by Nathan Jones
After a few minutes Catherine broke away from her family, leaving Scott to comfort the other two, and came over to Matt. “Thank you for coming,” she said quietly, folding him into a hug.
Matt hugged her back. “I'm so sorry, Catherine.”
The older woman had regained some of her composure, and seemed to be clinging to her role as Mayor. “I asked you to come for a reason, Matt. Scott's agreed to stay here with the town, but I also need your help.”
He'd guessed as much. “Anything.”
Catherine met his gaze firmly, in spite of the fact that her light gray eyes were cloudy with tears. “I want you to become acting Mayor.”
Shocked in spite of himself, he took half a step back. “You want me to take over? I-my squad needs me down south.”
“Your town needs you here,” the Mayor shot back. She sucked in a sharp breath. “Maybe “acting Mayor” isn't the best term. Assistant Mayor, if that makes you feel better.” She took his hands, squeezing hard. “Matt, I can't do this alone. With Scott and Ben gone, and Lewis always needing most of the rest of the people around here who are willing to help, for the fight against the blockheads, I've been running myself ragged trying to keep the refuge going practically by myself. And now, losing Carl, and just when we're about to undertake another major move . . .”
She sucked in a ragged breath. “Having Scott with me will help, but just the two of us aren't enough. If you're worried about the volunteers down south, don't be. With the military taking over here we don't need all our defenders, and Lewis has suggested that we send a few dozen of them down there. Jane's expressed some discomfort at the thought of acting as a leader, but she's agreed to lead the group south as soon as they're ready. And Lewis will be available to take over for you down there once he's recovered enough to move. You wouldn't be abandoning your people, just swapping jobs.”
Catherine paused, smiling grimly. “Not to denigrate what Lewis has managed fighting the enemy, but you're better suited for helping me with all this than he is. I need the remaining defenders to help build the town, not just guard it. For that I need you.”
Matt's dazed mind finally caught on to what she was saying. “What major move?”
The Mayor gestured towards the military camp. “Since our defenders don't need to be here anymore neither do we, and honestly I'd rather be away from everyone else if we can. Off to ourselves, minding our own business and left alone. Jane suggested we move west, to that little valley where she and Lewis found the beehive. It has water, and enough space for us, and access to good hunting, trapping, and foraging.”
“That's probably a good idea,” Matt admitted. It wasn't the perfect location, and the canyon road ran right through it, but at least it would put them a decent distance away from the refugee camps and the front lines here.
And he had to admit that her offer to take over some or even all of her responsibilities was tempting in its own right. He'd be close to Sam and the rest of his family. He'd be away from the fighting, from the pain of loss and the constant fear of attack, tucked in a safe, quiet valley with a strong military force between them and the blockheads.
It was hard not to feel guilty at the thought of abandoning everyone down south. But if Lewis really did plan to bring more defenders down, his friend would probably do a better job than Matt himself could. And Matt really couldn't leave Catherine and Scott to do all this by themselves after losing their son-in-law. Besides, he'd probably be working twice as hard up here as he was down there, if not harder.
Here was an excuse to have what he wanted, a chance to be with his family, and he didn't have to feel selfish for accepting it. “All right,” he said quietly.
The Mayor smiled in immense relief. “Thank you.” She let go of his hands. “We'll bury Carl tonight and finish packing up, then leave in the morning. Barring any delays Jane will take the defenders willing to go south in the morning, too, while Lewis will go after them in a week or so. In that time he should be able to fill you in on anything you need to know to take back your job.”
“Okay.” Matt glanced toward the camp. “I'd like to see my family, then I'll start pitching in.”
Catherine's smile turned more genuine. “Of course. Sam will be overjoyed to see you, and the rest of your family too.” She turned to rejoin her own family.
Matt followed, just long enough to hug Tam and Jen and express his condolences, and then he left them to their grief and sought out the shelter group's camp.
* * * * *
Sam was overjoyed to see him, and Matt was overjoyed to see her. And especially overjoyed when his wife pressed his hand to her belly with both of hers, and he felt for the first time as his child kicked. The experience was so overwhelming that he shed a few tears in spite of himself, holding Sam close and kissing her tenderly while never taking his hand away from the life moving within her.
His mom, dad, April, Terry, and the boys were also overjoyed, and seemed almost as moved by his experience with his child as he was. They shared a wonderful reunion as the sun sank towards the horizon.
That reunion eventually expanded to the rest of the shelter group, and Matt was able to send word from Trev to the Smiths and Halssons and take Alvin aside for a moment to offer what comforting words he could about his father's death.
Lewis was sleeping, although he'd been drifting in and out of consciousness ever since the attack earlier. Jane had stayed with her husband after Matt's arrival, and anyway she wouldn't have been very comfortable at a reunion anyway. Although she did seem happy to see him, and was kind enough to fetch him during one of those rare moments that her husband was lucid. Or at least partially so.
Matt shared a few words with his friend as Lewis drifted off again, mostly about what they could expect leading the volunteers to the south, then wished the couple the rest they needed and returned to Sam's side.
