The next full militia meeting was scheduled for two days later, and twenty-seven new members attended, which, coupled with the loss of Luther due to his injury, swelled militia membership to seventy-nine individuals, twenty-two of them women. The increased membership allowed for two additional people on the overnight shift, another up in the observer’s post, and a dedicated patrol along the river. During the days, more energy was spent on digging trenches, building fortifications, reinforcing the militia house, and being more prepared in general, should the need to combat hostiles arise again.
CHAPTER 9
Wednesday, January 18th
Deer Creek, MT
Just as the sun was dipping below the mountains, a weak knock sounded at the front door. Kyle answered it and was greeted by a frail, elderly woman who he vaguely recognized. She wore a bright red, wool coat that seemed to swallow her up and stood in stark contrast to her white hair. Kyle could see two spindly legs sticking out from the bottom of the coat capped with a pair of well-worn slippers that were wet with snow and ice.
“Hi,” she said, forcing a smile, her voice shaking and hurried. “Is Dr. Carol here? I think my sister has died.”
“I’m so sorry, ma’am,” Kyle responded, ushering her in. “Let me get Carol for you.” He turned to run up the stairs, but Carol was already on her way down.
“It’s for you,” he said, indicating the woman at the front door.
“Hi Sherry,” Carol said sympathetically. “Did I hear you say that Penny passed away?”
The old woman nodded as tears formed and rolled slowly through the maze of wrinkles on her face. “I believe so,” she answered. “She started coughing and couldn’t stop. I went to get her a drink of water, and that’s when I heard her fall. When I got back to her she was already gone. I tried to check for a pulse, but,” she paused, tears still flowing, “but I couldn’t feel anything. I tried to do CPR, like you showed me, but I’m just not strong enough.”
Carol quickly found her jacket and put it on, then wrapped a comforting arm around the woman. “Lets go see if we’ve lost her.” They hurried out the front door, closing it tightly behind them.
Kyle looked at Jennifer, who had emerged from the kitchen nibbling on a small piece of bread. “Who was that?” he asked
“Sherry Williams. She lives down the street with her sister, Penny. Moved in a couple of years ago when her husband died. I think they’re both close to ninety.”
“Should I go with Carol or something? I feel like I should be more helpful.”
“Let’s just wait and see. Sherry suffers from dementia, or Alzheimer’s, or something, and her medications ran out long ago. I think this is the third time that Penny’s died, so it might not be an emergency, but Carol’s said it’s just a matter of time for either one of them.”
Kyle stroked his beard. “Do we do funerals, when people die?”
“Yes, Kyle, that’s usually when we do funerals,” Jennifer answered, laughing. “They don’t like it so much if we do it before then.”
“Ha-ha-ha. Good one.” Kyle held his sides in an exaggerated laugh. “That’s not what I meant. I was just thinking about those guys last week. We just dug some holes by the road; there wasn’t a service or anything. Nobody from town has died since I got back, so I was just curious how we handle it.”
“Yes, we have funerals. Gabe does them, and they’ve been nice, all things considered.”
“Gabe? Isn’t he a plumber?” Kyle looked at Jennifer, his brow wrinkled. “Does he make flushing sounds when they lower the body into the ground?”
Jennifer let out a laugh, despite the shocked look on her face. “Stop it, Kyle. That’s sacrilegious or something.”
“I’m serious. Why do we have a plumber do the funerals? Seems weird.”
“Gabe’s a Mormon. Grace says he’s a Bishop in their church, so he’s done weddings and funerals and that kind of stuff. I guess in that church they’re only asked to be the Bishop for a few years, so they keep their regular jobs.”
“Do they have to be plumbers?”
“I doubt it. Any job is probably okay, as long as it’s legal.”
“How about a doctor?”
“I’m sure that’s fine.”
“That would be strange. ‘So, Mr. Tait, please turn your head and cough, and I hear you’ve been having lustful thoughts. Tell me the truth or I’ll probe deeper.’”
“You’re terrible,” Jennifer said, smacking him on his shoulder. “Ask Grace if you want to know more; I don’t know the details.”
“How about a gynecologist. ‘Mrs. Tait, please puts your feet up in the stirrups. Now, I’ve been wondering why you haven’t been at church lately.’”
“Drop it, Kyle. I would guess that they don’t do exams at church on Sunday, but I don’t know. Ask someone who does. You work tonight, right?”
Kyle nodded.
“How soon ‘till David will be ready to go back?”
“I’m not sure. Sean says he can take as much time as he needs, but I don’t think they’ll put him back on nights.”
“Good. I was nervous about him being up there before, but no way I want him up there now. He can walk around town during the day, but I don’t want him out at dark anymore. It’s too dangerous.”
Kyle gave Jennifer a hug then slowly slid a hand around to her chest but found it quickly pushed away. He bit his lip in frustration and took a step back, trying to look her in the eyes. “He’s a big boy, Jenn. There were lots of fourteen year olds fighting in World War II, and they managed. But you’re right, and Sean agrees. David will be on days, at least for a while. Sean was pretty concerned that David let those guys get so close.”
The front door opened, and Carol stepped back inside, with Sherry tucked under her arm. “Kyle?” Carol said as she pushed the door shut. “Could you go get Gabe? We need to arrange for a funeral.”
Kyle offered condolences, then hurriedly pulled on his coat and boots and was out the door. The sun had set, and the wind was picking up, dropping the temperature noticeably. Kyle wrapped his scarf around his neck as he hurried to Gabe’s house.
They returned to Carols’ house together, chatting briefly about the community and the funeral. Kyle hurriedly put on an extra layer of clothing and grabbed his weapons before rushing off to work, already late for his shift.
By the time he arrived at the militia house his preferred assignment, walking along the river, had been taken, leaving him with everyone’s least favorite assignment – walking the town interior. Even though it provided a little variety, because there was no defined route to patrol, it was further from the garrison and tended to be the one with the fewest opportunities to warm up.
The night was cold but passed without incident, and soon after sun-up, Kyle was home and in bed, dead to the world. He had been asleep for just a short time when he felt someone shaking him.
“Kyle,” Jennifer said, tugging on his arm.
Kyle blinked, shook his head, and looked at Jennifer. “What?” he mumbled, trying to get his bearings.
“Sean’s here. He needs to talk to you. Says it’s important.”
Kyle swallowed, cleared his throat, and sat up. “Alright. Tell him just a minute.” He already had his sweatpants on, but grabbed his sweatshirt that he kept on the fireplace hearth and pulled it on before going upstairs.
Sean sat on the couch in the living room. His cheeks were red, and he wore a thick, olive green jacket. “Morning, Kyle,” he said, sounding like the drill instructor Kyle was used to. “Sorry to wake you.”
Kyle shrugged. “What’s going on?”
“There’s a girl from Clinton that’s missing. According to her father, she came over here to visit that Briggs kid, Dale, the one you caught with the wood. Anyway, she came over for a visit last night and never made it back home. Dale said she left at midnight, and he’s the last one that saw her. I understand you did the interior patrol last night?”
“I did,” Kyle confirmed as a fought off a yawn. “But I didn’t see anyone. It was cold and quiet.”