Regeneration (Mad Swine Book 3) (22 page)

My eyes snapped opened and I sat up
straight in the rocker. Sometime while I slept, Lara, Mrs. Cleona,
or whomever had morning watch, had come out and draped a thick
patchwork quilt over me. Throwing off the thick blanket, I ran down
the front porch to the oak tree and relieved myself. The morning
was cool and my urine was warm enough that a light steam rose from
the puddle.

Cody nudged my leg as I finished
zipping up and chuffed at me. His brown eyes stared at me and I
felt as though the dog was speaking to me with his baby browns.

“Yeah, I know, I’m hungry, too,” I
told the dog.

Outside, I could smell the aroma of
bacon frying in a cast iron skillet and my mouth started to water.
There would also be eggs, thick country gravy, and maybe even
biscuits. The food was much better here than at Randall Oaks, that
was for sure. A country mile better.

Feeling a little better, knowing
today would be the day Matt returned, I raced Cody up the steps to
the screen door. The dog beat me, but not by much. Inside, the
smell was intoxicating. Stopping to kick off my boots and say good
morning to Maureen and Stanley who were sipping their morning
coffee in the living room—and probably making out when no one was
looking—I went straight down the hall to the pantry where I set a
double scoop of dry food into Cody’s bowl.

He sniffed the kibble and then looked
up at me with his sad eyes.

“Sorry, bud. Maybe Mrs. Cleona will
give you bacon drippings after breakfast.”

Ian and Justin were sitting at the
table eating their breakfast. Lara was in the middle of setting up
a tray to bring out to the communal kitchen out by the ranch
quarters. Mrs. Cleona was stirring up her gravy, as expected.

“Good morning,” I said, taking a seat
at the table.

“Good morning,” Justin said.

“Top o’ the morning to ya,” Ian said
and winked. He knew I was enthralled with his Irish accent and turn
of phrase.

Lara kissed the top of my head and
placed a hand on my shoulder. “Good morning, champ. Nice to see you
socializing. Did you feed Cody?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said. “But I think
he’s waiting for leftovers.”

“Well, don’t be feeding him your
scraps,” she said and ruffled my hair. “You’re a growing boy and
you need to eat all of your breakfast.”

“I won’t.”

“I’m going to take this over to the
ranch but I’ll be back shortly,” Lara said. With the tray in hand,
she looked at Ian and Justin and said, “I’ll need you two to make a
perimeter check as soon as you fill your bellies.”

“Aye, captain, general, sir,” Ian
said, making us laugh.

“
Meas
buachaill
,” Cleona said, and rapped a knuckle
against the back of his head.

“I always show respect, ma,” Ian
said.

Placing a plate of scrambled eggs,
fried potatoes and bacon in front of me, Mrs. Cleona smoothed down
my unruly hair. “Eat and grow strong, little one.”

“Thank you,” I said and gave her my
best smile.

Breakfast was the best I’ve ever had,
even before the crazies came and changed our lives. I sat at the
table for almost an hour, accepting seconds. Ian and Justin went on
their errands. Jenna, Joshua and Krista joined me later, and after,
Deirdre and Nora sat with me for a while, washing down their
breakfast with hot black coffee.

After breakfast I set out to do my
chores. Cody followed me out to the stable where I went about
feeding and watering the horses. I couldn’t help but notice the two
empty stalls where Meredith and Beauty should have been. While I
mucked out the stalls, Cody played near the goats, running up and
down along the fence, barking and doing his best to frighten them.
Nora wouldn’t allow this, as she said he might frighten the kids to
death, but I had my doubts about that.

Near midday, Jenna came with some
glasses of ice water, and to check my work. Although caring for the
horses was my responsibility, I was still learning and Jenna was an
excellent teacher. Jenna’s hair was long and blonde, almost white,
and she always seemed to smell like peaches or strawberry.

“Nice job on the stalls, Wesley,”
Jenna said.

I watched her as she peered into each
of the stalls. She wore dark blue jeans and a white cable-knit
sweater under her barn coat. She was so pretty to look at that
sometimes my breath caught in my throat.

