Into Summer

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Four days earlier in Peaceful Valley . . .

Robbie and Florence arrived home from Corpus Christi. Ronnie and Brooke were pleased with their uneventful trip. The boys spent one more wonderful night with Florence and Brooke. They packed their gear in the Jeep that evening. All they would need to load in the morning were a few personal items, consisting mostly of drinks and food, and then they could be on their way.

In the meantime, they had the whole evening to look forward to. Each boy took his lady’s hand and led her off to their bedroom and a night of intimate goodbyes.

“You come back to your son and me safely, you hear?” Florence said.

“My son?”

Florence smiled. “You mean more to me than life, Robbie. We’re going to have lots of kids. I hope the first is a boy, for you. Every man needs a son, but even if it isn’t, I’ll give you sons, many of them. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Robbie laid his head on her shoulder and snuggled up close to her, his hand on one of her breasts. He traced his hand down her body to her tummy. He felt the baby kicking.

At the crack of dawn, Florence and Brooke fixed the boys a substantial breakfast consisting of eggs, plenty of bacon so they’d have leftovers to take along to snack on, and gravy—lots of gravy. The boys loved gravy. It usually took four or five biscuits to sop it all up. They all ate their fill.

When they were finished, they strolled out onto the porch, and the guys each gave their gals a final kiss. Robbie wiped a stray tear from one of Florence’s eyes.

“That’s the first I’ve seen in a while,” he said.

Florence met his eyes with a steady gaze. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m learning to stand on my own two feet. I’m not the innocent girl you rescued from Corpus. I’ll be fine, and I’m looking forward to telling our son about what a brave man his father was, making the world safe and secure for him. Now you two get going. The sooner you leave, the quicker you return to me.” She gave him a kiss he would be thinking about halfway down the road. “Make us a better world.”

Robbie and Ronnie climbed in the Jeep and looked over at each other with big smiles on their faces and fist-bumped. Robbie cranked up the Jeep and eased away from the house. He waved at Brooke and Florence as his eyes caught them in the rearview mirror on the porch.

“We have a couple of wonderful women,” Robbie said.

“You know it, Bro! Now let’s go make them proud.”

A few hours later, Robbie and Ronnie sat staring at the warning sign bolted to a steel post driven in the middle of the road: “Keep Out!” They’d made it to the farm a man named Jake directed them to earlier. They had to pass all the way through Kenedy and travel a dozen miles or so out a farm-to-market road, away from the city to get there. ‘You boys do exactly what they said to do’ their grandpa told them. ‘In these days and times, they’ll kill you just like we would intruders around here’.

Ronnie stuck his rifle out the door and fired two shots into the air, while Robbie stuck the pole with a white flag on top into the dirt alongside the roadway as Jake had instructed when they first met. Robbie hopped in the Jeep, turned around, and headed back up the road. At one mile, he turned around and switched off the ignition.

Thirty minutes later, a blue SUV approached with the white flag sticking out of its window. The twins got out of the Jeep and stood alongside. The SUV stopped thirty feet away, and the passenger door opened.

Robbie and Ronnie glanced at each other, then turned their attention back to the blue vehicle.

The big man got out and smiled. “Welcome.”

Robbie returned his smile and stepped forward. “Thank you for coming.”

The man walked around the door of the SUV and toward Robbie. “What can I do for you?”

“I’m Robbie. This is my brother, Ronnie,” he said pointing his thumb.

Ronnie gave Jake a quick nod.

“We’re from Peaceful Valley. Our Grandpa Reggie talked to you last year when you caught us looting Kenedy. My grandpa and dad were driving the bus. You’re Jake, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am. I remember your grandpa. So, what brings you out this way?”

“We’re on our way to some of the surrounding communities. We’re going to get a new democracy going in south Texas. Grandpa said we should stop here first.”

Jake squinted his eyes. “I’d like to hear how you plan to do that, son. Might be a little more curious about how you think we might be able to help.” Jake took in a deep breath of air then slowly let it back out. “Well, Robbie, come on back to our farm, and you can tell us all about it.”

They followed the SUV down the winding road. Two men stood guard at a gate at the edge of the farm. They opened the gate and waved the vehicles through.

Robbie pulled up alongside Jake’s SUV in front of a large log cabin and killed the engine. Robbie and Ronnie got out and looked around. A few curious bystanders stopped what they were doing to watch the newcomers.

The boys followed Jake up on the large porch which wrapped around the side of the well-built structure. Jake pointed to a table and chairs just as a lady stuck her head out of the door. Jake gave her a wink. “Mary, won’t you bring us some tea and then come and join us?” Jake sat down. “Come on, boys, have a seat.”

The man who had been driving the SUV returned followed by a group of people. They gathered around the table. Other bystanders also made their way to the porch.

