Arnold reached them first and dropped from his horse, followed by Duke. They ran to where the women lay, and Arnold took their vitals while Duke watched.
“It’s the sisters,” he said.
“That one’s in bad shape,” Arnold said, pointing to Monica and the halo of blood beneath her skull. “Landed on her head. Neck doesn’t look broken, but her eyes…”
“What about this one?” Duke asked.
“She’s out cold too, but she doesn’t look too bad.”
“Great.”
Arnold looked to the other rider. “Devin, help me get this one on my horse. You take the other one.”
“What about Eve?”
“They must have split up. There’s no way we’re going to catch up to them before dark. We’ll be lucky if we can get this pair back without falling into a gulch.”
“We can’t just give up.”
“Duke, we did everything we could. Luck’s not on our side today. But maybe we can find out where the other woman’s headed. That’s the best we can shoot for.”
“I’ll keep after her while you bring them back.”
“You’ll get yourself killed, or pass them in the night without knowing it, or ride off a cliff. Don’t be a damned fool.” Arnold’s voice softened. “Look. I know this is personal for you. I get that. But sacrificing yourself isn’t going to solve anything.”
“What if I can catch them?”
“What if there’s another fork and you choose the wrong one again? What if you run into some marauders or scavengers? What if your horse slips and you go ass over appetite like they did and break your neck? All of those are more likely than you catching up to them by nightfall.”
Duke fought back the anger that swelled in his chest. Arnold was right; he shouldn’t be angry with him for stating the obvious. Duke wanted to catch up with Ellen for more than one reason, and it was clouding his judgment and goading him to take suicidal risks.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. I…I just hate to have to go back to Sierra and tell her we failed.”
“You and me both. But you left out the operating words.”
Duke threw him a dirty look. “Which are?”
“For now. We failed for now. Let’s mount up and get back to town so we can live to fight another day. This isn’t over. Far from it. This was just the second inning.”
Duke nodded and mounted his horse, wishing he felt a tenth of the confidence that Arnold’s tone conveyed. “Fine. You set the pace. If your horse starts to tire, I can take her for a while.”
Devin dragged Monica to his horse. “This one ain’t gonna make it. Her head’s split open like a melon, and you can see the bone’s cracked.”
“There’s not a lot we can do except get her to Elliot,” Arnold said.
“Ain’t gonna do any good.”
“Maybe so, but no harm trying.”
Chapter 24
Salem, Oregon
Lucas and Ruby sat with Ray and Rosemary at a table on the sidewalk in downtown Salem, enjoying a late breakfast near the river, compliments of one of the restaurants that had been paying ninety percent of its profit to the bikers for protection. The town had been shocked that it had been liberated by complete strangers, but had quickly rallied at the news and rolled out the red carpet for its benefactors. At Art’s suggestion, a town council had been convened to appoint a mayor and sheriff, and after a contentious morning of arguments and speeches, a local named Sidney had been voted in, and Lyle, one of Sam’s friends, had been named sheriff by popular decree.
“I want to find a radio and call home,” Lucas said between mouthfuls.
“I imagine there’s gotta be one around somewhere. Didn’t you find one at a trading post before?” Ruby asked.
“Everything changed after the bikers took over. Nobody with any means stuck around. I’m hoping Sam can find one.”
Bill came down the street and, when he spotted them, made his way over.
“They’re trying to figure out what to do with the bikers. Art’s helping them through their thinking, and it looks like they’ll set up a tribunal.” He shook his head. “There’s already a line around the block of victims they’ve raped, or family members and friends of people they murdered. It’s gonna get ugly.”
“They made their bed. Payback’s a bitch,” Lucas said. “You want some fish stew? Pretty good.”
“Maybe later.”
“Have a seat. I’ll have them bring you some cider. It’s fresh,” Ruby said.
“Thanks. Don’t mind if I do.” Bill pulled a chair over from another table and sat. “So what now, Lucas?”
“We’re headed home. Probably leave tomorrow after we find a radio. You heard of anyone with one?”
Bill shook his head. “Not really. But this isn’t my turf. I’ll ask around for you, though.”
“Be much obliged.” Lucas regarded Bill thoughtfully. “What about you and your men?”
“Haven’t had much time to think about it. I mean, there’s Newport, but a part of me wants to move my family here, farther from the coast. Seems like it’ll be less isolated, and now that the bikers are done, we could make some real strides on setting up something good.”
“Someone will find a way to ruin it,” Ruby countered. “But you might as well try.”
A horseman covered with trail dust came down the street at a fast trot and reined to a halt in front of them. Bill and Lucas looked up at him in surprise.
“That you, Hayden?” Bill asked.
“Thank God I found you. I’ve been looking everywhere,” Hayden said, dropping to the ground and tying his horse to a light post.
“Long way from the promised land, aren’t you?” Lucas remarked.
“The Chinese showed up and invaded Newport. Killed a bunch and took the rest captive. Exactly like Astoria.”
“What?” Bill blurted.
“They showed up on a battleship four days ago. It was over before it started. We didn’t stand a chance.”
Bill’s eyes narrowed. “How’d you get away?”
