“Malachi, you’ll come to me when you get Savannah,” he said simply, and then he set about giving him a general set of directions to follow. “Head for Blackfoot—that’s where we’ll go first. If you get delayed…” he choked off at the thought, and then forced himself to keep going. “If you get delayed, assume we’re far enough ahead that you should bypass us. In that case, go to Boise. Use your best judgement. I hope to see you by tonight, but that’ll be the plan if not. We’ll stick to the highway. If it’s close to dark, I’ll leave some kind of signal to let you know where to look for our camp, alright? And we’ll keep our eyes open. I’m trusting you to do this. Be safe, Malachi, and please bring her back to me.”
“I will.” Malachi nodded once, and then just to be safe, Austin went over the plan with Malachi again, outlining the course of their journey for the next few weeks. They’d plan on doing this in three weeks. It was hard to imagine they could have everything resolved in twenty-one days, but that was the plan. Twenty-one days for Amanda to get to Cheyenne, with a couple extra days for padding. And, on his side, they had three weeks to find the computer center and disable the satellite controls before she got there. With the messengers both charged from the laptop’s solar charger, Austin could let her know once the satellite controls had been disabled from the computer center, and then she’d be free to figure out the missile launch. Sarah even thought they could send a message to the base from the computer center, but one way or another, they’d find a way to get her word that things were good on his end if they got that far.
That was a big if, he knew, but worse came to worst, she knew the countdown as well as he did, and could launch the missiles just before they hit it if need be. At that point… well, at that point, there’d be nothing to lose.
Malachi loaded onto Charlie and rode off, giving one final promise to stick to the directions Austin had given him—with the understanding that, worst case scenario, he’d head to Boise if they got delayed. Austin watched as he rode away. His heart felt like it was being ripped out, but he reminded himself he’d probably see Savannah that evening. She wouldn’t be far—she couldn’t be—and with them on horseback, they’d catch up to Austin and the others in no time.
He hoped.
A part of him also realized that it might be awhile before he saw his daughter again. He made a silent prayer to any deity listening that Malachi found her and they both returned safely.
“Let’s get a fire going and get the bottles filled,” Ennis said, taking charge while Austin grappled with his decision. “Mike, you and Gretchen go gather up the last of those berries. We leave this afternoon.”
“We need to talk about groups,” Amanda said.
Austin nodded, taking her to the side as the others began prepping to leave. “I’ll take Wendell with me. I want him where I can see him,” he said, still not trusting the guy.
“Ennis?”
“I’m sure Wendell will insist he goes where Ennis goes at this point, so I’d say they both come with me. Are you okay with that?” he asked.
“Of course.”
“Sarah?” he asked.
Amanda cringed. “She seems to trust you, and she’ll be better with the computers. It’s probably best she goes with you.”
He nodded. “The rest can go with you. I want you to have plenty of backup.”
“No, I’ll feel better if one more guy stays with you since we don’t know if Wendell will take off or not—I wouldn’t put it past him. Ezra?” she suggested.
Austin agreed now that he considered the point, but wanted Ezra with Amanda. “You take him. I trust him. He can handle himself pretty well.”
“Jordan?”
Austin thought about it. He wanted to set Amanda up for success. “Take him, as well. I’ll take Harlen; he’s better with Wendell than Jordan. And Gretchen can shoot, remember. She goes with you, as well.”
With the groups established, things were soon prepared and there was nothing left to deal with but the goodbyes. There were some tears as everyone wished each other well. Finally packing up the charger and electronics, Sarah came over and handed Amanda one of the messengers.
“Amanda, leave it off till you need to. Then, when you make it to the base, turn it on and wait for the signal from Austin. If you fire the missiles before I can enter the coordinates, it will all be for nothing,” she said. “Unless we hit the countdown date… if you haven’t heard from us then, you might as well try.”
“Will do.”
Tucking away the other messenger, Sarah added, “It took me a while to get them both charged and I’ve no idea how long the charges will hold, as I think there’s a problem with them. So, seriously, don’t turn it on until the last possible minute.”
The last chore done, Austin pulled Amanda away from the group. They didn’t usually need to say much to communicate, but he wanted at least a moment with her. “I will see you in a few weeks,” he told her. “You wait for me at that base.”
She smiled. “I bet I see you first.”
He forced a smile. “Watch your back, Amanda. Don’t let those guys push you into something you don’t think is right. You have excellent instincts.”
“Thank you. And you watch your back. You have Wendell with you. I still don’t trust him,” she whispered.
“I know. I will.”
They stared at each other for several seconds.
“Take care of yourself,” he said finally.
With that, he leaned in and gave her a quick hug. He refused to let himself think it would be the last time he saw her. He had to believe Malachi would bring Savannah to him within a couple of hours, and by next month, the world would be back on track, and he’d once again be with his daughter as well as Amanda.
13
Zander stomped into the old-school military-style tent they’d set up about five miles north of the burnt-out house Austin and his cohorts had been living in. He was still stewing over the fact that Austin had escaped again. The guy was proving to be a real pain, and Zander swore he’d be putting a bullet in Austin’s head the next time he saw him. He wouldn’t give him the chance to escape. Not again. Austin’s continued freedom made Zander look bad in front of his bosses, and that wasn’t acceptable.
