THE COLLAPSE: Seeking Refuge (23 page)

Carrie had laughed, “Are you asking me if I’m a lesbian or not?  I was wondering when you were finally going to ask.”

Tarra realized Carrie wasn’t upset about the question, so she continued to pry, “Well, you don’t have to answer it directly, if you don’t want to.  But, if you had your choice of sleeping with me or my husband, which one would it be?”

Carrie laughed again and said, “No offense, sister, but neither.”

Tarra looked confused.  It had to be one or the other…or both, right?

Carrie continued, “Don’t get me wrong, Stephen’s not a bad looking guy, he’s just not my type.  Now Fish, on the other hand, mm, mmmm”

“Oh, gawd no…really?  Tell me it isn’t so!” Tarra laughed.

Carrie sinisterly grinned and said, “He’s the only reason I look forward to those stupid three o’clock meetings.  I know he’s not the smartest person on the planet, but he’s tall, confident and rough around the edges, and that’s what I like!  Not only that, but I can tell by the way he defends your family that his heart is always in the right place.”

Tarra shrugged and said, “I guess.  I just never look at him like that.  He’s more like a big brother to me.”

Carrie’s face flushed red as she said, “I totally get that.  It’s no big deal, though.  He’d never be interested in a woman like me, anyway.  I’m not exactly model material.  Guys want pretty girls with nice, normal-sized bodies like Alexis.”

Tarra felt bad for Carrie.  She knew that Fish was, in fact, ga-ga over Alexis Tillman, but the new sheriff had already made it very clear to him (repeatedly) that she wasn’t interested.  Not only did she feel that he was too old for her, she didn’t dig his free-wheeling attitude and cockiness. 

Tarra thought that maybe there was a way to get Carrie “cleaned up” and present her to Fish somehow.  Surprise him with a new Carrie.  What if Stephen got him drunk first by the fire one night? That might work!  A funny thought crossed Tarra’s mind.  She tried to envision the two giant humans trying to make love in Fish’s small tent.  Awkward at best!  Carrie did had a nice RV though…

Tarra was explaining to Carrie that she still had some makeup left in her purse from before The Collapse, and was about to ask if Carrie wanted to borrow it when some visitors arrived at Carrie’s site.

Speaking of the she-devil herself, it was Alexis Tillman.  She had Fish’s new partner, Trent Teegarden with her as well.  But where was Fish?

Carrie and Tarra cheerfully greeted them, but Alexis and Trent didn’t respond in kind.

Alexis stiffened up and announced, “Tarra Alexander, you are under arrest.”

“What the hell for?” Tarra argued as Alexis quickly spun her around, pushed her up against Carrie’s trailer, and then handcuffed her wrists.  Tarra had thought about resisting at first, but then she reminded herself about all of the evictions that Fish had spoken of in the last two days.  She didn’t want to risk being evicted herself, so she complied with Alexis’ arrest.

Alexis stated as she pulled Tarra away from Carrie’s RV, “To answer your question, you’re under arrest for assault with a deadly weapon.”

Carrie and the Kays watched in shock as Alexis pushed Tarra toward the road.  Kyla asked Carrie, “What’s happening to my mommy?”

“Nothing, honey, it’s just a big mistake,” Carrie told Kyla, then shouted to Tarra, “I’ll keep the girls with me until this bullshit is cleared up!”

Tarra hollered back as she was led away, “Find Stephen for me, please!  He’ll fix this!  I think this has to do with Larry Paulson!”

*****

Stephen was eating lunch with Fish at site 199 when Carrie and the Kays brought them the disturbing news.  Carrie had asked if she could go with the two men to retrieve Tarra from the new jail, but Stephen declined, saying that he didn’t want the Kays to be a witness to whatever was about to go down at the Probsts’ campsite.  He asked Carrie to take the Kays back to her site and wait for them there.

As Stephen and Fish rushed to the Probsts’ site, Fish mentioned, “I thought it was kind of weird that Alexis had arrests planned for today, but she wouldn’t tell me who she was arresting.  She also did not want me to come along.  I thought she was just being a bitch, but now I think I know why.”

