Enduring Grit: an EMP survival story (The Off Grid Survivor Book 3)

by Connor Mccoy

  Nigel lowered the jar from his face. “We’ve had another run in with bandits. The same two. At least this time we had guards around the storehouse. They didn’t get anything.” Nigel sighed. “But we got a good look at one of them. He was definitely one of Derrick Wellinger’s men.”

  “Damn,” Conrad said, “Even in death the man’s legacy is a cancer around here.”

  “Wellinger?” Darber turned to Conrad. “He’s the guy who tried to kill you and steal your ranch, right?”

  “Yeah.” Conrad’s face tightened. “Some of his cohorts got away. I was hoping they’d turn over a new leaf, but it seems some of them aren’t going to learn shit until someone puts a bullet in their head. We got word that one of them has been stealing crops in Hooper City. They’re probably desperate. They don’t know where their next meal is coming from, so they’ll take it at the point of a gun.”

  “Conrad, I think you should stay away from town for a few days. It’s not exactly safe to conduct big trades in the open,” Nigel said. “Give us a chance to get the guards into shape. If you show up with more cans, you never know if these lunatics will jump you.”

  “It’s alright,” Conrad replied. “We need more time anyway to can more crops. Look, why don’t you come by with some empty jars. We’ll trade some extra crops for more metal and wiring.”

  “I appreciate it.” Nigel offered his hand. “Be careful out there.”

  Conrad took it. “You too.”

  With no more business, Conrad and Darber departed, pedaling back onto the street leading to the state road. The doctor let out a soft breath. “Bandits? Sounds like the Wild West out here.”

  “I wish I had better news, but even the smallest towns are in a pinch. The farms are crowded with refugees, so they can’t regularly supply the stores with food. They got to feed everyone on the land. Hooper City at least got back on its feet with a few new crops. If they can get some of the damned stuff canned, they may have a chance to last through the winter.” Conrad scowled. “But you heard the story. They have to guard the food on top of everything else that’s going on here.”

  As Conrad walked his bike back on the road, he noticed Darber’s expression. The doctor opened his mouth, and seemed ready to say something. But quickly, he closed his mouth and turned away.

  Something’s eating this man, Conrad thought. There were too many signs for him to dismiss it. First, though, he wanted to get him home. Some questions just would have to wait.

  VANDER’S FIST pushed open the glass door all the way, easily allowing Blake and Lance into the motorcycle shop. At least it used to be a motorcycle shop. Now it served as one of Kurt’s main storehouses in addition to a service point for the few vehicles Kurt was able to salvage from the solar event. As it turned out, some of the automobiles around town were old enough to have survived, as they didn’t possess electronics that could be fried.

  Juan was one of the guys who took care of them.

  “Juan!” Blake called. “Hey, Juan!”

  A tall, thin man ran up from behind a tool chest. “Hey, Blake! Vander! What’s going on?”

  “We need guns,” Vander said. “Guns and sharp as hell knives. We’re going hunting.”

  Juan smiled. “Ah, the best of the best, right? Now, when you say hunting, you mean animal or person?”

  “Doctor Darber’s disappeared.” Blake’s boots crunched on the loose rocks inside the facility. Juan was not a guy who cared much about cleanliness, or anything else beyond his immediate interest. “We think he peeled out of town with some guy named Conrad Drake, or at least that’s what this kid here tells us.”

  “Ah.” Juan curled his fingers in an imitation of someone holding a gun. “Homo sapiens. Toughest prey out there, right? We want him back alive, I’m sure.”

  “Yeah, but we’re probably going to spill some blood on this.” Blake narrowed his eyes. “So, lethal and non-lethal.”

  Before Juan could speak again, the glass door to the shop opened once more. Blake turned, ready to show annoyance at the interruption. But then he froze, and his expression morphed into surprise, if not a tinge of horror.

  The man wasn’t tall. In fact, he only dwarfed Lance in height. Otherwise, Vander, Blake and Juan all surpassed him by at least six inches. Much of his appearance was obscured by his clothing, with even his head seeming to disappear inside a high-collared jacket and a big hat. Other than that, his only visible skin was on his left hand, for a black leather glove sheathed his right hand. His eyes looked dingy yellow, and they barely moved. When Hunter wanted to look at something, he turned his whole head in that direction.

