My surgeon has not called yet, although it is getting close to the time that he recommended, so I just kept on writing. Since I do not know what day I will enter the hospital, I am trying to write this story so that each chapter can stand alone. It may not be long enough to be considered a serial, but it is planned to be more than one chapter.
Guns are not for Little Boys
Chapter 1
Thirteen candles. That was how many candles were on Lizzie Jane’s cake and she blew them all out. Today, May 4, 1954, she was officially a teenager.
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The children were all excited. The news was buzzing around everywhere. A ‘picture show’ had opened in the little community of Carter’s Bend. Although some of the parents took in a movie when they traveled to other towns and cities, most of the children had never seen one.
While the girls were looking for romantic movies, the boys were riding the range with Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Johnny Mack Brown, Sunset Carson, Tex Ritter, Durango Kid, and a host of other cowboys. It was not unusual to see boys shooting at each other with wooden pistols after seeing a Saturday western.
Little Jack Turner decided that wooden guns were not sufficient. He knew where his dad kept a western style six-shooter. That is when the problem began.
“Hey, I got a real gun”, as Jack proudly displayed the six-shooter.
Joe objected. “That is too dangerous to play with.”.
“Nah,” said Jack, laughing, as he pulled back the hammer and clicked the gun three times. “It’s empty. Daddy don’t keep a loaded gun in the drawer. He is afraid I will shoot someone.’
“Let’s play like you are robbing the bank,” continued Jack, “and I will be the sheriff and shoot you.”
“Okay”, said Joe as ran from the smokehouse, pretending it was the bank.
“Bang, bang”, shouted Jack as he clicked two more rounds. Joe acted like he was going to draw his wooden gun when, on the third time, the gun did not click.
Bam!
The sound of the firing pistol seemed extra loud, echoing through the valley.
Jack dropped the gun. Joe fell to the ground. The only thing Jack could think of was that he had killed his best friend and he ran toward the woods.
The parents of both boys ran to see what had happened. When they saw Joe on the ground, his mother went into hysterics. Kneeling down by Joe, the father screamed, “Somebody! Go get Doc Brown! He is still alive!”
Some of the neighbors had come out to see what had happened. One of the youngsters was sent to find Doc Brown since his office was closed on Sunday.
“Daddy…”cried Joe, as his father quieted him.
“Son, it is okay. Doc Brown will be here in a minute.”
News spread fast and soon almost the entire community was on the scene. Lizzie Jane, with her aunt and uncle, were the last ones to arrive. Doc Brown had just driven up, grabbed his bag, and ran to the fallen boy.
“Let’s get him to the office. It is a shoulder wound and I will give him something for pain right away; then we will see what has happened,” said Doc Brown. Seeing Lizzie Jane, he said, “Come with me. You can play nurse.”
Lizzie Jane assisted Doc Brown and listened very carefully as questions were put to Joe. She began to wonder what happened to Jack. Where did he go? Why was he not around when the parents got there? As soon as they were finished, she knew she had to find Jack. He must be terrified at what happened. After all, they were just kids. (She could think that now that she was a teen.)
Joe’s parents were in Doc Brown’s waiting room, wringing their hands, hoping Joe would be okay. When Doc Brown came out and told them the good news -- that it was a shoulder wound and not life threatening -- they were overjoyed.
“Just make sure he stays in bed a couple of days,” advised Doc Brown. “He will be sore for awhile. Here are some pills for pain. Make sure that he only gets three a day.”
Doc Brown called the sheriff and told him where he could find Joe, but asked him to go easy on the questioning because Joe would be in a lot of pain.
“What are you thinking?” asked Doc Brown as he observed Lizzie Jane sitting at a table in the break room, drinking a soft drink.
“I was just thinking about where Jack could have gone. I am sure he feels terrible about this. Why, he might even think he killed Joe,” replied Lizzie Jane.
Doc thought a minute and said, “I’ll bet the sheriff is wondering the same thing. Jack has to answer to this, you know.”
“Yes, I know, but I am afraid Jack may do something to himself.” With that, Lizzie Jane got up to help clean the medical utensils.
“Go on home,” said Doc Brown. “I’ll take care of these myself.”
“Thanks.” Lizzie Jane did not mind. She wanted to find Jack as soon as possible. It was dark when she stepped outside the doctor’s office. She began to walk home while trying to remember if she knew of anyone who played with Jack that might know his hiding place. Boys often had a ‘hiding place’, which was shared with their best friend.
She thought of Steve Moss. He had hung around with Jack quite a bit. Maybe Steve was the best friend. She decided to call upon Steve.
Since it was early evening, she found Steve hanging out with the guys at Nancy’s Café. As she approached the group, she learned that the topic of the conversation was the shooting. She noticed that Steve was quieter than usual. Maybe it was because they were talking about his best friend.
While standing a slight distance from the group, she caught Steve’s attention and with a wiggle of her forefinger, she motioned for Steve. Steve responded, wondering what in the world would Lizzie Jane want.
“Excuse me a moment, fellers. Gotta talk with a good looking gal,” Steve said as he left the group.
“Steve, I heard y’all talk about the shooting and I want you to know that Joe is okay. Just a shoulder wound. Jack cannot be found, so he must be on the run, thinking that he killed Joe. You are his best friend, so please tell me — did you and Jack have a secret place you liked?” asked Lizzie Jane.
“Well, uh...” stammered Steve.
“Please, tell me. Jack needs to know that Joe is alive. There is no telling what he might do to himself,” pleaded Lizzie Jane.
