In the days following Olivia’s disappearance, living conditions at Weyr Resort had steadily degraded. In addition to the cold-blooded murders of Landon and Billy Campbell, Tucker Green had been killed minutes later. It was another meaningless execution brought about by nothing more than the teenager’s ill-conceived attempt at chivalry. Of course, Xander’s inability to recognize the young man’s life as more valuable than his bruised ego played into it as well.
When Xander arrived at the Campbell’s cabin and demanded that the widow Mia accompany him up to the house, the Green family had rushed next door in support of their friend. Two of Xander’s men had sternly warned them away, but Tucker had foolishly decided to run to the aid of his friend’s mother anyway. Breaking free from his father’s grasp, the determined young man ended up catching Xander by surprise and pushing him to the ground. Incensed and full of rage, Xander drew his sidearm and needlessly shot the 19 year old in the back.
Austin and Evelyn tried desperately to get to their son, but Xander’s men quickly intervened. Tucker’s parents crumpled as they were both struck in the stomach with the butt of a rifle. As Tucker writhed on the ground in agony, Xander knelt over him and whispered into his ear. ‘Your sweet ass mommy will be coming with me next, boy.’ He then placed the muzzle of his pistol into that same ear and spat something far worse into it.
Instead of reinforcing Xander’s tyrannical control over the residents, the incident had only hardened their resolve and willingness to oppose him. Everybody’s stubborn refusal to cooperate, in even the most basic of ways, was really starting to get under Xander’s skin. It seemed that every time a job was assigned the only way to ensure compliance was through a violent display of force. Xander’s men were under strict orders to not kill any of his workers or injure them in any debilitating way, but within days every resident of the resort was nursing a wound of some kind.
Even the faces of the three American children bore evidence of physical abuse. Not surprisingly, Xander’s men had learned that a single slap to the face of a nine year old was worth 10 to a woman or 20 to a man. In fact, the mere threat of striking a child was often enough to secure compliance. For this reason, many tasks were accomplished by forcibly removing the children and holding them until said tasks were completed. Although morally reprehensible, it was an extremely effective tool that was being utilized more and more each day.
While Xander, Mars and Ken tasked themselves with keeping the residents working and under control, Tom had been assigned a team of men to find Olivia. After two days of searching, though, they still hadn’t found a single sign of the fugitive girl. If they had of walked the sides of the road immediately upon discovering her absence, they may have found her tracks out of the area. The significant amount of snowfall that had come that night, however, had easily covered her escape. Olivia’s shallow footprints were buried well beneath the snow now.
By dusk of the third day Tom returned with news that they had finally found something of interest. Far up the road, snowmobile tracks had suddenly come out of the forest. They were faint, but it was obvious that someone had decided to abandon the forest trails in favour of the smoother surface of the snow covered asphalt. Tom had attempted to follow the tracks further from the resort, but darkness and the threat of getting stuck forced him to turn around. Xander had made it abundantly clear that his Minecats were to be returned home safely each day. It did not go unnoticed that he hadn’t insisted the same of Tom and his men.
“Tom, I get what you’re saying, but the fuel tanks on all three of those sleds are completely drained.” Xander said. “We’ve got the gas, but not the oil.”
Tom stood on the Weyr’s front room carpet in his snow and mud covered boots while Xander reclined in the comfort of Hal’s chair. Mars looked on from the sofa and smiled over a glass of Tennessee whiskey. Mars already knew how this discussion was going to end and he relished in the idea of ‘pretty boy’ Tommy not getting his way… for a change.
“Hey, Xander, I’m sending Mia home for the night.” Ken said, popping his head in the doorway. “Unless you have something else for her to do.”
“No, she can go.” Xander said. “Make sure she knows to be back tomorrow night to help with dinner. Nora’s gunna need a hand in the kitchen.”
“Yup.”
“Let us take the plow truck then, Xander.” Tom said, continuing with his request. “I’m sure we’ll find her if we follow those tracks. I know somebody’s been helping these assholes. If we find her, we’ll find them.”
