Story Edie (Complete)
- Thread starter Kathy in FL
- Start date
Sammy55
Veteran Member
Wooooowie! Captain Dunn is out for the hunting! Hopefully nothing bad happens to Winn and the kids, though I'm sure they have already suffered mentally, if not physically.
Go, Cap, go! Get rid of the vermin! Be extra careful with the bait!! And when all is done and said, maybe Cap can retreat and live out the rest of her life as Edie with her little family.
Go, Cap, go! Get rid of the vermin! Be extra careful with the bait!! And when all is done and said, maybe Cap can retreat and live out the rest of her life as Edie with her little family.
It is an issue of learning to manage it. There is no cure for gastroparesis. It is that the nerve to your stomach was damaged somehow ... they can't even say for sure why it happens. There is no cure. More than likely mine was damaged from the massive septic shock that I had back in June. Or that's what the gastroenterologist explained. It is just one of those things I am having to learn to live with. At least my quality of life is returning even if I now jingle when I walk from all the meds. LOL
Chapter 198
Let it not ever be said by me or anyone else that I took pride in what I did that night. Or should I say, my pride is in coming to the rescue of my family not in the methodology that I used.
I waited until dark fell, which it did, early as it tended to do that time of year. I wish I could have saved Winn and the rest of them from the cold, but I couldn’t risk starting the action any earlier. I needed chaos and confusion … and an edge. There was only one of me and too many of them. And after observing I could tell these were the elite soldiers of my enemy. But I still knew they lacked certain skillsets. These were the soldiers that poisoned their targets. Blackmail to the point of causing (or appearing to cause) suicide. Removed or changed warning signs on roads. These were the assassins from a distance; the snipers, the hackers, the liars and thieves.
What they were not was fit for the battlefield. They played the part, but they didn’t have the stamina and courage of a man who survives the battlefield more than once. Add to that they were cold and miserable enough that they had started taking it out on each other. Worse, there were too many alphas in this group. I knew it wouldn’t take long and it would be every man for himself. At least I prayed for that. If they worked together, combined their strengths to offset their weaknesses, I would be a goner … and so would Winn and the kids.
I figured out by listening to them talk amongst themselves after they had beat on Winn enough to make me want to tear their throats out with my bare hands that Winn claims they were taken to a relative so they could eat. Nels Gibson of all people supported the story. They gave a real name – Mrs. Willowdean – which passed the smell test as the name was on a list of our close associates. What they didn’t have was directions to her place and the directions they were given, should they ever try to follow them, would leave them in the middle of nowhere. Kind of a you-can’t-get-there-from-here that followed an old goat track of a forestry road. I know for a fact, having followed it less than a month earlier while snow was still on the ground, that the road was in bad shape and the section that ran along the river bank was dangerous and due for some washouts without notice. So at least they were trying to protect the family and not just throw anyone under the bus.
But that told me the kids were probably in the safe room or the tunnels, more than likely the tunnels. And it didn’t appear that the cellar had been found either as some of the men complained that Winn hadn’t been lying about not having any food up this way, that we’d lived on forage for the most part; that and hunting.
Why the men weren’t in the house struck me as perplexing. It would have been a way to get out of the cold but not even the “officers” were in there. Unless they had boobied the house. Still seemed strange but I accepted their idiocy as providential. They didn’t even have a fire in the burn barrel. That I heard was them trying to avoid being seen from above. They knew that “someone” was after them. It had a few of the men agitated. They wanted to move off and move off quickly to avoid being caught. But whatever they thought I had or knew was too valuable to the those in charge.
It finally grew dark, and the men grew even colder. So did the Dunnville folks but they were all hardened against it as they’d been living this way for generations. I did see Nels and a few other older folks shiver, but I was to later find out that they’d sensed a haint was in the woods. It didn’t help anyone’s composure when a couple of men ran into camp and said, “Captain Kerry, Sir. We located Cole and Carpenter.”
“Report.”
“Dead Sir. Possibly had a fight and did for each other. Hard to tell because animals had been at them.”
“Disappointing but not unexpected given Cole’s proclivities.”
“There’s more Sir. The other platoon … they’re all dead.”
