“We can leave tomorrow, if you are ready. We’ll get the supplies and horses together today and ride out in the morning at sunrise.”
Eric left the meeting with Nantan feeling optimistic about the collaboration. Now, all he had to do was convince Megan of why she’d be better off staying here to wait for him, and though he was sure she would have her objections, he hoped to win Aaron over to his side first and enlist his help. The kid was waiting for him at the general store nearby, and Eric walked over to tell him that his business in town was done and they could head back out to the ranch if he was ready. Aaron had wanted to go to the meeting with him, but Nantan had not invited him, so that had worked out well for Eric.
“I’m sure you can convince him to let us ride with you,” Aaron said, when Eric told him that Nantan and a select group of men would be accompanying him on his journey.
“No, I don’t think so. This is going to be a reconnaissance mission for them, and there’s always the possibility that we will engage with hostiles somewhere along the way. Nantan is choosing men from his security force that have combat experience. This is no place for my daughter, or for you, Aaron.”
“But look at what we have been through already, Mr. Branson. We have already had many hostile encounters. I was even taken prisoner and survived, and we have both traveled a great distance through the wilderness.”
“I understand that you have, Aaron. I appreciate all that you have done for my daughter, especially convincing her to come here, even if you arrived separately. But as someone who cares about her as I’m sure that you do, you must understand the risks involved in a trip like this. You both made it through those mountains one time, but that is no guarantee you could do it again. We will be traveling light and pushing hard. I have no doubt that Nantan and the men he chooses to go with us are as good as any I’ve worked with in overseas operations. They’ve already proven it to me with the ease with which they tracked and captured me.”
“I’m good too,” Mr. Branson. “I may not be a soldier, but I’m an expert woodsman. I learned from my father and my Uncle Ethan. People think that modern Indians have lost all of the skills of the old ways, but that’s simply not true, at least not here. Not all of the knowledge was lost, and many things were passed down that way from father to son, for generations. Even though we can no longer live on the land as hunters and warriors, we take pride in preserving the knowledge. At least a few of us do.”
“I believe you, Aaron, and that is why I am counting on you to look out for Megan while I’m away. If I took her with us, then I would be worried about looking out for her all that time too, and it would divide my attention and my focus, which right now is on getting to that cabin to bring Megan’s mother, Vicky, and my friend, Jonathan back here. I’m willing to leave Megan in your hands because I know that you are a true friend to her, Aaron, and that you will do everything in your power to protect her. Can you do that for me, sir? Can you accept this as your mission so that I can complete mine swiftly and without worry for her?”
Aaron was silent for a moment as he thought about all that Eric had said. Eric knew he must be disappointed, but he was a smart kid too, and the logic Eric presented to him was unassailable. “Yes sir! You can count on me, Mr. Branson. I’ll protect Megan with my life. I was prepared to do that when we left together, and I’ll still do it now. I screwed up when I let those guys take me by surprise, and I’m sorry for that, but at least they didn’t see Megan. She’s a smart girl and brave too. I can’t believe she followed them all the way back there in order to know where they were taking me, and then found her way to those soldiers to report it. She is brave, and you must be proud of her.”
“Yes, she is, and I’m glad she was able to do what she did. That brings me to my next point. I know those people that took you to their camp were part of the same militia group I encountered farther north, because it was the information I got there that led me to the camp. But tell me; are you certain the men of the attacking force that rescued you were really soldiers? I mean official U.S. military personnel?”
Aaron thought a minute before he answered. “I guess so. I mean they said they were, and they wiped out all those guys in that camp and burned their stuff. They rounded up all of us that were being held there and said they were taking us someplace safe. I have no idea where. I just knew I couldn’t go with them though, or I’d never be able to find Megan. I had no idea where she was by then, but I knew I had to go back to where I’d last seen her and go from there. I knew those men wouldn’t let me do that, so I took off running into the woods when I had the chance. They even shot at me, but I don’t know if they were actually trying to hit me or not. They didn’t though, and I felt lucky to get away.”
“Did you notice any official looking markings or insignia on their uniforms or their equipment? Flags or anything like that?”
“Man, I honestly don’t know, Mr. Branson. I was pretty shaken up, you know. This all happened so fast and it was so unexpected. I didn’t really question who they were, because they said they were the good guys and they’d just killed all the bad guys. As far as their uniforms, I don’t know. I mean, they were like green camouflage or something, but I didn’t pay much attention to them.”
“That’s okay,” Eric said. “I’m just curious.”
“Why? Do you think they weren’t really soldiers? Maybe another militia group or something?”
“I don’t know. After talking to Nantan and your Uncle Ethan, I’m getting a better idea of what’s going on out here. I doubt if they were militia, since the strike seemed to correlate with Megan’s report of the camp to those soldiers she found at the outpost on the highway, but they may be hired contractors doing work the Army isn’t authorized to do, especially considering this is happening on U.S. soil. It’s hard to say, and we may never know, but the main reason Nantan wants to go is to learn more of what is going on. It’s valuable knowledge that will help him and the rest of the security force here keep your people safe.”
