Manny's Mix-up

Part Seven

Jason had played a gig in Detroit sometime in the nineties when he was part of a boy band.  It was rundown, and a general atmosphere of misery hung over the city.  As he and Maddie rolled into Springfield, he was reminded of Detroit, only this was much worse.  The buildings were abandoned with broken windows and dark empty floors.  Some had imploded, with the interiors simply falling inward, leaving half a building.

“Damn, what happened here?”

Maddie didn’t answer.  They kept driving, hoping to find an electric station or a phone, but the desolation of the deserted city seemed endless.  As they made it past the urban areas, they turned onto a residential street where they saw people sitting on dilapidated porches.

“What do you think?  Should we ask if they have a phone?” he asked.

“No, let’s keep going.  These people aren’t friendly.  They help the trappers.”

“Nice.”

About a mile in they saw an energy station and pulled in.  Maddie wasn’t sure how to use it, so between them they figured out how to hook the cable into the truck’s portal.

“Could they have made connecting this thing any harder?” Jason said, but Maddie wasn’t listening.  He stuck the debit card into the slot, and the numbers on the pump began to move.

“I see a phone,” she said.  “I’ll try Hannah’s cell.”

“Wait.  She’s with Joshua.”

Maddie stopped, and Jason could see her hesitate.  “Shit.

“If she answers and he’s with her, we’ll need to move out of here fast,” Jason said.  “Wait till the truck’s full.”

The bell rang on the electric pump and Jason detached it from the truck.  It had taken nine thousand dollars to fill.  He hoped the phone call wouldn’t take what they had left for he was hungry again.  He also hoped they could outrun anyone monitoring Hannah’s card.

He started the truck and waited for Maddie.  He saw Hannah’s face on the phone’s screen and she looked tired.  She was saying something, then the screen went dark.  Maddie ran back to the truck and got in.

“She saw the truck and cut me off when Joshua walked in the room.  She didn’t want him to see the truck, but she did tell me where to go.”

“You wanna drive?”

“No, I’m gonna hold Scout’s head and direct you.”

She told Jason to drive north for two more miles and then they turned into a wooded area.  About a mile in they came to an old farmhouse and barn.

“How did she know about this place?” he asked.

“She must have set up another safe house.  She gave me the coordinates.”  Maddie pointed to the dash and several digital numbers.  “I just followed them.”

“Hannah really is prepared for anything, isn’t she?”

“She wanted to get us out.  Everyone knew about her other place, but even I didn’t know about this one.”

Jason sighed and parked the truck.  For several seconds, he sat and stared at the house.

“But if they can follow my chip, they’ll find us anyway, won’t they?”

Maddie reached over Scout and put her hand on Jason’s arm.  “Hannah won’t abandon us.  She wouldn’t have sent us here if it wasn’t protected somehow.”

“What about food?  We didn’t think of it when we were in town.”

“Shit..”

“You say that a lot.  Come on, let’s take a look inside.  Maybe there’s some cans or something left behind.”

“The expiration dates would be twenty years old.”

“I’m game.  Let’s go before the trappers arrive.”

The house was constructed of old wood.  The shingles covered the exterior were black with age, and the yard was filled with overgrown grass, leaves and tree branches.  Huge trees blocked the sun while a porch swing gently swayed in the breeze.

Scout seemed better and was able to slide out of the truck and walk by himself with them to the door of the house.  The door was open and as they walked in, they noticed the place looked a lot cleaner than it should have.  Scout growled and they heard someone rattling around in the kitchen.  Jason shot a look at Maddie, who shook her head.

Scout began to bark and ran toward the kitchen.  They heard a woman scream and drop pans on the floor.  When they got to the kitchen, they saw Scout with his paws on an older woman’s shoulders pushing her against the sink.

“Get him off,” she yelled.

“Scout, come,” Maddie said.  The dog dropped to the floor and came to her.

“Who are you?” the woman asked.

“Who are you?” Maddie said.

“I live here.  A friend lets me stay.”

“This is my sister’s house.  She didn’t tell me about you.”

“She cut you off,” Jason said.  “Maybe she would have.”

“Is your sister’s name Hannah?” the woman said.

“Yes,” Maddie said.

“I’m Kate.  You must be Maddie!  Yes, she told me about you.  Oh, it’s good to finally meet you.”

Kate was around sixty with gray curly hair and a slender figure.  She might have been pretty in her youth, but time and unhealthy living conditions had taken their toll, and she looked her age and more.  But her face was kind and Maddie understood why Hannah had taken her in.

“You look like my grandmother,” she said.

“That’s what Hannah said, too.”

“You have food,” Jason said, eyeing a bowl of tomatoes on the counter.

“Are you hungry?  Sit, I’ll make you something to eat.”

“Trappers are looking for us,” Maddie said.

“Don’t worry about that,” Kate said.  “The house is wired.”

Maddie’s face lit up. 

“Jason,” she said.  “The house is wired.  That means they can’t monitor your chip!”

“So we can stay here a while?” he said.

“Yes, forever if we have to.  I told you she’d protect us.  God bless Hannah.  She thought of everything.”

“What about the truck?: he asked.

“Put the truck in the barn,” Kate said.  “Do it now.”

With the truck safely tucking into the barn, Maddie and Jason were finally able to relax.  Kate made a wonderful dinner of vegetables and potatoes, and she told them how she met Hannah.  Kate rubbed Scout’s ears as he sat next to her.

After dinner, Jason and Maddie sat on the sofa in the living room and Scout put himself between Maddie and Jason on the sofa.  Maddie drifted off to sleep, and Jason watched her in the flickering light of the TV.  She looked peaceful, and he wanted to pick her up, carry her upstairs and put her to bed.  He imagined lying beside her and stroking her hair, the contour of her cheek, and kissing her neck while she moaned with pleasure.  Suddenly, Scout pushed his foot into Jason’s crotch, and he snapped out of his fantasy and climbed the stairs alone.