The Journal: Crimson Skies: (The Journal Book 3) (26 page)

Father Constantine reached down and grabbed a
fist full of shirt, hauling Kenny to his feet.

“Now, apologize to the nice lady.”

~~~

The crowd settled down after that, and we
were finally able to understand the problem. It seemed that Kenny
Marlow had been the instigator all along, insisting that
someone
was supposed to bring them meals, even though
everyone had been told otherwise. The group left as one and walked
down to the Inn for breakfast, with instructions to return for
housing assignments.

I singled the colonel out once the meal
problem was solved. “Jim, we have a problem.”

“I can see that. I think they understand now
they aren’t going to be spoon fed,” he replied.

“No, not that. That kid, the one that was
fighting the priest, his name is Kenny Marlow, and he’s Hank
Marlow’s nephew!”

Colonel Andrews closed his eyes, trying to
control his anger. “I’ll take care of this, Allex. You needn’t
worry about that family anymore.” I saw him talking to Eric, Rayn,
and Frank, and then the four of them left in the direction of the
Inn.

~~~

Two hours later, we were once again filling
out cards and assigning houses to the eighty men who returned after
lunch.

“Excuse me, ma’am,” one of the younger men
said as he approached the desk. “I’d like to apologize for our
behavior earlier. I remembered what you said about going to the
Inn, but that guy kept telling us we heard you wrong and that we
should wait for someone to show up with our meals on wheels. When
we realized no one was coming, it was too late and the Inn was
closed. He’s really good at getting people riled up.”

“I appreciate your apology. Please let the
others know we really are doing the best we can and we will try to
get things running smoothly as soon as possible. We’re going to
need help and cooperation though,” I replied. “We simply cannot do
it by ourselves, especially not if half the people here are
fighting us. If anyone has any suggestions that would help, I
really do want to hear them. Anyone can talk to me or to Tom White,
at any time.”

Hours later we were done. I was exhausted and
wanted to go home. After all the anxiety I wanted a relaxing hot
shower and something to eat. Just as Mark and I were getting ready
to leave, Jim showed up.

“Did that Kenny Marlow come back here?” he
asked.

“No, he didn’t.”

“We can’t find him anywhere, and that worries
me,” Jim growled, obviously frustrated.

JOURNAL ENTRY: October 29

It has been a grueling couple of days. I’m secretly
wanting for us to go back to the days when we were left alone, but
I know those days are long gone. I envy Art Collins in his
isolation now, and I think Mark and I should take the news of the
town’s new citizens to him personally.

*

“Sorry to barge in on you, Art, but we have
news we want to deliver firsthand,” I said after Collins hobbled
onto the deck when we pulled in.

“First, though, I have something for you.”
Mark beamed as he pulled one of the wheelchairs from the back
hatch. “Again, it’s on loan, but keep it as long as you need
it.”

Art gaped at the gift.

“Oh, and these might be better suited for
you.” Mark produced one set of adjustable crutches. “You’re a bit
taller than Eric, and those wooden ones were made custom for
him.”

“I… I don’t know what to say,” Art mumbled.
“Please come in and tell me where you found these.”

We sat at the smaller table in the kitchen,
Art in his new wheelchair. Mark had him stand with my assistance,
and he adjusted the crutches.

“Use the crutches as little as possible for
now. I don’t want you putting unnecessary pressure on that arm,”
Mark instructed. “In a few more weeks, you should need to exercise
your good leg, and then we’ll set up some physical therapy that
Claire can help you with.”

“This is wonderful! How do I thank you?”

“There really isn’t any need to thank us. You
never know though, someday we may need a favor,” I interjected.
“Now, for the main reason we came here…” I think I scowled, because
Art looked concerned. “Marquette is burning out of control, and the
remaining population has been evacuated, some of them to Moose
Creek.”

“I see.”