Less detached the man demanded, “All of them? Answer me dammit.”
“They had some type of attrition event. We found most of the men’s bodies stripped and rolled down the side of a road. Those in their camp … look like … Sir …”
“Spit it out damn you!”
“It looks like Major Kerry may have … maybe have not taken his medication. Sir. He … er … it is possible he was the attrition event.”
Even in the low light I could tell “the Captain” had grown pale. “You’re certain? It wasn’t the female?”
“I can’t say with 100% certainty but … it looks a lot like what happened at Camp Curtis Geld, Sir.”
The man looked frozen for a couple of moments, everyone held their breaths, then the man shrugged. “So be it. The old man was warned what could happen. I told him myself. He still gave my brother the higher rank. But he’s gone and we’ll be instituting Plan B immediately.”
“But what about the reward Sir?”
“You’ll get your reward whether we catch the female or not. Knowing my brother he probably killed her already after having a little fun. Or maybe while. Probably why he forgot to take his meds on schedule.”
I didn’t know what Plan B was, but I didn’t like the sound of it. I decided it was time for Captain Kerry to meet Captain Dunn. Unfortunately for him the introduction was not to his liking. Neither did the men standing immediately around him. They’d been foolish and had clumped together to hear the report. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. Twenty-two (that included the two that had returned with their findings) minus six left sixteen minus “Cole and Carpenter” left fourteen of the enemy remaining. Unless there were some in the woods patrolling and I’d missed them like I’d missed the other two.
Chapter 199
Had the enemy thought to grab prisoners and use them for leverage what I planned might not have worked. Or maybe I would have lost a little more of my humanity because I would have refused to allow it to work. Thankfully the Creator blinded them to everything but their own need for immediate escape.
I would have just kept shooting if there had been any light at all. It wasn’t a moonless night but there was enough growth in the understory that what light there was was filtered and deeply muted. What I did have was my cobbled together night vision glasses. And Winn had helped me find a way to mitigate the problems with the depth perception. They weren’t perfect but they were better than the nothing that the enemy had.
Directly after I took the first six, I started using the non-lethal IEDs to herd the remaining enemy towards my “box canyon.” Some tried to peel off and escape but I would then use the lethal IEDs to either take them out or keep them moving the direction I wanted them to go. The smoke bombs got them turned around and unable to navigate with any certainty. Didn't do a lot for me night vision goggles but I still had more than they did, plus I knew my way better than they ever would.
I had set the box canyon up away from the homesite but still close enough that I wouldn’t lose too many in the chase. I got them all – at least the ones that still lived – in and then I shut off their avenue of escape. One of the bangalores did the rest. That thing was so lound it more than brought a rockslide down on them. It practically brought down a piece of the mountain. Those that weren’t obviously dead due to injuries or squishedness, it was a quick double tap to make sure they were no longer a threat.
I turned and headed back to the homesite, making sure to avoid any of the boobies that I hadn’t used and to pick up a resupply of IEDs. I was too jazzed up, but not so jazzed or battle sick that I didn’t play it careful. I was belly crawling the last few yards when I heard the barely discernable “chirp whistle” that was our personal signal. Winn. I also heard the message. I crawled over to a particular tree and found him.
I couldn’t even form words. But he did.
“You came home.”
Slowly I shook my head. “Any … anymore … where they came from?”
“Uncle Dakota is on it.”
“Sure?”
“Only four more that I counted and two of those are already down. You took them out with your first shots.”
“So, two.”
I heard a guttural sound behind me and … holy freak … Professor’s Heaton’s partner. She’d gotten a gun from someplace and it was aimed straight at me.
“Knew it was you. Knew you’d come for him. Knew if I just held on long enough that …”
Whatever soliloquy she was out to give was obliterated when Winn put a bullet where it shut her up forever. But covering my back took the last of his energy.
“Winn? Winn?! Winn?!!”
He wasn’t able to respond, and I was starting to lose it. When someone shook my arm I came unglued.
“Dammit Kid! You shoot me and I’ll tranq you and toss you in a cage and throw away the key until you ******* wake the hell up!”