He’d been forced to report back to them about the man, admitting he’d screwed up again. And a gun had been put to his head. He’d thought he was going to be killed in that instant. It was nothing short of a miracle that he still breathed. He wanted to believe it was because they trusted him, but he knew otherwise; it was only because they knew he was ruthless. There were few men on the planet that were as ruthless as he was.
This was his last chance, however. They would not hesitate to kill him if he failed again—that had been made clear. He had a feeling the death they would wield on him would be slow and painful, too, so he’d take care of the matter himself if Austin escaped again.
He’d been so hopeful that he would one day be at the top in the organization. Cream always rose to the top, and he knew he was smarter, better, and more efficient than most of the people he worked with. He deserved a seat at the big table… and he was going to get it one way or another. Austin and his little brat weren’t going to get in the way again.
“Sir, we’ve got a report,” one of his sergeants said from behind him.
“Come inside,” Zander ordered, gesturing to one of the folding chairs set up inside the tent.
“Sir, we’ve found them! I’m sure this time.”
“Are you positive?” Zander asked, tired of the false leads they had been chasing.
His man grimaced. “A group with a young girl and a man who match the Merrymans’ descriptions, and a few of the others, were spotted northwest of here. It’s about two-days’ ride, maybe three at most. They had taken over a hunting lodge, but according to some of the locals in the area, they were forced out.”
“Forced out? Are they dead? Please, tell me they’re dead,” Zander answered.
“No, sir. But there was a
note found at the lodge, proving that it was them there. Our men found it stuck in a window,” the sergeant said.
“And?” he prompted, gesturing with his arm and encouraging the man to keep talking.
“It’s addressed to you,” the soldier said, producing a plain white envelope from his uniform’s pocket.
He handed it to Zander, who snatched it from his hands. The word ‘Crane’ was scrawled across the front. Zander stared at the envelope, growing angrier by the second. Merryman was taunting him. He thought he was so funny because he’d escaped, though it hadn’t been clean. His men had found three graves when they’d returned to the house. Zander had hoped one of those graves had been Austin’s, and he’d ordered his men to dig up the bodies for identification. Unfortunately, they hadn’t held Austin or his brat daughter.
Since then, they’d been scouring the area for weeks, trying to find some clue as to where Austin had gone. Zander had even feared—or, at times, hoped—that he’d take his little army into Denver once again and try to take out the headquarters. His men had been on high alert, prepared for an attack that, so far, had never come.
“Are you going to open it?” the sergeant asked eagerly.
Zander looked up and shot him a dirty look before running his finger under the seal and pulling out a small piece of paper. “I want to help you. Go west,” he read out the simple, cryptic message aloud.
He flipped the paper over, next checking the envelope to try and find a clue about who had written the note, but he found nothing. It couldn’t be from Austin.
“Is that from our guy? Why would he want us to catch him?” the sergeant asked.
Zander shook his head, grinning suddenly. “No. I would say our guy has a traitor in his midst. Get the horses ready. We’re going to that lodge.”
“Sir, the lodge has been searched. It’s empty. They cleared out several days ago.”
Zander glared at him. “They’re on foot. We’ll find them. Get my horse and get the rest of the men ready. We leave now!” he ordered.
His sergeant scrambled out of the tent and started barking orders. Zander looked at the note again. He couldn’t stop smiling. Austin was arrogant. He acted like he was above everyone else. It was satisfying to see he wasn’t so saintly that he inspired full loyalty. He’d made at least one member of his little band of misfits angry, and all it took was one. Zander had found his weakness, and he was going to capitalize on it until he put Austin six feet under.
14
Austin and Ennis led the group down the hillside, following a two-lane highway headed west. It was risky to walk along the road, but also the fastest method of travel and the easiest way for Malachi to find him when he brought Savannah back. And the open space would make it easier to leave trail markers if they changed paths or made camp somewhere off the main road.
“He’ll get her,” Ennis said from beside him.
“He better,” Austin grumbled.
“If it takes him all day to find her, they’ll take shelter for the night and start moving first thing in the morning. It’s what you’d tell them to do,” Ennis pointed out.
Austin grimaced, knowing his brother was right and at the same time hating the idea of his daughter being out in the forest alone all night. Or alone with Malachi all night, for that matter. He looked up at the sky and determined it to be late afternoon. There was no way to know how far they’d walked, but he already felt tired—in large part due to stress, no doubt.
“Do you think we’ll be able to keep up this pace?” Austin asked in a low voice.
Ennis shrugged. “Today, yes. Tomorrow, probably. The following day… doubtful.”
“Then we push hard today and cover as much ground as possible.”
“We’ll need to find water and real food tonight,” Ennis said. “We’re burning through calories walking at this pace. It’s a mild day today, too, but if it warms up tomorrow, it’s going to be brutal. I’m vaguely familiar with this area, but if I remember correctly, southern Idaho is mostly dry farmland with lots of sagebrush, and very hot.”
