Cody, Wyoming
2022
The morning sun was just peaking above the hills chasing away the last vestiges of night. Beth had sweatpants and a hoodie on since it was still early spring. While the days were warming up, the nights were still just above freezing. She sipped her coffee and wondered how she could survive without John. The team was taking care of her, but she knew that she would eventually have to find a mate to survive up here in this wilderness. If only she could get back to Mobile and her family. John had been missing for over two months and everyone else thought he was dead. Beth was sure she would never see him again and was ready to have Jan introduce her brother. She had seen him on several occasions and thought that he was good looking and everyone liked him. He was a mild manned guy that had a small ranch on the outskirts of town.
Janet saw Beth and was almost afraid to talk to her. Beth had been grumpy and a bit sarcastic since the loss of the baby.
Janet swallowed and asked, “Hello Beth, how are you doing this morning?"
“Oh, Janet. Please join me. Isn’t this such a beautiful morning? I love to watch the sunrise, don’t you?”
“Yes, it’s the best time of the day.”
Janet sat down beside Beth and they chatted for several minutes when Beth said, “I know that I’ve been a bitch since I lost the baby, but the old me is back. I now know that I must shake off the bad and find some good in life. John is dead and I must move on.”
“That is great. I’m glad that you are in better spirits, but don’t you think it’s a bit early to give up on John?”
“That’s what I have been thinking for months, but let’s faces the truth. John loves our children and me and would fight and kill every bad guy on earth to get back to us. No, he’s dead. That’s the only thing that explains him not coming back to me.”
“What are you going to do?”
“How well do you know Jan’s brother? Jan has been trying to fix me up with him. His wife died when the lights went out and he has a cute ten year old daughter. He has his own ranch and can certainly provide for his daughter and me.”
“Beth, I don’t know him, but he is well thought of in town. I want you to be happy, but don’t marry the first guy that comes along.”
“Dear, there are two to three women for every man in this new world. I don’t think that I can be overly picky. No wife beaters, drug addicts or alcoholics and I should do fine.”
“Damn, this new world takes getting used to.”
“I know. I miss my phone, TV and movies.”
“I meant life without John.”
***
The trip had mainly consisted of dodging stalled cars and a few thugs trying to rob them along the way. The groups of three to four thugs were quickly shot and the convoy barely slowed down. They were only 20 miles from Cody, but Tom wanted to check out the Powell hospital. They made it to Powell by noon and drove off route to check out the hospital and found a couple of doctors and nurses still treating people. The doctors agreed to examine the women only if they were paid up front in food, weapons and ammunition.
“What happened to that oath that doctors adhere to?”
“Sorry, but you can’t feed or protect your family with an oath. We tried treating everyone for free and were starving. We were attacked a couple of times when the patient died. You are lucky to have travelled through town without being robbed. The gangs own Powell.”
They unloaded the women, took them into the hospital and hid their vehicles from view.
John asked Paul to post guards while he and Tom waited on the doctor to work on their women.
“Tom, we need to talk these people into moving to Cody where we can protect them and then come back and wipe out the gangs.”
“I thought you would be hell bent to get back to the ISA.”
“This country has been part of the ISA since my plane crashed. I am the president of the ISA and my team that you've heard about consisted of my wife, Beth, one of our governors and my security team. We planned to annex this area early next year due to the low population, but I plan to send several groups up here to train ya’ll how to build your own state militia. The rangers and 82nd Airborne units will be able to wipe out all of the large gangs and train you to handle the smaller groups of thugs and criminals.”
“John, are you sure that the hit to your head didn’t affect your memory? You are kind of rough and tough to be a president, aren’t you?”
That’s what I told Admiral Jones when he appointed me to the job. His reply was that we need good men who are honest and tough enough to clean up the country and stand up to the old USA’s tyranny. That’s exactly why I think you will be great at the job. Hell neither of us will what the country needs once we get rid of the bad guys, however, we do need men and women who aren’t afraid of killing every gang member and thug. Damn the political correctness and whining liberal scumbags who coddled criminals and paid people to vote with government handouts."
“I can’t speak for everyone, but I’d like that for my family and friends.”
“I’d like for you to be the area’s first governor to serve until the area is stable and we can have elections.”
“I don’t know if I can handle all of that bureaucracy.”
“There won’t be much of that crap. We adhere strictly to the Constitution and stay out of local business as long as you obey the Constitution. Our government only has a few admin type people, all others actually work for a living. We won’t have all of those Departments of BS that tried to run roughshod over the people. We want to be good stewards of our environment and treat people right, but we don’t need millions of Federal Government people on the dole telling you what to do."
“I’m in.”
They had been waiting for over two hours when the head doctor came back in the waiting room.