  “Hunter,” Blake said, sounding almost shocked.

  Hunter turned his neck with the smoothness of a robot. “Blake. I see you’re already working hard to retrieve the doctor.”

  “Yeah. In fact, we were arming ourselves now.” Blake took a slow step backward, almost as if he hoped Hunter wouldn’t notice.

  “As expected,” Hunter said.

  Chills ran across Lance’s skin. Hunter was Kurt’s right hand man. When he showed up, it was like you were hearing from the mouth of Kurt himself. Nobody in town was more reverential, more subservient to Kurt than Hunter was, to the point that some of the men wondered if the man was possessed. Lance thought the idea was silly, something superstitious people bought into, but as he observed the calm, glided movements of Hunter and the unnerving serenity in the man’s eyes, Lance wondered if this man wasn’t touched by the devil himself in some way.

  Hunter pulled out a set of truck keys. “Here,” he said, “Phoenix has given you the go-ahead to use one of the trucks to bring the doctor back.”

  Juan reached out and took them. “He must be pissed as hell to give us the keys, no?”

  “Phoenix is concerned. If you don’t return with his doctor or a suitable explanation, then he will be angry,” Hunter replied dryly.

  Juan’s smile faded a little. “Well, I don’t guess it’s too late to find someone else to take this job, right?” Neither Blake nor Vander ventured a response.

  “Phoenix has complete confidence in your abilities,” Hunter said. “So don’t prove him wrong.”

  Hunter then pushed open the door and showed himself out. It wasn’t until Hunter was out of sight that Vander finally blurted out, “‘Phoenix!’ What a crock of shit. I don’t mind working for the man, but this god complex shit really drives me up the wall.”

  Lance scratched his arm. “Phoenix” was Kurt’s nickname. Lance didn’t know why, as it sounded like Kurt was being named for a major American city, but apparently the word had a different meaning than just Arizona’s biggest city. It was some kind of legendary creature, but Lance couldn’t recall what it was.

  “That ‘god complex shit’ keeps a lot of locals in line,” Blake said. “A lot of folks think God turned his back on them, so they’re shopping around for a new god. Kurt just happened to fit the bill.”

  Vander just sneered. Juan, however, allowed his full smile to return. “Well, I guess I should pack some snacks, too, before we leave.”

  “Hey.” Vander seized Juan by the shoulder. “Get the gear first. And double it. Double it all. I’m not getting Kurt pissed at us for failing this.”

  Juan grabbed Vander’s hand. “Sure.” Then he pulled. Vander allowed Juan to pry off his hand. If Vander wanted to, he could have seriously bruised Juan, but the henchman had no time to do anything other than make a point.

  Juan then turned to the back room and pushed open the doors. Inside was a small arsenal of guns and knives hanging from the wall.

  “So, I guess I can wish you guys good luck,” Lance said. “I mean, you got the map and everything.”

  “You’re coming with us,” Blake said.

  Fresh sweat poured down Lance’s face. “But you don’t need me.”

  “If this goes down badly, you’re our insurance policy,” Vander said as he took a sidearm from Juan.

  “Okay! Okay!” Lance exclaimed, waving his hands. “But I’m
getting a gun too, right?”

  Vander, Blake and Juan all turned and looked at him. Then they burst out laughing.

  “I like this guy.” Juan waved his finger at Lance. “I’m glad he’s coming. He can make us laugh the whole trip.”

  Lance swallowed. This whole mess was getting worse by the minute. Lance feared by the end of the week, he’d be pushing up daisies.

  DARBER EYED the homestead as Conrad approached the porch. “Still looks in tip top shape since I last saw her.” Then he tilted his head toward the right side of the home. “Well, except for those windows.” The nearest window still was covered with a piece of wood.

  “There’s still damage that we haven’t fixed yet. I hope you’re not unnerved by a few bullet holes in the walls, but we must set our priorities. Between bringing in crops and tending to the animals, I’d say we’ll just have to get used to Swiss cheese walls for a while,” Conrad said.

