They came to where the salt lick lay between the downed trees, and immediately, Jenny noticed the spatter of blood splashed across the fresh snow, the depressions where the doe had buckled against the ground. From behind, Matt embraced her in a full hug, lifting her feet off the ground. “You definitely got it!”
“Alright, alright, act like you’ve done it before, ya goofballs.” Danny let the slack out from Sherman’s lead to let him wander about and visit with a few trees. “Once he’s finished, you need to take the lead. Get us to your kill.”
Jenny studied the doe’s hurried tracks into the woods—red drops intermingled with the path. This will be too easy now.
“Oh, and I’m going to need my rifle back,” Danny reminded her. “Don’t look so sour. You still have your pistol.” She handed the long gun back to him. “Thanks. Now, go on. Lead.”
After a short track of only a quarter mile or so, Jenny came upon the body—the brown heap curled up near a stump. She rushed ahead, coming to the downed beast first.
It lay there. Peaceful. Lifeless. Specks of white melted against her still, warm body. She stared at it. The deer’s blank gaze was haunting—her black eyes filled with the void of death. Jenny’s lips quivered however slight. She bit into them to suppress the urge to feel guilty or worse, cry. Look how sad it is. I didn’t think it’d look like that.
Danny would be there soon, standing beside her with judgment if he saw her in this remorseful state. It’s just a deer. What if you have to shoot a person? What then? The world was tough, and she’d been pushing herself along to match it. It wasn’t easy. She had always found happiness in life. This hardship was still very foreign to her.
Matt and Danny’s footsteps sounded behind her, and quickly, she produced a halfhearted smile. The likelihood of them believing it genuine was doubtful, but they didn’t opine either way.
“Great shot, kid.” Danny patted her on the shoulder. “Now what do you do?”
Her head drew back in thought. “Well…” Jenny took a moment to further compose herself while she puzzled over the predicament. Circling round the doe, she bounced her attention from the body and the top of the hill. “I figured we’d just drag her back, right?”
“Go ahead,” Danny offered with an almost mocking grin across his face, making no indication that he planned to include himself in this “we” she had mentioned.
Now knowing she’d be alone in this effort, Jenny took to the deer’s hind quarters and steadied her boots in the snow. She pulled, only managing to drag it an inch or two before she slipped and fell to the ground. Damn! It was heavy, much more than she would have guessed. Again, she tried, and again she found herself on her ass—her pants covered in snow—her legs quickly catching cold. What the hell? Come on!
Only three more fruitless attempts before the last one left her sitting in the snow, exhausted.
Matt chuckled but offered her a hand up. “Come on—”
“She’s got it,” Danny interrupted. “Let you finish what you started, right Jenny?”
Jenny slapped Matt’s hand away and stood. She glared at Danny, determined to move the damn deer on her own, despite her failed attempts thus far. He can be such a…
With his arms crossed, Danny simply raised his eyebrows, waiting.
Give it all you got, damn it. Again, she took the deer within her grip. Move, okay? Just move this time. She surged up, straightening her legs, lifting the deer from the snow. Heat filled her face. Beet red. A groan escaped her gut, and she released the deer—its backside fell exactly where it was before. Her chest pumped with shallow breaths as she hunched over, resting her hands upon her knees, light-headed.
“You ready for some help now?” Danny asked.
“Just—just a sec,” Jenny managed between breaths. “Gimme a sec. I’m not—not feeling well, but I’ll get it up there.”
“Maybe it’s time to take a step back now that you’re—” Danny stopped himself.
Jenny knitted her eyebrows and looked to him, nervous. How could he know? Her gaze didn’t break from him.
“She’s what? What is—”
“Nothing,” Jenny puffed, eyes still on Danny.
“Seriously, what?” Matt’s attention switched back and forth between their faces. “Shouldn’t I know too?”
Danny’s expression went blank. He sat on the stump, taking himself from the awkward standstill, leaving Matt and Jenny to sort it out.
She scoffed. “It’s nothing, Matt, can you just help me with the deer?” Matt gave pause, glancing over to Danny. She rolled her eyes. You don’t need permission to help me.
Danny’s silence seemed answer enough, so Matt sidestepped the deer and took hold of its front legs.
“You going to tell me what’s going on?” Matt asked.
“There’s nothing going on.”
“Seems like there is…”
“Are you helping me or not?”
“I’m here aren’t I?”
Jenny bent down but was immediately flooded with another wave of dizziness. Her knees went to the snow. Her hands followed. “Hey!” Matt’s words were garbled as if he were speaking underwater. “Jenny!” She tried to find him, but her head felt heavy—the trees were fading—blackness closing in from around her.
“I…” Longer breaths, deeper. “I…”
Thud!
Chapter Four
“Jenny…”
She blinked several times through the soft glow of a lantern—her mind a haze—her eyes catching nothing but black and gray around her. Where am I?
“Jenny, you okay?” A gentle hand came from the void and took hold of hers. She accepted it, not moving a muscle, not retreating from its warm touch. “You’ll be up in no time, girlie.” The man gave her hand a squeeze. “Toughest little thing around here. I guess I can get away with sayin’ it while you’re sleepin’.” He let out a familiar chuckle. Jenny lolled her head toward the lantern. Her eyes adjusted to the light, revealing the dark figure the hand belonged to. “Thought maybe I’d get away with the compliment, but of course that’s what wakes you up.”
“Grant…” She groaned as his familiar face came into focus at her bedside. Is this my tent? Not completely certain of her circumstances, she asked him, “Where… Where am I?”
He offered a weak smile. His hand still held hers, both resting on her stomach. “You’re safe. All you’re needin’ to do is lay there.”
“But…” Still weak, Jenny found forming her thoughts into words tedious. Instead, she heeded Grant’s advice and relaxed, allowing her stiff body to sink further into the deck lounger she lay upon. She slipped her hand from underneath Grant’s and ran a finger down the stitching of the cushion. A break in the seam. A rough spot. Yeah, this is definitely mine.
Grant sat hunched forward in a metal folding chair, watching over her. Both of them silent, listening to the rolling of zippers, small scrapes, indistinct bangs from the other tents propped nearby in the middle of the Home Depot—this small community of convenience. A pit stop. Somewhere to hold them over until they could find something better—all she’d ever be able to think of it. Convenience…
Here, in her assigned tent, it never felt like home. It felt empty, impersonal. Jenny relied on strangers’ homes to remember the past. Everything she had from before the virus, any personal item was locked away in River’s Edge. Someday… My pictures. My keepsakes will be mine again. I just hope they’ll still be there.