“I don’t think you do. We didn’t have a say
in it, Art. We had a three hour warning that there would be up to
five hundred people showing up needing places to live.” I stood so
I could pace. “For the most part, I think these are good people,
scared and lost, however, there are a few…” I pursed my lips.
“There are a few that are dangerous, and we wanted to warn you. You
should keep the main gates locked again; maybe even post a guard
until we can find one in particular. Once he’s captured, I think
the danger will have passed.”

“Who is this person?” Art asked quietly.

“His name is Kenny Marlow, an ex con. His
father was one of the gang that hit Moose Creek last spring and
killed my brother,” I replied.

“And his uncle, Hank Marlow, appointed
himself general over the Marquette National Guard. His rule was
nothing short of tyrannical. He also blamed Allex for the death of
his brother and set out to kill her,” Mark added.

“Until he was uncovered. He killed my best
friend and her husband,” I said through gritted teeth. “But he
was
found out by Colonel Andrews and was executed. Now this
kid is in town, we don’t know where he is and we don’t know what
he’s up to.”

I could see thoughts running through Art’s
mind. “What do you want us to do, Allexa?” he asked.

“Just be aware that he might show up here. I
think he knows the colonel is looking for him, so he may be looking
for someplace to hide out. He’s mean and he’s dangerous, Art, and I
don’t want anything to happen to any of your people, especially the
children.” I sat back down, fidgeting.

“What does this guy look like, Doc?” Art
asked Mark, clearly avoiding my distress.

“He’s dark haired, maybe five foot ten, lean,
wiry, brown eyes. Allex, is there anything else about him you can
remember?”

“The tattoo. He has some kind of tattoo on
the right side of his neck that extends from below the ear down
into his shirt.”

“Okay, we’ll keep an eye out for him. What do
you want us to do if he does show up here?” Art asked.

“I suppose tie him up and let the colonel
deal with him,” I answered, though I really didn’t feel that
way.

“Anything else we should know about the new
citizens of Moose Creek?”

I smiled. “There is good news in all of this.
When they arrived, it wasn’t empty handed.”

“That’s how I got the wheelchairs and
crutches,” Mark said. “There is also a nice stock of medical
supplies for the hospital now. Knowing the city was burning out of
control and everything there would eventually be lost, the place
was stripped.”

“What do you need, Art? What do you want?
Once we get everything sorted out and inventoried, we can get you
flour so the women can bake bread; books for the children; there
are a couple of semi-trucks full of… of stuff! If you want, we’ll
bring it to you so you don’t have to expose yourself.”

Art’s eyes dilated and he grinned. “Can I get
back to you on that?”

~~~

I sat down across from Tom at the big oak
desk, like I did with Anna so many times in the past. “Although
it’s only been a couple of days, I think we should start an
inventory of the supplies in the trucks and put them
somewhere.”

“Interesting that you bring that up, Allexa,”
Tom said, leaning back in the oversized leather chair. “Marsha was
just here and asked about getting more things out of the food
truck. She wants to set up some staples in the lobby so people can
take some food home with them. She mentioned keeping most in the
back, under a strict inventory. That’s one smart lady there. She
was quick to bring up that the food won’t last forever and it will
have to be rationed, and that people need to start making some of
their own decisions.”

“That’s great, Tom. I’m glad to see someone
taking the initiative. That’s going to be critical to the town
surviving and thriving, not just maintaining,” I agreed. “I’ve been
thinking about the Walstroms truck and where to put all of those
supplies. There is the Out Riggers gift shop. It’s mostly empty,
now, but could be a good place to sort things out. We need someone
really organized for that job.”

“Hmmmm,” Tom thought out loud. “Those nuns
were here earlier looking for something to do. Say, did you know
all four of them are teachers? And from what I have seen, most
teachers
have
to be organized. Do you want to talk to
them?”

~~~

The day was unusually warm for late October,
so I left my car at the township and walked across the street to
talk with Mark.

“How is the stocking progressing?” I asked.
He had driven the medical van today, and was emptying the over the
counter medicines onto shelves.

