“Thank you,” I say, nodding to the mountain lion. “We’d have been that things lunch if it weren’t for you.”
“You’re welcome,” Lynn says.
“Where does this leave us then?” I ask.
Lynn looks at me thoughtfully. “Depends,” he says. “How many people are you with?”
Again, his questioning makes me uneasy.
“Why do you assume that we’re with anyone else?” Frank asks.
“Because you are,” Lynn says.
He doesn’t say anything else, just waits for us to answer. I can tell all of us are unsure whether to lie or not. I opt for the truth.
“Our group is over forty strong,” I say.
The number catches him by surprise.
“No shit?” he asks. “I didn’t realize there were many groups that big left in town.”
“There’s not,” I say. “The Animas Animals have seen to that. We’re something of an anomaly.” I see Lynn’s recognition at the mention of the Animas Animals, a dark look crossing his face.
“Yeah,” he says. “I’ve heard those bastards are a real piece of work.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” Richard says. “Assholes want to take over everything.”
Lynn nods. “Caught a few of them trying to scout our camp a while back. They were really eager about it too, excited they had something to report back. They weren’t so excited after we were through with them.”
The scouts Frank told us about. The one’s Boss sent out and never returned.
“We had to move deeper into the mountains after that,” Lynn continues.
“And how has that worked out for you?” I ask, an idea striking me.
“As well as anyone could hope for. Haven’t had any scouts come after us since then at least.”
“And do you think that will last?” I ask.
“Don’t see why not,” Lynn says. “We don’t come within a mile of town anymore. The Animals can keep it as far as I’m concerned. We’ll make do out here. As long as we stay out of their way, there’s no reason for them to come after us.”
“I understand why you might think that,” I say. “It’s sound logic, one most men could see. But the man who leads the Animals isn’t most men, and his logic is twisted as it comes.”
Lynn eyes me in scrutiny. “I take it you have had some run-ins with this man?”
“More than a few,” I say.
“And you think this man will try and find us out here, so far from his source of power?” I nod. “What reason could he possibly have to do that?”
It’s Frank who answers. “It’s like my friend said,” he says, nodding to Richard. “They want to take over everything, that includes you. So long as you’re out here, you’re a threat.”
Lynn does not take to the idea well, shaking his head back and forth. “A threat? How can we be a threat when we do everything in our power to avoid them?”
“You exist,” Frank says. “There are few things Barr wouldn’t do for power. Believe me, I was forced to do their dirty work for months. It killed me, but he used my daughters as leverage for my compliance. I know better than anyone the lengths he would go to ensure his power remains intact.”
“It’s why we are here in the first place,” I continue. “We had a farm outside of town, well off the beaten path. But when Barr found out where we were, he attacked us. They destroyed the place, burnt it to the ground. They did the same thing to a ranch belonging to a friend of ours. The ranch was over seventy strong, and unlike us, they had no prior run-ins with the Animals. It didn’t matter. They attacked. Took it as a prize along with the people who didn’t die or escape during the fighting.
“It doesn’t matter how well you’re hidden. Doesn’t matter how peaceful you may be. Barr wants it all. And he’ll continue going after others until someone stops him.”
“And that’s your plan is it?” he asks. “You’re going to stop him?”
“Yes,” I say. “At least I’m going to try like hell to. We’ve already made some moves against him, but we’re facing an uphill battle...”
Here it is. Time to lay it on the line.
“The truth is, I don’t know if we have a chance without some help.”
Lynn’s eyes are penetrating as they peer into mine. I don’t blink or look away, hoping to convey the truth of what I say. The moment stretches, and for the life of me I can’t get a read on him one way or another, his face grim, mouth set into a hard line. Finally, he shakes his head.
“I hope you find the help you need,” he says. “But that won’t be us.” He turns to two of the men behind him. “Grab the cat.”
He turns back to us as two of his men come forward. “I won’t begrudge you your kill, just as I’m sure you won’t begrudge me mine,” he says. I don’t say a word as the men grab the mountain lion by the legs and drag it away. All I can manage is a nod, the disappointment hard to swallow.
The men reach Lynn and continue walking without looking back. Lynn nods our way. “I wish you good luck in your fight.” he turns and I find my voice.
“You can walk away from us,” I say. “But you can’t just walk away from them.” The statement makes Lynn turn around.
“They’re nearly five-hundred strong,” I say. “They have resources—food, weapons, running vehicles—all of it taken from those they kill or capture. They’re like locusts, moving from one spot to another, eating up everything in their path. What will you do when the snows thaw and Barr sends more scouts after you? Because believe me, he will.”
“Then we’ll deal with them like we did the others,” Lynn says. “Move further away if need be.”
“That’s your plan?” I ask. “To keep running?”
The question sets off a trigger. I can hear it in his voice that his patience wears thin. “My plan is to keep us alive,” he says. “I’ll do whatever it takes in order to do so. Even if it means running.”
“Believe it or not, we have the same plan,” I say. “What we’re doing, bringing this fight to the Animals, you think it was my first choice?” I shake my head. “I wish nothing more than to live in peace, it’s the only thing I remember wanting since this all started. But every attempt I have made to make that happen has been taken away by Barr. There comes a point when fighting back is the only thing a man can do.