“And then what… start another war?” Xander asked. “Fuck that kid and fuck anybody that’s helping her. I’m done with that shit. We’ve got a good deal here and I’m not about to screw it up over some teenaged runaway. I’m calling off the search.”
“Oh, come on… What if she went to go get…?”
“…Drop it, Tom, I mean it.” Xander said. “I want you to rejoin the hunting parties. The trucks leave at 8:00 a.m. sharp. Make sure you’re in one of them.”
“This is bullshit!” Tom shouted. “These pricks killed my brother and you couldn’t care less!”
“Calm down, Tom.” Xander said. “Every single one of these ‘pricks’ will be dead in a few weeks. Seeing as I don’t give a flying fuck how they die, I’m willing to let you question them first in any way you see fit. We won’t be killing anymore of the help until that time though. I’ve already promised Rob’s head to Mars over there, but all of the others are yours to beat the living hell out of… if that’s what you want.”
“It is.” Tom replied with a snarl.
“My man.” Xander said. “Now get the fuck out before I cancel your pleasant day afield and put you on the axes all day instead. Not another word, Tom, I mean it.”
Tom was absolutely furious, but he knew enough to keep his mouth shut. He had expelled a decent amount of effort trying to gain some favour with these men, but it didn’t appear to be getting him anywhere. Tom was already incensed when he learned that he wouldn’t be moving into the main house with the captains, but this one really showed him where he stood. It took everything he had to simply turn around and head for the door.
On his way through the kitchen, Tom noticed a damaged cabinet with a missing door. More interesting, however, were the dozens of liquor bottles that he saw resting inside. Tom hadn’t taken a drink since the day his family had left him. He was convinced that he could win Stacey back if he could just sober up. Of course, his family had never returned, but his thirst certainly had. Tom even grinned when he saw that Hal shared his affinity for Jack Daniel’s. He pushed aside the ‘less than manly’ flavoured blends and went straight for Old No.7.
The familiar black label was the last gift that Stacey had ever given him. It was also the only reason why she was able to flee their home in the middle of the night. The irony was not lost on him.
◆◆◆
“How’d that go?” Sydney asked as Brian and Corey stepped into the cabin.
“It went well.” Brian replied. “The sled was still there buried in the ditch. We pulled it out and it fired right up. Stu and Liv are on their way.”
“Is everybody here?” Corey asked as he worked away at his coat.
“The two teams are, yeah. Nichelle and Gwen are in the Jackson camper with the kids.” Sydney replied.
“Perfect.” Brian said, kicking off a boot.
“Those two have got a fun day in store for them tomorrow.” Corey said. “Seven kids and a hobbled dog to look after.”
“I’d trade places with them in a heartbeat.” Sydney said.
“Yeah… me too.” Brian said.
“You guys are nuts.” Corey said.
They walked into the living room and took a seat. Along with the eight members of the two assault teams, Fran and Leo had joined them as well. Fran seemed at ease with her assignment, but Leo definitely didn’t appear to have fully accepted his role yet. Even at only 15 years of age, though, he knew that the die had already been cast. Without his father
here, any ideas he might have had to change their minds would fall on deaf ears. At this point, the plan was the plan and the plan was for Leo and Fran to be their cab drivers.
“So, we move out at 4:00 a.m.” Corey said. “We have no way of knowing how Donny will suggest we use that dynamite though. The only thing we know for sure is that Stu intends to walk out from Donny’s place and set up across from the gates on the other side of the road.”
“Stu said he’d be in position by 6:00 a.m. just before sunrise.” Brian added. “He doesn’t have a watch, so it’s only a best guess. He didn’t know if Donny would be with him or not, but I don’t think he’ll be able to convince Liv to stay behind.”
“Why didn’t you guys just meet up him one last time?” Sydney asked. “After Stu talks to Donny, he could have come back out and told you exactly how he intends to do this. Wouldn’t that have been better than just guessing at what they might do?”
