Crashed: The Death Of The Dollar (11 page)

Stacy was already getting the little kids into the house and near the wood stove as Mike got to the back of the truck. Taylor looked very weak after that ride back. He noticed she'd forgotten to zip her coat back up from trying to warm the infant.

They got everyone inside, and Mike got himself into a cold chair to rest his legs. The adrenaline rush was gone, knowing they were all indoors. "Brad, gather every blanket you can find. If you have to, take the snowmobile back up to the house and get extras. We're going to need about fifteen of them,” Mike instructed, before turning his attention to Stacy and Jessica. “Start getting their clothes off. They're going to be soaking wet any minute. Wrap them up in space blankets and get everyone warmed up.

Taylor was standing behind all the kids, with a mindless blank stare on her face. "Hey, come here," he said to her, having to sit up and grab her arm to get her attention. "Get your coat off and sit with me." He took his coat off too, and held her firmly against himself.

Jessica came over to check on them and noticed their clothes were getting wet as well. "This isn't going to work. Do you think you two can make it back to the house?"

As he explained that he didn't have the strength to get back up in to the truck, Brad returned from the other house with more blankets. "Taylor, can you get the two of you back home and in to bed using the snowmobile?" She nodded, not wanting to speak. "Go. I can drive us back up in a little bit."

Stacy and Jessica both had to help Mike stand up and get out to the snowmobile. Taylor sped home and mustered up the strength to drag him inside. Stacy, Jessica and Brad stayed at their old house for another hour taking care of the slowly defrosting strangers, doing all they could to help them settle in, dry their clothes, and get some nourishment in their bodies. None of them would speak. Stacy spent the rest of the day staying there to monitor them and help do anything needed. Brad used the snowmobile to run back and forth between the houses bringing food and supplies.

When Jessica got back home, she found Mike and Taylor naked under a thick blanket by the stove, both sound asleep. Brad had returned with her, but ran to get lanterns from the barn and take off back to Stacy. Jessica just let them rest, checking on them frequently, and spent most of the afternoon cleaning.

That night Jessica had to send Brad to bring Stacy home so she could help get Mike and Taylor dressed and into bed. Stacy quickly returned to their unexpected guests, who were clearly on the brink of severe illness. Both women stayed up all night to keep an eye on everyone. Brad tried to stay up too, but Jessica convinced him he'd be more helpful the next day if he was well rested.

Mike woke up the next morning to Brad's cold lips on his forehead. "Don't worry, Daddy, I got the animals in the barn fed, gathered the eggs, and milked the goats. Mom is going to bring you some soup in a little bit. Is Taylor okay?"

Mike turned his head to look at her laying next to him. He could tell that she was breathing well enough and didn't want to disturb her. He could feel a cold coming on, and his hips felt like he'd re-injured them during the rescue. He gave Brad a thumbs up. "I can't think of a better man to take over for me while I'm down." Brad nodded as he smiled as big as ever. "It's your ranch until I'm back up, alright. That means it's extra important that you get Stacy and Jessica whatever they need."

"Um, I have to go," Brad said. "Stacy needs some milk for the baby."

"Get moving, son," Mike said, the fatigue in his voice making him hard to understand.

Jessica came in a while later with a bowl of rabbit soup. Mike tried to sit up, but needed help. He looked over and noticed Taylor hadn't moved. "She's in pretty rough shape," Jessica said. "She barely wakes up every now and then, but hasn't been able to do much more than let out a weak moan and fall back asleep. I'm going to try to sit her up and see if she can wake up just enough to swallow a few bites of soup."

"Tend to her first."

"No, Mike. You're already sitting up, and we need you to get back to heath, too."

"Her."

"Look, I didn't sleep at all last night, I'm pregnant, and I'm grumpy. So shut up and eat the damn soup!" Jessica adamantly insisted.

Mike didn't have the energy or will to argue, and was able to eat almost half the bowl. Jessica had to wait for Brad to help put pillows behind Taylor while she sat her up. She didn't really seem awake, but she apparently was just alert enough to swallow a few spoons of soup. Mike just stared at Taylor all day. He'd never felt so helpless in his life. She was too young. Barely twenty years old, and laying there on the brink of death.

Chapter 8

Fighting to Live

It was three days later before Mike was finally able to sit up in bed on his own and put his feet on the ground. He wasn't ready to stand and walk yet, but he was awake the entire day and ate as much food as he could get anyone to bring him. Taylor was still laying there beside him. It didn't look like she'd moved at all. Stacy told him that she'd been taking a few swallows of liquids several times each day, but hadn't yet been able to open her eyes.

"What happened with those people?" he asked.

"They're going to be staying in our old house until spring," Stacy replied.

Mike felt angry. Here he was unable to get out of bed on his own, and sweet Taylor was fighting for her life. "So Taylor might die after they trespassed on our ranch, and we're going to give them a house to live all happy and healthy in?"

