The EMP Lodge Series: Books One to Three

by Grace Hamilton

  Kyle stared at her, clearly calculating how he would get the knife back. She was trying to look brave and unafraid, but she was shaken to her very core. She didn’t know if she could kill him, but she would not let him kill her. Megan thought about Caitlin and hoped she had found Wyatt or one of the others. They would protect her daughter should this man kill her.

  Voices in the distance brought her back to the reality in front of her. Kyle plainly didn’t want to stick around. He ran out of the room so fast she didn’t have time to blink. He was gone. Just like that, he was gone.

  Megan stood there with the knife in her hand. She could not believe what had just happened. A noise at the door got her attention. Wyatt and Jack were rushing towards her. She raised the knife and they both stopped.

  “Megan, it’s us. Megan, we aren’t going to hurt you. You can put the knife down, you’re okay.” Wyatt spoke softly as he slowly walked towards her.

  “Caitlin?” she whispered.

  “Mom has her. She was just outside. She’s scared, but she’s fine.” He reached out and touched the hand that held the knife. She felt him gently unwrap her fingers from the handle and heard it fall to the floor. “She’s okay, Megan. You did great.”

  Megan looked at him and collapsed against him. Her legs felt like jelly. Her butt was killing her and she realized her arm felt like it was on fire. It was over, though. Kyle had run. Right now, she needed a minute she told herself. A minute to pull herself together.

  Wyatt held Megan close. He didn’t know if it was her shaking or his own that was reverberating through them. Rosie carried Caitlin into the room. The little girl was far too frail to walk on her own.

  When Wyatt first saw the little girl stumbling through the trees, he was initially thrilled to see her moving on her own, but it only took a split second to realize that was a very bad thing. Megan would never let her out of her sight if she were able. He had yelled for his mom to grab the girl and sprinted towards the back door.

  Seeing Megan standing in his room, blood dripping down her arm, he didn’t know whether to give chase to her assailant or hug her. He chose the latter, hollering at Jack to go out the front.

  “It was Kyle,” Megan muttered. “Kyle tried to kill us. He stabbed me.” Her voice was leveling out. He had a feeling she was probably going into shock.

  “Jack went after him. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

  “Caitlin, baby, are you okay?” she wailed when she saw Rosie holding her daughter.

  Tears were streaming down the little girl’s face, but she nodded her head. “I’m okay. Mom, you’re bleeding.” Her voice was hoarse from days of no use.

  Rosie rubbed Caitlin’s back, “Hey sweetie, let’s go find Willow. She will get you something to eat and drink while I take a look at mommy’s arm, okay?”

  They disappeared out the door, leaving Wyatt and Megan alone again.

  “Here, sit down,” he told her moving her to the bed.

  She held out her arm, “I don’t want to get blood on your blanket.”

  It was then she spotted Duke, “Duke!” she cried dropping to her knees next to the dog. “Duke. Oh sweetie, are you okay?” She rubbed his head and bent low to whisper in his ear.

  Duke groaned and shifted just enough to expose his belly. Wyatt sighed in relief. That was a good sign. The dog wanted a belly rub.

  “He saved me,” Megan said looking up at him with tears in her eyes. “Kyle was coming after me with the knife. Duke came out of nowhere and bit him. He bit him good. I wish he would have torn his arm off,” she said angrily. “Poor Duke got knocked to the ground. What kind of a vet punches a dog?” she asked in bewilderment.

  Wyatt bent down and gently rubbed Duke’s belly, “I don’t think he was a vet at all. He was a bad guy that wanted what we had. Sadly, I don’t think it is going to be the last time we deal with someone who tries to steal from us, but I can guarantee I won’t ever let it get this far again.”

  Rosie came back into the room, looked at the dog and then at Megan. “We’ll take care of him in a minute. Let’s check you out first,” she said carrying a small kit into the room.

