Solar Storm: Homeward Bound

by Vincent Keith

  There were trades between Adin, Lakeview, Burns and John Day that mixed into the deal but were beyond Jack's area of responsibility. At least until something went wrong and the whole scheme fell apart. Jack hadn’t said anything, but a brief conversation with Curly, Frank, and John from the general store got him thinking about a trade route between home and Adin, with stops in all the towns in-between.

  36

  UNEXPECTED COMPANY

  Jack was making a list of what he could leave behind and what he would take with him when someone knocked on the door.

  “I got it,” said Eli

  Jack went back to his list while Eli levered himself out of the easy chair to get the door.

  “Captain, come on in,” said Eli.

  “Thanks, Jack here?”

  “Yeah, I’m hiding in the kitchen,” Jack shouted.

  “Go on in. There’s coffee on the stove.” Eli stuck his head out the door and mumbled.

  “Sorry?” said Brian.

  “Oh nothing, it’s just still coming down out there, and I’m still getting used to not having weather reports.”

  “Yeah, that’s a problem for us too. The Air Force is telling us not a single satellite survived, but they’re hoping to put a couple up in a few months. My understanding is that they need to get the ground stations working again before they try.”

  “I don’t suppose it would be useful to launch a couple of satellites only to figure out you had no way to talk to them.”

  “No, probably not.”

  “Do we have a foot yet?”

  “More I’d say, closer to twenty inches. Given the weather, I don’t think there’ll be too many folks out and about, so I’ve decided to stay put for a few more days. The guys are still running training classes for your volunteers and while they’re shaping up pretty nicely, another few days or a week would help.”

  “That’s good news, for us anyway,” said Eli

  Jack looked up from his paperwork, “I doubt the people who gave us trouble will find anyone on the road for a few days.”

  “We’re keeping an eye on the place. My advanced recon team has been checking in. They’ve got a team on each side of the town to warn anyone approaching the area.”

  “Are they stopping folks?”

  “Their orders are to advise but not interfere. That’s more risk for us since someone could let them know we’re watching, but I don’t expect it to be an issue. No one has come up the road in either direction since we started watching.”

  “I don’t envy you that job,” said Eli. “I’m afraid there may be some locals who aren’t part of the drug ring that’ll get swept up right along with the bad guys.”

  “We’ve had something of a break there too. We know they’re holding at least seven families. It looks like they’re using them as labor. They’re not treated all that well but not so badly that I’m ready to rush in. The guys are getting a lot of good intel, including an ID on an apparent delivery or pickup of some sort. We have a description and plate numbers on the truck. They came in and unloaded what appeared to be food, and left with a bag full of something we couldn’t ID.”

  “Still, I assume the same orders apply with highway robbery as it does for looting?”

  “We’re just classifying it as looting so yes, we’ll round them up and shoot them.”

  Jack gave Brian a sympathetic look. He’d known in an abstract way what would happen, but to hear it stated so succinctly was a bit of a shock. He also knew it would take its toll on Brian and the other Rangers. It was one thing to go into battle or to do a rescue mission, but to round up people who were still citizens of the US, knowing you would have to shoot them. The very idea was surreal.

  For the first time since Brian arrived, Jack felt genuine regret it had been Brian rather than someone he didn’t know. Duty is a hard taskmaster and a thin shield, thought Jack. Brian would do his duty, his honor allowing nothing less. Unfortunately, knowing it was his duty would not keep those ghosts at bay during the long nights to come.

  Brian shrugged and gave them a lopsided grin. He knew more or less what they were both thinking, but he saw no point in dwelling on it. He crossed to the stove and pulled a mug off the hooks and filled it with coffee. He turned and waved the pot in Jack and Eli’s direction. Eli nodded, and Jack just smiled and lifted his mug. Brian filled the offered cups and put the pot back on the stove.

  “I haven’t seen one of these old enameled percolator pots in ages.”

