Officer Of The Watch: Blackout Volume 1 (16 page)

"We could try and find a camp," Imogene said.  "There might be one closer to the city, like Mike was saying yesterday."

Mike shook his head.  "I don't think so," he replied.  "Eric and I saw National Guard troops setting up what looked like a standard FEMA refugee and evacuation center in a city park on the way to his house.  I saw what those little relocation camps turned into during Katrina, and that's the last place you want to be, trust me.  If they don't have some kind of organized, large scale program going, then we're better off on our own."

"Okay, so what do you suggest, son?" Bill asked, scratching idly at his left shoulder.  The wound was clean, and they were still changing the bandage once every few hours, but the sugar wasn't liquefying as much anymore, and the tissue deep in the wound was already starting to mend itself.  With the healing, though, came the itching.

Eric nodded to Christina.  "Tina and I have talked about this before," he said, "and we're heading to my family's farm.  It's about three hours from here, out in the middle of nowhere.  We've got plenty of room, good wells, and lots of fields.  I don't know what you guys are planning, but that's where we're going."

Bill and Imogene shared a look, and Imogene smiled slowly.

"Eric," she said softly, "the only place we've really called home in a long time is probably in a pile of ashes on the side of King's Mountain.  And even if our camper is still there, we can't float the truck across to hook up to it again.  A long time ago, Bill and I decided not to take anything on the road with us that we weren't willing to lose except for each other.  I think, if you'll have us, we'll go with you a while longer."

Bill nodded his agreement and patted Imogene on the hand.  He didn't speak, but everyone was doing their best not to look at Bill's bandaged shoulder.  If not for Eric's quick thinking, Bill never would have left the Stop-n-Shop. 

Mike shrugged slightly, staring at the ground.  After a moment, he said, "I don't have any family that'll speak to me anymore.  I tried for a long time, and some bridges are just....  well, burned.  Claire had kids around here, though.  Two daughters live in this area, and she's got a son in college at the University on the other side of town.  They deserve to know what happened to their mom."

Mike didn't look up for a long time, and no one really knew what to say.  Finally, after a long moment of uncomfortable silence, Eric leaned into the window of the Bronco and pulled out the keys.  He extended them to Mike, but the Ranger shook his head.

"Mr. Sheickles gave that to you," Mike said, with a slight smile.  "If he saw me cruising around town in it, he'd probably shoot me...and then you."

Eric couldn't help but laugh at that and found that he suddenly had an uncomfortable lump in his throat.  He turned quickly away and started setting aside supplies for Mike to keep.  The rest of the group went about saying their good-byes as Eric packed one of his trail bags.  He put in three days worth of food rations, but a good third of their water.  The rest of the group was facing a three hour car ride, barring any unforeseen complications, but there was no telling when Mike would find another reliable supply of good, clean water. 

By the time Eric had the bag packed, the rest of the group was in their vehicles, ready to pull out.  Eric handed the bag to Mike, who started to protest when he felt how heavy it was, but Eric stopped him.

"Look, you're going to need it a lot sooner than we are," Eric said firmly.  "My family's got two wells and a cow pond on the property.  You're lucky I didn't leave all of it for you to carry."

Mike finally nodded and jerked his thumb toward Bill's truck.  "I left pretty much everything from the Ranger station," he said.  "I kept one of the M-4's, a Beretta, and fifty rounds for each.  I've got my own field First Aid kit, and anything else would just be more weight."

Eric nodded, unsure really of what to say.  After a moment, Mike took his hand and shook it hard. "I've spent a good part of the last few years trying my best to avoid situations like this," Mike said, "but I guess sometimes you just don't have a choice."

Eric frowned.  "You could come with us Mike.  You've always got a choice."

Mike just shook his head.  "Not when what you do is part of who you are," he said softly. 

With one last nod, Mike shouldered his pack and went to sit on the faded, splintered boards of the porch behind him.  Eric climbed into the cab of the Bronco and pulled out.  His last view of Mike was in the fading red glow of Bill's tail lights as they drove down the rough and weathered gravel road, one hand raised and his rifle in the other.

