" ER/Stand part 27 "
Dave added more wood to the fire and watched as Doug checked
on Kerry one again. He had gotten the impression, from Kerry the
day before, that Doug was something of an irresponsible boob. He
was struck by how concerned the man seemed. It wasn't what he
expected at all, for a number of reasons. He had thought that the
two of them had despised each other, but what he was seeing was a
comfortable couple. Not really a couple, Dave decided after a
moment, but Doug was definitely pretty concerned for someone that
was constantly professing his dislike. Likewise, he could see the
relief on Kerry's face, and he wasn't convinced that it was just
knowing that Doug was alive. Friends at least, Dave decided as he
shook the bottle of Sunny Delight he'd picked up for breakfast,
probably not more. Kerry had explained a little the day before,
that Doug had lost someone and had fallen off the wagon in a big
way. That implied that Kerry hadn't been dating the guy.
He didn't particularly care for Doug's alcoholism, but it
wasn't the worst thing he'd seen since the plague had struck. He
had run across a few junkies that were wallowing in free heroin
supplies. Drinking too much was hardly the worst thing out there.
He simply didn't like it. There was always a reason for drinking
and the plague had made it far too easy to drink to excess. He
doubted that Doug would be such a drunk if he didn't have instant
access to liquor. Of course, he accepted that he was a little
sensitive to it. His father had been a drunk. There was always
a reason to get drunk.
He poured himself a glass of the juice and handed it over to
Doug. " It has vitamin C, " he said by way of explanation. " And
it never spoils." Sunny Delight was mostly chemical by-products
but it had a vaguely orange like taste and lately he had been
craving oranges. Plus, he was sick. Fortunately not as sick as
Kerry, who had spent most of the night burning with a fever that
hadn't broken until they had given her some antibiotics, but he
wasn't feeling one hundred percent by any means.
Doug took the bottle, frowned at it and then set it down. "
I can't drink that crap. It tastes like warm Tang."
" Tang is what the astronauts drink." Dave said cheerfully.
" Or drank I guess."
" No more astronauts." Doug said easily. He pointed to Kerry
who was still asleep under a pile of sleeping bags. " Do yourself
a favor. Don't get her started on the Mir Space Station. Its not
pretty."
" We've already had that discussion." Dave had found it
amusing at the time, but the notion of astronauts overhead
starving to death was what had awakened him in the middle of the
night. He decided to broach a subject that had been troubling
him. He pointed to Kerry. " You know, I'm not real cool with
forcing people to take psychiatric drugs. "
Doug blinked in surprise. " Did she actually tell you that?
We never forced her to take anything. She stopped taking the
Prozac all by herself and I certainly was none the wiser. What
exactly are you trying to say? That she's been perfectly fine for
the last month or so? Did she mention how she tried to kill
herself two days ago?"
" Yes she did mention it, and she didn't say she was
forced." Dave felt a rush of embarrassment. He was assuming an
awful lot, he realized. Maybe they had done the best they could
under the circumstances. He certainly had assumed that they had
forced the drugs on her. " Look, I was just worried."
Doug shook his head. " When you've put the time in, the way
I have, you'll know that nobody forces Kerry to do a damn thing.
Trust me on that."
" Are you talking about me?" They both turned and looked as
Kerry crawled out from under the sleeping bags, looking worse for
wear. " And were the hell did you two put my glasses?"
" They are right on the picnic table, where you left them."
Dave had dealt with her kind before. The best thing to do was
keep her appeased until she had some coffee, or at least some
Sunny D. " You want some juice?" He gestured to the bottle.
" I would like some juice. That swill in no way even passes
for juice." She glared at both of them. " Are either of you going
to at least bring my crutch? Or do I need to crawl on the ground
and debase myself for your amusement? And why do I smell like a
scotch bottle?"
Doug chuckled. " I'm all for debasement. Don't you remember
last night at all? You didn't even let me find a condom."
She rolled her eyes. " I remember enough to know what a lie
that is. Dave, bring me my crutch."
He got up. When his first trick, plying the irritable with
breakfast beverages didn't work, he went to plan b. Plan b was
doing whatever she asked. It was way too early to start fighting,
though both Doug and Kerry seemed ready for battle. He was
starting to see why the rest of their group had been concerned
enough to leave a note warning them to be nice. He gave her an
arm up and handed her the crutch. " Does anyone want coffee?"
