Not Dead in the Heart of Dixie (29 page)

2:00 PM...

Valerie looks a lot different than she did when we found her. For one thing, she's clean and wearing clothes. She's still toothpick skinny but there's color in her face. She seems to be aware of where she is.

I chit-chatted at her for a little while. I think I found out her age. I asked how old she is and she wrote the number 14 on her doodle pad. I'm not sure if that's her age or just a number she felt like writing, but she did it in response to my question and didn't write any numbers after that.

I took cinnamon buns for each of them and a thermos of milk for them to share. They gobbled everything down and Valerie made the "mmm" sound while she was eating. Hisa says there have been no signs of bowel problems, or worms and lice. I was glad to hear that because I was sitting pretty close to Valerie.

Clinic Diane looks pretty darn good. Hisa has most of the medications all lined up and organized inside the cabinets. There are canisters of alcohol wipes, cotton balls, band aids, and cotton swabs sitting on the counter top. There are sheets on the beds and a curtain across the area where the couch sits in case Hisa wants to examine one of us for some reason. It actually smells like a medical clinic.

She said I did a good job picking out the medications we got at Walgreens. I told her I didn't pick them out, I just swept them into containers. She got a laugh out of that.

She wants to get college level medical books. She needs to study them and have information on hand for the many medical procedures and diseases she hasn't learned about yet. I told her I don't know of any place close, but I'll ask Mick about it.

Walking
to Clinic Diane didn't bother my back too much. I took it slow and easy, I don't wanna have a relapse. When I got back inside, Nana and Elaine were working on lunch plans. I sat in the recliner and threw suggestions at them as I dozed on and off.

The kids came in like a herd of wild animals and that put an end to my dozing. I read a couple of books to them while Nana and Elaine made lunch.

We had pinto bean burgers with homemade buns. It was Elaine's recipe, and it was good! Elaine just laughed and blushed from all the compliments she got.

Elaine is such a prize. She's been a huge help to Nana since I've been off my feet.

The men say they have fencing up about ten percent of the way on the right side. Mick says the perimeter fence may be finished in three or four weeks if we can get enough fencing. Sounds good to me.

11:00 PM...

I can't sit here and write.

We've lost Caleb. The kids were playing in the back yard and he was attacked. We are all in agony.

Saturday, February 8

I apologize that it's taken so many days for me to get back on track, but I'm sure you understand.

It's been four days since we lost our cherub.

I'm going to sit here and write this out, and then I'm going to put this horrible event out of my mind forever. I'm only going to remember all the wonderful times we had with Caleb.

It was close to 3:30 PM.

Several of us were standing around the barn, watching the second doe of the day laboring and waiting for new babies to hit the ground.

Mick, Jeremy, and Soo were working on the fence and Jason was splitting wood near the barn. Hisa was at Clinic Diane with Valerie.

Carisa and Merry were playing cards in Carisa's room.

The kids were running and playing in the yard. They were full off themselves and had enough energy to turn on the lights in a football stadium.

The doe was about to start her serious pushing when we heard a scream come from the side of Nana and Pop's motorhome.

It was the scream of a truly terrified child who's in fear for their life.

If you've never heard the scream of a truly terrified child who's in fear for their life, then you don't know that the sound strikes immediate, explosive fear in your heart. Your legs begin to move on their own, heading in the direction of the scream. It's completely different than the scream of a child who's injured, or excited, or angry. Every
parent who's heard it knows something unimaginable is happening.

This was the first time I've heard the scream of a truly terrified child in fear for their life. I've raised one child to adulthood, and a second one who's almost there, but they've never screamed like that.

Jason was the first to get there. The rest of us were only a few steps behind him.

Amber and Michael were standing in the little clearing where the laundry troughs sit. They were both frozen in place and
staring into the trees beside the motorhome. They weren't speaking and they weren't moving. They were both as pale as cotton and in shock.

Caleb was standing behind a large rock and between two small trees. He was being pulled into the trees by a small
, rotting hand.

He went do
wn behind the rock and we couldn't see him anymore. Jason ran at full speed toward the spot where Caleb had disappeared. He had his pistol drawn and when he got there, he raised the gun and shot. The whole incident happened within seconds

The rest of us arrived a moment later and we saw Caleb on the ground. Beside him lay a half rotted body of a young boy. It was Frankie, the remaining brother that we hadn't been able to find over a month ago. We recognized Frankie from Caleb's photo album.

