Day 2 - Wahkeena Falls Parking Lot, Oregon
Ike was well aware of the dire situation he was in. He was in no position to be positive. He had seen so much death in person and on television these past two days he was beginning to numb to it.
Leo had tried to comfort him, but Ike put on a big man act and pushed him away.
After a few words in private, Cade and Rawley approached the feverish, shaking, young boy.
Cade spoke first. “Ike, I’ve only known you for a couple of days so I’m having a hard time deciding how to put this. Out of respect for you I have to be blunt. You are going to turn into one of them soon,” he said, pointing at one of the unmoving corpses. “My question to you is, how do you want to handle it? You can do it by your own hand and on your own terms. Or if you want one of us to do it, or Leo....the choice is yours.” Cade walked over to one of the picnic tables and sat down, his head hanging as he struggled with the enormity of the situation.
Everyone remained silent for a full five minutes.
The muffled rushing water of Wahkeena Falls was the only sound. If there hadn’t been fourteen dead bodies, the stench of cordite and death hanging over the parking lot this splendid July day, it would have been a serene setting.
“Will I see Mom and Dad again?”
“Isaac Jerome Jackson, why do you think they dragged our butts to church every Sunday? There is a better place… and normal Mom and Dad will be there. Nana and Poppa will be with them waiting on us. You go check it out, I’ll be close behind.” Leo stopped breathing and held back tears before drawing in a deep breath and continuing, “I know that we will all be together soon.”
The shaking was getting exponentially worse; Ike’s skin glistened with sweat. Summoning the courage of ten men, he broke the silence and said, “I’ll do it myself.”
Not giving him time to rethink the monumental decision he had just made, Cade pulled his compact Glock 19 from the shoulder holster, removed the magazine, pulled the slide back to ensure there was one round of 9mm in the chamber and handed the pistol to him butt first.
Leo closed the distance and gave his brother a long drawn out hug.
Ike was failing fast and shaking uncontrollably. He pulled away from his brother, said a quiet tearful goodbye and disappeared around the front of the preschool bus.
It was barely ten seconds before the sharp report of the pistol made Leo start.
Cade walked purposefully around the bus. Ike had done it the right way; the back of his head was gone and there were powder burn marks around his lips. Death had been instantaneous. Ike was headed home.
Cade found beach towels inside the bus, retrieved one, and then out of respect covered the young boy’s body. Then the men foraged for rocks to cover Ike’s body with. They had little time to dig a grave, so this was the best they could do. The gorge had had a lot of volcanic activity in the past so it wasn’t hard to find enough rocks to fully conceal his small frame.
Leo uttered his final goodbyes privately. “I love you bro. I’m sorry it had to happen to you. See you soon.” He was sure to stack the last rock on his brother’s makeshift grave.
With tears streaming down his face, Leo trudged to the Sequoia and slumped in the passenger seat.
Cade retrieved two lengths of hose and the two five-gallon plastic water containers from the truck and threw one of each to Rawley. They siphoned enough gas from the bus to fill both containers.
Cade placed one of the containers into the Sequoia and conferred with Rawley. “With this fuel, I think we can make Biggs Junction. We should get there before nightfall if I-84 isn’t a parking lot.”
“We probably ought to find some more containers and poach as much gas as we can along the way. We’re driving a couple of thirsty rigs,” Rawley said, nodding his head at the two SUVs.