The Journal: Crimson Skies: (The Journal Book 3) (15 page)

“Allex, honey, you’re certainly no dictator,
but you
are
in charge. Besides, you were the first one to
speak introducing yourself and the rest of us. I think being in
charge was a natural assumption on his part. Why didn’t you mention
that you’re the Emergency Manager?”

“I’ll answer that, if you don’t mind,” Jim
said. “It was obvious from the start that there was going to be a
distrust of anything government, whether it was local or military.
After all, that’s why
we
came in civvies. I think it was
wise and prudent for Allexa to not mention her official title, just
as she failed to mention Eric’s relationship. He could have been
used against us.”

I slumped down into the nearest chair. “I
hope I didn’t screw things up by insisting we go there. I don’t
like this Collins. He makes me nervous, and I don’t think we should
trust him, no matter how fast he back peddled under your show of
force.”

“Well, I will agree with you on the trust
part, ma’am,” Jim said. “He’s got a lot to make up for in my book.
I think it’s a wait and see what his next move is.”

“I’m sure glad you were with us, Jim. And
please stop calling me ma’am. It makes me feel old.”

September 17

“Well good morning, Sgt. Jones,” I said,
wondering what she was doing here. “This is a pleasant surprise.
What can I do for you?”

“Good morning, ma’am, Doctor,” Rayn
acknowledged Mark over my shoulder. “Colonel Andrews sent us to
accompany you to your office for the visit from the Mathers Lake
guys. Before you say anything, he told me you would protest and to
ignore you.” She had the decency to look embarrassed.

I laughed. “He’s right, I would protest, and
I appreciate the concern. I was considering asking Eric to come
with us.” Rayn’s gray eyes flashed at the mention of Eric. “I’m
guessing you wouldn’t mind if he joined us.”

“That would be great!” She grinned. “In fact,
Perky and I were talking it over, and he suggested much the same. I
think he really misses his dog, and he wants some more play time
with Chivas, so he volunteered to switch places with Eric.”

“Perky?”

“Sorry, Corporal Ansell Perkins. Our group
calls him Perky since he seems to always be in a good mood.”

“And it would give you more time with Eric,”
I commented, and she blushed. “That’s okay, Rayn, I know my son is
an attractive young man. Quite frankly, I think the two of you make
a good pair.” Her eyes widened at my admission.

“Thank you, ma’am. In the short time I’ve
known Eric, I… I’ve grown quite fond of him and I would like the
chance to know him better,” she admitted.

“Then go across the road and get him while we
finish getting ready.”

“That didn’t take long for them to zero in on
each other!” Mark laughed. “You don’t think they may be moving too
fast?”

“Mark, when did we meet? How long have we
been married? Times have changed drastically.”

Mark opened the locked doors to the clinic at
11:45 am. It was a little dusty inside, so I quickly gave
everything a wipe down while he set his medical bag on the portable
tray in the exam room.

“I’m still not sure why you didn’t bring the
bigger bag. Won’t we be needing more supplies for you to do the
stitches?” I asked.

“I’m not doing stitches today,” Mark said.
“It never did need any and I did enough butterflies that it should
have begun knitting. If it hasn’t, nothing will help.”

“Then why this appointment?”

He smiled down at me. “I thought you would
appreciate the time alone with Lenny and Pete away from Collins.
Don’t you have questions for them? I know I sure do.”

“I know you’re a smart man, but I had no idea
you were also so devious!” I grinned. “I hope they come alone.”

“With Eric and Rayn outside, even if they
have guards, only those two will be allowed in. We will still have
time to get some answers.”

I heard the rumble of a truck out front. Pete
climbed out of the passenger side holding his arm, and Lenny got
out from behind the wheel, making a show of leaving his rifle on
the dashboard.

“How are you doing, Pete?” I asked when he
walked in. He looked better than the last time we saw him.

“My arm still hurts, but it’s a lot better,
thanks.” He turned to Mark. “And thank you again, Doctor. I don’t
know how to repay you.”