.

Jason was crouched over Caleb's tiny body
, cursing, sobbing, crying, and apologizing over and over to the little blonde angel laying still and quiet on the ground.

The side of Caleb's face had been bitten and a large piece of his cheek was missing. His neck had also been bitten and blood was pouring from the artery. He was looking up toward heaven whe
n the light faded from his eyes and then, he was gone.

Jason stood, raised his arms toward the sky, screamed in agony, and sent several gunshots into the air.

Caleb's body began to sit up. Elaine pointed her pistol and shot him. Then, she turned and headed down the hill as Marisa and Jason collapsed to the ground, holding one another, sobbing and shaking with heart-wrenching sobs, completely out of control from their pain.

Soo picked up Caleb's little body, wrapped him in a sheet that had been hanging on the line, and carried him back to the new little house in the woods.

We buried him near the flower gardens at the rear of the house.

Goodbye beautiful little "Cab." We love you and will miss terribly. I know that you're with your brothers, playing cowboy and catching salamanders in heaven.

I went back to check on the doe, and there were two little doelings beside her. No one else wanted to see new life coming into the world. Not at that point in time.

Writing this has taken every ounce of energy I have.

Bye for now.

Sunday
, February 9

It's pouring rain.

Mick's stuck inside and doesn't like it at all. He says he needs to keep himself busy, so he's down in the basement, measuring. He wants to find out how many shelves we have room for.

When he's tired of measuring, he's gonna take Jesse and head to the feed store.

They'll take anything they can find and load it into the enclosed goat trailer so it stays dry. He can back the trailer into the barn when he needs to unload.

They're taking Jason's Dodge. If they find more than enough feed to fill the goat trailer they'll load the extra into the bed of the Dodge and cover it with a tarp to keep it dry. I told him that I didn't think there was enough feed kept in stock at the feed store to fill the goat trailer, even on a good day

If they don't find anything there, they'll head to the milling company. Mick says he actually feels better about going on a rainy day instead of a sunny day. He's hoping that any gangs who might attack will be hunkered down inside their hidey-holes, waiting for the rain to stop.

He wants to take enough food to last three days in case they get stuck somewhere and can't get home. I pray that doesn't happen
, but going forty-five miles away from home these days comes with a lot more risk than it did a few months ago.

He wants to
complete the fence before focusing on anything else, but the goats have to eat so we can continue getting milk.

Mick says he'll send Ja
son and Jeremy back to TSC to take apart more shelving and bring it home. He wants to get shelves up before we start canning and preserving whatever the garden gives. We still have a little while before we need to concern ourselves with that.

Pop says that we can plant the seedlings he has in the greenhouse after the last frost date. That's around the second week in April. The seedlings are growing nicely in Pop's little greenhouse. He wants to get another one set up and plant more seeds by the end of the week. Jeremy told him he would help as soon as he has the chance.

Mick's kept everyone busy working on the fence from dawn 'til dusk the last few days. They take turns breaking for lunch, so there's always someone working on the fence. He says they have about twenty-five percent done on the left side of the compound. He'll need to get more fencing soon, but he thinks we have enough to finish the left side.

Marisa's been coming here to eat. Other than that, she stays inside with Amber and Michael. She panics if they get out of her sight.

Loosing Caleb has taken a toll on her. I've gone over to sit with her a few times. It hurts my heart when my babies are hurting.

We're giving her all the time she needs to get back into the daily dregs of surviving. Jason hasn't stopped working since it happened. He works fast and constantly. It's hi
s way of dealing with the pain.

I'm heading out to help Nana make lunch. We're having homemade bread with chicken patties and mayo. The bread needs to rise a couple times, so we better start working on it now. I also need to make sure Jesse and Mick have plenty of supplies in their backpacks before they leave.

Mick just stuck his head in and told me that he and Jesse are getting ready to leave. I told him to make sure he has a good supply of ammo and that I'll be out in a minute to check the food in the backpacks.

3:00 PM...

It's still raining.

Thunderstorms, lightning, and high winds have added themselves to the mix. Mick and Jesse aren't back yet. I'm guessing that means they went to the milling company.

