Desperate Times Two

By

Nicholas Antinozzi

Published By: Nicholas Antinozzi

Copyright © 2011 by Nicholas Antinozzi

Cover Design by Steve Peterson

Edited by Sue McInnis MS

AMAZON EDITION

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

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

Forward

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

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

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

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

Chapter 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

They suddenly had an option.

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

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

Chapter 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Stop it, Ken,” Jimmy said.

“I’m just getting warmed up.”

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

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

“As a bell,” snipped Julie.

“As the moon,” added Bill.

“I’m staying,” said Rita.

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

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

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

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

“Well put,” said Doc. “Brava.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“But you guys put words in my mouth.”

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

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

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

Jimmy groaned and covered his face in his hands.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I don’t think so,” replied Bill.

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

“I know how to get there.”

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

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

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

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

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

“Holy crap,” said Bill.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Get in the car!”

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

“Who was that guy?” asked Julie.

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

“Was he a bow hunter?” asked Doc.

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

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

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

“Chuck?” asked the newcomer.

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

“How did he die?”

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

“That’s a real bummer, man.”

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

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

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

“Pleased to meet you,” said Doc.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Give me a break,” said Jimmy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Oh, give me a break.”

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

“Perfect,” said Jimmy.

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

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

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

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

Chapter 3

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

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

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

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

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

“All girls?” asked Cindy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Right on,” said Doc.

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

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

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

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

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

“Sweet,” said Doc.

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

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

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

“Damn right, you have,” replied Doc.

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

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

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

Jimmy wanted to punch him in the nose.

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

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

Julie nodded. “I can swim.”

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

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

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Hey baby, would this face lie?”

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

“I don’t have a suit,” said Julie.

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

“Sure,” Julie said dreamily.

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

They left a smiling Julie shaking her head in wonder.

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

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

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

“I can paint,” Jimmy said, sheepishly.

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

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

“Of course you will,” Mars said.

Chapter 4

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

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

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

“I think I can handle it.”

“Good.”

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

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

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

“Oh, I thought maybe…”

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

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

“What?” Jimmy asked, lighting a cigarette.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“But, I’ve never served food before.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“One lump or two?”

“Two.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Have you seen my dad?” she asked.

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

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

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

“That’s what worries me.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jimmy groaned.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chapter 5

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“No, I most certainly do not.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I already told you, nothing happened!”

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

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

“I know.”

“Then why the hell did you do it?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Does Julie know that?”

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

“That’s going to blow her mind, man.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

To Julie, he owed only his heart.

Chapter 6

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“That’s right,” agreed Jimmy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“That was some crazy shit,” said Burt.

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

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

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

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

“But they’re unarmed,” stammered Jimmy.

“That’s not our fault,” quipped Burt.

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

“I’m with you,” said Jimmy.

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

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

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

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

“Holy shit,” whispered Burt.

“Oh my God,” said Jimmy.

“Patty!” shouted Ken.

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

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

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

Chapter 7

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A second later, that silence was suddenly broken.

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

“Oh, shit,” muttered Burt.

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

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

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

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

“Are they military?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I must’ve dozed off,” said Jimmy.

“Sure.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I think they escaped,” said Bill.

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

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

Jimmy gritted his teeth but said nothing.

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

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

“I’ll be fine!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

“I won’t.”

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

“He sometimes makes a lot of sense.”

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

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

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

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

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

Chapter 8

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

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

“Are… you sure?”

“Sure enough.”

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

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

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

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

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

Bill rapidly shook his head as he fought for air.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“It’s not funny,” Jimmy said.

“I never said it was.”

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

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

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

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

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

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

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

“I never said that.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“What about Cindy?”

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

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

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

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

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

“Who said we were walking?”

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

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

“What about Bill?”

“What about him?”

Jimmy smiled and shook his head.

Chapter 9

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

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

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

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

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

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

“We thought you were Bill,” Burt said.

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

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

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

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

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

“Where did you leave it?” asked Julie.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I’ve got it,” said Burt.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Nope,” muttered Burt.

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

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

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

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

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

“Stop it!” protested Burt.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“So,” asked Julie, “how is Rita?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Hi Rita,” said Julie. “How is she?”

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

Jimmy grimaced and Burt sighed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Got a smoke?” asked Burt.

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

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

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

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

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

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

“That’s not fair.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Doesn’t she?”

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

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

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

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

Chapter 10

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

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

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

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

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

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