Forager (9781771275606) (21 page)

“
What this all about?” Sawyer asked. “What
medicine?”

“
That’s what I’d like to know,” Dr. White added.

“
Frank, can I tell the doctor?”

“
No, I will.” Frank took a deep breath and looked at the
doctor. “Dillon wasn’t sick. He was filling in for Sawyer. He was
Foraging. He’s just come back after successfully finding the
alternator for the combine.”

Dr. White’s eyebrows came together in confusion. “That’s
great, but what does that have to do with Sawyer’s leg?”

“
While I was out, I think I found where Scott Cook, the
pharmacist, lived.” I said. “At least I found a shed with several
old cars and trucks with his name on them.”

Dr. White looked thoughtful. “It wouldn’t have been Scott.
He’s been dead for more than sixty years. It might have been his
son’s place, though. You’re think there’s medicine inside the
house?”

I nodded.

“
It’s possible,” Dr. White said. “I remember when the pharmacy
closed. One day it was full of medicines, the next, they were
boarding the windows. I remember peeking inside and seeing row upon
row of empty shelves. Those meds went somewhere.”

I didn’t want to ask the question that popped into my head,
but I needed to be sure there was a chance I’d find something if I
went out again. “Why wouldn’t the pharmacist have given the
medicines to the town?”

“
You’re too young to know, but when everything fell apart,
nobody knew how it would end,” Frank said. “Everyone hoarded
whatever they had. It was a few years before the caching and
sharing was implemented. By that time, food was scarce. A lot of
people died. I imagine the pharmacist and his family were among
them. In which case, the meds could very well still be in his
house.”

I looked at the faces around me. Sawyer’s, though pale, showed
a soft glow of hope. Frank’s face was wrinkled with concern, and
Dr. White’s shone with eagerness.

“
Do you remember where the house was, Dillon?” Sawyer
asked.

“
Not exactly, but I can find it again. I’m positive it was on
that first road east.”

“
What about those bandits? Will you have to risk running into
them again?” Sawyer asked.

Taking a minute, I thought long and hard. The road where the
Scavengers shot at me was a mile south of the road the pharmacist’s
house was on. Even if the two properties stood directly across from
each other, I’d still have most of a mile between them. “I’ll be
okay.” I wasn’t quite sure it was true.

“
Dillon, there’s one other thing,” Dr. White said. “I’m not
sure the medicine will work. It might be too old.”

Sawyer’s face fell.

Frank piped in, “Not only that, I can’t keep the mayor from
coming after you for your jolts. He’s going to take his anger out
on someone. You’re the handiest target.”

“
If I’m not here, he can’t jolt me.”

“
True, but if you’re not here when he comes looking, he’ll
probably banish you,” Frank said. He and the doctor both had grim
expressions.

I looked at Sawyer, and he was shaking his head. “I appreciate
you wanting to help me, but I can’t have you risking your place in
this town. Besides, Dr. White is right. Even if you found the right
medicine, it might not work.”

Glaring at the three of them, I said, “I can’t believe that
you can sit here so calmly and tell me no. If somebody doesn’t do
something, Sawyer’s going to lose his leg!”

“
I’m sorry, Dillon,” said Frank. “There’s just no guarantee the
medicine will work.”

“
There was no guarantee I’d find the alternator either, but I
did!”

Sawyer put a wall of steel in his voice. “Dillon, stop! I’ve
still got one more day to fight this infection.”

Let them think I was beat. I lowered my head, and with all the
regret I could muster, I said, “I would have risked going out there
again. I’d have found the medicine just like I found the
alternator, but I won’t go, not if all of you don’t want me
to.”

All three of them shook their heads. Sawyer reached out from
his bed and grasped my hand. “I do appreciate the
thought.”

I didn’t wait for the others to say anything. Laying Sawyer’s
hat on the bed beside him, I walked out of the hospital, retrieved
the empty water bucket, mounted Fred, and headed for
home.

