New Eden

by Michael Watson

  Ryder asked Jeremy to have the men in the towers prepare for a rush on the compound and to shoot anyone else who tried it. The next step was up to him. “Uncle Don?!” he yelled.

  Uncle Don was caught off-guard. Puzzled, he kneeled back down behind the barrier. How could they know who he was? “Who wants to know?”

  “My name is Ryder.”

  A trace of a smile appeared on Uncle Don’s face. “That’s very fortunate. I’ve come for you!”

  Jeremy had been right. They had come for revenge. “Why do you care about what happened to Damon? He was no good and he deserved what he got.”

  “I’m sure that’s true, but he was my brother’s kid. I have a responsibility, and I’ll make you pay.”

  “No one else needs to die. It’s not too late for you to go back where you came from.”

  “If you want to save lives, surrender to me, and I’ll consider sparing your people’s lives.”

  Ryder wasn’t a fool. If he thought it really would make a difference, he’d gladly consider turning himself over to protect the others. He didn’t really know this Uncle Don, but he knew him well enough. It would never be as simple as he proposed. After hearing about him from John and Daniel, he had no reason to believe anything Uncle Don said. Gazing past Uncle Don’s people, he saw the empty wagons. There were other reasons why they’d come - supplies and prisoners.

  ***

  CHAPTER NINE

  When Stan and Peck re-entered the house, Davis noticed immediately that Peck no longer had the ax.

  Peck saw the concern on Davis’ face.

  Tommy was struggling to hold the water up for his mother to take. He was so quiet she didn’t even realize he was behind her. “Mom?”

  She turned, seeing he was turning red in the face and grabbed the water. “Thank you, Tommy.”

  “It’s going to be alright,” Stan mouthed to her. He proceeded to the other room, dropping the armload of wood on the floor next to the fireplace, and then kneeled to start the fire.

  After Terri had prepared the vegetables from the garden, Peck had everyone gather around the fire while their meal cooked. In an attempt at conversation, he asked, “Do you get many visitors?”

  “No,” answered Stan.

  “No, never, or not many?” asked Peck.

  “Not many.” Stan could tell Peck wanted to know more. “We’ve had a few like you ride through. We hide or offer what we can and they move on.”

  Peck thought this was odd. In these times, most scavengers were notorious for stealing what they wanted, killing anyone who got in the way. And here it would have been easy. But everything seemed to be in its place, and apparently nothing missing.

  Peck’s eyes took in the room, covered with the framed memories of its past owners, family portraits, photos of children as they grew, older gray-haired people, probably the grandparents, and art reproductions. From the old and worn furnishings and woven oval rug in front of the couch, the house had probably belonged to an older couple.

  “Did you ever see the ones who lived here,” asked Peck.

  Stan and Terri looked at one another. Stan nodded. “We found an old couple together in a bed upstairs. Suicide most likely. There was no evidence of violence, just an open bottle of sleeping pills beside the bed. They’re buried out back.”

  “Why do you suppose they did that?” asked Davis.

  “They probably didn’t see any other way,” replied Terri. “They hadn’t been dead very long when we found them. That means they survived here for years. Supplies were running low. Neither wanted to be left alone, so they left together.”

  A silence fell over the group.

  Terri stirred the vegetables. “They’re ready to eat. I’ll get some bowls.” She got up and went to the kitchen. Davis looked at Peck, wondering if she should be left alone.

  “It’s okay,” said Peck.

  There had been an obvious role reversal. Peck was the leader and Davis looked to him for answers and direction.

  Terri returned with bowls, placing a modest amount in each and handing them out with spoons.

  “I’m not hungry, Mama,” said Tina.

  “Me either,” echoed Tommy.

  “You both need to try to eat something,” said their dad.

  Terri set the kid’s bowls on the coffee table where they could kneel on the floor to eat.