“When we found that sled, the oil tank was already well below the half way mark, Syd.” Brian replied. “We topped up the gas, but we didn’t have any two-stroke oil for it. I doubt he would have had enough to ride it back out to the road to meet us and then ride it back in again.”
“They might not have even had enough to get all the way out to Donny’s cabin.” Corey added. “It’s very possible that they’re walking out there as we speak.”
“All we have to work with is our plan and what we know Stu intends to do.” Brian said. “We already know how we want to use that dynamite. Donny is only giving him information on how to get it done.”
“The most important thing for us to remember is to never go anywhere near those gates or any of their vehicles.” Corey said. “We need to stay far away from anything that might suddenly go boom until he gives us a signal. We do our thing from the road until Stu lets us know it’s time to move in.”
“Rob’s note says that Xander’s hunters head out at 8:00 a.m. every morning, so it’s our job to be on the road well before they leave the resort.” Brian said. “If we do our jobs, we’ll cut Xander’s numbers down quite a bit before we even need to attack those gates.”
“We’re hoping that the sound of gunfire will draw more of them out.” Corey said. “The more we can take out on the road, the fewer we’ll have to deal with once we’re past the gates.”
“…And the less chance of some of Hal’s people getting hurt.” Brian added.
“What’s the best case scenario here?” George asked.
Brian looked over at Corey knowing that this sort of thing was more inside of his wheelhouse than his own.
“Best case… we have the resort back before breakfast.”
◆◆◆
“I heard that beast say it as I was walking out the door.” Mia said. “In a few weeks… we’re all dead.”
“Maybe we should go talk to Hal about this, Austin.” Evelyn said. “He’s under the impression that they don’t intend to harm anyone when they pull out.”
“Dan’s been trying to tell him and Rob that this would happen.” Austin said. “I think I should go speak to Dan and Reese first, get their take on it.”
“We’ll come with you.” Evelyn said.
“No, there’s less chance of being noticed if I head over to their cabin alone, Evie.” Austin said. “You two stay here. Mia, if you’re hungry there’s a little bit of squirrel left over from supper. You can just stay with us tonight.”
“Okay, Austin, please be careful.” Mia said as tears started to form in her eyes. “Thank you… so much for…”
“…Everything’s gunna be alright, Mia.” Evelyn said as she gave her friend a hug. “We’re all in this together.”
“And if Liv got through to Stu and his people, we’ll watch them die together.” Austin added.
◆◆◆
Coming to a stop beside a small log cabin, Stu’s snowmobile immediately sputtered and ground to a halt. Stu hit the kill switch anyway, but there was no need. This sled wasn’t going anywhere ever again. The smell coming from the two-stroke engine told Stu all he needed to know about its current state of health. The engine had seized, the supply of oil running out only seconds before Stu could kill the engine and save it.
A few kilometres back he had noticed a change in the engine’s pitch and an immediate drop in power. The oil tank was quickly running dry and he doubted very much that they would make it all the way here. Only opening a reserve valve gave them enough oil to complete their journey. Regardless of whether the reserve system was a factory installed option or an aftermarket add-on, the fortunate accessory had gotten them to their destination all the same.
Stu remained seated while Olivia hopped off of the back and ran off to find her friend. He had no idea how jumpy Donny might be, so he thought it prudent to remain with the sled and let Olivia run around the place on her own.
As Stu lifted his goggles to take a look around, he noticed that the cabin’s chimney had only the faintest puff of smoke coming from it. If he didn’t study it more closely, Stu would have thought that their wasn’t a fire going at all. It became immediately apparent to Stu that this Donny guy knew all there was to know about remaining hidden in the dense forest.
I might have to ask him about that.
“Donny, it’s Liv.” She called out. “I brought someone back with me. He’s a friend of Uncle Hal’s.”
“Over here.” Donny said, suddenly appearing from behind a tree.
He had a scoped rifle slung over his shoulder, but all of his attention was on the lit match that he was currently holding to the bowl of his pipe. Once its contents were smoldering sufficiently, he waved out the match and took a long pull. Then he blew out a large plume of thick white smoke.
“Ah, that’s the stuff.” Donny said to himself as he began walking over.
