The Savage Darkness (Darkness After Series Book 4) Read online

  “I might have a little something for you if you’re willing to trade for it. I’ve been going hungry more often than not. There ain’t nothing much left to hunt after all them hordes came through and run everything off. I’ve been eating pretty sparse; just the occasional possum or coon, or a stray dog or cat here and there. But I’ve been scavenging too. I’ve been through what’s left of every house and building in town, as well as the vehicles. It wasn’t much, but I found a few odds and ends I got stashed in my hideaway.”

  Mitch was growing excited hearing this. “Do you have something that might help her? Something for a fever?”

  “I’ve got something, but I sure do hate to give it up. I’ve got a bad tooth that’s been acting up for weeks. Sometimes it’s just a dull ache. Other times it’s killing me. It keeps me awake at night. I got a couple half pints of whiskey that are nearly empty, and just this one little bottle of Ibuprofen I found in the glove compartment of Billy Thomas’ truck.”

  “You have Ibuprofen?” Mitch was elated. That was one of the specific medicines Stacy said would work! “If you can spare some of it, I’ll give you whatever you want for it, Mr. Holloway.”

  “I hate to give it up, because I can’t get no more and this tooth ain’t gonna get no better. But I reckon eating’s more important. I’m down to my last box of cartridges for my rifle. And I just wasted three today trying to shoot you because I didn’t know who you were.”

  “I don’t have much .30-30 ammo,” Mitch said, “but I might have a box or so. I could give you another rifle in a different caliber if you’d rather: a semi-auto AK or SKS in 7.62x.39. But I’ve got to ride back to our camp to get it.”

  “I understand. I reckon anything you can spare would help, as long as it shoots straight. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to hold out here. You can probably get it back when I’m gone unless some more of them outlaws come along and kill me for it. What about you and your folks? How are y’all making out there at your place? Is Doug and your mother back home with you now?”

  Mitch told him the whole story about how he hadn’t heard from his parents and how their place had been burned to the ground too. Then he said he had beef jerky in his saddlebags if he wanted to walk with him back to where he’d tethered Amigo. Mr. Holloway was agreeable, and anxious to get the offering of food as well as the promised rifle and ammo. He told Mitch his camp was beside Black Creek not far upstream of the bridge, and that they could go there first and get the medicine. “I saw you sneaking across the creek,” he explained as they walked there, making Mitch feel really careless for almost getting his head blown off by an old friend.

  “They ain’t nobody else in this whole part of the country I’d let go of this for,” Mr. Holloway told Mitch as he handed him the plastic bottle, after counting out a dozen of the little tablets to keep for himself. But I know you’re Doug Henley’s son and you’re good for your word. I know you’ll be back with what you said you’d give me for it.”

  “By the day after tomorrow, at the latest,” Mitch agreed. “I can’t thank you enough, Mr. Holloway! I’m bringing you more of the dried beef when I come back too.”

  Mitch had briefly considered inviting Mr. Holloway back to their camp, but then thought better of it. It wouldn’t be a good idea to do so without discussing it with the others, and besides, after he saw the place where the old man was living, he knew he probably wouldn’t leave anyway. Brooklyn had been his home. His wife was buried nearby, and he seemed content to spend the rest of his days right there watching the creek roll by, no matter how few in number those days might be.

  Nine

  WITH THE IBUPROFEN IN hand, Mitch didn’t want to waste any time getting back to April so she could begin giving it to Kimberly. The small 50-count bottle looked to be less than half-full after Mr. Holloway counted out the 12 pills he was keeping for his toothache. If it was going to work at all though, Mitch figured there were more than enough left to do the job. He gave all the jerky he was carrying to Mr. Holloway and set off immediately to backtrack his route on the hiking trail. He would be traveling well after dark, but after riding it today, he knew the path was open and easy enough to follow, even at night.

