Paradise (Aftershock Series Book 1)

by Michael R. Watson

  “See you there,” agreed Ryder as the rope was pulled up and out of sight.

  The trail of drag marks was easy to follow, even though someone had haphazardly tried to brush over them in the dark, probably in a hurry. As I suspected, they led to the cemetery. In a matter of minutes, Ryder, Levi and Darby rode up.

  “It was just like you thought,” said Levi excitedly. “We found where two horses had been tied up. One of the riders appears to have ridden back north.”

  “You were right about the drag marks too,” said Ryder.

  “Just a gut feeling,” I said. Praise from Ryder was appreciated, but not necessary. I knew if he had been the one to rappel down, he would have uncovered the same evidence as I had. “That suggests Taylor was not alone and that his killer’s no longer here, apparently having gone back to Sector 4. I think that’ll relieve a lot of people’s minds. Samuel needs to be told.”

  “Have any idea who it could have been?” asked Ryder.

  “None, whatsoever, and we may never know,” I answered. “But whoever it was, they now know the way to Paradise. That means we’re still in danger and there’s a good chance they’ll be back and with more men this time. We won’t be able to let our guard down for a second.”

  “I’ll spread the word to the rest of the Raiders and mention it to dad,” said Ryder.

  “I know why you want to keep this place safe,” I said, “but why would the rest of your men care or want to put their lives on the line for this valley?”

  “Because, this is one of the few places where good still exists in this world. We have to protect it at all cost. Without a place like this, there’s no hope of things ever going back to some form of normalcy.”

  “For a no-good Raider, you’re very philosophical,” I observed with a smile.

  * * *

  Ryder, Levi, Darby and I went directly to Samuel’s house. It was late morning now and Samuel was once again on his front porch, rocking gently. He smiled on seeing our group approaching. I noticed he was no longer wearing the sling on his arm.

  “It looks like you boys have something on your mind,” commented Samuel.

  As the self-appointed spokesman, I got right to the point, “We don’t think Taylor was killed by anyone from the valley. We think it was someone from Sector 4. Someone who came here with Taylor.”

  “And that someone placed Taylor on the fence to make it look like one of us did it,” added Ryder.

  “We saw where two individuals entered the valley by rope from the rim and we found where Taylor was killed. Whoever did it tried to cover their tracks unsuccessfully and then rode back north on horseback,” I continued.

  They waited for a response while Samuel sat silently, considering all he had just been told. “Then, we don’t have to worry about one of our own being a killer. I was having a hard time believing any of them could have done anything like that. Everyone will be glad to hear things can return to normal.”

  “No, I’m sorry to say, we won’t see normal for a while,” I insisted. “Now, whoever was with Taylor knows where the valley is and that person is a killer. And I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he had been sent by Governor Davis. They’re bound to be back, and with others.”

  Samuel’s warm smile never waivered, always the optimist. “God will take care of us.”

  Even though I admired Samuel, there were times when he infuriated me. Ryder could see how his father’s comments and attitude were affecting me. Understanding completely, he leaned close and whispered, “This is one of the reasons why I left.”

  I wasn’t ready to give up. “Doesn’t the bible say ‘God helps those who help themselves’?

  Samuel’s expression never changed. “Actually, no, it doesn’t. That quote comes from one of Aesop’s Fables when Hercules was asked for help and he replied ‘The gods help those who help themselves.”

  I have to say I was impressed. Samuel was a surprising fellow. “Would you at least agree to increase the number of guards on watch? Every person here is still in danger.”

  Samuel could see I wasn’t going to let this go. He didn’t believe it was necessary, but it wouldn’t hurt anything either, and since Taylor’s death was still fresh in everyone’s minds, it might provide better peace of mind for the community. “Okay, I’ll see to it.”

  * * *

  Chapter 17

  Donna was caught completely by surprise when her husband asked if she’d ever thought about leaving their home of the last five years.

  “Why would we leave,” she asked. “It may not be ideal, but we have everything we need right here. You know how hard it would be to survive out there on our own.”

  “I know. But are you really happy here?”

  “Why are you asking? Is there something wrong?”

  “What if I knew of a safe place, a valley, that had grass, trees and flowers, with plenty of food and water, and freedom?”

  She looked at him with concern. She’d never heard him talk like this before. “The valley?”

  He looked at her with surprise.

  “Secrets are hard to keep around here,” she said. “But, it can’t be real. I don’t think places like that exist anymore. And you know as well as anyone we’re better off in here than anywhere on the outside, that’s why we’re here.”

  He took hold of her by both shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. “There is a place,” insisted Gant with a whisper.

  She was beginning to worry. Maybe he had been working too hard. She knew how serious he took his position as Master of the Guard. Was the stress finally getting to him? Something had brought this on and she wanted to know what it was. “Are you wanting to leave?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. I just wanted to know what you thought about it.” He paused. “Donna, I’m not crazy. There is a place, the valley, where there are other people living normal lives. Good people.”

  “How do you know this?”

  “I talked to a man who lives there. An old friend from before.”

  “Did you see the valley when you were out there?” she asked.