“I understand your reasons for not wanting anything to do with this. Truly, I do. And don’t think that the prospect of running away never crossed my mind. But run where? I won’t presume to know what you’ve been through, but it’s almost a given that to have made it this long, you’ve seen your share of violence. That’s not going to change, no matter how far away you get. I was in Denver when the pulse hit. Trust me when I tell you that it’s bad all over. You might escape Barr, but the world is full of men just like him. And unless people rise against them, they will be the ones who rule it. I’ll be damned if I’ll just sit by and watch that happen.”
Lynn surveys me with that same penetrating stare, face as unreadable as ever. “You have heart,” he says. “But do you think heart will matter when you’re outnumbered over 10 to 1? Will your words of rising against this monster mean a damn thing as you watch someone you love die before your eyes? Have you even thought of such things?”
“It’s all I’ve thought about,” I say. “Don’t think I don’t know how this all might end. I’ve lost loved ones long before taking this fight to them. I’ve held the hand of a friend as her heart beat its last and the light faded from her eyes. I’ve watched flames consume my aunt’s body after the Animals attacked our farm. Before this is over, I expect more deaths will follow. Possibly even my own. But what other choice is there? There’s nowhere to run, and if we do nothing we will either die or be resigned to a fate worse than death. Our only chance at life—a real life, is to fight. Whatever the odds, whatever the risks, we have to take them...If others would only realize that, maybe those odds wouldn’t be so grim. Maybe we could create a future that didn’t involve our lov
ed ones being hunted down and our lives ending in a hail of bullets. It’s possible, I believe it in my soul. But none of us can manage it on our own. Only by coming together will we ever have a chance at it.”
There’s a long silence as Lynn weighs what I have said. His eyes leave mine and search out my family behind me, landing on each of them in turn. I find myself doing the same, taking in the gaunt faces staring back at me. Unlike Lynn, they are not so difficult to read. There’s fear. Unease. They may have heard of the Animals, but until now, they hadn’t realized how big of a threat they are. But there’s something else, something in their eyes that came alive at the mention of there being a better future. For so long, the idea of that future has been my dream. And watching them now, I know it’s not mine alone. But will that be enough to sway them?
Lynn’s eyes settle on me once again and I meet his gaze without a word. Finally, he nods. “I think we might have more to talk about.”
Chapter 11: (Lauren)
When I first met Morgan, I held a gun to his head. It didn’t matter what he had just done for Grace and me, saving us from Steve, the man who made my adolescence a living nightmare in more ways than one, or that he had done nothing whatsoever to make me think he was a threat to us. He was a stranger, one who I was not about to let dictate what happened next. And then he looked into my eyes and spoke. To this day I don’t know what made me drop the gun—what made me trust him when for so long I had trained myself to believe that the only person I could trust was myself. I just thank God that I did. It was the best decision of my life.
I’ve been thinking of that day a lot lately. It’s not easy looking back, remembering the girl I used to be and imagining how differently things might have turned out had I refused Morgan’s help. Grace and I wouldn’t have made it on our own. Not a chance. We needed others. Morgan helped me realize that. I smile. So much has changed since then, both good and bad. But watching Morgan these past few days, I realize some things remain the same.
When he first appeared out of the treeline with a half dozen strangers flanking him on either side, I feared the worst. Immediately I thought of the Animals, that they somehow had captured him during the hunt and were now coming for the rest of us. But then rationality hit me. Even if the Animals had captured him, Morgan would never betray our location. That’s when I looked closer and realized the truth. Morgan wasn’t captured, wasn’t in danger. He was leading them to us.
We broke bread with Lynn and a handful of his people that night. Or rather, we ate servings of roasted elk, the protein so welcome on my tongue it nearly brought tears to my eyes. We talked for hours into the night, going on at length over the state of the town. While they had heard of the Animals, even encountering their scouts at one point, it was clear they had no idea how large their presence had grown. Frank and the former Animals left nothing to the imagination, painting them, and Barr in particular, in a brutal light. They listened intently and voiced the many questions that arose.
By the time we finished, the candles had grown low and the temperatures outside had dipped well below freezing. They slept at the safe house that night, and in the morning they parted ways, Lynn promising to inform his people of what we discussed. He may have been a leader among his people, but he couldn’t speak on their behalf on a matter such as this.
That morning and afternoon passed in quiet tension. It was a gamble being so honest with Lynn. He may have seemed like a good man, but the truth is we didn’t know anything about him. And he knew our numbers, our location. What was to stop him from delivering us to the Animals himself? When night came we left, most of us moving to a secondary safe house Richard had scouted out. Morgan, Leon, Felix, Emily, and I were the only ones to stay behind. We stayed with the hope that Lynn would return with more of his people. But that morning passed without incident, and already I could feel the tension rising again. It wasn’t until that afternoon that we saw him emerge from the treeline, nearly twenty of his people at his back. With a smile, he shook hands with Morgan and laughed away his apologies for moving the others to another safe house.