  Thoughts of what had happened to the townspeople of Brooklyn rode with him all the way through those dark hours. He had to assume most everyone he had known at school and around the county were likely dead, unless some of them had gone elsewhere beforehand. But even if they had a place to hide, how many of them could have survived this long? It was hard enough for Mitch and his friends even with his skills and experience. The chances for most that were unprepared were slim indeed. That was the reality of it, but after hearing of the trading post in Purvis, he could hope that maybe some folks he knew were there. If that small town had indeed organized and set up defenses to repel outsiders bent on pillage and plunder, then maybe there were other communities like it scattered around the region and in places beyond. Mitch had no interest in taking refuge in such a settlement, but if some of his group wanted to, he wouldn’t try to stop them. What he did have an interest in though after hearing Mr. Holloway’s account was trading. There were so many things they needed. Even before the fire, they had their wish lists, but those had grown exponentially since losing almost everything. He would discuss this with the group as soon as he got back, but he was sure they would all agree that it would be worthwhile. The surplus of weapons and ammo they’d collected, not only from this latest attack but also from previous encounters before was a valuable commodity that he was certain they could leverage in their favor. They could afford to part with some of the guns and ammo and still have plenty to meet their hunting and defensive needs.

  Mitch reached the Henley farm just before midnight, and after unsaddling Amigo and turning him out inside the fence, continued to the camp in the canoe, announcing his nocturnal return with a low shout lest he get shot for surprising his friends in the dark. April was ecstatic to learn than he had found Ibuprofen. She had been keeping Kimberly’s fever from raging with a cool cloth frequently dipped in creek water, but the little girl wasn’t getting any better and April hadn’t slept or diverted her attention from her since Mitch left that morning.

  “She’s still pretty hot,” Mitch said, touching Kimberly’s forehead. “Do you think Ibuprofen will work? It was all Mr. Holloway had and it wasn’t easy to talk him out of it, but he finally agreed to trade most of it for another rifle and some ammo.”

  “Yes, it may take a few doses, but I’m only going to give her half a tablet first and see how she handles it. She’s never had Ibuprofen before, but she’s never had a fever like this either. Stacy says it’s supposed to bring a high fever down, though, the same as Tylenol.

  “I’ve been really scared, Mitch. Thank you so much for what you did. I didn’t expect you to get back so soon, and I was afraid you wouldn’t find anything at all. You may have saved her life.”

  “She’s going to be okay, April. She’s strong just like her mother. It was a bit of luck though that I found Mr. Holloway and that he had that bottle, and I’m lucky too that he missed when he tried to kill me.”

  Seeing April’s shock at this, Mitch told her and the rest of the group what he had seen in Brooklyn and how he nearly got shot by mistake. Jason put his arm around his little sister, as he and Stacy absorbed the news that their house and their hometown was no more. Any hopes that they may have had that their mom somehow made it back there were dashed forever by what he told them.

  “I guess we shouldn’t be surprised,” Lisa said. “With everything that’s happened to us way out here, it must be as bad or worse just about everywhere.”

  “Maybe not everywhere,” Mitch said, telling them what he heard about Purvis, the town some 25 or so miles west of Brooklyn that supposedly had organized strong defenses and even a trading post. “I’ve been thinking about that trading post all the way back. I think it could be well worth it to see what we could get for some of the extra guns and ammo we’ve picked up. Weap
ons are bound to be like gold everywhere nowadays.”

  “How would you know if you could trust the people there though?” Jason asked. “What if you go there with a bunch of guns and they just take them without paying?”

  “Yeah, they could just shoot you and take them all,” Lisa said. “What’s to stop them? They could just say you were another looter or thief that took them from their owners.”

  “It’d be risky, all right,” Benny added, coughing heavily to clear his chest and throat so he could talk. It was obvious that he was suffering with that cough. He had been sitting there listening in between his hacking fits, saying little simply because it was too painful to speak. “It makes sense that there would be some trading going on somewhere by now, though,” he went on. “There’s bound to be a few decent people around that ain’t killing and stealing for everything they need.”