“No ammonia smell. Dry hay. Pretty
soon you won’t need me out here.”

I blushed at her high praise.
Following her, I watched as she inspected the horses, checking
their eyes, teeth, and legs for cuts or bruises. From her back
pocket she produced a hoof pick. Using the small tool, she gently
lifted each hoof, picking at the dirt and stones, checking the fit
of each shoe. As she worked, she talked, but I only heard about
half of what she was saying. Mostly I just smiled and nodded,
mesmerized by her.

Jenna was midway through her hoof
inspection when Krista came at a run, almost taking a dive when she
burst into the stable. “They’re here!” she exclaimed, breathless
from her run. “Come on, what are you waiting for?”

I looked over at Jenna who smiled at
me and shouted. “Last one there shovels manure for a week!”

* * *

It was just before noon when we saw
the caravan at a distance, making their way down the main road onto
the farm, the long line of vehicles getting closer by the second.
Breathless from running, Jenna and I stood under the oak tree with
the rest of our family and friends gathered around. She held my
hand in hers, and I could feel her pulse beating as fast as my own.
Even now, as I write this, I remember both the excitement and
devastation of that day.

Sam and Kat were among the first of
the caravan to arrive. Together, the women stepped out of the white
van, holding hands. They looked at us, a group of old friends they
had not seen for months, and many strange faces of those they had
not yet met. Letting go of Jenna’s hand, I bolted from the group,
calling out their names as I ran to them.

On her knees, Sam caught me in an
embrace and hugged me so tight I felt my back crack and I almost
couldn’t breathe. Kat joined in on our hug and soon both women were
planting kisses all over my face.

“We missed you so much,” Kat said,
finally.

I noticed the scar, an old wound, but
I also noticed fresh cuts and bruises, as though she’d recently
been in a fight. Reaching out, I gingerly touched her chin, turning
her cheek slightly so I could get a better look at her wounds.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

Kat grabbed my hand and gave it a
squeeze. “Don’t worry about me, my sweet boy. I’m fine. You should
see the other guy,” she said and winked.

The next half hour was a whirlwind.
There were introductions, new people, from Providence of all
places. That was an interesting story. Sam and Kat explained as
quickly as they could to Lara and Justin and the rest of us who
fought against these men and women. My mom and dad died in that
war.

It wasn’t until Nora and Deirdre
walked past me with Meredith and Beauty that I realized I had not
seen Matt or Brian since the caravan arrived. I asked Sam about
them and she was silent for a moment. Finally, she sighed and said,
“We have to talk.”

I felt my stomach drop and my mouth
suddenly went dry.

She looked at Lara now and said, “All
of us. Get all your leaders together. We’re going to have company
soon. The unwelcome kind.”

* * *

Fully realizing she did not answer my
question about Matt, I followed the group of women to the
cellar—the command post—where we were joined shortly by Ian and
Justin and a few other folks. I stood off in the corner and kept
quiet, surprised I had not already been sent off or told to sit
with Mrs. Cleona.

Sam and Kat took a few minutes to
accept welcomes from the men and women who had not seen them in
three months. No one commented on Kat’s scratches or bruises. They
must have figured she’d gotten them along the road. Besides, Sam
and Kat had said we were going to have unwelcomed visitors and even
I knew now was not the time to ask after Kat’s wounds.

After the quick reunion, Sam told us
what had happened in the last twenty-four hours. She told us about
the attack on the community and how they used the crazies to cause
a diversion, and how Kat was taken during the raid. She told us
about their mission to rescue Kat from the marauders. She explained
that these were the same people who they rescued me and my family
from so long ago and that these men and women have been using their
tactics to kill people like us to take their supplies and sometimes
even their people. These bad men and women sent the man here who
killed Kieran and now they had their eyes set on us. Sam said they
would be on their way soon.

As I sat listening from the corner, I
could feel my heart racing. I couldn’t have said a word, even if
I’d wanted. I kept remembering how Kieran looked—pale and covered
with blood—when they brought his body back. These people killed a
boy for nothing. These people used crazies to kill good people just
so they could take what they wanted. They took Kat and did
unimaginable things to her and now they were coming here.

