“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