Going Home (25 page)

“Thank you, ma’am,” Thad said. She looked back with another tight-lipped smile, and I raised my mug to her and tipped my head. She turned and went back to the counter with Beth.

Bill passed the pot around. We all poured a cup except Jess. After everyone had their cups filled, Bill looked at Thad and I. “How was the trip?”

“About what you’d expect. Things are getting worse,” Thad said as he took a drink of black coffee from his cup.

“They sure are. That’s why we’re all here,” Jim said, looking at Bill and nodding his head. I was getting the distinct feeling that Bill was the man around here.

“Y’all run inta any bandits or have trouble with anyone?” Bill asked.

Thad and I took turns giving a rather vanilla version of our trip. We gave them the basic facts but didn’t elaborate. When Thad shared the part about my head wound, Jess dropped her head and stared at the table. Bill and her dad both looked at her. As we were winding down, Mary carried a large pot over to the table and sat it on a pot holder. Beth carried over a stack of bowls and, using a large ladle, poured a scoop into each bowl and passed them around. Mary returned with a cake of cornbread, the bright yellow kind from the mix sold in small boxes. Mary and Beth disappeared from the kitchen. Bill put his hands out to Jim and Thad, “Let’s say grace.” We all joined hands around the table. Bill closed his eyes and began to pray.

“Lord, thank you for the food we are about to receive. Thank you for the blessings you have bestowed upon us, and thank you for bringing little Jessica home to us. We thank you for these two men, Morgan and Thad, who didn’t abandon her in her time of need. We pray that you will watch over us and give us your blessing. In Jesus name, amen.” There were a few amens from around the table, and everyone took up their spoons.

The stew, soup, or whatever it was, was rather tasty if a little watery. It was obvious these folks were trying to stretch everything. Bill was chewing a spoonful of stew when he looked over at me. “From what ya’ve told me, y’all ran into some hard times. Did you have to kill?” He was looking at the pistol on Thad’s side.

“Yes, sir, we did. I took no joy from it. I pray I never have to again,” I said to him, directly to him.

“That’s a hard thing,” he said. He was looking through a spot on the table. “We have taken in a lot of people here. Some of them are far from home and have no hope of ever seeing it again. We gotta do what we have to to survive. You boys are welcome here. You’ll be a big help to us. With that truck we can go out and find more food and be able to bring back more water at a time.” He took another bite of the stew.

“Mr. Higgins, we appreciate your hospitality, we truly do. But I got a wife and a boy I need to get home to. Morgan has a family too. We’ll be on the road tomorrow.” Thad laid his spoon down, ready for the argument he knew was coming.

Nothing more was said about the issue. We finished eating, and the ladies came and took the bowls. Those that wanted it had another cup of coffee. We talked of such things as getting water and rationing food. Lake Wauberg was at the end of the road, on the other side of 441. They were using a garden cart and any container they could find to collect water from the lake and bring back. Water for drinking was boiled in a huge stockpot. They were eating whatever they could find. Those that came here from their homes nearby brought whatever food they had. They fished in the lake and tried to hunt, unsuccessfully so far.

There were seventeen people here now, and every day more came out of Gainesville down 411 and others from I-75. They were turning people away now, not letting them into the small area they occupied, sandwiched between the interstate and 441. It was far from an ideal position. Bill stood up. “I’m gonna turn in. You boys is welcome to sleep in the spare room. They’s two beds in there. He left the kitchen, and we heard a door shut. I never saw Mary, but I assume she was already in there.

Jim looked at Thad. “You’ll have to leave your pistol here. We lock ’em so no one tries anything. This many people around it can get dangerous.” He sat with his hands folded on the table and said it as if it was a matter of fact.

“Mr. Jim, I am sorry, but ain’t no one takin’ my guns from me, period. We’ll be leaving tomorrow. We’ll just hang onto them until then.” Thad stood up. “I’ll sleep in the truck tonight.” Thad headed for the door, picked up his gear, and walked out.

Jim looked at me sorta wide-eyed. “But we had to do this. There has been some trouble. We can’t let folks walk around with guns. Bill set the rules. This is his place.”

“I can appreciate that, but we aren’t staying. We’ll be gone tomorrow, and I agree with Thad, I will not give my guns up.” I stood up and turned for the door.