She’s good. Even injured she’s good. I had crazy on my side, but she had experience. She immobilized me, grabbed my chin and demanded I look at her.
“We’re gonna let the nice medic look your man there over. Got it? And you bite me one more time and I’ll put a damn muzzle on you.”
She wouldn’t let anyone else near me until I calmed down. But I didn’t calm down until Winn said, “Let her go. Now. You’re only making it worse.”
As soon as I was able to get to Winn and he looked in my eyes and said, “You’re home. Say it for me.”
It took me nearly a full minute, but I eventually was able to give him what he wanted. “Home. I’m … home.”
“I … I gotta rest Edie. I need to know that you'll be here. The kids …”
He nearly couldn’t finish so I told him, “I’m home. Capt Dunn may … may have more work to do but … Edie is home. You understand?”
“Don’t let them work you too hard. Talk to Nels,” he said right before closing his eyes again.
I turned to the medic who was looking at me cautiously. “Let me clear the house. Let me find the kids. I’ll …”
It was Nels that walked up and said, “Kids are asleep. They’re in the tunnel under the shed. I … know you need to see them but let them sleep.”
“Were they hurt?”
“No. Winn passed the info to me that he’d hidden them … in case.”
There was a lot of static in my head at understanding that “in case” meant in case Winn had died. But I got myself under control faster than they expected me to after that. Winn needed me there and present. The kids needed me there and present.
I nodded to Nels and asked if he knew how to check on them. “Already did young lady. Tug is … a good dog.”
I nodded with an appreciative gleam in my eye. I’d thought the dog was one of the injured at best, but he minded and protected the kids. I’d just wished that Winn had allowed himself to be protected.
I turned to The Woman and asked, “Are they all accounted for?”
She looked over at a young private who said, “All but one ma’am.”
Then she looked at me. “Up to some search and destroy?”
I gave a grin that Nels told me later had people talking about the wild people that live in the Appalachians. Maybe so. No one knows where they come from, whether they are born or made by life. I’m not sure. I’ve kept my distance from people because I’m not sure. I still have days ... and not just because of my experiences at Ft. Lee. Not any more. Maybe that’s what I am. All I know is that I don’t want to leave home never to come back.
Think I got too jittery. The writing is helping me to settle down. Thanks though. As soon as I finish this I'll toddle off ... I think.
Chapter 200
Doctor Annabeth looked at Winn and just shook her head. “Tell him to stop picking at that bandage. Had he sat in the chair as I’d suggested he wouldn’t have hit the floor so hard.”
I looked down at the good-sized pig in my arms. “If we have another one, he’ll know not to try and help with the contractions from such a close distance. I did try to warn him but …”
“But he’s a man and hated to see you in pain. How are you feeling my dear?” she asked smiling fondly. She’d nursed me through injuries more than once and feels she has a stake in my life now. I suppose I don’t disagree. She and Monty are the only two doctors that I will allow to touch me.
“Let’s just say if there is a next time it is not going to be by natural childbirth. I am going to have me some stroooong pain killers. And I am not riding that blasted mule back up the mountain. No way, no how. At least not until Juvember.”
That sent her and the nurse that had come in to take Holt Edward Dunn away for measuring and weighing into peels of laughter. Though when the nurse picked him up and put him in his rolling bassinet, she pushed it like she was pushing bricks uphill. I wound up with a nearly eleven-pounder after going almost three weeks passed our best guess due date.
After Winn and I were alone I said, “Sorry. Does it hurt?”
Winn snickered. “Naw. Deserve it. I shoulda sat and stayed out of the line of fire. Even that plastic bed pan was … er … you aren’t going to cry are you?!” he asked in alarm. “You never cry!”
I sniffed away the tears and nearly started to giggle. “Give it time. It’s the hormones. How are the kids?”
“Teena and Ford are ruling the playroom down the hall. Telling everyone that their brother is the best baby. I swear those two could compete a rock into a coma.”
“Teena? You sure about that?”
He chuckled. “She’s definitely over her jealousy. I think it is because she is the only one Holt didn’t cry at. Uh … you sure you’re okay with the name I chose? I know you didn’t want …”
“Holt is a good compromise for Holtzinger. It is like Ford’s shortened name, the one he now prefers.”
