Without (21 page)

When I made the decision to abandon my car in Atlanta, my
world decelerated from seventy miles per hour to three. With no TV, phones, or
internet, I expected it to slow down even further. Walking down the street
towards downtown Stevenson, carrying a basket of pies, I realized my world was
moving faster than at any point in my life.

I was no longer bombarded with social media and breaking
news. I was no longer concerned with world events or skyrocketing gas prices.
The entire country – the planet – could no longer watch reality TV, living
vicariously through celebrities’ joys and sorrows. Mother Nature forced us to
live our own lives, or die trying. In an instant, we all
became
reality
TV.

Before 8:13 I followed a strict schedule. I knew where I was
going to be and what I’d be doing for days, weeks, months, even years in
advance. If somebody had told me I’d be carrying pies to a street festival in
Alabama with a gun tucked into my belt, I’d ask which hospital they escaped
from. Yet here I was.

My life was a series of planned events occasionally
interrupted by unexpected moments. Some of those moments were welcomed with awe
and gratitude that fate and chance showed me how wonderful the world could be.
Some of those moments brought me to my knees, begging God to turn back time. My
life was now a series of unexpected moments occasionally interrupted by a
planned event. The jury was still out on which was a better life.

The preparations I saw earlier in the day did no justice to
the end result. As we turned the corner onto Main Street, nobody would’ve
thought the world might be coming to an end. There were countless colored
lanterns and candles casting a warm glow against the darkening sky. As we
walked closer to the circle of light, there had to be at least two hundred
people within it. Most of the men of Stevenson had come home.

The dance floor in front of the stage held most of them who
were moving with varying degrees of skill as the eight-piece band stepped up
the tempo. Faces greeted us with warmth as we carried the baskets of food to
the long line of picnic tables. As soon as I put down mine, Joey came up behind
me, handing me a cup.

“Good God,” I said after taking a cautionary sip. “It’s
fruit flavored gasoline.”

“Peach moonshine to be exact,” said Joey. “Fresh off the
mountain. Take it easy with that stuff. I don’t want you puking on my dad
again.”

“No promises,” I replied, laughing. “Thank you.”

Grabbing his mother’s hand, he twirled her onto the dance
floor. River and I watched as she tried to protest but quickly gave in, smiling
up at her son. Perry slapped me on the back, taking River from my side and
following Joey’s lead.

The train was a mesmerizing back drop to the scene. It was
adorned with decorations and candles in every window. It was if the goliath was
standing guard against anything that would challenge their high spirits. Even I
felt safe seeing the twin heavy machine guns watching over us from atop the
passenger cars. The shooters were scanning for unwelcomed trouble outside of
the circle.

Turning around, I spotted Doc sitting alone at a table. He
raised a glass to his lips, but he didn’t raise his eyes from the candle in the
center. Deep in thought, he didn’t notice me standing beside him.

“You okay, Doc?”

“Oh, yes, I’m fine.”

“You look like a man with something on his mind. Is it the
flooding?”

“No,” replied Doc, leaning back in his chair. “Mrs. Fisher
gave birth this afternoon. She was a delightful young lady. I’m still trying to
wrap my head around what happened, but I lost them both.”

“I’m so sorry, Doc,” I said, taking the seat beside him.

“That little one would’ve been the first.”

“The first?”

“Yeah, the first baby born after all this crap started,”
said Doc, shaking his head. “I’ve been doing this long enough not to get too
worked up when things go wrong, but this one got to me. I had to leave Kelly
there by herself to help the family. I’ve never done that before.”

“I’m sure she understands,” I said. “How about a swig of
this?”

“What is it?”

“Guaranteed to take your mind off your troubles,” I said,
handing him my cup.

“Not bad,” said Doc, finishing the cup with no reaction.

“You’re my hero.”

“I’ll take another one of those if you don’t mind,” said
Doc. “I’m just going to sit here for a minute.”

“I’ll be right back,” I said, standing and putting my hand
on his shoulder.