“We need that truck. There’s so many people here. We need to be able to go out and find things, food an’ such.” Jim stood up.

“That truck is ours, and we’re leaving tomorrow. Thank you for the dinner.” I headed for the door and grabbed my gear, slinging the rifle African style over my left shoulder.

“Where you goin’? The room’s right there.” Jim was walking out of the kitchen.

“I’m gonna sleep in the truck too.” I walked out the door.

I closed the door without waiting for his protest. Back outside, things appeared to be winding down. Many were sitting around their fires; some were already in their shanties. I found Thad at the truck talking with another man. He was one of the ones that had gathered around the truck earlier. Thad gave me a sideways look as I came up. The other man noticed me and stuck out his hand. “Hey, name’s Dave.” I shook his hand and introduced myself.

“I hear you guys say you’re leaving tomorrow.” He leaned an elbow on the bed.

“Yes, we are, soon as we can,” I replied matter-of-factly.

“I heard you’re headed south.” He was fishing. I knew what he was up to.

“I am; he isn’t, and we aren’t taking on any passengers. We stopped by to drop her off. This isn’t the city bus,” Thad said. Dave didn’t take that well. His entire demeanor changed, a furrow deepening in his brow.

“I want to get home too. Who the hell are you to tell me I can’t?” He stood upright and straightened his back. For all the world he looked as if he was ready to fight. “This isn’t even your truck. Jess told us how you got it—you stole it!”

“Look, this isn’t the fucking debate club, and we aren’t going to debate this with you. I didn’t say you couldn’t go home. You’re free to do what you want, except ride in this truck. You can walk to wherever you’re going just as I’m going to do. As for stealing the truck, we didn’t steal it. The previous occupants attacked us, and they came out on the short end of the stick on that deal. This is our truck.” I had had about all of these freakin’ people that I could stand.

“Yeah, I heard about that. If it wasn’t for Jess, you’d be dead,” he threw his impotent taunt out. Thad started to laugh; the man faced him. “What’re you laughin’ at?”

“That’s funny, ‘if it wasn’t for Jess.’ You know she is the one that shot him in the head, right?” Thad hung his head, shaking it back and forth, laughing.

“But if she didn’t drag him out, he’d be dead.” He was trying to make a point that didn’t exist.

Thad looked up at him. “No, he wouldn’t be either. I’d have got him.” His face was expressionless.

Dave decided to take the offensive since his fucked-up logic wasn’t working. “Who the hell do you guys think you are to decide who’s gonna do what?”

“We’re not; like I already said, you’re free to go as you will. Now, I’m done talking to you.” I expected him to leave, but he just stood there. “Now.”

“You can’t tell me to do anything!” he yelled back. I raised my face to the sky.
What the hell is wrong with people?

Thad reached into the cab of the truck and pulled his thunder stick out. “Now I’ve had enough. Get the hell away from us.” He was holding the shotty with one hand, down his leg. Apparently this guy wasn’t a complete paste-eating fool. He got that message and stomped off muttering to himself.

“I knew that was coming. He was asking all kinds of questions. He wanted us to take him and wife down toward Polk City,” Thad said.

“It’s amazing how everyone turns into a good little collectivist when they don’t have anything,” I replied, shaking my head. I was standing there, leaning against the bed, when I noticed the gas cans were not there. “Hey, man, where are the gas cans?”

Thad looked over the side. “Don’t know.”

“Those rotten sons of bitches. You stay here. I’m gonna find them. I have an idea where they are,” I said as I picked the carbine back up.

“Oh yeah, where?” Thad asked.

“Well, the lights were on in ole Bill’s house. There has to be a generator somewhere,” I replied. I started off toward Bill’s house. I couldn’t hear a generator, but I was sure it was there somewhere. Jim came out of the dark as I got closer to the house.

“What’cha doing there, Morgan?” he asked in a friendly enough voice.

“I’m looking for my gas cans. Know where they are?” I was equally polite and nonthreatening.

“Yeah, we took ’em to use on the generators. We needed the gas. We’re almost out,” he replied.

“Did you ever consider asking for it? Or did your folks just take it?” I was still nice and polite.

“Oh, well, one of the guys brought it over. We just thought you would be sharing it. Here we share everything, equally.” He seemed a little surprised by my question.

“Well, I need them back. It’s my gas, not yours. I already told you we weren’t staying here. Where’s my cans?” I said with a slight edge to my voice.

