Fic: I Tell You
It was one of those prairie storms, you know the kind, the kind that just pops up out of nowhere? Anyway, it was hot that night. Even the wind was hot, and we were out in the field when it picked up, and there wasn’t really any time to run for the car, so we dove into the storm cellar out back behind the old barn because there had been an awful lot of twisters that summer and the sky had that feeling, you know, like pressure, like somethin’ big was comin’ on.
So like I said, we dove in there and it was just in time, I guess, because there was this noise like a freight train - and I’d never been through a twister myself but folks always say they sound like freight trains - and then the whole sky cut loose and it was rainin’ to beat the devil. And Jerry, he was worried that we like to have drowned down there, because people do that, you know, drown in storm cellars ‘cos of flash floods and the like - so we found us a few slickers and waited until the train sounded like it’d gone by and went on ahead to try to make our way to the truck.
It was slow going because the rain was falling so hard, I mean damn, straight sideways like it was trying to blow us over - and I lost track of Jerry in it, but he had a flashlight - I’m telling you it was only about four o’clock but it was darker than the inside of a sinner’s black heart, my momma always used to say, God rest her soul - and anyway I figured Jerry’d make it to the truck alright with the flashlight but I’d got kind of turned around, and I took a wrong turn, I guess, but I ended up in the tall grass of that old cowboy cemetery next door.
Anyway, I thought I saw a light and I didn’t know yet I’d turned wrong and I figured it was Jerry with the truck, and so I went to it, and - the rain stopped. And I was standin’ there with it pourin’ off my slicker and beadin’ in my shoes and everything, and it was all around me still but where I was standin’ it was bone dry. And I tell you, I was pretty scared by that, figurin’ it was like, the eye or whatnot and we was really in the middle of some kind of hurricane - and the freight train noise had been gone a while but all around there was a bunch of lightnin’, big loud ones that make you jump out of your skin, you know the kind.
So anyway, I was in that tall grass, like I said, and without the rain I could see okay because of the lights - it was still dark all around, of course - and it turned out the light was comin’ from this section of grass that was on fire. And I couldn’t figure for the life of me how a fire was still burnin’ in all that rain, but I forgot that pretty quick after because - and you won’t believe this, I tell you - in the middle of the fire there was a guy.
Go on, laugh all you want. I ain’t lyin’. Hey, bartender, two more, please. That’s right.
Now, where was I. Oh yeah, the guy. Ok, first off, I don’t mean the guy was on fire. I mean there was grass on fire around the guy, and - don’t look at me like that, you’re the one assumin’ - and he was layin’ there on this burnt patch of grass, like, I mean, my first thought was, holy shit this dude’s been hit by lightning.
So I don’t know how long - thanks, sweetheart, that’ll be all for now - how long the eye is gonna hold, right, and I don’t know where Jerry is with the truck but I can see a gravestone off a ways and I know we ain’t in my field no more. So I run over to the guy and he’s flat unconscious, which isn’t really any kind of surprise since, you know, lightning.
Anyway, I check his pulse, right, like they do on those doctor shows on tv? And I feel somethin’, sure enough, but his skin, man, it was ice cold. And I ain’t talkin’ like he got rained on for a long time cold, I mean, I had to pull my hand away because I thought I might freeze to him kind of cold. But he was breathin’ - don’t ask me how - and so I grabbed him by his jacket to try to shake him and wake him up because I tell you, this dude was huge, I mean - I can haul probably about two hundred pounds of hay by myself, I ain’t no slouch - but this guy must have been damn near seven foot, and thick, built like a freakin’ tree trunk, and with all the wind and mud and rain there was just no way I was gettin’ him outta there myself.
What was the other thing I … oh, right. So, ok, when I grab his jacket? It’s dry. I mean, bone dry. I reckoned maybe all the wet got zapped off of the guy when he got hit by lightning, I don’t know, what would you have thought if you were me?
So I put my hand on his chest to try to see if he’s breathin’, because on those shows they say just because someone’s got a pulse don’t mean they’re breathin’, especially if they got hit by lightning, or whatever. And so I checked, and it didn’t seem like he was. I didn’t know how he could be, all frozen like that, anyway, so I did some chest compressions and I tell you, he took this giant gasping breath and I nearly crapped my pants I was so surprised.
