The Journal: Crimson Skies: (The Journal Book 3) (6 page)

“What about Bob?” I asked, my eyes pleading
for any scrap of hope.

“There’s nothing we can do for him. He’s
gone, Allex. Let’s just concentrate on Kathy.”

We lifted her as tenderly as possible and
laid her in the back of my car. I put another blanket over her and
we sped home.

I hurried into the house to set up my massage
table to lay Kathy on so Mark would have a higher surface to work
on, like we did for the surgery on Eric’s foot after the wolf
attack. After covering the table with a clean sheet, I helped Mark
bring her in.

Redheads tend to have pale skin, and Kathy
was no exception, and her skin was taking on a translucent look.
She was losing a lot of blood.

I started the generator and set up lights for
Mark to work, and then moved the table closer for his instruments.
A quick spritz of bleach water on the wood, then a bleached
sackcloth towel and we now had a sterile surface for his
instruments.

As we gently removed the blanket she was
wrapped in to give Mark access to her injuries, I draped another in
its place to keep her warm. Then I began to carefully wipe the
blood from her face and hair so Mark could see those injuries
too.

She moaned. Her eyes widened in fright and
she tried sitting up.

“Kathy!” I threw my body across her, facing
her so she could see me. “You’re safe. We’re here. You’re safe,” I
kept repeating. She fell back against the table and sobbed.

“You’re hurt, and Mark needs to examine you
to see how bad it is, okay? Can you tell me what happened?”

I needed to distract her while Mark
worked.

“Bob was out in the barn when the Humvee
pulled into the driveway and four guys jumped out, weapons drawn.
From the house, I could see Bob grab his rifle. One of those guys
shot first and caught him in the knee, and he managed to shoot back
before going down. I’m sure he hit one of them before another shot
hit his shoulder.” She winced when Mark removed the towel.

“I saw them come toward the house, so I
locked the door and hid in a closet. I didn’t know what else to do,
Allexa. Bob wouldn’t teach me how to use a gun,” she said, tears
running down her face.

I grabbed a couple of kitchen towels and
tucked them under her head like a pillow.

“Can she have some water?” I asked Mark and
he nodded. I filled a glass from the kitchen sink and added one of
Jacob’s straws, bending it so Kathy wouldn’t have to sit up. I gave
her a sip, and then continued washing her face and the hair around
the laceration on her scalp, sending fresh blood oozing out.

“What happened next, Kath?” I urged to keep
her talking.

“I heard a lot of banging around in the
kitchen. I think when they couldn’t find any food they got pissed
and started looking everywhere.” She let out another sob. “That’s
when they found me in the closet.”

“The first one hit me, really hard, and he
was on me.” She shut her eyes tight. “He raped me, Allexa.” She
gripped my hand so hard my fingers went numb.

“The others went out and dragged Bob in. When
that first one forced me into the living room, they had tied Bob to
a chair. They,” she breathed hard, crying harder, “they made him
watch while they all took turns raping me, hitting me. Then the fat
one put a hand gun to Bob’s head and shot him!” she wailed. “The
fat guy told me to shut up and hit me with that gun. I don’t
remember anything else.”

