EMP Lodge Series Box Set | Books 1-6

by Hamilton, Grace

  She couldn't be selfish in this. She needed to think long term. Caitlin's future could depend on this as well.

  Wyatt interrupted her thoughts.

  “Megan, if, by some miracle, someone somewhere is working on restoring the power grid, they won’t start here. The big cities and the manufacturing plants will get up and running. Trade will pick up again. They can replace anything that may get damaged by the flood,” he said in a pleading voice. “Think of us and our welfare. Don't worry about the rest of the world.”

  She looked him in the eyes. “I can't do that, Wyatt. You know that.”

  “The people who want and need electricity to survive can move to those areas. I don't have any idea how it will all work. None of us do. We have to worry about the right here. The right now. The people that are in that lodge, counting on you and me to make sure they stay alive for the foreseeable future.”

  She put her face in her hands, trying to block out the world that was closing in on her. Wyatt was her rock; the man that stood by her side. He had been her sounding board, but in this situation, she couldn't depend on him to give her an unbiased opinion. He was fully vested in this.

  It was moments like these she missed Jack. He was the yang to Wyatt's yin. They were alike in a lot of ways, but different enough she felt she got a balanced dose of advice and opinions.

  Megan started to walk away from the dam. She hated the stupid dam. It was going to destroy everything, possibly even her relationship with Wyatt. She hated that he lied to her about something so important. He wouldn't be able to forgive her if she allowed the lodge to be destroyed and his family displaced.

  It was a damned-if-she-did-damned-if-she-didn't situation. Who was she willing to damn?

  Their moment had been ruined. The realization that she had to put others in jeopardy to save herself soured inside her. She truly wished she had never seen the power station. Ignorance was bliss, so they said.

  Could she live with herself if she continued with their plan to divert the water away from them? She wasn't the type of person who could do that. Was she?

  22

  “Slow down, Megan,” Wyatt grumbled from behind her as she practically ran down the hill to the lodge.

  “I can't do this again, Wyatt,” she shouted without looking back.

  “You don't have to. Keep doing what you were. You can't let this get in the way of saving the lodge. I promise you, you will regret letting down those people.”

  He caught up to her and grabbed her arm to make her stop.

  “There has to be another way. Why are we assuming it is either us or the power station? We can figure this out. We don't have to make such a gut-wrenching decision,” she said, looking him in the eye.

  He clearly didn't buy into the notion.

  They passed Garrett and Evan who were headed up the hill, to the dam.

  “Is it your watch?” Wyatt asked.

  “Yep, we have the first shift today,” Garrett said. We get to stand around and watch cement crack.”

  Wyatt looked as if he would say something about the snarky comment, but wished them luck.

  He grabbed her arm, making her stop for a minute.

  “Megan, you don't have any other options. Please, don't tell anyone else about this. It isn't going to help and it will only cause division. We can't afford that. We all have to work together. This is for the best,” he said with such conviction she almost believed him.

  “Okay, we will do it your way, but, I want some time to evaluate everything. I won't say anything to anyone yet, but I also won't lie to them. They deserve to know.”

  “Fine. Take the time you need, but remember that crack is growing and that guy will try to finish the job. We don't have the luxury of mulling over a decision for too long. The water is coming,” he stressed.

  She nodded and continued down the hill. “I get it. I understand.”

  Megan did her best to calm her nerves before she went inside. She didn't want to explain the situation any more than Wyatt did.

  Rosie was cleaning up, popping her head up when Megan strolled through the door.

  Megan smiled at her and did her best to look cheery. Rosie eyed her carefully.

  Wyatt walked in behind her. “Hi, mom,” he said with the same forced happiness.

  Rosie looked back and forth between the two of them. “You aren't fooling me. You don't have to put on a show. You'll tell me when you think I need to know.”

  She went back to wiping down the counters with the lemon oil. Megan took a moment to breathe in the powerful citrus scent. It always calmed her down and reminded her of home. The lodge was her home.

  “I need that map,” she said to Wyatt who was looking at her with anticipation.

  “I'll get it.”

  He went to the desk where the HAM radio was set up and brought it back to her. She gestured to the bedroom with her head, not wanting to talk in front of Rosie.

  He nodded and followed her in, quietly shutting the door.

  Megan spread the map out on the bed.

  “So, this is Lake Rowland,” she said pointing to the area on the map. Tracing a line across the map, she pointed to the general area of the power station. “The station and us,” she said, moving her finger again while studying the map.

  Wyatt nodded in agreement.

  “What's over here?” she asked, pointing to the right side of the lake area.

  “There is a small dam that controls a relatively small stream. I didn't see anything in the immediate area but I assume it feeds an irrigation canal or something down below,” he said.

  She nodded. “And there is a dam on the west side as well?”

  “Yep. It's about the same size and again, I don't know what’s on the other side.”

  Megan felt an idea forming in her mind. She wasn't sure it would work.

  “Wyatt, hear me out,” she started, knowing it was probably far-fetched but could save the entire area causing only minimal damage.

  “I’ll listen to any suggestion you have.”

