The Ranch: Mischief And Mayhem: A Post Apocalyptic Survival Story

by Brian Quest

  “Always.”

  The two men moved slowly and quietly, following the tracks that led to the barn. The tracks stopped at the barn door and then went off in another direction. After looking around and making sure all the horses were still there and safe, they decided it would be best to look around in the light of day.

  When they went back down into the shelter, Thomas could tell something was wrong. “What’s up guys?”

  Talking quietly so the girls didn’t hear them, Andrew replied, “Someone was out there. They found the barn, but I don’t think they know about the shelter. It looks like they wandered around for a while and then headed back off through the woods. The weird thing is they were using snowshoes and didn’t even bother trying to cover their tracks.”

  “You guys get some rest. I’ll stay up for a while and keep watch,” Thomas said.

  “I never expected this to happen, at least not the first night we were here.” Andrew said.

  “Well, in the morning we will get to the bottom of it.”

  “Yeah. When Stewart and I go to check on Emma we will take a better look at the tracks and see if we can figure out where they went. Don’t say anything to the girls. I don’t want them to worry until we know there is something to worry about.”

  Keith said, “You don’t think there’s already something to worry about?”

  “Like I said, we don’t know where the tracks came from. For all we know, it was just a hiker or two passing through. They didn’t do anything to the barn and the horses are all there and fine.”

  Keith seemed to relax a little bit and then said, “Well, I hope that’s all it is.”

  Keith decided to stay up with Thomas while Stewart and Andrew gave their new beds a spin. The couch was plenty comfortable, and Thomas quickly took to his new recliner. They sipped coffee while they watched the flicker of the fake fire. They both spent some time reading the magazines that Andrew had placed in a rack near the couch, and then drifted off to sleep. They slept lightly, waking at each and every noise. Thomas found it funny that he never had noticed just how loudly Stewart snored…or maybe it was Andrew, he couldn’t really tell; all he knew was that it was loud and kept waking him up.

  Andrew had some of the lights in the shelter set on timers so it would feel as though the sun had risen. Slowly people started to rise from their beds and make their way to the kitchen table for breakfast. Debbie was more than happy to be standing in front of a working stove, frying eggs and baking cornbread. She even made a pot of grits and some bacon. She sang as she cooked and then whistled as she set the food on the table.

  “Enjoy, guys!”

  “Well, you sure are in a chipper mood!” Andrew said to his oldest daughter.

  “I slept great! And cooking in this kitchen is amazing!”

  “Well, it all looks great! Thank you, Debbie,” Thomas said.

  For the next half hour, all that could be heard was chewing and silverware clanking on the new dishes that Andrew had stocked in the kitchen. They had had similar breakfasts, but this time it seemed to taste so much better. The only think keeping it from being perfect was the knowledge that someone had been outside the night before. Andrew and the other guys did their best to keep their concern unnoticeable, and everyone enjoyed their breakfast.

  “Connie, in the first storage room there are some thermoses. Can you grab two of them for me so Stewart and I can bring coffee along for the ride?”

  “Sure, Dad.”

  Connie went and did as requested while Debbie brewed another pot of strong black coffee. While she made the most famous drink in the house, Debbie asked, “What about the chickens, Dad?”

  “Well, I was thinking about that. We have an extra stall in the barn. So while we are out, we will grab them and bring them back with us.” He turned to Thomas and asked, “While we’re out, can you put up some chicken wire in the back stall so the chickens don’t get in by the horses?”

  “Absolutely. Shouldn’t take but a few minutes.”

  “Okay, then, Stewart, you ready to get going?”

  Stewart stood, grabbed his thermos of liquid warmth and said, “Ready as I’ll ever be!”

  In much the same way they had gone outside the night before, they left the confines of the shelter and saddled up their horses. They headed out, careful to follow the tracks in the snow…covering them as they went.

  Chapter Twenty

  “These tracks are all over the place!” Stewart said as they zigged and zagged through the woods. The tracks seemed to circle trees and go from north to south and back north again. There was no real rhyme or reason to them, and they grew more and more annoying to the men as they rode. Suddenly, Andrew stopped his horse.

  “Whoa! Look at that,” he said, pointing at the ground.

  Stewart looked and said, “Those are bear tracks. And by the looks of it, they’re fresh.”

  “Yeah, and by the looks of that pile of … well, you know … it’s really fresh. We need to get out of here. Come on.”