Mary came out with a tray. She eyed the crowd that had gathered and forced a smile. “I’ll get another pitcher. This isn’t going to be enough.”

Jake made introductions while he waited for Mary. When she returned, he stood up. “This purdy lady is my wife. Mary, this is Robbie and Ronnie.” He pulled out a chair for her, and they sat down.

Robbie looked around the group, their curious and eager faces staring back. “. . . and our valley was peaceful, just like its name, until Sandra Hawkins brought a terrible war to us. We won the battle at home, then went on to finish it in Corpus Christi. Corpus is stable now, and Sean Lin, along with the new Chief of Police, Christine, are working hard at controlling hostilities. We’re going to expand our start there, to end the bloodshed throughout the region.

“We’re tired of the fighting and want to stop it once and for all. We think others might be of a like mind. Our parents told us how it used to be decades ago. We want to bring back the sanity that once existed in this country.”

“Mighty brave and ambitious of you boys,” Jake said. “We all know how dangerous it has been out there for what seems like an eternity—how we can’t let our guard down for one second. The men from here who ventured to Corpus years ago were my friends. We wanted seafood and salt. No one came back.”

Jake sniffed and quickly stifled his feelings. “So, what are you fellas doing here?”

“We’re looking for volunteers to help us,” Robbie said, looking over the group. He turned back to Jake. “We can’t do this alone.”

Jake stood up and walked over to the edge of the porch, his eyes lost in thought. He turned around and scanned the men and women attending the meeting.

Jake stepped back and took a deep breath. “I don’t know what we can do, Robbie. We’re not as young and energetic as you two boys. Our community consists of mostly older folks like me. We’d like to help though. Is there anything we could contribute other than bodies?”

“Do you have any vehicles other than the SUV?”

“Nothing that runs.”

Robbie shook his head. “Then there isn’t much you can do. Other than a commitment from people to help, it’s going to take transportation and fuel.”

Jake sat down. “I’m sorry, boys.”

“If you can’t, that’s all there is to it,” Ronnie added. “We don’t blame you.”

Robbie stood and put his hand on Jake’s shoulder. “No, we don’t blame you at all.” He looked around at some of the others. “If we can get you a vehicle and fuel, would any of you be willing to help?”

A couple of the men nodded but said nothing, more contemplating than agreeing.

Jake turned back to Robbie. “I can’t make any promises, but I think we might be able to locate another vehicle and fuel, given the time.”

Robbie smiled. “That’s good enough for me.”

“Have you seen any cell phone towers around here?” Ronnie asked. “This task is going to take communications too. We’re working on the problem, but we’re not finding enough towers.”

“I know where one is,” one of the men said.

Ronnie pulled out his map, and the man pointed at the location. Another man also pointed out the site of a second tower.

Mary offered their guests a late lunch, which they readily accepted. Jake also asked them if they’d like to stay the night and get an early start on their trip in the morning. They agreed to this too.

Jake, Robbie, and Ronnie continued to chat on the porch while Mary and one of the other ladies went inside. Most of the younger men and women had chores and got back to whatever they were doing before the boys arrived. A few of the older gentlemen and their wives stayed and listened in while Robbie and Ronnie took turns sharing the details of the battle with Sandra and her men, both in Peaceful Valley and later in Corpus.

The boys then shared some stories about their home life. To the twins, stories of home weren’t that interesting, and Robbie moved on to the one of him and Sean going to Corpus.

That they weren’t killed piqued the interest of one of the ladies. “My name is Susan . . . Susan Mitchell. My son, Timothy, went with one of the scout groups to Corpus about ten years ago. Have you heard his name mentioned?” She glanced back and forth between the boys with hopeful eyes.

Robbie looked over at his brother, then back at Susan. “I’m sorry.”

“How about Mark Cross?” another man asked.

Jake added a few other names and Robbie shook his head to each.

In Corpus Christi at the Hospital compound . . .

A doctor and two nurses stood over a bed, the nurses taking vitals and the doctor looking at the chart. The doctor hung the chart back on the foot of the bed. “I can’t see why he won’t wake up. Everything seems normal. We can’t keep him in here any longer. We’ve already kept him too long, but with the new program . . . dammit, two months is too long.”

“Give him another day or two, doctor,” one of the nurses pleaded. “We’ll get him up even if we have to slap him around a bit.”

The doctor shook his head and walked out. “Two more days,” he said over his shoulder.

“Why are you so concerned, Jen?” the other nurse asked.

“If he dies, I’ll never know his name. I hate it when a person dies, and his name is Doe. Too many Johns and Janes in the cemetery now.”

“Are you really going to slap him around?”

She walked over and looked at the scruffy face. “No! We can’t do that. . . we’re nurses . . .” Or can we? She grabbed his shoulder and shook hard. “Wake up, damn you!”