I was surprised when he reached up and squeezed my hand. I
knew it wasn’t the only sad moment he carried with him. These days, if it was a
man’s job to save lives, his own would be wrecked.

As I made my way to the popular table with the jars of clear
liquid, I was pleased to see Bruce and Parker manning the station. “Guess you
missed that train, huh?”

“Don’t remind me,” said Parker, shooting a look at his
partner.

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t miss the next one,” said Bruce,
handing me a fresh cup.

“Two if you don’t mind, sir. Doc needs a little pick-me-up.”

“Yeah, I heard,” said Bruce. “Damn shame. She was a
sweetheart.”

“So’s this one right here,” said Parker, looking past me.

Turning with two cups in hand, Kelly was standing with her
arms crossed. “Somebody has a short memory.”

“One’s for Doc,” I said, defending myself.

“Oh, good, he’s here,” replied Kelly, dropping her arms. “I
didn’t know if he’d make it. Parker, can I get one of those, please? Put it on
my tab.”

“Give me one of those smiles and we’ll call it even,” said
Parker. “You know, if I was sixty years younger, this guy wouldn’t stand a
chance with you.”

Obviously Perry got to him
.

“You’ll always have a chance, handsome,” said Kelly, taking
her cup and leaving Parker a smile.

After narrowing my eyes at him, I turned to see Kelly
walking away. Since I had met her, there had been no occasion for her to wear
anything but functional clothing. The function of her sundress was hypnotic.
Yep, this dance was a very good idea.

“Don’t give me that chance, son,” said Parker, breaking my
trance.

“You’ve already got Bruce,” I said over my shoulder. “Don’t
get greedy, old-timer.”

Returning to the table, I noticed Doc was no longer sitting
alone. Perry and his family, along with Pastor Rick and his wife, had joined
him. The company of friends seemed to have broken the spell of sadness over
him. For the next hour it was nothing but cutting up and laughter.

This new world didn’t let you laugh for long.

It stopped when Joey rose from his seat with a scowl on his
face. I turned to see six men walking up behind us out of the dark and into the
circle. All had rifles slung across their backs and pistols on their belts. I
had no idea who they were, but everyone else did.

A gentle hand reached up, pulling Joey back to his seat. His
girl smiled at him, leaning over to whisper in his ear. He leaned back, putting
his arm around her, but he didn’t take his eyes off of them.

“Glad you boys could make it,” greeted Rick, standing. He
walked around the table, extending his hand. “Good to see you, Tucker.”

“Wouldn’t have missed it for the world, Pastor.”

“Plenty of food, drink, and music for everyone,” said Perry.
“No need for those guns out in the open. Parker and Bruce will hold them for
you after they pour you a cup of their best batch.”

“If it’s all the same to you, I’ll keep it on me,” said a
man, stepping up beside Tucker. “Don’t want anybody running off with it.”

“It’s not all the same to me,” said Perry. “Leave those
rifles or leave. You know I don’t ask anything twice, J.D.”

Shit.

“Easy, Perry. I’ll leave it if this pretty lady dances with
me,” said J.D., putting his hand on Kelly’s shoulder. “We don’t want no
trouble.”

“Do what Perry asks and I’ll give you that dance,” said
Kelly.

“You don’t have to –”

She glared at me while she stood.

“Uh-oh,” said J.D. “Kelly’s got herself a new boyfriend. I
don’t think I’ve had the pleasure.”

“Didn’t have an old boyfriend, J.D. That makes it hard to
have a new one. You want to dance with me or talk to him?”

“I love the sassy ones,” said J.D. “I’ll be gentle with
her.”

He handed his rifle to Tucker and walked Kelly to the dance
floor. The other five headed for the booze, leaving their guns with Parker.
Rick took Kelly’s seat beside me.

“Tucker and Joey have been at each other’s throats since
they were in high school,” said Rick, leaning in closer to me. “J.D. is
Tucker’s older brother. They don’t have very much to do with our plan here.
They chose to stay on the family property about three miles from town. They
don’t contribute, but they don’t take anything from us either. Those other four
are just friends of their family. I guess you could call them a splinter group.
But if we really needed their help, I think they’d give it. They’re not bad
people, they just don’t like our rules.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I asked.

