Another 20 Miles Read online

  "Oh, hi … Mr. Marshall, right? My name is Taylor Livingston. I live on the other side of Roger … Roger Harrison, your neighbor. I know we haven't met yet. My wife and I moved in like a year ago and we're always gone. Work, ball games, karate, dance classes — we have three kids and there's always something going on." He was talking non-stop and sounded nervous. Elliott relaxed a bit and held his hand out.

  Ethan had stepped out into view behind his father. "Elliott Marshall. This is my son, Ethan. What can we do for you, Taylor?"

  Taylor set one of the jugs down, shook Elliott’s and Ethan's hands, then continued. "I was talking to Roger this morning and he mentioned you had a hand pump on your well. I was hoping I could trouble you for some water. Just a couple of gallons would really help. We finished off the milk this morning." He held up the jugs which still had spots of milk inside. Elliott shook his head.

  "Not until we clean those out. Come on inside. I've got some water on the wood stove we can clean them up a bit." He stepped back and allowed Taylor into the house. When he got inside, his eyes went wide.

  "Oh my, it's quite cozy in here. You are so lucky you have a wood-burning stove. Oh, hello." He addressed Aaron and Cameron who were watching from the kitchen. "I'm Taylor."

  "My grandsons, Aaron and Cameron. And yes, I'm real glad I have the stove, especially now. Come on in the kitchen. Let's see if we can't clean those out." He led the way to the kitchen sinks.

  Taylor's eyes scanned the kitchen, then he watched as Elliott poured the leftover warm water in the kettle into one of the jugs. He capped it and gave it a good shake. He poured the water out and smelled the jug. He did that three times before he was satisfied. When it appeared he was, he filled the jug from the water container on the counter. He handed it to Taylor and repeated the process with the second one.

  "You want to make sure those jugs don't have anything in them when you get your water. If they aren't clean, they can grow bacteria that will make you or your family sick. You don't want to get sick right now. It's better not to even use jugs that had milk in them, but I don't reckon anyone can be too picky right now."

  "Yes, sir, I'll do that. That water container you have there is awesome. You wouldn't happen to have any extras around we could borrow, would you?"

  Elliott's eyes darted to his grandmother's table in the corner to make sure the tablecloth was pulled down. "No, I'm sorry, I don't have any spares. I might have an extra gallon jug or two out in the barn you could have. I'll check and have them ready for you next time."

  "That would be great. I don't know how to thank you, Mr. Marshall. We were really starting to panic about the water. I wish we had a setup at our house like you have here. We have a wood-burning fireplace, thankfully, but that's about it, and not a lot of cut wood for it. We have no water, our stove is electric — if it wasn't for the barbecue grill, we wouldn't even be able to cook. When the propane runs out, we'll be in trouble. Once our food is gone, I just don't know …" He let the sentence hang unfinished.

  Elliott didn't know the man well enough to know whether he was fishing for a hand out or not, so he just replied, "Well, keep those jugs and any other containers you can get. I can at least help you out on the water part. Come by tomorrow and we'll fill them up again."

  "I will, I surely will. Thank you again." With a full gallon jug in each hand, he turned to leave. They all followed him to the door. Cameron hurried ahead and opened it for him. Taylor smiled and nodded as he stepped out into the frigid day. Cameron closed the door behind him and locked the deadbolt back.

  Looking at his grandfather, he said, "I'm glad you helped him, Pap, and that you didn't have to shoot him. See, I knew there were still nice people out there."

  Elliott had a grim look on his face. "Yes, he's nice and polite now. What will he be like in a week or so when their food is gone and his kids are starving? It won't be a good situation."

  "Well, can we give them some food, too? I don't want any kids to starve." The look on Cameron's face was concern mixed with pain.

  "Do you want to starve?" Elliott asked him. "We don't have that much either, Cam, not when you look at how long it has to last. We have to get almost to summer before we can grow more. We may even need to ration what we have to make sure it lasts."

  "Well, that sucks. There's got to be something we can do," Aaron said. "Maybe we could go hunting; give them some meat. That would probably help. Taylor didn't look like the hunting type."

