We Go On (THE DELL) (17 page)

I try to do the right thing. I try
to always think about my decisions and what effects they will have. Not just on
me but on the people I'm responsible for. I'm not always successful but I
always try. That’s why it bothers me so much when a decision I've made turns
out to be the wrong one. I think back and try to figure out where I went wrong.
What piece of critical information did I miss that caused me to go right when I
should have gone left? It especially bothers me when someone else has to pay
for my bad decision. If it was me and only me it wouldn't be as big of a deal
but when someone else has to suffer for what I did or didn't do it gets to me.

That's why our Thanksgiving
celebration will always be embedded in my brain. We had all hoped this
Thanksgiving would be one to remember because of it being the first in The
Dell. Because we were still alive and it appeared we had the opportunity to
improve our situation. Because we had worked hard and maybe we could do more
now than just survive.

But that's not how it's going to
be remembered. It will be remembered because that was the first night of pain
and suffering for our community. It will be remembered because it changed who
we are forever and forced us to do something I had only vaguely considered. It
will be remembered because I let evil in to our midst.

Our celebration preparations had
gone on as planned, thanks to Gwen's urging. The three day quarantine for Frank
Wilson and his group ended and they were accepted into ours and they were soon
part of the community. Having relatively healthy food and water helped bring
back their health and their spirits. Warm clothing and a roof over their heads
played a big part, as well. But I think the one most important factor in their
recovery was being able to rest. Not having to look over your shoulder every
second of every day and actually being able to sleep without keeping one eye
open is a huge relief.

Frank's group was made up of his
wife, Sharon, and their two daughters, Kimberly and Brittany. Kim was twelve
and Brittany was fourteen. Another couple, Josh and Heather Mason, and their
son, Drew, age six. Four single adults, Greg Foreman, Ashley Sullivan, Michelle
Bowers, and Marvin Hamilton. There were also five children that the group had
rescued along the way and were without parents. They were Cody Shelton, age
nine, Jeremy Woods, age thirteen, Larry Bright, age thirteen. Rachel and
Sabrina Towe were sisters ages twelve and sixteen. All of them had been through
hell, there was no doubt but they immediately pitched in and tried to become
part of us. Our group welcomed them and I was proud that none of us seemed to
resent the extra mouths to feed.

There had only been one tiny cause
for concern. While the group was still in quarantine, Dave conducted security
interviews with the entire group to identify if there was any reason to be
concerned about the group or an individual. During the interviews, each person
was asked about their past and what they knew about the other people in the
group. They were also asked how long they had known each other and if they had
ever been concerned about any member of the group. The only person to say
anything of concern about another person was little Rachel Towe, and she told
Dave that she didn't like Marvin because he looked at her funny. Dave asked for
an explanation but she was only able to say that she didn't like the way he
looked at her. It made her feel creepy.

When Dave and I talked after the
interviews were finished, he said that comment by Rachel had been the only
thing out of the ordinary. I asked him about his interview with Marvin. "I
don't know,” he said. “Maybe I was already suspicious of the guy because of
what the Towe girl said but I don't like the guy." I asked him why and how
Marvin had answered his questions. "He answered them fine. Nothing out of
the ordinary. He was a mechanic before the Event and had been on the run alone
until he hooked up with Frank. But talking to him, I got the same feeling
Rachel did. The guy’s just creepy."

I considered what he had told me. "Well
in your opinion do we let him in or not?"

Dave took a long time to answer
and I was about to ask the question again when he said, "I can't say I wouldn't
let the guy in just because a twelve year old girl thinks he's creepy. She
probably thought I was creepy too." I pointed out that he thought Marvin
was strange.

"Yeah, but like I said I
don't know if that was because of what she said or how I really felt,” Dave
said. After a few seconds, he added, "I'll keep an eye on him and ask some
of our people what they think of him but I can't say there's anything definite
at this point." I told Dave to watch him and if anything came up to let me
know right away. He said he would and that was how we left it.

I should have asked more
questions. I should have watched the guy myself instead of leaving it to a guy
that was great soldier but had never been a cop. Cops usually have great
instincts about people and if they get a hinkey feeling about someone, there's
normally a good reason. Children are the same way. They instinctively know when
they can trust an adult and when they can't. I knew that and should have went
straight to Rachel Towe and asked her about Marvin. Instead, I went back to
strolling around The Dell helping to get ready for Thanksgiving. That oversight
would cost us.

 Thanksgiving finally arrived and
all the preparation had paid off. The day was cold but clear and everyone was
in a festive mood. Kat and I both were excited and couldn't wait for the
afternoon to arrive and the first part of the celebration. The children had
made simple decorations and the church was adorned with fall and Thanksgiving
themed art work. They put on a couple of short skits about the Pilgrims and the
first Thanksgiving and finished with songs about the holidays. The performance
turned out to be a tremendous hit and all of those in attendance gave them a
standing ovation when they finished. There was a short break and then everyone
gathered in the recently re-designated Community Center for the meal.

The women had outdone themselves;
the spread on the long tables was unbelievable. Along with the vegetables there
was venison and roast pork. Several turkeys had also been prepared along with
quail and pheasant. The hunters had turned in an outstanding showing with the
amount of wild game they had been able to procure. It was truly a feast. I
couldn't believe it and my mouth started to water as soon as I came through the
door. The smell alone was enough to make my stomach growl. I could tell by the
way everyone else eyed the food that they felt the same way.

