Chapter 10
Ben cried out. His enemy was in his dreams again. Always! Ben was constantly watched. His enemy had promised that he would never be rid of him. It had been so long. One night's sleep, uninterrupted by dreams, would be a gift from God. Would this never end?
Ben looked around. He jumped when he saw the woman and child on his bed, then he remembered that he had brought them here and had tried to save them from death. He was quiet for a while, intently watching the woman and child. He watched for any sign that they had survived the night.
He slightly envied that fact that the woman and child could die. He would welcome death. He was so tired of the constant travels and looking over his shoulder to make sure that no one was following him. He longed to make a friend. He shuddered when he remembered that the last person he had befriended had been tortured to death because of him. It was getting harder and harder to remain invisible to the authorities. The invention of computers had brought the world closer together and everyone had a computer record somewhere, except Ben that is. He had made sure of that. He never gave his right name if he knew that a record was being created.
Ben got up and walked to the bed. The woman had not moved from were he had left her and the child was moaning softly as she slept. He checked their hands and feet for any sign of frostbite and covered them up again. The wood stove had started to die down so he added a few pieces of wood to the fire. He had found several wood pallets made of old oak and he often tore up discarded furniture for the oak, maple and walnut. It was not hard to find discarded wood for the woodstove.
He turned to go back to the bed and saw that the woman was lying with her eyes open, staring at the ceiling. He went to the bed and looked at her, not knowing if she was really awake or if she was in a coma.
"Where am I?" she asked softly, her eyes showing her bewilderment.
Before he could answer, she closed her eyes and either passed out or fell asleep. He felt her forehead and saw that she had a slight fever. The child felt normal. Ben sat on the bed for a while hoping that she would wake up again so that he could find out where she lived. He had to get rid of them. They would call attention to him.
He went back to the chair and tried to sleep. As soon as he closed his eyes that face appeared. He was afraid that his enemy might try to harm the woman and child. He was not sure if the man's powers stretched that far.
Ben fell into a fitful sleep. His enemy was there in his dreams. It was the same every night. If he could only lose his enemy for a little while.
Ben woke up and tensed. Something had woke him up. He looked over at the bed and saw that the child was sitting up, looking at him.
"Daddy, I'm hungry."
Ben got up and got the last of the milk from the refrigerator and let it warm a little on the wood stove. When the chill was off of the milk, he took it to the child and helped her to slowly sip the warm milk. The child drank the milk quickly and pushed the glass back to him.
"I'm hungry for food," she said haughtily as she crossed her arms in front of her.
Ben went to the cupboard and found the bread. He put butter and some of the grape jelly that he had in the refrigerator on the bread. The child crawled out of bed and sat on the floor. She took the bread from Ben and ate it without a word. When she was finished he wet a paper towel and wiped her face and put her in the chair.
"You have to stay off of the concrete floor. You'll catch a cold."
"Daddy, do you have a TV?" she asked.
"No, but let me get a magazine and I'll read it to you."
He sat in the chair next to the child and started to turn the pages. As he found a picture, he would make up some story that he thought a child would believe. The stories never fit the magazine articles and the child knew it, but she was happy to sit and look at the pictures and listen to his voice.
Ben got up to put some wood in the woodstove. As he passed the bed, he saw that the woman's eyes were open and she was looking at him. He put some wood on the fire and then went to the bed.
"Where am I? How did I get here?" she asked so low that he had trouble hearing her.
"I found you in an alley when I was walking home from work. You and the child were almost frozen."
She looked under the cover, "What happened to my clothes-did you?"
"You were half frozen and I had to get you in the tub and get some warmth back into you. I promise you that nothing happened. How do you feel?"
She moved a little, "My legs and feet hurt bad and my hands hurt."
"I checked for frostbite and I think we got you warmed up before any permanent damage was done. You'll probably hurt for a few days until the blood really starts flowing and you start to heal. Can you eat something? I think soup will be the best thing for you for a while."
She nodded slightly and he went to the cupboard and opened a can of soup. He put it on the wood stove and let it warm enough to take the chill off and got a spoon.
The child came over to the bed and sat down next to her mother.
The woman was too weak to hold the soup, so he held the soup and slowly spoon-fed her. He was surprised that she ate the whole can of soup.
"Thanks, I haven't had anything to eat for a couple of days. Did Susan have anything to eat?"
"Yes, she had a glass of milk and two slices of bread with butter and jelly. I'll have to go out in a while and get some more milk and maybe a few things that a child will eat. I live alone and I don't stock food that a child would like. I'm afraid that you will not be able to move out of that bed for a couple of days. Then we can get you home."
The woman tried to sit up, but she fell back to the bed, "Don't you have to work?"
"Today is Saturday. Last night we had freezing rain and I think that the city will be slow getting started this morning."
He felt the woman's head again. She still had a slight fever. He would have to remember to get aspirin when he went out.
"Do you think that you will be alright while your little girl and I go out and get some food?"
The woman smiled weakly, "Her name is Susan. And I think that I'll be Ok until you get back. Did you bring our clothes from the alley where you found us?"
"I didn't look for any clothes. You were so near death that I hurried to get you here and get you warm. What do you have the clothes in?"
"I had an old Army duffle bag full of what we have left. Most of the clothes are Susan's"
Ben stood up, "I'll look for the duffle bag when we go to the store. It might still be there."
She put her hand on his arm, "This is embarrassing, I have to go to the bathroom. I can't stand up on my own."
Ben went to the chest of drawers and got his largest shirt and helped her to put it on. He helped her out of bed and half-carried, half-dragged her into the bathroom. She sat on the toilet and he put his hand on her shoulder to steady her and turned his head.
He helped her back into bed and dressed Susan so that she could go to the store with him. He went to his hiding place and got enough money for the items he needed from the store. People would be amazed at the amount of money that he had hidden in the wall behind a false electrical outlet. He spent little, as he needed little. Most of the things other people spent money on were things that he could not afford to have to carry with him when he had to move to another town. He checked on the woman one more time. Susan seemed to be none the worse for her night in the freezing rain and he marveled at the resilience of children. She was a perfect angel in the store and he bought her favorite candies and a few comic books for her.
On the way back to his house, they searched for the duffle bag. They found it under a pile of boxes. Everything was soaked and he had to drag the duffle bag because it was so heavy. He juggled the groceries and the duffle bag and often had the change arms to keep his arms from going to sleep.
The sun had melted most of the ice from the storm and very few people were moving on the street yet. He kept an eye out to make sure that no one took too much of an interest in them. No one did, they figured that they were just another homeless family. Many of the people in this section of town were too engrossed in their own struggle to survive to worry about others.
Susan helped him drag the duffle bag into the house and jumped on the bed and told her mother about the store and what they had bought. She told her mother that "Daddy" had even bought her candy. He had picked up extra strength aspirin at the store and made the woman take two with a bit of the milk he had purchased. Ben smiled; he had never realized how beautiful a child's voice was.
The woman seemed to want to say something to him and he walked over to the bed. She looked at him as if she was searching for the right words. He leaned down to her and she patted the bed for him to sit next to her.
"You have a very bright child," he said, "She speaks very well for only being two years old."
"She'll be three in two weeks," she replied, "I read to her often, at least I did when we had our house. I was a stay-at-home mother. I tried to teach her what I could."
She started to cry and turned away form him. He patted her shoulder
and moved off of the bed. He would find out why she was homeless later.