Desperate Times (29 page)

Jon raised his gun when he heard that and
Jimmy heard the quiet click of him switching to the assault rifle
to full auto.

“No,” replied a woman’s stern voice. “You’ll
do no such thing. We’ll camp here and wait it out. These people
mean us no harm. What if it was us in there? Would you open the
gate?”

“That’s not the point.”

“What
is
the point?” asked the
woman.

“I don’t know. I’m sorry, Sister
Margaret.”

“Just remember, we’re Christians and we’ll
behave as such,” added the woman.

There was a murmur in the crowd. More voices
than Jimmy had imagined, many more. Jon motioned him still closer.
Jimmy followed. Jon moved like a snake through the tall trees, gun
at the ready. He moved to within twenty feet of the road and
stopped, crouching low behind a pine tree. Jimmy took a similar
position, five feet away from Jon.

Dawn was coming fast and Jimmy could clearly
make out the outline of small groups of people milling around on
the road. Many of the group appeared to be armed.

“They said they had a doctor in there.
Somebody did. My wife is bleeding to death. I’ve got to get her
inside,” said another man’s voice.

“Jerry Jenkins said they told him to come
here and wait for them. They were trying to get a doctor from Ely,
not that one was already inside. We’ve got to wait to see if they
show up,” said the woman called Sister Margaret, her voice had
become agitated.

“And what if they don’t?”

“We’ve got to put our faith in the Lord that
they will, and soon,” she replied.

The crowd murmured again and Jon turned to
Jimmy. He stood and set his rifle down. “Shit,” he muttered. “That
guy Jenkins has a damn big family. Ken’s going to kill us.”

Jimmy set his rifle down and ran his hands
through his hair. “What the hell are we going to tell him?”

“I don’t know,” said Jon, not bothering to
whisper. “I’m thinking about staying out here for a few days, just
until he cools down.”

“That’s a good idea. I’m thinking a week
might do it.”

“Sure. By then something else is bound to
happen and he’ll have forgotten all about this.”

Jimmy laughed and then he groaned. Ken was
going to be furious. There was no getting around it. That they had
returned with Dr. Benson wasn’t going to matter. Not to Ken.

“Hello,” greeted a familiar voice from the
road. “How are you?” the man asked.

Jimmy and Jon watched in horror as the
unmistakable form of Dr. Benson passed through the throng of
shadows on the road. He paused, looking in their general direction
and waving them over with a huge arm. “Come on out!” he shouted.
“There’s no danger here!”

“Crap,” said Jon. “This is your fault; you
know that, don’t you?”

“My fault?” asked Jimmy, picking up his rifle
and slinging it over his shoulder. “How is any of this my
fault?”

“I’m not sure, yet. But I’ll have it figured
out by the time we see Ken. I’m not taking the fall for this.”

“Don’t forget who invited that Jenkins guy.
That was you, pal. He’ll back me up on that. No, you’re on your own
there; Ken’s gonna kick your ass.”

Jon moved slowly ahead of him, just like a
child being marched into the principal’s office, thought Jimmy. Dr.
Benson waited for them on the road and the group eyed them with
suspicion.

“Relax,” said Benson. “They’re with me. Come
on boys; let’s go have a quick chat with Ken. I’ve got a lot of
work to do.”

Jimmy and Jon paused at the far side of the
dry ditch. It was worse than they’d thought. There were too many
people to count. The dark tone of the group’s earlier conversation
had changed to an excited chatter.

“How do you think he’ll do it?” Jon
asked.

“I’m thinking slowly,” said Jimmy, stepping
across the ditch. “He’s going to want to watch us suffer.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking. Well,
it’s been good knowing you.”

“You too, buddy. Catch you in the next
life.”

