Jack and Josie were bouncing up and down in the back of the truck as Dianne and Mark hopped inside. Dianne handed her rifle to Mark and he leaned them both against his side of the car with the barrels facing down to the floor. Dianne handed him a short bungee cord to loop around the stocks to keep the guns from bouncing around and glanced in the rearview mirror. “Hold on tight!”
After stopping briefly to unlock, open, close and relock the gate on the driveway, Dianne turned left and headed towards their neighbors down the road. The last week had seen a profound change in the color of the leaves on the trees and they were surrounded on all sides by orange and gold as they drove along. Dianne pulled into the Carson’s driveway first and gave Mark his instructions as she headed towards the blackened remnants of the building.
“I don’t see their car here but I’m going to take a look around and see if anything looks out of place. Stay here with Jacob and Josie and keep an eye out. I’ll be back in five minutes. If you hear or see anyone, bring the truck around to the back of the house, okay?” Mark nodded quietly, his eyes—like those of his brother and sister—fixated on the destruction before them.
The fire that consumed the Carson’s house had long since extinguished itself but the charred and blackened remains of the building were a testament to the destructive power of the blaze. The building had collapsed in on itself and a few of the walls had fallen outward, resulting in a ring of burned grass that surrounded the building. The Carsons had been exceptionally good about keeping the area outside the building free of debris and brush, though, and the fire hadn’t been able to spread anywhere else.
Dianne hopped out of the truck and headed towards what used to be the front door of the home. The beautiful stained glass window atop the door was shattered and the pieces were barely recognizable underneath the ash and soot. Dianne knelt down and picked up a piece of the glass as if doing so could give her some kind of insight into what had happened. She stepped around the house, picking her way through the debris as she kept her eyes open for any signs that someone might have been home when the fire started.
“What am I going to find?” She mumbled to herself as she stepped over piles of brick and pieces of burned lumber. “A pile of bones or something?” After a few minutes of searching Dianne realized that it was fruitless to continue and she went back out front. Mark was standing out beside the truck, keeping his rifle gripped tightly in both hands as he slowly turned around to keep an eye on their surroundings.
“I’m going out back now; back in five!” Mark nodded in response and Dianne jogged out behind the building, not wanting to leave the children by themselves for any longer than was necessary. While Dianne would never admit it out loud, she was at the Carson’s house for more than just checking on things. Given their love of travel and the fact that they had clearly not been home when the fire happened, Dianne doubted that they would be back anytime soon—if ever, given what was presumably still going on in the world. Because of this, Dianne decided that she would poke around in the barn behind their house and see if there was anything that might be useful for her and the children as they continued working to set things up for a long-term stay at their farm.
The barn in question was unlocked and Dianne stepped inside cautiously, allowing her eyes to adjust to the dim light before proceeding. Nothing looked particularly out of place and Dianne quickly walked down the two rows of shelving in the center of the building, looking for any tools or supplies that might be useful. She slung her rifle over her shoulder after only a few steps and started pulling boxes and bags off of the shelves and throwing them onto the floor.
“Sorry, Sarah.” Dianne shook her head, feeling ashamed over what she was doing. “If you guys make it back I’ll reimburse you for every last thing.”
Bags of fertilizer, boxes and bags of nails, shingles, tools and other supplies were the first to be pulled off the shelves. Several spools of barbed wire came next, followed by a collection of tee-posts. By the time Dianne was nearly done with pulling things off of the shelves, she heard the hum of the truck’s engine out front.
Panicked, Dianne ran to the front of the barn and headed outside, pulling her rifle off her back and looking around frantically for any intruders. Mark stepped out of the truck and Dianne ran to him, whispering to keep her voice low. “Where are they?”
“Where are who?” Mark looked puzzled for a few seconds before he realized what his mother meant. “Oh! No, there’s nobody here. You just said you’d be back in five minutes and it’s been ten. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
Dianne breathed a sigh of relief and leaned up against the truck as she nodded at Mark. “Jeez. You scared me half to death. Good job, though. I was going to have you pull the truck around here anyway.”
“What for?”
Dianne motioned at the barn. “Get your sister and brother out and have them come inside.”
Once her children were inside the barn, Dianne put her gun on her back again and spoke to them. “All right kids, listen up. The Carsons aren’t here, and they weren’t
here during the fire. That probably means that they’re trapped somewhere just like your dad is. I’m sure they’re okay, but it’s probably going to take them a while to get back home. Since they’re not going to be back for a long time, we’re going to borrow a few supplies from them until they get back, okay? I need all of you to help pick up everything I pulled off of the shelves and load it into the back of the truck, okay?”
“Mom?” Josie looked at the piles of supplies on the floor. “Isn’t this stealing?”
Dianne crouched down to get on eye level with Josie and sighed, trying to both explain what they were doing to her daughter as well as rationalize her actions internally. “I don’t think so, honey. The Carsons probably won’t be back for a very long time and right now we need these supplies. When the Carsons do get back then we’re going to give them back everything we’re borrowing and then some.”
“But it’s not our stuff, mom.”
“I know, sweetie. The Carsons are our friends, though, and they’ve told your dad and I before that if we needed to borrow anything then we could.”
“Hrmph.” Josie crossed her arms, looking entirely unsatisfied by Dianne’s answer.
“Come on, kiddo; help your brothers get everything loaded up.” Dianne patted Josie’s back and watched her daughter run off to start helping with the lighter items. As Dianne worked alongside her children she thought about her daughter’s question and realized that even she was feeling unsatisfied by the justifications. The feeling that she was probably doing something wrong ate at her but she did her best to push the feeling aside, knowing that whatever they were taking could be replaced and that the Carsons would legitimately want their supplies used in an emergency.
To help make herself feel better Dianne grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from the truck and wrote out a note as Mark, Jacob and Josie finished loading the last of the supplies. The note explained what was going on, what Dianne had seen and what they had taken, though it left out any specific names. Just in case anyone else happens to come here and read it. She nailed the note to the inside wall of the barn in a place not easily viewable from the door.
Hurry up and get back, you guys. Dianne sighed as she helped Mark throw the last bag of fertilizer into the truck. And you too, Rick. Wherever you are.
Chapter 13
Las Vegas, NV
When the light of dawn replaced the flicker of fires in the city, Rick started awake, realizing that he had—contrary to his best efforts—fallen asleep. His head was resting against a cushion on the floor and he lifted it slowly, feeling a twinge in his neck from being in an odd position for so long. After sitting up he looked over at Jane and saw her still sleeping. He put his hand on her head and neck again and was relieved to find that she still felt cool to the touch.
Rick checked his watch, stood up and stretched, walking around the room as he thought about his next move. Seven in the morning. We need to get moving soon. Got to try and get to Nellis today and see about getting some real medical attention for her and transportation home for me.
Movement from the other side of the room caught Rick’s ear and he turned to see Jane stirring. He walked over and crouched down next to her, opening a bottle of water as her eyes fluttered open.