Strengthen What Remains (Book 2): A Time to Endure (13 page)

Zach
stood over his mother. The steady beep of the cardiac monitor and her slow
regular breathing assured him she was still alive. Delynn and Vicki slept,
leaning awkwardly against each other in the corner. Usually he liked this time
of the evening when darkness signaled the end of the day and there was time to
think. However, these last four days, as he watched his mom hover between life
and death, the darkness of dusk blackened his mood and thoughts.

The
door squeaked and he looked over his shoulder. A woman doctor entered, she
always seemed to be somewhere nearby. He wondered if she ever left.

After
a moment of small talk, she smiled weakly. “We need to make some decisions this
weekend. Is there anyone else, an adult, I should talk to?”

“No,
my dad is dead. My sister and I are all the family she has.”

The
doctor sighed. “I see…well…it’s been four days and….”

Anger
flared in Zach. “She’s not going to wake up, is she?”

“She’s
stable, breathing on her own. I’m hopeful she will improve….”

“What
are you saying?”

She
sighed. “There is nothing more we can do for her and…ah…well, the hospital is
overcrowded. We need the bed.”

Zach
looked at his mother for several moments. Anger eased as worry replaced it. “Is
there a place she can be taken care of?”

“Normally,
yes, but since the attacks those facilities…well…the people who work there have
their own families. The hospital is also very short staffed.” The doctor’s whole
body seemed to sag. She sat down with a sigh. “If your mother remains stable,
she will need to go home.”

“I
see,” Zach said. “I’ll need time to make plans and arrangements.”

“Of
course. We’ll talk again on Monday.”

The
young man looked at the girls still sleeping in the corner and then, as he
thought about the current problem, a dark plan of vengeance formed in his mind.
He would come back later and discuss arrangements for his mother with Vicki
but, with one last look at Delynn, he turned to leave.

The
slow boil of rage pushed out reason.
MS-13
or me—one of us is taking you down, Bo.
 

*
              
*
              
*

His
father flipped between news channels as Caden walked into the living room on a
chilly Saturday morning. The smell of eggs and cornbread filled the room.

Looking
over his shoulder, Dad gave him a nod.

Generally
Caden was interested in the news, but this morning breakfast had the stronger
call. Still he said in passing, “What’s going on in the world?”

“Durant
just finished speaking.”

“I
don’t care what he has to say.”

His
father nodded, “In other news, North Korea claims the south is preparing for
war. India and Pakistan are threatening to nuke each other and China says it’s
going to annex Taiwan and a bunch of islands in the South China Sea.”
 

Maybe I didn’t need to
know about all that either.
Following the aroma into the kitchen, Caden greeted his
mother and sister. Nikki lay under the dinner table apparently enjoying the
warmth of the room and the scraps that might be forthcoming. When Caden stayed
and sampled the cornbread, his mother ordered him out.

“How
come Nikki gets to stay and I don’t”

“The
dog
doesn’t get in the way.”

“Maybe
if I crawled under the table with her,” he mumbled heading for the door. Then
he stopped. “Where’s Maria?”

“Collecting
eggs.”

Caden
nodded. “I have come to appreciate the lowly chicken.”

While
stirring scrambled eggs, Lisa said, “More and more we’re eating what we have
here on this place.”

“Maybe
we should raise more animals,” their mother said.

Glancing
at the pantry door, Caden asked, “Do we have enough food on the farm for all of
us until harvest time?”

His
mom opened the door and flipped on the light. The room was the size of a large
walk-in closet with well stocked shelves of home and commercial canned goods,
bags of flour, rice, noodles, and boxes of cereal and sacks of potatoes.
 

“Is
that enough?” Caden said.

She
shrugged. “It was supposed to be a year’s supply for Trevor and me and with
eggs from the chickens and vegetables from the garden, maybe enough for Lisa
too, but now….”

Now there is me and
Maria, and Adam and Sue and soon her baby.
Caden walked slowly into the living room
and paused by his father. “Other than Durant’s speech, what’s happening in this
country?”

Still
looking at the TV he said, “Marine and Army units loyal to the New Congress
have nearly surrounded Denver. Durant’s forces are retreating to Colorado
Springs. Otherwise, most of the news is about the economy and the inflation
problem. The local media says that the price of essential goods and services
has quadrupled since the terrorist attacks. The east coast media talks about
hoarding and price gouging, but I think everyone just figured out that the
money really wasn’t worth much.”

“We
still need cash for some things,” Caden said.

Trevor
nodded. “Yes, taxes and bills, but fortunately not as much as most people. We
have a well, so no water bill. We have a septic system, so no sewer bill and we
can heat the house with the wood stove and fireplace so our electric bill is
lower.”

“My
room has been pretty chilly these last few days.”

Before
Trevor could answer the front door squeaked open.

Maria
entered. In tight faded jeans, a plaid shirt and holding a basket of eggs she
looked like a pin-up for The Grange.

As
she neared him they kissed and he wrapped her in his arms.

“Mind
the eggs,” Maria said.

Caden
relaxed his hug.

“Maria,
was that you?” His mother called from the kitchen. “How many eggs did you get?”

“Nine,”
Maria replied. Then in a softer voice to Caden she said, “I’ve got to go.”

He
frowned, nodded and released her.

