THE TRASHMAN (31 page)

At the convoy, the women and children were milling around, stretching their legs, and congregating in groups to talk. Stephanie, two of the other women and the boy driving the second trailer, by twos, were separated from the rest at each end of the convoy, holding weapons at ready.

I pulled my jeep to the head of the line and got out.

I need everyone up here. You on guard, move closer too, but keep watching.”

I waited until they had gathered close by.

“Listen up. We have six trucks. How many of you know how to drive? Raise your hands.”

I counted thirteen hands. Most were from the slave girls, two were teenaged boys.

“Good. We’re going to Moultrie, Georgia, to a place of safety. I know some of you younger ones may not understand exactly why you have been taken away from the Village. I’m going to tell you. The people you were living with aided and abetted the Bradford Clan. The Clan and all the adults back at the Village are thieves, rapists, and murderers. We’ll be on the road at least twelve hours. If any of the current drivers are tired, swap now with one who is not. We’ll stop every three hours for short rest breaks.

*****

The drive to Moultrie was uneventful except for having to drive off a pack of dogs during one of our rest breaks. We pulled into the Armory parking lot in the early morning before dawn. I waved the convoy to a halt and dismounted the jeep. Carl responded to my knock, the speaker coming to life over my head.

“Who are you and what do you want?”

I looked up at the camera beside the speaker.

“It’s me, Ralph. That you, Carl?”

“I’ll be damned. Yeah, it’s me, but you look like hell.”

“I feel like hell. I’ve got a bunch of women and children with me, a couple of teenaged boys, and some toddlers.”

“We’d given you up for dead. I’ll call the Major to let you in.”

William let me in. Salvo, along with three other men dressed in BDUs were close behind him. I saw Missus Hawkins and Pastor Wells standing together deeper in the reception area.

The Major pulled me through the door, holding me at arm’s length to examine me.”

“Christ, you look like you’ve been mauled by a bear.”

I smiled at that statement. “I was, tell you about it later. Right now, I’ve got a convoy of ladies and children we need to get inside. Some of the children are traumatized. I basically kidnapped them. There’re nineteen young women and girls who were used as slaves. They were sexually abused by the Bradford Clan.”

“The Bradford Clan, they are all dead, yes?” Salvo asked, pulling me from William to grasp my hand in his. “I pray for you every day, Señor Ralph.”

“I needed those prayers,” I answered, and turned to include William. “Most of the Bradford Clan is dead. Both of the Bradfords, the leaders, are dead for sure. I need to get back to the Village to hunt out the rest of the bunch, but let’s get my people in first.”

Pastor Wells stepped forward. Corporal Salvo and I will escort them in. You look like you could use a hot bath and a week’s sleep.” He turned to speak to Missus Hawkins, “Sarah, would you fetch a few of the other women. We’ll need to clean and feed these children of God and get them beds for the night.”

He and Salvo went out to lead the group inside. William spoke to me.

“You sent us some good people. Not only Salvo, but the Pastor and his flock as well. You’ll see a few more new faces here. Look, I know you’re looking forward to the bath and bed, but Carl will go ape if you don’t stop by the control room to see him.”

Carl gave me a once over and then pulled me into a hug. I hugged him back.

“I see my training paid off. Bruised and battered, but you’re still alive.”

“Yours, and William’s training saved my life more than once.”

Carl said, “Salvo joined the Guard. He and a few other men and women are in training. I have a feeling he’s going to be more dangerous than you. I’m sorry to tell you, but Mercedes didn’t survive the plague. The pre-antibiotic treatment works, but it’s not one-hundred percent. He, his son, and Sarah Hawkins recovered, but Mercedes couldn’t fight it off.”

“That had to hit Salvo hard. He loved her.”

“It did. That’s the reason he joined the Guard. He reasons if the
banditos
weren’t out there, they could have stayed away and she would still be alive. I know the reasoning is faulty, but it gives him a way to deal with her loss.”

I spoke to William, “You said there are some new faces. Did you mean other than the ones I sent this way?

“We have twenty-two others, men, women and children. In a way, Salvo was lucky. It is unusual to find an intact family of plague survivors. What’s amazing is the hunger the women who’ve lost their own children express. There’s no child here who isn’t claimed.”

My exhaustion hit me. “William, Carl, anything else will have to wait until later, my legs are about to fall out from under me. Is my old room still available?”

