Alone (12 page)

“I hope that’ll hold us til spring.” Ralph said as they headed down the road. Each trip they took, Ralph used a different route. This gave them the chance to explore the country side and to clear any small obstacle from the roads. Ralph stopped at a small convenient store/gas station to fill up the truck. Jason hopped out, made a quick trip around the area and then hopped back into the truck to work on his bone.

Ralph found the caps for the underground tanks and worked one cap off. He inserted a section of garden hose into the tank. The other end of the hose was attached to a small pump powered by a cordless drill. This pump would pull fuel from the storage tank and into the truck. Ralph had put this together after getting a mouthful of gas while attempting to siphon from an underground tank. While it was not as fast as the gas pumps used to be, it was faster than siphoning. And it tasted better. In a short time, Ralph had filled the gas tank and the auxiliary tank and had stored the pump and hose. He made sure that he closed the cap on the tank and then they started on their way again.

Arriving at home, Ralph pulled the truck into the barn. When he opened the door, Jason jumped out and then froze. His nose was lifted high and he was sniffing the faint breeze. Ralph’s hand immediately went to his side and his pistol was out in a heartbeat. Ralph slowly looked around to see if he could see what had spooked Jason. He saw nothing. He slowly reached behind the seat and brought out the 3030. He chambered a round and slid the pistol back into the holster.

“What’s the matter boy? Is something out there?” he whispered as he continued to scan the area for any danger.

Jason continued to peer around and slowly the tension left his body. With a final sniff, Jason relaxed and walked out of the barn.

Ralph lay the rifle back in the truck. His heart was pounding, so he took a couple of deep breaths to relax. He grabbed the wheelbarrow from its place against the wall and loaded it up. Grunting, he pushed the full wheelbarrow to the house. He crossed the yard and headed to the back of the house. He didn’t want to try and manhandle the load up the steps of the porch. The kitchen door didn’t have any steps. He opened the door and pushed the load inside. He stacked the cans on the counter and decided to bring everything inside first and then put it all away. He left the kitchen door open and headed back to the barn. After numerous trips, all of the food was safely inside. Jason was lying on the front porch watching as Ralph worked and continuing to chew on his bone. After the final load had been delivered to the house Ralph put the wheelbarrow back into its place and stepped back into the kitchen. He closed the door and began the task of putting the cans away. When all the shelves were filled in the small pantry, Ralph carried cans by the armload down the hall into the unused bedroom. All of the cans with no labels he stored in the bedroom. He stacked cans on the open shelves and then the floor. With the last can put away, Ralph straightened and massaged his lower back.

“Whew! “ he said. “I’m glad that’s done. I sure wouldn’t want to do that every day.”

He wandered into the living room, glanced at the parrot cage and then headed to the front door. Reaching for the door, he got a puzzled look on his face and walked back into the living room. The cage was empty and the door was open. He looked around for the parrot. He saw feathers sprinkled across the floor everywhere but no parrot. He thought perhaps the bird had gotten beneath the couch, so he knelt down and peeked beneath the couch. At first he could see nothing in the darkness beneath the couch and then suddenly he saw two glowing eyes. With a rush, something attacked from beneath the couch. He got a blurred impression of teeth and claws and suddenly it was all over him. Squalling and spitting, the animal raked his face with razor sharp claws. Jason, hearing the commotion, was barking on the front porch, but he couldn’t get in. He scratched at the front door and raced back and forth across the porch, peering into the windows. With a shout, Ralph pulled the snarling fury from his face and threw it across the room. His hand flashed to his side and the pistol leapt into his hand. All of the days of practice paid off, because before he could even think about what to do, the gun roared twice. Both bullets struck the animal and the impact rolled it across the floor. After the sound of the shots, a complete silence filled the room. The smell of gunpowder was overwhelming. Gradually, Ralph could hear Jason barking from the porch.

“I’m ok!” he shouted. His racing heart was beginning to calm down.

“What was that thing?” he said as he approached the pile of filthy white fur.

