Second Wave -- 39

Chapter 39

It was frosty this morning when I let the animals out of the barn. Michael was still asleep, but I’d been too worried to sleep much. I hadn’t been eating as well as I should, mostly from stress and worry, but I was still getting large. My stomach poked out as if I’d eaten a small watermelon. I’d been bigger at this stage when I was carrying Michael, but that was when Dec was here to take care of me. Now, in his absence, I worried about nearly everything.

True, my friends from town often came out to see me, but lately, even their visits had been stressful. Some of them had started hinting that I should move on, implying that Dec most likely wasn’t coming back and that I should find someone else to help me cope with the new child. I thought that William had possibly put them up to it. He’d made it clear that he wanted me for himself. However, I wasn’t anywhere ready to give up on my capable husband, even though I could no longer sense his mental presence the way I had been able to when he was near.

The one bright light in my situation was that our friend, Freddy Stormbreaker, had come to town. Not only had he come, but he’d brought his wife! He had met and married a nice Cherokee woman somewhere in Oklahoma. He also brought me news about Rudy and Joe. They’d survived their journey to Miami and now were back in the Denver area working with the Eastern Slope Warlord, fighting the new invasion of Pugs and Pug-bears. The aliens had shown up in force a couple of weeks after Dec had left. They had been causing problems on the front range, and there had been several pitched battles. At the moment, the invaders were stopped somewhere in the Boulder area while the Warlord’s people held Broomfield and Denver.

We were just thankful that the fighting hadn’t come over the pass to our area except for a few abortive forays by small groups of Pugs and some roaming, feral Pug-bears. We’d dealt with all these forcefully, leaving no survivors to report back to their main force on the other side of the Divide.

I’d been overjoyed to see Freddy. The last time I’d seen him was in Lyons, where we parted ways after blowing up the alien’s base on Titan. He had aged a bit, but fighting your way across the country in this post-EMP world would likely do that. His wife, Virginia, was very nice and quite cute. It was easy to see why he’d picked her. I joked with him about why she’d picked him, although I knew perfectly well. Despite his rough exterior, he was one of the nicest men I knew and he had the additional benefit, a virtue in this dangerous time, of being a deadly fighter. His presence in town made me feel more secure in our cabin.

Virginia and Stormy stopped by every couple of days to check on me, and I was glad to see them, especially since they weren’t the ones pushing me toward William. I was expecting them to show up around ten today. Stormbreaker had promised to take Michael out to harvest a deer. My son was now nearly five, and Stormbreaker told me he should start learning to hunt, even though he wasn’t old enough to handle a rifle. Apparently, Freddy had been trained to help clean and butcher deer at the age of four and felt strongly that, as he put it, even a paleface’s boy should learn that stuff.

Now, you may think that hunting late in the morning wouldn’t be a good time to find a deer since they usually move around at dawn and dusk, but it was the early part of the rut, and they were distracted and less careful. Besides, there wasn’t much hunting pressure to the north of our place, and the animals weren’t as wary as a result, so I had no doubt Stormbreaker would get one.

Michael woke and we had breakfast. He could hardly eat for excitement, but he finished and got dressed in some older clothes. I didn’t want him to chance ruining any of his better things with blood. At about nine-thirty, there was a hail from outside, and I opened the door to find my friends on horseback just entering the yard.

Michael was out the door in a flash. He’d already gotten his pony saddled and was up and ready to go quickly. Freddy smiled at me, “Don’t worry, Liz. We ain’t going to go very far. I scouted out a couple of likely places in the big meadow along the creek about a mile north of here. I expect that you’ll hear our shot fairly shortly. I aim to enjoy myself teaching this youngster how to field clean a mulie. We’ll pack it back to the house, here, to do the final cutting up. Virginia is really good at butchering.”

Virginia smiled and nodded her head. She didn’t speak much, but when she did, it was always about something worthwhile. Now, she looked a little worried and glanced at Michael. He’d started his horse across the yard, heading for the north trail. Stormbreaker looked at Virginia, nodded, and started after Michael. It was obvious that she had something to tell me and that they’d planned it out on the way up here.

“Liz, that William has been in town the last couple of days. I heard that he’s been talking about how he intended to marry you and take over this homestead. Now, don’t get me wrong, I know that you said that he’d been decent to you and helpful and such, but there’s something about him that doesn’t set square with either me or Fred. You’d best watch yourself around him. He’s got some of the women in town talking about how lucky you are that he likes you, too. I think they’re just jealous, though. Now, don’t worry, we’ll take good care of Michael.”

She didn’t wait for my reply but turned her horse and kicked it in the ribs. It snorted and leaped forward into a fast trot as she hurried to catch up with the others. That was just her way. She’d keep quiet, but when she had something to say, she’d just let fly, not holding back. When she felt she’d communicated what was on her mind, she’d go quiet again.

I sighed deeply. If only Dec would show up, that would stop all this nonsense. I missed him, and I knew that I was going to need him even more in the months to come. I’d figured out that my baby would be due sometime in late January or early February. It was likely to be cold, and we could be snowed in, so I’d either have to move into town if I wanted help or find someone to move in with us to help me through the laying-in period. I’d broached the subject with Virginia, and she’d told me not to worry. She hadn’t spoken to Freddy about it as far as I knew, but I suspected they’d be willing to stay with us when my time came.

I went back into the cabin and busied myself with chores. It seemed like there was always something to do. I couldn’t remember how it used to be, back when I was single before the aliens had destroyed our civilization. All I could do was marvel over how much harder it was to keep up our homestead than to track criminals. It was more than a full-time job.

