Hell Happened (16 page)

Holding the baskets in one hand and the Desert Eagle in the other, he shot at them again. The gun almost flew from his hand and he shot the floor eight feet in front of where he thought he was aiming. “Shit. I’ll leave this part out when I tell this story to dad,” he said to himself and ran from the store.

Some of the drugs fell out, but he didn’t stop to pick them up. Whatever he had was going to have to be enough. When he got to the truck, Eddie and Monica had already gotten into the back seat and he threw the drugs into the passenger seat, barely taking time to close his door. He dropped the shifter in drive and stepped hard on the gas.

They raced all the way back to the lumber yard, laughing and crying and repeating their fears and heroics to each other. They were loud because the gunshots in the close quarters had temporarily deafened them.

Randy brought the SUV to a sliding halt and all three jumped out. Monica was holding her wrist that was badly injured, but not broken and yammering about almost dying. Eddie was going on about shooting two zombies and Randy was just pleased as hell to see his dad.

It took 20 minutes for the three to explain the drama they’d gone through in the past five minutes. Jerry let them release and asked Randy if he’d like Mike to drive the SUV back to the farm and Randy declined. He’d finish the job he’d been asked to do.

Jerry let the kids calm down for a few more minutes while he looked over the merchandise they’d picked up. It looked like they’d picked up a lot of stuff they would need. “Okay, let’s load up and head back home,” Jerry directed. “And let’s have a little less drama on the way?”

Pulling out of the parking lot, Jerry and Mike discussed what the young people had done and Jerry didn’t let the shaking he was feeling inside show on the outside. He kept his speed down to 25 miles per hour. It was a pleasant drive and Jerry could see in his side mirrors that Randy was smiling and talking with his two friends, so while they might have had some reality scared into them, they were none the worse for wear.

Mike was recalling some story from his youth in which he had to run from someone. Jerry was not paying real attention, just enjoying the pleasant drive home and thinking about his son. He was checking side mirrors again making sure the boy was still following and talking with Tony on the CB. “Yeah, we’re all okay,” he was saying while passing a drive that was hidden by decorative shrubbery. A small car pulled out of the drive and into his front bumper.

Who was more surprised would be talked about for months. Jerry hit the binders several heartbeats later than he might regularly. The driver of the little car was equally surprised and also hit the brakes. It was too late for both, but the car took the heaviest damage and the big Ford, easily pushed it out of the way as Jerry brought it to a stop.

Randy, Eddie and Monica were out of their vehicle first. They each had their guns drawn. Jerry was next because the hit was on Mike’s side of the truck and the hood of the car was next to his door. The driver of the car was turned, looking at something in the back seat. Jerry heard crying, the kind kids make when they are scared but not hurt, and the bark of a very big and very mad dog.

He let his gun drop, knowing his three young people in the Escalade would have their guns ready after the terror they’d been through in the last hour. The driver turned around. There was no fear on her face. In fact, to Jerry, it looked like she was ready to get out of the car to kick his ass until she saw the three young people with guns pointed at her in her rear-view mirror. She put her hands up.

The very big dog barked at him from the passenger seat of her car. It looked to be a Bull Mastiff, like the dog he had when he was growing up. He pointed to the dog and made a hook with his finger indicating he wanted her to hook the dog up before he tried to help her out of the car.

She fumbled around and found the dog’s leash and hooked his collar.

Jerry went around to the passenger door, still afraid to open it because the dog was 2/3rds the size of its owner and with his strength could easily break free. He’d hate to have to kill the dog, especially in front of his kids and the kids who were in the car.

He made the motion for her to slowly roll down the window, but just a little bit.

She did and he heard the woman tell “Boomer” to shut the hell up.

“You okay, ma’am?” he asked, slowly allowing the dog to sniff at the back of his hand.

She held onto the big dog while he leaned over to Jerry’s hand. “I think so. I’ve got two kids in back, don’t kill us, please!”

“We’re not going to hurt you, ma’am” he assured her as gently as he could. But let’s get everyone out of your car and get it away from the truck. He then stood up. “Quit aiming those damn things and get over here,” he said to his kids. “We got children in the car.”

All three holstered their guns as they quickly ran up to help.
“No more drama, huh, dad?”
Randy asked.
Before Jerry could respond, added “I know, shut up, boy.”

It took them all a little while to get everyone calmed down and make sure no one was injured. Jerry found out the woman, Tia, was the wife of an Army major stationed at Ft. McClellan over by Gadsden. He’d died along with everyone else on the Army base and she was driving back to Reno where she hoped to find her family.

She’d stayed on the base for three weeks after everyone else had died, not knowing why she and her 12-year-old son, John and eight-year-old daughter, Hannah, had survived. She’d decided yesterday that they would drive to Reno and had made it this far last night when she pulled off the interstate and found a church for them to sleep in.

They hadn’t seen any vigilantes nor heard about the not-
deads
, but Tia was a religious woman and felt the Baptist Church was a safe place for her and her kids. They had just packed up and were going to look for a gas station or another car when she pulled out and hit Jerry’s truck. “I just didn’t think there’s
be
anyone around,” she told them.

Randy was talking with John who was not crying, Eddie was playing with the big dog and a tree branch while Monica was sitting on the side of the road with the little girl named Hannah.

Jerry explained what they knew about the world, the vigilantes and the not-dead, and the chances of Tia and her kids making it to Reno. Tia didn’t break down like he thought she might. She just ran her fingers through her hair and looked around. “Well, there’s a storm coming, so if you’ll help me, we’ll find another car and then be on our way to find some shelter.”

