“That’s far enough, Doctor. Stay right where you are.”
Mac pulled up on the four-wheeler minutes later. “What can we help you with, Doc?” asked Mac, getting off his vehicle.
“You can start by telling me that you will stay the hell away from my wife!” he spat.
“I’m sorry, but that’s not my call, Doctor. It’s Sarah’s, and it’s up to her to decide what she wants.”
“I’ll bet you were surprised when I came back for her,” Bradley hissed.
“Actually, I heard you came back at a full run from the mountains, chased off like a scared rabbit,” Mac replied. “You just came back here when you had nowhere else you go. Is that about right?”
“I have something for you,” Bradley said, reaching into his bag.
“Easy does it, Doc,” said Mac. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
The doctor pulled out the revolver, pointing it in Mac’s general direction and waving it from side to side, as he accused Mac of trying to steal his wife.
“I’ve got him covered,” said Jimmy, pointing his AR-15 rifle towards him. “Say the word, and it’s over,” he added.
“No, not yet, Jimmy. Let me try to calm him down.”
Mac then addressed Bradley. “Doctor Melton, let’s take a minute and talk this out, okay?” Mac held his hands out in front of him. “I know you don’t want to shoot anyone, and neither do we.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” he replied, putting the revolver to his own head.
“I’m sorry, Sarah,” he whispered as he pulled the trigger.
The shot was heard by everyone in the valley, setting off a slurry of radio chatter from both the north and south perimeter, including John, Bill and Samuel.
It was Samuel who had to break the news to a distraught Sarah.
“How did this happen?” she asked him. “What was he even doing up on the road?”
“I’m so sorry” is all Samuel could think to say. “I’ll find out what happened; you can count on that.”
Samuel and Bill met with Mac and Jimmy on the road, with John on the radio.
“Sir, I would like to tell you what happened, if that’s okay, since I was here the whole time,” said Jimmy.
“Okay, let’s hear it,” said Samuel.
Jimmy relayed everything that occurred.
“Is that what happened, Mac?” asked John, overhearing the story on the radio.
“Yes, sir, it happened just that way,” replied a saddened Mac.
“I’ll send a couple of my guys up here to bring Bradley back,” said Samuel, getting back in his truck and driving away.
“All right, Mac,” said Bill. “Let’s have you go home tonight. Jimmy and I will get this cleaned up. We can talk tomorrow.”
Mac’s mind was going a hundred miles an hour. This was the last thing he expected, and he wondered if Sarah would ever talk to him again. Even if they weren’t still together, he was her husband, he thought, and I guess it’s my fault.
Mac wished he were back down on the road with Jimmy and Bill. The nights he spent alone were the longest of all. The nightmares continued years later of his father locking him in the basement while arguing with his mother. He was 8 or 9 years old when he remembered it starting.
In the beginning, it was just every once in a while, that they had a fight. By the time he was 12, it was almost every day. That’s when he knew his father was abusing his mother. He hated that more than anything, sitting at the bottom of the damp basement, hearing his mother’s sobs and calls for him to stop. At first, he tried to force the basement door open, but it was always locked from the outside. Eventually, he just stopped trying.
Mac was 14 years old the last day he ever saw his father. This day he went down to the basement without being asked, as was the new normal in the house.
His father was drunk and had just lost his job as a construction foreman. Mac knew something was different this time, as he heard the banging from upstairs. His mother was hysterical and called his name for the first time ever.
“Mac, please help me!” she screamed over and over. He tried the door and it was locked, but he wasn’t a little boy anymore. He wasn’t the scared kid he always used to be. With a single right kick, he broke the basement door open and faced his father.
“We’re done with this,” Mac spoke in a shaky voice, holding his mother. “We’re done with you.”
His dad raised his fist towards him and laughed. “You two deserve each other” was the last thing he said as he walked out the front door.
Mac would remember that day as the best day of his life. He would also recall it as his worst.
From then on, he did everything he could not to be alone. He was thankful for his dog, Bo, who always stayed by his side.
“It’s just you and me, buddy,” he said, trying to force a smile. Bo barked and laid his head on Mac’s lap.
* * * *
Sarah was glad she was alone tonight. The last two days had left her exhausted, and she wondered what Mac did to make Bradley end his life.
She wasn’t interested in getting back together with Bradley, knowing full well he had come back to escape the violence on the mountain, and not for her. He had been her husband, though, for several years, and he was a good man.
Running each possible scenario through her mind, she wasn’t sure who was to blame.
She fell asleep crying softly.
* * * *
Samuel’s men retrieved the body later that night, without discussion, leaving both Jimmy and Bill thankful they could go home and get some sleep.
