The China Pandemic (21 page)

“It’s fried mystery meat,” she said with a quick, concerned look.

“What?” he asked.

“It’s the cougar meat. I think Bang will have a problem eating it,” she whispered.

“We should just be honest with him. If he doesn’t want it, he doesn’t have to but we don’t waste food ever, now,” he said.

“That’s probably for the best,” she agreed.

He saw that she had her hair hanging loosely in long glossy waves without the customary braid she usually wore. He wondered what it would be like to run his fingers through the soft strands. She noticed his intent gaze and went back to tending the skillet. She wore the white peasant blouse, tied with thin straps at her back. He had seen her in that on the night he first discovered her.

Crimson flushed her cheeks. At first, he thought the heat from the cooking caused it then realized he’d been staring too long, probably making her uncomfortable.

“Who’s on watch?” he asked her, trying to ease her discomfort while he waited on the bathroom occupant to vacate.

“Marcy and Mark at the lake and Macy and Bang at the entrance,” she answered.

“Well, that explains who’s in the bathroom,” he said and then added after thinking about it,

“Are you sure it’s okay to have those two on watch together? Mark and Marcy, I mean?”

“They’re fifteen and sixteen, Graham. They’re good kids,” she said.

“You taught second grade, right?” he asked, doubting her logic.

“Yeah, what’s your point?” she asked.

“I’ve been a sixteen year old boy. I think I’ll have a talk with Mark, just in case,” he said.

“That’s probably a good idea. It can’t hurt,” she said with a smile.

The bathroom door opened and out wafted a foul stench along with Ennis. Graham grumbled at the old man, waved his arm up and down, and made a show of holding his breath as he puffed his cheeks out.

“What did you do in there?” Graham asked him.

“None of your business. Wait till you get old,” Ennis said, frowning at his tormentor.

Graham looked at Tala and made a big show of holding his breath again before entering the bathroom, causing her to laugh. He liked the sound of it. He turned on the hot water to help disguise the stink he was trapped in.

~ ~ ~

“Are you feeling all right, Ennis?” Tala asked in all seriousness.

“Yeah, I’m a tough old bird,” he said and pulled out his whittling knife and picked up his current project, taking it into the living room to work on, dropping the shavings into a bucket. They’d later be put to good use.

Tala watched him from the kitchen. She knew the cold was getting to the old man and instead of working on the porch where he had more light, she noticed him hanging around the woodstove more. She would have to mention something to Graham about relieving Ennis from watch duty. It wouldn’t be good for him to get pneumonia from being outdoors. He was clearly into his late seventies or early eighties. She wasn’t sure which but knew he couldn’t regulate his temperature like the rest of them. She hoped he would make it through the winter, but noting how he moved through the room, in pain from arthritis, she knew the freezing temperatures would not help.

Graham emerged from the shower with business on his mind. He’d decided, he announced, it was really too risky to have the girls on watch by the lake. He and the boys would have to take turns there. He’d also stored extra ammo down there in case there was ever an instance when he needed to engage them extendedly.

Tala watched him tug on his boots after he piled his dirty clothes in the area she’d designated for that. In answer to the question she hadn’t asked, he said, “Going to make a patrol of the perimeter then along the road a bit, looking for tracks in the snow. I’ll take the Scout.”

“Are you going to scavenge while you’re out?” she asked.

“I wasn’t planning on it. I don’t want to leave camp for long. Why, do you need anything?” he asked her.

“I was just thinking we really need to find vegetable seeds at some point. We’re going to need to start some come February,” she said.

Ennis piped up, “That is a good idea.”

“Well, let’s write a list and make a plan, but for today, I want to stick close to home. I’m taking Bang with me on my way out,” Graham said.

~ ~ ~

As he and Bang drove down the icy road, they slid briefly once they turned off on the main road. Graham put the truck into four-wheel drive and Bang really enjoyed the ride.

Graham pulled off the side of the road where a few homes were farther down the street. This was near where he’d pulled the dead guy out of the back of the bed by sliding him along on the top of the tarp. Bang had been with him, then, too. Graham had been careful to explain to Bang what had taken place and what they were doing with the body then.