The animal was dead, two great holes torn thru it. Blood had splashed the wall behind it and had smeared the floor as the impact tossed the animal across the room. With his foot, Ralph turned the animal over to get a better look at it. He still wasn’t sure exactly what it was. It was encrusted with dirt and several feathers were stuck into its fur. Somehow, it had gotten into the house, had gotten the parrot cage door open and had eaten the parrot. It must have slipped in while he was moving the groceries into the kitchen. Leaning down he looked closely at the animal and then in shock and horror, he jumped back. Beneath the filthy fur on the animal’s neck, he saw a sparkling collar.

“Princess Snowball?” he said in shock.

It was his wife’s pet cat, lying dead on the floor. Its once gleaming white fur was tangled and torn. One ear had been bitten off and its tail was cooked as if it had been broken and then healed. Several scars crossed its shoulders and a terrible stench rose from its body. He grabbed a poker from the fireplace and lifted the dead cat. He carried it to the back door and out into the yard. Jason, upon hearing the kitchen door open, had raced around the house. He sniffed at the body and his teeth bared. He growled softly and then walked into the house to check for damage.

Ralph carried the cat into the barn. He got a shovel, picked up the body with the shovel and left the barn. He dug a small hole by the side of the barn and gently slid the cat into the hole. He had never liked the cat, but he would never have harmed it. It had gone completely feral. He could see its bones thru the ragged fur.

“Poor thing was starving.” he said as he covered the cat.

He was still shaken and as the adrenaline rush subsided, he was aware of a burning pain across his face. He brought his hand up to wipe away the sweat and his hand came away red. He glanced down at his shirt and discovered the front was covered in blood and blood continued to drip from his chin. He made his way back to the house. When he opened the front door, Jason stood there. At first the dog growled and Ralph said, “What’s the matter boy? It’s me.”

When he heard the voice, Jason padded over. When the door had opened, Jason had seen a man shaped something standing there with a red face. It had smelled like Ralph, but didn’t look like him. Until Ralph had spoken, Jason wasn’t sure who or what was standing there. It was his job to protect the house and man and he was not going to let this thing come in. Not if he could help it. When he heard the voice, he had quickly crossed the room to see why Ralph looked so strange. The smell of fresh blood was overwhelming, and Jason whined. Ralph walked to the bathroom and peered into the mirror.

Several cuts slashed his face. Princess Snowball’s razor sharp claws had caught him fully across his face. One particular cut ran from his forehead to his chin. It had barely missed his left eye. The pain was setting in and his face burned like fire. He washed the wounds as best he could and then covered them with antibiotic cream. A couple of cuts could use stitches, but he didn’t think he could sew his own face up. He used several bandages and tried to pull the wounds closed with them. Finished, he searched the house. There was no sign of the parrot. Either the cat had killed and eaten him, or he had escaped the cat and flown out the back door. Ralph walked around the house but saw no sing of the parrot. In a way, Ralph was relieved. He never liked the stupid bird and he had been unable to find any food for it. He puzzled over how the parrot had gotten out, but finally gave up.

The scratches healed and time passed.

CHAPTER TEN

The winter snows set in and one morning Ralph awoke to a howling wind. Snow filled the air and he could not even see the barn across the yard. He stayed inside and read, but he was worried about the animals. Finally around 4 pm, the snow and wind lessened. Ralph bundled up and trudged to the barn. The snow had drifted and in places it was up to his waist. He pushed into the barn and found the animals were all inside. With all the new additions to the livestock, the barn was beginning to get crowded. He decided that come spring, he would look into building an addition to the barn. He checked their water and gave them an abundant supply of hay and grain. He grabbed a coil of rope from beside the door and stepped back outside. The wind was picking up and the snow began to fall heavily. He could barely make out the house. He tied one end of the rope to the barn door handle and letting the rope out as he walked, he crossed the yard. When he stumbled onto the front porch, he tied the rope to a banister. His face was numb and he had started shivering uncontrollably. He stepped into the house and the warmth rushed over him.

“The wind chill is terrible out there. A few more minutes out in that and I think I would have gotten frostbite.”

He shed his clothes and headed into the living room wearing only his long underwear. A blazing fire filled the hearth and Jason looked up from his spot in front of the flames.

“Man, it’s freezing out there. We’re really getting pounded.” he said as he rubbed his hands in front of the fire.

