No One's Time, page 15
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Sebastian was worried about Liam. The deaths kept mounting and Liam became more despondent. There was less laughter from the man, who was a notorious jokester. All of the passengers were in the same shape. Each day that passed was faced with dread of who was next. Who would die and how? The events reminded him of the Korean drama, Squid Games. He’d binge watched the program just before he left Fort Worth. He and Liam set up lines of beer on the coffee table of his new home. The ranch had been a rare find and he was relieved once the closing went through without a hitch. Now he’d never see his home again. Never retire there, as was his plan.
He picked up a bracket. He was making another shelter, this one more robust. Their impromptu transition near the temporal opening had forced the group to put up shelters. The bus was simply too far away, and if or when the rift opened, they needed to be near. Especially at night. The way people were dying, if the portal didn’t open soon, there would be no one left to go through. He glanced over at the children. The two older children were playing under one of the shelters. There was a light drizzle. Lisa and Dale were under another shelter with Suvi and Pen.
“You okay?” Oliver asked.
Sebastian nodded. “Only wondering,” he said.
“Sure, I feel ya. Everyone is probably thinkin’ the same. Who’s next?” Oliver said.
Sebastian set the modified metal bracket up and joined the end with the one Oliver held. They had cannibalized the bus for parts. They had a bag of screws and bolts and he dug into the bag, pulling out several different sized screws and nuts. Finding the correct bolt, he threw the others back into the bag, threaded the bolt through the hole to connect the brackets, then secured the supports with the correct nut. He was glad Owen found the toolbox; the tools had been extremely helpful.
For extra strength, they used strips of the seat material and made a latticework for the roof. Pen had woven the strips together. The shelter was a little large so he had to drape the material over the framework and tie around the long lengths. Oliver was doing the same on his side. Xavier made a machete tool so they could cut palm fronds with ease. Sebastian glanced at Xavier, who was lying down in one of the lean-tos. He thought the man’s color looked bad. Liam mentioned that the man’s blood pressure meds had run out.
“Think it will hold?” Oliver asked, shaking the frame.
Sebastian nodded. The shelter seemed sturdy enough. He wiped the moisture off his face. The drizzle only made the air more difficult to breathe. The air was heavy and humid. The fire smoldered and most of the wood was now kept in the bus to keep the firewood dry. They had downsized the fire when they realized none of the dinosaurs came near camp. They still kept a watch through the night, though they were down many people.
He stood, handing Oliver a large palm frond, and picked up his own. He began to thread and weave the frond through the lattice. They would layer the fronds to keep the hard, driving rain out. The occasions were rare to experience a hard rain and they’d alternated to the bus during those times. He wanted something close to the opening. This would hold everyone. Not very comfortably, but they would be close to the opening if it ever occurred during a heavy rain.
He shook the structure. “Feels pretty solid. With the extra supports, this should hold up.”
“Better construction through modern engineering.” Oliver snorted.
Sebastian grinned and continued to weave in the fronds. He watched Liam get up and Rose followed after him. She spoke to Liam and he nodded then both disappeared into the forest.
Sebastian let out a long sigh.
“He’ll be okay. Rose will make sure of that,” Oliver said.
“I worry. What if something happens to Rose?”
“Then we support our brother the best way we can,” Oliver said.
“We grew up together. We were neighbors, poor part of town. We didn’t have a pot to piss in, but we always managed to have fun. You know, as kids always do. This time on leave, I bought a ranch, for when I retire. It’s got a sweet barn with a mother-in-law apartment on the top floor. That’s Liam’s place.”
“We may get out of this yet. We just gotta stay alive long enough for that opening. Makes ya wonder how often it opens in our time and why no one ever came through. Or if they did, I’m thinkin’ they didn’t last very long. We had the bus and our weapons. That’s been a big help in our survival. Plus, we’ve the manpower, though it’s dwindling fast.”
