Alone (20 page)

Before Ralph knew it, twenty years or so had passed. Ralph had been in his early thirties when everyone vanished and now in his mid fifties, he was in better shape that ever. All of his traveling was limited to horseback or by foot. He worked each day around the farm and his diet was a very healthy one.

“With luck”, he thought “I could live another thirty years.” Ralph’s father had passed away at eighty and his grandfather had lived into his nineties.

He sobered at the thought of another 30 years alone. He couldn’t remember the last time he had spoken. Each day was a repetition of the one before and he fell into a rhythm of working and eating.

His latest companion, a small wiry black dog sat beside him. He had given up naming the dogs years ago. He glanced down and the dog wagged her tail.

“Good dog.” He said in a creaky voice.

He decided that it was not enough to just live thru the days; he needed something productive to do. He tried to start a journal and then gave up.

“Why write it down when there is no one to read it?” he asked.

He tried his hand at carving and discovered that he enjoyed it. He found it calming to slowly uncover something unseen in a block of wood. His first attempts were hideous, but with time and practice, he became quite good. After several years, he tried his hand a stone carving and, much to his delight, found that enjoyable as well. His carving dotted the landscape.

His livestock herds had increased again to the point where he was forced to release some of the animals into the wild. The surrounding countryside had finally reached equilibrium between hunters and hunted. Someone from the area before the disappearance would not have recognized it. The forests had reclaimed much of the land and what once were open fields were now heavily wooded. Most of the big predators had moved on, but Ralph still occasionally saw a tiger or cougar. Herds of wild horses and cattle roamed the area. Twice a year, the bison migrated thru in vast herds. Antelopes of various kinds were prevalent and deer abounded. Wild hogs, turkeys, and bears rounded out the wildlife population. Rabbits and squirrels were in abundance and raccoons were beginning to invade the area. All in all, it was a sportsmen’s paradise.

Several years later, a raging summer storm brought down part of the stockade wall. Ralph heard the crash and stepped out into the lashing wind and rain to see what had happened. He inspected the gaping hole and returned to the house. The next morning, he started to work repairing the breach. He quickly discovered that almost all of the logs were rotted away. He decided not to replace the stockade. It had served its purpose during the initial years and Ralph was no longer concerned about wild animals. He had also reached equilibrium with the animals. Like the American Indians of old, he took only what he needed to survive. He did not hunt for sport, only for survival. If some wild animal killed him, he knew it was because his death was required for the animal to survive.

He hitched several horses together and pulled the old rotten stockade down. With the walls gone, he could see into the deep woods surrounding him.

He spent several weeks clearing underbrush and dead trees from the area. When he had finished, the land had a park like quality. The dogs came and went and he released the remaining cattle into the woods. He kept a couple of horses and turned the others out. The small herd of sheep he kept. He had learned thru experience that if he turned the sheep out, they would die. Without someone to care for them, they were not intelligent enough to survive.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Winters came and winters went. The forest continued to grow and the land Ralph kept cleared for his gardens gradually shrank. At sixty years of age, the old generator finally quit working. The gasoline generator had not worked in years and Ralph’s only source of power was the solar panels. But the loss of the generator didn’t bother Ralph. He seldom used the electricity anymore. The refrigerator no longer worked nor did the washer and dryer.

At sixty three, while sitting one afternoon reading, the solar power died. It was several days later before Ralph discovered it no longer worked. With it gone, the last vestiges of the modern world disappeared. Ralph didn’t let it bother him.

When Ralph was sixty seven, the old windmill collapsed in a wind storm. At sixty nine, the barn and greenhouse caved in. By that time, Ralph no longer had any animals in the barn and had not used the greenhouse in years. His mind was not as sharp as it used to be and his body ached. He was tired. The years of living alone had worked on him and he talked to himself continually.

He frequently forgot where he was and what he was doing. All thru this time, the dogs stayed with him and watched out for him. They kept predators away and made sure that Ralph was safe.

