The Days After (Big River) Page 9

  Louis pulled is wife close and kissed her. She said, “So, do you think Clay is in love with Angel?

  He said, “I don't know. I love you, go figure.” She gave him a hard pinch.

  “Ow-w,” he tried to say quietly. “Well, Angel would not be hard to love. Clay needs a partner.”

  “I like her, I hope it does work out between them.” Penny would find it difficult to bide her time and find a good opportunity to bring it up to her new best friend.

  “Now, could we talk about something important, like you and me?” he gave her another kiss.

  Two days later, Angel took her turn and guided the paddle wheeler. Clay roamed around the top deck, observed the shore and it's edges. Both of the women had become very competent at the helm and of course, Louis had been helping him out for a long time. He still found it a little difficult to be completely away when someone else steered the Annie. The wreckage of dead and abandoned water vessels had been far less since they moved onto the Missouri River. There had been no more storms, just an afternoon rain shower. One thing that was very evident was that the devastating tornado had skipped through some of these areas, touched the ground with it's whirling tube of destruction.

  He walked into the control hut and said, “Kill the paddles, Angel. Come down below, I want to anchor.” He went down the stairs, he and Louis anchored down, stern and bow. All four of them stood at the rail and looked out at the ruins of a what appeared to have once been a small community. It had been very close to the waters edge.

  “I have been up top and watched as we grew near this place. I have seen no signs of life and it is apparent that the tornado crashed through here. I see some items scattered around that might be useful to us,” said Clay. “I have this idea that Angeline and I should take the boat and go to shore. If it looks safe and if there seems to be anything worth scavenging, we will get what we can. Then, if you want to, Louis, you and Penny could go in...what do you think?”

  Penny looked at Louis and he said, “I think that sounds like a decent plan.”

  Angel, always the voice of caution, said, “What if there are dead people or hurt people, what if someone is buried in that mess?” Everyone just scanned the land side for a minute or two, silent.

  Louis said, “It's a possibility, of course. My guess is that the community was deserted before the storm. We would of course, go in well armed and very carefully.”

  As had become her habit she stiffened her spine and pushed down her fear, “Okay, give me the key to the gun closet, Clay,” she reached out her hand.

  The boat with the pair eased towards the rubble on the shore. The others, including Jacob and Allie with the sock monkey dangling from her hand, stood at the rail and watched them move away. Clay tied the boat off to a post that remained from a blown away pier. Angel turned and waved back towards the Annie Belle. They stepped onto the muddy skirt of the river, their rifles shouldered and their pistols drawn. Very gingerly, the pair began to plow through the piles of litter. There was a sniff of that unmistakeable dead smell, Clay dreaded to come upon the source. Then they saw the stiff and bloated body of a raccoon. Angel put her hand to her nose and backed up a step, she noticed that there were fish and dead birds and other small animals scattered around through the debris. No human remains, yet.

  In one area, layers of books, their pages fluttering in the breeze, laid askew. She picked up one, shook it and saw that it was a childrens book. A sick feeling came across her, was this a school? A library? They were both relieved when a little more scrutiny still did not uncover signs of people or children. Perhaps Louis was right, perhaps the town had been abandoned before the tornado. Angel said, “We need some sort of bag or box, something to gather up some stuff in.”

  Leaned up against a tree was a metal foot locker type trunk, it would hold quite a bit of loot. They dragged it down, emptied some trash out and began to toss items in. Here and there, a can of something poked from the trash, as long as the can wasn't busted, they picked it up. Angel collected some of the books, the children both enjoyed books. Clay poked around the scattered volumes, turned some over, pushed away the ones caked in mud. He found a murder mystery, a cook book or two, a thick book on medicines and home remedies and a thin book titled, The Haunted Places of Missouri. Face down in the mud was a newspaper dispenser. He turned it over, scraped mud off of the glass door and pried it open. About half a dozen daily newspapers with a date from a couple of months earlier, stacked inside. He found the one in the best shape and threw it in the trunk. He could hear the coins clanging around in the money box and thought, funny, the cash is the least useful thing around here.