  Megan sat on the bed and Rosie gently washed away the blood with some wipes. She declared they both would need to be sutured, but they were clean slices and would be easy to stitch. She reached into the bag and pulled out two small packages. Rosie explained they were sterile suturing kits. The needle was already threaded.

  The packages were part of the very elaborate supply closet Wyatt’s dad had put together. The pain of the needle threading through her skin was relatively minor compared to the wound itself. It hurt, but she would survive. When Rosie was finished, she dabbed some raw honey over the stitched cuts and placed clean bandages over the area.

  “Wyatt, she is going to need a hot bath. There is some Epsom salts in my bathroom. Add some of that to help with the sore muscles and bruising she is sure to have.” She turned to Megan, “You will need to keep your arm out of the water, hon. If you want to wash your hair, I could help you.”

  Megan looked away, blushing. “I’ll be okay, thank you. A hot bath does sound good. I need to go talk to Caitlin and let her know everything is okay. Poor kid, she wakes up and nearly dies at the hands of some crazy man.”

  Wyatt helped her stand and stuck close as she walked up the stairs to where Caitlin was sitting on the floor playing. She was pale, but seemed to be in good spirits. Ryland was asking her various questions about where she lived, what her favorite foods were and what she wanted to do tomorrow. Megan smiled seeing her daughter get to do something so normal. Caitlin was leaning against the couch, obviously still very weak, but she had a smile on her face that stretched from ear to ear.

  The next several hours were busy for everyone in the house. The men searched for Kyle, but never found him. They repaired the alarm system and talked about what could have made him do what he did. Why attack Megan and Caitlin? It was agreed she must have interrupted his plans to steal their food and supplies. Nothing else made sense.

  Megan had soaked in the tub. Her mind whirred as she thought about Kyle’s attack. He was intent on killing her. It was a strange, terrifying feeling to think of someone wanting to hurt you physically. She had thought she was safe here. As if nothing could happen if, she was surrounded by others. But it was her depending on others that lead to this.

  She had thought Caitlin was safe here. She wasn’t. Safety in numbers apparently meant nothing nowadays. Her life was put more at risk being in a home with lots of food and water because that is what everyone wanted and needed.

  The events of the day had led Megan to decide to leave. She wasn’t any safer here and she couldn’t put her daughter’s life at risk again. Wyatt had promised over and over that he would keep them safe. It wasn’t possible. He couldn’t make such promises. Not now. Just because he had a gun, it didn’t make him or his home invincible. She should have known better to think she could depend on anyone.

  It was best to move on and keep a low profile. No one was going to seek her and a child out. They had nothing. They threatened no one. People would leave them be. She hoped. For now, she would let Caitlin rest and build up her strength. Then, they were on their way no matter what Wyatt or anyone else thought was best.

  26

  It had been ten days since she first arrived at the cabin with her daughter in her arms. Tonight, the moon was high in the sky providing ample light for them to see as they walked. Caitlin was a little groggy, but the cool weather would bring her around. Megan had carefully packed her meager belongings into her pack last night after she told the group she was going to bed. Despite wanting to take nothing from the group, she did borrow, as she liked to think, some basic supplies. Granted she probably wouldn’t be returning the items, she promised to repay them somehow in the future.

  She had filled two empty water bottles with water and hid them under the bed after dinner. A few snacks from the pantry and some bandages from the first aid kit were also added
to her stash.

  Wyatt had given her a flint rod earlier that would make it possible for her to start a fire. She still had a few matches, but the flint rod would last for months—she hoped. He had given her a compass instead of stashing it in the hidden bag, just in case she needed it to get around. Wyatt insisted she keep one of the headlamps in her room in case Caitlin had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. That was on the bedside table and ready for her to put on.

  She took a survival blanket from the stash in the root cellar along with some paracord. She was hoping they wouldn’t miss it since they had a roof over their head and plenty of blankets to keep warm. Megan had tried to think of what would get them through the next few days, which should give her enough time to find shelter.