“Well, there is a hidden cave behind some bushes at Miller’s Mountain,” stated Steve. He proceeded to supply information to Lizzie Jane on how to get there. “I hope it is okay for you to know. Just keep it a secret — Okay? Just between the three of us.”
“Okay, “ replied Lizzie Jane. She smiled as she said, “I am good at keeping secrets”, thinking of her own adventure about three and a half years earlier.
“I will need a flashlight,” she thought to herself. Mack’s General Store was closing just as she arrived, but she talked Mr. Mack into opening it back up so she could purchase a flashlight. She also bought a few extra batteries in case it took longer than she expected.
As Mack was putting the merchandise in a bag, Lizzie Jane said, “I don’t need a paper poke. I will just put them in my pocket.” Although pushing extra batteries in the pockets of her tight trousers was a chore, she managed it very well. She did not want to be bothered with carrying a bag in her hand.
Remembering her experience with the panther a few years earlier, she thought about the need of protection, being in the woods at night, so she dropped by home and sneaked out with her quiver containing the bow and a good supply of arrows, along with her hunting knife. The doctors in Miami had allowed her to keep the items since she did not seem to be a danger to herself and such items were not illegal, being considered items normally used in a sport.
She did not want Uncle Jed and Aunt Maudie to know what she was doing. She had promised to keep the secret meeting place a secret and, if Uncle Jed had known what she was doing, he would have insisted on going with her.
She ran very swiftly through the woods, having kept herself in shape. She thought once about swinging through the limbs, but it was dark, so she decided against it. Also, it was more difficult to perform feats like that with the quiver on her back.
She had kept her practice up since she enjoyed the acrobatic thrill of it. It had been something she had learned with much difficulty and, who knows, she may want to join a circus someday as a trapeze artist. No one knew of her practice sessions. She had managed to do that in private.
As she came near the cave, she began to wonder how a youngster as young as Jack could stay in a place like this after dark. She well remembered how frightened she was lost in the woods when she first came to Carter’s Bend. Of course, she was a child back then. Now she was thirteen years old — as if that made her an adult. However, her experiences had made her more mature than her age would indicate. What she did not realize was that she still had the remnants of a childish mind, regardless of previous experiences.
She found the bushes and, as described, there was a hidden cave with a five foot opening. She had to bend over a little to enter, but once inside it opened up to accommodate her height plus three extra feet.
She called out, “Jack, Jack! Joe is okay. You can come out.”
Lizzie Jane listened carefully. No answer.
She carefully made her way deeper into the cave, shining her flashlight at everything she thought she heard moving. There were no bats and only one tunnel. Good.
The cave suddenly came to an abrupt end. She looked around and saw a smaller opening, just large enough for a big man to crawl through. She looked inside, using her flashlight, and saw a larger room. Coming this far, she thought she might just as well investigate that room, too. So crawling through the narrower hole with the quiver on her back barely scraping the top, she entered the new room. Also, the bow strung around her neck had created a slight hindrance, but she had gotten through.
It looked like someone lived there. Some folding chairs and a table holding some odd apparatus caught her attention. Hearing a weak voice, she shined the light around the room and found what seemed to be a pit in the corner. Investigating the hole, she saw Jack in a small corner of the pit. He seemed to be bruised with some cuts and scratches and barely conscious.
With a loud voice, she told Jack, “I will get you out in a minute. Just stay calm.”
Lizzie Jane looked around the room for a rope, but finding none, she made her way toward the exit with the intention of finding something — anything — that could be used for a rope.
In the excitement of discovering Jack, she had failed to notice a man crawling through the hole, followed by another man. A surprised Lizzie Jane just stood there momentarily as the man lit a kerosene lamp with the other man pointing a revolver at Lizzie Jane.
“Well, well, who do we have here — Pocahontas?” as he spied the bow hanging around her neck. To the other man, he stated, “Looks like you are right. We are going to have to move — if these kids can find this place, others can, too -- and after all that trouble of taking a table apart and putting it back together to get it through the hole.”
Turning again to Lizzie Jane, he said, “Young lady, looks like you and your friend messed things up.”
The other man just stood there silent.
“Get over to that hole,” he continued as he pointed toward the pit. As she stepped toward it, he gave her a shove and she fell to the bottom as Jack did earlier. “Now, we are going to take our stuff and leave. You two can rot down there. People will think you fell into the hole and assume it was an accident. After all, you still have your weapons, so there is no evidence of anything else happening.” He laughed, knowing that bows and arrows could do nothing to get them out of the pit. He also pitched the flashlight down, too, so it could be further proof that they had just fell into the pit.
Lizzie Jane felt of herself. She had some sharp pain where stones had cut her when she fell and some bruises were obvious from the fall. She did not seem to have any broken bones.
“What do we do now?” mumbled Jack, seemingly losing consciousness.
“He must have some head trauma,” thought Lizzie Jane. “Gotta get him outta here.”
She picked up the flashlight and checked the walls. There were a few jagged rocks up and down the walls, but not sticking out much. She could climb any kind of tree in a hurry, but had little experience in climbing a wall like that.
Could she? That was a question she pondered. She had to get out and get Jack out with her because he definitely needed medical attention. While she thought about the situation, she could hear the men talking and it sounded like they were taking the table apart to get it through the narrow hole. Good! At least, they were leaving. She wondered what crime they had committed. Oh well, no time to think about that now.
