“I’m with you guys.” Leo said.
“Yeah, me too.” Brian added.
“No, I think you should stay home too, Bri.” Stu said, glancing at him through the rear view mirror. “You and Stace need to fill the others in on what went down today and help out with security. Those men may not have found us yet, but they’re still out here somewhere. I want the camp on full alert. Tell Syd and George to put a rifle in the hands of anyone that’s finished their training.”
“Where should I tell them you’re headed, Stu?” Brian asked. “You planning on going back to the campground?”
“No, we’ll try to stay away from that campground if we can.” Stu replied. “I know there’s still a bunch of vehicles sitting there with full tanks, but I’d rather not use the treated gas until we need to. That’s basically our entire reserves sitting out there.”
“Plus we haven’t cleared the roads out that way.” Corey added. “No sense leading people straight to it.”
“Correct.” Stu said. “We just drove past a couple of cottages with a few trucks in the driveway. We’ve been meaning to get to them anyway. They should hold more than enough to get us through…”
“…Trail’s coming up, Stu.” Corey said.
Caught slightly off guard, Stu quickly took his foot off of the accelerator and moved it over to the brake pedal. Knowing that he wasn’t slowing down nearly fast enough he began applying a little more pressure, far more than he should have.
The rear end of the Bronco quickly swung around, led the way for a moment and then returned to its original position again. Stu had managed a perfectly gracefully, yet terrifying 360 degree pirouette, but he wasn’t done yet. Midway through the Bronco’s attempt to repeat the process the back end slammed into the unplowed wall of snow just past their trailhead. The Bronco came to an abrupt stop with a dramatic explosion of snow. They were facing the opposite direction, but they were perfectly alright. The Bronco had stayed in the middle of the road the entire time, so the only damage done was to Stu’s pride.
Stu closed his eyes and braced himself as he waited for the comments to start pouring in. Not surprisingly, Corey was more than willing to start them off.
“When’s the last time you actually stuck a landing, Stu?” Corey asked.
“I can’t remember.” Stu replied flatly as he opened his eyes and started heading for the trailhead.
“That’s two misses in two days.” Brian said.
“I’m aware.” Stu replied, turning onto the trail.
“Dad missed this trail when we came up here in August too.” Leo added.
“That’s correct, son. Thank you for sharing.” Stu said, again without emotion.
The passengers went silent as they waited for Stacey to take a turn. Knowing that Corey, Brian and Leo were staring at her and anxiously waiting, she said the only thing that came to mind.
“Dipshit.”
Everyone in the truck immediately burst out laughing. Even Stu had to chuckle at Stacey’s hurtful contribution. Corey had been trying to master the insult, but coming from Stacey the term became utterly absurd. There was something about a lovely young woman saying something that was clearly associated with a perpetually cheesed off old man that made it truly hilarious. They had all been through a traumatic day and desperately needed the release.
Carl would have been proud.
An hour later, Stu and Corey saw something in the trail that put a smile across both of their faces. Only about 300 metres from the cabin, they were overjoyed to see Brody and Jenny stepping out from the edge of the trees. They were covered in snow, but judging by their bright smiles, Stu and Corey were certain that their families were just fine.
Stu pulled to a stop beside them and shut the engine down.
“Hi, Dad! You guys are back early.” Brody said as he brushed the snow from his hair.
“Yeah, but we have to head out again for a bit.” Stu said. “Is everybody okay here?”
“For sure.” Brody replied. “George is having us take turns walking the trail. We started running back when we heard somebody coming. We knew we wouldn’t make it before you saw us, so we dove into the snowbank and crawled in the trees.”
“Good work, guys.” Stu said.
“Hey, kiddo.” Corey said as he stepped out to greet his daughter. “Miss me?”
“Dad… it’s only been a day and a half.” Jenny replied, feigning indifference. Quickly abandoning the act, her face cracked and she joyfully shrieked, “Of course, I missed you!”