  “Okay, what if we got our hands on that C-4? We could use it to simultaneously blow the dams on the west and east side. It will help drain the lake, minimizing the amount of water that will flow our way when the south dam gives way.”

  She focused her attention on him, waiting to see what his reaction would be. He studied the map for several long seconds before slowly nodding his head.

  “It could work,” he said, not sounding completely sure.

  “It has to work,” she said, willing it to be true.

  “It's a long shot. We would still have some minor flooding, but spreading the water all around will be easier to deal with than one concentrated flood,” he agreed.

  She beamed as a sense of relief washed over her. She had managed to figure out a way to save the world; or her little corner of it anyway.

  “Megan?” Wyatt interrupted her private celebration.

  “Yes?” she asked, expecting congratulations or a ‘well done’.

  “How do you suppose we get that C-4?”

  She groaned. It was a minor detail, but obviously an important one.

  “Well, we find the guy. You do what you have to and take it.”

  He raised an eyebrow at the new, ruthless Megan. She would do everything in her power to save the area and that included taking out anyone who threatened to get in her way.

  She shrugged. “You know it has to be done. Taking out one bad man isn't anything new for us.”

  He smiled. “No, I suppose it's not. Hopefully he is an easy target and we don't have to sacrifice anyone to get him.”

  Megan flinched at the harsh words.

  “You don't go into a battle and expect to be completely victorious. You have to be prepared to take some knocks. I am hoping since he is injured, he will be easy to track down and kill.”

  Again, she flinched at the cold words. He was only saying what she was feeling. It was a part of their life now. He wasn't being mean and he wasn't trying t
o make her feel guilty for Jack's death, but it always brought up that horrible feeling of regret.

  “It’s too bad the leftover dynamite wouldn’t work. Most of the remaining blasting caps are bad and even if we could make it work, it would potentially be far too disastrous. Plus, I’m not sure any of us could run fast enough to get away before it blew,” Wyatt mused.

  “That certainly would have made things easier. Okay, not really.” Megan couldn’t imagine trying to run up a hill to avoid being blown up. It sounded like something out of a Western. Wyatt interrupted her thoughts as she was imagining herself dressed as some sort of old west train robber.

  “Okay, well, let's go find Albert and Chase. We'll run the plan by them and see what kind of input they have,” he said.

  “Then, we have to tell the rest of the group,” she added

  They quickly tracked down both men. They went out to Megan's favorite place in the birch trees to discuss the plan. Chase and Albert were on board, although they each had their reservations.

  For the plan to work, the explosions had to be timed perfectly. If one dam blew even a minute after the other, the water would rush to that area and flood whatever was below. It was going to be very risky, but they were willing to give it a shot.

  “How are we going to find that guy?” Chase asked. “What if he already left the area?”

  Wyatt shook his head. “Assuming he’s who I think he is, he’s committed to finishing what he started. Between the large payout probably waiting for him and his sense of pride, he will want to complete the job.”

  “Didn't you say you shot him?” Albert asked.

  “Yes, but it couldn’t have been a bad injury. He still managed to run off after I shot him,” Wyatt explained.

  “Well, an injured, older man isn't going to be that hard to find. We need to break into teams of two. Divide and conquer. We'll need to use every tracking trick we know to find him,” Megan said.

  Wyatt wasn't thrilled at the prospect of hunting a man who had nothing to lose, but it had to be done.

  “We need to get started now,” Chase said. “You two get stuff together. I'll get Brenda.”

  “You want to pull her off watch?” Albert asked.

  “I think this is our top priority for the moment,” Wyatt explained.

  Chase grimaced. “We are stretched really thin. Evan and Garrett are going to have to stay on dam guard duty. Albert, Brenda, Megan, Bryan, myself and Wyatt will have to hunt this guy down. I don't really like those odds.”

  Megan didn't look convinced either.

  “Can Tara handle keeping an eye on things?” she asked.

  Albert shrugged. “She’s as capable as any of us. I think she'll do fine. I don't suspect one guy is going to be much of a problem for her. Plus, Ryland will be here. He can handle himself well.”

  Megan nodded. “I hope so.”

  “Okay, it’s settled. We'll rendezvous in thirty minutes,” Wyatt said, heading towards the lodge.

  Megan quickly followed him. Her blood was pumping. They were going to do this. She was excited and scared at the same time. The building of the dike was no longer the main priority. In fact, with the plan to blow the other two dams, they may not even need to continue working on it.

  The dike would give them plenty of protection from the mild flood that would happen if the south dam gave way. For the first time in days, she was feeling hopeful.

  Wyatt insisted they would all be armed and have extra ammunition, but the lighter they were, the faster they could move. They didn't need to worry about packing along bug out bags and a bunch of gear. Megan insisted they bring Brenda's trauma kit. She had put together some basic supplies she said would give her an advantage in case of an emergency. She didn't have an Army medical bag, but they had managed to scrape together a decent first aid kit.

  Megan ran to the hall closet to grab the kit. She had learned the hard way what it was like to need an emergency first aid kit when Wyatt had gotten his foot caught in one of Brenda's bear traps.

  She wasn't about to take any chances.

  “What are you doing?” Rosie and Willow said in unison.

