Not Dead in the Heart of Dixie by R Kralik Page B

watch Jeremy.
    Mick was itchy about leaving him here, but I told him that Pop would sit in that recliner with one of the meanest-looking weapons he has and guard him like an escaped felon. Guarding him was easy, he slept for six hours after taking that pain pill. Pop probably got a little shut-eye himself, but he'll never admit it.
    Mick and Pop went bac k to town for the diesel tanker and it was gone, so they came straight back and helped me load up the Jeep with the backpacks, weapons, a crow bar, and a bolt cutter in case we needed to pry open a door or cut a lock.
    Mick drove the S10 and Jason drove t he Jeep. Marisa rode with Jason and I rode with Mick so there would be a "man" in each vehicle (snort). We ate our muffins on the way to town.
    When he climbed into the S10 this m orning, Mick found a nice shiny Benelli M4 12 gauge shotgun leaning against the steering wheel.
    In the driver ’s seat was a full box of "Benelli feed." Mick looked back toward the house and saw Pop watching from the open door. He waved, and Pop waved back. Mick climbed in the truck with new determination. His ears were red and his eyes looked a little misty but other than that, he was his same old cheery self (snort).
    Carisa and the kids went out to the motorhome to stay with Nana and play board games and listen to tales about the good old days. They had hot dogs and mac 'n cheese for lunch, and they had ours waiting when we got back from lootin'. That meal used up the last of my hotdog buns from the freezer.
    We got a lot of stuff we needed, and a couple things we didn't. I'll write more about the lootin' trip after supper. Right now, we need to unload the trucks. See ya later.
     
    1:15 PM...
    Jeremy was just waking up when we walked in the house. Mick sent Pop over to the motorhome so he could eat his own mac 'n cheese, and I gave Jeremy some saltine crackers and ginger ale to keep his stomach steady while we were eating the good stuff.
    The expression on his face was that of a skinny dog at a butcher shop window when he saw us gobbling down our mac 'n cheese, but he needs a bland diet for a day or two and I mean to hold him to it. We took our plates to the kitchen so we wouldn't torture him any more than we already had. He’ll us his story after we get the trucks unloaded.
    Pop kept the fire stok ed while we were gone, and it felt wonderful in the living room. I have a full tummy, a warm room, and I'm tired. I want a nap and don't wanna go back out and help unload, but I know that I have to. We need to get everything under cover and out of sight.
    Jerem y told us he'd help unload. We laughed our rear ends off when he stood up, swayed, and plopped right back down on the couch. It's weird to look at that swollen up eye while trying to talk to him. I almost feel like I'm talking to a pirate, arrrgh
     
    4:00 PM...
    There's a big pot of pinto beans on the top of Nana's motorhome stove. There's a quart jar's worth of ham chunks that I canned la st year in the pinto beans. When they get closer to being done, she'll put on a pot of rice to go with them. I think I over did it a little when I was prepping pinto beans and rice, I have about 400 lbs of each. Nana's making cornbread muffins and we'll have all that for supper along with a sliced raw onion, of course!
    Jason and Marisa are at Caleb’s house, working on the kitchen. Carisa and the kids are sitting in the living room with Mick, getting to know Jeremy better. The trucks are unloaded and loot is stacked all over the place. I should be putting it away but my back is hurting and I don't wanna make it any worse.
    I have a couple hours to spare so I thought I'd pop in here and type out Jeremy's story. I'll do the lootin' run story after supper, closer to bed time.
     
    Jeremy and his friends were taken from a fast food place around lunch time, two days after Christmas.
    He was taken by the National Guard. They took everyone in the place who was over the age of fourteen and under the age of