The Rescue Read online

  The exercise room also had a large screen on one wall and had several pieces of exercise equipment. Wynd tested a few of these and was surprised that most were fully operational and in decent working order. Apparently Marcus was using these on a regular basis. Meanwhile, Rom found a video game system and was in the process of setting it up. Twig was playing with the toys from the chest so Wynd left them to it and went back down stairs. Alone, Wynd continued her tour of the house. She continued down the steps to the basement. It looked like Marcus used this as storage for anything extra he needed. There were computers, monitors, toasters, mixers, extra appliances, and about anything else you would need. It was a full basement running the entire length of the house and it was for all practical purposes; full. “Rom will have a ball when I tell him about this,” she thought. She looked around for a little while longer hoping to find some clothes that might come close to fitting the others and her. She didn’t have any luck.

  Frustrated, she went back upstairs and checked on Marcus again. It was time for his medicine. Jocelyn walked her through the process again. Wynd was getting better at it. After she finished, she looked through Marcus’ clothing and found a red football jersey and pair of shorts with a drawstring. She should be able to use those until she was able to launder hers or maybe even venture out to search for some. Before going to the shower, she ran up and checked on the kids. She made sure that Rom was going to keep an eye on Twig while she was in the shower. Rom promised and Wynd trusted him. She had seen him before with Twig and he was very protective.

  Finally, she made it to the shower and while saying a silent prayer, she turned it on. Almost immediately, she began to feel the warmth of the water. Delighted she jumped in and stayed until her fingers had turned to prunes. It was the most wonderful thing she had felt in a long time. Of course it almost turned painful when she had to scrub every inch of her body several times to clean off all the layers of dirt. After she had finished, it took her another thirty minutes just to clean the shower. The bottom of the shower was almost brown with dirt.

  The shorts of Marcus’ almost looked like a skirt by the time she had tightened the drawstring. At least they were functional. After she finished dressing, she went back down to the basement and went through some clothes Marcus was storing for himself. She took a couple of t-shirts and shorts. Going back to Marcus’ room, she rummaged through his stuff and found what she was looking for… some needles and thread. She wasn’t great at it but at least she could sew a little. It was one of those things you had to learn when you realized that you just couldn’t run down to Wal-Mart and pick up some new clothes when you ripped a hole in what you were wearing.

  She checked on Marcus again and he was still sleeping. Wynd called Rom and Twig and made a few measurements. It didn’t take long and she had them an outfit that would work until they could do better. She used the bathtub from upstairs to help Twig take a bath and sent Rom to the shower downstairs. This was no slight undertaking. She had to send Rom back to the shower three times before she was satisfied that he was clean from head to toe. It also took her 45 minutes just to get Twig bathed and her hair brushed.

  Wynd could tell that the kids were still tired from the ordeal they had been through and so was she. She sent Rom off to bed and checked on Marcus again. There was no change. She lay down with Twig on the huge couch and both were asleep in a matter of minutes. Besides Jocelyn waking her to give Marcus some medicine, they all slept through the night.

  Twig and Rom were already awake when she woke up. Twig had made herself at home and had brought toys down from upstairs. Rom was watching some space movie on the big screen. She told Rom about the computer and television equipment in the basement. He was off like a shot and immediately came back.

  Sheepishly Rom asked, “Can I take some of that stuff to my room upstairs?”

  Wynd laughed at the reference to his room. They had barely been there a day and Rom had already claimed a room as his own. “Well…. I guess Marcus wouldn’t mind. He has enough down there for an army. So you can go ahead but don’t break anything. On second thought… you can after we eat.”

  She fixed them a meal from the containers and started cleaning everything away. Rom took off again. From time to time she would see him carrying some of the equipment from the basement to upstairs. She giggled to herself. Knowing Rom, he was probably setting up his own personal robot.

  “Jocelyn, could you keep an eye on the children while I look around outside? I would really like to look around.”

  “Yes. I can alert you if there are any problems in the house. You will need the earpiece and remember you will not be able to leave the canopy. Based on protocols initiated and put in place by Marcus, the canopy is still under total lockdown. This is for his safety and for yours. No one can leave and no one can enter.”

  Chapter 14

  Wynd inserted the earpiece and had Jocelyn start an old, old movie called “Toy Story” for Twig. Wynd had never heard of it but Jocelyn assured her that children loved it. Stepping out the front door of the cabin, she was amazed at what she saw. The view from the front porch of the cabin was breathtaking. They had arrived and were in such a rush that she hadn’t taken in the whole setting of it. The lake was beautiful. Tears began to well up in her eyes. She could already tell that she loved it here. She looked through all the buildings, including the greenhouse. Marcus had duplicates of almost everything. Two SUVs, two ATVs, and around on the other side of the large barn were two four-wheel drive pickups. He did only have one big green tractor. Wynd wondered how long it took him to acquire everything. Thinking about Marcus, she bowed her head and said a prayer for him. After looking around for a while, Wynd asked Jocelyn if there was anything else for her to see. Jocelyn told her about the small barn and livestock. Wynd wanted to see them but wasn’t sure she was up for the hike.