Several years later, Ralph realized that his time was almost up. He had trouble with the slightest task. He no longer had the strength to hunt and the supplies he had were dwindling away. During one lucid moment, he figured that he was around 78 years old. He had spent almost half of his life alone. He took to spending most of his day at the top of the small rise behind the house. In the ruins of the old windmill, he would sit and watch the world. He could remember a time when from where he sat, he could see for miles. Now the only thing he saw were trees and more trees.

On one warm summer day he awoke upon the hill to find that his mind was crystal clear. He was able to think clearly for the first time in years. He was lying on the ground and he struggled to rise. All of the strength had left his body and his arms moved sluggishly. Finally he was able to sit with his back propped against a tree. He looked around and discovered the dogs were with him. All of them. The old ones and the pups sat and watched. There must have been fifty animals sitting in the tall grass. They sat in a circle around him and silently watched. Ralph felt a chill. Somehow he knew that his time had come. He looked lovingly around at all the dogs and said in a shaky voice “Good dogs!” All of the dogs wagged their tails and watched him. He felt like he should say something more.

“Thank you for watching out for me all these years.” He whispered. The dogs ears perked up and they leaned forward as if to hear him better.

“Without you, I don’t think I would have been able to stand the loneliness. Good dogs.” Ralph’s final words were spoken in a small voice. He no longer had the strength to speak. A warm calm feeling washed over him. He was at peace.

“I’ve fought a good fight.” He murmured.

As his sight grew dim, Ralph studied the dogs around him. As he watched, several of the dogs rose and moved to the side, leaving a clear path into the woods. Ralph sensed rather than saw something at the edge of the circle. He peered intently past the dogs and saw four shadowy figures. His heart quickened and he struggled to see them more clearly. Behind the four he could see others standing in the shadows.

“Who is there?” he whispered. “What do you want?”

The four figures approached and became clearer as they moved. One figure moved ahead and rapidly approached Ralph.

He struggled to move and found that a heavy weight lay upon him. He could barely move his arms. He brought his hands up in front of him for protection and whimpered. The approaching shapes stopped. Ralph dropped his arms and peered ahead.

“Jason?” he whispered. The front shape resolved itself into a familiar form.

“Jason is that you?”

Jason leapt into Ralph’s arms and whined with joy.

“Oh Jason, how I’ve missed you.” He cried as he wrapped his arms around the dog’s neck. He became aware of the other three shapes beside him. He looked in wonder into the face of Mandy and his sons.

“Mandy.” he cried as he cried as he lifted his feeble arms toward her. She gently gathered him into her arms. He could smell her perfume as he leaned into her embrace. The two small boys at her side hugged him.

“Boys. Daddy missed you.” He said as the small arms wrapped around him.

“It’s time to come home now.” Mandy’s sweet voice whispered.

As Ralph struggled to his feet, he felt the years wash away from him. His body no longer ached and he felt strength flow thru him. Glancing down, he smiled as Jason stood beside him. His sons grabbed his hands and said, “Come on daddy. Let’s go.”

“Yes dear” Mandy said “let’s go.”

Jason barked joyfully as they walked through the circle of dogs and into the forest. As they walked into the shadows, Ralph saw Sparky standing by the trail. Beside him stood the other dogs that had been his companions thru the long years. As Ralph passed by, they followed. Their shapes grew indistinct and just before they vanished into the shadows beneath the trees, Ralph’s voice echoed back to the waiting animals.

“Good dogs.”

The sound of Ralph’s voice faded away. The dogs sat and stared at the old man in front of them. The body slowly slid sideways and lay beside the tree. The dogs glanced at one another and then in unison, they arose and walked away.

EPILOG

The dream faded slowly away as the early morning light slipped around the curtains and began to brighten the room. The shadows still lurked in the corners, but were giving way to the coming day. The bed was soft and the covers felt just right as Mandy Bannister opened her eyes and glanced around. She wasn’t completely aware of her surroundings. For just a moment, she knew that something was wrong. In that strange place between asleep and awake, in the small dark corner of her mind that was trying to escape from dreaming into reality, in the untamed recess where monsters still lurked, in that place, she was afraid because the thin line between reality and fantasy had blurred. For just an instant, but it had definitely blurred. That part of her mind shouted for attention. But its voice was too small to be heard. With sleep still hanging heavily about her, she rolled over and fell back into dreaming.