“You did good, Kath, you did real good,” I
said, comforting her as bet I could. “You rest now.”

~~~

“What do you think, Mark?” I asked quietly,
even though I was sure Kathy was out.

“The injuries are extensive, Allex.” He
looked up at me with sorrow in his blue eyes. “I’m a trauma doctor,
not a gynecologist, and that’s what she needs to repair the
damage.”

“Stay with her, I’ll be back shortly,” I
said, leaving the house. I could feel the anger surging through me
as I hurried across the road.

Eric looked at me with questions in his eyes.
He instantly knew something was wrong.

“Is Don’s landline phone still working?” I
asked.

“Yes,” he said. “I unplugged it and hid it so
Emi wouldn’t be tempted to call her mother.”

“I need it.
Now
!”

Within moments, Eric had retrieved the bright
red desk unit and plugged it in. I dialed 911.

“Put Andrews on the line, now!” I snarled
into the receiver. The dispatcher said not a word, and put me
through.

“Andrews,” the Captain sighed.

“You promised to leave us alone!” I spat at
him.

“Ms. Smeth. Yes, I did, and I will,” he
replied.

“Then why did you send those men to terrorize
us this afternoon?” I yelled, getting even angrier.

“What are you talking about?” He actually
sounded perplexed.

“Four of your soldiers rode into Moose Creek
today in a Hummer, shot and killed one of my friends, raped his
wife, and ransacked their house!” I started breathing hard. “Are
you going to deny sending them?”

“Who did they kill, Allexa?” Captain Andrews
asked quietly.

“Bob, the big guy,” I said, my voice
cracking. “Kathy is in really bad shape. Mark is doing all he can,
but he’s not a gynecologist, and that’s what she needs. She needs
surgery to repair the damage they did to her.” I paused for a
moment. “She might die, Captain.”

“Do you know who these four were?”

“No, though one of them was wounded, and
Kathy described one as fat. Oh, and they stole her red convertible;
it’s going to be hard to miss.”

“I’ll get back to you,” he said with
controlled anger and hung up.

“Bob is dead, Mom?” Eric looked unbelieving
at me.

“Yes, and Kathy is dying,” I sobbed.

~~~

We’ve learned to leave at least one of the
boys at the house across the road. If ever there was a need for
defense, two directions were better than one. Eric followed me
home, while Jason stayed.

“She’s sleeping,” Mark told me when I arrived
back at the house. “I gave her a light sedative, against my better
judgment. I’ve no doubt that blow to the head has resulted in a
concussion, and she shouldn’t have any drugs, but it might be a
moot point if we can’t stop the bleeding and replace some of the
blood she’s lost.”

“Can we donate?” I asked.

“It would be too risky without knowing
everyone’s type,” he replied.

“The boys are A negative, I’m O positive, and
Kathy is AB positive,” I remarked immediately.

Mark looked startled and said, “I’m not even
going to question how it is you know her blood type, but yes, we
can do a transfusion from all three of you if need be since she is
a universal receiver. That will buy us some time.”

Mark set up the equipment and Eric went first
so he could relieve Jason.

Jason had finished donating his pint when we
saw flashing strobe lights in the dimming twilight coming down the
road, preceded by a military Humvee. Jason and I both grabbed our
rifles and stepped out.

Captain Andrews emerged from the driver’s
side of the Hummer, and a pretty, short, blonde haired woman got
out of the source of the flashing lights: an ambulance. She was
dressed in wrinkled scrubs and carried a large medical bag.

“Allexa, this is Dr. Denise Streiner, the GYN
you asked for.” Andrews looked at the rifles in our hands. “Believe
me, I understand your wariness, but you won’t need those.”

“Dr. Streiner, please come this way.” I
looked at Captain Andrews briefly and snarled, “You stay here.”

When we got inside, I introduced the doctor
to my husband.

“Mark, this is Dr. Denise Streiner, a GYN.
Dr. Streiner, my husband, Dr.
Mark Robbins.
And this is—”

“Oh, Kathy!” Dr. Streiner rushed to her side.
“Kathy is one of my patients. What happened to her?”

I explained as briefly as I could what Kathy
had told me, Mark adding that she’d received two pints of
blood.

“How did you type?” Dr. Streiner asked.

“For whatever reason, my wife knows
everyone’s blood type. Kathy is AB positive, and she was given A
negative,” Mark replied.

While Dr. Streiner added her instruments to
the examining table, I took the opportunity to explain.

“Kathy and I would go together to the blood
center to donate. I’m the second most common type; she’s the second
most
un
common. It seemed worth remembering. My head gets
filled with all sorts of trivial data.”

Kathy blinked her eyes open and saw Dr.
Streiner.

“Denise?” she whispered.

“I’m here, Kathy. Don’t worry, I’ll take care
of you.” Denise blinked back some tears, though her voice never
wavered.

The two doctors scrubbed as best as they
could in the kitchen sink, and then I assisted them with sterile
gloves and tied masks to their faces. At that point, I left them to
do what they could and stepped outside to confront Captain
Andrews.

He must have recognized the determined scowl
on my face.