“Because you’re staring at J.D. right now.”

I cut my eyes over to Rick and smiled. “That obvious, huh?”

“Trust me, nobody blames you,” said Rick, returning the
smile. “But don’t make the mistake of thinking she needs someone to take care
of her. That macho crap won’t fly with that one. The only reason she’s dancing
with him is to keep you out of trouble.”

“Keep me out of trouble?”

“Yes, sir,” said Rick, standing. “That’s even more obvious.
If you’ll excuse me, I need to dance with my wife now.”

It wasn’t easy sitting there watching J.D. with his arms
around her. I did my best to make small talk with Doc, but he knew my mind was
elsewhere. He slid a full cup in front of me and grinned. I think he was
enjoying the show.

When the song was over J.D. headed for the food table. Kelly
headed straight for me. There was a certain disturbing determination in her
walk. When she was close enough for me to see her face, I knew a different kind
of trouble was coming.

“Come with me,” said Kelly, grabbing my arm and pulling me
out of the circle of light.

“Look, I –”

“Stop talking.”

I nodded.

“I don’t need anyone to defend my honor. That’s already been
taken away from me. Those guys came down here looking for an idiot to start a
fight with and they almost found one. If I ever need your help, I’ll ask for
it. I was attacked by four men in the dark. That doesn’t mean I’m weak or
broken.”

“I don’t think of you as either,” I said, risking my life by
talking. “If that’s what I put out there, I’m sorry. I only see you as strong
and
un
breakable. If I wasn’t such an idiot, I would’ve already been
dancing with you.”

“Keep talking.”

“Look, I’m at a bit of a loss here,” I said. “I’m finding
things I didn’t think existed anymore. One day I’m in the middle of nowhere
with strangers trying to take my life, and the next day I’m with strangers who
saved it. I came here with nothing, Kelly. Now I’m surrounded by family and
friends. Now I’m standing on a street corner at a festival, talking to the
woman who takes my breath away every time I see her.”

“Stop talking,” said Kelly, wrapping her arms around my
neck, pulling me into her kiss.

When my bedroom door flew open, Uncle Perry froze in his
tracks. It took a second for my eyes to catch up with my ears. It wasn’t an
easy lesson for him to learn. He wasn’t looking wide-eyed at
me
; he was looking
down the barrel of my shotgun.

“Take it easy, son,” said Perry, raising his empty hands.

“I’m sorry, Uncle,” I said, lowering the weapon. “You scared
the shit out of me.”

“Ditto. Dumb thing to do, I know. You sleep with that
thing?”

“You don’t?”

“River’s on the rise again,” said Perry, putting down his
hands. “Rising fast. Joey says it’s less than a mile from town and raging. We
got dark clouds rolling in from the west. It may already be too late, but we’re
taking the train all the way up to Nickajack Dam. The Kramer boys are waiting
for us at the station.”

“Where do you need me?”

“Downstairs for right now,” said Perry, breathing heavily.
“Help River and Donna pack everything up and move it into the attic. We’re on
high ground, but I don’t want to take any chances. When you’re done, I need you
to head into town and help Doc assemble the folks that’ll be moving up into the
hills.”

“You okay, Uncle?”

“I just don’t like leaving my girls behind,” said Perry.
“But we don’t know what we’re going to come up against on the line. We’ve never
taken the iron horse that far north. We need every gun hand we can muster on
that train. We lose that thing and we’re knocked back into the Stone Age. I
have to go, and I have to take Joey with me.”

“I won’t let anything happen to them,” I said, trying to
calm him.

“I know you don’t want it to happen,” said Perry. “But
you’re still banged up and have a cast on your shooting hand.”

Grabbing a folding knife from my pack, I sliced through the
thin strip of plaster that wrapped around my thumb and down my palm. Flexing my
fingers, I looked up at Perry and smiled. “That feels good.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” said Perry, grinning.

“I know,” I replied. “I’m a lefty. But it made you feel
better, didn’t it?”

