Louis Collins: A Post-American Odyssey

Louis woke to dull morning light. The rain had stopped, leaving the window gray and wet. Someone had opened the curtains on the far side of the room. Willa sat at the foot of the bed with her laptop on her knees. She looked up when he stirred.

“Good morning.”

“Morning.”

She set the laptop aside, went to the door, and opened it.

“He’s awake,” she called.

Footsteps came almost at once. Angelique came in first, hair tied back, shirt sleeves rolled to the elbows. Her face was calm, but tight around the eyes. Gladice followed with a mug of coffee in one hand. She tried to look casual, but her eyes stayed on him. Willa returned to the foot of the bed with the medical box. Donya stood in the doorway, her hands clasped together. Savannah leaned against the frame behind her.

Angelique sat on the edge of the bed. “How do you feel?”

Louis looked at her. “I’m alive.”

“Good start.” She took his good hand and held it.

Gladice breathed out through her nose. “You scared the shit out of us, by the way. Don’t do that again.”

“I’ll try not to.”

Willa set the medical box on the nightstand and reached for his wrist. “Let me see.”

He gave her the hand. She unwrapped the outer layer first, then the inner dressing with more care. Two punctures sat below the heel of his hand. The skin around them was red and swollen, but not as bad as he had expected. A faint yellow stain marked the gauze where fluid had seeped through. Willa bent close and studied it before touching him.

“Good,” she said. “If the page I found is right, that was a northern water snake. Non-venomous, but they have anticoagulant in their saliva. That’s why it bled so much.”

“Is it infected?” he asked.

“Maybe slightly. But not badly. The antibiotics should take care of it.” She reached for the supplies and handed them to Donya. “We should change the dressing now.”

Donya took the gauze and tape. She cleaned the wound with antiseptic wipes, wrapped it neatly, and taped it down. Louis watched her face while she worked. She kept her eyes on the wound. Her lips parted once when the tape stuck to her finger, but her hands did not shake.

When she finished, she looked up and met his eyes. Her cheeks colored slightly.

“Thank you,” he said.

She nodded once.

“What now? Do we move today?” Louis asked.

“You are staying in bed today,” Angelique said firmly.

He raised an eyebrow. “And the rest of you?”

Gladice sat at the foot of the bed. “We are staying too. The caretaker couple came back last evening.”

Louis tensed. “What happened?”

“It seemed they just went into town.” She shrugged. “Bought lots of supplies. Came back. Parked the truck. Went inside their house.”

“Last night, we concluded that they would not report us,” Willa said. “Donya told us about the church. We think they are associated with that snake-handling church on the mountain, which means they are heretics in the eyes of the state. They won’t go to the authorities.”

Louis exhaled. “Good.”

“So we are safe here for now.” Angelique smoothed his hair back from his forehead. “We will stay until we hear from your father, or at least until you can walk on your own.”

He looked at her and did not argue. “Alright.”

Gladice grinned. “Great. That means we get another lazy day. And I am going to take full advantage of it.”

“What happened after I went down?” Louis asked.

“You fell in the mud,” Donya said. Her voice stayed quiet. “I tried to pull you. I couldn’t. Then the drone came.”

Gladice said, “We got back to the cabin, opened the laptop, and saw your message. We tried calling you first. No answer. Then Willa pulled your location from the phone and sent the drone out.”

Willa looked up from the medical box. “I lost it in the trees. But at least it gave us a direction.”

Gladice said, “So the rest of us found an old stretcher in the basement and went after you. Getting to you was hell.”

Louis looked from Gladice to Willa, then back to Donya.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

Willa shook her head. “You didn’t choose to get bitten by a snake. You don’t need to apologize.” She hesitated, then said, “But you should know I was scared.”

He smiled faintly. “I know.”

“I’m glad you are alright.” She looked at his wrist. “Now rest. We will take care of everything.”

“Can I at least shower?” Louis asked. “I feel disgusting.”

Gladice laughed. “You are disgusting. But no. You will wait until the fever is gone.”

He made a face. “Then I will sleep.”

“Good idea.” Angelique stood up. “We will check on you later.”

She gave him a kiss on the forehead. Gladice kissed him on the mouth. Willa kissed his cheek.

Donya looked at the others, then at Louis. She took half a step forward, stopped, and lowered her eyes. In the end, she only touched his arm once and whispered, “I’ll stay if you want.”

He nodded. “Thank you.”

The others left. Donya pulled the chair back to the bed and sat down. Louis closed his eyes. Outside, water dripped from the roof and trees. After a while, she took his good hand again, carefully.

He fell asleep before he could say anything. By afternoon, the rain had started again. He woke to different light and different voices. Once, Barlow’s voice rose from downstairs, sharp enough to carry through the floorboards.

“We lost a whole damn day.”

Gladice answered him. Louis could not make out the words, but her tone made it clear Barlow should lower his voice if he liked his arms where they were.

Later, when Louis woke again, Angelique was sitting where Donya had been, reading a book without turning the page. Donya slept in the armchair under an extra blanket. She had slumped to one side. One hand lay open on her knee, fingers still curled from holding his.

“Barlow is angry,” Louis said.

Angelique looked up. “Barlow is afraid.”

“Of what?”