  While the men went on a long and winding ride through the woods, the girls went to work unpacking all of the stuff they had brought from the main house. There was a radio in the shelter that had a CD player, so they listened to their favorite music as they worked; singing and laughing the whole time. Thomas worked on chicken-proofing the barn and Keith sat in the living room, enjoying the music and the girls singing. It was a day very different from the ones of the past year, and it was really nice.

  Back in the woods, Andrew and Stewart moved at a steady pace, watching both the tracks and their surroundings for bears. It was nerve racking, and they were happy when they finally saw some familiar ground; in the distance stood the house they had left the day before. It was weird for Andrew to see. He never had looked at the house and felt so much emptiness coming from it; it was almost as if the house was sad and lonely.

  “Man, can you believe it?” Andrew asked.

  “Believe what?”

  “That just yesterday we were eating food in the house and now it looks as if it was abandoned.”

  “Well, sir, if you don’t mind my saying, it kind of was.”

  “No, I mean it looks like it was abandoned years ago. It looks sad.”

  “I know what you mean. Come on, the tracks go this way,” Stewart said, following the tree line.

  They rode for a few hundred more yards and the tracks made a turn toward the pasture. They were unsure about moving out into the open and being seen, but they really were left with no choice. They moved slowly but with purpose as they followed the tracks in the snow. The wind had helped keep the snow shallower in the field, so it was pretty easy going for the horses. The tracks led to the house and then circled around to the front of the porch.

  “That’s weird,” Stewart said as Andrew rounded the side of the house.

  “What’s weird?”

  “The tracks. They stop here and then move over about a foot and keep going around to the other side of the house. Whoever it was, they didn’t even try to get inside.”

  “That is weird.” Andrew sat there atop his prized horse, and thought for a minute. He wondered why anyone would go through all the trouble to walk all the way to the house and not go up to the door. “Let’s see where these tracks lead us. Just be careful and stay sharp. Whoever this was, they could be dangerous.”

  Nerves on high alert, the two men continued following the tracks. They didn’t understand why, but the tracks led them back to the woods. Andrew actually felt as though they were being trapped somehow. He wondered when the person would come at them, and hoped they would be ready. After those four men had forced their way into the house, he realized just what lengths people would go to in order to get what they wanted.

  “I think we should move a bit more slowly. We need to be as quiet as possible. I don’t feel right about this. Something weird is going on,” Andrew said, the concern taking over his voice.

  “I was thinking the same thing. I mean, why would someone wander all o
ver the woods, come all the way to the house, and then go back to the woods? It just doesn’t make sense.”

  “I know. It really doesn’t make any sense. We’ll follow the tracks a bit longer to see if they move away from the ranch, and then we’ll head to Emma’s. Once we know she’s fine, we’ll come back for the chickens.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  The two men rode in complete silence so they could hear anything out of the ordinary. They continued following the tracks and noticed they seemed to be headed in the direction of Emma’s cabin. This concerned both of them and they slowly picked up their pace. It didn’t take long for them to reach the cabin. When they did, they were afraid of what they might find inside; the tracks led right to her front door.

  “This isn’t good,” Stewart said, looking at Andrew in fear.

  “No, it isn’t. Let’s do this.”

  Andrew and Stewart tied their horses to the post and tip-toed up the steps, each with a hand on their revolver. They reached the door and Andrew considered knocking, because that’s what he always did, but instead felt he needed to be a bit more forceful. He kicked in the door and instantly heard a scream.

  “What in tarnation do you think you’re doing? You nearly scared me to death, Andrew!” Emma yelled.

  “Where is he? Are you okay?” Andrew frantically looked around the small, one room cabin.

  “Where is who? You’re talking crazy! What in the devil is going on?” Emma was confused and a bit irritated.

  “We saw the tracks outside from snowshoes. They were all the way up at the house, and all over the woods. The tracks stopped at your door.”

  “Well, did you happen to see where the tracks started?”

  “No, not yet, why?” Now it was Andrew’s turn to be confused.

  “Those are my tracks.”

  “What? Why were you … how did you know where we were?”

  “All those times you went traipsing around the woods, don’t you think I knew what you were doing? I mean, it took me a while at first, but when I saw you sticking those big containers in the ground it wasn’t hard to figure out.”

  “Are you crazy, woman?”