Lizzie Jane was facing the most difficult decision she had ever made. Jack was on the edge of unconsciousness and she had to get him out. He could die if he had a serious head injury. Finally, her mind was made up. She placed the flashlight in the quiver and attempted to thrown it out of the pit. It took two pitches, but she was able to throw it just far enough.
“Jack, I know it is going to be hard, but put your arms around my neck and please don’t go to sleep on me — Please — Okay?” pleaded Lizzie Jane.
With Jack on her back, Lizzie Jane began the ascension of about 15 feet in complete darkness. Slowly, she put her foot in place on a rock and grasped the next short jagged rock with her fingertips and pulled herself and Jack up a notch. Her fingers hurt terribly. Couldn’t worry about that now.
Her foot found another short rock and she pushed herself upward further. With aching fingers, she managed to place her hand in a hollow place in the wall. That helped the pain a little. Next, she reached for a rock a little larger, her foot trying to settle on a damp rock. Her foot slipped! Her fingers dug deeper into the wall.
“Oh, God, help me!” pleaded Lizzie Jane as she frantically moved her foot to a more solid spot. Perspiration began to pour from her body. Had she bitten off more than she could chew? Again, she wrestled with another short rock with her fingers — more pain, but determination kept her going. Again, pushing up with her feet — again slipping — hanging on with just the tips of her fingers with a weight on her back pulling against her.
She was older, bigger and taller than Jack, but his weight seemed to get heavier and heavier. If she were to fall, it might hurt Jack even more. She felt his grip around her neck begin to loosen,
“Please, Jack — stay awake. Please!” pleaded Lizzie Jane with all the strength she could use to speak. She was quickly becoming exhausted. With that remark, she felt his grip tighten a little.
“Just a little more,” she told herself. “Just a little more, just a little more…” she kept saying.
Struggling with all the strength she could produce and almost ready to pass out because of the pain and exhaustion, she grabbed a large solid rock at the top. With a little more effort — pushing with all she strength she had, she pulled herself and Jack up enough to find herself halfway out of the pit. Quickly locating another rock on the floor of the cave, she grabbed it and, with a final and almost unbearable effort, completed the torturous climb.
Lizzie Jane rolled on the floor, breathing heavily, feeling like she could not go any further, but she knew she had to — somehow — get Jack to medical help. She lay there on the dirt floor, trying to find the strength to go on, but how — how could she make it?
Still breathing heavily, she prayed. Surely God had not let her get this far —only to fail. She knew that she would never forgive herself if she let Jack die. She had to go on.
Retrieving the flashlight from the quiver, she spotted the hole she had crawled through to reach this room. Weak as she was, she managed to pull Jack through it into the main part of the cave. She pulled him up on her back one more time and managed to get outside the cave to some bushes where they could not be seen in case the men came back. That was also a great concern of Lizzie Jane. Maybe she could rest a little and get her thoughts back, so she could decide what to do.
As she laid there behind the bushes staring at the moon-lit sky getting her breath back, she questioned whether she should try to carry Jack further or leave him and run for help with the possibility of Jack dying from his injuries. It seem obvious to Lizzie Jane that Jack had a serious head injury, possible a brain injury.
Five minutes passed — ten minutes passed. Finally, weak as she was, Lizzie Jane managed to get up. She shook Jack, crying “Jack, speak to me! Jack, wake up!”
Jack opened his eyes enough that Lizzie Jane could see enough by the light of the moon that Jack’s pupils were unequal — a sign of head trauma. She said, “Jack, try to hang on to my neck. We are going to town right now.”
With that, she pulled Jack on her back and ran as fast as she could with the load. She had gone about a quarter mile when she heard voices. Lizzie Jane slipped behind some bushes and carefully, under the light of the full moon, she searched the area with her eyes, hoping the men had not come back. To her relief, she saw some men from Carter’s Bend and screamed, “Help! I have Jack and he is injured — bad!”
With that she put Jack down and collapsed. She had done all she could and her body just could not take any more.
When she opened her eyes, she saw a bright light over her head. She tried to turn her body, quickly discovering that she was too sore, but she had determined that she was in bed somewhere. Her first thought was Jack. With a weak voice, she asked, “Where is Jack? Is he okay?”
“Doc Brown! She has come to!” Lizzie Jane recognized the voice. It was Aunt Maudie.
She saw Doc Brown’s face over her. “Jack is in a Birmingham hospital in ICU. His skull is fractured and has been bleeding inside. He would not have lasted much longer. Time was important and I understand that you saved his life.’
“Now let’s talk about you. Your fingers are torn all to pieces. You have cuts and bruises all over your body. You, too, have lost a lot of blood and you are completed run down. When you get able, I want you to tell me what happened. Whatever it was, you and Jack must have gotten caught in the same pea thrasher.” With that last statement, Doc Brown smiled.
Lizzie Jane smiled, too.
Copyright 2007 by Starla Anne Lowry
Under the pen name of Billie Sue Pilgrim
I have stepped out on uncharted grounds again (for me) with a little romance mixed with drama. I hope you like it. Whether you do or not, please comment.
Guns are not for Little Boys
Chapter 2
"THIRTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL RESCUES EIGHT YEAR OLD BOY"
screamed the headlines of the Gazette. They had gotten the news from Jack’s parents.
Lizzie Jane had refused to give an interview because reporters always asked too many questions and she had promised to keep Jack and Steve’s meeting place a secret. She feared that she would have been asked to describe too much.
