by Steven Smith
21
It was after midnight when Mike returned. Seeing light coming from Jim's den, he entered the house and knocked on the den door.
Jim's voice came quietly from inside. “Come in.”
Mike opened the door to find Jim sitting on the right-hand sofa with his feet on the coffee table and a drink in his hand.
Jim waved him in. “Want a drink?”
Mike shook his head. “No thanks,” he answered, sitting down on the couch across from Jim.
Jim took a sip of the bourbon. “Tell me about it.”
Mike rolled his neck to work out the kinks. “We may have a problem. They came from what used to be an elementary school a few miles to the southeast. It looks like a Mad Max movie. Lots of motorcycles, old trucks and slapped-together what-evers. Even a few horses. Chain link fence has been installed around the entire perimeter and it looks like a second row is being added. They have sentries on the perimeter and the roof, and guards at all the doors.”
Jim remained silent and Mike continued.
“The action really started after dark and it sounded like they were raising seven kinds of hell in there.” He paused and smirked. “Listen to that. I'm starting to sound like you.”
Jim gave a small smile.
“Anyway,” Mike continued, “this place is filled with some very bad boys. If they don't know we're here yet, they will eventually, and we'll have to deal with them.”
Jim drained his glass and stood up. “Come with me.”
They walked to the barn, the three-quarter moon lighting their way. Jim could feel the slight nighttime cooling that indicated fall was coming. When they reached the barn, he rolled the heavy door to the side and switched on the low voltage interior lights, then walked to a table with a sheet laid on it. He gently drew the sheet back, revealing the pale body beneath it.
They had cut off the woman's clothing to inspect the wounds, and the paleness of the skin combined with the LED light gave the gruesome sight a surreal quality.
Both men stared at the body in silence for a minute.
Finally, Mike spoke. “I saw stuff like this in Iraq.”
Jim pulled the sheet back over the body. “I've seen it right here in the city.” He paused for a moment, then looked at Mike. “We've gone longer than I expected without facing an attack or having to go out after potential threats. But this needs to be dealt with and we're the only ones I know to do it.”
Mike nodded. “Do you want me to go back and run some more recon?”
“No,” said Jim as he turned the lights off and walked to the barn door. “You take your group up to Church Crossing tomorrow as planned. Hopefully, the woman in the house will be able to tell us some things tomorrow. That should give us something to start with. Then we'll work up a plan. Tell the Kansas Guard guys they're welcome to join us if they want to, but no hard feelings if they don't.”
Mike nodded. “Okay.”
“We have eleven people going with you tomorrow,” Jim continued, “in addition to the people you're training. They're going to start getting the place set up after you sweep it. They'll all be armed, but I'd like you to select two scouts to take with you and leave there with them as additional security.”
“Do you still want me to come back tomorrow night?” Mike asked.
Jim thought for a minute. “No. Stay there overnight in case they can use your help and come back day after tomorrow. That will give you a little more training time, and we should be able to talk to the survivor by then.”
Mike left with the Churches Crossing contingent early in the morning and Jim spent the next few hours checking the compound with Christian. The rooms in the longhouse were almost finished and pipes were being laid from the septic tank to the drain field at the far end of the pasture below the pond. The chicken house had been completed and several dozen eggs had been moved to incubation trays in order to increase the number of producing hens by spring. The root cellar was full and they were hurriedly adding makeshift additions to hold the overflow.
The cows were doing well, but they needed to add more dairy cows to satisfy the needs of the growing population. They had found several female German Shepherds and Max was taking to them well, though Jim thought he detected a bit of jealousy in Pink since her July litter had weaned. The one thing that concerned him was horses.
As they approached the corral, he let Christian know what he was thinking.
“You know we're all going to be riding these pretty soon.”
“I've been thinking about that myself,” replied Christian. “How much longer do you think the gas will last?”
“Hard to say. Supply's not a problem, but it's all going to start degrading soon, and there’s a limit to how much stabilizer we can add. I figure two years at the most, probably less. After that, it's going to be foot, peddle or horsepower – the old-fashioned horsepower.”
“That's going to be weird.”
Jim leaned on the top rail of the corral and looked at the horses inside. “Yep, it's going to be. You know what Kelly said to me last night?”
Christian grinned. “Do I want to know?”
Jim smirked. “Well I don't know if you do or not, wise ass, but you're going to hear it. She said all this was hard, but it was exciting, too.”
Christian nodded. “Kelly's tough. She seems to fit right into all this.”
“Yeah, she is and she does. You should find one like her.”
Christian looked at the horses for a minute. “Well, I've been meaning to talk to you about that.”
Jim looked at him out of the corner of his eye, “Well, I'm flattered, Christian, but you're not really my type. Besides, we’re related. Let's just stay friends.”
Christian laughed, shaking his head. “You're going to make a joke with your dying breath, aren't you?”
Jim chuckled. “I hope so. Anyway, back to your love life.”
“Becky and I want to get married, and we'd like you to marry us.”