  The adults quickly finished. Davis saw that the children weren’t interested in their food, elbows on the table and their chins resting in their palms. He reached over and took Tina’s bowl and began to eat.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” asked Peck. “Taking food from children? Give it back.”

  “They’re not eating and I’m still hungry.”

  “Give it back!” Peck shouted.

  Reluctantly, Davis set it back on the table in front of the girl.

  “Sorry about that,” apologized Peck. He knew Davis didn’t know any better, previously waited on hand and foot.

  Davis stood in a huff. “I’m going to take a nap. I suppose all the bedrooms are upstairs?”

  Stan nodded and Davis disappeared, stomping his way up the staircase. Even though they needed each other for the time being, Peck was glad to have some time without him around.

  “Are you kids through?” asked their mom.

  They perked up and looked at their mom and dad, hoping to get permission to leave. Their mom smiled. “You can get up.” She looked to Peck. “Can they go outside to play for a little while?”

  Peck considered the consequences. What harm could it do? They couldn’t run for help. There was nowhere to go. “Sure, go ahead.”

  Tina and Tommy jumped up, excited, running out the back door, the screen door slamming shut. Peck could hear their laughter as they played.

  Terri poured the vegetables from the kid’s bowls together and offered it to Peck. He accepted the food and finished it off. If only Davis could have waited, he too could have had more.

  After eating, Peck was content to sit back on their couch in silence. Stan and Terri were quiet, obviously nervous, each wondering to themselves how much longer these men would be in their home. Or if they would ever leave.

  It was later than Terri thought, seeing that it was getting darker outside. The sun would be setting soon. “Can I go and tell the children to come in?”

  Peck smiled and nodded.

  She went to the back door and called for them, “Tommy, Tina, time to come in.” They had stayed close, showing up in a matter of seconds. Their parents had taught them to remain nearby and not wander off. It was just too dangerous.

  The kids didn’t seem to be phased at all by their guests. All smiles as they came in, Tina walked up to Peck. “Are you dangerous?” she asked.

  He smiled at how forthright she was. “Why do you ask?”

  “Tommy said you were.”

  He leaned in close to her. “No, I’m not dangerous.”

  She smiled. “I didn’t think so.”

  “Okay, you two,” said Terri. “Why don’t you get ready and go to bed.” Then it occurred to her that Peck might object. “If that’s alright?”

  “Of course, but don’t wake Mr. Davis.” He could tell by their reaction that they didn’t want to have anything to do with him. Their smiles had disappeared. They hesitated before starting up the stairs. Soon he heard the stampede of little feet pounding down the stairs in a hurry.

  “Momma,” said Tina, “that man is in your bed!”

  “It’s okay. Just close the door and leave him alone. Your dad and I will sleep down here. Now, go on to bed. Goodnight.” Slowly, they headed back upstairs. From downstairs they heard the door close and latch.

  “How many bedrooms do you have?” asked Peck.

  “Three, all upstairs,” answered Stan, “but we only use two of them. The kids sleep in one and we in the other.”

  “And the third?”

  “It’s where we found the old couple. We don’t use that room.”

  Peck nodded
that he understood. “I guess we’ll have to make do down here.”

  “I’ll get some blankets,” said Terri as she went upstairs too. This time she didn’t bother to ask permission.

  Peck was tired, stretching out on the couch and closing his eyes, not concerned about his safety. Stan took the old recliner. Terri returned and handed out the blankets and then took a chair and ottoman for herself. She exchanged a look with her husband. Now would be the time, if they were going to do anything. Stan shook his head almost imperceptibly.

  Peck woke to find the room flooded with sunlight. He had slept soundly all night. Glancing around he discovered he was alone in the room. He threw off the blanket and quickly sat up, relaxing slightly when he heard the mother humming a familiar tune in the kitchen.

  He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and jerked around. The little girl was standing at the end of the couch. Her hand was behind her back. When she brought it around, she offered a handful of hand-picked wildflowers to him. He smiled and graciously accepted them. “Thank you, these are very pretty.” The little girl’s smile grew even larger. “Do you think your mother has something to put them in?” Tina nodded excitedly and he handed them back. She ran to the kitchen. “Momma, he said they were pretty.”

