That night at dinner, the mood was very subdued. There was no dinner conversation. No kids teasing each other. Even Duke was very mellow choosing to lay by the fire rather than his usual place at the table, where he waited for scraps to fall.
Immediately after, everyone who wasn’t on guard duty headed to bed. The tension in the air was thick. Megan didn't completely trust all the new members and she imagined they were feeling the same thing. Their fates were tied together. If they weren't on board with the plan to attack, it wouldn't work. They needed everyone working together.
She decided to talk to Wyatt about it once they were alone and everyone else was asleep.
“Do you think all of the new people are really okay with our plans?” she asked.
He shrugged, “If they're not, they should leave. I think tomorrow we will need to talk with each person. Get an idea of where they stand. Bryan and Evan will probably have a better idea about their people, but I want to judge for myself as well. I don't want a bunch of lip service.”
Megan was relieved he was on the same page.
“So, do you think we're ready?”
He thought for a second, “I don't know that I would head out to take out a top terrorist, but I think we can get it done. We have surprise on our side, which is always going to be a good thing. They won't expect us to take the battle to them.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. If he was confident, she was confident. They could do this. They could fight back and win.
Megan prayed the cost wouldn’t be too high.
24
Megan shivered as she stood on the bank of the stream, drying herself off as best as she could before pulling on her shirt. Thankfully, they were going straight back to the lodge or she would spend more time making sure she was completely dry before dressing to avoid losing too much body heat. She had taken a quick sponge bath the day before, but she hadn't been able to shake the feeling of being dirty. She wanted a bath—a cleansing bath.
It was far too much effort to fill the tub upstairs and with so many people in the lodge, it felt weird. When she had complained to Wyatt, he suggested a dip in the stream. It would be ice cold, but she didn't care. Or at least she didn't think she would care, but after a few minutes, the icy water proved to be too much.
“You are going to freeze to death in there!” she scolded Wyatt who was lazily splashing around in the water.
“It gets your blood pumping. It's invigorating,” he yelled back.
“No, it freezes your blood. You’re going to have hypothermia.”
She focused on putting on her clothes as fast as she could. The warmth of the sweater she had been wearing quickly took off the chill. The gun Wyatt had brought along with them was sitting on the top of his clothes.
They were close to the lodge, but he didn't want to risk being unarmed.
Splashing and heavy breathing behind her alerted her to Wyatt's trek out of the water.
She watched him striding towards her. He was freezing. He would never admit it, but his skin was bright red and the way he moved told her he was feeling that prickling sensation that happened when a person was overly cold.
“Hurry up. I want to go stand by the fire now.”
“You are the one who said you wanted a bath. I was just trying to accommodate,” he said with a wink.
“Bath and plunging into a stream of ice are two different things.”
He laughed, “Well, now you know. You have to admit it really wakes you up.”
She nodded, “Yes it did. But now I really want a fire. And hot chocolate. With marshmallows.”
“I can get you a fire, no can do on the cocoa.”
He picked up his gun once he finished dressing and they headed back towards the lodge.
Megan relished the feeling of clean hair. Pouring a cup of water over her head was not the same as washing her hair. The cold water had left her scalp tingling, but it felt great.
“Shh,” Wyatt said, suddenly pulling her behind a large tree.
Megan's heart skipped a beat and then began pounding so hard it hurt.
“McDaniels?” she gurgled, barely able to form the word.
He shook his head. They both waited and watched.
Earl was skulking through the trees. He kept looking behind him. Wyatt gestured for Megan to stay put. They watched him for a few moments before Wyatt mumbled that he had enough.
“Earl, right? You're Earl? I don't think we really got the chance to talk,” Wyatt said walking out from behind the tree with Megan following close behind.
Earl froze. The look on his face revealed how shocked he was.
“Um, yeah, I'm Earl. I came in with Evan and Bryan.”
Wyatt nodded his head, “Yep, I remember. You were injured and my mom took care of you.”
Guilt was written all over the man's face and Megan knew that was what Wyatt had intended.
“So, where you headed?”
Earl looked around, as if he hoped to escape or fade away.
It was then Megan noticed the folded paper in his hand.
“What's that?” she said pointing to the paper in his hand.
Wyatt reached out and snatched it from him.
As soon as she saw it, she knew what it was. It was the map they had used to identify where McDaniels was camped.
Wyatt raised an eyebrow and Earl looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him.
“I don't suppose you were planning on taking on the whole gang yourself?”
Earl slowly shook his head. “No.”
Wyatt nodded in understanding. Megan didn't get it. What was Earl going to do?
“You were hoping McDaniels would let you join his group. You provide them with information about our planned attack and maybe where our traps are located in exchange for him letting you join them?”
Earl’s head dropped and his shoulders slumped forward.
“I hate to admit it, but I'm tired. I'm scared. I don't want to die. You have to know you can't beat them. If you can't beat them, join them, right? That’s what my dad used to tell me. I'm just doing what I think is the smartest thing.”
Wyatt looked furious.
