Dead Center, page 3
part #2 of Nemesis Series
She took a nervous step forward but hesitated from running into his open arms.
“Don’t worry, girl, I’m gonna take care of you now. You’ll be safe with me. I won’t let anything like this ever happen.”
She took a few more steps and was now within arm’s reach of August. “You promise?”
“I promise. Your daddy liked to do certain things…”
“He liked to hurt people,” she blurted out.
“That’s right and so did your uncle Mike; they’re gone now. Your uncle Auggie doesn’t do those things.”
She stepped closer, looked at him and asked, “What about the woman who killed my parents and my brother? Will you hurt her?”
“Do you want me to hurt her?” he asked curiously.
She nodded sheepishly.
He wrapped his arms around her small frame and drew her close. With a soft tone he said, “We’ll catch the woman who did this and hurt her real good. I swear my life on that.”
◆◆◆
A tall and imposing figure emerged from a thicket and moved up the slope towards Lexi’s unconscious body. He walked without concern for the noise he was making, his large feet snapping small branches as he went. Soon he was towering over her, a look of curiosity mixed with concern. He quickly glanced around then put his gaze back on her. “What are you doing here?”
The man was named Joseph and he was what people like to call an old-timer. He’d been living in the Sierra Mountains since he was thirty-one, which meant he’d been there for forty-two years. Joseph lived with his wife, Anna, and their animals in a moderate-sized cabin away from town. They’d moved there for a variety of reasons. One being they loved the mountains and the clean air; two, it was a place they felt safe and away from judging eyes. They’d first met in Germany while he was in the army after being wounded in Vietnam, their love blossomed right away, but her family was against it for two reasons, he was black and an American soldier. Unwilling to allow others to dictate their love, he took her home to Oakland, California, after he discharged. Much to his surprise, his family also opposed the relationship. With no family support, and a love of nature and the mountains, they moved to the outskirts of Truckee in 1974 with plans of making their own family, and had been there since.
Joseph knelt down and placed two fingers against her neck to check for a pulse. Finding one, he scanned her body to look for any significant wounds. “Little lady, you’ve had a bad day, haven’t you? Best get you home to my Anna. She can get you fixed up real good and make sure the little one is in good shape.”
He scooped his trunk-like arms under Lexi and lifted her off the ground with ease.
Lexi shifted but didn’t wake.
“What are you doing all the way out here? Huh?” he asked her as he began to descend the slope. He knew his wife, Anna, was not keen on him bringing home what she called strays, but with Lexi being pregnant, he didn’t doubt she’d open their humble abode to her without question.
He reached the bottom of the slope and headed for a wagon, which was hitched to a mule. Using as much care as he could, he set Lexi in the back. He grabbed his everyday carry pack and pulled out a poncho liner. He put the pack back in the bed of the wagon then gingerly placed her head on it and covered her with the poncho liner. “There you go, all tucked in.” Next to Lexi was a rabbit he’d gotten from a trap he’d set the night before.
Lexi moved her head and mumbled something unintelligible.
He smiled and patted her arm. “Now you just lie there. We’re a short but bumpy ride back to the cabin.”
Again, Lexi moved her head in a jerky motion.
“Now don’t go and get all flustered, my Anna will get you cleaned up and looked after. She’s real good at that, she’s a nurse, at least she was back in the day.” He smiled and headed up to his mule, Jackson. He rubbed the side of him and asked, “What do you think this young lady was doing out here?”
Jackson simply kept chewing on a piece of moss.
“You suppose those Clancy boys had something to do with her condition? Hmm? I’d put my money on that.”
With Lexi secured in the back, he climbed up on the wagon, took the reins and snapped. “Get up, boy.”
Jackson responded without hesitation and pulled them down the old logging road.
As they went, Joseph hummed an old John Denver song titled “Take Me Home, Country Roads”. After a few minutes of humming, he cocked his head back to check on Lexi and found her lying still. “I’m humming this ole song ’cause it’s sort of fitting. I usually sing this one as I’m headed home.”