Happy as he was to see everyone, he was less overjoyed at the news that the military had taken almost all the refuge's food, including the shelter group's, as well as every spare blanket, scrap of clothing, tarp, and tent. At the very least they'd left the animals alone, and unlike Ferris hadn't gone after anyone's weapons or other possessions.
They'd just been interested in whatever they could collect to keep the massive influx of refugees warm and fed and under shelter. They'd also promised that, moving forward, Aspen Hill's townspeople would have their share in what was available same as everyone else.
It was hard to begrudge them that, but Matt somehow found a way. Maybe once they'd relocated to Lewis and Jane's valley they'd be left alone, so any other food and necessities they managed to scrape together would stay in their hands. They'd managed to claw their way out of starvation through hunting and gathering once, they could do it again.
And if the military kept their promise of future aid that would just be a bonus, although he wasn't crossing his fingers.
Carl's funeral was well attended by most of the town, and even a few soldiers and officers from the military camp dropped by to pay their respects. Lieutenant Faraday, a blond man of medium height who apparently had a lot of respect for what Lewis and his volunteers had accomplished, was one of those.
Many in town had lost someone since the Gulf burned. But in spite of that Carl's death still felt personal for the town, and for more reason than because he was the Mayor's son-in-law. He was one of those people who was liked by everyone, had served the town quietly, and now that he was gone left a hole many felt.
After Carl was lowered into the ground Matt helped fill in the grave, then sought out Catherine and Scott to contribute to the town's preparations to move. That didn't take as long as he'd expected it would, since much of what had been worth taking with them had been “requisitioned” by the military. With their trucks the military had shown zero interest in the wagons and carts, however, so there were enough to haul away what was left.
It was only an hour or so after dark when Matt was finally done, and could return to the shelter group's camp and slip into bed with
his wife. She clung to him as if she'd been alone on a desert isle for years, and they spent the next few hours sharing all of their experiences while he'd been away. As well as all the fear and longing of being separated, and the loneliness of sleeping without their spouse.
He fell asleep with her head on his shoulder, breath tickling his neck, and enjoyed the best rest he'd had in weeks.
* * * * *
The next morning Matt was awakened early by Trev's dad slapping the side of his tent.
“Hold your horses,” he said just loud enough to be heard, disentangling himself from a sleepy Sam to pull on his clothes. He leaned out the low tent door holding his shoes, squinting towards the beginnings of a sunrise to the east and then at George. “What's going on?”
The older man clapped him on the shoulder. “Faraday's taking out the canyon road. I was wondering if you wanted to see it.”
Matt glanced back at his wife, who'd buried her face in her pillow. “What do you think, honey?”
“I'm not waking up,” she said in a muffled voice. “Go ahead.”
“You sure?”
She slapped her arm back behind her at an awkward angle, trying to catch his foot. “Wanna sleep. Either go away or come back to bed.”
He leaned over to kiss her shoulder, then set his boots on the ground outside the tent and stepped into them, glancing over at George. “Anyone else coming?”
“Catherine thought she should be there. Lucas wanted to see it, but he's in no position to move around on his broken leg. I asked Jane, but she's busy getting the defenders ready to head south.” The older man chuckled. “Although Lewis asked me to carry him out on a stretcher to watch the show. Jane threatened to tie him up.”
Matt had bent to tie his laces, and he talked to buy a bit more time while he finished up. “I'm surprised you guys managed to keep it open this long. You must've really made an impression on the blockheads to keep them away.”
George's smile faded. “Not enough of one.” He started for the edge of camp, and Matt hurriedly straightened and fell into step beside him.
The kids were waiting for them at the edge of the shelter group's camp. Jim, Alvin, Linda, and Mary, along with a couple of their friends. George gave them a slightly exasperated look, but he didn't protest as they followed him and Matt towards the military camp. Along the way they heard a call from within the refuge, and Catherine, Scott, and a few dozen other curious townspeople cut across the meadow to join them.
Matt hadn't realized this was going to draw spectators, although he supposed people liked watching things go boom. Together the crowd entered the military camp and sought out Faraday, who was waiting by some trucks with a dozen soldiers.
The lieutenant gave them an annoyed look as they approached. “Hey! I offered to take some of you out there to watch as a courtesy, sort of a nod to the time you spent defending the canyon. I never agreed to host a field trip. I'm only taking four or five of you.”
There were some disappointed groans at that. “Can't we just ride on the tailgate or something?” Jim asked.
“Heck no.” The blond man's glare intensified. “If you really want to see it, you can head out there on foot and hope you get there in time. But you'd better be ready to do more than two miles in fifteen minutes.”
“Fine.” Jim broke into a run along the canyon road. A few others joined him, including Alvin. Most, however, turned back towards the refuge, grumbling.
Faraday snorted. “Kids.” He motioned. “Five of you.”
They settled on Catherine and her husband, George, Matt, and Mary to ride along. Everyone else joined the others heading back to the refuge.
The ride didn't take long in a vehicle, and they passed Jim and the others not far outside of camp. Once they reached the top of the canyon and piled out George led the way to an overlook that gave a good view of the canyon and valley below.
