Off Season - Jack Ketchum [42]
“Let me help,” said Marjie.
Dan glanced at her and smiled. “You’ll need some clothes,” he said.
She disappeared at once into the bedroom. A moment later she was back wearing shirt and jeans and helping Nick hold the door while Dan drove the nails into the wall and windowsill. She sniffed the air and frowned. “Something’s burning,” she said.
“Turn down the fat,” said Nick.
They worked quickly, Dan thanking god there were so many good strong nails. Soon they had the last window in the kitchen secure, as well as the two remaining windows in the living room and the one in Marjie’s bedroom. Dan checked the potbellied stove and saw that the fire was good and hot. He pushed the poker into the embers and left it there. “We’ll need some towels or something,” he said to Marjie. “Thick ones. Those pots and that poker are gonna be as hot as we can make them.”
“No problem,” she said. “I’ll find some.”
He couldn’t help smiling, happy to see her back to normal again. Normal? She was better than that. She was acting more like her sister, suddenly fearless and damned resourceful. He was proud of her. Now if only Nick’s woman would show a little fight. He walked into her room with the last of the seats and nails and saw that she still hadn’t moved.
Outside the window, the children had been joined by the three figures he’d seen on the porch a while ago. He squinted to make them out. In the spill from the headlamps he could see one of them pretty clearly. Jesus he thought. They were women! They all were visible now. One of them was obviously pregnant, wrapped in some sort of heavy skin. Who the fuck were these people?
He didn’t stop long to consider. He set the wood in place and tacked it down, skillfully and efficiently. He heard the glass break on the other side and guessed that they’d thrown something at the window. It startled him and made his hands shake, but he was glad they’d done it. Whatever it was they’d thrown was heavy. It stood as a kind of test. His nails had not given an inch.
He had already checked the locks on both doors and found them good and strong, as were the doors themselves. These old houses had been built to last. Whoever these people were, they’d have a much harder time getting in here than they’d planned on.
He found Nick in the kitchen, emptying the kitchen drawers onto the table and going through the silver. Most of it was dull and useless, but he’d turned up a large meat fork and a decent carving knife. Both might well be needed. He wished to Christ he had that axe out in the woodshed. But it was no good going after it now. They were pressed for time and had to discuss this situation. Who could tell what was going on out there? They had to work this out right away.
“You know that window in the attic?” he said. Nick nodded. “I figure it’s just about directly over Laura’s bedroom, right?”
Nick thought about it a moment. “You’re right,” he said. He had stuck his head outside and had a look around, while Carla was showing the others the pile of magazines. That was exactly where it was. Carla, he thought. He felt suddenly sick inside. He banished her from his mind.
“And we got a group of them standing just under the window now, right?”
“Right,” Nick said, grinning. He knew what Dan had in mind. He’d been thinking about it himself.
“Now my guess is that if we toss the water on them from that height in this temperature, by the time