They met Dr. Benson on the road. The crowd
that had clamored around him gave the two heavily armed strangers
some room. Jimmy tried to smile, dreading what was about to come.
He wasn’t just worried about Ken, who he truly thought must be out
of his mind with anger. He was worried about Julie. How was she
doing? Then there was Paula. That storm was coming and he hadn’t
even prepared for it. And finally, what would they do with all of
these people? In a roundabout way, he and Jon had really sent them
here. They couldn’t turn them away, especially those who needed
medical attention. The sky was brighter now and he could clearly
make out the faces of those around him. They looked no different
than he did, or anyone else. They were just regular people with
nowhere to go.

“Boys,” Dr. Benson said with a broad smile,
holding his arms wide. “Say hello to our army.”

“Hello,” Jimmy said under his breath.

“Hi,” muttered Jon.

They followed Dr. Benson through the crowd,
some begged him to stop and tend to someone lying on the ground. He
paused at each of these people for a quick second, reassuring them
that he’d return shortly. He was going to get the gate opened,
after which they could all be seen. He said this with a reassuring
smile and they thanked him as he continued toward moving
forward.

They rounded the corner of the dirt road and
turned onto the driveway. Jimmy gasped. There were at least another
thirty people standing in the driveway. The scene reminded him of
an outdoor concert with everyone facing the stage, patiently
waiting for the entertainment to begin.

Standing tall on the other side of the wall
was Ken Dahlgren. The look on his face told him everything he
needed to know

“Oh shit, oh shit,” muttered Jon. “He looks
totally pissed!”

They followed Dr. Benson as he waded through
the crowd, finally arriving at the gate. Jerry Jenkins stood there
holding a toddler in his arms, apparently the first in line. A
disheveled looking woman stood behind him, tightly clasping the
hands of two small children. Jon tapped him on the shoulder and
Jenkins turned. He recognized them immediately.

“You made it! Thank God!” he exclaimed,
taking Jon’s hand. “God bless you.”

“We did,” said Jon with a forced smile.
“You’ve got a mighty big family, friend. You should’ve mentioned
that.”

“I didn’t tell you that we were alone in the
woods,” said Jenkins, staring at his feet. “I’m sorry, I should
have mentioned that.”

“That might’ve been useful information,”
retorted Jon. “You realize that Jimmy and I are in some serious
shit here because of you.”

“I’m sorry,” said Jenkins. “I really am. If
I’d have told you that our entire congregation was in the woods,
you wouldn’t have invited me here. Am I right?”

“You can tell that to Ken. That’s him up on
the wall.”

Jimmy and Jenkins followed Jon’s gaze up to
the top of the wall. Ken was there, glaring at the three of them
with a look that could launch a rocket. Even in the dim morning
light, they could see that his face was an unnatural shade of red.
Jimmy wanted to run. Maybe, he thought, Ken really would cool down
in a week. He averted his eyes and looked at Jon. He too, looked
like he was searching for options.

“Hello Ken!” hailed Dr. Benson in his booming
voice. “I love your fence. Is it new?”

The crowd grew suddenly quiet. The show had
begun.

Ken Dahlgren glowered at them. His eyes were
merely slits set over bared teeth. Jimmy cringed.

“Right,” said Dr. Benson, who obviously knew
Ken well enough to know what was going through his head. “Would you
mind opening up the gate? We’ve come a long way and have a lot to
talk about.”

“What about them, Doc?” shouted Ken angrily,
waving at the crowd. “Can’t you see that there’s not enough room
for everyone?” They’ll rush in just as soon as we open it.”

“You have my word that they won’t.”

“Your word?” spat Ken. “Have you lost your
mind, Ted? Look at them. How the hell do you plan on stopping
them?”

“Like this!” answered Dr. Benson, who then
turned and held up his hands. Instantly, the crowd went as silent
as if he were delivering a homily. “I need everyone to listen to
me!” he shouted, calmly. “People, we have a slight problem here.
The man up on the wall is Ken Dahlgren. This is his place. He’s
worried that if he opens the gate for me that all of you are going
to try and follow me inside. I just assured him that you wouldn’t
do that. What I need you to do is to assemble all of your sick and
wounded down there by the lake. I want you to do your best to
organize them so that the most critical patients are closer to the
house. I’ll be out soon and attend to each and every one of them.
You have my word on that. My first patient is a young woman inside
the house. She may be dying. Give me some time with her and I’ll be
back, shortly. Can you do that for me?”