The water in the pool is close to overflowing. Mr. Hobbs and the girls have been filtering water like crazy
. They've filled almost every empty container we have, even the horse troughs we use for laundry are full. I told them to start filling all the five-gallon buckets and all the bathtubs so we can use the water for flushing toilets.

I wish Mick and Jesse would get back. Elaine is as worried as I am.

11:00 PM...

Mick and Jesse still aren't back. It's dark and stormy outside. I'm very worried and won't sleep a wink 'til they return. I know Mick can take care of himself, but I'm still on edge.

Elaine's beside herself with worry. She's
near the fireplace, rubbing her hands together. Every little sound causes her to jump and stare at the door.

I hope they haven't been hurt or kidnapped. This waiting is gonna make me a nervous wreck. Lord, please bring them back home!

Jason just about drove us crazy today. He couldn't go out and work on the fence in the storm, and he couldn't think of any other way to occupy himself. He finally went home to work on the kitchen and windows.

Mr. Hobbs and Jason put one of our huge tarps in the bed of Pop's F350. It's filling up with water and makes me think of those "redneck hot tub" jokes. I can't believe it's actually holding water. They say they may start filling every truck bed we have i
f it doesn't stop raining soon.

Man! I wish Mick and Jesse were back.
I'm going to lie down and worry about them.

Bye for now.

Monday
, February 10

No, they aren't home. I'm about to lose my mind.

Jason and Mr. Hobbs are discussing headin' out to look for them. I don't know if that would be a good idea. Marisa's having a fit and doesn't want them to go. I don't blame her. I'm afraid something might happen to them as well.

I'm gonna need one of my nerve pills if they don't get back soon.

I'm focused on my worry and can't think of anything to write about. So, I’m headed out to help Nana with breakfast. I need to keep myself busy.

1:30 PM...

They're back and doing fine!

They got back about 11:45 and sat down to eat lunch while they told us what happened.

They arrived at the feed store and it was gone.... I mean, literally. It was burned to the ground and there was nothing left but ashes. It looked like it had burned weeks ago. They decided to head to the milling company.

They passed through a small town that only exists because of fishermen and vacationers who visit the lake. There were HDI's there, and the HDI's wanted to eat them but they didn't give 'em time enough to get close. They drove to the other side of the lake and headed straight to the industrial warehouse area.

They pulled into the milling company parking lot.

The building has six loading docks and there were no vehicles there. The place looked abandoned but not destroyed. The windows on the second and third floors were still intact. There were several large silo's attached to the building that extended well above the roof.

There was a steel staircase leading up to the second floor and a sign on the building near the bottom of the staircase that said "Office" with an arrow pointing up. Mick
and Jesse went up the staircase, tried the office door, and found it locked. They employed the pry-bar and Mr. Colt to get it open. Mick figured there would be access to the warehouse and loading docks through the office area.

It took about five minutes to find the access door
which was also locked. They successfully employed the pry-bar and Mr. Colt again. They looked through the door and saw a staircase leading down to the semi-dark warehouse. They pulled out their flashlights and headed down.

The warehouse area was vast and there was a lot of empty space but there was also pallets full of various colored feed bags.

Mick played around with one of the "emergency" manual levers and cranked a handle until one of the loading doors was half-way up. Light flooded the area and they went to work.

Mick hopped down off the dock and pulled the truck and trailer up beside it. The trailer isn't tall enough to
back up to a dock for loading.

They filled the trailer with goat feed, shredded beet pulp, black oil sunflower seeds, and alfalfa pellets. They also found a half-pallet of chicken feed and was able to get a good bit in the truck bed and covered with a tarp.

The corn, oats, and whole grains were gone. There were several barrels of molasses and the label said they were "intended for livestock only." Mick said he would've taken them if he had somewhere to put them.

They also found bags of cat food, rabbit feed, alpaca feed, and a pallet of pig feed, but they didn't take any of that. There was no cattle or horse feed to be found.

After they got the trailer loaded, they jumped in the Dodge and were ready to head back.

The Dodge wouldn't start. It wouldn't make any noise at all. They climbed out and began searching for the problem. Cold rain went down their necks and backs
, soaking them from top to bottom.