“We won’t stop you ma’am, but we have a place not far from here where you and your kids and dog are welcome to stay.” Suspicious, Tia almost declined until she heard Kellie call on the radio. “I hope you picked up some more clothes while you were out,” Tia heard the woman say. “I’m tired of wearing flannel.”

Mike picked up the microphone and filled her in on the accident. Tia heard Kellie’s response. “
Well
bring the poor dear and her kids here and stop screwing around. There’s a lot of work to be done and little time.”

“Who’s she?” asked Tia.

“Someone like you we picked up about three weeks ago. A teacher,” Jerry explained.
“And a garden
weeder
.”

Tia smiled for the first time.

Jerry, Mike and Tia looked over the car. “You won’t be driving this anymore,” Mike said.

“I think I’ll take you up on your offer, Jerry,” Tia said, looking at her kids as they talked with Monica and Randy.

Tia and Hannah were packed into the back of the truck while John wanted to ride with Randy in the Escalade with his new friends and Boomer. They got all the clothes out of the car and some food Tia had brought along, including two 50-pound bags of dog food for Boomer. Tia lifted one by herself and Jerry grunted just a little when he grabbed the other.

Packed up, they left Tia’s car where it had died and headed back to the shelter.

Driving through Moody, everyone kept a look out and Randy was surprised when his dad pulled over in a big parking lot of a strip mall that looked mostly ransacked. Jerry got out of the truck and motioned for Monica to get out of the Escalade.

“I almost forgot to get clothes for you girls,” he said to her. “Do you think you can find what you need over there in that store there?” he said pointing to a clothing retail outlet that had the front windows shattered and doors off.

Monica smiled and just asked for covering fire while she shopped.

Jerry, Mike and Tia all armed themselves while the two adolescents stayed in the vehicles. They stood guard while Monica loaded Eddie and Randy up with clothes for the women and made them carry the clothing to the rear hatch of the SUV. Someone heard Randy say “get this bra off my head” at least once and Eddie ask “Seriously, you wear that size?” followed by a head slap.

It took all of 10 minutes to load up everything Monica could find that she thought those living in the shelter might need and the troop got back on the road.

They arrived at the shelter with the three new people just in time for Kellie to serve them leftover stew for lunch. They all recounted their experiences to Kellie and she listened to every word, smiling at the right places, showing concern and consternation when appropriate. She was the perfect hostess and made sure Tia and her two children felt comfortable.

After the lunch, Jerry suggested jobs to everyone. Mike, Kellie, Tia and her two kids would unload the Escalade while he, Randy and Eddie would unload the truck and trailers and start boarding up the garage and barns in preparation for the heavy weather that was coming.

The winds picked up through the afternoon. Everyone worked hard and as night began to fall jobs that had to be completed outside were finished with flashlights.

The first rains began falling around midnight.

Everyone found a place to sit in the overcrowded living room or in the dining room area. It was more crowded now and Jerry reviewed everything that had gone on during the day. He talked about their mistakes, his included, how they could avoid them in the future and what the storm damage would probably be like on the farm. Mike made some additions and handed out complements to Eddie, Randy and Monica for their quick thinking that day.

Everyone could hear the storm winds picking up outside. Jerry reminded them the shelter, built into a hill, was safe and everyone believed him. But that didn’t stop them from thinking about the barns and garage and fields and anyone else who hadn’t found a shelter as secure as theirs.

When Mike said he was going to bed, Kellie told
everyone
of the new sleeping arrangements. Tia and her two kids would be sleeping in the room she and Monica had been in. Monica had volunteered to stay in the living room with Tony. Now that he had a splint on his ankle and drugs for the pain, she wanted to stay with him to make sure she’d medicated him right and had already gotten an inflatable bed and put it on the floor.

Mike, who snored rather loudly, had volunteered to sleep in the cellar. “Now you volunteer to sleep in the cellar, old man? Why didn’t you think of
that
three weeks ago?” Eddie asked and tossed a pillow at the elderly black man. Mike caught it and smiled. He then shrugged and replied mildly, “You didn’t either, and you’re smarter than me.”

“We’ve done all we can,” Jerry said
,
breaking up the emerging pillow fight before it could start. “Why don’t we all get some sleep if we can? I know I’m beat.” Everyone seemed to agree, but no one moved right away. They all listened to the winds outside, muffled from the amount of earth that protected them, but loud enough to let them know nature was still alive.

It was Tia who moved first, gathering up her kids and Boomer was let outside to do his business. Jerry patted the dog as the animal walked by and Boomer wagged his tail, hitting everyone within reach.

In response, Molly, on Kellie’s lap, lifted her head, and then put it back down. To her, Boomer was just another one of Kellie’s friends.

The boys and Mike went next, the two younger up the stairs and the one elder to the cellar. Jerry made sure the front doors were locked tight when Boomer returned to the shelter. He went to his room while Kellie checked to make sure Monica and Tony were comfortable, everything in the kitchen was turned off, and the three new guests had blankets and pillow and everything else they needed for the night.

Jerry would have liked a shower before bed, but he had put in 18 long hours and was as tired as he’d ever been. He stripped to his boxers and crawled into bed, barely noticing a pile of clothes Monica had picked up at the fashion store were now on his floor in a corner.

He’d just closed his eyes and was nearly asleep when his door creaked open. Molly came in followed quietly by Kellie. “
Shhh
,” she whispered to the dog as she used a pen light to navigate around the room. Not coming fully awake, Jerry realized Kellie had never said where she’d be sleeping, now that Tia and her two kids had taken over the girls’ room.

Now he knew.

Kellie slipped off her flannel shirt and bra, and took off the new pair of jeans Monica had found for her and crawled into
bed,
the one Jeff had been sleeping in. They had been arranged to make room for the clothes they’d picked up and also so both people in the room could use the same lamp with which to read.