“Heavies?”
“Cargo planes. At that time, it wasn’t long after the power went out and we didn’t know it was worldwide. We thought it was local. Someone asked my dad whether airplanes could land if the power ever went out at the airport.
“He said yes, they could. That pilots are trained, in simulators, how to land at an airport that is blacked out and has no glide slope beacon, in case of emergencies. Don’t ask me what a glide slope beacon is. Dad explained it to me but it was all technical. It’s like an electronic signal that guides your plane in for a landing.”
Red looked at Dave, who had the strangest look on his face.
“Dude, you’re scaring me. What’s that weird look all about?”
Dave started weeping.
“What, Dude? Was it something I said?”
“No. It’s just that, for the last year I wasn’t sure whether they’d lived or died. I assumed that if the plane was still in the air when the EMPs hit, that they lost power like everything else and just dropped from the sky. And since they were supposed to land at almost the exact time the EMPs hit, and since the airlines are constantly running behind, I was so afraid that they crashed.”
He looked at her, too injured to raise his hands to dry his tears.
“I didn’t want to get my hopes up that they’d somehow landed in time and made it.”
Dave cried unashamedly.
Red went on.
“There is a man in Blanco. Was a man. The bastards murdered him just a couple of days ago. He was a prepper too. They called him Crazy Eddie, but he wasn’t crazy at all. Turned out he was a visionary of sorts. And he was a friend of mine.
“Anyway, Eddie was able to save some things from getting destroyed. A quad-runner and some batteries and radios and generators and such. I’m not sure exactly how he did it, but it had something to do with a big wire cage.”
“A Faraday cage.”
“Yeah. That sounds familiar. I hated science in school. I slept most of the time, and the teacher only passed me because he was my dad’s best friend. What is a Faraday cage, exactly?”
“Well, Eddie described it to you perfectly. It is, in essence, a big wire or steel cage. When EMPs hit it, they can’t penetrate it, so they just go around it until they weaken and dissipate. Anything that’s inside the cage and isn’t touching it is saved the EMP’s destructive power.”
“Yeah. That’s what Eddie said, more or less.
“I told that to my father. Dad was the smartest man I’ve ever known. And he’d heard of Faraday cages. Said he actually built a small one in college before he joined the Air Force. He said that’s why the airplanes didn’t fall from the sky. That they acted as flying Faraday cages, since they weren’t grounded. That the EMPs hit the airplanes and skirted the aircraft skins, but didn’t damage any of the electronic components inside because all the components were insulated and weren’t touching the skin of the aircraft. If you think about it, when you’re inside an airplane you never see the aluminum and alloy skin that the outside of the aircraft is made of. It’s all insulated, covered up by something. So that’s why the airplanes didn’t fall from the sky.
“And since they didn’t fall from the sky, and since the pilots are trained to land them in emergencies, there’s no reason to believe your family isn’t alive. They’re waiting up there for you to come and get them.”
Chapter 21
Dave was in bad shape. So bad that even talking wore him out. He dozed for several hours while Red disappeared and came back with two good-sized catfish.
She cooked them in the woods so the smell wouldn’t attract any curious nomads traveling down the highway.
Or any of Savage’s men who she was sure were out looking for them.
Over a meal of catfish and wild greens, they resumed their earlier conversation.
“Your father sounds like a brilliant man. But you referred to him in the past tense. He didn’t survive?”
“No. He was murdered. I’m pretty sure by the same man who murdered my husband and son. Once we get you well enough we’ll set out, and he’s the man I’m going after.”
Dave managed a smile.
“We? You got a mouse in your pocket?”
“We. You and me. We’re traveling buddies now, at least for the time being.”
“Do I get a vote?”
“Do you want your ass kicked?”
“Easy, Red. I was going to vote for you to come along.”
“Yeah, sure you were.”
She smiled.
“The way I see it, you need somebody to protect you. Didn’t you say you were a former Marine?”
“Yes.”
“Well, pardon me, but for a former Marine you didn’t do a very good job of defending yourself out there.”
“Hey, they got the drop on me and hit me from behind.”
“A doddering old man and his keystone cops, who don’t have a single brain cell to share between them. Got the drop on you. Shameful. You’d have thought the Corps would have taught you to watch your back and be prepared for something like that when going into hostile territory.”
“I didn’t think a sleepy little town like Blanco would be hostile. I thought I’d get in and out without anyone noticing or caring.”
“How’d that work out for you, bucko?”
“Not well, I’m afraid.”
“Now, there’s an understatement. The way I see it, we need to get the hell out of here. It’s only a matter of time before Savage’s thugs figure out that we’re not north of town and start heading south to look for us. Abandoned trucks are places they’ll likely look. You should be ready to travel tonight. I’m going along with you because you need me to finish nursing you back to health.
“And you’ve got something I need too.”
Dave managed a grin.
“I’m sorry, Red. I’m a married man.”
Red rolled her eyes and said, “Don’t flatter yourself, Dude. You’re not my type. What you have that I need is transportation. I put your new alternator on your Explorer while you slept, and tested it out. It works fine. I can drag you out of here tonight. I know you’re still hurting, but you’re mobile now. There’s no reason to stay here any longer.