  She’d lain next to Caitlin staring up at the dark ceiling knowing she would miss all the comforts this place offered. As she waited for everyone to go to sleep so she could make her escape, a million thoughts ran through her mind. She was anxious, scared, and a little excited.

  The thought of starting over was intimidating, but she wanted to prove to herself that she truly could do it on her own. She didn’t need anyone. The fact that Kyle had been able to get so close to everyone without anyone realizing what kind of a person he was proved that depending on others was dangerous and she was better off on her own.

  While she had been packing her bag, she had come across the baseball skin from the ball that had fallen into the well so many years ago. Even though, she could no longer read the autographs on it, she refused to let it go. It served as a reminder to her of what happens when you depend on others. It never worked. People had been letting her down all her life. The baseball skin was a reminder of that hard lesson and one she finally accepted. She tucked it back into the inside pocket. Her decision was made.

  She knew she was going to hurt them by leaving in the middle of the night, but she didn’t want to deal with the arguments that they would use to try to compel her to stay. She had made up her mind.

  Wyatt probably suspected something was up. He kept trying to talk with her and pry into her sullen mood. She didn’t want to tell him. He would be offended, angry, and likely hurt by her decision. He had shown her kindness and she was appreciative, but she couldn’t jeopardize her daughter’s safety.

  What if Kyle came back? What if he succeeded in seriously hurting or killing her or Caitlin? It was a risk she was not willing to take.

  “Mommy, it’s too cold out here,” Caitlin whined.

  Megan hadn’t realized it would be so cold, but the full moon was a blessing and a curse. It provided light for them to see, but it also meant the sky was clear and that meant for a chilly night. She promised Caitlin a warm fire, but first they had to walk a bit more. She didn’t want anyone to see the smoke, just in case someone realized they were gone.

  After walking for two hours, Megan decided Caitlin had had enough. It had started to rain and she didn’t want to risk Caitlin getting sick. She still tired easily even if she was bouncing back quickly.

  Megan put together a lean-to structure like Wyatt had shown her. She used one of the shiny emergency blankets to create the shelter with the paracord to hold it in place between two trees. The flimsy blanket had torn, but was an easy fix with the small roll of duct tape she had brought along.

  She used her headlamp to scout out a few rocks to create a fire ring under the canopy. Wyatt had explained the Mylar blanket would reflect the heat of the fire back into the little shelter, making it more effective.

  Unfortunately, there was a bit of a breeze, which threatened the small fire in the early stages. She needed to cover the one side. She quickly found some downed branches and made a small wall that provided a little more protection from the elements for them and her fire.

  Wyatt’s lesson on sitting directly on the ground was also very helpful. She had used her hands to scrape pine needles into a nice big pile in the shelter. The needles were dry from sitting under the protection of the trees they fell from. Megan got Caitlin settled and had her lay her head in her lap. The shelter helped keep them dry, but it was still cold.

  Megan tried to close her eyes to rest, but her mind was racing. Had she made the right move? Right now, she and her daughter could be warm and comfortable in a bed. They would wake up and have breakfast. The day would be spent laughing, learning and being around good people. Instead, she had removed them from that and they were on their own in the cold and dark.

  It was too late now. She couldn’t go back. She had finally drifted off to sleep, although it wasn’t very restful and it seemed as though mere minutes went by before chirping birds woke her up. She had tried to lean against the tree she tied the blanket to, but it was awkward. The cold and wet was miserable. She sighed, which produced a puff of steam. It was definitely cold out and the morning air was damp. At least, it had stopped raining.

  She needed to stand up and stretch. Her butt was still sore from the fall and spending the night sitting on the hard ground didn’t help.

  Megan carefully moved Caitlin’s head out of her lap. Nature called. Another thing she really missed—the toilet. She grabbed a couple of small sticks and put them on the fire. Wyatt had explained that a small fire was plenty. The bigger the fire, the more wood you needed to keep it going, which meant more time away from the fire scouting for wood.

  The sun was coming up, which usually always inspired her. She loved to watch the sunrise when she camped out with her dad. It always felt like you were getting the chance to start fresh each day. Today, it didn’t feel quite as invigorating.

