Post Mortem Post Stationery

Chapter 9

Caleb carried the clothes as far as the kitchen. He grabbed a trash bag with his other hand from a drawer at knee-level. He opened it as deftly as he could with only his left hand. He got Ruby's clothes in the bag as hastily as possible. He pulled the red drawstrings, sealing the top of the bag. Still maneuvering with his left hand, he grabbed a pot hanging from the ceiling, filled it halfway with water, and set it on a burner. He cranked the heat to its highest. He grabbed the bag with his right hand and hurried out the door. Strangely, it slammed behind him. He glanced back. That was not a screen door.
Emily was scared. She couldn't call it anything else. She was terrified. Ruby's chest wasn't rising. Her heart wasn't beating. But her eyes were open. "Ya gonna get me a bra, Em?" This wasn't Ruby. But, in all fairness, she hadn't been alone with many naked people. "No," she responded. She could feel her voice quivering. Ruby pushed herself onto her knees. "No!" Emily yelled, "You have to stay in the water!" "Or what?" came the offhand response. But there was a note of something else. There was a threat. Emily took a moment to calm herself. "Get in the water," came her incredibly sage reply. The body collapsed. Emily caught her head before it hit anything. She lay it back as it should have been. "We'll get through this," she murmured. At this stage, she knew that they were almost through.
Caleb maneuvered around barrels haphazardly laying about. He could feel how warm some of them still were just by walking by. He hopped over blackened boards with nails sticking up. He got to the back of the yard, where the biggest drum was. He cautiously opened the bag. He tipped it upside down, right into the barrel. He set the bag on the ground and ran to the door. He opened the fridge and grabbed a few eggs. He haphazardly dropped them in the pot of now-boiling water. He closed the fridge with a foot as he walked to the chest freezer. He popped open the lid and grabbed the edge of a bin. He dragged it out with one hand. It was pretty hefty. It slammed onto the floor. He reached down with both hands to grab it, and then stopped. He went to a closet next to the back door. He opened it and, after digging, brought out a large sled. He pulled the green plastic back to the freezer. He lifted the bin onto the sled and pulled it out the back door. It bumped down the stairs. He ran to the drum, ignoring all hazards. He could see a cloud of mist forming over the barrel. He could feel his hand getting wet.
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Ruby opened her eyes. Where was she? "Oh, look at that tent!" It was enormous, and striped in red-and-white. She saw a huge wheel with little carriages. "Whoa, what's that?" she said, pointing her finger to it. "That, my dear, is a Ferris wheel." She spun to where the voice was coming from. Oh! It was Daddy! She ran the distance to him and jumped at him. He caught her in midair. Her lifted her and spin her around. "Oof, you're getting so big!" He then placed her on his shoulders. "Come on, there's more to see."