The Orphans (Book 3): Strangers (14 page)

Ellie questioned, “What worked?”

“It worked!”

Ellie said, “Yeah we get that, what is ‘it’ though, you kind of lost us at ‘it’?”

Patrick stopped sucking in a large breath. He pointed back at Kya and the house, we were watching tv and they had a announcement just in from the CDC stating that they had received information that they are going to begin using immediately t try and develop a cure from. They said that the team of navy seals that the government had sent in yesterday had succeeded and were heros!”

Ellie said, “Wait, so that just means that they got the stuff that Clary sent yesterday?”

Patrick shrugged, “What else could it mean!”

Kya said, “They said to keep checking back on the television report and that they would be updating from the quarantined building on a regular basis.”

They all shared a smile but in the back of Ellie’s thoughts she was having a hard time not being a bit skeptical about what everyone was being so optimistic about. Jenn saw the lack of enthusiasm on her face and said, “What’s wrong Ellie? You don’t look overly psyched about this!”

Ellie tried her best to put on a fake smile. “I don’t know what my problem is it just seems that we are getting our hopes up over something that doesn’t quite have any merit behind it. I mean they have all kinds of research going for hundreds of different diseases all around the world everyday. It doesn’t mean that there is going to be a cure for it anytime soon. I hope that they do but after what we saw yesterday it is hard to tell.”

Jenn nodded, “But it’s better to have hope right? I mean it gives us a reason to continue and to wait right? I know it keeps me from losing my mind in the fact of what is really going on so close to us and all across the country and world.”

Ellie nodded, “Yeah sorry, you are right it’s amazing, it isn’t that bad here right? If we can make the place safe and just stop going to town I don’t think we will have to much to worry about.”

Patrick said, “Hey no school, and Clary and Aslin said they were going to teach us how to shoot and survive you know just in case things don’t end up going well. So either way we get a summer education like we wouldn’t learn anywhere else right?”

Kya said, “Uh I don’t know how to shoot a gun. I don’t know if I could shoot one of those things anyway they scare the hell out of me.”

Ellie said, “That’s probably a good thing they scare you. I think the first second you decide that you don’t need to fear them would be the end of you for sure.”

Kya looked sad for a second thinking of what she was going to say and said, “You know I got pretty excited thinking that my parents were going to freak out when I told them I was going to learn all kinds of amazing stuff from real live soliders…...but then it hit me that I won’t be telling them anytime soon.”

Kya buried herself in Jenn’s shoulder as her body convulsed up and down. Jenn’s shirt was slowly growing wet. Ellie mouthed did her parents turn? Jen shook her head no and Ellie mouthed, ‘eaten?’ and Jenn nodded affirmative slowly.

Joey came out the front door holding a pancake that he had turned into a makeshift tortilla filled with sausage and eggs. Jenn saw him smiling proudly at the concotion. “Joey you realize that you are going to make yourself sick if you don’t take it easy right?”

“Hey when I am full I won’t eat anymore.”

Jenn sighed, “That is what he always says and he ends up making himself half sick if no one checks on him. Fine Joey you keep eating but when you have a upset stomach don’t go complaining to me later about it.”

Joey gave her a thumbs up while never stopping his mission at hand of finishing his snack. He saw Kya and wiped his hands on his jeans and Jenn saw the look in his eye and laughed a little. “Watch out Kya you are going to become a sandwhich.”

Kya looked behind her but it was to late and Joey had come up behind her wrapping his massive arms around both girls and squeezing them tight. Joey said, “Its ok Kya, yu don’t need to be sad, Jenn always tells me to stop eating, I never do.”

Both girls laughed a little bit but he did help. Jenn rubbed her hand through Joey’s hair and patted him on the shoulder. “Alright stud, we can’t breath can you let go.”

Joey did and both girls sucked in a deep breath. Joey pumped up his biceps smiling, “These guns are something.”