  They continued to pick up a thing or two, included a big package of toilet tissue stored in a bathroom that still stood, even though everything around it was flattened. There was a medicine cabinet and they raked out all the contents, toothpaste, lip balm, band aids and anti-biotic salve, one bottle of prescription Penicillin with a date from five years ago. The foot locker was nearly full. They decided to take the trunk back to the paddle wheeler and let Penny and Louis come to the site.

  At the paddle wheeler, they hefted up the footlocker and took it into the cabin. Penny said “We would like to go in to shore and do a little exploring ourselves.” So, the locker was unloaded and put back in the boat. After about an hour, the scavengers returned. Louis had found some motor oil, a couple of small tools and filled a can with gasoline. They brought back a few more books and Penny uncovered a large deep cooking pot and some unbroken canning jars. She said with a little boiling, they would be perfectly useable. The days got a little longer as the Spring fluttered towards summer, so they decided to travel a couple of more hours up river, away from the unpleasant mess on the land.

  Anchored down again, with some rest time before the night watches, Louis sat at a table and was pleased to spread out the newspaper to read. Penny had boiled out her new cooking pot and she wanted to prepare her favorite spaghetti recipe for supper. There was only meat flavored sauce on their shelves, but she had canned mushrooms and would add her own touches. They still had some of their dry canned crackers. After the cook insisted that she needed no help, Angel picked out one of cook books that they found to peruse through, sat at the bar and shared them with Penny. Clay took the book about haunted places, leaned one of the chairs back against the wall and put his readers on. The children happily looked through the various volumes they had been given. Angel insisted that they put on some of disposable gloves and she gave them a towel with a squirt bottle of antibacterial spray, so they were intent on gently cleaning the covers of their books.

  Ever once in a while, Louis would say, hmphh-h, or how 'bout that, or just cluck his tongue. He mentioned that the story was there about the lessening of traffic on this part of the Missouri. He laughed and said, “Now, here's something.” He held the paper up, “It's a story about the strange happenings around the Wainwright Bridge and it says the bridge is near Jefferson City. I saw on the map that we will be going through Jefferson City, probably just another day upriver.”

  Clay laid his book down, “Yeah, I've been a little concerned because that is a good sized town. We will stick to our strategies. Anyway, who knows, maybe there will be some good folks there.”

  Louis said, “Well, the article says there are years of legends about hauntings, at the bridge and in other parts of the city. They go all the way back to a family being hung there during the Civil War.” He shook his head and smiled, “It makes me think of my mother. You remember Clay, how superstitious she was?”

  “Yes, I sure do, old friend,” he replied. He had known Louis parents, although, the mother had died while they were still in college. They were both good, hard working and intelligent people. His mother had been from Jamaica and she had grown up around a lot of voodoo and witchcraft. She would scoff at the weird beliefs or customs, but she secretly was a little afraid of such and definitely was a superstitious woman. She always pretty much forbade Louis to even participate in any Ha
lloween celebrations, told her young son, That's just plain ole devil stuff.

  His father, was not superstitious at all. He was very level headed and smart, though he had a limited education. The first time that his son came home crying because some clod called him a very nasty name, he sat him down and told him, “Boy, there are plenty of ignorant and cruel people in this world. Don't you go thinking that you are only or last person who will be made fun of. You are special to me and your momma, but you are not that special. I have heard folks put down because they are fat, because they are skinny, because they wear glasses...not only will you be looked down on because you have black skin, you will be put down because your skin ain't black enough. I don't ever want to hear you use some wrong minded person's opinion as an excuse to not succeed.”

  “Yes-sir,” had said the boy who greatly respected his father.

