Endless Winter Box Set: Books 1 - 4

by Theresa Shaver

  I wake briefly in the night when distant yelling rouses me followed by two gunshots. Others stir around me but no one gets up as we all wait to see if the commotion will move closer to our tent. After five minutes of quiet, I drift back to sleep.

  Matty’s sharp-elbow digs into my stomach, waking me the next morning with a groan. As much as I love having the little guy close to me, his lanky body is growing by the day and I’m going to have to find a new cot for him if either one of us is going to have a comfortable sleep for much longer. He desperately needs to use the bathroom so I push myself up off the cot to see if one of the guards is around to take us when I see Benny’s eyes are open and he’s wiggling around as well. I motion for him to stand up with us. Hopefully, Skylar will be able to get a few more minutes of sleep before we have to start our day. The guard is nodding off in a chair beside the table at the front of the tent so I try not to startle him too badly when I whisper our need to him. He shakes the sleep from his eyes and stands up while waving us towards the flaps.

  As we walk to the porta-potties, I take a good look at the half-completed bathhouses they’re building and hope that they’ll be usable by the time we finish our day in the fields. Glancing towards the other tents my steps slow when I see two black and occupied body bags in front of the furthest one. Whatever went down last night caused at least two people to lose their lives.

  Once everyone’s needs are taken care of we head back into the tent but I see no one has stirred since we left. I know there’s no way these two boys are going to go back to sleep. They just haven’t burned off enough energy being stuck in the tent for the last couple of days. I get the guards attention and motion to a spot on the floor behind the table and he nods his head in agreement.

  “Okay boys, if we sit up here and you’re quiet I’ll tell you a story.”

  They both eagerly nod their heads and settle down onto the ground, looking at me expectantly so I start to weave a story in a low voice about an orphan boy who lives on a desert planet. When one day when he’s out doing his chores, he comes across an incredible little machine called a Droid that he rescues and becomes fast friends with. I tell them the tale of the boy growing into a man as he leaves his planet in search of a princess that he needs to rescue. Halfway through the story I glanced up and see the smile on the guard’s face so I lift my chin to him to encourage him to participate and he proceeds to tell the boys all about the evil empire and how they have a massive death machine that will destroy whole planets. By the time we come to the end of the first chapter of the story the four of us are thoroughly entertained and the people in the tent are starting to stir.

  When I see Skylar sit up on her cot looking around frantically, I push to my feet and pull the boys up with me sending them back down to where our people are. I turn to the guard and shoot him a look of gratitude.

  “Thanks, man, that was nice to be able to give them a little bit of an escape. They’re bored out of their minds stuck in here.”

  The grin is still plastered across his face when he nods back. “Yeah man, that was great! Those used to be my favorite movies growing up. It was nice to revisit them. I wonder if we’ll ever be able to see those movies again someday.”

  I give a half shrug and say, “I’m sure AIRIA has that whole series in her data banks. You could always request it for a movie night in the barracks.”

  The guy looks at me with confusion for a minute before shaking his head. “Movie night? For some reason, I don’t think that’s going to play into the General’s plans. He’s not real big on entertainment.”

  Before I can reply the flaps are shoved open and another soldier comes in followed by others carrying our morning rations and water. The guy I was talking to straightens up and turns his back on me like I was never there in the first place. I sigh and then head back to our cots so the guy won’t get into trouble for talking to the enemy.

  Breakfast is over quickly and minutes later were rounded up and loaded into the back of a troop transport truck. There’s a whole line of trucks filled with the things that we had loaded the day before as well as people and soldiers ready to go to wherever they’ve picked to do the farming.

  I give Skylar a hand up into the back of our truck and the smile she sends my way has my stomach fluttering and my head cursing her uncle for showing up just as the two of us were starting to build a deeper relationship. It feels like Sky and I have gone from crisis to crisis and I’m dying for the chance just to be with her in a semi-normal setting so we can build on what we had started. The way it looks now, that won’t happen for the foreseeable future.

  Chapter Eight … Skylar

  There’s bench seating around the sides and the front of the truck bed and I make my way to the very front and settle onto the bench. There’s a male and female guard sitting with their backs to the cab of the truck with bored expressions on their faces. Rex settles across from me while the rest of our people find their seats down the sides of the truck. There’s not enough seating for everybody that they’re cramming into the truck so some people are forced to sit on the hard floor of the truck bed.

  As soon as the back gate is closed the large diesel engines rumble to life and within a few minutes we’re lurching ahead. It’s slow going at first as we make our way through the trees and over many bumps until we hit the road that turns south towards the town of Canmore. I lose myself in thoughts of the last time I was in town and wonder if it’ll look any different now. When I left the hotel where we found Rex and Sasha it was a raging inferno and I wonder if the fire was contained or if it ran unchecked through the town. I hope my dad’s truck was far enough away that it wasn’t damaged if the fire was out of control. We might need that vehicle in the near future to escape from my uncle.