Corey smiled and opened his arms to offer Jenny a warm hug. As they embraced, Stacey and Brian stepped out as well. Seeing her new mom, Jenny quickly released her father and ran into Stacey’s arms.
“Hi, sweetie!” Stacey said.
“Well… I guess I know where I stand.” Corey said, looking at Brian.
“Ha! I guess you do.” Brian said.
“All full of affection and no one to hug.” Corey added. “Come here, Bri.”
“Get away from me, weirdo.” Brian replied, dodging Corey’s ridiculous advance.
“You guys okay on foot from here?” Stu asked with a chuckle. “I’m just gunna turn us around and get going. Hopefully, we can be back in a few hours.”
“Yeah, we’re good, Stu.” Brian replied. “Be careful and no more stunt driving.”
“Oh, I’ll see to that.” Corey said as he hopped back in.
The kids ran ahead to the cottage while Brian and Stacey stayed behind a moment longer. They watched as Stu turned the Bronco around, offered them a thumbs up and headed back out to the gravel road. As Stu, Corey and Leo disappeared into the trees again, Brian couldn’t help but comment.
“I don’t know how he does it, Stace.” Brian said. “Stu’s a freakin’ machine. He was up all night, slept maybe four hours the entire time we were away and he’s still going. Corey and I are seven years his junior. I don’t know how your boyfriend is feeling, but I’m dead on my feet here.”
“Corey’s probably doing alright, but it’s only because I think he can sleep standing up.” Stacey said. “He’s probably slept through more of our conversations than we care to know about.”
“Ha! I believe that without reservation.” Brian said as they started walking to the cottage.
“Don’t feel bad, Bri.” Stacey said. “I’m nine years younger than both of you and I’ll definitely be turning in early. Other than waking up once to separate Leo and Liv, I actually got a pretty decent sleep last night too.”
“Like I said… the man’s a machine.”
By 7:00 p.m. that night, the Bronco would be parked back at the cabin with a full tank of gas. Over by the generator, 15 jerrycans rested in the snow also freshly filled. In what could only be described as a terrible day, the evening had finally given them the break that they desperately needed. All three of the abandoned trucks that Stu had taken them to had been found with full fuel tanks. They now sat completely drained.
By 8:00 p.m. the snow they were expecting finally began to fall. It could now begin the process of covering their tracks and reconcealing their location.
By 9:00 p.m. Stu was fast asleep. Like those abandoned trucks, he was also completely drained. The ‘machine’ had powered down for the night.
◆◆◆
“How was your ride?” Nora asked.
“Brutal.” Hal replied as he removed his coat. “Snow’s really started coming down out there. It’s a good thing I left when I did because the trail was already buried, even before this latest snowfall. If it wasn’t for the mountain track on that snow machine I’d probably still be out there.”
Nora gave her husband a minute to get out of his boots and then followed him into the front room.
“Well… did you find him, Harold?”
“Yeah, he was there when I pulled in.” Hal replied as he flopped into his chair. “I explained the situation to him and he was fine with it. He gave me a lift back out to the road and then turned around and went home.”
&nbs
p; “He knows that the snowmobile wasn’t a gift, right?” Nora asked, taking a seat on the sofa. “You told him he’s not to use it himself to go pleasure cruising around the damn countryside?”
“I told him, Nora.” Hal replied, somewhat irritated by the question. “Considering Donny’s doing us a huge favour here, I decided to handle it a little more delicately than that though. He knows it’s not for him to use. I brought two jugs of gas out there with me, so he could top up the fuel tank when he got it back home. He said he’d park it under a tarp and keep it safe for us.”
“I wish I could have sent you off with some veggies for him, Harold.” Nora said. “We just don’t have any to spare right now.”
“I told him that too, Nora. Donny knows we’d find a way to help him out if need be. I did bring him a couple of big moose steaks though.”
“Oh, that was a good idea.” Nora said. “He’s been a good friend to us, that old hermit in the woods.”
“He sure has.” Hal said. “I just hope we don’t have to get him involved in this. Old Donny lives alone for a reason.”
