Home Coming (The Survivalist Book 10) by A. American (ebook reader .TXT) 📕

“Thanks Jess. Thanks for looking out for me.”

With a smirk, she replied, “Someone has to. Because you’re obviously not going to do it.”

I shook my head and gave her shoulder a squeeze before heading out the door. Sarge and Cecil were standing by the tractor. I leaned against the tractor and let out a breath.

“You look tired, Morgan,” Cecil said.

“You mean he looks like shit,” Sarge offered.

“You’re both right, I guess. Now that we’ve got most of the people moved, I’m headed home. I need some sleep.”

“That’s a good idea. We’re all probably going to head back soon. Mitch is organizing folks here in town to tend to the wounded. Doc and the staff that survived are going to do what they can for the wounded. We can live without you for a while,” Sarge replied.

“Alright. I’ll see you back at the ranch,” I said with a wave.

I went over to the Hummer I’d driven earlier and took it back to the house. There were a lot of people in Umatilla standing in the road and looking to the south. I’m sure word was spreading, but they could clearly see the smoke that still rose into the sky from some of the buildings. A couple of people stepped out into the road, as if to stop me and talk. But I swerved around them and continued on. I wasn’t in a chatting mood. I was exhausted and wanted to go climb into my bed.

As I approached Altoona, storm clouds gathered on the horizon. Rain was on the way and, as bad as it was, my first thought was that it would wash the blood and smell off the streets in town. As I passed the market, people stopped and watched as I went by. I didn’t pull in. No doubt that they also had questions; and I wasn’t stopping to answer theirs either. When I rolled by the bunker I waved at the guys, not even stopping there.

I parked the Hummer in front of the house and got out. Meat Head and Drake were there, tails wagging and tongues lolling. They made me smile and I knelt down to pet their heads. Drake came up, sat down in front of me and put his paw on my knee. When I reached up to scratch his ears, he pawed at my hand. He was an interesting dog and I wondered what he was like in the Before.

Meat Head rolled over on his back and I rubbed his belly as he moaned. A habit he had when he was being petted or scratched. As I was messing with the dogs, Danny walked up. He announced his presence in typical Danny manner, “Yo,” was all he said.

Looking up from the dogs, I replied. “Hey, man. How’s the mitt?”

He looked at his hand. Doc had done a pretty good job of sewing it back together. Yet, you couldn’t help but notice the missing fingers. He worked his thumb and fingers and replied, “It’s good. But every time I look at it, it’s like something out of an alien movie. You know, they always had three fingers.”

I smiled, “I can see that. But if you open your mouth and another little head comes out, I’m shooting you in the face.”

Danny laughed, then his expression changed. “How bad was it?”

“Worse than you can imagine, buddy. All of downtown Eustis is gone. It took one hell of a pounding.”

“How bad were the casualties?”

I thought about how to answer that question for a moment. “Terrible. It’s hard to imagine what high explosives can do to a human body.” I looked up at him and added, “I don’t have to imagine anymore.”

He nodded. “I know what you mean. So, what’s the next move?”

I stood up and looked up into the sky. “Well, the old man is supposedly organizing a bomber strike that should wipe out the commies.”

“When’s that going to happen?”

“Any time. Well, I’m beat, buddy. I need some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Go get some rest. I’ll catch you later.”

I went into the house to find Mel sitting on the couch feeding the little limb rat. She looked up when I came in and smiled. Then the smile faded, and she wrinkled her nose.

“Hey, baby. I’m glad you’re back; but you really stink. Can you go outside and take all that off, so I can wash it later?”

I looked down at myself. I was covered in soot and gore, the gore not so easily seen through the black soot. “That’s probably a good idea. Sorry, I wasn’t thinking. How’s the little guy doing?”

Mel looked at Ruckus, holding him up in front of her face, nose to nose. In a baby voice, she said, “He’s fine. Aren’t you?” Looking back at me, she added, “He’s eating and pooping, that’s all he has to do.”

“Are his eyes open yet?”

“No, it’ll be another couple of weeks.”

It made me smile. I don’t know why. “Good. Glad he’s alright.” I stripped off my armor and set it on the floor beside the door before going back outside. My feet were black as coal, I didn’t have the best footwear on for a day like today. And that black extended up my legs to above my knees. My shorts and shirt were also covered in various contaminates. Peeling the clothes off, I dropped them into a pile by the door and walked back inside, naked.

When I came in, Mel looked at me shocked. “Good thing the girls aren’t here!”

“Oh,” I replied, “I hadn’t thought about that. Yeah, good thing.”

As Mel got up off the couch, she said, “Go take a shower and I’ll get you a glass of tea and something to eat. I’m sure you’re hungry.”

“Yeah, I’m hungry. But I’m really thirsty.”

“Go on to the shower; you really stink. I’ll bring you some water in a sec.”

I nodded and headed for the bathroom. In the Before, I would turn the shower on and let it run until the