  I keep my eyes peeled for the access road that we had parked the truck down. When we pass it, I’m relieved to see that it’s lined with dead but not burnt trees. If the fire was out of control, it didn’t reach this far. We take the overpass before exiting onto the highway, giving us a good view of the town and it’s easy to see that the fire stayed contained to the hotel as none of the other buildings look damaged. Once we’re on the highway, we pick up speed quickly. Most of the cars that had been abandoned on it the day of the bombs have already been pushed to the side.

  I turn away from the dead and empty town and glance at the people around me, catching movement by the male guard that sits in front of me. He’s pulled a plastic wrapped egg from one of his pockets and precedes to start peeling the shell from it.

  Rex speaks up, breaking my stare. “Hey, Skylar. Looks like your chickens survived.”

  The soldier looks up from his egg towards Rex and then me with a confused look on his face, so Rex explains.

  “Yeah, those eggs you’re eating came from Skylar’s chickens.”

  The female soldier leans forward and breaks into the conversation. “You had chickens? How on earth did you manage to keep chickens alive all these years?”

  I give her a small smile. “It wasn’t all that hard. They live a pretty comfortable life inside the bunker. I hope whoever is taking care of them is saving eggs to make more baby chicks now that there’s so many more mouths to feed.”

  The woman looks at her partner and then back to me. “You lived inside the bunker?” When I just nod my head she asks, “How’d you get in there?”

  I meet her eyes dead on. “My mom and dad and I went there the day the bombs dropped.”

  Her eyes flare wide in surprise. “You and your family have been living inside the bunker this whole time?”

  I give a tiny shake of my head. “Not all of us. My mom died the first day after giving birth to my little brother and then my dad died a couple years after that. Then it was just me and my little brother Ben.”

  Her eyes go sad and she gives a small shake of her head. “You’ve been in there all alone with a little kid this whole time? How old were you when your dad died?”

  I swallow back the sadness that fills me at
the thought of the day when my father died and left us all alone but push it aside and reply, “I had just turned thirteen when he died. Ben was not quite three years old.”

  She opens her mouth to ask another question when her partner interrupts.

  “Megan, I don’t think we’re supposed to be talking to them this much.”

  We both spear him with a look but it’s Megan who scoffs.

  “Really, Tony? So what, then? We’re all going to work at rebuilding this area and try to get back to some kind of normal lives but we’re never going to talk to anyone who isn’t in a uniform? How’s that supposed to work?”

  He flushes red, gives a half-hearted shrug and looks away, so Megan turns back to me with an eye roll. I like this lady!

  “So you were all alone with a toddler for years? How did you manage that without going insane?” she asks.

  I give a small laugh. “Well, the jury’s still out on the sanity part but I had AIRIA to walk and talk me through a lot of it. She was sort of a mother, father and teacher all rolled into one. She kept me on track for the most part.”

  Megan leans back and lets out a breath of semi-disbelief. “Still, it must have been incredibly lonely in that huge barracks with just a tiny kid for company.”

  I shake my head. “No, we had our own living quarters that my Dad built beside the main barracks. He made it a replica of our house in the city. Behind that we had our own cavern with a farm and storage area. I didn’t even know Uncle Bill had built the barracks next door until after my dad died and AIRIA increased my clearance level to green.”

  This last bit gets Tony’s attention and he blurts out, “Uncle Bill? General Mallor’s your uncle?”

  I lift a shoulder. “Godfather, actually. He and my dad served together and stayed close after my dad mustered out.”

  He shakes his head in confusion. “Then what are you doing out here? If you have your own place inside, why didn’t you stay in there?”

  I give him a hard look. “Evicted. Good old Uncle Bill took one look at the place my dad built and decided it would be his new home. I guess they weren’t as good of friends as my dad thought.”

  “Wow, that’s harsh! But not really surprising considering how he treats his own son.” He says with a grimace.

  Megan’s tone is far harsher. “He’s a right bastard!”

  Tony whips his head towards her. “Hey, he might not be very nice but he kept us alive for the last seven years. You could have faced a lot worse without him!”

  She turns to him and scowls. “Oh yeah, it was a right picnic for you boys. Too bad it wasn’t so great for us girls! There’s a reason we lost so many women to suicide, Tony, but yeah, thank god the General saved us.” She throws up her hands and does air quotes when she says the word saved.

  His back goes stiff and his face is blank when he barks at her. “That’s enough chit-chat, Private!”

  Her own expression turns to stone. “Sir, yes Sir!”

  When she turns away from him, I catch the suppressed rage in her eyes and swear I hear the sound of a crack widening. I look over to Rex and see him lean back with a neutral expression but there’s a glint of satisfaction in his eyes. I have to turn away to keep from smiling. He sure is cute when he’s stirring the pot!

  I watch the landscape go by instead. We’ve left the mountains and are now traveling through the foothills. We’re just coming up to an exit and I see a single Hummer leave the convoy and take the exit. I can just make out the faded white letters on the equally faded green highway sign that says Kananaskis. I follow the Hummer with my eyes for as long as I can, wishing that was me. I wish I could just load up Ben, Rex, Matty and all the others into my dad’s truck and drive away. Go explore the world now that the skies have cleared and pick out a new home. It’s going to happen, I’m sure of it. We just have to find the right moment to make it happen.

