The woman, who Megan guessed to be in her forties, stood still, kept her hands up, and waited. Megan understood why Evan and his group called her the Green Woman. She was wearing Army green pants and the standard issue t-shirt tucked in tight. Her brown belt accentuated her tiny figure. The woman looked like a soldier, complete with combat boots.
Despite the military garb, she looked very unassuming. Her brown hair was pulled back into a tight bun, which made the black-framed glasses on her face really stand out. She was very thin, but Megan knew the woman wasn't weak. She was all muscle.
“Who are you and why have you been keeping my daughter here?”
“My name is Brenda Clarke. I am a doctor, well, a former Army doctor that is. I found Caitlin in the woods. She was badly injured. I brought her here to take care of her injuries.”
Megan eyed her, unsure if she was really buying the story.
“Why wouldn't you bring her home?”
Brenda looked ashamed. She looked down at the ground, not meeting Megan's eyes.
“I should have. I know who you are and where your lodge is. I just, well, at first, I was busy tending her wounds. Then, well, I guess I kept making excuses to keep her here. She is a good girl and it gets really lonely out here.”
Megan shook her head, “You knew where we lived but you thought you would keep her here? In the real world we call that kidnapping.”
Brenda clasped her hands in front of her, squeezing them. “I'm sorry, truly, but she needed to heal. She couldn't walk out of here and I certainly couldn't carry her out. Was I supposed to knock on the door and let you all know I had the injured little girl at my house? I have lived out here a long time without anyone knowing I was here. I wanted to keep it that way,” she explained.
“Mom, she has been taking care of me,” Caitlin said. “After we fell down the hill, I couldn't wake you up. You were bleeding a lot and I got scared. I was going to go back and get Wyatt, but I think I got lost.”
Brenda nodded, “She was wandering farther away from the cabin. There was a deep cut across her chest and stomach. I wanted to get it cleaned and stitched right away.”
Caitlin nodded in agreement with Brenda's version of events.
“Caitlin told me what had happened to you guys. The storm was still raging when I found her. I was more concerned about getting her to safety than trekking to your cabin. By the time I got her back here and was able to go back and look for you, you were gone.”
The doctor took a step forward, “I need to look at that wound. I am not going to hurt her, I promise.”
Megan looked down at Caitlin; the blood had made a small circle on the shirt. She didn’t trust this woman but with her daughter actively bleeding, she needed help. Giving the woman a curt nod, she scooted over on the bed, but didn't get up.
“Lay back, Caitlin, let me see.” Caitlin lay back down and lifted the shirt up, exposing the injury on her stomach. Parts of it were pink and puffy and appeared to be healing but the other looked as though she’d reinjured it. Megan could see where the delicate skin had pulled apart.
Megan hissed, “What happened, honey?”
“A tree branch cut me when I fell down,” she explained. “It was bleeding a lot. It didn't hurt nearly as much as my foot, though.”
Megan looked at Brenda, “Her foot?”
Brenda once again looked away. Megan saw the guilt cross her face before she had a chance to try to hide her expression.
“What happened to her foot?” Megan said again louder and with more force.
“It got caught in a trap, mom,” Caitlin explained.
Megan instantly thought of what Wyatt had just endured. Caitlin's tiny little leg would have been crushed! She pulled the covers off and saw the bandage around Caitlin's right ankle and foot. The foot seemed to be intact and there wasn't any blood on the bandage.
“How bad?” she demanded of Brenda.
“It wasn't that bad. It did require a few stitches but it was a small trap.” Brenda quietly explained. “I was able to get her foot out without any problems. Nothing was broken. It was bruised and tender for a few days, which is another reason I didn't want to move her immediately.”
Megan considered telling her about Wyatt's own injury. Evan was convinced the Green Woman was the one who set the traps in the first place. She was responsible for Wyatt's injury and Caitlin's. Megan looked at her, realizing why she had gone to such great lengths to help Caitlin. Guilt.
Brenda carefully felt around the area on Caitlin's stomach.
“Megan,” Brenda started. When Megan raised an eyebrow in question, she quickly explained how she knew her name. “Caitlin told me your name. She has been telling me about everyone at the lodge. I feel like I know you all so well.”
“Oh.” Megan said. She didn't know what else to say. Her daughter knew not to talk to strangers or share personal information but for her, these were different circumstances and she couldn’t be upset with her for oversharing. She only hoped it wouldn’t cause problems.
“Can you hand me that bag over there?” she said pointing in the corner of the room.
Megan recognized it right away. It was the one she had at Evan's cabin. She grabbed the bag and handed it to Brenda.
“Actually, I need a gauze pad if you could get it for me. I know I put a bunch in there somewhere.”
Megan dug through the bag and found a box of small square packages. This is what she had been looting? She had made the long trip to Evan's place to get medical supplies to treat Caitlin? Megan was thankful, but she also wondered why she didn’t simply ask for help.
Brenda cleaned the area and used some medical tape to create a butterfly stitch. Once she was happy with the way the wound looked, she put a fresh bandage over it. She explained everything she was doing.
“All good,” she declared.
