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“I have to find a doctor!” Sean reiterated to the group. All the members of the retreat were gathered in the living room of the cabin, while Allison had been laid on one of the cots placed in the kitchen next to the wood stove.
“It’s too dangerous!” Damian argued. “We have the medical journals and all the supplies we need here. It will take less time to read through them and figure out how to remove the bullet than it will to chase down a doctor. You guys were already ambushed once on back roads; you’re talking about going into town right into the lion’s den. You’re just asking for another ambush. That is assuming this plan of yours even works and you can find a doctor who is willing to leave his home.”
“We had always planned on bringing someone with advanced medical experience into this group. Now is as good of time as any,” Sean argued back. “I’m not asking anyone to come with me. Damian, you hold that position now, but it’s not your sister on her deathbed. Besides, my wife is pregnant as you all know. Who is going to deliver the baby? You, Damian? Are you going to read up on it in the medical journal?” Sean asked sarcastically. “What about you, Caleb? What if one of your boys gets sick? Are you going to rely on just figuring it out by ourselves?”
“I’m on your side on this Sean,” Caleb said defensively.
Damian wasn’t finished yet. “How do we know this random doctor is going to fit in with the group? How can we trust him? There is more at stake here then just your sister, Sean. We have the lives and well-being of our whole group to think about. You bring this guy out here and he sees how prepared we are. You give him food and supplies to take home. What happens when he runs out again? You know he is going to come back here knocking on our door for more. What if he tells a bunch of his starving friends from town and a whole gang of looters show up? What happens when word gets around town? All of a sudden, all our planning is for naught. We’ll be fighting off looters from now to eternity. Are you willing to risk it all?”
“We will cross that bridge when we get to it. We have plenty of food to bring a doctor and his wife into the group, and that’s what I intend to do, offer to let them stay on with us. My sister is running out of time while we sit here and argue. I say we put it to a vote.”
“Whatever,” Damian responded, irritated.
“Show of hands to allow Maria and me to go find a doctor for the group.” Sean was a little surprised when both his friends’ wives sided with Damian. Apparently they had taken the risks Damian brought up to heart. Regardless, it still passed.
It was quiet for a moment, when Randy broke the silence, “I’m going with you.” Emily shot him a look that could have melted ice.
“No, you’re not,” Brody cut in before Sean had a chance to respond. “You’ve got a wife and family here that need you, and you’ve already risked your life once today. I’m single and have the most experience with driving into dirty little villages that no sane man would enter.”
Damian joined in, taking Sean off guard. “I’m single too, and I’m not letting you guys have all the fun today.” He gave Sean a wink and a half-hearted smile. Sean smiled back and nodded. “It’s settled then. Let’s haul ass!” The next ten minutes was chaotic as everyone hustled to help out. Emily and Rose grabbed a fifty caliber ammo can filled with Lake City 5.56 green tip penetrator ammo and started reloading empty magazines from the earlier shootout. Randy went outside to top off the pickup’s gas tank while Damian got suited up.
Sean and Brody worked with Maria to locate doctors. Maria used a local phonebook to peruse the yellow pages for doctors’ names and then cross referencing their names in the white pages. Only about one in ten had their street address listed so Maria only found seven doctors’ addresses. Meanwhile, Sean and Brody searched the map of Tionesta for the streets they lived on. They were going to try and locate one of the doctors that lived on the outskirts of town first, hoping they didn’t have to actually enter town.
Randy burst through the door shaking the snow off his coat. “It’s snowing pretty good out there,” he stated matter-of-factly.
Sean looked over to see Maria putting her coat back on and quietly walked over. “Babe, I don’t want you to come on this one. I want you to stay and look after Allison.” He hoped that by bringing his sister into the discussion it would persuade her to stay behind, but she wasn’t fooled.
“There’s nothing I can do for your sister, and I’m coming with you!” she said forcibly.
