8
On the morning of the third day at the house Daniel awoke to the sounds of birds chirping outside his open window. He lay there for a moment listening as he oriented himself to his surroundings.
Am I really awake this time? He lay there enjoying the sounds. It’s been so long since I heard a bird sing. This is so surreal. Suddenly his nose was aware of the aroma that was filling the room.
That’s coffee!
Slowly he raised himself up to a sitting position; he was sore, but he would live. He checked himself over; he was naked, I wonder if she removed my clothes? He looked around the room. This is not a dream; this is real, I am awake this time. But-where the hell am I? First I was in a cave, and now I’m in a house with birds singing! Just then Ash and Tabs popped up beside the bed.
“Hey guys,” he said in a scratchy voice as he rubbed Ash’s’ massive head, “hey there big boy.” Tabs nudged his head in for a scratching also; tails were wagging and thumping the floor. Daniel asked, “Can you go get someone, please!”
They took off bounding out the door sliding across the hall rug to the stairs.
They should have been called Frick & Frack, he thought with a smile.
Geez I’ve got to pee!
Daniel slowly swung his legs over the side of the bed and tried to raise himself up to a standing position.
Whoa, still a little woozy.
As he stood by the bed he noticed a pile of clothing stacked up on the nearby chair. It was slow going, but he managed to get to the bathroom. He hardly recognized himself in the mirror. His hair was in disarray, his eyes were sunken in, his face was ashen, and he looked haggard. He checked his shoulder and chest. The bandage was easy to remove. It was nearly healed already, but there would be a nasty scar. He knew he was lucky to be alive. He finished his business and washed up. He noticed his ditty bag was on the counter with all his toiletries. He brushed his teeth and gargled; then combed his hair and tied it back.
There, much better buddy, now you look human again.
He came out of the bathroom and grabbed the clothes and went thru them. He took some jeans and a shirt and some underwear and got dressed. The woman walked into the room just as he was zipping up his jeans. He turned quickly and was hit with a dizzy spell and his step faltered. She quickly came to his side and slid her arm around his waist and helped him to the bed.
“Thanks,” he whispered in a raspy voice. “Say, I’m really thirsty.”
“Good, how about some orange juice to start?” She tilted her head to the side and smiled.
“Oh yeah, that would be great!” He responded with a smile as he sat on the side of the bed.
She went into the hall and came back with a bed tray. It had a bottle of Tylenol and a large orange juice on it.
“When the dogs came down all excited I figured that you were awake. I brought the Tylenol because I knew that your head would be pounding by now,” she said as she handed him two pills and the glass of OJ. “How do you take your coffee; black or with cream?
“Thanks, I can use these,” he took them from her and swallowed them down with a large gulp of orange juice. “Black and sweet; man this is great! It’s been a long time since I had orange juice.”
“The calcium in the OJ will help in your healing. We don’t have much of it left, so we save it for just such an occasion. You look a lot better than you did 2 days ago.” She smiled at him, “So, think you could eat something?”
“I’m so hungry woman, I could eat a bear,” he said with a devilish grin.
She smiled catching his drift right away, “would you like to eat in bed, or do you think you could make it downstairs? I can help you down if you would like.” She watched him to see his reaction.
He thought for a moment, and then slowly stood. “I’ve had enough of bed! I would like to try to go downstairs, but I have a feeling that I’m a lot weaker than I think. So if you really don’t mind, I’d like to take you up on that offer of help.”
He walked slowly around the bed and headed towards the doorway. She went into the closet and came out with a large wooden cane. The handle had a carved silver wolfs head on it. She placed it in his left hand and he was immediately grateful. It helped to take the strain off his right side.
As he entered the hallway he took in his surroundings. He could see that there were at least four other bedrooms on this floor. Hers (the master?) seemed to be at the end of the hallway, towards the back of the house he thought. The floors were wood, shined to a mirror image. There was a long throw rug down the center leading to the top of the stairway. She came over and slid her arm around his waist, and ducked under his right arm so he could lean on her. Going down the stairs was slow and a bit tricky, but he made it.
Ceiling to floor windows allowed the sunshine in, and he could see thru the house to the outside. It was a beautiful autumn day, he could feel a bit of a breeze come thru the open windows. As they came to the bottom of the stairs, she steered him towards the back of the house, towards the kitchen entrance. Inside he could smell the coffee, and also something else. There was a vase of Hydrangea on the table, and one on the countertop. It brought back memories of a different time. She helped him towards a chair by the table, but he preferred the bar stool at the counter. He sat down and looked around. She ducked out and was back in a flash with his OJ.
“This is quite a place,” he commented looking around.
She went around the island in the center of the kitchen and asked him, “What’s your pleasure sir, eggs, bacon, sausage, steak, biscuits? Take your pick.” She was getting down a frying pan from several that were hanging on a rack above her head.
He stared at her for a moment, grinned, and then answered, “Yes!”
“Yes? To all of it,” She asked in surprise as he was nodding at her, “alright, it’s your stomach.”