  “So, if someone or thing stands in the way that you planned to travel, you just find yourself another way to get there,” the father continued. “You are smart and you are good. I expect you to make me proud, just like you already have.”

  The memories were pushed away, Louis said, “There is something a bit strange. This newspaper is dated two months ago, not just a month ago when everything went haywire. Makes you wonder why the town would have been abandoned before the event or the tornado even happened. It has obviously been lived in, fairly recently.”

  Angel had caught part of the conversation, she walked over to the two men, “What do you think happened, Louis?”

  “I have no idea. Sugar and I found a storm shelter. We were afraid what we might find, but we opened it up...”

  “And?” questioned Angel.

  Penny left the spaghetti mixed and covered. She reached under the bar and brought out a towel wrapped around a bundle. She opened up the bundle and put some items on the table. “This is what we found.” A well worn bible, a silver cross that was about six inches tall and two primitive looking dolls lay there.

  Allie noticed and said, “Oo-oo, dollies.”

  Penny snatched her hand away and snapped, “No, don't touch those.”

  The small girl looked like she had been slapped and her lip quivered. Penny hugged her and immediately apologized, “I am sorry, sweetie. Those are not toys, though. I didn't mean to bite your head off. You have your monkey, you know.” Allie hugged up the stuffed toy and wandered back to her books.

  A big sigh escaped the woman, “Sorry...those two figures are some type of voodoo dolls. I am like Louis's mother; I don't believe in any of that crap, but I don't like it one bit. It is spooky and evil.”

  “It was just damn creepy, that stuff being down in there and nothing else, no one, no bodies. There really was not a single shred of evidence that anyone had been in that town, when the storm hit,” said Louis.

  “Could be some explanation, I guess. Maybe they all walked away, when the power and cars failed. I agree, it is a bit mysterious.” Clay removed his glasses, got up and paced around. “I don't want to throw any fuel on this little fire,” he just grinned at them all. “The book I was reading, told of weird happenings around that bridge...unexplained lights on the country road that goes over it, disappearances, at least three farmers over the years have been found dead under the bridge, cries and footprints in the mud that lead to nowhere.”

  He talked quieter, not wanting the children to hear. They all looked outside, where the light began to fade. Penny said, normal voice now, “Okay, I think that spaghetti is ready and we better get to supper. It will soon be watch duty time.”

  Clay said, “Yeah, I'm starved. By the way, we'll probably approach Jefferson City tomorrow. We will gauge our time though, try to move through in the very early morning, stick to our strategy of avoiding the night boogers” For just a moment, they exchanged nervous glances. Then Louis started guffawing and they all joined in. On to supper. Angel and Penny were actually going to take the first watch and the men would clean up after the meal and get the kids ready for bed.

  Later, the dark settled, no moonlight on this evening. The two women already made several rounds, passed each other on occasion. Angel leaned on the rail and Penny came up beside her. “So-o, girl, Louis said...”

  Angel jerked her head towards her friend and said, “Oh, damn that Louis!”

  Penny said, “Never mind Louis, tell me about you and Clay.”

  “I don't have to tell you, Clay is a good man. It makes me shiver to think where Allie and I would have been without him, this last month. And, that little girl just adores him. Still, we are all in a very unusual situation. I have no idea how he really feels,” said Angel.

  “You know how you feel. How do you fell about him?” asked Penny.

  She turned to the woman beside her that she had become so fond of, “I am hanging on by my fingertips and feel myself falling for him, farther each day.”

  “That's wonderful, sweetie pie. You just let nature take it's course.” She squeezed the hand on the rail.

  A rustling, scuffing sound drifted from the bow of the boat. Both women turned, they expected to see one of the men walk around the corner. No one appeared. Penny put her finger to her lips in a sh-h-sh gesture, she drew her pistol and edged along the cabin wall to the corner. Angel fell in beside her, hand on her gun. The small woman quickly stepped out at the corner, both hands leveled the .38. She shook her head back at Angel, when she saw nothing. They moved and when they reached the stairs to the top level, Angel led very cautiously up the steps. Even though it was dark, the top level seemed to be empty and the control hut was vacant. At the rails they walked all the way around, looked down at the walkway that circled the cabin. There was barely a breeze and just a ripple disturbed the water's surface.

