than she had since they had first arrived. Her eyes were bright, and her skin color looked good. “We all know how Ken is,” she agreed. “Go on. Tell us the rest of the story.”

They all laughed at that, and as if on cue the report of a gunshot echoed from the back yard. Jimmy went on to explain how the people at Bailey’s had a different belief system when it came to arming themselves. The leaders there believe that by allowing anyone a chance to stay there unarmed, untold lives would be saved. Jimmy caught Patty and Rita exchanging exasperated looks.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if life were that uncomplicated,” said Patty.

“There will come a day when they regret that decision,” said Rita, shaking her head. “We’ve seen that enough times. Oh, those poor people. Jimmy, you’ve got to bring the others back home. They aren’t safe over there.”

Jimmy felt something bump his leg and he looked down to see Whiskers looking up at him. Jimmy gasped. Whiskers was now completely bald, except for a patch of mottled fur on her face. To Jimmy, she looked like a plucked chicken with paws. She meowed at him and wrapped herself around his leg.

“Look who’s here,” said Patty, as if she was talking to a toddler. “It’s our long lost friend, Jimmy. You love Jimmy, don’t you? Oh look, isn’t that sweet.”

Whiskers suddenly jumped up on Jimmy’s lap and rubbed the top of her head under his chin. Jimmy had to use all of his strength to keep the smile on his face. The cat smelled as if it had been dead for weeks. Whiskers stayed there for a moment and then seemed to wink at him before she leapt back down on the floor and moved next to Patty.

“You haven’t told us how you feel about how they live over there,” Rita said, perceptively.

Jimmy had been on the fence over that ever since Tony and Myron had went on their killing spree. Pluto had made a good point, that it was Ken’s people that had introduced the weapons, but Jimmy also knew that guns were everywhere. The next time they showed up over at Bailey’s could very well be the last. “I don’t agree with their no-gun policy,” he said, as much to himself as the women in the room. “I agree with you, Rita. I think if we had law and order and they wanted to live that way, that’s their deal. The way things are now, they’re dreaming if they think they’re safe. The trouble is that their leader is never going to change his mind. He’ll never allow another gun inside the compound.”

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” Patty said.

Chapter 26

They relished their lunch of roast venison, freshly baked bread, canned corn, and instant potatoes. Wart and Ken carried the conversation with the ease of old friends. Jimmy found that Wart never ceased to amaze him. He not only handled himself with class, but he was knowledgeable in a number of areas. He was also a superb listener. His table manners set the bar, and Jimmy had to fight to keep from laughing. He knew that after grace had been said, Ken’s people usually ate like sailors. They were comfortable enough around each other to sit with their elbows on the table and to use the “five second” rule. That wasn’t the case this time, and everyone seemed to enjoy putting on their Sunday manners.

“What happened to your front teeth?” asked Patty. “If you don’t mind my asking?”

“Not at all,” said Wart. “I got in a scrap with a pipe wrench. I was pulling when I should’ve been pushing. Not smart.”

They all laughed at that, and then Ken went ahead and told Wart about all they’d experienced since arriving up north. Wart listened with wide eyes.

After dinner Patty and Rita reluctantly handed Jimmy off to Ken, and Wart put on a shooting display like they had never seen. He shot three times with the M-16; hitting three quarter dollars from one hundred paces using open sights.

“You’re such a bullshitter,” said Ken with a wide smile. “Oh, I don’t know how to shoot an M-16. What a load of crap. Where did you learn to shoot like that?”

“My old man was a marksman. You should’ve seen him shoot,” Wart said, with as much pride as any son had ever used talking about their father. “Never missed, and I mean never. He was a sniper over in Viet Nam. The old man never talked about the war. Anyhow, yeah, he taught me everything I know. Sorry Ken, I wasn’t trying to show off.”

Ken waved him off and laughed. “I wouldn’t give two shits if you were,” he said. “What I’m trying to figure out is how I can get you to stay with us. I’ve got plenty of guns. I’m just a little short of people to help shoot ‘em.”

Wart shocked them both by his response. “All you have to do is ask. I think those people over at Bailey’s are nuts.”

“I’ll expect you to earn your keep,” said Ken. “We share the workload, but we’ve got plenty of food and enough guns and ammo to put down a third-world country. I’m a fair man, but Patty and I are Christians, and we expect people to behave accordingly. We don’t cuss, fart, lie, cheat, or steal. We live and let live, but God help anyone who messes with us. Does that sound fair to you?”

“Everyone farts,” said Wart, but he said it with a toothless grin as he nodded. “But yeah, I’d love to stay on with you people. Jimmy, you’re going to have to get Julie out of there. She’s not safe. You understand that, right?”

“Hell no, she’s not safe,” said Ken, his voice full of conviction. “I’ve been worried sick about you guys ever since I got back home. I want you to go back there and bring Julie, Burt, and Doc, back home to us. Bill can stay there, but make sure to ask his girl if she wants to come back to us. We all miss having her around, especially Rita.”

“Okay,” said Jimmy, knowing that this was the right thing to do. “I’ll give it my best shot. I don’t know about Burt and Doc. Burt’s in love, and Doc loves it there. You know how he feels about guns.”

“You have to try to reason with him,” Ken said, putting a heavy hand on Jimmy’s shoulder. “You need to get through to all of them. They’ve been lucky, that luck is going to run out. You mark my words.”

They all took turns shooting with Wart critiquing them and giving instructions. The sun beat down on them, and the snow grew soft as it began to melt. The freakishly warm afternoon would pass all too quickly, and they were soon packing up their guns to be cleaned down in the workshop.

“Do you have a lot of gear back at Bailey’s?” Ken asked Wart as they walked down the back stairs into the basement. “I’ve got plenty of things here that you can have. I think I’ve got clothes that will fit you, and I’ve got enough toothbrushes and razors to last all of us for fifty years.”

“Thank you,” Wart said. “That’s very kind of you.”

“Are you a Christian man, Wart?” Ken asked, from over his shoulder.

“I never thought much about it. We never went to church while I was growing up.”

“Well, we’ve got plenty of religion, too. We’ll get you fixed up.”

Jimmy smiled. Ken had taken to Wart like he was a long-lost son. The opposite seemed to be true, as well. Wart looked up to Ken with unabashed admiration and a fondness that couldn’t be faked. Jimmy was proud to claim both of these men as friends, and he knew that they had both been right. He needed to get the others back here. This was their home, and as small as it was compared to Bailey’s, at least it offered some level of protection from the outside world.

Jimmy helped Patty with the supper dishes that night. They talked about anything and everything, like the two old friends that they were. Patty tearfully apologized to Jimmy for what she had said, explaining that something hadn’t been right with her mind. Jimmy hugged her tight and told her over and over that he forgave her. Whiskers was again looking up at him from Patty’s feet, and once again, Jimmy swore that the naked cat had winked at him.

The cribbage board was dusted off, and they played a tournament, sipping cold beers as a hot fire roared in the fireplace. Patty played her boom box like a high school girl, changing CD’s every few songs. Rita made a tub of hot popcorn, and Jimmy couldn’t remember the last time he had felt so good and at ease. This was home. He could see from the look on Wart’s face that he felt the same way. He was happy for him; he was now among family.

Jimmy slept in his old room, and all too soon he was sitting at the kitchen table, lacing up his winter boots.

“You listen to me,” Ken said. “You tell them whatever you have to. I want them back. I don’t care if you lie to them. God will forgive you for it.”

“Amen,” said Wart. “Are you sure you don’t want me to go back with you?”

“No, I want to do this alone. Don’t worry. I won’t forget to grab your bag.”

“And the picture of my family. Don’t forget that.”

“I know—it’s on the shelf next to your bed. I’ll get it.”

“Thanks, man.”

“Don’t let me down, kid,” said Ken. “I’m counting on you. Something bad is on its way. I can feel it in my bones. We’ve got to get them out of there.”

Jimmy nodded and stood. He then shook both Ken and Wart’s hands and got his hugs from Patty and Rita. Soon he was headed across the lake under a gray sky. The temperature had dropped a good twenty degrees, but it was still much warmer than it had been the previous week. Snow began to fall as he coaxed the old Skidoo up the embankment and onto the opposite shore.

He stopped the snowmobile at what he figured was the halfway point. He lit up a cigarette and leaned back on the long seat, blowing his smoke straight up in the air. He needed time to think. There was a lot at stake here. He couldn’t forget what Bill had said about seeing Jasmine that night. The thought was eating him from the inside out, and he knew that he had to come clean about it with Julie. Those types of secrets never kept, and even if he flat out denied them, there would always be doubt. He was either going to have to kill his friend or tell Julie the truth. Nothing had happened. Not that Jasmine hadn’t wanted it to, but because Jimmy had put a stop to it. She was dead now, but he knew the truth in his heart, and Julie would see it there. She had to. She would be angry, probably furious with him, for allowing her to spend the night, but she would accept it and move on from there.

Besides, thought Jimmy, what about all the time that she’d spent with Mars? That was also eating at him. Mars was a smooth operator; there was no denying that. He was strikingly handsome, well-spoken, and all the girls in camp seemed to have a crush on him.

The sky looked like a shaken snow-globe, and Jimmy smoked as he watched fat white flakes float to the ground. There was no wind to speak of, and the quiet had settled in around him like a warm quilt. Jimmy suddenly felt at ease with himself. The truth was about to come out, and his burden suddenly seemed lighter. He was also anxious to see how Julie now looked. Had his prayers been answered? Did it matter? No, Jimmy decided. He would love Julie no matter how she looked, and he would love her until he took his last breath. He would convince her to return to Ken’s. He would convince Burt and Doc, too. He hoped Cindy would see the light, but she was in love, and he doubted she would leave of her own accord. Bill wouldn’t leave—at least that’s what he hoped. Jimmy flipped his smoke into the fresh snow and fired up the Skidoo. There was much to do.

By the time he reached the gate at Bailey’s, it was snowing so hard that Jimmy could barely see fifty feet in front of him. The wind had suddenly picked up, and it brought with it an icy cold chill. Jimmy slowed and finally came to a stop at the tiny gatehouse. There was a cable stretched out across the road.

And then Mars and Bill stepped from out of the wooden gatehouse. Jimmy killed the engine.

Chapter 27

“Hello Jimmy,” said Mars, but he didn’t sound happy to see him. “What have you done with Wart? We were expecting him to ride back with you.”

“Yeah,” said Bill. “Where’s Wart?”

Jimmy stood up and brushed the snow from his shoulders. “Wart stayed over at Ken’s. What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal, Jimmy, is this!” roared Mars, ripping the .45 Colt out of his waistband. “Bill found it stashed in the ceiling of Julie’s cabin. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Asshole,” Jimmy said to Bill.

This only seemed to enrage Mars, and Jimmy saw that in his eyes, wide open and wild looking. Jimmy thought that Mars had somehow tumbled out of his orbit. His eyes suddenly narrowed as his face was contorted with rage. He pointed the .45 at Jimmy’s head.

“Put it down, man,” warned Bill. “He’s not worth it.”

Jimmy wanted to scream at Bill for saying that, but Mars still had the gun trained on him from five feet away. Jimmy crossed his arms in front of him and awaited his fate.

“You’re lucky I don’t bust a cap in you,” Mars spat. “I could do that. I’m going to let you live, but understand that you’re not welcome here—you or any of your gun-crazy friends. Turn that tub around and go back to wherever the hell you came from.”

“I’ve got to get my things. I’ve got to see Julie.”

“You’re not going in, and she doesn’t want to see you,” Mars said, but now he was smiling. “Julie is mine, and you’re not taking her from me.”

Jimmy had heard enough. “Listen Mars, I rode out here to see her and that’s just what I’m going to do. Put the damn gun away before you hurt someone. This doesn’t have to be like this. I’m not staying, I’m moving back to Ken’s.”

“You sure are,” said Bill. “You really messed up, Jimmy.”

“What did you say to her?”

“I didn’t say a thing to her. I didn’t have to.”

“Jasmine told me, and I spilled the beans to Julie. Not that it matters,” Mars said, with obvious delight. “While you and Jasmine were shacking up, I was sleeping with Julie.”

“That’s a lie!”

“Is it?”

Jimmy felt his face grow hot with anger, and he turned on Bill. “Tell me the truth, shit-for-brains, what do you know about this?”

“I don’t know anything about it,” Bill said. “This is the first I’ve heard of it.” Then he turned to Mars. “Are you kidding me?”

Mars shook his head with all the smug he could muster. “She’s a hot number. I especially like the little mole on her right butt cheek. Have you seen it, Jimmy? I think it’s sexy as hell.”

Jimmy had seen the mole, and he suddenly charged Mars like an angry bull. Mars was waiting for him and swung the butt of the Colt down on his neck. Jimmy went down like a ton of bricks.

He woke up already seated on the idling Skidoo. Bill held him up while Mars covered him with the Colt. “You’d better get going,” said Bill. “I like you, Jimmy, no matter what you think. I don’t want to see you get shot. He’ll do it. Trust me, he’ll do it.”

“That’s right,” said Mars. “Go ahead and give me an excuse to kill you.”

Jimmy’s head was spinning, and he tried to clear his vision. He growled at both men and spun the Skidoo around in a looping circle. The fresh snow was starting to pile up, and Jimmy’s heart felt like it’d been shattered in a thousand little pieces. He stopped the snowmobile just as Bill and Mars were stepping over the cable. “Nothing happened, Bill! You make sure that Julie knows that. Nothing happened that night, do you hear me? Nothing at all!”

Bill looked at him for a long moment before Mars turned him away, and they resumed their walk back to the camp. Jimmy pressed hard on the throttle, and the Skidoo bleated like a wounded sheep, but it quickly carried him away from Bailey’s so he could be alone with his own tears. What was he going to tell the others? How could he tell Ken and Patty the truth? Was Mars telling Jimmy the truth about Julie? Jimmy rode on and stopped about a mile down on what was left of the trail heading back to Ken’s. With shaking hands he pulled a crumpled Camel from his pocket, barely managing to get it lit. The snow was falling fast, and even at a dead stop Jimmy could hardly see fifty feet in front of him. Jimmy’s head felt as if an invisible someone was forcing it down onto his left shoulder. He tried to straighten it, but it was no use. This only served to make him angrier than he already was.

Jimmy smoked and swore at the snow-covered pines.

What would Ken and the others think of him when he showed up all alone and with his neck bent at a ninety degree angle? Jimmy didn’t want to think of it. He didn’t want to think of any of it, so he focused on how he was going to get even with Bill. Doc would be putting his fat face in a cast and soon, Jimmy swore it. And what about Julie and Mars? Jimmy turned that over and over in his head, but he always ended up at the same conclusion. There was no way Mars was telling the truth. Julie wouldn’t sleep with a dirtball like him—not in a million years. Beyond that, she wouldn’t have slept with anyone on this planet, not with a plaster cast covering her face.

He watched the snow pile up, and it finally dawned upon him. He had to get Julie out of there, and his best chance would be right now during the storm. The snow would provide cover, and they wouldn’t be expecting him back—at least not right away.

At least that was what Jimmy hoped.

He rode the Skidoo at a little more than idle speed, creeping within a quarter mile of Bailey’s before killing the engine. Jimmy wished for some type of weapon. He rummaged in the machine’s tool kit, but there was nothing there that seemed even remotely lethal.

Rubbing his stiff neck, Jimmy set out into the woods on foot. The warm temperatures of the past days followed by the freeze had hardened the old snow, and the three inches of fresh powder absorbed the sound of his footsteps. He moved quickly, choosing a route that would take him well behind the mess hall and around the main house to the fish shacks. He would follow the shoreline roughly two hundred yards, and with any luck Julie would be waiting alone inside her cabin. He knew it was a poor plan, but he couldn’t see any other options.

Jimmy was certain that this is what Ken would want him to do and knowing that is what drove Jimmy now, just as it had motivated him in the past. Jimmy could see lights glowing inside the mess hall. He was perhaps one hundred feet behind the long building, moving like a shadow from tree to tree. Jimmy knew that the inside lights would make it nearly impossible for anyone inside the mess hall to see him.

Jimmy slipped behind the mess hall, and then it was a five-minute jog through a pine forest to where the fish shacks stood at the far end of the shoreline. Jimmy reached the final tree at the end of the wooded point and stopped to catch his breath. This was where things would get dicey. There was still plenty of light to see him, and he had two football fields of open land to cross. If anyone was watching for him, there was no place to hide. Jimmy found that his strained neck was positioned perfectly for peering around trees. The next sound hit him like an avalanche.

“Jimmy,” Bill’s voice called softly from barely ten feet away. “It’s me, Bill.”

Jimmy’s heart began to mule-kick, and his stomach fell flat. He couldn’t believe his ears.

“Mars is waiting at Julie’s; he thought you might turn around,” Bill quietly called from somewhere very close.

“Why would you tell me that?” Jimmy asked. “Why did you throw me under the bus?”

“I didn’t throw you under the bus. Mars is a pretty smart dude, man.”

“Quit talking like that!” hissed Jimmy.

“He thought Ken would leave you a gun, and he was right. He made me do the search at Julie’s while he watched. I didn’t throw you under the bus.”

“You told Julie about Jasmine.”

“I did not! I didn’t tell anyone!”

“Keep quiet, liar.”

“I ain’t lying. Somehow he knew about that; maybe Jasmine really did tell him. How the heck should I know? I wouldn’t rat you out. You’re my best friend.”

Jimmy closed his eyes and groaned. “You sure have a strange way of proving that. I’m not leaving here without Julie, understand me?”

“That’s why I’m here. I’m your wingman.”

Again, Jimmy groaned.

They made their way into Bill’s shack and slipped inside as the storm really began to rage. The little shack looked as if a bomb had exploded inside of it. “Unbelievable,” said Jimmy. “You’re such a slob.”

Bill turned down the blinds, and they sat in near darkness, speaking in hushed tones. Jimmy still had a lot of questions, and they had some time. They still needed to come up with a plan to rescue Julie. “How did Mars find out about Jasmine?” Jimmy asked for a second time.

“I told you, I don’t know, man.”

“If you call me ‘man’ one more time, I am going to break your neck.”

“Sorry. How’s your neck?”

Jimmy could feel his left earlobe involuntarily touching his left shoulder blade. He gave Bill a cold look and said nothing.

“Yeah,” said Bill, “that’s what I thought. Look, Doc knows everything. He’s in there with Julie and Mars, taking off her cast. I filled him in, and he suggested that I wait for you out there in the woods.”

Jimmy cursed himself for being so transparent. Everyone seemed to know what he’d do, even before he had. He was going to have to change that. “Does he want to leave here? What about Burt? Is he ready to come home?”

“You don’t get it. We don’t want to come home. We just want to get rid of Mars.”

“What do you mean?”

Bill reached over and grabbed Jimmy’s wrist and did so with considerable strength. “We like it here, Jimmy. We like it here, just fine. Pluto is a good man, and I like not having to carry a gun. I like the idea that nobody here carries a gun. We all feel the same way.”

“Burt never said that. You’re full of shit.”

“Okay, maybe not Burt, but Doc and Julie did. Cindy is never going back, either. They don’t want to leave. We’re all hoping that you’ll find a way to get rid of Mars. He’s a crazy bastard.”