“I agree. We’ll stay on the highway for now. There’s a few seasonal streams for water right now, at least, although I don’t like what I’m seeing ahead of us,” Austin added, looking at the bland landscape.
Ennis laughed. “You’re too used to the trees and mountains.”
“It’s so barren. What are we going to hunt out here?” Austin asked, looking at the flat terrain stretching on forever. The highway was lined with power lines, sage brush, and tall, dry grass.
“Antelope is a possibility. I’m more focused on the plants at the moment. I never realized how much sagebrush stunk until this moment,” Ennis complained.
Austin chuckled. “We’re practically walking in a sagebrush farm. There has to be animals hiding out in those bushes.”
“None that I’m going to try and catch right now,” Ennis retorted.
Austin wiped his brow. With no shade to be had, it was hot and uncomfortable. He turned to look behind him. Harlen and Wendell were walking side by side, Sarah right behind them. She wore one of the few backpacks they had with the laptop tucked inside. They’d used some duct tape to tape the solar charger to the outside of the pack in order to charge the laptop while they moved. With the direct sunlight, Austin guessed the thing would be fully charged in no time.
“Hey, we’re back in Utah,” Ennis said with a laugh.
“Why do I feel like we’re not getting anywhere?” Austin said.
“At least we’re going downhill. Look over there.” He pointed to an area up ahead and to the west, which had signs of life in the way of trees.
“Water?” Austin asked.
“Or a pond. We could eat frogs for dinner. It wouldn’t be hard to fashion a few gigs,” Ennis said.
“We’ll make camp over there. We should be able to keep an eye on the highway,” Austin said, still thinking about Malachi finding them.
“This is all cattle land, so where are all the cows?” Ennis asked.
Austin laughed. “I’m sure they’ve taken off, died, or already been butchered.” For a moment, he thought about the idea of butchering a cow and having a fresh steak or a juicy hamburger. A cow would be a great find, but not while they were on the road. No, they were stuck with small critters that were easy to get and more plentiful.
“What about that farmhouse?” Sarah called out from behind them.
Austin looked in the direction she pointed. He could barely make out the roof of a house in the middle of a vast pasture. He glanced at his brother, silently asking his opinion. Ennis shrugged in response.
“It’s early, and we probably have two more hours of daylight,” Austin said aloud, reasoning with himself. He wanted to stop. His leg was throbbing, and he could see the exhaustion on the faces of the others. Just moments ago, he’d planned on them getting as far as they could… but they’d traveled close to twenty miles. He figured that was a good enough start on their journey. Part of him didn’t want to go much further, either, in order to give Malachi and Savannah a better chance at catching up to them.
“How about we check it out,” Ennis suggested. “If it’s empty, it would be nice to have a roof over our heads and hopefully no bugs to sleep with. Maybe, we’ll get really lucky and find food.”
“Alright, let’s cut across the pasture. There’s nowhere to hide out here. If that house is occupied, they may very well shoot first and ask questions later. Pay attention,” Austin reminded everyone.
Once they’d left a red flag of fabric by the highway to signal Malachi, should it come to it, they spread out, forming a V shape with Austin at the point to lead the way. He knew he’d be the first person shot if there was someone in the house, but he refused to put that on anyone else in the group.
The pasture that would normally have been mowed down by grazing cows had some green patches, but the rest of it appeared to be nothing more than dry grass. Far in the distance, he could see a tractor in a field. He imagined the EMP w
ould have hit at a time when fields were being prepped for alfalfa growing to feed the cattle during the winter. He saw no signs of life, though, human or bovine.
“Anything?” Harlen whispered.
“Nothing. I don’t think anyone’s here,” Austin replied, keeping his voice low.
“There’s an old truck in the driveway,” Ennis said.
“Hello!” Austin called out in a loud voice as they got closer.
“What are you doing?” Wendell hissed.
“If someone is here, I want to know now before they think we mean harm and decide to shoot,” Austin shot back.
“You’re announcing our approach! Seems stupid to me!”
Austin ignored him and kept walking forward. The house was of an average size and looked to be at least a hundred years old, worn down and lacking updates. Whoever had lived in the house certainly hadn’t put any money into fixing up the place. There were run-down outbuildings scattered around the property, highlighting the fact.
“We’ll clear the house first, and then we need to check every building,” Austin said before shouting out again to announce their presence.
“Oh God, what is that smell,” Harlen moaned as they came up the drive.
Austin’s lip curled and his stomach turned. He pulled his t-shirt up to cover his nose and mouth. The others quickly did the same.
“That is the smell of death,” he grumbled, dreading what they’d find as he led them around the corner of the house.
“There.” Ennis pointed to an area that would probably have been considered the home’s backyard. A rotting cow carcass lay on the ground with a swarm of flies hovering around it.
“That is disgusting,” Wendell snarled.
“I think that’s a good sign this place is empty. No one would purposely butcher a cow that close to the house,” Ennis said.
Small Town EMP (Book 3): Survive The Conflict Page 11