" I do," both Kerry and Doug chimed. He quickly got to work
at it, sensing it would ease some of the tension.
Doug watched him, not saying anything, but smirking. " I see
you're well trained already." He chuckled again and sat down at
the nearby picnic table. In moments both Dave and Kerry joined
him. Dave set the hot pot of fresh brewed coffee down and poured
himself a cup.
" So what are we doing?" Dave asked after a moment. The plan
yesterday had been to track down the bikers, but he had concerns.
He didn't feel well. Kerry didn't look well, and Doug looked very
hung over.
" What exactly did you two have planned?" Doug sipped his
coffee as he spoke. " I noticed the new rifles. I assume you two
weren't planning on rabbit hunting."
" We were going to track down the bikers and kill them."
Kerry said easily. " Hopefully they haven't killed Lucy." Dave
winced at how bluntly she put it. He didn't hold out much hope
that their friend Lucy was alive but if anything that made the
plan to track down the killers more than a little bit risky.
" What if she's dead?" Doug asked.
Kerry sipped her own coffee and shrugged. " Then I suppose
we would need to reconsider the risks. I don't think she'd want
us to get ourselves killed if she was already dead."
" And how exactly do you two plan to accomplish this?" Doug
asked. Dave noted that the older man wasn't including himself in
the plan. Then again, it wasn't really that great of a plan.
" Doug, " Kerry said softly, " I happen to be a very good
shot. Dave isn't that bad either. We can pick them off from a
distance."
Doug leaned in, chuckling once again. " I have to ask, since
this is one of those topics we've avoided all summer. Just where
did you learn to shoot so well?"
She shrugged nonchalantly. " Its a long story. Let's just
say I was stuck in a Rhodesian mercenary camp for almost a year
and all the men thought it was cute to teach the female doctor
all of their tricks."
" Look, I think the point is that we could pick them off.
I've done a little shooting. We could do it, but I think it's
smart to consider what we do if Lucy's dead." As angry as it made
Dave to know that the bikers had killed his own group, he wasn't
terribly interested in exacting revenge if there was no one to
rescue. It wasn't worth the risk.
Doug seemed to consider that. Finally, he said, " Kerry, I
assume you have the map?" He waited until she nodded. " If Lucy
is dead, then we should meet up with the others."
" I was going to Boulder." Dave said. He looked at Doug,
feeling suddenly uneasy. He was fairly convinced that Kerry had
no intention of heading west, but Doug seemed a lot less
convincing on that score. There was a defeated air about the man.
Something about Doug rubbed him the wrong way. It wasn't some
sort of evil feeling, but more a sense that the older man was
simply looking for a way to die. It worried him.
" I think we should go to Boulder." Kerry said. She pulled
out her map. " But everyone in the rest of our group is heading
here." She pointed to the spot marked on the map and then looked
up with surprise. " Its really not that far away."
" No, its not," Doug said easily. " Hadn't you noticed this?
Everyone's been pretty excited." Judging by his tone, Dave didn't
think Doug had been all that excited.
" Doug," Kerry said patiently," until last night, I was
fairly convinced that I had lost touch with reality. I tried to
kill myself because I was depressed to the point that I couldn't
think about anything except killing myself. I'm sorry I didn't
pick up on how happy everyone else was."
" It's always about you, isn't it?" Doug snapped back. "
Look, obviously we want to meet up with everyone else and
Carter's family hunting lodge is the only place we all agreed
on."
" Carter's family hunting lodge?" Dave asked.
" Carter's family owned most of the United States." Doug
said. " I suspect this lodge is really some sort of palatial
mansion."
" A rustic palatial mansion loaded with expensive
knickknacks and quaint pine furniture." Kerry added. " With real
Navaho Indian rugs and animal head trophies." Both Kerry and Doug
started to chuckle. Dave waited patiently. Making fun of Carter's
money was evidently an acceptable joke though he didn't quite see
the humor. He was simply glad they weren't getting mad at each
other.
" Look, I really don't mind detouring a bit." Dave decided
to get the topic back on track. " We know the bikers were heading
here. I say we catch up with them and take them out, one by one."
" Unless Lucy is dead, and then we just bypass them." Kerry
added.
Doug shook his head. " Kerry, do you honestly think you can
pick off six people in ten seconds without killing Lucy, and
without one of them killing Lucy?"
She looked at him intently. " If you have a better idea,
Doug, now's the time."
