In the Aftermath: Burning of the Dawn Read online

  “How bad are you hurt?” Daniel gently inquired.

  Clarissa paused for a moment before speaking. Part of her wanted to say that she was fine; the other part wanted to say that she was not. She ultimately replied with, “I don’t know.”

  Daniel did know. The pain in her voice was more discernable now than it was before, and she was sitting in a hunched-over fashion that was nearly grotesque for a woman of her stature. She was clearly favoring her left side. Daniel rose from his position and slid his way behind Clarissa; she watched him as he did so. He knelt down again just behind her.

  “I need to see it.” Daniel spoke delicately. He assumed an air of calmness, but within he was terrified to see and know the extent of Clarissa’s injury.

  Clarissa did not want to know either, but like Daniel, she, too, understood that it was necessary to find out. She looked away from Daniel and down to Vita. Even though her helpless daughter could not speak, Clarissa knew that Vita would be furious if she denied Daniel’s help. Clarissa painfully altered her posture to sit as straight as she could.

  “Go ahead.” She tenderly confirmed.

  Delicately and tactfully, Daniel seized the bottom of Clarissa’s lace-woven shirt and gently lifted it higher. It was not long before he could see the beautiful, golden, coffee-tone color of Clarissa’s skin fade into a nascent yellow tinge. As Daniel steadily raised her shirt higher, the yellow gave way to brown, which gave way to purple, which gave way to black. The contusion beneath Clarissa’s arm was twice the size of a football. The Sayona had struck her so hard that it had broken the skin; the dark color of Clarissa’s shirt was hiding the blood stains. Daniel had to raise her shirt all the way up to her shoulder to have full view of the bruise. The outside looked bad, and whatever internal injuries Clarissa had possibly sustained would be tough to ascertain.

  As Daniel was lowering Clarissa’s shirt, Maria appeared in the storeroom doorway. She was relieved to see her mother cooperating with Daniel, but she was also nervous to know what he might have learned. Nevertheless, she immediately wanted to know the prognosis.

  “Good timing.” Daniel stated before Maria could speak. “Can you take care of your sister for a little while?”

  Straightaway, Maria took her spot next to Vita, opposite to Daniel and her mother. Clarissa looked from Maria and back to Daniel. Her first thought was that Daniel wanted her out of the room with him, so he could give her the bad news concerning her wound. However, Daniel quickly quelled that fear.

  “Don’t worry,” he remarked. “I’m sure you’ll live.”

  “How bad is it?” Maria asked.

  “It isn’t great,” he answered. “I’m pretty sure your mama’s got some broken ribs, but we’ll take care of that right now.”

  “What can you do?” Clarissa asked in an uneven voice. “Time is the only cure for broken ribs.”

  “What I can do is load you up on painkillers so you’ll breathe properly.” Daniel asserted. He was aware that Clarissa wouldn’t like the idea of leaving her helpless daughter’s side, but he was fairly sure that she would listen to reason if he pushed it hard enough. “Inadequate breathing can lead to pneumonia, and I don’t have two of those things.” Daniel pointed to the resuscitator bag in Clarissa’s hands – the device that was keeping her daughter alive.

  “Mama,” Maria spoke as she touched her hands to her mother’s. “I won’t let her die.”

  Clarissa looked across to Maria; she took a painful breath and replied, “I know you won’t.” Clarissa removed her hands from Vita’s resuscitator and Maria immediately took over. After she had relinquished Vita’s care to Maria, Clarissa tried to stand from her sitting position. It was difficult for her. Daniel offered her a hand in assistance, to which she accepted. Clarissa stood silently for a moment after she was on her feet; breathing was painful and she could not raise her left arm without causing even more searing discomfort. She looked to Daniel and solemnly stated, “Lead the way.”

  Daniel stayed close to Clarissa’s side as they left the storeroom and proceeded towards the staircase. Clarissa glanced back to her daughters before leaving the storeroom. Maria gave her mother a reassuring smile; Clarissa attempted one in return – hers was not quite as encouraging.