Samuel talked with a few of his men about burial plans set for later the following day. Gone are the times of waiting until Saturday or Sunday to bury someone who died a week earlier on an inconvenient day, he thought.
The service was set for noon, just 14 hours after his death.
Both Bill and Sharon were in attendance, with John on the radio, all representing Saddle Ranch.
Sarah looked for Mac in the small gathering and wasn’t surprised to see him missing.
“O Lord,” said Samuel, as the body was laid in the freshly excavated ground. “We give you one of our own to watch over until we may all be reunited in your kingdom.”
A few of the West members spoke, as Sarah looked on. The funeral service in this next world was less than 15 minutes.
Sarah, still technically off duty, slipped away to her favorite spot on Green Ridge. She came here often to soothe her soul.
Being a little older than Samuel’s daughter, Kayla, Sarah watched out for her. At only four years old and with no mother around, the little girl loved the attention.
It was a late October night, on the 26th, 1975, to be exact. Every Sunday a group of people from the West would take the van into the neighboring town of Fort Collins and go to the newly built Foothills Fashion Mall. Sarah loved going to the mall but had stayed home sick this Sunday.
Her parents were looking for a special gift for her upcoming 8th birthday, and Samuel suggested that Kayla go along.
They failed to return that night. Samuel was briefed by the Fort Collins Police the next morning. The van had been heading home when struck by a semi-trailer truck, whose driver had been on the road for more than 25 hours straight. The truck driver was the only survivor.
There were just two things the officer had from the van—a pink elephant belonging to Kayla and a wrapped gift with a music box inside. The tag read: “To our dearest Sarah. May you keep this close to your heart. Love, Mom and Dad.”
Samuel officially adopted Sarah over the next few weeks and treated her just like family.
He made her a metal waterproof trunk so she could keep her music box safe in her favorite place on the mountain.
Now, once again facing tough times, she pulled her music box from the trunk and wound it fully. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she thought of her parents, Kayla, Bradley and Mac.
Samuel met her there sometime later. He didn’t say a word but held her ti
ghtly as she wept.
Mac met Bill following the service for Bradley, wanting to know what happened.
“Do you want to know about Sarah?” Bill asked directly. “Well, there’s not much to say. Sarah lost someone she was once close to and is probably trying to find answers. You may want to leave her be for a while, Mac.”
“Yes, sir. I was thinking the same thing.”
“We’ll get one of the nurses here to look after your arm for a while,” replied Bill.
* * * * * * *
Chapter Nine ~
Raton Pass, New Mexico
David was having fun joking around with Mel, but truth be told he was lonely. It had been a few years since his wife died, and until now he hadn’t even thought of settling down again.
Mark and his parents were his only concern. Now he was responsible for a growing group of families, and he missed his. Well…the way it used to be.
Mel stayed over on the couch, and he and David agreed to spend one more day scouting the area and defining their territory.
“Last day, buddy,” said David. “Tomorrow we will all get together and define our roles as the official Raton Pass Militia.
“Better keep your eye out for the ladies today,” he told Mel.
“You know I will be,” replied Mel, “but I think I’m good. I’ve got a hot one on the line who loves coffee. What more could I ask for?”
“Well, it’s not like she has a lot of choices!” said David, laughing.
“Keep it up, buddy, and I’ll find myself another best man!” said Mel, jokingly.
“Nope,” replied David. “I’m your guy—you know that, right?”
“Yeah, man. I’m just messing with you.”
* * * *
The last three houses they visited didn’t pan out.
One lady, easily in her 80s, wanted nothing to do with any group, and the other two houses were empty, probably summer homes.
“This is our group then—at least for now,” David told Mel. "We’re more spread out than I would like, but I guess it’s okay at this point.”
“I almost forgot,” said Mel. “I’ve got more than a few walkie-talkies in my stash, with plenty of batteries. Maybe we could give at least one to each household and see how many we have left for individual carry. The range could be a bit spotty up here, but it’s still a good idea to have them.”
With the new group now formed, it was time for inventory and job duties.
Everyone met for lunch and discussed the bylaws for the newly formed Raton Pass Militia. It was agreed that all major decisions would be put to a majority vote. David’s dad, Dean, would alone have the final vote, as well as veto power.
Dean, having lived up here for years, was known by nearly everyone in the area as a fair and honest man. With his wife, Beatrice, voted head chef, they had clout among the people.
David couldn’t have been happier about some of the pressure being off him. He was unanimously voted head of security, and that suited him fine.
Mel oversaw general provisions, since he had the most of those being added to the group.