Now, when he pulled over near that spot, more to check and see if animals had continued the disposal than for any other reason, Bang looked a little apprehensive. Maybe it was because the child’s nerves were on edge, but suddenly he snapped his bow into place and was about to loose an arrow when Graham stopped him. Bang was about to shoot a real chicken. A hen, to be exact. After a stealthy search, they found several more chickens taking refuge on the forest floor, pecking for grubs and grains. They devised a snare and captured five of them, stuffing them into the cab of the truck. It was an interesting drive back home with five unruly chickens fearing for their lives. It proved to be great entertainment for the boy.

Once they got back, Tala was delighted at the prospect of future eggs.

She sat the guys down for dinner after they washed up. As the chicken fried cougar meat was passed to Bang, he looked at it suspiciously. Graham looked at the boy and though he was tempted to lie, he told him the truth but added that he didn’t have to eat it but it would be good for him if he did. To Graham’s surprise, the boy stabbed a piece with his fork, drew it through his instant mashed potatoes and bit into it. He chewed a few times, pronounced it good, and asked for seconds. Since there were none left, Graham gave him his last piece, knowing the boy deserved it.

~ ~ ~

When Graham and Tala resumed watch, Ennis and the others devised a chicken coop out of the old shed that sat upon concrete bricks which served no real purpose after his father had built a new one, which was designated the new chicken coop. It used to serve various kinds of tools useful in digging ditches and chopping trees. Graham’s dad once said it owed its existence as a compromise between his grandfather and grandmother. After she’d argued, even though they were in a cabin, it wasn’t a barn and he couldn’t leave his axes in the kitchen where his aunt accidently backed into one, slicing her young heel wide open on the blade. This incident resulted in a trip for several stitches into the next town where there was a resident doctor, late one dark, windy night.

To make the chicken coop secure, Ennis had the boys right it and brace it up the leaning side. They swept it out and wiped out the cobwebs surrounding the two small windows that let in light. They cut a hole into the door and made a little ramp that led into it. Then they installed three branches to use as dowels, setting each at varying heights for the birds to roost on. At the far end, they put wood shavings down for bedding, which they had plenty of, thanks to Ennis’s woodwork. On the shelves and floor, they put more, hoping the chickens would lay eggs there.

The lack of heat was an issue. Although there were two old weathered windows of ancient wavy glass on each side for plenty of sunshine to enter, they needed heat or the low temperatures would surely freeze the birds. They couldn’t run electricity out to them so keeping the hens warm became a topic of concern until Ennis came up with a solution.

As a boy, it was his job each winter morning to bring the ‘chicken brick’ out to the chicken coop each night after he rounded up the hens. It would become a daily and nightly chore here since the weather was even colder. They would alternate two cinder blocks, heating them on the woodstove morning and night to take them out to the chicken coop to keep them from freezing.

Predators were the next issue. Although they were perfectly safe from them at night, during the day they needed to peck at the ground and do what chickens do. There was no way they could just have the run of the place or their five chickens would end up being three in no time.

Without chicken wire around, Graham and the boys went on a mission to find some elsewhere the next day. Mark knew of an older, run down cabin about two miles east into the forest as the crow flies. He and his dad had sometimes ventured there when out hunting.

The next afternoon, after letting Tala and Ennis know, Graham and the two boys left the others on watch and trudged through the woods to find it. On the way, Graham took the time to talk to Mark about getting too close to Marcy. Once Mark realized where Graham’s lecture was going, he got embarrassed real quick and reassured Graham that he wasn’t going to ‘do’ anything to Marcy.

Then, they saw a small cabin through the trees slowly becoming a part of the forest itself. A spindly pine tree that lost its battle reaching for the light had crashed over the back corner of the small shack. They marveled at the cabin’s diminutive proportions. “It’s just your size,” Mark kidded Bang.