" I do have an idea."
Dave added more wood to the fire and watched as Doug checked
on Kerry one again. He had gotten the impression, from Kerry the
day before, that Doug was something of an irresponsible boob. He
was struck by how concerned the man seemed. It wasn't what he
expected at all, for a number of reasons. He had thought that the
two of them had despised each other, but what he was seeing was a
comfortable couple. Not really a couple, Dave decided after a
moment, but Doug was definitely pretty concerned for someone that
was constantly professing his dislike. Likewise, he could see the
relief on Kerry's face, and he wasn't convinced that it was just
knowing that Doug was alive. Friends at least, Dave decided as he
shook the bottle of Sunny Delight he'd picked up for breakfast,
probably not more. Kerry had explained a little the day before,
that Doug had lost someone and had fallen off the wagon in a big
way. That implied that Kerry hadn't been dating the guy.
He didn't particularly care for Doug's alcoholism, but it
wasn't the worst thing he'd seen since the plague had struck. He
had run across a few junkies that were wallowing in free heroin
supplies. Drinking too much was hardly the worst thing out there.
He simply didn't like it. There was always a reason for drinking
and the plague had made it far too easy to drink to excess. He
doubted that Doug would be such a drunk if he didn't have instant
access to liquor. Of course, he accepted that he was a little
sensitive to it. His father had been a drunk. There was always
a reason to get drunk.
He poured himself a glass of the juice and handed it over to
Doug. " It has vitamin C, " he said by way of explanation. " And
it never spoils." Sunny Delight was mostly chemical by-products
but it had a vaguely orange like taste and lately he had been
craving oranges. Plus, he was sick. Fortunately not as sick as
Kerry, who had spent most of the night burning with a fever that
hadn't broken until they had given her some antibiotics, but he
wasn't feeling one hundred percent by any means.
Doug took the bottle, frowned at it and then set it down. "
I can't drink that crap. It tastes like warm Tang."
" Tang is what the astronauts drink." Dave said cheerfully.
" Or drank I guess."
" No more astronauts." Doug said easily. He pointed to Kerry
who was still asleep under a pile of sleeping bags. " Do yourself
a favor. Don't get her started on the Mir Space Station. Its not
pretty."
" We've already had that discussion." Dave had found it
amusing at the time, but the notion of astronauts overhead
starving to death was what had awakened him in the middle of the
night. He decided to broach a subject that had been troubling
him. He pointed to Kerry. " You know, I'm not real cool with
forcing people to take psychiatric drugs. "
Doug blinked in surprise. " Did she actually tell you that?
We never forced her to take anything. She stopped taking the
Prozac all by herself and I certainly was none the wiser. What
exactly are you trying to say? That she's been perfectly fine for
the last month or so? Did she mention how she tried to kill
herself two days ago?"
" Yes she did mention it, and she didn't say she was
forced." Dave felt a rush of embarrassment. He was assuming an
awful lot, he realized. Maybe they had done the best they could
under the circumstances. He certainly had assumed that they had
forced the drugs on her. " Look, I was just worried."
Doug shook his head. " When you've put the time in, the way
I have, you'll know that nobody forces Kerry to do a damn thing.
Trust me on that."
" Are you talking about me?" They both turned and looked as
Kerry crawled out from under the sleeping bags, looking worse for
wear. " And were the hell did you two put my glasses?"
" They are right on the picnic table, where you left them."
Dave had dealt with her kind before. The best thing to do was
keep her appeased until she had some coffee, or at least some
Sunny D. " You want some juice?" He gestured to the bottle.
" I would like some juice. That swill in no way even passes
for juice." She glared at both of them. " Are either of you going
to at least bring my crutch? Or do I need to crawl on the ground
and debase myself for your amusement? And why do I smell like a
scotch bottle?"
Doug chuckled. " I'm all for debasement. Don't you remember
last night at all? You didn't even let me find a condom."
She rolled her eyes. " I remember enough to know what a lie
that is. Dave, bring me my crutch."
He got up. When his first trick, plying the irritable with
breakfast beverages didn't work, he went to plan b. Plan b was
doing whatever she asked. It was way too early to start fighting,
though both Doug and Kerry seemed ready for battle. He was
starting to see why the rest of their group had been concerned
enough to leave a note warning them to be nice. He gave her an
arm up and handed her the crutch. " Does anyone want coffee?"