“Tom, Brenda is going to be fine and her arm will be recovered in six to eight weeks. I wish I had better news concerning Kristen. We don’t have real surgeons here and did the best we can, but she had five major shrapnel wounds. We removed four and repaired the damage the best we could, however the fifth penetrated her skull and punctured her brain. We removed it and repaired the area as much as possible. Only time will tell if she will live and if she does live, will she ever wake up from the coma?”
Tears came to his eyes as he thanked the doctor.
“John, is this your wife?”
“No, but she is very special to me and our family. We need to travel on to Cody. How soon can we move her? Cody will be much safer for her and the rest of our people. Ya’ll should come with us.”
“I’d wait a couple of days. Great idea. We were going to ask if your group could use some doctors and nurses.”
This started John on his speech about the ISA and how the area would soon be under its control and the thugs dealt with.
***
Beth slowly worked up the nerve to tell Jan that she wanted to meet her brother and see what happens.
“Jan, why hasn’t he taken another wife before now? There are many women who would love to live on that ranch with him.”
“He is finally over the death of his wife and son. Some thugs caught them away from the house, killed the boy, then raped and killed her. He found them and killed all three of the SOBs.”
“I’m sorry for his loss and would like you to introduce us.”
“Come to my house tonight for supper and you two can chat and see if there is any interest.”
The dinner was excellent and Beth and Phil went outside to sit on the deck. There was no moon and the black sky framed the millions of stars. Both sat for a while, too bashful to strike up a conversation.
Beth looked at Phil and said, “What’s your daughter’s name?”
“Rose. She is ten as of last month. She is very smart and asks so many questions that I can’t answer.”
“I’d like to meet her.”
“Do you have any children?”
“Yes, I have two girls and
a boy. Kristie is 17, Randy is 15 and Jenn is 1. I also have little Gus and Lindsey who we found on the side of the road south of Nashville and adopted. I miss them so much. They are safe in Mobile.”
“Why are you up here in Wyoming?”
“My husband was an official with the ISA and we were flying from San Diego to Mobile when our plane was hijacked and then crashed when we fought to take back control of the plane.”
“What is the ISA?”
Beth gave him a brief update on the ISA and the world events outside of Wyoming.
“Wow, who would have thought that our own president would nuke his own country. I’m sorry to say that I voted for the socialist bastard. He fooled us all with his promises and charm.”
“Phil, are you ready to move on? Are you over your wife?”
“As much as possible. I miss her, but realize that I have to move on with my life. How about you?”
“I am grieving, but also know that in these times one has to suck it up and move on quickly or die.”
“Ranch life can be very hard, but I think it has many more rewards than problems.”
“Phil, hard work and struggling to survive won’t scare me off. I want a man who will treat me as an equal and do his fair share making a life. Love is great and if it happens my life will be much better, but I have to be realistic that alone I won’t survive.”
He laughed and said, “So you need to choose the best of the worst.”
She punched him in the ribs and replied, “That’s not what I mean. I would like to go on dates to nice restaurants, walk along the beach and get to know you, but we just made the jump back to the 1870’s where marriage and family means survival if we all pull together.”
“I was just kidding, but we think alike. How about going on a picnic with Rose and me to one of my favorite places?”
“I’d like that. We need to see how Rose reacts to another woman in her life.”
“I must tell you that my wife was a Lakota Sioux Indian and Rose is half Indian.”
“That’s not a problem. My two adopted children are black, as is our vice president and several of our governors in the ISA. Race is not an issue in our new country.”
***
Steve and Joel were interrupted by a call from the guards on the northeast side of town. A convoy of trucks had approached the town on Alternate Highway 14. They stopped and waved white flags and asked to see Steve Jones.
“Did they say who they were?”
“Yes, the man said that he was John Harris and he was a representative of the ISA.”
“Well let’s go out and meet this man claiming to be our fearless leader and good friend. Move some snipers into locations that can cover us. Be prepared for anything.”
Steve and Joel slowly drove up to the convoy prepared to make a run for it if things went south.
They got within 50 feet and Steve recognized John. He had lost weight and had a beard, but it was John.
Steve ran up to John and gave him a big bear hug while exclaiming, “You bastard, we all thought you were dead.”
“Well I am alive and these folks need help and are joining our team. Please have everyone welcome them. It’s good to see you again. Where is Beth?”
Steve thought for a minute and said, “Beth is out of town on an errand. I’ll send for her. Damn it’s good to see you.”
“Have you had any contact with the ISA or Chosen People?”
“None at all. Most of us are resigned to the fact that we are on our own and John Harris is dead. We have started mixing in with the locals and making our home right here in Cody.”
“Well I am heading back to Mobile once I get rested up and we get our friends recuperated. I’ll tell you about the last few months over dinner once I find Beth.”
John shook hands and hugged his team as they came to see him rise for the dead.
“I have to see Beth first and then I’m going to tell you about my last few months. I also will be introducing the people that I lived with in Billings, Montana. I have become very close to these people and I want you to welcome them into our group.”
