“Yeah, I wanted him remorseful,” Nathan said, getting up. “I have to boogie.”
“What are you going to do?” Jasmine asked.
“I have to move those bodies down by the crash site and hope they buy that they died in crash,” Nathan said, grabbing his gear.
“I’m going with you,” Jasmine said.
Looking at her, Nathan couldn’t tell her no. “Fine. I’m driving and you’re in the gunners chair. John, you’re in charge here. Keep listening to the radios. The last radio is tuned to the unit commander in Cheyenne.”
Running over, Nathan grabbed the other Mew, putting it in the passenger seat and jumping in. Jasmine climbed over the hood and jumped in the gunner’s seat. Nathan threw up dirt running out under the trees. He shot down the road as Jasmine buckled her seatbelt.
When Nathan reached the barn he drove over the small hill, stopping by the two bodies. He turned on the Mewtwo and climbed out, dragging the bodies over. Throwing them on the hood, Nathan saw Lonny wasn’t the only one who had been visited by coyotes.
Moving to the passenger seat, Nathan punched in the code and looked up at Jasmine. She was standing on the roof, using John’s massive binoculars to look over the hill and down into the valley. “See anything?” Nathan asked as the Mew came on, showing the area around him was clear.
“Nathan, what the hell did you do?” Jasmine asked with an awed voice.
“Used some claymores,” Nathan said, tying the bodies to the hood.
“It’s all on fire,” she said, looking down at him.
“Well one claymore was beside the propane tank, so that explains the house,” Nathan said, turning the Mew off.
“No Nathan, the house, the barns, everything is gone,” she said, shaking her head.
“I’ll see in a minute,” Nathan said, jumping in the buggy. Jasmine dropped back down as Nathan spun out, heading back to the road. As he neared Lonny, Nathan sighed, seeing the upper part still tied to the fence.
He turned on the Mew and jumped out, cutting Lonny down, glad the coyotes had eaten his legs and made him lighter. Throwing the body on the others, he ran over, seeing the area clear on the screen, then turned to look at the farm.
“No fucking way,” Nathan gasped, lifting up his binoculars. The house, what was left of it, was burning. The barns and buildings fifty yards across from the house were blown over. To the east of the house where the helicopter landed he could see the still burning chopper. Where the propane tank was, in the back east corner of the back yard, was a massive hole.
“Told you,” Jasmine said.
“I need to learn explosives,” Nathan said, lowering he binoculars.
“Seems to me you know them just fine.”
Nathan shook his head as he climbed in and shut the Mew off. “I didn’t think it would be that big,” Nathan admitted as he sped toward the burning house. He stopped at the burning house and pulled out Lonny. Nathan dropped him at the edge of the fire, throwing his stumps in to burn.
Dragging the other two off, Nathan threw their bodies in the fire. Then, pulling out some burning boards, Nathan laid them over Lonny’s wrist. He looked back at Jasmine taking pictures with his camera. “I hope like hell you’re watching for bad guys.”
“I am. You forgot to turn on the Mew. There’s nothing around us,” she said.
Nathan ran over to the big barn, which was just a massive pile of debris now. Walking over to where the hay had been stored, he pulled out his lighter. “Zippo raid,” Nathan declared and set the hay on fire. Seeing the fire pick up fast, Nathan ran to the buggy. “Time to go, baby.”
“You never take me anywhere,” Jasmine joked as he turned off the Mew.
“Next time I’ll take you to dinner,” Nathan said, spinning the tires and speeding up the road. Twenty minutes later Nathan was pulling back under the trees at camp.
Jasmine climbed out the top. “You drive like a madman.”
“I was in a hurry,” Nathan said, picking up the Mew and carrying it over to the stack of equipment.
“We will have separate cars,” Jasmine said, picking Chip up.
Nathan laughed as he picked up Emma. “Did you hear anything while we were gone?”
“Like someone used a nuke in Wyoming,” Jasmine said, kissing Chip on the head.
John laughed. “Yeah, the patriots are hitting Cheyenne. That guy didn’t get to pull his men out. Some tried heading back into Colorado, but the road out of Cheyenne had some guys on it using rockets. Just handfuls are still calling over the radio for back up.”
