Desperate Times (41 page)

They would be coming for them and they would
be there soon. Jimmy had no doubt about that.

He’d buried his raw emotions with Jon. There
would be time to grieve later, he hoped. Jon would want them to
continue their fight and Jimmy wasn’t going to let him down.

He had forced the others to get some sleep.
They were all going to need their strength. He said he would wake
them at first light and that time had come. They had to move.
Somehow, they were going to have to decide on a new meeting place.
Jimmy decided that someone was going to have to wait for the
others, but who could he ask? Jimmy would be the logical choice,
but he was the only one who could drive the truck. The Mack had
become a burden. Still, they couldn’t allow it to fall into the
hands of their enemies.

Jimmy continued to pace, contemplating their
situation. Leaving Paula here alone wasn’t an option, for a
thousand different reasons. Julie came to mind; she could handle a
gun and could be counted on to do what had to be done. The only
problem was her condition. Would she be up to it? Jimmy didn’t
know. She’d seemed to have recovered from her wound. Still, how
could he ask her to do something so dangerous? Was he willing to
risk losing her? No. That answer hit him like a left hook. No, it
wouldn’t be right to leave her behind, his personal feelings aside.
Yesterday she had been flat on her back, and they couldn’t expect
her to have the strength to fight or flee those who’d be coming
after them.

Doc had his code of ethics to contend with.
He wouldn’t carry a gun and therefore was useless to anyone if they
needed armed support. There was nothing he could do. Jimmy would
have to find a compromise. He would have to load everyone up and
drive the truck to another location and then return on foot. He
thought that they needed to put at least two miles between them and
Ken’s compound.

Jimmy took one last look down the gravel
road. The purplish sky had just begun to hint at the approaching
day. He peered into the darkness and strained his ears in the
silence. The road seemed deserted and. He knew it wouldn’t be for
long. They had to move. He turned and began to walk back to the
truck.

Something crashed in the woods and Jimmy
immediately crouched in a defensive position. He quickly scanned
the murky forest. He suddenly felt too far away from the others to
protect them. The sound came again, much louder this time, and
Jimmy prayed it was Ken and the others.

Then there was silence.

Jimmy waited and covered the clearing with
his M-16. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. A hawk called from
overhead. And there was the sound again; whatever was in there was
heading this way. He tried not to panic, but in this light it would
be impossible for him to make out any faces. The shadowy form of
the truck gave their position away like a neon arrow. If Sister
Margaret’s men came upon it, they could simply shoot first and ask
questions later. The crunching sound began again and this time it
didn’t stop. Branches snapped and limbs shook. Jimmy held his
breath and reminded himself that this could be one of their people.
The crashing continued and from the sound of it, whatever
it
was, was heading directly for the truck. Jimmy quickly wiped the
sweat from his forehead.

Suddenly, a pair of whitetail deer appeared
from out of the gloom. They bounded across the clearing, crossing
between Jimmy and the back of the Mack. Jimmy took a deep breath
and sighed. He stayed in his crouch for a full minute as he tried
to collect himself. He stood on weak knees and thought about how
much he missed Jon. He had been their backbone and now he was gone.
Jimmy thought about that as he walked up to the truck.

He woke Julie first.

Julie smiled and rubbed her eyes as she sat
up. Jimmy had a sudden urge to throw his arms around her and give
her a kiss. He fought the urge down, just barely. Time and time
again, Julie had proven herself to be a team player; at the same
time, Paula had only proven herself to be a liability. They were
living in a different world—one where things had to be done, no
matter if you had the stomach for them or not. Julie recognized
this. Sadly, Jimmy knew that Paula never would. He got down on his
knees and took Julie’s hand.

“Good morning,” she said, running her fingers
through her hair. “I must look like hell.”

“Good morning. You look great, how do you
feel?”

“I’m good. Did anyone show up while I was
out?”

“Nope.”

“Shit.”