  “No, but I know it exists. I trust him.”

  She looked into his eyes. They had been married for twenty years and she knew him well. His eyes told her he was being sincere. He was telling the truth or at least he believed he was. “Where is this place?” she asked.

  “South, deep within the wasteland,” he answered as he sat in a chair along the wall and sighed heavily. It was a relief to get the load off his chest. He had been hesitant to mention anything about it at all, but after the fact, he was glad he had.

  She moved over and sat next to him. “I don’t know what brought this on, but if it’s something you want to do, then we should do it.”

  “I don’t want to do it for me. I want it for all of us, a chance to get away from this place and be normal again. Before you know it, we’ll both be forty and be forced to leave our boys alone to fend for themselves. But if we leave together, all of us, maybe we’ll be able to see our grandchildren someday.”

  “Don’t you think Governor Davis would make an exception in your case? You’ve done everything he’s asked of you and you’ve been a great leader of the Guard. We know he’s done it before.”

  “We can’t count on it and there’s something else. Governor Davis has sent Counselor Damon to personally verify the valleys existence. And if he comes back with confirmation, I’ll be ordered to lead an attack against my friend and his people, just so the governor can have it for his own use.”

  “It sounds like you’ve already made up your mind,” said Donna.

  “Just tell me you’re happy here and I’ll drop it,” offered Gant.

  “Governor Davis won’t like it,” she warned.

  “I know,” replied Gant.

  She sighed. “When would we leave?” she asked.

  “Soon. Within the week.”

  “That’s awfully quick. What about our sons? What if they don’t want to leave?” she asked.

&n
bsp; “I’ll talk to them, but I can’t imagine why they’d want to stay.”

  He could tell he hadn’t convinced her entirely by the continued look of concern on her face. He leaned over and gave her a kiss. “Don’t worry. It’s the right thing to do.”

  * * *

  Gant knew he didn’t have much time to make plans. If successful, Damon and Taylor would return with confirmation of the valley, just as Taylor had reported. Then he would be summoned again by the governor, and he knew what he would be ordered to do. Knowing Davis as he did, he’d be ordered to leave immediately. At the moment, the question was when would they return. He guessed four days, maybe a week at the most. They needed to leave before that happened. There was no time to waste.

  As Master of the Guard, he was given free reign anywhere inside or outside the compound walls. That freedom would be essential in getting his entire family out, but it still wouldn’t be easy.

  He found the head of maintenance, his sons’ boss, and asked where he could find them. Gant could have waited until the boys came home at the end of the day, but he was anxious to know how they felt about leaving, a necessary element in his planning. As directed, Gant found them in the woodshop. They smiled when they saw their dad standing in the doorway. They hadn’t heard he was back from the wasteland.

  Even though he hadn’t told his wife where he had been sent or why, somehow word had gotten out, and she knew. Almost everyone inside the compound had heard about the valley and they were all anxious to hear about it. What they didn’t know was that his friend and an entire community already lived there and it would probably have to be taken by force. Regardless of whether Samuel and his people put up a fight or not, an attack would result in the loss of many lives.

  There were two other workers in the shop. Gant waved for Aaron and Adam to follow him outside where they could have some privacy.

  “Hey, Dad, it’s great to see you made it back alright,” said Adam.

  “Yeah, Dad. Did you find the valley?” asked Aaron.

  “You know about the … ?” Gant began.

  They saw the surprise on his face. “It’s okay, everyone in here knows,” said Aaron.

  “I’ve got to tell you boys something and I’m not sure how you’re going to take it. So, I’m just going to come right out with it.” He paused, looked around, and then in a softer voice, “Your mother and I have been talking about leaving this place.” He waited for a response.

  The boys looked at each other and smiled.

  “Great, Dad,” said Aaron with Adam nodding agreement. “When do we leave?”

  It was Gant’s turn to smile. “I was hoping you’d feel that way, but I didn’t want to make any assumptions. You’re both fifteen and almost grown men, capable of making your own decision.” They had been forced to grow up fast inside the compound walls with little to no chance of just being boys, not being able to do the things boys should have been able to do.

  “If you and Mom go, we’re going too,” said Adam. “We wouldn’t want to stay here without you.”

  “What about your friends?” their dad asked.

  “What friends?” answered Adam.

  “I’m ready to go right now,” said Aaron excitedly.

  “Slow down. First, I have to figure out a way to leave and give us a decent lead without drawing attention to ourselves.”

  The boys exchanged a look. Aaron, the oldest by a few minutes, spoke up. “We know a way. There’s a passageway leading from the lower level of the compound to a concealed hatch outside the fence. Both ends of the passage are hidden and locked. And guess who has access to the key.”

  “Are any of the doors guarded?” asked their dad.

  “No,” answered Adam. “There’s no reason to. Hardly anyone goes down there. The main room is just used to stockpile supplies. We’re usually the only ones sent down there to either bring items out or to place more items in storage. No one else likes to go down there. They think it’s kind of creepy and it smells funny. We shouldn’t run into anyone.”