“Hi, Donny.” Olivia said. “This is Stu Cooper.”
“Uh huh… the feller that been supplin’ the Weyrs with all the meat.” Donny said. “Been a poacher long, have ya?”
“Ever since the lights went out, yes sir.” Stu replied. “We only take what we need though. Same as you, I imagine.”
“Huh, I take a fair bit less than I need most days, I’m afraid.” Donny said. “Course, I ain’t got a team of hunters to work along side me. Clubbed myself a nice fat porcupine today though. Ever eat a porkie, Stu?”
“Can’t say that I have, no.” Stu replied with a smile. “We’ve had pretty good luck with moose and dear this winter. We’ve caught a fair amount of walleye too.”
“Walleye…? You an American, Stu?” Donny asked before taking another long haul on his pipe.
“No sir. I’m from down south near London.” Stu replied.
“Well, up here we call ‘em pickerel… ‘Unless you brought ‘em up from Michigan.”
“Ha! No sir, they were caught up here.” Stu said. “Pickerel, it is. I’ll remember that.”
“Well, we’re havin’ porkie tonight. The ones ‘round here don’t bother gnawin’ at the pine trees too much, so you’ll swear you’re eatin’ a juicy sweet pork chop.”
“Sounds wonderful.” Stu said.
“Let’s get out of the cold then.” Donny said. “The girl looks like she could use a little time in front of the stove.”
“She’s not the only one.” Stu said as they followed Donny to the door.
Donny’s cabin was nothing more than four walls with each dedicated to a specific task. The wall that the heavy steel door was on carried a series of hooks with various items of clothing hanging from them. The wall directly across from the entrance hosted a single bed with a stack of firewood to either side. The kitchen/bathing area was to the right and the living space was on the left. All four walls had a small window as well offering a decent view of their surroundings. Directly in the centre of the cabin sat a small woodstove with a stovepipe that ran straight up through the vaulted ceiling. Unlike Hal’s cabins, there was absolutely no doubt that Donny’s was a true log cabin. There was also no doubt that Stu would soon start
sweating through his clothing if he didn’t get his gear off soon.
“Sorry about the heat, folks.” Donny said. “I wasn’t expectin’ to come back inside for a few hours yet. If I don’t stoke up the fire before I head out it tends to get a mite cool in here.”
“The fire feels wonderful, Donny, thank you.” Stu said.
“I love it.” Olivia added. “When this is over, I’m never getting on another snowmobile ever.”
“Ha! I used to have a sorts of fun on them snow machines when I was your age.” Donny said.
“I’d offer you ours, Donny, but I have a feeling that it’s only a lawn ornament now.” Stu said.
“Yeah, I thought I caught a whiff of somethin’ out there.” Donny said. “Anyways, I suppose we ought to get down to business if we plan to live through this thing.”
“Agreed.” Stu said. “What do you know about what we’re facing?”
“Not a lot, but enough, I reckon.” Donny replied. “I took a walk out there after I heard all the gunfire. I went out again after Liv left on the snow machine. Watched the guards out there for a couple of hours before turnin’ around and headin’ back home.”
“And?”
“They always seem to have four guards on duty.” Donny replied. “They all have them fancy black rifles like you got there, Stu. It was pretty quiet both times I was out there, so I can’t really speak to anythin’ else.”
“Liv mentioned that you might have something that could help us out.” Stu said.
“The dynamite, yeah, I got plenty of that. You gotta be careful though. One false move with my stuff and you’ll never know you fouled up.”
“What do you have to set it off?” Stu asked. “I assume you don’t have any remote detonators lying around.”
“Ha! Those fancy electronic gadgets came out a fair amount after my time, Stu.” Donny replied. “I’ve got a whole spool of 30 second safety fuse though.”
“Donny, I’m gunna be completely honest with you… the only thing I know about dynamite is that a proper cowboy western wouldn’t be complete without it.” Stu said. “Oh and also that you light it with a skinny cigar.”
EMP [Collateral Darkness] | Book 4 Page 37