“So you thought selling out the people who took you in was a better choice? Evan and Bryan took you in. They trusted you enough to bring you here and I trusted them. Now you are going to get my family killed to save your own skin?”
Megan was furious. What kind of man betrayed the people who looked out for him? Sheltered him. Fed him.
Earl shrugged, “I don't know what to say man. I'll go back, but I’m not going to help you fight McDaniels. That's a death sentence.”
Wyatt looked thoughtful. He looked at Megan and then back at Earl, “How about you just go on your merry way. I'll keep this map and you can keep whatever food you stole.”
Megan looked at Wyatt with shock. He was going to let the man go?
Earl nodded, “Thanks, man and uh, sorry about all this. It's nothing personal, I need to look out for myself, you know?”
“Yep, you sure do. Bye, Earl.”
Earl turned and hurriedly walked towards the perimeter. Megan watched in disbelief.
She was about to ask Wyatt what he was thinking when he pulled the gun out from his waistband. He didn't stop to think about what he was doing. He aimed and pulled the trigger.
Earl dropped.
Megan's mouth dropped open.
Wyatt looked at her as he tucked the gun back into his waistband, “Him or us. Quite frankly, any man that would willingly put his life above women and children doesn't deserve to live.”
Megan stared at the dead man. He had fallen onto the ashes and bones leftover from the pyre where the rest of McDaniels' men had been burnt. The pyre was meant to deter anyone else from trying to come after them.
Striding over, Wyatt pulled the pack off the dead man and slipped it over his shoulder. “Let's get back. We need to have a talk with Bryan and Evan. If there is a chance any of their other people want to leave, I want t
o know now.”
Megan didn't answer. She didn't know what to say. Wyatt just shot a man. He didn't seem bothered by his actions at all. He was all business.
They walked back to the lodge without saying a word and Megan was surprised when she saw people hiding amongst the trees near the lodge, guns at the ready. After hearing the gunshot, those on watch had been in position, prepared for an attack.
After settling everyone back down, Wyatt tracked down Bryan and Evan who were working on the longhouse that Jack had started. Megan saw Jack trying to help as well.
She gave him a look.
“I'm fine. I'm not swinging an ax; I’m only running the ax down the logs they’ve hewn. We can't afford to have anyone sitting on their butts right now.”
Wyatt told the three men what had just happened.
Megan imagined the look on Jack's face mimicked her own when it had happened.
“I'm sorry about that,” Bryan said. “Earl was one of the more recent additions. We hadn't gotten a chance to know him all that well before we were attacked. The guy he showed up with was killed in the attack and he was injured. I guess we didn't think of him as a threat and that’s on us. We should have been more cautious.”
Wyatt nodded in understanding.
Megan imagined Earl had probably been scared out of his mind. He was so focused on saving himself, he couldn't see how much danger he was putting himself in, let alone the rest of them.
“Needless to say, is everyone else solid? Garrett?” Wyatt asked.
Both men vehemently nodded their head, “He is a good guy. Solid. Has always been willing to help out and when we were attacked, he saved little Frankie. I will vouch for him,” Evan stated.
“Okay, then. Well, hopefully that was our last defector. Are we going to be ready to move in the next day or two?”
Jack looked down at his leg, “I'm going with you. If you can give me a day or two, I'll be good as new.”
Bryan and Evan both nodded in agreement.
“To be on the safe side, we'll give ourselves five days. We have five days to get our people armed and ready, just in case our attack is unsuccessful. Every one of those men will be out for blood if they escape.”
Chase joined the group, “We'll be ready. We’re making a wall of pikes right now. I have the boys working on sharpening some of those small downed trees into sharp points. We'll be using rope to tie them together to create a gate of sorts.”
“Won't they just go around them?” Megan asked a little confused on how that would be effective.
Chase smiled, “The gate will be under some branches and dirt. They won't know it’s there until it springs up in front of them. It will be the only open entrance to the lodge. There will be pikes, barbed wire and various traps along the rest of the perimeter. They will naturally go for the area with the least resistance.”
Wyatt looked impressed.
“Good thinking. Very medieval, but smart. I like it.”
Wyatt gave him the rundown about the situation with Earl. Chase was equally disturbed by the idea the man would have betrayed them all if Wyatt and Megan hadn't happened upon him in the woods. The outcome would have been disastrous.
“Alright, we are going to get busy. See you all tonight at dinner,” Wyatt said, grabbing Megan's hand and heading into the lodge.
25
The day started out with a flurry of activity. Wyatt and Megan were going out to scout for a bug out retreat, just in case McDaniels' men managed to breach the perimeter and get close to the lodge. If things were looking bad, they needed an emergency escape plan.
Brenda insisted she go along. She had been all over the mountain and knew the area fairly well. She hadn't found anything around her house or towards Evan's camp, but there were still plenty of areas to explore.
“How about you and Chase go up the mountain a bit. Megan and I will go towards the west,” Wyatt decided.
Chase agreed, but felt they could do more.
“Why don't we send Garrett and Greg out, too,” he suggested.