“Thank you,” Megan said. “We need to get going now.”
Brenda looked surprised. “You're leaving?”
“We have been looking for Caitlin for nearly two weeks. The family has been worried sick,” Megan stopped. She didn't want to alarm Caitlin by revealing how seriously Wyatt was injured. “And one of my group was hurt. The others took him back to the lodge. I would really like to get there and see how he is doing.”
“Who got hurt, mom?” Caitlin asked.
Megan hesitated, “Wyatt did, honey.”
“What happened?” she asked.
“He stepped in a trap,” she said it more to Brenda than her daughter, emphasizing the word trap. She knew Brenda had set that trap and it wasn't put there in the hopes of actually getting a bear. It was a booby trap meant to keep people away.
Brenda apologized. “I’m sorry one of your group was injured but I’m alone out here. I have to strike first to have a chance.”
Megan was furious over everything that happened but she didn’t want to make things worse. “I understand your concern. The meadow looks to be fertile hunting. I hope we can work out some kind of arrangement like, you tell us where the traps are or what areas you want us to stay out of. Then we won't have to worry about any more injuries.”
The tension in the room amplified.
“I only recently set the larger traps. Those men are getting closer each time they come through. I wasn't trying to hurt anyone but trust me; those traps may help you out as well.”
“How could they possibly help us?” Megan asked, slightly irritated.
Brenda chuckled, “You guys live up there and have your nice little barbed wire fence around the property and think you are safe. There is a group of bad men, very bad men, who aren’t going to be stopped by a little fence.”
Now Megan was getting mad. “We’ve heard all about The Raiders or whatever you want to call them. So far, we’ve been left alone. We don't go looking for trouble or stealing from other people.”
The last was said with more vehemence than Megan intended, but she was offended by Brenda's remarks.
“We aren't trying to kill or mai
m anyone. We only want to establish a boundary. We know it isn't going to stop anyone from coming in if they really want to. In fact, we’ve already been down that road and guess what? We're all still here.”
Brenda shrugged, “You have your way and I have mine. There’s only one of me. I have to go on the offensive. I can't wait and see or wait for someone to rescue me. My traps could very well stop them from continuing on to your camp.”
Megan was a little surprised at how cold and calculating the woman was. She was so gentle when she was talking to Caitlin and tending her wound.
“Why are you so willing to jeopardize innocent people?” Megan asked.
Brenda sighed. At first, Megan didn't think she would answer. “Look, I am not trying to be mean or purposely hurt anyone. The goal is to survive. I am making sure that happens.”
She shrugged her shoulders as if it was such an obvious answer there was no reason to question it.
Megan just stared at her in amazement.
“I'm sorry,” Brenda started. “I am career Army. There isn't any gray area. When there is a mission, you do what it takes to fulfill the mission. I don't get hung up on what other people may or may not do. I can't control them. I can only control me.”
“But why not tell us? You said you have been watching us, why not talk to one of us?”
Brenda looked embarrassed. “I am not really a people person. Before all of this happened, I was completely dedicated to my job. I worked in an emergency department. People who landed in my ER needed my expertise, not conversation. They came in. I fixed them or they died. It was as basic as that.”
Megan shook her head, trying to understand how a person could be so cold. So unattached from humanity and yet, be a doctor.
“Well, I am not going to say I understand but I don't think you need to live alone, completely cut off from the world.”
“Isn’t that what you did?” Brenda asked her.
“What are you talking about? I don’t live alone.”
“Caitlin told me about leaving your home and heading for the mountains by yourselves. How after she woke up, you left again. Something about only being able to rely on yourself.” Brenda stared at her through her thick lenses making her feel as though she were under a microscope.
“That was different!” Why was Megan trying to defend herself with this woman? “Besides, I’ve learned the benefits of working with others.”
“You have your way, I have mine.” Again, Brenda’s comment was made with no emotion.
Megan didn't want to get into a big argument. The woman did have a point. In fact, Chase had been talking about doing more to be proactive against potential raiders in recent months. It must be a military thing. Chase wanted to set up more booby traps around the perimeter and not the kind that only alerted them to an intruder's presence. He wanted to step it up a notch and send a clear message. Just like Brenda.
She decided to back down a bit. She had no right to judge this woman. “Listen, thank you for taking care of Caitlin.”
“I really enjoyed having her. Maybe too much. I’ve been alone since the EMP. Like alone, alone. I haven't had a conversation with another person until Caitlin. When I found her, she was hurt and in and out of consciousness. I was focused on getting her better. It felt good to have a purpose again.”
Megan nodded. Despite their differences, they did have things in common. Megan had gone crazy those two weeks she was stuck at the lodge. She needed to do something. She had to have a purpose to get out of bed every morning. If she had been completely alone, with no one to take care of or nothing to do, she imagined it would be tough to keep going.
Megan also had to agree with Brenda's decision to take Caitlin to her home. Her little cabin was definitely closer to where the accident had happened. She imagined she would have done the same thing had the roles been reversed. Well, she would have made contact with the girl's family and that’s where they differed.