“I’ve thought about that too. I think the temporal rift opens and closes so quickly that if you aren’t right on top of it at the right time, no one has ever seen it or figured out what it was. Well, other than some kind of weather phenomenon.” Sebastian put the last frond on. He crawled into the shelter and sat. The leaning top was a few inches from his head. He could at least sit in here. They would remove more of the seats and place the furniture in this new shelter, make the area more comfortable. He thought perhaps if they could get some of the metal siding off the exterior of the bus, they could make a metal roof. The heavier roof would be something to think about.
“Sure as shit, we need a fricken miracle if we’re gonna make it outta here,” Oliver said and settled beside him.
Sebastian leaned back. “Brother, you got that right.”
His gaze roved around the camp. Owen and Nikki were talking, holding hands. Four quick days had passed since Gail and Larry were taken. Gail’s optimistic energy was sorely missing now. They were trying to figure out a way to fish without the nets. No one was going back into the water, even if it was only shin deep. Liam said that Gail and Larry had been up to their waists, Owen and Nikki about thigh deep. Sebastian wondered if that had saved their lives.
Liam described the creature as looking like a fish and an alligator. Gray and green scale-like face with a long, narrow snout and bulbous nose. He said the head and snout were as tall as a man. The attack happened so fast that the sighting was only an impression. The creature was a big damned fish. If Gail and Larry had been closer to shore, perhaps they wouldn’t have been taken. The rest tended to stay closer to shore when they fished. Maybe the leviathan couldn’t get that close in? Perhaps the attack was sheer bad luck for Gail and Larry. Whatever the reason, the couple’s deaths hit the group hard, as each death did.
Sebastian stood. “I’m gonna go and see if I can pull out some of the wiring inside the bus. Maybe we can make fishing line out of that.”
“Now that sounds like a damned fine idea. You Army types, always surprising me. I’ll help.” Grinning, Oliver crawled out of the lean-to.
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Pen walked back to the camp, Sebastian carrying the pail of water for her. She found a few snails and wrapped the gastropods up in a spare shirt. She’d been marking time and the date was now nearing the end of the first week of November. Both were silent as they made their way back. When standing at the shores of the lake, she’d tried to imagine and failed. The water was smooth except for the massive dinosaurs in the distance. The lake was placid, with large dragonflies flitting around. She shivered again at the thought of Gail and Larry.
“Something wrong, Pen?” Sebastian asked.
She smiled up at him. He made her feel safe. He was steady, one of the steadiest men she’d ever met. How did he cope? How did he not fall apart? Each day was like a living, walking nightmare. Her lip trembled and she bit it. She wouldn’t cry. She wouldn’t. Yet, even trying to push the sorrow down, her eyes watered. She swiped angrily at the useless tears.
“I’m just trying to come to terms with yet another loss. How do you do it, Sebastian? How do you keep going and not crumble and cave?”
He stopped and turned her toward him. “I’ve got no choice. Each day I wake, I take a breath and then keep going. That’s it. I know of no other way but to keep going, keep living.”
“I’m just a big wuss, I guess.” Pen started crying in earnest now.
She was pulled into his embrace, the bundle of snails between them, the bucket of water at her back. Pen laid her head on his warm chest and felt comforted by his presence. She laughed a little and pulled back.
“Sorry. I’m not usually such a crybaby.”
“Don’t apologize. I’ve done my own fair share of crying. It doesn’t mean you’re weak. Sometimes, you just have to let it out or explode.” Sebastian thumbed away her tears and she smiled up at him.
They resumed their walk. She’d seen how Liam and Rose had gotten together along with Nikki and Owen. She did feel something very strong for Sebastian, yet she was hesitant to act on the emotions. Pen wasn’t sure if her feelings were authentic or simply a sense of wellbeing. An overwhelming urge to be held and reassured took her breath away. He allayed the terror and for now, that was enough. If they ever got out of here, she thought perhaps she would think about some kind of relationship, if that were even possible.