  “Why don’t you drive one of the ATVs or I could drive you in the MAV?” Jocelyn suggested.

  Wynd thought for a minute and said, “I’ve never ridden an ATV much less driven one. Are they hard to drive?”

  “They are very simplistic and normally even small children can learn to drive them very quickly.”

  Wynd considered it, but then decided to let Jocelyn drive her in the MAV. The MAV backed out of the barn and moved alongside her and stopped. The driver’s side door opened up. Wynd walked over and started to enter but noticed all the dried blood in the seat and the smell inside wasn’t very pleasing.

  “We will go in a little while Jocelyn, but let me clean out the inside of the MAV first.”

  Wynd ran back into the cabin and checked the kids. They were fine so she searched and found some cleaning supplies. It took her over an hour but she finally had the interior clean and smelling nice. Climbing in and shutting the door, Wynd asked Jocelyn to drive slowly so she could take it all in. As they were arriving at the small barn, Wynd checked everything out and was impressed again at how Marcus had everything set up. She did wonder why he didn’t just let the livestock run free. After all, the canopy could stop them from leaving and would keep predators away. She decided she would ask him about it later. At first glance, she would guess that if a person wanted to, they could live in this canopy forever and never leave. That made her wonder even more why Marcus would put his life on the line for them. By now her stomach was growling, so she got back in the MAV and Jocelyn took her home.

  Entering the cabin again, she could see that Twig was preoccupied with some dolls in the living room floor. She went upstairs and checked on Rom. She was shocked at the equipment he had hauled up there. He had large screens on two of the walls and a network of computers connected with wires that intertwined and made a tangled mess. Rom was in the middle of the room acting out a battle.

  He turned with excited eyes, “This is awesome. It’s called World of War Battlecraft. Jocelyn has me connected.”

  All Wynd saw was the carnage that was happening on a battlefield on the two screens. She turned and left him to his game. As
she was going back to check on Marcus, Jocelyn spoke.

  “Marcus’ temperature is starting to rise. We need to take extra measures with the medicine to try and control this situation.”

  Chapter 15

  As Jocelyn finished speaking, Wynd had made it to Marcus’ room. He wasn’t looking very well. In fact, she noticed a slight sheen of sweat on his face. She reached over and checked his forehead. He was definitely running a fever. As she touched his forehead, his eyes opened and he looked at her. He started to speak but then he passed out again. She touched his face again but he didn’t wake out of his sleep this time.

  Wynd began giving Marcus higher dosages of the medicine that Jocelyn prescribed. Over the next three days Marcus would fade in and out of consciousness. It took almost constant around the clock care to make sure he was hydrated and in as little pain as possible. He would toss and turn and Wynd could tell that he wasn’t resting. Finally at the end of three days, the medicine finally was working and he was resting comfortably. Although she wasn’t sure he was going to make it at first, Wynd finally felt that Marcus was going to live. Three days later, Marcus was able to sit up in bed and feed himself.

  It took a few days longer but he was finally able to get up and walk around for a little while. In the meantime, Wynd, Twig, and Rom got to know Marcus. Twig was smitten with him. While he was still recuperating in bed, she would take a book from some of the ones she found in the toy box and climb up next to him on the pillow and pretend to read to him. Wynd could tell that he loved it. Eventually, Twig would get the book and Marcus began reading to her.

  Chapter 16

  The pain from the bullet wounds was beginning to fade somewhat. Marcus had begun to exercise a little and try to take some walks. He hadn’t realized just how bad he missed human interaction and companionship. To be truthful on the matter, Marcus thought that he was on the edge of depression before he rescued them from the Jackals. Marcus’ affection for the new members of his household was growing day by day. Of course his affection for Wynd was growing in a slightly different way. She was beautiful, sweet, and just being around her was helping Marcus heal more than anything.

  While he was recuperating, he decided that he needed to do something special for her. After thinking about his plan, he came up with a great idea. He had a special surprise he wanted to do for her. A few days later he told her that he was going to leave the canopy for a few hours because of something he had to check on.

  “If everything goes well, I should be back in three or four hours. I’ll drive the MAV and I won’t take any chances. Besides, Jocelyn will be in contact with me the whole time which means you can be in contact with me too,” said Marcus.

  Shyly Wynd said, “I know but you don’t know what’s out there and you are still recovering from your last little foray out.”

  Trying to convince her he said, “I understand, but I need to check on some of my sensors and cameras. If I don’t maintain them, it could potentially cause us problems later. I promise I’ll be careful.”

  Wynd resisted at first but finally relented and about an hour later Marcus was loaded up and ready to leave. Wynd stood on the top of the steps to the front porch and waved at him as he drove off.

