Conflicted Home (The Survivalist Book 9)

And she was at the time, for sure. That is until that day on the side of the river. But now she stood alone, and I could sense the fear in her, though I couldn’t see her face. Taking Mel and Little Bit with me, I walked to her and folded her into our embrace. I hadn’t seen it, but she was crying. Quietly, softly. And when we touched, there was a release for her; and then I could feel her pain.
It hurt; and all I wanted to do was to get her and her sisters home. I wanted to get all my girls back where I knew they would be safe. Even if there was an invisible threat I couldn’t see, smell or defend them from. But at least I’d feel safe, and maybe, just maybe, that feeling would make it through them as well.
“You guys ready to get back? There isn’t much more we can do here,” I said.
Thad and Mary stood silently, facing west, as we all were. Sarge inhaled deeply and slowly let it out. After a short pause, he said, “I reckon we should get back.” He looked around the park and added, “We ain’t doin’ no good here anyway.”
Thad looked at me; and the expression of fear mixed with uncertainty pained me. He was holding Mary close. It was the first time I’d seen such an open expression from him towards her. He must have sensed what I was thinking. I could see it on his face. It added to the emotions he was already going through, as though he were somehow betraying a wife and son he’d buried with his own hands. This big man, my friend, seemed almost on the verge of tears. I turned to him and wrapped my arms around him.
It was almost humorous when he returned the hug. I felt like a child in the arms of his father because Thad was so huge and I was so small. But in that moment, I was offering support. Though neither of us spoke a word, we said a lot to one another in that brief embrace. When it was done, he looked back to Mary, who was clearly in need of more. And I went back to my girls. We all walked back to the truck together in silence.
Mel was pressed in close and it hurt my side, but I wasn’t about to complain, and I kept her there. With Little Bit and Taylor in front of me, it made it hard to walk, but I wasn’t about to shoo them away either. I could feel the weight of the little pocket piece. It was odd in that it was the only hardware I had on me. It’s kind of funny how fast you get used to something. Like carrying weapons and wearing body armor.
I was surprised when I saw the old Suburban sitting in a parking place in the park. I looked at Mel and asked, “You drive that here?”
She nodded. “Yeah. Danny had to help me get it started. The battery was dead, and we had to jump-start it.”
“Yeah. I was going to rejuvenate those batteries. Just haven’t done it yet. Hope it starts now.”
“It did when I parked it. I restarted it before leaving it.” She replied.
The girls quickly climbed into the truck. Little Bit got into the front, demanding to sit between us on the big bench seat. As I was getting in, Sarge stopped by my door and said, “See if this thing’ll start.”
Putting in the key, I turned it over. The drive from home must have been enough to bring the batteries back to life because it cranked right up. The old man slapped the roof of the truck and said, “Alright. We’ll follow you back.”
We had a string of trucks headed out of town. It felt kind of eerie not seeing anyone on the streets of Eustis. Just a short time ago it appeared everyone that lived in town was at the park. Now, it was a ghost town. I grunted to myself when I thought of all the people that must at this very minute be trying to dig a bunker or otherwise engage in futile preparations to survive fallout.
We rode in silence through Umatilla, which was likewise deserted, as we crunched over the remnants of the storm debris still on the road. It’s one thing to ride through the town you live in and the power be out, like after a storm. It’s another thing entirely to do so when darkness after sunset is the norm. Little Umatilla was totally dark. I didn’t’ see a single light anywhere. Even now, you could generally spot a window with a faint glow coming from inside. But this night everything was blacked out, as though the remaining residents of Umatilla expected an air raid.
The little market in Umatilla was abandoned, as well as the one in Altoona. I was greatly relieved when we pulled into the neighborhood, even though it was just as dark as everything else. Perez and Ian were at the barricade when I pulled up.
Perez came up and leaned in the window. He started to say something but looked at Little Bit and stopped. He smiled and asked, “How you feeling?” His breath wreaked of cigarettes.
I nodded. “Better, I guess.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re feeling better, amigo.”
Ian pushed Perez out of the way and patted my shoulder as well. “Glad to see you back on your feet, Sheriff.”
I looked at him and smiled. Then I looked down at my lap, “But I’m not on my feet.”
“Whatever, smart—,” he paused abruptly and finished with “guy. You’re a smart guy, aren’t you?”
I laughed at him. “Yes, I am. Thanks, buddy.”
He rapped the door and I pulled away. I drove straight to the house. I was ready to get home. Little Bit held my hand as we walked to the house. The dogs swirled around us, jumping up on me. I patted them and actually