Stephen panted back, “Of course!  She isn’t stupid!  She knows how tight you are with me and Tarra.  I just can’t believe that the Probsts even entertained Larry’s bullshit.”

“I know, me neither,” Fish concurred.  He then added, “I thought I was in the ‘cool kids club’, but I guess not.”

As the two men neared the Probsts’ RV, they were both out of breath.  They slowed to a walk and assessed the scene.  Claudine, William and Larry Paulson were standing outside the PODS container, and Tarra’s face peeked through the small window that Hal had cut.  But Tarra wasn’t alone.  There was another face pressed up against the steel bars that Hal had bolted into the container over the window.  It was a small face, a child’s face.  Fish instantly knew who it was…it was Wolf!  Why was he in jail, too?  What the hell was going on today?

When Stephen noticed that Wolf was in the jail along with Tarra, his suspicions of Fish possibly knowing anything about the arrests went straight out the window.  He knew that Fish was privy to the Probsts’ secret information, but this went way beyond anything that Fish would have been able to keep secret, or allow.  Stephen could tell that Fish was just as furious as he was!

Alexis wasn’t anywhere to be seen, and neither was Trent.  It was just the Probsts and Larry Paulson.  Stephen’s mind went into overdrive, he had to figure out a way to get Tarra out of the jail without getting into bed with the devil in the process.  He knew that Tarra had ran off Larry with her shotgun.  Technically, that could be considered assault.  But did the Probsts know the circumstances?  He also knew that Wolf had blasted Larry’s hand with his slingshot, but that could be argued as self-defense, or maybe defense of property?  Was that even a valid argument?

Stephen was so upset about seeing his wife in that makeshift jail that he nearly threw up on himself.  Larry was going to pay for this one.  One way or another.  Larry’s bullshit had reached its apex, and Stephen was through with it. 

Fish shouted at Larry and the Probsts before Stephen could, “What in God’s balls is going on here?”

Claudine didn’t seem moved by Fish’s anger, and replied with, “Mr. Paulson has informed us that some serious crimes have been committed by your friends.  Alexis conducted an investigation, and the residents at sites 203 and 204 substantiated the allegations by providing eye-witness accounts of both Tarra and Wolf’s assaults upon Mr. Paulson.”

Stephen was too enraged to say anything at the moment, so Fish did it for him, “Boss, you know that Larry is a piece of shit, why did you even listen to him in the first place?  He’s just trying to get revenge on Stephen for taking his job!”

Larry confidently blurted at Fish, saying, “You watch your mouth, buddy…or I’ll have your ass thrown in there with your friends.”  Larry pointed at Tarra and Wolf who were still watching the proceedings on the site’s gravel driveway from behind the jail window.

“For what?” Fish screamed.

“For harassment!  And also, I’ve seen you around The Park drinking on the job.  Hmm, does Claudine and William know about that?” Larry laughed hysterically, thinking that he had exposed Fish for his sins.

Fish stepped forward and smirked down at Larry’s face, saying, “You moron, William GAVE ME those beers!”

Larry was stumped.  Was Fish lying about that?  No, he couldn’t be, because Claudine and William were both standing right there.  Neither of the Probsts had flinched when they heard Larry’s declaration about Fish being intoxicated on duty.

Fish pretended to start taking his rifle off his shoulder and asked Claudine, “Boss, can I just shoot this turd?”

“Absolutely not,” Claudine said, holding her hand up.  Then she continued with, “It would be too loud.”

At that comment, Fish, Stephen and Larry all did a double take on Claudine at the same time.  Was she joking?

Nope.

William suddenly presented Fish with a large Bowie knife.  It was a specialized hunting model with a recently sharpened blade.  A very beautiful knife, indeed!  William smiled as he watched Fish’s eyes light up. 

After studying the wicked blade for a few seconds, Fish raised his eyes from the knife in his hand and trained them on Larry Paulson.

Larry grimaced as if Claudine and William had just told a ridiculous joke.  “No way!” he yelled, putting his hands out in front of him in protest.  He continued with, “You’re just kidding, right?”

“Do it, Fish!  Kill his fat ass!” Tarra shouted from behind the barred window.

