Tammy and Ringo (19 page)

“Cat's doing at least as well as I am,” he said aloud. While he waited for the MRE to warm he got his tablet and thumbed it to a novel he had been reading. His reading material might have surprised some people, but this was simply a time passer. Something to do while he waited.

He fixed his meal and set down at the table, reading while he slowly ate. He found he couldn't really concentrate on the novel so much as his mind kept wandering. Wondering, really. Wondering what was going on in the world, wondering what was happening at Birdsong. . . .

Abruptly Ringo set his spork down and went to retrieve the sat phone from his pack. He had tried to call yesterday and gotten no answer. He had slept soundly last night, no nightmares, no waking up drenched in sweat. He didn't have a headache today and was no longer lightheaded at times. He was starting to be more sure that his earlier problems had been related more to his being out in the weather than because he was infected.

He took the phone and went back to the table, dialing the number for Hiram's phone. He heard it ring.

Please, pick up this time, he thought to himself. It wasn't that he still needed to talk to Hiram since things were looking better. But the fact that Hiram hadn't answered yesterday worried him. Had something happened to the others while he was away? Were they--?

“Ringo?” the voice caught him by surprise. “Ringo, is that you?” Hiram sounded anxious.

“Yeah, it's me, Hiram. I'm okay. How about you guys? Everything okay there?” Ringo asked.

“Yeah, kid, we're good,” Hiram sounded relieved. “Had a little excitement yesterday but turned out to be nothin'. Sorry you called and I wasn't here to answer. I had set this damn thing down on a bench and then walked off and left it. I tried to call back but got the unavailable message. I was afraid something had happened to you.”

“I turned it off to save the battery,” Ringo explained, breathing a sigh of relief. “What kind of excitement?”

“Neighbor came calling,” Hiram replied. “Reckon he got the fever from somewhere. Either that or he decided he didn't like me after all. Tell you the truth I couldn't tell for sure before I shot him. He was comin' at me with a crowbar.”

“Damn,” Ringo murmured. “I haven't seen. . .well, that's not true, exactly,” he stopped himself.

“What?”

“Well, I saw some of the infected trying to do different things. Open car doors, things like that. I mean with keys… and one trying to open a trunk. One even trying to get a leg over, if you know what I mean,” he laughed.

“Kid, that's a scene I really didn't need in my head,” Hiram said after a minute, and Ringo could tell the older man was trying not to laugh.

“Hey, you should have to see it live and in person,” Ringo snorted back. “Anyway, you can look at the vid if you want when I get back. I used that card for the CDC pickup and kept the camera. It's on the internal memory.”

“Good deal,” he could almost hear Hiram's nod. “Might be interesting to see at that. Tammy said she hadn't seen any of them using tools. This one also opened a gate on the far side of our property.”

“I hadn't seen any of them doing that either until I got back to the bridge,” Ringo told him. “I don't know if they're remembering or if they're re-learning. But I haven't seen any of them worrying about eating or drinking or anything else. I don't think they'll last long at that rate.”

“That might be the best news we've had since this started,” Hiram replied. “We lost power yesterday, by the way. Well, last night would be more accurate. No way to know but it's probably permanent.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” Ringo said. “None here either. I think I'm about eight miles from you at this point. Give or take a mile depending on the route.”

“How are you doing, Ringo?” Hiram asked. “How are you feeling?”

“Well, I was a little worried yesterday, but I'm better today.” Ringo explained about being out in the rain and how he was pretty sure that his problems had been caused by that rather than infection.

“I'm good this morning, to be honest,” he told Hiram. “No more fever and I feel fine. No soreness other than normal from a pretty good workout. I. . .I think I'm okay, Hiram.” It felt good to be able to say that.

“Thank God,” Hiram breathed out. “That's the best news I've had so far. Kid I'm really sorry you had to call and get no answer. That wasn't right.”

“Sounds like you had your hands full, man,” Ringo told him. “It wasn't a big deal. I. . .honestly, I was calling to tell you about the nose bleed, just in case. . .well, in case I was losing it. I had told you I would and I was about to go to sleep so it just seemed like a good idea to call in case I couldn't later. I didn't really need anything. It's not a problem, Hiram. Don't worry about it.”

“I appreciate that kid. All of it. What are you going to do?”

“Well, I guess I'm going to ride out one more day here to make sure and then start home. That's the plan, anyway.”

“Sounds like you could come on in now if you wanted to,” Hiram said evenly. “I'd say if you don't have a fever by now, you ain't gonna get one. But that's just me, now,” he added.

