In One Fell Swoop, page 6
I turned and walked back to my girls, who were sitting on a blanket on the ground, holding each other close. Their worried eyes fell on me as I came closer. I shook my head.
"Nothing new," I said and finished my coffee. I didn't want to tell them about the boot. I didn't want to worry them further. I crushed the plastic cup in my hand while wondering what the heck was going on in this place and how fifteen people could simply vanish like this, in one fell swoop.
It made no sense. No sense at all.
Chapter 19
Two more hours passed before things changed dramatically. I was sitting on the blanket. Julia was lying in a fetal position, her head in my lap when I saw the first car drive up to the clearing. Everyone else saw it too. A dozen others followed the first jeep. Out jumped armed soldiers in camouflage uniforms.
"What the heck?"
Julia sat up. "What's happening?"
Some of the soldiers started yelling at people, shooing them away, telling them to leave. A man, who looked to be an officer, approached Sheriff Ivan. I watched them argue for a little while before Ivan backed down, resigned.
"Mom?" Julia said, her voice shaking, hysteria lurking underneath. "What's going on, Mom?"
I got up. "I'll go check it out."
There was a lot of yelling and a soldier tried to shoo me away, but I told him where to shove it, then pushed him to the side. The people who had been on the search teams were gathered in one group, like a herd; they all looked baffled and were talking amongst themselves. Ivan tried to calm them down.
"Ivan!" I yelled. "What the heck is going on here?"
He gave up on calming the group, then approached me. "They're closing the place down," he said.
"They're what? Who is?"
"Government. They're taking over the search, they say."
"But…but they can't do that. Ivan, you've gotta tell them they can't do that. My grandson is in there."
He exhaled. "There really isn't anything I can do at this point," he said.
"But…but there must be something you can do?"
"You'd think, right? But there really isn't. They have their orders. I don't think they even know why they're doing it. They're following orders."
"But, the military? What are they doing here? Why would they get involved because a group of campers is missing?"
He shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to tell all these people what’s going on, even though I don't really know myself."
I watched him go to the group that had been searching all night and tell them it was over, that they could go home and sleep, that they had done all they could and now it was time for new forces to try, and that the search was in the best of hands.
Thinking it was all a load of BS, I walked back to my daughters, looked Julia in the eyes, and sighed.
"What's going on, Mom? Why are they sending people away? Why are the search teams going home?" she asked.
"The military is taking over the search," I said. "They want us all to leave."
"But why? Why should we leave?" Julia asked. "Why can't we sit here and wait for news?"
"They'll call us if they have news," I said. "Come on, let's go home. I'll whip something up for all of us."
"But… but I can't leave, Mom! I can't leave while Sam is still in those swamps somewhere. Why won't they let us stay? What's going on here? Why is the military even here?"
"I don't know," I said. "And neither does Sheriff Ivan. They just told everyone to leave. Since they have the big guns, I say we do as they tell us to. But this ain't over yet, Julia. Mark my words. Somethin' smells fishy around here. I'll find out what’s going on if it's the last thing I do. Ain't no military going to stop me from that. Now, get in the truck, we're going home."
Chapter 20
"Ha! Look at this."
Billy looked up from the drawer he was going through and spotted Darlene in the corner of the living room. This was house number three they had gone through and, so far, it had turned out to be quite the harvest. Lots of jewelry, iPads, and computers, but also cash. Lots of cash. Darlene had been right when she told him people in a place like this didn't put their money in the bank.
"Will you look at this?" Darlene said, her eyes sparkling, cigarette in the corner of her mouth.
Billy left the drawer and looked at what Darlene was holding in her hand. It was cash. A whole bundle of cash. "And there’s more, look," she said and showed him a sports bag filled with more bundles of cash. Billy couldn't believe what he saw. Who had money like that simply lying in the living room of their house?
Billy knew what kind of people. He knew exactly who.
"Maybe we should put it back," he said.
"Are you insane?" Darlene squealed. "There’s at least twenty grand right there. We could live a long time on that kind of money."
"Darlene," Billy said, hard.
"What? We're rich, Billy, we're rich!"
"Darlene. Put that money back. We have to get out of this house, you hear me?" he said and grabbed her by the hand.
But she pulled it away.
"I ain't going nowhere without this money, Billy. What's the matter with you? Why aren't you happy?"
He went close to her till they were face to face. "Don't you see? Haven't you learned nothin'? What kind of people have money like this in a sports bag, huh? Think, Darlene, I swear sometimes you make me so…"
"What do you mean what kind of people?" she asked, but she didn't get to finish the sentence before they heard footsteps behind them. Billy turned and looked into the barrel of a gun. Darlene gasped.
"My kind of people," the man holding the gun said. "People like me who don't go running off to join a search team because someone has gone missing."
Billy was sweating heavily now. He wondered about Emily and if she had done as he told her to, if she had run when she saw this guy drive up in the driveway or—and this was the thought that troubled him—if this guy had hurt her. He looked like the kind of guy who might hurt a child. He looked like the kind they would meet in prison if they ever made it that far.