Ch. 34

Paint Me A Picture

Chris knelt on the bed and looked the little boy squarely in the eyes.  He took a deep breath, and nodded. "Yes, Steven," he said, "it is going to hurt.  I don't want to lie to you.  But your arm will feel better after it hurts, okay?"

The little boy frowned and tears filled his eyes instantly.  He bit down hard on his bottom lip, though, and none of the tears reached his cheeks.  Steven closed his eyes for a moment and took several slow, deep breaths. 

"The bones in your arm," Chris continued, "are in the wrong place, and I have to put them back in the right place.  That way they can heal straight and strong.  The pain will be quick, but bad.  I'll tell you before it happens, so you don't have to worry, okay? I'm a doctor and I can help you, but you have to trust me."

The boy's mother stroked his hair softly, and after a moment he opened his eyes.  Maimey stood from the rocking chair in the corner and patted Gilbert on the way out the door.  The boy's brother whispered something to him and then quietly slipped out the door.  Gilbert extended a hand to Steven's mother, but she shook her head firmly.

"I'm staying with him, Daddy," she said.  After a tense moment, Gilbert turned to go.

The old farmer paused to fix Chris with a stare and asked, "Can you really fix his arm?"

Chris nodded slowly, and said, "It won't be pleasant, but I can set it."

Gilbert closed his eyes briefly and placed a rough hand on his shoulder.  Then he stepped out into the hall and closed the door behind him.  Steven was breathing a little quicker now, so Chris put a hand lightly on his foot.

"Steven," he said calmly, "it's okay.  I'm not going to do anything without telling you first.  Right now, I'm going to fix some things for the splint that's going to go on your arm to help hold it still when I'm done.  It will protect your arm from bumps while it gets better."

Steven took a deep breath, and nodded once.  Chris took some linen strips from the boy’s mother and lined them next to the boy in the bed.  She'd cut up three bed sheets, so the pile was more than enough to serve for wrapping Steven's arm and securing the splint in place.  Afterwards, he might even have enough to make a simple sling, assuming she hadn't cut up the pillowcases yet.

"Do you have a special place that you like to play around this farm?" Chris asked as he tied some strips to the wood lengths.  Steven nodded once again, and Chris smiled.  "I thought you might.  I grew up on a farm kind of like this out in Kentucky.  My dad was in the Army, and we moved around a lot when I was younger, but there was a farm in Kentucky that always stands out in my mind.  I played there a lot when I was about your age, and even a little younger.  What is your favorite place, the barn? I bet you can play hide and seek like crazy in a barn like that."

Steven smiled, but suddenly looked shy and didn't give any other response.

Chris shrugged and continued.  "We had a silo at our farm.  An old round building that was tall and hollow inside.  I used to climb in that building, and one day I fell.  I got hurt too, but it was my leg.  A doctor fixed me up like I'm getting ready to fix you up, and my leg got better.  Then, just to prove it was better, I got a job jumping out of air planes and getting paid for it!!"

Steven giggled and the boy's mother smiled. 

Chris looked at Joe and motioned for him to come closer.  "Okay, you're going to need to hold his legs," Chris said softly.  Joe swallowed hard, but gripped the boy’s legs just above the knees.  "If he moves around, it could do more damage in there," Chris said as he looked at the boy's mother.  "Ma'am, are you sure you want to stay in here?"

The woman looked at Chris square in the face, her eyes hard as stone.  "My name is Beth Anne," she said calmly and evenly. "And I'm staying with my boy."

Chris decided to let the matter drop.  "Okay.  You hold his shoulders then."

Beth Anne gripped Steven’s shoulders firmly, and Chris put his hand lightly on Steven's head.  "Okay, Steven," Chris said, "I have to put the bones in the right place now.  Once I do, I'm going to wrap your arm with some of these bandages to help protect it.  Then I'll tie the splint on to keep it still.  Are you ready?"

Steven closed his eyes for a brief moment and took a deep, shaky breath, but nodded.  His eyes were squeezed shut hard.  Chris handed Beth Ann the large wooden spoon he'd asked for.  The handle was wrapped with a strip from an old leather belt.

"Have him bite down on this," Chris said.  "It will help."

