Odd Billy Todd (72 page)

Pete made two turns, and in less than a minute, he was sliding to a stop, next to Billy’s unconscious form.

“Hey! You’re one of them!” Branch shouted, and swiveled the machine gun around to point it at Collins.

“Not again,” Collins groaned, raising his hands.

“Point that the other way!” Pete ordered. “He’s a good guy!”

“Like hell!” Branch replied. “He was the one they brought to check us over! People who didn’t pass muster disappeared!” Pete looked at Collins.

“I treated anyone who was sick, or injured,” Collins nodded. “Only, John wouldn’t allow me to treat anyone seriously ill, or injured. He kept what medicine there was for his own people.”

“You mean you refused to treat them!” Branch almost yelled.

“I’ve never refused to treat anyone!” Collins shot back heatedly.

“I don’t have time for this,” Pete grated. “I told you to point that somewhere else. Either do it, or get out and take your chances somewhere else. I’ve known this man a hell of a lot longer than I have you. If he says that’s how it was, that’s how it was.” Branch glared at Pete, and for a minute, Pete thought he was going to have to shoot the man. Just then, Barbara Branch stuck her head out of the window.

“Hi, Doctor Collins!”

“Hello, Barbara,” Collins smiled. “How’s your foot?”

“It’s all better. I ran on it just a little while ago, and it didn’t hurt at all!”

“Barbara get back inside the truck!” Dillon snapped.

“I will not!” the teenager huffed indignantly. “This man helped me when I was hurt. In fact, he helped a lot of us. Protected us from. . .from. . .well. . . .”

“It’s alright, Barbara,” Collins told her. “Do as he says. It’s still dangerous out here.”

“Why are you pointing that gun at Doctor Collins, Dillon?” she demanded. “He’s a nice man.” Dillon mumbled something under his breath, and moved the gun away from Collins. Pete sighed, and eased his hand off his rifle grip.

“Help me get him loaded,” Pete ordered Collins. The two quickly placed Billy into the rear compartment, with Collins electing to ride with him. Pete handed over their first aid kit, then slid behind the wheel again.

“Let’s get the hell out of here,” he declared to no one in particular. He was tired, dirty, and at the end of his rope.

“This is why I never wanted to be a platoon sergeant,” he muttered. He put the Hummer in gear again, and pointed it toward home.

They left a severely damaged, and strategically weakened Franklin behind them.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE

Terry looked at the ‘improvements’ the group had made over the last two days at the Clifton House, conflicting feelings running through him. He was happy with the work, there was no question of that. If the need arose, he was confident that the few of them would be able to hold this place against almost anything short of a tank. Considering some of the things George had found in the armory in Columbia, they might stand off even that.

But the fact that they would have to resort to using a place that had been dedicated to raising children left orphaned by the plague was gut wrenching. And maddening. He hated the people who would make such a thing needed. Hated the necessity of even having to think of such a thing.

Terry had been all over the world during his Army career. He had seen fighting that left him wondering what the point was to start with. Seen children used in combat, or held hostage to it. Kids who had lost limbs, or lives, in minefields planted and forgotten by those who used them.

Villages lain waste to, with not even the dogs left alive. He had lost count of the times he had cried himself to sleep, in the dark of his tent, or sleeping bag, hoping no one heard him. The times he had crawled into a bottle when he had a short leave, too short to come home.

He had never, ever, in all those years imagined he would see such things in America. Not even once. But then, he’d never imagined a world where ninety-five percent of the population was dead, either.

He sighed, taking his hat off and rubbing his hand across his brow. Despite everything, there was always the chance they would never have to use this place for anything but an orphanage.

But if they did, it would be ready.

“Terry, how copy?” his radio interrupted his thoughts.

“I read you, Howie. What’s up?”

“Pete’s on his way in, running hard. Billy’s been hit. He want’s you to have Amy standing by with everything she would need to treat a GSW. Says he has Doctor Collins on board, you’d know who that was. He also has two others, male, and female, friendlies.”

Shit.

“I read you Howie. Did he have an ETA?”

“Half hour, with no problems.”

“Roger that. We’ll be ready.” Terry climbed aboard his horse. If he was lucky, he’d have time to. . . .

“Terry, this is Rhonda. Did I hear that right?” Terry was surprised. She sounded calm, and firm.

“Yes, Rhonda, you did,” Terry fought off a sigh.

“Bring him here,” Rhonda ordered. “We’ll be ready.”

“Copy that,” Terry assured her. He was surprised again. She hadn’t demanded anything, like information. She knew everything he did, if she’d been monitoring the radio. He spurred his horse down the road. A thought hit him, then, and he keyed his radio again.

“Rhonda, you copy?”

“Go ahead.”

