by A. R. Shaw
“No! I ain’t no fool, you know!” Ennis glared at Graham.
Graham held up his hands. “I know, Ennis, I know. But tell me more. Those these two guys in a canoe paddled by and waved, to you, right?” asked Graham.
“Yep,” Ennis said.
“But you didn’t wave back… because?”
“Because I figure they did it as a kind of warning. They mean trouble. I’m sure of it,” Ennis said. “Like sayin’ ‘Hey, we know you’re there and we’ll be back’.”
“Could you tell where they were going?” Graham asked.
“They was coming from this side and going to the other, about midway in the lake, was when I saw ’em.”
“Could have shot you from that distance?”
“Yeah, they could’ve,” Ennis said.
“But they just waved?” Graham asked a second time because it didn’t make sense to him.
“I already tol’ you that,” Ennis said, sounding more than a little annoyed. “After you been a cop for as long as I have, you learn to read folks. These guys, they’s up to no good,” Ennis tried to explain better.
“I know, Ennis, I’m just trying to figure it out,” Graham said. “You think we’re going to see more of them, then?”
“We got things they would want, ya know? We got food, cars, fuel and women, too,” Ennis said, looking more worried about the women than anything else.
The thought made Graham run his hands down his tired face. He scratched at his beard and said thoughtfully, “Inside earlier, I listened to the rest making a commotion getting dinner ready. It sounds like a real family in there. It worries me. We’ve adjusted but maybe not in the right way.”
“I know. We got a mom and dad with three kids, a pops and the dog, too, and none of us is related but them twins.” Ennis quirked a faintly amused smile, then added, “It could get us all killed, being too relaxed, in these times, you know.”
Graham nodded. “That’s what I’ve been thinking. We need to start keeping watch. It’s probably good training for these kids anyway, to keep them a little on edge and more vigilant,”
“If it was me,” Ennis said, “I would put an adult with one of them kids on watch in rotation night and day. One at each entrance to this place, by the lake trail and hidden down by the drive.”
Graham agreed. “It gets damn cold at night now. We should build a deer stand, hidden at each site to be safer from roaming predators, and come up with some warning calls.”
“We have any radios?” Ennis asked.
“No, and the last time I checked my cell phone, there was no signal so the towers must all be down now,” Graham said, then met Ennis’s gaze.
“Something else happened when we were out. I didn’t tell the rest but when we stopped at the campground building, the door had been kicked in. There were bloody handprints like someone was dragged out of there. There was a dead body, too, but I don’t think it had been there very long,” Graham said.
Ennis raised his shaggy white eyebrows at Graham. “That don’t sound too good. Hope these two things aren’t related.”
“No, it doesn’t sound good at all. As we drove away, there were several more homes in succession that also had their doors kicked in the same way.”
“Sure hope it ain’t them guys I saw.” Ennis’s brows drew together in a frown.
“Well, in any case, we are not alone here, that’s for sure,” Graham said. “So we need to take more precautions and stop treating this like a damn family vacation or we’ll get ourselves killed in our sleep.”
“Those children in there need a chance to grow up. We have to make it so they can,” Ennis said, and Graham was glad they agreed on the important things.
Bang opened the door and told the two men dinner was ready. They exchanged glances. “I’ll keep watch,” Ennis said. “You put in a hard day’s work, scavengin’ and unloadin’.”
Graham nodded. “I’ll eat quickly and relay the news to these guys and then come relieve you.”
“Sounds good to me,” Ennis said, and pulled up his rifle from nearby and laid it across his knees.
After seeing the cougar, Graham pitied anyone crossing Ennis’s barrel end.
~ ~ ~
Graham walked in and unconsciously stomped his boots off even though he’d not gotten them dirty. He smelled the aroma of chicken fried venison strips, instant mashed potatoes with gravy and canned green beans with biscuits. His stomach complained for him to hurry the hell up to the table.
Macy passed him the biscuits and even though they didn’t have butter they were good to dredge through the white pan gravy Tala had made. He’d begun to devour one and reached for another when Macy asked, “Where’s Ennis?”
“He’s keeping watch. I’ll eat now and then he’ll come in after,” Graham said, “So let’s save him a plate and several of the biscuits too. He’ll like them. They’re really good.”
“Tala made them even though she didn’t have a recipe,” Macy said.
“Thank you, Graham. Glad you like them. They’re not hard to make, Macy. I’ll show you how to do it,” Tala said, then turned back to Graham. “So we’re keeping watch now?” Tala asked.
“Yes.” He’d let the amazing food distract him from what he needed to do. Pulling himself up short, he went on. “Ennis saw two people cross the lake in a canoe and we don’t know if they are good or bad. Not only that, we saw several doors kicked in today. We need to be more vigilant. We have food, cars and fuel that other people might want to take from us by force so we really need to start being more careful around here and that means each of us is going to start keeping watch, night and day.”
They all stopped eating and stared at him with worried expressions.
“This is the way things are now. Two people will keep watch. One young with one adult. We are going to build stands at the front and lake entrances. Understand?” he asked.
“All night, too?” Bang asked.
“Yes, even at night. Those who do the night watch will sleep during the day,” Graham said.