Only the topmost rim of the sun was visible. I kept Fred’s
pace nice and casual—I didn’t want anyone suspecting that once it
was dark, I’d be gone again.

My stomach grumbled, reminding me I hadn’t eaten dinner. The
Dining Hall was out. It would take too long, plus I was afraid I
might run into the mayor or one of his Bulls. I’d been lucky so
far, but sooner or later they’d find me and drag me off for my
jolts.

The food bag Millie gave me still held plenty. The bread and
cheese would last for several more days, but I’d eaten all the
apples. Feeling a little guilty for not returning the food to the
Dining Hall, I tore off a hunk of bread and ate while I
rode.

I wanted to rush back to the pharmacist’s house as fast as
Fred could get me there, not wait for full dark. I couldn’t,
though. I needed a book, one that belonged to my mother.

A block from the RV, I spied Kurt pounding on my front door.
Quickly, before he looked back, I turned Fred onto a side street.
Hoping to muffle the sound of her hooves, I rode through the
overgrown lawns until the surrounding houses blocked my RV from
view.

Had the Bull heard Fred’s hoofbeats? I hoped not, but the
streets were quiet and sound carried. Would it carry a full
block?

What was I going to do? I couldn’t let Kurt find me, but I
needed that book. There was no point leaving town without
it.

As I tied Fred to a mailbox post, with enough slack to let
her graze, she rolled her big brown eyes at me as if to say,
You’re crazy. You
know that?

I patted her neck. “Stay here, Fred. I’ll be back as soon as I
can.”

One quiet step after another, I slunk through the tall grass
between an unoccupied house to my left and my closest neighbor,
Martha, on my right. Martha was a feisty old woman full of whine
and moan, but, thankfully, she wouldn’t be bothering me tonight.
She always took her supper at this time.

I reached the back of Martha’s house. From there, I could see
the front of my RV, but not the door. An overgrown bush at the far
end of Martha’s backyard was blocking my view. Stealing over to the
bush, I lay down in the tall grass.

The gnats immediately made a feast of my skin. I tried to
remain still and unseen, but the bugs made me squirm. It didn’t
matter. Kurt was gone.

Cautiously, I walked up to my RV. I didn’t put it past Kurt
to be hiding somewhere, ready to sneak up on me. Reaching the door
safely, I went inside. In the kitchen, I opened the cupboard with
Mom’s old medical kit in it. Underneath her bag was a heavy
three-ring binder.
Prescription Guide for Doctors.

The light was fading. There wasn’t time to leaf through the
book and memorize the names of every kind of antibiotic. Instead,
after opening the rings, I took out that section. There must have
been fifty pages. It was more than I wanted to carry, but I didn’t
dare leave a single page behind. I grabbed a candle and four boxes
of matches. Sometimes it took a full box of the decomposed things
to find one that would light.

I had what I wanted. Now I needed to get out of here before
Kurt or one of the other Bulls came back. I almost made it to the
door when a pounding from the other side made my heart leap. Panic
welled up inside me.

“
Dillon Montgomery, come on out. I know you’re in there. Don’t
force me to ruin your door.” It was Kurt. So he hadn’t left. Was I
that important?

Easing onto the floor, I
slowly and quietly grasped the lock
between my thumb and forefinger and, as
gently as possible , turned it. I winced at the
click
. Had Kurt heard it too?

“
I know you’re sick. The mayor sent me to check on
you.”

Rolling the pages from Mom’s book into a tube, I placed the
matches and candle inside, and stuck the bundle down the front of
my shirt, making sure to tuck my shirt into my pants. A tricky feat
while on my knees.

Kurt blocked the only door in the RV. I decided to try a
window, thinking the one in the kitchen was my best bet. It was
already open for the water hose that ran from my parent’s old
house, and it faced opposite the door.

“
C’mon kid, open up. I ain’t leaving again. You should know
that the mayor instructed me to kick down the door if necessary.
He’s worried about you. I don’t want to ruin your property, but I
will if I have too.”