“Move back!” somebody shouted from the middle
of the crowd.

“Give them some room!” barked another
voice.

The crowd parted and a cheer erupted on all
sides of them. Jenkins tried to back away, but Jon held him by the
arm. “Not so fast,” Jon growled. “You’re a part of this, too.”

“You see?” said Dr. Benson, turning back to
face Ken up on the wall. “They have no problem with that. Stop
acting so paranoid, Ken. These are good people out here. Now
please, open up the gate.”

Jimmy could see the wheels turning inside Ken
Dahlgren’s head. He scanned the crowd, looking for any sign that
they might still rush the gate. Jimmy turned and looked. Already,
people were moving toward the lawn down by the beach, allowing
others to help the sick and wounded find a place in the grass.
Jimmy returned his attention to the wall. Ken’s eyes seemed to bore
straight through him. Reluctantly, Ken motioned to someone below
and Jimmy heard the timber being removed from its cradle.

“We’re dead,” muttered Jon, as one side of
the gate began to slowly swing open.

“Or worse,” answered Jimmy.

With Dr. Benson leading the way, they
followed him inside the compound. Jon held tightly to Jenkins’ arm,
nearly pulling him inside. His wife and two children followed.
Jenkins looked terrified and clutched the small child to his chest
with shaking hands. He had heard their comments and had seen the
terrible look on the face of the man up on the wall. Jimmy could
see the fear etched onto Jenkins’ face.

The gate was closed behind them and the log
replaced into the cradle. Jimmy watched Ken march down the length
of the wall, heading toward the ramp. He looked like he was feeling
much better. Or was his overwhelming fury driving him? Jimmy didn’t
know. He turned and saw that many of the others had gathered on the
patio, keeping a respectful distance from what was sure to come at
the gate. To his dismay, Jimmy could see Patty up there, huddled
with the rest of them. Paula was there and Jimmy could tell by the
look on her face that she had some words of her own to say. She
glared down at him, her arms folded tightly across her chest.
God help me,
he prayed to himself.

“Hello Ken,” Dr. Benson said, quickly setting
his bags down and throwing his arms around Ken before he could
reach the others. “It’s so good to see you. You look great!”

“Cut the crap, Ted,” said Ken, struggling to
be free of the powerful embrace. “Let me go!”

“In a minute,” said the doctor in his
soothing voice. “In a minute; first, you have to listen to me.”

“Listen… hell!” shouted Ken, thrashing
against Dr. Benson’s grip. “Look what they did! I sent these two
morons out to find you, and look what they brought back? We can’t
possibly feed all of these people! Damn it! Let go. Let me at
‘em!”

Jimmy looked for somewhere to run. Jenkins
looked ready to do the same thing. His wife and children were pale
and shaking with fear. Jon’s ashen face was gleaming with
sweat.

“Just calm down, my friend; take a deep
breath…”

“Wait until I get through with you two. So
help me!” Ken shouted; shaking a fist in their direction.

Jenkins boldly stepped forward. He bent to
his knees and gently placed the lifeless-looking child on the lawn
at Ken’s feet. The stricken boy looked to be very close to death,
his chest rising slowly with shallow breaths. Jenkins stroked the
boy’s wispy hair and looked up at Ken. “What would you do if he
were your son?” he asked, humbly.

Jenkins’ wife rushed to his side, a sob
escaping from her mouth. She brushed the side of the child’s cheek
and held her shaking hand there.

Ken’s face instantly changed. The rage was
gone, replaced by a look of unadulterated sorrow.

“It’s my fault,” said Jenkins. “Those two men
said they were going to come back here with a doctor. We’re all
that’s left of The Little Chapel in the Woods. Sister Margaret is
out there with the others. We had nowhere to go and no one to help
us. What was I going to tell the rest of these people? I’m a
Christian, sir. We couldn’t just leave them all in the woods. That
would’ve been too heavy a cross for me to carry.”