However, the news did not escape the attention of the two men who had discovered Lizzie Jane in the cave where they had set up their illegal counterfeiting operations when she was searching for Jack. They had found Jack earlier and had thrown him into a pit. When they discovered Lizzie Jane, they threw her in the pit with Jack and had left them both to die.
“Well, looks like we are going to have to get rid of Pocahontas — again!” said Jim, one of the two men, speaking about Lizzie Jane. “She is smart enough to have recognized us. Too bad for her. She could have looked forward to a long and full life.”
Seymour nodded.
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With the cave experience behind her, Lizzie Jane settled into what she thought would be normal life for a thirteen-year-old girl. Sally, the schoolteacher in the community’s one room schoolhouse, was proud of Lizzie Jane. She was a quick learner and mature for her age, so she helped teach the younger children about the things she had mastered, leaving Sally to instruct the older children.
Sally was trying to think of some way to get Lizzie Jane into a normal high school since most students only went through the eighth and ninth grades in the community school. She believed that Lizzie Jane had a great future if she could obtain a good education — maybe college.
For now, Lizzie Jane was a happy thirteen year old and had made many friends, both male and female. Jake still claimed to be her boy friend and tried to be around her as much as possible. Lizzie Jane was not serious about any boy, but accepted Jake as a good friend, so they were often seen together. Many of the citizens of Carter’s Bend assumed that they would eventually marry and thought that they made a cute couple.
Joe and Jack had regained their friendship, realizing that it was only a childish error when Jack accidentally shot Joe. They did learn one thing — guns are not for little boys. Parents used that incident as a lesson for the other children. Although the boys of the community became hunters at a very early age, they were always in the company of their father or some other relative when carrying a shotgun or rifle in the woods until they were old enough to be trusted around other hunters.
Lizzie Jane did not like guns and neither did most of the other young ladies. Guns made too much noise and very dangerous. However, Lizzie Jane was an archery expert and could make an arrow go any place she wanted. She kept that a secret as well as the fact that she could swing through the trees from limb to limb if they were close enough together.
However, she had to almost force herself to go back to the cave where she had rescued Jack to retrieve her bow and quiver of arrows. She still had the two spears she had gotten from the savages, but they were kept at home most of the time. Occasionally she would get one out and practice throwing it at targets in the woods.
Lizzie Jane had no idea that she was in somebody's plan to be murdered. When questioned by the sheriff about the rescue, all she ever told was that she got Jack out of a deep hole. She did not mention the men who had thrown them in the pit or the location, but Jim and Seymour, the two men from the cave, were not aware of that.
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“How about a Coke?” asked Jake. “The gang is meeting down at Sam’s place after school.”
“Well, Okay,” replied Lizzie Jane. “I don’t have anything particular to do. But, I cannot stay too late or Aunt Maudie will come looking for me. She claims that I get into too much trouble.” She laughed. If only Jake knew about her adventures….
Sam’s Place was the teen hangout in 1954 with the jukebox blaring with country and pop music, just before the major transition to rock and roll.
“Hi, Jake. Hi, Lizzie Jane” were the greeting as the couple walked in.
“Whadda you have?” asked the gum chewing waitress shortly after Jake found a good table in the corner of the café. She reached for the pencil behind her ear and retrieved an order book from her belt.
“Let’s see — how about a RC and a Moon Pie?’ replied Jake.
“Just a Coke for me,” answered Lizzie Jane. “Well, maybe a hamburger if ole rich pockets can afford it.”
“For you honey, I would rob a bank if I did not have the money,” joked Jake.
The waitress brought the order plus the ticket, laying it face down. Jack eased the ticket up long enough to glance at it. “Wow, forty cents,” said Jake when he saw at the charges.
“I think cold drinks have gone up to seven cents,” replied Lizzie Jane.
“Yeah, everything is going up. It cost three cents to mail a letter now-a-days.”
“Momma used to only buy penny postcards because she wrote so much,” said Lizzie Jane. The memory of her deceased mother brought a tear. Those were happy times. There had been so much love in their hearts toward one another.
“You miss your mother, don’t you?” asked Jake — realizing immediately it was a silly question and wished he could take it back. He saw the tears streaming down Lizzie Jane’s face and his heart went out to her.
All Lizzie Jane could manage was a weak “Yes”.
“Well, when we have children, you will know how to love them,” remarked Jake, wanting to get Lizzie Jane’s mind temporarily off her mother. It worked!
“Whoa now,” quickly replied Lizzie Jane, changing expressions. “Nobody had said we were getting married!”
A young boy at the next table said, “Well, it seems obvious to me.” The girl with him just smiled.
“I am only thirteen years old,” Lizzie Jane declared.
“Well honey, in these parts, if you go past sixteen, you are an old maid,” joked the boy.
Everyone laughed at Lizzie Jane. She was blushing so much that she wanted to crawl under the table. Well, in fact — she did. She looked up and saw Jake under there, too.
“Thought you would get lonesome under here all by yourself”, as Jake quickly stole a kiss.
“Darn. Can’t a girl have privacy anywhere?” An embarrassed, but smiling Lizzie Jane stomped off to the little girl’s room. “At least there, I can have some privacy.” Or so she thought. She was met with a waiting line.
Jake, seeing the predicament, walked over to Lizzie Jane and said, “Come on, we were just having a little fun. Let’s go. I will walk you home.”
He paid the bill and walked with Lizzie Jane slowly down the street to her home.
“Lizzie Jane, you know that I do love you and always have, since I first became acquainted with you. I am pleased that you are my friend, anyway.”