“They’re back there.” He pointed to a small shed off to the side of the house. “But like I said, if any of us are gonna make it, we gotta work together. We have to share equally.”

I walked past him toward the shed; he was immediately on my heels. The shed had a padlock on the door. I turned to him. “Open it.”

“I don’t have the key,” he said, shaking his head.

“Equal, huh? Go get the key, or I’ll take the lock off permanently.” I shifted the carbine in my hands so the muzzle was pointing at the lock.

“Hold on now, just hold on. I’ll go get it.” He turned to the house and disappeared in the dark. Standing there in the dark, I heard him go into the house. In the clear, cold air of night, I heard him shuffling around on the wood floors. A moment later, I heard the door open again, and he came out talking with another person. I wasn’t surprised to see Bill with him.

“What can I do fer ya?” Bill said as he walked up. Jim stayed behind him.

“You can open this shed and give me my gas cans back. My full gas cans. We are about ready to be on our way,” I said.

“Well, now, we figured since y’all was here, you’d be willing to help ever’one out. I mean, after all, we helped you.” He stuck his thumbs through his suspenders, rather proud of the spot he thought he had us in.

“And how exactly have you helped us?” I looked past Bill to Jim. “We’re only here because we brought your daughter home. I don’t owe you shit. If anything you owe me. But I’m not asking for anything other than to have what is mine returned to me.”

“Well, you set at my table tonight and ate my food. Now you owe me. Jess is his daughter, not mine.” Bill was definitely the chief over this rabble.

“Oh, for fuck sake, you invited us in. I’m done with this discussion. You going to open the damn door or not? If not I’ll open it.” I raised the rifle.

“Now hold on there, son. Come on out, boys.” Three men walked out of the darkness, all armed, and formed a line behind Bill. “The way I see it, we’ll just call us even, the gas for the meal.”

“I certainly don’t see it that way. Last chance,” I said.

“If you pull that trigger, these men will shoot you. It’s a fair deal. You can be on your way.” Bill was stacking the deck, and three armed men made it less than favorable odds for me.

I stood there for a minute; Bill never blinked. It was obvious he was quite happy with his new position of having everyone around beholding to him. “You ready to die too, Bill, ’cause I guarantee you one thing, I will kill you.”

“I guess I’m as ready as you are,” he said. I thought about the situation and came up with another idea.

“I tell you what, Bill, you can keep it. But if anyone comes out near our truck, I’ll shoot ’em on sight. We’ll be on our way soon.” I turned and walked away.

“We ain’t gonna bother ya none. Good luck to ya,” he said as I walked away. I heard him talking to the little group gathered around him. “See, little simple logic works ever’ time.” They all got a little chuckle out of it.

Thad was still at the truck when I got back. “Where’s the gas?” he asked.

“They have it locked up. Bill brought his boys with him to make a point. He claims it’s an even trade for the wonderful dinner we had.”

“That’s bullshit. We need that gas. It ain’t enough for me to get home, but it will get me a long way. How are we going to get more gas? Why don’t we just take it? It’s ours.” Thad was pissed, and so was I.

“Is ten gallons of gas worth killing over? I mean, I want it as bad as you do, but are you ready to kill people for it? In their fucked-up logic, they are doing what they think is right; right or wrong, they are looking out for themselves.” I didn’t know what to do.

“I don’t want to kill anyone, man. All I want to do is go home, but they are doing the same thing to us as those raiders they keep talking about. They’re no better than them. How much gas is left in the truck?” I threw him the key, and he leaned into the driver’s door and turned the key on. “Just over a quarter of a tank, if it’s right,” he said as he came out of the cab.

“Well, we got two choices: we leave with what we got, or we try and take it back,” I said.

“How do we try and get it back?” Thad pulled the key and put it in his pocket.

“Wait till everyone is asleep and break into the shed. The hasp on it is on wrong—the screws are exposed on one side. I can take them out with my Leatherman tool. Then we try and get the hell out of here without getting shot.” I noticed the hasp configuration when I had the muzzle of the carbine pointed at it. I hadn’t seen anyone around here with guns other than the crew that came out with Bill; with the guys at the two roadblocks, that didn’t leave too many more here, but I was sure there had to be someone around. I was looking around the area but didn’t see anyone.