Desperate Times (19 page)

They closed the gate, securing the two sides
together with a stout timber. Tired as they were, they all cheered
when it fell into place. By sheer force of will, they had completed
the wall and their pride was evident as they spent the evening out
in the drizzle, sipping beers and admiring their work. Together
they strolled around the inside of their new compound. The wall was
an impressive sight and everyone commented how much safer they
felt, now that it was finished.

That safety would be tested the very next
afternoon.

Sixteen of the top twenty best days (highest
percentage gains) on Wall Street came during the Depression.

They slept in that day with the sun making an
appearance for the first time in nearly a week. Jimmy woke up first
and checked his watch twice to be sure it was really after eight.
He sat up on his couch, scratched his head, feeling a bit woozy
from the half dozen beers he’d had the night before. He looked over
at Julie and smiled. She was still fast asleep curled up under one
of Patty’s quilts. Sunlight beamed in through the windows and Jimmy
stretched his sore muscles. Today would be one of rest; they’d all
discussed it and agreed that they’d earned some down time.

Jimmy padded in through the French doors and
through the living room without waking anyone. He fixed a strong
pot of coffee. He then waited at the window for it to brew,
watching a pair of cardinals cozy up to each other on the limb of a
pine. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and from what he could tell,
there was very little wind. It was going to be a beautiful morning.
From overhead he heard the telltale stairs creaking softly as
someone descended.

“That smells wonderful,” said Rita, popping
her head out of the doorway.

“Almost done,” said Jimmy with a smile. “How
do you take yours?”

“A teaspoon of sugar, thanks,” answered Rita.
She wore a fuzzy robe over tiger print pajamas and her black hair
was in total disarray. She stroked at it with her fingers, but only
managed to make it worse. “I can’t believe I slept so late,” she
said. “I never sleep this late.”

“Me either,” said Jimmy, fixing two cups and
handing one to Rita.

“Thank you,” Rita said, taking the cup with
both hands and sipping at it.

A single gunshot cut through the morning
silence. It had come from the back yard. Rita yelped and her cup
crashed to the floor.

“Get down!” shouted Jimmy, who was already
moving toward the back door.

Rita fell to her knees and crawled under the
table.

Jimmy threw open the door and there was Jon,
standing next to a picnic table, gun in hand. He looked very angry.
His hair was standing on end and his face was still creased from
his pillow.

“What are you shooting at?” Jimmy asked,
searching the backyard for intruders.

Jon motioned with his gun toward Sally’s
beyond the wall. “They were inside the perimeter, two, maybe three
of them. They were after the food in the shed!”

Jimmy looked at the open door to the shed and
then to the wall. A box of food lay on its side in the grass. One
of Ken’s ladders was standing at the wall and Jimmy was relieved
not to see a dead body lying next to it. “Did they go back
over?”

“Two did. I haven’t checked the shed.”

“Our people?”

Jon nodded again.

From inside Jimmy could hear pounding
footsteps in the house. He turned back and shouted: “Stay inside
until we say it’s safe!”

Jon jogged barefoot across the wet grass,
leaving footprints in the morning dew. Jimmy followed and they
stopped just outside the shed door.

“Come out of there!” Jon ordered, his gun
trained on the open door.

“Don’t shoot,” begged an all too familiar
voice. It was Bill Huggins.

“What the hell are you doing, Bill?” shouted
Jimmy. “Get out here!”

Bill emerged from the shed slowly with his
hands up. In one of those hands was a candy bar.

“Are you alone?” Jon asked, waving his gun
toward the door.

Bill nodded, meekly.

“Put the gun down, Jon,” Jimmy said, turning
his attention to Bill. “What the hell were you doing in there?
Stealing?”

“We just wanted to borrow some food, that’s
all,” said Bill. He bowed his head and dropped his hands in defeat.
“We’re hungry.”

Jimmy shook his head and groaned.

“That’s stealing!” retorted Jon. “You left of
your own free will. You all did!”

“I know,” said Bill. “I’m sorry.”

“Well, sorry doesn’t cut it,” snarled Jon.
“The next time I won’t be firing warning shots. Do you understand
me? Now, get back over that fence and tell your friends.”

