Tent City (14 page)

“I don’t know how I can ever repay you Jack,” I say, suddenly shy.  

“Say,” he starts, “where are Kit and Brody at anyway?”

“Back at Tent City.”

“Tent City?” he asks with eyebrows raised.

Oh yes, I forgot he doesn’t know anything about this entire community that lives there.

“It’s not just us. There are all kinds of people there. It was already all built before we even got there. There’s this guy named Bentley who runs the place.”

I tell him about Callie and the kitchen, Bentley’s friends, and the builders who are busy working to get more cabins built before winter hits. About Brody, and how much he misses Mom, and how Kit has settled in and having the time of her life.

I almost tell him about the waterfall, but stop myself after I realize this is Bentley’s special place. Finally, I tell him about the raid and his expression changes. 

“You know, Dani, I don’t get you. Going on that raid…that was kind of a bonehead move. What if you’d been killed? Who was going to look after Brody? Didn’t you mention that you promised your parents you would take care of him? I don’t suppose you just thought you could leave that to Kit? You have a death wish?” he asks, his eyebrows creased in a scowl.   

“I don’t think any of that is your business!” I say focusing all my energy on keeping my voice steady.

I’m struggling between anger and hurt. I know he’s right and he has just voiced everything I have already thought in my head, but I don’t see why any of that has anything to do with him.

“What do you care what happens to me anyway? And for that matter, how did you find me? Are you some kind of stalker?” I know this is a low blow, but it worked before. Hurt flashes across his face and we walk in silence for a while.

Finally he stops and faces me. “You’re gonna want to stay north for another mile or so and then you should be back at the spot where your dad had the cabin marked. Do ya think you can make it on your own?”

“On my own? You’re not coming with?” The anger has subsided for now and I find myself not wanting him to leave.

“Is this because of what I told you about the raid? Because what does that matter? It’s over now, and I don’t see how that concerns you anyway.  Do you have somewhere better to go?” I say.

“Crowds aren’t really my thing and from what you told me, it’s quite a crowd. I’ll be okay. I can lead you a little closer if you don’t think you can find your way.”

The tears are dangerously close to betraying me. I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve been away from Brody for a week, or I’ve failed my parents, or mostly just because I feel so stupid that I can’t even get around on my own without someone feeling like they have to baby-sit me.

“No. I don’t need your help. I’m perfectly fine on my own,” I say, without looking him in the eyes. Only one drop has betrayed me.

He grabs something out of his pocket and tries to hand me some more morphine and I shove it away.

“You may need it for a couple more days.” He pushes back. “It’s best to stay ahead of the pain.” I decline again and finally he puts it away. I’m done with the fog and besides, there is a part of me that feels like I deserve the pain.

I start walking but every part of me wants to turn around and try to convince Jack to come with me, at least for a couple of days. I feel a pull towards him and I’m not sure why. But my pride takes over and I continue walking, determined not to look back.

I’ve only walked for about 45 minutes when I spot some of the hunters in the forest outside of camp. They’re working on some traps when they spot me. It’s Wes and Grant and the look on their face is of pure shock.

They sprint over to me and try to help me the rest of the way back into camp.

“I’m fine. I can walk on my own,” I say to Wes as he slings my arm over his shoulder and he’s actually carrying me.

“Girl, where have you been? I know a couple of people who are gonna be to be happy to see you. When you see Bentley, make sure you tell him that I’m the one who found you.”

And just for good measure, against my will, he now throws me over his shoulder. He runs back into camp, seeming to be carrying no more than a sack of potatoes.

The first person I recognize is Kit who is now running to me with tears streaking her face.

“Dani!” she yells.

I struggle away from Wes and hobble over to Kit.

“Kit, I’m so sorry.” I’m crying now too, and a flood of relief washes over me. I’ve finally made it back. I can start to forget about this whole mess and then I ask.

“Kit, where’s Brody?”

“Dani, I’ve got some bad news. I’m so sorry.”

My heart stops and I’m pretty sure the earth has stopped spinning on its axis for this moment. I know I need to ask, but the sooner I ask, the sooner she’s going to tell me.  I stay silent for a while longer, if only to give myself one more minute where the world is right. The world where Brody exists.

“Dani,” Kit begins, “Brody’s sick. Real sick.”

I’m still frozen for what seems like hours before I come to my senses and immediately I try running for the cabins, but I crumple as my leg screams in protest. It feels as if the bone pieces are grinding against each other. I start bellowing at someone, anyone, to tell me where Brody is.

There is a debilitating panic coagulating inside every fiber in my body, competing with the pain in my leg. All I can do is continue to ransack around until I find him, my body not responding to my orders. Bentley appears silently, and still not saying a word, he takes me in his arms and carries me into his cabin.

And then I see him. He’s lying so still, but I can see he’s breathing shallow breaths and I feel a slight glimmer of hope that there’s still time.