  Penny whispered, “I know good and well that I heard something. Did you?”

  “Yes, definitely. Maybe it was an animal or bird. It's about shift change, let's go down.”

  They still looked nervously around as they entered the cabin. Louis and Clay were awake and checked their guns. The women told them the story and made sure that neither of them had been outside the cabin. They said they would do a double check, told them to go ahead and get some sleep. After a quick check of the kids, both went to their cots for a rest. Nothing was found by the men, even the daylight would reveal no signs of intrusion.

  Penny had climbed under the treasured quilt. The silver cross hung on the wall beside the two combined roll aways and the bible sat in the window sill. She sat back up, tossed off the quilt and got a small flashlight from the sill. She pulled out the bundle from under the bed. When the two raggedy figures dropped out, one had the arm disconnected and the light caught the large head of a pin that was imbedded in the other one's chest. Had the kids messed with them? Or did she just not notice that before?

  She tightly rolled the towel bundle back up. Her bare feet padded to the cabin door, Louis stood nearby, she peeked out, “Sugar, it's me...I didn't want to surprise you.”

  “What is it? Do you need something?”

  She nodded no and went to the rail. She flung the bundle as hard as she could and watched it slowly sink into the water. The two figures floated for a while but then drifted down river, sinking as they were eaten by the dark and the muddy water. Her partner put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head, he would ask no questions. His dad had never criticized or questioned his mother's beliefs and that is the respect he showed his wife.

  It only took a couple of hours the next morning to be as close as Clay thought they should get to Jefferson City, until they could use the early morning to move through. He stood on the top level and peered into the viewing scope. He saw a hazy form of a water tower and some tops of buildings above the trees. The telescopic viewer wasn't strong enough for him to see if any people moved around. He scanned the land on both sides of the river.

  At a distance on the starboard side, he spotted an old truss bridge. Hm-m, could that be the haunted bridge? Nah, just an old bridge. He did ponder for a bit on the
noise that the women insisted they heard the previous night. The two were pretty steady, they didn't just panic at every change in the wind. He didn't doubt that they had heard something. There just was not any sign that someone had boarded the boat. He was going to have to assume it was a bird or animal. They would stay in place for the afternoon and night, wait for the pre-dawn.

  Through the afternoon, they all moved around the boat, worked on what was needed. The weather wasn't pleasant. Not much of a breeze, the air felt heavy and it was quite warm, a taste of the hot days ahead. Penny walked up to the top level where Clay gazed through the viewer. She hung a few damp clothes on the line they had stretched between poles. Since there was no longer a canopy, the sun beat down. Penny said to Clay, “It's darn hot and not going to get cooler for a while, huh?”

  Clay said, “I don't think so, gal. We have the whole summer ahead of us.”

  “You know, I've been thinking that we really shouldn't cook any more than absolutely necessary in the cabin,” she said. “We sure don't need to be heating up our sleeping area.”

  “You are right. There's something else, we are nearly out of fuel for the stove. We do have one more bottle of propane for the fish cooker outside. I was hoping that we wouldn't be dodging bullets in this next city. We might be able to do some scavenging, find some more propane bottles. Maybe we could even find a bar-b-que pit, then we could cook outside,” said Clay.

  Penny said, “That's a good idea. Hey, the old man is a great bar-b-quer. Of course, we don't have any of those good thick steaks to grill, or hamburger or...”

  He interrupted, “There's another thing. We still have a long ways to go on this trip. Seems to me that it is time for us to start doing some hunting. My dad loved venison and game; Momma could cook up some very tasty dishes. I remember some of her ways of cooking the game.”