***
Phil had three horses saddled and ready to go when Beth arrived at his ranch. He introduced her to Rose, and they hit it off right away. They rode north to a place on the river with a stand of trees and a sandy beach. They ate and Rose went down to the water to play. The water was still very cold so she played in the sand on the beach.
“I’m glad that you two are getting along so well. It’s not easy to blend two families together.”
“I was lucky John only had one boy, Scott, who was grown and my kids love him more than they cared for their deadbeat father.”
Phil reached over and held Beth’s hand and soon she was in his arms just watching Rose play.
“Beth, I like you very much and won’t come on too strong. I don’t want to scare you off.”
Beth leaned over, kissed him on the cheek and replied, “Thanks, I need slow right now.”
Phil said, “Do you hear that? It sounds like a truck approaching. Let’s hide in the trees until we see who it is.”
Phil grabbed his shotgun from his saddle, Beth pulled her 9mm from under her blouse and they ran over to hide. An old truck drove up and stopped about 50 yards from their location.
They heard someone yell, “Beth. Phil. Come here. Beth. Phil.”
Phil said, “That’s Jan and Robert. Let’s see what they want.”
They waved at the other two and walked over towards them.
Jan walked over to Beth and said, “Beth, John has returned. He’s alive and can’t wait to see you. Robert will take you to him. I’ll stay with Phil and Rose.”
Beth started crying and jumped in the truck. Robert sped back to town as fast as he could on the old dirt road.
“Phil, I’m sorry I talked her into seeing you. She was so sure that her husband was alive and we all told her to move on.”
“I’m happy for her."
***
Beth was nervous during the ride back to town and felt very guilty for giving up on the man she loved more than her own life. She tried to figure out how to tell him that she had starting to date so soon after declaring him dead. They arrived at the police station and she jumped out of the truck, ran into the office and saw John seated at a conference table.
“John, we thought that you were dead.”
“I heard that a lot today. Come here and kiss me.”
They embraced and kissed long enough that Steve said, “Get a room. We kids don’t need to see the parents making love.”
Beth turned and gave Steve a finger and kept kissing John.”
John broke free long enough to say, “Beth and I need some time alone so I can tell her about my last several months away.”
Beth escorted him down the street to the house that she had been living in for a couple of months. She fixed him a stiff whisky and coke and they sat down on the couch in each other’s arms.
“Beth, I need to tell you the bad and the good about my stay with the folks from Billings.”
“Wait John, I have to tell you that I thought that you were dead and everyone kept telling me to move on and find a husband. I was on a picnic with a man when they came to find me.”
“Do you love this man?”
“No, we had dinner and were on a picnic with his daughter.”
“Beth, you did nothing wrong. You thought that I was dead and a single woman is easy prey for the bad guys. I just wish that I hadn’t been gone so long.”
Beth cried for a few minutes and then John started telling her about his disappearance.
“Beth, I don’t know how they found me, but I was in a wreck and lost my memory. There were twenty people telling me that I was Jim Jones and had joined their team a year ago. They wanted me to train them how to fight and secure the place they lived at in Billings, Montana. I was part of their group for almost three months. I lived, ate and became one of them. I just regained my memory two weeks ago.”
“John, I can’t imagine not remembering anything about my past. Did you forget me?”
Darling, I didn’t even know who I was. They made up a story and everyone told me the same thing. I have to tell you that I spent the last two months thinking that I was married to another woman.”
Beth tensed up and pushed John away and said, “You thought that you were married to another woman. Where the hell is she? Did you bring her here to meet me?”
“Beth, I thought that I was Jim Jones and married to Kristen Jones. I’m sorry, but we lived as man and wife for two months.”
“John, that sounds like an excuse to screw around while you were lost in the woods. I know that you have never lied to me before, but I hate this.”
John watched her cry and tried to speak, but she interrupted, “Do you love her?”
“No, I don’t love her. I always had a nagging thought that what was going on was wrong, but again everyone including Kristen made me believe that I was her husband.”
“I want to meet this bitch. Take me to her.”
“She is at the hospital in a town north of here and is near death. She will be brought here in a couple of days. We were attacked and she and Tom’s wife were riddled with shrapnel from several truck bombs when a gang tried to rob us. We lost over thirty people in that attack. Beth, I love you and only you. I don’t care for her anymore than I do for the rest of the Billings people.”
John knew that was a lie, but it was what Beth needed to here right now.
“I will introduce you to her if she lives, but please don’t be too had on her. She and the others were just trying to survive.”
John, my brain says I agree with what I am hearing, but my heart has been ripped apart thinking that you have shared a bed with this other woman. How old is the bitch?”
“Beth we need to move on and get past this.”
“I agree, but how old is this woman and is she pretty?”
“She is 25 and yes she is pretty, but not as beautiful as you are.”
Apocalypse in the Homeland: The Adventures of John Harris Page 13