And he sat up and he grabbed my wrist, like, grip of freakin’ steel, and I’m like ‘Hey buddy, it’s ok, calm down, you just got hit by lightning,’ and he was not lookin’ at me at all, but he was hanging on to me sure enough and he was breathing, like - well, he looked like when you wake up from a really bad dream, you know? And you don’t know what’s real and what ain’t? Anyway, I didn’t really know what to do then, because this dude was freaked, and he was huge, like I said, and anyway, I didn’t want to piss him off or panic him worse or anything, so I just kept talking, like ‘Hey man, can you hear me?’ and that sort of thing, and it took a minute but he started blinking, and his shoulders dropped a little, and he started shaking all over, teeth chattering together and the whole bit, because like I said, he was damn near frozen when I found him.
He looked at me then, and I guess it was the sky and it bein’ dark, or maybe it was some of the grass that was still on fire, but his eyes were empty. I don’t know how else to describe it, and the flames were reflecting in them I guess, I don’t know why else they would have … but anyway, it was only for a second, and he let go of my hand and curled over, trying to hunch down farther into his jacket I guess, because he was shaking so bad.
What color were they really? I don’t know … green, I guess.
Now what was I - oh, I forgot - sometime after he started breathing, the storm just … stopped. I don’t know, I guess I was too busy trying to do that CPR, or whatever it’s called, to notice. Anyway I asked him his name and he just shook and shook and then he shook his head, and I said ok, not to worry about it and I took off my slicker and wrapped it around him and asked him if he thought he could walk, and he tried to stand up, he really did, but his legs just gave out and there was no way I could get him off the ground by myself.
So right then I heard somebody calling my name and thank God, man, thank God it was Jerry with the flashlight - it was clearing up fast but it was still kind of dark anyway - and I hollered to him to come over and the guy, his head snapped up so fast I had to dive for his shoulders to keep him from losing his balance, and he looked freaked again, and I told him ‘Hey, it’s ok, it’s just Jerry - he’s my brother.’ And it was weird but the guy kind of froze, and then he stared down at his hands, and then he sort of nodded to himself, and some of the shaking stopped.
I don’t know, man, I’m just telling it like I remember it.
So Jerry’s bigger than me, and I told him real fast that this guy had got himself hit by lightning, and Jerry’s got more experience with emergencies than me, and he checked the guy out, assessed him or whatever, and between the two of us we got him up and back to the truck in no time.
And that must have been a hell of a storm, too, because on the way back it was like everything was leveled. I mean, as a twister goes it must have been a four or an eight or however they grade them, because out from the middle where I found that guy? Every single tree was down. I told you it was a strong sideways rain, didn’t I? That guy is lucky to be alive, I tell you.
What? No, that was the weird thing. By the time we got him back to the truck - Jerry has a first aid kit for accidents that happen around the farm and such - he’d gone real still and we thought maybe he was in shock, I mean, don’t people go into shock when they get hit by lightning? I think I would. So Jerry checked his temp, and it was normal.
I guess maybe it was me that was cold, that first time I touched him, since I was so soaking wet and everything. People shake from shock, I think. That’s probably all it was.
Hmm?
No, you know what, we never did find that out. No matter what we asked him, he just shook his head. And since he didn’t have any ID or anything, and he didn’t have any burns or bruises or anything, we couldn’t really take him to the E.R., now could we? I mean, I guess we could have dropped him with the cops, but we looked online and he didn’t seem to be a missing person. Jerry’s got a big guest house out back - I know it sounds weird, but we just let him stay for a few weeks.
Most folks probably wouldn’ta done that, but … well, and don’t get me wrong, I really - there was something dangerous about this guy. I’ve been around lots of soldiers, and I even seen a few hunters that could even hold their own, and I can tell by the way they move, how they carry themselves - this guy knew his stuff. I learned that once, tryin’ to wake him up in the morning too early. And he never did say … well, he never did say much of anything. But he wouldn’t have hurt Jerry and me, not on purpose.
I don’t know, we just knew he wouldn’t have. It was in his eyes, I guess. He just looked real lost, first few days. I don’t know, there was something important about him.
Maybe he was a spy or something, hell, anything’s possible.
Anyway, he was quiet but he really helped a lot around the place - that storm must have knocked out a lot of the lines or something because we had electrical problems for about 3 days, and he turned out to be pretty handy with that kind of thing. He even fixed that old junker car we had out back, and I never thought I’d see the day that thing would run again.
