“I'm not there, yet, but you're right, I need some time to relax. I can't think straight. All the little things compounded with Caitlin and the lodge—it's a lot. I feel like I'm going to snap at any given moment,” she explained.
“Got it. We don't have soap, but a good scrub with your t-shirt will get the dirt off and wash your shirt at the same time,” he said with a smile. “I haven't seen this creek, but if there is sand, you can use that to get the dirtiest parts, like your feet, arms and legs. It’s a little rough, but it’s invigorating and you will feel clean.”
“I'll try anything. Let's go,” she said, more than ready.
By the time they made their way back to camp, Megan felt like a new person. Wyatt had ended up getting in the creek as well, unable to pass up the refreshing water. When they arrived at camp, Willow was pulling sticks with chunks of turkey meat out of the fire. It smelled delicious and would be the first real bit of protein any of them had eaten in days.
They all sat around the fire, eating in silence, all of them far too concerned with food to worry about conversation. Once finished, Aiden started to hum.
“What’s that song?” Ryland asked. “I think I know it.”
“Amazing Grace,” he replied. “My dad used to play the guitar by our campfires. We sang a lot of hymns, but that one has always been my favorite.”
Jayden nodded his head and started humming. It wasn't long before Albert joined in. Willow started to sing the words. Megan smiled and let the sounds of the impromptu concert wash over her. It was calming. She missed her daughter like crazy, but in this moment, she felt a renewed sense of strength of clarity. The simple act of bathing, eating and now enjoying some music had cut through all the stress and left her ready to tackle the world.
After an hour of campfire songs, they decided to turn in. Tomorrow, Megan and Ryland were going hunting. The rest of the group would begin to work on the defenses as well as make weapons. They were ready to take back their lodge.
16
Aiden and Jayden had gone out with Brenda the day before and reset some of her traps she’d left behind when she moved to the lodge. Before they wasted ammunition, she and Ryland were going to check the traps first.
They heard a noise coming from the area Brenda had said they put a trap.
“Shh,” she told Ryland as they crept closer to the area.
They peered through the trees. “Look!” Ryland said a little too loud. “We got a real bear!”
“Shh,” Megan said, staring at the scene before them. There was a black bear and her cub, making some horrendous noises. Megan felt a twinge of guilt for the trap, but in this world, food was too important to feel guilty about it.
Megan was thanking her lucky stars they’d decided to bring along the .338 Remington instead of the .22 they used the day before. She was anticipating getting something big and the smaller rifle wouldn't cut it. It proved to be a smart move, now that she was looking at the backside of a very angry bear caught in their trap.
“Megan!” Ryland screamed a split second before she realized what scared him.
The bear wasn't in the trap. The bear had been feasting on the deer caught in the trap. Ryland's scream drew the bear's attention. A hundred thoughts flashed through Megan's mind as she looked at the cub and back to the angry mother bear. Things were about to get very ugly.
“Go, Ryland!” she screamed, planning to follow behind him.
She looked around, hoping Wyatt or someone else had heard his screams and were coming to help but it was impossible. It had been mere seconds and they were a good fifteen minutes away from the cabin. It was up to her to save Ryland and herself.
They couldn't outrun it and trying would only encourage the enraged bear. Megan didn't hesitate, she brought up the rifle, prepared herself for the monstrous kickback she was about to endure, aimed and fired.
The bear was charging her, but the bullet rang true and nailed the bear in the head. Megan knew it was a risky shot, but she didn't have time to think. She got lucky. Her shot penetrated the skull and the bear dropped almost instantly. The kickback from the gun had knocked her on her butt. If her shot had been off even a centimeter, she would be staring down the throat of a bear.
Ryland, who’d run ahead, came back. “Are you okay?” he shouted.
Megan, still dazed by what happened slowly nodded, coming to a stand. The poor cub had run off, frightened by the gunshot. The regret she felt for orphaning the cub was minimal compared to the relief she felt to be alive and in one piece.
“I'm okay. Stay back,” she warned when he started towards the bear.
“Is it dead?” he asked.
“I hope so. A head shot is a huge risk, but I think it killed her instantly. I hope it did,” she muttered under her breath. “I can't believe that worked. I’ve heard stories about shooting a bear in the head, but the stories are passed around because they’re incredibly rare.”
Megan thought about getting close enough to see if it was truly dead, but decided against it. She wanted some back up before she got close to the massive beast. The thought of bear meat and the fur they could harvest made her very happy that luck had been on her side. It was about damn time.
As they made their way back to the cabin, Megan looked over her shoulder to make sure the bear hadn't moved. As she stared at the beast lying in the grass, she started laughing.
“What's wrong?” Ryland asked, concern on his face.
She shook her head. “I can’t believe I shot a bear! In all the time we've been here, we've never had bear. What are the odds?” she giggled, knowing the adrenaline was making her giddy.
Ryland didn't answer her.
When they reached the cabin, Ryland turned into a herald, shouting the news. Wyatt came out of the barn, walking towards her with a look of pure shock on his face.
“Really?” he said, approaching her cautiously, looking her up and down. “You're okay?”