Darkness was coming on fast but they stayed out in the rain and worked on the Dodge. One of them held the flashlight while the other "checked this" and "wiggled that." They couldn't get the engine to turn over. The door lights and headlights wouldn't come on. Mick believes the alternator is dead.

It was past supper time and the weather had gone from bad to worse. It was thundering and lightning, and the rain was blowing sideways. They grabbed their backpacks and headed to the office to get out of the rain, discuss their options, and eat something. They slept in a meeting room near the office. It was carpeted and the door had a lock. They felt it would be better than sleeping in the truck or the open warehouse. They hung their coats, jeans, socks, and shirts on chairs to dry while they slept. Mick said it was “damn cold in there” and he didn't get much sleep.

Mick woke before dawn and it was still raining. He knew that the only choices they had were to find a vehicle with a trailer hitch or find a vehicle with the right type of alternator, remove it, get it into the Dodge, and pray that it would work. He knew we w
ere all worried sick by that time, so he decided to look for a vehicle with a trailer hitch.

Jesse said he knew where to look. They gathered up their backpacks, grabbed a full gas can out of the Dodge, and left on foot.

Jesse led him along the lake front until they came to a campground that had several little log cabins and a marina. There were vehicles parked at a few of the cabins and several more at the marina. Many of them had boat trailers hitched to their rears.

Mick decided that, since he'd killed Jason's Dodge, he needed to bring back something a little nicer to replace it. He looked through several vehicles before he found a white Lexus SUV with a boat trailer attached and the keys above the visor.

He thought Jason wouldn’t mind that trade. The Lexus had half a tank of gas, so they hopped in and drove back to the milling company.

Anyway, they loaded everything from the Dodge into the Lexus, pushed the Dodge out of the way, hitched up the trailer, and made it home in time for lunch.

Jason says he doesn't need to go back for the Dodge because the Lexus will be great for carrying kids. He had a twinkle in his eye and a bounce in his step. I thought he was gonna give Mick a kiss, but he didn't.

10:00 PM...

We had big fat cinnamon raisin pancakes with syrup
and bacon for supper. Sometimes, we like to have breakfast food for supper. It was filling and delicious.

When we need bacon again
, we'll have to use the jars from the pantry unless the good Lord drops a couple of fat pigs where we can find them. I canned 30 pounds of bacon in the pressure canner last summer. I learned how to do it from a YouTube video. It works great! The bacon comes out a little crumbly, but it's real bacon.

It's still raining but has slowed to a light drizzle. We have nothing left to store water in
, and the pool is overflowing into the yard. Even the garden tub in Marisa's old house trailer is full of water.

We now have enough goat feed to last until we can get some barn lootin' done and the browse starts growing in the pasture again.

Mick says there's no goat feed left at the milling company. We got the last of it.

Soo says the chickens are perfectly fine using his old motorhome as a coop. Jesse finished building a good sized run and attached it to the motorhome. He and Jeremy gutted the motorhome and built wooden nesting boxes to put inside. They added a couple of tree saplings across the middle so the chickens can give in to their roosting instinct. There were several bullet holes in the roof so they strapped a tarp over it.

I'm tired from not getting any sleep while Mick was gone, so I'm off to bed.

Bye for now.

Tuesday, February 11

We have an egg! It's a funny shaped egg, but it still an egg!

We have no idea which chicken laid the egg, but we hope it's a good sign that all three chickens will start laying pretty soon.

Most of the men at Kapper Hill Compound are out working on the fence. Pop and Mr. Hobbs are standing watch and filling
each other’s head with all sorts of ideas.

The ladies will be
working on laundry in a few minutes. We hope to have it done before lunch.

Marisa will be helping. I told her she needs to keep herself busy and she seems to have taken my advice to heart. She won't let Amber and Michael out of her sight even though Carisa and Merry promised to watch them carefully.

Hisa and Valerie are out for a morning walk. The sun is shining and, even though it's cold, Hisa thinks the exercise will be good for Valerie. If all goes well, Valerie may join us for supper tonight. Hisa doesn't want to push too hard and will leave the final decision to Valerie, but I'm hoping she'll come.

I'm headed out for laundry duty. See ya later!

10:00 PM...

It was very busy around here today.

The men came in for lunch and they were covered in red mud. Mick says he almost got his feet stuck several times. We made 'em leave their boots and coats on the porch before we'd let 'em in the house.