"I'm sorry," Billy said. "We were just putting that back."
"Of course you were," the man said, signaling to Darlene to hand him the bag and the money in her hand.
She did as he wanted, even though it was reluctant. She sure liked her money, that girl.
Billy swallowed hard when the gun wasn't removed even after the man got his money back. Billy didn't know how he had made that kind of money but guessed he had to be the local drug dealer or something. It really didn't matter. All he knew was that this guy hadn't earned it legally and that he probably wasn't going to hesitate to kill them for trying to take it.
"So, who sent you?" he asked.
Billy looked confused.
"Was it Eric? Or Dave?"
Billy shook his head. "I…I…we were just passing by…"
The gun was pressed hard into the skin on his forehead. "Don't lie to me. Don't you dare lie to me. Tell me, who sent you?"
"It was Eric," Darlene yelled out.
Billy gave her a look. What the heck was she up to now?
"Eric, huh?" the man said. "That pig."
"Yeah, Darlene said. "He's a real pig."
"I can't believe he would do this to me," the man said. "After all we…the scumbag. I knew he would turn on me eventually. With some people you just know, you know? Well, it doesn't matter. I’m just gonna send him a message."
"W-w-what kind of message?" Billy asked.
"That you don't mess with the Dawg, man. I'll kill you and send her off with the note, sign my freakin' name on her ugly forehead."
The Dawg gritted his teeth and Billy saw his finger move on the trigger. Billy Bob was about to close his eyes and say goodbye to this cruel world, only wishing he could hear Emily laugh one last time when he spotted something behind the Dawg just before his eyelids closed.
"B-b-b-ranch!" he stuttered, just as the window shattered behind the Dawg. The branch reached inside, grabbed the Dawg by the throat, and forcefully pulled him out of the house.
Chapter 21
"Did you see that?!"
Darlene pointed at the window, her voice was shrill and pitchy. "Did you just see that?"
"Y-y-y-es…at least I think I did," Billy said.
They were both staring at the broken window where the Dawg had disappeared. The branch was now gone and so was the Dawg. It seemed like it could have been nothing but a dream or some illusion, but it felt so real.
"Ha!" Darlene said. She punched Billy's shoulder. "I told you God was on our side. He totally saved us."
"I…I’m not so sure it was God," Billy said, but Darlene wasn't listening anymore. She went for the sports bag, grabbed it, and swung it across her shoulder, then turned to look at Billy.
"What? It's not like he is going to miss it."
"D-d-don't you care what just happened?" he said.
She shook her head. "For all I know, the guy got what he deserved. Come on, Billy Bob. Let's get out of here and spend some of this lovely money."
Billy could hardly breathe. He was still so shocked about what he had seen, and slightly worried that he was losing it.
Branches can't grab people and drag them out of houses, can they? Since when do they move on their own?
"Come on, Billy," Darlene hissed. "Don't just stand there looking goofy. Let's get out of this town."
For the first time in forever, Billy agreed with Darlene. There was nothing he wanted more right now than to get away from this strange place.
Maybe take a nap. Rest a little. Maybe cut down on the beers for a little while.
"Okay. Let's just go."
They started towards the front door when the ground shook heavily beneath them. They were both thrown to the wooden planks, while lamps, bookshelves, and chairs were knocked down. Billy covered his head while things around them crashed to the floor.
"What the heck was that?" Darlene said when it finally stopped.
"Felt like an earthquake," Billy said.
"We don't get earthquakes in Florida," Darlene said. "There's no freakin' mountains."
"I know," Billy said, got up to his feet, and reached down his hand to help Darlene up as well. We don't get trees that reach into houses and grab people either. "That's why I think we need to get out of here as fast as we can."
"I'm with you there," Darlene said, as she grabbed the sports bag and started to run. Billy was right behind her when the ground shook once again and the floor started to move underneath them.
"What the hell…?" Billy said, as he looked down and saw the floor break, while huge tree roots sprang up from underneath.
Darlene screamed. "Billy! Help me!"
At first, he couldn't see her for all the tree roots sprouting up through the floor, but once he looked up, he saw her in the air, dangling from a vine of some sort that was wrapped several times around her throat.
"Darlene!" he yelled.
"Billy," she repeated, half choked. The vine was tightening its grip. Her veins popped out on her throat and in her face.
"H-h-help me."
After that, nothing but gurgling sounds came from her as the vine slowly strangled all life out of her, lifting her further up than Billy could ever reach.
"Darlene!"
He cried as he watched it all happen, reaching his arms up as if he thought he could do anything at all, even though deep down inside knew he couldn't. He could do nothing but watch her die.
Next, her eyes rolled back in her head, the ground shook again, and a wall of the house came down with a loud crash. Billy gasped, when he suddenly spotted Emily in the street beneath him, staring up at him, eyes wide open. She opened her mouth in terror, then screamed, "DAAAAD!"
Chapter 22
"What is that?"
We had just entered Webster and were driving down Second Street when we saw it. The sun had set, but it was still light enough to see. Grace was the first to point it out to the rest of us.