“I understand, Mr. Branson. I wish I could go, but I will respect your wishes and stay here with Megan. She may not be too happy about it, but you’re right. She’ll be safe here.”
“Thank you. I’ll talk to her when we get back to your uncle’s.”
Just as he expected, Megan was even more displeased than Aaron when she found out she wasn’t going to be included in Eric’s expedition to go back to the cabin to get her mom and the others.
“It seems like all I ever do anymore is wait! I’m going to be bored out of my mind sitting here that long!”
“You sound just like your mom! She’s had to do a lot of waiting too, but we all have. I know it’s not what you’d prefer, but it’s best for you and it’s best for me this way. We are going to be traveling fast and as hard as we can push the horses, and believe me, it won’t be any fun.”
“It’s still better than sitting here doing absolutely nothing!”
“Well, at least you won’t be alone. Aaron is staying with you, so there’s that. I like him. He seems like a good guy.”
“I like him too, Dad, but now I’m like, what’s the point in getting to know him better? You’re saying the only option we have is to get on a boat and sail to some faraway island, so I guess I’ll never see him again.”
“Nothing is certain anymore, Megan. First, I have to go get your mom. I don’t know how or when we’ll get back to Louisiana, but if Aaron wants to come with us, I don’t have a problem with that.”
“He won’t, because this is his homeland, and these are his people. He’s never lived anywhere else besides here on the reservation and in the dorm on campus for that brief time he was there. I doubt he’s ever even seen the ocean, much less sailed. So, this will just be another sad good-bye like with every other friend I had.”
“Vicky will be coming back here with us. She doesn’t have any close family anywhere near here now that her grandparents are dead.”
“Yeah, she still has her mom, but she’s so far
away, I don’t know how she would ever get there on her own, but she may want to try.”
“If not, she can go with us. The option is there if she wants it.”
“How much room do you have on this boat anyway though, Dad? You said Mom wants to go, but if she does, that means Daniel and Andrew will be going too of course, which seems kind of weird, considering that it’s your boat. And then there’s Grandpa and Uncle Keith. And what about your friend, Jonathan?”
“It may be tight, but there’s room to fit everyone that wants to go. I don’t think your Uncle Keith will though, because he still feels it’s his duty to serve his parish, especially now that they’re so shorthanded. And I don’t know if your grandpa will go either. I wouldn’t be surprised to get back and find him wearing one of those spare badges Keith’s department has lying around down there. You know your grandpa. Jonathan’s plan was to find a boat and hang around the Atchafalaya where he could fish. I never promised him a ride to the islands, but he’s been a hell of a trooper ever since I met him, so I wouldn’t tell him no if he’s changed his mind. Your stepdad wasn’t too happy about any of this, but I think he’s had time to make an attitude adjustment. It’s none of my business anymore regarding him and your mom, but she’s not going to stay there while you and I sail away, you can believe that. So, Daniel is going to have to make his choice.”
“Well, the sailing sounds fun and all, but this is way too complicated and not something I’m ready to think about right now. I just hope things settle down first and it doesn’t come to that. I’m really more optimistic that they will now, after the way that Army sergeant helped me out by getting me here and then sent troops to attack those guys that took Aaron. I think they’re getting it back under control, so that’s what I’m counting on.”
As long as Megan was willing to stay there on the reservation with Aaron without complaint, Eric saw no reason to burst her bubble, but he didn’t share her optimism and saw little reason to alter his long-term plans just yet. He changed the subject and tried to simply enjoy spending what little time he had left with Megan before he had to leave. In the morning he would be up before dawn, checking his weapons and getting Maggie and Sally ready for the journey.
Ten
ERIC MET NANTAN AND the four he’d chosen to accompany them just after sunrise, and the six-man party started out to the north without further ado. In addition to the extra horse Eric was leading, they had three more packhorses with them that could serve as mounts for Shauna, Vicky and Jonathan if for some reason the other horses left at Bob’s place were unavailable. Nantan and his men were traveling light; with winter sleeping bags and bivy sacks and as much weight in weapons, magazines and ammunition as their other gear and supplies combined. Eric packed likewise, having already told them of the enormous stockpile of supplies Bob had stored at the cabin. Carrying food for the return journey wasn’t really necessary.
They crossed from Jicarilla reservation lands onto adjacent national forest property, and from there the Apaches led the way across a landscape of brush-covered rolling foothills well to the west of the Continental Divide. Nantan said it was a faster route than the high-country trails, and that they knew shortcuts that would avoid most roads altogether. Still, there were some that had to be crossed, and scattered ranches and communities they had to skirt around, along with barbed wire fences that presented obstacles for the horses. A couple of the men carried wire cutters for the latter, but in the places where it was isolated enough to do so, they used existing cattle gaps to avoid leaving traces of their passage.
“The outsiders moving in are rustling cattle where they can,” Nantan told Eric. “Soon, there won’t be any left.”
“Well, I can see that they would, considering how much ranch country there is out here. I suppose relatively tame cows are a reliable source of meat for those who are too lazy or lack the skills to hunt wild game.”