“Before you lay into me, Ms. Smeth, I did not
send those men here, and I didn’t even know about this situation
until you called,” he scowled right back.

Eric arrived, coming up quietly behind our
visitor.

“Hello, Sargent Rush,” the captain said.
“Your mother hides her expressions well, though I did see a flicker
of eye movement that told me someone was behind me, and I assumed
that if I didn’t hear the approach, it must be you.” He turned to
face Eric.

“Capt…” Eric started, then looked confused.
“Sir, may I ask what’s going on? Even when field promotions were
common, a captain doesn’t generally make the leap to colonel in a
week.”

“You have an exceptionally observant son, Ms.
Smeth,” Colonel Andrews said turning back to me. “Can we sit
somewhere?”

“I’d like you to listen to something first,
Colonel
, while we sit.” I retrieved the answering machine
from the back seat of my car, and led the way to the
greenhouse.

After plugging it in, I hit the play button,
and Anna’s voice spoke.

“
Allexa, it’s Thursday and we just arrived
at my sister’s house. This has been a horrible experience! The
three-hour processing has taken three days! Right after we got
there, we were immediately separated and questioned. Interrogated
is more like it. I don’t know where Carolyn is, I haven’t seen her
since we got here.”

The Colonel listened silently while the
recording continued.

“Adding in your deception about your rank,
you now know why I’m so upset and why none of us trust you. We are
not your enemy, Colonel, though it would appear that you are ours.
Would you care to explain yourself?”

“Understand, Ma’am, that I owe no one an
explanation, except for my superior officers. However, for some
reason this little community is tied to a bigger problem, not as a
cause, mind you, but as a target.”

“A target? Why would we be anyone’s target?”
For a moment I forgot that I was so angry with him.

“I don’t know. It’s just one piece of a very
complicated puzzle.” The Colonel stood and paced for a moment,
looking intently at the flourishing vegetables in the grow boxes.
He sat down again on the bench by the water pond.

“I was sent to Sawyer because of a growing
and festering hole of corruption that had been reported within a
month or so of the first earthquake last fall. I decided to come in
‘undercover’ as it were, as a lower ranking officer. I mean to find
the head of this and dispose of it. I’m being stalled and I don’t
know where to dig, since I’m not from around here. I’m old school
military, Ma’am, and I don’t tolerate this kind of corruption, the
kind you’re experiencing firsthand.”

“I see,” I mumbled. “How can we help?”

The Colonel smiled. “Thank you, but I don’t
know if you can. That being said, this current event will give me
an opportunity to shake things up a bit.”

“I don’t understand,” I said. “How?”

“Finding an injured soldier and a red
convertible should be fairly easy. One or both of those will lead
me to the others that participated. Once I have them, I will
execute them if need be, one at a time, until I have the
information I require.”

“Execute, as in kill?” I asked, astonished
over his casualness.

He looked at me in surprise. “From what I’ve
heard, Ms. Smeth, this town has done its share of dispatching its
enemies, quickly and without remorse. Do you have a problem with my
method?”

“No, actually, I don’t, Colonel. I thought
there would be more legality you were required to follow.”

“Not anymore, Ma’am, not anymore. We did up
until Yellowstone, but now I get to take the gloves off. Anything
goes,” he replied stonily. “I
will
get to the bottom of
this, and when I do, the punishment will be swift and severe. Count
on it!”

Eric stepped into the greenhouse. “Mom, Mark
wants you inside.” I hurried into the house, leaving the Colonel
listening to the soothing sounds of the waterfall.

Both Mark and Denise were rinsing their
instruments in the sink, their masks down, hands still gloved.

“How is she?” I asked, approaching the
table.

“Denise did some very interesting
surgery!”

“Her uterus is horribly shredded; that’s what
was bleeding so profusely. I tied it off at the juncture above to
stop the bleeding. I need a regular operating room to finish
removing it safely,” Dr. Streiner said. “Once that’s done, Kathy
should be fine, but she will have to stay in the hospital for a few
days.”

“Thank you, doctor.”

The ambulance driver and Eric brought the
gurney in, and transferred the inert Kathy, strapping her down for
the drive into town.

“I’m going in to assist with the surgery,
Allex,” Mark announced.