Jimmy groaned. Why couldn’t they see the truth? They needed to get out of here before something really bad happened. He stood from the table and walked over to the window and cracked the blind with his finger. What he saw there was enough to make his heart grow cold. Mars stood outside of the window. He held the .45 in his right hand and was smiling at him. Four solid men stood behind him, each armed with a wooden baseball bat. They stood still, and Jimmy wondered how long they had been there. “Oh shit,” Jimmy said.

“That’s right,” Mars said from outside in the snow. “Oh shit—that pretty much sums up your situation. Can you hear this? That was the sound of your door being padlocked. These men are here to make sure you two don’t try anything stupid. Good night, gentlemen. Julie’s waiting for me in my bed or I’d take care of you both right now. That woman is insatiable.”

“You’re full of shit, Mars!” Jimmy shouted.

“I beg your pardon?” asked Mars, with a delighted touch of malice. “She says that she’d never met a real man before she met me. Sorry if that hurts. Do you know what I like about her, man? She never says no.”

“Stop it!”

“She doesn’t even know the meaning of the word.”

“Stop it!”

Mars then laughed like a screaming banshee, and his voice sounded muffled in the swirling snow. Jimmy’s fists were clenched so tightly that he thought his fingers might break. He heard Mars instruct the men to surround the fish shack and to bash the brains out of anyone who tried to escape. “I’ll deal with the two of you tomorrow!”

“Coming here was stupid,” groaned Bill. “We’re screwed, man.”

“Don’t say that!” hissed Jimmy.

“Oh,” whispered Bill. “I’m sorry, poor choice of words.”

Chapter 28

Jimmy had never spent any time in a jail cell, but he was sure it had to be a hundred times better than this. He tried his best to push what Mars had said out of his thoughts. Bill began complaining about his own stupid problems, and Jimmy had to block him out, too. Minutes seemed to last for hours. He could hear the men outside, talking and laughing. Jimmy searched Bill’s shack for a weapon, but all he found was plastic silverware and stubby fishing poles. He cursed his luck and studied his limited options. He thought about kicking out the door and throwing Bill out. And the more Bill began to complain, the more seriously Jimmy contemplated following through with that plan.

Sometime after dark, Jimmy quit his pacing and finally fell back on the rumpled little bed opposite from where Bill lay. Bill had quit grumbling and seemed to have fallen fast asleep in only a few short breaths. Jimmy closed his eyes and waited for sleep to take him. He would be waiting for a very long time.

“What time is it?” Bill asked, standing up in his baggy white underwear and scratching himself.

“Time to get dressed,” Jimmy said. “I think something is happening out there.”

“I hope so, I’m really hungry.”

Outside the storm seemed to have tapered off, but the wind had really picked up since last night. Jimmy stared out the window, and he could see that the storm had dropped at least a foot of snow that was now drifting into blinding white dunes. Jimmy thought that their contingent of guards had been reduced to a single man, although he couldn’t be absolutely sure. The tall man, whoever he was, looked angry as he slowly circled the fish shack. He was armed with a wooden baseball bat he held it against his shoulder like a soldier carries a rifle. Jimmy turned away from the window and was happy to see that Bill had dressed.

“What’s goin’ on?” Bill asked. He held an open jar of peanut-butter; he scooped two fingers full and stuck them into his mouth. He then held the jar out to Jimmy.

“No, thanks,” said Jimmy, shuddering. “Something was going on, I heard someone screaming up there, somewhere.”

Bill scratched his ear with his peanut-butter fingers as he thought about this. “Screaming, huh?” he asked. “That can’t be good.”

Jimmy shook his head. He was wondering about how Mars was playing this out with the others. Where was Doc or even Burt? Jimmy knew that if either man knew that he was being held prisoner, that they would demand his release. Mars must be keeping it under wraps. Jimmy watched as Bill continued to devour his breakfast. Bill’s mouth opened and closed as he mechanically worked his jaw, and the smacking sounds he made began to turn Jimmy’s empty stomach. Jimmy suddenly heard a familiar voice. Mars was outside the door talking to their guard. A moment later Mars opened the door and walked inside.

“Is it time to eat?” Bill asked, setting the jar down on the table. “I’m starved.”

Mars looked at him and chuckled as he brushed the snow from his perfectly feathered hair. “No, it’s not time to eat. You’ve eaten your last meal here.”

“So, you’re letting us go?” asked Jimmy. “What about Julie? What about the others?”

Mars held up a finger as he unzipped his jacket. The Colt was stuffed into the front of his blue jeans. “Jimmy,” he said. “I don’t like you, not even a little bit. I could kill you. I could kill the both of you, and believe me I’ve thought about it. But what would that solve? Sure, you’d be out of the way, but another guy like you would just show up and take your place.”

“What do you mean?” Jimmy asked, standing at the window and watching Mars as he sat down heavily at the table.

Mars removed the .45 and placed it on the table. “You don’t understand anything, do you? Ya know, when I first met you, I thought you were pretty sharp. I can see that I was wrong about that. Let me spell it out for you. I was the one that put this all together. Sure, it took Pluto’s money to make it all happen, but I was the guy who arranged everything. I made all the provisions and saw to it that we had the right people in place to make this thing work. I was very careful about that. I was very selective about who I chose to live up here. Can you dig it? I didn’t want any competition and then you showed up.”

Jimmy shook his head. “I wasn’t trying to compete with you. I already had someone and you knew that.”

Mars pointed across the table to Bill. “This guy was telling everyone about how all the girls melt when they see Jimmy Logan. And you know what? I was fine with that until your precious girlfriend smashed her face in. Did you think that gave you the right to steal from me? Your woman was damaged goods, and you thought you’d just take one of mine? Did you really think that I would allow that to happen?”

Jimmy could see that he was dealing with a crazy man with an ego the size of Lake Superior. He knew he had better tread lightly or Mars and his Colt could go off at any moment. Mars was in control here, and as much as Jimmy wanted to bash his brains out, he knew that he’d be a dead man before he got halfway across the room. He thought about this as Bill picked up the jar of peanut-butter and dug deep.

Mars turned away from Bill and continued. “I knew this was coming for six years. Pluto and I spent every hour of every day painstakingly planning this out. We wanted to create a beautiful world of our own. We called in favors. You don’t see the National Guard rounding our people up, do you? Can’t you see what I’ve created for myself? This is how I envisioned Utopia.”

“That is so cool,” said Bill. “That’s exactly what I would have done.”

“Shut up, Bill!” barked Jimmy.

“I was just saying that he had a good plan,” muttered Bill. “He’s living my dream.”

“Damn right I am,” said Mars. “And then Jimmy Logan shows up and tries to take it away from me.”

“I did no such thing.”

“What about Jasmine?”

“She came onto me! Nothing happened, nothing at all. If she wasn’t dead you could ask her yourself.”

“Oh, how convenient! After Jasmine it would have just been somebody else. Face it—you and I aren’t so different. The world is our bakery, and we just have to sample as much of it as we can.”

“No, you might be like that. I’m not like that at all.”

Mars grinned at Jimmy and shook his head, tossing his long locks from side to side. “Go ahead and lie to yourself if that makes you feel better. We both know the truth. You’re a horn-dog, just like me.”

“That’s right,” smacked Bill. “You’re a horn-dog.”

“Shut up,” hissed Jimmy. “That’s goddamn bullshit and you know it! I’m in love with Julie and would never mess around on her.”

“I can see that you’re not going to make this easy for me,” Mars said, standing up and tucking the Colt back into his pants. He picked up his jacket and put it on, leaving it unzipped. “You know what? You’re a convincing liar, I’ll give you that. She might even believe you.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Mars only smiled as he moved towards the door. “Liar,” he said again. He then opened the door and stuck his head out into the wind. “You can send her in now!” he shouted.

A moment later, Julie was pushed inside Bill’s fish shack. Someone had bound her hands with tape, and a wide hunk of it covered her mouth. She ran straight for Jimmy and tearfully buried her head into the crook of his neck. Jimmy could feel his face redden as molten anger raced through his veins. “What have you done to her?” he demanded. “You dirty son of a bitch!”

Mars was now holding the Colt trained on Jimmy’s forehead. He casually stood there for a moment, wearing a confident smile. “I wanted her to hear what you had to say, that’s all. I was hoping that you’d come clean, but I should’ve known that you wouldn’t. Just sit tight. After the storm is over you can all head back to wherever the hell you came from. I’m done with you. I’m done with you all. Don’t you dare come back, do you hear me? If you do, you’re a dead man. I’ll kill you all, and I’m just the guy who can do it. I promise you that.”

And with those last words, Mars gave them a quick wave and disappeared out the door. Jimmy quickly removed the tape from Julie’s face and held her by the sides of her head. She was crying, but her face looked as beautiful as Jimmy had ever remembered seeing it. Her hair had grown out some and looked to have been styled. Jimmy’s heart soared until Julie opened her mouth.

“I was drugged,” she moaned. “Oh God, Jimmy, I don’t know what happened last night. I think he raped me!”

“Are you sure?” asked Bill.

“She’s a liar!” shrieked Mars from the other side of the plywood wall.

“I am not lying!” screamed Julie, in such a tortured voice that Jimmy wanted to scream himself. His head was pounding with a furious anger.

“I didn’t drug you! You loved it and you know it!”

Jimmy roared with a primal scream that lasted nearly ten full seconds. “I am going to kill you, Mars, if it’s the last thing I do. Do you understand me? I’m going to make it painful!”

Bill stepped in front of Jimmy and held his hands to his lips. “Quiet,” he whispered. “He’s got a gun.”

Jimmy shoved Bill out of the way and ran to the door. He leaned back and kicked at the jamb. Jimmy’s rubber Sorel boot slammed hard against the heavy door, and suddenly the door was held only by a single hinge and the hasp lock on the outside. Jimmy reared back to finish the job.

A single gunshot exploded from the other side of the shack. Jimmy suddenly saw a quarter-sized hole of light appear straight ahead at eye level in the center of the hanging door. He immediately ducked for cover, as did Bill and Julie.

“Did I get you?” Mars asked, in a gleeful voice. “Sorry about that—my bad. These things are so touchy.”

“You bastard!” screamed Julie. “You dirty rotten bastard!”

Jimmy stole a look behind himself and saw the gaping exit hole. The bullet had missed him by mere inches.

“Julie,” hissed Bill. “Let’s live to fight another day.”

“Yes, Julie,” agreed the unseen Mars, his voice lilting on the vowels of her name. “That is sound advice and from the village idiot, no less. Just the same, I think you’d better take it.”

Julie gave Jimmy a hard look, but all Jimmy could do was shake his head. Village idiot or not, Bill was right. Mars would have no problem killing them. Jimmy raised a finger to his lips and hoped for the best. A long second passed, followed by another.

“Good,” shouted Mars. “About time you assholes wised up! Look, I don’t want to kill you guys. I really don’t. I’m a good guy. I just won’t listen to anyone lie about me and smear my good name.” He then paused for another long moment as if he were thinking things through. “Here’s the deal: if I kill the three of you, which I’m ready to do, it’ll take me forever to rebuild their trust. I don’t want to have to do that, just as I’m sure you don’t want me to blow your brains out with this superb piece of hardware. Does that sound agreeable to you?”

“Yes!” screamed Bill. “Oh, please, just let us live!”

Julie buried her head in her hands and began to sob. Jimmy could only look at Bill in wild wonder.

“That’s the right attitude,” snickered Mars from the other side of the plywood wall. “Now, I’m going to give this gun to my friend, Chico. If anyone tries anything, he has my permission to shoot the three of you. I’m going to gather up the rest of your bad seeds, and you can all leave together. That’s a pretty sweet deal if you ask me. I’d take it if I were you.”

“We’ll take it!” cried Bill.

Julie crawled up onto the bed that Jimmy had slept in and curled up into a ball. Jimmy stared at Bill with an angry glare that didn’t pale with passing of time. The seconds turned to minutes, and Bill’s expression suddenly darkened as he stared with cold eyes right back at Jimmy. “I’m going to kill him for what he did to you,” Bill whispered to Julie with more venom than Jimmy thought possible.

“Thank you, Bill,” Julie whispered back. And then she began to sob.

Jimmy waited a minute and then tried lying next to Julie in an attempt to console her. She immediately began to wail and pushed him away. He tried again, and she beat on his chest with closed fists. Jimmy pulled her close and held on as she continued to fight him. Gradually, like the dying embers of a fire, Julie gave up her struggles and clung to him with all her strength. “I’m sorry, Jimmy,” she said. “I’m so sorry.”

Jimmy stared coldly at the plywood walls as his hatred for Mars mushroomed into something close to a nuclear blast. Julie’s body continued to be racked by sobs, and his chest was wet with her tears. Bill paced the floor, and Jimmy wondered what was going through his mind, if anything. Bill had grown so difficult to read while it seemed that he himself had turned into some kind of open book. That didn’t seem fair, and he vowed to try to change that. He only hoped that he had the chance.

Jimmy didn’t trust Mars, not for a second, and there was a very real fear that he would return and kill them all. His brain had snapped like a dry twig. That level of insanity was their only hope of survival. They had to convince him that they were leaving and that they’d never be back.

They would have to act like Bill. God help me, Jimmy prayed.

Hours passed.

Chapter 29

Jimmy’s stomach growled as Bill registered his tenth complaint in as many minutes about his own hunger. None of them wore a watch, and Jimmy estimated that it was well past one and perhaps as late as three. The steel gray sky offered no clues, and outside the wind had only picked up in intensity. Chico had long ago moved his guard post inside Jimmy’s fish shack. What was keeping Mars? Jimmy could only guess.

Julie had finally dried her eyes and had seemed to pull it together. She began by making small talk about the weather and how filthy Bill’s little shack was, and she didn’t stop there. Jimmy went over and sat on the bed next to her. He felt like he’d been roper-doped when she suddenly popped the question. “So,” she said, taking both of his hands in her own and staring straight into his eyes. “Tell me about Jasmine. I want the truth, Jimmy.”

Jimmy’s eyes never left Julie’s, and he paused as he gathered his thoughts. “She popped in on me the night before she died with a bottle of wine. I know—I should have never let her in. I was bored, and it was dumb. We drank the wine and talked, but that was all. Nothing happened, nothing at all.”

Julie stared into his eyes without any expression, and Jimmy fought the urge to look away. He could feel Bill watching them. Finally, she gave his hands a squeeze and kissed his cheek. “I know,” Julie whispered. “I just wanted to hear you say it.”

“That’s right,” said Bill. “Nothing happened, and that’s all that matters.”

Jimmy smiled and let go of Julie’s hands. He stood up and walked the four steps to the edge of Bill’s bed where he was lying on his back and scratching his hairy stomach.

“What?” Bill asked, looking back at Jimmy as if he’d just sprouted antlers.

“You just had to tell her, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t tell her anything. Honest, Jimmy. I didn’t say nuthin’ to nobody. Honest, I didn’t.”

“You knew?” snapped Julie, which confused Jimmy. “And you didn’t say anything to me?”

“See Jimmy, you heard her. I didn’t say nuthin’ to nobody.”

“How did you know?” Jimmy asked, turning away from Bill. “Did she tell you herself?”

“She knew better than that,” Julie said, staring at the floor. “I know what she wanted. I’m proud of the way you fought her off.”

“How could you know that?”

“Yeah,” Bill agreed. “What? Were you there?”

“As a matter of fact, Bill, I was. I stood outside and almost caught my death of cold, but to answer your question. Yeah, I stood next to that stupid fish house, all night.”

“Holy shit,” muttered Bill.

“Bill, this has nothing to do with you,” Julie shot back. “Shut your Goddamn mouth. Yeah, Jimmy, do you think that Jasmine didn’t talk to anyone about you? I knew she was headed over to your place an hour before she even showed up. Do you want to know who told me? It was Mars. Jasmine had to ask him for the wine, and he got the truth out of her. You were right about one thing—you should have turned her away. You could’ve lost me forever. I hated that bitch, but I had to see how you would handle her. I was proud of you, even though you let her spend the night.”

“She passed out. What was I supposed to do?”

“I know she did, and it’s over. She’s gone, and that’s all that matters.”

“Mars told you, huh?”

“See Jimmy, it was Mars,” whispered Bill.

“There are only three of us here,” spat Julie. “We know that, you moron.”

“I meant when Jimmy tells anybody else about this,” Bill shot back. “I didn’t want anyone to think I was talking behind his back.”

“Bill,” Jimmy said. “You do that all the time. You are like my own personal talking diary. That has to stop. I’m getting sick of you telling everyone my life story.”

“What else is there to talk about? Nothing new ever happens.”

The wind howled from across the lake and snow peppered against the side of the fish shack. Jimmy had plugged the gaps around the door with Bill’s dirty clothes and covered up the door with a heavy blanket. Still the swirling wind found its way inside, and even with the little stove on high, there was something crisp in the air. Voices suddenly chimed in with the wind, and Jimmy’s ears immediately perked up.

The door was jerked open, and Mars stuck the gun inside, quickly covering the room. “I thought you’d try something stupid,” he said to Jimmy. “You disappoint me.”

“You wish,” hissed Jimmy.

Mars stepped back, and Burt and Venus were ushered inside followed by Doc and Cindy. Jimmy was glad to see them all. Both Venus and Burt looked strong considering their injuries, and Doc and Cindy looked grave about their situation. There was an awkward silence as everyone kicked the snow from their boots and found a spot to occupy.

“I’ll be right back,” promised Mars from outside the shack where he was replacing the lock. “They’re insisting that you be fed before you leave.”

Jimmy wasn’t going to argue that. They were all hungry, and the prospect of walking back to Ken’s during a ground blizzard was starting to frighten him. There would be no tracks to follow, and before too long it was going to be dark. The Skidoo, if they hadn’t found it, would only transport two at a time. He needed to think about this, but time seemed to be running out.

“This reminds me of that time when we were all locked up in Ken’s shed,” chuckled Burt.

“When I saved the day,” boasted Bill.

Julie groaned and Doc began to laugh.

“What are you talking about?” Venus asked.

And Burt began to tell the story of how they’d been locked up inside Ken’s shed and the miracle that followed. They all chimed in with bits and pieces, mostly Bill, and Burt skipped over most of the bad parts of how they had arrived there. Venus sat on one of the chairs and listened with rapt attention, saying things like: “Oh, my,” and “are you shittin’ me?”

“I’m not kidding,” said Burt. “They seemed like the nicest people you ever met. We invited them into our place, fed them and took care of their wounded. They followed this woman who called herself Sister Margaret. They seemed like such good, God-fearing folks. That was like their Trojan horse; they used it to pass through our gates.”

“I never thought of it that way,” said Julie.

“That’s exactly what they did,” agreed Jimmy.

Burt nodded his head. “They did,” he said. “And as soon as Sister Margaret saw what we had, she wanted it all to herself. I never fell for her line of bullshit, but a lot of our own people fell under her spell. She could spin the Bible like it was a tabloid newspaper, any way that suited her purpose. She said that it was the end of time and that the only way for them to be saved was through her. Lots of people bought that load of crap.”

“And then I electrocuted her!” shouted Bill, prematurely.