“Slow elk,” Nantan laughed. “They are easy to kill! And at the rate they’re going, most of the herds around here will be wiped out in a couple more months. The range lands out here are too big to patrol, and there are too many desperate people who are hungry. After that, I’m afraid if enough of those outsiders passing through survive long enough, the real elk and other game will become scarce too.”
“I’ve seen it before, in parts of Africa,” Eric said. “Never thought I would here though. It still seems so big and wild out here; so lonely in these mountains and deserts.”
“Some of it was, when most people still stayed in their cities and towns. But now that they’ve poured out of the population areas looking for someplace to go, you never know where you’re going to find them. Not all of them are bad people of course. Some are just folks with the sense to try and avoid trouble by going where they don’t expect to find too many others. The only problem with that though, is that too many of them from all those different places have the same idea.”
“And so, they bug out to what they think are safe refuges, only to find them crowded with all the rest who have converged there looking for the same!”
“Exactly.”
“That’s why we’re leaving on a boat; at least if I can get my family back to Louisiana where it’s waiting for us.”
“You may not be the only one with that idea either. You may find that the paradise you’re thinking of is full as well these days.”
“Maybe, but putting an ocean crossing between us and the worst of this can’t be a bad thing. And I know a few choice islands most people wouldn’t associate with paradise. Some that are hard as hell to get to as well.”
Nantan was silent for a moment, thinking that over, but then said: “We’ll make our stand right here. It may not end well, but I’d rather die here than anywhere else I could think of.”
Eric couldn’t argue with that concept, but he wasn’t attached to a particular piece of land, either here or elsewhere. He’d come so close to dying in so many places that it mattered little to him where it happened when the time finally came. Eric had no fear of death, but none of what he was here for had anything to do with himself. Sure, there were risks for his family regardless of where they went, and no guarantees they’d survive the passage or find refuge on the other side, but weighing the odds, Eric was still inclined to believe it was one of the better options. But he wouldn’t make that decision alone, as he had no intention of forcing anyone, including Megan, to do anything they didn’t want to do. Eric knew Megan had become attached to Aaron and leaving him behind was going to be hard for her. Vicky was another complication if she decided she wanted to go with them, as Eric hadn’t planned on such a big crew. He figured Jonathan would still want to stay in Louisiana, but the kid had been so helpful to him that Eric wasn’t looking forward to leaving him behind either. And then there was Shauna and her other family…. Eric stopped himself from thinking that far ahead. Just getting back to Louisiana was going to be challenging enough. Megan had done her best to describe the location of that highway checkpoint where she’d met the helpful sergeant that saw to it that she was taken to the reservation, and Eric intended to start there, once he got Shauna and the others out of the cabin. He would appeal to him and work his way up the chain of command as far as necessary in an attempt to arrange some sort of safe transport for them all. He expected it could be done. After all, Lieutenant Holton had made it happen for getting them out here. Eric didn’t talk of any of this with Nantan and his companions though, as they seemed to prefer silence to idle conversation, which suited him perfectly.
Once they had crossed into the state of Colorado, Nantan and his men led Eric on a route that still kept them well to the west of the Continental Divide, but within the big national forests that adjoined one another to create a virtual corridor of wilderness north to south along the backbone of the state. They traveled long hours each day, stopping only when it was too dark to proceed and camping with minimal cooking and other activities that could give their presence away. The gear the Apaches carried was minimal, but all
top-quality stuff, including sleeping bags and bivy sacks rated for serious winter camping. These men didn’t seem bothered by the cold anyway, and Eric figured they could get by without that stuff if they had to. They were clearly at home living outdoors in conditions that were harsh by any standards.
“It’ll be a lot worse in another month,” Nantan told Eric. “Good thing you’re going now to get them out. That cabin will be cut off in the winter.”
Bob Barham had told him as much, and Eric knew it was precisely why the old man had stockpiled so much firewood, as well as food and other supplies. He’d been planning to winter over up there, and there was probably enough for Shauna, Vicky and Jonathan to do the same, but Eric was sure glad they wouldn’t have to now. It was already going to be bad enough facing Shauna again, and he fully expected to be on the receiving end of her pent-up fury the moment she laid eyes on him. The good news he had to tell her would soften her up some, of course, but he knew Shauna well enough to know that she wouldn’t let him off the hook so easily after what he’d done to her.
Nevertheless, Eric was looking forward to seeing her again, and found himself thinking about her a lot. This was an interesting situation they found themselves in, now that everything had changed here at home and he’d come back to get her and Megan out of danger. Eric had initially hoped to find them all in Florida, of course, and even when he learned he would have to go to Colorado to get Megan, he’d never planned on bringing Shauna here with him. But here she was, and her husband, Daniel, was more than a thousand miles away. Shauna had barely mentioned him since they’d left, and Eric wondered how that would change once she learned that their mission out here was complete, and it was time to go back. Would she look forward to returning to him? Eric didn’t know, but he did know that he’d enjoyed the illusion of having his family back, of working together with Shauna as a team, with a common goal of finding their daughter and doing their job as parents to keep her safe.
Feral Nation Series Box Set 2 [Books 4-6] Page 43