Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 90721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
At my continued disregard for what she had to say, Tillie stormed off in a huff.
All the women and children were in the clubhouse today. We were left with Normus, Silas and Porter.
Minnie, Porter’s wife, sat beside me knitting a baby blanket for the newest addition to the Dixie Warden family.
A loud boom of thunder shook the room, followed shortly by the power flickering three times before it went out completely.
“God damn son of a bitch.” Normus growled from his position at the bar. “That was the best part of the movie.”
We were watching Phenomenon with John Travolta, and it was at the part where the main character dies.
Oh well, I hated that part anyway.
Movies where the main characters died sucked. I’d read a book a couple of weeks ago where the main character died, and I’d cried for two hours straight. I read to escape reality, not to have reality intrude in my fairytales.
“Turn the radio on for me, Porter.” Silas yelled from the recliner beside me.
“Why can’t we turn on the generator? Wasn’t that the whole reason I came?” I teased.
Silas snorted. “No. The reason you came was so that your old man didn’t have to worry about you while he’s out risking his life to save other people too dumb to get out of this shit and stay the fuck home.”
“Well,” I said trying to contain me laughter. “That wasn’t very nice.”
“What isn’t nice is you teasing me while you’re sitting in an aging man’s chair. I bought that bastard specifically from the furniture store to help me with my aches and pains. And then you freakin’ take it.” Silas condemned.
“Hey, y’all be quiet and listen!” Normus said.
It was something in the tone of Normus’ voice that had everybody shutting up, rather than his words.
Something about the half-hysterical tone had every single person, child included, stopping and listening.
“...have been battling a blaze at the Town Oak’s Apartment Complex for well over an hour now. There have been multiple victims. Status on those victims have not been released as of yet. So far, there have been three victims of the fire and one firefighter that has been injured. Status on that injured firefighter is unknown, but as soon as we get some more information, we’ll get back to you...”
I didn’t know what it was. Maybe it was a sixth sense, but I knew that it was Sebastian’s department that went. I knew he was the one injured.
Frantically, I moved the sleeping Johnny off my legs and stood up, and then reached for my cell phone. Sebastian had told me the day of my doctor appointment that the clubhouse didn’t have good service. That was his reason on why he never got any of my calls, since he’d spent so much time here arranging the festivities for the barbeque.
Right now, as I stared at the no service signal, my heart started to pound steadily.
“My cell says no service.”
***
The voicemails finally started coming two hours after we’d arrived at the hospital.
Five hours ago, I, and every other member of the Dixie Warden family arrived at the hospital.
The first call was the Chief of Benton Police, calling to inform us of an accident. The second call was from The Fire Chief telling us that Kettle and Sebastian had both sustained traumatic injuries and for us to come to the medical center ASAP.
The third, and most disturbing, was from Kettle’s sister asking me to please call her and let me know if Kettle made it through all right. Preferably before next week when rent was do. She’d really appreciate it.
Fuck me.
I had other things to do, and calling that heartless, ungrateful bitch wasn’t one of them.
“Mrs. Mackenzie?” A haggard looking doctor with the Harley Davidson head wrap called.
I came to me feet quickly, rushing forward until I was mere inches away from the poor woman. “Yes?” I asked desperately.
“We’ve stabilized him. The wound he received from the axe to the chest-”
“The what?” Was echoed around the room.
She nodded sagely. “Yes, it was an axe wound. He came in with the axe still imbedded in his chest. We removed it in the OR. However, he sustained quite a bit of bleeding, and our reserves have been severely depleted from the recent influx of injuries due to the storm. On top of that, he’s a rare blood type of AB negative, and we don’t have that on hand right now. We’ve used as much O- as we could, and unfortunately, he still needs more. On a healthy person, he would’ve been fine two pints low, but with how much trauma he’s sustained, it’s just not looking really good right now. I’m really sorry.”
I thought furiously for all of three seconds before I volunteered. “I have O negative blood. We have over thirty people here with me right now; surely one of them has O negative or AB negative.”
“You are not, under no circumstances, donating any blood. That is just not going to happen.” Silas immediately replied.
I knew immediately that he wouldn’t take any arguing from me on this, so I looked desperately throughout the men that were stuffed into the little waiting room with me . Nearly every single one of them shrugged.
Trance came forward. “I have O negative.”
“Me too.” Normus bowled through.
Then a little boy, and seriously, he was a boy, eighteen at most, stepped forward.
He was dressed much the same as the other men of the Dixie Wardens, except for one tiny little difference. He didn’t have the bottom rocker that declared him an actual member of the MC. Sebastian had told me that the ones without the bottom rockers were prospects. They were trying to join the club, and each prospect had a sponsor.
This particular boy was Sterling. He was being sponsored by Sebastian.
Sebastian found Sterling on the streets of Benton eating out of garbage cans and evading the police.
I hadn’t really heard much more about him, but Sebastian had told me everything he knew, which wasn’t much.
But it turned out that the boy was incredibly intelligent, and a good man to have at your back.