With that, he put his arm around Lizzie Jane as if he were trying to shield her against the cool autumn breeze. It was a little chilly, so she did not mind. Lizzie Jane explored her mind. Did she love Jake, but trying to keep her feelings imprisoned inside — scared to love — afraid of something that she could not understand? After all, she was only thirteen. Could a girl love a boy at that age — true lasting love?
Jake stopped, took Lizzie Jane by the shoulder and turned her toward him. Feeling that she knew what was coming, she closed her eyes. Their lips met. It was just a young kiss, but it was sweet and her arms automatically went around Jake’s neck. Likewise, he returned the embrace. For a moment, all doubt seem to melt away into nothingness.
When their lips parted, Lizzie Jane was breathless. This was a new experience. She had never known what it was like to be captivated by a young man’s charm -- to know romance — to know the emotions that swept over a girl, a warm flow spreading through her entire body.
She had done what she never expected -- to submit to the love and warmness of someone who really loved her. They stepped apart for a moment, facing one another, holding hands at arm’s length with eyes that sparkled with the unspoken words — “I love you.”
A strong male voice rang out, “Hey, Pocahontas”. Startled, Lizzie Jane turned toward the voice as the masked man intended for her to do.
Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. Lizzie Jane slumped to the street. Jake glanced toward a car that sped away and quickly looked back at his sweetie. She was not moving — as if she were dead. He knelt down and, cuddling her head up into his arms, he cried with a loud voice, “Don’t die! I don’t want to lose you!”
The other kids heard the shot and some saw what had happened — one moment a loving couple embracing and the next moment, one lying on the street dying from a gunshot.
“Let’s get her to Doc Brown’s” a young man exclaimed, stopping his car next to the scene. Lizzie Jane was quickly loaded into the back seat with Jake next to her crying, “Hurry — I cannot lose her. No — not now.”
The driver drove like a madman, blowing the horn almost continually for people to get out of the way, slamming on the brake at Doc Brown’s home with the wheels sliding on the chert surface.
Doc Brown came to the door and Jake, without waiting for an invitation, rushed in, Lizzie Jane cradled in his arms. “She’s been shot,” he screamed.
Doc Brown quickly began started cutting her dress in the area of the clotting blood. He looked up — “It’s bad. We need to get her to my office where I have better equipment. She needs immediate attention.”
Quickly, she was transported to the physician’s office and Doc Brown immediately began work. She was already unconscious, whether from shock or the gunshot wound, Doc Brown could not determine, but she was losing blood fast. The good doctor did not have any blood on hand and no time to match it anyway, so he began working with his skillful hands as only a doctor with years of experience could do.
He quickly discovered the source of the blood loss, so he took care of that first. Next, he took a quick x-ray to determine the location of the bullet. It had missed the heart, but was very deep; next he rolled his oxygen tanks in place and began the oxygen.
He was wishing for some help when Aunt Maudie came in. Looking up and seeing her, Doc Brown remarked, “Quick, you be my nurse tonight. This is an emergency. Just stay calm. I cannot handle a hysterical nurse right now.” Taking a deep breath and holding her emotions in as well as could be expected, Aunt Maudie quickly washed her hands and prepared herself to assist.
Jake was in the waiting room, walking the floor, crying, “I cannot lose her. I love her with all my heart.” Some of the young couples were there and tried to console him. Girls hugged him and spoke soft, comforting words and the boys would try to encourage him with remarks like, “Hang in there, ole man. It will be okay. Just wait and see.”
Doc Brown finally came out. “It is very serious,” he said. “The bullet is close to the heart and too deep for me to handle in a doctor’s office. We have to get her to a hospital and I suggest Birmingham. Right now, I have her stable, but I don’t even know if she will make it long enough to get to Birmingham. It will take some fast transportation — and prayer.”
“Somebody loan me a fast car, I will get here there,” volunteered Ted Walker.
“Good,” replied Doc Brown. “I will call the sheriff and see if I can get an escort since we do not have an ambulance service here — and this is an extreme emergency.”
The wheels were put into motion — the fast car — an excellent driver — an escort, with the sheriff of each adjoining county meeting the other at the county line until reaching the Blount County line where an ambulance from Oneonta would be waiting. The driver of that service had the reputation of being fast, even though Alabama Highway 75 was probably the curviest of any in the state. The entire route was chosen on the basis of having less traffic at that time of the night. Also, an ambulance assured quicker admittance to the emergency room.
Aunt Maudie rode with the patient, while Uncle Jed and Jake traveled in another car at a much slower pace. The pastor of the church was contacted, the church opened, and many of the community met to pray. Lizzie Jane had become a well-known and popular figure because she was always around to help others. Jack had remembered enough to tell of her climbing a straight wall without anything much to grasp and saving his life. Details and location of the cave and pit remained a secret between Jack, Steve, and Lizzie Jane.
Upon arrival at the hospital, Uncle Jed and Jake learned that Lizzie Jane had been admitted to ICU and in serious condition. They would not allow Jake in to see her because he was not a member of the family. Jake finally convinced them that he and Lizzie Jane were engaged to be married. The nurse raised her eyebrow, thinking about the age, but allowed Jake a chance to visit. The nurse did not know that it was an engagement that Lizzie Jane had not accepted.
Hours turned into days. Because of his deep love for Lizzie Jane, Jake stayed as close as he could. He had enough money for some cookies and soft drinks, but not much more. Another family, who had also a loved one in ICU, noticed Jake’s lack of food, so they invited him to join in their meals, which was brought often by another family member.