“Can you send Danny over to Amy’s with the truck? She’ll need to move whatever she thinks they’ll need.”

“Already on his way.” Terry shook his head, smiling in spite of himself.

“Roger that.”

*****

“Anything?” Pete asked.

“Nope. We’re clear,” Dillon assured him. “I don’t think anyone back there’s in any shape to follow us, man.”

“Don’t assume, though,” Pete reminded him. “We can’t afford to have someone follow us.”

“Where is it we’re going, anyway?” Barbara asked. She was in the front seat now, looking and acting none the worse for her imprisonment.

“We’re going home,” Pete smiled at her. “There’s no real name I guess. We just call it the Farms.”

“So it’s a farm?”

“A great big one,” Pete nodded. Talking to the girl kept his mind off the fact that his friend was lying in the back of the Hummer, unconscious, and slowly bleeding to death.

“Are there horses?” she asked.

“Yeah, there are. That’s how we get around in fact, for the most part. We don’t have much gas, and don’t want to waste what we do have.”

“I love horses!” she grinned in delight.

“Well, that’s good news,” Pete nodded. “There’s cattle, too. And pigs. And acres and acres of corn, and beans and. . .well, you get the idea.”

“So. . .so it’s regular food?” she asked, surprised.

“Regular as rain,” Pete nodded. “Nothing fancy, mind you, but there’s plenty of it. Everyone plants a garden, too.”

“I tried to plant a garden for us, but the deer kept eating it. And the birds, and the raccoon's.”

“Well, we have that too, but we work at keeping them out. You’ll see,” he promised. He slowed the truck, looking for the road. He didn’t see it.

“Damn, they did a good job,” he murmured to himself. He eased off the road carefully. “Doc! We’re gonna have to off road a bit. Is that a problem?”

“Just go slow. I’ve got the bleeding stopped again, but bouncing around might open the wound again.”

“Will do,” Pete promised. He decided not to use what he thought was the actual road, thinking it might damage the cover. Instead, he picked a trail to the right of where the road lay hidden.

“Might want to take a seat, Dillon,” Pete called. “This’ll be rough, I’m afraid.” Dillon secured the gun, and slide down into the rear seat. Pete started across the field, bumping only slightly as he took it slow. It grated on him to creep along with Billy hurt, but he knew it wouldn’t do his friend any favors to bounce across this field.

*****

Rhonda hurriedly made preparations for when Billy arrived. She was scared stiff, but hid it well, letting her work keep her from breaking down. Tears were falling even as she worked, but she was firmly in control.

Pete had mentioned a doctor, so Amy had brought some things she thought a doctor might want to use for a GSW, including IV’s, and transfusion equipment. She hoped Billy didn’t need any blood, and that if he did, someone knew his blood type. They would have to take blood from someone else. This was a weakness that Amy had known about, but hadn’t been able to fix. As she prepped the room that Rhonda had given her, Amy desperately tried to project calm, knowing that Rhonda was at the edge of breaking down.

“Rhonda, there’s a doctor with them,” she offered. “I’m sure he’s been in good hands.”

“He’ll be fine,” Rhonda replied firmly. “He promised.” Amy smiled at that, and returned to her work. It was interesting to note Rhonda’s confidence, despite her obvious fear.

She was about to say something else when she heard the sound of an approaching vehicle.

*****

As soon as Pete reached the road, he hit the gas. It wasn’t all that far now, and he had the Hummer going full out. That didn’t mean a great deal, of course. The heavily armored truck wasn’t meant to be a racer. It was meant to go, and keep going. Tough, dependable, but would never be called fast.

It seemed like an eternity before Billy’s drive came into view. He saw Terry standing there, but merely nodded as he roared past, intent on getting Billy inside where Doc and Amy could treat him. Pete was emotionally drained at this point. Between watching their back trail, expecting an attack at any minute, and worrying about his friend bouncing around in the back, Pete was completely spent. He sighed deeply in relief as the house came into view. Toby, George and Ralph were waiting to help unload the still unconscious Billy. Amy was holding the front door open, while Rhonda stood on the porch, arms folded, watching.

Pete slid to a stop at the steps, and leaped out, followed by Dillon Branch and his sister. The hatch raised, Doc slid out as willing hands reached for Billy’s still form. As Toby and George took hold, Billy groaned.

“Watch that arm, kiddo,” he ordered Toby. “Hurt’s enough as it is.”

“Billy!” Toby almost shouted in joy.

“Who else was ya ‘spectin’?” Billy asked, sitting up on the tail board.

“We need to get him inside,” Doc ordered. “He’s lost a lot of blood.”

“‘He’ can hear ya, Doc,” Billy mumbled. “And ‘he’ can walk.” Billy stood up, cradling his arm. He staggered a bit, and allowed Toby and George to support him on either side.

