Malnourished

Chapter Part 26

The meeting lasted till late in the evening but the youngest were having issues with sitting still.  They were showing signs of withdrawal so Greg sent them out to buy some C&C and bring it back.  "Why would you do that?" asked Sharron "They need to get off of this stuff as soon as possible so why not start now?" Greg answered. Something in her voice made him turn towards her, "Sharron, do you feel a little anxious right now?" Greg asked her but he already knew the answer.  He could see small droplets of sweat on her forehead but not just hers on everyone's except Elise and Julie. "A little" she murmured "I think we all have to face it, we are starting the process and it is going to be next to impossible to make good decisions when we are going through it.  The girl's are young and they are going through it harder then we are at the moment so I figure let them drink some of that stuff then start to ween them off of it.  It would be kinder then to go cold turkey since we old folk should be able to demand more from ourselves however, I also think that we should not stop cold turkey either.  We need our heads clear and alert so let me go through more of these papers and see if I can find something that will help us , okay?"  The relief everyone felt was like someone had opened a window to let fresh air in. Elise looked at Gary with a renewed admiration and nodded her head in agreement.  The stressed adults sat up straight and went back to what they were doing.  Elise had suggested they divide up the files by giving one file at a time to two people then they can condense what they have discovered and share it with the group.  Elise finished with a warm smile "This way the information will get to everyone at a much faster pace."

The girls came back with a case of the C&C and handed one out to each person.  "I just read that if we are going to do this then we should start tapering down how much we drink, so it you drink five tins a day then take it down to four, then three and so on.  Hopefully this will help but it sounds like you are going to have to be very strong willed about it and put up with some of your symptoms.  If you have problems let me know and I will see if there is anything else we can do." offered Devon.  The younger ones drank greedily but the others tried to take it slow.  "Elise, you are invaluable to our cause but perhaps you might be the better one to handle withdrawal symptoms for us since you have no need for C&C.  What do you think?" asked Greg.  "I don't know how much help I can be but I will certainly try.  Give me the file and I'll look for clues." The old woman's hands were shaking when she took the thick file folder from him.  Devon noticed and threw her files down on the coffee table stood up and stretched her arms up high.  She let out a huge yawn and said "well staying up all night is not going to help anyone so I suggest we call it quits and all go and get some sleep.  Girls if you don't mind can you get your group to keep an eye on everyone tonight.  I think we may have trouble real soon and for goodness sake put cameras around your house as well.  We need to be protected and can't do it without you."  The girls were young and still had plenty of energy.  "Sure Devon, no problem.  We'll get Angelou to make as many of these mini cameras of his and get them to everyone in our expanding group." Kat turned to Pet and said "I think we need to set up sub stations don't you.  There are too many people to watch so if we divide up the work with ....." the girls went out the front door talking in earnest. Everyone left in the room were thinking the same thing "These young people were having more excitement in their lives than ever and they were taking it all in with pure joy.  The problem is will they be able to handle what is going to be coming very soon? They are going to have to grow up very quickly in the war that is waiting in the dark to start."

Elise went to bed with pictures of the Resistance and her lost loves crowding her mind.  She knew she was not going to be around to finish this war and wasn't sure if she was glad about that or not.  Elise was not able to tell everyone how she didn't know if she had the strength to handle loss and death again.  She did know that if she told them it might be enough to scare a lot of them away.  She was being seen as a leader, again and this is what scared her the most, without realizing it she drifted off to a fitful sleep.

Julie had to sleep in the same room as Elise, which they didn't seem to mind, Greg gave his room to Devon and Sharron while he took the couch.  "I can't do that to you Greg!  It is your space and I know how valuable that is to you.  Sharron can sleep on the couch and I can pull the two chairs together.  It is no bother honestly and I don't think I can sleep in your bed anyway, seriously!  So please you go and we will set up here, right Sharron?"  "Absolutely besides we can sit up and talk about fun times all night." the women both gave childish giggles.  Greg was too tired to care at this point and reluctantly agreed.

The house was dark and quiet, the dogs stayed in the living room with the women and slept protectively at the feet of each one.  It was as if they knew something was going on,  something dangerous.  The two women did talk for a little but no matter how they tried to insist they were not tired they were soon asleep.

Devon woke to a low growl, she sat up slowly and looked around the room.  Sharron was not in her chairs and the dogs were pacing back and forth from the front of the living room to the back.  She stood up and became alert almost immediately, there was a noise at the side of the house.  That was when she saw the tall slender figure standing in the dark kitchen.  She yelled "Tiberious attack!" the dog growled and bared his teeth but he didn't attack as commanded.  The two dogs looked back at Devon imploring her to change her mind.  "No! Don't Devon it's me!"  Sharron had her hands up ready to fend off the two massive dogs but the attack never came.  "Good boys, wonderful boys!" Sharron opened her eyes and saw Devon kneeling on the floor hugging her two big protectors.  "You two are too darn smart, aren't you?" she was rubbing their ears and faces and they were prancing around for joy.  "Thank you!" Sharron exclaimed "I thought I was a goner for a moment Dev!"  "Sharron I'm so sorry but I saw your outline but I didn't see it was you.  You scared the daylights out of me but these guys know you and they would never hurt you, at least not on purpose."

Suddenly the dogs went on alert again, theirs ears raised they stood completely still barely breathing.  The noise again and they were all on alert.  "Check" Devon commanded which was a word meaning to move with stealth and in silence.  Seek out the danger.  The dogs moved immediately smelling searching every inch of the house looking for the danger. Sharron and Devon went to the window and peered out from the side of the curtains.  Nothing but they continued to watch anyway, something was there and they needed to find out what it was.  Suddenly the dogs were barking furiously at the back door but just as the two women were about to go and investigate Devon saw a movement in the shadows of the front porch.  "Sharron, over there, in the shadows, watch it I have to go and see what is going on".  She ran to the back and threw the door open.  The dogs moved like lightning and Devon came up behind them.  She was going to protect them as much as they do her but this time she grabbed the flashlight and bat she had left near the back door.

Suddenly there was a lot of screaming and yelling.  Lights came on in the houses next door and it looked like a million little flash lights were shinning everywhere.   "DEVON!" Sharron was screaming from the front room but there wasn't anything she could do.  "GREG!" this time she was calling the big guy then she heard "It's okay Sharron I got him!"  Devon had to turn her attention to what was going on in the back of the house.  "Devon! Call the dog off!  Its us, your subjects!"  Devon stared into the dark but couldn't make anyone out.  The dogs had come to a stand till ready to pounce, teeth bared. "Boys, down!" she yelled and both dogs lay down but still on alert.