An Unkind Winter (Alone Book 2) (28 page)

     As they neared the sliding glass door at the back of the house, Dave could see the other rabbit he’d named Beth on the back deck waiting for them.

     It was as though she’d been expecting them. Or maybe she’d been waiting there the whole time for her companion to return.

     Dave very gently put Lindsey down next to her, and Beth gave Lindsey the same look a wife gives a husband who returns home at three a.m. after drinking with friends.

     Dave sat down beside them with his legs crossed in front of him and said, “I’m not quite sure what to make of you two.”

     Beth hopped into his lap and looked at him.

     “You know, I may be crazy. But for some reason I feel that we’ve got something in common. For some reason I feel some kind of attachment to you. I don’t know what it is, but I’m glad you’ve finally decided to be my friends.”

-53-

Hi honey.

     I’ve got good news for a change. Actually, I can’t remember the last time I said those words to you. So apparently good news is just one more thing that’s been in short supply around here.

     I checked the thermometer in the garage. This is the fifth day in a row the daytime temperatures have crept above freezing. I’m thinking I’ll be able to leave in three, maybe four weeks, if this keeps up. That may be rather optimistic, after the winter we’ve had. 107 straight days below freezing, according to my marks on the calendar. I’m not a guy who keeps track of the weather… or at least I didn’t used to be. But I’ll bet that’s a record.

     Anyway, I figure it’s only a matter of time before Mikey starts to thaw, and I want to bury him before that happens. So my mission today is to start digging his grave.

     The ground is still hard as a rock, but I’ve figured out a way to break through it.

     I was laying on my bunk a couple of days ago, wishing I had a pick axe to break through the soil. You know, like the old gold miners used to use. And then I remembered looking through the Castros’ garage for something… I don’t remember what. That was when I came across the baby stroller that I’m bringing to Kansas City with me.

     Anyways (sorry for getting sidetracked) I think I remember seeing an ax in their garage. Not a pick ax, but a regular one, like to cut down trees with. So I got to thinking, If an ax will chop down a tree, I’ll bet it’ll also break up frozen ground. Maybe only a few inches worth, but if I can break it up, I can scoop out the loose dirt with the shovel and then break up a few more inches.

     I’m not a scientist any more than I’m a weatherman, but I’ll bet that only the first few inches of ground are frozen. I’ll bet that after I get through the first few inches the ground will be softer and I can use the shovel on it.

     At least that’s my plan.

     I’m going to bury him in the yard next door, by the way. I’m afraid if I do it in our yard, the rabbits will see the soft dirt and start digging in it.

     Speaking of rabbits and grave digging, these are my last two big projects. Once I get Mikey into the ground, I’ll start making plans to get some of the rabbits over to Eva and Frank’s. Frank gave me a black duffle bag that’ll hold four or five of the little boogers at a time. It won’t be the most comfortable way for them to travel, but it’s got a zipper on each end that I can leave part of the way open so they can breathe.

     And they may not like being thrown in there with their buddies and getting carried up the street, but at least they’re not going in my stew pot.

     Well, a couple of them are. But shhhh. Don’t tell them.

     Frank’s been building a big cage in their back yard for the rabbits. He says Eva’s too old to chase them, and he’s too lazy. Their plan is to keep them in a cage and let them breed like crazy. And whenever they get more than half a dozen they’ll start catching some of the bigger ones and passing them out to the neighbors.

     They’ve also got several of their neighbors who have asked for a pair of adults so they can start breeding them too. Frank has told them all the same thing, He’ll provide the breeders, as long as the neighbors do the same thing for somebody else after their first litter.

     In a couple of years there will be rabbits all over the neighborhood, feeding a lot of people.

     I’m leaving Lindsey and Beth here in our own yard while I’m gone, though. I don’t want Frank and Eva to accidentally give them away to be eaten.

     They’ve gotten into the habit of waiting for me at the back door now every morning. They just look through the glass, and when they see me heading that way with my coffee cup they seem to get all excited and start jumping around.

     After I visit the outhouse I sit on the deck and pet them and talk to them. There’s just something about them I can’t figure out, but we’ve grown quite close. They let me carry them now, or sit in my lap and let me pet them. Both of them are girls, by the way, just like Lindsey told me in my dream.

     There have been nights that I’ve been tortured by the thought that the girls didn’t survive and that their souls have somehow been captured by these rabbits. And that maybe that’s the reason why the one I call Lindsey ran up the stairs not long ago, right to Lindsey’s room and up onto the bed.

     I still don’t know how she got up there. It seems to be all she can do to jump up the single step onto the deck.

     Anyway, sometimes I have bad dreams and think that the plane crashed and that the souls of our daughters are here with me now. But then I see the faulty logic in that there are only two rabbits who have adopted me.

     And not three.

-54-

     “I’ll tell you what, Frank,” Dave said as they unloaded rabbits from his duffle bag into the cage in Frank’s back yard.

