Hell Happened (31 page)

Mrs.
deJesus
had gone back to the cellar, ostensibly to sleep, but in reality to pray. She was a devout Catholic and had rosary beads and a bible she kept by her bed. She prayed for the safe return of her new friends and the people from space, but mostly she prayed that God watch over her silly husband who she loved so dearly.

Shortly after 7 a.m. Tia tapped lightly on the door. Randy hadn’t locked it so she opened it enough to see if anyone was awake. Randy was roused when he heard her call out softly. “Yeah, I’m awake. Come on in,” he said, sitting up from the couch. Boomer
came
racing in with her, probably looking for the little dog. Since Molly was still upstairs, the big dog ran to Randy to lick his face and make a nuisance. He’d been left in the drive when the others had pulled out and decided he’d best go check on Tia and the kids. They were still asleep, so he spent some time wandering around making sure the shelter area was safe before finding a place to sleep under Tia’s motor home.

“How’d everything go?” she asked, sitting down beside Randy on the couch as her three girls and one boy sat down at the table in the kitchen. Boomer, pushed away by Randy, finished searching the place for anyone who’d play with him. No one took him up so he decided to lay down by the door on his mat and wait. Time for play would come. He knew it would.

“Everyone got off okay,” he told her, rubbing his face and head in an effort to wake up completely. “They made it to the interstate without any problems and the last time I had contact with them, Tony said they were making good time.”

“That’s good to hear,” she said. “I hope our trip goes as well. I figure about two hours to get there, four hours to find something useful and two hours back.”

“Sounds about right.
We went to Anniston a few times and it took us an hour. Figure twice that now because you can’t drive 70 miles per hour anymore and two hours sounds about right.”

“I wanted to ask if we should take a trailer on the Escalade when we go in case we see something we could use.”

“Might not be a bad idea. You have three guys with you, if you happen to come across another big generator, we could use one, especially for that other wind turbine. Do you know what batteries dad needs for the power grid in the basement?”

“He showed me yesterday.”

“We need more of them and you might find them at an RV dealership. If you can’t, we can use the regular kind for now. The more the better so the trailer is probably a good idea.”

“I’ll hook up the trailer,” she said, taking out her computer tablet and making notes.

Sade, Josh and Nick all showed up at the door together. Sade and Nick each had their own tents in which they’d been sleeping. Jamal shared a large tent with Danny. They were two strangers who’d met in west Texas and survived long enough to become friends. Josh slept in a camper with his daughter Marissa, and Katie the nursery manager.

“Good morning everyone.
Ready for TDY?”
Tia asked everyone. They looked at her blankly, having no idea what she was talking about. “Sorry, my husband was Army. TDY stands for going away from the base on temporary duty.”

Tia was an enigma of personality. She wasn’t very tall and kept her blond hair cut short and just beginning to show grey. She had a slender frame but a wiry musculature and defined features. Her ice-blue eyes were piercing, yet tender and she appeared at first glance to be a frail feminine-type woman. But after a few minutes of conversation, one could tell she was a strong alpha-type who didn’t take shit from anyone. She was a very gentle woman, with a streak of hardiness to balance her femininity. In her past, she’d driven semis, worked in a factory, was on a collegiate track team where she threw a javelin, had been an Army wife for 15 years and was a stern and a doting mother to her two kids and the twin girls she’d taken in. She was doing what she could to be both mother and father to them and succeeding well.

The plan was for her to drive to Anniston and look for the RV dealership there and bring back a motor home for the astronauts. She was taking three people with her and if they found an RV that they could get running, she’d drive it back and Nick would drive the Escalade. If they found batteries, they’d load as many as they could onto the trailer.

She planned on an eight hour time-frame so they could get the motor home, if they found it, set up before nightfall. The absolute
soonest,
and this was if everything with Jerry went off on schedule and with no problems, that the rescue team could be back to the shelter with the astronauts was 5 a.m. the following morning. She was sure they wouldn’t be back by then, but she wanted to be ready if they were.

Everyone on the RV team said they were ready once they’d finished breakfast. Kellie came down the spiral staircase with Molly following one step at a time, and Tia smiled. “Morning, Kellie. Sleep okay?” She and Kellie were the same age, but Kellie looked younger with her hair not yet flecked with gray and she didn’t seem to have as many wrinkles around her eyes.

But both were still attractive women, but Tia showed her age gracefully while Kellie’s was more of elegance and refinement….except for this morning. She was wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Her locks of usually well-brushed dark blonde hair with Viking curls were a tangled mess. Everyone suspected her and Jerry had been sleeping together, no one cared to ask if they had been, and looking at Kellie this morning might have been all the proof anyone needed.

What no one knew was that while they had slept together, they had only slept and held each other.

Boomer saw the little dog and jumped from where he was to greet the littler dog with a nudge of his huge nose. Molly growled which signified to Boomer it was play time so he started running happily around her, egging her on to play. Molly was having nothing to do with the big monster.

“I’m fine.
Was just restless all night.
Sorry I’m late getting up.
Coffee?”
She asked looking at everyone. “I need some but don’t want to make too much.” There were a couple of nods so she made a full pot.

“We’re going to be leaving at about 7:30 and want to be back by four this afternoon,” Tia reminded Kellie adding in a 30-minute fudge factor. “You have everything covered here?”

“Yeah,” she said as she poured the water into the coffee maker and filled the hopper with fresh coffee grounds. “Randy’s got a full day ahead and he’ll probably be working with Danny. I’m going to work on inventory that was brought in yesterday by Eddie and his crew, and Katie is going to work in the garden with the kids.” The kids groaned a little hearing that they had to work in the garden because it wasn’t any fun. Katie would find a way to make it less boring for them.