Jimmy couldn’t pull himself away and Julie’s
gaze never faltered. He looked deep into her eyes and longed to
take her into his arms. The moment was magic and for a moment, time
seemed to stand still. And just like magic, the illusion was soon
spoiled.

The door to the truck opened and Paula
tumbled out. She missed the step and fell flat on her back. “Ouch!”
she cried. “Jimmy, help me up!”

Julie rolled her eyes.

Reluctantly, he turned away and hurried over
to help Paula to her feet. She had a hurt expression on her face,
but he recognized it as jealousy. He leaned over and reached down
for Paula’s hands. She pulled down on him with all of her strength
and Jimmy fell directly on top of her. Paula grabbed him by the
back and held him tight. “Oh Jimmy,” she groaned. “Will you stop
it? We’re not alone!”

“Will you be quiet?” hissed Jimmy. “We don’t
know who’s out there,” he said, pointing out into the darkness.
“We’ve got to get going.”

“You’re kidding, right?” asked Paula. “We
can’t leave everyone behind. What about my parents?”

“I’m going to come back for them. First, I’m
getting all of you out of here. Let’s go.”

“Like hell you are,” spat Paula. “I’m not
leaving my parents behind.”

“Suit yourself,” whispered Jimmy, his blood
growing cold. “I’ll be back in a couple hours.”

“You son of a bitch,” Paula said, narrowing
her eyes into slits. “Fine, let’s go. Have it your way, Jimmy.
That’s what you do best.”

Jimmy wanted to scream. He shook his head and
walked away, not wanting to risk a heated argument in their present
situation. Paula climbed back inside the cab of the truck and
slammed the door. He groaned and rejoined Julie.

“So, what are we going to do?” Julie
whispered. “Where do we go from here?”

“I don’t know. I’m going to have to drive all
of you a safe distance from here and then hoof it back and go look
for the others. They should’ve been back hours ago.”

Julie nodded and slowly got to her feet. She
moaned and held her hand to her forehead.

“Are you okay?” asked Jimmy.

“I’m okay; just a headache. Let’s wake up Dr.
Benson. I agree; this place isn’t safe.”

“You do that, I’m going to hop up in the back
and make sure the load is secure. Give me five minutes, okay?”

“No problem,” Julie whispered, grimacing at
the effort.

“Are you sure you’re all right? Maybe Doc has
something you could take.”

“I’ll be fine, Jimmy. I don’t want to take
anything. I need my wits about me. Thanks anyhow. I appreciate your
concern.”

Jimmy smiled and studied Julie’s face.
Obviously, she was still in a great deal of pain. Still, he knew
she would soldier on. She returned his smile and turned to walk
over to wake Doc Benson. Jimmy walked to the back of the truck,
avoiding Paula’s cold stare.

He flipped the latch and lifted the door
slowly. He cringed as the rollers clacked against the door panels.
He peered inside and groaned. They had made a mess of things and it
was going to be no small task to reload their precious cargo to
ride. Jimmy knew he needed to make a safe area for Doc to sit. He
hopped up into back and went to work. The job took closer to ten
minutes to complete, but Jimmy was satisfied that Doc could ride in
the back in relative safety, without fear of something crashing
down on top of him.

Jimmy hopped down and turned to scan the
horizon. The orange sun was just visible through the trees and
slivers of sunlight shone brightly on the dew-covered field. A pair
of sharp-tailed hawks circled overhead. Jimmy was suddenly aware of
movement down at the road.

Burt Sharpen appeared. He was walking slowly
in their direction. Jimmy nearly jumped out of his shoes. He ran to
greet him. Oddly enough, Burt stopped dead in his tracks. He was at
least one hundred yards away, just having topped the little rise
that led to the clearing. Jimmy continued to run, but he felt a
deep sense of foreboding. Something wasn’t right and Jimmy slowed
to a jog. The closer he got to Burt, the more he dreaded what was
to come. He walked the final twenty yards.

“You got them out, all three of them?” Burt
asked, looking over Jimmy’s shoulder.