His mind wondered who she was and if she was somehow connected to the Clancy Clan. He didn’t have much interaction with them, which was mostly done out of an abundance of caution. He’d heard enough of their vicious and cutthroat ways from the few neighbors he did have or people he’d encounter, and made a note to never run up against them if he had a choice. He quite enjoyed his life, and he intended to keep living as long as the great Lord would let him.
Thirty minutes passed, and now they were making the turn off the old logging road which meant they were close to home. He just had to cross the county road and then onto the road his cabin was off of.
The sun had just broken the horizon. Its warms rays struck Joseph’s face, making him smile. “Ahh, feel that, a new day.” He looked up to the sky and said, “Thank you, Lord, for another day on this beautiful Earth and for my lovely Anna by my side.”
Lexi moaned from the back.
Joseph looked over his shoulder to find her moving and her eyes fluttering. “Looks like you’re waking up.” He snapped the reins and said to Jackson, “Get moving, boy, our guest is waking up, and I might need some help.”
Jackson responded by picking up his pace.
Lexi heard Joseph this time. Fear shot through her along with a jolt of adrenaline. She shot up, turned and barked, “Where are you taking me?”
With a broad smile stretched across his face, Joseph replied, “Good morning. I’m glad you’re awake. I feared you might be on death’s door; doesn’t look that way. That’s good news, praise Jesus.”
Lexi swiveled to face him but stopped when pain coursed through her body.
“You’re in pain, don’t worry, we’ll be home soon, and…”
Lexi pushed the pain aside and got to her knees. She planted her hands against the sideboard of the wagon and was preparing herself to jump out.
Joseph kept turning his head back and forth from Lexi to the road. He caught sight of what she was prepared to do and pulled back on the reins, bringing Jackson to a full stop. “Now hold on, don’t go and do something foolish. I’m here to help you.”
Lexi grimaced in pain but was determined to get away. “Help? Ha. No one helps.”
“My name is Joseph. I live just over there in that cabin. You see it, the one with smoke billowing out of the chimney. I’m taking you to my wife, she’s a nurse. She’ll get you taken care of, I swear to you.”
Lexi shot him a hard look. “You’re just going to help me? You don’t know who I am.”
“I know this much, you’re hurt and that baby is coming soon. Now you might be some sort of bad person, but I know the little baby you’re carrying is as innocent as they come. Let us make sure you and your baby are okay. Then if you want to move on, you can.”
While Lexi was rightfully fearful of strangers, she also could use a place, especially if his wife was a nurse. She pulled back from the side board and sat back down. “If you try anything, I’ll kill you.”
Joseph gave her a looking over and chuckled.
“What’s so funny?”
“Oh, I don’t doubt you could kill me. Maybe my wife can help you, as she’s been promising to do that for a long time,” he quipped. “Can we go now?”
Lexi nodded.
“Get up, boy,” he said to Jackson with a light snap of the reins.
The wagon lurched forward.
He guided them until he reached his drive and turned down it.
The entire time Lexi was looking around, her head swiveling around to make sure she wasn’t about to be taken into something worse than she’d just escaped from, but all she saw was a quaint cabin tucked up against a rocky slope, which coursed up to a granite outcropping some three hundred feet above. Circling the house were tall ponderosa pines. To the right was a clothesline, and on it hung an assortment of men’s and women’s clothes.
Joseph pulled back on the reins to stop the wagon. He looked back at Lexi and said, “Welcome to my cabin.”
She gave him a hard look without saying a word.
“I’ll go get Anna. Now sit here; don’t run off.” He hopped down and shuffled to the front door, opened it and cried out, “Anna, I need your help.”
An elderly woman appeared in the door, looked up at Joseph, then towards the wagon. Without another second going by, she rushed up to the side of the wagon. “Hi, hon, Joseph said you’re hurt and…yep, you’re pregnant, and by the looks of it you could be delivering any minute. Come let me help you inside.”