  The leaves were changing and the drive was beautiful. Everything was a gorgeous hue of red, orange, or brown. Marcus loved the fall. He had told Wynd that he was going to check on his sensors and cameras which he was… well… one or two anyway. His main purpose was to find some clothing for the rest of them. They had been wearing a patchwork of old clothes of his that Wynd had sewn together. They were functional but that was about it. He headed off the mountain toward Chattanooga again. He knew of a large department store about 30 minutes away that would probably have everything they needed. The trip down the mountain was uneventful. As he approached the valley, he could see that the dinosaur population was growing. In a large field at the bottom, he saw another herd of triceratops like he had seen the last time he was here but they weren’t the only ones. He counted 5 or 6 of the massive long necked brachiosaurs and there were probably that many stegosaurs there too. Their spines were lined with the plates and spikes that protruded for the length of the spine. A few turned and looked his way for a minute but then returned to eating. He saw a few more on the way to a small suburb called Brown’s Ferry but most didn’t seem bothered by his presence.

  He finally made it to one of the large department stores there. From what he could see this particular one was still locked up tight. He had been in it before but had used the ladder up the back of the store and went in on a hidden exit. Several of the surrounding stores had been ransacked but this one was almost untouched except by him. Marcus guessed that it was the large shield like doors that had been closed before the last person had left when they closed. It had taken him over two hours to get in the first time he was here.

  He had Jocelyn run several different scans on the building and surrounding areas for anything that might be a threat and found everything was clear. He parked around back and had Jocelyn continue her surveillance. He climbed up the ladder and came down the stairs from his hidden entrance and looked around. He was wondering if the solar collectors were still working. They had been the last time he was here. He might even be able to power up the lights although it was still lit up well from the skylights in the building. He unlocked the bay door where the MAV was located then headed to the clothing department.

  He had several conversations with Wynd and Rom about their clothing and he had joked some with them about the size of the clothing she had pieced together for them. This had allowed him to get their sizes without them knowing it. Marcus thought he could guess pretty close for Twig’s clothing. It took some work but he was able to get pants and shirts for all three and just for a surprise he searched and found a beautiful fancy dress for Wynd. He also went over to the jewelry counter and picked up several pieces of jewelry including a necklace with a one carat diamond in it. Happy with himself he started back to the MAV when he stopped and grimaced. They would need under clothing and probably some outer wear because winter was coming. He hung his head and turned and headed back to the clothing department.

  Mumbling under his breath, Marcus said “No wonder men hated shopping so much. This is taking forever…”

  Rom’s clothing didn’t take long, but the girls… well… he kind of felt… it had been several years since he had been shopping with anyone but himself, but he still felt awkward digging through women’s clothing.

  “Pervert on aisle three; pervert on aisle three. Code blue security,” he chuckled in his best intercom voice. Finally satisfied with his selections, he loaded them up into the MAV. From there he went to the shoe department and picked out several pairs of shoes for everyone and then he went to the toy section and picked up several toys for Twig.

  It took him a few minutes to think of a gift for Rom. He already had almost everything electronic back home and Rom had already rummaged through most of it. Marcus went through the electronics anyway and he spotted something that he hadn’t seen before. It was called a ‘SF VR Drone Flyer’. He had heard of them but that was a long time ago. Reading the exterior of the box, it told him that you set up the system, strap on the headset, and virtually fly the drone. The drone itself has a range of over 10 miles. It was solar powered so it could virtually run endlessly with the SF batteries. Rom would love this.

  “One for Rom, one for me,” he laughed. He was wondering if Jocelyn could extend its range with her signal. This could be a useful tool.

  The back seat of the MAV was completely filled by the time he was finished. After he finished loading, he was about to lock up when he thought of something else that was needed that they didn’t have at home. In his mind he said, “No way.”

  Shaking his head and apparently arguing with himself, Marcus said, “Forget it, I’ll bring her back here at another time.” He shut the door and went to close the bay door. Still quietly arguing with himself, Marcus finally relented and
decided that the best and safest thing would be to get it now. Letting out a loud sigh, he lowered his head and headed for the feminine product aisle. He rounded up what Wynd might need or at least to the best of his knowledge what he thought she could use. He took the “stuff” back to the MAV and had it almost loaded when he saw the Korak cannon on top of the MAV rise and swing around in a blur and began firing. At the same time he felt two sharp pricks in his chest and an extreme shot of voltage. He began convulsing, dropped to his knees, and passed out.

  Chapter 17

  “…oooohhhh….” Marcus moaned.

  He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He was laying next to the MAV, flat on the ground in the middle of spilled feminine hygiene products. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and put his head in his hands. His head was clearing and then he could hear Jocelyn in his ear piece almost shouting.

  “Marcus, Marcus... Marcus, Marcus!” Unbelievably Jocelyn was showing genuine emotion. She must be getting good at emulating human emotions. He shook his head to try and clear it again. He could hear Jocelyn practically crying over the ear piece.

  Finally he said, “Jocelyn, calm down. I’m okay, you can stop yelling now. My head is pounding enough.”

  Calmly Jocelyn spoke, “Marcus, I’m not the one that is yelling. That is Wynd. You are about 5 hours overdue and she is almost hysterical. I tried to explain to her that your vitals are normal so it was obvious that you were only unconscious but she wouldn’t listen. Should I inform her that you are okay?”