  They had been upstairs, folding laundry. When they heard the commotion, they came to investigate. Willow's eyes settled on the array of guns laid out on the table.

  “What happened?” Willow asked.

  Megan realized how scary it must look.

  “It's okay, Willow. No one is here or coming. We’re going to find the guy trying to blow the dam,” Megan quickly explained.

  “Talk,” Rosie said, looking at Wyatt. She was clearly not going to accept some brief, canned answer.

  Wyatt gave them a brief rundown of the plan.

  “Do you really think it’s a wise idea to go running into the forest looking for a Russian assassin?” Rosie asked. “What if he’s waiting? What if he booby trapped the area and you are walking right into a trap?”

  Wyatt shook his head, “He’s not an assassin. If I were to guess, he’s ex-military. Probably a merc.”

  “Wyatt!” Rosie snapped at him. “That isn’t any better.”

  Walking toward his mom, Wyatt took her hands and squeezed them. “We have the manpower. The odds are in our favor, mom.”

  She sighed before hugging him. “Please be careful.”

  When Tara came into the room, Wyatt quickly told her what they were doing. Megan could tell the woman was proud to be left in charge of security while they were all away.

  “I won't let you down,” she said, looking at them all.

  “To be on the safe side, it would be better if the kids stayed in the lodge or right out here in back. If something happens, I don't want you to have to go looking for them,” Megan said, hoping she didn't sound too bossy.

  Tara agreed. “Of course.”

  Willow had remained quiet. A look of disbelief and then anger crossed her face.

  “You kill him and then you get back here,” she said in a low voice.

  Megan was a little surprised to hear the words, but figured she was probably as fed up with people trying to kill them as the rest of the group.

  “We will,” Megan promised her.

  Tara walked to Willow, placed a hand on her arm and softly said, “Evan has been working with me on my shooting ability. I am confident I can hit any target,” she said. “I'll make sure we’re all safe here.”

  Willow smiled. “I know you will, Tara. Thank you for stepping up. I know it hasn't been easy for you, but I am so glad you are ready to fight back.”

  Rosie smiled. “This new powerful, strong woman suits you very well.”

  Tara laughed. “Well, thank you. I am never going back to the meek woman I was. She’s gone for good. I am fierce, hear me roar!”

  Everyone chuckled, before Wyatt returned to his all-business demeanor. “Good. We need everyone alert and ready to move if needed. Got it?”

  The others started to file in. Brenda picked up a gun, quickly opened the slide, checked it and declared it good to use.

  “Everyone ready?” Wyatt asked.

  There was a chorus of yeses. They each grabbed a weapon, checked it and waited.

  “You do be careful,” Rosie warned, giving Wyatt a firm hug. “Don't be a hero,” she said quietly.

  Megan knew Rosie was apprehensive about her only living child heading off on a dangerous mission. She hoped they could find this guy and get back to the lodge fast. She didn't want to worry Willow or Rosie any more than was necessary.

  “Let's go,” Wyatt ordered.

  23

  “We'll start at the dam and work our way out from there,” Wyatt explained as they walked up the hill.

  “We need to head west,” Chase said. “He headed in that direction, which means there’s a good chance he is holed up in that area.”

  “Are we going in as one big group?” Megan asked. That wouldn't exactly make them inconspicuous.

  Wyatt looked to Chase. “No. We will split up into three groups. Megan, you're with me. Ch
ase and Brenda together; and Bryan and Albert. We all need to stay within shouting distance of each other. I don't want to be chasing this guy all day. We find him, we kill him and we get back to the lodge.”

  “You don't want to question him first?” Albert asked.

  “No. It doesn't matter what he says. It isn't like we can trust the information he does provide and, who are we going to tell?”

  The answer seemed to pacify Albert, but Megan knew the man would have preferred to get some answers for his buddies on the radio.

  “You okay with this?” Megan asked.

  Albert nodded. “Yep. My knee is doing better and I need to be in on this. I didn't get to do much last time around. I’m gonna be here this time.”

  She gave him a faint smile. “Good. I'm glad to have you.”

  “I was thinking we could get some intel from him,” Albert pressed.

  Chase guffawed. “That's only in the movies. We aren't going to be saving the day in a dramatic climactic moment. We need him dead so we can do what needs to be done for us to stay alive. We’ll leave the interrogations to the experts.”

  Albert grinned. “But it always looks like such fun.”

  Bryan rolled his eyes. “If only the movies were real.”

  They passed the dike as they walked up the hill. She wished they hadn't seen the power station. Now, they had yet another task to complete.

  “What is that?” Megan asked.

  In a world where there were no machines, the hum of power lines or airplanes flying overhead all day, it was incredibly quiet.

  Wyatt came to a halt. Everyone followed suit. The humming sound got louder.

  Megan looked up, realizing the noise was from above.

  “There!” Bryan said pointing up the mountain and into the air. “What is that?”

  They all stared at the flying craft.

  “Is it a toy airplane?” Bryan asked in astonishment. “Who has the batteries to run one of those things?”

  “It's a drone,” Albert said. “I had one before all of this happened.”