"Oh, my word," I said, leaning forward to better see out of the windshield. In front of me was something I couldn't put words to even if I tried.
"Is that a tree…?" Danielle asked. "It looks like a tree, but…but it's…What's it doing to that house?"
"I don't know," I said.
"Are you seeing what I am?" Julia asked.
"If you're seeing a tree about to devour a house, then yes," I said and got out of the truck to better see. My girls followed me.
"That's Dawson's house," Grace said as she came up behind me.
I stayed across the road from the scene. I didn't want to go too close to it, whatever it was.
"I knew Dawson wasn't one of God's best children," I said, "but still…?"
"Oh, my God," Julia said. "It's about to crush the entire house."
And that was when I spotted her. A young girl about the same age as our Sam. She was standing in the driveway, watching the house being crushed by this gigantic tree and its roots. She was screaming her lungs out.
"Daaaaad! Get out of there before that thing crushes the entire house!"
We all looked at each other.
"There’s someone in the house," Grace said. "There’s someone in there!"
I hurried to the girl. She pleaded for our help when she saw us. "My parents are in there," she said. "I just saw my dad. Please, help him get out."
I was speechless. It doesn’t happen very often in my life. I was known to have quite the mouth on me, but this made me run out of words. I wanted to help the girl and her poor parents, I really did, but how? How do you fight a fifty-foot tree monster about to crush an entire house?
I heard the door to my truck slam and Julia hurrying towards us, my old gun between her hands. She lifted it and started to shoot at the tree, at the thick trunk, but the bullets simply ricocheted off, leaving only small marks in the bark. Yet Julia kept shooting, screaming at the top of her lungs, till there were no more bullets left. I think she needed it after all she had been through, and I let her do it. Meanwhile, I spotted the girl's father. One of the walls of the house had fallen and I could see him inside the living room, fighting to get to the edge. More roots sprang up from underneath the house, shooting up through the floor, lifting it from the ground, causing it to shake so badly it made him fall to the ground every time he tried to get up. I could tell by the look on his face that he was screaming, but couldn't hear it over the loud noises coming from the house being crushed. Things were falling around him, and he was being thrown through the air.
"Daaad!" the girl screamed.
"Oh, my word," Danielle said.
"What are we going to do?" Grace asked. "There’s no way we can get him out of there in time."
The girl heard her words and started to cry. I rolled my eyes at Grace, then decided if anything was to be done, I had to do it myself. I ran to my truck and got a rope out of the back, then rushed back and threw the rope to the guy inside the house. He fought his way to it and grabbed onto it, while two more walls fell around him.
"The roof is going to fall!" Julia screamed. "It's gonna fall on top of him when that last wall crashes."
The young girl screamed, as my girls and I grabbed onto the rope and pulled with all the power we possessed. Just as the roof crashed above him, we pulled him out and he was shot out of the ruins of what had once been a house and landed face first in the grass beneath.
Chapter 23
"Grab him," I yelled. "We have to drag him away from here."
All four of us ran to the dad, lifted his arms and legs, and carried him to the truck. We threw him in the back, the girl next to him, then all jumped inside. I put my foot to the pedal. The tires screeched as I rushed out of there. In the rearview mirror, I saw Dawson's house completely disappearing, wrapped in the roots and branches of the big tree.
"What was that?" Grace yelled.
No one answered. Because no one knew.
As we left Second Street, I slowed down, while my heart rate did as well. None of us spoke. I think we were all in too much shock. I drove us back to our house and we helped the girl and her father get inside, then put the dad on the couch. He had hurt his leg badly. It had a deep cut.
"I’m going to take you to the emergency room in Bushnell," I said.
The man grabbed my arm. "Please, don't. No hospital."
"But you need stitches," I said.
"Please," he said.
"All right. I think I can clean it up and maybe bandage it enough. I think I have a couple of butterflies lying around to close it with. You lucked out, Mister, ending up in the house of a former nurse."
"Billy," he said. "People call me Billy Bob. They say I look like Billy Bob Thornton, in his younger years."
"I don't see the resemblance," I said.
He chuckled. "Well, neither can I."
"I'm Emily," the young girl said and reached out her hand towards me. "Will he be all right?"
"Your dad will be fine," I said and wondered about the mother. "Might limp a little, but if he rests and keeps the wound clean, he'll be fine."
I left them and came back with the remedies for fixing him up. I cleaned the wound. He was in a lot of pain and held his daughter's hand tightly. It made me happy to see how close they were. She was going to need him.
"It took Darlene," he said later when I was done and we had eaten.
I had warmed up some leftovers, but all of us barely touched anything. I poured Billy a scotch to help with the pain. I wasn't much for painkillers myself. Seen one too many addicts in my life as a nurse. And not just in patients. Nurses and doctors too. It was just too easy to get caught up in it.
Billy's eyes were tearing up as he slowly came back to reality after the shock.
"Darlene was your wife, I take it?" I asked and poured myself a drink as well. And one for Julia. Grace and Danielle had both gone home to their husbands and promised to be back tomorrow. Julia seemed to be doing a little better. I guess this entire thing helped her not to think too much about Sam.