  “That’s how long I’ve had it,” said Eli. “It was my dad’s, and I sort of wandered off with it when he gave up hunting. I remember him using it on our first camping trip, or the first one I remember anyway. That thing is at least twenty years older than me. I think they still make them, but I doubt they’re the same quality.”

  “I looked at one a few years back,” said Jack. “They’re using much thinner metal, at least on the one I saw. Still, I suspect it would work fine. I’ve got an old Coleman sitting at home. It looks a lot like that one. I’m just wondering where the heck we’re going to find coffee for it, once ours run out?”

  “Seems you’re not the only one with that concern,” said Eli.

  “No, I suspect not.”

  “No, that’s not what I meant. I was getting an update from Lexi and Art this morning. Rumor has it some guy from Seattle headed south with his sailboat to pick up coffee.”

  “Huh, wonder how much coffee he thinks he’ll be able to carry.”

  “Art said the boat is an eighty-five-foot something or other, you’ll have to ask him if you care.”

  “Eighty-five-feet? I could see that being worth doing, hate to think what the price of coffee will be when the local stocks are all gone. It’s a good thing there are lots of coffee roasters in the Northwest. I don’t suppose anyone at Lewis-McChord thought to secure the beans at Starbuck’s roasting plants?”

  “As a matter of fact, yeah we did. They’re still working out the logistics of the situation, but we’re providing security for them, and a couple of food warehouses. Oh and a Walmart distribution center. We’ve also got people at Tully’s, Cabela’s and a few dozen other places. They can’t figure out how to deal with barter, and they’re not in a position to roast any beans. Besides, they don’t have any way to deliver them even if they could figure out how to sell them. I guess we’re working for beans, literally,” he said with a grin.

  “We’d do the protecting regardless, but the army runs on coffee, so it’s not like anyone is going to say no.”

  “I wondered why you guys were so free with the coffee,” said Jack. “On the other hand, I can sympathize with them about the barter issue, having just been put through the ringer to get the horses. I’ll tell you, I’m not convinced I came out of that deal with all my fingers and toes attached. I got something you can breed more of and had to give up three of the very few working ham radio’s known to exist.”

  “I think you got more than that. There’s the huge amount of goodwill you’ve established. You can probably count on preferential trading status with most of the eastern side of the Cascades, which I think will be important in the long run. You’ve become something of an ambassador for every town between Adin and Omak, and you’ve established a fairly impressive reputation.”

  “Which combined with a cup of coffee will get me?” Jack put his knuckles to his chin as if thinking about something, “Hmm, a cup of coffee.”

  “Oh come on, it’s a great thing you did. If the Army folks can scare up some more transportation and we can get another couple bio-diesel plants set up, it leaves us in a position to help each other. That beats the hell out of having our asses hanging out in the wind.”

  Jack sighed. “Yeah, and I’m sure it’ll feel that way when I finally get home myself. This whole horse deal has me thinking about when folks crossed the country in covered wagons, and just how hard that might have actually been. In one respect I’ve still got it much easier than they did. I’ve got maps, I know exactly where I’m go
ing, how many miles, and probably how many days it’s going to take, and we’ve got roads. On the other hand, they’d lived their whole lives on the subsistence level, and we haven’t. It’s daunting to have so much firsthand experience in how much we don’t know how to do for ourselves anymore.”

  “It’ll get easier again but, yeah I think we’re looking at a few very tough years,” said Brian. “Things will never go back to the way they were. We may get back to that level of comfort, but it’ll be different. We just have no idea exactly how it will be different.”

  “Yeah, it doesn’t take more than a generation or two to get complacent unless you set up the system to prevent that from happening,” said Jack.

  “Do you think the US government is pretty much done?” asked Eli.

  “No…not exactly,” said Jack. “I believe it would be beneficial for us to split things up and localize the power. I think a federal government is valid, just not the behemoth we had. You have to admit, the first thing it did when everything came apart was to protect itself and the hell with everyone else.”