     “I’ll be back in late spring, or early summer at the latest. That’ll give you plenty of time to get that list of parts I gave you at the auto parts place and get them back here. While you’re there, see if you can find a dry battery. One that’s never had acid or water in it. That’s key to the whole thing. If you can’t find one, I’ll give you one of mine. But I’d rather save mine for when the battery on my own vehicle eventually wears out.”

     “Do you have the acid to go into the battery?”

     “Yes, sir. I’ve got plenty of acid. And once I get back, if you have all the stuff by then, I’ll show you how to get your car running again. And you can have some of your friends and neighbors watch the process so they can do the same thing to their own cars.”

     Eva stepped out of the back door and walked over to the new rabbit pen.

     “How many is that now?”

     “This makes eighteen, and at least three of the females are pregnant. You’ll have to get rid of some of them soon or the cage will be bursting at the seams.”

     “Are you bringing any more?”

     “Nope. This is it. I’ve got two males and two females that I’m going to leave behind at my place to grow while I’m gone. I’ve already slaughtered the rest and turned them into rabbit jerky for my trip.”

     There was suddenly a pall of gloom in the air. It came out of nowhere. Eva looked at Frank and Frank looked at the ground.

     Dave had the sense the two had something they weren’t sharing with him.

     “What is it?”

     Eva didn’t have the heart to say. She looked at her husband and said, “Tell him, Frank. He needs to know.”

     “Tell me what?”

     Frank continued to look at the ground. He never was any good at sharing bad news.

     “I’ve been hearing some chatter over the ham radio the past couple of days. They’ve activated the National Guard, and they’ve started closing the highways.”

     “What? But why?”

     “Something about FEMA directing it to be done. It seems that some of the big cities are running out of food and people are starting to migrate outward. Walking outside the cities and killing farmers and ranchers, then taking over their farms and ranches. They say it’s to protect the innocent and encourage the city dwellers to stay where they are and learn to survive on their own. But who really knows why the government does anything?”

     Dave was dumbfounded. He didn’t know what to say or think.

     “There’s more, Dave. You can’t just drive through their checkpoints. They’ve got a few working vehicles now too. Not many, according to those who’ve seen them. But enough to chase you down. And since they’re military, they’ll probably have authorization to shoot you if you refuse to stop.”

     Dave still couldn’t find the words.

     Eva went to him and placed her arms around him.

     “I’m sorry. Maybe they’ll open the roads back up in time, and you can take your trip then. Maybe after the world gets back to something more resembling normal.”

     Dave felt a need to sit down, and sat silently on the Woodards’ couch for several minutes while Frank poured him coffee and Eva rubbed his shoulders.

     When he finally spoke, he said, “I… I think I need to head out. I need to process this and figure out what I’m going to do.”

     Eva was worried. She knew how much the trip to Kansas City meant to Dave. It was his favorite thing to talk about when he came to visit.

     Now he looked like all the wind had gone from his sails. He’d gone from an excited man with a mission to accomplish to a man who looked like he’d lost his last friend.

     “Dave, why don’t you stay here for a day or two? We’d love to have you, and it’ll give you a chance to teach us how to care for the rabbits, and everything else you learned about growing crops and such.”

     “Thank you, Eva, that’s a nice offer. But it’ll be sunrise in a couple of hours, and like I said, I’ve got a lot of thinking to do. I think I’d rather just be alone for a bit, if you don’t mind.”

     Frank tended to be more blunt than his wife. For a lot of years as a sheriff’s deputy and homicide detective, he’d learned that the best way to deal with people was by getting directly to the point.

     “Dave, you’re not going to go and do anything stupid, are you?”

     “No. Why would you ask that?”

     “Because I know how much this trip you were planning meant to you. And now that you can’t go, I’m afraid you’ll think it might be a good idea to do what a lot of other people around here have been doing lately.

     “And if you’ll hear me out, I can give you a couple of good reasons why you shouldn’t entertain such a notion.”

     Dave just looked at him, and Frank took that as permission to keep talking.

     “Dave, you’ve done a lot of good around here. Those people around the neighborhood that you’ve helped with your seeds and your rabbits consider you a saint. You’ve saved lives. And I know that as long as you’re around, you’ll continue to do the same. Because that’s the kind of man you are. If something were to happen to you a lot of others wouldn’t make it either. And you’d likely find yourself standing in front of St. Peter trying to explain why you let that happen.

     “But maybe a better reason is this. Someday the world will be back to normal. I just know it will. It has to be. Maybe not quite like it was before, but close to it. Close enough to where we can all mingle again and help each other, and move around again.

     “Mark my words. Some day your wife and daughters will expect you to come for them. And when you don’t, they’ll likely come looking for you. Do you want them to remember you as a man who took the easy way out? Do you really want your daughters to find you that way?”

     Dave chose his words carefully, looking first at Frank and then Eva.

     “I appreciate your concern, I really do. But you’ve got me figured wrong. When I say I need some time to think, I don’t mean I’m going to kill myself. I mean, I literally need time to
think
. Because I don’t care if FEMA or the whole damn Army is out there trying to keep me away from Kansas City. I will get there.