“Let’s head home then.”
On the drive home, with the fir trees passing by on both sides, soaking up the afternoon sun, and the blue Honda in my rear view mirror, I think about the events at the store.
1. They are obviously extremely violent nature.
2. They seem to have a cunning aspect as “it” didn’t attack immediately but waited for an advantage. I’m not sure of their cognitive ability as the food that was scattered inside was seemingly solely limited to what was in the open. The rest of the foodstuff on the shelves was untouched. I’m not sure whether “it” can use doors to go in or out. In both encounters, speech seemed limited to growls and shrieks.
3. They seem extremely agile and strong, at least this one was. Pain also did not seem to affect it as it should as it was able to turn around and attack again so quickly even with a round in its leg.
4. The reports and assumption of shying away from light seems accurate judging from the way they both hid in the darkness and the reaction of the skin to sunlight, however, I’m not sure how or in what way light affects them. One thing does seem sure, light from a flashlight doesn’t seem to affect them in the same manner as the sun or I would have noticed the redness appear when I shined the light on the exposed skin of the corpse. My assumption is night may not affect them at all so they can operate freely then.
5. The best course of action appears to be avoidance and not drawing attention due to my limited understanding and knowledge.
I pull up to the driveway and back in wanting the Jeep parked in such a way as to make a quick exit if needed. Leaving the keys under the seat, I notice Robert park in a similar manner and walk over.
“We’ll leave the water and stuff here. Leave the keys on the seat. I’ll bring a case of canned food in. Robert, take Michelle, get the generator from the shed and put it over there,” I say pointing to the side of the house by the front door. “Oh, and make sure you bring the spool of cable that’s next to it.”
Walking up to the front door with my arms wrapped around a case of chili, I notice four pallets lying on the ground at the foot of the small deck in front. Setting the case down to open the door, I look up and see the sun is about to touch the tops of the trees but there is still time before it heads down behind the hills lying between here and the coast. There’s a few hours of daylight left but there are a lot of things to do and time seems short. Walking through the now open front door, I step into a house darker than when I left and the sound of hammering coming from the living room area.
“Hey there,” I say loudly setting the case on the kitchen counter.
“Come on in,” I hear Mom say as the hammering stops.
“You’ve been busy,” I say rounding the corner of the kitchen. Blankets cover the windows and doors. The only light in the house comes from lit candles placed throughout the rooms.
Mom is standing on a step stool by the far window with a hammer in one hand and holding up a corner of a blanket across the window with her other. “How did it go?” She asks turning back to the task at hand.
“We picked up Michelle, some water, and some food.” Mom nods and the pounding resumes as she hammers in the last nail.
“Robert and Michelle are getting the generator and I’ll wire it up here shortly,” I say also relating the events since we left, including my assumptions and thoughts about what we are looking at.
“Are you okay, Dad?” Nic asks coming over to give me a hug.
“I’m fine, babe,” I say turning toward the sound of the screen door shutting in front.
“Done,” Robert says emerging from the kitchen with Michelle close behind.
“Get the list out of the Jeep and you four gather the items and put them in the Jeep and car where there’s room. Leave the front seat of the Jeep open,” I tell them after Robert introduces Michelle. “And no arguing,” I say over my shoulder heading back outside. This has become a ritualistic saying with all of us knowing that peace will last perhaps three minutes at best.
The next two hours are spent gathering the items necessary for the trip, wiring the generator into the house fuse box to the main fuse, breaking up the pallets, and nailing them across the windows and doors leaving only the front and side door clear. This will not stop anyone or anything determined to get in but will slow them down and give us warning. With the generator, we will have running water and electricity. That’s the nice thing about having a well. After a dinner of chili and a few cookies from our loot, we settle back into the living room.
There is a load of wood brought in from outside but the wood stove remains unlit. Robert sits in one chair, Michelle in the other. Mom, Nic, and Bri are on the couch. I take a seat on the floor against the wall. A few bottles of water are against the inside wall and the sleeping bags we will be taking with us come tomorrow are scattered in the room.
“We’ll have to turn off the generator in a little while. Our objective is to not to attract any attention through noise, smells, light, or movement tonight. Therefore, no fire or light, including candles, after the sun goes down. If you have to use the bathroom, wait until morning to flush. No running water. We need to make ourselves like a deep, dark hole,” I say looking around the room at each of them. “I want to be off early tomorrow morning but we should keep a watch tonight. Robert, you take the first watch and I’ll take the second. Wake me at 0200.”
Robert is a night owl and I have a tendency to wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to go back to sleep so this schedule should work out. I still don’t have a watch. Need to rectify that tomorrow.
“If something does happen tonight, we’ll form a semi-circle against the inside wall,” I say nodding to where the water currently sits. “I have toward the kitchen and back door, Michelle, the two windows, and Robert, the side door and hallway. Mom, Nic, and Bri, you stay behind us and down.”
Mom gets off the couch and disappears down the hall to the back bedrooms. “I can help,” she says reappearing with a six shot .32 revolver.
“Alrighty then. You back up the person who seems to need the most help. If things get too messy and we can, we’ll try for the Jeep and the Honda. I’ll lead, Robert in the rear. Michelle and Mom to either side, Nic and Bri in the middle. Mom, Michelle, Nic and Robert in the Honda, Bri, you’re with me. We’ll all move to the blue car and then Bri and I will head for the Jeep. The keys to the blue car are on the seat. If we can’t do both cars, the keys to the Jeep are under the driver’s side seat. Just pile in as best as you can from the passenger side door and we’ll sort it out down the road.”
I grab some duct tape and string from the laundry room and empty tin cans from dinner and the recycling bin. Rinsing eight cans clean to get rid of food smells so the raccoons don’t rummage through and displace them, I head outside and place pieces of gravel from the driveway in the cans. I measure lengths of string that will stretch across the stairs leading up to the front, rear, and side decks. Two sets of stairs in front, and one each in the back and side. Cutting the string with my folding blade, I tape the string to the cans and set the cans on the railings with the string across the stairs. The string is about torso high and, should something or someone approach the doors, we should have some warning. Throwing the tape in the Jeep to replace the shredded one, I make a circuit around the house checking every window and door to make sure they are locked up tight, and then head back inside.
The rest of the evening is spent rehashing our list to see if we have everything, the day’s events, speculations about what happened, making sure Mom has enough supplies, trying to talk her into coming with us to no avail, and our planned flight.
The sun sinks behind the hills bringing on that summer twilight, the orange hue showing behind and above the hills fading to a darker blue on the opposite horizon as I head out to turn the generator off. The summer day temperature is falling to that warm, summer evening making me think of late BBQ’s and friends; sitting outside feeling full, drinking beer, and watching the stars slowly appear in the night sky; that feeling of contentment and peace. A melancholy feeling settles inside thinking those days are now gone. No more. The world moves on and doesn’t seem to care. I look up at the sky overhead and think about Lynn looking up at the same sky, hoping she is and is okay. “I’m on my way, hon,” I breathe into the deepening twilight sky.
I Hate Flu Shots