We gathered everyone inside and
our two Pastors gave a quick prayer of thanks. As soon as they were finished,
the kids were helped to get their plates then the adults. I haven't eaten so
much since the Event. Most everyone ate until they were stuffed and by the time
the meal was over most of the food was gone. Of course, it takes a lot to feed
two hundred people. The satisfied looks on the faces of our villagers was
testament to the fact that the dinner had been a huge success. All that was
left now was the cleaning.

A group of ladies had volunteered
to do the clean-up and to take care of any left over’s. As they started, the
rest of the folks said goodbye to each other and filed out. It was already dark
and the temperature had dropped but it was still clear and the sky was
beautiful. Crystal clear, and loaded with stars. Kat and I decided to take a
stroll around The Dell to settle our dinner before heading back to the cottage.
We walked and talked all around the little town. We even walked down to the
gate and spoke to the guys that were standing guard duty. I asked if they had
gotten any of the wonderful dinner and they said, yes, that Dave had made sure
that everyone on duty had gotten a heaping plate of the food delivered to them.
I wished them a happy Thanksgiving and we headed back toward the hill and our
cottage.

We had been home about an hour
when my radio came to life with Dave calling for me. I picked up and was told
that we had an emergency. Dave wanted me to come to the new EOC located in one
of the unoccupied houses. I told him I was on my way. Kat asked me what had
happened and I told her I didn't know but it had to be serious or Dave wouldn't
have bothered me tonight. She nodded and told me to be careful. I grabbed my
rifle and told her I would as I headed out the door. I had the ATV parked
outside and seconds later I sped toward the Emergency Operations Center.

A large group of security
personnel and a few of the civilian villagers were milling around outside when
I pulled up. It’s unusual for this many of our people to be standing around
expectantly like this. I asked for Dave and was directed inside. When I entered,
I was surprised to find the inside full of people as well. I felt curious now
and started trying to find Dave. I located him in the back of the house talking
to a man I recognized as Albert Davis. Albert’s one of our handy men and did
lots of work around The Dell fixing things. He was a quiet guy with a good
sense of humor. He’s about fifty years old with a slight gut and a receding
hairline. At the moment, he looked in shock and I joined them to find out what
had happened.

When Dave saw me he broke away from
Albert and stepped over to me. He bent close to my left ear and in a quiet
voice told me that Albert’s wife Judy hadn't come home after the dinner. She
was one of the ladies who volunteered to help clean up and hadn't been seen
since she left the Community Center over an hour ago. I asked where they lived
and Dave told me they had one of the last houses up the hill on the north side
of town. I asked if she had any health conditions and Dave said that he had
asked Albert that and the answer was no. I told Dave to get a search party
organized and let’s go through the village and check every building. He nodded
and headed out front to get the search going.

I went to talk to Albert and asked
all the questions I had used to ask in a missing person case. Could she be
visiting friends? Were they getting a long? Was it possible she had a special
friend that she might have gone to see? I thought Albert might punch me when I
asked that one. He didn't and seemed to deflate as he told me that something
had to be wrong or she would have been home by now. There was no place for her
to go. She couldn't get outside the wall without a guard seeing her and she
wouldn't have been allowed out by herself anyway. I put my hand on his shoulder
and told him we'd find her. She had most likely just stopped by one of the
other ladies houses before coming on home. He said he hoped so and asked me to
please find her.

I told him I'd do my best and
headed out front to find Dave. He had the crew out front organized by then and
we left to conduct the search. It wasn't bitterly cold out yet. We’d had some
below freezing nights but most were in the low forties or upper thirties.
That’s still cold enough that you needed a thick jacket if you were going to be
out for an extended period.

The search went house to house
with no luck. We had groups checking the unoccupied houses with the same
result. ATV teams roamed around the inner perimeter and across the fields and
still no luck. The search went on all night and by daylight I was stumped. The
enclosed area of The Dell was not that big and we had searched every inch.
Every occupied house had been contacted and every building searched. I couldn't
figure where she could have gone.

I had tried to respect the privacy
of our people and none of the occupied houses had been searched by the security
teams. We had simply asked if they had seen Judy or if she was there. With the
result of coming up empty with our search I made the hard choice to go back and
re-search and, this time, I wanted a special team lead by Dave to search each
house. He asked what he should do if they were told no by the occupant. I told
him he was not to take no for an answer.

Judy had to be here someplace and
it was obvious now that she was inside somewhere. If she'd been outside, even
if she was hurt and on the ground, we would have found her. She had to be in
one of the houses. He said he'd take care of it and headed out. I went back to
talk to Albert. It's an unfortunate truth that in most disappearances like
this, a family member is the one responsible. I now had to ask Albert some
harder questions.

My second interview with Albert
didn't reveal anything remarkable and I depended on Dave's team to find Judy.
Three hours after they left, they returned with the same result. No Judy. This
just didn't make sense. She had to be here, there wasn't any place else for her
to go. I sat down with Dave and went over how he had conducted the search. He
said they started at the west end and worked east. They had searched every
house from top to bottom. She simply wasn't there. This didn't make any sense
and I walked outside to think and try to find a flaw in the way we had
conducted the search. Nothing came to me so I decided we would do it again and,
this time, I would supervise. It wasn't that I didn't trust Dave; I had to
consider the fact that maybe we just needed a new set of eyes looking at it.

I grabbed Dave and outlined my
plan and he rounded up the same team of people. I told him this time we would
start on the west and work east. I had no particular reason for this other than
to not do the exact same thing over again. We walked down the main road and I
asked about each house we passed. When I asked did you search that one? The
answer was always the same. “Yes.” We were nearing the west end of town and
were passing the large house that was used by the single men as a dorm