Fish looked at Stephen, almost as if he was asking for permission.  Stephen was still seeing red from his near-panic attack after witnessing his wife in the PODS container, and was unable to speak.  Instead, he just nodded at Fish, essentially giving his best friend the green light to assassinate Larry Paulson.  Fish’s grip tightened on the knife as the grin on his face elongated even more.

Larry had never been more frightened in his entire life.  And for good reason!  He pleaded with Fish, “No, stop!  Please!  I’ll drop the charges!”

Fish just slowly shook his head at Larry, saying nothing, just grinning.

Larry begged, “I’ll just leave The Park, okay?  You’ll never see me again, I’ll leave right now if I have to!”

Fish shook his head again, and even though Larry had a knife of his own against his hip, he opted for flight instead.

“HELP…HELP!” Larry howled as he hastily waddled towards the nearest residents, who were several sites away.  Claudine and William had purposely kept many, many campsites adjacent and across from theirs vacant.  For their own “privacy” reasons, of course.

Fish launched toward the fleeing potbellied man, and was upon him in little more than a few strides of his long legs.  Larry had feebly attempted to unsheathe his own knife as he ran, but he was too clumsy and didn’t have enough time.  His pursuer was simply too fast for him.

Reaching out with his left hand, Fish wrapped his fingers around Larry’s face and pulled his head backwards, exposing the throat.  The Bowie knife in his right hand went easily across Larry’s beard-stubbled neck as if it was cutting through a loaf of freshly microwaved bread.

Fish stepped away from Larry, who went down to his knees with his hands on his throat.  There was no way to stop the bleeding, everyone knew it, including Larry, but one couldn’t help themselves from trying.  Crimson covered Larry’s hands and shirt as the remaining strength in his body ebbed away, and he fell to the ground.  His chubby cadaver convulsed for a moment, then he gurgled blood bubbles out of his mouth one final time before going motionless.  Larry Paulson had been vanquished, and would never bother Stephen or his family ever again.

When the ordeal was over, Claudine emotionlessly said to Fish, “Bury the body in the forest behind our site.  After you’re finished, take Trent with you to see Larry’s wife.  Tell her that Larry was evicted, and that he is waiting for her on the other side of the main gate.  She has one hour to leave.”

As Claudine was explaining to Fish what to do, William unlocked the jail door.  Tarra and Wolf burst out of the box and ran to Stephen and Fish, respectively.

The Probsts said nothing as they walked to their RV and opened the door.  Before disappearing inside, Claudine turned to Stephen and said, “I’m sorry it had to be this way.”

Stephen just nodded back, saying nothing. 

He couldn’t help but to notice that after William had opened the jail, besides Tarra and Wolf, the box had been empty.  What happened to Jimmy Banks?

*****

“I think that Claudine was trying to send us some type of message,” Stephen said to Tarra and Fish, who were sitting around the fire later that evening as usual.  Except this time, they actually
did
get one of the bottles of Gentleman Jack from Fish’s truck.  Since the Kays were already asleep in the tent, the three adults were passing it around as they conversed.

Tarra added, “Yeah, the message was loud and clear – ‘she’s in charge around here’.  And now, she has dirt on all three of us.”

Fish spit a sunflower seed husk into the fire and asked, “But…doesn’t that mean we have dirt on her and William, too?  I mean, it was William that gave me the knife.”

“Yes,” Stephen began, “but
you
were the one that sliced Larry’s throat open with it.  Not only that, but I just stood there and watched.  I think the problem is that the Probsts have too many people in their back pocket around here.”

Fish spit another seed and said, “I kinda like working for them, though.”

“I’m sure you do,” Tarra said sarcastically.  She had heard Fish’s stories about William providing him with alcohol throughout the day.  The Probsts had Fish wrapped around their cunning little fingers, and he had been oblivious to it.  He was a good little soldier for them.  Til now, anyway.

Fish asked as he passed the bottle to Tarra, “So what are we going to do about all this?”

Stephen replied, “For now, nothing.  Just keep on doing what you normally do.  Act like the Larry Paulson thing never even happened.  I do think, however, that we should move up our departure timeline significantly.  Things are just going to get worse around here.”