“Slow but steady,” Mark answered. “I’m amazed
at how much was boxed up. There are more cough and cold treatments
here than I have room for and I don’t want to put everything out.
That’s not an efficient use of limited space.” He moved a box to
the floor and put another on top of his desk.

“I have a feeling we’re going to run into the
same problem with the other truckload of things.”

“How are you going to handle it?”

“Well,” I said, “if we put out just enough so
we can see what we have, and leave the rest in the truck, we could
use the truck as a warehouse. When items run low, we bring more in.
Of course the truck will be parked right next to the building and
kept locked.”

“I like that idea, although with the vital
pharmaceuticals in the same truck, I can’t leave it parked here,”
Marked admitted. “With the lower gas mileage of this van, I also
can’t drive it back and forth all the time.”

“Agreed. And with so many people here now,
the gas will have to be rationed even more than before. What if you
drive it only when you know you need to restock, and carry some of
the drugs with you, leaving everything else in the van at home
locked in the barn?” I suggested.

“That could work.” He smiled at me. “What are
you up to this afternoon?”

“I’m going to talk with the nuns about
organizing a group to inventory the big semi-truck and putting
things in the OutRiggers. It’s such a nice day I think I’ll walk
down,” I said. “I’ll be back in an hour or two.” I gave my husband
a quick kiss. It felt like we’d been married a lot longer than the
three months it has been.

~~~

“Oh, thank you, Allexa! This is exactly the
kind of project we were looking for,” Sister Agnes said, clapping
her hands.

“Wonderful, that will really help us out a
lot, Sister. I’ll have someone move the semi-trailer over into the
parking lot next door. I think we should check over the building
first though, see how much work needs to be done to get it ready.”
This was going to work out better than I had hoped. “I’m rather
anxious myself to see what’s in the truck.”

“You don’t know?” Sister Margaret
inquired.

“Sister, I didn’t even know any of you were
coming here until three days ago! That truck was mostly packed by
then. It’s as much of a mystery to me as anyone,” I told them, as
all of us walked over to the gift shop.

The gift shop definitely needed a good
cleaning, and some of the display cases were cracked. All in all
though, it would hold a great deal with little effort.

“I think this room on the main floor should
be a children’s play area,” Sister Lynn suggested. “Hopefully there
are some toys in there.”

“What a wonderful idea, Sister. The mothers
should have someplace they can safely leave their children while
they ‘shop’. If there aren’t any toys in the truck we can get some
from the pre-school room at the school for you.”

“Although it might be premature, Allexa, how
do you want us to handle who gets what and how much?” Sister Agnes
asked.

“I’m not sure. All of what was brought with
the new people is
for
the people. I do understand what
you’re getting at though; we can’t have a free for all, with some
getting a lot while others get little. That wouldn’t be fair. It
will take several days to get things cleaned and organized, so we
have some time to think about it. I want to hear any suggestions
you have.”

~~~

That night over dinner, I told Mark about the
new store.

“Sounds like you have a good crew to work
with Allex. I had an interesting visitor today after you left,” he
said, barely able to contain himself. “A young man stopped by,
James Geneva, a third year med student! I think I have a new
assistant and protégé.”

“So you don’t need me anymore?” I had mixed
feelings suddenly. Being Mark’s aide had given me a satisfying
purpose.

“I will
always
need you, Allex,” Mark
said, pulling me into his arms for a reassuring hug. “Although I
think it will be good to have someone to help out with the routine
stuff and someone who can take over for me when I get sick or too
old. I will need
you
with me when I see a female patient;
that’s common practice. Besides,” he tightened his hug, “with this
many people, I don’t want to spend all of my time at the clinic or
hospital. I want for you and me to still have a life.”

JOURNAL ENTRY: October 30

It’s been an unbelievably busy three days in Moose
Creek. The town has come alive again. People are milling around at
the park; children are playing, and I hear laughter wherever I
go.