  “You’d think so,” Mitch said. “If so, it would be a refreshing change to meet some of them.”

  “Yes, but it’s not just a matter of whether the people in the town will be friendly or not. You know how dangerous it is to travel, Mitch. Going to Brooklyn was risky enough, but you had that trail to ride on so you didn’t have to follow the road. Going anywhere else is going to be a lot more dangerous. You don’t know who you might run into out there.”

  “I know the dangers, April. I’m willing to risk it if it will make our lives better. But I’m not saying we’ve got to do it. We can all think about it and maybe have a vote. But Kimberly’s fever is a good example of why we need stuff from the outside world. I’m sure the Ibuprofen will work this time, but what happens if she gets something worse than a high fever? What about Uncle Benny with that cough? It’s in his chest now and could turn into pneumonia, especially in this weather. Then what do we do? It would take antibiotics to clear it up.” Mitch turned to Benny. “I hope that doesn’t happen of course. I’m not trying to scare you, but I’m trying to make a point.”

  Benny coughed again so he could reply: “It’s just a bad cold, but you’re right. One of us could get something worse. We ought to at least have some antibiotics on hand. Anybody could get an infection out here from a cut or something.”

  “Exactly. Dad had antibiotics for the cattle that we probably could have used in an emergency, but he kept all that stuff in his office, so it’s gone. But besides medicines there are other things we’re going to need: more tools, and some staple foods like rice and cornmeal and flour to go with what we can kill and forage. Seeds to start a garden this spring would be great! Then there’s clothing. We’re all down to rags. Before long we’ll be as naked as savages or else we’re gonna have to start wearing buckskins.”

  “Naked would be tough this time of year, but I wouldn’t mind wearing buckskins after trying that shirt you made,” April said.

  “And I’m sure we will make more. But what I’m saying is we’ve got to start thinking about our long-term options. After we make sure Kimberly and Uncle Benny are well, and after we finish the lean-to. We don’t have to decide tonight. I’ve got to get some sleep anyway because it’ll be daylight again soon and I’ve got to head out again. I promised Mr. Holloway I’d ride back to Brooklyn with his payment for that medicine. He’s going to be expecting it, and I don’t want to keep him waiting.”

  Mitch felt much better about leaving the next morning when April told him she thought Kimberly’s temperature had dropped. She was sleeping peacefully and when he touched her face, he agreed with her assessment. April had given her another dose of the Ibuprofen and had shared some of the tablets with Benny as well. But Benny’s issue wasn’t fever and Ibuprofen could do little for his terrible, hacking cough other than relieve some of the soreness in his rib cage from all that coughing. Regardless of the way Benny dismissed it as a cold, it worried Mitch because of his age. Older people like him died of flu and pneumonia every year even back in the other world of modern hospitals and clinics with their professional care and technology. Out here there was nothing he could do for Benny but order him to spend the day resting and keeping warm near the fire. But even as he said it, he knew the stubborn old woodsman wouldn’t lie around doing nothing if he saw something that needed doing.

  Mitch returned to Brooklyn on Amigo and this time rode straight to Mr. Holloway’s camp. He’d brought him several pounds of the beef jerky, as well as a box of .30-30 cartridges and a Chinese SKS rifle with 100 rounds of ammo for it. It was a steep price for a small bottle of over-the-counter medicine that might have sold for five dollars before the collapse, but if it saved Kimberly’s life, it was priceless. He was giving Mr. Holloway more than he asked for in return, but this old man was a friend of his father’s and he had fed him and April when they were hungry, as well as encouraged them to take the canoe from the outfitter’s stable. Mitch still had plenty of weapons with which to negotiate for other goods, many of them of far better quality and more desirable design than the old SKS. When it came time to go to the trading post at Purvis, he would demand the best price he could get for any of those he let go. The SKS would be enough for Mr. Holloway though, and Mitch planned to check on him again from time to time and see how he was making out.