“Not yet, you didn’t,” said Burt in a sharp voice. “I’m getting to that part.”

“Fried her like an egg,” said Bill, winking at Venus.

Burt ignored the comment and continued. He told Venus how they had been run out of their own home and how they had held two of their people against their will. Bill tried to interrupt, but Burt plowed on, right up until the time that they had been rounded up into the cage Sister Margaret had built in the back yard. “They were going to burn us in that cage,” Burt said. “They filled it with sticks and logs, and she was screaming for someone to light us up.”

Bill suddenly leapt from his chair. “So, lucky for them I was playing possum. You should have seen me. I knew what was coming and set a trap for that rotten bitch. She had me build her a pulpit in the back of Ken’s place, and I gave her a nice steel plate to stand on. I had that plate wired to our generator. You should have seen her dance when I hit the switch! That was great, wasn’t it? I’ve never seen anything like it. The juice didn’t stop there—it kept going across the lawn and knocked out her entire congregation. I said to myself, I said, ‘Bill, you just saved the day.’”

“Why do you always have to ruin a good story?” mumbled Cindy. “Why can’t you leave good enough alone?”

Bill turned to face Cindy, but he just shook his head as he sat back down in his chair.

There was a long silence, and it was Jimmy who finally broke it. “What the hell is going on here, Venus?” he asked. “This is crazy.”

Venus was dressed in a navy blue jogging suit and a Yankees cap. She shook her head and turned to face Jimmy. “My guess is that Mars is up talking to Pluto and that we’re all about to be expelled from the community.”

“What crime did you commit?” Jimmy asked. “And why aren’t you part of that discussion? You’re an Equal. What happened?”

“I told Mars that wherever Burt Sharpen goes, I’m going with him. He’s my husband.”

There was a long pause as all heads turned to Burt for confirmation. He smiled broadly, got up from his chair and stood behind Venus who was seated at the table. He rested his hands on her shoulders. “We were married last night,” he said, leaning down and kissing Venus on the top of her head. “Pluto married us.”

“Congratulations,” said Jimmy and walked over and slapped Burt on the back. “I didn’t know he could do that. Did you hear that, Julie?”

Julie smiled at Jimmy and opened her mouth to speak, but a sudden burst tears ran down her cheeks. She covered her face and wept. Jimmy quickly rushed to her side and took her into his arms. Julie buried her head into his shoulder and wept quietly.

“Good for you guys,” said Bill. “I don’t have a problem with the age difference.”

Jimmy glared at Bill, as did everyone else except Burt and Venus.

“You don’t like to beat around the bush, Bill Huggins, do you?” asked Venus. “The only people who matter don’t care about our age difference. Those people are me and my husband. You should know something else, mister I-don’t-have-a problem-with-it: Burt and I are going to have a baby.”

Doc finally broke his silence. “That’s impossible. You couldn’t possibly know that already.”

Venus turned and jabbed a bronze finger at Doc. “I know my body better than any medical doctor. I am pregnant. I know it like I know my own name.”

Bill started to say something, but Burt cut him off. “And that name is Missus Bernice Sharpen. She still likes to be called Venus, isn’t that right?”

“That’s right,” said Venus, turning up to face Burt.

“That’s the most foolish and irresponsible thing I’ve ever heard,” chortled Doc. “Why did you think it would be a good idea to bring a baby into this world? Look around you. Is this the proper environment to raise a child in? I thought you both were a lot smarter than this. I’m very disappointed in the two of you.”

Julie suddenly ripped free from Jimmy and raged across the little shack, stopping inches away from where Doc sat. His eyes grew large, and he held up his hands.

“Who are you to judge, anyone?” Julie snapped, planting her hands on her hips. “They have every right to be married and to have as many children as they like. Don’t you dare call them foolish.”

“I was only saying the obvious.”

“Don’t you get it? They’re in love, they got married, and they want to have a baby. What, does life stop when it gets difficult? Hell, no!”

“Julie, that’s okay,” Venus said quietly in a soothing voice. “We have talked about the risks and about Burt’s age. We both knew that people would have questions. That’s why I brought it all out into the open. Let’s have this discussion now, and then it’s over. I don’t want to hear another word from anyone on the subject.”

“No, it’s not okay,” said Cindy, standing up and stepping into the fray. “Julie is right. We should all be able to get married and have babies and do whatever we like. This is still America.”

“That’s right, baby girl,” said Bill. “You tell him.”

“Congratulations, Burt and Venus,” Cindy said, walking behind Burt and giving him a warm hug. “I love you guys, and I’m very happy for the both of you.”

“Don’t make it sound like I don’t care,” Doc grumbled, standing up and towering above everyone standing. He raised a long arm and pointed his finger at Burt. “Right now, that man is the best friend that I have in this world. I have every right to voice my concerns. Congratulations, Burt and Venus. Believe it or not, I’m also happy for the two of you. I just wish you’d have waited until the world returned to something more stable. I wish the two of you would reconsider and start using birth control.”

“But, I’m already pregnant!”

“You can’t possibly know that! I’m a doctor, and I do know more about your body than you do! You’re in love. You’re just imagining that you’re pregnant. I’ve seen it a hundred times.”

Doc’s words hung in the air for a long time. Jimmy scratched his chin and quickly did the math. There was no doubt as to who was right. Venus had no way of telling if she was pregnant.

“Eight months from now you will be delivering our baby,” Venus said with a broad smile that said she didn’t care what he thought. “Get your mind around it.”

“Yeah, Doc,” agreed Burt. “Get your mind around it. I thought you’d be happy for me, man. I’ve never had children. I’ve never been with anyone who wanted to have my baby. Don’t you understand? I’ve never been happier to be alive. This beautiful woman wants to be the mother to my children. We don’t want to stop with just one.”

Doc held his hands out in exasperation. He then flung them down and returned to his chair, passing by Julie with an awkward bump. Julie returned to where Jimmy was and sat next to him.

“What are you going to name the baby?” Bill asked. “I would be proud if you named him William.”

“I’ll bet you would,” said Venus.

“We haven’t talked about names yet,” Burt said. “But we’ll keep that in mind.”

Doc laughed, bitterly. “Okay, can we now change the subject?”

Jimmy looked over at Burt as he gazed lovingly at Venus. “I love you,” Burt whispered.

“And I love you, too,” Venus replied, dramatically batting her lashes like the heroine in a silent movie.

“What happened to Mars?” Jimmy asked, trying to follow Doc’s lead. “Was he always crazy?”

“I don’t know, Jimmy,” Venus said. “Who can say what is in the heart of a man? Mars wants to kill you—I am sure of that. Pluto will not let himm or you would already be a dead man. The best Mars can do is to get Pluto to expel you all. By making everyone leave, he makes sure that no one comes back. If Mars killed you, he would be the one who is expelled.”

“How soon would we have to go? Look at it outside. It’s going to be dark soon. They wouldn’t make us start walking in this, would they?”

“We certainly would!” Mars shouted from the other side of the door. The lock rattled and the door was thrown open. “As a matter of fact, you can leave right now.” He held a brown grocery sack and tossed it onto the floor. “There. Don’t say we didn’t give you anything.”

“We can’t walk all the way back to our camp,” protested Jimmy. “Look at it out there. We’ve got two injured people. Let me go find Doc’s snowmobile and take them back, one at a time.”

Mars looked at Jimmy with obvious disappointment. He ran his hands through his long hair before speaking. “You don’t get it. You have ten minutes to be out of my sight,” he said, lifting his arm and making a great show of checking his watch. “All of you. That was my deal with the old man. He made me promise, and I’m a man of my word.”

“You’re a lying pig,” spat Julie.

“Outside! All of you!” Mars shouted, the chrome Colt suddenly appearing in his right hand. “You now have five minutes before I start shooting.”

“Asshole!” countered Julie.

“Three minutes!”

Jimmy held his hand up to Julie before she could do anymore damage. They stood as a group and hurriedly dressed in their winter gear. Bill picked up the grocery sack as they filed out into the cold and wind. The gray light was already beginning to fade. The snow outside the door was over their boots, and they followed each others’ footprints as Jimmy led the way to the road. Not twenty seconds into their journey, things began to unravel and quickly came apart at the seams.

“You son-of-a-bitch!” screamed Bill.

Jimmy turned just in time to see Bill charge Mars and tackle him headlong into the snow. There was a furious tussle for the gun, and Jimmy stood in stunned silence as it looked as if Bill might actually come away with it. Jimmy had never seen Bill like this. He was nearly frothing at the mouth as he screamed curses at the younger man. Mars caught Bill with an elbow, and there was a momentum shift. Burt must’ve sensed this as well, and Jimmy watched as he also jumped into the fray. This caused the men who had accompanied Mars to the fish shack to jump in. The Colt exploded, and there was a terrible grunt of pain.

“Burt!” shrieked Venus and suddenly launched herself on top of Mars.

Jimmy was already charging his way toward the deadly scuffle as three more shots rang out. Everyone ducked for cover, and Mars was suddenly on his feet. He pointed the barrel of the Colt directly at Jimmy.

“Come on, Jimmy,” Mars growled. “I think it’s time you joined your friends.”

“Jimmy,” screamed Julie, “no!”

Bill lashed out with a boot and caught Mars behind his right knee, just as the Colt exploded for the final time. The bullet sang by Jimmy’s ear as his life flashed before his eyes. Mars stood holding the smoking Colt, the action wide open to expose an empty magazine. Mars flung the gun at Bill and hit him square in the stomach just as Jimmy dived in for the tackle. Mars surprised him by meeting his dive with a vicious right hook that sent him tumbling into the cold, white powder. There was a jumbled commotion as Jimmy fought to regain his bearings. He stood up, punch drunk, holding a cheek that had already begun to swell. Mars was running now, a hundred feet away and heading toward the woods. Jimmy watched him stupidly for a second before returning his attention to the others.

Venus was dead, as was one of the guards. Blood and gore polluted the lily white snow, and the sound of bitter tears rode on the wind. Doc and Julie were hovering over Burt, and Jimmy staggered over to them and fell to one knee.

“Hang on,” whispered Julie, tearfully. “Doc is here and we’re going to get you fixed up.”

“Venus?” Burt asked, weakly. Blood bubbled from his mouth and covered his chin. His eyes were strained as he fought to keep breathing.

“We’ve got a sucking chest wound, Jimmy!” Doc shouted. “I need something to stick in the hole. Jimmy, give me your shirt!”

“Venus?” Burt asked again. “Where’s my baby?”

The wind howled as Jimmy flung off his jacket and ripped at the buttons of his shirt when Burt emitted a terrible gurgle and his body was racked with spasms. Julie held her hands over her face as she turned away. Burt looked up at Jimmy. Their eyes met and Jimmy watched as Burt’s stare became cold and vacant. He lay there on the snow as his rich black skin faded to a shade of bronze.

Julie rushed into Jimmy’s arms and they stood there, dumbfounded in their grief, as Doc carefully closed Burt’s eyes and slowly got to his feet. “Goddamn fool,” muttered Doc, dabbing his eyes. He then reached down and picked up the discarded Colt and reared back and launched it out onto the snow-covered lake. “Goddamn guns!” he then screamed at the sky.

Pluto was suddenly among them, surveying the carnage with a shocked expression pasted to his bearded face. He fell to his knees at the sight of Venus and wept openly for a moment. “Thirty years,” he moaned. “I knew this woman for thirty years, and she was the best friend I ever had. She would still be here if it wasn’t for your damn guns! Get out of my sight! I want you all gone from here, and don’t you ever come back. Do you understand me? Go!”

“They were our friends, too,” Julie reminded him. “And your guy is the one who killed them. Don’t you ever forget that.”

“Go!”

“Maybe we could stay here while Jimmy gets the snowmobile?” Bill asked. “Would that be okay?”

“Get out of here!” screamed Pluto. “Right now!”

Doc stepped between Jimmy and Julie and nodded toward the road. “Let’s go,” he said. “You can’t blame him for wanting us gone.”

Chapter 30

And that was how they left Bailey’s, minus Burt and his new love, with their murderer still out there, somewhere. The wind whipped sheets of snow in their faces as they trudged along, following Jimmy’s footsteps into and through snowdrifts that were now nearly up to his hips. Julie and Cindy both sobbed from time to time while Bill remained quiet. He followed Doc along at the rear of the line, still holding the grocery sack and eating a sandwich as he walked. The going was slow, and Jimmy prayed that nothing had happened to the Skidoo. The sky was the color of cold steel as darkness began to settle in around them. Jimmy wanted to stop and mourn for Burt, but he knew that they had no time to lose.

“We’ll build a fire, and you can begin by shuttling the girls back to Ken’s,” Doc said as if he was reading Jimmy’s mind. “I think all three of you could fit.”

“I don’t think we’ll be able to get a fire going in this,” Jimmy said over his shoulder. “Why don’t you bring the girls back to Ken’s? Bill and I can follow your tracks. You should be able to be back in under an hour. We’ll be fine.”

The road was swept bare of snow as it wound next to the lake. Soon it was drifting higher than ever before, and Jimmy plowed ahead, using his knees as battering rams against the crusting powder. Jimmy was relieved to see the shadow of the Skidoo up ahead where he had parked it. “Thank God,” he said, as the sweat dribbled down his back. “I think we’re in luck.” The snow had drifted around the machine in great white dunes.

Five minutes later, Jimmy and Bill watched as Doc and the girls motored away on the long seat of the old snowmobile. The single taillight quickly faded away in the whiteout.

“I shouldn’t have been separated from my daughter,” said Bill in the last light of a terrible day. “What if something happens to her?”

“Some gentleman you are,” Jimmy said, not bothering to hide his disgust. “Come on, let’s keep moving!”

Jimmy could hear Bill rummaging in his lunch sack as they walked. Jimmy had lost his appetite and couldn’t have eaten even if Bill had hot pizza. They crossed a small lake and then another. The going on the fresh snowmobile track was much easier, and Jimmy was thankful for that. Predictably, Bill needed to make a pit-stop about an hour into their walk, and Jimmy lit up a cigarette as he waited for Bill to return from the woods. The wind seemed to be dying down, and he caught a patch of stars in the blackness above them.

Jimmy had nearly finished his Camel when Bill emerged from the shadows. “That was cold,” he stammered, hugging himself as he followed his footsteps out of the woods. “Hey, does Doc know where he’s going? I thought we should have turned back there.”

Jimmy shook his head in frustration. “Doc has lived up here for most of his life. You have been to Bailey’s only one time. I think I’ll trust Doc.”

“I don’t know. I really think we should go back and turn south at that last pine tree.”

“Will you just let it go?” Jimmy shouted. “Doc knows his way around here better than any of us! Now follow me, and we’ll keep walking until he comes back for us. You can ride back to camp when he does. I’ll go last. Deal?”

“I guess so,” muttered Bill. “You never thanked me for saving your life, Jimmy. That hurts, just so you know.”

Jimmy turned his back on Bill and started walking. He hadn’t thanked Bill, and he knew that the time to do so just hadn’t presented itself. Burt was dead, and they were fighting for their lives. Jimmy muttered a thank you and continued walking.

Jimmy had something else on his mind as he wearily followed the mechanical footprint of the Skidoo. What was Ken going to think about all of this? Jimmy knew he’d be furious that they’d lost Burt. He also knew that Ken would hunt Mars down like an animal. Ken would demand justice and he would extract it, no matter what anyone said, no matter how long it took. A sliver of moon was exposed by the retreating clouds and offered a hint of cold light. Jimmy continued walking, all the while thinking of what Ken would say to him upon his return. There would be hell to pay and Jimmy knew it. Ken would hold him responsible.

“This isn’t my fault,” Jimmy said, as much to himself as to Bill.

There was no reply.

Jimmy stopped and turned around, but Bill was nowhere to be seen. Jimmy growled with anger as he stared into the blackness. “You’re a goddamn fool!” he screamed. “Do you hear me, Bill? You’re an idiot! Get back here, you’re going to die out there!”

All Jimmy heard was the last gasps of wind in his ears and the pounding of his own heart. The fall of night was complete, and Jimmy could feel the temperature starting to nosedive. There wouldn’t be much time, not now that the sky had cleared. “Bill!” Jimmy shouted again. He waited, cursed, and continued to walk. He didn’t know what else to do.

Well over an hour passed before he realized that Bill had been right. The snowmobile track began to meander like a tired river and began to double-back. Jimmy groaned as stumbled onto a place where two sets of tracks converged in a four-way. “Oh, shit,” he mumbled. The cold had crept inside his jacket, and his jaw was shivering uncontrollably. “Damn it, Doc,” he said to himself. “You were supposed to know your way around.” Jimmy examined the tracks in the snow, then shrugged and followed them to his left. He prayed that he chose the right way.

The cry of a lonely wolf sounded in the distance, and the call was answered by a dozen howling voices. How far away were they? Jimmy tried to guess, but out in the woods they could’ve been one mile away or five. There was no judging their distance. One thing Jimmy knew for sure: the wolves would be hungry. Deer and moose tracks were a rare sight these days. Another howl pierced the night, and Jimmy knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that the wolves were getting closer. He began to jog on his tired legs, sucking in huge breaths of sub-zero air.

The wolves were closing in on him, and Jimmy was soon running as fast as he possibly could. Jimmy could feel tremors of fear race down his spine as he imagined being ripped apart by a pack of starving wolves. He tripped and rolled in the snow, but he was on his feet in an instant, brushed himself off, and continued running.

Two full minutes later, as Jimmy’s lungs were about to burst, he spotted an orange glow directly in front of him. The wolves were close now, perhaps even as close as half a mile. They howled as they ran, and the excitement was clear in their voices.

Jimmy topped a small rise and was shocked to see Doc standing over a roaring fire. He was holding a long stick as if it were a spear. The shock on his face was evident as he saw Jimmy. “Out of gas,” he shouted. “Hurry, get into the light!”

Julie and Cindy were huddled behind Doc, and they both screamed for him to move. Jimmy scrambled for the blazing pile of brush, nearly falling again as he did so.

“Where’s my dad?” Cindy cried. “They didn’t get him, did they?”

“I don’t think so,” Jimmy said, running up to them and scooping them both into his arms. “He knew we were lost. I think he went to find Ken’s on his own.”

“Jimmy!” shouted Doc. “We can catch up later. I need you to grab a chunk of wood and join me. We’ve got company!”

Jimmy spun around and found himself staring into the eyes of a huge timber wolf. He stood not fifty feet away from them, and he quickly showed them a huge set of canine teeth. “Oh, shit,” muttered Jimmy.

“Come on!” shouted Doc, defiantly. “I’ll run you through, you dirty bastard!”

Jimmy spotted a pile of deadfall and scooped up a fat piece of birch. The wood was soft, but it was the size of his leg and felt good in his hands. Jimmy raced to join Doc at the fire and brandished his club menacingly.

“Jimmy,” cried Julie, “behind us!”

Jimmy spun around and saw that they weren’t alone. Two wolves were slinking behind the girls even as they screamed in terror. Jimmy ran back to protect them. “Come on!” he cried. “I’ll bash your damn skulls in!”

“There’s another one!” screamed Cindy. “Oh, my God, Jimmy!”