“To coin an old phrase, ‘It’s time to get out of Dodge.’”
The pair agreed to stay together long enough to make it to Jacksboro, a city where a branch of highway broke off from Highway 281 and headed west toward Lubbock.
“But first I’ve got something I have to do,” Red told him. “Don’t you dare leave me behind.”
“I won’t. You’ve saved my life, Red. The least I can do is give you a ride as far as I can.”
He didn’t say it, but both of them knew it. During the three days he was laid up in that truck’s sleeper cab healing, they’d become friends. And each of them now cared what happened to the other.
He wouldn’t leave her. Couldn’t leave her.
They’d become a team.
Red always allowed Bonnie to graze freely, knowing she never wandered far, and always came when called. She wouldn’t have had any trouble finding the stream that ran adjacent to Highway 281, and a couple of hundred yards away from it. The grass was plentiful, and the snakes and other things that might spook her were rare this time of year.
She heard the horse first, the sound of Bonnie’s hooves coming from the south and slowly growing louder. Bonnie had excellent night vision. Normally, it was far better than Red’s own.
But not tonight.
The big horse approached slowly once Red was in sight, and once near changed to a walk. She was a smart horse, smarter than most humans Red knew. At least by Red’s estimation.
Bonnie understood that although she was there to serve Red, that she was so much larger and therefore capable of hurting her. Especially in the dark, when Red might not see her coming and might step into her path.
Bonnie was smart enough and careful enough to make sure that didn’t happen. For the love Red felt for
her horse went both ways.
Bonnie was getting old now. Her best years were behind her. She’d been with Red since the beginning. There had been other riders, occasionally, when Red was inclined to share her. But she knew that Red would always be back, would always nuzzle her and rub her and make her feel loved.
Red loved Bonnie like a best friend. No, more than that. Like a sister. Bonnie was the one friend she could always talk to. Bonnie was the only one to see her cry when she lost her sister a few years before. The only one to hear her wail when her husband and son died.
The only one who understood her sorrow when her father died of a supposed heart attack.
And her anger and frustration when Red suspected there was more to the story.
Yes, she loved this horse as much as any human she’d ever loved.
Except maybe Riley, her young son who was murdered.
That’s why it broke Red’s heart, knowing what she’d be forced to do.
She placed her cheek next to Bonnie’s and scratched her behind the ears.
“Oh, baby, I love you so, so much. I hope you understand, I have to do this. I will hate myself for it, and I will never forgive myself. But I have to do it. There’s no other way. I’m so sorry.”
With that, she mounted up and rode east.
Chapter 22
Red knocked on Lilly’s window. Three times, then a brief pause, and a fourth knock.
It was the code they’d used since they were in grade school and snuck out in the middle of the night to star gaze and discuss the meaning of life.
Later, when they were in high school, they snuck out occasionally to double date with the Mason twins. The twins, Marty and Mike, were identical in every way. Except one was a wonderful lover and the other was a dud. That’s how they were caught, when they thought it would be cute to switch girlfriends one night to see if they could get away with it.
They couldn’t, and the girls dumped them in a very public way.
In recent years they seldom used the knock, since they were now both grown women. But Lilly remembered it immediately and fairly flew to the front door to let her friend in.
“Oh, my God,” she said while hugging Red. “Where have you been? The whole town’s looking for you. Savage’s men to do you harm and the rest of the town to protect you from them.”
“I know that Savage and his men are after me. I made him look like a shmuck.”
“That’s easy to do, because he is a schmuck.”
“What’s this about the rest of the town?”
“Right after Savage’s thugs went looking for you, Judge Moore got together a posse. They followed Savage’s men to make sure they brought you back for trial safe and sound.”
“Brought me back for trial? For what?”
“Savage is bringing charges against you. For obstruction of justice and aiding and abetting the escape of a known criminal.”
“I ought to go kick his fat stupid ass and tell him to aid and abet that. They’ll never make the charges stick.”
“I know. Judge Moore said they’d throw the case out if it ever went to trial. The district attorney told him it wouldn’t. That they’d let Savage go through the motions and arrest you, then decline to pursue the case.”
“Good. Savage will look like a double schmuck.”
“So, why are you here?”
“I need a favor, Lilly.”
“Anything, if I know how.”
“I’m leaving town for a while. I need for you to care for Bonnie for me.”
“Wait… what? Where are you going? And wherever it is, won’t you need Bonnie to get there?”
“I’m going to Lubbock to find Luna. I have to know whether Savage was responsible for the deaths of my whole family. And what Luna’s role was in it. Sloan told me they were both responsible, but he may be lying to protect himself. I have to find out for sure and then bring them to justice.”
“Okay. So you’re walking to Lubbock? You’re aware that it’s three hundred miles away, right?”
“We’re not walking. The guy they were beating in the street, his name is Dave. And he has a working vehicle.”
Lilly’s jaw dropped. But it wasn’t because the prospect of a working vehicle impressed her in any way. It was because she was amazed her friend was so gullible.