  Peck came to the kitchen and leaned against the doorway. “Where’s your husband?” he asked. Terri had placed the flowers in a small vase and was setting them in the middle of the table.

  “He’s doing his chores with our son. Would you like some breakfast?”

  “If it’s not too much of a bother.”

  “Please take a seat at the table and I’ll get it started. Eggs okay? Sorry, no coffee.”

  “That’s fine. Has my friend been up?”

  “Haven’t seen him.”

  “Maybe I should go and check on him.” He got up but hesitated, waiting to see if the woman would give him a reason not to. She didn’t. “I’ll be right back.”

  At the bedroom door, Peck knocked. There was no sound from the inside. Slowly, he turned the doorknob and swung the door open. Davis was still asleep in the bed, under the covers.

  “Governor,” said Peck in a normal voice. With no response, he tried a little louder while shaking his shoulder. “Go away, leave me alone.” Davis turned his back to Peck and made himself comfortable again.

  “Get up! We need to get out of here.”

  “Leave? Why? I’m in no hurry to leave this place.”

  “I’m leaving, so if you want to stay with me, you better get up and get ready.”

  Davis turned back and lifted himself onto his forearm. “I want to stay awhile. This is a perfect setup with everything we need. And this was the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a long time.”

  “I don’t want anything to happen to these people. We need to go.”

  “What’s wrong with you? You don’t sound like the Peck I know.”

  “Are you coming, or not?”

  “What if I don’t want to go?”

  “That’s up to you.”

  Davis laid back, “Then I’m staying. I’m tired of running.”

  “Fine.” Peck left, shutting the door behind him. He wasn’t going to waste his time trying to convince him to go. It was about time they went their separate ways anyway. And he wasn’t worried about Davis doing anything to the family. Davis wasn’t capable of harming anyone by his own hand.

  Downstairs, Terri was removing a cast-iron skillet from the fireplace. Peck followed her to the kitchen where he sat at the table. She set down a plate in front of him with two fried eggs and a few slices of potato. She handed him a fork and placed a glass of water in front of him onto the table. Before taking a bite, he enjoyed the smell of his breakfast, a smile coming to his face.

  “How about your friend? Is he coming down for breakfast?” asked Terri.

  “I don’t know. Don’t worry about him.” He paused. “You need to know something. I’m moving on, but Davis has decided to stay.”

  She stopped cleaning the counter, her entire body tensing up. She stared straight ahead at the cabinets.

  Peck could tell that it wasn’t what she wanted to hear. “I couldn’t talk him out of it.”

  “It’s fine.” Her body language told him she had relaxed.

  “It’ll take some patience to deal with him. He’s …”

  “It’s okay!” she stated flatly, cutting him off. She turned around to see his reaction, hoping she hadn’t made him angry. “Sorry. Don’t worry. We’ll take care of him.”

  He got up from the table. She drew back, not sure what he was going to do. “I’m not worried.”

  He picked up his empty plate and handed it to her. “That was real good. Thank you.” She smiled nervously and quietly exhaled a sigh of relief.

  “I’m going to get my horse ready to go. Do you think I could get a little food and water to take with me?”

  “Of course.”

  On his way to the barn, Peck watched Stan and his son working in their garden. Inside the barn, it looked like his horse had been brushed down and had been given feed. He saddled up and led his horse outside. Terri and Tina were coming toward him. Stan noticed something was up and came to check it out.

  “Are you going somewhere?” asked Stan.

  “He’s leaving,” answered Terri. “But the other man is staying.”

  Stan looked at his wife with disbelief. She nodded confirmation and handed a pillowcase to Peck containing food and a jar of water.

