The Journal: Raging Tide: (The Journal Book 4) (10 page)

I’d always been a good swimmer so I didn’t
panic. My mom made me take swimming lessons when I was seven, to
learn how to swim on
top
of the water because I was always
under
it. It’s funny what runs through the mind at a time
like this. Only moments passed when I realized this was a very bad
situation. My clothes were weighing me down, preventing me from
doing much more than keeping my head above the waves, and a dark
chill was already starting to seep into my bones.

I straightened out my body as best I could.
The current tugged at my legs and arms and hidden branches caught
on my clothes, dragging me lower. I thought if I tried to move
with
the water instead of fighting it, I might be able to
get back near the shore. Might. My hip bounced off a rock below the
surface and I think I cried out. I was getting tired quickly just
fighting to keep my head up and my skin was already numb from the
cold water. How long had I been in the river? Five minutes? It
seemed much longer.

As I struggled toward the shore, I saw a
bend in the river where a small tree had fallen in. If I could grab
a branch as I went by, I could pull myself back. Who was I kidding?
I was already exhausted! I felt something large beside me pushing
my body. It was a submerged log perhaps, with a very strange feel
to it: solid yet not. The tree loomed ahead and I raised my arms as
best as I could. The tree slammed into my chest and I clung with
the little strength I had left. I closed my eyes to rest as the
water rushed by, pulling at me, and that log drifted away with the
current.

I heard a voice calling me: “Let go, Allex.
Let go.” Was that Mark calling me to him? I felt the current
dragging at the back of my wet jacket and I resisted, clinging
tighter to the log. “Let go, Allex!” I was so tired of fighting. I
let go.

*

I felt the hard ground on my back and
pressure on my mouth. I turned my head and coughed out a mouth full
of muddy river water.

“Allex, please wake up!” I could hear Jim
yelling at me. I forced my eyes open and immediately started
shivering. Jim made me stand and picked me up over his shoulder,
fireman style.

“You have to get out of those wet clothes
before hypothermia sets in,” he was saying as I leaned against the
door of the Hummer. Jim was tugging at my jacket, my zipper, my
boots, and all I could do was shake. I was so cold it was hard to
think straight. He pulled my wet shirt off over my head and wrapped
a blanket around my shoulders, and then he pulled my pants and
socks off. He took the blanket from me and wrapped my whole body
with it and then picked me up to sit me in the front seat of the
vehicle where the heater was blasting wonderful hot air at me.
Still, I shook uncontrollably.

I felt the vehicle move then stop. I didn’t
care, the vents were still pouring the luscious heat at me and I
closed my eyes.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in the
tent, wearing my sweats and wrapped in my sleeping bag, the lantern
blazing away, warming the air. Jim was toweling my hair.

“Well, there you are,” Jim said softly. “You
gave me quite a scare!”

“How did I get out of the river?”

“I pulled you out. You didn’t want to let go
of that damn log though! And then you didn’t want to breathe,” he
said. The pressure I had felt; was he giving me mouth-to-mouth?

“How did you get to me? The river swept me
away so fast.” I shivered again.

“I saw you fall in, and suddenly you were
gone. I jumped in the Hummer, following the river, and once I
spotted you, I got ahead, thinking I could grab you as you went by.
By then you had already hit the tree.”

“How did I get in my sweats? I don’t
remember anything,” I said, looking down at my dry clothes.

“You were shivering so bad, Allex, I had to
get the wet clothes off of you,” he said, embarrassed. “Hypothermia
is a real danger and still is. That water is barely forty degrees
and lowered your body temp fast. We need to bring it up. I’ve got
some soup warming.” Jim stood and went outside. I leaned forward
toward the lantern. The heat it was radiating felt wonderful. A
great deal of body heat is lost from the head and with wet, cold
hair I was staying chilled. I fluffed my hair with shaky fingers,
trying to dry it faster.

Jim set a bowl of steaming chicken noodle
soup in my hands. The heat from the bowl on my cold hands caused me
to give a quick shiver, sloshing the soup. He clamped his big, warm
hands over mine to steady the bowl.

