The next two days were designated a period of mourning for the Carthage congregation. During this time, Jane's easy rapport with the children allowed her to keep the young ones occupied with games and crafts, despite the unease some parents felt about a teen who could so easily kill.
Also during this time, Daria worked in the kitchen part of the time, and spent a few hours each day helping Kathy in her tasks. She also escorted Martin on his assigned (by Kathy) walks to keep his strength up and helped with his therapy.
On the second day of mourning, Rev. Harris gathered the congregation together and said, "We've been so pre-occupied with our problems that we forgot that we aren't alone out here. We need to check on our sister church in Morrisville. Since we've been raided, there's a good chance that they've had similar problems as well. I need six volunteers to go over there and check things out."
Kathy stood up and said, "I'll go."
Several members in the congregation shook their heads negatively and one old man spoke up, "Kathy, you are the last person who should go. As our doctor, we can't afford to even take a chance losing you out there."
"I agree, " Glen said. "Martin's still recovering as is our other injured and Daria is still on her rabies treatment cycle, as you called it." Several people muttered agreement with the two men.
"Such a trip is a part of my obligations as a doctor," Kathy pointed out. "I've driven many a backroads around here alone, as some of you very well know. That includes some areas where outsiders are unwelcome."
Rev. Harris shook his head as well. "I'm afraid I have to agree with them, Kathy. These aren't normal times anymore. You're too valuable to risk like that."
Jeannie Lewis, an elderly woman who had helped Kathy during the treatment of the Carthage wounded, stood up and said, "I may be retired, but I'm still a nurse at heart. I'll go."
After several minutes of discussion, volunteers stepped up to check things out, including four of the younger men. Then Jane spoke out. "I can ride shotgun," she said and actually drew several nods of agreement from others in the crowd. Daria looked at her in shock, however, with her mouth and eyes widely opened.
Rev. Harris said a quick prayer, then the volunteers prepared themselves. Jane grabbed the double-barreled .12-gauge shotgun and filled her jacket pocket with shells for both the shotgun and her .357 Magnum. She also slung the AK-47 over her shoulder and took an extra banana clip with her.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Daria asked. "You don't know what you could be riding into."
Jane sighed and looked at her friend. "It feels right to me, Daria. They need someone who can protect them."
"Who are you kidding? Those guys could probably shoot a bird off the top of a tree before they were 10."
For several seconds, Jane said nothing. Then she said, "What's wrong with you, Daria? You haven't said anything about not helping them before."
"It could be dangerous."
"No shit," the tall brunette whispered and looked at her smaller friend. "Amiga, it's going to be dangerous out there for quite a while. Maybe the rest of our lives. Remember, we're 'damn tough bad guys.' We need to live up to it." She turned to leave.
Daria looked down briefly, then moved forward and grabbed Jane's right arm. "Be careful, Lane," she said. "If you get yourself killed, I'll never forgive you."
Jane laughed. "Don't worry, Daria. I'll not only take care of myself, but these guys as well."
"I'm serious, Jane. If I...if I lose you, I don't know what I'll do."
Jane's laughter grew and she put her left hand on Daria's shoulder. In a quieter voice, she said, "You'd think that we were married the way you're acting."
Daria looked her in the eyes. "I wouldn't go that far," she said, "but until we find our families, you are all I have."
They looked at one another in silence, then Jane smiled and embraced Daria in a tight hug. "I'll be careful, Daria," she whispered. "Love you."
"I love you, too."
Then Jane grinned. "Don't attack Martin while we're gone," she whispered in Daria's right ear. "Wait until I'm back before you whip your shirt off again."
"Jane!"
"When I see Quinn again...oh, have I got a lot of stuff to tell her about you. She'll love it, of course."
"Kill you," Daria muttered.
Jane broke the hug, walked to one of the pickup trucks going on the trip and waved at Daria.
Daria felt tears well up in her eyes, but stood still and waved back at her friend. As the trucks left, she removed her glasses and wiped her eyes carefully. Then she walked back inside the church and moved up to Martin. "It's time for your walk," she said and crossed her arms over her chest.
"You're afraid, aren't you?" he asked as he slowly got to his feet.
The petite brunette started to snap back a comment, but bit her lip and took a deep breath. "Yes," she said. She looked at Martin. "Despite what you think and what you've seen the two of us do, before the war started, we never killed anybody or, to my memory, ever shot a gun in anger." She turned away and wiped her eyes quickly. "I don't want her to take any unnecessary chances."
"Well, I know all of those guys," he said. "Jimmy admires Jane's tough-as-nails approach to criminals, I know, cause I heard him say it."
"He's married," Daria said.
"He won't say or do anything wrong towards Jane," Martin replied quickly. "However, he might try to hook her up with his kid brother, Danny."
Daria blinked and thought for a few seconds, then smiled. "That ought to be interesting to see."
oooooooooo
The drive to Morrisville took less than 15 minutes, even with the slow speeds the drivers took. But about 500 yards outside of the village, the trucks stopped and Jimmy got out of the lead truck to look through a set of binoculars. He stared in silence for nearly a minute, then lowered the binoculars and sighed. He turned towards the others. "They've been hit," he said quietly. "Pretty bad, too, from what I can see. Lock and load, people, but be careful. The...thugs...are probably all gone by now. There may still be people we can help."