By the end of the day, she could be dead or he could be dead. Pen was having a hell of a time dealing with people she’d only met a month ago. Yes, she’d gotten close to them. But what if she fell in love? Would the loss destroy her if Sebastian were to die? She was pretty sure it would and she only just liked the man. She couldn’t imagine what would happen if they became even closer, if they became intimate.
“In your life before Jimmy, you know, running from him, what did you like to do?” he asked.
“Work mostly. Not that I liked it all that much. Work was work. I liked to go to the rodeos and events like that,” she said, surprised by the question.
“You ride?”
“Sure do. Since I was a kid. We couldn’t afford to own a horse, but my grandmother made sure I was well acquainted with them and learned how to ride and handle horses. She grew up on a ranch and hoped one day I’d get to ride and work around horses. So I took lessons when I was a kid and when I was a teen, I joined 4H with my best friend Mallory. Her dad owns a farm outside of Fort Worth.”
“I never sat a horse until I was fourteen. Scared the hell out of me. Liam too, but we egged each other on. During the summers, I worked on one of the local horse ranches. Liam’s a couple years younger, but he joined on as well. After getting bitten and stepped on a few hundred times, I lost my fears,” Sebastian laughed.
Pen giggled. “I remembered the first time I was bitten by a horse. I felt so betrayed.”
“They are amazing creatures. Quite intelligent, and each with their own personality. If we ever get back, I plan to raise a few horses and maybe breed them. When I retire from the Army.”
“I hope we get back. I’ll be going back to Fort Worth. I don’t think I need to worry about Jimmy anymore. Do you know he apologized? Just before he headed back.”
“I guess when you’re nearly eaten, it puts things in perspective.”
“Whatever the reason, I’m glad. I think his father let him get away with murder. He did his son a disservice.”
“Did you have a run-in with his father?”
“His father is a judge. They call him ‘Hang’um High Harry,’ and from what I understand, if you went against Jimmy, you regretted your actions.”
“That why you had to leave?”
“I was afraid Jimmy would kill me or I’d end up killing him. It was all I could do to keep him from raping me in my own home. He wouldn’t take no for an answer.” Pen shuddered.
“Other than the possibility of Jimmy being dead, I’m glad he’s gone. I’m not sure how he’d have acted once those pills were gone. You know, withdrawal and all,” said Sebastian.
“I hate to say, but the way he was going, it was only a matter of time before he got killed. Did he ever say what happened to Theo?”
“Nope. Nothing. He didn’t really talk much and then he was gone through the rift.”
Pen thumbed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. There was still a little shampoo left. She thought she’d wash her hair on her next visit to the river. They had gathered all the hygiene products and she allowed herself a thorough bath once a week. She felt clean for a few hours before the sweat made her feel grungy again, and her deodorant was almost gone too. She was careful with her toothpaste, only brushing once a day now. She had to make that last.
They reentered camp and headed to the shelters. Sebastian set the pail of water on the stones and grate to boil, then they would fill the bottles.
Pen walked over to the snail garden and put her snails with the others. There were two left. The snails were kind of like having pets. When they slithered too far away, she or one of the others would herd the creatures back, closer to camp. Like the humans, the snails were living on borrowed time.
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Liam and Rose were in the dense forest. They skirted the large meadow and were setting up wire snares. The shoestring snares hadn’t worked and when Sebastian pulled the wiring from the bus to make fishing line, Liam thought they could use the wire as snares. So far, they’d set two large snares. He used chopped up snail meat as bait. Hopefully, the wire would hold. He wasn’t sure what size dinosaur they could catch, but the meat would help. So far, fishing wasn’t going great. Owen and Nikki were using saplings with the long wires attached, and Xavier carved wooden fish hooks, they used bits of metal as well. Attempting to find a piece of metal the correct shape that could be used to hook a fish was difficult.
Their snail farm was growing. They now had over a dozen snails corralled. Using the tubers, crawfish, and roots, they were able to eat a stew-like concoction. Liam checked both Lisa and Dale daily for weight loss. So far, both were holding their own. That gave him some hope. The meat they caught was dried out and placed into plastic. The food didn’t last long, but gave the group a day or so of not hunting. The food went bad quickly and none could afford to get sick.