  “You can stay too if you want,” said Tina. She had heard her parents talking. They were leery of strangers, but had found Peck to be different. He hadn’t seemed to be a threat after spending some time with him. It was nice to talk to another adult, other than each other.

  “If I was to stay, I’m afraid it would lead to trouble for your family. It’s best if I go.”

  “But your friend is staying,” said Terri, confused.

  “I’ll force him to go with me if it’ll make you feel better.”

  “That won’t be necessary,” assured Stan. “He won’t be a problem.”

  There was a tone of certainty in his voice.

  Peck looped the end of the pillowcase over the saddle horn and mounted up.

  “Will you come back?” asked Tina.

  “Maybe someday.”

  “Do you know where you’re going? We can tell your friend, in case he decides to follow.”

  “He knows. Thank you for your hospitality.” He smiled at Tina and rode north toward Alabaster Caverns. He had to get away from this place, it was making him too nostalgic for the times before the earthquakes.

  When he entered a tree line he stopped and looked back. He couldn’t see anyone, but continued to watch. He only had to wait a few moments before the family came out the back door, pulling a bound Davis toward the barn. He was still close enough to hear him screaming profanities at them. He was forced into the barn. The mother came out and went to the wood pile, pulled the ax from the stump, and then went back inside, Tommy closing the door. He heard one last scream of pain. He imagined Davis’ last few moments had been pure terror. He was right not to worry about this family.

  ***

  CHAPTER TEN

  Samuel joined Ryder near the bullet and shrapnel-riddled main entrance doors. “What do we do now, Son?”

  Ryder was surprised to see his dad. He had left him and Eli in the maintenance office.

  “About all we can do is wait them out. If we can keep them away from the doors, we have plenty of food, water, and supplies in here.”

  Levi slid past Ryder to get a look outside through one of the gaping holes. “I can go out through the hatch and bring back your friends from Haven,” he volunteered in a low voice. “You’ll just have to hold out for two to three days.”

  “That won’t be necessary,” said Ryder.

  “Perhaps I can talk to them,” suggested Samuel. “It’s worked before.”

  “No, Dad. You have to remember, that time you were talking to Daniel,
an old friend, when he was in charge of Davis’ Guard. He didn’t want to fight anymore than we did. And evidently, you forgot that you got shot?”

  “Oh, it wasn’t that bad. What’s the harm if there’s a chance it could work?” asked Samuel. “It’s better than people being killed. I’m willing to try.”

  “Well, I’m not willing to let you. And if you were to get shot again, Mom would kill me.”

  Jeremy came over to join them and put in his two cents worth. “There are more doors. If they were to rush the main entrance and the freight doors at once, there’s always the chance they could get lucky with the dynamite and breach one of them. Then we’d be in real trouble.”

  “So, what are you suggesting?” asked Ryder.

  “Get on the radio and call Chief Governor Grayson for help. They’re only a few hours away, rather than the days it would take your friends at Haven to get here. I’m sure we can hold out for that long. And if he mounts the fifty-caliber machine gun, that should be more than enough to handle Uncle Don and his clan.”

  “Sounds like you’d be inviting a bloodbath,” commented Samuel. “There has to be a better way.”

  “What if we call Charles, tell him we need his help and why, and then inform Uncle Don he’s coming,” suggested Ryder. “Maybe that’ll be enough of a deterrent to scare them off without any one getting killed.”

  “The problem I see with that,” said Jeremy, “is even if he did retreat, there’s nothing to stop him from coming right back after Grayson’s gone. I think they need to be sent a message. One that even Uncle Don will understand.”

  “I’m afraid you’re right. I’ve got to think about the safety of all the people. If Uncle Don’s people get inside, they’ll take prisoners for their hunts and kill the rest. You see, Dad, they’re not here just for revenge, they’re here for food, and that includes these people. They’re cannibals.”

  Samuel’s eyes grew in size, showing his disbelief and shock.

  “Jeremy,” said Ryder, “find Roy and make the call for help. I just hope Governor Grayson can get here in time.”