Graham wouldn’t let the boys go inside because as he pushed hard on the corner of the building, the whole thing began to sway. So he went in, bent over so he wouldn’t disturb the ceiling, and started to swipe at the leaf-covered floor. He revealed a few treasures forgotten to the past world, now becoming revered for a new or old purpose. A rusty pie tin, an old hole-ridden green wool army coat, an old wood carving of a whale, an ivory stoneware coffee mug monogrammed with an S, a thick piece of wood that looked like it had once been a butcher block, a pair of old rusty bear traps and an old metal serving spoon. They collected their finds as Graham handed them each to the boys through the tiny door. There were probably smaller things hidden under the brush, but Graham started feeling like spiders were making nests in his hair. Nothing more important for their needs was to be found today.

Outside, they nearly tripped over a small rusty fishing boat lying on the ground, top side up. Graham lifted it and all manner of creepy forest crawlers began to squirm around. Underneath, they discovered a roll of rusty chicken wire and an oar. Jubilant with their finds, they piled the smaller things into the boat and headed back home.

With Graham in the front and Mark and Bang in the back, they began their trek towards home. It took them about an hour to get most of the way back, taking several breaks along the way. Being patient with the boys came easy to Graham since he drew on his father’s treatment of him over the years. He made them stop right before he suspected they needed to take a rest.

During one break, they stood silently in the forest and could hear many creatures. A brown rabbit scurried through the brush and stopped just in front of their little metal boat, startling them as much as they startled it. The rabbit froze for a moment and then jumped right over the boat, continuing its retreat. Bang giggled.

Then a light rustling snapped Graham’s attention in the direction the rabbit had come from, sending shivers up his spine. It grew louder and Graham instinctively pulled his weapon, surprised to see the boys do the same. He saw it coming and just had enough time to aim and shoot as the two gleaming wolf eyes shone through the greenery. He knew at once he hadn’t hit it. Options raced through his head like a mathematician going through known formulas, but nothing fit the equation. He believed the wolf was biding his time before attacking them. Should they run for the safety of the abandoned cabin or try to make it to their own? He couldn’t risk the wolf tracking them back to their place and possibly try to pick off one of them.

Spotting a tree with low enough branches for climbing, he shoved both boys toward it. Mark shoved Bang up, then followed him, shoving the smaller child ahead, higher and higher. The whole time, Graham kept track of the dangerous creature.

“Be careful, Graham,” Mark said. With both boys up out of danger, Graham crouched down and walked towards the foe, armed and ready. He wasn’t about to take a chance with his boys. His indecision had caused him anguish in the past, so he wasn’t going to let it go again. Any present danger had to be dealt with immediately.

As he got closer, the gray wolf turned his head, looking behind him. Then looked back at Graham and lifted his head to howl. The eerie call made every hair on Graham’s head stand up. He took that moment of clear view, aimed and shot the wolf, which slumped right to the ground.

Graham took several more steps towards it on the ground and heard something coming out of the brush ahead. “Shit,” was all Graham could say as another, bigger wolf came growling out of the woods into view. He could hear the boys yelling behind him, and then everything happened in slow motion.

The wolf lunged at him, springing itself on its hind legs from a fallen log as Graham aimed and fired but missed again. Then out of his left peripheral vision, he saw Sheriff come flying to intercept the wolf, hitting him just as the wolf impacted Graham’s chest, sending him tumbling backwards to the ground.

The German Shepherd took the wolf completely by surprise. It turned from attacking Graham, to vent its fury on the dog instead. The fearsome sounds of the two animals each one fighting for his life chilled Graham’s blood. He found himself lying on his back with his weapon knocked from his grasp while the creatures fought over him. Not certain it was a good idea when he thought of it, he reached out and grabbed Sheriff by the flank and hauled him towards his chest to get a clear shot at the wolf. Graham aimed and fired but just grazed the wolf, making it run off all the same. The wolf stopped before entering the brush to escape and looked back at them as if he wanted to get a good impression, then entered through the dark forest and out of sight. Graham, breathless from the struggle, looked up at Sheriff. “Thanks, buddy.” Sheriff licked his face then continued his panting.