The Day After Never (Book 2): Purgatory Road

by Russell Blake

“You know where this lake is?”

  Luis nodded. “A long way.”

  “Be specific,” Cano barked.

  “About a hundred sixty miles. In New Mexico.” Luis told him what he knew and answered several terse questions about the logistics involved in getting to the rendezvous point in time.

  Cano nodded. “Get a dozen of your best men ready to ride. I’ll round up the same of mine. I want to be on the trail within the hour.”

  Luis grunted assent, unsurprised by the order. “It might take longer to secure provisions and ready the horses.”

  “See that it doesn’t.”

  The door slammed in Luis’s face. He turned, livid at the summary dismissal, and all of his earlier resentment came flooding back. If this was how the next three days were going to go, where he was expected to act as Cano’s lapdog, it would take more than tequila to quell his fury. He considered confronting the Crew boss on it now, before Luis was surrounded by his men to watch his embarrassment, but thought better of it. If they found the woman and child, Cano would be out of his hair, and things would return to normal. If they failed, Cano would depart in disgrace. Either way, this was a temporary situation he’d just have to grin and bear.

  Luis slid his two-way from his tactical vest and radioed his orders to his lieutenant, who greeted the news without comment. He retraced his steps to the courthouse and compiled a mental list of everything they would need, and wondered how in the hell he would get it all collected in an hour. He decided to take the approach smart leaders had been using since time immemorial: Luis called his lieutenant into his office, ignoring the man’s sleepy expression, and delegated most of it.

  When the man trudged off, Luis took a final swig of the tequila and set it aside, resigned to an almost impossible ordeal where everything would have to go perfectly for them to reach the lake by the appointed time.

  Chapter 43

  Lucas arrived at the Artesia fortifications well after dark and obtained permission to enter the town after the wary guards checked with Bruce to verify his bona fides. He was beyond tired from the six days of riding to and from Lubbock, and he was looking forward to a hot meal and a decent night’s sleep. He’d calculated that if they left at dawn, they could easily make it to Bitter Lake by dusk, the distance do-able even with plentiful rest stops.

  Lucas entered Bruce’s property and the floodlights blinked on. Ruby and Sierra burst from the trailer’s front door as he neared, and he offered a weary smile as he dismounted. Sierra drew near, her intent to hug him obvious, and he shook his head.

  “Let me take a shower first. Been a long ride.”

  She hugged him anyway. “I don’t care.”

  Ruby watched without comment from the entrance. Lucas glanced at her and she nodded to him. “Nice to have you back. Trip uneventful?”

  He pulled away from Sierra reluctantly. “About what I expected.”

  Sierra’s face fell. “Then he…he wasn’t alive?”

  “Didn’t say that,” Lucas said, unstrapping his saddle and lifting it off Tango, along with his saddlebags.

  “Then he was?”

  Lucas led the horse to the water trough and removed the bridle. The stallion drank greedily while Jax and Nugget ambled over to greet him. Lucas turned to Sierra and nodded.

  “Yes. We’ve got a meet set up for tomorrow at sunset. Going to have to ride all day, but it’s done.”

  “What! Why…that’s awesome!” Sierra exclaimed. “Where?”

  “Up by Roswell.”

  Bruce appeared at the door. “Did I hear Roswell?”

  Ruby nodded. “Yes. Why?”

  “Oh. Well, it’s kind of dicey up there if you don’t know your way around and have an in with the locals…”

  “What do you mean, dicey?” Sierra asked.

  “They have the reputation of being a shoot-first bunch. Why? You planning a trip?”

  “Could be,” Lucas said, his tone guarded.

  “Then I best go with you, or you might not make it.”

  “Done okay so far,” Lucas said, his face a blank.

  “But if all of you are headed there, you really want to take a chance with them?” Bruce shot back, glancing at the women.

  Sierra studied her boots and then met Lucas’s eyes. “I told Bruce about Shangri-La, Lucas. He had a right to know.”

  “You what?” Ruby blurted.

  “He cornered me – he said we’d have to leave immediately if I didn’t. What was I supposed to do?” she protested.

  “Point is, I know all about it, Lucas,” Bruce said. “So there’s no reason to keep me in the dark.”

