The Returners (5 page)

He could see Emily was already opening cans and putting them into pots on the wood stove. Jacob put his backpack and gun in the corner before sitting down in a small wooden chair just outside of the kitchen. Jessica pulled up one of the oak stools and sat facing him. She leaned in towards him and began to speak in a whispered voice so Emily wouldn't hear her.

"Listen, I'm trusting you to stay here with us. If you do anything, and I do mean anything to make me think you're going to hurt my daughter or me, I wont hesitate to kill you. Do you understand me?"

He understood whole-heartedly what she meant and nodded his head yes to the question.

"Good, we won’t have any problems then. You can sleep in the bunk bed." She stood up and walked over to the table. "Now come over here and sit at the table. We may not have much, but we eat at the table in this house." 

Jacob moved over to the table and sat down. Jessica joined Emily in the kitchen and brought over plates and silverware.

"Is there anything I can do to help? I kind of feel like a fifth wheel here," Jacob said as Jessica set everything down and walked back into the kitchen.

"No sir. You're a guest in our home. You just sit there and let us take care of you this evening."

He was a bit overwhelmed at finally being back around people. It actually made him somewhat uncomfortable.

"I do appreciate the hospitality, probably more than you realize. It's been a long time since I've gotten to sit down and have a civilized meal with other people." 

Jessica and Emily walked back to the table carrying pots of food with them and placed them upon the table. Jessica sat down as Emily scooped food onto each of their plates. She had made beets, beans and what looked like some sort of stew. There were even fresh biscuits. It was an odd combination of food, but to him it looked like the greatest meal he'd ever seen. He grabbed his silverware and started for the food on his plate.

Jessica grabbed his hand. “We don't eat until everyone's ready, and we say what we are thankful for."

Jacob placed his silverware back upon the table as Emily sat down with them.

"Emily what are you thankful for?" Jessica asked.

The young girl thought for a moment. "I'm thankful for you mom and Mr. Jacob, and we have a roof over our head and food on our table. What are you thankful for Mom?" Emily looked at her mother and waited for her response.

"I'm thankful for you my beautiful daughter. I'm thankful for all we have in these trying times. I'm thankful that Jacob is here to share this meal with us."

Emily spoke again as she turned towards Jacob.

"What are you thankful for Mr. Jacob?"

It took him a moment to choose the words he wanted to say. "I guess I'm thankful to be alive. I'm thankful your mom came along when she did and I get to have this wonderful dinner with two very beautiful ladies. I'm also thankful for Flash and the time I spent with him."

The room was silent for a moment. Jacob could see both Emily and Jessica smiling at him. Jessica touched his hand.

"That was very kind Jacob, thank you. Now lets eat."

The three dug into the food like they hadn't eaten in weeks. The only sounds in the room was of clattering silverware against cheap ceramic plates and the consumption of food. Outside the moon rose high in the sky, casting a subtle light through the slits in the windows. Warmth from the fireplace covered them with a blanket of comfort, a peaceful ending to a chaotic and difficult day.

Jacob woke to the sounds of early morning life creeping in through the cabin walls. He couldn't remember a time in recent memory when he'd slept so well. He sat up and got out of bed, being as silent as possible he made his way to the fireplace. The cabin was a bit chilly as the fire had burnt down to nothing but a pile of ash and glowing coals.

Taking a few small pieces of kindling wood  from the wood box, he placed them on the glowing coals and gently blew on the embers. After a few repeated attempts, the kindling began to catch. Once the flame had taken hold and he was sure it wouldn't go out he put on larger pieces of wood. Walking over to the window by the door he peaked through the slit in the boards. The sun was just beginning to rise and cast a reddish orange hue against the clouds.

He couldn't see anything near the cabin that would be cause for alarm. There was however a large pile of firewood that could use attention. Grabbing his shotgun and removing the large wooden latch that held the doors shut, he opened it. Doing so slowly, trying not to make any unnecessary noise that might wake up Jessica and Emily. He was sure to be just as careful about shutting the door the behind him.

The chill of the morning air hit him almost immediately. There was something magical about the cold air of an early spring morning. It was refreshing, it breathed new life into the soul and helped clear the mind. He saw a splitting maul stuck in a large hunk of wood that was obviously used as the base for splitting. He pulled the maul out and grabbed a piece of wood from the pile, placing it upon the base.

It had been awhile since he'd split wood, but with his first swing it all came back to him. The maul struck the wood squarely, splitting it down the middle into two almost perfect even pieces. He grabbed another log and repeated the process, finding himself quickly getting into a rhythm. It was good to stay busy, it helped keep his mind off what had transpired yesterday. Sweat began to bead down his forehead, he wiped it away and continued, getting lost  in the task at hand.