  Elliott had a sad smile on his face. "I love that you boys care about others like you do. We'll see about getting them some meat. Just know this: if it comes down to you guys or Taylor's kids eating, I'm going to pick you. Period. End of discussion. I won't put your lives in jeopardy in the future by giving away what we have now. We'll be lucky if it lasts three months once your mom and the rest of them get here. That's not long enough. We can't plant until April at the earliest. Then we'll need probably two months before we see any food from the garden. We'll definitely be hunting so we can add to what we have. We can help them with water, maybe some wood. I doubt we'll be able to do much else unless we get a lot of meat."

  Aaron put his arm around his grandfather's shoulders. "I know you'll do what's best for all of us, Pap. Just let us know what we can do to help."

  "Well, right now you can go draw up some more water. Between the laundry and cleaning out those milk jugs, we went through a good bit."

  Cameron put his coat on and grabbed the two empty containers. As he was headed for the door he said, "Pumping all this water, I'm going to have some killer guns before this apocalypse is over."

  Elliott turned to Ethan. "Speaking of guns, let's get you set up. I want you armed all the time. If things get ugly, I'll need backup."

  "Sure, Dad. Do you think things are going to get bad?"

  Leaning in, Elliott replied quietly, "I guarantee you they will."

  Chapter 11

  Joel had met Teddy Peterson at the Moose Lodge some years before. They had struck up a conversation and found out they lived very close to each other, with Teddy living just south of the Chambers on North Chatham Pond Circle on the other side of the pond that was close to Joel and Lauri. They had remained friends even after they both drifted away from the lodge. Teddy was crude and not to Lauri's liking, so he and Joel got together every month or so for a guy's afternoon to fish or drink beer, and sometimes both, weather permitting.

  Teddy was an avid gun collector. He owned at least fifty, from handguns to shotguns to rifles. He had something that would shoot pretty much any standard caliber and a few odd ones. He knew them all, had shot them all, kept one on him at all times, and had some strategically placed around his house. Teddy had been divorced for years. He had three kids, all girls, who were spread out around the country with families of their own. He lived alone, and he liked it that way. He had given Joel a spare key to his house though. He felt like someone else should be able to get in if something happened.

  Teddy was also a heavy smoker. He had developed COPD as a result and was on oxygen full time. That didn't stop him from smoking though. He'd pull off the cannula, shuffle out to the garage, light up, and cough violently the whole time he was smoking. When Joel had asked him why he didn't just quit, especially when it caused such discomfort, Teddy had replied, "Quitting now won't fix anything. I'm dying anyway. I'd rather die happy."

  Joel told his family about Teddy and why he wanted to go see him. "He's getting close to the end. The last time I was there he was using a walker to get around. Home health service people were coming in two or three times a week to help out with cooking, cleaning, that kind of thing. I'm pretty sure we can buy some guns from him. He won't want anybody to steal any of them, and I don't know for sure if he could stop that now. I was one of the very few people who even knew about them. Hell, I might be the only one who knows about all of them. I want to check in on him, too. Will, are you ready?"

  "Here, take some of these cereal bars and the little juices Carly brought. Don't leave
on an empty stomach." Lauri handed out the food and drinks to everyone.

  "Do you mind if I tag along, Mr. Chambers?" Amanda asked after taking a sip of the juice. "Not saying you don't know about them, but I know a good bit about firearms and may be able to help you pick out the best ones for our needs."

  "I think that's a great idea," Will said.

  "Yeah, I just bet you do," Carly retorted with a smirk.

  Will screwed his eyes and forehead into a scowl as he glared at his sister. "No comments from the peanut gallery." He turned back to Joel. "What do you think, Dad?"

  Joel replied, "I think it's a great idea, too. I was actually going to suggest it myself. None of us know much about them, so I'd be grateful for some expert advice."

  "Well, I don't know that I'd say I'm an expert, but I know a good gun when I see one."

  "I guarantee you're an expert compared to us," Will said. "I've never even held one, much less shot one."