  “Keep track of her pulse, too, okay.” Clarissa requested of Maria. With one hand Maria operated the resuscitator bag, while her other was gently clamped around her sister’s wrist. She lifted Vita’s hand off of the pallet to show her mother that she was already way ahead of her concerns. Content enough for now, Clarissa continued on.

  Daniel continued to stay close in case Clarissa needed his support on the short trip up the stairs. He venerated her very much; her stubbornness and rash intolerance could be frustrating at times, but her strength, both physically and mentally, impressed him beyond measure.

  “What kind of painkillers do you have?” Clarissa asked bluntly. “Vicodin? Tramadol?”

  “I was thinking more oxycodone,” Daniel replied. “Or hydromorphone, if necessary.”

  “That should do it…” Clarissa spoke as she began ascending the stairs. “What’d you do, raid a pharmacy?”

  “Heh, something like that,” Daniel mocked. “Don’t worry, it’s not recreational. I’ve never used any of them personally.” That last part was not entirely true.

  “What’d you take them for then? Preparedness or potential suicide?”

  “Preparedness. SSRIs were what I was after, but I figured painkillers might be useful, too, at some point.”

  “I need to ask you something.” Clarissa ominously stated as she and Daniel reached the top of the stairs. “How did you find us last night?”

  Daniel knew this question was going to come eventually. “You remember that family you came across a few days ago?” He asked. “The one I said I’d go looking for? Well, I…”

  “Yeah, you found them, Maria already told me.” Clarissa interrupted. “That’s why you found us. I want to know how you found us.”

  “Okay, well, anymore north and you’d end up in Lake Erie.” Daniel spoke as he concocted some kind of story that he hoped Clarissa would find believable. “I knew you were hesitant to head west; you already came from the east, so south was my best guess. I followed the interstate south as far as I could, but something, or somebody, took out the bridges that led over this lake I intended to cross. And, eventually, as I was making my way around this lake, I saw a flare go flying into the night sky. It led me right to you and your daughters.”

  “And?” Clarissa inquired. It was a somewhat convincing story on Daniel’s part, but she knew there was more to tell. Moreover, Daniel knew that she knew that he was leaving out one very significant detail.

  “And I also hid a transmitter in one of the boxes I put into your car.” Daniel finally admitted. Clarissa’s countenance did not look content, even with the truth. “I didn’t do it to track you down, Mrs. Hannigan. Believe me, I had no intentions of following you… at least not until I found what remained of that family. I did it in case you ever decided to come back. That way I’d know when your vehicle was close by and then I could find you in case you needed my help.”

  “Or you’re just an asshole.” Clarissa added; her voice painfully hissing as she spoke.

  “No, I’m not,” Daniel responded. “I can be irritating at times, most times maybe, but in all honesty, I don’t know why I put that thing in your car. I’m not obsessed, or deranged; I just had a feeling, that’s the best answer I can give.”

  “Which room?” Clarissa demanded. As fascinating as Daniel’s excuses were, Clarissa wasn’t in the appropriate physical state to properly torment him over the matter any further.

  “This one right here.” Daniel replied as he led Clarissa into one of the bedrooms. This was the room where Daniel kept blankets, clothes, and other linens. There was also a medium-sized bed hidden beneath some of the quilts and comforters. Daniel removed them from the bed and had Clarissa take their place.

  “I don’t regret doing
it, you know,” Daniel spoke. “Planting that transmitter. I did a little at first, but now… I’m pretty damn glad I did do it.” Clarissa made no response. Daniel then asked, “How bad’s the pain? Think you’ll need the strong stuff or the even stronger stuff?”

  “The stronger the better.” Clarissa responded.

  “All right; I’ll be right back.” Daniel left the bedroom and went into the nearby bathroom. Underneath the sink was a brown, metal box with a large, plastic bag inside. Inside the bag were various containers containing assorted pills and tablets. Daniel took the ones he wanted and returned the bag and the box to its place beneath the sink. He made a quick foray downstairs to obtain a water bottle before returning to Clarissa.

  Daniel placed a white rag in Clarissa’s hand. He then removed the cap to the small hydromorphone container and dispensed a single tablet onto the rag. Daniel recapped the bottle and placed it on the floor next to the bed.