“Yeah. I wish Celeste wouldn’t …” He shook his head and then asked me carefully. “Are you better?”
Slowly, more than a little ill at ease, I nodded. “I can’t promise not to have another nightmare, but I should be okay. I … I think it is just being here and having that blasted interrogator show up. How the heck did he know?!”
“I called her. The Woman. She said they found some more evidence. The one we are calling the interrogator was only supposed to deliver a message to you from her to be on the lookout for reporters. The Woman is on it and will let us know if there is anything more to it than someone working on some brownie points for advancement.”
“When can we go home?”
My tone startled him. “Babe?”
“Home. I want to go home.” I didn’t want to sound as needy as I did. I didn’t want Winn to worry. He’d had reason to a few times. That night wasn’t the last one that Captain Dunn made an appearance. A couple of times … let’s just say that only my promise to Winn is what got me home. One memorable week he’d had to come and find me. I’d gotten injured in a hand-to-hand fight, and slipped off the trail and down into a crevice. After a week I’d been thought dead by everyone but Winn. It was a close thing, and it was after that, and after a peace treaty had been signed with several of our country’s enemies, that Winn and I gave serious consideration to what we wanted to do with our lives. Giving Teena and Rutherford a sibling turned out to be one of them.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Babe? Babe. Edie. It’s okay. You’re home. And … um … Holt is smacking his lips and still refuses the bottle even though it has … er … your milk in it. He’s just getting mad.”
I woke up and took the baby into the bed with me. “He’s like Teena. A pig. And he wants what he wants when he wants it and how he wants it.” Newborn or not, Holt knew what to tug on to get at his feed trough.
“Sorry,” I said. “How long has he been crying. I didn’t hear him. Did he wake you?”
“He wasn’t crying. And even if he was he was upstairs. I think it was me cooking chili that set him off.”
“Chili?” I asked completely confused. “Why are you fixing chili for breakfast?”
“Uh … it’s after lunch and Uncle Dakota and Monty stopped by.”
When that penetrated I tried to sit up but Anchor Holt kept me down and refused to turn loose. The kid really is a Hoover and heavy as a boulder even at just a couple of weeks.
“I … I gotta …”
Winn said, “You don’t gotta anything. I wouldn’t have woke you up except he doesn’t like any of the nipples I tried.”
“And he won’t. Not until he is probably ready for a sippy cup. You remember how Teena could be.”
He got a besotted look on his face and said, “Yeah. But I didn’t know her at this stage. Man Holt is a pig.” Regardless of the words there was so much love that not even Holt could have taken exception.
I was having a harder time coming back than expected. The longer I was in the town’s medical center the more off I got. It wasn’t just the hormones, it was just all of it. Too many people, too much noise, everyone in our business. I’ve gotten out of the habit of people. The mountains and the woods was where I stayed, where I belonged. I got the occasional visitor, but it was still Winn that was more of a people person than me.
It has taken a while to get my energy back out of the negative range. Needing something to do I’ve put the last touches on the Rigorous and Beatrice Dunn family tree, with citations. The sister of the man we still call Chief even though he retired last year, was ecstatic to have it. She’s adding pictures and all of the physical documents and their locations, but she suggested that we should wait a bit to turn in Beatrice’s journals to the town library, maybe a generation or two. Yeah, the Dunn’s are still like that and probably always will be.
I also reread all my old journals and notes to keep myself from being bored silly and destructive. That was harder and there were times I wished I’d never started, but in the end I think it has been good for me. Good for Winn’s Edie. And good for Captain Dunn as well. Not sure if I will destroy them or keep them for perpetuity. Sort of like my version of Beatrice’s ledgers. The first half of my story is fine. It’s the later half that makes me cringe, maybe always will.
I can look out the window since Winn has taken down the black out drapes. We don’t need them any longer. War is over … or this war is over, and I hope I’m too old to participate in the next one. Please Creator let that be true. We’ve mostly got our country back, but I have a feeling if we don’t keep an eye on things … well it’s just better to be safe than sorry even if some people do scoff at the need to remain so vigilant.