Beth Ann took the spoon, her face a little pale.  When Steven was ready, Chris took his right arm just below the elbow in one hand.  The boy winced but didn't cry out as his arm jostled a bit.  He looked Steven squarely in the eye once more.  "I want you to do me a favor, Steven.  I want you to think about your favorite place to play here on the farm for me.  You don't have to tell me about it, but I want you to pretend like you're painting me a picture of it inside your mind, okay? Can you close your eyes and do that for me?"

The boy nodded and closed his eyes even tighter. 

"Okay, Steven," Chris said, "on the count of three.  One.  Two," Chris took the boy's right wrist in his other hand.  "Three."

Chris pulled sharply apart and felt the bones in the boy's arm slide against each other.  The boy cried out against the leather-wrapped spoon in his mouth; his face twisted in a sharp, but muffled scream of pain.  To his credit, though, the boy didn't pull away or jerk.  The pain was intense as bone scraped against bone, but Chris had to be sure they aligned. 

A simple X-ray would have shown him just how much and to what angle each bone was offset and how he could best align them with the fewest moves.  Unfortunately, at the moment, there were probably fewer than two dozen working X-ray machines left in the U.S. 

The bones set, Chris quickly grabbed one of the thicker linen strips from the bed next to him.  He deftly wrapped the boy's arm twice from elbow to wrist with the bandage.  He wrapped it snug but not tight enough to pinch off the circulation.  Hopefully the bandages would keep some of the swelling down. 

Steven's face and back had relaxed a bit once the bones had stopped moving.  He was breathing deep and hard now, tears streaming down his face.  Still, he hadn't even tried to jerk his arm back once. 

"You've got nerves of steel, kid," Chris said, his voice firm and even.  "When the doc set my leg, I kicked him square in the nose with my good foot.  Didn't mean to hurt him, but it was just a natural reaction and it happened before I could even think about stopping it."

Beth Ann chuckled a shaky little laugh, and Chris shook his head ruefully.  "You laugh now, but he didn't think it was that funny back then.  I broke his nose and bloodied up his nice white lab coat.  For a while there, when I went to see him for checkups, I had a cast on, and so did he."

Steven giggled between sobs, and Chris winked at him.  Chris continued to wrap the boy's arm with two more strips of linen, and then he set the cut and sanded strips of board on either side of his arm.  He tied the splint closed just tight enough for Steven to feel the pressure but before it became painful. 

“You did good, kid”, Chris said.

Beth Ann gave him a full dose of children's Ibuprofen she kept in the bathroom medicine cabinet.  Steven swallowed it eagerly, even if he did make a face at the taste.  Already his breathing was becoming more rhythmic and even. 

"Steven, you're going to feel sleepy now," Chris said.  "When your body hurts real badly, your brain releases special chemicals to help you sleep through the pain.  You just relax and close your eyes and rest.  It will help your arm get better faster, okay?"

Steven nodded and laid his head back, staring up at the ceiling.

Joe and Chris stood and stepped out in the hall while Beth Ann whispered something comforting to Steven.  They found Gilbert in the hall, his back against the opposite wall and his face pale.

"Thank you son," Gilbert said.  "You boys and your families are welcome to stay here for the night and eat with us.  Better than bein on the road out there in the dark, I’d imagine."

Chris looked at Joe who shrugged slightly, then nodded.  "Thank you for the hospitality,” Chris said.  “We've got children with us too, and it might be better to finish our trip in the morning.  I promise we won't be any trouble, and we'll be gone early."

Gilbert shook both of their hands.  "Least we can do," he said, then turned and walked slowly down the stairs.

Beth Ann stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind her.  Tears were streaming down her face as she put her arms around Chris's neck and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you," she said.  "It's a miracle you all were coming by when you were!  I don't know what we'd have done.  None of the cars will start, the phones won't work and I just didn't know what to do."

"You held it together well, Ma'am," Chris said reassuringly.  "That story I told about my leg was true...for the most part...and I can promise you that being there for him like that helped a lot."

"Well, thank you again," Beth Ann said, patting Chris on the arm.  "And you all are welcome to stay and eat with us."

Chris and Joe smiled. 

"Yes Ma'am, your father mentioned that," Joe replied.  "We'll be out of your hair first thing tomorrow, though."

Beth Ann made a shooing motion.  "Don't worry about that.  We don't get many visitors out here, and it'll be good to have the company."