James Hunt - Broken Roads

“Everything we touch. Burns,” Jake said.

He dropped the match onto the pile of bodies and the massive flame spread upwards into the sky. The flames swallowed the flesh and when the heat reached Hannah she began to scream. The fire crawled up her legs, consuming her body. She thrashed on the pole, her screams piercing through the cheers of the bikers. She could feel the fire tearing at her flesh. Finally, her body went limp, engulfed in the orange flames dancing along her charred body.

Jake watched the bodies burn. The fires danced in the reflection of his eyes. He’d always loved fire. It had ferocity, beauty, and power. He closed his eyes letting him feel the heat from the flames, his cheeks reddening from the burning flesh. He pulled Frankie away from the group and the two of them headed toward the lobby.

“You think they’ll come back?” Frankie asked.

“They will. They’ll want to know what happened to their mother, and when they do come back, and whoever they bring with them to help, will burn.”

The sun rose above the horizon. Mike had pulled the cart carrying Jenna the entire night. It took them twice as long with the cart as it would have without it. The path up to the cabin was meant for a vehicle with four-wheel drive capabilities, not two men dragging an injured woman in a cart from the early 20th century.

Everyone begged to stop, but Mike wouldn’t let them rest. He was so close to his family. Every time he slipped on the trail, or he felt the pain in his hands, legs, and back he thought of them.

Jung was the only one as motivated as he was to get there. He pulled the other side of the cart along with Mike when everyone else was giving up. They were less than a hundred yards from the cabin now. It wouldn’t be much longer.

The wheels of the car bumped along the roots and rocks of the beaten path. With the sun coming up he searched the ground for tire tracks that he hadn’t been able to see in the dead of night. They approached a stretch of mud and Mike saw the familiar tread of his Jeep’s tires in the soil.

Mike’s heart leapt. They made it. His family was there. Mike could feel his legs losing their fatigue. His eyes lost their weariness. His hands gripped the wooden handles harder.

“We’re almost there,” Mike said.

He could see the cabin now. The Jeep was parked on the side. Everything seemed to be intact. There wasn’t any damage that Mike noticed. His feet trudged faster through the mud and dirt.

When he finally reached the cabin and stood in front of the door he felt like he was in a dream. None of it seemed real.

“Tom, Jung, grab Jenna and we’ll get her inside,” Mike said setting the cart down.

Mike rushed to the door, flinging it open. The first person he saw was Ray lying on the couch in the living room. Ray opened his eyes and his jaw dropped.

“Mike?” Ray asked.

“Anne? Freddy? Kalen? Dad?” Mike called out.

Mike didn’t acknowledge Ray’s presence. He could only think of his family. He heard the creak of doors opening. The first person out was Anne. Mike stood at the end of the hallway when she stepped out of their room. She gasped as her hands covered her mouth in shock.

The next door that opened was Freddy, then Kalen. The hallway was silent as the four of them stared at each other.

“Dad?” Freddy asked.

A tear rolled down Mike’s face. His son, his daughter, his wife, they were here. They were safe. They were alive.

“Dad!” Freddy yelled.

Mike dropped to his knee as Freddy rushed toward him. He threw his arms around Freddy and wrapped him in a tight hug. Kalen came in next to her brother and Mike pulled her in. He clutched his children, kissing the tops of their heads. Each of them squeezing back as hard as he was.

Anne walked slowly toward him. The sight of her children with their father was better than seeing Mike alone. She wanted to join, but she didn’t want to miss what she was seeing. She finally made it to the three of them. Mike opened his arms and she stepped inside the circle. The four of them just sat, huddled on the floor, holding onto each other.

When Tom and Jung carried Jenna inside Mike finally got up, still holding his family close. Everyone stared at each other for a moment. Anne was the first to speak when she saw that Jenna was hurt.

“What happened?” Anne asked.

“She was shot. I’ll grab the spare cot downstairs and bring it up,” Mike said.

Mike rummaged through the basement searching for the cot and found it lying on its side against some of the medical supplies. On his way back he glanced at the gun cabinet. It was unlocked.

Mike set the cot up in the living room and Tom and Jung set Jenna down on it to rest. Anne felt Jenna’s forehead with the back of her hand.

“She’s burning up. I’ll grab some Ibuprofen and some new bandages to dress her wounds,” Anne said.

“Dad, I can’t believe you’re here,” Freddy said looking up at his father.

Mike scooped him up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“I missed you, bud,” Mike said.

“I missed you too.”

When Ulysses opened the door of his room he noticed that he was drying his eyes on the corner of his shirt. He didn’t say anything but walked up to Mike and gave him a hug, squishing Freddy in between the two of them.

“It’s good to have you home, son,” Ulysses said.

“Thanks, pop.”

Jenna lay passed out on the cot. She had fresh bandages on her shoulder and Anne had given her some of the antibiotics that Ray was taking. Everyone was crowded around the kitchen table.

After introductions the group caught up on what happened. Ulysses and Anne explained about the storm and the tree falling, which hurt Ray’s leg and the trip to town where Ulysses found Mary and her sisters. She purposefully left out the situation with Kalen. She would fill Mike in about that later in private.

“The bikers killed everyone,” Mary said.

Mike noticed that her voice was emotionless. She stood there not with a face of pain, but of solace. He couldn’t imagine what those three girls had gone through, but he found it odd how put together she seemed after what happened. Maybe it was her way of coping.

Mike explained what Nelson had done and how he saved him after the house caught fire. He told them about the trip their and the detour to the airport, the boy who shot Jenna and the trip to the farm.

After the explanations Anne, Mary, and Tom, who claimed to be an excellent cook, started breakfast for everyone. Powdered eggs, dried fruit, and nuts were on the menu. Tom explained that he didn’t have access to his normal ingredients and he did the best he could, but nobody cared. It was the first hot meal any of them had in days.

When breakfast was over they did some rearranging. The cabin was built to only hold five and there were now eighteen of them. Mary, Nancy, Erin, Kalen, and Fay would crash in Kalen’s room. Nelson, Sean, Ulysses, and Freddy would stay in Ulysses’ room. Jung, Jenna, Jung Jr. and Claire would get Freddy’s room. Clarence, Tom, and Ray would be in the living room. Mike and Anne would stay in their room, which they tried to give up, but nobody would take.

It took most of the morning to get everyone situated and by the time they did it was lunchtime. They cracked open the canned food and had lunch outside. Mike noticed that Mary kept glancing at the smoke rising from the town. She caught him looking at her once and didn’t look back at the town again.

There were chores to get done, but Mike put them all off. He did nothing except be with his family. Everything that needed to be done he would put off until tomorrow. That was his gift to himself for making it this far.