Jimmy saw the third wolf as it closed in on Cindy and was only barely able to thwart the attack with the butt end of his club. The wolf snarled in anger and snapped at Jimmy as it passed. Jimmy swung the club again.

“Be gone, you rotten devils!” screamed Doc.

They were fighting the wolves on two fronts, and the brush fire was in desperate need of fuel. “We need some more wood on the fire!” shouted Jimmy. “That’s our only hope!”

Julie and Cindy fell to their knees and began chucking pieces of deadfall onto the sputtering flames. Jimmy stood waving his birch club like a sabre. The wolves growled as they glided across the snow, sizing them up.

Chapter 31

Just when all seemed lost, Jimmy heard a familiar sound that sent pangs of joy shooting into his heart. The sound was that of a rapidly approaching snowmobile engine followed by another. Jimmy and Julie grinned wildly at each other. Cindy put her arms around Julie and buried her head in her jacket.

Jimmy was just turning to face Doc when it happened. The huge black wolf seemed to fly from out of nowhere and took Doc totally by surprise, hitting him square in the chest and knocking him flat on his back. “Jimmy!” he screamed.

“Doc!” shrieked Jimmy. “Doc!”

Another wolf joined the first in a flash of movement and before Jimmy could exhale, they were quickly dragging Doc back up the hill away from the fire. Doc was kicking and screaming and thrashing his long arms. “Help me, Jimmy! For the love of God, help me!”

Jimmy screamed in agony as nearly half a dozen, snarling wolves suddenly appeared between Doc and him. He lunged at them with his club, but they held their ground. Doc screamed again as he was dragged over the top of the hill and out of sight.

“No!” cried Jimmy.

The next sound was so loud that it nearly took Jimmy’s feet out from under him. Jimmy had only heard the report of a .50 caliber once before, but there was no mistaking it. There was a wet, thwacking sound, and suddenly the big gun exploded again. A wolf began to yelp and leapt high enough in the air for Jimmy to see it from below. There was another shot and then a long moment of silence. The remaining wolves slipped back into the darkness.

“Doc?” cried Jimmy, as he scrambled up the empty hill. “Doc, can you hear me?”

“Jimmy?” croaked the big man. “Am I dead?”

“No,” Jimmy said, with tears of joy running down his cheeks. “I think Ken got the wolves. Are you okay?”

“I’ll probably catch my death of rabies, but I think I’m in one piece.”

A moment later, Ken roared up on his Polaris followed by Wart, who held the giant rifle pointed up in the air. “What the hell is going on?” demanded Ken. “That damn fool Huggins is up at the house screaming bloody murder. Pardon me, Cindy,” he added. “Can you guys manage to stay out of trouble for five minutes? For crying out loud!”

“Look,” said Wart, “right between the eyes and in near blackness.”

Doc looked down at himself in the fading firelight. His jacket and snow pants were torn to ribbons, and his gloves were dark with blood. “Thank you,” he said to Wart. “You saved my life.”

“You should be thanking God, isn’t that right, Ken?” Wart asked. “I’m only His humble servant. Let’s all thank God together, shall we?”

“Why don’t we hold off until we get home for that,” said Ken, clapping Wart on the back. “These people are probably freezing.”

“Right,” said Wart. “We can celebrate with some Old Testament fire and brimstone!”

“Sure,” said Ken, giving Jimmy a sidelong glance. “Where is Burt? You didn’t leave him behind, did you?”

Jimmy opened his mouth and tried to speak, but his tongue was completely tied and all he could do was moan.

And out there in the bitter cold, their tears fell like rain.

Jimmy, despite everything that had happened, found that he could barely thank Bill for saving their lives. He had been reliving those fatal last moments before Burt and Venus had been killed, and there was no denying that if Bill hadn’t acted in such a foolhardy manner that both of them would still be alive. Bill was fat and out of shape, had no training, and was the last person that should’ve tried to take Mars down.

Doc treated his own wounds in the privacy of the little bathroom while Ken kindled a hot fire that bathed the living room in orange light. They were thankful for the warmth and settled down on the second-hand furniture as Patty and Rita cooked dinner. The reunion was quiet as most eyes were drawn to the fireplace. Jimmy knew each of them was thinking about Burt. He should be with them, and they knew it.

“I remembered this tree,” said Bill, taking full advantage of the silence. “And I said to myself, ‘Bill, we turned at that tree. Why isn’t Jimmy turning?’ I’m part Sioux on my mother’s side, and I knew we were supposed to turn there.”

“Lucky for everyone that you remembered that,” Ken said, smiling at Bill.

“God told him to remember it. Isn’t that right, Mr. D?”

Wart had taken to calling Ken that and Jimmy wasn’t sure how he felt about it. Wart had sure found religion in a hurry, and it made Jimmy slightly uncomfortable. He always thought it should be a gradual thing, getting that much religion.

“That’s right,” agreed Ken. “God has a master plan, and we are all part of it.”

“I then asked myself, I said, ‘Bill, Jimmy is never going to believe you that he’s going the wrong way.’ I decided that I was going to have to make a break for it. The snow was so deep that there were times when I just wanted to give up. But I knew that a lot of lives were depending on me, and I kept on going.”

“God told you that,” said Wart enthusiastically. “I know He did.”

Jimmy and Ken exchanged an uncomfortable look.

“Then, of course the gate was locked,” continued Bill who was now facing Wart, the only person who seemed interested in his story. “I could feel the Lord working inside of me and filling me up with strength.”

“Amen,” exclaimed Wart with his lopsided grin. “What happened then?”

“I’m going to go help in the kitchen,” said Julie, standing up from the couch.

“Me too,” said Cindy, getting up from her wingchair.

Jimmy watched as they left the room and wished that he could join them. Bill also stood, standing between the men of their group and the fireplace where he began to act out his story as if he were on stage. “I said ‘Thank you, Jesus!’” Bill said, raising his hands over his head with his fingers splayed.”

Wart raised his hands too. “Thank you, Lord!”

“I said to myself, ‘Bill, that gate is locked, and it has five feet of snow drifted up next to it. But, it’s the only way inside. You’ve got to put your shoulder into it and push that gate open.’”

Jimmy hadn’t heard this part before, and he shot Ken a confused look. Ken shrugged his shoulders and returned the look with one of complete stupefaction.

“I took three steps back and then I charged the gate. I know it was crazy, but there was nothing else to be done. I hit that gate so hard that I snapped the log that locked it. That’s the God’s honest truth. I think I had the strength of ten men, maybe twelve.”

“Wait a minute,” said Doc. “Does anyone believe this load of malarkey?”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Doc,” said Ken. “He broke the bolt log on the gate. He’s not making that up. He was also responsible for us finding all of you, when we did. Another minute and you would’ve been wolf shit.”

“Wolf scat,” corrected Doc.

“That’s impossible,” Jimmy said. “I’ve opened that gate dozens of times. He couldn’t have done that. The bolt must’ve already been broken.”

“You don’t believe in much, do you Jimmy?” asked Wart. “Would it kill you to have a little faith in your brother man? God is speaking through Bill. Can we at least hear him out?”

Jimmy gritted his teeth and motioned to Bill that the floor was his. When Bill began again, Jimmy could feel the bile rising from the gorge of his stomach. With Wart urging him on, Bill finished his story in just under five minutes.

“I’ll be going after Mars tomorrow,” announced Ken. “I’ve thought about it and prayed on it. He has to be held accountable.”

“He’s probably hiding somewhere inside Bailey’s,” Jimmy said. “He might not even be hiding anymore. I’ll bet they welcomed him back with open arms.”

“That’s what I’m thinking,” Ken agreed. “If he’s there, we have to find him. I won’t rest until he’s got what’s coming to him.”

“What’s that?” asked Bill. “Are you going to shoot him?”

“That’s my business,” answered Ken.

“Time to eat,” Patty called from the kitchen. “Come and get it!”

Bill raced Wart to the door while Ken held his hands up to Jimmy and Doc. “Kid, you’re coming with me. We leave in the morning. Doc, I’m sorry. I can’t let this pass.”

Doc locked eyes with Ken. “I want his head on a platter—do you hear me? Just bring me back some proof that he’s dead.”

Jimmy had never heard Doc speak like that and found that it shook him. “I’ll be ready to go,” he said to Ken after a long pause. “I don’t have to tell you how I feel on this subject.”

“Not this time,” agreed Ken. “I should hope not.”

They ate their dinner of freeze-dried meat and instant mashed potatoes in relative silence. Jimmy wondered how he should go about telling Julie about what he and Ken planned to do. He also wondered how they would ever find Mars if his group had actually welcomed him back into their fold. They were a strange bunch, and nothing they did would surprise Jimmy.

What troubled Jimmy the most about the rest of that evening was something in Julie’s manner. She began to distance herself from him and the other men. She still said all the right things, but she did so from the opposite side of the room. She had the look of a scared rabbit, and Jimmy’s heart nearly broke because of it. That night she shared the big bed with Cindy and Rita after giving him a peck on the cheek and wishing him good night. Thankfully, sleep overtook Jimmy only a few moments after he crawled under the covers. He didn’t stir until sunrise the following morning.

Ken made a big show of pretending that he and Jimmy were going out to hunt. The temperature had fallen to thirty below zero overnight, but it bounced back up to a balmy, negative five by ten that morning. They bundled up, armed themselves, and left Wart in charge of protecting the camp.

“You can count on me, Mr. D,” Wart had said.

Patches of blue sky appeared from behind gray-streaked clouds, and there was no wind to speak of. Now that it was daylight, Jimmy could see how much the snow had drifted and finally understood how lucky they all were to be alive. Ken led the way, either by design or because Ken no longer trusted Jimmy’s sense of direction. Jimmy’s Polaris glided across the fresh snow, and had they not been out for blood, he knew he would’ve been enjoying himself. He hated Mars; there was no doubting that. He also wanted him dead. He just wasn’t sure how all of this would play out once they got back to Bailey’s. Mars was one of their own, and Jimmy thought that they might try to protect him despite what he had done. The uneasiness crept inside his head and refused to leave.

Jimmy saw Bill’s tree and wondered how he had missed it himself. The gnarled pine grew in a corkscrew shape as if had been crippled at a young age and stood out like a sore thumb. Ken rode slowly, barely traveling at more than an idle. Jimmy supposed that he didn’t want to give anyone any extra notice that they were on their way.

Two miles from the camp, Jimmy unslung his M-16 and held it by the barrel, resting it on his knee. Fear replaced the uneasiness, and once again he tried to shake the feeling. Something was wrong. Jimmy could feel it in his bones. Ken suddenly braked and waved for Jimmy to ride up next to him.

“Can you smell that?” Ken asked, sniffing at the air.

Jimmy shook his head, but then he did smell something. “Smells like burning tires,” he said. “Is that what you smell?”

“Something like that,” Ken said, nodding his head. “Come on, let’s keep moving.”

At roughly one mile from the camp, they found themselves riding through a haze of smoke that only grew thicker as they went. Jimmy’s eyes began to sting, and soon they began to water. Ken slowed even further as he fought to remain on what was left of the road. Jimmy followed closely, never letting the red taillight disappear in the murk. Jimmy began to choke as they passed the gate leading into the compound. The road twisted and turned and suddenly they were out of the smoke. A slight breeze was stirring the air and was carrying most of the smoke to the east.

They passed the burning embers of what had once been the main house. The steel skeleton of a burned-out doublewide trailer stood behind the house. The garage that Jimmy had coveted was now nothing more than a memory. Ken looked back at Jimmy with apprehension. They continued up the road and rounded the last sweeping corner.

And everything—the mess hall, the cabins, the fish shacks, anything with a frame that served a purpose—was gone. Eighty years of history ended in one last savage chapter. Jimmy couldn’t believe his eyes.

Ken slowly came to a stop and killed the ignition on his snowmobile. Jimmy pulled up next to him and did the same. The camp was eerily silent, save for the sounds of burning wood and the distant wind in the trees. They stood there for a long moment, taking it in. Finally, Ken pointed Jimmy down towards the lake. “We’ve got to check for survivors,” he said. “You look down by the lake and keep your eyes open. This is bad.”

Jimmy didn’t need to be reminded of that. “What the hell happened here?” he asked. “Who would have done such a thing?”

Ken shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. “And where is everyone? That’s what I’d like to know.”

They searched the burned-out remnants of the Bailey camp for nearly an hour. There was no sign of anyone; not even a footprint remained in the snow. When they met back up by the snowmobiles, Jimmy wanted nothing more than to ride out of there at top speed. This was all wrong, and there seemed to be something evil at work.

“Find anything?” Ken asked, straddling his Polaris and slowly sitting down.

Jimmy shook his head. “Nothing,” he said with a long sigh.

“Roanoke,” Ken said slowly, looking over his shoulder.

“What?”

“A thriving village of pilgrims back in the colonial times. They simply vanished, and it was never explained. Roanoke. I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

“I’m with you.”

They returned the same way they had arrived, through the gloom and fighting uncertainty. What did this mean? Jimmy wondered what had happened to everyone. Were they hiding inside the woods? Had the National Guard swooped down and flown them away? Were they even alive?

And, Jimmy thought, what about Mars? Was he somehow responsible for all of this? Was that even possible?

“Roanoke,” Jimmy said to himself as he rode behind Ken. “Roanoke.”

Chapter 32

A long month of dreadful routine passed, and they found themselves back where they started, bored and listless.

The pair returned to them like cancer; a pair of hardened lumps that suddenly reappeared from out of the blue. They seemed oblivious to the fact that they were unwanted, yet like a returning cancer, they seemed perfectly content moving back in with their host and picking up where they left off.

Glen Putnam had lost at least fifty pounds since he’d left them that summer. Jimmy hardly recognized him as he staggered through the gate. Glen had been one of Ken’s right-hand men at the Plant, and his stock with them had plummeted after betraying their group, not once, but twice. His companion Jimmy would’ve recognized anywhere. Paula Peterson looked much the same to him as she kicked snow off her boots in the bright sunlight of Patty’s warm kitchen. She may have needed a haircut and her clothes were dirty, but this was definitely the same woman he had been prepared to marry before the crash. So much had happened since then that to Jimmy it seemed like a lifetime ago. He didn’t know her anymore—if he had ever really known her in the first place.

Jimmy couldn’t imagine a more awkward homecoming, if that was what it was. Ken invited them inside, and Patty directed them to the table and poured them each a cup of hot coffee. Julie had taken one look at Paula and turned on her heels and went out to her porch. She held her paperback novel in shaking hands, and Jimmy knew better than to ask her what was wrong. He thought about sitting with her, but he wanted to hear their story. Had they escaped from one of the relocation camps? What had happened to Carl and to Glen’s wife, Shirley? And what would Glen have to say for himself? Glen had sided with Sister Margaret during the hostile takeover of their camp. Jimmy had a hard time believing that Ken had actually allowed him back on his property.

The clock had yet to strike eight, and half of the camp was still in bed. Jimmy fell to one knee next to Julie and took her hand, gently pulling the book away from her face. “I want to hear what they have to say,” he said. “I hope you understand.”

Julie rolled her eyes and shook her head. A tear slid down her cheek, still pink with the healing process. “I know,” she said in a broken voice. “I can’t take it, anymore. This isn’t fair, Jimmy… This isn’t fair.”

“I am going to ask Ken to make them leave,” Jimmy said, reassuringly. “I don’t trust either of them. They’re both liars.”

“You had better not trust them,” Julie agreed. “You had better not ever let me catch you speaking to her. Do you understand me?”

“I do. I promise I do.”

A minute later, in a moment that seemed completely surreal, Jimmy was seated across the table from the treacherous Glen Putnam and his own ex-fiancé, Paula Peterson. The room was dead quiet, save for the hiss of the LP gas burner on the kitchen stove. Patty stood at the sink and washed dishes as Ken stood eyeballing his former friend.

“Let’s hear it, Putnam,” Ken said, choosing to call him by his last name. “Don’t leave anything out. I want you to give me a reason to allow either of you two the right to be here. I’m giving you one chance. You’d better make it count. What happened out there and where do you get the guts to come crawling back here?”

Jimmy turned and stared back at the gaunt-faced Putnam. Glen had lost a couple of teeth; he had also grown a long white beard, and his white hair fell nearly down to his shoulders. This, along with his weight loss, made him look a hobo who had been on the tracks for too long. Glen’s eyes were full of fear. “Shirley is dead,” Glen said, burying his head into his hands.

“Carl is, too,” Paula chimed in. And just like Putnam, Paula buried her face in her hands.

Patty spun from the sink and rushed to the table. “I’m so sorry,” she said to Glen. “Shirley was a good and decent woman. She was also a dear friend.”

“Aw, shit,” muttered Ken. “What happened?”

“It was all a big lie,” Glen said, shaking his head slowly. Jimmy thought it was odd that his eyes were clear and dry. “The National Guard divided us up when we got to Ely and drove us to Duluth. Shirley and Carl were in the truck in front of ours. Someone got their hands on a gun and started shooting. I heard it was Jenkins. They killed the driver of our truck, and we crashed into a tree. All hell broke loose, and me and Paula high-tailed it on into the woods.”

“That’s right,” agreed Paula, who unlike Glen had easily been able to shed tears. “We ran for what seemed like miles.”

Jimmy watched Glen’s face as it seemed he was trying to coax more of their story out of Paula. That was the moment that Jimmy realized the truth. These were bad people with evil plans. He would remember this moment for the rest of his life.

“We went back the next day and found their bodies,” Glen finally said, stealing Paula’s line, thought Jimmy.

Jimmy hardened his eyes. “They’re lying, Ken,” he said. “Don’t believe them.”

Patty’s open right hand hit Jimmy flush on his shoulder and with as much force as she could muster. The smacking sound echoed in the quiet kitchen. “Shirley Putnam was a good woman,” she hissed in a voice that sounded possessed by demons. “Get out of my kitchen!”

Glen stood up. “I don’t blame him for not believing us,” he stammered. “I’ve been praying about this moment since we left here last summer. I’m so sorry for being led astray. I couldn’t help myself. I was wrong, I know that now. Can we please stay? We’ve got nowhere to go.”

“Of course you can stay,” Patty said, planting her hands on her hips and staring directly into Jimmy’s eyes.

Jimmy held his hand to his face in shock. The floor above him began to creak as someone was heading toward the stairs. “You mark my words: nothing good will come of this,” he said, rising to his feet and moving out of Patty’s range. He wasn’t going to let this pass. They had to listen to reason. “Ken,” Jimmy said, pointing at the old hippie version of Putnam. “How can you forgive the fact that he held a gun on us, here, on your property? I don’t get it. I’ll never trust that bastard.”

“I told you to leave,” growled Patty.

The stairs continued to creak as Jimmy turned to face Patty. “I’m leaving,” he said. “I can tell you this much. Julie and I are getting out of here just as soon as we can.”

The upstairs door opened, and Bill sauntered out in a rumpled white robe. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw who was at the table.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” mumbled Ken.

“Glen Putnam?” Bill asked in a voice just above a whisper, scratching his bald head.

“Hi, Bill,” Glen said, sticking his short arm out for Bill to shake his hand.

“And Paula?” Bill asked shaking Glen’s hand as Jimmy watched in horror. Bill turned and gave Paula a warm hug. “How are you, sweetie?”