Sometimes at night I’d catch him out there starin’ at the stars and fiddling kind of distracted-like at this weird metal piece he wore around his neck, looking like he was trying to unlock some kind of puzzle.
It was probably the second week he started talking. It wasn’t much different, really. He’d got on pretty well before that without it - talked a lot with his eyes and his shoulders, if that makes sense - and the first time I heard his voice I remember I was surprised, because I expected it to be deeper but not nearly as old.
No, he didn’t remember.
He thanked us for havin’ him and he said he might be back around someday to return the favor, if that was alright, but he felt like he needed to be movin’ on. We’d bought him a few sets of clothes but he didn’t have any money, so I paid him for all his help. He tried to turn me down, but I told him electricians were expensive and I’d have spent it anyway, and I didn’t want to hear a no from him. We gave him that old car, too - man can’t get very far on his own two feet, Jerry said - and he was overwhelmed but he didn’t argue, he just took it, like maybe he wasn’t really that surprised after all. Grinned a little and said he guessed it was fate and that made him feel bitter but he couldn’t place why.
Only saw it once, but he had a real kind smile.
We asked where he was going and he shrugged and said, ‘Home’, and we asked where he thought that was and he said he didn’t remember, but he’d know when he found it.
Jerry begged him to stay, but he was sure it was time to move on, and when a man gets that feelin’, there ain’t no stopping him.
He didn’t have a phone, but we gave him our number. He’s called twice, to check in. I can’t help it, I kind of worry about that kid. Did I mention before he was a kid? He was. Couldn’ta been more than 30. That’s a kid in my book, even if he never acted at all like one. Nah, I don’t know where he’d be right now. He was in different states both times he called.
What? Well, sure, I guess. You got a pen?
Like I said, I don’t know when he’ll call, but if you think you know him - you’re bein’ straight with me, right, because like I said, Jerry and me, we got real attached to that kid and we won’t take kindly to anyone offerin’ him harm, you get my -
Oh. Oh, Jesus, why didn’t you just say so in the first place? Yeah, I’ll tell him, don’t you worry about that. Oh, shit, man, I had no idea. Hey, are you alright?
Ma’am, I’m sorry, can we get another -?
Aww, man, no way. I told you, it just was important. I don’t need - well if you gotta give me somethin’, here, just … what was his name? Tell me that, and we’re even.
Sammy?
Yeah. That’s him. I’m sure of it.
So like I said, we dove in there and it was just in time, I guess, because there was this noise like a freight train - and I’d never been through a twister myself but folks always say they sound like freight trains - and then the whole sky cut loose and it was rainin’ to beat the devil. And Jerry, he was worried that we like to have drowned down there, because people do that, you know, drown in storm cellars ‘cos of flash floods and the like - so we found us a few slickers and waited until the train sounded like it’d gone by and went on ahead to try to make our way to the truck.
It was slow going because the rain was falling so hard, I mean damn, straight sideways like it was trying to blow us over - and I lost track of Jerry in it, but he had a flashlight - I’m telling you it was only about four o’clock but it was darker than the inside of a sinner’s black heart, my momma always used to say, God rest her soul - and anyway I figured Jerry’d make it to the truck alright with the flashlight but I’d got kind of turned around, and I took a wrong turn, I guess, but I ended up in the tall grass of that old cowboy cemetery next door.
Anyway, I thought I saw a light and I didn’t know yet I’d turned wrong and I figured it was Jerry with the truck, and so I went to it, and - the rain stopped. And I was standin’ there with it pourin’ off my slicker and beadin’ in my shoes and everything, and it was all around me still but where I was standin’ it was bone dry. And I tell you, I was pretty scared by that, figurin’ it was like, the eye or whatnot and we was really in the middle of some kind of hurricane - and the freight train noise had been gone a while but all around there was a bunch of lightnin’, big loud ones that make you jump out of your skin, you know the kind.
So anyway, I was in that tall grass, like I said, and without the rain I could see okay because of the lights - it was still dark all around, of course - and it turned out the light was comin’ from this section of grass that was on fire. And I couldn’t figure for the life of me how a fire was still burnin’ in all that rain, but I forgot that pretty quick after because - and you won’t believe this, I tell you - in the middle of the fire there was a guy.
Go on, laugh all you want. I ain’t lyin’. Hey, bartender, two more, please. That’s right.