She closed the book and set it on the nightstand. “He thinks waiting will kill us.”

“It might,” he said.

She reached out and took his hand. “But you could not have moved today. Not even if the road had opened.”

He nodded. “I know.”

They were quiet for a moment. Then he asked, “Did my father call?”

Angelique shook her head. “No. Not yet.”

He turned his head to look at the window. The rain had weakened to mist.

“He will come.”

“I know.”

The door opened. Willa came in with a plate of pasta and a glass of orange juice.

“I thought you might be hungry.”

“I am.” Louis propped himself up. Angelique helped him sit higher against the pillows. Willa set a tray across his lap.

“Can you eat with your good hand?”

“I think so.”

He picked up the fork and tried. His fingers were clumsy, but he could manage. He got through a few bites before his arm grew tired. Angelique took the fork without asking and fed him the rest. He felt embarrassed for a moment, like a child being fed, then let it go. He was too tired to care. When the plate was empty, he drank the juice and lay back.

“Thank you,” he said.

Willa smiled. “You are welcome.”

They stayed with him the rest of the afternoon. He dozed on and off. Sometimes he woke to their low voices. Sometimes Angelique’s hand was in his hair. Sometimes Donya’s head rested on the edge of the bed beside him.

By evening, the fever broke, and he woke sweating. He kicked one leg free of the blanket. A moment later he was cold and regretted it. Angelique changed the pillowcase. Gladice made him sit up long enough to put a dry T-shirt on him. Willa checked his wrist again.

“Better,” she said.

“Good,” he said. “How’s your day?”

“Productive,” Willa answered. “We played cards, argued with Barlow, and worried about you.”

“I’m fine now.”

Gladice sat on the edge of the bed and put her hand on his cheek. “It was fun. You should have been there.”

“I’ll try next time.”

“Next time it’ll be strip poker,” Gladice said with a grin.

He was still smiling when Angelique pushed a glass of water into his good hand. “Drink.”

He drank. Downstairs, Barlow started again.

“We oughta at least scout a road,” he said, his voice rising through the floor. “Tomorrow morning, before the damn sun comes up. See if the state watching the main roads. Do something instead of sitting here on our asses.”

“Barlow,” Savannah called back. “You wanna risk your neck, do it by yourself. We ain’t leaving him.”

Barlow swore and slammed a door downstairs. After that, Louis heard nothing.

Louis closed his eyes and slept. When he woke again, it was dark outside. The bedside lamp was on. Donya was praying with her eyes closed. Her lips moved, but he could not hear the words. He watched her face for a moment. She looked calmer than she had all day. Her hands rested loose on her lap. When she opened her eyes and saw him looking, her breath caught.

“Louis,” she whispered.

“Donya.”

She got up and came to the bed. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” he said. “Thank you for watching over me.”

She shook her head. “It was the least I could do.”

He studied her in the lamplight. The loose pullover she wore hid her shape, but he remembered her bare breasts when she turned back to him. He remembered the feel of her fingers when she stroked him this morning. His cock stirred under the blanket.

She saw it in his face. Her cheeks colored.

“You should rest,” she said.

“I am resting,” he said. His voice was lower than he expected. “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

“Did you mean it when you said I am a sign?”

She took a breath. “Yes.”

“For what?”

She lowered her eyes and did not answer right away.

At last she said, “I think you are here for a reason. To change something. To do something important. I don’t know what yet. But I believe it. I prayed for guidance, and then I met you. That cannot be a coincidence.”

He smiled a little. “I hope you are right.”

“I am.”

He shifted under the blankets, trying to ease the pressure of his growing erection.

“What if I don’t live up to it?”

“Then I will still believe.” She leaned forward and took his hand. “But you will.”

He squeezed her fingers. “Thank you. For having faith in me.”

“Someone has to.” She smiled. “Now try to sleep.”

She leaned closer. He thought she was about to kiss his cheek. Instead she brushed the hair back from his forehead, her fingers cool against his skin.

“It feels good when you touch me,” he said.

Her breath caught. She pulled back. “I should not.”

“Why not?”

She looked at the door, then back at him. “Because of what happened this morning.”

“I liked what happened this morning.”

Her cheeks flushed. “So did I. That’s the problem.”

“Then why is it a problem?”

“Because it’s wrong.” She shook her head. “We are not married. We barely know each other. And I’m not supposed to touch a man like that.”

“But you did.”

“Yes.” She took a breath. “And I have been asking Allah for forgiveness all day.”

“Has he answered?”

She looked away. “I don’t know.”

He squeezed her hand. “I’m not asking you to do anything you don’t want to do. But I want you to know that I enjoyed it. Very much.”

She looked back at him. “I enjoyed it too. But that doesn’t make it right.”

“Maybe right and wrong are not as simple as you think.”

She shook her head. “They are. Some things are clear. And this is one of them.”

“Is it?”

She studied his face. “Yes. It is.”

He let go of her hand. “Alright.”

She watched him for a moment. Then she leaned forward and brushed her lips against his forehead. It was a soft kiss.

“Sleep well, Louis.”

She turned and left the room, closing the door quietly behind her. He sat up, took some pills left on the nightstand and drank more water. After a while, he fell asleep again, and this time he did not dream again.