She laughed, still exhilarated over what happened. “I'm fine. I was hoping you and Bryan would go back with me to make sure it's dead. She's probably a couple hundred pounds. We'll need to field dress her there and it will take all of us to drag her back,” she explained.
Wyatt threw his head back and laughed. “You're crazy. I can’t believe you went after a bear.”
“I didn't go after it. She came after us. Trust me. I had no intention of hunting a bear. I prefer my food not have the ability to eat me,” she joked.
He smiled. “Good. Let's go get this thing.”
As they walked back to the bear, Wyatt explained he was collecting scrap metal and other discarded items from the barn to make weapons. Clubs, throwing stars and spears were primitive, but effective.
By the time they were finished field dressing the bear and dragging her back to the cabin, they were all sweating. Willow had finished hanging her curtains over the windows in the cabin. She stared at the bear, before looking at Ryland, then Megan.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I can't even imagine what would’ve happened if you weren't there.”
Megan assured her it was all okay. “There’s no way we can eat all of this meat in one sitting. We need to cure it. Can you help me cut it up?” she asked her.
“Of course. Let me put JJ down for his nap and I'll be right out,” she said before heading back into the cabin.
Brenda came over to investigate. “I'll help, too. This is a lot of meat.”
Megan smiled. “Yes, and I imagine we’re all going to have cramps in our hands by the time we’re finished cutting it into thin strips. I really wish we had our smoker,” she lamented.
Without a way to smoke the meat, they were going to have to go with thin strips, similar to jerky. The heat didn't give them the luxury of allowing the meat to hang for a few days. It would have to be cured immediately.
Ryland was staring at the bear. “It isn’t as big as I thought when she was chasing us.”
Albert, walking over, started to laugh. “That's always the way o
f it. You two are quite the hunters. Guess it's a good thing I sat this one out, huh, Megan?” he said with a wink, referring to her frustration with him yesterday.
She laughed. “I may have let her take a bite out of you before shooting her.”
“I'll start collecting some green branches for the fire to make lots of smoke. I think we’re stuck with pine and fir, but I'll do some scouting around to see if I can find something different. Ryland, can you help me?” Albert asked.
“Yep, I'll get Frankie too,” he said, dashing back into the cabin to get his friend.
Aiden and Jayden admired the bear before heading off to find something to hang the meat over the fire. One of the twins mentioned he’d found some wire in the barn. They would string it between poles they planned to plant in the ground, similar to a clothesline.
As Willow, Albert and Megan worked at slicing the meat into thin strips, Brenda hung them on the wire.
Megan suddenly got an idea. “We can toss the entrails around the lodge. It will attract the coyotes, mountain lions and maybe even a few wolves. We'll let nature take care of our problem.”
Wyatt, who was nearby sharpening one of the long branches into a pointed tip, agreed. “That's actually a great idea. If we can make the lodge a miserable, unsafe place to be, they may up and leave.”
Albert guffawed. “Wouldn't they shoot whatever it was that was threatening them? Why would they run?”
Wyatt shrugged. “We’ll lull them into a false sense of security. The animals aren't going to attack the soldiers, but they will harass them. If they’re constantly hearing wild animals, they’re going to get used to it. When we do make our attack, they’ll assume we’re harmless creatures of the night. They won't shoot right away, giving us a slight advantage.”
“The animals will trigger the alarms, too. Eventually, they’ll get tired of hearing the things go off and either disarm them or ignore them,” Megan offered.
Willow laughed. “I’ve seen what feels like a hundred mice around here. We could catch them and release them in one fell swoop. That should freak them out.”
Megan was nodding her head. These were great ideas. They needed to make the lodge less inviting. Plus, the thought of torturing the inhabitants was too good to pass up.
“What about cutting off their electricity? And the water,” Wyatt said, deep in thought. “We could dam up the stream at the top.”
“Now, that's a good idea. But, it will kill our crops,” Albert added.
Megan shrugged. “If we aren't at the lodge, the crops won't help us, anyway.”
“How are we going to kill the generator?” Bryan asked, bringing another stack of long branches to form into spears.
“Can we shoot it?” one of the twins asked. Megan was happy to tell it was Jayden who spoke up.
“We'd have to get close enough to do that,” Aiden answered. “I can hit a mark at three hundred yards—or I used to be able to. If I miss, then they’ll know we're there.”
Megan smiled. The kid was thinking like one of them. She liked it.
“It's worth thinking about. I don't know if I'm quite that good, but if I could get close enough, I think I could do it,” Megan said.
Wyatt looked thoughtful. “We know there are at least two generators. The one we shut off and a backup. They may have a backup for their backup as well. We can't make the same mistake and risk the area being flooded by light when we make our move.”
“I think we need to do a little surveillance,” Bryan said. “I volunteer.”
Megan grimaced. The thought of getting close to the lodge excited and terrified her. If they were discovered, the element of surprise would be ruined. Neil would know whoever was caught scouting the area wasn't alone. There would be search parties and the group would be discovered.
When Bryan saw her hesitate, he went on. “We know the best places to hide. We don't try to get close, we only observe, maybe disarm some of the systems while we're there. I doubt Neil knows all our security measures.”
