Lucas nodded. “I’ll want my saddlebags.”
“They’re safe with us,” Arnold said.
“No doubt. I’d still like them with me.”
“I’ll have someone bring them to your room.”
“Barn’s right over there. I can get them myself.”
Arnold’s expression hardened, but he merely nodded. “Sure thing. I’ll give you a hand.”
Lucas followed the security head to the massive barn and noted dozens of horses. “This all your animals?” he asked.
“No. We have three other holding areas.”
“What about in winter? You keep them here?”
Arnold nodded. “The barns have heat. And we built them with insulation. Same with all the buildings, although it can get hairy with a big snowfall. Lot of shoveling.”
“Why did you choose this location?”
“I didn’t. The Doc did. I joined up after they were already established.”
“Huh. What’s your background?”
“Marines. Captain. Three tours of combat.” Arnold studied Lucas’s face. “You?”
“Texas Ranger.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Why?” Lucas asked as he retrieved his saddlebags from where one of the youths had placed them with his saddle.
“I’ll be honest. When I heard Colt was bringing a mess of people with him, I wasn’t thrilled. We got plenty of mouths to feed already, and some of them don’t know a whole lot about guns and the like.” Arnold noted Lucas’s M4. “I’m guessing you’re not one of those.”
Lucas nodded. He could understand the man’s concerns. “I can handle myself.”
“What about the rest?”
“Sierra’s coming along. So’s Ruby.” He gave Arnold a brief rundown of their battles with the Crew. “Neither of them is dead weight.”
“I don’t like that the Apache knows our location.”
Lucas nodded. “Neither do I. But it wasn’t my call.”
Arnold moved a step closer. “Need some help?”
“No. I got it.” Lucas looked at where a youth was brushing Tango. “Horse could use some food and water.”
“He’ll probably get a massage, too. We’ll take good care of him.”
They exited the barn and Lucas walked to where Sierra was waiting with Eve, speaking to Tarak. Colt and Ruby were nowhere to be seen. Sierra spotted Lucas and her face lit up, even though it was obvious she was tired. Lucas’s heart beat faster at the sight. Arnold leaned a little closer. “Fine-looking woman.”
“That she is,” Lucas agreed.
“Judging by the way she’s eyeing you, you’re a lucky man.”
Lucas remained silent, the only sound his boots on the dirt path.
Elliot came out of one of the long, low buildings with Michael as Lucas approached Sierra. “There you are. Good. I’ll show you to your rooms. Eve, you get your own. Will that be acceptable?”
Eve nodded and smiled at the idea.
“Of course, you all will as well,” Elliot added as he registered the fatigue on Lucas’s face. “My apologies. We’ve taken up far too much of your time. It’s just that this is an exciting moment for us.”
“Where’s Ruby?” Lucas asked.
“Your friend got a head start on you.”
“And Colt?” Lucas asked.
“Sarah whisked him away. Didn’t like the way he looks.”
“We did what we could.”
“Oh, you undoubtedly saved his life. He mentioned that we owe you some gold, as well.”
“You can put it against my bill.”
Elliot laughed at that. “I think you underestimate our gratitude for all you’ve done. You’ll be able to drink out on your good deeds for the duration, I assure you.” Elliot motioned to the second building to their left. “These will be your sleeping quarters until we can arrange something more permanent. And we’ll see if we can find you some clean things to wear. I imagine you’re tired of those after weeks on the road.”
“Did the job,” Lucas said.
“That will be wonderful. Thank you, Doctor,” Sierra said.
“Please – Elliot to you.”
Sierra held out her hand to Eve, who took it. “Well, Elliot, let’s get this youngster scrubbed off and see if she has an appetite, shall we?”
“Indeed,” Elliot agreed.
She threw a thousand-watt smile at Lucas, which wasn’t lost on Arnold or Elliot. “Lead the way.”
Chapter 24
The sleeping quarters were snug – Lucas’s room was a twelve-by-ten box with an efficiency bathroom attached, but to his eye it was a suite at the Ritz. He set his saddlebags down by the door, sat on the bed to remove his boots, and nearly fainted at the feel of a real mattress. He’d almost forgotten what a bed felt like after so many nights on the road, and it was all he could do to resist lying down, but the coating of road dust on him was the deciding factor.
The gravity-fed shower provided enough warm water to last fifteen wondrous minutes, and the unfamiliar luxury of soap and shampoo was almost too much for his senses. When the water finally cooled, he stepped from the stall and studied his face in the mirror: the dark lines beneath his eyes provided mute testament to the ordeal they’d been through.
Five minutes later he was outside in the sunshine, wearing his last clean shirt and jeans; earlier a young man had appeared at his door and taken his soiled clothes to wash them. Sierra appeared moments later and his breath caught in his throat at the sight of her in a simple white summer dress, Eve in a miniature long-sleeved version by her side.
“I could get used to this,” she said as she joined him and tiptoed to kiss his cheek.
“Me too,” Lucas said, taking her hand and trying not to fixate on the tattoo of the eye of Providence on her bare arm.
“They took my clothes,” Eve said.
“Probably needed a cleaning,” Lucas replied.