Sean was just about to object when Brody wandered over after hearing their conversation. “I think it’s best if she actually comes along. You are going to have a lot better chance of getting someone to answer a door as a husband and wife as opposed to a burly six foot four guy dressed in tactical gear. Besides, she proved that she can handle her own today.” Maria smiled back at Brody’s praise, but Sean still wasn’t pleased with the idea. However, Brody’s perception on the matter made sense.
“Let’s go, guys. I don’t want to be driving down the streets of Tionesta in the dark,” Damian said, urging them to leave as he tucked a night vision scope attachment into his cargo pocket. Sean took the rifle scabbard off his pack and attached it to the Molle webbing on the back of his tactical vest, just in case they got caught up in another ambush with distance involved.
Sean walked into the kitchen and knelt down next to his sister. Her face was ashen and she still seemed to be breathing raggedly, but she had fallen asleep under three layers of blankets. “I’m not sure if you can hear me, but we’re going to get a doctor for you, kiddo. Hang in there and be strong. We’ll be back as soon as we can.” Sean brushed a strand of hair away from her face and stood up to leave. Maria had been standing in the doorway and Sean could see the tears forming in her deep brown eyes. “It’s going to be alright, babe,” he said as he walked over to her and took her hand. They crossed the living room, heading for the unknown.
As they were walking out, Sean pulled Randy aside and whispered in his ear. “Clean off the dining table and bring up all the medical supplies we have. Just in case things go bad for us or we aren’t successful in finding a doctor, I’d appreciate if you would start reading up on how to get that bullet out of her.” He pulled back and looked his friend in the eye.
“You got it,” Randy said genuinely.
IT WAS ALMOST DUSK as the group was driving towards the fourth name on the list. The first three homes had been abandoned with one of them burnt down to the foundation. Sean had spotted numerous brass casings littering the asphalt drive. Their shiny surfaces poking through the light coat of snow that was just starting to accumulate on the ground. It was disconcerting as Sean knew that it meant looters were hitting the outlying farms and properties surrounding Tionesta.
“Turn left here” he told Brody as Sean followed their route on the map in his hands. They were just entering the outskirts of the small town. There were houses on both sides of the road now which meant more darkened windows to focus on for threats. Brody picked up the pace a little. “It’s going to be the second road on the left,” Sean said pointing. They entered an upscale condo neighborhood and started looking at the brass house numbers attached above each garage. “Slow down... ok stop. It should be the third place on the right just ahead. The one with the red Mercedes parked out front. Let’s go, Babe.”
Sean and Maria exited the cab and walked forward as Brody jumped in the back with Damian and watched from the protection of the ballistic plates. As before, Sean knocked loudly on the front door.
“Hello! We need help, Dr. Sorenson! My sister has been shot and we need a doctor!” Sean thought he briefly heard some scuffling from inside but wasn’t sure. “Please, I beg you! We have food and supplies we can give you! She is going to die if you don’t help us! Please!” Sean saw a brief flutter from the curtains to his left but pretended not to notice. “I promise, we don’t mean you any harm! My wife and I will share our food with you if you’ll please just help us!”
There was a scraping sound as if someone was dragging a large piece of furniture away from the door. They could also hear what sounded like two voices arguing quietly. Sean folded his hands in front of him, trying to look as non aggressive as possible. The dead bolt clicked and the door was opened just enough for Dr. Sorenson to peek out.
He looked them up and down. “Where’s your sister?” he asked suspiciously.
“She is at our farm. We have been looking for a doctor for hours now, and she doesn’t have a lot of time.”
“Please help us,” Maria pleaded with him. “She’s only nineteen.”
“Where was she shot?” the man asked, softening his voice a little.
“It went through the fleshy part of her arm and into the side of her chest,” Sean showed him with his finger as he was talking. “I don’t think it hit her lung, but the bullet is still in there.”
“How’s her bleeding?”
“I used a Quick Clot bandage on her arm and the granules on her side, so the bleeding has stopped; but her face is really ashen, so I’m worried about internal bleeding,” Sean said concerned.