“Nah, I've stuck it out this long, I'll wait the last day,” Ringo told him. “No sense in taking chances. And I'm in a pretty good spot right now. I, uh, might have a little bit of a problem, though,” he added.

“What kind of problem?” Hiram asked at once.

“Well. . . .” Ringo briefed Hiram in on the events at the Cat Barn.

“Tall woman? Beefy lookin', mouthy?” Hiram asked.

“Uh, yeah,” Ringo replied.

“Yeah, she's the Court Clerk all right,” Hiram almost chuckled. “Maybe we got lucky and she got. . .no, I'm not goin' there. Anyway, don't worry about it. There ain't much she can do and anyway it's her word against all of us, since you've been here the whole time waitin' to see what happens. Right?”

“Oh, yeah,” Ringo stammered finally, taking a second or two to catch on. “Good thing I decided not to be out in this mess, huh?”

“Right,” Hiram said firmly. “Since you didn't mention nothin' she can use don't let it bother ya. If anyone does come callin' about it, we'll just talk 'em out of it.” Ringo noticed, not for the first time, that Hiram tended to pick up an accent when he was talking about things of this nature.

“Well, now that I know you guys are good, I'm going to get off here and save the battery. I'll call in the morning before I head in,” he promised.

“Good deal, kid. Keep your powder dry, hear?”

“Will do.” Ringo shut the phone off and then killed the power. He felt better now knowing that all was well with the others. He returned to his meal, now growing cool, and picked up his tablet again.

He was able to concentrate on it now.

*****

Hiram set the phone down on the counter and almost whooped for joy but contented himself with just a  firm 'Yes!' before heading outside to tell Helen and Tammy that he had some good news for a change. 

News that was received joyously and tearfully by both women. It was a  very good way to start the day.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Chores seemed a bit easier after the good news that Ringo was okay and might in fact be completely okay and on his way home by the next day. Once Hiram was finished he decided to take advantage of a lull in activity to run an errand he'd been wanting to get done but had kept putting off.  He found Tammy sitting on the front porch reading. She was almost half-way through the first Foxfire book.

“Wanna take a little trip?” he asked. She looked up at him, startled.

“Uh, sure. Where to?” she asked, rising.

“I want to go to where you and Ringo were attacked and get that truck if it's still there,” Hiram admitted. Tammy frowned.

“You don't have to go if you don't want to,” Hiram told her. “I know you might not want to be around there.”

“Oh, I don't mind going,” Tammy waved off his concern. “I was just wondering if it would still be there and if we can. . . .” She trailed off as Hiram held up the keys Ringo had given him.

“May be gone or vandalized by now,” he admitted, “but Ringo locked it up and brought the keys. He said it was a nice club cab rig, four by four. Might be nice to have it if we need to go somewhere.”

“It looked nearly new,” Tammy nodded. “Let me get my bag.” She went to get the carry bag she was using while Hiram went to tell Helen what they were doing.

“What do you want it for?” Helen asked.

“Just an asset,” Hiram shrugged. “Might come in handy, especially if we need to make a run somewhere. Nice roomy rig with four wheel drive and what not. No sense letting it go to waste. Or in using our own when we can use this one,” he added. “If we ditch this one, or lose it or whatever, it's not like we lost ours, right?”

“Make sense,” Helen agreed. “Tammy taking you?”

“Yeah. Figured she can drive me right to it. Be watchful. Shouldn't take us long. Twenty minutes or so at most, I figure.”

“Be careful and don't let anything happen to her,” Helen warned. Hiram nodded and met Tammy in the hallway.

“Ready,” she nodded. The two got into her car and were soon on their way out. Tammy took them straight to it, surprising Hiram slightly that she could remember the twists and turns with so little effort considering what her mental state was when she arrived at his house that night.

The truck was still there, sitting on the side of the road right where it had been left. There was no sign that it had been tampered with or that anyone had even bothered to check on it. Not unusual considering, Hiram supposed. He got out and checked the truck over while Tammy stood watch. Climbing inside, Hiram put the key into the ignition and gave it a twist, the truck firing right up. Three quarters of a tank of gas he noted. Nice.

In less than a minute he was headed back to his house, Tammy right behind him. Twenty-two minutes after they had left the two were in the driveway at Birdsong B&B once more.

“Nice,” Helen nodded, giving the truck the once over. Hiram rummaged around the glove box until he found the registration, but didn't recognize the name. He held the paper out to Helen who shook her head. She didn't know the name either.