It’s Spring, not much different than that night. The Woman and I did a search and destroy and nearly died in the process. Would have if a twig snapping hadn’t given the ambush away. There was more than one still unaccounted for. There hadn’t been two platoons, there had been three. The Woman later told me that it was another Kerry, this one a sister. She was a real viper. It wasn’t me that took care of her. The Woman has her own pains and needs to make sure some things were atoned for.
We lived. We never did find the private that had given the false information, but The Woman reported his handlers had and had then left him in pieces in a field several states over for failing his assignment. It took dental records to identify him.
Yes, that is the kind of people they were. And some of them are still like that, though they’ve lost their citizenship and may never step foot on US soil … or the soil of its territories. All of those that want to remain our allies have similar – if not harsher – prohibitions. See, they reckoned without just how ruthless The Woman and Captain Dunn could be. No one was making it so I couldn’t go home, regardless of where in the world they hide. I knew what a monster I would be if I couldn’t. The Woman came to learn. So did my enemies … those men and women who plotted against the freedoms and securities we have in this country, that plotted to take home away from me.
I still define home different than most people but I don’t care. Winn understands. That’s all I need. Though for his and the children’s sakes I do at least try to hold onto my humanity. Some days that is easier than others.
Looking at Holt … and Teena and Rutherford who now prefers to be called Ford … I can say it is getting easier. Winn is most definitely helping it to be better. I couldn’t always say that. Maybe with the war over it will get even easier still, that time will heal the wounds from Fort Lee. I’m hoping that means that Captain Dunn can finally rest. Please Creator, let it be so.
The End
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Jeepcats27
Senior Member
Thank you for such an amazing story! It is sad to come to an end but all stories come to an end! take care!!
larry_minn
Contributing Member
Seems Jason Bourne is a wimp compared to Captain Dunn.
Nature_Lover
Wait! What?
Thank you! What a great story. 
I'm happy to hear that you're feeling better.
I'm happy to hear that you're feeling better.
feralferret
Veteran Member
Bravo, Kathy!
Thank you.
Thank you.
Dannab1
Contributing Member
That was such a great read! You have so much talent, the twists and turns you create keep us on the edge of our seats. (Even if we frequently fall off the cliffs you leave laying around)
Thanks for sharing that talent for us to enjoy and putting up with our impatiently wanting MOAR all the time! It is truly a blessing to be able to enjoy your work!
Thanks for sharing that talent for us to enjoy and putting up with our impatiently wanting MOAR all the time! It is truly a blessing to be able to enjoy your work!
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Great story, thank you very much.
Sammy55
Veteran Member
Wow. What a ride! I'm sorry to see it end as it's been such a fantastic story, but it's another on your list of "completed" and another that I can go back and read again and again and again.
Your talent and imagination leave me in awe! Especially that you could write when in the midst of so much personal and family physical and emotional pain.
Take care of yourself, Kathy!
You are a treasure around here and we sure don't want you in worse shape than you are!
You have my deepest thanks and applause.
And, of course, the happy dance for completing Edie.
It's good to have her home with Winn and kids and a new "little pig" to boot!
Your talent and imagination leave me in awe! Especially that you could write when in the midst of so much personal and family physical and emotional pain.
Take care of yourself, Kathy!
You are a treasure around here and we sure don't want you in worse shape than you are!
You have my deepest thanks and applause.
And, of course, the happy dance for completing Edie.
It's good to have her home with Winn and kids and a new "little pig" to boot!
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
I just read through it again 
Griz3752
Retired, practising Curmudgeon
Well you slipped another one across the line into the 'Finished' column when I wasn't looking.
Works out for the best because my wife is baking today and has book club tomorrow so, I can catch up before Monday and not be in her way. Really don't want to impede oatmeal-raisin cookie production.
Thank you ma'am; yet another excellent addition to the library.
Works out for the best because my wife is baking today and has book club tomorrow so, I can catch up before Monday and not be in her way. Really don't want to impede oatmeal-raisin cookie production.
Thank you ma'am; yet another excellent addition to the library.
Yes, there is a LOT of cleanup before I can convert it to pdf however.