Megan agreed. The faster they found this secondary location, the better she would feel. Even if it only offered a breather for the group to recuperate until they could retake the lodge. She hated the idea of running blindly through the forest. She had been there, done that and didn't want to do it ever again.
“Okay. Let's set a time to be back. Everyone sticks together. If a group doesn't come back by three, we know something went wrong and can put everyone at the lodge on alert. Agreed?”
A chorus of agreements rang out.
“Alright, get your packs and let's get moving,” Wyatt said, anxious to get started.
Everyone quickly checked the gear in their packs and headed out in their respective directions.
Megan and Wyatt hadn't found anything and were ready to call it a day when they saw a trail of rocks ahead of them.
“A path,” Megan said squatting down low.
She used her hand to brush away pine needles and some of the overgrowth.
“Look!” she said, pointing to the rocks that were in a neat little row. She brushed away more needles and brush and found what she was looking for. It was another trail of rocks.
“This is a path to somewhere,” she said in an excited voice.
Wyatt stood between the two lines of rocks and looked ahead. Wherever these rocks led was obscured by the trees.
He walked forward, kicking branches and thorny bushes as he went.
Megan rushed to get right behind him, literally on his heels. When he came to an abrupt stop, her face hit him in the back.
“Megan, we found it. We found the bug out location!”
Megan pushed him out of the way so she could see. It was a small hunting cabin. It wasn't exactly big. In fact, she was pretty sure it was about the size of one of those tiny homes that had been so trendy before the EMP hit.
“Well, it's a cabin. I don't know how we are going to squeeze seventeen people in there, even if we all stood shoulder to shoulder,” she said not sharing his enthusiasm.
“It's better than nothing. We can always build on. The idea is somewhere to run to. Honestly, if we are sending anyone here, it’s because our numbers have been depleted and we can't fight back. The survivors will fit just fine.”
The realization of what could happen over the next few days was sobering to her. She could die. Wyatt could die. The time they had right now mattered. She wanted to make the most of every minute.
“Let's check it out,” she said pushing him forward.
There was a small stick threaded through a latch that was holding the wooden door shut. Not exactly the most secure place, but she pushed out the negative thoughts. If the other two groups hadn't found anything, this was their best and only option.
Wyatt opened the door and popped his head in.
“Holy crap!”
Megan didn't know whether to be scared or happy.
“Holy crap!” Wyatt said again.
“What? What is it? What's wrong?”
He grabbed her and pulled her in. “Look!”
Megan's eyes adjusted to the dark interior. She blinked several times before finally focusing on a glass gun cabinet in the corner of the room. It was filled with rifles. There were three crates stacked next to the gun cabinet; all labeled in block letter with the word “Explosives”.
Along with the guns and ammunition, there were several five-gallon buckets along the edge of the wall.
“Do we dare open those?” Megan asked. “What if they are poop buckets?”
Wyatt chuckled, “Not every bucket is a poop bucket.”
She didn't look convinced.
“I don't know,” Megan gestured around the room. “Rustic cabin, no bathroom, you do the math.”
“I'll open one. If it’s poop, we know, but what if it’s ammunition or food?” Wyatt asked.
“I'll wait.”
Megan stood near the door. She had accidentally opened one of the poop buckets at the lodge not
knowing what it was. She was scarred for life.
Wyatt pried up the lid on one of the buckets.
“Well, it isn't poop,” he said. “It's beans. A lot of beans.”
“Check the other two,” she ordered. She wasn't totally appeased.
“Ammo and,” there was a pause, “Sugar or salt. Hold on,” he said. “Sugar.”
“That's awesome. With our food store being raided, sugar will be a welcome addition. Should we take what we can carry and come back tomorrow to get the rest?”
He nodded, removing rifles from the cabinet and handing them to her.
“We'll take these for now along with some of the dynamite. Tomorrow when we come back, we'll look around for any other supplies. We will need to have a small stockpile here, just in case.”
Megan felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders. At least they had an option if the lodge was compromised. It wasn't as nice or stocked, but it was better than sleeping under the trees.
As they walked back to the lodge, Wyatt talked about how ironic it was they were looking for a bug out location. The lodge had been their bug out location and now they were very possibly going to have to leave it behind. A bug-out for their bug-out.
“I'm so glad you know about all this stuff. I never would have thought to find a backup home. I guess I’ve always been in the mindset to take it as it comes. I have to start thinking like you. Always thinking about the future and playing out the various scenarios. You are very smart, Wyatt Morris.”
He turned and kissed her.
“Thanks, but it isn't being smart. And really, it was all my dad. He was always telling us to plan for anything and everything. His motto was prepare for the worst and hope for the best. I have tried to keep that mindset. I think I kind of forgot.”
Wyatt told her he knew not to get complacent. He knew survival situations were fluid. They were constantly evolving. They had been comfortable in the lodge, but if they had to move, that was fine. All he needed was his family. He could figure out the rest later.
Right now, he wanted their focus to be on getting through the coming week alive and Megan couldn’t agree more.
The EMP Lodge Series: Books One to Three Page 53