I had finished washing clothes and was hanging them out on the line to dry when I heard a distant shot. The sound was carried down on the wind from the north, and I stopped what I was doing to listen for a follow-up shot, but there was none. A single shot usually meant that there was a dead deer. Freddy was a good shot, so I expected that he’d be teaching Michael how to gut the animal during the next hour or so and that I could expect them back to the house sometime after lunch. I resolved to start early and fix enough food for four people since they’d probably be hungry.

I hung up the rest of the washing and walked back around the house. As I came around to the front porch, I almost ran into William. He had tied his horse down by the barn and had walked up to the house, not making any noise. He smiled at me and said, “Hello, Elizabeth. I wanted to come up and talk to you. We’ve got some business that we need to get settled.” He stepped towards me as he spoke.

I’d originally thought it was somewhat charming, the way he always used my full name. It seemed sort of formal as if he was extraordinarily polite. Now, it just bothered me and seemed as if he were too tightly wound to relax. And, thinking about it, I didn’t like how he spoke my name. It was like he thought he had some kind of ownership rights over it.

“Hi, William. Now’s not a good time. I’ve got chores to do and some cooking also,” I replied, stepping past him and moving towards the cabin door.

“No. That can wait. I’ve waited as long as I care to for you to make up your mind to let me court you. We’re going to come to an arrangement right now. Now, we can wait for a month to get married, but I want to be in charge here when you have your baby. I want it to understand that I’m the man of the house. You need me here to take charge of this place. It’s getting run down with just you working on it, and you can’t do much in your condition anyway.”

This was just too much! I opened the door and then turned to block him as he started to come inside. “Now, you just listen to me, Mr. Smith!” I tried to stay calm, but my voice was shaking. “I’m not marrying anyone. I’m already married, and I’m happy with my husband. I’m not changing.”

He brushed my statements aside, waiving his hand in negation as he argued, “Listen to me, Elizabeth! Your husband is dead! DEAD! He is never coming back. He’s been gone for months now, and that should be long enough for any woman to mourn. This place needs a man, and I’m just the man for the job! I can make this holding into a real home. It could be expanded and be real nice with the right man working on it. There are plenty of women who’d jump at the chance to hook up with me! I’ve set my sights on you, though. When I first saw you, I thought that you’d be the perfect woman for me, and I’m not going to take ‘No’ as an answer.”

I was getting really angry and could feel my face heat up as I responded, “Well, you’re just going to have to resign yourself to it because ‘No!’ is the answer. If you’re so popular with the other women, go get one of them!”

I stepped back and started to slam the door in his face, but he kicked the bottom of it and stopped the swing. The heavy door hurt his foot. His buckskin moccasins didn’t offer much protection for that kind of thing.

He cursed, “Damn it! That hurt! I came up here with good intentions to ask you nicely! Now, you’re going to find that you can’t turn me down! You’re going to be my wife physically right now, even if the legal part has to wait for a while.”

With that, he shoved me into the cabin, following as I staggered back. He grabbed my arm and visibly tried to calm down in an effort to make me more amenable. “I know you’re pregnant, and I promise to be gentle. There’s no need to fight it. I’ve been with plenty of women and know how to make you happy, even in your condition. Just relax, and you’ll see what a good husband I can be.”

I tried to strike him. I used to be good at hand-to-hand, but he was faster and just too strong. Besides, I was afraid of fighting too hard. My baby was at risk, and I didn’t want to chance being struck in the abdomen. I was thinking rapidly, trying to find a way out of this situation that didn’t involve lying with him.

He was watching my face and could see that I was realizing that I didn’t have any options. He started to smile and reached out to brush across my left breast. I took a deep breath and prepared to knee him in the groin, stepping forward as if I were yielding. He pulled me closer with a smirk on his face.

Just at that moment, I realized that there was something in my mind, a presence that was rapidly getting stronger. It was familiar, but it had initially been so faint and strengthened so gradually that it hadn’t come to my conscious attention until now. With renewed strength, I smiled up at William, pressed my breasts against his chest, and raised my right knee as hard as I could. It made a thunk as it took him between the legs. He gasped and staggered back, falling to his knees. He doubled over with a groan, and I started for the door.

As I passed him, he managed to grab the hem of my long skirt with a powerful grip. I tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let go. He was pale and gasping, yet he still managed to get out, “You’re going to regret this! When I get better, I’m going to take you, and you’re not going to like it.”

I yanked hard, and my skirt ripped; the waistband pulled free, and I stepped out of the fabric and jumped for the door. I was so angry and frightened that I bypassed the rifle that was leaning against the wall nearby. I just wanted out of there right then. I ran out onto the porch, hearing William try to get to his feet inside. He was breathing very heavily and still groaning.

As I started for the barn, I heard a whining sound rapidly gaining in strength. It seemed to slow, still approaching. Then I looked up, and everything fell into place. The presence in my mind was Dec! He was in the flying craft hovering over the yard, preparing to land. I shrieked his name in excitement as the ship lowered to the ground.

By the time it had landed and the hatch had opened, I was preparing to climb up the side. The hatch opened, and I staggered back as a huge green-striped tiger had leaped out. It charged towards the house, and I turned to see William standing on the porch, aiming my rifle at the ship’s open port where Dec was climbing out. I screamed.

Before William had a chance to shoot, the tiger thing struck him. I don’t think he ever saw it coming. He was so focused on killing Dec. The rifle flew out of his hands and landed on the ground, and it was his turn to scream. It was horrible but quick. The tiger bit down, and his scream suddenly broke off. William was dead.

I tried to recover my balance, but then I was suddenly wrapped in the strongest, most tender arms I could imagine. Dec’s arms were wrapped around me as if he’d never let go! I was safe! His mental presence was strong, and it was as if he’d never left. For the first time in months, I felt secure. I turned into his loving embrace and looked up into his infinitely deep eyes!