Now, where was I. Oh yeah, the guy. Ok, first off, I don’t mean the guy was on fire. I mean there was grass on fire around the guy, and - don’t look at me like that, you’re the one assumin’ - and he was layin’ there on this burnt patch of grass, like, I mean, my first thought was, holy shit this dude’s been hit by lightning.
So I don’t know how long - thanks, sweetheart, that’ll be all for now - how long the eye is gonna hold, right, and I don’t know where Jerry is with the truck but I can see a gravestone off a ways and I know we ain’t in my field no more. So I run over to the guy and he’s flat unconscious, which isn’t really any kind of surprise since, you know, lightning.
Anyway, I check his pulse, right, like they do on those doctor shows on tv? And I feel somethin’, sure enough, but his skin, man, it was ice cold. And I ain’t talkin’ like he got rained on for a long time cold, I mean, I had to pull my hand away because I thought I might freeze to him kind of cold. But he was breathin’ - don’t ask me how - and so I grabbed him by his jacket to try to shake him and wake him up because I tell you, this dude was huge, I mean - I can haul probably about two hundred pounds of hay by myself, I ain’t no slouch - but this guy must have been damn near seven foot, and thick, built like a freakin’ tree trunk, and with all the wind and mud and rain there was just no way I was gettin’ him outta there myself.
What was the other thing I … oh, right. So, ok, when I grab his jacket? It’s dry. I mean, bone dry. I reckoned maybe all the wet got zapped off of the guy when he got hit by lightning, I don’t know, what would you have thought if you were me?
So I put my hand on his chest to try to see if he’s breathin’, because on those shows they say just because someone’s got a pulse don’t mean they’re breathin’, especially if they got hit by lightning, or whatever. And so I checked, and it didn’t seem like he was. I didn’t know how he could be, all frozen like that, anyway, so I did some chest compressions and I tell you, he took this giant gasping breath and I nearly crapped my pants I was so surprised.
And he sat up and he grabbed my wrist, like, grip of freakin’ steel, and I’m like ‘Hey buddy, it’s ok, calm down, you just got hit by lightning,’ and he was not lookin’ at me at all, but he was hanging on to me sure enough and he was breathing, like - well, he looked like when you wake up from a really bad dream, you know? And you don’t know what’s real and what ain’t? Anyway, I didn’t really know what to do then, because this dude was freaked, and he was huge, like I said, and anyway, I didn’t want to piss him off or panic him worse or anything, so I just kept talking, like ‘Hey man, can you hear me?’ and that sort of thing, and it took a minute but he started blinking, and his shoulders dropped a little, and he started shaking all over, teeth chattering together and the whole bit, because like I said, he was damn near frozen when I found him.
He looked at me then, and I guess it was the sky and it bein’ dark, or maybe it was some of the grass that was still on fire, but his eyes were empty. I don’t know how else to describe it, and the flames were reflecting in them I guess, I don’t know why else they would have … but anyway, it was only for a second, and he let go of my hand and curled over, trying to hunch down farther into his jacket I guess, because he was shaking so bad.
What color were they really? I don’t know … green, I guess.
Now what was I - oh, I forgot - sometime after he started breathing, the storm just … stopped. I don’t know, I guess I was too busy trying to do that CPR, or whatever it’s called, to notice. Anyway I asked him his name and he just shook and shook and then he shook his head, and I said ok, not to worry about it and I took off my slicker and wrapped it around him and asked him if he thought he could walk, and he tried to stand up, he really did, but his legs just gave out and there was no way I could get him off the ground by myself.
So right then I heard somebody calling my name and thank God, man, thank God it was Jerry with the flashlight - it was clearing up fast but it was still kind of dark anyway - and I hollered to him to come over and the guy, his head snapped up so fast I had to dive for his shoulders to keep him from losing his balance, and he looked freaked again, and I told him ‘Hey, it’s ok, it’s just Jerry - he’s my brother.’ And it was weird but the guy kind of froze, and then he stared down at his hands, and then he sort of nodded to himself, and some of the shaking stopped.
I don’t know, man, I’m just telling it like I remember it.
So Jerry’s bigger than me, and I told him real fast that this guy had got himself hit by lightning, and Jerry’s got more experience with emergencies than me, and he checked the guy out, assessed him or whatever, and between the two of us we got him up and back to the truck in no time.