Stacy couldn't believe what she was hearing. She knew Mike had a tendency to be cold and distant, but she'd never heard anything like that out of him. "I'll come talk with you later when you're willing to act human again." She was fighting back tears as she hurried out of the room.

Jessica came back a while later. She had been down at the other house so Stacy could sit with Mike and Taylor, but they switched back after he had upset Stacy.

"Well, sounds like you've got your attitude and appetite back," she walked in saying. "We spend a few days wondering if you're going to make it, just to have you wake up and be an asshole."

"What the hell?" Mike said defensively. "We wouldn't be in this position if -"

"Shut up! Shut the hell up!" Jessica raised her voice at him. "Here!" she said, leaning some homemade crutches against the wall by his bed. "After those teenage boys lost a mom, little brother, and little sister, they walked out and found some downed limbs and made these for you."

Mike couldn't say anything. He was still pissed off at the situation, and terrified for Taylor, but suddenly felt a wave of guilt crash over him.

Jessica started crying as she continued, "And the other woman, she asks about the two of you every time she can stop crying over her baby dying."

And that did it. No one had ever seen the typically stoic Mike shed a tear, but the news of the baby's death was more than he could handle. Jessica, still sobbing herself, sat on the floor in front of him and cried into his lap for a few minutes before regaining her composure. She laid Mike back down in the bed and crawled in to cuddle next to him.

"Everybody is scared for Taylor," she said as they both looked over at her laying there, seemingly peaceful. Feeling heartbroken and helpless, they both laid there for over an hour just staring at Taylor. Her only sign of life being the slow rising and falling of her chest with each breath.

Mike was able to get to the bathroom the next day with the help of the crutches the boys had made him. But he was still in too much pain to do much else. Brad came in and spent most of the day reading
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
to them.

The next day was Taylor's fifth day in bed. Mike could get up and move around more, but wasn't willing to leave her side. He just laid there in bed against her, scared to watch her die, hopeful she'd finally wake up. He spent the entire day talking softly to her, rambling on and on as she had done to him so many times.

When it was finally getting dark outside, he stopped talking and held her tightly against him. He didn't know what to do. He started thinking about Brad running most of the farm with so little help. More than a ten year old should have to take on. He told himself that no matter what, he was going to get up and, if nothing else, keep Brad company during the chores the next morning.

"Your beard tickles." Mike heard the weak, but familiar, voice coming from beside him. He pulled back just enough to see Taylor's face, her eyes slightly open and looking back at him.

"She's awake!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. The others had all fallen asleep early, worn out from the mentally, emotionally and physically exhausting week they'd just had. But Mike's voice bringing news of Taylor waking up had them up and running full speed in to see her.

As they all came in to ask how she was feeling, Taylor was the only one not crying. She had no idea how long she had been down, but seeing tears in Mike's eyes told her it must have been bad.

"I'm hungry," she moaned, sending Jessica and Stacy both racing to the kitchen. "How long have I been out of it?"

"Five days," Mike told her as he was wiping his eyes.

"Daddy was out for three days, and he still can barely walk," Brad added.

Taylor's concern turned to him. "Are you okay, Mike?"

"I'm just fine. You be quiet and save your energy."

Taylor was able to sit herself up in bed as Stacy brought in some soup, and Jessica followed with tea and bread.

"Now that she's okay, will you cook something that's not soup?" Brad asked. They laughed as they cried.

"Hey, Brad, I've got an idea. Why don't you and I cook tomorrow? Anything you want," Mike said.

"Alright!" Brad said happily. “I've had soup all week. I want steak and eggs for breakfast, lunch and dinner tomorrow."

"You got it little man. You deserve it." Mike turned to Taylor and told her, "You know this little man has practically run the ranch by himself with us down and these two playing hospital."

"Oh, yeah!" Taylor perked up. "How are those people? What were they doing there?"

Everyone's happy mood turned somber as they thought about the three who died. Jessica, wanting to avoid Taylor getting emotional just yet, answered, "They're going to stay in our old house until spring. Don't worry about them. You just get better."

Mike woke up early enough to try to help Brad with morning chores. He still needed the crutches to help him with balance, as he walked over took look out the window where he could see his barn.

"Brad's still asleep," Jessica whispered. "Those two boys you saved, Steve and Jason, they're taking care of everything." Mike glanced back at her with a curious look on his face.

"Do they -"

'Yes, Mike, they know what they're doing," she said, anticipating that question. "They had a farm up until a few days before you found them."

"What happened?"

"Come, sit, and have some tea. I'll tell you what I know about them later. After Taylor wakes up. You know she's going to ask the same questions."

Mike and Jessica sat together drinking their tea and enjoying the peace and quiet, staring out the window at the fresh snow covering everything. He sat behind her to wrap her in his arms and hold his hands on her stomach. Feeling the baby kicking brought a smile to his face. He told her he loved her, and as he was giving her a kiss on the cheek, Taylor came slowly walking out.

"Hey, sweetie! You're up!" Jessica said softly, but excitedly, as she hurried over to help her to the table.