“Hope they bring them back.”
Sierra smiled down at the little girl. “If all their clothes are as pretty as your dress, maybe we can trade them for our old stuff.”
Elliot reappeared from the larger building, trailed by Arnold and Michael. The two subordinates couldn’t have been more different in appearance – Arnold a hardened veteran with the lean, no-nonsense physique and features of a professional combatant, Michael a slender younger man with birdlike features and quick eyes. Elliot moved toward them just as Ruby emerged from the sleeping quarters, her hair brushed, also wearing a white dress.
“I hope everything fit,” Elliot said. “We only have so much fabric, but what we have is white, as you no doubt surmised.”
“It’s lovely,” Ruby said. “You make these here?”
“Yes, but only recently. It’s one of the additional products we’ve found we can trade.”
“Where do you barter?” Lucas asked.
“Santa Fe’s the closest outpost. But of course nobody knows it’s us. We do only small lots through different people to keep from leaving a trail. Not that anyone suspects a thing. We’ve been very careful to keep our presence a secret, as you probably know. We used to have our own trading post, but we shut it down a couple years ago so we wouldn’t draw too much interest.”
Ruby nodded. “Smart. You’d be overrun if people suspected how nice this is.”
“Yes, a regrettable byproduct of the crisis. One would hope that civilization would return, but it’s showing great reluctance. And now, with the threat of a new virus…well, let’s just say Mother Nature’s won every round so far.”
“But you believe you can create a working vaccine?” Ruby asked.
“That’s the hope. Which reminds me – do you have the USB drive with young Eve’s information?” Michael said, stepping into the conversation before Elliot could reply.
Lucas fished it out of the front pocket of his jeans and handed it to Michael. “That’s it.”
“Brilliant,” Elliot said. “Thank God for small miracles – or in this case, big
ones.” He crouched down and smiled at Eve. “Want to look around at all the cool stuff?”
Eve nodded shyly, and Elliot chuckled as he straightened. “We can start with the layout, and then I’ll show you the growing areas and the underground bunkers.”
“Colt mentioned you have gardens,” Ruby said.
“That’s right. Over on the far side of the valley, where the sun’s optimal. Tomatoes, carrots, other vegetables, some fruits and herbs…”
“I’d love to see them. I have somewhat of a green thumb.”
“Marvelous. A woman after my own heart.”
The tour lasted an hour and ended at what was obviously Elliot’s pride and joy as well as his lair: the laboratory that he’d built in a subterranean bunker, connected to the other storage bunkers and equipment rooms by a series of passages. Elliot’s living quarters were adjacent to the lab, which he explained was at his orders so he could work odd hours whenever an idea sprang to mind.
“I came up with the concept the second year here – something that would stay constant temperature year round with minimal heat or cooling, wouldn’t be affected by unusually heavy snowfall, and would be defendable if attacked. There’s no sign of it from above, and the only entrance is through the cave we passed through,” Elliot said. “We’ve since created a whole complex of subterranean dorms for winter. Came in handy last year, which was especially brutal.”
“Don’t you have a problem living underground?” Sierra asked. “I couldn’t do it.”
“Like everything, one adapts. It’s not so bad. I’m not a mole or anything, and I tend to work best at night, so often it’s dark out when I’m in here anyway.”
“The Doc is one of those rare birds who only needs four or five hours of sleep,” Michael added.
“One of the benefits of old age,” Elliot said.
“Ruby used to live in a bunker too,” Sierra said. “Isn’t that right?”
“Did you really?” Elliot exclaimed.
“Yes, well, it did the job.” Ruby told him about her bunker. When she was finished, Elliot was frowning.
“What a tragedy that you lost it,” he said. “We owe you so much.”
“Spilt milk,” Ruby said with a shrug, although her eyes were moist.
Elliot showed them around the laboratory, explaining the different pieces of equipment, including a level 4 clean room setup where he could work with pathogens like the virus. Lucas was uncomfortable being in the same area with something so virulent and deadly, but Elliot assured them that it was perfectly safe.
“Another reason I stuck this under a mountain – very little chance of anything damaging the vault and letting our bug escape. We poured three feet of high-density concrete in the floors, walls, and ceilings of the lab to ensure nothing nature threw at us would cause a problem.”
“It’s very impressive. But why not use the facilities at Los Alamos?” Ruby asked.
“Too obvious and out in the open. And too many ghosts,” Elliot said with a shudder. “Or rather, bad memories.”
Ruby let the subject drop, as Elliot was obviously agitated by the question.
“There’s much more to show you. The computer area, for one. Ruby, I think you’ll approve. Then the communications room, the mess facility…”
Arnold nodded. “Speaking of which, it’s way beyond lunchtime. Let’s go grab something to eat.”
“That sounds great,” Lucas said.
The dining area was in one of the aboveground buildings, large enough to seat a hundred and fifty at the long bench tables in one sitting. Elliot led them past a few scattered groups of late diners to the service counter, where they scooped out helpings of chicken stew and rice with vegetables. A woman brought them pitchers of freshly made fruit punch, and they sat at the nearest table and dug in.