Jim nodded slowly, as if thinking. “Well, again, I'm flattered, but I'm already married. And even though things are different now, I don't think it's a good idea for three people to marry. Four, actually, since we'd have to bring Kelly into the deal.”
Christian hung his head between his arms, groaning and shaking his head with exasperation. Straightening up, he looked at Jim. “Let me try to put it in a way you can't twist around. We would like you to be the minister, the officiant, at our wedding. The wedding at which she and I will be marrying each other, and only each other. I figure if the captain of a ship can do it, the head of Stonemont ought to be able to. Besides, weren't you ordained as a minister on the internet a few years ago?”
Jim laughed. “That's right. I forgot. I always meant to send in another twenty-five bucks to be a bishop.” He shrugged. “I guess it's too late now.”
He turned to Christian and slapped him on the shoulder. “You bet, buddy. I'll be happy and proud to do it. When do you want to hitch up?”
“We were thinking New Year's Day.”
“Perfect. We've been wondering when you two were going to come out of the shadows. Where are you going to live?”
Christian shrugged. “I figure she and Bobby can stay here with me until I get a place built for us. That is, if it's okay with you.”
Jim nodded. “Sure, you all can stay here for as long as you want, but we were hoping you would take the Eddington place.”
“The Eddington place?”
“Sure. It makes sense. It's a nice place and it looks like they're not coming back. We can't leave it empty or someone else might move in, and that would put someone we're not sure about on our fence line. It will increase our immediate area of control, gives us another water source and it has over a hundred acres of tillable land. It's fenced and cross fenced, and has corrals and a good barn. Which brings me to the second part. Rebecca trained horses and Becky took after her before she went to college. Had quite a knack, from what I remember. The point is, we need to start a serious
horse breeding and training program, not only for our own use but as a future business. The Eddington place would be perfect for it and I think Becky might be the right one to run it.”
Christian looked at his uncle with a squint. “Seems like you've really been thinking about this.”
“Yep. So, what do you say?”
Christian smiled and nodded. “It sounds good to me, and I think Becky will be excited. Plus, it will be great for Bobby.”
“Yeah, he's a good kid.”
Jim looked at his nephew for a minute. Something seemed to be missing. “Buddy, I don’t mean to pry, and it’s really none of my business, but are you sure about this?”
Christian kept looking at the horses for a moment before answering. “What do you mean?”
“I mean are you sure about this? Marriage is an important commitment. I'm not saying anything against Becky, she's a fine girl, but do you love her?”
Christian looked at Jim and shrugged. “I like her. We've known each other for years and I really like and respect her. Plus, Bobby needs a dad. It just makes sense.”
Jim looked his nephew in the eye for a few seconds. “Liking and respecting are great for a friend, but a wife is different. If it's going to be right, you've got to feel like this is the one person in the world you don't want to live another day without. Is that how you feel about Becky?”
Christian slowly shook his head. “No, I can't honestly say that I do.” He looked at his uncle. “Is that how you feel about Kelly?”
Jim smiled. “Yep. Have since the first time I took her out, but don't you ever tell her that. I still claim that I was slow to come around.”
Christian laughed. “Well, now I've got something on you. But seriously, things are different now. There's kind of a shortage of mate material. Don't you think people like Becky and I should get together so we can start building families?”
Jim thought for a moment. “Tell me this. How does Becky feel about you?”
Christian shrugged again. “About the same way I feel about her. We've talked about it.”
Jim nodded. “Good, you're good enough friends to be honest about it with each other.”
He paused for a moment, looking at the horses, then back at Christian. “You and Becky are both great people. She's a great mother and you'll be a great dad someday. But getting married without the right kind of love would be a mistake. What if you meet the one who really trips your trigger in a couple of years? What if she does? Don't get me wrong, I respect what you're thinking, but you two getting married could make one passable marriage instead of two great marriages when you each find the right person.”
Christian looked out at the horses, nodding his head slowly, then looked back at Jim. “That makes sense. But what about Bobby?”
Jim smiled. “I can tell you love that kid, but you can be a great uncle and get him started in the right direction until Becky finds him the right dad who loves his mother more than anything else in the world, and that will make all the difference”
Christian kept nodding slowly and smiled. “You're pretty smart about these things for being such a hard ass.”
Jim nodded. “Yep, and maybe by the time you and Becky find the right ones I'll make myself a bishop and we can really do you up right.” He turned away from the corral. “Now let's go see if that girl's awake yet.”
They walked back to the house to find Kelly and Tracy sitting at the table drinking coffee with the girl they had brought back. She had obviously showered and washed her hair, which she now wore in a ponytail, and was dressed in a clean orange t-shirt, jeans and running shoes. Jim noticed that although she was scratched up, she held herself well, looking at them with a steady, strong gaze when they entered the kitchen, and didn't have the beaten down look he had expected.
“Hey guys,” said Kelly as they entered the kitchen, “we were just having coffee. This is Brinlyn, but she goes by Brin. Brin, the big mean looking one is my husband, Jim. The big pleasant looking one is our nephew, Christian.”
