“Dave, nothing about this world is right or fair anymore. If it were, so many good people would still be alive.”
It was one point he couldn’t argue. But there were many other points he could, and they continued the back and forth until night started to turn into day and it was time for them to stop again.
Red finally relented. Not so much because she liked the idea of Dave tagging along on her mission.
But mostly because she was just tired of arguing.
“Okay,” she said. You can come.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
Dave thought he’d won. He sat back with a big grin on his face and savored his victory.
He didn’t realize he was being played.
Chapter 27
“I want a good breakfast before we turn in,” Red told him. “I’m tired of eating granola bars and trail mix.”
“Okay. I’ll watch out for an IHOP. Should be one around here somewhere. Or maybe a McDonald’s. You’re right. An Egg McMuffin would really hit the spot.”
“Want me to kick your ass, smart aleck?”
“Not particularly, no. What did you have in mind?”
“Let’s pull over near a river or a creek. You can go catch a couple of fish and I’ll gather some herbs and maybe some wild onions to sauté it in. We’ll see if we can make a meal worth eating for a change.”
Dave’s mouth began to water. He was up for the plan, and they parked near a bridge with a sign that said, “San Sabe River.”
Dave had always enjoyed fishing more than eating his catch. In another place and time he fished for the sheer joy and relaxation it brought him, and he almost always released his catch.
But not this day. This day he hoped to catch their fill and enough extra to enjoy after they woke up later.
An hour and a half later he sauntered back toward the truck, expecting at any moment to smell wood burning from a small campfire.
And almost certainly Red would be standing over it demanding to know what took him so long.
But at least she couldn’t complain about the three pounds of river perch he’d landed.
He didn’t start to get concerned until he was back at the truck. No smell of wood burning. No sign of Red or anyone else.
And he started to worry.
He’d been had. Once again, just like in Blanco, he’d let his guard down and gotten sloppy.
And once again he’d been blindsided.
He was surprised at Red’s handwriting. It was very distinctive, with large loops and a neatness any handwriting teacher would have raved about.
For some reason, Dave would have expected something less, perhaps a chicken scratch, from such a diamond in the rough.
Dear Dave,
I hate deceitful people. I always have. I’ve also made it a point never to lie any more than I have to. Especially to my friends. And yes, I consider you a friend.
I’m sorry I deceived you. But the fact is, going to Lubbock is something I need to do alone. I’ve lost too many people I’ve cared about over the last year. There’s been too much death already and it needs to stop.
I refuse to take you into a situation where you may not survive.
Especially since you have your own mission to go on and your own people to save. If you went to Lubbock with me and got yourself killed, there would be no one to save your wife and daughters.
You owe your allegiance, and your support, to them. Not me.
Please don’t waste your time trying to find me. You won’t.
I’m going overland. Cross country, if you’re more familiar with that term. In my opinion, it’s safer than staying on the roads. You’ve seen for yourself that the highways are inhabited with their own brand of evil people.
By staying in the woods I’ll have a steady source of food and water. I grew up camping and fishing and hunting with my father. He taught me how to survive on my own, in conditions that would kill most other people.
I’ve done it before, in fact. Last summer I got so tired of watching people I cared about dying, I ran away and lived in the woods for four months.
You don’t have to worry about me.
Worry about yourself instead.
You’re still several nights away from Kansas City.
Instead of boring me to death with stories from your Marine Corps days, spend your time on the road trying to think of every possible scenario you’ll find when you get there.
Then think of how you’ll approach each situation. And how to extricate yourself from each one as well. Come up with a plan, and always have a backup plan, and even a backup to your backup.
I’ve kept the frequency numbers you wrote down for me. At some point in the future I’ll find a prepper with a working radio, and I’ll try to contact you. In the few days we had together, I feel I’ve come to know Sarah and your girls as well. I hope you find them alive and well, and are able to take them back to San Antonio.
If I can ever raise you on the radio, I’d like to tell your girls that you never gave up on them. That you knew they were counting on you. That you were their super hero, and that they’re lucky to have you on their side. I’d tell Sarah the same thing, but I’m pretty sure she already knows.
You’re a good man, Dave Speer. You make a lousy thief, and you sometimes do things that aren’t very bright.
When you discover your car keys are missing, check under your pillow. You left them in the ignition. Duh…
There’s something else under your pillow as well. You’ll need it.
Good luck to you, my friend.
-Red-
Red was a woman of her word, and she wouldn’t leave Dave without the tools he’d need to accomplish his own mission.
She’d promised him her backup handgun, and left it under the pillow in the sleeper cab next to his car keys. And two loaded magazines to boot.
She’d saved his life, nursed him back to health, and armed him.
But somehow that still wasn’t enough.
She made a point to pray for him, each and every night, and for the family he was going to rescue. But other than that, she needed to put her mysterious friend out of her mind.
For she had other things to worry about.