“We did. Jon got hit, twice,” Jimmy said,
unsteadily, his heart aching with sadness. “Doc tried to save
him…”

“Aw shit,” groaned Burt, his dark eyes
misting over. “I’m so sorry, Jimmy. Where is he?”

“We buried him over by the truck. Julie said
some words…”

Burt reached out and took Jimmy into his
arms. Again, Jimmy fought his grief. He quickly slapped Burt on the
back and pulled away. He needed to know about the others. “Okay,
now tell me what happened. Where the hell is everyone?”

Burt reached over and removed Jimmy’s
cigarettes. He took one for himself and offered one to Jimmy.
“Here, kid. You’re going to need this.”

Jimmy fumbled for his lighter and nervously
lit both cigarettes. “Okay, give it to me straight, Burt. Tell me
what happened.”

Burt took a deep drag on his smoke and
exhaled slowly. He then studied his muddy hiking boots. He rubbed
one toe over the other and finally, he looked up at Jimmy. “The
Hills are dead, all three of them.”

Jimmy’s jaw dropped. They couldn’t be dead;
he’d just been with them.

“They surrounded us. Son of a bitch, I
should’ve seen it coming. It was just so damn dark… I never even
heard them open the gate. We ran and kept to the shoreline, just as
we’d planned. I thought we’d given them the slip... I really did.
We were all standing together doing a head count. The Hills were
just walking up to the road… and well, that’s when they got
it.”

“You’re sure they were dead?”

“Listen kid, I was over in Nam. They were
maybe ten feet away from us when they got hit. Trust me, they were
dead. What gets me is: why? We hadn’t shot anyone. I made sure that
they all understood to shoot high and that’s just what we did. I
don’t get it; they were out for blood.”

“You shot back?”

“Damn right. A few had flashlights and were
chasing us through the woods. I took out as many as I could. They
just kept on coming. We got separated. I had to quit shooting
because I didn’t know where anyone was. I stumbled upon an old deer
stand and I climbed up into it. I didn’t think it’d hold my weight,
but it did. I stayed up there all night. I heard them when they
found Cindy and Rita.”

Jimmy caught his breath. “Did they take them
alive?”

“I think so. They caught up to Ken and Patty
a few minutes later. It sounded like they beat the shit outta him.
I thought they were gonna shoot him. I really did. She was with
them; that woman—the
bitch
. She wanted to know where the
rest of us were. Ken wouldn’t talk. None of them did. Well, they
marched them out of there, at least that’s what it sounded like to
me. I didn’t hear any more shots. I climbed down at first light and
they were gone.”

“What about Carl and the Petersons? Do you
think they were captured?”

Burt closed his eyes. “I just left Carl,” he
said. “He should be along soon.”

“So, Stan and Mary must be with the others,
right?”

“I’m sorry, kid.”

Jimmy shook his head. Burt must not have seen
them and was only assuming the worst. Cops always did that, didn’t
they? Of course they did. Carl would be along soon and let them
know that they’d been captured. They would just have to figure out
a way to get them all out of there.

“They’re gone, Jimmy. Carl was burying the
both of them. I’m really sorry. You’re going to have to tell their
daughter.”

“No,” said Jimmy. “No, this can’t be
happening. I don’t believe you.”

“Get a hold of yourself. They’re dead. Both
of them were shot in the back. Now, you’re going to have to be
strong. That girl is going to need you to be strong. I’m not
telling you what to do, but you know what you’ve got to do. Do you
understand me?”

Jimmy’s knees felt weak and he barely found
the strength to nod his head. Burt was standing close to him,
looking directly into his eyes. Jimmy understood what he had said.
And after he let the terrible news sink in, he knew that Burt was
right. Like never before, Paula was going to need him. She was
going to need them all. Jimmy knew what was coming. He pulled out
another cigarette and lit it with the stub of the other.

“Come on,” said Burt. “I’ll help you. We’ve
got to be ready to get out of here, just as soon as Carl gets back.
They’ll come for us. They’re probably out looking for us, right
now. We’ve got to boogie.”