“As you should be,” he said. “You realize that I am not a surgeon. I’m only a general practitioner.”
“But you’re still a doctor,” Maria pleaded. “None of us have any advanced medical experience for this sort of thing. You’re our only hope.”
Mr. Sorenson looked back into the house for a moment before nodding his head and turning back. “If you want to bring her here, I’ll do what I can with the minimal surgical tools I have in my bag, but I’m not leaving my wife alone.”
“I would never ask that of you,” Sean started. “We have all kinds of medical supplies at the farm and would be happy to have your wife come along.”
“What kind of farm has all kinds of medical supplies and no doctor?” he asked suspiciously.
Sean saw the conversation going in the wrong direction and tried to quickly explain. “It’s not really a farm; it’s more of a retreat. A few friends of mine and our families have been putting things aside for the last few years, fearing something like this could happen to our country.”
“You’re one of those militia types, aren’t you?” he said, growing even more suspicious now.
“No, no, no!” Sean defended the group. “We’re just a small group of Christian families that saw the writing on the wall and had the intuition to plan ahead for hard times. We are in no way a militia.”
“I don’t know...,” Dr. Sorenson trailed off. He didn’t completely trust the two individuals before him, looking like they were dressed for war. He wondered if he was getting himself and his wife into a dangerous situation with possibly dangerous people.
“Please, my sister’s life depends on you. I know you want to help and I know you don’t trust us, but I promise you no harm will come to you two while you’re with us.”
“You say you have food?” Sean heard a woman’s voice from behind the door.
“Yes. We have food, water, supplies, extra guns and ammunition, silver, gold... whatever you want.”
“I’m still worried about leaving my wife behind. She has a pretty severe sprained ankle from stumbling around in the dark. I’m not sure how far away you live, and she can’t really travel like this.”
“That’s not a problem. We have transportation.” Sean stepped back from the door and pointed down the block at the truck.
Dr. Sorenson leaned his head out the door and looked where Sean was pointing; his eyes widened at seeing the pickup. That’s when Sean noticed the Louisville Slugger he gripped in his hand. Sean pretended not to see it, not wanting to make the man uneasy. He leaned back inside and said, “They have a truck,” to his wife.
“How do they have a truck?” Sean heard her say, incredulous, as the man shrugged his shoulders.
“What do you think?” he asked her in a whisper. Sean didn’t hear her response but a moment later he responded. “Ok. Let me grab my bag,” he said as he shut the door and locked it again.
“Make sure you dress warm!” Sean yelled through the closed door. Maria looked up at him and smiled in relief. A few minutes later, the door opened once more and the two of them emerged with the woman hobbling on her bad ankle. Dr. Sorenson set his bags down and locked the door behind him.
“They’re probably going to loot my place while I’m gone, you know,” he said to no one in particular.
“We’ll replace anything worthwhile that they take,” Sean promised. Sean guessed they were in their early fifties and both looked gaunt as if they hadn’t eaten in a while. “My name is Sean and this is my wife, Maria.”
“Pleased to meet you.” The man took Sean’s outstretched hand, easing his nervousness. “This is my wife, Kathy, and you can just call me Darren.”
“Okay Darren, let me grab those bags.” Sean picked up the two bags for the man who offered a nod in thanks for the help. Maria offered to help Kathy along and she graciously accepted by placing her arm over Maria’s shoulder. They started to slowly make their way back to the truck when Sean saw Brody vault over the side and jump in the driver’s seat, pulling the truck up to meet them.
“We gotta go, guys!” Damian said urgently from the bed of the truck. “We’ve had unfriendly eyes on us since we pulled up.”
Darren reached for the front passenger door, but Sean stopped him. “We were hoping that you guys would ride in the back, okay?”
Darren looked confused. “I figured I’d be riding in the back, but she needs to ride up front where it’s warm.”
Sean tried to rationalize with the man without explaining his real reasons. “Actually, I need to sit passenger so I can fire out the window if needed.”
“Ok, so she can ride in the middle, right?” he retorted quickly.