“Yes it is,” Carl said.

“I’m headed for a shower. Could you have someone bring my backpack and the Enfield to my room? A girl named Stephanie will show you where they are.”

Oh lord, did hot water feel good. I left the duct tape on my forehead so I could really scrub my hair. I couldn’t believe how long it had grown, and marked a haircut as a priority. Scrubbing my body, I discovered numerous bruises and scrapes unnoticed until soap or my fingers touched them. My big concern was still my side. It remained tender and warm to the touch and I could feel pus collecting again.

Midway through my shower, I heard a knock on the bathroom door. Stephanie spoke to be heard above the water.

“Don’t come out of the bathroom naked. I’m here with your stuff and Major Allen sent a doctor to look you over.”             

Even though I knew they were waiting, I didn’t rush to finish. The longer I stood under the soothing warmth, the better I felt. All good things come to an end. Shaven, dressed in clean BDUs, I left the bath. Stephanie was sitting on the edge of my bed. A thin, Asian man occupied my only chair.

    “Doctor Chung Van Dung, I prefer Van. And you are the famous Major Olmsted.” He rose to shake hands.

I shook his hand and shook my head. “Olmsted, yes, famous, no.”

“Well, I must have been misinformed about you exploits. It seems, to most of the people here, you are something of a hero.”

Stephanie stood. “Oh, he’s a hero alright, but not because of his war with the Bradfords. Looking back, that bunch was so stupid they may as well had ‘kill me’ tattooed to their foreheads. What makes him a hero is he cares.

“I brought your things from the jeep. I hope you don’t mind, but I’m ready for a shower, too, and I’m starved. You should eat, too. Can you believe they cooked roast beef? It’s real, from frozen.”

She left. Doctor Van was still standing. “You may want to hold off eating until I examine you.”

“You want me to lie down?”

“Not here. No. Please follow me to the Medical unit. Major Allen told me about your gunshot wound, I’m concerned about the reoccurrence of infection and about your continued use of antibiotics.”

I followed him to another building. Inside the infirmary, he greeted a tall, blonde haired woman dressed in blue scrubs. Several of the former slave women and some children were in the reception area being examined by four other nurses in blue.

“Nurse Mays, this is Major Olmsted, the gentleman responsible for our early start today. I’m taking him to pre-op three.”

Nurse Mays reached to shake my hand. “It may be early, but it’s good work. Physically, these women and children are mostly in fine shape. Emotionally, they’re wrecks. I think Pastor Watts can do more for them than we can.”

The doctor said, “Triage and send him only the worst cases. Last I saw of Pastor Watts, he was overwhelmed with distraught children.”

Doctor Van led me to an examining room. “Strip to your skivvies and let’s have a look at your side.”

I began unbuttoning my shirt. “Where did you and the nurses come from? I mean, how did you arrive here?”

“From Valdosta. Sergeant Chester and Corporal Salvo discovered us and arranged transportation.

“A small gang with big guns came to the hospital. One of their men was shot. They arrived and then decided to stay. Our drugs, my nurses to rape. Robbing, raping, and killing people who came to the clinic needing help. They thought they had it made.

“Unknown to us, Carl and Salvo were observing the goings on. They caught the gang eating in our cafeteria and killed them all.” The doctor paused to smile. “Made a mess in the mess hall you might say.”

Stripped to my underwear, he had me lie on the exam table. The tape holding the gauze in place tugged at my skin, causing me to wince.

He dropped my bandage into the trashcan. “It’s definitely infected.” He used his fingers to prod the area. I was almost in tears by the time he stopped. Then he used a syringe to draw fluid from the wound. Using a swab, he expressed a dab of the fluid and sniffed it.

“Here’s what’s happened. The bullet nicked a section of intestine. I’m going to open it up and take a look.”

I had to admit I would be glad to have a professional treat me. “When?”

“Right now. If you’ll just rest here, I’ll have nurse Mays come in and prep you.”

“Will you put me to sleep?”

“In a normal setting I would, but it’ll be local anesthetic. I’ll have her remove the tape from your head and clean that wound. If it needs stitches you may as well get them, too.”

The next hour was not a fun time. My intestine
was
involved. The doc told me I was lucky the section adhered to my abdominal wall and wasn’t leaking into my cavity. Three stitches in my gut. Eight stitches to close the slit he made to access it and then three stitches to close my forehead.