“Pete, will you clean my rifle?” he asked, and Pete couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yeah, I’ll take care of it, pal. All your gear, too. Promise.”

“Pete can go rest, I’ll take care of it,” Toby insisted. “Soon’s Miss Rhonda don’t need me, Billy, I’ll come get it all and clean it for ya.”

“Thanks, buddy,” Billy smiled, albeit a little weakly. He was still smiling drunkenly when he walked around the edge of the Hummer, and saw Rhonda standing on the porch, arms crossed. Now that she saw Billy up and walking she looked. . . . “Uh-oh,” Billy murmured. “Looks like I’m in trouble, fellas.”

“You have no idea,” Rhonda said darkly. “Get him inside,” she ordered. None of the men possessed enough courage to argue, let alone disobey. They helped the struggling Billy up the stairs and into the house, guiding him to the only downstairs bedroom, where Amy was set up to treat him.

“Jack, is that you?” Amy was startled. The man was a shell of his former self.

“Hello, Amy!” Collins grinned. “Yes, I’m a bit worse for wear, but it’s me. I’m glad to see you here, Amy. What do you have?”

“I have everything you should need,” Amy assured him. “We’re short on diagnostic equipment, but have plenty of supplies.”

“Oh, that’s excellent,” Collins almost salivated at the room full of supplies. “I. . .I’ve been doing what I could, but. . . .” he trailed off, then shook his head.

“Well, that can wait. We need to treat this man’s arm. Let’s take a better look than I’ve been able to.” Billy was seated on the bed, teetering. Doc carefully and quickly cut away Billy’s sleeve.

“Hey, that was a good shirt!” Billy slurred.

“Shut up, Billy,” Rhonda snapped. “I’ll make you a new shirt, you idiot! Let them do their job!”

“Nice to see you too, sweetie,” Billy grinned slightly. “I came home, though. ‘Member, I promised.” Rhonda’s gaze softened despite her agitated state.

“Yes, you did,” she agreed, a few tears falling.

“Hey, it ain’t that bad, now,” Billy tried to comfort her.

“How about you let me decide that?” Collins ordered. “Amy, I need this irrigated. The bullet is still in there, and likely some of the shirt. I’ll have to dig it out. Do you have anything like a local?”

“Yes, Doctor,” Amy nodded. “I’ll see to it. Could I suggest you take a moment to clean up, and rest, while I see to irrigation and anesthesia?”

“That. . .I could stand to clean up, I’m sure,” Collins grinned self consciously. He wasn’t filthy, but he was dirty, and had his own wound as well.

“Once we’re done, I’ll check that scalp wound, and you can get something to eat, and rest,” Amy promised.

“You have no idea how wonderful that sounds.”

*****

“All right, Mister Todd,” Collins sighed. “The bullet is out, and we recovered the piece of shirt material as well. The bullet didn’t hit the bone, or any vital or major arteries or veins. All in all, it was just a very messy flesh wound. Considering your overall condition, and Peter’s, I’d say you momentary unconsciousness was a result of stress, blood loss, and exhaustion.”

“So I’ll be all right, then?” Billy asked. He was much more focused now, and not exhibiting any of the ‘drunk’ signs he had been before.

“Oh, yes,” Collins assured him. “You’ll be fine. That arm will be sore for a few days, and I don’t want you using it much for at least a week or so, but you’ll recover completely.”

“I really appreciate it, Doc,” Billy told him.

“Hey, you did more for me, my friend,” Collins smiled. “I’m glad to be able to return the favor.”

“Reckon you’ll be staying on with us, then?” Billy asked.

“If you’ve a place for me, and I’m not a burden, I think I’d like that,” Collins said seriously.

“We’ll make a place, we have to,” Billy promised. “And a doctor, in these days and times, sure ain’t no burden.”

“Well, let’s let the doctor go and clean up,” Rhonda ordered. “You both need rest. And I want to talk to you, mister,” she added, glaring. There was no power behind it, though, and Billy grinned at her.

“Yes’m,” he nodded.

“Doctor Collins, why don’t you come with me,” Amy smiled. “I’ll take you to my place, and you can get cleaned up while I fix you something to eat. We’ll find some clothes for you, too. I think those might need to be burned.”

Collins was still laughing as he and Amy departed. The others had already gone outside, and were waiting for a report. Collins patiently assured them Billy was fine, but needed some rest. Pete nodded dully, relieved and exhausted. He was about to head home when Shelly caught his arm.

“Oh, no you don’t, Mister,” she ordered sternly. “You come with me.” Pete protested half-heartedly, but allowed her to lead him toward the Silvers’ home. Jerry and Toby just grinned. Looked like Pete would be staying with them for a few days.

“Well, what about us?” Dillon asked, looking at Terry.