Lexi didn’t move; she was frozen in shock in some ways. She gave Anna a once-over like she’d done Joseph, but only saw an old woman with thick gray hair, glasses and a sweet demeanor.
“I won’t bite, sweetheart. I’m a nurse; I can help,” Anna said offering her hand.
Lexi picked up on an accent and guessed Anna was from Europe, maybe Germany or a Nordic country.
Still holding her hand out, Anna said, “You can be stubborn but I can tell you that when your baby wants to come, you’ll be wanting some help. Now stop acting all suspicious; we ain’t here to harm you.”
Lexi took Anna’s hand.
Anna helped Lexi out of the wagon. Once her feet hit the ground, Anna placed an arm around Lexi’s body to give her more support and said, “Let’s get you inside.”
Lexi relented and allowed herself to be led. Just before stepping across the threshold, she paused.
Anna gave her a tender look and said, “I promise you, we’re here to help.”
“Why?” Lexi asked.
“’Cause that’s what we do. It’s what we’ve always done,” Anna answered.
Joseph stood just to Lexi’s left and gave her a smile. “My Anna is right, that’s what good country folk do, we help one another.”
Lexi relied upon her intuition and couldn’t find anything about these two that gave her a red flag; they simply looked like two old nice people. With her and her baby’s fate in their hands, she stepped inside the cabin.
◆◆◆
Lexi put aside her distrust of people for the moment solely because without some help, she would most certainly would die. She gave in to Anna’s instructions and allowed her to care for her wounds and perform an examination.
“You’ll have some bruising but you don’t have anything broken or fractured; that’s good. I’d say the only bad thing you’ll come away with is some scarring, but looking at your body, I’d say you’re used to them,” Anna said removing her latex gloves.
“I tend to get into trouble,” Lexi replied as she slipped on her pants.
“Don’t put those filthy things back on,” Anna barked, her German accent thick.
“What am I supposed to wear, then?”
“I have some clothes; you look about her size. Just wait here,” Anna said and rushed out of the room.
When the door closed, Lexi was alone in what must have been a spare bedroom. The room was decorated sparingly. On the wall across from her hung a painting on canvas with no frame. She imagined it was homemade. The only furniture in the room was a twin bed, which she was sitting on, a nightstand, dresser and chair. A small closet was to her left but the doors were closed. The room itself was clean but it smelled a bit musty, as if it was rarely used.
The door opened and in came Anna holding a stack of clothing. She placed them next to Lexi on the bed and held up a shirt against Lexi. “This should work. You two were most definitely the same size. Instead of jeans I brought you some sweatpants; you’ll appreciate the elastic waistband considering your condition.”
“Thank you,” Lexi said, looking at the clothes. She wondered whose they were but assumed they must have been their daughter’s. If so, where was she?
Lexi went to put on the clean shirt but again was stopped by Anna.
“No, no, no, you don’t put clean clothes over a dirty body. Joe is drawing some water and filling the tub in our room, you need to wash what must be days or weeks of filth off your body. Trust me, you’ll feel better just by doing that,” Anna said, her hands planted firmly on her hips.
“It’s fine. I’ll be fine without a bath,” Lexi countered.
“No, it’s not fine. Did I mention you also stink? Now we’re not going to suffer your smell as a guest in our house,” Anna shot back. “Now, there’s a robe in that pile of clothes. Put it on and I’ll call you when the tub is ready.”
Lexi wanted to protest but she was dirty and she still didn’t feel right. A bath would help with both. “Okay.”
“Good, now sit tight. I’ll call you when it’s ready,” Anna said and headed out of the room.
Alone again, Lexi went through the clothes. She found a white shirt embossed with a rainbow and a pony. It took a moment but she remembered the pony was a My Little Pony. She found it curious as to why an adult would have a My Little Pony shirt, but quickly pushed the thought aside, as any clean shirt regardless what was on the front of it was welcome to none.