And that must have been a hell of a storm, too, because on the way back it was like everything was leveled. I mean, as a twister goes it must have been a four or an eight or however they grade them, because out from the middle where I found that guy? Every single tree was down. I told you it was a strong sideways rain, didn’t I? That guy is lucky to be alive, I tell you.
What? No, that was the weird thing. By the time we got him back to the truck - Jerry has a first aid kit for accidents that happen around the farm and such - he’d gone real still and we thought maybe he was in shock, I mean, don’t people go into shock when they get hit by lightning? I think I would. So Jerry checked his temp, and it was normal.
I guess maybe it was me that was cold, that first time I touched him, since I was so soaking wet and everything. People shake from shock, I think. That’s probably all it was.
Hmm?
No, you know what, we never did find that out. No matter what we asked him, he just shook his head. And since he didn’t have any ID or anything, and he didn’t have any burns or bruises or anything, we couldn’t really take him to the E.R., now could we? I mean, I guess we could have dropped him with the cops, but we looked online and he didn’t seem to be a missing person. Jerry’s got a big guest house out back - I know it sounds weird, but we just let him stay for a few weeks.
Most folks probably wouldn’ta done that, but … well, and don’t get me wrong, I really - there was something dangerous about this guy. I’ve been around lots of soldiers, and I even seen a few hunters that could even hold their own, and I can tell by the way they move, how they carry themselves - this guy knew his stuff. I learned that once, tryin’ to wake him up in the morning too early. And he never did say … well, he never did say much of anything. But he wouldn’t have hurt Jerry and me, not on purpose.
I don’t know, we just knew he wouldn’t have. It was in his eyes, I guess. He just looked real lost, first few days. I don’t know, there was something important about him.
Maybe he was a spy or something, hell, anything’s possible.
Anyway, he was quiet but he really helped a lot around the place - that storm must have knocked out a lot of the lines or something because we had electrical problems for about 3 days, and he turned out to be pretty handy with that kind of thing. He even fixed that old junker car we had out back, and I never thought I’d see the day that thing would run again.
Sometimes at night I’d catch him out there starin’ at the stars and fiddling kind of distracted-like at this weird metal piece he wore around his neck, looking like he was trying to unlock some kind of puzzle.
It was probably the second week he started talking. It wasn’t much different, really. He’d got on pretty well before that without it - talked a lot with his eyes and his shoulders, if that makes sense - and the first time I heard his voice I remember I was surprised, because I expected it to be deeper but not nearly as old.
No, he didn’t remember.
He thanked us for havin’ him and he said he might be back around someday to return the favor, if that was alright, but he felt like he needed to be movin’ on. We’d bought him a few sets of clothes but he didn’t have any money, so I paid him for all his help. He tried to turn me down, but I told him electricians were expensive and I’d have spent it anyway, and I didn’t want to hear a no from him. We gave him that old car, too - man can’t get very far on his own two feet, Jerry said - and he was overwhelmed but he didn’t argue, he just took it, like maybe he wasn’t really that surprised after all. Grinned a little and said he guessed it was fate and that made him feel bitter but he couldn’t place why.
Only saw it once, but he had a real kind smile.
We asked where he was going and he shrugged and said, ‘Home’, and we asked where he thought that was and he said he didn’t remember, but he’d know when he found it.
Jerry begged him to stay, but he was sure it was time to move on, and when a man gets that feelin’, there ain’t no stopping him.
He didn’t have a phone, but we gave him our number. He’s called twice, to check in. I can’t help it, I kind of worry about that kid. Did I mention before he was a kid? He was. Couldn’ta been more than 30. That’s a kid in my book, even if he never acted at all like one. Nah, I don’t know where he’d be right now. He was in different states both times he called.
What? Well, sure, I guess. You got a pen?
Like I said, I don’t know when he’ll call, but if you think you know him - you’re bein’ straight with me, right, because like I said, Jerry and me, we got real attached to that kid and we won’t take kindly to anyone offerin’ him harm, you get my -
Oh. Oh, Jesus, why didn’t you just say so in the first place? Yeah, I’ll tell him, don’t you worry about that. Oh, shit, man, I had no idea. Hey, are you alright?
Ma’am, I’m sorry, can we get another -?
Aww, man, no way. I told you, it just was important. I don’t need - well if you gotta give me somethin’, here, just … what was his name? Tell me that, and we’re even.
Sammy?
Yeah. That’s him. I’m sure of it.