“Fuck!” I yelled as I went through. When I hit the ground, I rolled out of the way as I figured the fridge would be coming down after me. Alan surprised me, though, and held on to it. He later told me that he had still had it on the step above and was able to pull it back up onto the screened in porch.

I tried to get up, but couldn’t. My foot that was already broken from crashing my car was hurting like hell. I looked at myself and could see blood pouring down my left arm. There was a long gash on the outside starting a couple inches below the elbow and ending at my wrist. I wondered if a nail had done it.

Alan was beside me in a minute. “Sorry, Julia, I had to get that fridge back up before coming down here. Let me look at you. “Oh my!” he said when he saw the cut. He took his shirt off and ripped it into strips. Then he wound them around my arm, covering the gash and putting some pressure on it to hopefully stop the bleeding. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”

“My foot, I think I re-broke it.”

“I’ll look at it in a minute. Let’s get you moved.” He helped me up and then picked me up and carried me to the truck. “I’m taking you back to the fire hall to look at you”, he said as he opened the door and set me down on the seat.

“My crutches! I need them!”

“I’ll get them before we go.”

Back at the fire station, Alan carried me into the kitchen and set me down on one of the narrow tables. He’d moved the other one out of the way since there was only two of us. He took my boot off, then my sock and the wrap and felt around my foot. “Ouch!” I yelled and tried to pull my foot out of his grasp.

“Sorry, Julia. I have to see if the broken bone is still in place and check for any new injuries. I really wish we had an X-ray machine here.”

“We can get the portable one from that vet clinic.”

“You’d have to go with me as I don’t know what goes with it.”

“I can do that.”

“Problem is, it seems the bone is out of place again. It hasn’t really had a chance to start healing. I’m going to reset it and stitch you up, then I’m going to go to that hospital and get casting materials.”

“Oh, no! No cast!”

“I have to. If you had pins in it, I wouldn’t need to, but I can’t do that here without an anesthesiologist.”

“Just freeze the foot.”

“That is not how it’s done. I could do a spinal block, but you would need to be monitored. Besides, I’m not an orthopedic surgeon. While I know how to pin a simple fracture, it’s not my area of specialty, so I shouldn’t be doing it.”

“Ok, I’ll just call the nearest orthopedic surgeon, I’m sure he or she will rush right over.”

“Very funny, Julia.”

“I’m serious, though, Alan. No cast. If you go looking for the materials, you might find I’m not here when you get back.”

“You wouldn’t get far.”

“Don’t underestimate me.”

“I’ll take your crutches and wheelchair with me.”

“I’ll crawl on my hands and knees if I have to. All I have to do is find the closest car with keys in or on it. Lots of people hide a spare one in a wheel well. I used to.”

“Something tells me you really would do that.”

“Darn right I would.”

“Well, no need to do that. I’m not going to force a cast on you. So, relax. Now, I’m going to get the other table and push it up against this one. You can stretch your arm out onto it and that will make it easier for me to clean it and stitch it up.” After getting set up, he poured antiseptic solution all along the cut. “When was your last tetanus shot?” he asked.

“About four years ago.”

“I’ll look for some tetanus vaccine when we go to get that X-ray machine. With a deep gash like this, you should have a booster. I’m suspecting a nail did it and it might have been rusty.”

“I was thinking the same thing.”

“I’m going to spray the wound with a topical anesthetic, then I‘ll freeze it with lidocaine. Unfortunately, due to the length of the cut, it will be a few injections.”

I winced as I felt the sting of the needle entering my wound over and over, though I was sure it would have been worse without the Lidocaine. In a few minutes, I wasn’t feeling anything and Alan began to sew it up.

“This could have been so much worse”, he said as he stitched my cut. “I’m glad I didn’t drop that fridge.”

“Me, too! Now we have to fix those steps.”

“No, we don’t. We can use the front door or find another farm to move to. I wouldn’t know how to begin to fix them.”

“I do, but I’m not sure I can do it right now.”

“You can’t. You *have* to start keeping off that foot, Julia.”

“It would be a lot easier if we were in the middle of winter with nothing to do. But we need to get ready for the cold weather. We have to find firewood, see if we can get oil for the furnace somewhere, and I wanted to find an apple orchard. That will be the only fresh fruit we’ll have until next summer.”

“I know, Julia, and I will do as much as I can. We’re done for today, though.”

“I thought you wanted to get that X-ray machine and some tetanus vaccine?

“Oh, right, I do. Well, you won’t need to do anything. Just show me what to put in the car - or truck.”

“Let’s take the pickup that’s at the farm - if we can find a key and if it will start. It’s a lot smaller and easier to drive.”