  As Darber closed in on Conrad’s house, the damage from Derrick Wellinger’s siege became more apparent. Every now and then he’d spot a cut or a splice in the house wall near a window. It was clear the windows took the brunt of the damage, as the gunmen were trying to take out whoever was inside, and shooting through the glass was the easiest way to do it.

  “Unbelievable,” Darber said.

  “I wish we would have gotten back under the cover of darkness,” Conrad said.

  “Why? I thought you told me you took care of Derrick Wellinger and his men,” Darber said.

  Conrad halted as his boots hit the porch deck. A middle-aged woman with bleached blonde hair and an expression that stared daggers at Conrad stood there in the open doorway.

  Conrad licked the insides of his mouth. “That’s why.”

  Darber looked to Conrad, then to Camilla in the door. “Did something go wrong?”

  Camilla held up the note that Conrad had written. “Damn, Conrad, not even a goodbye,” she said.

  Conrad slipped his hands in his pants pockets. “It was kind of a spur of the moment thing.”

  “Oh yes, nowadays taking off for a night is like going to the grocery store to buy eggs!” Camilla took a few steps toward him. “I mean, come on. You can’t just pop in and say, ‘Hey, I got to go fetch the doctor, see ya soon’?”

  “I didn’t want you to worry too much,” Conrad said. “Besides, I know you’d want to stick to me like glue.”

  “You’re right about that. Well, you’re back and the house isn’t full of fresh bullet holes except the one I shot in the wall when I read your letter,” Camilla said.

  Conrad closed his eyes. “Cammie…”

  “Just kidding. Come on in, both of you.” Camilla turned and walked inside.

  Darber looked at Conrad. “Are you sure you two are okay?”

  Conrad stiffened up. “Damn sure.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  OUTSIDE IN THE BACKYARD, in the shadow of the house, Conrad gazed at the row of freshly canned jars before him on the table. “Now that is a thing of beauty,” he said. Darber was right there with him, examining the jars of fruits and vegetables.

  Sarah smiled. “I was just thinking how many trips to the grocery I’d have saved if I knew how to do this.” Then she laughed.

  “Think you’ll feel the same way when it’s time to slaughter some pigs?” Conrad raised an eyebrow.

  Sarah coughed. “You probably have me there.”

  Conrad reached for one of the jars, but Sarah slapped him away. “Don’t touch it! It’s still cooling!”

  Conrad held the hand that Sarah slapped. “Yes, ma’am,” he said softly, coating his tone with a touch of sarcasm. Then he glanced at Darber and rattled his head.

  Camilla picked up a jar of carrots at the very end, one that already had cooled off. “I know it’s not pretty, but soon enough, when we slaughter some of the animals, we’ll have a load of meat that’ll take us through winter and into spring. Oh Conrad, you said you went to Hooper City. Did you get a chance to show Nigel our handiwork?”

  Conrad nodded. “He was impressed. He definitely could use some of our jars. But he didn’t bring good news about Hooper City. It seems there’s thieves afoot going after their crops, and some of them are from Derrick’s little band.”

  Camilla lightly slapped her forehead. “God.”

  “Yeah, he advised us to steer clear of town for a bit until they can get some protection organized,” Conrad said, “to keep the cans from being stolen.”

  Sarah placed her hands on her hips. “I hate to ask this, but do we have anything to worry about?”

  “That Derrick’s boys might come back?” Conrad exhaled loudly. “Could be, though I’d like to think we put the fear of God in them and they got the hint that we’re not easy pickings.”

  “I doubt it,” Camilla said. “Bullies always go after the low hanging fruit. They know our bite’s pretty deep.”

  “True, but the danger’s always going to be there, whether it’s Derrick’s boys or somebody else who’s desperate for food and resources,” Conrad said. “We just have to stay prepared for what the next day will bring. That’s all we can do.”

  Darber braced himself on the jar table with both hands. “I hate to cut the tour short, Conrad, but I’m exhausted. I’m not as young as I used to be.” He chuckled. “Or rather, I’m not in as good a shape as I should be. How about I take some time off my feet? That couch in the front room looks pretty inviting to me.”