“So where are Matt and Brian?” Justin
asked. “If this is about to jump off, where the hell are they?”

“We knew they would be coming, so
Brian and a contingent group stayed behind to set up some
explosives to try to do as much damage as possible, and to keep
them off our ass for as long as possible. We heard the explosives a
while ago…we don’t know if there are any survivors there.”

“Jesus,” Lara said and grasped Sam’s
arm. “Was Matt with them?”

Sam shook her head. “No,” she
said.

Collectively, there was a sigh that
went around the room. I was still shaken by everything I’d heard,
but this was good news.

“Thank God,” Lara said. “Where is
he?”

“He should be here soon,” Sam said.
“We had some trouble on the road after the explosion. The noise or
vibrations must have got the things active. They came at us from
all sides, but we were able to take care of business for a while.
Matt sent as many of us ahead as possible.”

“You left him there?” Lara asked.

“It was his call,” Sam said. “He
didn’t want those things following us home. And he wanted us to
start digging in here, setting up defenses.”

Kat came forward now and put her hand
on Lara’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Lara, he’ll be here soon. Your
man walked through a whole army of men to save my pretty ass and
we’re here to tell the tale. If anyone survives this damn world,
it’s Matt Danzig.”

“And he’s not alone, honey,” Sam
said. “Matt has a group of good people with him. More than ten
strong. He’ll be back, don’t you worry.”

That was easier said than done. If
something happened to him before I had a chance to apologize to him
about my behavior last I saw him, I could not forgive myself.

* * *

The next two hours passed slowly for
me, although everyone around seemed to be operating in a hyped up
state. Lara, Sam and Kat were directing troop placements, picking
what they felt were the most strategic spots that would give them
the biggest kill zone. Joshua and I were getting our exercise,
setting up each of the fighting positions with cover. Lifting the
bales of hay and bags of feed was hell on our backs, but we weren’t
complaining. The younger girls, Nora and Deirdre, as well as the
other kids, were sent back with Mrs. Cleona, Maureen and Stanley to
one of the barns furthest away from the main house.

While we stacked bales of hay in
front of one of the foxholes and reinforced them with sacks of
feed, Joshua asked, “Do you think they’ll give us guns?”

I shrugged my shoulders and sat in
the shallow hole we were currently working on to check the
placement of the defilade. The occupants of this fighting position
had good protection on three sides, facing the killing zone. They
could easily stand and fire over the hay or lean out on either side
to fire at their flanks. The rear was free of obstacles in case the
fighter needed to make a hasty escape.

“I’m old enough to shoot,” Joshua
continued. “If Ian put a gun in my hands, I’d kill a thousand of
those limey creatures.”

Getting out of the hole, I grabbed
the handle of the large wagon and pointed to the other side of the
long T-handle. Joshua brushed off his hands and took up the other
side. Together we put our backs into it and pushed, directing the
wagon toward the next hole about five yards to the west. Although
it was cold, sweat broke out at our brow.

As we pushed the cart of hay and
feed, I asked, “Do you think you can kill people?”

Joshua paused for a second and looked
at me, probably trying to decide if I was kidding him. When he saw
I was serious, he started pushing the cart again. At last, without
much conviction, he said, “I could kill people. You know, if they
were trying to kill me.”

“I don’t know if I could shoot
someone.”

“Even if they were trying to kill
you?”

I shrugged, not sure how to
answer.

“What if they were trying to kill
your kin?”

“I guess. Maybe.” Now I was the one
who didn’t sound convincing.

“You wouldn’t kill the bastards that
killed your folks if you had the chance?”

“I don’t know who killed them,” I
said.

Stopping the cart again, Joshua
looked at me like I said the dumbest thing he’d ever heard. “Say
you did know who killed them? Say you were right there next to them
and you had a gun, an AK-47 or something like that and them
bastards were drawing down on your parents? Would you kill them
first?”

“This is stupid,” I said, dropping
the handle of the cart. We were close enough to our next hole and I
didn’t want to talk anymore and started to unload bags of feed.