“Well, I'd guess it's stolen,” Hiram sighed, replacing the paperwork. “Happens the world manages to right itself, we'll see to it that it's reported.” He still had a bag full of recovered valuables that Ringo had given him. Hopefully they would get the chance to return at least some of them to their rightful owners. In the meantime the truck might come in handy.

“How likely do you think that is?” Tammy asked, and Hiram, lost in his thoughts, looked at her questioningly.

“That the world will right itself,” Tammy clarified. Hiram nodded then, understanding.

“I really don't know, Tammy,” he admitted, closing the truck door and stepping up on the porch. He took a seat and accepted a glass of water from Helen who had a pitcher and glasses on the table. Tammy accepted one as she took a seat.

“Things look a little bleak at the moment,” Hiram went on. “Things like the power going off seem to indicate that this might be a long-term problem. It's possible it's just a line down or blown transformer, of course, and that it will be repaired, just slower than normal. That's best case.”

“Worst case is that the NRC, Nuclear Regulatory Commission,” he added for clarification, “has idled the nation's nuke plants. It’s a sensible precaution, but also a pain in the ass. It cuts a lot of available power, especially after Dumbo the Clown has all but eliminated coal-fired steam plants. Now just the hydro-electric dams and whatever green systems are still working and that’s probably not enough to keep power everywhere, so they'll prioritize. Rural areas like ours will be out of luck. Power will be shunted to wherever the most people still are and especially to critical infrastructure. Military bases, hospitals, refugee centers, shelters, that kind of thing.”

“That doesn't seem fair,” Tammy frowned.

“It's not about fair,” Hiram shrugged. “It's about doing the most for the most people. Decisions have to be made about where to send what resources are available.” He paused, taking a drink and weighing his words.

“This country is accustomed to plenty,” he told her finally. “We're not used to need. Sure we have people we consider 'needy', but compared to some places in the world, the poorest person in America is still better off. Hard to imagine I know, but I've seen it for myself. We really do live in the land of plenty. I won't say 'milk and honey' because I'm not sacrilegious, but we're in a good place. Or at least we were,” he sighed again.

“Thing is, living in all that prosperity has made us soft. Each generation has had it easier than the last and that's led to a softness in this country that just fifty years ago was still only a crisis on the horizon. We've grown dependent on just a few hard men and women standing between us and the wolves at the door. There's nothing wrong with that except in times like these when people really need to be strong to survive and they aren't. If this is as bad as it seems to be, then a lot of people who survive the initial crisis will still perish in the crisis to come.”

“What crisis to come?” Tammy asked. “I mean, if they find a way to beat this thing, that's it, right?”

“Is it?” Hiram asked. “I doubt it. How many people will die before this burns itself out? How many people will be left defenseless because they live in an area that restricts gun ownership for protection? How many will die for lack of clean water in cities where the utilities aren't working? For lack of medical treatment because the hospitals will have suffered the effects of this, this, whatever it is, first and without any warning or preparation?”

“Many of the people and services that we depend on in this nation will be gone, at least for some time. They may return as things get sorted out, assuming they do, but how many will suffer in the meantime? And that's not even considering people like the three goons who tried to attack you and Ringo,” he nodded to the truck. “Don't think for a minute that those three were an aberration. There are predators all over the world held in check only by the threat of reprisal. With that threat gone or at least diminished, you can bet they'll be roaming the streets, or roads in our case, taking whatever they can get their hands on. Literally.”

Tammy had paled slightly at the mention of the three hoods Ringo had killed protecting her. That won't happen again, she promised herself and her hand fell to her side where her pistol rested, as if to reassure her of that. Hiram noted the movement and nodded.

“That's right,” he told her. “Keep that gun handy, and don't hesitate to use it when it's necessary. It may be what saves your life. I assume your father taught you to use it?”

“Yes,” she nodded emphatically. “This and many others, in fact,” she added. Hiram's eyebrows rose at that.

“Really? Like what, for instance?”

“Like that M4 you were carrying when we checked the fence, for one,” she told him. “I've been hunting, using a bolt action Browning rifle which I wish I had with me, to be honest. A .270 with a Zeiss scope. I learned to use a shotgun as well. Come to think of it, I think I'd rather have it than the rifle,” she mused. “A Mossberg 590 with extended tube, collapsible stock and ghost ring sights. I don't have an M4 but I had an AR platform from Bushmaster called a Carbon 15. Light, optics ready and very dependable.”