“Then they better surrender,” Nathan said, sitting down on the ground.
Tom shook his head. “It won’t work. The guys attacking them aren’t taking prisoners. They found several mass graves of people who had been shot.”
“Okay, guys,” Nathan said. “Let’s fix lunch. Then it’s Harry Potter time.” Everyone let out a cheer.
Chapter 22
Day 58
Nathan sat, sipping his coffee, watching the sun come up with Ares lying at his feet. It was their fourth day in the small valley next to the lake. They had eaten a deer he shot and had a small fish fry with the fish from the lake. He had trained them in repeatedly in hand-to-hand and combat drills. Then it was Harry Potter time; they were on number four now.
Now Amanda was moving around very well and barely grimaced when taking a deep breath. When Nathan had seen her and Tom wrestling yesterday, he almost spun off. He informed them when Amanda was better they could beat each other, but not now.
Little Casey was walking around now and slowly recovering. When she walked she took baby steps not to jar her belly, but she was getting around just fine. Well enough to help with fishing; needless to say Nathan wasn’t happy about that.
They all heard the report of the team sent to look for Lonny over the radio. The team reported the site was bombed and there were no survivors. All personnel were accounted for. Equipment was presumed destroyed. On the radio yesterday, they had heard the search team was killed while returning home.
When not training the group or reading, Nathan was on Lonny’s computer. The shit that man had was unbelievable. He learned the Mew had a self-destruct. It wasn’t a bomb, just a large radio broadcast inside the sealed case and a tube of acid to eat the circuitry.
Nathan read about new body armor they had, but Lonny hadn’t been wearing it. How they were marking and tracking people with the new National ID card. All the things on the computer really scared the shit out of him.
The rest of the gear they got was pretty standard. John flipped when he found a suppressor for the M-14, and Nathan said Lonny didn’t want the shooters to use it. Lonny wanted to know when someone died. When John saw the big fifty-cal sniper rifle he was speechless, till he picked the damn thing up. That’s when John figured out a forty-pound empty rifle with an eight-pound suppressor was a bit much. But Nathan had every intention of taking it. They never knew if a tank would jump out and surprise them.
Yesterday, Nathan had woken up to John and Tom reading the pamphlets for the Stingers and Javelins. Nathan joined them and they slowly worked it out. Nathan had let them shoot the big fifty-cal and the M-14, but drew the line with the Stinger and Javelin. John actually started whining as he begged to shoot one. John was somewhat pacified when Nathan taught him how to set up a claymore.
Remembering the last few days at the lake, Nathan had to smile. Then he felt guilty because of why they had to stay there. Not counting the equipment and information, the horses were really enjoying this. They had been starting to look haggard, but were now perking up.
Getting up, Nathan refilled his coffee and smiled at the beauty of the sunrise. Hearing the tent open, Nathan smiled. “Morning Jasmine.”
“You just think you’re so good,” she said behind him.
Nathan turned around, smiling. When he saw her the smile fell off his face. “You’re wearing my shirt? That’s not fair. I can’t wear yours.”
Jasmine tilted her head. “
I wanted something on me that smelled like you. I can’t sleep with you or near you for that matter. Between the girls and Chip, I’m lucky I see you every day.”
“Well, okay then,” Nathan said.
“I want to sleep in your sleeping bag with you,” Jasmine said.
A grin filled Nathan’s face. “I can make another shelter.”
Jasmine poured her coffee. “The kids would go into fits.”
Twisting his face up, Nathan agreed. “It was just a thought.”
Jasmine walked over, wrapping her arms around his waist. “When we get home, you better have a private room. I’m not even playing about that.”
“Yes I do,” Nathan said.
“Good,” Jasmine said, squeezing him.
Hugging her back, Nathan grinned. “One would think you plan to take advantage of me.”
“Absolutely not,” Jasmine snapped. “I’m going throw you down and ride you like a cheap bicycle.”
“Ugh,” Nathan snorted, pushing away from Jasmine, spitting coffee. “You made it come out my nose.”
“I’m just saying, I’ve seen rodeos before and I’m going to act like a bull rider,” she said with a straight face. Nathan dropped his cup and collapsed in a convulsion. “You already have the spurs,” Jasmine said, slowly breaking into a smile. Beating the ground with his fist, Nathan finally took a deep breath and laughed.