Chapter 28
Once again, Red was all alone in the world. Even more so now than ever before, actually, because she no longer had Bonnie. She was two hundred miles closer to her destination, sure. She was four days ahead of schedule, sure. There was even a slight chance that by riding with Dave she’d gotten ahead of Jesse Luna.
But she had no one to talk to. No one to commiserate with.
No shoulder to cry on.
Dave had given her a spare pair of night vision goggles and enough batteries to power them for two or three weeks. She still wasn’t sure whether she wanted to use them.
Traveling at night was infinitely safer, without a doubt.
The problem was that if she traveled by night, she’d have to sleep during the daytime. Unless Luna got similar equipment from Crazy Eddie, he’d have no choice but to travel by daylight.
And if she did indeed pass Luna by, he’d soon catch her, since he was on horseback and she was afoot.
It would be a shame indeed if she traveled by night, and he passed her by while she slept in the woods in the light of day.
For it would take away her best chance to get the drop on him and disarm him.
So they could “talk.”
True to her word, Red wasn’t going to make it easy for Dave should he go looking for her. She hoped he wouldn’t. It would be a stupid thing to do on his part. She didn’t want or need his help, and he was needed elsewhere.
If he did try to track her, he’d soon realize the futility of his efforts and would abandon his effort.
She’d stay away from the roadway for the next couple of days, whether she moved by day or night.
It wasn’t just for Dave’s sake. She liked him. She could tell he was a good man and anguished terribly
for his family. But an injured man couldn’t hold his own in the types of battles she expected to encounter in the days ahead. Therefore he was a liability. He could inadvertently get her killed trying to keep him alive.
And she had too many deaths haunting her already. Try as she might, and logic be damned, she still blamed herself for the deaths of her husband, son and father. At least to some degree.
She was determined that she’d be the cause of no more deaths of people she cared about. And she came to care for Dave in the few short days they were together. If the foolish lug went off to Kansas City and got himself killed while trying to save his family, then that was on him. She’d never know, and therefore wouldn’t be troubled by it.
But there was no way he would follow her to Lubbock and get himself killed trying to help her. No way, no how.
She was exhausted after driving all night. The sun was high in the sky now. She guessed two o’clock, maybe three.
She’d been hiking in the woods, going overland to make it impossible for Dave to track her. But now, she wanted to make her way back towards the roadway. Not out in the open, where she could be seen. But just inside the tree line, where she could observe passersby without being spotted herself.
Red had no clue whether Luna was an experienced horseman. She hoped he was, for the sake of the horses he took from Crazy Eddie. She loved animals, and didn’t want to see any horse suffer at the hands of a man who didn’t know how to care for them.
On the other hand, if he was horse-stupid, it might work to her advantage. He wouldn’t know to ride on soft ground whenever possible. Instead, he’d choose to stay on the pavement, where he was safer from ambush by someone hiding in the bushes.
And if he chose to ride on pavement, Red would be able to hear the hooves of two horses from a hundred yards away or better.
She was exhausted.
She found a high place to rest, on the crest of a hill just inside the tree line, overlooking a straight section of Highway 84 that stretched for half a mile east.
She’d lay there, on her bedroll, watching the highway and hoping that Luna came into view. If her weary mind overruled her wishes and put her to sleep, she hoped that the horse’s hoof steps would awaken her as they drew close.
She was itching to get ahold of Luna. The sooner the better.
Chapter 29
Red should have known not to make assumptions. Butch had taught her, as a young girl, never to take anything at face value.
“Let other people make those kinds of mistakes,” he’d said. “Let others consider you a tiny little girl who can’t defend herself. It’ll make it that much easier for you to wallop their butts when they step over the line and you defend yourself against them. It’ll make it easier for you to shove their faces in the dirt, and will make it that more unlikely they’ll never bother you again. As for you, assume that every obstacle you face in life is bigger and badder than it appears. Then you’ll work harder than you have to, maybe, to conquer them. But you will indeed conquer most of them.”
Red remembered shaking her head and telling her father she’d understood, and would apply that lesson along with all his others.
But Red was a stubborn girl, and over the years she’d learned that she was tougher than nearly every obstacle she faced. And somewhere along the line she’d forgotten that particular lesson.
She hadn’t given Jesse Luna his due. She’d assumed since he was from the city he was a greenhorn. That he wouldn’t know how to handle and care for horses. That when he happened by he’d make enough noise to wake the dead.
Or at least, wake a sleeping Red as she dozed peacefully at the edge of the forest overlooking Highway 84 east of Jacksboro.
She’d underestimated him. And made a rare error in judgement.
As she’d expected and hoped, she did indeed pass Luna by her last night on the road in Dave’s Explorer. As she’d expected, Luna was traveling by daylight because he had no night vision goggles.
But she hadn’t expected Luna to be the expert horseman he was.
It turned out that Luna was raised around horses. His first job was as a stable hand at a large breeding ranch near San Angelo.