“Oh, Bill,” Paula said, “it’s so good to see you.”

Jimmy’s head began to spin as he fought to retain his composure. He stumbled out of the kitchen, and now it was his turn to bury his face into his hands.

Chapter 33

An hour later, Jimmy, Julie, and Doc sat out on the front porch with the French doors closed. The March sun had bathed the room in brilliant light, and it was warm on their skin. Jimmy had just finished explaining to Doc their new predicament.

“I don’t like it,” Doc said. “I’m with the two of you. I want out of this nuthouse.”

Julie nodded her head. “Thanks,” she said. “I think we should start looking around for a new home.”

“I already know of a place,” Jimmy said. “That house where I found the snowmobiles. The house is pretty solid, and the LP tank is full.”

“What about food?” Doc asked. “What will we eat?”

“They wouldn’t let us leave without taking some food,” Jimmy said.

“Beef stew? How will we carry it?” Julie asked.

“I’ll build a sled, and we can drag it behind the Skidoo. We can be there before dark. What do you say?”

“Hell, yes,” said Doc. “I can be packed in half an hour.”

“I can be packed in fifteen minutes,” countered Julie.

“Okay,” said Jimmy. “Slow down. It’s going to take me some time to build a sled. I’m going to see if I can get Bill to help. You’ve got to give me a few hours.”

Just then the glass doors were thrown open and Ken walked into the porch. He looked at them all as if he had heard every word they had said. “We can’t turn them away,” he said. “The Good Book says that to forgive is divine. I guess it’s time to start forgiving.”

“You and Patty can forgive whoever you’d like,” said Jimmy.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Julie stepped in front of Ken. “How can you forgive Glen after what he did? We certainly don’t have to forgive him.”

“I’ve known Glen Putnam since you were in diapers, young lady. You couldn’t possibly know what it’s like to have a friend for that many years.”

“And I’ve known you longer than that,” said Doc, who waded in and stood behind Julie. “I refuse to stay with someone who has held a gun on me. Have you and Patty lost your minds? How long do you think it’ll be before he turns on you again? We’re moving out, Ken. I hope you understand.”

Ken opened his mouth; it hung like that for a long moment. He then snapped it shut and spun on his heels, closing the door behind him without another word.

“That went well,” said Doc.

“What did he expect us to do?” Julie said. “You’re right. Glen will turn on them the first chance he gets. He’s a snake.”

“You’ve got that right,” said Jimmy.

“Oh, great,” said Julie. “What the hell does she want?”

Jimmy turned just in time to see Paula opening the paned glass door. There was an awkward silence as she stood in the doorway and looked from at the three of them.

“Do you need something?” asked Julie, narrowing her eyes at the unwanted guest.

“I need to talk to Jimmy—alone,” Paula said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“That’s not going to happen,” Julie said. “If you have something to say to him, you can say it right here and now. You gave up your right to speak to him in private when you left here.”

“Who are you to tell me what my rights are?”

“Excuse me, ladies,” said Doc, brushing past Julie and then past Paula. “I have things I need to do.”

Jimmy groaned and shook his head. “Julie is right,” he said. “Whatever you have to say to me, you can say in front of her.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, that is so,” snapped Julie.

“Okay, fine. I’m sorry for everything that I’ve done to hurt you, Jimmy. I know I said some bad things in the past, and I just pray that you can forgive me for them. I still love you, and I’m hoping that we can work things out. I would do anything for you.”

Jimmy swallowed hard as he watched Julie’s face turn crimson red. “I’m sorry, Paula,” he said. “Julie and I are back together, and nothing is going to change that.”

“You bitch,” hissed Julie. “How dare you walk in here and profess your love for him? You’ve got some nerve. I’ve got news for you—we’re leaving. You and Glen Putnam may have fooled the Dahlgrens, but you haven’t fooled us.”

“I knew you’d resort to name calling,” Paula said. “Classy. And just where do you plan to go? What do you plan to eat? The roads are full of snow, so you can’t drive anywhere. Jimmy, think about what you’re doing. This is crazy. I know you and I left things on bad terms, and that was my fault. I apologized for that, and I hope you can forgive me. I love you, but if you want to be with… her, well, that’s your business. Please, don’t run off and do something foolish.”

“I’m going to say this just once,” Julie said, balling her hands into fists and stepping towards the open door. “Get out of my face, and don’t you ever speak to me again. Do you understand me? Who the hell do you think you are? Now turn around and close the door. I’ve heard enough of your bullshit. Jimmy’s done with you. It’s over, Paula.”

Paula raised her chin defiantly at Julie, but a tear escaped from the corner of her eye and slid down her cheek. There was a long moment of silence, and Jimmy felt a pang of sorrow for his former fiancé. She had been crazy to think they could have just picked up like nothing had happened, but Paula had always been somewhat childish in her expectations. Paula looked at him for a long moment as more tears fell. Suddenly, Julie’s head turned, and her eyes bored into his. Jimmy felt something very close to fear as he stared back at her. He quickly shook his head and turned away. The next thing he heard was the glass door being thrown shut.

Jimmy sat down on the edge of the daybed and stared out over the log wall and across the frozen lake. Paula had been right, and he knew it. They were acting foolishly, like spoiled children who hadn’t gotten their way. The decision to leave had been a kneejerk reaction to a bad situation; he knew that now. They were putting their lives at risk simply to make a point. Jimmy watched Julie as she flew about the porch and stuffed her meager belongings into a black duffel bag. She was mumbling to herself, seemingly oblivious to his existence. Jimmy thought that he had never seen her so angry.

The door was suddenly thrown open for a third time, and Jimmy turned to see Patty standing there. She studied the two of them for a moment and slowly placed her hands on her hips. Jimmy could see both the anger and the hurt in her eyes. “I hope the two of you are happy,” she said, her voice breaking with emotion. “Ken has locked himself in the bedroom, and he’s crying. Maybe you don’t think a man like him has the right to cry; well, he certainly does!”

Jimmy covered his face with his hands. Things were about to get a whole lot worse and he knew it.

“You chose the two of them over us,” Julie said, in a matter-of-fact voice. “I hope it works out for all of you. You didn’t really expect us to live under the same roof as Glen Putnam, did you?”

“This isn’t about Glen and you know it,” exploded Patty, causing Jimmy’s heart to gallop inside his chest. “This is about Paula and the fact that you feel threatened by her! Grow up, Julie. Do you think this is high school? Where do the three of you plan to go? What do you plan to eat? How will you protect yourselves? Have you thought of any of that?”

“Jimmy has a plan!”

“He does, does he? Well, I’d love to hear it. Tell us Jimmy, how are you going to provide for Julie and Doc? Do you honestly think you can just walk away and have the ghost of a chance to survive out there? Things have changed in case you haven’t noticed. People will kill you for a can of stew unless the National Guard catches you first. I’m sorry, but your argument is complete bullshit! You aren’t leaving here because of your safety. You’re leaving out of petty jealousy!”

“That’s not true!” shrieked Julie. “Glen is an evil man, and you should have turned them away.”

“And what if it had just been Paula Peterson at the gate? Would that have made any difference?”

Julie answered that by not responding.

After a long moment Jimmy heard the glass door close. Despite the early hour, he suddenly wanted a stiff drink. He looked at Julie, but she refused to make eye contact with him as she flew about the porch in a wild rage. “Julie,” he said, “you’ve got to calm down. We’ve got to think about this for a minute.”

“Don’t you start on me!” Julie screamed. The tears began rolling down her cheeks. “Why does this always happen to me?”

Jimmy stood and rushed to her, taking her into his arms. She fought him for a moment and then buried her face into his neck as she was racked with sobs. “Don’t worry, sweetie,” Jimmy whispered into her ear. “Everything is going to be okay, trust me.”

“Nothing is okay,” Julie said. “Patty was right. I hate Paula and I can’t live with her.”

Jimmy had no time to think about that. The glass door flew open again, and Bill stormed into the porch. Jimmy hadn’t seen him like this since the rock-throwing incident. “What the hell are you guys doing?” he shouted, pointing at them like a gunslinger using both hands. “Of all the selfish things I’ve ever seen, this has to take the cake.”

Julie pulled away from Jimmy and before he could stop her. She charged Bill like a linebacker and took him down at the waist in a textbook tackle. There was a large crash as they hit the hardwood floor with a deafening thud.

“My back!” Bill screamed. “Ah!”

“Shut up, you big baby!” answered Julie. “Or I’ll really give you something to cry about!”

“Ah!” Bill squealed again. “Oh my God, I think it’s broken! Jimmy, go get Doc!”

“Don’t play games with me,” hissed Julie, except not sounding as sure of herself as she slowly got to her feet.

“Jimmy!” Bill cried.

And Jimmy could see that Bill indeed was crying. His face was a mask of agony and had instantly turned a shade of ghostly white. His eyes were pinched shut, and great tears streamed down from the corners of his eyes. Jimmy could see that this was no act. “Hang on,” he said. “I’ll go find him. Don’t move!”

“Oh, my God,” mumbled Julie. “I’m so sorry, Bill.”

Chapter 34

The basement workshop had served as their hideaway for most of the afternoon as their plans to leave that day were put on hold. Doc had attended to Bill the best that he could, but without an x-ray there was very little that he could do except shoot Bill full of morphine and speculate as to the extent of the injury. Doc joined them in the basement to give them the latest update. His prognosis was grim.

“I’m afraid that we have to put our plans on hold for at least a week,” Doc said, scratching his shaggy beard. “When Bill had his surgery they inserted a metal rod into his back to help support his spine. I think the damn thing got bent when he fell.”

“This is all my fault,” said Julie. “I’m sorry.”

Doc walked over and slung his long arm around Julie’s slender shoulder and gave her a quick hug. “You have nothing to be sorry about,” he said, softly. “Bill is an insufferable pain in the ass who deserves what he got. He should have been culled from our herd long ago.”

Julie smiled for the first time all afternoon and returned the hug.

“I don’t like the idea of staying here a week, but if you say that’s what we have to do…” said Jimmy.

“We do,” said Doc, firmly. He stepped away from Julie and headed for the stairs. “Bill’s going to be using a bedpan for at least that long. Julie, changing that is now your responsibility.”

Julie tightly closed her eyes and slowly shook her head while Jimmy fought the urge to chuckle. The sound of Doc’s heavy boots climbing the wooden stairs seemed to be the only sound in the house. “How do we handle this with Paula and Glen?” Jimmy asked, waiting for Doc to top the stairs. “We can’t be openly hostile; that would be disrespectful to Ken and Patty.”

“I know,” Julie said. “I’ve been thinking about that. Look, I know you love me and that you’d never go back to Paula in a million years, right?”

“I’d never go back to her, period.”

“Not even if I was dead and she was the last woman on earth?”

“Not even if my life depended on it.”

“Those were good answers,” Julie said, moving to where Jimmy stood at the workbench. She wrapped her arms around Jimmy’s neck and pulled him to her. They stood there kissing for a long moment. “I love you,” Julie whispered as she slowly pulled away.

“I love you, too.”

“Don’t worry about Paula. I can deal with her. I probably overreacted when I heard they were back. Let’s just take it a day at a time. Maybe Patty was right? Leaving here might have been a dumb idea.”

Jimmy nodded his head. He had been thinking the same thing, but he didn’t want to mention it. Before he could speak, he heard the basement door open, and there was the sound of Ken’s voice followed by footsteps descending the stairs.

“Wait until you fire one of these babies,” Ken was saying. “There’s nothing like it.”

“Tell me more about your Road Runner,” Wart said, sounding like a young boy.

“I bought her new when I got out of high school,” Glen Putnam said, and when he saw Jimmy and Julie the conversation ended.

“Can I help you two find something?” Ken asked, crossing his arms.

Jimmy looked from Ken to Julie and back to Ken. “What is that supposed to mean?” he asked. “We’re not leaving, at least not until Bill is up and around.”

“You’re right about that,” Ken said, moving roughly past Jimmy. He squatted down and he slid one of the .50 caliber cases from under the workbench. “Don’t you even think of leaving us stuck here with that tub of shit. Wherever you go, he goes. Are we clear on that?”

“As a bell,” Julie said.

“Good,” replied Ken.

There was a long, awkward moment as Ken stopped what he was doing. His eyes fell on Jimmy. They were cold, and Jimmy returned the look with his iciest glare. “Come on, Julie,” he said. “I can see that we’re not wanted down here.”

What hurt Jimmy worse than Ken’s silence was the fact that Wart wouldn’t look at either of them. Glen stared at them both impassively as they headed for the stairs. Jimmy knew he should let it go, but his ears were burning. As he reached for the railing, he turned and said what was on his mind. “Maybe you forgot how close we all came to being roasted alive while your buddy there held a gun on us. Are you going to show him the hand grenades, too? That’s real smart, Ken.”

“Get up there before I hurt you,” grunted Ken, and the next sound was the scraping of the crate as it was slid across the floor and hoisted to the bench. “Like I was saying, you haven’t fired a gun until you’ve shot one of these,” Ken continued, as if Jimmy and Julie were already gone.

They quickly climbed the stairs and found Patty and Paula working together in the kitchen. Both women were giggling at something as Jimmy opened the door. The room suddenly frosted over in silence as they continued walking around the table and out into the hallway. Jimmy looked back at Julie, and he could see the anger in her eyes. He continued walking into the living room with Julie at his heels. Cindy and Rita were sitting across from the cribbage board.

“Did you come to finish him off?” Cindy asked, shuffling the tired deck of cards.

“That’s not fair,” Rita said. “Your father has a way of getting under people’s skin and you know that. You should apologize to Julie.”

Cindy’s head snapped back, and she quickly stood up to face Julie. Wordlessly, she tossed the deck of cards into the air and stormed over to the French doors. “It took him over a year to recover from his surgery,” she spat, opening the glass door. “Thanks for putting him back to square one.”

Bill moaned painfully, as if on cue.

Jimmy and Julie stared at each other for a long moment as the sound of the slamming door echoed off the stone fireplace. Rita stood and began gathering up the playing cards. “She’s been very emotional since she got back. She was in love. You both know that, right?”

Julie shrugged her shoulders and turned to face the window. The sun was shining, and water droplets fell from the eaves. “I think I need to get out of here for a while,” she said, rubbing her eyes with her back to Jimmy. “Could we go for a walk?”

“I’d love to go for a walk,” Rita said, cheerfully. “That’s a wonderful idea. Let me go find my jacket and boots.”

Jimmy bent down and helped Rita pick up the last of the cards. He wondered at how much things could change in a single day. He could hear Julie’s quiet sobs as he handed Rita the cards he’d gathered. Doc’s face appeared from the other side of the French doors, and his expression was grim. He looked at Jimmy and sadly shook his head.

Jimmy slung Jon’s Browning .308 over his shoulder as they walked out the back door. March had arrived some weeks ago, and the warm sunshine felt good on his cheeks. Rita led the way as they walked down the shoveled path to the gate. Rita wore her bright red ski jacket and a pair of earmuffs, although she probably didn’t need them in the forty-degree warmth. Julie had her wool-lined Levis jacket on over a pair of Steger Mukluks. Jimmy liked the way she looked, and his eyes lingered on her as she slowly walked in front of him. A slight breeze toyed with her long hair.

“Please don’t hold what Cindy said against her,” Rita said. “She’s just a child, and she’s very emotional right now.”

“I know that,” replied Julie. “I just hope she knows how sorry I am. I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

“Everyone knows that,” Jimmy said, grunting as he slid the heavy lock open on the gate.

“She’s a good kid,” Rita said, pushing against the pine logs of the gate. “Don’t let a bad moment ruin a good friendship. She’s just heartbroken right now.”

“I know,” Julie said.

Rita got the gate open far enough to walk through and stepped to the other side. “What a glorious day,” she said, and half a second later she was flung back as the sound of a gunshot exploded from somewhere very close.

Jimmy reached Julie and grabbed her by the shoulder as she mindlessly tried to aid Rita. Another gunshot sounded, and Jimmy heard it thud against one of the pine logs. Julie screamed in terror. Rita had been shot in the head, and she was dead where she lay in the snow. Jimmy watched her body twitch as he slammed the gate shut with his shoulder.

“Help me!” he screamed at Julie.

The gate was peppered with a hail of gunfire as they shoved it closed and frantically fought with the heavy lock. Jimmy barely had time to think as the garage door was flung open and Ken emerged, carrying one of the .50 caliber weapons. “What the hell is going on?” he shouted, his voice barely audible over the barking gunfire. Wart and Glen followed him as he ran out to join them at the gate.

“They killed Rita!” shrieked Julie. “Oh, my God, they shot her in the head!”

Jimmy took Julie by the shoulders and shook her violently. “Get up to the house and get me one of the M-16’s! Bring me as many clips as you can carry!”

“But, Rita…”

“Rita is dead and we can’t do anything for her!”

“Move it!” screamed Ken. “Kid, we’ve got to get up on the wall. How many do you think there are?”

“Shit, I don’t know!” Jimmy screamed as another hail of gunfire erupted from the woods.

“Drop your guns,” Glen said flatly, stepping behind Ken and placing the barrel of a stubby handgun to the base of Ken’s skull. “One wrong move and he gets it,” he growled at Jimmy.

“Kill him!” screamed Ken. “Kill him or we’re all dead!”

“If I had wanted you dead I would have killed you already,” Glen said as the gunfire outside trailed off. “We don’t want to kill anyone. and somebody is going to have hell to pay for killing Rita. She was a nice lady. Now, drop ‘em, both of you!”

Ken let the big gun fall from his hands in the snow, and Jimmy felt his heart break as he did the same. Wart stood looking at him with his mouth wide open, and Julie’s eyes blazed with hatred.

“Why?” asked Ken, his eyes glazed over with both shock and pain. “How could you do this to us?”

“Why?” mimicked Glen. “I’ll tell you why. It’s because you’re such a complete idiot. Let’s get something straight here. I’ve never liked you, and Shirley can’t stand Patty. You know what it is, Ken? It’s all that holier-than-thou bullshit. Do you really think that you’re part of Team-God? You’re just a lucky son-of-a-bitch. You ain’t no better than me or Pete or any of the rest of the boys down at the Plant. You also got Pete and a lot of other folks killed. Don’t think that I forgot about that.”

“Listen asshole, I didn’t get anyone killed.”

“The hell you didn’t. None of that matters anymore. It’s all water under the bridge. We’re taking over. And if you don’t make any trouble, we’ll be nice enough to let you stay. You don’t have the balls to run an outfit like this. We’ve got to be proactive. Things have changed, Ken. You’ve got to kill or be killed. This is survival of the fittest and being all nicey-nice is just sticking everyone’s neck out there. I may well be an asshole, but who is holding the gun?”

“You son of a bitch,” Jimmy spat. “I’ll kill you for this.”

“You know what, Logan?” Glen said, as he hammered the butt of his revolver against the back of Ken’s skull. “I never liked you.”

Ken crumpled to the ground and Jimmy heard the sound of Patty screaming from the deck.

“No,” Julie said, in a pleading voice. “Don’t do it, Glen.”

“Open the gate, Glen!” shouted a very familiar voice from the other side of the wall.

“I’m getting to it,” Glen hollered back.