Mark cut the soiled bandages off of Pete’s
arm to reveal the wound. The red striations were gone and the
swollen tissue had lost most of the puffiness, though it still had
a strange look to it.

“It’s definitely better, Pete, but something
is not quite right,” Mark said. “I want to do an x-ray scan of it.”
Having power back at our house also meant power was on in the town,
even though there wasn’t anyone to use it. Mark flipped a switch
and the imaging machine came to life with a hum. “There are times I
love technology! Look here, Allex, I missed a piece. That barbed
wire fencing must have been really old, Pete, when it scratched you
and broke off, it also broke into pieces.”

“Is that why it still hurts?”

“Yes, those antibiotics helped with the
infection, but this would have started festering again soon, and
you would have been right back where you started. We will repeat
the procedure, which will be quicker and easier this time knowing
what we’re after.”

Pete lay down on the exam table, and Mark
gave him another local anesthetic. We gloved and masked and I
swabbed the area. Mark made a small incision in the center of the
dark tissue. This time there was only blood and not the rank fluids
from deep infection. I kept it rinsed away.

Mark dislodged another small piece of metal
and I irrigated again. The scanner was pulled over to the table and
Mark watched the screen, focusing on the open wound.

“I’d say we got it all this time!” he said
triumphantly. “Since you still have the antibiotics in your system,
I’m only going to give you a booster shot, no more pills.” Four
tight little stitches later, and we were done.

I dabbed some precious antibiotic cream on
the stitches, then a couple of gauze pads, and wrapped it all with
an ace bandage.

The four of us sat in the tiny waiting room
to talk.

“How have you been treated up there?” I asked
both Lenny and Pete.

“Oh, it hasn’t been bad, Allexa,” Lenny said.
“Collins has some rules with hard punishments, and once you
understand everything, it’s fine. It’s hard work, but at least
we’re fed and safe.”

“Yeah,” Pete said. “If you don’t break his
rules, and do your job, you’re left alone.”

“Do you want to stay there?” I had to ask. I
inwardly cringed at the thought of them being held against their
will.

“I’m okay with it,” Lenny said, and Pete
nodded.

“My turn,” Mark stood to talk. “How many are
up there? And why does Collins want me so bad?”

Lenny took a deep breath. “There are twenty
of us, including six women and a handful of kids. Four of the women
are pregnant. I’m guessing he wants you for them.”

I was stunned.

Mark was delighted. “Babies? That’s
wonderful!” He started pacing. “I need to think some things
through. Lenny, are you and Pete free to come and go from
there?”

“Or can we get messages in to you or Collins?
Maybe leave them at the gate?” I added before either of them could
answer.

“I think messages would be good, and the gate
is the perfect spot, inside the guard shack. That way Collins won’t
be as concerned about breaching security, and he can preview any
messages going in or out, which will give him the control he
needs,” Lenny replied. He’d caught on quick to Collins’
personality.

“Great. We’ll leave a message on Friday
morning. And we will come back on Monday morning to pick up a
reply,” Mark said.