“I managed to escape that night. I’ve been riding hard ever since.”
“Mighty lucky,” Lucas observed flatly.
Bill nodded slowly, his eyes slits. “Anyone else get lucky with you?”
Hayden shook his head. “No.”
“What about my mom and dad?” Rosemary asked, her voice strained.
“They’re…they’re prisoners.”
“And my wife?” Bill asked.
“Same thing.”
Rosemary rose. “You have to rescue them!” She looked to Ruby. “We can’t leave them with the Chinese. I’ve seen what they do.”
Bill nodded. “How many troops did you count?”
“At least a couple of hundred,” Hayden answered. “Plus the ship.”
“Sounds like you should talk with Art,” Lucas said. “You should be able to take them if you can convince him and his boys to march on Newport.”
“What do you mean, talk to Art?” Rosemary demanded. “You need to help my parents, Lucas. They’re your friends. My dad risked his life to help you in Astoria.”
Lucas finished his stew and dropped his spoon into the empty bowl. “I’m done with fighting, Rosemary. We’re headed home. There’s always going to be something I can get sucked into. Not this time.” He stood and tossed two bullets on the table. “That’s for the hospitality. Thank the owners again for me,” he said, and stepped off the sidewalk to make his way to the park where the horses were grazing.
“You have to talk to him,” Rosemary pleaded with Ruby. “Please.”
Ruby sighed and nodded. “All I can do is try.”
She pushed back from the table and followed Lucas, hurrying to catch up. Lucas sensed her closing on him and slowed.
“You going to try to tell me what I have to do again?” he asked.
“No. You know right from wrong.”
“You don’t approve?”
“I think you’re acting against your natur
e, and I’m wondering why.”
“I meant what I said, Ruby. There’s always going to be another fight. Gotta draw the line somewhere.”
“Tell me their chances will be the same with or without you.”
“That’s not the question, is it?”
“You want your friends to be slaves or live free? That’s a pretty simple one, isn’t it?”
“Ruby…”
“Lucas, I know you’re sick of this. But I don’t think you’ll be able to live with yourself, much less look Rosemary in the eyes, if you don’t help free Mary and Jeb.”
“You seem awful sure of how my mind works.”
“I know you. Behaving dishonorably isn’t in your nature.”
“I have a family and a life, too. What about them?”
“What would Sierra want you to do? Or what if it were them?”
“It isn’t. And Sierra’s never shown particularly good judgment.”
“What if I’d stayed behind to help Mary? Would you be so quick to walk away?”
“Ruby, Jeb didn’t come to Astoria to help me, he came to free his family. I don’t owe him. If anything, he owes me.”
“Not arguing with you, Lucas. But what if it were me?”
“It isn’t.”
“Mary nursed me back to health. She’s a good woman. The world needs more like her. Seems a shame to turn your back on her.”
“I have no problem with Bill and Art and whoever tackling the Chinese.”
“Lucas, they’re not you. We both know it. Their chances drop the minute you’re gone.”
“It’s not my fight, Ruby.”
She stopped, forcing him to stop with her. He turned, dreading what was to come.
“Then I’ll go alone. I suspect Rosemary won’t be riding with you after this news, either.”
“Ruby…”
“Don’t ‘Ruby’ me. I’m doing what’s right even if you won’t.” She threw him a hard look. “Lucas, you’ve been running from this ever since we last talked. But I’m going to say it out loud just once. You have an army here. More men from Salem are already talking about joining. With that kind of a force, you could not only take out the Chinese, you could take out anyone you needed to – like the Crew. You could clean up the whole country, warlord by warlord, and bring a decent life to tens of thousands of survivors. I know you don’t want to hear this, but it’s true. You landed in this position – whether by fate or accident, who can say, but it’s yours either way, and I think you need to acknowledge it and figure out whether you want to be a leader, or…or leave it to others less capable.”
Lucas’s face crinkled with a hint of a smile. “Isn’t this kind of the same speech as before? Why do you keep giving it?”
Her jaw clenched. “I’ll keep giving it till you start listening.”
“I’m not George Washington, Ruby. I’m a tired man who wants to be left alone, not lead a revolution.”
“I said before that you’re never going to be able to live in peace. I meant that. You either solve the problem or it’ll come for you every time. That should be obvious by now.”
“Only thing that’s obvious is you want me to talk everyone into heading to Newport.”
She nodded. “For starters.”
He looked longingly over at the park, where Tango was standing beside Jax, drinking from a water trough. “Don’t suppose you’ll leave me be until I say yes, will you?”
“Nope.”
“You drive a hard bargain, Ruby.”
“Own it, Lucas. Whether you like it or not, you’re the man.”
“Getting awful tired of hearing that.”
“Destiny’s a bitch.”
Chapter 25
Amber Hot Springs, Colorado
Morning mist hung over the cabins of Shangri-La, cloaking the valley in white. Elliot stood with Duke and Andrew at the large barnlike structure beside the thermal plant that served as the encampment’s medical clinic. Tracie lay on a cot with an IV in her arm, which Elliot adjusted periodically as he watched her regain consciousness after a long night of restive sleep.
