“No, sir. I never had no schoolin”dis”
But you can survive, Ben thought. He thought of the young people who had joined his command, some of them as young as six. But already woods-wise, and not hesitant to kill if faced with danger.
Quite a generation we have upcoming, he thought. Just a step away from being savages.
“Town called Thayer just up ahead, Jordy. There should be some people in the town.”
“Yes, sir. A pretty good bunch of them. And they all got guns, too.”
“Have they tried to hurt you?”
“Oh, no, sir. But they have tried to catch me a time or two.”
“Why did they want to catch you?”
“They said they wanted me to live with them. Go to school and all that shit. But they said I’d have to take a bath. With soap,” he added, disgust in his voice.
“Well, Jordy, I hate to tell you this, but you’re going to have to take a bath if you want to travel with me. Son,” Ben said, scratching himself, “I think you have fleas.”
Chapter 9
Ben was conscious of eyes on them as he drove through the Missouri town. But no one tried to stop them or harm them in any way.
Jordy seemed relieved to get through the town and Ben smiled at that. “Were there lots of kids back there, Jordy?”’
“Oh, yes, sir. I used to slip in there and talk to some of them. I never could figure out why they were happy all the time. They had chores to do. They had to take baths. They had to go to school and do lots of figurin” and such. Don’t sound like much fun to me.”
Wait, Ben cautioned himself. Don’t tell the boy that is exactly what’s in store for him later on.
It was rough going for the next thirty miles, with Ben and the boy having to stop a dozen times to clear the road of debris. At the tiny town of Bakersfield, Ben decided to call it a day. He inspected a dozen deserted homes before he found one that was even halfway presentable. The home had a brick barbecue in the back yard, and Ben built a fire and began heating water in all the pots he could find in the house.
“What you gonna do with all that water?” Jordy asked suspiciously. “We are going to take a bath, boy.”
“Shhittt!” Jordy said.
While Jordy was bathing, Ben boiled the boy’s clothing and hung it up to dry. “Have to get him some clothes soon,” he muttered.
“I’m done!” Jordy called from the house.
“Did you wash your hair?” Ben called.
“Shhitt!”
Ben had thought the boy’s hair was brown. As it turned out, it was blond. The boy also had scars on his back and legs. Ben asked him about the marks.
“Warlord caught me two seasons ago,” Jordy explained. “Wanted me to be his servant-person. He beat me with a whip. I finally got my chance and run off. I’ll kill him if I ever see him again.”
Ben suspected the boy had also been sexually abused. But if he did not wish to talk about it, Ben would not force him to relive those memories.
“I ain’t got no last name, you know, Mr. Raines?” Jordy said.
“Call me Ben. I know, Jordy.”
“I thought of one.”
Ben smiled, knowing what was coming. “Oh?”
“Raines. If you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind a bit, Jordy. Jordy Raines. Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, sir-Ben.”
Ben cut north on Highway 101 the next morning, connecting with U.s. 160. He turned west. He stopped at every house along the way, searching for clothing for Jordy. He found a winter jacket in a cedar chest at one house, some jeans packed in a trunk at another, underwear and shirts at another home. At the last house, Ben found a .22-caliber pistol and several boxes of long rifle ammunition for the weapon. There was a holster and belt with loops for the weapon. Ben rubbed oil into the old leather and gave the weapon to Jordy.
“I’ll teach you how to use this, Jordy. You’re young, but you need to be armed.”
Jordy smiled and stepped out onto the porch of the home. He skillfully loaded the weapon and took aim at a box in the yard. He put all six slugs into the small box.
“Well, now,” Ben said with a smile. “Looks like I found a backup, partner.”
The next few days passed uneventfully, with Ben and Jordy traveling slowly westward, staying on Highway 160 until reaching the junction of State Highway 76. They took that through the Mark Twain National Forest, and it was slow going, for the road was badly deteriorated, with many downed trees and limbs that had to be removed. Ben began playing a game with Jordy, teaching him his ABO’S by associating each letter with an object. Ben was feeling proud of himself until he pointed out a “possum.
“Opossum,” Ben said.
“Huh?”
“The letter O. Opossum.”
Jordy looked at him. “Sir, that there is a plain of ‘possum.”
“Get the dictionary, Jordy.”
“What for? I can’t read the damn thing.”
“Perhaps there will be a picture beside the word and I can point it out to you.”
Jordy reached for the sack on the floorboard.
“That’s the Bible, Jordy.”
The boy’s eyes took on a funny glint.
“Something the matter, Jordy?”
“The Bible. That sure means something to me. But I can’t quite figure it out.”
“I’m sure you went to church with your parents, Jordy.”
“You can say that again. A bunch.”
“Maybe your father was a minister-a preacher?”
“I don’t know, Ben. Maybe so. I just can’t remember. Let me think about that for a little bit, huh?”
“All right.”
It was almost an hour later when Ben realized with a grin that Jordy had skillfully and smoothly conned him, escaping the task of learning his ABC’S.
“Pretty smooth, Jordy,” Ben complimented the boy.
They were on Highway 90, nearing the Oklahoma line, just south of the Huckleberry Ridge State Forest.
Jordy smiled. “What do you mean, sir?”
“You know what I mean.” He pointed to the north. “Pineville is that way. What letter of the alphabet does the word begin with?”
Jordy laughed. “PI Like in Possum!”
They were on Highway 59 heading south through Oklahoma when they had their first real trouble. Just before they reached the junction of Highway 10, Jordy pointed.
“Roadblock up ahead, Ben.”
“I see it.” Ben braked the truck some distance from the blockade. “Stay in the truck,” he told Jordy.
Ben got out and stood behind the open door. He waited for whomever, or whatever it was behind the blockade to make the first hostile move.
“Why don’t you just bust right through?” Jordy asked.
“Because I don’t know if they’re unfriendly or just cautious. People have the right to be cautious, boy. But their rights end when they get unfriendly, or dangerous.”
He turned back to the blockade. “We’re just passing through!” he yelled. “We don’t mean anyone any harm.”
“Leave the truck and start walkin” back toward where you came!” the voice called.
“Fuck you!” Ben muttered.