  Brian didn’t look happy but finally nodded. “Yes, they did. But I don’t believe for a second that Russia and China will give up central governments, which means we need something to keep them in check.”

  “Maybe, if they survived their attempts at expansion,” said Jack. “I think a federal government that runs the military, police, and courts, protects property rights, defends against aggression, and arbitrates contracts across state boundaries is necessary. There’s not a lot else I trust them to do without risking empire building. There are probably a few other things they should do, but I for one would be willing to suffer along without them.”

  Brian chuckled. “All that? Are you getting soft in your old age?”

  Jack frowned. It was an old argument. The O’Neal’s had a long history with the military, but they’d never been great supporters of government intervention in every facet of private life. Jack’s position had moved more and more toward the idea of extremely limited federal government.

  “The problem is setting up a system that won’t turn into what we’ve seen. To do that requires us to have moderately strong local governments and a tightly restrained federal government. Separation of Church and State, separation of Commerce and State, and no ability to add to its power without a Convention of States. I think by the time things get better a lot of people will be so disillusioned with big government that returning to business as usual will be out of the question. I’m not even going to guess at where that will eventually end up.”

  “Might be premature to be worrying about that,” said Eli.

  “Probably,” said Brian.

  Jack looked at Eli, then Brian, then back to Eli and finally cracked a smile. “Yeah, sorry, old habits.”

  “Back to more immediate concerns, how the hell are you going to get the guns and the ammo home? Figured that out yet?” asked Eli.

  Jack frowned. “Haven’t a clue.”

  “Idiot.” Brian chuckled.

  “What did I do to deserve that?”

  “Just box them up, we’ll deliver them when we move up to Coulee.”

  “Uh, well yeah I suppose that would work.”

  “Did you honestly think you would figure out some way to pack all that weight on those horses?”

  “No, but I was considering having Denny come down with a truck.”

  “Oh.” Brian rubbed his chin, considering the idea. “Okay, that would work, but save the fuel. We have to cover all that ground anyway, unless you’re in a hurry all of a sudden.”

  “To get home? Yes. Getting the guns and ammo home, not so much.”

  “Then I’d say your logistics problems are solved. Box up anything you don’t need to have with you. We’ll bring the rest along in five or six weeks.”

  “Great, that means we can get moving tomorrow.”

  Eli whistled, “Might want to check with your girlfriend first.”

  “Yeah, I will, but if not tomorrow, the next day at the latest.”

  Four days later Jack finished checking the pack horses and mounted up. Rachael was having a final round of goodbye hugs. Lexi reached up on tiptoes and planted a kiss on Art’s cheek.

  “See ya Art.”

  “See ya Sparks.”

  She ran back and climbed onto her saddle. Jack nudged his horse and Grace moved up next to Lexi’s mount.

  Jack leaned over next to Lexi. “Sparks?”

  “How’d you ever get a Ham license without hearing that term?”

  “I’m familiar with it, I’ve just never heard you use it—Sparks.” Jack gave her a wink and twisted around to see if Rachael was ready.

  Rachael turned, smiling but teary-eyed and headed for Angel who was standing patiently next to Lexi’s horse, Panda. The name, short for Pandemonium, gave Jack some grave concerns. Panda was the only stallion in the group, and Jack had been unhappy about the idea of giving him to Lexi. All the horse guys said Lexi was an excellent rider and would have no problem.

  Jack was the least experienced rider. Most of his time in the saddle was from working with Marty and Russ during his annual horse pack photography workshop. Sergeant Hernandez and Corporal Hoffman were both, to Jack’s surprise, very experienced, growing up within a few miles of each other in Wyoming and spending summers working on the same ranch.

  “Okay, are we ready?”

  Rachael pulled out a cloth and wiped her eyes and nose. “Yes, let’s get going.”