  Lucas fixed him with an icy stare. “Takes a special sort to threaten to throw women and a kid into the wild.”

  “I wasn’t going to do it. But I have every right to know what I’m involved in. Even if you believe everyone’s just here to be used by you to advance your interests,” Bruce said. “If I’m at risk because of something you’re involved in, and you’re staying at my place, that’s reasonable.”

  “Didn’t realize you were so philosophical,” Ruby said.

  “Come on, Ruby. I wouldn’t show up at your place asking you to hide me and then stonewall. I get why you did it, but that doesn’t make it right.” Bruce paused. “Besides, it’s done, and you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube, so maybe we should be discussing the future, not the past?”

  “How was…you know who?” Sierra asked quietly.

  “Good,” Lucas replied, still staring holes through Bruce.

  “That’s it?”

  “That’s all for now,” Lucas said, his tone indicating that there would be no more discussion about it with Bruce around.

  “Lucas, I can help you get through Roswell safely,” Bruce said. “Don’t snub me. There’s no reason to.”

  “Why are you feeling so helpful?” Lucas asked, his skepticism obvious.

  Bruce sighed. “Business is terrible. This place is dying for me. I had no real reason to stay except that there was no better option.” He shrugged. “Now that I know about your destination, there is. I thought that would be obvious.”

  Sierra’s eyes narrowed. “I thought you said it was all BS?”

  “Sure. Most stories like it are. But if you’re meeting someone who will take you there, that moves it from the pile of idiocies that circulate constantly and into the real world.” Bruce favored Lucas with a complacent expression. “I’m a pragmatic guy. If you’re off someplace better, I’ll pull my weight to be part of the group. I know this area, I have a lot of gear that could be helpful, and I can repair anything.”

  “What kind of gear?” Ruby asked.

  “Portable solar chargers. Medical supplies. Spare parts for that AR-15 of Sierra’s, that will also work with Lucas’s rifle. Batteries. Lighters. You want me to go on?”

  Lucas and Ruby exchanged a glance. “That’s an impressive list,” Ruby admitted.

  “Plus, I know where you’re headed. So you’d be stupid to leave me behind. I might tell someone.”

  Nobody spoke. When Lucas finally nodded, it was with clear reluctance. “I could always shoot you on the way out.”

  Bruce shook his head. “You don’t strike me as the type.”

  “Always a first time.”

  “People don’t change who they are. Come on, Lucas. I know you don’t like me much, but you don’t know me. I can help. Anytime you meet someone who can, why would you turn them down? That makes no sense.”

  Lucas carried his saddle into the trailer, and Ruby toted the saddlebags behind him. Bruce brought up the rear and closed the door and bolted it once they were all inside. Lucas set his gear down by the door and knelt to say hello to Eve.

  “How you holding up, Eve?”

  “Good,” she said.

  “You been behaving?”

  “Always,” Sierra said.

  “She’s a little angel,” Ruby chimed in.

  “We’re going for a ride tomorrow. You want to come?” Lucas asked. />
  Her blue eyes swiveled to his and he felt the odd electric current sensation throb through his skull. “Yes, please.”

  Lucas looked up at Sierra. “At least that’s decided.”

  “What about me?” Bruce asked.

  Lucas blinked twice, obviously irritated. “Let me get something to eat and rinse off while I think about it.”

  Bruce looked ready to argue further, but wisely held his tongue when Sierra gave him a small shake of her head.

  “I’ll make you the biggest omelet you’ve ever seen, with rabbit stew inside. Sound good?” Ruby offered.

  “You have no idea,” Lucas said, and made for the bedroom, freeing the Velcro fasteners of his flak jacket as he walked.

  Sierra and Ruby prepared the meal while Bruce sat on the couch, staring glumly at his computer station, lost in thought. Ten minutes later Lucas emerged wearing new pants and a fresh shirt, his face shaved clean, burnished the shade of an old penny from the sun. Sierra gave him a beaming smile as he sat at the cheap dining table and placed a plate in front of him.

  “You clean up pretty good,” she said.