After lunch dishes were clean, I went down to the basement to check out Carisa and Merry's organizing skills.

It looks pretty darn good for two teenagers who've never done it before! I told them that the applesauce could be used as an oil substitute in baking and a lot of the other fruits would be used for pies. The jellies and jams will mostly be used for pancakes, biscuits, or toast, so they might consider putting the canned fruit section
near the baking section.

I explained to them that beans can be considered a protein and used as a meat substitute and told them to put them in a section of their own.

That was about it. The rest of the place looks neat as a pin, even the shelves are labeled. They have all the long-term food organized and in its own section. Smart girls!

Mick thinks they'll finish the fence on the left side of the compound within the
next four days if all goes well.

He
worries that it'll be obvious we're here because of the driveway. We need a gate, and it's hard to camouflage a gate.

Valerie didn't come up for supper. Hisa says she's not ready for a large crowd yet. That's okay, we'll wait patiently.

Hisa's getting a little more information out of Valerie. We now know she is from Athens, Alabama and she is fourteen years old. I'll write out any other information Hisa gets from her.

It's been a long day and these old bones are tired.

Bye for now.

Wednesday
, February 12

We have another egg! Woo hoo! It's a pretty egg and is sitting beside yesterday's egg in the refrigerator. We're saving them until we have enough to bake a cake. We only need two more. Then, we'll save enough to make a nice breakfast with real eggs. I want mine fried in
bacon grease with medium yolks.

Nana and I were making
breakfast when we saw two small figures walk past the kitchen door. It was Hisa and Valerie, out for another morning walk.

I believe
that Hisa is trying to get Valerie comfortable with the back yard since that's where we work most of the time. Hisa was pointing out the laundry area, Pop's motorhome, and the area where Jason splits wood.

I hope these morning outings will get help Valerie get more comfortable with her new home. Hisa stuck her head in and asked if she could grab
oatmeal to go. We fixed her up and she headed back to Clinic Diane with Valerie following close behind.

The guys are working on the fence again, and Jeremy and Jason are off on a fence finding mission. They took Mr. Hobbs' Silverado and the
flatbed trailer.

Marisa says the kitchen at her house is gutted. I'm gonna head over there and help her decide where to put things when Jason starts bringing them in. Pop can tell her where she should put a
cook stove in case we ever find another one.

See ya later!

2:00 PM...

I saw smoke rising from the chimney of the big house with the pond this afternoon. I hope Mr. Whomever is keeping warm..

We haven't heard anything at all from that place. The guys on duty haven't been able to see any movement through the binoculars. I may just march up to the door with a little plate of fried pies and introduce myself. Hopefully, I won't get shot.

I intend to take Mr. Hobbs and Marisa with me tomorrow, so we can check at least one of the houses on the other side of the woods to our right. I wanna start with the chicken-killer-dog's house. Maybe they have food or something useful I can take as restitution for all the chickens their dogs killed.

I'm a little nervous about going without Mick, but both Mr. Hobbs and Marisa are good shots
, and Mr. Hobbs can kick some serious HDI butt. I hope there's no one there and a lot of good stuff to bring back here.

I'm throwing together beef stew for supper tonight and I want it to simmer for a couple hours. It won't be one of the commercial beef stews from the truck stop. I'll be using my home canned veggies and some of the
stew beef I canned last summer. We'll have saltine crackers to go with it but Mick likes to eat it with bread and butter.

I'm headed out to get started.
See ya later.

10:30 PM...

Jeremy and Jason came home with a flatbed trailer full of chain-link fencing. They got it from a propane company. There was lots of fencing around the
place, but no propane canisters other than the big round ones.. There were several different trucks there.

None of us know how to move, or set up, one of those big propane tanks and we don't wanna blow the house off the side of the hill trying to figure it out.

Jason mentioned that he wants to get the fencing that runs alongside the Interstate. There should be miles of fencing there. It's hard to find 6' fencing at residential homes.

Mick got a pretty good cut on his forearm while he was working today. He said he got it from a sharp piece of wire at the end of one of the fencing rolls. He went to Clinic Diane and had Hisa clean and bandage it. Valerie's eyes lit up when he walked in, but she didn't say a word. He said "hello" and thought he saw her smile a little. He was surprised at how much better she looks.