Dead Land Journal August 4th 2027

This farmhouse is nice but I don't think we will be staying her long. Haven't seen any signs of the wraiths, but I just don't feel like I have but enough distance between us and them yet. We are about three quarters of a mile south of I-70 on Curtis Road and three miles east of Bates City. Calling Bates City a city is like calling a short man Stretch. It is a small town barely more than a village.

I rejected the first farmhouse we came to because it was surrounded by trees. I felt that gave them too many places to hide. There is no power here, but the house is more easily secured. All the windows have sturdy shutters, not just ornamental plastic like you seen on so many houses, but fully functional. As many tornadoes as we get here in the Midwest I am always amazed that more houses don't have them. They appear to be a recent addition. The shutters are all closed and I have lanterns in all the rooms. There is a real basement, not a cellar as found on many older farmhouses. There is an outside entrance with a cellar door. The door itself is new as well, very sturdy. I locked it with a big stainless steel padlock. I could not do anything about the basement windows so I just locked the door at the head of the stairs in the kitchen and moved the refrigerator in front of it.

Today I watched as Dee carried a toy down the stairs using both arms. When she got it down stairs she very carefully put her splint back on. I told her that I thought it was time to get rid of the splint. Her arm seems to be almost if not completely healed. It has been almost 7 weeks since the accident. And if she is able to use it without pain then she does not seen the splint. Her arm is a little weak, but that is expected.

While I was tucking her in last night, Dee asked me if I was going to be her new Daddy. It was to say the least, unexpected. Not being prepared for such a question, I told her that I would be standing in for her Daddy for the time being. She asked me if her Daddy was ever coming back. That is another question I don't know the answer to. I told her that she would see her him again one day. I did not see a lot of signs that the Mason's were very religious. I found one dusty Bible and a tarnished brass crucifix in her mother's bedside table. I suspect that Mr. Mason and my former father in law had the same views on religion. But Dee surprised me yet again when she asked if she would see them again in Heaven. It was a bit of a relief so I told her that she'd see everyone that she loved when she got to Heaven. She asked if that would be soon and my heart skipped a beat. I think it's time to admit to myself how much I have come to love Dee as if she were my own daughter.

For the first time in years I took the time to kneel down and pray before I went to bed. I mean I really prayed. Not the going through the motions, get through this as fast as we can prayer I used to do when I was a kid, but true heartfelt prayer. I was in tears before I went to bed. But I slept like a baby last night.


© 2009 R. Keith McBride