“Yes, and I can drive it.”

A couple hours later, we were back at the fire station. We’d found a key to the truck and used it to bring the portable X-ray machine back in. Alan had found tetanus vaccine and some other things he wanted. I had no idea what survivors would do once the vaccines’ shelf life ran out. Tetanus shots are good for 10 years and I figured that with my cardiomyopathy, I might not be alive to worry about needing another booster, but if there were other people alive, they’d be screwed. At least they would know to keep wounds clean and to wash their hands before dressing them, unlike people a couple hundred years ago.

With my guidance, Alan set the machine up in the office and got it ready. I put my foot down on the plate. “You can’t stand, Julia!”

“I have to, Alan. This is a large animal X-ray. Horses and cows just do not lie down for you so that you can take radiographs of their legs.”

“Let’s get this done quickly then. And no pressure on that foot!”

The results showed the bone was where it was supposed to be - a testament to Alan’s skill. It also showed a crack in another bone and some bones being further apart than they are supposed to be - a sign of arthritis coming on. Oh, yay, I thought.

“Julia, you absolutely must stay off that foot. That cracked bone could have got there when you had your accident or it may be a new injury, maybe from falling through that step. It’s imperative you rest your foot and let it heal. I want you to lie down while I get something on for supper.” He had got Mama and Baby in the barn and fed before we left to go get the X-ray machine.

I went to the bedroom and lay down on the bed. Sherlock and Molly joined me, but only until they heard Alan in the kitchen. I had to admit, I was beat. It didn’t take long for me to doze off.

When I woke up, I found myself on my side and tied to the bed. Both wrists were tied to the headboard. My left leg was straight and my right leg was bent at the knee and tied to the footboard. My pants and panties were off. I was lying on something that felt like plastic and I could feel something being pushed into my ass. “What the fuck?” I asked.

“You are getting an enema”, Alan replied.

“Not likely!” I yelled and tried to get loose of my bonds, but they were too tight. I could feel warm water enter my lower colon. “What the hell are you doing, Alan?”

“You need an attitude adjustment. I’m hoping this will do it.”

“Why the hell did I not wake up earlier?”

“I gave you a shot to prevent you from waking up for a bit.” He came around to the other side of the bed so I could see him.

“You have to let me up eventually, and when you do, you are going to regret doing this to me.”

“Oh, I don’t think so, Julia. You see, I have the upper hand here. You can’t walk. I have your wheelchair and your crutches. I have the sedative and can sneak up on you and jab you at any time. If you give me attitude again, you will get another enema. And if you are thinking of leaving, I have put a lock on the outside of the bedroom door. I will lock you in here at night so that you cannot leave. You have an ensuite bathroom and running water, so you will be fine.”

I felt my belly expand as my colon filled with water. It was a very weird feeling. I was pissed as all get-out that Alan had control. I HATED him for that. What kind of doctor was he to do such a thing to his “patient”? Well, he couldn’t keep me here forever. My foot would heal and when it did, I was leaving!

“Get this out of me. It hurts!”

Alan sat on the bed and reached out and massaged my belly. “Don’t touch me!” I growled at him. I was very conscious of the fact that he could see my entire naked lower body. I was sure I blushed.

“This will help.” He continued the massage and he was right. It did help. “I know you are mad right now, but you will settle down and realize that it’s for your own good. Maybe when you are cleaned out, your attitude will improve.”

“Fuck you.”

“My, my, my.” He went around to my rear again and slapped me on the butt.

“That’s assault!”

“What are you going to do? Call the police?” He slapped my ass again. “There will be more of that if you keep cussing at me. I didn’t put up with this crap in my ER and I will not put up with it now! You’ve taken it all, now you need to keep it in for 10 minutes. I have something to help you do that.” He took the nozzle out and pushed something else into me. It was bigger and stretched me until it was in.

“What is that?” I asked.

“A plug. It will stop you from having an accident. I’ll be back in 10 minutes. You think about what I said.” He left the bedroom.

I lay there seething. Who the hell did he think he was, doing this to me? If he thought I was going to take this willingly, he had another think coming. I began to contemplate my situation and how I could get out of there. I couldn‘t see the door at the moment, but if I was remembering correctly, the hinges were on the inside. All I had to do was take them off and then the door would come off. I had my toolbox with me, and could use a hammer to get them out, but it would be noisy and he’d hear. Damn! There had to be a way!

