Stung (2 page)

“Drink more water,” Vicki pleaded. “It's the only thing—”

Felicia grabbed Vicki's arm. “I can feel it going through me,” she wheezed. “It's like acid eating me up.”

Vicki screamed for Judd. Melinda let him through.

“You know CPR, right?” Vicki said.

Judd felt Felicia's wrist.

“She has a pulse,” Vicki said. “It's her breathing.”

“Do something!” Melinda said.

Judd put his mouth over Felicia's and blew hard. The girl's cheeks puffed out.

“No good,” Judd said. “Airway's blocked. Or maybe her throat's tightened up.”

“What can we do?” Vicki said.

“I'm not sure,” Judd said. He pulled out his pocketknife. “Hand me that ballpoint pen.”

Judd took the pen apart, then leaned over Felicia, his hands shaking.

Mr. Stein pushed past Melinda, knelt, and tilted Felicia's head. “Put the pen in the boiling water, Judd; then sterilize the knife over the fire. Hurry!”

Melinda looked over Mr. Stein's shoulder. “Is she going to be okay?”

“It may only prolong her agony,” Mr. Stein said, “but we have to try.” He shouted for Judd to return. “There's no time. She's turning blue!”

Judd rushed back with the pen and knife. Mr. Stein made a small cut at the base of Felicia's throat. Vicki wiped away the blood as Mr. Stein inserted the pen.

“You're going to kill her!” Melinda screamed.

As Mr. Stein blew through the pen, Judd said, “She'll die if we don't get her some air.”

Vicki put a hand on Melinda's shoulder. She jerked away, scowling, then went to check on the others. Color returned to Felicia's face as Vicki watched her lungs fill.

Vicki knelt by her ear. “Felicia, I don't know if you can hear me, but I have to tell you something. God loves you. He died for you so you could live with him. If you can hear me, pray this with me—”

“Get away!” Melinda shouted as she ran back in, pushing Mr. Stein away as well.

Felicia opened her eyes and stared at Melinda. The pen-tube in her neck looked eerie. She tried to take a breath, but her lungs didn't fill. Then came a horrible gurgling sound.

Mr. Stein felt the girl's wrist. He stood and left the room. Judd followed.

“What?” Melinda said. “What happened?”

Vicki looked away and covered her mouth. Mr. Stein returned with a sheet. He pulled the pen from Felicia's neck and draped the sheet over her body.

Vicki couldn't hold back the tears.

“You can't,” Lionel said, grabbing Judd's arm. “The gun might go off and kill somebody.”

“I've had about fifteen chances to knock her down,” Judd said. “I know I can do it.”

“But you can't be sure.”

“Then let's both get her.”

Lionel shook his head. “You heard Vicki talking to her. She's getting through. Don't blow it now by going all macho.”

“And if she comes in here and blows you and Conrad away, you'll wish I had.”

Vicki wiped her eyes.

“What did you say to her?” Melinda said.

“I wanted her to know God loves her.”

Melinda's eyes glazed. “You still think there's a God after all that's happened?”

“After all that's happened, I can't believe you don't.”

Melinda pulled Vicki to her feet. “Get in there with the rest of them.”

From the corner of her eye, Vicki saw Judd fly through the doorway. “No!” she screamed, as the gun went off.

2

LIONEL
found Judd and Melinda struggling on the floor. The gun had been knocked to the far wall. Vicki lay motionless atop Felicia's body. Lionel held Melinda while Judd grabbed the gun. Melinda kicked free and retreated to the corner, panting.

“Vick!” Judd screamed, rushing to her. “Are you hit?”

Lionel and Judd gently rolled Vicki onto her back. Her mouth was bloody. Judd patted her cheek until she came to.

Vicki felt her lip and winced. “I heard the gun. What happened?”

“We've got Melinda under control,” Judd said. “She's not going to hurt anybody.”

Vicki gasped. “You rushed her!”

“I had to do something,” Judd said.

“Things
were
under control. Melinda wasn't going to shoot anybody. You could have gotten me killed!”

Lionel waved Conrad into the room, then looked at Judd and Vicki. “We have to talk.”

Conrad kept an eye on Melinda while Judd, Vicki, and Lionel met upstairs.

“We've got decisions to make,” Lionel said, “and having you two at each other's throat is not gonna help. You guys promised to work together, but that's not happening.”

“We can work together,” Judd said.

Vicki held a rag to her bloody lip and rolled her eyes.

“First, what do we do with Melinda?” Lionel said.

“And with people like Charlie?” Judd said.