“Jenkins!” Jimmy shouted. “You bastard!”

“Kill him!” Jenkins answered from where he stood. “Go on, Putnam, kill the little creep!”

Glen spat and he turned his gun on Jimmy. His eyes shone with maniacal triumph as he stepped closer. He stopped less than five feet away with his gun trained on Jimmy’s forehead. “I’m getting there,” he shouted. “Gather everyone up and meet me at the gate!” He then turned to Jimmy. “Look at you now. The boxer with the quickest hands in the state, is that right? Go ahead and show us all how fast you are. Go ahead and go for your gun, I promise not to shoot until your hand touches the steel. Seriously, that way nobody can say it wasn’t a fair fight.”

“No!” screamed Julie.

“Shut up, bitch,” hissed Glen. “Or you’ll be the next to eat a bullet. Go ahead and say good-bye to your boyfriend.”

Ken stirred, and it distracted Glen for just a second. Jimmy saw his chance and took it. Julie screamed as Glen refocused on Jimmy and pulled the trigger. The shot missed Jimmy’s left ear by less than an inch, and Jimmy froze with his hand hovering above the stock of the hunting rifle. He knew he was seconds away from death, and he prayed that it wasn’t painful.

There was another gunshot, and Glen’s head suddenly exploded in splash of blood and gray matter. He fell face forward into the gore-splattered snow as Julie continued to scream. Jimmy turned to face the deck. Doc stood there with one of Ken’s hunting rifles. Smoke still trailed from the barrel. Doc dropped the gun to his side and let it fall from his hands to the wooden decking at his feet. “The Lord works in mysterious ways,” he announced to nobody in particular. He turned and slowly walked back into the house.

“Glen?” called Jenkins.

“He’s dead!” answered Jimmy. “You’d better run!”

“You’re full of shit! Glen, what’s goin’ on in there?”

“He’s dead, all right,” answered Wart. “His brains are blown all over the gate. I hope the two of you weren’t buddies.”

“I’ll kill you all for that,” retorted Jenkins. “We were going to let you live, but that offer is over! We’ve got a hundred guns out here. Do you hear me? Your days are numbered!”

“Bring it on!” shouted Wart. “I eat punks like you for breakfast!”

Jimmy turned just as Julie sped past him. She had scooped up the .308 and was scrambling up the ladder to the walkway that ran the length of the wall. Jimmy gasped when in total disregard for her own safety, Julie threw the barrel of the rifle over the top of the wall and quickly began squeezing rounds off from the semiautomatic hunting rifle. Jimmy heard men screaming from the other side of the wall as she aimed and fired, aimed and fired, and from the sound of it, doing it as well as any professionally trained soldier. Gunfire was returned, but not before Julie emptied her clip and ducked back down behind the wall. Jimmy pumped his fist and ran toward the open garage door.

“Grab me a can of ammo for this .50-cal!” shouted Wart. “I’m going up!”

Patty was already down the stairs and tending to Ken who was already sitting up. Blood ran down from an angry gash on the side of his head. Patty held him in her arms and wept into his neck. Jimmy ran into the garage and crashed through the service door that led into the basement. There was a thundering report from the .50 caliber, followed quickly by another. Jimmy took a hard right into the oily light of the workshop. He squatted down where he thought the ammo cans for the big guns were stored. What he found was an olive green case and quickly fumbled with the latches. He smiled when he saw the content—it was the hand grenades. He filled his pockets with as many as he could carry. The ammo cans for the .50 calibers were way back in the corner, and Jimmy hefted one in each hand. The heavy cans seemed to stretch his shoulders, and he moved back toward the garage. The M-16’s were standing next to the door, and Jimmy set the cans down quickly and slung two of the carbines over his shoulders. He picked up the ammo cans and headed out the door. Gunfire seemed to be coming from everywhere.

Wart caught Jimmy’s eye as he exited the open garage door into the sunlight. He waved at him, pointing at the smoking barrel of his weapon. Jimmy quickly crab-walked across the slushy snowpack; he didn’t want to risk a fall, not with a pocketful of hand grenades. Splinters of the wall were sent flying when bullets struck the seams where the logs met. He positioned himself under Wart and set one of the cans down in the snow. He then heaved up on the can he still held, and Wart took it from him. They wordlessly repeated the process.

Jimmy was suddenly violently pulled back and nearly lost his balance. He turned to see Ken standing behind him, both of his hands wrapped around one of the M-16’s.

“Goddamn it! Give me one of these!” Ken screamed.

Jimmy quickly unslung the carbine in question, and Ken roared with anger as he scrambled up the makeshift ladder.

“Give me the other one!” Julie shouted from further down the wall. “Hurry!” Jimmy ran to Julie and after a microsecond’s hesitation unslung the other M-16 and handed it up to her. Julie took the oiled-black weapon from him and in one fluid motion flipped the carbine to full auto and calmly sprayed the woods with deadly fire.

Jimmy felt naked without a gun, and he gave a thought to returning to the garage for another of the M-16’s. He suddenly remembered the hand grenades.

“I need more ammo!” shouted Julie as the wall above her was riddled with bullets.

Jimmy fumbled for one of the grenades and finally was able to coax one from his jacket pocket. He studied it for a moment and quickly decided that a child could detonate a grenade.

“Give it to me!” squealed Julie, a wild smile playing at the corners of her lips. “Please!”

Jimmy carefully tossed her the grenade. “The rest are mine!” he shouted and ran to where most of the hostile fire was coming from. Jimmy decided that Jenkins hadn’t been kidding; it sounded like he had more than a hundred guns, or a whole lot more. He tore another grenade from his pocket and pulled the pin. A second later it was flying over the wall. Julie’s grenade exploded before Jimmy’s had even hit the ground. The sound of both grenades detonating mere seconds apart was deafening in the midday sunshine. The next sounds were the most horrible that Jimmy had ever heard. The shrill screams of wounded men filled the air, and the gunfire abruptly came to a halt. The terrible screaming continued, and Jimmy suddenly felt shame for what he had done. Somehow, despite the circumstances, it didn’t seem fair to use such a weapon. He was thinking about what Doc had said about the grenades, and the memory burned like acid in his stomach.

“Permission to gather our wounded!” Jenkins cried in his northern-hillbilly voice.

“Permission granted!” Ken shouted back. “Get those people out of here!”

Jimmy felt an arm around his shoulder and looked over to see Patty. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, but she was smiling. The smell of gunpowder hung thick in the air. “You did what you had to do,” she said as if she had read his mind. “They attacked us, and we have to remember that.”

“I know. Thanks, Patty.”

“Now, will you do me a favor?”

“Sure, what do you need?”

“Could you drag Glen around back and clean up his mess?”

Jimmy looked at Glen’s lifeless body lying face-down in the snow. He nodded and gave Patty a quick hug. “Sure,” he said. “I’ll take care of it.”

“Thank you. Keep an eye on Ken for me, will you? I’m going back in the house. I have some questions for Miss Paula, and she had darn well better give me the right answers. I’m in no mood for any monkey business. I’ll see what I can find out, and then Rita and I can get started on dinner. Are you hungry? Would you like me to fix you a sandwich?”

Jimmy shook his head. “Listen Patty,” he said. “I’ve got some bad news about Rita.”

“She joined up with the other side,” lied Ken from his post at the wall. “I think she had a thing for one of the guys over there.”

“That’s right,” agreed Julie. “She ran off just before the shooting started. I’m sorry, Patty.”

“Wait a minute,” said Wart.

“Keep your mouth shut and your eyes on the woods!” ordered Ken. “Let us handle this.”

“Yes sir,” said Wart, rolling his large eyes and turning to peer over the top of the wall.

“Well,” exclaimed Patty, “that certainly wasn’t very nice of her to leave without even a goodbye. What about her things? Do you know what I think? I think I’m going to set a new rule. Once you leave here, there is no coming back. Look at the trouble Glen and Paula started.”

“I agree,” Ken said. “Motion passed.”

Jimmy looked up at Ken, and his ice blue eyes were locked on his. Jimmy knew the point he was making here, and he couldn’t blame him for doing so. Jimmy nodded.

“Good,” said Patty, turning to head back up the stairs. “I’m going to talk to Paula, and I can tell you one thing—I’m putting that girl to work. There are no free lunches here!”

Nobody said a word as Patty climbed the concrete stairs and onto the wooden deck. She paused for a moment to look over the frozen lake and finally disappeared into the house. The awful shrieking of one of the wounded men suddenly ended with a lone gunshot.

“Dear God,” Ken said, crossing himself as he did so. “What has become of us?”

Julie was climbing down the ladder and joined Jimmy where he stood. She gave him a quick kiss and motioned to Glen. “Let’s get him around back,” she said.

“Thank you,” Ken said. “I just can’t do it. I hope you understand.”

“We do,” said Jimmy. “You guys keep an eye out for trouble, and we’ll be back in a minute. We’ve got to get more ammo up there where we can get to it. You’re going to want to get some jackets on. It’s not as warm out as you think it is.”

“Yes, mommy,” answered Wart.

They chuckled at that, and Jimmy and Julie both took one of Glen’s legs and began to drag him toward the small hill at the side of the house. Glen, who was still face down, slid easily on the icy snowpack with his arms trailing behind him like a pair of skis. They wordlessly dragged him into the backyard in the direction of the shed. Julie suddenly let go of Glen’s leg and pointed to the open door. Jimmy let go of Glen and dug another of the grenades from his jacket pocket. Someone or something was inside the shed; Jimmy was sure of it.

“Stay here,” whispered Jimmy, holding the grenade out in front of him.

Julie nodded. “Be careful,” she whispered back in return.

Jimmy nodded and began to creep toward the open door. He was fifty feet away and trying to figure out what the odd creaking sound was. He began to move faster as it slowly dawned upon him what the sound was. He sprinted the final few feet to the open door and was shocked at what he saw. “Julie!” he screamed. “Get over here and help me!”

“What is it?”

“I need you now! It’s Doc!”

Jimmy charged into the open shed to where Doc hung suspended by his neck. His fingers were clawing at the extension cord that he’d used to hang himself. Doc’s face was blue, but there was still life in his eyes as he stood on the very tips of his toes. Jimmy ran to him and lifted Doc’s lifeless body with all of his strength. “Oh, Doc!” Jimmy cried.

“Hang on, big guy!”

Julie was suddenly inside the shed and wordlessly attacked the other end of the extension cord. “The knot is too tight!” she hissed. “Goddamn it, Doc! What the hell were you thinking?”

Doc gurgled in response.

“Find a shovel!” yelled Jimmy, who was feeling Doc’s every pound. “Hurry, I can’t hold him!”

“Right, a shovel! Where are the shovels?”

“I don’t know! Find something!”

“There’s nothing in here!”

“The axe! Go out and grab Ken’s axe!”

“Good idea!” agreed Julie and ran out the door.

Doc began to choke and convulse just as Julie returned with the axe. She didn’t hesitate and struck the cord twice before it snapped which sent both men sprawling on the wet concrete floor. Doc vomited, and his breath came in wheezing grunts. Jimmy quickly untangled himself from Doc’s lanky limbs, happy to see the color already returning to his friend’s face.

“Don’t tell…” stammered Doc. “Please.”

Julie stood over him and shook her head. “What the hell were you thinking? My God! Don’t you ever try something like that ever again. Do you understand me? We need you!”

“Don’t tell Ken,” whispered Doc, feebly throwing the noose from his neck.

“We promise,” Jimmy said, staring at the angry purple indentation that looped around Doc’s neck. Jimmy doubted that the telltale ligature marks would ever disappear.

“Thank you. I… don’t know what to say. Can I please have a moment to myself?” Doc whispered.

Both Jimmy and Julie nodded, and Jimmy waited until he was back outside before trying to clean himself up. The moment had been as surreal as any he had ever experienced. He had never saved a man’s life before, and the realization left him thunderstruck and trembling. Glen was waiting for them in the snow, and soon they finished dragging him behind the shed. Jimmy removed one of the old canvas tarps from the woodpile and began to cover Glen. Julie noticed something and pointed down to the base of the woodpile.

Jimmy followed her finger, and he suddenly let go of the tarp and covered his face. The hideous body of Patty’s beloved cat lay there. Whiskers, completely furless and frozen stiff, was as blue as a summer sky. Life number nine had officially expired. “Ah, shit,” Jimmy said. “Can anything else go wrong?”

“Come on,” Julie said. “I want to hear what Paula has to say about all of this. She knew all along—don’t you believe her if she says that she didn’t.”

“I won’t believe a word she says, so what’s the point of even going inside?” Jimmy asked, suddenly feeling oddly protective of Paula.

“Because I hate her guts, and I want to hear it!”

Jimmy shrunk back at the words. “Okay,” he said, holding up his hands. “Let’s go hear what she has to say.”

“Besides,” Julie said, pointing at him with a disgusted look on her face. “You need to get in the bathroom. You’ve got chunks of puke in your hair.”

Jimmy didn’t know how to respond to that. He simply nodded and began to walk to the back door. Julie followed. “Let’s make this fast. We still have to scrape Glen’s brains off the wall,” he said. “Besides, they could attack again any minute.”

“What are you worried about, Jimmy? Do you think I’m going to kill her?”

“Maybe...”

Julie stopped and gripped Jimmy’s arm with surprising strength. “I’d never do that. Let me rephrase that. I would never attack her first. How does that sound? But if that little bitch ever gets in my face, it’s on. Personally, I think we should just toss her over the wall.”

Jimmy scratched his head, and his hand came away feeling sticky. He grimaced and began to walk toward the house.

“I had no idea that they were going to start shooting,” protested Paula. “I swear as God as my witness. They never said a word about any of that to me! I just wanted to get back home!”

“This isn’t your home,” growled Julie.

“That’s enough,” said Patty. “I believe her.”

“Are you kidding me?” Julie asked, in obvious disbelief.

“Don’t you ever challenge me inside my kitchen, young lady,” Patty said, but not in a way that was unkind. “We can sort all of this out later. What we need to do is get some hot coffee and warm clothes down to the men. Paula, get going on that coffee!”

“What?” Paula asked, sounding completely puzzled. “I’ve never made coffee.”

“Well, it’s high time that you learned how!”

Jimmy, his hair towel dried and clean, took Julie by the hand. “Come on,” he said. “Patty is right. We need to find some warm clothes for the guys. You might want to change yourself. We could be out there all night.”

Julie nodded, but she seemed preoccupied with something. Jimmy watched as she approached Paula who was fumbling around in Patty’s tall, painted-white cupboards. “He’s mine,” she hissed, taking a hold of Paula’s upper arm. “Don’t you even dream of making a play for him, do you understand me?”

Paula looked to Patty for protection, but Patty only glared at her. “That’s right,” she said. “You stay away from Jimmy. And you stay away from my Ken, too. I know your type.”

Julie smiled at Patty and turned on her heels and walked past a flabbergasted Jimmy who was thinking that he’d never understand women. He shook his head and followed her as Paula began to slam the cupboard doors.

“Stop that this instant!” Patty was heard saying as they turned the corner into the living room.

The next few hours were some of the longest that Jimmy had ever spent. The quiet was nearly too much for him. They had all had their fill of Paula’s strong version of trucker’s coffee, and the caffeine had made them all jumpy. Jimmy and Julie had just spent the last hour patrolling the perimeter. Wart sat on the walkway with his back against the wall, cradling the big .50 caliber in his lap. Ken stood at the gate with Julie and Jimmy. The sun was just starting to drop in the sky, and the temperature had already begun to trail off.

“What do you think they’ll do?” Julie asked.

“They’ll attack us tonight,” Ken said, nodding his head. He wore a wool cap over his head and had dressed in his warm duck-hunting camouflage.

Jimmy was dressed in Jon’s camo jacket and a pair of bibs. He was warm, almost too warm. He knew that would change soon enough. “I think you’re right, Ken,” he said. “Where do you think they’ll try hitting us?”

“Could be anywhere, but my guess is that they’ll try to draw us out with some type of diversion. Then,” he said, scratching his unshaven chin. “I think they’ll try sneaking over the wall.”

Julie nodded. “That’s just what I was thinking.”

“We’ll never be able to hold them off,” Jimmy said. “Not with only four guns.”

“Make that six!” said Bill, as he gimpishly made his way down the stairs. He was dressed in one of the musty old parkas from the basement and was carrying two shotguns.

“You should get back to bed,” scolded Julie. “At least wait until they attack again.”

Bill shook his head. “We don’t have much time,” he said, grimacing as he spoke. He moved into their circle and held his hands to his lips. “I have a plan,” he whispered. “Ken, I want you to bring me all the grenades you have. Jimmy, you help him. Julie, get in the basement and find me some duct tape and fishing line. I want the best stuff Ken has.”

“Brilliant!” exclaimed Ken. “Come on, let’s move! Booby-traps, why didn’t I think of that?”

“Right on,” said Wart.

“Quiet,” whispered Bill. “They could be closer than we think.”

Julie’s jaw dropped, and she gave Jimmy a confused look. They then left the paradoxical Bill standing at the wall in his smelly winter gear.

The process was tedious, and it took them until it was nearly dark to place the grenades where they would be most effective. Bill nearly stumbled across one of his own tripwires—twice—which had scared the hell out of Jimmy. Satisfied, they returned to the front where they were shocked to see Doc and Patty standing at the gate, each wearing a rifle slung over their shoulders.

“Cindy is sitting with Paula,” Patty said, holding her gloved hand up with her finger pointed and thumb raised. “She won’t be helping anyone, just in case she had any ideas to do so.”

Doc was wearing a scarf around his neck, and his expression was grim. “What are you looking at?” he asked Jimmy. “I’m done being the nice guy. Screw the oath!”

“That’s the spirit!” said Wart, from his perch on the wall. “Let’s kick some ass and take down some names!”

“This is so wrong,” Patty said. “But, I’m excited.”

Julie nodded and gave Patty a quick hug. “Just don’t think about it when the shooting starts. Those people want to kill Ken, do you hear me?”

“I’ll kill anyone who tries!”

“Me, too,” agreed Bill.

“Can I get an Amen?” called Wart from the wall.

“Will you clowns knock it off?” Ken asked.

They all laughed at that, and Jimmy felt a warm feeling of camaraderie as they stood there with their guns. They had been backed into another battle, but they were as ready as they were ever going to be, and Jimmy hoped that the attack would come sooner than later. The last of the daylight lingered as what little breeze there had been died away. The air was still, and the only sound was that of a distant crow.

One of them wouldn’t live to see the sunrise.

Chapter 35

Hours passed, and the clear night was lit by a billion stars and a moon that was a just few days past full. The mid-March air was unseasonably warm, hovering somewhere close to freezing despite the lack of cloud cover. Jimmy paced near the gate, carrying his M-16 over his shoulder and two hand grenades in each of his jacket pockets. They took shifts inside the darkened house drinking coffee and warming their feet. Jimmy and Ken were now manning the wall while the others watched from the dead-black windows of the porch.

“It won’t be long now,” Ken whispered. “I can feel them out there, can’t you?”