“I know you can be a serious man when you need to be. That’s
what makes me feel a little better about leaving them to you.”

Perry and Joey said their goodbyes, putting their loved ones
in my hands. If all went well, I hoped to see them later in the evening. If it
didn’t, I had no idea when I’d see them again. They’d be on the wrong side of
the flooded river.

After stuffing the attic with anything of value, Donna,
River, and I made our way into town. The decorations were still hanging from
the night before. So was the fresh memory of being with Kelly. As we passed the
clinic, seeing her face inside made all the trouble go away.

Assembled in front of the stage with whatever they could
carry, about sixty people were listening to instructions being given by Bruce.
The plan was to stay in a group downtown. Several locals would be sent to the
river’s edge as a flood watch. If it looked as if it were going to overtake
Stevenson, they’d sound the alert to head for the hills.

River was right. Every able bodied man had either returned
to Scottsboro or was on the train that left an hour before. If the cowards in
the hills came for us, they’d be fighting old men, women, children, and me. My
plan was to avoid that fight. Bruce headed my way after his speech.

“Good morning,” greeted Bruce. “Glad to see you’ll be
joining us. We can use all the help we can get.”

“Whatever you need, I’m yours.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like for you to move up ahead of the
group,” said Bruce. “If we need to evacuate, we’re going to assemble at Thunder
Hills Campground about two miles west of here. You can’t miss it. It has two
large open picnic shelters that’ll hold all of us. From what I’ve been told,
there are several abandoned campers still there. We’ll need those for the sick
folks and the young ones.”

“And when I get there?”

“I sure do hate to ask this of you, but I have to,” said
Bruce, lowering his head. “Pastor put me in charge of the safety of these here
children.”

“I understand,” I said. “I’ll clean up any trash I find.”

A light rain started falling, motivating everyone to grab
their bags and assemble in the museum. There wasn’t much talking as the locals
mentally prepared to be forced away from their homes and into the hills. We all
knew it was just a matter of time. I imagined most were saying silent prayers for
the men heading to Nickajack Dam.

River and Donna stood when they saw me gathering lanterns
and strapping on my pack. Neither one of them were happy with my assignment.
After long hugs, I went to tell Doc and Kelly I was leaving. She grabbed my arm
again, pulling me out into the rain.

“I knew they were going to ask,” said Kelly, clenching her
teeth. “We’re not incapable of defending ourselves, goddammit. They have no
problem risking your life instead of their own.”

“No, Kelly, it’s not like that,” I said. “It’s a good idea.
I’m faster and have more experience with this kind of work. This time I can
take care of the problem before it happens.”

“What does that mean?”

“Stop talking,” I said, kissing her. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Promise me.”

Smiling at her, I turned the corner heading up the road that
would take me west. I wasn’t about to make a promise to her when there was a
chance I couldn’t keep it. Pulling the AR off my shoulder, I chambered a round.
I pushed Kelly and every other distraction – living or dead – out of my mind.
It was time to go to work.

Mother Nature dimmed the lights and sent down a heavy rain.
Being on the move, it was to my advantage. Soggy ground meant wet leaves wouldn’t
rustle, and twigs would be pushed into the mud instead of snapping under my
feet. The cascade of water and sound – limiting a coward’s ability to detect me
– allowed me to move faster. It was all uphill, but I made it to the campground
entrance in good time.

A few hundred yards past the sign, structures came into
view, letting me know I was near the picnic shelters. I moved into the ditch
alongside the dirt drive, crouching as I approached. The layout of the
campground seemed to be in a semi-circle around the twin shelters. Most of the
spaces were empty. Four weren’t. All four were campers that had to be towed
behind vehicles. All four vehicles were next to them. Not a good sign at all.

Crawling into a depression with a fallen tree in front of
it, I scanned the area with the scope. Checking my pocket watch, I stayed motionless
in that position for thirty minutes before moving forward. It took me another
forty-five to inch my way around, coming up behind the campers. After burning
another hour clearing each and finding no trouble, I decided to move up to the
ridgeline. From there I’d have a clear view of the surrounding area and entire
campground. It’s where I planned on staying until dark. As with most of mine,
the plan changed.