He watched as she went about her chore with the ease of someone who knows where everything is in her kitchen and what to do with it. Soon the entire kitchen was filled with the most wonderful smells. She took 5 eggs and made the biggest batch of scrambled eggs he’d ever seen; then she fried up 6 slices of bacon, 4 large links of sausage, and finally, a small breakfast steak.
She thought to herself, this had better hold him for a while. Several times she caught him watching her intently. She set the table, and put butter and jelly out for him, and then took the biscuits out of the oven. She put them in a breadbasket and covered them with a towel, and handed them to him.
“Here, sit yourself down at the table and butter up some biscuits. I’ll have breakfast ready in just a few. And if you don’t mind, pour me a cup of coffee please.” She handed him a cup, and he filled it.
He sat there watching her the whole time sipping his coffee. He was enjoying just watching her cook; it was comforting in a way. It brought back pleasant memories of another time. She finished, put two plates down on the table in front of him, and filled them with all the wonders she had made.
“This looks great! Thank you for making it,” he said as he picked up the fork and dug in with gusto.
He relished each bite, enjoyed each forkful of food. She sat across from him and watched as he emptied his plate in 20 minutes.
“God that was good!” He mumbled as he wrapped the last piece of bacon in the last biscuit and popped it into his mouth. “Mmm … I’ve never been so hungry; and the food never tasted so good. Is it because of the fever?”
“Yes, in part. All your taste buds were alive with anticipation. You see the acid that Jake used to cleanse your wounds was his own saliva. Your body’s reaction to the poison and to the saliva was what caused the fever. Your body had to accept the bacteria in the saliva, and reject the poison. What it comes down to is a battle of wills. It takes a lot out of you and you wake up literally starving. Jake felt that you had a strong constitution, and would survive.”
Daniel tilted his head to one side as if remembering, “Speaking of Jake – my God woman… how do you keep such a secret?” He was looking at her intently with admiration in his eyes.
“He is magnificent! So big, so powerful, so – I’m running out of words to use.”
He was going on and on, finally ending with, “can we talk about him? Are you ready to tell me about him; where did you two meet? How did you meet?”
He rose and reached over the counter and poured himself another cup of coffee. He motioned with the coffee pot asking if she wanted some, she shook her head no.
“He’s an intelligent being, I could see that in his eyes, and I have a feeling a lot more. I’m not going back to sleep this time, I’m all ears.”
She was smiling at his enthusiasm. “Would you like to sit out on the back porch? It’s a lovely morning Daniel, and this will take a little time to tell. You might as well be comfortable,” she said as she headed out the back door.
He followed and found himself on a porch that ran the full length of the house. “This house is amazing, has a nice comfy feel to it,” he told her. The deck was made of oak, and there was an overhang from the house to give shade, it was screened in to keep out mosquitoes. There was comfortable furniture spread about. The view was spectacular.
The whole town was visible from this vantage point. It was small maybe 15 square blocks in all. Of course there was a church, complete with steeple, a town square across from the church, a movie theater, and what looked like a library. There were a number of houses with swings in the backyards. The town was completely self-sufficient; there were solar panels on every roof. They had everything here that anyone would want; of course they had to provide these things in order to get anyone to work all the way out here.
Daniel settled himself down and turned his gaze on this amazing woman. She was totally different from the cold distant ice witch he remembered in camp. She was warmer, more caring. She carried herself with great confidence, like someone on a mission. She really wasn’t what you call beautiful, but definitely attractive. She wore her golden hair down, thick and flowing on her back, tied with a blue ribbon. Nice little touch. As the sunlight hit her hair, her golden tresses gave off a halo effect. If he had to guess, he’d say she was somewhere in her late thirties.
But Sam had said she was over seventy!
He figured that she stood about 5’6”, he was 6’2, and he seemed to tower over her. She had on a blue shirt that draped over her ample breasts, and white Capri pants that framed a firm good-looking ass. She had what he liked to call ‘a ripe figure’. He could see that she was trying to put him at ease; he wanted to do the same.
“Are you comfortable Daniel? Do you want anything else to drink? Daniel, are you alright?”
“What, oh yes, yes I’m fine. I was just thinking about something. You know, with what happened to me, I wonder how many more of those ‘things’ might be out there. We have to do something; find someway to keep them out of the camp.”
“Steve is working on that problem as we speak. We can address that later. Do you have any objections to Jake listening in? If you have any questions when I’m done, just direct them to him.”
“Just a second,” Daniel went inside and returned a minute late with a large glass of water, “I’m really dry and very thirsty. Ok ready, shoot!”
She grinned at him and shook her head. “Ok, I’m going to tell you everything, even the way I felt at the time. Jake says that you must be aware of everything. I don’t enjoy part of this, but I am going to tell you anyway; you may or may not understand.”
His brow furrowed as he stared at her not understanding.
“Things have changed in the world Daniel, and new rules apply to everything. You will see that for yourself soon enough, if you haven’t already. This was a very moving experience for me; so open your mind to other possibilities.”