Jimmy wasn’t sure what he was feeling, but he nodded his head. He was certain that they were close and would attack when Jenkins thought they were ready. He wondered about the man—tall, thin, roughly his own age with a wife and half a dozen young children. He seemed to have been a God-fearing Christian as a follower of Sister Margaret, but he had readily picked up arms against his fellow men when it had suited his purposes. Jimmy knew that he couldn’t be trusted and that if he ever had the chance, he would have to kill Jerry Jenkins. Like Glen Putnam, Jenkins would return to darken their doorway. That couldn’t happen again.

Jimmy wondered about how much the world had changed, but what really shook him was how much the people had changed. Jenkins and his starving army, like so many others, had decided that they could simply take whatever it was that they needed to survive. Jimmy couldn’t understand it, but he also knew that he and his people were very fortunate to have what they did. He hoped he wouldn’t act like Jenkins if he were in that situation. They were all only a few heartbeats away from death. Knowing that, Jimmy thought it was incredibly foolish for men like Jenkins to meet their Maker on bad terms.

There was no hiding the snapping of dry pine branches or crunching of footsteps on the snow-covered floor of the woods outside the wall. They were coming in a rush, and Jimmy suddenly felt his pulse in his temples.

“It’s on!” Ken hissed to the shadows on the porch. “Let’s go!”

Tiny flashes of orange light flickered during a sudden thunderstorm of gunshots. The closest flashes were still some fifty feet from the wall, but much too close for Jimmy’s comfort. Bullets whizzed over his head, and dozens more slammed into the pine barrier.

A loud explosion from the back caused Jimmy to jump, and it was quickly followed by three more. The screaming started again, and Jimmy knew that some of those frantic yelps were coming from women. God have mercy, Jimmy thought. He then began firing his weapon into the moving shadows. Another exploding hand grenade rocked the night air, followed by another.

Ken moved behind Jimmy on the walkway. “Some of them may have gotten through,” Ken shouted into Jimmy’s ear. “Keep them busy while the others get in position!”

Jimmy nodded grimly as another tripwire yielded its deadly payload. Great wails of pain echoed off the house. Ken brushed by Jimmy and headed for the ladder, his heavy footfalls causing the walkway to bounce. When Jimmy stole a look down the wall, he saw Julie racing across the walkway where Ken had been running only a moment before. Julie was squeezing off shots as she ran. The .50 caliber suddenly opened up, and Jimmy looked the other way at Wart, who had somehow sneaked past him and had gotten to his post without Jimmy noticing. The muzzle flash revealed a maniacal smile on Wart’s hardened face. Jimmy returned his attention to the attackers.

“Where’s Ken?” shouted Patty during a momentary lapse in the gunfire.

Jimmy looked down and saw Patty, who was dressed in one of the old one-piece snowmobile suits, standing in the snow below him. Even in the darkness, Jimmy could see that Patty’s glasses were completely fogged over. Jimmy pointed to the side of the house and hollered at Patty to stay where she was, but Wart had begun spraying the woods with a deadly hail of automatic fire, and his voice was lost in the deafening chatter. Patty nodded.

“Jimmy!” Julie screamed.

Jimmy turned his head just as a thirty-foot section of their wall, the section that Julie defended, burst into flames. He ducked low and shielded his eyes with his right arm, giving his eyes a second to adjust to the blazing light. Jimmy could see Julie, her weapon pointing straight down over the top of the wall as she popped off one shot after another. Jimmy turned, but Patty had already disappeared into the night. He quickly caught sight of Bill, who moved like an undead character in a George A. Romero movie. Bill was also heading toward the back of the house, but only as fast as his crippled back would allow. There was no sign of Patty, and Jimmy suddenly wished he would’ve lied to her. The backyard wasn’t safe, not for anyone.

Jimmy had never seen a Molotov cocktail explode until just a microsecond before one shattered at his feet. The gasoline splashed on Jimmy’s outerwear, and he was suddenly flaming like a human Yule log. He dropped his carbine and quickly began beating at the flames. Jimmy could feel his exposed wrists burning, along with part of his neck. The pain caused him to leap from the walkway and into the ground below, where he began to flop and roll on the crusty snowpack. Julie was suddenly on top of him, beating on his smoldering jacket and flaming bibs.

Another explosion rocked the night air.

Jimmy screamed helplessly, unzipped and removed his scorched jacket. He did the same with his ruined bibs, ignoring the searing pain caused by his multiple burns. Something snapped deep inside of him, and the next thing Jimmy knew he was back at his post, lobbing a hand grenade at a cluster of men carrying a long ladder. Jimmy quickly slapped a fresh clip into his M-16 and began shooting anything that moved. He seemed oddly at peace, unable to miss, and he rained terror on those who attacked from below.

“Give ‘em hell, Jimmy!” screamed Doc who was suddenly standing next to him and letting fly with a twelve-gauge pump.

“No!” cried Jimmy, as Doc was suddenly flying backwards off the walkway and onto the snow below.

“You bastards!” shrieked Wart as he fed another string of ammo into his .50 caliber. He quickly began to spray the woods, and fire blazed from the end of his weapon.

More of the Molotov cocktails struck the wall, and some landed inside the compound. Jimmy could feel the heat from at least five separate gas fires, and he screamed curses at the shadowy attackers. Wart concentrated his fire in front of Jimmy and watched as one of the figures was cut in half by the slicing gunfire. Jimmy stole a look back at Doc. Julie was with him, kneeling at his side. The big man was lying flat on his back and wasn’t moving. Jimmy returned his attention to the battle and continued to fire. There were fewer and fewer shadows to fire at. Jimmy quickly reloaded and found that the attacking force had retreated. Wart was already sitting with his back to the wall, obviously exhausted. He gave Jimmy a half-hearted wave and leaned his head all the way back against the wall.

He studied the woods using the open sights of the M-16, but Jimmy saw nothing as the fires around him began to sputter out. He leaned the carbine against the wall and risked a look at his burned wrists. Both wrists had watchband-like welts where his gloves had failed to meet the sleeves of his jacket. The burns were painful, but Jimmy was thankful to be alive. He had never experienced such an intense battle, and for all he knew, half of their number could be dead or injured. He left his weapon at the wall and scrambled across the walkway, careful not to slip on the shell casings. He then quickly climbed down the ladder.

“How is he?” Jimmy asked, kneeling next to Julie. She had her flashlight trained on Doc, and Jimmy could see that his eyes were open.

“I’ll be fine,” said Doc. “I just banged the back of my fool head. Nothing to worry about.”

Julie gave Jimmy a concerned look and held her bare hands out. They were slick with dark blood. “We need to get a bandage around his wound. I’ll stay with him. Get up to Cindy and tell her to get down here with the first aid kit.”

“I don’t need any nursing,” Doc said, attempting to sit up. His expression suddenly changed, and he fell back to where he’d been. “Right,” he whispered. “You’d better send for Cindy.”

Jimmy got to his feet and charged up the stone steps to the deck. He was soon inside the house where he found one of the electric lanterns. The yellow light quickly illuminated the entire front porch. Paula suddenly appeared from out of the shadows. She wrapped her arms around him before he had time to think.

“Oh, Jimmy,” she moaned. “I was so worried about you.”

“Where’s Cindy?” he asked, gathering his senses and pulling away.

“I don’t know, she went out the back door and hasn’t come back. There were explosions out there; did you hear them?”

“How long ago did she go out there?”

“I don’t know, an hour ago?”

Jimmy nodded. He knew that the battle hadn’t even lasted half that long. Furthermore, he knew that Paula had her own concept of time. Carrying the lantern, he continued moving through the living room and into the kitchen. Patty’s first aid kit hung on the wall, and he grabbed the case and set it on the table.

“Is somebody hurt?” Paula asked. “It wasn’t Julie, was it?”

“No, it wasn’t Julie,” hissed Jimmy. He continued around the table to the back door and began to descend the stairs. Halfway down, he found what he was looking for. The old jackets hung on the wall. They smelled like a wet basement, but were better than nothing. Jimmy chose the newest looking one of the three and returned up the stairs. He paused at the landing and stared out into the darkness of the backyard. He couldn’t think of what might have happened out there, not yet. His first responsibility was to Julie and Doc.

“Your arms,” Paula said. “What happened to your arms?”

“Forget about me. Listen, we’re going to be bringing in our wounded. You’re going to need to take care of them, okay? The battle isn’t over.”

“Are you kidding me? What do I know about taking care of people?”

Jimmy slapped her hard across her face. “You damn well better learn how to take care of people, you self-centered bitch. Do you hear me?”

Paula held her hand to her cheek, but oddly enough she didn’t cry or recoil from the shock. Jimmy wondered what she’d experienced while she’d been away. He found that he really didn’t care. There just wasn’t any time to care, not for her. Paula nodded her head as Jimmy pulled on the musty cloth jacket. Wordlessly, he picked up the first aid kit, and Paula followed him with the lantern.

“Be careful,” she whispered as Jimmy slipped out the front door.

Jimmy jogged down the stone stairs, holding his flashlight in one hand and the first aid kit in the other. He could see Wart standing at the wall keeping watch, which was good. He also saw that Julie and Doc hadn’t moved, which was even better. He had been suddenly worried that Julie might have seen Paula when she hugged him, which would have been very bad. Jimmy joined Julie and Doc where they waited for him. Quickly, Jimmy helped Doc sit up, and he shone his flashlight at the jagged gash on the back of Doc’s head. Jimmy quickly trained his beam on the cause of Doc’s injury. Doc’s head had struck one of the bowling ball-sized rocks that lined each side of the driveway. Unluckily for him, this rock had been square. The snow around it was red with Doc’s blood.

Julie cleaned his wound, and Doc groaned but he never cried out. She then wrapped his head in a bandage, and they helped him to his feet. The entire operation had taken less than three minutes, but with no sign of any of the others, it seemed like an eternity to Jimmy.

“Where the hell is everyone?” Doc finally said.

“That’s just what I was thinking,” replied Julie. “It’s too damn quiet.”

“We’ve got to get back there,” Jimmy said. “I suppose I should go alone. I know where all of the tripwires are.”

“Tripwires?” asked Doc. “You set up booby-traps back there? That’s why there were so many explosions… How could you do such a thing?”

“It was Bill’s idea,” replied Julie.

“And since Bill thought of it, naturally everyone thought it was a good plan?”

“There’s a first time for everything,” called Wart, in his shrill voice from his post at the wall. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“Come on, Doc,” said Jimmy. “Let us help get you in the house.”

“I don’t need any help, thank you very much,” Doc said, brusquely. “I think you both have done quite enough. You might want to grab some trash bags so you can gather up our friends.”

“That’s not fair,” whispered Julie, but without any conviction.

“There is no fair anymore, only death,” Doc grumbled. “I wish now that you’d never found me in the shed. I wouldn’t have to see what’s to come. Go. I’ll set up an operating room on the porch. Bring me the most seriously wounded, first.”

Doc stood and slowly began walking up the stairs. Soon he was illuminated in the light of the lantern as Paula opened the front door for him.

“Bitch,” muttered Julie.

Jimmy let it go. “Stay behind me,” he said. Then with his heart in his stomach and his flashlight beam leading the way, they slowly began to make their way to the unknown.

Chapter 36

The dead were many, and they littered the backyard. Doc had been right—there seemed to be limbs scattered everywhere, and Jimmy fought the urge to vomit at the sight of them. Julie held onto his upper arm as they ventured further into the darkness.

“Oh, my God,” stammered Julie.

Jimmy’s flashlight beam fell on the horrible sight. Ken, Patty, and Cindy were all gathered around Bill in the darkness. Bill was writhing in pain as Ken held something tightly wrapped around the stump of Bill’s missing leg. Cindy was sitting on Bill’s good leg, pinning it to the ground.

“Be careful!” hissed Ken. “We don’t know how many tripwires are left. You can’t see the damned things!”

A tear fell down the bridge of Jimmy’s nose as he nodded his head.

“Let’s get him up to the house,” Julie said. “Doc is waiting for him.”

“We can’t move him,” Patty said, pointing to a nearby birch. “Look.”

Jimmy’s heart sank as he shone his light on what Patty wanted them to see. Bill’s good leg was tangled tightly in one of the tripwires which was still tightly attached to the pin of one of the grenades. The pin was hanging on by a thread and a miracle, and the awkward angle of the tripwire was the only reasons that the grenade hadn’t exploded.

“That thing could go blow at any second,” muttered Ken.

“Just go,” moaned Bill.

“We’re not leaving you,” scolded Patty. “Now, quit your wiggling around and let us figure out a way to get you up to the house.”

“Son-of-a-bitch,” whispered Jimmy.

“I’m so sorry,” replied Bill, his voice ragged with pain. “I always mess everything up.”

“Shut up, Dad,” said Cindy. “Keep still. Jimmy will figure out a way to get you out of this.”

“That’s right,” agreed Patty.

Jimmy felt Julie’s grip on his arm tighten, and he turned to look at her in the moonlight. She looked like a frightened child. “Please,” she said. “There isn’t much time.”

Jimmy looked at Ken for support, but Ken wouldn’t meet his eyes. He studied the tripwire again and slowly crept toward the live grenade. The duct tape held the grenade tightly to the base of the tree. Jimmy sat there for a second and studied their predicament. Ken was right—that pin could pop free at any second. Cutting the tripwire would likely cause the pin to fall. There was only one hope. Jimmy would have to carefully cut the grenade free of the duct tape and somehow throw it before it exploded.

“What do you think, kid?” asked Ken. “Can we disarm that thing?”

“I doubt it. I think our best bet is if I cut it free and throw the damn thing.”

“I thought you’d say that,” agreed Ken. “Patty, take the girls up to the house. Jimmy and I will take care of this.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” spat Cindy. “My dad needs me.”

“I’m not leaving you,” said Patty. “Jimmy will get us out of this.”

Jimmy looked at Julie. “Don’t look at me,” she said. “Who do you think is going to hold the flashlight for you?”

“Hurry,” whispered Bill. “I think I’m slipping away.”

“Shut up,” said Cindy, “and quit struggling.”

“Here,” said Ken, flipping Jimmy his hunting knife. “Just be careful, kid.”

“I’m praying for you,” said Patty.

“I think we all had better,” said Julie. “Come on, Jimmy. Let’s do this.”

Julie took the flashlight from Jimmy as he kneeled close to the grenade. He was right-handed, but he thought that he should use his left hand to cut the duct tape, keeping his right hand free for when it came time to throw the grenade. The pin pointed down and away, and it hung impossibly crooked from the grenade. The fishing line was stretched as tight as a guitar string, and Jimmy gave thought to just cutting it. Once again he shook his head. Cutting the line would likely just allow the pin to slip free, and they’d all be killed. He had to cut the grenade free of the base of the tree. Jimmy’s hands shook as he inched closer with his left hand.

The silence of the night air was shattered by the howling of a nearby wolf.

“Oh, shit,” stammered Julie, just as another wolf joined in.

Jimmy fumbled with the knife, his wrists burning and his hands trembling with fear. He slowly began to saw through one side of the duct tape.

Somewhere in the darkness, a man began screaming as the frenzied sound of attacking wolves fell upon him. The screaming lasted only for a few seconds, but the growling and barking continued as the wolves fought among themselves for the choicest cuts of flesh.

“Dear God,” whispered Patty.

Jimmy tried his best to ignore the distraction, even as another wolf began howling. This wolf seemed to be right outside the front gate and Jimmy quickly thought of Rita out there. He held the grenade tightly against the tree as the knife blade finished slicing through one side of the heavy tape. Jimmy risked a look back to Julie and winked at her, hoping to look confident. “Are you ready?” he asked. “I’m going to toss this thing over the wall behind you. Stay down, all right?”

Julie nodded. “I love you, Jimmy,” she whispered.

“I love you, too,” he replied.

“Will you two cut the crap?” asked Ken. “Finish the job so we can get the hell out of here!”

Jimmy glared at Ken for a moment, but he saw that Ken was smiling. He nodded and returned to his work. The air was suddenly filled with the sound of howling wolves. They seemed to be everywhere outside the wall, and the howling was soon answered by screams and gunshots. To their horror, the gunshots died away much faster than the screams did.

“There must be a million of them out there,” stammered Bill.

“Shut up!” ordered Cindy. “And quit moving around!”

Jimmy felt his heart thudding in his chest as he watched the pin jiggle while he sawed through the tape. The knife blade was now sticky with the adhesive, and it became more difficult to cut. He found himself holding his breath, and he had to remind himself to breathe. Another wolf howled. The husky voice seemed to call out in triumph. Jimmy shuddered at the thought of being eaten by wolves.

“Cut the damn thing!” ordered Ken.

“Careful,” warned Julie.

“I’ve got it,” said Jimmy. “Almost there…”

“Hurry!” cried Cindy.

The last threads of the tape broke free, and the pin suddenly popped free from the grenade. Jimmy gripped the sticky surface of the cold grenade, and without standing he threw it as hard as he could safely over the wall. The grenade exploded even before it hit the ground. Julie tackled Jimmy where he sat and began to smother him with kisses.

“I knew you could do it,” Patty said.

“Good job, kid,” said Ken. “Julie, I need you to run up and fetch Doc. He’s going to have to help Jimmy to get Bill up to the house. Run, now.”

“You’re goin’ first,” Bill said, his ragged voice sounding weaker by the minute.

“The hell I am,” replied Ken. “And that’s final!”

“What?” asked Julie, getting to her feet.

“No way, man,” said Bill. “You got it worse than I did.”

“Ken?” asked Patty.

“Go get Doc and be careful…” Ken said with something close to weakness in his voice.

Julie didn’t wait around to see what happened next, nor did she bother worrying about anymore of the tripwires. She scampered off like a startled doe and was charging through the backdoor in mere seconds. Jimmy stood and shone the beam of his flashlight on Ken. He shook his head, wondering how he could have missed it. The snow beneath Ken was crimson with blood.

“Oh, dear Lord,” said Patty. “Jimmy, take an arm. You and I will have to get him up to the house. Come on!”

“I’ve already said that I’m not going first. I’d be dead if it wasn’t for Bill. He saved my life.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Cindy who hadn’t moved from where she sat on her father’s good leg.

“They were coming over the wall ten at a time. I had to stop them. Then like a damn fool, I stumbled across one of our own traps. They were going to use me as bait, but Bill snuck up on them and let ‘em have it. Your dad’s a hero, Cindy. I’d be dead if it wasn’t for him.”

“You would be,” agreed Bill. “We’d have made it out of here if it wasn’t for that stupid tripwire. I’m sorry about that.”

“He carried me on his back,” Ken said, in obvious disbelief. “I swear to God, he did.”

“Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do,” replied Bill.

Another wolf howled from just beyond the wall. The howl was answered by dozens more. Jimmy had never heard of wolf-packs joining forces, but he knew that was exactly what had happened. He had never been so thankful for Ken’s decision to build the wall. The backdoor slapped shut, and Jimmy saw two shadows running from the house.

“Dad?” asked Cindy. “Dad, you’ve got to hang on.”

“Jon?” asked Bill in a weak voice. “Burt?”

“Oh, shit,” muttered Ken. “Damn it, Bill. Don’t you dare die on us!”

“I can see the light…”

Doc was suddenly standing over them, shining the beam of a powerful flashlight on the stricken group. “For the love of God,” he cried out. “Why doesn’t anyone ever listen to me?” He then reached down and hauled Bill over his shoulder, expertly securing him in a firemen’s carry. Five minutes later, Doc returned and hauled Ken out in the same fashion.

