Jake rubbed his eyes lazily and let loose a loud yawn.
“How’d you sleep, son?”
Narrow eyes looked back, “Pretty good.” His voice was still flat, but Cooper’s heart rejoiced at the trace of the boy he heard within it.
His joy was short-lived, as Jake’s tone turned harsh once again and his eyes became slits, “You kill him?”
“No, I could have. But, I let him live.”
“That’s too bad,” Jake scoffed.
Cooper softened his voice further and looked with concern at Jake, “His daughter came into the room. I couldn’t do it in front of her. She reminded me of you, son.”
Jake’s face fell flat and he laughed morosely, “I ain’t like that no more. You shoulda killed that bastard. He drove us away from mom.” Anger laced his words as he rustled out of his sleeping bag and scampered onto his feet. Cooper recognized someone trying to make an escape when he saw it. Cooper did likewise, and caught him by the shoulder just as Jake was trying to walk away.
He grabbed him by both shoulders and lowered his face so that they were eye to eye, “You don’t have to do this, Jake.”
“Do what?” he fired back, defiant.
“Become hard. I went through war and didn’t do that. I saw lots of men not do that. Men who fought. Who killed. Who saw horror. Who didn’t do what you are doing.”
A long pause hung in the air. Jake’s eyes filled with tears and he barely managed a raspy whisper, “Were they eleven?”
His words ripped Cooper’s heart open. The painful truth was piercing. Defeated, his voice fell and he cast his eyes at the black and white tiled floor, “No. No. They weren’t eleven.”
Another long pause passed between them.
Jake grabbed his father’s shirt and tugged hard, “I don’t know how not to, dad!” Hearing the helpless pleading of his son, his heart sundered anew.
He pulled himself back so he could look at Jake in the eye, “Won’t you at least let me help you? Trust me, what you’re doing will just burn you up. I’ve seen it a million times.”
Jake’s eyes were confused, hesitant. His words were stilted, “I don’t know, dad. I’ll try. It hurts too much. Everyone dying. Mom dying. Peter. Worrying about you dying. Me dying.”
Cooper yanked Jake into a tight embrace and stroked his son’s hair, “I know, son. I know. Just let me help you. Don’t go away. Please.” Now, it was Cooper’s turn to beg.
Jake nodded his head vigorously against his father’s chest and sobbed. His little body wracked against Cooper’s. “That’s right, son. Just let go. It’s alright.”
Soft footsteps caused Cooper to look up. Angela’s eyes were full, dripping with sympathetic tears. She moved behind Jake and embraced Cooper, with Jake in the middle. Jake’s head turned rapidly to see who it was. Expecting Julianne, his eyes raged. Seeing Angela, he relaxed and buried his face once more in his father’s chest. Her act of tenderness, and its effect on Jake, filled Cooper’s heart with hope. He caught her gaze and offered a warm smile. Her eyes glinted and her lips upturned. The three stayed in this welcome oasis until Dranko interrupted them awkwardly.
“We need to pack up and get ready to move,” he said softly, placing his hand on Cooper’s shoulder.
As the three disengaged, Cooper caught sight of Julianne. She stood off in a corner and averted her eyes as soon as he looked up at her. Still, he saw the fresh tears spilling down her face. Even the briefest glance into those eyes stirred him from some place deep he could not name. Despite himself, his heart longed to comfort her. Why do I feel this way toward her? He summoned anger to push it aside. She doesn’t deserve it. Nonetheless, the question plagued him as they prepared to leave.
Chapter Four
With their gear repacked into their vehicles, they gathered in the parking lot. This time, Jake was posted as their guard, making sure they were not caught unawares.
“Alright, we need to scout the bridge to make sure we aren’t ambushed,” Dranko opened.
“Right. Lily, can you drive?”
“Can a cow shit,” Lily deadpanned and everyone laughed. As the laughter died, she continued, “I might be old, honey, but I ain’t dead. If you didn’t already have two women here jostling for your attention, I’d probably show you what else I can still do.” Cooper flushed a shade just shy of fire engine red. Angela and Julianne looked at one another, exchanging an awkward mix of humor and competition. Freddie doubled over. Calvin and Dranko grinned widely.
“Hell, Lily, you could still show Dranko,” Freddie joked. Now, Dranko blushed and he flipped Freddie the bird, “No offense, Lily.”
“None taken. Actually, Freddie, I was thinking you and I could do the whole Cougar thing one better. I’m so old, I could be your sabre tooth tiger.” Another round of laughing rocked the group. Cooper let it go on, knowing laughter was a great stress reliever. He knew they needed it every chance they had.
“Alright, already. Let’s get serious,” Cooper stated to bring some order to the lighthearted chaos. “Lily, you and Julianne will be drivers in the vehicles, parked just out of sight as we near the bridge. Jake will be in a vehicle, too. The rest of us can scout across the bridge on foot. Typical leapfrog. But, Angela, I want you with a scoped rifle on this side scanning the other. If there is trouble, we could use some accurate fire laid down. Make sense?”
Everyone nodded. Dranko stirred, “I’ve got a radio for each of us, set to Channel 15. If we get cross-traffic or interference, we will move to 16. Also, grab extra mags for your rifles. If we get into a scrape, we don’t want to run out of ammo. Finally, Freddie and Calvin, since you don’t have much experience with firefights, if we get into one, just remember…breathe…let it halfway out and hold it…and then squeeze the trigger. Don’t jerk it.”
The two nodded. Cooper noticed the clenching of their hands and neck muscles. Nerves. “Don’t worry. If you can manage to aim the best you can and fire, you will be doing well. He clapped both men on their shoulders as he stood between them. “Alright?”
“Yeah, I got it. Set the expectations low to take the pressure off us, right? Smart,” Calvin responded.
“I ain’t worried about pressure from Cooper, I’m worried about someone shooting at us,” Freddie exclaimed and laughed hollowly.
“Dranko and I will take lead. You’ll both do great. Hopefully, this will just be a good practice run.”
Ten minutes later, they had outfitted themselves with weapons and extra ammunition. Cooper and Dranko donned body armor, and once again Cooper thanked him for storing an extra set during his preparations for the end of the world. Dranko held one set of binoculars and gave the other to Angela. Finally, they ensured the radios were working before heading out toward the overpass over I-205.
“Angela, if you see movement or anyone on the other side, first radio to us the location. Then, fire. I doubt anyone waiting on the other side isn’t doing so to offer us a morning tea or cup of coffee.”
“Or a delicious donut from Voodoo’s. Mmmm…” Freddie quipped, alluding to the almost-famous donut shop in Portland, while patting his belly.
“Damn, why’d you remind me of those? They are so good,” Lily exclaimed.
“You mean were so good,” Dranko intoned as smiles disappeared around him. Cooper just shook his head.
Calvin brought them back to the task at hand, “Right. We got it.”