“Are you going to be able to handle that
yourself, or do I have to feed you too?” he said gruffly.

“I’ll manage.” I spooned the hot soup into
my mouth. The heat trickled all the way down, easing my aching
chest. I winced.

“What’s wrong?”

“My chest hurts,” I said.

“That doesn’t surprise me. You’ve got one
hell of a bruise across your ribs and another doozy on your hip.
How did that one happen?”

“I remember bouncing off a boulder, and I
think the ribs were from hitting the log.” I stared at my soup. He
had seen those bruises?
Well, sure dummy, he stripped your wet
clothes off so you wouldn’t die,
I chastised myself. “You saved
my life, Jim.”

“Remind me sometime to ask you about those
camouflage undies,” he grinned.

“That’s easy. They were a gift from
Smitty.”

*

“Shouldn’t we be getting on the road
soon?”

“You need heat and rest, Allex. We can stay
put for an extra day. Besides, the tent is too wet to pack up
anyway,” he said. “Being hurt and almost drowned is not going to
get you out of a rematch cribbage game though!”

*

During the night I felt warm and secure. I
was zipped snugly in my sleeping bag and when I tried to turn over,
I realized Jim was next to me on his mattress with his open
sleeping bag over both of us, and his arm held me against him for
extra warmth. I fell back to sleep listening to the wind.

April 18

The day broke
with a brilliant sun and a warm breeze. I was feeling rested and
much better, although my bruises still hurt.

“We should be able to break camp today,” Jim
said, “unless you need another day to recuperate?”

“No, I’m doing fine, Jim, really, and I
slept well. My hip still hurts, but it’s not as if we’re walking,”
I told him. “I’m going to scramble up some of these eggs to go on
the last of our bread. Um, would you get me some water?” I asked.
“I’m just not up to using the bigger bucket. I feel bad I lost the
smaller one.” He cocked an eyebrow at me and took the bucket
without saying a word.

*

I finished washing the frying pan and the
soup bowls from last night, then refilled the Berkey to filter as
we traveled. The day was turning wonderfully warm. The road was
little traveled, however, we did see the sign saying we were
entering the Hiawatha National Forest, so we knew we were on the
right track. A mile in we were stopped by a downed tree.

“I’m sure glad we brought this chainsaw
along. It’s getting a lot of use,” Jim said, revving it up. “I hope
we don’t run out of gas for it.” He bolted the long twelve-inch
thick tree into sixteen inch sections, and I rolled them off to the
side.

A couple of hours, two more downed trees
blocking the road, and another ten miles later we came to a
clearing on the north side of the road. A massive modern log cabin
stood proudly in the center, the golden amber stain shining in the
afternoon sunlight. Huge solar panels on a tall automated sun
tracker stood behind a chicken coop. The dozen multi-breed chickens
pecked at the bare ground, much like at Annie’s place.

“It looks occupied. Want to stop in?” Jim
asked, stopping at the end of the long, well-kept gravel
driveway.

“Can’t hurt,” I said. “We can always use the
same introduction line we used with Annie, about buying eggs. And
who knows? They might need help with some chores, or want someone
new to talk to. They might even be able to pass along some
information we need.”

Jim stopped the Hummer a hundred feet from
the house and called out. A middle-aged man eventually stepped out
onto the long covered porch, rifle in hand.

“What do you want?” the sandy haired man
asked, holding the shotgun by the barrel, with the stock resting on
the wooden deck.

“We saw your chickens and wondered if you
had any eggs for sale or trade,” Jim said, keeping his hands away
from his holster. I stayed in the Hummer, my Beretta in hand,
resting on my lap.

“Not really,” he replied, “they aren’t
laying very well. Too many travelers have them spooked.” I saw him
scratch his opposite shoulder with his free hand, using three
fingers.

“Yeah, that’ll happen,” Jim agreed, nodding
several times. “How long has it been since you’ve seen anyone on
this road?”

“Oh, maybe four or five days. Me and the
wife don’t take well to strangers.” The man kept flicking his eyes
to the side.

“Well, good luck to you then,” Jim said
backing up to the Hummer door. “Be seeing ya.” We backed out of the
driveway.