Other jobs included hunting, fishing, gardening, sanitation, perimeter security, and food processing. “Anything we can eat from the land ensures that our provisions will last that much longer,” said Dean.
Mel and Tammy were getting to be a thing, David noticed. He was happy for his old friend and wondered if he would ever find someone for himself. He had spoken about it the other day to his son, Mark.
“Not that there is anyone here, but would you be okay with me dating again sometime?” he asked.
“Sure, Dad,” Mark said, with a laugh. “That’s what Mom would have wanted.”
David was relieved to hear that. Okay, God now it’s up to You, he thought. I’m ready when You are.
David was able to get James on the radio and told him Lance was still good on his deal so far. “As long as they make it here, you’ll get your guns. They’re a little behind, we just heard, having run into a bit of trouble. But that will happen out on the road,” he added.
“Fine by me,” said James. “Just let me know when they arrive and I’ll make a quick trip up there.”
“James, buddy, I have to go,” said David, looking out at a large plume of smoke.
“Mel!” he yelled from the other room. “That smoke is in your direction, just beyond your house, if I’m right!”
“That’s not good,” replied Mel. “Everything I have is in that house!”
“Let’s get all abled bodies to your house—no kids or seniors, please,” said David.
With the four-wheelers, they made it over to Mel’s house in ten minutes, just in time to see the flames heading down from the ridge behind his house.
“Buckets!” shouted David to Mel. “Do you have any buckets? We can draw from the creek and try to...”
“It’s too late,” replied Mel, sitting on the ground as the first flames came up from the roof of his home.
David, realizing this, sat down next to him. They watched as the flames engulfed Mel’s once-formidable house.
“The fire will stop when it hits the lake,” Mel said, smiling, as he pointed to the lakeshore. “It shouldn’t be a problem for your parents’ place or any of our other houses.”
“How can you smile?” asked David, starting to realize how bad it was. “Not only are you losing your house, but now we don’t have enough provisions to support the Militia.”
Mel kept smiling at David. “Do you remember, buddy, when I took you down into my basement and showed you all the provisions I had been hoarding?”
“Yeah, I remember,” said David, “and now it’s gone.” He shook his head.
“Now, wait a minute. Let me finish,” interjected Mel. “Do you remember what the walls of the basement were made of?”
David smiled at this, remembering the thick concrete walls. “The floor and ceiling are concrete too, right?” asked David.
“Exactly. Everything underground in my house is fireproof, although the freeze-dried food may have a hint of campfire taste for a while.”
Mel’s joke made them both laugh.
“But you lost your house, Mel. How can you joke about that?”
“I always expected it. That’s why I hired an out-of-state builder to customize the house. I didn’t want some local guys doing it and coming back for some handouts when the power went down.
“The structure was always meant to be temporary housing. I’ve known since we met out on the lake that I wouldn’t be spending another night at my home. It too far away to protect and we need to get all the food, firearms and ammo up to your parents’ place. Now it’s just something we need to do sooner than later.”
* * * *
“You’re right, Mel,” said David, an hour later. “The fire did burn out at the lake. We’ve got a lot of work to do after this cool-down. We need to watch this place tonight and get everything moved at once tomorrow.”
“I don’t mind sleeping on the couch for a while,” added Mel.
David radioed to his son, Mark, to bring his friends down to Mel’s.
“Oh, no,” said Mark, as they pulled up. “I’m sorry about your house, Mel.”
“Thanks, but it’s okay,” said Mel, as he explained the situation.
“We need to provide surveillance on this slab until morning,” said David. “We’ll grab a couple more guys and take shifts. Each two-person team will take one four-hour shift.”
“We’ll need this,” said Mel, grinning as he handed David a wristwatch. Tick…tick went the second hand. The watch read 4:26 p.m.
“How does this work and why didn’t you tell me you had it?” asked David.
“Well, it was in a Faraday cage, along with some other fun things, so it didn’t get zapped. I’ve also got a few more—one each for your mom and dad, even ones for Mark and Tammy. And to your second question, I didn’t show you everything last time. But you’ll see it all tomorrow, buddy.”
“I can’t wait!” r
eplied, Mark, overhearing the conversation.
They explained to the group over dinner what happened. “We need all hands on deck tomorrow for a provision transport,” said David.
“Where are you going to sleep, Mel?” asked Tammy.
“Well, it’s okay. I’ve been crashing on the couch at David’s parents’ anyway.”
“Maybe we could get our own place,” she whispered. “There are some vacant houses close by in our new territory,” she added, giving him a quick kiss on the lips.”
Next World Series (Vol. 2): Families First [The Road] Page 10