“Yes, it is,” Hiram nodded. “Not on the same level as some but still an excellent package if maintained properly. You know what the hardest part of using an AR platform is?”

“Finding reliable ammunition,” Tammy replied. “AR rifles tend to have a much closer tolerance than say a Mini-14 Ruger. They'll feed just about anything without much difficulty. My father has two. Had two, I guess,” she frowned. “Whatever we owned may be completely gone, now.” She looked a bit sad at that.

“Possible but not certain,” Hiram noted. “I think we can outfit you just fine ourselves, though. How hard is the twelve gauge on you?”

“Not too bad,” Tammy grinned slightly. “I'm a good sized girl,” she laughed.

“Well, what say we see what we can come up with  then. After lunch we'll run through a few things and see what you're comfortable with. I've put off setting out some backups too long anyway. We need a weapon in every room from now on, and spare ammunition too. We'll see to that after we eat.”

“Sounds like a plan for the day.”

“Well, that's two references to lunch in as many minutes,” Helen chuckled. “I'm assuming that you're hungry, dear?”

“I could eat,” Hiram admitted. “Wasn't a hint, really, but since you're offering. . . .”

“Yes, yes, I know,” Helen got to her feet. “I think it's time you showed Tammy around,” she gave him a pointed look. “I'll fix some lunch and ring you when it's ready.”

“Are you sure?” Hiram asked and Tammy got the impression that there was more to that question than seeing if Helen needed help with the lunch.

“Oh, yes,” Helen's voice was firm. “We're in this together. You may as well. . .'brief her in' I think is how you would say it.”

“Okay,” Hiram nodded, getting to his feet. “Tammy, come with me. The woman of the house has determined that you need to be brought up to speed.”

“Uh, okay,” Tammy rose as well, not sure what was going on.

“Come with me.”

*****

“Holy cow,” Tammy breathed out, looking around her in amazement. “This is cool.”

“Glad you like it,” Hiram smirked as he watched Tammy take in the Bunker.

“I take it Ringo has already seen this?” Tammy asked.

“Yes, I brought him down here to get him outfitted. Had to place a lot of trust in him, and we're doing the same with you. But Helen's right. We're in this together, so it's time to let you in on what's available. I wasn't kidding about those three idiots not being the only people like that. We need to be prepared. One of the most common held misconceptions of city dwellers is that the countryside is full of food waiting for the taking. We can expect survivors to be out scouring the area for anything they can eat sooner or later.”

“I'm not against helping those in need, but not at the risk of ourselves. Just not going to do it. And if you help someone today, they'll be back tomorrow and bring others with 'em. And they will have convinced themselves that because you have something they need, it's only 'right' that you let them have their 'fair share'.”

“Fair share?” Tammy frowned. “But it's not theirs to start with. How do they rate a share?”

“Exactly,” Hiram nodded. “They don't. I worked hard on all this, for everything I have. I won't see it taken from us or ruined by people who can't be bothered to plan for their own survival. I'm not talking about something like this,” he waved his hand to encompass the bunker around them. “This was something I did partly because of who I am. Was,” he corrected. “And partly because I know what the world is really like and how quickly things can go to hell in a bucket.”

“My dad was like that,” Tammy nodded. “Is like that,” she corrected firmly. “Our house had food hid everywhere. Like that,” she pointed to where cans of freeze-dried foods sat on a shelf. “He had MREs, of course, and others things like medical supplies, ammunition, things like that. If the house is still standing and hasn't been ransacked, it should still be there.”

“I figured you'd seen something similar since you weren't bowled over by all this,” Hiram grinned.

“Well, we don't have anything like this,” Tammy shook her head. “hard to build something like this on an Army base. But yes, I've seen places like this. My dad believes in being prepared. He's like you in that he's seen bad things in other places. He never bought into the idea that 'it can't happen here'. He mentioned Sarajevo once as an example.”

“And a good one,” Hiram nodded. “Hosted the Olympic Games once and now it's a war-torn piece of hell. And there's plenty more just like it. We may be on the way to becoming like that ourselves,” he added. “The only consolation is that most everywhere else is going to be just as bad, looks like. If it were just us, then we could expect an invasion at some point. May still can in the future,” he admitted. “But our first concern is to survive. To do that we have to protect what we have,  and keep ourselves alive and from becoming victims.” He led her to the 'armory' room.

“Oh, wow,” Tammy repeated getting a look inside. “My father would have a field day in here,” she laughed.

“Sounds like my kind of soldier,” Hiram nodded.