What a shame that Alan had turned out to be a prick, I thought. Unfortunately, though, I needed him. I had a broken foot and a heart condition. I could handle my cardiomyopathy on my own, I knew what meds I was on and could find them in pharmacies. I wouldn’t know what to do if I got into cardiac distress but maybe I would run into another doctor somewhere out there. The problem was that I needed help to get around because of the foot.

My thoughts were interrupted when Alan returned. “I’m going to untie you so you can go to the bathroom to expel”, he said. “I want you to promise me you will behave.”

What choice did I have? I did not want to lie here like this all night. “Okay.”

“I want to hear the words ‘I will behave’.”

“I will behave.” I said in a soft voice.

“That’s what I want to hear.” He untied my hands and foot. He had only tied one foot as I had the boot on the broken one. “Let me help you get up and to the bathroom.” I held on to him as I stood up. He helped me into the ensuite and I sat down on the toilet. “Lean forward a bit so I can take that plug out.” I did as he asked and he took it out.

He set a walkie talkie on the counter beside me. “I picked these up today. Call me on it when you are finished and I will help you get back to bed.”

Back to bed? I thought. I’m not tired, I don’t need to go back to bed. I sat there for about 20 minutes. Just when I’d think I was done, more would come out. How much did he put into me? I wondered.

Finally, I was sure I was finished. I wiped myself then washed my hands. I picked up the walkie talkie and pressed the button. “Alan?”

A few seconds later, he answered “Are you finished?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be there in a minute.”

It seemed like he took much longer than just a minute. When we got to the bed, I started to get in and he stopped me. “Kneel on the edge of the bed”, he instructed.

“What?” I asked. He slapped me on the butt.

“I said kneel on the edge of the bed. Your knees are fine, it’s your foot that isn’t and it will be hanging over the bed.”

He had his hand on my arm and I struggled to get free. He slapped me again, this time with two smacks and they stung. “Okay!” I said in resignation and let him help me to a kneeling position.

“Put your head down”, he instructed and set a pillow in front of me. “I will be nice and let you have a pillow but next time I may not, depending on your attitude.” I laid my head on the pillow.

I had not noticed the red bag hanging from an IV pole by the bed. I heard the snap of a glove and then felt a finger on my anus. “Relax. It will go easier.” I tried to and he pushed his lubricated finger into me. He felt around a bit and then withdrew it. “Still a bit of stool, you need another one.” I felt him push the nozzle into me again. I had the feeling that he had planned to give me another enema regardless of whether there was stool on his finger or not.

I felt warm water run into me again. After a few minutes, Alan reached under me and massaged my belly which helped me to take more water, he explained. “You don’t need to retain this one”, he said. “When it’s all in, you can go and expel it.”

“Are you going to make me do a third one?” I asked.

“No, two is enough for now.” Two is enough forever, I thought. You aren’t doing this to me again, you prick.

“I’m going to give you that tetanus shot now, Julia.” I felt him swab a butt cheek then felt the needle go in. He pushed the plunger down.

“Ow!” I yelled as the vaccine went in. It stung like hell!

Later, after I had expelled the enema and he’d helped me back to the bedroom, he said “I’m going across the street to put Mama Cow and Baby in the barn and collect the eggs and make sure they all have food and water. I’ll be locking your door from the outside. I want you to lie down and think about your attitude and how you can improve it.”

When he was gone, I got up and went to the closet, where I had put my tool box. I found my hammer and took the hinges off the door. I had to walk on my foot as he had taken my crutches out of the bedroom. I found his medical bag and rummaged around inside until I found the vial of the drug he’d used to knock me out. I also found some syringes. I drew up two of them, using the formula on the label and estimating Alan’s weight at about 160 lbs. He was quite thin for his height. When I had the correct amount, I put the vial back in the bag and closed it. Then I went back to my bedroom and put the hinges back on the door. I hid the syringes in my tool box.

I had to hold my tongue over supper and force myself to be nice to Alan. I had a plan but it was too late in the day to put it into action, I’d have to wait for morning. It made me nauseous to feign contriteness and promise to “behave” from then on. He told me if I didn’t, I would get more enemas.

I went to bed right after supper. I needed to rest up as I’d need all my strength the next day. I had decided not to wait until my foot healed, I couldn’t stand to be here with him that long.

The next morning, I woke up and went to the bathroom and got dressed. Alan had given me my crutches back but said if I “misbehaved”, he’d take them away again. I packed up my belongings and hid some in the closet and my guitar case under the bed, then retrieved one of the syringes. I took the cap off and slid it up my sleeve with the needle toward my wrist. While I waited for Alan to come see if I was awake, I mentally reviewed the plan I’d come up with and made a couple revisions. I decided it might work better if I was lying down.