  Lucas dug into the meal without comment, eating like a starved man, washing down the heaping portion with a liter of water. When he was finished, he sat back and eyed Bruce.

  “Let’s be clear. I don’t like the tactics you used on Sierra.”

  “I got that.”

  “But you’re right that we could use any help we can get. How are you with a gun?”

  “Good as any, I guess.”

  “You ever been in a firefight?”

  “I’ve had to shoot my way out of a few situations,” Bruce said.

  “Like what?”

  “Guys tried to rob me couple years back.”

  “You ever kill a man?”

  “One of them died.”

  “Could you do it again?”

  Bruce nodded. “In a heartbeat. It was either them or me. In that kind of situation, you do what you have to.”

  Lucas returned his nod. “Fine. We’re going to ride at daybreak. Pack everything you’ll need as though you were never coming back. Because you’ll probably never see this place again. You got any problem with that?”

  Bruce shook his head. “Music to my ears. I’ll be ready.”

  “What kind of weapons you have?”

  “AR-15, modified to full auto. H&K 9mm. Six spare magazines for the rifle, three for the pistol. Flak vest. Whole nine yards. You don’t have to worry about me.”

  “You do the modification yourself?”

  Bruce nodded again. “Of course.”

  Lucas yawned, the long hours on the trail suddenly hitting him hard on a full stomach. He looked to Sierra and Ruby as he stood. “I’m sorry. I’m beat. Let’s get some sleep while we can. Tomorrow’s going to be a hard one.”

  They followed him into the bedroom, Eve holding Sierra’s hand as Ruby fetched his bedroll from his kit and joined them. She spread it on the floor beside Sierra’s, and Lucas kicked off his boots and lowered himself with a grateful sigh.

  “You going to tell us what happened in Lubbock?” Sierra asked.

  Lucas gave them the short version, and by the time he was finished, both women looked shocked. Ruby shook her head and eyed him. “I swear you have nine lives, Lucas. But you’ve used up about ten.”

  “Sometimes it feels that way,” he agreed.

  “Do you think Jacob will be okay?” Sierra asked softly.

  “He seemed to think so. I have no way of knowing,” Lucas dissembled, reluctant to share his conclusions with her if he didn’t have to. She seemed to accept the response, and he let the discussion die there.

  On that note, he closed his eyes, and within thirty seconds he was snoring softly, the women beside him as they settled in for their last night of sleep under a roof for the foreseeable future.

  Chapter 44

  Readying the animals for travel and packing everything took longer than Lucas would have liked, and the sun was already painting the sky tangerine by the time they got under way. Lucas eyed the western horizon warily. A band of dark clouds loomed over the Guadalupe range, flashes of occasional lightning illuminating their mass. A gentle wind carried the scent of rain and ozone as they finished their final checks and mounted up, Lucas in the lead.

  Bruce moved to the gate and opened it, only to freeze when Wesley’s voice called out from the road beyond.

  “And where the hell do you think you’re goin’?” he demanded, shotgun in hand.

  “Wouldn’t be plannin’ on sneakin’ out on us, would ya?” Hank asked.

  “Boys, I’ve been thinking,” Bruce said. “I can’t find the parts, so you’re free to take my array. In fact, take anything you find inside – there’s a lot of stuff. Radio, inverter, batteries, the whole shooting match.”

  “He is sneakin’ away,” Wesley said. “I knew it. His crap probably doesn’t even work.”

  “It’s all fine. And now it’s yours. I’ve had it with this one-horse dump. You’re entitled to it,” Bruce said. “Including the chickens and the garden.”

  “What if we don’t want ’em?” Hank asked belligerently.

  “What are you talking about?” Bruce countered, shaking his head in wonder. “That’s what you came for. It’s yours. You win, and I quit. How dumb are you that you don’t get it?”

  “I think he just called you an idiot,” Wesley snarled.

  “There a problem here, fellas?” Lucas asked, guiding Tango into view.

  “What’s it to you?” Wesley barked.

  “You’re holding me up, and I need Bruce here to fix my rig. I’ve got a lot of road to cover, so I’d appreciate it if you boys settled your differences and moved aside.”

  “You don’t tell us what to do,” Hank growled. “This is our town.”