“He's not a threat,” Vicki said. “He just doesn't understand things yet.”

“He didn't listen,” Judd said. “He drank a little water when we told him not to, and he's the one Melinda and Felicia—”

“Melinda said she followed Lionel,” Vicki said. “Besides, he's not going to run off and bring the GC back with him. He seems really interested in God. Give him a couple weeks.”

“Melinda's another story,” Judd said.

“What are you going to do, shoot her?” Vicki said.

“We ought to hold her. Lock her up.”

“That's cruel,” Vicki said. “This isn't a prison. Besides, she's hurting. She just lost her best friend.”

“She threatened to shoot us! And she wanted to take us all back to the GC. What do you want to do, let her go?”

Vicki took the rag away. Her lip had stopped bleeding but was still swollen. “We have to get her to trust us.”

“Trust
us?”
Judd said.

Lionel looked closer at Vicki's lip. “Wish we had ice.”

“We will once we get the generator started,” Vicki said. She looked out the window. “It's a risk keeping Melinda or letting her go. I think we have to let her make the choice.”

Judd shook his head. “That makes no sense. She's made her choice. She's GC.”

“You don't know what she told me,” Vicki said. “She knows the Global Community is after her.”

“And she suddenly comes over to our side, just like that?”

“Not right away,” Vicki said, “but a little compassion, a little friendship and concern could go a long way. Outside, she's dead.”

Judd put his elbows on his knees and sighed. “We need to bury Felicia.”

“After the funeral, I say we put it to Melinda,” Vicki said.

“And if she decides to go back to the GC?” Judd said.

“Then we'll have to find a new place,” Vicki said.

“And that wrecks Z's idea of using this place for storage.”

Vicki paused. “Let me talk to her.”

Vicki asked Conrad to join her in the hall. She took the gun and emptied the bullets into her pocket. “Does she have any more ammo on her?”

Conrad handed her a handful of bullets. “This is all both of them were carrying.”

“I need to speak with Melinda alone,” Vicki said. “Did she say anything to you?”

Conrad shook his head. “She just stared out the window.”

Vicki called for Phoenix, and together they went back into the room to see Melinda.

Melinda closed her eyes.

“You have three options,” Vicki said. “Take your chances with the GC. Run as far from them as you can. Or stay with us.”

“I'd rather die,” Melinda said.

Vicki nodded. “And you probably will. They killed Commander Blancka.”

“When I tell them you guys are here—”

“You won't have a chance,” Vicki said. She drew close to Melinda and knelt. “They'll shoot you on sight.”

“Then I'll hide.”

“Sooner or later they'll catch you,” Vicki said.

Phoenix ambled over to Melinda and swished his tail back and forth. Soon he put his head on Melinda's lap. She didn't even seem to notice.

Vicki turned the gun over in her hands. “If you stayed, we'd offer you protection and food. They wouldn't find you.”

“In return for …”

“Everybody pitches in,” Vicki said. “Plus, you'd attend our studies.”

“I'm not going to believe like you guys,” Melinda said. “Ever.”

“Maybe not,” Vicki said. “But you have to admit, it's a better deal than Commander Blancka got.”

Phoenix nuzzled Melinda's hand. The girl drew back. Phoenix licked the girl's arm, and she put her hand back on Phoenix's head.

Vicki handed the gun to Melinda and stood. “This is yours.” She paused in the doorway. “The guys will dig Felicia's grave at sunup. We'll have the funeral in the afternoon. We'd like you to be there.”

Melinda took the gun. “What if I take off tonight?”

That would change everything. Their lives would be thrown into turmoil. Vicki's plans for the old schoolhouse would be wrecked.

“Your choice,” Vicki said. “If you have to, you have to.”

Vicki closed the door, then opened it a crack. “If you go, take blankets with you. It's going to be nippy tonight.”

Vicki put food and blankets by Melinda's door and went to bed, listening for any sign of Melinda leaving. At midnight she opened her door and saw the food still in the hallway, but the blankets were gone.

“Please, God,” Vicki said, “convince her to stay.”

Vicki wrestled with leaving. Could God have brought them here only to have them abandon the place? Was the dream of training kids just that—a dream?

The next morning Vicki found Judd and Mr. Stein in the kitchen.

“I see our guest is still here,” Judd said.

“How do you know?” Vicki said.

“Looked in her window,” Judd said. He returned Vicki's icy stare. “We have a right to know if she's gone or not, don't we?”

“Don't blow this for me, Judd.”

Mr. Stein said, “That girl has been through so much. I only hope we can get through to her before something happens to her.”