“What do you miss most?” Rose asked, picking up on their earlier discussion about their favorite foods.
“I think I miss the continuity of life. I feel like I’m on edge every minute of the day. Like I’m holding my breath, waiting for the next shitty thing to happen,” said Liam. He looked down into Rose’s deep blue eyes and lost himself in their depths. He leaned his head down and kissed her. She was the only thing that kept him from falling over a dark edge. He knew Sebastian worried about him.
Rose squeezed his hand. “We just need to keep focused, babe.”
“I know. At least Lisa and Dale are doing better,” he said and smiled.
They stopped by a likely spot, where the underbrush looked like the area through and around was trampled down. He took out the length of wire and attached it to the tree nearest the path. Xavier showed him how to make the snare and he set the snail meat down. Then he pulled excess brush and sticks around to make a funnel, guiding the dinosaur in one way. He hoped the snare would work. Nick did the same with the shoe strings, and the shoestring snare hadn’t worked. Hopefully this would.
Sebastian and Oliver were their best dinosaur hunters. He and Rose were the crawfish wranglers and tuber tanglers. Liam snorted at the thought.
“What?” Rose asked.
“I was thinking about what we do, you know, gathering food and all. Wrangling the snails and the crawfish. What would you call gathering tubers and roots?”
“Rootlers?”
Liam laughed. “That’s good. We’re rootlers and wranglers.”
They whirled at the sound of a loud snap. The creature came at the pair so fast Liam barely got the Sig Sauer out in time. A large dinosaur burst through the bushes. The beast was roughly five feet tall and bipedal. The predator reminded Liam of one of the velociraptors he’d seen in movies but with a shorter neck and snout. The animal was coming at him fast. He fired a shot but missed and he held up his arm in defensive reflex as the animal reached them.
The dinosaur latched onto Liam’s forearm and he screamed when the sharp teeth punctured his flesh and his bones splintered in a loud snap. The Sig flew out of his hand. The animal jerked him hard. One of its legs came up and Liam felt the hot searing as the large claw ripped down his leg. The animal tried to get purchase on him. He tried desperately to pull his arm out of the animal’s mouth. The dinosaur slung him like a ragdoll as it tried to rip his arm off.
Liam watched in horror as the muscles of his forearm hung in ribbons and his brain exploded in excruciating pain. The only thing that kept him fighting was the adrenaline dump into his system. He vaguely noticed Rose beside him and then the deafening shots of the Sig Sauer. She was shooting into the dinosaur’s head. After six shots, the creature fell to the ground, yanking Liam down with it. Rose was screaming and crying as she pulled him away from the dead animal.
She yanked his shirt off of him and tied it around his upper arm. He couldn’t look down. If he did, he thought he might vomit. Rose yanked him up and along, pulling him, screaming all the while. Liam’s brain was shutting down and a small, clinical part told him he was going into shock.
Rose sounded a million miles away as she screamed for help. His arm throbbed but the initial pain was now a muffled ache. His legs wabbled wildly as he stumbled and tried to run. If it weren’t for Rose nearly dragging him, Liam was fairly sure he’d just crumple to the ground. Ahead, he saw Sebastian and Oliver. The look on Sebastian’s face frightened Liam to his core.
“Rose, go tell Suvi to get the medic bag ready. Hurry!” Sebastian roared. Sebastian lifted Liam over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry, holding onto his good arm. His body bounced as Sebastian ran through the forest, Oliver keeping up beside them.
“How ya doin’, playboy?” Oliver asked.
Liam grinned slightly, his lips trembling. “Pretty fucked up, man. There’s a big fucker back there, good for supper,” Liam croaked.
“Screw that, we’ll take care of you first” Oliver promised.
Liam tried to nod but let his head drop. The ability to keep his head up was too difficult. He vomited and was glad he hadn’t covered Sebastian’s backside.