  Laughing, she responded, “Just a little bit.”

  Finally able to breathe a little easier, Stewart said, “I’ve seen coocoo in my days, but this takes the cake! Do you need anything, Emma?”

  “No, dear, I’m just fine. I have plenty of wood and enough food for months.”

  “Come with us, Emma,” Andrew said.

  “No way! I am not living in the dirt until I take my last breath!”

  “Well, if you are sure you don’t need anything, we have to go get the chickens and get back to the shelter.” Andrew paused for a moment and then said, “This is the second time you have whipped us up into a frenzy. One more and that’s three strikes.”

  “Oh, and what happens on strike three?” Emma asked, slightly quizzical.

  “We tie you up and drag you to the shelter. You will have no choice but to live with us and be waited on hand and foot!”

  “Sounds absolutely dreadful, dear! I will make sure not to be whipping up any more frenzies!”

  “I’m going to hold you to that. Okay, we’re out of here. Please take care of yourself, and no more wandering around the woods alone at night. There were fresh bear tracks. You’d make a mighty nice meal!”

  “You got it! Thanks for stopping by!”

  Andrew and Stewart hurried back to the house to collect the chickens, which was not an easy task, and then headed back to the shelter. They went by way of Emma’s cabin and then wound their way through the woods, making a new set of tracks. They didn’t take as much care to hide them, realizing that if anyone wanted to find them, they could; especially when the smell of Debbie’s delicious cooking made it out of the vents!

  When they got back to the shelter, they called down for Debbie and Connie so they could help get the chickens settled. An hour later, they watched as the chickens clucked their way around the new coop and laughed at how excited their feathered friends were. They hurried back inside, being careful to look around before lifting the hatch to the shelter.

  Once inside, they all sat around and Andrew and Stewart told the girls about the tracks they had found. Then everyone got a good laugh when they heard that it was Emma…again. Andrew looked around the entire shelter and was impressed by the amount of work that the girls got done while he was gone.

  “The house looks amazing, girls. Great job! You must have worked the entire time we were gone! We all can finish together if you’d like.”

  Debbie looked at her father and said, “We are done. Well, almost. We put your things in your room, but you will have to decide what you want where. Otherwise, it’s all put away.”

  “Wow! You girls sure did stay busy!”

  Keith laughed and said, “And man, the music they listen to! Wow!”

  “I take it that means you found the CD player okay?” Andrew asked, chuckling.

  “We sure did!”

  Then Keith said, “And now I’m sad to say I know every song that Reba ever sang!”

  “Hey!” Andrew kidded, “Watch what you say! Reba’s a real classic!”

  “Yeah, well that may be true, but when she is challenged by the likes of the Smith girls, things may change! I can’t get the music out of my head!”

  “It sure sounds like you girls had a great time torturing poor Keith!” Andrew kidded, patting the man on the back.

  “Yep! We sure did!” Amy said, grinning from ear-to-ear.

  Changing the subject, Debbie said, “I have my famous chili on the stove and Connie made corn bread. I know it’s late for lunch and early for dinner, but it’s hot. Would you like some?”

  “I sure would!” Stewart sang, trying his hardest to sound like Reba.

  The girls burst out into laughter, and then they all enjoyed chili together as a family. They joked about the concert the girls put on for Keith and Thomas, and talked about Emma and the quest to find the person who had made the tracks. Debbie made it clear that, from that point on, she wanted to be informed when something happened that affected the family. Andrew promised he would tell her everything.

  Things in the shelter seemed great. To anyone on the outside, if they could get a glimpse inside, they never would know that the whole place was underground or that it wasn’t their first choice of places to live. The winter had started with a bang, and continued to be quite brutal. It seemed they had one storm after another, which made it even harder for the guys to keep the area around the shelter clear and also get back to the ranch on a regular basis to care for the cattle. It was a lot of work, but everyone chipped in and did their part. The girls handled things well and actually thrived in their new life. They didn’t get many chances to go above ground, but when Thanksgiving came, they took two chickens and made a feast for the family.

  Life had changed for the worse when the EMP hit, but once they went to the shelter, things seemed to be looking up. They were enjoying life and making the most of a tough situation. Andrew never was more proud, not only of his daughters, but of the entire team. They all worked well together, and made life as easy as possible. Life was getting good!

  Find out what happens next in book 3! Coming Soon!

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