  “No allergies, right?” Daniel asked. Clarissa shook her head no in reply. “All right, we’ll start with one and see how it goes.”

  Clarissa swallowed the tablet and followed it with a drink from the water bottle. She then leaned over onto her right side and lay quietly. Daniel looked around the room to see if there was anything else he could use to make her any more comfortable. Having her daughters nearby would help more than anything, Daniel recognized.

  “I’ll take over for Maria and send her up here with you,” Daniel kindly stated. “Maybe she can help you change into something lighter and more comfortable.”

  “I’d rather she stay with her sister. I’ll be fine here. If you have to leave Vita for any reason, Maria will be there to take your place.”

  “That’s true, but someone should keep an eye on you, too, Mrs. Hannigan. You took a nasty shot from the Sayona, and you’re on a very powerful painkiller. If it’s me you’re worried about…”

  “It’s nothing personal, Daniel.” Clarissa spoke with harsh honesty. “You have to protect my daughters; I can’t do it like this. And you can’t either if you’re unable to leave Vita’s side. Either Maria stays with her, or I do.”

  If Clarissa had taken significant damage to her lungs then it would’ve likely been evident by now. Nevertheless, Daniel didn’t want to risk being wrong about that. He was also unsure of the potency of the hydromorphone. It had been in his possession for more than a year. He had kept it well stowed, but it was still another uncertainty. Daniel needed a compromise.

  “Think you can handle one more short trip?” He asked Clarissa.

  Downstairs in the storeroom, Maria caressed her sister’s hair with one hand and kept her alive with the other. She spoke to her intermittently with words of love and encouragement and occasionally with an apology. Maria was undeniably exhausted, but she would remain awake and alert for as long as it was required… though she hoped that the required time was not much longer. The stillness of the first floor was soon vanquished by a strange dragging sound coming from within the living room. Maria was sure that it was Daniel doing something out there, but she was not privy as to what exactly it could be. She then found out as a heavy mattress splashed down upon the floor near the wall opposite the storeroom. Daniel then came into view with a bevy of blankets over his shoulder. He tossed them down onto the mattress and then made an informal bed out of the arrangement. Clarissa then appeared, with pillows, in the storeroom doorway to look in on her daughters.

  “Did you take the pills, mama?” Maria asked.

  “I did.” Her mother replied. Clarissa’s voice seemed to have gained back some of its strength. Maria was unsure if this was due to the painkillers taking effect, or if it was just a brief influx of relief from her mother being reunited with her daughters.

  “Okay, it’s all ready for you, Hannigans.” Daniel spoke as he finished making up the bed.

  Clarissa made her way over to the mattress as Daniel made his way into the storeroom. He removed Clarissa’s bottle of painkillers from a coat pocket and placed them onto one of the shelves in the storeroom. He then removed his coat along with the multitude of weaponry he was still in possession of and placed them on nearby empty shelves as well. Finally, he sat down beside Vita, opposite her sister.

  “I’d say you’ve earned your rest break, Ms. Maria.” Daniel spoke in an enthusiastically kind voice.

  “We all have,” Maria responded. “You’re sure you’re all right?”

  “I’m very sure. If I don’t think I can handle it, you and your mama are only twenty feet away if I need you. Get some rest while you can, kid; you’ll be on night duty.”

  “Okay. Thank you, Daniel.” With those parting words, Maria gave her sister’s care over to Daniel. She leaned over and kissed Vita gently on the nose before leaving the storeroom and joining her mother on the mattress just outside.

  The mattress was soft. Maria huddled close to her mother as she lay down upon the surprisingly comfortable bed. Clarissa put her hand to her daughter’s brow and tenderly pushed back her hair. This technique of hairline and scalp stroking was often implemented in times long past by Clarissa and her husband when lulling their young daughters to sleep. Even though it wasn’t utilized quite as often in more recent times, it was still very effective.

  “I could not have asked for a greater daughter,” Clarissa whispered to Maria. “Everything you’ve done for your sister and for me, your father would be proud of you… I’m so very proud of you. Always remember that.”