  It isn’t long before we leave the foothills and the wide-open prairies spread out before us. The sky is huge here and my stomach rolls a bit at so much open space but it’s the ground and what the tires are kicking up that sickens me.

  As far as the eye can see, the fields, trees, and buildings have been burnt. The landscape is completely black or gray from soot and ash. Every time the wind blows, it sends clouds of it billowing into the air. My eyes quickly start to burn and my lungs protest with a hacking cough. Everyone in the back of the truck is suffering along with me except for the guards who were quick to don goggles and filter masks. I spend the rest of the ride with my shirt pulled up over my face for protection, cursing these fracking people and wishing I was in that lone Hummer speeding away.

  Chapter Nine … Joslin

  “Why are we doing this again?” Jackson asks in annoyance as he drives us away from the convoy.

  I spear him with a look. “I’m sorry, do you have something more interesting to do? Are you really that eager to stand around watching those poor people being worked like slaves? Or maybe you love hanging out with the same people we’ve been stuck with for the last seven years?” I say with sarcasm. When he makes no reply, I sigh. “Come on, Jacks! Here’s our chance to explore and get away from them for a while. We can see something new and besides, I did an overflight of the area with the drones and found some interesting places that might give us some good scavenge.”

  He glances away from the road ahead to me and gives a tentative smile. “You know what, it will be nice to get away for a bit.”

  I smile in relief. I’m not ready to share my real plans with him yet but it’s imperative that I get a grounds-eye view of the places I saw on the drone footage. I need to have all my ducks in a row before I make a move that will change everything. Until then, I need to keep my cards close to my chest. I want Jackson with me but I’ll need a strong case to sway him for going against his dad. It doesn’t matter how hard the General is on him, he’s still Jackson’s only family and it will take a lot to break that bond.

  We drive in silence as we take in the dead forest surrounding the road. I’m happy the General stopped his burn program before we reached this point or we would have had to find a reason to go even further away to find what I think we will need.

  Jackson slows down as signs start appearing so we can read the faded words that point first to a turn off to a ski hill and then to what was once a luxury hotel with a nearby golf course. The property will have a lot of the resources I think we will need, but it’s huge, and what I’m really interested in lies at the next junction in the road so I wave Jackson forward.

  “We can stop on the way back and check out the hotel. The turn we want should only be a few more minutes ahead.”

  Thankfully, he doesn’t protest again and just keeps driving before turning when I point at the road I’m interested in. He pulls up and stops in front of an open gate with a pair of matching totem poles flanking the opening. Each totem pole is the anchor to the start of an old fort style log wall that is over twelve feet tall and from what I saw on the drone cameras, wraps around the entire property. I study the entrance closely while ignoring the incredulous look Jackson has sent my way. He finally loses his patience.

  “A summer camp? What the heck would we need from a summer camp that we don’t already have in the bunker’s storage?”

  I give him an impish grin. “Nothing really, but I always wanted to go to one of these places on school break but none of my foster families were willing to pay for it.” I give him my best pitiful look. “Please Jackson? I just want to look around! When I saw it on the drone feed, I couldn’t resist the idea. It might be my only chance to ever see one!”

  He gives an amused shake of his head but starts rolling through the gates. I hate deceiving my best…my only…friend this way. Hopefully, it will be worth it if my plans fall into place.

  He parks in front of the biggest building and shuts the Hummer down before turning expectantly to me. I send him a gleeful grin before shoving out of the vehicle and bouncing up the stairs. I’m concerned that the double front d
oors will be locked and I’ll have to break the glass to get in but after a few tugs, they part for me. The wall is number two on my list of must-haves but there are two other needs that are just as important for this to work so I delve deeper into the dim building and find another yes on the list.

  The room opens up with sunlight flooding through the atrium above showing me a huge central fireplace with a large vent above that rises up to the ceiling. There are benches ringing the fireplace with room to sit at least fifty people.

  Jackson comes in and joins me with an arched eyebrow so I add to the deception by asking in a wistful tone, “Do you think the campers sang camp songs and made smores in here when the weather was bad?”

  He reaches over and pats my back in sympathy. “I’m sorry you never got to do all things you should have been able to do before the bombs, Joss. I wish things could have been different for you.”

  I give him a genuine smile for his sweetness and then shrug. “It is what it is. Hopefully, the future will give me a chance at some of the things I missed out on. Come on, let’s go check out some of the cabins!”

  He gives me a concerned, thoughtful look but nods and follows me out of the building. That’s good. I want him thinking about what a crappy future I will have under his dad’s thumb.

  We spend a few minutes in each of the camper’s cabins but they’re pretty bare bones with just bunks and moth-eaten blankets covering them. Some of the cabins have been exposed to the elements and wildlife have gotten into a few, making big messes. I keep my eyes peeled as we move through the camp for the final thing that I need to make this location work and finally spot it just as Jackson starts to lose interest. There’s an outdoor shower area set up near the small stream that runs along the back wall of the camp and I head right for it when I see the distinct handle sticking out of the ground. It’s fused with rust but I keep trying to get it to move until finally I give up and yell for Jackson.