“If Dr. Mark is needed for an emergency or if
Collins wants to talk to us before Monday.” I said, “either one of
you are to come for us, but
no one
else. Make sure Collins
understands that. We have our own security to uphold.”

~~~

“I want to set up some kind of hospital,
Allex,” Mark blurted out once we were alone back at home. “In town,
so our home won’t be compromised. My clinic office is much too
small to handle more than one or two people at a time, and not set
up for overnight stays.”

I could feel love and concern battling inside
me for this man I married. “You want someplace to care long term,
don’t you? I can tell you’re worried about those pregnant
women.”

“Yes.” Mark pulled me close. “I know
we
will never have children, but the thought of bringing new
lives into the world is exciting to me! And even though women have
been giving birth for millennia, they’ve also been dying in the
process. Saving lives is why I became a doctor.”

“You’re a good man, Mark. It’s one of the
reasons I love you. Now, tell me what you will need in this new
hospital, and I’ll see what I can come up with.”

September 20

We had spent the last three days looking at
empty houses in Moose Creek. There was always something that didn’t
work, and I was starting to feel discouraged.

“Maybe we should stick to the main road,
Allex,” Mark suggested with a trace of disappointment in his
voice.

“Good idea and most of them are, or were,
businesses.” I frowned. “Wait a minute; I think we’re overlooking
the obvious. Park at the clinic.”

I led Mark to the large house next door to
the clinic. It was a two-story wooden structure with a wide covered
porch that was once a clothing boutique. The main floor had a large
open room, just past the enclosed foyer. Behind what was once the
sales floor were two rooms that may have been a fitting room or
office space. A bathroom in between the two rooms serviced the
building. The north end of the main room opened to a tiny and
functional kitchen, and a staircase that led upstairs took up a
corner, opposite the woodstove.

Mark looked into all the rooms, and then
returned to the main area. He turned slowly in a complete circle
and looked up.

“Allex, I think this is perfect. Or could be
perfect with some minor alterations,” he said.

He draped his arm around my shoulders and
turned me as he described the vision he was seeing in his head.

“The foyer is fine. All it needs are be a
couple of chairs and a desk. In this open area, picture four, maybe
six twin beds, much like a hospital ward. If we can devise curtains
or a screen of some sort, that would be great, though not really
necessary. The back two rooms could be used as a surgery and an
office. A functioning kitchen is helpful to feed whatever patients
there may be. And upstairs would be private space for us. When
there are patients we would need to stay overnight.” The more he
talked the more enthused he became.

“Are you sure we need all this?”

“There are ten of us in our extended family,
Allex, and another twenty at Mathers Lake. Eventually, yes, we
might need a four to six bed facility. The fact that it’s right
next to the clinic means I don’t have to move any equipment.” He
searched my face. “I really want this.”

“Then let’s get Jason over here and see what
he thinks. First we need to write a note to Collins and get it over
to the gate.”

“
Mr. Collins,”
I typed while Mark
dictated
, “we have made the decision to expand my clinic
capabilities by opening a field hospital next door to it. I will be
offering my medical services to anyone in need. That includes all
those who live at Mathers Lake under your protection.

“
We had hoped to establish a cordial, if
not friendly, relationship with your community, though our initial
contact indicates that will be not impossible, but difficult.
Perhaps that will improve with time.

“
The new facilities will be closed,
locked, and unmanned until needed. There will also be no drugs
stored on the premises. When the facility is in use, it will be
guarded by an armed force.

“
If I’m needed, please send either Lenny
or Pete. Anyone else that shows up at our home will be considered
hostile and dealt with accordingly.”

“I think that’s really good, Mark. It’s an
offering, without letting on we know about the pregnant women. That
might get Lenny in trouble, and it sets a few rules. I like it! And
I suggest we send Eric and Rayn to deliver it.”

“Why not us?”

“Collins knows a message is coming,” I said.
“I don’t want to walk into a trap. He will think twice about trying
to kidnap two armed messengers. Besides, he wants
us
not
them.”

“Agreed. I sure wish I could have made a
direct offer of prenatal care though,” Mark said wistfully.
“Although that would have given away that Lenny gave us
information. I hope he’s not such an egomaniac that he would
jeopardize those unborn babies.”

~~~

“Did you have any problems with the drop,
Eric?” I asked when he and Rayn returned.

“None whatsoever, Mom. It sure is nice to
work with someone who knows what they’re doing.” He grinned. “While
I kept the truck and the guard shack door covered, Rayn went in and
cleared the room. She left the envelope on the desk, and we backed
out together.”

“Excellent. On Monday I’d like the two of you
to check to see if we have a response.”

September 22

While Emilee, Jacob, and Karen, stayed with
Joshua on the pretense of caring for the animals, the rest of us
went into Moose Creek to check over the house that Mark wanted as a
hospital.

“The plumbing is old, but it looks fine and I
can’t see any leaks,” Jason announced after climbing out from the
crawlspace.