  “Let’s talk more about it later tonight. I just wanted to let you boys know what we were thinking about and see how you felt about it. Now, go on back to work and don’t mention this to anyone.”

  The boys rolled their eyes. “We know, Dad,” they said in unison.

  Gant couldn’t have been happier after talking with his twin sons. He began to think of things he hadn’t thought of in years, five years to be exact. Days when he had taken his sons fishing or hunting. They had been ten when they’d come there, old enough to immediately be put into training and to perform light-duty work.

  When they had initially arrived, they had been placed in Tent City with everyone else. But, it didn’t take long for Gant, an imposing presence, to be noticed. His credentials as a former sheriff had made him a shoe-in. Once he had been made Master of the Guard, life had been made easier on all of them. His family had been moved inside the prison walls into two adjacent cells and Donna no longer had to work in the fields. It was cramped, but it had been worth it to have a permanent roof over their heads, real walls, and to be given regular meals. It was a drastic improvement from what the remaining poor souls of Tent City had to endure.

  Gant began to think about how blessed he and his family were. Was he being ungrateful for considering leaving? Perhaps he shouldn’t have even mentioned it to his wife and sons, risking what they had and possibly even their lives. Once they left, there would be no coming back without some sort of retribution. Gant wasn’t worried about himself. If his intuition was right, he’d be forced to leave within the next year anyway, when he turned forty.

  * * *

  That evening after they had eaten in the dining hall, Aaron and Adam joined their mom and dad in their living quarters. With hushed voices, they began to make plans. However, there was too much noise and too little privacy in the tight conditions of the cell. Eavesdropping was a concern. It had been rumored that Davis had eyes and ears everywhere. Not wanting their plans to be halted before they had a chance, they decided to venture outside into the central courtyard where they found a vacant picnic table in the corner with no one around. Before the facility had been abandoned for a newer and upgraded facility, the yard’s original purpose had been as the exercise yard for the prisoners.

  Gant started by warning his sons. “There are no guarantees our attempting to leave will work out. We could be caught and punished. And if we are able to get away, there is plenty of danger outside these walls. You boys will soon be on your own, so you need to think about yourselves.”

  “Are we going to the valley?” asked Adam.

  “That is our hope,” answered their father.

  “As long as we can stay together,” said Adam, “I believe it’s worth the risk”.

  “You’re stuck with us, Dad,” Aaron pointed out.

  Daniel and Donna smiled, Donna holding onto her husband’s arm and squeezing.

  “I think the best time to leave is around two hours after curfew. I’ll make my usual rounds to make sure the guards are at their posts, then go back to our room and wait for the others around us to settle in and go to sleep. Leaving then should give us the widest window of opportunity before discovery. You boys said you had access to the key for the doors?”

  “Yes. It hangs on a nail in the maintenance shop,” answered Aaron.

  “Can you make a copy? Once we’ve left and they discover our absence, we don’t want to give away our avenue of escape by a missing key.”

  “We can do it,” said Adam, with a nod of agreement from Aaron. “How long do we have?”

  “I don’t know yet. It could be anywhere from four to seven days. I’d say to do it as soon as the opportunity arises.” He paused. “And start choosing what you want to take. Keep it simple and light. We want to be able to move quickly when we do go. Any questions?”

  Aaron and Adam shook their heads.

  “Then, why don’t you boys go back to your room. Try to get some sleep and we’ll see you at
breakfast,” instructed Gant. “Maybe by tomorrow I’ll know more. I’m going to sit here with your mother for a bit longer.”

  Their sons got up and each gave their mother a kiss before heading back inside.

  “Have you had a change of heart?” he asked, seeing the concern on Donna’s face. “It’s not too late to change our minds.”

  “No, we’re ready. I just hope nothing goes wrong. I’d hate for our boys to have to pay for our mistake.”

  “Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to them,” said Daniel, in an attempt to comfort her. He would do everything in his power to make sure they stayed safe, but at the same time he knew he had made an empty promise. One he had no way of controlling.”

  * * *

  The next morning, Gant was once again summoned to the governor’s office. Damon couldn’t be back already, it was too soon. Knocking on the open door, he was warmly welcomed by Davis as was the usual case.

  “Please have a seat, Daniel.”

  Gant couldn’t recall the governor ever calling him by his first name, which immediately raised a red flag. He took a seat facing the governor’s desk and waited. He’d seen the governor more in the last two days than he had in the previous month. There couldn’t be any way for Davis to know about his family’s plans.

  “It has come to my attention, Daniel, you are approaching the age of forty. And as you know, we have established a well thought out plan to sustain our survival.”

  Gant sat in silence with no change of expression.

  “And as you also know, exceptions have been made in the past.”

  Continuing to show no emotion outwardly, Gant was giving his full attention.

  “I’d like to offer you a deal of sorts. A reward is probably a better word.” He paused. “Assuming Damon comes back with favorable news about the valley, I’d like you to take it for me. And if you’re successful, which I’m sure you will be, I’m prepared to offer you an incentive, to extend your service time to the age of forty-five.” Governor Davis showed a huge, toothy smile, sure Gant would be overwhelmed with his very generous offer.