" I do," both Kerry and Doug chimed. He quickly got to work
at it, sensing it would ease some of the tension.
Doug watched him, not saying anything, but smirking. " I see
you're well trained already." He chuckled again and sat down at
the nearby picnic table. In moments both Dave and Kerry joined
him. Dave set the hot pot of fresh brewed coffee down and poured
himself a cup.
" So what are we doing?" Dave asked after a moment. The plan
yesterday had been to track down the bikers, but he had concerns.
He didn't feel well. Kerry didn't look well, and Doug looked very
hung over.
" What exactly did you two have planned?" Doug sipped his
coffee as he spoke. " I noticed the new rifles. I assume you two
weren't planning on rabbit hunting."
" We were going to track down the bikers and kill them."
Kerry said easily. " Hopefully they haven't killed Lucy." Dave
winced at how bluntly she put it. He didn't hold out much hope
that their friend Lucy was alive but if anything that made the
plan to track down the killers more than a little bit risky.
" What if she's dead?" Doug asked.
Kerry sipped her own coffee and shrugged. " Then I suppose
we would need to reconsider the risks. I don't think she'd want
us to get ourselves killed if she was already dead."
" And how exactly do you two plan to accomplish this?" Doug
asked. Dave noted that the older man wasn't including himself in
the plan. Then again, it wasn't really that great of a plan.
" Doug, " Kerry said softly, " I happen to be a very good
shot. Dave isn't that bad either. We can pick them off from a
distance."
Doug leaned in, chuckling once again. " I have to ask, since
this is one of those topics we've avoided all summer. Just where
did you learn to shoot so well?"
She shrugged nonchalantly. " Its a long story. Let's just
say I was stuck in a Rhodesian mercenary camp for almost a year
and all the men thought it was cute to teach the female doctor
all of their tricks."
" Look, I think the point is that we could pick them off.
I've done a little shooting. We could do it, but I think it's
smart to consider what we do if Lucy's dead." As angry as it made
Dave to know that the bikers had killed his own group, he wasn't
terribly interested in exacting revenge if there was no one to
rescue. It wasn't worth the risk.
Doug seemed to consider that. Finally, he said, " Kerry, I
assume you have the map?" He waited until she nodded. " If Lucy
is dead, then we should meet up with the others."
" I was going to Boulder." Dave said. He looked at Doug,
feeling suddenly uneasy. He was fairly convinced that Kerry had
no intention of heading west, but Doug seemed a lot less
convincing on that score. There was a defeated air about the man.
Something about Doug rubbed him the wrong way. It wasn't some
sort of evil feeling, but more a sense that the older man was
simply looking for a way to die. It worried him.
" I think we should go to Boulder." Kerry said. She pulled
out her map. " But everyone in the rest of our group is heading
here." She pointed to the spot marked on the map and then looked
up with surprise. " Its really not that far away."
" No, its not," Doug said easily. " Hadn't you noticed this?
Everyone's been pretty excited." Judging by his tone, Dave didn't
think Doug had been all that excited.
" Doug," Kerry said patiently," until last night, I was
fairly convinced that I had lost touch with reality. I tried to
kill myself because I was depressed to the point that I couldn't
think about anything except killing myself. I'm sorry I didn't
pick up on how happy everyone else was."
" It's always about you, isn't it?" Doug snapped back. "
Look, obviously we want to meet up with everyone else and
Carter's family hunting lodge is the only place we all agreed
on."
" Carter's family hunting lodge?" Dave asked.
" Carter's family owned most of the United States." Doug
said. " I suspect this lodge is really some sort of palatial
mansion."
" A rustic palatial mansion loaded with expensive
knickknacks and quaint pine furniture." Kerry added. " With real
Navaho Indian rugs and animal head trophies." Both Kerry and Doug
started to chuckle. Dave waited patiently. Making fun of Carter's
money was evidently an acceptable joke though he didn't quite see
the humor. He was simply glad they weren't getting mad at each
other.
" Look, I really don't mind detouring a bit." Dave decided
to get the topic back on track. " We know the bikers were heading
here. I say we catch up with them and take them out, one by one."
" Unless Lucy is dead, and then we just bypass them." Kerry
added.
Doug shook his head. " Kerry, do you honestly think you can
pick off six people in ten seconds without killing Lucy, and
without one of them killing Lucy?"
She looked at him intently. " If you have a better idea,
Doug, now's the time."
" I do have an idea."