I fell asleep during the sewing on my head and that was where I woke up several hours later, still on the examining table. Someone had raised the rails to keep me from rolling off.

Not long after awakening, a nurse opened the door to look in.

“You’re awake, I’ll get nurse Mays.”

Nurse Mays looked tired. “How do you feel?”

“Fine. How long before I can walk around? I need to visit the men’s room.”

“The sooner you’re on your feet, the better. You’ll be a little stiff for a few days and you’ll need to avoid any activity the puts a strain on your abdomen, but walking and normal activity will speed your healing.”

“What time is it?”

“Just past 1:00 p.m. Lunch is still being served in the mess hall, if you’re hungry.”

Suddenly, I was. I went to stand, but my side wasn’t ready for that. “Thank you nurse Mays. If you’d help me to my feet, I’ll be able to handle it from there.”

This was the first time I had seen the mess hall. Before, William, Carl, and I had dined in the officers’ mess. This room could easily sit fifty people at a time. I stood for a moment and surveyed the room looking for familiar faces. I saw Pastor Watts and Sarah Hawkins together at a table near the front. Sarah noticed me, waved, and then pointed to an empty chair.

I went to the service line. Betty, the chubby teen I’d met was behind the counter.

“Hi, Betty, did you find out if the little boy’s name is Bobby?”

“It’s David. He’s with another lady now. A black lady’s taking care of him. He seems to really like her.”

“It’s good to know he’s with someone who cares about him. What’s on the menu?”

“Beef and potato hash.”

I went along the service counter pointing to foods in warming trays. Betty loaded my plate. As I went to Sarah and Pastor Watts’s table, I saw many faces from the pastor’s group, and from the Village whom I recognized but didn’t have names for.

Sarah waved me into a chair. “Pastor Watts, this is the man who found the cure for the plague. His cure is a rough one, though. You have to get sick on purpose and then you can be cured. I mean you get really sick. There for a while, the way me and Salvo and his boy were coughing I was sure his antibiotic cure was failing. It did fail poor Mercedes.”

Pastor Watts said, “The Lord surely does work in his own way. He put a miracle in this man’s hands, but He had to recognize the Lord’s blessing on his own. Praise God.”

I echoed his sentiment, “Praise God. I wish he’d blessed me a bit earlier so I could have saved my loved ones, but I’m glad to see it worked for you and Salvo, Missus Hawkins.”

The pastor said, “You sent us to a good place. The major has a good, altruistic soul. He agreed to the use of the chapel as long as I kept my service nondenominational. I’ve no problem with that. I hope to see you at service tomorrow.”

“Is tomorrow Sunday? I’ve totally lost track.”

“It is.”

“You know Salvo joined the Guard? The poor man is so torn up and confused… Bitter since Mercedes died,” Missus Hawkins said.

“I’d say most of humanity is confused and bitter. I know I am.” I changed the subject. “Salvo and Carl seem to have been busy. I met the doctor and nurses they brought from Valdosta.”

Missus Hawkins laid her fork on her empty tray. “They’ve brought in other survivors, too. There are nearly a hundred people here now. Major Allen said when we have enough trained Guardsmen, we’ll have to start expanding to the homes outside the fence.” She stood, “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to the nursery. Most of the women adopting the children have never mothered before. They have a lot to learn. I and a couple of women from the Pastor’s group are teaching basic parenting skills.”

Pastor Watts was finished eating, too, but he wasn’t finished talking.

“Ralph, do you believe in God?”

I didn’t like him asking. “My beliefs are private.”

“I understand. It was rhetorical anyway. You know, all my life I’ve been involved with the church. My father and grandfather were lay preachers. Up until the plague, I burned with the flame of the lord. I think the flame has burned out. This wasn’t the rapture.”

“You’re right about that. Look Pastor Watts, I know it’s hard to hang onto faith when faced with the horror that’s come our way. I know I have doubts.”

“I’m beyond doubt. Since I arrived here at this place and my thoughts can be given to something other than surviving, I’ve taken a closer look at the concept of religion. I’m not going to say words to sway your belief, but I’ve come to the conclusion I still have a role to play in this game of life, but not in a truly biblical sense. No more heaven and hell, I’ll espouse only the humanistic values to be found in the scripture. I’ll not use fear ever again.”