  “Ti voglio tanto bene, mama.” Maria spoke softly.

  “I love you, too, my Maria.”

  Within moments Maria was successfully soothed into a slumber; her somnolent mother soon joined in her daughter’s siesta. In this time of quietness, Daniel was left alone with Vita. Whether Vita was conscious or not was difficult to determine, but Daniel had this odd feeling that she was still awake, and if she was awake then she was also aware; aware that he was now the one who was keeping her alive. Being relatively alone like this with the young girl was more awkward than he had anticipated. Her mother and sister had spoken to her while they were keeping her breathing. Daniel wanted to do the same, but what he should say was eluding him. Not speaking at all would be insensitive, or even worse: creepy. He examined Vita’s expression ardently, looking for any signs that the Sayona venom was losing its hold on her. The venom was still in control, and Daniel feared that it could stay that way for a long time.

  Vita was an adorable girl; a beautiful child. Daniel could see that clearly as he studied her face for any signs of resistance to the Sayona toxin. Daniel had no children of his own, or any nieces, nephews, or younger siblings. His experience in dealing with adolescents was nothing worth remembering, but the Hannigan girls were exceptional. They had this incredible aspect of proficiency when it came to understanding the harsh world around them, yet they still somehow maintained their youthful charm and innocence. Daniel started to reach down to check Vita’s pulse, but again he hesitated. He did not want to frighten her; she was probably already terrified beyond all comprehension. However, there was only one way to gauge any insight into Vita’s current state. Gently yet guardedly, Daniel placed his middle and index fingers to Vita’s neck. Her pulse was good; she was calm. As he withdrew his hand, Daniel remembered back to the night before – to the final look Vita had given him before she succumbed to the paralysis induced by the Sayona’s venom. The fear was evident in her eyes, but so, too, was something else: hope. The last thing Vita had seen was not her mother or her sister, it was him.

  “I’m sorry, Vita;” Daniel spoke softly. “I’m sorry I didn’t find you sooner; I’m sorry I let this happen to you.” If he was going to speak, Daniel reckoned he might as well speak honestly. “Your mom and sister are close by; they’re both sleeping now. I had to knock your mother out with some painkillers, but she’s going to be okay. Like you, she just needs a little time to heal.” Daniel paused for a moment and placed his free hand into Vita’s nearest hand. He continued speaking, “For what it’s worth, you w
ere right about the Sayona: they were out of Pittsburg after all, probably. I guess I don’t know as much as I think I do. I’m afraid I don’t know you very well either. If I did, maybe I could talk to you about something you might actually be interested in. But, unfortunately, I don’t know these things just yet. Maybe you can tell me sometime when you get through this. Anyway, I guess I’ll just have to make do with my own life story. Excited now, aren’t ya? Yeah, it’ll be as boring as boring can possibly be, but hey, if you haven’t managed to get any sleep yet, then maybe this’ll do the trick.”

  Daniel did just as he said he would. He told Vita his life story, trying to stay clear of anything too depressing or uninteresting. He started with his childhood, growing up in Piketon, Ohio with his father (Obadiah Holloway) and his older brother (Josiah Holloway). His father worked maintenance and restoration for many years on a nearby former uranium enrichment plant. Before that, his father worked construction until Daniel was five, which often kept him away from home for extended periods of time. While working away from home, Daniel’s father had been unfaithful to his mother (Adah Holloway). His father returned home permanently after that, but too much damage had already been done. One morning, Daniel’s mother left the house and never returned; that was the last he’d ever seen of her. Daniel’s father died in a boating accident after his job at the plant ended. The death was suspicious; many claimed suicide. Daniel was nineteen at the time. Shortly thereafter, Daniel’s bother, Josiah, signed up for the military and Daniel enrolled at a technical college in the nearby town of Lucasville. Daniel did very well there. He finished his courses then moved to Cincinnati in pursuit of employment. There he stayed for many years, until the Sayona ultimately chased him out. Daniel ended his life story at the onset of the war. There were things that happened in the aftermath of the war that he did not wish to reiterate to Vita, or to himself.