Once out of sight of the house, Jim stopped.
“Those folks are in trouble, Allex.”

“I knew it was an odd conversation, but how
can you tell?” I asked.

“First, he was holding the shotgun by the
barrel, a sure indication it wasn’t loaded and he wanted us to know
that. When he mentioned travelers, he held up three fingers and
only we could see that, no one inside the house could.” Jim was
ticking these points off as he talked. “Plus the rapid eye movement
said to me we were being watched. My guess is there are three men
inside that have been holding him and his wife hostage for the last
four days. He knows we’ll be back.”

“How does he know that?”

“When I said ‘be seeing ya’ I looked in the
same direction he had been. I hope when I nodded he understood that
I caught what he was trying to tell us.”

“What now?”

“We wait for dusk.”

*

It was already late in the day and we didn’t
have to wait long for the sun to start going down. Jim opened his
door, retrieved the rifles from behind our seats, and closed the
door silently. The memory flashed through my mind of him spraying
all of the Hummer’s hinges with lubricant before we left. Now I
know why he did that. I tried mimicking his movements, being as
quiet as possible, knowing how far sound could travel.

“It’s still light enough for them to see
us,” I whispered.

“That’s why we’re going through the woods
and coming in from the side,” he whispered back. “Lock and load,
Allex, we don’t know what we’re walking into.”

I was nervous, and ready. If these people
were indeed in trouble, we needed to help them.

I followed behind Jim as he made his way
noiselessly through the underbrush, the new spring growth of the
soft green and gold moss cushioning our footfalls. We came out on
the other side of the chicken coop, out of sight of the front of
the house. We could hear voices drifting out through an open
window.

“Whadda ya opening the windows for?” a gruff
voice shouted.

“It’s very stuffy in here and Kora’s asthma
acts up when she doesn’t get enough fresh air.” The voice sounded
like the man who had been on the porch earlier. I could hear a
window sliding open opposite from where we were hiding. The rest of
the conversation was too muted for me to catch, though shortly
after, the back door opened and a young woman stepped out carrying
a basket. She looked to be about thirty-five, my height, with pale
blonde hair tied in a ponytail, and she was wearing a long, dark
skirt. Right behind her was a scruffy looking man carrying a rifle.
She crossed the small yard and headed right at us, opening the door
to the chicken coop.

“You can collect them eggs in a minute. Lift
your skirts, I’m horny,” Scruffy laughed.

“Please, not again!” she pleaded.

“I said lift ‘em!” We heard a slap and she
cried out.

Jim moved quickly to the open door, handing
me his rifle and drawing his knife. In almost one movement, he
stepped inside, clamped one hand over Scruffy’s mouth, and slit his
throat with the knife. He dragged him out just as silently while I
stepped in to quiet Kora.

I held my finger to my lips, in the
universal sign for silence. She nodded.

“How many more are in the house?” Jim
whispered a moment later, joining us inside the coop. The chickens
cackled nervously, though it was a natural sound and wouldn’t draw
attention.

“Two more, plus my husband, Lee,” Kora
whispered back. “Thank you! These last few days have been a
nightmare!”

“You need to go back in, Kora, and act like
nothing has happened. If anyone asks where this guy is, tell them
he stopped to take a whizz,” Jim whispered to her. “That might even
get one more to come out looking for him when he’s gone too
long.”

“I better collect the eggs or they’ll be
suspicious,” she said, snatching several eggs and putting them in
the basket she had been carrying.

“How is your asthma? Will you be okay?” I
asked.

“I don’t have asthma. Lee wanted to get a
few windows open so you could listen in case you were coming back
to help. He managed to let me know it was possible when we were in
the kitchen together.” With that, she slipped out the door and went
back to the house. I know that must have been difficult for her to
do.

Night fell quickly once the sun dipped below
the horizon. Darkness in the woods is very complete and we were
ready to move within minutes. The yard was shrouded in heavy
shadows with the solar lighting spilling from a few windows and
made it easy for us to circle the house once to get the layout. We
crept up to the back door, with each of us taking a side.