“Uh, Red… Sweetie, you’d be the last person I would think would fall for a dumb line like that. Everybody knows that vehicles don’t run anymore. None of them. Except for Crazy Eddie’s stupid four wheeler, may he rest in peace.”
“You’re wrong, Lilly. While he was healing the day before yesterday I installed a new alternator on his Ford Explorer for him. Then I started it up. It runs just fine. He put some new parts on it to bypass the electrical system. He said he was a prepper, just like Eddie. And he agreed to take me most of the way to Lubbock.”
Lilly suddenly grew angry.
“… So you can get yourself killed.”
“Not if I can help it.”
“Suppose you can’t help it?”
“Lilly, only the good die young. You know that.”
“Meaning what?”
“Meaning I’ll live forever.”
“You better, Red. You’re really the only good friend I have left.”
“That’s why I’m bringing you Bonnie, and a mission.”
Lilly didn’t understand.
“You know I’m not a horse person.”
“That’s your mission. I’ve always wanted you to learn to ride, so we could get you a horse of your own and you could start going with me on rides. Now’s your chance. I want you to care for Bonnie while I’m gone. Get to know her. And when you get brave enough, I want you to climb aboard and let her carry you around a bit.”
“But Red, I don’t know the first thing about caring for horses.”
“Do you know how to bridle a horse? How to saddle one, how to cinch down the saddle so it doesn’t shift when you mount up?”
“Yes. I’ve seen you do it a hundred times.”
“Do you know which side to mount up from, and how to get her to move?”
“Sure, I know that much. But…”
“But nothing. Bonnie is the sweetest horse there ever was. She’ll be patient while you get used to her, and she’ll tolerate your mistakes when you make them. All you have to do is feed and water her twice a day. One scoop of feed and one flake of hay each time. Take her out of her stall each morning and put her back in it each evening. Brush her down each night when you put her up, and hose her down once a week, but only in the heat of the day and in the sun so she dries quickly. Have you seen me check her hooves for stones?”
“Yes. I’ve seen you dig rocks out of them before.”
“She’s got new shoes, so you won’t have to worry about those. They’re tight and fit well, so stones shouldn’t be a problem. If she does get something stuck in her hoof, she’ll let you know by favoring it or by lifting it for you when you’re on that side. Check her blanket and saddle for burrs and critters, and quarter an apple for her every day. Don’t give it to her if she’s in a grumpy mood, though.”
“Now how in the hell do I tell if she’s in a grumpy mood?”
“Trust me. You’ll see it in her eyes when she looks at you.”
“Sounds like an awful lot of work to me.”
“Nope. By the second day you’ll fall in love with her. She’s as faithful a companion as you’ve ever had in your life, and that includes me. She’s a great listener and will never ever judge you. Not even when you go out and do the entire University of Texas football team.”
“Very funny.”
“Seriously, Lilly. It’s not that much work. And after she gets to know you and you her, climb on her back. She won’t bolt. She’ll sense that you’re new at it, and she’ll give you the gentlest ride until you get used to her.”
“If I do this for you, I expect two promises from you.”
“Which are…”
“You have to promise me you’ll
come back. In one piece. Not all shot up.”
“Isn’t that three promises, not one?”
“No, stupid. That’s the first promise. The second promise is you have to love me forever.”
“I already love you forever.”
“I know. But you have to continue to your dying breath. Which better not be until you’re a very old woman.”
“Deal.”
Bonnie turned her head toward Red as Red stroked her behind her ears. The big Morgan had a look of sadness in her eyes. She seemed to sense that Red was telling her goodbye.
“Watch her for sores, Lilly. She’s prone to biting flies, and sometimes they get infected. There’s a tub of Corona in the tack room.”
“You put beer on her sores?”
“It’s salve. They had the name first, long before the beer came along. It’ll soothe her and help ward away the infections. And she likes the way it feels, so she’ll know you love her.”
“Anything else?”
“Go get old Doc Murphy if you come across anything you can’t handle. He’s retired now, but he’ll get out to see Bonnie. Dad said he was the best vet in the county in his day, and he has a soft spot for Bonnie. He was the one who birthed her.”
Lilly hugged her friend.
“Don’t forget your promises.”
“I won’t. I promise. Oh, wait… that’s three.”
“Too bad. Just be sure you keep them.”
Red kissed Bonnie and told her, “You take good care of this greenhorn, baby. Mama loves you. I’ll be back for you, as well as for Lilly.”
Lilly saw something in the big horse’s eyes at that very moment. She couldn’t explain why, but she got the sense that Bonnie drew some solace from Red’s words. As though she understood them, and knew she didn’t have to worry. That Red, wherever she was going, would be back.
Red said, “I love you both,” then turned and walked away.
When she returned to the truck Red was moody for hours.
Dave let her have her space. He’d never owned a horse of his own, although he was a pretty fair rider of other people’s horses. He never knew the bond a rider could have for their pony. But Red was becoming a good friend, and he’d be there for her if and when she needed to talk. In the meantime, he’d focus on healing, getting to know Red better, and on his own mission lying ahead of him.
Too Tough To Tame: Red: Book 2 Page 8