“He’s not getting involved, Harold.” Nora said. “We’ve only asked him to store a snowmobile for us just in case we need to send someone for help.”
“I didn’t say anything to him about the map under the seat either.” Hal said. “The last thing we need is for Donny to show up at George’s place unannounced. I can’t imagine any of those guys appreciating me giving away their location, especially with all that’s going on right now.”
“Good, it’s all settled then.” Nora said. “We’ll just keep this to ourselves for now.”
“Alright, that sounds good.” Hal said.
“Are you hungry at all? I can go fix you a plate.”
“No, not right now. I just want to sit here for a while.”
“I understand, Harold. It’s been a horrible day.”
“Tomorrow will be worse. I’ve gotta put my baby sister in the ground… for crying out…” Hal voice tapered off as he began to get choked up.
“I’ll go put a pot on.” Nora said. “I doubt either one of us will be getting much sleep tonight.”
“Thank you, love.”
Nora soon walked back in with a steaming hot cup of coffee for them both. She found Hal still sitting exactly where she had left him. Tears ran down his cheeks, but he was still keeping himself together reasonably well.
She had only seen her husband cry on two other occasions. The first was after the sudden deaths of both of his parents in a car versus moose accident. The second occurred upon leaning of his inability to sire children of his own. They had tried the adoption route, but the relative isolation of their resort and lack of nearby schools had quickly disqualified them. Unwilling to give up on their beloved home in beautiful cottage country, they accepted their fate and prepared to spoil any nieces and nephews that came along.
Nora was an only child, so their hopes rested on Rob and Hess alone. Rob had married and divorced before having a chance to try his hand at parenthood, but Hess had come through for them. She had managed to finally give the Weyr clan their next generation. Although Olivia’s name was Bishop, she was every bit her mother’s daughter. She was a Weyr as well.
Hal had failed to shield Olivia’s mother from the evils of the world, but as long as Hal lived and breathed, he would protect Hess’ daughter.
“Did Dan and his guys get anywhere with the grave?” Hal asked.
“Yeah, he stopped in a little while ago and said they were done.” Nora replied as she took a seat on the sofa.
“Seriously? The ground must be solid ice out there.”
“Dan said it wasn’t that bad on the far side of the house, actually. He’s got a group of strong young soldiers working for him don’t forget. Didn’t you talk to them when you came through the gates? They’re all out on watch.”
“No, I just gave them a wave and walked on through.” Hal replied. “My head’s kind of swimming right now, Nora. I didn’t want to get caught up in any conversations.”
“Well, the site’s ready for us.” Nora said. “Dan said his group would rotate in and out of guard duty all night and while we hold our service tomorrow. They’re willing to keep at it as long as we need them to.”
“Good folks, those Americans.” Hal said.
“Salt of the Earth.” Nora said. “I sure hope they make it home someday.”
“Where’s Nate and Liv tonight?” Hal asked.
“I think they’re still down at their cabin. I haven’t seen either one of them since Stu and the guys left.”
“It’s unimaginable what they must be going through right now.” Hal said as he got up and headed for the kitchen.
“Hungry?” Nora asked.
“A little, I guess.” Hal replied. “Want to split a can of tuna?”
“Alright. You want me to…?”
“…I got it.” Hal said.
Then remembering something, he turned around and asked, “Did Rob do anything with those dead assholes in cabin one yet?”
“Rob and a few of the other guys took care of them just after you left.” Nora replied.
Hal could always tell when Nora had more to say, but was conflicted about telling him. Her ‘tell’ was her tendency to absentmindedly wring the life out of whatever she had at hand. In this case, the armrest of the sofa was taking the brunt of Nora’s assault.
“What, Nora?” Hal asked. “What did they do?”
“Rob didn’t want me to tell you, but they threw them in the back of the truck and drove them down to the dump.” Nora replied apprehensively.
“Why did you guys think that would bother me?” Hal asked. “I don’t give a damn what they did with those murdering bastards. As long as they’re out of our lives, that’s good enough for me.”