Caden
looked out the window. A week of gentle snowfall had transformed the area into
a carpet of white. The branches of evergreen trees sagged with snow.
A gentle snowfall.
No, gentle isn’t the word. Many people are
still living in cars and tents.
Images of the FEMA camps covered in snow
flashed through his mind.
This will only
add to the misery of the destitute.

He
shuddered, tossed another log on the fire, and decided to put on a heavier
shirt.

As
he put on a flannel shirt from the closet, he heard the long heavy stride of
his father come up the stairs and down the hall,
then
he heard Sue waddle along the hallway and down the creaking stairs.

A
grumble from his stomach turned his mind to breakfast. He had thought about the
food situation many times and never found an answer.
If everyone in the community shared all they had we would all starve
before the next harvest. If we share a little we delay the inevitable. Many of
the old and infirm are already dead. Those that don’t have family, can’t work
or don’t have useful skills will probably not survive the winter.

He
left his room and headed downstairs feeling guilty for not starving.

Caden
followed the aroma into the dining area. Maria sat at a corner of the table
with Adam on her lap. The rest of the
family, except his
father, were
either seated or moving plates and bowls to the table. No
one ate. Caden sat next to Maria. “Where’s Dad?”

“He
said he had to get something from the attic.”

“Now?”
Caden hoped he wouldn’t be long.
 

One
after another, everyone sat down. As a child, Caden had always thought of the
dining table as huge, but this morning with five adults and a baby around it,
and soon his father, it was full.

He
glanced at Susan, wondered if she was lonely despite the full house, and
pondered the fate of his brother in Seattle.
This year started with such promise. Peter was going…no is going to be
a father. I had a new position with an up and coming Senator in the capital of
the most powerful country on the planet. Such things are so easily stripped
away.
He sighed out loud.

Maria
squeezed his hand. “Don’t worry about Hansen and war today.”

“Okay,”
he said as the sound of footsteps and thuds came from the stairwell.

His
father entered the room carrying something vaguely familiar. Standing beside
Maria he unfolded the wooden contraption.

Caden
leaned back for a clearer view. “That old highchair was in the attic?”

His
dad nodded. “There are a lot of interesting things up there. We’ve been
bringing down the useful or tradable items.”

Lisa
looked at it askew. “I think I sat in that thing.”

“You
did and Peter and Caden.” His mom grinned.

Trevor
sat at the end of the table beside the highchair and smiled as Adam slapped the
tray. Then he reached out and all the adults held hands around the table.

“Lord,
bless this food and those around this table. We pray for Peter’s safety…”

“Amen,”
Sue whispered.

“…and that our family and this community will
be safe.
We pray that there will be enough to eat in the coming months. And Lord, you
told us to pray for our leaders and we do pray for them, but we also pray that
you will save us from their foolishness. Amen.”

That
morning the family ate well from the bounty of their land.

After
breakfast his dad said, “Dress warm and meet me in the barn. I’m working on a
project and it’ll go faster with two of us.”

Caden
had hoped to spend time with Maria. He shot her an apologetic glance and went
to find his coat and gloves.

While
pulling on his jacket, the hum of his phone vibrating on the nightstand
distracted him. With one arm in the sleeve he looked at the display. Dr. Scott?
He reached out his hand, paused and then answered the call.

“Good
morning, Caden. How are you?”

“Great.
I still have some bruises and a tender spot on the head, but no headaches. Is
that why you called?”

“Well,
no. I’m calling about Cruz.”

Caden’s
gut tightened.

“There’s
no longer a medical reason to keep him in the hospital and, we need the room.”

He
knew this was coming, but didn’t want to deal with it today, so he put the
doctor off by saying, “I’ll talk with the Sheriff about moving him to the jail.
Or just shooting him.
 

Caden
tried to put Cruz out of his mind as he walked downstairs. Sue sat by the
fireplace reading a book on babies and childbirth. He paused, stoked the fire
and added a log. His mom, Maria and Lisa talked and laughed in the kitchen. He
was tempted to join them, if just for a moment, but he knew his father was
waiting. Reluctantly he left and walked to the barn.

Along
one wall was a stack of firewood. He paced off over twenty feet and nodded
approvingly.
About three cord.

As
a child he had asked his father if he could help split the firewood. Caden
couldn’t remember exactly how old he was when his dad, after careful
instruction, handed him the ax. Hours and blisters later they had a good supply
of wood. His father ‘volunteered’ both him and Peter for firewood duty many
times after that, but Caden never again asked for the opportunity.

Still,
as he gazed at the large stack, the memory of blisters faded and a measure of
reassurance filled him. Food and wood would get them through this winter.
 

Seeing
his father step from the tack room, Caden said, “You’ve got a good stack of
wood here.”

“I
think we have enough for the rest of this winter.” His dad smiled at Caden.
“Maria helped with a lot of that”

“Maria
helped you cut and split three cords of wood?”

“She’s
not that good at splitting, but she’s fine with a chainsaw.”

Caden
laughed.

“Follow
me,” his dad said. “I’ve got something to show you.”

In
a stall at the end of the barn was a pile of lumber and something covered by a
blue tarp.

Pulling
the tarp back, his dad revealed a pile of clear, plastic-like, material.

Caden
knelt and inspected the sturdy, double layered, transparent sheets. “This stuff
looks like plastic, but what is it?”

“The
guy I got it from called it twin-wall polycarbonate.”

“What
are you going to do with it?”

“Remember
the old greenhouse beside the garden?”