  “Sure.” Conrad turned to the house’s side door. “In fact, that couch has a roll-out bed. You can plant yourself there for the night. I’d give you a guest room, but as you can imagine, I’ve got a few too many guests here.”

  DARBER LET out a contented sigh as he laid back on the roll-out bed. Conrad and Sarah stood off to the side. “This place reminds me of my uncle’s farm in Jefferson. I spent almost every weekend for three years going there to help mow the grass. They didn’t have central air, so a lot of the rooms felt like this.” He closed his eyes. “Got some happy memories there.”

  “I did look into solar-powered fans before the solar event hit. I even rigged our shower with solar energy, but I never got a chance to try it with a fan,” Conrad said.

  Darber opened his right eye. “You have a running shower?”

  “Surprised, huh?” Sarah laughed.

  “Actually, I was more surprised Conrad didn’t have a mess of hamsters running on a giant wheel to generate power for the whole house,” Darber said.

  Conrad shook his head. “Sorry, Ron. I’m not that good. Besides, I would have used squirrels.”

  Sarah flashed Conrad a wry look. “I’m joking,” he replied.

  “I sure hope so. It’s hard to tell sometimes.” Sarah’s smile grew a little wider. “How about we drag Liam and Carla in here to meet Doctor Darber? They’ve been out there long enough, especially poor Carla.”

  Conrad turned to Darber. “I’ll return with our youngsters.”

  “I won’t be going anywhere. Actually, I’ll try not to dose off.” Darber stretched his arms.

  Conrad left, but Sarah stuck around. “So, how long have you known Conrad?”

  “About six years. I worked out of an office with another doctor named John Waldo, but he retired and left town. He’d see me for various things.”

  “Like what?” Sarah asked.

  “Nothing too serious. Can’t get into any detail. Patient confidentiality,” Darber answered. “You understand.”

  Sarah nodded. “Right. No, I was just wondering about Conrad, what’s he been up to in the past several years. I don’t know much about his life since…” She grasped her right arm. “Since we parted ways.”

  Darber sat up. “Well, I’m not sure what I could talk about. Conrad’s very much what you see. A bigger thinker than he is a talker.”

  Sarah folded her arms. “Did he ever talk about me?”

  Darber smiled. “Patient confidentiality.”

  “Oh good grief.” Sarah chuckled.

  Darber chuckled with her. “Ac
tually, he talked as little as he could about his past. I knew he was divorced. I didn’t learn much else about his family, except that he hadn’t seen his son in many years.” The doctor looked up at the ceiling. “Quite a surprise to see how things have changed for him.”

  Sarah inhaled a deep breath. “For both of us.”

  “IT’S A BEAUT!” Juan shouted as he walked beside the red four-wheel-drive truck.

  The truck was housed inside this small service garage on Kurt’s orders. Even though the vehicle was almost four decades old, it had been well maintained and refitted a few times during its lifespan. It was clean and well-serviced, and its set of high tires made it a vehicle that could handle almost any terrain.

  “Fully gassed and ready to go, right?” he asked as he turned to Blake, Vander and Lance.

  “It may be ready to go, but I’m not.” Vander yawned. “It’s getting dark out there. I want to catch some sleep before we go hunting.”

  Juan leaned against the truck’s back door. “You sure Kurt doesn’t want us to get going ASAP?”

  “Where? The doc’s probably still wandering around in the dark.” Vander shook the road map in his hand. “Give him time to get to where he’s going, then we pop in and grab him.”

  “We still need time to load up some food for the road,” Blake said, while casting a glance at the glass doors leading to the section of the maintenance shop.

  Lance wondered if he expected Hunter to show up again. This maintenance shop was under close supervision by Kurt’s men, even more than Juan’s shop down the street. These three guys might be the toughest brutes Lance had met, but even their legs shook at the thought of Kurt’s wrath.

  “No kidding.” Vander pushed past Lance, almost knocking the young man down to the concrete floor. “I’m not going out there with nothing to shove in my stomach. I want to get those goddamn snacks.”

  Lance thought this might be a chance to get on their good side. “Do you want me to get you the food? I mean, I know Sam bundles it up for the men. I can run down there and grab a, uh, a package.”