He knew how to ride with the best of them. Knew how to care for ponies to keep them from becoming injured or lame. Knew how to bed them down at night so they were fresh and raring to go the following morning.
And knew how to ride quietly in strange territory that might be hostile.
For his part, Luna had no idea that Red was on his trail. It never even crossed his mind she’d come after him. Vengeance was a concept he never gave much thought to, for people seldom wronged him. It was always he who’d wronged others.
No, Luna wasn’t riding through the north Texas countryside in stealth mode because of Red.
He was riding silent because he knew there were marauders out there. Marauders who roamed the state highways, living off the goods from abandoned big rigs and looking for targets of opportunity.
Horses were hard to come by since the blackout hit. They provided excellent transportation for those bold enough to ride them. They also provided excellent booty for those who had no need for transportation, but who wanted to steal them to sell to others. They were relatively easy to get for anyone who was a decent shot with a rifle. And they commanded a pretty penny on the black market.
Actually, more accurately not a pretty penny. More a handful of gold or silver jewelry, or a few silver coins. And either was legal tender in the newly dark world.
Luna rode very close to the tree line, and kept a sharp eye on the terrain ahead. The ground was soft there, made even softer by recent rains. His horses made virtually no sound as they traversed. And at the first sign of another human being… the smoke from a campfire… laughter wafting in on a gentle breeze… a patch of bright color in the distance against the drab green and brown colors of the forest… at the first indication anyone else was out there Luna could slip quickly and silently into the shelter of the heavy trees.
As Red slept peacefully on her bedroll, worn out completely by the previous nights’ events, Luna silently passed her by. He traveled just adjacent to the tree line on the far side of the divided highway from her, over a hundred yards away. In plain view but making no sound at all.
And she never even knew it.
She awoke not long after and scanned the horizon looking for him, but he was long gone by that time. Vanished without a trace.
Red, like the marauders that roamed this part of the country, took advantage of opportunities when they came along.
She’d been too tired to set out any traps. But when a rabbit happened along in a clearing forty yards in front of her she took her rifle and put a bullet clean through his heart.
She still had a couple of hours of daylight left. Long enough to cook her supper without having to do it in darkness and sending a beacon of light to notify any marauders she was in the area. There was a steady breeze coming out of the north that would quickly dissipate any smoke her fire put out.
She decided to cook and eat her kill, then set out in darkness again. She guessed she was ahead of Luna, but would keep moving toward Lubbock anyway. Since she was afoot and he was on horseback, she expected he’d eventually catch her, and with any luck she’d see him and stop him as he happened by. But waiting here for him was a fool’s game. For one, Red wasn’t one to just sit by idly for destiny to do its thing. She was impatient enough to help it along whenever she could.
For another, there was a slight chance Luna had made good time while Red was stuck in that sleeper cab nursing Dave back to health so he could travel. If that was the case, Luna could be miles ahead of her. It would be folly to wait for a man who was already ahead of her.
She didn’t know it. Had no way of knowing it. But Luna was exactly eight miles east of her when he stopped for the night to rest.
She’d make seven miles on this particular night, and would stop to sleep just a mile short of him. And he’d manage to stay ahe
ad of her all the way into Lubbock.
Chapter 30
A little east, two days’ walk from Red’s location, lie the sleepy little town of Morgan, Texas. It was nothing more than a way stop, really, with a mom and pop service station and a run-down motel for the occasional vacationer or trucker who was too tired to go on to the next city.
Since the blackout there was no longer a need for the gas station or the tiny grocery it contained in the back room. Its shelves once consisted mostly of soda and snacks, a few magazines and maps, and three different brands of motor oil.
The snacks were all gone now, and the mom and pop, Beth and Milam Sanders, had gone into retirement mode.
There was simply nothing for them to do, once the cars and trucks stopped rolling.
Oh, she tended to her garden and he to his cows, and they visited with any travelers who happened by on horseback or on foot.
They’d been pretty lucky, in that the marauders had pretty much left them alone. They figured the old codgers were of no use to them. She was too old to rape, and fresh beef wasn’t much good if they had to take the time to slaughter and cook it. Maybe later on, after all the trucks were depleted. But for the foreseeable future, there was still plenty of beef jerky and Cheetos on the abandoned tractor trailers to get the marauders by.
So they let the Sanders live. Not because the marauders were kind or gracious, but because there simply wasn’t much to gain by killing them.
Then the Dykes brothers came along.
The Dykes were twins, Danny and Billy, who were bad news even before the blackout happened. The product of a drug dealer father and a spaced out junkie mom, they never really had a chance. In and out of Juvenile Hall throughout their youth, they graduated to the big time when they stole a car and used it to rob a convenience store at sixteen. While most kids their age were struggling with algebra and world history, the Dykes twins were wielding guns and striking terror into the hearts of innocent people.
Too Tough To Tame: Red: Book 2 Page 10