Marcy bit her bottom lip. “What if we see something?”
“Ennis and I are trying to come up with some kind of alert system. We don’t have cell phone use anymore and so far we haven’t come across any radios,” Graham said.
“There were some in the kitchen above the fridge,” Macy said.
“There were? Why didn’t you say so?” Graham asked.
“I didn’t know we needed them,” she said.
“These days those are a necessity. We’ll go back for them tomorrow,” he said, and finished eating his hearty dinner so that he could switch off with Ennis before his food got too cold.
Graham rose from the table and grabbed another biscuit. “You,” he pointed to Tala, “must make these every day now,” he said, joking with a full mouth, and taking another for the road along with his rifle, and headed back to the porch.
Tala’s pleased laughter followed him. “Happy to provide some enjoyment.”
“You’re relieved, Ennis,” Graham said, opening the door.
The old man rose the way that old men rise, slowly with soreness in their aged bones and muscles. Graham noticed the chill in the air and knew Ennis couldn’t handle the colder temperatures and it wasn’t even snowing yet.
He knew he’d have to take on the brunt of the night watches, but the daytime would soon get unbearable for him too. He wished Bang were a bit older, then reminded himself he needed to stop thinking of the girls as useless when it came to outside work. Macy could be just as tough and she’d proven to be a really good shot.
He settled down into the rocker and listened to the quiet around him. He could hear faint conversations at the dinner table within as a contrast to the outside. The deciduous trees amongst the evergreens were turning shades of yellow, orange and brilliant reds. The wild grasses, having expended its chlorophyll for the season, now turned dry and brittle underfoot, paving the way for winter’s arrival. Soon the snow would cover this hidden oasis
, or so Graham hoped.
Tomorrow, he would take Macy with him back to the supply house and retrieve the radios. With them, he hoped they’d be able to practice vigilance.
That night, Graham and Macy took their first watch after Ennis and Bang took a shorter four hour watch because he just didn’t think either could handle more than that. He positioned the girl behind the bushes, bundled her up in two coats. If she heard or saw anything alarming, she would sneak around to the cabin and alert the others. Graham positioned himself likewise and climbed up a scrawny tree to get a better view, and found watching to be boring and mundane at best but at least it gave him time to think.
He saw Macy slap hands with Marcy and drag her sorry, tired butt up to the cabin door. Graham knew he wasn’t the only one exhausted. Ennis and Bang were still asleep snoring softly as Graham and Macy made their way to their own beds, pulling the covers over their heads because the dawn was beginning to show already through their windows.
31 An Extra Setting
When Graham awoke a few hours later and saw Macy sleeping still, he slipped off to the shower. He’d wake her when he was done so they could get their errand underway. He wanted to get the platforms built before the day was over and this night’s watch began.
After Macy was in the shower herself, he wandered into the dining room where Tala handed him a cup of black steaming coffee.
“This is going to be an adjustment for all of us,” she said.
“You don’t look so perky yourself,” he said.
“Well, Marcy scared me to death last night. I’m surprised you didn’t wake up. I heard her call out and I ran over there to find her trying to climb up a Madrona tree where a raccoon had chased her.” Graham choked a bit on his coffee at the thought.
They were both chuckling as Macy came out of the bathroom. “What’s so funny?” she asked.
“Oh nothing much, but ask your sister about raccoons when you see her,” he said, then turned his attention back to Tala. “Who’s where right now?”
“Marcy is taking her turn fishing with Bang on watch there and Ennis is by the entrance,” she said.
“Okay, that’s good,” he said. She’d made more biscuits and he went to grab one. She wrapped several in a cloth napkin and he went out onto the porch to enjoy his breakfast, waiting for Macy to get ready.
The morning mist gave way to blue skies just like the day before. They took the new truck and drove slowly with the windows down, listening and watching for anything to move as the dirt road gave way to pavement. At one point, Macy held up her hand to alert Graham to stop as a parade of four turkeys crossed in front of them without any sense of haste, puffing their black and white feathers out. They bobbed along with their red gizzard necks to the other side and into the brush beyond. A captive audience, they sat and watched the display.
“Should we go after them?” Macy asked.
“Not today, but we will soon. One turkey could feed us a week at least. My mother used to save the turkey carcasses after Thanksgiving and then boil them to make broth. We just have to be careful not to take too many of them at once.”
As he pulled up onto the blacktop driveway, Graham half expected the paperboy to pedal by and toss his bundle nearby at his feet. That’s how normal it all still felt here now, and he had to find a way to reconcile this vision with their current circumstances.
He listened and then waved for Macy to come along. They unlocked the door and he had Macy keep watch at the window while he went into the kitchen to retrieve the radios. It was quiet in there, too quiet, unlike the other day when they’d all been busy scavenging.
He opened the cupboard and saw the radios right away. These weren’t the cheap toy models either. Probably a Costco find. There were three units, perfect for their current needs. He also grabbed the charger base, just as Macy screamed, “Graham!”
He dropped everything, pulled up his rifle, and ran for her. He found her staring out the corner of the window, trying to be inconspicuous, “Come here,” she waved frantically.