Patrick looked at his arms in comparison to Joey’s cursing a bit under his breath at his much smaller size. Ellie patted him on the shoulder and said, “Hey it’s all good those seals are going to make you buff.”

Patrick said, “What are you talking about?”

Ellie smiled and gave a nodding wink, “I am just saying don’t be so worried about you know.” she motioned to him.

Patrick said, “Dude you like, just pointed to all of me, with my diabetes it makes it hard to lift weights and workout which unfortunately for me leaves me with this less than impressive physique. But you know what really pisses me off about it?”

“Sure what?”

“The fact that all those years during elementary and junior high that I kept hearing from teachers and counselors and my parents that when I grow up it is going to be the smart kids who rule and that it’s going to be people with college educations that go somewhere in life. Well that just all turned to crap, it’s still going to be those kids that could run faster than me, that could lift more than me and that were just overall more able to be active than myself who are going to be the survivors. God it pisses me off!”

Ellie patted him on the shoulder again, “Hey it could be worse right, you could be one of the Turned walking around.”

Patrick laughed, “Does that mean I could eat the jocks?”

“They’d be all stringy nothing good there about them. No you want to go for the bigger kids maybe.”

Patrick just stared at her, “You are just a bit off aren’t you?”

“Oh you know it buddy, i’m the best kind of chick you can know, no stupid makeup or designer wear for me. Give me a t-shirt or a hoody any day of the week paired with a hoodie and I couldn’t be happier about it.”

Patrick went to say something when Andy hobbled out staring around shaking a match out and tossing it off the deck. “What the hell are ya’ll just sitting around here for? There is work to be done this is a damn farm. We can’t just wait for someone else to come and do it now can we?”

Ellie said, “Well we aren’t farmers Andy, how are we suppose to know?”

Andy nodded, “Valid point kid, don’t worry I got a entire list of shit to keep you kids busy until the others get back and need our help. Now I know it is only barely past spring but we are going to want firewood this winter. I know we got a whole bunch over there but I tell you it gets damn cold out here when we lose power. I can only assume what power we do have eventually is going to go to shit in a hand bag.”

Ellie raised her hand, “How did crap get in a handbag Andy?”

“You might be missing the point there sweetheart. What i’m really saying is, you aren’t doing anything productive, and there seems to be plenty of work that needs to be done around here. Now none of you know what that work is, but being the helpful, knowledgeable old handsome man that I am, i’m going to be here to help you with everything.”

“You are too good to us.” Ellie said.

Joey pointed to the giant yard worth of unsplit firewood that Andy had next to the house, “What about all that wood Mr. Mr. - hey what is your last name?”

“Joey don’t worry about it. I’m too damn old for you to be that worried about being proper with me. Christ I think the fact that you kids didn’t leave me for dead in my shop is plenty enough respect for me to be able to sleep with at night. Joey you just call me Andy, that is plenty good enough for me kid.”

Joey nodded still focused on the wood. “What are you going to do with all of that wood back there Mr. Andy?”

Andy smiled looking at Joey and pointing at it he said, “Well Joey once we teach you the finer points of how to swing a axe and a sledge hammer i’m going to put you to work.”

Patrick cut in, “He isn’t going to be able to do all that work on his own Andy. That is a two man job and-”

“You know Patrick, it is Patrick is it?” Patrick nodded his head slowly wishing he’d have just kept his mouth shut. “Well Patrick lucky for Joey that you are still around. He is gonna need someone to move the pieces of wood that are left. Hell it’ll be good for you put a little meat on them there bones for ya to. Hell you are going to be thanking me by the time you two are done. You never know you might just find yourself a new buddy.”

Joey walked by putting his arm around Patrick engulfing the boy with it. “Come on Pat you and me are going to go cut wood.”

Patrick tried to get free of his grip but he was in a one armed bear hug and he wasn’t getting out. Patrick said, “Ok Joey lets go cut some wood. You can call me Patrick though ok?”

Joey shook his head, “Nah I like Pat better. My sister’s been trying to get me to call her Jenny for years, it doesn’t sound right though.”

