Isaiah McDermott shifted his pack to ease the pressure on his shoulders. He rested a bit as he checked his bearings. It appeared as if he was on course toward his destination. According to his map there should be a farm house near by. He had to avoid it at all cost. The "Aggressors" would be watching it. It was on a natural choke point where the roads crossed because of the terrain. The creek and the river in conjunction with the hills made this the easiest way to get to the main highway.
He carefully checked each possible place the enemy could use as an observation post to control the crossing ahead. He felt a jerk at his sleeve and looked down to see a child tugging at his sleeve. It said, "Mister, please help us, our Momma is real sick and we need help."
He scanned the area quickly. What kind of trick was this? "Please Mister, please." The little face looked up at him. Tears ran down the dirty face.
"What is wrong with her?"
"She won't wake up and she feels real hot, Mister. Please help her."
Surely they wouldn't stoop so low as to use a child like this. "Show me the way to your Momma. OK."
"This way Mister." The child ran back down the path and he followed. The farm house appeared ahead of him shortly. The child ran into the door. He followed. He heard a baby crying and followed the child into a bedroom. A woman lay on the bed. He shrugged off his pack.
"Can you hear me Mam?"
She didn't move. He put his hand on her forehead. She was very hot. Way too hot. He looked around and saw a bathroom. He entered it and found a wash cloth and ran cold water on it. He returned to the bed and gently wiped the woman's face. Her eyes fluttered and she look up at him. "Please help my babies." Her eyes closed. He looked at the child. "What is your name?"
"Sue Ann, Sir. Is Momma alright?"
"I don't know yet, do you have a phone?"
"Yes sir, but it has been disconnected."
"Show it to me."
The child pointed to the front room. He followed and the child pointed to a wall phone high on the wall. He picked up the phone and dialed 911. He heard nothing. He hung it up. He hurried back to the bed and looked at the woman. He gently shook her. She didn't respond. He walked to a crib an looked at the crying baby. He felt it. The diapers were wet. He checked a couple of drawers in the dresser. Then he looked at the little girl. "Sweetheart, where does your Momma keep the babies diapers?"
"Right here in this bag, Mister."
He picked the baby out of the crib and looked around the room. He spotted a basinet near the bathroom. He lay the baby on the top of it and took the diaper off. Wow it really stunk. Nothing smells worse than a shitty wet diaper he thought. He looked under the basinet and found baby wipes and cleaned the child's little bottom. He just had every thing clean when a stream of hot urine hit his hand. It almost hit his face. He smiled. Definitely a boy.
He cleaned the mess and put a new diaper on the baby boy.
He remembered his own son. He shook his head and picked the child up and carried it to the kitchen. Sue Ann followed behind him. "Sue Ann does the baby have any food?"
"Yes, there is formula in the refrigerator." You have to warm it up. I am not allowed to touch the stove or I would have fixed it for Bubba."
"Where is a bottle?"
"I'll get it for you." She ran in the bedroom and was soon back with a bottle. He washed it and found the bottle brush. There were other bottles in the sink. He found a pan and washed it and poured some formula in the bottle. He placed the bottle in the pan in some water and put the pan on a burner. Nothing. He saw the box of kitchen matches on the shelf by the stove, took one and rubbed it along the strip on the side of the box. He turned the knob again and held the match to the burner. Poof! It was lit. He looked down at Sue Ann. "Have you had anything to eat today, young lady?"
"Not since yesterday, Mister." He looked in the refrigerator and saw nothing. There were several empty soup cans by the sink. "Did you have soup yesterday?"
"No, I fed it to momma."
"I'll fix you something in a minute. He felt the formula on his wrist. Still cold. He carried the baby with him out to the porch. He lifted his pack and carried it in the house. He opened a pocket and found his last MRE. Ham Patties. Yuck! Better than nothing. He juggled the baby and managed to get the package open. He opened the meal pack and put it in a clean pan. He felt the bottle again. Just right He carried the baby back to the crib and gave it the bottle. It slurped happily away.
He returned to the kitchen and moved the meal over the flame. He found a cup and poured the hot water in on top of a coffee pack and added creamer and sweetener. Tasted pretty good. He checked on the woman again and wiped her down with cold water again. He was checking the med kit in his pack when he heard the truck pull in. It was the EMT people. He showed them to the woman. They took her temperature and one said, "OH! Shit. We have to get her to the hospital right away. Everyone else alright?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"OK we have to hurry." They put her on a gurney and hurried to the ambulance. They took off in a cloud of dust with the siren screaming.
Isaiah looked around. Shit, what now?
He went and got the baby and sat on the porch in the rocker and rocked the baby. The bottle was empty. The baby started to cry. He put it over his shoulder and burped it. It looked up at him and cooed. The baby boy smiled and kicked his legs. He grinned back at it and gave it a finger to tug on. He looked up and saw Sue Ann looking at him. He jumped up and ran to the kitchen in time to save the food in the pan. He put the baby back in the crib and then fixed a plate for Sue Ann. She wolfed it down. He smiled at her. She smiled back and said he was a good cook. He laughed at her. "You are just real hungry, Thank you anyway." He took stock very quickly and found there was very little food in the house. There was no more milk or formula for the baby. He looked at the little girl, "Sue Ann, does your Momma have a car or truck?"
"Yes, in the barn. I'll show you." He followed her to the barn and found a clean Toyota Corolla. There was a baby seat and a child's seat in the back. There was a stroller between the seats. He took Sue Ann's hand. "Sweetheart, can you show me how to get to the nearest store?"
"Yes, I know the way. It is about ten miles I think."
"Do you know where your Momma keeps her car keys?"
"Yes, they are in her purse by her bed."
"What is your little brother's name?"
"His name is Robert but we call him Bobby, just like my Daddy."
"Thank you Sue Ann, I think we had better go to the store and get some things or we will get very hungry to night. Do you have any relatives near by? Where is your Daddy, will he be home soon?"
"Our Daddy is in Heaven, he got killeded in the war. The only other relative is Aunt Ginny. She lives far away in Atlanta."
"Well I guess it is up to me then. Let's go to the store."
He found a little sleeper for the baby and put it on him. He helped Sue Ann wash her face. He found the car keys and they went to the car. He strapped Sue Ann and the baby in their seats. The car started instantly. The fuel was low but appeared to be plenty for ten miles. Sue Ann directed him and he had no problem finding the store. It was in a small shopping center, a Wal-Mart Super Center. He had brought the mother's ID with him. He found pay phone and called the phone company and discovered the phone bill could be paid at the convenience store he was in front of. It would be back in service by five. He called the non emergency EMT number and got the number for the hospital. He inquired about the mother. She was listed in stable but serious condition with pneumonia. He asked to talk to the billing office. He gave them her phone number and address. They asked for the name of the person responsible for payment and he gave his name and address. He told them to send him the bill.
He got the kids from the car and put the baby in the stroller and went into Wal-Mart. Sue Ann could push the stroller and she showed him were things were. She was a very smart little girl he thought. He bought all their favorite things, plus the staples of bread, milk, formula, etc.. He bought more diapers.
They stopped at Burger King for lunch. He got the meal to go so he wouldn't have to load and unload the kids. He had a new respect for mothers with children. He thought it was amazing that they could cope with it all. Especially when a husband was not there to help. He knew women were much better suited to this sort of thing than he was. He was too used to giving orders and having them obeyed instantly.