Ares walked over and licked his face. “The dog has to stay out as well. I don’t want him to think I’m hurting you,” Jasmine chuckled. It took a few minutes but Nathan finally quit laughing and got back up.
“Hot coffee through the nose sucks,” he said, picking up his cup.
“I like seeing you laugh,” Jasmine said as he poured some more coffee.
“I have to say, I like it,” Nathan said, pulling her close for a kiss.
“Nafan,” they heard behind them.
Jasmine looked him in the eyes. “That’s your child.”
“Yours won’t be far behind,” Nathan said, turning and holding out his arms. Giggling, Emma ran at him, diving into his arms. Sure enough, Chip was out a few minutes later.
Nathan pulled two chairs together and they sat down. “Nathan, when the kids get up, I want to talk to everyone together,” Jasmine said.
“What about?” Nathan asked, handing Emma her sippy cup.
“I think Casey will be okay and we can leave in two days, do you agree?” she asked.
“Bouncing up and down on a horse isn’t really good for recent liver lac,” Nathan said.
Jasmine pointed over at the buggies. “Have you read up on those?”
“Pff,” Nathan scoffed. “Hell yes, they are totally bad ass. They have a fifteen horsepower diesel engine turning a 20 kilowatt generator. They’re electric, like a locomotive. When the engine is on, it’s only forty decibels at twenty feet with the muffled engine shroud and baffled muffler. A sewing machine makes more noise. The two rear tires each have fifty horsepower electric motors. On the front, each tire has a thirty horsepower motor. They get eighty miles to a gallon fully loaded, so theoretically you can go eight hundred miles on one tank. The battery backup will let you go forty miles totally silent. It can carry three men with full tactical loads and sixteen hundred pounds of gear.”
Jasmine just stared at him in awe. “You could’ve just said yes.”
“Jasmine, those things are a marvel of engineering. Nothing is totally new about them, but someone brought all the stuff together. I mean, the framework is nothing but carbon fiber,” Nathan said, looking at the buggies.
“If I asked, could you tell me more?” she asked hesitantly.
“I can just about recite the manuals,” Nathan said proudly.
“Figures,” Jasmine said. “What about the Mew?”
“I’m not going to lie, the science there goes over my head. I understand the concept, but not the nuts and bolts,” Nathan said.
“Men amaze me,” Jasmine admitted.
“It better only be this one now,” Nathan grumbled.
She laughed and patted his arm. “Just men in general. Y’all can recite off-the-wall stuff, yet forget a birthday.”
“Your birthday is July twentieth,” Nathan said.
“Wow,” Jasmine said, taking a sip. “You never cease to amaze me.”
Nathan was fixing to say more but heard the tent flap behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he saw everyone file out. “The family’s here,” Nathan said.
“Let’s eat first,” Jasmine said, standing up.
After everyone ate they sat around the table that was holding a Mew. Jasmine came out of the tent carrying a notebook. “Uh oh,” Nathan mumbled very quietly.
Walking over to the table, Jasmine looked around. “Okay, I want to talk about something. I want everyone to shut your mouth until I’m done, and then I will say ‘questions.’ Do we understand?” Hearing the tone, everyone just nodded.
“Okay, we are averaging forty miles a day. I know we get more some days, but we are averaging,” Jasmine stressed the word. “We have to stop every four or five days to let the horses rest, and I can tell this trip is starting to wear on them. We have almost seven hundred miles left. Now factoring how we’ve done, that puts us home in twenty-two days if we keep taking one day off every four. I don’t think we will be able to keep that up; we are in mountains now. In the foothills of Arkansas we only did thirty a day and had to rest the horses a lot.”
Jasmine looked down at her notebook. “Using that as a guide, I put us home in thirty-one days. Or we can be home in a week.” Everyone gasped and sat up, listening hard now. Looking at each one, Jasmine said, “We can take the buggies.”
Hearing several take deep breaths to argue, Jasmine raised her hand. “I’m not done.” She made sure she could continue. “Those buggies are designed for three grown men. Out of all of us, only Nathan and John meet that. I’m sorry Tom, but you’re not as big as them yet,” she said, smiling.