Chapter 37

With Julie helping Doc in the little hospital he’d set up on the front porch, Jimmy joined Wart down at the wall. There had been no sign of any survivors on the outside, nor had there been any more sounds of wolves outside their perimeter. Still, Jimmy had no doubt that both were still lurking about somewhere. Patchy clouds obscured the moon, and a slight breeze rattled the branches.

“This is weird,” Wart said. “Feels like its warming up out here.”

“I know,” agreed Jimmy. “I was just about to say the same thing. This feels more like early May.”

“Global warming?”

“I don’t know. Who cares? I’ll take it.”

“Me too,” said Wart. “They’re going to be okay, aren’t they?”

“Of course they are,” Jimmy said, wishing he felt any conviction behind those words. Bill had looked obscenely white under the gas lights of the porch, and Jimmy had never seen a man lose as much blood as Ken had. Doc said that a main artery had been severed in his leg.

“Both of them are tough,” Wart said, studying Jimmy in the darkness.

Jimmy nodded. He could feel the tears behind his eyes, and he fought them off. He wanted to be strong. He felt that it was the best way that he could help both of his injured friends. People would be looking to him for strength.

“My old man was tough,” Wart continued. “Back home, nobody ever dared to mess with him. He was one of those quiet guys who came back from the war, and you could see it in his eyes. Something wasn’t right. Do you know what I mean? People were scared of him, but he wouldn’t have hurt a fly. He just had that look. Do you think that we’ll be like that when this is all over? I never killed anyone until tonight. I feel pretty bad about it.”

Jimmy turned and looked at Wart. Tears were falling down his sallow cheeks, and he brushed at them angrily. “Hey,” said Jimmy, “they would’ve killed you if you hadn’t killed them first. They deserved what they got.”

“Did they? They were just trying to survive.”

“They could have asked for our help. They could have planned ahead. They shouldn’t have attacked us.”

Wart rubbed his eyes again and he nodded. “Yeah,” he said, “it’s still pretty shitty. I don’t know, man. What the hell have we become? I killed a lot of people tonight, I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to sleep again. I feel pretty damn terrible about it.”

“I know how you feel. We all do. You have to put it behind you; it’s the only way. Think of it this way Wart, we were only defending our home, our right to survive. People have been doing that for thousands of years. We were defending Ken and Patty; this is their home.”

Wart thought about this and nodded his head. “You’re right, man. That’s exactly what we were doing, wasn’t it? Ken had better not die on us. He lost a lot of blood. I don’t know, man. He didn’t look good.”

“He’s going to be fine, and so is Bill,” Jimmy said. He was more than happy to change the subject, even if it was something he didn’t want to think about.

Wart nodded. “We’re going to have to whittle Bill a wooden leg. That’s going to be a bitch.”

“Let’s just pray that Doc can save him. We can worry about that when the time comes.”

“Oh, I’m praying all right. I’m praying like I’ve never prayed in all my life.”

“That makes two of us.”

They stood there in silence for a long time. The breeze rattled the long pine branches, and an owl hooted from somewhere far away. Jimmy swiped a tear from his cheek, hoping that Wart hadn’t seen it fall.

“I’ve got to go, man,” Wart said. “That stew goes right through me.”

Jimmy nodded. “I’ll be here.”

Jimmy began to pace back and forth after Wart wandered off to the cold confines of the outhouse. He walked halfway up the concrete stairs, thought better of it and returned to his post at the gate. Suddenly the door to the porch opened up, and Julie appeared on the deck above him.

“Jimmy?” Julie called. “Are you guys down there?”

Jimmy waved up at her from the darkness below. “I’m here,” he said, his stomach suddenly in knots. “How’s it going in there?”

“Get up here,” Julie said. “Hurry!”

The tears fell in streams before Jimmy made it halfway up the steps. Something was wrong—he was sure of it. He felt as if he was running in slow motion, as if his legs were made of concrete and that he’d never make it inside the porch. Julie waited for him just inside the front door. She opened it for him and he hesitantly stepped inside. Doc stood there, his face grim.

“How are they?” Jimmy asked, running a burned wrist across his wet eyes.

“They’ve both lost a lot of blood,” Doc whispered, stepping close. “Our main worry now is that there isn’t an infection. But for now, I’d say that both men are out of the woods.”

Jimmy moved past Doc and caught sight of both men as they lay sleeping in the beds. The sheets were bloody, and both looked extremely pale, but Jimmy could see that each of them still drew breath. His heart soared, and he turned back and gave Doc a bear hug.

“We’ve got to change their sheets,” Doc said. “We’re going to need your help. Where’s Wart? We could use him, too.”

Jimmy was just opening his mouth when the peace was suddenly broken by the roar of another explosion. Jimmy gasped and held his hands to his ears. “Wart!” he cried.

“Oh, my God,” Julie moaned. “What the hell is he doing out there?”

“Those goddamn hand grenades,” exclaimed Doc. “Come on, let’s get out there!”

Chapter 38

There was no saving their new friend. Wart’s small frame had been torn to pieces by the blast, and Doc said that he’d probably been dead before he knew what hit him. Jimmy suspected that it hadn’t been an accident, but he couldn’t bring himself to share his suspicions with the others. If Wart had found that he couldn’t live with his guilt, that was his business. He was gone, and there was no bringing him back.

Jimmy spent most of the night manning the wall, but the rest of that night was quiet. The others took turns sleeping, but none of them slept for more than a few hours. Dawn arrived in a thick fog as the temperature continued to rise to somewhere into the forties. The air had once again grown still, and the only sounds came from the squirrels and the unseen birds around them. Jimmy took it upon himself to creep around the backyard where he meticulously searched out and removed the few remaining tripwires. He then gathered up the unexploded grenades and stored them in the shed. Death was everywhere, and Jimmy vomited twice as he worked.

Jimmy went inside after he had finished and sat down at the kitchen table. Patty was there, wearing a brave face as she poured him a cup of coffee in his favorite cup.

“Are you okay?” she asked, taking a seat across from him in the quiet kitchen.

Jimmy nodded. “I’m fine. How are the guys doing?”

Patty smiled. “Ken has been awake all morning, and he’s driving Doc crazy. He wants to get out of bed and get to work. Can you believe it?”

“That sounds like Ken.”

“Bill is out of it, but Doc says that he’s doing fine. He has him pretty doped up. I feel so bad for him. How is he going to get around on one leg?”

“We’ll figure something out. He’s lucky to be alive.”

“We’re lucky to have him, even if he can be a huge pain in the ass.”

“Patty!”

“Did I say that? Please, don’t tell anyone, but you know what I mean. He saved Ken’s life last night. I’ll never forget that.”

“I don’t think Bill will ever let any of us forget that,” Jimmy said, smiling for the first time of the day.

Patty began to speak, but tears suddenly filled her eyes. She took off her glasses and began to sob into her spotted hands. Jimmy got up and went to her. He got on his knees and wrapped his arms around her and began to cry himself. Neither said a single word, and they remained like that for what seemed like a very long time.

The fog had begun to lift when Jimmy returned to the gruesome scene in the backyard. He carefully made another sweep for hidden tripwires, and once he was satisfied he set about the awful task of gathering up the dead. There were so many, at least twenty in his estimation, although it was impossible to be sure. Some, like Wart, had been blown to pieces. Jimmy soon discovered that many of the bodies had one thing in common—a single bullet wound between their eyes. Jimmy wondered who was responsible for those, but he found that he really didn’t want to know.

He heard the back door slap shut, and he saw Julie and Doc. They waited at the picnic table with grim expressions as he walked over to join them.

“You’re going to have to burn the bodies,” Doc said, surveying the scene. “We’re still a good month away from getting the frost out of the ground. You’re going to have to build a big fire and keep it burning as hot as you can. It’s probably going to take you all day. I’m sorry, Jimmy. I’ve got my hands full in the house; otherwise, I’d help you.”

“We know, Doc,” said Julie. “I’ll help him.”

Doc nodded. “Thanks, Julie. This isn’t a job that I’d wish on anyone. I’ll leave you with some advice: throw them on one at a time and walk away. Wait at least twenty minutes before you check on them. Don’t think about what you’re doing, just do it. And remember, you want that fire to be as hot as possible.”

Jimmy lit up a cigarette, and they stood there as Doc returned to the house. “I can do this,” Jimmy said. “Why don’t you go back in the house and keep Patty away from the window.”

Julie shook her head. “No, this has to be done. Let’s get started on that fire. I just want to get this over with.”

Jimmy moved close to Julie and wrapped his arms around her. They stood there like that for a moment, and this time Jimmy shed no tears. He felt nothing except his love for Julie and the exhaustion creeping up on him.

They built a fire out of the split and seasoned oak that Ken had stacked behind the shed. They didn’t toss on their first body until there was a good bed of coals at the bottom of the fire. They wouldn’t finish the job until the sun had nearly set. Both agreed that the hardest part was the overpowering smell of roasting flesh. Jimmy kept adding logs to the fire until well past dark.

They slept that night in the little room upstairs, both smelling of sweat and wood-smoke, both falling fast asleep as their heads hit their pillows.

They slept until past nine, and Jimmy woke up feeling stiff but well rested. Patty served them a breakfast of pancakes and hot coffee, and they talked about their plans for the day. Paula walked in looking timid as a church mouse and poured herself a cup of coffee. She was just turning to leave the room when Julie stopped her.

“Not so fast,” Julie said, pointing to an empty chair at the table. “I want to talk to you.”

“You can have him,” Paula said, flipping her blonde hair out of her eyes. “I don’t care what he does anymore.”

Julie stared at Jimmy for a moment, and Jimmy caught the hint of a smile in her eyes. “Thanks,” she said. But that’s not what I want to talk about. Go on and sit down. This is going to take a while.”

Paula carefully set her cup down on the table, slowly slid the wooden chair back and sat down. She looked confused, but more than that, Paula looked frightened. “You can’t throw me out,” she said. “I already talked to Ken. This wasn’t my fault.”

“Who said we were going to throw you out?” asked Julie.

“Nobody did. I just wanted you guys to know that none of this was my idea.”

Patty sat down at the last empty chair. She sat back and crossed her arms, looking directly at Paula. “Can the act, honey. What we want to know is what happened out there—all of it. What happened when you left here, and how in the hell you and Glen ended back on our doorstep. Don’t you dare lie to us. I can smell a liar from a mile away. If I think that you’re trying to sell us a load of crap, I’ll show you to the gate. I don’t care what Ken may have said, I make the rules here, sister. Don’t you ever forget that.”

Jimmy and Julie exchanged smiles and nodded their heads.

“That’s right,” said Jimmy. “We want the whole truth, Paula. Don’t leave anything out.”

“Fine,” Paula said. “I don’t have anything to hide. Like I said, none of this was my idea.”

“Nobody said that it was,” Julie said, softening her voice.

“Well, when we left here and got to Ely, the National Guard was waiting for us. I suppose you guys know all about that. Those bastards lied to us. Well, we were all separated, me and Carl, Glen and his wife. They even took Jenkins away from his family. We got away and did what we had to do. That’s how we ended up together. Where else were we supposed to go? We decided to come here. Can I go now? Doc needs me out on the porch.”

Patty smiled. “I’m going to give you one last chance to give us the whole story. Do you understand me? If I’m not satisfied with it, I’m going to grab a handful of that pretty blonde hair of yours and I’m going to drag you outside the gate. Do you want to be eaten by wolves?”

Jimmy smiled; he couldn’t help himself. Paula’s eyes grew wide, and she looked back and forth at them. Jimmy wondered what he’d ever seen in her.

“Okay,” Paula said. “So, the three of us were loaded in the back of this big green pickup truck. There were a bunch of us back there, but only three of us from our group. We had to stop twice because the truck kept overheating, and we got separated from the rest of the trucks. We were only twenty miles from Duluth. That’s how it happened.”

“That’s how what happened?” asked Jimmy.

“The driver and the guards were shot dead on the side of the road. Then we were rescued by some guys we didn’t even know, and we went and stayed out in these ratty-old cabins out in the woods with them. We were there until around Christmas—that was when they all got killed. The three of us—Glen, Jenkins, and me—we heard the shooting, and we hid in this shed. That was when things got crazy. This young soldier, he couldn’t have been more than eighteen, opened the door and looked right at us. He then closed the door and shouted out that it was all clear. Can you believe it? He looked right at us.”

“I’m sure there are some good ones out there,” said Patty. “Keep going.”

“Well, we couldn’t stay there. So the three of us decided to see if you guys would take us back in. We had no place else to go. The rest of it was like in that movie Wizard of Oz. We just kept on meeting people on our way back here, and they kept on following us along the way. That was insane, but it was all Glen’s idea. He didn’t think you’d let us stay with you. Gradually he built up this army of followers, and he had Jenkins as his right-hand man. They made this place out to sound like you had enough food and weapons to support a thousand people. Of course people followed us. People are stupid, and they all pledged themselves to the cause.”

“The cause?” asked Julie. “What was that?”

“To move in here and take over.”

“Why didn’t you tell us that when you and Glen showed up in the first place?” asked Patty, removing her glasses and cleaning them furiously with the edge of the tablecloth. “You had plenty of chances to tell us.”

“Glen said that he’d kill me, that he’d kill all of you. You heard him; he wanted to let everyone live. He didn’t want a war. That was a last resort.”

“He sure wanted me dead,” said Jimmy.

“I know,” agreed Paula. “And I’m glad that Doc killed him. I’m glad that they’re all gone. They were a rough bunch.”

“Paula?” asked Doc, as he quietly stepped into the kitchen. “What’s going on in here?”

Paula quickly stood up and joined Doc at the doorway. She slipped an arm around Doc’s waist, and his long arm fell around her slender shoulder. They stood there like that for a moment, looking defiant and unashamed. Jimmy and Julie exchanged a look of pure shock.

“What?” asked Doc. “We’re both single.”

Patty turned away. “Nobody said anything, did they?”

“Come on, dear,” Doc said. “We have patients to attend to.”

“I’ll do whatever you ask me to,” said Paula, but looking directly at Jimmy.

Julie snorted with laughter which caused Doc to take Paula by the arm, and they quickly left the kitchen.

Chapter 39

The sun made a rare appearance around one that afternoon. The melt continued as a warm breeze blew in from out of the south. Jimmy had talked to Ken twice, and on his second visit Ken had asked him to check outside the gate for abandoned weapons. The last battle had seriously depleted their supply of ammunition, and they needed to salvage what they could.

“Just be careful,” Ken had said. “Some of them could still be out there.”

Jimmy doubted that there were, but he promised to be careful just the same. He and Julie walked the perimeter of the wall on the walkway, listening to the wind in the trees. Jimmy saw no sign of Rita’s body, which he was thankful for.

“Come on,” said Julie. “Let’s get this over with.”

Jimmy snubbed out his cigarette against the wall and jammed the filter between two of the logs. They climbed down the ladder and working together, they slid the lock out of its cradle. The heavy door groaned as they pushed it open. Julie carried Ken’s Browning .308 slung over her shoulder, and Jimmy pulled Patty’s old garden cart along behind them. They found their first weapons a moment later.

The blood-stained snowpack betrayed the savagery that had taken place outside the gate. There seemed to be rifles and shotguns as far as the eye could see. They wordlessly gathered them up, some thirty in all, and brought them inside the wall where they were brushed off and stood on their butts. The handguns and ammo they found were placed inside the garden cart which trundled along in a lop-sided gait on a pair of mismatched wheels. They would empty the cart twice before heading into the woods to walk the outside perimeter. Jimmy pulled the cart into the woods but soon found that it would be all but impossible to pull it out once it held any weight. The snow here was over a foot deep, and walking was difficult. The white forest floor was littered with red paw prints and torn scraps of clothing, but other than that, there was very little left of those who had died inside the woods.

They followed the outside of the wall and began tossing their scattered findings over the top to the other side. The weapons were mostly inexpensive hunting rifles and shotguns, but every now and again one of them would uncover a hidden treasure. Despite their lack of knowledge about firearms, there was no mistaking the pride and craftsmanship that went into building these sleek weapons.

“Let’s take a break,” Jimmy said, leaning against the wall. They were roughly halfway around the perimeter in a rare open area under the canopy of pines. The sunshine felt good on his skin, and Jimmy fished out a cigarette and lit it up.

“Spring is right around the corner,” Julie said, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. “I can’t wait until summer.”

“What happens then?”

“What do you mean? The days get longer and warmer. Do I have to spell it out for you?”

“No, I mean what happens to us? We’re getting pretty thin here. I’m worried what happens if we get attacked again. Ken can’t fight, Doc won’t, and Bill never could. I miss Jon and Burt. I’m also worried about Patty, especially now that Whiskers is dead. I’m tired of beef stew, and I’m almost out of cigarettes. Julie, I don’t know if I can do this.”

Julie’s face sank. She began to speak, but her lips curled into a frown as she slapped Jimmy hard across the face with a gloved hand.

Jimmy held his bare hand to his cheek. “What the hell was that for?”

“Don’t you start complaining to me,” Julie said, tears spilling down her cheeks. “I can’t take that from you, not now. We’re going to make it, and we have to believe that!”

“Hang on. You don’t have to act like this, Julie. I was just telling you what I was thinking. This isn’t going to be easy. That was all I was trying to say. Things just keep getting worse.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Julie hissed, turning her back on Jimmy.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I’m pregnant. We’re going to have a baby!”

The words slammed into Jimmy with such force that he fell back into the wall. He felt his heart fall into the pit of his stomach, and he fought to come up with something to say.

“You don’t have to look so damn miserable about it. I thought you’d be happy.”

“I am happy,” lied Jimmy, forcing a smile on his face. “You just took me off guard, that’s all. Are you sure? That’s great news, sweetie!”

Julie held her hands to her face and stood there sobbing. “I’m sorry,” she muttered into her hands. “This baby is yours, Jimmy. I can feel it. Mars didn’t do this to me, you did. You have to believe that. We’ve done it dozens of times, and he only raped me the one time. I know what you’re thinking, but you just have to let it go. This baby is ours, Jimmy.”

Jimmy tossed his cigarette, took her into his arms and held her tight. “Don’t worry. I wasn’t thinking that at all. Everything is going to be fine,” he whispered. “I love you, honey. We can do this.”

“I love you, too,” Julie whispered, hugging him as tightly as she ever had.

Jimmy stared up into the bright blue sky and wondered how they would ever raise a child in these conditions. What type of world would this child inherit? Would they even live long enough to meet the child? “Have you told the others?”

“Not yet. I want to wait as long as possible. I don’t want to be grounded inside the house with Patty. Don’t you dare tell a soul.”

“I won’t say a word,” Jimmy said, honestly.

They stood like that for a while, and Julie led the way as they finished their fishing expedition. They hauled up half a dozen more rifles and a few more handguns. Jimmy felt as if his head would explode as they returned to the relative safety of their compound. Only one person alive knew that he’d had his vasectomy.

And her name was Paula.

The End

Thank you for reading this novel and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please watch for the next installment of this series, where I may decide to wrap things up.

Sincerely,

Nick