in the army, too. Not that Danny and Jernigan looked anything alike, and though no one seemed to know anything for certain about Jernigan it was obvious that he was a military man through and through. It was in his walk, those long ground-eating strides, the way he carried himself, and the “don’t fuck with me” look in his eyes. Both he and Danny had willingly joined the military, were willing to sacrifice their safety and comfort for others. Danny had made the ultimate sacrifice. Jernigan had survived, but carried ghosts around with him.
But Mary Alice hadn’t seen any of that, other than maybe sensing that he had a military past. She’d cottoned to him immediately, like the way she’d invited him to dinner, when they first met. Now, Mary Alice was friendly to a fault, but that was fast even for her. Look how she’d lit up when he’d stopped by. He suspected if she had her way, she’d have Jernigan moving in with them. Good thing Jernigan wasn’t likely to want to move in with two old people.
Restlessly Jim changed positions again, his thoughts moving on to what Janet had told them about Carol Allen breaking her leg yesterday. That was bad, not just that Carol was injured, but she’d been elected community leader and she had a way of getting people moving. Basically, she bulldozed them. He wondered who’d take her place. Her niece, Sela, was a sweet thing but never put herself forward; maybe the new leader would be someone else—
Creak.
Jim froze, his thoughts suddenly focused, every muscle tense. If he’d been asleep, he wouldn’t have heard the unusual noise. If the power had been on—with the heat or air running, the refrigerator humming and occasionally making that noise that Mary Alice had told him for months needed to be fixed but he’d never gotten around to doing—he wouldn’t have heard it. But the power wasn’t on, no sound, no light, and he’d definitely heard something. His heart was suddenly pounding as he went on alert.
Moving cautiously, he eased from the bed and reached into the bedside drawer for his pistol and a small flashlight. He crept around the bed to the bedroom door, turned on the flashlight and pointed the beam down, blocking most of the light with his fingers. If the house hadn’t been so dark he wouldn’t have needed the light at all, but even so he had an advantage over any possible intruder, because he’d lived here for over forty years and knew this house like the back of his hand.
As dim as the light was, as quiet as he was being, Mary Alice still woke up and stirred. He immediately said, “Shhh,” hoping she heard the soft hissing sound and recognized him, hoping whoever was in the house hadn’t heard it and realized they were awake.
He held up his hand toward her, signaling her to stay put, then put his finger to his lips.
She’d never listened all that well, but then, after all these years had he really expected her to do what he said? Hah. She was quiet, but she slipped out of the bed and positioned herself behind him. When they heard another sound, a creak from down the hall, she placed her hand gently against his back.
Their bedroom door was open; they lived alone, no reason to close it. In normal times, before the power went off, he’d have dialed 9-1-1, then closed and locked the door and taken Mary Alice into the bathroom and locked that door, too, to shelter until the cops arrived. He was eighty years old, and while he owned a pistol he hadn’t shot it more than a handful of times. He was glad to have it for protection, but—shooting someone? He’d never seriously thought he might have to.
Another sound, a soft click as if a drawer had been eased shut. From the direction of the sound the intruder was in the kitchen. What food they had was there, of course. He didn’t want to shoot someone who was driven by hunger, but—they didn’t have much, and they needed what they had. If their food was stolen, they’d have to rely on friends and neighbors, none of whom had a whole lot themselves. Down the road, any loss could mean the difference between surviving or not.
He’d scare them off, that’s all he’d do. When they realized the house wasn’t empty and that he was armed, they’d run.