Jake’s bed consisted of a couch in the waiting area or a soft chair by the door. When he did get a chance to see Lizzie Jane, he was filled with sorrow -- to see the girl who had stolen his heart, appearing to be lifeless, with a tube in her nose, IV fluids flowing in each arm and wires attached to her body. He looked at the screen showing the activity of her heart, not understanding what it all meant. All he knew was that he might lose the girl he loved so dearly.
Jake would hold her hand, whispering sweet things to Lizzie Jane and sometimes it seemed that she heard and understood. He never left her side without tears blurring his vision and he had to feel his way back to the waiting area.
He cried -- he prayed -- he tried to bargain with God -- he walked the floor. He felt as if his heart would burst. He would jump every time a doctor entered the area with news about one of the patients.
Uncle Jed and Aunt Maudie had returned home, but through Doc Brown they kept up with Lizzie Jane’s condition. Aunt Maudie would have stayed with Jake, but her age prevented her from sitting in the waiting area with no place to go to rest. If only there were some relatives in Birmingham, things would have been much more convenient.
A week went by. Jake managed to bathe in the rest room, using paper towels and the small bars of soap the hospital furnished. He became exhausted with the hours — the days of waiting — hoping — praying for some miracle.
Then, it came. It was such a small miracle, but Lizzie Jane opened her eyes and smiled and tried to say, “Hi, Jake”, but it didn’t come out right. Jake whispered that he heard it and said, “I love you so much.” Lizzie Jane smiled again and her mouth tried to say, “I love you, too.” She closed her eyes in slumber, but that was enough for Jake to believe that a miracle had occurred.
Lizzie Jane continued to improve and a couple of days later, she was moved out of ICU and into a room with another girl. Jake continued regular visits until she was ready to go home. When Doc Brown came to get her, he saw a completely exhausted Jake, and said, “Boy, you had better get some rest when we get back.”
Still a little weak, Lizzie Jane laid down in the back seat with Jack in the front, checking the back seat every few seconds to see if Lizzie Jane was all right. Lizzie Jane saw him looking back and smiled. Doc Brown grinned. It was obvious that the love bug had bitten Jake.
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Copyright 2007 by Starla Anne Lowry
under the pen name of Billie Sue Pilgrim
This continues the romance between Jake and Lizzie Jane. How about the ones who are trying to kill Lizzie Jane? Well, you will have to read the story to find out. (smile)
Guns are not for Little Boys
Chapter 3
“You are still too weak, so you need to stay home,” ordered Aunt Maudie.
Lizzie Jane had gotten home from the hospital after recovering from a serious gunshot wound that had brought her close to death. She was not confined to bed, but Aunt Maudie forced her to rest more than she thought necessary.
Lizzie Jane was tired of resting. She wanted to go to the woods, so she could be among nature and do some soul searching. Finally, Aunt Maudie granted that desire with conditions — don’t go too far into the wood and just rest and think.
Lizzie Jane agreed, so she entered the forest and sat down under a tree. She watched the squirrels scampering from tree to tree for a few minutes, wishing that she could be among them. Then she observed the little bugs crawling among the rusty colored leaves and enjoyed the cool autumn breeze. It was not cold since the temperature was in the low 70’s and the sky was clear.
One thought controlled her mind — did she love Jake? She had only considered Jake a friend until the night she was shot. That was the night she experienced the loving caress of an admirer and the sweetness of her first romantic kiss.
Ah, that kiss! She had never experience anything like it — so marvelous — so awesome! Was this the first teenage crush of a young girl who had never known the affection of someone special?
There wasn’t any doubt that Jake loved her. He proved his devotion by his presence at the hospital when his beloved lay helpless between life and death.
She could not deny that she had fallen in love with Jake, but was it as sudden as it seemed? Was her love there all the time, or had she fought against the inevitable -- an honest admittance of her true feelings?
Whatever the answer, the one thing she knew — she loved Jake now. Was there anything wrong with letting love reign over her life for the present time? She was only thirteen and Jake was just a little older — she wasn’t sure how much. What would it harm to be sweethearts for the present and let the future take care of itself? However, it was true that in the community most girls were married before they reached seventeen — most getting married at sixteen years of age. That meant that, according to custom, she had only three years.
So, three years to decide — three years to discover her heart’s desire. For a young person, three years was a long time. Yes — that should be long enough and, if she decided against marriage at that time, that would be enough time to arrive at a sensible conclusion.
It would have suited Lizzie Jane to linger in the forest for awhile longer, but she realized that Aunt Maudie would begin to worry, so she lazily strolled back home.
When she arrived, Jake was sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee and talking to Uncle Jed. Seeing Lizzie Jane, he remarked, “We thought the bears had gotcha.”
“Nope,” replied Lizzie Jane. “Ain’t scared of bears. In fact, they are afraid of me.”
Strange that she had not noticed it before, but sitting there with a smile on his face, Jake had those rough, manly good looks. He certainly would be a good ‘catch’ for any girl.
Jake walked Lizzie Jane to the front porch where they could sit on the swing and talk for a few minutes. Uncle Jed motioned to Aunt Maudie and pointed toward the young couple. They both smiled, thinking that maybe Cupid had made a call and a future marriage could be in the works.
“I just wanted to see you. I am going to have to help my Dad load some watermelons to carry to market, but I would not be around until tomorrow — and tomorrow is a long way off,” said Jake. “I want you to know I love you and every moment away from you is pure torture.”