“He's got a point,” Wyatt said. “I say we go tonight.”
Megan looked at him, eyes wide. “We can't!”
“Why not?”
“We aren’t ready.”
“Ready as we'll ever be. We're not going to fight. We're going to see if there are any more security enhancements. We have to know what we're dealing with before we can plan any kind of rescue mission or try to take back the lodge. While we’re there, we can dismantle a few,” he winked.
“Fine. I'll go, too,” she said, digging into the thick meat with her knife.
The thought of being close to Caitlin made her happy, but the potential danger was a real concern. She couldn't die. She had to stay alive so she could rescue her baby.
17
Megan mulled over the many ways they could make life at the lodge hell for the current inhabitants. They were thinking of small irritations and avoiding anything too serious that would make the lodge unsafe to live in. The goal was to retake their home, not destroy it.
Her hands were cramped from gripping the knife so tightly as she skinned the muscle and sinew away from the bear hide. She stood, arched her back and stretched her arms above her head, looking towards the lodge. Her heart was there and she constantly found herself thinking about what she would be doing right now if they were at home. If everything were the way it should be and they were all together.
A trail of smoke snaked into the air in the distance. Megan instantly went on alert. Fire in the forest when there were no firefighters to call would be devastating. It would rage for the foreseeable future until it burned itself out or the snow fell.
“Fire?” she said it aloud, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. Sure, they’d all seen chimney smoke, but it was still warm out. Was it a fire in a pit that had gotten out of control?
“What?” Wyatt called out, coming to stand next to her.
She pointed in the direction of the smoke that was steadily growing in thickness—a sure sign it was a growing fire.
“Oh crap,” he mumbled. “That's near the lodge. Or it is the lodge.”
“What? What are you looking at?” Albert grumbled, before pulling himself up off the ground where he’d been resting his knee.
When he saw the telltale sign, he gave a low whistle and shook his head.
Megan looked at Wyatt, confusion on her face. “What does this mean? Is the lodge burning? Is it a smoke signal from Rosie and Caitlin?”
She fought back the panic mixed with excitement. She wanted to run towards the lodge as fast as her legs would carry her. Both scenarios demanded she be there. Wyatt hesitated for a moment before giving a quick nod of his head.
“We're going?” she asked in shock, expecting him to be the voice of reason and lecture about waiting it out.
“I think we have to. There are too many reasons not to. If that is a fire at the lodge, it’s going to spread and we’re at risk here. If it’s a signal, we can't ignore it,” he explained.
Bryan, noticing the commotion, abandoned his task of gathering firewood and joined them. “Maybe it's a small fire. It would be a great distraction and we could retake the lodge.”
Megan liked his suggestion the best and decided she was going to cling to it like a lifeline. That would be the best outcome. Maybe the fire would have all of Neil's men running for their lives. They could defend the lodge if they could get inside.
“Who's going?” Albert asked. “I hate to say it, but I'll volunteer to stay here with Willow and JJ. I would be more of a hindrance than a help.”
Wyatt shook his head. “We could really use your help on this one. You aren't going to slow us down.”
Megan looked at Albert's face and watched as he seemed to grow a little taller and his chest puffed out. He’d felt like a burden for too long. They needed to restore his confidence.
Brenda looked at Albert and then at the group. She was struggling to make a decision.
“Go,” Albert said softly. “You sat out the
last one. You can keep an eye on me,” he told her with a small smile.
She nodded, not hesitating a second. “I'll go with you,” she said to Wyatt.
“I want to go, too,” Ryland volunteered.
Megan automatically wanted to say no, but she realized he was quick, a good shot and could prove useful in this situation. She looked to Willow, who was bouncing JJ softly on her shoulder.
Willow sighed and then nodded her approval.
“Okay, Bryan, you in or staying?” Wyatt asked.
“I'll go,” he answered.
The twins were standing off to the side, still struggling to find their place within the group. Megan assumed if one went, the other went. When Aiden spoke, she was shocked.
“Jayden will stay here and I'll go with you guys.”
“Really?” she blurted out.
He smiled. “We don't have to do everything together.”
“I think that's a good idea. We could use the extra manpower here,” Wyatt said, clearly happy with the decision.
Albert clapped Jayden on the shoulder. “I know you'll do fine.”
“Willow, we need to set up a rally point in case you have to retreat. If this is a forest fire, don't wait until you see flames. If it looks like it’s headed this way, get them out of here,” Wyatt ordered.
She nodded. “Okay, where?”
Wyatt paused. Willow hadn't made any trips to town. She didn't know the area. Albert started to speak, but Wyatt shook his head. “Head down the hill towards the main road. There's an old barn. Stay there and we'll find you.”
“Got it,” she replied with all the confidence in the world.
Wyatt looked around at the small group. “Sounds good. No one be a hero. Got it?” he asked, making eye contact with each of them.
Everyone murmured in agreement. They had too many heroes to mourn already. They couldn't afford to lose another person, hero or not.
“Leave Willow and Jayden two guns, preferably a handgun and the .22,” Wyatt directed. “We'll take what's leftover.”
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