Day 31
Darlene passed in and out of consciousness.
“Her ribs are bruised but not broken,” she heard Herbert say. “She needs rest.”
“We need to go.” It was Rosemary, sounding about to break down and cry. “The further away the better.”
“Run to where, Ro?” Herbert was angry. Frustrated. Darlene could hear his patience was gone. She tried to open her eyes and talk to them but failed. She was so tired.
Her body felt like one big bruise. The fall off of the tree stand had been bad enough, but the stress of escaping and the physical part of having to walk so far over uneven ground had added to the pain. She felt every slight movement she made and willed herself to stop twitching. Try to go deep inside her head and not think about it too much. Not think about any of it.
Darlene cleared her mind; the pain still there but a distant pulse now. She couldn’t fully force it away, but she knew she could fall asleep. She tried to think of happy thoughts.
When she opened her eyes again she felt like she was going to vomit. She turned her head to the side and her stomach heaved, spewing whatever was in her onto the floor.
Her throat burned as well as the inside of her nose, an awful feeling.
Darlene mumbled an apology and fell back asleep.
She dreamed of a family gathering years ago in Colorado. Several generations of the Bobich and Talbot clans, all in one park. Grilling hamburgers and hot dogs. Drinking too many beers. Trying to play frisbee and softball, touch football and drinking games.
Mike Talbot was smiling at Darlene as she talked with her father, who was still alive. Still healthy and joking around with his sisters.
“Where are you, Darlene? We need to hang out again, cuz.” Mike grinned. “I’m sure you’ve heard the exaggerated tales about my exploits, only… I think the family has downplayed some of the craziness in my life.” Mike reached out a hand. “Wake up and eat… Darlene, time to eat…”
Darlene opened her eyes to see Pheebz with a steaming bowl of food. At the smell of the chicken soup, her stomach rumbled.
She slowly sat up, her head pounding. “How long have I been out?”
“Since last night,” Pheebz said. “It’s after one now. You took a beating. What happened?”
“Tee pushed me out of the tree and tried to kill me.”
Pheebz frowned. “Tee did that? Why?”
Darlene took a deep breath. Her sides hurt but she didn’t think her ribs were broken, which was a good thing. “Tee is Thomas Sawyer. A cousin of Dusty and Buck, I guess. He played us. We let him in and he led the attack on the farm.” She shook her head. “How stupid. I should’ve known he was too good to be true. Who knows how many of the Sawyers we had in our midst…”
“No. You can’t blame yourself,” Pheebz said. “We were all fooled. All of us.”
“It’s all my fault.” Darlene closed her eyes. “Everything I touch gets ruined.”
“Stop,” Pheebz said so sternly Darlene opened her eyes and felt like she’d been slapped. “Do you think we’re not feeling the same way? If you’re giving up, then so be it.” Pheebz stood and moved the bowl of soup away from Darlene. “Roll over and die. Be done with it already. The world is in turmoil and I have to think about my family. World War III has begun, according to the radio accounts. Ships off the coast. We might be invaded. But… you lie here and feel sorry for yourself while the rest of us figure out a game plan. Check out, Darlene. Toss in the towel. Just let me know now so I can go on with my life, as short as it might be.”
Darlene started to cry. “I’m sorry.” She sat up in bed and slid a foot onto the floor, testing whether she could stand or not. A wave of nausea overcame her and she forced bile back down.
“Lie back down and rest.”
“No. I need to contribute. Put the past in the past. Compartmentalize. Gain my strength.” Darlene slid both feet off the bed and stood, leaning against the bedpost for support. She smiled at Pheebz. “You can be tough when you want to. I like this side of you.”
“Try being married to Herbert for so long.”
“Hey, I heard that,” Herbert yelled from the kitchen. “If she’s not going to eat that soup, I’d like another bowl. No sense wasting good food.”
“I’m coming out there to eat it, old man,” Darlene yelled back.
“Maybe you should rest.”
Darlene shook her head at Pheebz. “I’m hungry and sore from falling from the tree stand, but I need to move around. Even if it hurts. I’m guessing we're not somewhere safe. I need to be able to move if need be. Am I right?”
Pheebz nodded and led Darlene into the kitchen. Terri was at the table with Herbert.
After a few quick pleasantries and everyone asking Darlene how she felt, they left her so she could eat in peace. It was slow going and Darlene cursed under breath because her hands were shaking so much as she tried to scoop up the soup with her spoon.
Herbert came back into the kitchen when Darlene was finished and attempted to stand again to put her bowl in the sink. He took it from her and told her to sit because they needed to talk.
“Thomas Sawyer?” Herbert shook his head. “He fooled all of us.”
Darlene sighed. “I let him right into your home.”
“Stop talking like that,” Herbert said. “What’s done is done. If we dwell on the past we’ll never have a future. We need to get you healed so you can travel.”
“Where are we going?”
Herbert looked at the sink, as if the answers were going to be found there. “Away from Chico. Maybe out of California. We’re too close to the hotspots.”
“You have a plan?” Darlene asked. “If this chaos is happening here, it could be happening everywhere. Without knowing what we’d be heading into…it’s insane to run just to run.”
Herbert nodded. “We can’t stay here. They’ll likely start going farm to farm to find out who escaped, and who has supplies. Now that they’ve boldly attacked my home, there’s no stopping them.”
“There is,” Darlene said quietly. “How much ammo do we have?”
Herbert put his head down. “I can’t risk it with the children.”
“And the womenfolk,” Darlene said and laughed.
“No, I didn’t mean it like that.”
Darlene chuckled. “I know what you meant. Just trying to lighten the mood and failing. Any word about John Murphy?”
Herbert shook his head. “Not a sign. For his sake, I hope he got far away. And kept going.”
“If we ran, where would we go? Do you have a destination in mind?” Darlene asked.
“To be honest, I’d never thought about leaving California. I like it here,” Herbert said. “I suppose we start heading east at some point. Except… I don’t want to walk into something bad and out in the open.”
“My family has a place in Colorado,” Darlene said, remembering something about her cousin Mike in a dream. “It’s a destination.”
“It’s also far away. Maybe we get you rested and then take a vote. See what everyone thinks.” Herbert began washing the dishes.