Bill nodded and took a bite of his pilfered
candy bar. “I’ve got some information if you want to hear it. One
of our people was in Ely, yesterday.”

“Well?” asked Jimmy. “Spit it out.”

“I will for some breakfast,” Bill said in a
quiet voice. “You’ll want to hear this.”

Jon looked as if he was going to shoot Bill
where he stood. Veins throbbed in his neck and he bared his teeth
at Bill.

“It’s about Ken and Patty,” Bill added,
looking hopeful.

Jimmy nodded his head. “Fine,” he said,
desperate to hear what Bill had to say. “We’ll fix you a sandwich,
okay?”

Bill looked down to the ground and slowly
shook his head. “Bacon and eggs sounds better,” he whispered.
“Trust me. It’s worth it.”

Jon was nearly dancing with rage; he opened
his mouth in a silent scream. Jimmy thought Bill might’ve just
pushed him over the edge.

“You want bacon and eggs?” Jon asked. “Fine,
this had better be good or breakfast will be the last thing you’re
ever able to chew. Now spill it!”

“After I eat,” Bill said. “Can I have four
eggs and some toast, too? I can eat a whole package of bacon,
everyone loves bacon. Do you have any milk?”

Jon’s head snapped back and he marched toward
Bill, pointing his handgun between his eyes.

“You’d better do as he says, Bill. Tell us
now,” said Jimmy.

“Okay, okay. I’ll tell you. Can I at least
get a cup of coffee?”

“I’ll get it!” shouted Rita from inside.
“We’re making his breakfast now. Do you guys want some eggs?”

Jimmy and Jon exchanged exasperated looks.
“Sure,” said Jimmy, rolling his eyes. Jon motioned Bill over to a
picnic table; his face was the shade of a ripe tomato. Jimmy lit up
a Camel and sat next to Jon, across from Bill who was just chewing
the last of the candy bar. Bill looked at the wrapper as if he were
going to just toss it aside, then he wisely stuffed it into his
shirt pocket. Rita and Cindy emerged from the house and brought
three cups of coffee with them.

“Hey honey,” Bill said, meekly. “How are
you?”

“Don’t honey me,” hissed Cindy. “You could’ve
gotten yourself killed.” She slammed the cup down in front of him,
spilling coffee on the wooden table.

“What’s with her?” Bill asked.

Jimmy shook his head. “Out with it,” he said.
“What do you know about Ken and Patty? I’m not messing around here,
Bill. We need to know.”

“They’re alive,” said Bill as he sipped his
coffee. “Boy, that’s good. Could I just get a little more sugar,
sweetie?”

Cindy turned and stormed back into the house.
Rita followed and gave Bill a look that could melt glass.

Bill continued. “This guy—Buck, I think his
name is—is the caretaker over at Sally’s place. Well, he took a
bicycle into town last night. In the dark, you know?”

“We get it, Bill. It was dark,” Jimmy said,
urging Bill on with his hands.

“Hey, does anyone here have any painkillers?
I’m all out and my back is killing me.”

“Finish your story,” hissed Jon. “Now, or
I’ll blow your goddam brains out!”

“I was only asking,” sighed Bill. “My back
really does hurt. Anyhow, this Buck guy rode into town. He’s this
big guy with long hair and tattoos. You know, like he’s done time?
Well, he passes a few people on the road and they all tell him to
stay out of town. That it isn’t safe. Well, this Buck is a big guy
and he just keeps on riding. I don’t know how he was even able to
see in the dark.”

“Do you guys want bacon or sausage?” Julie
asked from the kitchen window.

“Either,” said Jimmy, waving with his hand.
“So he rode into town. Then what happened?”

“I’m getting there,” said Bill. “Don’t rush
me, Jimmy. It’s my story.”

“You’d better get there soon,” spat Jon.

Bill nodded and took another sip of coffee.
“Buck rides into town and parks the bike. I think he said that he
hid it in some bushes or something. Then he’s walking along,
keeping in the shadows. There wasn’t a light on in the entire town.
He said it was creepy. I’ll bet it was. He walked all the way to
the hospital. I don’t know why he went there. He wasn’t sick or
anything. But that’s where he went. There were people there, people
with guns. They were protecting it. Well, he said they almost shot
him. He’s a big scary looking guy and I suppose I might’ve shot
him, too, sneaking up in the dark like that. Then Patty Dahlgren,
of all people, comes outside and tells everyone that he’s okay.
That she knows him!”