I come in close to touch his soft curls and smell his sweet scent, but all I’m met with is damp hair and the stench of something wrong. I touch his forehead and it’s burning. I try to stir him and he doesn’t move.

I look up with fresh tears brimming, not yet spilt.

“What’s wrong with him?” I plead to Bentley, as Kit stands in the corner.

“Some kind of infection,” he says. We don’t know what it is exactly. We have been giving him Tylenol and keeping him comfortable, but there is not much else we can do.”

“Infection? Can’t you treat that? Antibiotics, anything?” I say, finding it harder and harder to stay calm.

“We don’t have any.”

“Well, can’t we find some? Go on a raid?!” I’m losing control. I’m confused that no one has thought of this and gone out to find him what he needs.

“I’ve considered that,” he says, “but we really don’t know what he has or what kind of medicine he needs. And on top of that, I’m not sure where to go to even find medicine. Maybe a hospital of some sort, but with the new safety camps, it’s more dangerous than ever.”

“Get out! All of you get out!” I scream. I don’t even let Kit stay. I slam the door behind them and I collapse beside Brody and cry.

I cry, and cry, and cry some more, until there are no tears left in me. My head is pounding and my vision is blurry, but I decide it’s time to go.

I’m not sure how I’m going to pull this off. I’m sure Bentley will disagree with what I’m about to do. I’ve decided to take Brody to the closest hospital I can find. I don’t care what the consequences are. I just need to find him a doctor.

I bend down to kiss his damp forehead when his brown eyes pop open.

“Mom?”

My face winces and I lean in. How can I possibly comfort him knowing what he wants more than anything, I can’t give him? I want her too.

Drake’s face is flashing in front of me, intermixing with Brody’s. Right now it’s hard to distinguish between the two of them. For splinters of a second, I shift back and forth from being here with Brody to being on the farm with Drake.  

“No, Honey, it’s me, Dani. I’m here now. I’m so sorry I left you.”

“My head hurts.”

I squeeze him closer and explain to him that we’re going to leave and find a doctor and then maybe afterwards we can go find Mom. He seems happy about this and his eyes flutter shut again. He just seems so tired.

I go outside and look around for one of the sleds I saw earlier. After I find that, I find some rope and begin to tether it to one of our four-wheelers. Bentley races up to me and asks me what I'm doing.

“Isn’t it obvious?” I say irritated, hoping to hold my ground. I don’t care what he says. I’m going to do this. If it’s the last thing I do, I’m getting Brody to a hospital.

“Dani, you can’t leave. It’s too dangerous. You’ll never make it. And besides, what if moving him only makes him worse?”

“Get out of my way!”

He reaches for my arm to restrain me and after I snarl at him in contempt, he withdraws it and snatches the keys from the ignition. The look on his face is a mixture of determination and embarrassment.

His friends have started to gather around him. Kit is there asking me if there is anything she can do. I don’t see how she could.

As they rally around, it looks as though it could be the whole camp against us. I’m scrambling to think of a way to get the keys back. Just then someone seems to push to the front.

“You,” I say only to myself.

Only his eyes don’t lock with mine. He’s looking directly at Bentley and for one brief moment, I see a flicker of recognition. It was so brief that it could have been missed entirely.

Eager for distraction I ask, “Do you guys know each other?”

“No,” they say in unison. The only difference is Jack’s beautiful eyes sweep to the ground as Bentley holds his own.

“Dani,” Jack begins, “what is going on?”

“It’s Brody, he’s sick. He’s really sick. And I need to leave. I need to get him to a hospital before something horrible happens.”

The feeling of dread is creeping up inside me again and I’m doing my best to keep it at bay. I feel a mixture of terror of the unknown and dread of the known. This is too familiar and I don’t know if I can bear it again.

“Where is he?” Jack asks.

“In that cabin,” I say, as I point.

Kit and I follow as he walks into the place that holds all my hopes and dreams. Bentley tries to follow us inside, but I slam the door in his face.

Jack removes the backpack he has been wearing and begins to take out what looks like some medical supplies. First he begins with a stethoscope and begins to place it over Brody’s heart. He stirs a little, and upon recognizing Jack, he brightens.

“How long has he been sick?” Jack questions.

Kit steps in now, as she actually knows more about this than I do.

“He woke up not feeling well the day Dani went missing. He didn’t get real bad until a couple of days ago. I’ve been so scared, with Dani missing and Brody being sick.”

“Has he told you what his symptoms are?” he asks in a very calculating way, as his hands work over my little brother.

He checks Brody’s eyes and ears, and does some prodding on his stomach. He asks questions as he works him over. I am stunned at his apparent expertise. He opens his mouth and checks his throat.

“He just said his head hurt and he wanted to lie down. He’s been in bed most of the time.”

“Fainting?” Jack continues.

“I don’t think so, but he seems real weak.”