Anna knocked on the door and said, “The bath is ready, hon.”
Lexi stripped down completely and put on the robe. She opened the door to find Anna in the hallway. She gave her a slight smile.
“Right this way,” Anna said and marched down the hall a few feet and turned right into the bathroom. It was small, with only a single sink, and a claw-foot cast-iron tub. Steam rose from the water making it look more appealing.
“Soap is there. No shampoo, you’ll just have to manage. When you’re done, you’ll find a brush or comb for you hair in that basket there,” Anna said pointing a small wicker basket on the floor below the sink.
Lexi nodded.
“Best get in while it’s hot,” Anna said.
Lexi didn’t know how to process their kindness; she was in awe.
“I’ll leave you now,” Anna said as she headed for the door.
“You’re kind, thank you,” Lexi said as emotions welled up inside her.
“Like I said when you first arrived, it’s what we do. If there was more kindness in the world maybe things wouldn’t have gotten so bad,” Anna said. “If you need anything, just holler.” Anna closed the door.
Lexi could hear Anna’s footfalls heading down the hall. She disrobed and walked to the edge of the tub. She touched the water with her left hand and found it hot but not unbearable. Gently she lifted her leg and slipped it into the water. The heat felt good, soothing. Not hesitating further, she got her entire body in and relaxed back. The cuts and abrasions on her body stung from the water, but she knew it was good; she could feel her body healing. Resting her head back, she thought about the past couple of days. So much had changed, and all because she took it upon herself to stop Michael Clancy from raping a woman, a woman who didn’t even thank her. Now she was in another stranger’s house, but this experience was the opposite of what she’d just endured. Soon her thoughts drifted away as the weight of fatigue began to take over. She fought it, as the last thing she wanted to do was fall asleep in the tub. She sat up, took the washcloth and soap and cleaned herself.
She exited the tub, toweled off and put on the set of clothes she’d taken with her to the bathroom. She walked up the steamed mirror, wiped it with the towel, and leaned in to take a good, close look at her face. Her face was covered in bruises and cuts; she was a battered mess, there was no other way to describe it. And for what? she questioned. She had protected a woman, a stranger, but had nearly lost her life and that of her baby. She needed to rethink her mission, at least until her child was old enough to possibly join her. Yes, she would train her child, make sure they were capable of defending themselves but also able to help her in the crusade she’d been on since she left Rahab’s camp in the desert.
If this was to be her plan, then taking care of herself had to be her top priority, no longer would she do something that could jeopardize her life because now her life was directly connected to her soon-to-be-born child. She lifted her shirt to expose her belly and ran her hand over it. She never imagined ever being pregnant, yet here she was, possibly days away from giving birth. Again she looked at her reflection in the mirror. “Your job is to now take care of this baby, do you understand?” she asked herself.
A tap at the door tore her away from her thoughts.
“Are you okay?” Anna asked.
“Yes, I’m done, just coming out,” Lexi said. She opened the door to find Anna standing there.
“You look and smell better, but you forgot one thing,” Anna said, handing Lexi a toothbrush. “I bet those chompers haven’t had real care in a while; now get to it. When you’re done, I’ll meet you back in the room. I want to do an examination on you.”
“You already did,” Lexi replied.
“I’m talking about your baby,” Anna said.
“You can do that? You’re qualified?”
“I’m the most qualified person you’ll meet within a hundred miles. Now get those teeth cleaned and meet me back in the bedroom,” Anna said marching off. “And I hope you didn’t get the bandage on your hand wet. I don’t want to replace it.”
Lexi looked at her right hand; the thick bandage wrapped her palm and knuckles. She’d kept it dry, so Anna would be happy. She brushed her teeth and promptly went to the bedroom. There she found Anna sorting through the pockets of her pants.
“You won’t find anything of value in there,” Lexi quipped.
“I’m not snooping. I want to wash these, though I should burn them,” Anna said.