“I am truly sorry. I know I shouldn't have kept her here or hid her away from you all. That was stupid. I was being selfish. It was so nice having another person around. Someone to take care of. You don't realize how lonely life is until you are alone, day in and day out.”
Megan couldn't imagine what it would be like. Even though she had been lacking in adult friendship and conversation before she found Wyatt and his family, she had Caitlin at least. Having her daughter had given her purpose and the will to keep going during some of those really hard days but she would never in a million years have kept a child longer than absolutely necessary.
“I can't say I understand but I will say I know a little about being alone. You know, you could come back with us. I realize it isn’t easy relying on others. Believe me when I say it was a hard lesson for me to learn, but you’ve no idea how much easier it is when you’re working as a team. To know that someone has your back and you have theirs. And maybe, you could take a look at my friend, Wyatt?”
Brenda looked like she would say no, but then asked about Wyatt.
Without saying the words, Megan conveyed the severity of the injury. Brenda looked mortified.
“I will go with you two and see what I can do to help your friend, but no more. My home is here. I am a doctor or I was a doctor, I guess. Can you be a doctor if you don't have medicine?”
Megan laughed, “Oh yes. My friend, Rosie, has all the medicine in the world right in the backyard.”
When Brenda looked at her quizzically, she explained Rosie's knack for using herbs and plants to heal.
“That's amazing,” Brenda said. “I know very little about plants, but I do know a lot about field medicine. Meaning I can use a pen to do an emergency tracheotomy, but not a lot about natural medicine. My years in Iraq taught me far more than I ever wanted to know about practicing medicine in some of the worst conditions you can imagine.”
Megan realized how important it would be to the group if they could have an actual doctor in the house. Rosie's medicines were great but for serious injuries, a doctor could mean the difference between life and death. She knew she should have probably consulted the rest of the group before inviting the woman back to the lodge. She only hoped everyone would be okay with it. At the very least, she could help Wyatt before they sent her packing.
Brenda's field training and general knowledge of survival in enemy territory would be a huge help and given that she’s been on her own, clearly she wasn't adverse to hard work.
Megan knew Albert would be the toughest one to sell on the idea. That was just his way. If she could get Wyatt on board, the rest of the group would eventually agree with the decision to bring Brenda into their little community. Maybe she could visit from time to time.
With the decision made, Megan asked if Caitlin's boots and coat were around. She wanted to get going before it got any later. As it was, they were going to be walking home in the dark. It was then she realized how spartan the place was. It was also incredibly clean.
“How did you end up out here, anyway?” Megan asked as she got Caitlin dressed.
“I was stationed at Lewis-McChord. I happened to be in Spokane to get some additional training when the EMP happened. I stuck around for a bit, before things got really bad. Originally, I was with a group of doctors and other military personnel, but things got ugly. We had some very different ideas about what we would do to survive.”
Brenda didn't have to say the words. Megan had been around the city when things started to get bad. She had seen good people turn into murderers and thieves. Good people who had probably never gotten a speeding ticket were suddenly willing to kill another human to take a can of corn. It was an ugly world.
As she tossed some things into her bag, Brenda continued her story. “I knew there was no way I could get back to base; to the people I knew and trusted. So, I headed for the hills. I wanted to get as far away from the city as possible. I wandered around for weeks before I found this little cabin. I decided it was my best chance at survival and claimed it as my own.”
/> Megan could imagine the chaos so many people felt the moment that EMP struck. She had been fortunate enough to be able to get home with her daughter. People like Brenda were stranded and completely alone. She thought about those who were visiting the area or just passing through and found themselves in a strange area with no supplies, no shelter and no friends.
She hoped they had the common sense to carry emergency bags in their vehicles. Megan had heard of keeping an emergency kit at home, at work and in the car but she had to admit, she wasn't one of those to buy into it. She always assumed she would go buy what she needed if there was ever some kind of emergency.
This was a situation where the entire world changed in an instant. There was no time to prepare and no time to run to the store. Megan had ventured out of her house on the second day, to try to get some food and batteries for their flashlights. What she saw had terrified her. Store windows were shattered. There were carts strewn about the streets where people had used them to get their goods home and then abandoned them.
She had witnessed people fighting over loaves of bread. A woman with a baby had been hit in the head with a rock. Megan had rushed to help her. The woman had been carrying diapers when she was beaten and robbed. The woman had nearly been killed over a pack of diapers.
That was when Megan decided to stay put. Going out in the streets was far too dangerous. It wasn't worth the risk and judging by the empty shelves of the stores she did see, it was a risk with little chance of reward.
It had been life altering. Every time she met someone new, that moment came rushing back. She had been so fortunate to have what she did at home and finding Wyatt had truly been a blessing. One she would always be grateful for, even if she found herself questioning her dependency on them.
Brenda and Megan heard the noise at the same time. They both froze. It was an engine. The sound of it completely shocked Megan. She hadn't heard an engine in months. The foreign noise had taken a second for her brain to register what it was.
It wasn't a car engine. It was much higher pitched. Megan realized it was an ATV. Not one ATV, but several!
Dark Hunt (EMP Lodge Series Book 2) Page 17