“They didn’t bury them or anything.” Nora said. “Rob didn’t think you’d like them just being dumped there like that.”
“Well, it’s not optimal, but they needed to…”
“…They’ve been seeing a lot of wolves and coyotes out there lately, Harold.” Nora said, finally getting to the ‘meat’ of the matter. “If they don’t take care of them the dump bears will be happy to clean them up when they wake up in the spring.”
“Good Lord, what have our lives become?” Hal quietly asked himself as he continued into the kitchen.
Now the wildlife is eating people.
◆◆◆
“No way… Now the wildlife is eating people?” Bray asked, shocked by what he was hearing.
“The wolves are anyway.” Xander replied. “They attacked Cam and Dom a couple of days ago. Cam got away… Dom didn’t.”
“That’s seriously messed up, man.” Geoff said as he listened in.
“That’s why I had us stop for the night already.” Xander said. “There’s no way in hell I’m pulling into Mars’ cottage after dark. I think we’re still well north of their territory, but I’ll be sleeping in the cab of the truck tonight regardless.”
“How many guns did Mars say they stashed in that place?” Geoff asked.
Xander gave Bray a look that told him all he needed to know. He needed to deal with his cousin before Xander did it for him. Bray clearly understood that Xander never much cared for Geoff, but he had never said a word about it. As a captain, Bray was afforded certain privileges that the others simply weren’t. Bray had used up an awfully large one by insisting that he keep his idiot cousin around and he knew it.
“Geoff… this is kind of a captain’s meeting, buddy.” Bray said. “You mind hanging out with the others in the camper?”
“Yeah, of course. Sorry, bro.” Geoff said as he turned around and walked off.
“What can I tell ya, Xander? The guy got used to being my right hand man.” Bray said.
“Well, looks to me like you could use a right hand right about now.” Xander said, pointing to his bandaged arm.
“Ha. Don’t even joke about it.” Bray said. “Ken doesn’t have a clue how to se
t an arm, man. Nobody seems to know what to do. Ken poured a bunch of alcohol over it and got it to stop bleeding, but he couldn’t really immobilize it. All he did was tape a couple of twigs to it. I’m pretty sure it’ll never be right again.”
“Yeah, the bones might not heal properly, but infection is the real problem.” Xander said. “Make sure Ken takes that bandage off everyday and cleans the wounds with alcohol. Probably not the best stuff to use, but that’s all we got. That’s also the only bottle we have, so don’t let him waste it. We’ll find more out here somewhere. That Hal guy probably has some stuff in his house.”
“Didn’t you take a bullet too?” Bray asked.
“I did.” Xander replied, looking at the back of his arm. “It hurts like hell, but I don’t think I wrecked anything important. I still have decent use of it anyway. I’ll check it out before I crash for the night.”
“You haven’t even taken a look at it yet?” Bray asked, scolding him.
“What can I say, Bray? I’m just not a big pussy like you.” Xander replied with a grin.
“Call me what you want. I just want my arm to heal.”
“Bray, you realize that if it starts looking bad we might have to…”
“…I’m fully aware, Xander.” Bray said, holding up his good arm to stop him from saying it.
“Okay, as long as you know.”
“I know.” Bray said.
“So, Geoff’s the only man you have left now.” Xander said. “All four guys that were killed back there were from your crew. Actually, he’s the only one of your crew that didn’t catch a bullet today.”
“Yeah, can you believe that shit?”
“You got any ‘feelings’ about that?” Xander asked. “I’ve already heard from Mars and Ken, but you took the biggest losses today. You have anything you want to share with me?”
“I think enough has been said about that bullshit already, Xander.” Bray replied. “I just want to get down south and find me a nice Amish girl to snuggle up with.”
“My man.” Xander said. “We just gotta get down to Mars’ place first and get his weapons and ammo.”
“At the risk of sounding like my cousin, how many guns did Mars say he had stashed there?” Bray asked.
EMP [Collateral Darkness] | Book 4 Page 25