Two hours after concealing myself in a nest of rocks, I
caught movement through my scope. As if they were strolling through a park on a
sunny day, the two men made no effort to hide their positions. They had large
packs on their backs and large rifles in their hands. With dangerous arrogance,
they entered a camper.

With the heavy rain falling constant since my arrival, I
knew the river was probably overtaking Stevenson. The group would be moving
slow, but I had no idea when they’d be coming up the road. It could be hours or
minutes.

I held off breaking cover as long as possible, scanning for
more trash. When I was confident there would be only one camper to clean, I
moved into a position that would allow me to approach its blind spot. With the
wet ground and white noise from the rain, I was moving down with speed when the
door opened.

I dropped to a knee, raising the AR. Lining up the
crosshairs, I watched them both turn in my direction. Sliding my finger from
the guard to the trigger, I didn’t squeeze. They didn’t spot me and they didn’t
have their rifles. I knew them. But I didn’t lower my weapon. It was J.D. and
Tucker.

Having no idea how close to death they were, both men
entered another camper. Familiarity prevented me from dropping them where they
stood, but it wouldn’t stop me again. I was also familiar with their kind.

From the moment I looked them in the eyes at the dance, I
saw trouble. Neither one had scars on their necks from Kelly’s defiance, but it
didn’t mean they weren’t there when it happened. And if they weren’t there,
they were the kind of men who’d associate with the ones that were.

With the assault rifle leading the way, I stood, moving down
to the corner of the occupied camper. As I put my shoulder against it, I could
feel the movement inside. They were scavenging, which meant they’d be coming
out soon and moving on to the next. All I had to do was crouch down around the
corner and wait for them to stroll by.

I listened to their muffled voices for five minutes before I
heard the door open and their boots hit the metal step. As I predicted, they
walked past me without a care in the world. I rose from my crouch, sliding in
behind them less than twenty feet away. They took several more steps before
sensing something was very wrong. When they stopped dead in their tracks, it
was far beyond too late.

“How about a dance, J.D.?” I asked, taking a knee, aiming at
the back of his head.

Tucker was the first to slowly raise his hands. I pegged him
for the smarter one. His older brother was more reluctant, keeping his in front
of him. “You can’t beat me, J.D. You know that. Show me your hands.”

He complied.

“Turn around slowly,” I said. “Do everything slowly.”

As we made eye contact, I could see their confusion. Our
initial meeting meant nothing to them. I was just a stranger sitting by what
they really wanted. This meeting meant a lot more to them. I had their
undivided attention.

“You know me, but I don’t know you,” said J.D.

“I’m the guy that asks the questions,” I said. “Whoever
doesn’t answer dies first.”

“Wait a minute,” said Tucker. “You were at the dance last
night, right? You were sitting by Doc.”

“Oh, no, brother,” said J.D. “He was sitting by Kelly.
That’s her new guy.”

“You’re both right,” I said. “I was sitting between them.
Gold star, fellas.”

“This because I danced with her?” asked J.D. “Because if it
is, my brother got nothin’ to do with this. You go ahead and shoot me, but he
got nothin’ to do with it. Please, mister.”

“Why do the assholes always turn into the most polite people
on the planet when they’re not in control?” I asked. “When you were in a
six-pack of assholes with guns, you looked me dead in the eye and smiled when
you took her away. Where’s that smile now, J.D.? I’m guessing it’s mixed in
with that piss running down the side of your leg.”

“Looks like you’re the asshole with the gun now,” said
Tucker, flexing his jaw. “Drop it and come at me like a man. I’ll bury you in
this mud.”

“Shut the fuck up, Tucker,” said J.D., understanding the
seriousness of their problem. “I’m sorry, mister. He doesn’t get it, but I do.
I really do. I can’t ask you for shit, but our momma needs one of us to come
home today, and it needs to be him.”

“How sweet,” I said. “Now ease those pistols out with two
fingers. Toss them to the side and then tie your brother to that tree.”