Tom smiled back as she continued. “Nathan drives one with Amanda and Natalie riding shotgun and Tom in the gunner’s seat and Emma sitting in the middle. John drives the other with Casey and Chip riding shotgun and me in the gunner’s seat.”
Nathan jumped up and Jasmine pointed at him to sit. “Back up, woman,” Nathan barked. “If you think I’m leaving my dog I will build a cabin right here.”
“Nathan, Ares has saved our lives almost as many times as you have and probably more with what he let us avoid. He’s part of this family. The dogs will ride in the gunner’s seats with the person riding there.” Jasmine said, cursing herself for not telling them about the dogs sooner.
Satisfied, Nathan sat down as Jasmine looked around. “One question at a time.”
Everyone raised their hands. Sighing, Jasmine pointed at Casey. “What about Pepper? She’s a good horse.”
“Yes she is. But you see how dangerous it is, and it’s only going to get worse. And Casey, Nathan doesn’t have enough food to feed all these extra horses. Amanda can recite to you what Nathan has stockpiled,” Jasmine said.
Amanda looked at Casey. “Nathan has a years’ worth of food for them. He has a field set up for hay and a greenhouse for corn. They will replace what he uses. Nathan never told me about more horses.”
“Damn you remembered everything I told you?” Nathan asked, and Amanda nodded.
“Nathan, you didn’t raise your hand,” Jasmine snapped.
“I didn’t ask you a question,” Nathan popped off.
Raising her eyebrows, Jasmine nodded in agreement. “Well, no talking out of turn. Next question.”
“You didn’t answer mine!” Casey said. “What about Pepper?”
“Casey, we will let them go. Horses have been living on these plains for thousands of years. Pepper and the others will be free,” Jasmine said.
Tears leaked out of Casey’s eyes as she nodded her head. “Next,” Jasmine said, and pointed at John.
“We have a lot of stuff. Those buggies can’t carry it all,” John sai
d.
“We only have a lot of stuff because it is going to take us a long time to get home. We can carry all the weapons and ammo, our packs, and half the food. We will have to leave the tents and stuff, half the sleeping bags, and most of the cooking stuff. But we won’t need the extra food because we will be home in a week. We will have to sleep out under the stars and in the rain, but we can be home,” Jasmine said.
Jasmine pointed at Tom. “We have extra horses if one gets hurt. If we lose one buggy we’re screwed.”
“Good point, Tom. But if someone shoots at us, the horses can only run at thirty or so miles an hour, and only for a short distance. The buggies can do sixty all night. I know they can go that fast because Nathan proved it when we drove down to the farm,” she said, causing them to laugh. “Also, Tom, we can all fit on one buggy. We will have to shed a lot of gear, but we can do it. Then if it breaks down we can walk. Even if the buggies only get us halfway, we can still be home in two weeks.”
Tom nodded and Jasmine looked at Natalie. “Natalie, your question.”
Natalie looked at Nathan. “Will Spots be all right?”
“Yes, Natalie. If we let them go Spots and the others will be fine. They would survive this easier than we will even at home. There are vast tracts of land for them to graze. They will go where they want and not where we want them to,” Nathan said.
“Amanda,” Jasmine said.
“Nathan has more horses, so we’ll just get another one. I don’t want to think about what would happen to Trix if she had to go with us home. I was going to let her go when we got there anyway,” Amanda said.
“No question?” Jasmine asked.
“No, if the buggies can do it, let’s get on the damn things and get home,” she said.
Jasmine smiled and looked at Nathan. “Nathan.”
“I have to say, you covered your points rather well. I’m glad you did it and not me,” Nathan said. “You’re right, we can’t leave any ammo or weapons and ‘stuff.’ The ‘stuff’ alone is over two hundred pounds. The only part you got wrong is that the buggy won’t do sixty overloaded. But I’m sure it will do fifty, which is more than fast enough. Also, you haven’t addressed the loss of mobility. Horses can go where the buggy can’t, like through a forest. But I think I can keep us off the beaten path. Most important, those buggies are quiet. More so than the horses.”
Dark Titan Journey: Finally Home Page 33