He looked out the window and a drab green camo-painted jeep parked out front along the street. One man dressed in a dark blue hazmat suit with a respirator got out of the driver’s seat and stood guard while the passenger exited and went to the back.
“What the hell?”
As they watched through the window, the man in the back struggled with something. Macy turned the deadbolt, as if that would help against an intrusion. The driver could clearly see them observing, but made no motion to do anything but guard the jeep. Then, he shouted to the guy in the back and out came the man carrying a body, zip-tied at the hands and feet and with a black sack tied over its head. The captive person struggled.
“Shit,” Graham said.
“What are they doing?” Macy asked.
“I don’t know, honey,” he said.
The man carried the uncooperative body with some difficulty. He walked partway up the grassy yard and placed the body on its side while the driver aimed his weapon in their direction. The other pulled out what looked like a note and held it up for Graham to see, then dropped it on the body and walked away. They sped off quickly. By the time Graham got down the long drive, there was no sign of them.
He kneeled down by the body and untied the black bag over the head, pulling it off, revealing a blond boy of about sixteen struggling against the gag still in his mouth. When Graham tried to help him, the youth jerked away as much as the ties would let him, fear flaring in his brown eyes.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Graham said.
The boy shook his head violently from side to side and pulled back again, tears forming in his eyes.
Graham pulled out his pocketknife and grabbed the back of the boy’s head, shoving it forward to release the gag.
With bruising on his cheeks and bloodshot eyes, the young man had clearly been abused.
“Are you a Prepper?” he asked as soon as he was able. His lips were cracked and bleeding, making it difficult for him to be understood. His mouth was probably dry as a bone inside, too, Graham thought.
“What? A Prepper? No,” Graham said, and reached for the note when he heard Macy approaching.
“Stay back, Macy,” he said. “Just wait there,” he said again.
He read aloud, “‘We took this boy after accidently killing the man he was with. He’s a carrier like you. We cannot keep him with us. We are making a goodwill gesture by turning him over to you. In return, we expect you to adhere to the attached map marking our territories. One encounter will kill us all. We voted to let you live. One act of defiance and we will exterminate all of you.
‘D. Harris, President, Cascade Prepper Assoc’.”
Graham folded the note, put it into his jacket pocket, and reached for the boy’s hand with the pocketknife. When he flinched away again, Graham said, “Now look, I’m trying to untie you, all right?”
After his arms had been freed, Graham helped him bring them around to the front. He knew the boy’s muscles must ache from struggling against being held in that same position. He cut the ankle bindings.
“Can you stand?” he asked him.
“I don’t know. My legs are really weak,” the boy said.
“What’s your name?”
“What’s yours?” the boy shot back.
Macy came around before Graham could answer and said, “Look, kid, he’s trying to help you. Don’t be such a loser.”
“It’s okay, Macy,” Graham said to her.
“Mark. My name’s Mark,”
“How old are you, Mark?”
“Sixteen.”
Graham touched his cheek. “Did those guys hurt you?”
“No, not really. I tried to get untied and fell face first on the floor of the shack they had me in,” said Mark.
“Did they feed you?” Graham asked while he and Macy helped him to the truck.
“Once a day they gave me an MRE. They said it was all they could spare on me,” Mark said.
; “How’d they come across you?” Graham asked.
Mark lowered his head, breathing hard and Graham saw that he was trying not to cry.
“Macy, go in the house and get those radios and the charger that goes with them,” Graham said.
When she’d run back up the drive, Graham gave the boy’s shoulder a comforting squeeze. Tears filled the kid’s eyes.
“Umm, Mr. Bishop was the only one left here, so I stayed with him after my folks died. We saw these guys coming door to door one night from across the street and they were wearing blue hazmat suits. Mr. Bishop, he shot at one of them but missed. I told him not to. He didn’t listen and the one guy shot him. He was standing right beside me!” Graham watched with sympathy as Mark turned white at the recollection of the terrifying ordeal. Mark turned his face away.
“Was he the man I found dead in the Camp Office Building?” Graham asked.
“Yeah, that’s where I dragged him and he died there on me. There was blood everywhere. I tried to stop it with my hands, but I couldn’t. Then I heard the guys arguing and they broke the door open and dragged me out of there. They blindfolded me, and the next thing I knew, I woke up tied to a chair in a wood shack somewhere. That was at least two weeks ago. Two different people came in every day in those suits, blindfolded me, took me somewhere to do my business, and then took me back into the shack. They gave me water in a bag with a straw and an MRE thing. They made me eat all of it quick, tied me back up, put me on a cot and left me till the next day. I heard one of them say I was a carrier and too dangerous to keep around,” Mark said.
It looked to Graham as if his statement drained everything out of him. It would be a while before the boy was healthy again, but he could see that he possessed an inner strength and was sure he’d be all right in the end. He heard Macy coming behind him. After she had put the equipment into the truck, she helped Graham walk Mark over to the cab. He practically lifted the emaciated boy into the seat and Macy stayed with him while Graham locked up the house again.
When he got back to the truck, Macy held the boy up who shook from the cold. “Why’d they do this to him?” she nearly yelled.