“Mrs.
deJesus
said she wanted to try her hand at baking, so she’ll be in the kitchen on and off most of the day. I think we’ll all keep busy while you’re gone.”

“I’m good without Danny today,” Randy said. “Most of what I have to do is a one-man job. He will be on the tractor and a chain saw and clearing a spot on the other side of your motor home.”

“Sounds good to me.
We’ll take care of that once Tia and her crew get on the road. You want to take lunches with you?” Kellie asked Tia.

“We might need something to eat and drink on the road,” Tia said.
“If it isn’t much trouble.”

“No trouble at all. I’ll have four lunches made by the time these guys are done with breakfast,” Kellie said as she opened the refrigerator.

~     
~
     
~

Tia and her men got on the road later than expected. The trailer they were taking with them had a tire that needed repairing and it took Randy and Nick 25 minutes to get the tire off, repair it, inflate it and put back on.

Randy waved to them as they pulled out of the driveway then called Kellie, who’d remained in the shelter to feed the kids and begin her work, to let her know they were off safely and that he was starting his morning chores. She told him Danny was awake and that he’d be down in about a half hour for the tractor.

“Roger, Kellie. I’ll look for him,” Randy said to the walkie-talkie, then “damn” to himself. That gave him almost no time with Cheryl. He had to get the chores started and the tractor out and fueled for Danny, then
show
him where he wanted the new motor home to be put.

He hurried to the barn to unlock the doors and tell Cheryl about the beer he’d stashed just for her. The barn was about 150 yards away from the driveway and he could see the grated window which was Cheryl’s room. He couldn’t tell from here if she had her light on because the sun had risen. He hoped she was still asleep so he could wake her up.

He hoped she would be very grateful he hadn’t made her wear the collar last night.

~     
~
     
~

Cheryl saw Tia and three men leave in the big SUV and Randy turn toward the barn. She knew he was coming to do the morning chores by himself.

Two
truck loads
of other people had left earlier that morning, so he would be unlocking her door to the outside before he started chores. He believed she liked helping him do the chores when he had to do them by himself, mostly because she told him she did, when in reality she hated it.

If he was by himself this morning, he’d unlock the door, allow her to put on clean clothes, put the leg cuffs on her and then start his chores. She’d “help” where she could, but mostly stood around while he did everything. She’d tell him the leg cuffs kept her from working.

Seeing him heading her way, she jumped back into bed and pulled the covers over her. She was still working on a plan when she heard his key in the door. It startled her, but she settled herself before Randy knocked. He waited and knocked again, just a little louder.

She didn’t move.

She heard the door open.

“Good morning, Cheryl. You awake?” he called softly. “Wake up, sleepy head,” he called again playfully and came all the way inside her room.

Cheryl faked a grunt, like she was just coming out of a deep sleep.

Randy reached over and touched her shoulder.

Then the acting began. Cheryl pretended to be startled by the touch and she squealed, not too loudly, but convincingly. She rolled over and pulled the covers up to her neck and pulled away from Randy. “Don’t hurt me!” she cried.

“Cheryl, it’s me, Randy,’ he said as soothingly as he could. “No one is going to hurt you.” Cheryl acted like she was just waking from a frightening dream. She added a little bit of fake confusion on her face and her eyes darted around the room. “Where’s Billy? Where’s Jack?” she asked, picking the names of the two men Kellie shot when they were trying to take over the shelter.

“No, no, no, it’s okay,” Randy said softly, placing his hand gently on her shoulder. “They’re not here. It’s just me.”

She acted like realization was coming to her and she reached out and hugged Randy. She squeezed him hard, pulling him close to her and allowed the bed sheet to drop into her lap. She had on the same tee shirt he’d seen her put on the previous night, but her lack of a bra meant he could feel her breasts against his chest.

“Oh thank God,” she said, not letting him go. “The dream was so real.”

“
It’s
okay, Cheryl. It was just a dream. No one’s going to hurt you here.” She whimpered in his arms for a few moments, allowing him to “hold” and “comfort” her.

“I have some good news for you,” he told her, removing the collar. She pulled back from him, smile brightening. “My dad’s gone for the day with Monica and I’m working alone. No need for you to have to hide in here or go away whenever Monica comes around.”

He said it like it would be a joyous day for her, a day where she didn’t have to think about someone coming around and hating her on sight. He thought he was telling her great news about him and her being able to work together without interruption and the associated stress. He really thought he was giving her good news.

She continued to smile the smile she didn’t feel. “That’s great, Ran!”

“And even better,” he added, holding her at arm’s length. “I have stashed away a case of beer that Eddie got yesterday. I think after all the chores are done today, I’ll bring it down with a TV and DVD and we can watch a movie together.”

Cheryl’s fake smile widened. This 22-year-old child was making it easy on her. “Won’t your dad object? He said I could only have books.”

“He won’t be back until tomorrow at the earliest. I’ll bring the stuff down tonight and when he gets back, I’ll tell him you were bored at night and they helped you make it through the night.”

“Oh Randy, you’re so thoughtful. Oh, and thanks for not putting that collar on me last night. I slept so
good
.” This she meant. He was getting so comfortable with
her,
he was beginning to disobey his dad.

He looked at his watch. “Hey, we have to hurry. Danny’s going to be here in a few minutes and I need to get started on chores.”

She released him and threw off the covers. The shorts she was wearing showed an enormous amount of immodesty which included the powder blue panties, which she knew he’d seen again. “Go start your chores and take care of Danny. I’ll change into some work clothes and stay here until you get back,” she promised, and really meant it. When she was ready to run, she wanted to have as much lead time as she could and take as many weapons with her to defend herself.