  “Which you’re entitled to. But Bruce here is going with me, and he won’t be coming back. You have a beef with him, he’s leaving you plenty to make up for it. So I’d say you’re more than even.” Lucas adjusted the shoulder strap of his M4 and let his hand trail to his hip holster.

  “Don’t like your tone, stranger,” Wesley snarled.

  “My grandpa used to say something pretty smart. Stayed with me,” Lucas said. “Always ask yourself if this is the hill you want to die on before you pick a fight. If it is, and you’re ready to meet your maker, then continue. If not, let it go. Wise man, he was.”

  “You threatening me?” Wesley asked, raising the barrel of his shotgun toward Lucas.

  “Another thing he said was if you point a gun at a man, better be because you plan to use it.”

  The sound of Ruby chambering a round in her rifle before riding into view, her gun leveled at Wesley, surprised Wesley and Hank.

  “Your grandpa was indeed a smart one,” Ruby said. “You fellas want your lives to be over this morning, or you figure this isn’t worth dying for?”

  Lucas drew his Kimber while the two men were absorbing the sight of Ruby with an assault rifle pointed at them. He drew a bead on Wesley’s head. “This here’s a .45-caliber Kimber with hollow-point rounds. When one hits a man’s skull, it puts you in mind of a melon smacking the sidewalk. Ain’t pretty. Ask me how I know that.”

  “Our fight ain’t with you. He screwed us,” Hank called from behind Wesley, his gun now raised as well.

  “That may be,” Lucas conceded. “And now he’s giving you everything he owns. So you need to decide whether you want what brains you have in the dirt, or are smart enough to walk away.” Lucas shrugged, his gun hand steady as a rock. “Ruby, you take the loudmouth behind this one – full auto. I got our friend here.”

  “Okay.”

  “So fellas, like I said: I’m in a mite of a hurry, and you’re holding me up. What’s it going to be?” Lucas asked, cocking the Kimber hammer, his eyes barely visible beneath the brim of his beaver felt hat.

  “Ain’t right, is all,” Wesley said, lowering his shotgun.

  “You gonna let ’em just wal
k?” Hank demanded.

  “Shut up, Hank,” Wesley said. “Put the gun down. We won this round.”

  “Appreciate it if you boys would toss your pieces inside the gate,” Lucas instructed. “You can get them back once we’re out of sight.”

  “Now you’re disarming us?” Hank called, his rifle still raised.

  “Don’t want to get back shot. Only two ways to do that. One’s blow your heads off. The other’s to lock your guns in here so it takes you some time to get ’em. You’re trying my patience something fierce.”

  The conflict ended when both men tossed their rifles to where Bruce stood. He toed them onto the grounds. Lucas eyed the pair. “Pistols, too.”

  Wesley reluctantly removed a Glock from a belt holster, and Hank drew a long-barrel Colt revolver. They lobbed them past Bruce with angry expressions.

  “There,” Bruce said. “Everybody gets to live to see another sunrise. That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

  “Wouldn’t push it,” Lucas warned. “Close up after us, and let’s git.”

  Bruce scrambled to comply as Sierra and Ruby trailed Lucas off the grounds. Bruce led his horse past the waiting men and then returned to close and lock the gate with the padlock hanging from the bolt. If looks could kill, Bruce would have been dead and buried, but he ignored the duo and mounted his horse.

  “See you around here again, ain’t gonna go like that,” Hank growled to him. Bruce flipped him off as he gave his horse the spurs. The man reddened as he and Wesley made for the gate and the guns beyond it.

  Lucas breathed a sigh of relief when they were on the road, and led them off the highway once the town had faded in the distance. There were well-defined game trails that paralleled the highway, and the horses settled into a comfortable pace Lucas estimated at between three and four miles per hour.

  “Think we’re going to outrun the storm?” Sierra asked from beside Lucas.

  “Hope so. Might blow itself out over the mountains. They sometimes do.”

  “That would suck. I mean, riding in the rain. As if covering this much distance in a day isn’t bad enough. Can you imagine?”

  Ruby spoke from behind them. “Don’t tempt fate. The universe hears you, it might get ideas.”