The food tasted like ambrosia, and they all overate, Elliot’s appetite nearly equal to theirs. When they were done, he sat back and rubbed his ample belly. “That hit the spot, don’t you think?”
“It was wonderful,” Sierra said.
Elliot glanced at Eve. “Somebody looks sleepy. I don’t blame her. Perhaps a siesta? We really have nothing for you to do until the celebration tonight.”
“Is a celebration really necessary?” Sierra asked.
“Of course it is! Your arrival is the biggest event of the year. We’ve made some hard cider, dressed venison, and everyone’s looking forward to the feast. Get some rest, because it will probably go late.”
“No point in arguing,” Michael said. “We never turn down an excuse for a party.”
“I like this place already,” Ruby said, and everyone laughed.
They made their way back to their rooms, and Lucas was asleep within a minute of his head hitting the pillow. The last image in his mind was Sierra in her white dress, her tanned arms glowing in the sun, and the tattooed eye staring at him like a fury.
Chapter 25
Elliot hadn’t been kidding about the enthusiasm of the Shangri-La residents for a blowout, and the mess hall, as well as the outdoor area around it, was packed. A four-piece acoustic band played folk and country music outside, where tables had been set on the freshly trimmed grass.
Lucas sat between Colt and Sierra, with Eve next to her aunt and Ruby and Elliot across from them. Elliot entertained them throughout the meal with stories of developing Shangri-La into a refuge for civilized living, as well as his plans to develop a vaccine that would save mankind.
“The vaccine idea came later, honestly,” Elliot explained, finishing his monologue. “I originally conceived of the place as a refuge from the madness out in the world, and wanted a lab to develop medicine to save people. I knew early on that existing stocks would expire in a few years, and figured there would be a thriving market for antibiotics, blood pressure meds, a few other things.”
“He was right about that,” Michael interjected from Elliot’s left.
Arnold held up a cup of cider, his face flushed from the alcohol. “As he usually is!”
Everyone toasted for the umpteenth time, and Sierra leaned closer to Lucas and gave his cup an extra clink. Lucas, ordinarily no drinker, felt light as air from the booze and the altitude; his head swam slightly, and he made a mental note for the third time that this was his last cup of cider of the night.
Sierra had looked ravishing when he’d seen her at dusk, her dress now decorated with several wildflowers, her slim form silhouetted by the torches that encircled the dining area. Eve had been playing with a group of six other children, laughing with the innocence of youth at some simple game, and Lucas had stood frozen at the sight of Sierra as the warm evening breeze stirred her hair, her long, lean legs finishing with the combat boots that were her only shoes.
She’d drifted to him like a wraith and planted a soft, lingering kiss on his lips, and the moment had seemed to last forever, time suspended for a beat that was a small eternity. When she’d pulled away, her eyes had been bright and penetrating, and Lucas had felt a thrill run up his spine. She’d taken his hand and led him to the table, where he’d spent the last two hours trying not to think about her naked form with only scant millimeters of fabric covering it.
Ruby was engrossed in a conversation with a reed-thin man with salt-and-pepper hair and three days’ growth of beard, whom Elliot had introduced as Terry, one of their mechanical specialists as well as a pilot. Apparently Terry was also funny, because Ruby had spent much of the evening laughing at his observations between sips of cider.
“So, a pilot, huh? Where’s your plane?” she asked when the music quieted during a slow song.
“Over on the other end of the valley. Just a single-engine Cessna, but it does the job.”
“Which is?”
“Flying to the dam, mainly. And anything the Doc wants me to do.”
“What do you run it on?”
“Ethanol. I detuned it so the compression will handle it, and replaced all the seals. Runs like a champ. I’ll take you up sometime if you like.”
“As long as you have a parachute for me. Just in case.”
Terry leaned into her and murmured something in her ear. Ruby blushed and laughed like a schoolgirl. Lucas and Sierra shared a sidelong glance – it appeared their travel companion had made a new friend.
Elliot called out when the band took a break, and then delivered a ten-minute oration that was both florid in its praise of the newcomers and endearing in the heartfelt gratitude it expressed. When he took his seat again, Michael stood and gave his own, shorter speech, welcoming them to the enclave and thanking Providence for their safe arrival. Much toasting ensued, and in spite of his resolve, Lucas’s cup seemed to empty itself yet again before another pour from the never-ending procession of pitchers magically filled it.
Sierra was laughing at something he’d said, but he didn’t remember what, her eyes flashing in the torchlight. Lucas steadied himself and pushed his drink away, wary of the home-brewed concoction, and blinked away the slight wave of weightlessness that passed through his body.
“What’s that?” he asked, suddenly aware that Elliot had said something to him.
“I said there’s plenty more where that came from. The night is young, even if I’m not.” Elliot waved his goblet and winked at Lucas, and the scene suddenly seemed surreal, a fête in a secluded glen as distant from the dangers of the trail as anything he could imagine.
The band returned and struck up a ballad Lucas recognized from pre-collapse days. Sierra leaned her head against his shoulder and squeezed his hand.
“Come on. Dance with me.”
The Day After Never Bundle (First 4 novels) Page 58