Lizzie Jane had never thought she would say this to a boy, but she returned with “I love you, too — with all my little heart.”
Jake smiled, embraced her, and planted a sweet kiss on her lips. This time, it was more than a ‘first kiss’. It was the kiss of lovers — so heavenly that Lizzie Jane thought she could hear angelic bells ringing. Jake smiled and held her hand, observing her charming eyes. One more kiss and he would have to leave.
“Well, I have got to go. Remember, I won’t see you tonight, maybe tomorrow.” They dropped hands and, after that last entrancing kiss, Jake stepped off the porch.
Lizzie Jane said, “Wait just a minute.” She ran and found a locket that had belonged to her mother. It was silver with gold plating and had inscribed, ‘With all my Love’. It had been given her mother by one of her suitors. He did not live up to the saying, but Lizzie Jane’s mother loved him with all her heart and kept it close to her until her death. It was from Lizzie Jane’s father.
“I want you to have this as a token of my love,” Lizzie Jane said as she handed the precious item to Jake. “I know it is kinda sissy, but it is my most cherished possession.”
“I will cherish it always,” said Jake as he placed the boxed item in his pocket. “I will hang it in my room over the dresser to always make me think of you.”
Jake turned and began to walk away. After a few steps, he turned back and waved. Lizzie Jane returned his wave and watched him until he was out of sight.
“Now — to bed with you, young lady. You have been up too long and you need your rest,” ordered Aunt Maudie.
“But, Aunt Maudie, I am okay. Betcha I can climb a tree and if you let me, I will show you,” fussed Lizzie Jane.
“No! It is not necessary for you to climb trees. Now, if it was necessary, I might have second thoughts,” laughed Aunt Maudie.
“Well, okay,” sighed Lizzie Jane, as she covered herself with a quilt that was made from various pieces of cloth. It seemed cool enough to have some cover.
As she entered slumber land, she began to dream of Jake — of marriage — of about a dozen children, all belonging to her — 6 boys and 6 girls. They formed a baseball team with the oldest being manager. The two youngest, three and four year old girls, wore little purple and gold cheerleader uniforms with the image of a bulldog on the front, jumping up and down in their little short skirts hollering, “Yea, team”. After baseball practice, the entire brood would swing through the trees, screaming “I-ou-I”.
Lizzie Jane awoke, thinking of what a silly dream that was. Her thoughts turned to how much fun it might be to teach her children about the forest and how to swing from limb to limb. As she began to think about broken arms and broken legs, she considered shelving that idea.
As Lizzie Jane lay there considering her future with Jake, Aunt Maudie peeked into the room as she walked by. “Oh, I see you are awake.”
“This was delivered a short time ago, but I did not want to wake you,” said Aunt Maudie as she handed Lizzie Jane a package.
Excited about receiving a gift, Lizzie Jane hastily opened it. But, instead of a gift, she received a shock. Inside was her locket that she had given Jake a few hours earlier with a note that read: “Pocahontas, we have your boy friend. If you love him, you will meet us at the cave. If you bring the law, we will kill him before they get there and we will disappear quickly. We will be watching.”
She handed the note to Aunt Maudie. She looked at Lizzie Jane and asked, “What does this mean?”
Lizzie Jane explained. “It means that the man who has been trying to kill me has kidnapped Jake. I know where the cave is. It is a secret place that very few know about. If I don’t go, they will kill Jake. If I do go, they will kill both of us. I guess they think I can identify them. They are doing something that is against the law.”
“Why haven’t you told all this to the sheriff?” asked Aunt Maudie. “He has been investigating the shooting.”
“Because I promised to keep the location of the cave a secret,” explained Lizzie Jane. “It is a secret meeting place for two boys I know.”
“One of the boy is Jack, isn’t it — and you rescued him from the cave?” asked Aunt Maudie.
“Yes — Oh, what can I do? I cannot tell the sheriff now. He will go tramping in there and they will kill Jake,” Lizzie Jane sadly answered.
Speechless, Aunt Maudie just stood there. Lizzie Jane began to think.
“There is only one thing to do. I will have to go and rescue Jake myself,” Lizzie Jane said suddenly.
“You cannot do that. You are just a thirteen year old girl,” answered Aunt Maudie.
“Yes, I can — just like I rescued Christie in the jungle,” answered Lizzie Jane.
Aunt Maudie had not heard that part of her adventure, but based on Lizzie Jane’s previous adventures that she knew about, she did not doubt anything. “But dear, you are too weak." She was trying to discourge Lizzie Jane from such a wild idea.
“No, I am NOT too weak,” argued Lizzie Jane. “I told you I can climb a tree and you said that if it was necessary, you would consider letting me. Now it is necessary,” firmly confirmed Lizzie Jane.
“I cannot allow it!” exclaimed Aunt Maudie. “I think the sheriff should handle this and I am going to call him right now. I will not give you permission to get killed. I never could forgive myself!”
“And I could never forgive myself if I let Jake be killed without trying to save him,” exclaimed a much determined Lizzie Jane.
“I WILL NOT allow it, young lady!” With that, Aunt Maudie slammed the door on her way out.
“She is going to call the sheriff. He will get Jake killed, sure ‘nuff,” thought Lizzie Jane.
She had only disobeyed the authority over her once and she was kidnapped that time, but she had to take another chance this time. She just HAD to.