“Smart to think we would betray you,” he said. “Makes me feel more confident knowing we’re not allying ourselves with an idiot.”
I smiled at that. Crass as the man might be at times, I took a liking to him immediately. And his help couldn’t have come at a better time.
In the days that have followed, more have joined our cause. We’ve struck out into the high mountains, deep into the forests where bands of people have been forced from their homes. They gathered around roaring fires and listened to Morgan as he spoke of the state of things and his hope to build a future. Not all were swayed. Some had no desire to fight, either too afraid or too downtrodden to be convinced otherwise. Then there were those who outright refused to see us, threatening violence if we tried to enter their perimeters. But many have taken his message to heart.
It was like watching them come alive after a deep sleep, a spark lighting the dullness of their eyes. I’ve felt it myself—the same spark that flared to life the night we blew up the gas station. We’re still severely outnumbered. Still watching over our shoulders should the Animals discover our location. But it also feels like we’re building something real. It feels like hope.
With the arrivals this morning, our number has grown to nearly one-hundred. And while that number is nothing to scoff at, it also includes children, the sick, and the injured. Many were in even worse states than we were, the winter proving to be a more brutal enemy than the Animals could ever hope to be. If I had to guess, I’d say maybe half of us are strong enough for battle. Compare that to the army that is the Animas Animals, and our coalition starts to look very meager indeed. But as Frank has reminded us, the key to victory hasn’t changed. We’ll never be strong enough to overcome them through force. Our only chance is to convince them to rebel against Barr. That’s how we’ll win. We just have to figure out how to do that.
“They’re vulnerable,” Angela says. There’s a fire in her voice as she looks around at the many faces surrounding us. With so many people joining us, we’ve moved into an abandoned warehouse far on the outskirts of town. As far as safe houses go, it’s ideal. Close enough to town that we can continue to recon the Animals, but far enough away that we can disappear in a hurry if need be.
“I think Barr’s starting to crack. I mean, look at the patrols he’s been sending out.”
It’s true. In the beginning, the patrols were small, maybe three or four Animals in a single truck or van. They relied on their reputation to keep from being assaulted, one that was more than effective. The fear of those vehicles kept people well away. Nobody was about to attack one of them. Until us. Now, the patrols have grown significantly. Two vehicles minimum and at least a dozen Animals between them. Same with the foot patrols. They’ve grown from a handful of Animals to squads of twelve that prowl the area’s closest to the DoubleTree. He’s certainly not holding anything back in his hunt for us. But does that mean he’s cracked? Somehow I doubt it.
“We should strike them now,” Angela finishes.
“But how do we do that?” Lynn asks. “From what I’ve seen, we’ll be killed long before we manage to breach their base.”
“If you ask me, you all have been too lenient with them,” says a man I do not know. “All those patrols you’ve captured, gone to waste. You should have gotten rid of them when you had the chance or ransomed them at the very least.”
“Brilliant idea,” Leon scoffs. “Treat them the same way the man they hate does. That will really bring them to our cause.” He rolls his eyes. “This only works if they believe in us. Killing and ransoming wouldn’t do anything but turn them against us.”
Arguments erupt back and forth, some more heated than others. Of course, that’s to be expected. Emotions are running sky high right now, everyone within the warehouse struggling to keep their fear and anxiety in check. Because though we are preparing for a fight, we all know how dire our situation is. It’s inevi
table that there would be squabbling and infighting on how to best go about it. Hell, it was the same thing on the farm when it was only our family to contend with. Add in the ranchers, former Animals, and those from the mountains into the mix, and things are getting animated indeed.
I rub my forehead with my knuckles, the onset of a headache making its presence felt. We’ve been at this for over two hours, and still, we can’t agree on a course of action. Either the suggestions are too grand, too dangerous, or they wouldn’t do enough damage to justify putting ourselves at risk. To be fair, I don’t know what the best action is either. This whole situation feels like a catch-22, trying to figure out the right balance between risk and reward. And I can tell I’m not the only one who is starting to feel the strain of this discussion. All around the warehouse, people are either growing more vocal, more heated, or else dejected to the point where they hardly seem interested in what’s being said.
“You insist that most of the Animals are only there through force—that they hate Barr as much as any of us, and yet they still have not done a thing to bring him down.” I don’t recognize the woman. Another of the many new faces we’ve had over the past couple of weeks. “They know the things you’ve done. They know your message and your call for them to choose a side in the fight we’re in. But if they haven’t risen to the task yet, what makes you think they ever will?”
There are murmurs of agreement. Even I have to admit she has a point. We’ve intercepted numerous patrols, have spread our message to dozens of Animals. Combine that with the speech Morgan gave the night we blew up the gas station, and I doubt there is a single Animal who does not know our aims. And still, they’ve yet to act.
I believe that the majority of the Animals are not as bad as their deeds suggest. Frank is proof of that. But at a certain point, it’s hard to feel sympathy for them when they continue to follow Barr’s orders despite our efforts to bring him down.
Echoes of a Dying World (Book 3): A Dream of Tomorrow Page 15