Andy showed the boys the material and helped Joey with his swing. Within ten minutes the two boys were kicking ass and taking names. After Joey had broken his first massive log in half and split those remains as well Andy had pulled a Snickers bar from his overalls. He held up a weathered old finger to Joey letting him know to keep it between the two of them. Joey’s eyes lit up when he saw the treat and dropped the axe running for it. He ripped it from Andy’s hands giving the old man a hug he would not soon forget. Joey ripped the bar in two and handed off one of the pieces to Patrick patting him on the back. Andy pulled one for himself and as the took a quick break he said, “You work hard and I might even show you two where my stash is. But you gotta play your cards right. I don’t just go showing anyone where I keep my stuff. This kind of food is going to be a hot commodity in no time at all.”

Patrick stared at the bar for a second. “You think we will really be here for that long? I don’t think you heard that news report saying that the government was going to be finding a cure. They said that there was a good chance that they would be able to use the research that we sent them yesterday. They didn’t really say that specifically but I doubt anyone else sent them anything like that.”

Andy who was sharp as a tac didnt miss a beat. “Oh thank god the government is going to save us all. That is a good thing isn’t it. Hell maybe we don’t need to g out chopping all this wood after all huh?”

Andy finished his candy bar and the boys started following. Andy started laughing, “Oh hell sorry boys, I was just kidding. We best plan on being out here for a long time and we can keep ourselves safe. If it don’t last that long well than at least you get to not be lazy shits and learn some new skills.”

Patrick’s shoulders dropped as he thought about how funny what Andy said might have been if it wasn’t himself and Joey being the brunt of his joke.

Ellie walked up seeing this going back and forth and said, “So while you men folk are doing all this hard work what do you intend on us women folk doing? Did you have some pies that need making or something?”

Andy said, “You got a bit of spunk in you don’t you? You keep that about you its going to help you stay strong. Its going to help you surive don’t you forget that. Now you all head down around that timbers edge and get anything that burns. We are going to be cutting down plenty in the coming months and I figure all the kindling we can get is going to be more useful than you can imagine.”

Ellie stared at the wood treeline and thought about how far it was from the house. “What if any of those things from home come in across the bridge? What are we going to do to save ourselves?”

Andy said, “Well you know how to shoot anything Ellie?

Ellie waved her hand back and forth in a fifty fifty gesture. “I can shoot one of the rifles that we brought in but i’m not very quick about it; Greg got us these cool pistols that have the lasers on them and those seem like what i’m best at shooting.”

“Well there you go, you, Jenn, and Kya can head on down there and pick it up. If you want to make a big pile of it on the tree line we can take my tractor down there and when we do that we will cut some trees down and be able to keep Patrick and Joey busy for a long time to come.”

Patrick shook his head thinking of an entire summer spent chopping wood with Joey. Joey put his arm around him the stickiness of his shirt soaking through the back of Patrick’s shirt. “Hey you hear that Pat you and me are going to get to spend all kinds of time together. That’s good news isn’t it?”

Patrick wiped at the sweat on his brow and nodded. “You know Joey there are probably worse ways to spend a summer.” He whispered, “If we keep working like this were gonna be ripped and Andy is going to hook us up with his Snickers stash.”

Joey squealed at the thought of this. “Oh man, heck-heck yes.”

He didn’t let his grip go of Patrick and the two of them walked quickly. Patrick was doing his best to keep his balance as they raced back to the wood pile. Ellie stared at the two of them thinking of Mike for a moment and thought how it might not be the worse thing for Patrick to have a new friend that he could to talk to if he wanted to. Ellie looked at the woods and yelled to Jenn and Kya to hang on a moment. She ran inside to her room grabbing the rifle Shaun had taught her how to use the day before and clipped on the holster to her jeans belt making sure that it was snug and put the extra rounds for it in her back pockets. As she left she over heard the talking on the television and couldn’t help herself but stop to look.