  "Seriously?" Amanda stared at Will then the rest of them in turn.

  Carly shook her head. "We don't hunt. Well, my father-in-law does but none of us here."

  "Guns aren't only for hunting," Amanda went on. "They're for protection as well."

  Carly looked at her blankly. "Protection from what?"

  "Robbers, muggers, rapists, attempted murder …" Amanda let the list die there. "I mean, Memphis is not exactly a safe place."

  Carly shrugged. "Well, none of those things have ever happened to me, or to any of us for that matter. I mean, that's why we have police, right? Isn't it their job to protect us from that kind of thing? They wear guns, so we don't have to." Carly smiled, pleased with herself.

  Joel interceded. "Carly, we've never had to call the police, thankfully, but do you know when people call them?"

  "When something happens, like a robbery."

  "Right. After it happens. By the time the police get there, the crime has already been committed." Joel watched his daughter to see if she understood what he was saying. He thought he saw the light bulb, so he went on. "Will told us yesterday that people were shooting at each other at the Kroger right beside the police station and no police showed up. Even if we could call them, which we can't, how would they get here? Their cars don't work either. There is no protection for anyone right now unless they provide it themselves. That's what we're going to do."

  He turned to Will and Amanda. "Ready?"

  They nodded and headed for the door. With his hand on the knob, Joel turned back to Lauri and said, "Please don't give away all of our food while I'm gone. Promise?"

  Lauri crossed her arms with a huff. "I'm not promising anything. I'd suggest you hurry."

  Will and Amanda laughed as Joel chuckled. "Let's get a move on, you two. The sooner we get there, the sooner I can get back and keep an eye on her."

  The walk to Teddy's place wasn't far— only about a half mile straight there. But it was still bitterly cold, and there had been some slight melting which made the snow slick. They took their time in hopes that no one would fall and get hurt. As Joel reminded them, there were no ambulances to call for help now.

  As they passed it, they saw that the pond was frozen. Will looked at it for a moment, then to his father. "Are people really going to have to drink water out of there? God only knows what has been thrown in there over the years."

  "If they don't want to die, yes," Joel said. "You can purify any water source — well, almost any. I don't think I'd want to be downstream from a sewage treatment plant, especially now that all those services are going to go down."

  "Think about that. No more toilet flushing. Are we all going to dig big ass holes in our backyards and build outhouses?" Will shook his head. "How long would it take to dig a hole that deep? And how deep would it need to be? Are there even people still alive who know the answers to these questions?"

  Joel smiled. "Fortunately, that's not something we'll have to worry about once we get to Elliott's. He's on a septic tank. As long as you have water, you can flush toilets and not worry about it backing up on you."

  "When my dad was alive, he used to take me ice fishing," Amanda said. "He had a shanty he'd drag out on the lake once it froze good and leave it out there all winter. We had a toilet," she made air quotes as she said it, "inside the shanty. It was a five-gallon bucket, a trash bag, and toilet seat. It wasn't much but it served the purpose. Could be people will go to something like that."

  "That sounds a lot better than the alternative," Will replied.

  "Which is?" Amanda asked, one eyebrow raised.

  "Doing it in the backyard like the dog." Will grimaced as Amanda laughed. Her laugh made him smile. It lit up her face like a light was shining on it. He was becoming more enthralled by the second.

  "I don't even want to think about what folks in big cities are going to be dealing with real soon. Just try to picture some place like Atlanta, with millions of people continuing to try to use toilets that no longer work. Disease from contaminated food and water will likely kill off a bunch of folks." Joel had a sad look on his face. "This place won't be immune. We have to get out of here, and soon. I still haven't figured out how."

  "You will, Dad. How much further to your friend's house?"

  "It's just up ahead." He pointed to a single-story home about a hundred yards away. They hurried their pace.

  When they got to the door, Joel knocked loudly and called out, "Teddy? You home? It's me, Joel. Got my son and a friend with me."

  There was no answer. Joel tried again with no success. He turned to Will and said, "Go around the house and see if you can see in anywhere." Will nodded and headed out.