Jessica slowly opened her eyes. She had slept extremely well last night, which was a bit of surprise to her. The air in the cabin was nice and warm, the heat from the fireplace kissing her skin. Someone, either Emily or Jacob had kept it going. Emily was currently sound asleep next to her so it must have been Jacob. She looked over to the bunk he had been sleeping on and noticed he wasn't in it.

She looked towards the door and could see his shotgun was gone, but his backpack still sat by the chair. He hadn't taken off, because he wouldn't have left the backpack. Maybe he was hunting, it was then she heard the sound of firewood being split. It was hard to mistake that sound for anything else.

Jessica slowly slid out of bed, being careful to not wake Emily and walked to the window near the door. Peaking out she could see Jacob splitting wood. He had quite a pile around him and she wondered how long he'd been at it. With a smile on her face she walked to the stove and opened the front door, putting starter materials and wood in. She grabbed a match and struck it against the coarse metal, the flame quickly coming to life.

Lighting the starter materials she watched as the flame greedily licked at the wood. Satisfied it wouldn't go out she closed the door. The stove now roared with the crackle of burning wood. Grabbing a tea-kettle of water and placing it upon the stove, Jessica began searching her cupboards. Soon finding what she was looking for, a jar of instant coffee. 

Jacob stopped for a moment, thick beads of sweat now covered his face and soaked through his shirt. He'd already split a fair amount of wood and figured now was a good time to take a break for a few minutes. He'd then tackle stacking the split wood so it could dry. After sitting and resting for a few moments he grabbed several pieces of wood and walked over to where the old woodpile had obviously been. He began placing wood on the pile, doing it just like his father had taught him when he was younger.

“Remember son, stacking wood is like a puzzle. You've got to make sure all the pieces fit, take your time and don't just throw it on there.”
His f
athers voice echoing in his head.

He chuckled to himself as he thought about it. His father had been a hard man, but now that he was older and had experienced all he had, he appreciated everything he'd taught him. Many of those lessons had saved his life over the last few years. Walking back towards the pile of wood he saw the door to the cabin open and Jessica come out holding two tin coffee cups.

"Good morning," She said as she handed him one of the cups.              

"Good morning to you. What’s this?" He took the cup and put it to his lips.

"Well, I figured seeing we don't have guest very often I'd break out the fine china and the luxury items. Still had a jar of instant coffee left, been stashing it away for a special occasion." 

Jacob took a sip, his face instantly puckering up. It was bitter, but he hadn't had anything other than water in months and it was a welcome treat.

Jessica took a sip from her cup. "It's definitely not gourmet."

"It is to me, this is quite a treat. The caffeine is probably going to have me bouncing off the walls."

Both of them laughed at the comment.

"Well I figure you can use the extra boost while you split the firewood. I appreciate you doing that for us. It's one of those things I've been meaning to do, but haven't gotten around to. Seems like there's always something to do out here and never enough time to do it."

Jacob took another drink of his coffee. "Not a problem, figured it was the least I could do after all you've done for me."

Jessica smiled and nodded her head. "I'm going to cook up some of that bear meat for breakfast. I'll let you get back to what you're doing. I'll holler when it’s ready."

Jacob couldn't take his eyes of her as she walked away from him. With the chaos of everything going on yesterday, how attractive she was hadn't struck him until now.

Jessica seemed like the type of woman he would have found himself going for under different circumstances. With the madness and chaos the world had plunged into, it had been the furthest thing from his mind. He had a thing for women with long black hair and green eyes, there was just something about them that drove him nuts. Combine that with Jessica's athletic build, confidence and no nonsense attitude you pretty much had his perfect woman.

This wasn't the before times though so he tried to shake his head clear of those thoughts. Taking one last gulp of coffee he emptied the cup and wiped his lips. He placed the cup on a small branch and grabbed another armful of split wood.

Jessica entered the cabin and could see Emily sitting up in bed rubbing her eyes.

"Morning sweetheart. Did you sleep good last night?" She asked.

Emily got out of bed, walked over to her mother and gave her a hug. "Mommy I didn't sleep good. I kept having bad dreams."

"I'm sorry hon. Wanna talk about it?" It wasn't unusual for Emily to have bad dreams. Jessica always tried to make sure she was there to talk if they really bothered her.

"No, I'm okay. Where's Mr. Jacob?"

"He's outside splitting firewood. I'm going to make breakfast. You want to help me?" She enjoyed cooking with her daughter, it gave them a chance to bond.

"Okay." Emily's voice perked up at her mothers question. She loved cooking with her mom. She had been doing it since she was a little girl and was almost as good of a cook as her mother.