  “You take care, son.” Mr. Holloway said as Mitch mounted up to leave. He was delighted with what Mitch had brought him, and it was obvious that he had enjoyed their brief visit as well. Mitch hated to leave him, but there was so much to do back at the camp, and he was anxious to see how Kimberly was doing.

  “You too, Mr. Holloway. I’m going to stop back in whenever I come through on the way to Purvis. We’ve still got work to do on our lean-to, but I aim to make that trip soon. There’s a lot of stuff we could use if they have it there.”

  “From what I heard they might, but I wouldn’t go up there alone if I were you. You never know what kind of bandits you’ll run into on the road. And God only knows if the place is still run by the good guys or not. Anything could have happened by now. I’ve found that out the hard way.”

  “Me too, Mr. Holloway… Me too….”

  Ten

  RIDING BACK TO THE camp after his meeting with Mr. Holloway, Mitch couldn’t get the idea of going to the trading post out of his mind. Part of the reason, he realized, if he was being honest with himself, was that he wanted knowledge of what was going on beyond these woods. That, and simply the adventure of going there. It would be another quest, like the challenges he and April faced getting here from New Orleans in the first place. Or the hunt to track down and kill her abductors when she and Kimberly were taken captive on the creek. Mitch had to admit that he was becoming addicted to the adrenaline rush of danger, and that he could only hang around camp for so long before he felt the pull to go out and test himself again. He knew he would have to suppress this urge for a little while though. He had gotten what they needed for Kimberly, if not Benny, and he needed to make sure she was okay and that the shelter was livable for everyone before leaving on a trip that might take more than two or three days.

  There was also the question of who he would take with him when he went. He agreed with Mr. Holloway that it would probably be best not to go alone. It would be great to go somewhere like that with April; just the two of them traveling together like those magical first days after they met, but that was out of the question. April wouldn’t leave Kimberly behind for any reason, no matter who was taking care of her. It was a dilemma that bothered him sometimes, but April came with a child, and that was that.

  When he arrived back at camp she told him that Kimberly was already much better, and that her fever was gone. Benny wasn’t however, and everyone was worried about him. His coughing was constant, and he was feeling bad enough that he had finally stopped trying to work and was spending more time just sitting or lying around. He had instructed Jason on how to split the small logs for the roof purlins though, and David had helped Jason finish placing the larger rafter logs. Over the next couple of days, with Mitch’s full-time help, they finished the framework and began installing the metal roof panels.
They started each screw into the wood purlins by tapping it with a hammer; then it was a matter of manually driving them the rest of the way in with a screwdriver. They only had one screwdriver tip of the correct hex-head size, so they took turns; one driving screws while the other two held the panel in place. It took two more days to complete this, but when they were done the entire structure was greatly stiffened and felt much more substantial.

  “This is almost like a real house,” April said, admiring the roof.

  “Thanks to Uncle Benny it is. I would never have attempted anything this permanent if it were left up to me. I wouldn’t have known where to start.”

  “You would be fine with living under a tarp from now on,” Lisa said. “April, you wouldn’t believe how hard it was for Mom and Dad to get him to come inside the house every night after he got his first tent for Christmas. He wanted to live in it all the time.”

  “I doubt you’re even old enough to remember that, Lisa. Mom and Dad always exaggerated when they told that story.”

  “It sounds about right from what I know of Mitch,” April said. “I could live under a tarp too if we had to. But I’m glad we don’t. This is going to be much more comfortable!”

  “We still need sides on it though,” Stacy said.

  “Yeah, in the winter we do,” Mitch agreed. “It may be too hot in the summer all closed in. Uncle Benny has some ideas about how we can make the walls so they’ll be easy to remove when it’s hot. But with three sides and an open front where the fire is, we’ll be warm and cozy when it’s cold out.”

  “The main thing is that we’ll finally be dry, once we get those screw heads sealed,” Jason said. “That’s going to be awesome!”