She put on shorts and a tee shirt, grabbed her archery set from the closet and her hunting knife from the chest of drawers that she had hidden under some clothing, and climbed out the upstairs window. From the ledge, she climbed to the roof of the house, walked over to a tree growing near the back and leaped. She barely caught a limb because of the distance, but thankfully she made it. Looking down, she saw that it was a long way to the ground. She descended the tree and ran across a field, out of sight from Uncle Jed’s house.
She stopped to consider the note. It said that if she brought the law, Jake would be killed before they got there. That meant that the murderers would be somewhere watching to see who entered the forest, but where would they be situated? She thought of a barn that was a short distance from the entrance to the forest that lead to the cave, so that would be the first place to investigate.
She ran across fields to the farm where the barn was located, but soon realized how weak she really was. She was not as swift and had to stop too many times to rest. Nearing the barn, she entered the site from a small hill, opposite the side facing the forest. Climbing a tree close to the barn, she entered the loft, visibly searching the barn, and, observing no one, she turned her attention to the forest.
A person could position himself near the edge of the forest so that he could see the entire field and observe anyone entering. That meant that Lizzie Jane would have to enter the forest from another area and work her way to the cave. It would take a little longer, but it would be safer.
Staying behind the hill, she circled her way around the field and entered the woods unseen. She climbed a tree and made her way through the trees by jumping and swinging from limb to limb, but that also verified how weak she had become. She stopped to rest often, but knew she had to continue. A man’s life who could possibly be her future husband was at stake.
She had a strong ‘gut’ feeling that she should arrive at the cave from the rear. Not knowing why, she circled around from behind and carefully worked her way to the cave. No one was anywhere close to the area, so she eased on past the cave entrance.
Finally, she saw Jake tied to a small tree. No one else was around. He had been placed in plain sight for a decoy, so that she could not determine the location of the murderers. They had to be located somewhere that would give them a clear shot at both Lizzie Jane and Jake.
She climbed a little higher in the tree. She had become accustomed to jumping and swinging from limb to limb, no matter how high a tree happened to be. Carefully observing her surroundings, she noticed a deer stand that contained one man with a rifle. In case he missed, he was in a position to shoot hundreds of yards through the woods.
“Very smart crooks,” though Lizzie Jane, “but I am a little smarter — I think.”
He was holding the weapon in his right hand so that he could put it to his shoulder and aim at his target quickly. Lizzie Jane thought, “How convenient. Just right to drop it.”
She took an arrow from her quiver and aimed at the man’s right shoulder. Her aim was perfect as it hit the designated spot. He did not drop the rifle, but instead brought his other arm around to grab at the shoulder. Quickly, she pulled out another arrow and aimed at his other shoulder — and again — it hit the target. That caused him to drop the rifle.
She shot another arrow, hitting him in the upper part of his right leg. That caused him to tumble from the deer stand. While he was on the ground rolling in pain, from the arrows in his body and the bodily damage from the fall — possible broken bones — Lizzie Jane quickly descended from her lofty perch. With her hunting knife, she quickly cut the ropes from Jake and used just enough rope to secure the murderer to another tree.
Seeing him scream in pain, she replied coldly, “Don’t worry. I will send help — the sheriff!” She produced a wicked smile — something unusual for Lizzie Jane. She added, “Maybe you will learn that guns are not for little boys.”
She told Jake to follow far enough behind her so he could not be seen. She went up a tree again and, from limb to limb, she made her way to the entrance of the forest. Just as she expected, the other man was behind some bushes with a good view of the field with a walkie-talkie.
It only took one arrow to disable him to the extend that Lizzie Jane could use the rest of the rope to tie him to a tree. Jake came in sight, saw what had happened, and remarked, “What kind of girl am I in love with?”
“Honey, just a good ole jungle gal,” she said with a smile. Someday she would have to tell him about killing a Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur when she was ten years old.
Arm in arm they walked to the road where they would flag down an automobile and let the sheriff know he had two dangerous desperadoes tied to trees in the woods, but bring Doc Brown. They will need him — very much.
-The End
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Copyright 2007 by Starla Anne Lowry
Under the pen name of Billie Sue Pilgrim
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Guns are not for Little Boys
Epilogue
This is not a story in itself, just something to tie up the loose ends of "Guns are not for Little Boys". It is very short.
The sheriff did check out Lizzie Jane and Jake’s story and found two men tied to trees with serious wounds. Doc Brown had brought along his bag, so he patched up the counterfeiters as best as he could.
The sheriff considered arresting Lizzie Jane for deserting the wounded men in distress, but decided that she did the right thing in seeking help for them by requesting Doc Brown’s assistance. Also, upon investigation and finding out the men were not only counterfeiters, but also murderers, that put a “feather in his cap”.
Lizzie Jane was in trouble at home. She definitely had been too weak to go off on a rescue mission, so she was confined to home and bed for the next few weeks. Secretly, Aunt Maudie and Doc Brown were pleased that she disobeyed their order since two lives were eventually saved — first, Jake — and later, Lizzie Jane, herself. She was also informed that she was not a super heroine, but a smart one — and to that, she agreed.
However, Lizzie Jane was not lonesome. She had a regular visitor — Jake.
Oh yes, after swearing him to secrecy, she did tell about her trip back into time, killing the T-Rex and rescuing Christie. Since he had noticed her physical changes, he believed it. He wondered what would happen to her next — meet Big Foot??
(Personally, I think love is in the air right now.)
Love,
Billie Sue Pilgrim