“This is where me, Lewis, Dad, and Uncle George watched the Gold Bloc troops arrive and occupy the town,” Mary said. “It's been almost a month, hasn't it?”
George nodded. “We could've blown the road then. We haven't really used it, aside from when Lewis took the truck down to take the scouts out that day, when we drove up it with the stolen trucks from the shelter, and one or two other times. And . . . yesterday.”
“We should've blown it,” Catherine said quietly as she leaned into her husband, who put his arms around her. “It's just been a threat all this time.”
Matt had heard Lewis's reasons for keeping the road intact, and he agreed that it had been pretty useful. But the Mayor's words came from grief, and he didn't see any point in contradicting her.
Faraday broke away from his soldiers to join them on the overlook, whistling softly at the view. He held the detonator in his hand. “Would any of you like to do the honors?”
There was a pause as everyone looked around, then Catherine broke away from Scott to stand beside him, holding out her hand. The lieutenant showed her how to disable the safety, and the older woman nodded her understanding and lifted the device.
“Brace for detonation,” Faraday said into his radio. Probably an unnecessary precaution, since no one on their side was anywhere near the site. Catherine waited for him to receive confirmation, then at his nod pushed the button.
Matt watched with the rest of the group as a deceptively small series of explosions went off, all along the cliff overlooking the narrowest part of the canyon down below. There was barely enough room for the road and the stream to run through the gap there; it also wasn't far from where the truck had gone off the road.
The explosions tore free chunks of rock and set off small landslides, and with a rumbling roar loud enough to have a physical force even from where they stood the gap was closed off.
Maybe Catherine was right, and they should've done it from the first. They'd taken a risk keeping the road open for so long, with a chance that the enemy might find a way to defuse the explosives and force their way up the canyon. If the blockheads had they would've gained a path into the mountains that they could use to attack a dozen other positions, all the way north and south along the range from Highway 6 to I-70.
They'd played with fire keeping the canyon open for potential raids, and they'd been burned for it. Good people had been killed. Then again, who knew how things would've worked out if they'd tried something else. Matt wasn't about to judge Lewis's decision or its outcome.
He turned away. The canyon was sealed now, and nothing short of a major effort and heavy machinery would open it again. And now that the military had taken over defending the area that wouldn't happen, even if the blockheads did have the equipment to try.
The others joined him, Catherine pausing just long enough to return the detonator to Faraday. The lieutenant waved them on. “We're going to stick around and get to work,” he said. “Hope you folks are okay with walking back.”
“Fine,” Catherine called in a weary voice. “Thank you for giving us a chance to see that.”
“Least I could do. My condolences again for your loss.”
The group was silent as they passed the truck and the soldiers clustered around it and started up the road for home. After about five minutes they caught sight of a very winded Jim and his companions stumbling up the road.
“Oh come on!” he wheezed, barely audible in spite of his effort to shout. “You couldn't wait a half hour?”
Mary ran ahead to give her cousin a consoling hug. “I'll describe it for you,” she said by way of apology.
The rest of the group caught up, and George tussled his son's hair. “You realize we're moving everyone to Lewis and Jane's valley today, right? You've been up less than an hour and you're already pooped.”
Right, the move. That was going to be a delight. Matt glanced over at the Mayor. “I was thinking we should get going hauling the carts and wagons as soon as possible. I'm not sure we can reach the valley by nightfall, but we should try. The sooner we can get there, the sooner we can start building shelters
and making other preparations.”
Catherine nodded. “Not everyone will be ready to leave, but those who aren't can catch up. Will you go on ahead and get started?”
Matt nodded and quickened his pace, pulling ahead of the group. George caught up to him, and together they hurried back to the refuge.
He was an old hand at moving by now, having gone to and left the shelter a few times. Not to mention traveling. And after evacuating their town the other residents of Aspen Hill would also be better prepared for it. He was more worried about how they'd fare once they got to the valley.
At least the defenders who weren't heading south with Jane would have more time to help out, rather than needing to patrol and do sentry duty all the time. It would still probably be a good idea to defend their new home, just to be safe, but unless the refugees by 31 got rowdy or the blockheads broke through he didn't expect too many threats.
The shelter group had packed up their camp by the time he and George got back, to his relief, with even the animals tethered to the wagons or cart, or their cages loaded up for travel. Two of the last items to load up were Lewis and Lucas, lifted carefully onto a nest of sleeping bags in the cart. The two men grumbled at being a burden, doubly so because they couldn't help haul the group's belongings. George's attempt to lighten the mood, by pointing out that the cart was pretty light thanks to all the grain they'd lost, fell completely flat.
Matt took a look around the group and realized that missing so many of their men they were going to suffer, even hauling the lighter loads. Which meant that even though he was needed to oversee the entire town's move, he'd have to do it while throwing his weight against the cart's pushbar.
“Rest up,” he told everyone. “I need to see how everyone else's preparations are coming, and if anyone needs a hand. I'll be back once we're ready to move out.”
From Sam's expression it was obvious she wanted to go with him, but the prospect of the day's ordeal was enough to dampen even her determination. He gave her a kiss and left her watching the group's animals, then headed out into the camp.