  Today, the sun’s rising meant she had to walk potentially for days to find somewhere to live. It was daunting. She couldn’t live in the forest for months at least not with Caitlin. They needed a roof over their heads.

  Maybe she could build one? That caused her to laugh aloud. She didn’t have the skills or knowledge to build anything. Building a box for a dehydrator and a very crude greenhouse didn’t exactly count as construction experience.

  If she couldn’t find a house, her daughter would be living in a shack her mother built with sticks. She didn’t even have a saw to cut thick branches. Her knife wouldn’t last forever if she attempted to use it that way, not without a means to sharpen it. Megan began chastising herself. What had she been thinking?

  Caitlin’s eyes popped open and she sat up. They quickly ate the leftover cornbread Megan had pilfered and drank some of the water. She wanted to conserve the water just in case they didn’t find any today. She did her best to fold the blanket, but it turned into a crinkly mess with a bunch of tiny tears all over. It didn’t matter, it was all she had and it would have to do, just in case she needed it for tonight.

  They started walking higher up the mountain and into the forest. Megan wanted to stick to the forest in the hopes of finding an old abandoned hunting cabin. She knew there had to be plenty up here; she just had to find one. Of course, it wouldn’t be quite as stocked as Wyatt’s and it wouldn’t offer the same good company, but it was a roof over their heads, and she was confident she could build from there.

  As they were walking, Caitlin started talking about Kyle’s attack. She of course wanted to know why he wanted to hurt them. When Megan told her she didn’t know, Caitlin was quiet for a few minutes. Then she started talking again.

  She told Megan she knew the bad man.

  “How? How do you know him?” Megan asked, assuming her daughter was confused or maybe knew his voice because he spent so much time in the room with her while she was sick.

  Caitlin stopped walking. “I saw him hurt another man.”

  “What?”

  “He hurt another man at our other camp. Before I got sick. He hurt him, but he was nice.”

  Megan was confused. “Kyle, the bad man who stabbed mommy, hurt another man?”

  Caitlin nodded.

  “You saw him hurt another man?”

  She nodded again.

  “Where, honey? At the big house with Ryland a
nd Duke? With Wyatt?” Even saying his name made Megan’s heart ache.

  “No, at our other place where we were camping.” She was growing frustrated by Megan’s inability to understand what she was saying.

  Megan’s mind whirred as she processed what Caitlin was saying. A few days before Caitlin had gotten sick, they’d come across some campers who had spread out in smaller encampments. There had been some children there, so Megan decided to stop and rest for the night and give Caitlin a chance to play with some kids her own age.

  “Caitlin, did Kyle see you? Talk to you when you saw him hurt the man?”

  She nodded, “Yes. He said the man was trying to hurt him so he made him go to sleep for a little bit.” She looked down at the ground, “He had a small gun and it made a loud pop, but he said it was a toy gun and it didn’t really hurt the man.”

  Caitlin didn’t seem upset by what she had witnessed. “He was very nice, mom. We had a little picnic lunch. I was really hungry so he shared his lunch with me.”

  “What did you eat for lunch with Kyle?” Megan asked. She had a feeling she already knew the answer.

  “Some blueberries. But not the kind you put in my pancakes.”

  Megan was furious. Now she wished she had been able to kill him. He had tried to kill her daughter!

  The magnitude of the situation almost made her fall to her knees. Kyle had nearly killed Caitlin because she was a witness to murder. She was having difficulty wrapping her mind around it.

  It was then she realized, she had been the one to bring Kyle to the group. Megan had put Wyatt and the others in jeopardy. Kyle was after Caitlin. She thought back to that feeling of being watched while she was taking a bath in the stream. The man must have followed them.

  He could have killed them all. He almost killed her, Duke and her baby. They had to get away from the others. If Kyle was still out there, he would be hunting them. She couldn’t go back to Wyatt and his family now, knowing she would bring danger.