Jimmy nodded. Bill was finally getting
somewhere.

“So, Buck asks Patty how Ken is, because he
knows Ken from working over at Sally’s. He’s also the uncle of one
of the boys that Ken saved that day, small world, huh? It really
makes you wonder sometime. Ah… here comes the food. I’m
starving.”

Julie and Cindy brought out three steaming
plates and set them down in front of the men. Cindy couldn’t even
look at her father. Bill didn’t seem to notice. He picked up a
piece of toast and stuffed half of it into his mouth. Cindy and
Julie stood there for a second and then returned to the house.
Jimmy guessed that everyone was listening from the windows.

“Not another bite until you’re finished
telling your story. Do you got that?” Jon asked, pointing the
semiautomatic into Bill’s face. “Not another bite!”

Bill chewed quickly and the story spilled out
of him. “Patty told him that Ken was much better and that they
might try to come back tomorrow, which is today. There’s been a lot
of fighting in Ely, in all of the towns. A lot of people are dead.
They formed a militia in Ely. They don’t want any outsiders up
here. Buck was okay because he lives up here. Patty vouched for
that. They’re turning everyone else away. Buck says they even have
the blocked on the far end of town.”

“What about the police or National Guard?”
Jon asked.

“Nobody knows,” Bill said, eyeing the bacon
on his plate. “News from the cities is really bad. I’m sorry,
Jimmy.”

“What?” Jimmy asked, feeling a lump rise in
his throat.

“Buck said that it’s a war zone. Most of the
cities have burned to the ground. Minneapolis is gone—most of it
anyhow. That’s what Buck said.”

“Oh my God,” said Jimmy.

“I guess a lot of people tried to come up
here. But they stopped them outside of town at someplace called
Bear Lake Campground. They’re staying there. A thousand people,
maybe more. The militia won’t let them pass. Buck says it’s a
dangerous place. I guess people are crammed in there like sardines.
That’s what Buck said. Can I eat now? I’m starving.”

Jimmy waved at Bill’s plate. “Eat,” he
growled.

Bill attacked his food like a condemned
prisoner. Egg yolk was soon dripping down his chin.

“What do you think?” Jon asked, picking up a
piece of bacon.

“I’ll be glad to see Ken and Patty,” replied
Jimmy, still reeling from Bill’s news about Minneapolis. He ignored
his food and lit up a cigarette with unsteady hands.

“That’s great news about Ken,” agreed Jon.
“They’ll be glad to see what we’ve done. I’m not sure how they’ll
feel about people like him,” he said, nodding his head toward Bill.
“They might not like that we kicked them out. Ken will get it, buy
Patty might not be quite as understanding.”

Jimmy nodded. If Bill had heard Jon, he
didn’t show it. Ken would understand; he was sure of that. He’d
have wanted them to do exactly what they had done. Patty would be a
different story. Her heart was too big to let her friends starve
outside the wall. She was all about second chances. And she was the
one who was really running the show, no matter what Ken thought.
Yes, Jon was right. Patty would take them all back as soon as she
returned. Jimmy was sure of it.

“Are you going to eat that?” Bill asked,
pointing to Jimmy’s plate.

Jimmy returned his attention to the table
where he found that Bill had already finished his breakfast.
“Here,” Jimmy said, sliding his plate across the table. “I’m not
hungry.” He got up and left Jon and Bill together at the table. He
needed some time to himself.
Minneapolis was gone?
How could
that be? What would Paula and her family have done? Could they
still be there in Edina? Jimmy doubted it. If they’d burned
Minneapolis, Edina couldn’t have fared much better. No, Stanley
Peterson would’ve gotten his family out of there. At least he
would’ve tried. Paula had been up here at least four or five times
and definitely knew the way. She knew that he was here. Could it be
possible that Paula had persuaded her parents to head north? Jimmy
thought so. Where else would they go? He thought there was at least
an outside chance that if they had made it this far, they might be
stuck with the others at Bear Lake Campground.