The mayor was worried about me? More likely, he wanted to know
when I’d be well enough to receive my jolts. I shook the thought
off. I had to help Sawyer.

“
Last chance, kid. I’m counting to three. Open the door, or I’m
kicking.”

Kurt sounded so sincere. I think he honestly didn’t want to
break down my door. I didn’t want him to, either. Neither of us was
going to be happy. Crawling into the kitchen, I stood up, and slid
the window open.

I put one leg through, and then the other.

Kurt started to count. “One…two…three!”

When he said three, I waited just long enough for him to plant
his foot solidly in my front door. Flinging myself out the window,
I used the noise of the crash to cover my escape. Kurt’s foot
smashed into my door again. I eased around the RV and peeked my
head out. I was just in time to see Kurt’s back leg disappear into
the doorway.

I took off running.

I made a beeline for the bush I’d hidden behind earlier. It
was too bad professional baseball was long gone. The slide I made
to get behind that bush would have made a highlight
reel.

The gnats were happy to see me. As soon as I was down, they
began munching away. I didn’t like being supper,
but I couldn’t risk moving until Kurt
left.

I slowly counted to one hundred. The gnats were all over me. I
was dinner, and apparently, I tasted good. I stayed down long
enough to watch Kurt exit my RV. He even tried to close the mangled
door. Standing up, I brushed the bugs away from my face, and walked
to where I’d tied Fred. It must have been my day for unwelcome
guests.

Josh Mason looked down at me from Fred’s saddle.

Avoiding Kurt and getting the things from my RV hadn’t taken
long at all. Where had Josh come from? Had he followed
me?

Fred tossed her head and stamped her left front
hoof.
Get
this overgrown lump off of me
.

“
So there you are, Orphan Boy. I knew you were around here
somewhere. Hiding from my dad’s Bulls, were you, you little
coward?”

I couldn’t exactly deny that I’d been hiding from Kurt. It
just wasn’t for the reasons Josh thought.

“
What do you want Josh? Are you following me?”

One corner of his mouth turned up in a cruel grin. “Yeah, I
saw you leave the infirmary. When you didn’t turn toward the Dining
Hall, I guessed you’d be heading home.”

“
What do you want?”

“
Revenge. See, it couldn’t have been the Forager that pulled a
gun on me the other night. He was in the infirmary.”

I drummed my fingers against my thigh and let out a heavy
breath of impatience.

Fred snorted.
Come on, already.

Josh continued, “Funny thing is, I was headed to your place to
pound you for that cheap shot you gave me before those Scavengers
attacked.”

“
I don’t have time for this, Josh.”

“
Too bad. You were already going to pay for the punch, but
pointing that gun at me? That’s real pain.”

I itched to get out of town and find the medicine. “Can’t this
wait?”

“
I’ve waited long enough. After I plant my fist in your face a
few dozen times, I’m going to personally drag you to my father.
Look on the bright side—once I rearrange your face, he might not
recognize you.”

Under ordinary circumstances, his words would have opened a
pit in my guts. Not tonight. All I wanted was to get him off of
Fred. There wasn’t time to let him bully me.

Boldly, I took two steps to the mailbox. “Get off the horse,
Josh.”

“
Oh, I’m coming down. You ain’t gonna’ like it much, but I’m
coming.”

“
Not now, Josh.”

“
I don’t like your tone, Orphan Boy. It’s time to shut you
up.”

I’d had enough.

I waited until he swung his leg over Fred’s back and was
balancing with his left foot still in the stirrup. Then I reached
up, grabbed his shirt with both hands and pulled—hard. I took a
quick step back, still pulling, and he landed face first on the
road. Not wasting time, I planted my foot on his back and leapt for
Fred.

Fred whinnied.
Finally
. She didn’t wait to be prompted with a kick. I
was too busy trying to get my rump in the saddle to look, but I
hoped Fred’s hooves were pelting chunks of black asphalt all over
Josh’s face.