The two women began getting ready for the morning meal. Making sure everything was laid out and ready before they started. Soon the smell of frying meat wafted through the air, filling the cabin with a pleasant aroma. Emily set the table while her mother finished cooking, humming a song from one of the television shows she used to watch.

Jessica walked to the door and opened it, hollering to Jacob. "Breakfast is ready."

"Alright, I'll be right in."

He finished putting the last few pieces of wood in his arms on the woodpile and headed inside. The door shut hard behind him as he entered the cabin and made a loud thud, drowning out the sound of a branch snapping a short distance away in the woods.

Three men crouched in the forest, hidden from view. The outline of the cabin could be seen through the fir trees they hid behind. They watched as Jessica opened the door and hollered to Jacob. As Jacob entered the cabin they remained silent, trying not to make any noise. Just as Jacob closed the door one of the men shifted and a small branch under his foot snapped. The other two men turned to face him, each giving him a stern look.

A tall skinny man with a large bushy beard on the left spoke, "Joe, what the fuck?"

The man who caused the branch to snap looked down at the ground. "Sorry."              

The third man in the group who had a grandfatherly look to him and was of average height and build stood up.

"Both of you idiots shut the hell up while I think." The man remained silent for a few moments as he contemplated what they should do.

"Alright, this is what we are gonna do. Dave and I are gonna go back to the camps and get a couple more men. We'll come back when it’s dark.  Joe, I want you to stay here and keep an eye on this place. Observe what's going on and let us know what you find out when we get back."

"Ray, what should I do if anyone comes this way?" Joe said to the older man as he stood up.

"Keep hidden, if you give away your position and they know someone is here you're probably as good as dead. Nor will we get what we came here for." It was a harsh but simple reply to his question.

"I can do that," Joe said.

"Dave lets get back to the cabins," Ray said as he reached down and picked up the few items he had brought with him.

The two men left Joe and headed into the forest. Joe re-positioned himself so he could keep his eyes fixed on the cabin and do what Ray had told him. He knew the consequences would be severe if he didn't. Ray may have seemed like a kind gentle man at first glance. His gray hair, round face and constant smile would make you think that.  Once you had been around him for any amount of time his viciousness and hatred shone through.

Joe didn't like the fact he owed allegiance to the man, but Ray had kept him and the others at the camps alive. If it wasn't for Ray he probably wouldn't have made it this long. All he could do now was sit tight and do what he'd been told.

Ray and Dave methodically worked their way through the forest, being careful not to leave any visible footprints. They had been surviving out here in the woods for the last year. The original group consisted of twenty-five people, currently there were eighteen in the group. Fifteen men and three women were all that managed to survive the first year. The other seven had been killed by Returners while on supply runs or had just disappeared while out scavenging the woods.

Most people in the camps knew not to question Ray, they knew if they did they might disappear or not come back from gathering wood or hunting. Everyone did what he said and didn't question anything he asked of them, fear kept them in check.

Two weeks ago one of the members of the camps had come across a set of footprints in the melting snow and followed them out of curiosity. They led to the cabin where he saw two women working outside. Careful not to be seen he came back to the camps, immediately telling Ray what he'd found and observed.

One rule that was considered the most important was what you did when you came across other people. You observed and reported what you saw to Ray and always Ray first. People could mean a lot of problems for the camps, it could also mean allies. That was what Ray always told them, and being the leader he figured it was his place to know before everyone else. The few people they had come across so far had all been dubbed threats and were taken care of. 

It took a little over an hour and half of working their way through the woods before Ray and Dave stopped at the edge of a large pond. Clusters of camps could be seen dotting the shoreline. There were a few people out and about. Most of them doing various chores like splitting wood or taking care of game that had been killed. It took the men ten minutes more to reach the camps.

They stopped outside the largest of them and was different than the others. It had a large arching roof that extended out over an open porch. This camp was easily twice the size of any of the other camps. There were several large windows on the sides and several smaller windows in the front. The rest of the camps were simple log cabins with only a couple windows in each of them. There was no mistaking which one was Ray's.

"Dave, I want you to go find Kyle and Jimmy. Bring them here in an hour." Ray's voice had a calm yet sinister tone to it, which usually meant he had a plan.

"Yes sir." Dave turned to leave, but felt Ray's hand on his shoulder and stopped.

"Make sure you're not late, you know I hate being made to wait."

"Yes sir." He new that tone of voice and didn't want to feel Ray's wrath for failing to do what he asked. 

Ray walked up the steps to the camp as Dave headed off to look for the two men he'd been asked to find. Ray removed several locks and opened the door. A young women in her late teens sat at the kitchen table cutting up potatoes. She was tall and very attractive with long blond hair put up into a ponytail and emerald green eyes that seemed to sparkle when she looked at you.