Sean hesitated. “I’m not trying to be a jerk, but I have my reasons.”
“Which are?” Darren crossed his arms across his chest implying that they weren’t going anywhere before he got an explanation.
Sean sighed. “We have blankets for the people in the back to lie down, cover up, and stay warm. I don’t want you to see how we get to the farm or how we bring you home. When you get back here, if you tell your friends or neighbors about us or the amount of food and supplies we have, the word will spread. That puts our farm and families in jeopardy. We will have looters and beggars showing up from now till next Christmas. The beggars I can take, but the looters and takers pose a threat and I can’t risk that.”
“We would never tell anyone,” Darren seemed offended.
“Willingly,” Sean responded. “What if they forced it out of you? Or worse yet, what if they forced it out of your wife after you’re dead.” Darren looked at him incredulous. “The last place we came from was burnt down by looters. You think it’s bad now; it’s only going to get worse.”
“Let’s go guys!” Damian cut their discussion off urgently. “I wasn’t joking when I said we have multiple eyes on us right now! No more discussion, you two are either coming or not, be we have to leave right now!” Damian reached down and dropped the tailgate reaching out his hand to Darren trying to urge him on.
“Come on, honey,” Kathy said to her husband. “It makes sense what he is saying and they want to leave.”
Darren reached up and took Damian’s hand to be pulled up into the bed of the truck, followed by Kathy. Maria was sliding across the passenger’s seat next to Brody when the door next to Darren’s garage door opened and a man walked out.
“Threat right!” Sean yelled as he pulled his SU-16 up to his shoulder causing the man to freeze and put his hands in the air.
“Don’t shoot him!” Kathy yelled. “That’s our neighbor.”
“Please mister, I don’t have a weapon,” the man said as he lifted up his coat and turned in a circle to show he was unarmed. “I heard you say you have food earlier. I have a wife and two little girls inside and we haven’t had anything to eat for a week. I beg you, please! We’ll take anything you can spare.”
Sean hesitated for a moment, and then relented when he saw the two little girls peeking out from the window. They looked like Randy’s little ones. “Damian, grab the MRE’s and Mountain House meals out of the top of my pack.”
Damian huffed, then dropped his rifle to his side and started rummaging through Sean’s pack pulling out the meals. He tossed them into the yard in front of the man who rushed forward to pick them up.
“Threat left!” Damian yelled from the bed of the truck. Sean swung his rifle around as the neighbor across the street was now standing in the doorway.
“Brody, get us the hell out of here!” Damian yelled as he pulled the tailgate up. Sean jumped into the passenger’s seat and slammed the door. Other people were starting to come outside now as Brody pressed the gas. They only got about a hundred yards down the road when they were greeted by a cul-de-sac. Brody quickly turned the pickup around in a wide arc, causing the wheels to squeal as Sean rolled down his window and pulled his Glock 19 from his leg holster. They made their way back towards the road they came in on. Apparently the man never made it back to his house and was trying to fight off nearly a dozen of his neighbors. Sean saw a man pull a hammer out of his back belt and smacked Darren’s neighbor in the back of the head before Sean could react. Sean could hear Kathy screaming as he fired a few rounds into the air as they passed. He didn’t aim for the man, worried about hitting one of the others in the throng of bodies. They all hit the ground briefly, but Sean could see they were already back up and fighting before the truck even made the end of the block.
Just as they turned onto the main road, Sean heard a gunshot from the direction of the fight behind them. Brody spun the tires as they drifted back onto the main road headed for home. Sean slowly rolled up the window and re-holstered the Glock. “I can’t believe what just happened,” Sean said dismally. “I didn’t...”
“You couldn’t have known that would happen,” Brody said consolingly.
“Just get us home,” Sean responded bitterly, not wanting to discuss it further. Maria grabbed his arm and put her head on his shoulder. He remembered back to when he had described to his coworkers how dangerous life would be if you stayed in the city. What just transpired would have been a perfect example.