Jason showed his concern by rolling onto his side and giving a contented sigh. Ralph laughed and lay on the couch. Outside the wind howled, but inside the two friends were safe and warm.

That winter passed quickly. Ralph had enough meat stored to last until spring and the greenhouse proved to be a great success. Twice during the winter, the pipeline to the generator froze and he was forced to use the gasoline generator. The last time it froze, the pipe burst. Unfortunately, Ralph could not see the break under the snow and when the melt came, the line thawed and water gushed out of the broken pipe. Ralph had been working in the barn. He had cleared a corner out for a small workshop and was tinkering with the idea of adding solar panels to the house. He had a kerosene heater going and the day was warm enough that he was able to spend the better part of the day, making plans and reading through some books to get a better idea of what he needed and where he might find it. With the afternoon came a blustery wind and Ralph decided to head back in. Jason had spent the morning dozing beside the heater. Ralph turned the heater off and headed into the house. He walked around back and discovered the now uncovered pipe was spewing water about half way up the hill. The runoff was flowing right to the back of the house. He opened the door and discovered several inches of icy cold muddy water on the kitchen floor.

“Crap!” he exclaimed.

The sky was darkening rapidly and the temperature was steadily dropping.

“Looks like we’re in for more snow.” he said to Jason. Jason was peeking into the kitchen and turning his head from side to side as if he couldn’t figure out what was wrong with the floor.

Ralph trudged up the hill and found the broken pipe. He then realized that he had installed a shut off valve in the pipe at the bottom, but had neglected to put one at the top. He returned to the barn, grabbed a hacksaw, a coupling and a valve and returned to the pipe. He first went to the top of the hill and pulled a plastic bag over the intake. He walked a short way toward the windmill and knelt and cut the pipe in half. He slid the valve between the two pieces and put the halves back together. He didn’t even try to use the glue because the temperature was too low. He then trudged down the hill to the break, cut the ruptured section out and reconnected the pieces with the coupling. By this time, the wind was howling and it had begun to snow. Ralph stumbled and slid down the hill to the house. He checked the generator before going inside and topped off the gas tank. He put the hacksaw back in the barn, checked the animals and started to head inside. He realized that if he got another blizzard, he wouldn’t be able to find his way to the generator. He returned to the barn and grabbed another rope. He tied one end to the hitch on the generator and tied the other end to the banister right beside of the first rope. He was soaked and his jeans had started to freeze. He stumbled into the house. He was shivering uncontrollably. He undressed and got into a warm shower. His lips were blue and his teeth were chattering so hard that he was afraid they were going to break. He stood beneath the lukewarm water and as he finally began to warm up, he gradually increased the temperature of the water. When he finished, he was no longer shivering and felt much better. He dressed in a warm flannel shirt and jeans and then surveyed the waterlogged kitchen. Thankfully the water was confined to the kitchen. He got the mop and pail from the pantry and began to mop up the dirty water. Several hours later, his arms aching with fatigue, Ralph finished cleaning the kitchen. He put the mop away and stumbled into the living room. He dropped onto the couch and gradually noticed how cold it was. The fire had gone out while he was working. He was out of firewood and kindling. In disgust, he rose from the couch and started dressing for outside. Jason jumped to his feet, ready to go. Outside the wind howled and the snow fell heavily. Ralph went out the front and as soon as the door opened, Jason bounded out and was gone!

“Jason!” Ralph shouted. The snow was so thick that he could not see a foot in front of him. He gathered firewood from the stack on the porch and carried several armloads into the house. Each time he came out, he yelled for Jason. With enough wood inside for the night, Ralph grabbed the rope leading to the generator and followed it around the house. On this side, the house blocked most of the force of the wind. Ralph shouted several times for Jason and then topped the gas tank of the generator. He made his way back to the porch and then following the rope leading to the barn, he started across the yard. Once off of the porch and into the yard, the full force of the storm lashed at him. He stumbled but quickly recovered. He maintained a grip on the rope because he knew that if he lost the rope, he could stumble around out here until he froze to death. He sensed rather than saw something ahead and stumbled up to the barn. He struggled with the door and finally made it inside.