  "I'll look the other direction," Amanda added. She left as well. Joel knocked again, calling out as loud as he could. One of Teddy's next-door neighbors stepped out his front door, wrapped in a thick blanket.

  "I don't think he's home," he offered. "We tried to check on him yesterday and there was no answer."

  "Ah, okay, thank you." The man nodded and went back inside. Joel pulled out his key ring and found the key to Teddy's house. He unlocked the door as Will and Amanda were coming back.

  "Can't see inside anywhere. Everything is covered."

  "That's alright. I have a key," Joel said as he turned the knob.

  "Then why didn't you do that in the first place, Dad?"

  "Because a man needs his privacy, and I wanted to make sure … well, you never know who might be in there … you know, with him …" Joel was turning red. Will grinned as Amanda giggled.

  "Never mind," Joel said gruffly. "Come on. Let's see if he's okay."

  As they entered the house, the first thing they noticed was that it wasn't much warmer inside than out. After quickly checking the living room and kitchen, Joel led the way to the bedroom and found Teddy in his bed under a mound of blankets. Joel called out to him.

  "Teddy, are you okay? Teddy?" He walked slowly into the room as he spoke. He was hit with the smell of urine and feces the closer he got to the bed. Fearful of what he might find, he gently pulled the blankets up from the pillow, which allowed the smells to permeate the room. Will and Amanda both covered their noses. Fearing the worst, he reached a tentative hand out to check for a pulse in the carotid artery. Just as he was assuring himself he had felt one, though very weak, Teddy opened his eyes slightly.

  "J-Joel? Is that you?"

  Joel smiled. "Yes, it's me. Here, let me help you sit up. Will, go see if there's any bottled water in the kitchen. Amanda, can you check the bathroom for washcloths and towels?" They both nodded and hurried off to perform their assigned tasks, thankful they could leave the room and get to some less foul-smelling air elsewhere in the house.

  Teddy looked at Joel, eyes filled with sadness and shame. "I'm sorry you have to see me like this, Joel. It got so cold and I didn't have the energy to start a fire. I just came to bed and covered up with everything I could find. I slept for a long time. When I woke up, I didn't even have the strength to get out of bed. I was just so cold, so cold …"
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br />   "It's fine, Teddy. We'll get you fixed up." Joel lifted the blankets and found that the majority of the mess was contained in Teddy's pajamas. Will came to the door and stopped.

  "I found some water, Dad. What do you need now?" He was trying desperately not to gag.

  "Go see if you can get a fire started, son. I'll let you know if I need you again." He pulled the walker over close to the bed. Will headed back down the hall, meeting Amanda on the way.

  Leaning in, he whispered, "Take a deep breath before you get to the room. Like somewhere in this area." He indicated the space they were standing in.

  "That poor man," Amanda whispered back. "I can't imagine being alone during this whole thing, much less being sick and alone. Thank you, Will." She reached up and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you for bringing me home with you."

  Will smiled at her. "Most welcome. Don't forget that deep breath." He continued down the hall, raising his hand to touch the spot she'd kissed. He peeked back over his shoulder and saw her watching him with a big grin on her face. He turned red and hurried into the living room. He thought he heard her giggle, but he didn't go back to find out.

  Amanda got to the door and called out, "Knock, knock!" She wasn't sure what state of undress Teddy might be in by that time and didn't want to embarrass him further.

  "Just set them on the dresser by the door, Amanda," Joel replied quickly from inside the room. "I'll take it from there. You could go see if you can find him something to eat. We'll be out in a bit."

  She took the hint that she shouldn't go in and reached around the door jamb to set the linens down. She hurried back down the hall to the kitchen. The open floor plan of the living area made it possible for her to see into the living room. Will had a small fire going in the fireplace. She started going through the cabinets. She found a few cans of soup, Vienna sausages, potted meat, crackers — typical bachelor food for an older man who lived by himself and probably didn't have the energy to stand and cook. She pulled some of everything out and set it on the counter.