Ben tapped his gun. “Think about what you’re going to do when your ammo runs out,” said Ben, as he raised an eyebrow in Robert’s direction. “How can you protect yourself?”
Robert only responded with a sigh before Ben ended the conversation with a slap to the rear of his horse. The horse began to trot faster and he assumed the lead. Ben caught himself looking down for his dog running near his horse’s legs. He swallowed his sadness and spurred his horse onward.
They made it back to the small corral before sunset. Robert was the last to dismount and gave his horse a few pats on the neck before climbing over the wooden rail fence. Ben took his holster off and hung it back on the gate.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay? I have plenty of work, and we can feed you.”
“No thanks, we have to move on.” Robert held up the bag of antibiotics. “Ready to split ‘em? They’re all the same. Here’s six of the twelve we got. I’ll keep the bag if you don’t mind,” said Robert, as he handed Ben the bottles of medication.
Ben held the bottles close to his body with both hands. “I’d shake your hand but…” Ben looked down to his hands holding the large bottles.
Robert smiled and slapped him on the shoulder. “No problem. Thanks for your help.”
Ben tipped his head forward. “Be safe and good luck.” He turned and walked toward his house.
Robert gripped the bag tight in his hand and ran back into the cornfield, guessing which row that would take him back to their campsite. He ran past endless stalks of corn. The leaves monotonously slapped his face, making it difficult to keep a fast pace through the field. He finally emerged to see Alexis and Kyle. Kyle lay listlessly on the ground with his wife at his side. She had placed a wet cloth on his forehead, and was clutching the crucifix necklace with the other hand as she whispered the Lord’s Prayer.
“Hey,” Robert yelled, announcing his return.
Alexis had her back turned and was startled, but visibly happy.
“Is that it? Is it in the bag?” Alexis asked, pointing to the white plastic bag wrapped around Robert’s fist.
“Six bottles,” replied Robert, holding the bag upward.
Alexis knelt back down by her husband. “He’s burning up. How many does he take?”
Robert looked confused as he read the label. “I honestly don’t know.” He scratched his head, frustrated. “Let’s just give him three or four a day. What do you think?”
Alexis agreed to the plan and tried to bring Kyle back to consciousness. Kyle opened his eyes with considerable effort. He was sweating and delirious from the fever. Alexis held a pill in one hand and opened her husband’s mouth. She put the pill in his mouth and encouraged him to drink the entire bottle of water. Kyle did so, coughing several times. She placed his head gently back down and he was immediately fast asleep.
Robert sat by the fire with his rifle across his lap. He stared into the glowing embers and watched the tendrils of white smoke dissipate into the encroaching darkness of the twilight’s night air. The day’s events repeated in his mind. He was obsessing over all the details of the day and what he could have done differently. He realized that it was another day that had almost brought him to the limits of his own mortality. Each time he thought about how close he had come to dying, he unconsciously clutched the rifle tighter. Finally, his hand began to cramp and he realized the manifestation of his obsessive thoughts of death. He resolved to himself that he would remain strong, and he would survive. His family was depending upon him to return, and he needed to do that quickly. He shook the cramp out of his hand and removed the clip from his rifle. With a quick flick of his wrist, he ejected the chambered cartridge from his rifle and watched it arc into the air before hitting the ground. The brass casing made a small click as it hit a pebble in the dirt. He picked the cartridge up and blew the dirt off of it, trying unsuccessfully to see his reflection in the shiny brass, before he inserted it back into the clip. Physically and mentally exhausted, he leaned his torso forward and rested his face in the palms of his dirty hands, trying to forget the day’s events.
Alexis walked to his side and he felt her gentle touch on his shoulder.
“Do you want to talk about it?” asked Alexis, looking hesitantly at Robert.
“No.”
Chapter Eighteen
Kyle’s fever gradually began to recede, and then completely dissipated by the second day. On that day, Kyle stood up and tried to walk, encouraged to do so by his wife and Robert. He was shaky from the illness and lack of food, but he began to regain his appetite after the fever disappeared. Kyle paced back and forth through the campsite trying to restore some steadiness to his legs, and as he was pacing, he felt the empty space in his jaw from the missing molar. Kyle took a final lap around the campsite, and then sat near Robert, who was taking his turn stoking the campfire.
Robert sat cross-legged on the ground in front of the fire and asked, “How are you feeling?”
“I’ve been better.”
“You’ve looked better, too.”
Kyle smiled and stared into the fire. He held up one hand to feel the heat. “Be careful what you say, old man. I can still kick your ass.”
“Oh, really?” said Robert, sarcastically. “Don’t forget, I already knocked one of your teeth out this week.”
At Robert’s comment, Kyle furrowed his brow as he touched his jawline. “I just don’t remember. I can’t seem to remember the last two days. The fever and that damn snake bite took me down.”
“It’s probably better that way,” said Robert, as he turned his head to look toward the cornfield. He saw Alexis moving through the rows of corn, gathering young ears to prepare for supper. “Did you see any lights at the end of a dark tunnel?”
“I’m not quite ready for that yet,” said Kyle, confidently pointing at his chest with the swollen thumb on his right hand. When Kyle shifted his position on the ground, he heard the capsules rattle in the plastic bottle at the bottom of his deep pockets. He remembered Alexis mentioning Robert’s mood on the return from his trip into town. Robert was withdrawn and did not want to talk about that day. Curiosity prodded Kyle to ask what had happened there.
Kyle tapped the bottle in his pants, rattling the capsules again. “What was it like in town? Did you have to wade through some deep shit?”
Robert nodded and looked away. He stared at the flames while he collected his thoughts. “Apocalypse,” said Robert. “Three young kids, barely teenagers, tried to kill us for our horses. “They’re… dead.” Robert was looking at the campfire, but he saw the images of the people that he and Ben had shot just a few days ago.
Both men jumped up when they heard Alexis scream. Ben had come back to the campsite and emerged through the corn, frightening Alexis. She had been gathering ears of corn from the field and her arms had been full of at least a dozen ears of corn, which were now scattered on the ground at her feet.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” said Ben. He took his hat off and smiled at her.
Alexis looked down at the ears of corn at her feet and was embarrassed that Ben had caught her taking corn from his field. She looked up, timidly waved, and tried to smile. “Hello again. You scared me.”
“I wondered if you were still here.” Ben walked toward Alexis. “Take this. My wife baked it.” Ben handed her a loaf of cornbread. It was in an old plastic bread bag.
Alexis opened the bag and smelled the contents. It smelled delicious. She closed her eyes and breathed in the aroma of freshly baked cornbread again, exhaled, and cast a large grin toward Ben. “Thank you. It smells wonderful. Would you like to stay? We have cans of beans. I can warm some up for you.”