Her eyes fluttered open, and Elliot leaned over her to assess the size of her pupils. One was still larger than the other, telling him that there had been intracranial bleeding, and that side of her face seemed lifeless and slack, indicating a stroke.
“Where…” she whispered so faintly they could barely hear her.
“You’re safe,” Elliot said.
She absorbed his words and closed her eyes, and then they snapped open. “My…sister…”
“She didn’t make it,” Arnold said. “I’m sorry.”
Her eyes moistened and she drew a sharp intake of breath.
“Neither did the two guards you shot,” Duke snapped, and Elliot threw him a warning glance before smiling down at her.
“Tracie, right? How do you feel?” he asked.
“Head…hurts…”
“You took quite a fall. I’m going to ask you to help me with some easy tests so I can figure out what’s damaged, okay?”
“O…Okay.”
He lifted her hands in his. “Press down with both as hard as you can.”
She did, and he nodded encouragement as he set them back by her side. “Good. Now tell me when you start to feel this,” he said, and dragged the tip of a pair of forceps along her left leg.
“Now.”
“Very good.” He did the same with her right, with no response. “Perfect. Now I’m going to check your vision. I’ll hold a hand over one eye and ask you to follow my finger.”
He covered her right eye and drew his left index finger slowly from in front of her nose toward her left ear. Her pupil shifted and followed it. He repeated the test with his right finger, and her dilated pupil barely moved.
“It’s really blurry,” she said when he was done.
“You landed hard. I’m not surprised.” He paused. “Anything else hurt?”
“My ribs. And my lower back.”
“Yes. That’s to be expected.” He looked at Duke and Arnold. “I’ll let you rest a bit. If you need anything, just call out.”
“Okay.”
Elliot led them outside, his expression dour. “She’s lost her entire right side. There’s no way of telling whether the bleeding in her skull that caused it has stopped or is still continuing. If it is, she won’t make it to nightfall.”
“Who cares?” Duke snapped. “She’s a murderer. Where’s Ellen and Eve? Where were they taking her? That’s the only thing that matters. We’re losing time we don’t have.”
Elliot nodded. “Yes, I understand all that. But you’ll get more flies with honey than vinegar, as the saying goes.”
“Can’t you drug her?” Arnold asked. “Give her something that will lower her guard?”
“That’s what I was going to propose. But it could endanger her survival.”
“So what?” Duke said. “One less predator in the world.”
“Do it,” Arnold said.
“A word of warning. Both of you are to stay silent. Not a word no matter what, do you understand? I’ve established some trust as her doctor, but you could ruin it in a heartbeat, and then she’ll stop cooperating. Got it?”
They nodded.
Elliot went back inside and rummaged in a storage chest, and then injected something into Tracie’s drip. “This will ease the pain and relax you.”
After a five-minute wait, they turned back to her bedside, and Elliot cleared his throat.
“Tracie?”
“Yesss…” she answered, her voice dreamlike.
“I have some very important questions I need your help with, okay?”
“Okay…”
“Where were you going when we rescued you?”
“I…home.”
“Home. Is that Denver?”
“Yesss.”
“Was your friend Ellen going home too?”
“Yesss.”
“Was she taking Eve, the little girl, home too?”
“Excellent. Only a couple more questions, Tracie.”
“Okay. I’m…tired…”
“That’s understandable.” Elliot looked to Arnold’s frowning face and then to Duke before looking down at Tracie again. “Why take the little girl to the church?”
She breathed slowly and sighed. “Prophet…needs her.”
“Yes,” Elliot agreed. “Of course he does.” Elliot hesitated. “Why does he need Eve, Tracie?”
“She…she’s interfering…with the…plan…”
“Oh. Right. The plan. Tell me about the plan, Tracie.”
She frowned as though trying to remember. “God’s plan.”
“Sure. God’s plan. Which is…?”
“He wants to…take us to heaven after…we…we’re tested.”
“Marvelous. And Eve is interfering.”
“Yesss.”
“How, Tracie?”
“Her…blood. We…everyone…knows…the vaccine…”
Realization flooded Duke’s face at the same time it hit Elliot. “Eve’s blood was used for the vaccine…”
“Yesss. Not…the plan…she’s…false…muh…muhs…”
“Messiah,” Elliot finished for her.
“Right. Prophet…sent us…into the wilderness…find Eve…”
“How many, Tracie? How many did he send?”
“Lots.”
“Of course. He would want many to help, wouldn’t he?”
“I’m…sleepy.”
“Where in Denver were you going?”
“The…church…”
“The Prophet’s church,” Elliot echoed.
“Yesss…God…is…love…”
“He certainly is, Tracie.”
Elliot stepped away from the bedside and walked outside with the men. His face was tight and drawn in the pale sunlight. “You heard her. They’re off to Denver, where some prophet thinks Eve is a false messiah. And he wants…well, I don’t know. I’ll ask her, but I suspect it isn’t good.”
“How could they have known her blood was used for the vaccine?” Arnold asked.
“Somebody talked too much when they were delivering it, is my guess.”
The Day After Never (Book 7): Havoc Page 13