  The two Rangers started out at Jack’s nod, followed by Lexi, then Jack and Rachael, and their surprise addition, Allan Reismann. Allan led the team of remounts and pack horses. Jack had been jubilant when Allan showed up with his father’s blessing and instructions to take care of his animals. Eli had given the sandy-haired youngster his complete endorsement, which didn’t hurt. Jack had watched Allan adjusting the packs and even offered to help when Allan had put the oddest-looking pack saddles on all the spare horses.

  “I thought the point of the extra horses was to avoid any load so they’d be fresher mid-day when we change out?” said Jack.

  “Yes, sir, but where we’re going, we’re not going to have much in the way of feed or firewood. Dad and I’ve had that problem for years until we came up with these. It’s a lightweight pack saddle for carrying light loads, only about sixty pounds. The horses hardly even notice, not like they do carrying two hundred pounds of rider and gear around all day. We split the feed and firewood up across all the spares. We can carry a lot of grain that way, and a lot of firewood too. I need to be careful to balance the loads. The horses don’t like it when they’re lopsided.”

  The clouds that had been so constant for the last two weeks had broken up, but it didn’t look like it would last. It was barely over ten degrees, and the air sparkled with particles of frozen vapor, every breath visible. The horses had no trouble with the snow, so light and powdery that every step kicked up a small cloud that drifted on the breeze.

  Jack turned in the saddle to see if Allan was in motion, but he needn’t have worried. Allan had been working with horses since he could walk and had led more than a few horse pack trips. The young man had gotten the six pack horses and twelve remounts moving with no more effort than it had taken Jack to get Grace moving.

  Allan looked like he was going to be taller than his Dad. He was just under six feet and still growing. Unfortunately, the rest of his body wasn’t keeping up, leaving him thin as a rail. For a teen, he was calm and soft-spoken. Jack attributed that to Allan spending so much time around animals. The smile on the young man’s face was as bright as the morning. He was in his element, sitting in the saddle, surrounded by horses. It took a few seconds to spot the dogs, who’d been playing with the kids again and were now trotting along behind the horses.

  As they rode north toward the Columbia River, Jack had time to consider just how well things had turned out. He’d been afraid this last leg would be just the three of them with maybe a single pack horse. With the add
ition of the two Rangers and Allan, they’d have plenty of help with camp chores. Jack gained some expert help with the horses and more safety in their larger numbers. They’d attract more attention too, but the route would keep them well away from any population centers.

  They’d stopped several times to check saddles, packs, and shoes on the horses, and to let everyone stretch. Jack was sure the Rangers would recover quickly from any sore muscles. Allan spent so much time in the saddle he could ride until the horse dropped. Lexi had the resilience of youth. Even Rachael was doing reasonably well.

  Jack, on the other hand, was feeling every bit the old man of the group, between his leg and the strange set of muscles he was just now discovering through the pain they were giving him. He was worried he would be the one slowing the group. Even the dogs were doing better than Jack had expected. Whether it was Allan’s experience with horse camping or advice from his father, he’d called a halt some four miles south of Pendleton.

  They’d covered only twenty miles when Allan suggested they stop for the day. Jack had been hoping to do thirty-five maybe even forty miles. Everyone else was happy enough he’d decided that for the first day, they’d done well enough. Once again, having the Rangers and Allan along proved to be incredibly beneficial. He got the two-burner camp stove going while the Rangers got the tents up and Allan and the girls took care of the horses. By the time camp was set, Jack had started the coffee and was setting up to cook dinner. Rachael cajoled him into taking a painkiller and a muscle relaxant, then set about warming several small slab stones she’d brought along in place of hot packs.

  Jack had a rough night, tossing and turning, with no position providing much relief from the newly acquired aches. By 2 a.m. the hot stones had cooled and were no longer helping so he tossed them toward the foot of his sleeping pad. Rachael had a much easier time persuading him to take another pain pill, and within a half hour, he was sound asleep again.