The girl rose from her chair and came around the table, extending her hand to Jim. “Brin Anderson, Mr. Wyatt. I'm very happy to meet you. I'm afraid I fell apart yesterday and didn't thank you properly.”
Jim took her hand, surprised and impressed by her poise. Her firm handshake matched the steadiness of her voice and the look in her green eyes, and the muscle tone in her arms and shoulders indicated she had not lived a sedentary life of shopping and sitting around. “No thanks are necessary, Brin. I'm sorry we didn't find you in time to save your friend.”
Brin shook her head. “Actually, I didn't really know her. I was just trying to bring her with me when I escaped from that bunch of psychos at the school.”
She turned to Christian and extended her hand. “And thank you, Christian. It's nice to meet you. I'll never be able to repay you.”
Christian shook her hand and was also impressed. “We didn't do it to get paid, Brin. I'm glad we came along. Actually, it was Aedan who found you.”
Brin smiled and nodded. “That's what Kelly told me. I met him earlier, along with Brody and Morgan. He's quite a kid.”
Christian laughed. “You don't know the half of it. Wait till you get to know him.”
“I think you guys need to hear what Brin has to tell you,” said Kelly. “It fits with what Mike said, but it sounds worse than we figured.”
Jim looked at Brin. “Do you feel like going into it now?”
Brin nodded. “Sure, Mr. Wyatt,” she said, sitting back down.
Jim and Christian got cups of coffee and sat down at the table.
Christian raised his cup to Brin. “However you want to tell it.”
Brin took a deep breath, then let it out as if trying to calm or focus herself. “My friends and I had been trying to get home since this whole thing started. We had gone down to Padre after graduation to celebrate one last time together before we had to go our separate ways and become responsible adults.” She smiled as if at herself and her recent comparative innocence. “We made it to just this side of Fort Scott when we were raided one night. I guess we must have been careless looking for food and a bunch must have followed us to our camp.
“I just happened to be away from the others doing some personal business when they attacked. They turned on these really bright flashlights and were pointing guns at them and yelling for them to get on their stomachs. When they realized one person was missing they asked where I was, and when my friends said they didn't know, they started beating them. They tied their hands behind their backs and put ropes around their necks. Then some of them tried to find me, but I kept backing further into the woods and finally they took my friends and left.”
She paused to take a sip of coffee. “I waited until it got light, then went back into camp and stuffed all the food and water bottles I could find into my pack and tried to find where they had gone. I stayed around there for four days but I never saw them again.”
“That took presence of mind,” said Jim, “and guts.”
Brin shrugged. “I just did what I knew I should do. My dad always told my brother and me that if there was a problem, to keep our heads and have a plan. So, that's what I did.”
“Your dad sounds like a smart guy,” said Christian.
Brin nodded. “Yeah, he is. Anyway, I started heading north again, traveling at night and resting during the daytime. I guess I must have gotten sloppy again, or maybe they just got lucky, because a few days ago I woke up and three guys were standing over me pointing guns in my face. I figured they were going to try to rape and kill me, or maybe take me with them, but they handcuffed me and took me to this school building.”
Jim and Christian were watching her closely as she told her story, and both noticed abrasions and bruising on her wrists, obviously from cuffs being applied too tightly and not being double-locked.
Brin took another deep breath, let it out and continued. “They took me to a basement room that looked like it had been a cafeteria and put me in a ch
ain link dog kennel. I know that's what it was because we have some back home where we put the females when they're in heat and we don't want to breed them.”
“Your family breeds dogs?” asked Christian.
Brin nodded. “My dad does, but we all help.”
“What kind of dogs?”
“German Shepherds, mainly, though we also work with some Belgians for some of the police departments.”
Jim and Christian looked at each other. “Did you all train guard dogs?” asked Jim.
She nodded again. “Guard dogs, patrol dogs, service dogs, search dogs, you name it. My dad knew an army dog handler and got interested in it. We don't train hunting dogs, though. That’s a whole different thing.”
“Where's home?” asked Jim.
“Coon Rapids, Minnesota. It's south of Minneapolis.”
Jim smiled. “That's nice country. We went through there on our way to Kelly's cousin's wedding. But go ahead.”
Brin took another sip of coffee. “They left me in there, in the dark, for a long time. All day, I think. Then they came down and gave me a candy bar and a cup of water that smelled awful, but I drank it anyway. They took my clothes and gave me a halter top, a pair of shorts and a pair of flip flops and took me upstairs to what I guess had been the gym. It was dark. But they had a lot of lanterns going, the old kind that uses oil and also some newer battery-operated ones. Plus, they had a couple of big metal barrels with fires going in them.
“The place was packed, mostly with men but some women, and it stunk so bad I thought I was going to throw up. A lot of people were sitting at tables and others were just hanging around. Everyone was drinking and things were starting to get a little wild. Some girls dressed in halter tops and shorts were working the tables, serving drinks and getting mauled, and other girls were dancing, some in the crowd and others on the stage.