Jane sat in the second truck on the passenger side next to Jeannie. As they drove up to the church grounds, she gasped as the sights they came upon. "Oh, my God," she whispered and stared.
The elderly woman beside her closed her eyes and shook her head.
Two people, both men, hung from a tall oak tree in the front yard of one home next door to the church. Both were nude and badly mutilated. Their bodies swung in the breeze.
At least 50 bodies littered the grounds around the church. Most of them were adults, but here and there a child's body laid.
Jane got out of the truck quickly, bent over and vomited. Two of the men in the other truck did the same.
The church building itself and several nearby homes looked partially demolished.
One man wiped his mouth and spat in the dirt. "What...what do we do?" he asked, his voice shaky.
"I don't know," Jimmy said. "As God is my witness, I don't know."
oooooooooo
As nightfall arrived, Daria stood outside the church and looked in the direction of Morrisville. "They should be back by now, shouldn't they?" she asked nobody.
She saw two men past the outskirts of town shine a flashlight three times and recognized them as two of the church members. After the raid, Glen and other combat veterans organized a roving perimeter watch. Three lights meant that all was well. Two lights meant friends seen. One light, kept on and waved frantically meant danger.
Suddenly she felt someone near her and turned to see Martha Peters, Martin's mother. "You're right, they should be back," she said. "Jane is safe with them. Don't worry."
"Easier said than done."
The older woman gently led Daria back inside. "The radio's going to have some important announcement from the government. I thought you'd like to hear it."
Inside, Daria got a plate of spaghetti and sat down with Martin's family as the radio was tuned in.
"...since the areas of contamination are spread out over a wide area of the United States, each affected area has been split up into regional commands. The commander for the region covering Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia is Major General Bartholomew J. Simpson, United States Army."
A pre-teen boy sitting nearby started laughing and many of the adults glared at him. "Bart Simpson! Don't y'all get it? There's a General Bart Simpson!" He kept laughing.
Despite sharing the name of a smart-ass cartoon character, the officer who spoke had a sharp, no-nonsense and commanding voice. "The events of what has been called Black Saturday have had and will continue to have deep repercussions for the United States of America. Under orders of the President, I assume command of the First Military Section, which comprises the commonwealths of Pennsylvania and Virginia, as well as the states of Maryland, West Virginia and Delaware.
"I will discuss the various zones of operation within this military section. Those zones are dead zones, red zones, yellow zones and blue zones.
"The dead zones are those areas hit by nuclear weapons and have been rendered uninhabitable. For this listening area, the dead zones are as follows: Washington, D.C. and all areas within 35 miles of the capital itself, Norfolk, Virginia and all areas within 30 miles of it, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and all areas within 25 miles of each city. All dead zones are off-limits and will eventually be fenced in. Any unauthorized person or persons found in the dead zones will be shot on sight.
"The next areas are called red zones. The red zones are those areas contaminated by the fallout generated by the nuclear bombing. For this listening area, the red zones are as follows: Hancock and Brooke counties of West Virginia. In Pennsylvania, the following counties: Washington, Beaver, Butler, Armstrong, Indiana, Cambria, Westmoreland, Clearfield, as well as Chester, Montgomery and Bucks. In Maryland, the entire state east of Frederick County. The entire state of Delaware. In Virginia, the following counties: Southampton, Sussex, Greensville, Dinwiddie, Surrey, Isle of Wight, James City, Gloucester, Mathews, Lancaster, Northampton, Accomack, as well as Loudoun, Prince William and Fauquier. Red zones are restricted access, military and government only. Any unauthorized persons caught in the red zones will be subject to summary execution by military and police forces.
"The next areas are called yellow zones. The yellow zones are those areas affected by evacuations, as well as health, logistical and civil disturbance problems. For this listening area, the yellow zones are as follows: In West Virginia, the cities of Wheeling, Moundsville, Morgantown, Berkeley Springs and Martinsburg, and all areas within 10 miles of said cities. In Pennsylvania, the entire state south of the 30th parallel not already covered within the dead or red zones. In Maryland, Frederick County and all counties to the west of that. In Virginia, the portion of the state east of a line stretching from Winchester in the north to South Boston near the North Carolina border. Only those people who live in yellow zones will be permitted in, as well as those who have been evacuated there. Effective immediately, all travel in yellow zones must be approved by local military and police commands.
"The blue zones are those areas not mentioned in the previous zone descriptions."
Daria covered her face and shook her head. I can't even go back to Maryland? How am I ever going to find Mom and Dad now?, she thought and removed her glasses. I need Jane. What if I've lost her, too? She looked over at Kathy, who was lost in thought as the radio droned on.
Daria's chin quivered and she suppressed a sob. Then she gave in and started crying hard. Martin and his parents looked at her with concern, and the boy gently touched her right arm as she cried.