Eventually, he came to check on me and found me lying on the bed on my back. “Are you okay, Julia?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I’m having these weird feelings in my chest.”

“What does it feel like?”

“Kind of like a fluttering feeling.”

“Ok, hang on and I’ll get my stethoscope.” He came back and listened to my heart. “Please sit up so I can listen to your lungs”, he directed. I faked a try and asked him to help me. He put his arm around my back and held my one arm with his other hand, playing right into my plan. In one swift motion, using that same hand, I had the syringe out and jabbed it into his inner arm. He stood there in shock. I pushed the plunger in before he could pull the needle out.

“You bitch!” he yelled and threw me against the wall. I fell to the floor. He left the bedroom and slammed the door shut. I could hear the lock engage. I waited a few minutes, then got up - I wasn’t hurt, just had the wind knocked out of me - and took my hammer out and removed the hinges from the door. Alan was on his bed in the office. He didn’t move. I tied him up with the rope he’d used to tie me up with the day before. He’d left it in my bedroom. There were no posts on his bed, so I wrapped the rope around his hands and legs, then down and around the bed feet, hoping that was good enough to hold him should he wake up.

I took his car keys out of his pocket and put my belongings and the dog food in the vehicle. In the kitchen, I gathered up a few things, including bowls for the dogs, then called for them to come with me. We had found another car to use as the back seat of Alan’s was covered in bovine afterbirth. I pulled out of the station and drove down the road, keeping my eye out for a truck. After a couple miles, I spotted one and pulled in to the property. Checking it out, I found it had a trailer hitch and by a stroke of luck, the key was on top of the visor.

As there was a trailer hitch, I figured there had to be something the farmer had used it for and I was not wrong. I found a small cattle trailer behind the barn and hitched it up to the truck. Then I drove back to the car and transferred my belongings to the cab of the truck. The dogs were happy to switch vehicles, they didn’t care what they were in as long as we were going on an adventure.

I drove the truck and trailer to the farm across from the fire hall and loaded Mama and Baby. Then I looked around and found a couple wire cages and caught the chickens and put them in them. I even gathered up a few eggs and picked a squash from the garden. I put the cages in the bed of the pickup and covered them with a tarp I found in the barn so that the wind wouldn’t bother them. I scooped some of the chicken feed into a burlap bag I’d found and did the same with the grain for the cow. This would tide me over until I could find more.

I took a look in the farmer’s old pickup and found a gas can. There was even some tubing with it. My last act at this farm was to siphon all but a little of the gas from the vehicle. This would prevent Alan from getting far with it if he tried to go after me in it.

Now, for the last part of my plan. Back at the fire hall, I found Alan still out cold. It had been at least a couple hours since I’d given him the sedative. Good, I now knew it lasted a while. I went to the bedroom I’d used and filled the enema bag and brought it and the stand it had been on out to his bed. I took the restraints off his one hand and foot and rolled him onto his side, then re-tied him to the legs on that side of the bed. He was in the position I’d found myself in yesterday when I’d come to.

I slid the plastic sheet he’d used on me under him, then pulled his pants and underwear down. Then I pushed the enema nozzle through his sphincter - sans lube. “Don’t *ever* fuck with me”, I said aloud as it went in.

He came to as the water started running into him. “What the …?” he asked.

“Welcome back”, I said. “Consider this payback for yesterday.”

“You fucking bitch!” He struggled futilely against the restraints.

“I’m a farmer, Alan - I know how to tie a secure knot. You won’t get free.” He stopped struggling. When the bag was empty, I took the nozzle out and put in the plug that he’d used on me. Of course, I had washed it with soap and water. I’m not a total bitch. “Here’s what’s going to happen, Alan. I’m going to jab you again. You’ll be out for at least a couple hours. When you come to, one hand will be free of the restraint. You will be able to untie your other hand and feet. The plug is in, so you won’t expel all over the bed. By then, I’ll be long gone. Here’s your keys.” I tossed them on the bed. “You will find the car a couple miles down the road. I hope you are nicer to the next person you meet up with. I do thank you for helping get me out of my car and for stitching me up and setting my foot - twice. We could have got through the winter together and then in the spring, headed out to find other survivors, but you had to be an asshole and screw it up.”

“Oh come on, Julia. Can’t you take a little joke?”

“That was hardly a joke, Alan. I can’t trust you anymore. Not that I’d want to. Nobody does that to me and gets away with it. My husband wouldn’t have even thought about treating me like that.”

I turned and walked out on my crutches. Outside, I got into the truck and said to the dogs “Ready for a road trip, guys?” as I pulled out of the fire station’s lot.