Sela heard me. She had the most incredible hearing, I swear. 'It will.'
Jack turned to look at the long line of people out in the street. He smiled at me and shouted, 'Wagons ho!'
Everyone within earshot laughed. It was a good start in spite of the cold rain. No one's spirits were dampened in the least.
Around ten thirty in the morning the rain stopped and the sun started to come out. A cheer erupted from everyone. Jack stopped us all at a nearby stream, taking the opportunity to water the horses.
Sela looked up and let the sun hit her face. 'Looks like God listened,' she whispered in my ear.
'Let's hope He continues to listen. We need all the help we can get,' I said softly. 'And then some.'
Later that afternoon, the first person got sick. No one thought much of it at the time. The doctor who examined the young woman indicated that it was most likely the flu. She had all the usual symptoms.
By the time we made Abilene, a third of the group was sick and the weird thing about it was that only the women got sick. Jack decided that we would rest up for a while in Abilene and try to get people well again. The first task we undertook was to set up a makeshift hospital using several large tarps.
'Do you think it's Madeline's handiwork?' Jack asked me quietly as I visited some of the sick women.
'I'm beginning to think so. It's not normal for just the women to get sick. The way I see it, Madeline is trying to hit us where we are the most vulnerable, trying to hurt us emotionally. Have the doctors figured anything out yet?' I asked.
'No. They still think it's a strain of flu,' Jack offered.
'Well, at least no one has died from it.' That statement didn't hold up for very long. The first young woman who got sick passed away later that afternoon. Now people were getting panicky. As the sun was setting, I took a long walk away from the camp to think things over. Okay, yes, I thought a little praying was in order. I still didn't do very well in that department, but thought I'd better try harder.
There were no burning bushes or other spiritual connections. I did have a couple of roadrunners visit me. When I got back to camp, Jack met me. He had a grim look on his face. 'What's wrong?' I asked.
'It's Sela,' he mumbled.
I knew immediately what was wrong. Jack took me to the hospital where Sela was lying on the ground. Her face was covered in sweat and she was shaking. I glanced around the hospital and saw other women in various stages of the disease. One woman had large red oozing sores on her face. Another woman was losing chunks of her hair. Some women had gushing nosebleeds. The minute Sela saw me, she tried to sit up.
'No you don't,' I commanded. 'You stay right where you are.' I knelt down next to her and redid her covers. 'How are you feeling?'
'I've been better,' she said with a scratchy voice. 'How was your walk?'
'The conversation was one sided and now I'm a bit pissed,' I said, my voice tinged with anger.
Sela coughed violently and spit up a large glob of green phlegm. I went over to a basin and wet a towel to put on her forehead.
'It'll get better,' Sela said softly. 'Remember, it's all about faith and hope.'
'At the moment, all I want is for you to get better. I'll deal with the other stuff later.'
'No,' she said sternly. 'You can't turn those things on and off.'
'I know, but-'
'There is no…but…Heckel. You have to…' she said getting more agitated. Her coughing resumed with a vengeance and chills racked her body.
Jack whispered in my ear, 'She should get some rest.'
I felt horrible that I had upset her. I wiped her forehead and put my hand on her chest. Her coughing stopped immediately.
'See,' she said. 'The power is in you. Rely on your faith to help us.'
I nodded my head slowly and smiled at her. I bent down, kissed her on the cheek and said, 'I will.'
Sela fell into a fitful asleep. I stayed at the hospital and kept vigil over her. When I woke, I looked over at Sela. She was sitting up and the color had returned to her face. She was eating a bowl of oatmeal.
'Good morning,' she said cheerily.
I jumped off the ground and stood in front of her with my mouth open.
'Close your mouth or a fly will find its way in. You should have some oatmeal. It's really good.'
I closed my mouth and stood frozen in front of her.
'Other women are improving as well. Looks like your one-sided talk paid off.'
I still couldn't say anything.
'Maybe a word of thanks would be in order,' she suggested, taking another large spoonful of the warm oatmeal.
I nodded my head up and down quickly and then bent down and kissed Sela on the head.
I took that same walk away from camp. More roadrunners ran across my path. When I got to a small hill, I hiked up it and turned to look down at the camp. Smiling and feeling a bit humbled, I softly said, 'Thank You.'
A few days later, the wagon train mounted up and resumed the trek down I-40. Most of the women were back to feeling normal. It was very depressing that we lost one of our soldiers to Madeline's evil. The funeral for her was touching. Again, I thought people would despair, but instead it only confirmed our resolve to stop Madeline.
The next couple of weeks went well. There were no further attacks from Madeline. When we made the border of Texas and New Mexico, we had a small celebration and settled in for a week of rest, repairs and recreation.
Sela and I always camped near Jack and his family. That night after dinner, Jack made a large campfire. The warmth from the fire took the chill out of the air. It was a clear evening and the stars filled the sky. After a while, Missy, Vonnie and Sela fell asleep. Jack reached into his jacket and pulled out a small flask.
'Care for a little nip?' he asked, holding out the flask. 'It's Pendleton. I only have a few bottles left. It's nice to have a little adult beverage once and a while…and with all the 'whiles' we've gone through lately, I'd say we deserve it.'
Beaming from ear to ear, I took the flask, took a sip and smacked my lips. 'Excellent. Thank you.'
We discussed the finer points of various adult beverages for a while until our conversation turned back to Madeline. It seemed that Madeline always had a way of creeping into one's thoughts and discussions.
'Do you remember when we had that horrible small pox epidemic?'
'Yes. Yes, I do. I think it was close to ten years ago or so. I was in college, I think. I'm sure it was Madeline's handiwork again. There were a lot of people who died during that time,' I said, sticking another log on the fire.
'I lost some relatives to that horrible epidemic. I was always under the impression that small pox had been eradicated,' Jack said, taking a sip from his flask.
'Well, it was supposed to have been eradicated. The World Health Organization officially declared the disease…dead and buried…so to speak in…um…I think it was 1979. Hey, I'm sure it was a simple task for Madeline to bring it back to life. Bad puns intended,' I said, taking another hit from Jack's Pendleton.
'Thank God things got turned around and the disease got put down again,' Jack said.
'Yup, that nasty thing could have been the end right there.'
After recounting stories of the epidemic for a while longer, Jack asked, 'So, if all our women got sick from Madeline, how come more didn't die? I mean, she could have given them the Ebola virus or something even more devastating.'
'Madeline likes playing the game. She's messing with us. Maybe she's hoping we'll all just give up. That would make it easier for her, I guess.'
Suddenly, a burst of flame erupted high into the air. A fiery apparition of Madeline stood in the center of our fire pit hovering over the burning logs.
We all jumped up and away from the fire ring. Sela stood next to my side and gripped my hand.
'Yes, that's exactly what I'm hoping for,' the burning apparition bellowed.
'Hello, Madeline. The flaming red is a nice touch to your color. However, I don't really see you as a redhead.'