Taylor folded her arms and laid her head on the table and mumbled, "Someone go kill something. I feel like I could eat a whole deer by myself."

"Why don't you start a little smaller," Jessica said, smiling big knowing Taylor was certainly going to be okay now. She got her some tea and bread, and Taylor wasted no time devouring it.

Brad and Stacy woke up and hurried to give Taylor a hug. Brad only halfheartedly, as he was focused on getting his steak for breakfast.

"Okay, son, let's go pick out some meat to bring in and slice up," Mike said to the anxiously waiting boy.

"Sit your butt back down. I'll take him out to the root cellar," Stacy said. "We'll get you a chair over to the stove so you can cook it with him, but you need to take it easy until your hips are done recovering."

"
If they recover,"
Mike thought to himself, not realizing he said it out loud.

They were all quiet. Mike was feeling pretty down, and they'd not seen him like that before. 

"So," Taylor spoke up to break the uncomfortable silence. "Who wants to tell me about those people that were out in the snow?"

Jessica's head slightly dropped. "Yeah, hang on," she said as she got them all a refill of their tea and rejoined them at the table.

"Well, ugh, where to start," Jessica said. "Taylor, three of them didn't make it."

Taylor was still too fatigued to show much emotion and just stared at Jessica. "The baby?" she asked, expecting that it was one of the three.

"Yeah," Jessica replied. "We couldn't save baby Rachael. We also lost Evan, the four year old twin. And Bethany, one of the mothers."

"Damn," Taylor said flatly, still showing little emotion.

"Yea. It's been really hard," Jessica went on. "The ground is too frozen to dig, and they're up here hiding from the Guard. Amy, the mother that survived, insisted the bodies be taken and left in the wilderness. Brad offered, but I couldn't let him do it. So the older boys - their names are Steve and Jason - we let them use the snowmobile and a sled."

"And the rest?" Taylor asked.

"They're doing fairly well. They started regaining some strength a few days ago. Same day he did," Jessica nodded towards Mike.

"So, yeah, it's not easy to keep up with them all, but there's Amy. Jason is her son. Steve's mom was Bethany, the mother who died. Both boys are thirteen and named after their fathers. The women were sisters-in-law who lived with their husbands, two brothers, on an old family farm. The husbands died trying to make sure the others got away. Then there's little Anna. She's nine, and is Amy's daughter. Jacob is Steve's eight year old brother. Stephanie is Evan's twin and they were Bethany's kids. And baby Rachael was Amy's youngest."

Taylor just sat with a puzzled look on her face. "I might remember all that some day. I take it they're still around?" she asked.

"They're going to stay until spring in your old house," Mike answered. "Jess, what's their last name? Where are they from?" he wanted to know.

"Um, I know they said they were from Mount Carmel. And, uh, Hep- Hepworth! That's it. Their last name is Hepworth."

Mike took interest in their claim that they were fleeing the Guard. He wondered why, and told the others that they should have the Hepworth's over for lunch soon. They came over the next day, with Jessica taking the Suburban to pick them up.

Mike was sitting on the couch reading a book about the Cold War when they walked in. "Hi, I'm Mike," he said politely. "It's a small place so you all sit anywhere you can find a spot."

"Hi, I'm Amy. You have no idea how thankful we are for what you did for us," she said as her eyes filled up with tears. "And you must be Taylor, our other savior. Thank you so much!" Taylor just nodded and smiled, then Amy went on introducing all the kids.

"Steve, Jason," Mike said, reaching out to shake their hands. "Good set of crutches here boys. And Brad tells me you've been a big help to him with the farm while I've been down. Thank you."

"Momma, Momma, that's him," little Anna whispered loudly as she tugged on Amy's arm. "That's the radio guy."

Taylor reached over and grabbed Mike's hand, hoping to help him keep his head about him since he was so concerned about privacy.

"No, Anna," Amy told her. “This man's name is Mike. It was him and Taylor here who saved our lives.”

"No, Momma, that's Thomas Paine. You know, from the radio."

Stacy had heard Anna, and quickly came over to ask if she wanted to help bake some pumpkin pie, distracting her for a while away from Mike.

Mike didn't want to waste any time with small talk. "So Amy, Jessica filled me in some on what brought you up here. But I'm wondering why the Guard came after your family?"

Amy hung her head toward the floor as Mike noticed Jessica glaring her infamous stare at him. "Damn you, Mike," she mouthed as Amy started to cry and walk away.

Jason spoke up. "I'm sorry, mister. We've lost our home and five family members in the last two weeks. It's hard."

Mike nodded at the young man who seemed unusually well composed. "What about you?"

"I guess I'm just numb. I'm sad and all, but at the same time, I don't really feel anything anymore either."

Mike and Jason continued talking for nearly an hour before lunch was ready. Taylor sat at Mike's side listening intently, but staying strangely quiet. Jessica and Stacy did all that they could to keep everyone else occupied and their minds off all the recent tragedy they'd suffered.