“Grady’s pulling his weight,” Heath countered. “He set up those extra fourteen cameras on his own and then set up an area to monitor them inside.”
“That bitch hasn’t stopped whining since he was born,” Dwain shot back. Dwain wasn’t surprised that Heath didn’t object to that. Grady was working, Dwain could agree with that, but the only reason why was because everyone had told him, work or leave. Granted, Grady wasn’t the most productive or enthusiastic member, but he was working and following the rules. The day the kids had left for the cabin, Heath’s wife Robin had told the Bear Trap Clan, nobody was allowed to just eat when they wanted and had to only eat what was put out for meals.
Grady, thinking he was better than that, hadn’t listened because it didn’t apply to him.
Oh, did Grady learn a lesson two days later. After supper, Robin had walked into the kitchen and found Grady opening a can of tuna. Not saying a word, Robin had grabbed a cast iron skillet and cracked Grady across the head. Everyone had been in the large den watching training videos, and had come running to the kitchen after hearing a loud ‘clank’ and something hitting the floor hard. When Heath first saw Grady, he’d thought his wife had killed him. Blood was pooling around Grady’s head as he laid unconscious on the floor. Robin had calmly looked around at everyone like she was daring someone to say something.
The fact she was still holding the skillet was why nobody even went to check on Grady, not even his wife Brenda. Leaving his bleeding ass on the floor, they’d all headed back to the den. Grady had woken up six hours later, still on the floor, and had found Robin sitting at the table with Brenda and Kathy and going over meal schedules. Not looking up from her writing when Grady fought to stand, Robin had calmly told him the next time he was caught getting food, she would use a gun. Heath just had a hard time believing what his wife had done and said. Like Dwain, he could still kill Grady but he’d never imagined his wife could do that. To top it off, before Grady had stumbled out of the kitchen, Brenda had told him to clean up the mess he’d made on the floor. Grady had just looked at the huge area of blood, blinking his eyes and for the first time, had done what he’d been told without whining.
Not in the mood to even talk about Grady, “How many are we working on today?” Heath asked.
“I want to shoot for six, but I don’t think we’ll get more than four wired in,” Dwain answered and Heath nodded. Their job was running cable and wire to the clubhouse and mounting cameras around the area. Four hours every day, that’s what Dwain and Heath did. Ian and Lance had given them a map marked with twenty-three locations around the three mile perimeter and they’d had those up in ten days, thinking they were done. While they had been working on the large swimming pool, Ian had given them another map with thirty more locations.
Two weeks later when Lance gave them another map Dwain and Heath found out, the more cameras they put up, the more Ian and Lance wanted. It was hard to argue since a person could watch multiple cameras, compared to putting a guard at each spot. As it stood right now, there weren’t enough people in the coalition to man the spots they had cameras up now. They were nearing a hundred total, and knew there were still that many cameras in boxes at the build house. Where the cameras had come from, nobody had a clue, and the boys weren’t talking.
Every group had tasks assigned by the boys and nobody really complained. They were alive in this forsaken world.
“Let’s call Patrick and ask him to go with us over to the GTs this afternoon before we head out,” Heath suggested. Dwain just nodded and followed him up to the house.
***
Six miles northeast of the perimeter, Lance held the binoculars tight. “Ian, they seem to know what the hell they’re doing,” Lance commented.
Also scanning with binoculars, “They definitely aren’t the bags of monkey asses we normally see,” Ian agreed. “Rhonda, you see anyone you know?”
Laying on the other side of Ian and on her own binoculars, “Naw, but I can’t be sure,” Rhonda said. “They some kind of filthy. I think one of the men looks familiar but shit, I thought the Beard Clan had some beards, but some of these guys would put ZZ Top to shame in their heyday.”
All three were lying prone on the lip of a ridge west of Field. It wasn’t a town or even a building where it was marked on the map, so they didn’t know what to call it. Below them were a group of survivors. They had found them using trail cameras and scouting. The group was set up in a bowl, but in the center of the bowl was a rise or plateau. There were no roads leading into the bowl and they had only found two spots where the group could drive the ATVs they had into the bowl.
In places around the bowl where the slope decreased, the group had strung up rope, wire, or cable to form diversion fences. None of the three doubted the group didn’t know of the Wild Ones or how close they were to the Wild Ones.
“I counted again and got thirty-seven,” Lance said softly.
“I counted a third time and got forty-two,” Ian replied.
Lowering her binoculars, “I got forty-six my third time,” Rhonda cringed.
“Has anyone seen people who don’t want to be there?” Lance asked.
“No, and I counted eleven kids that look younger than ten,” Rhonda answered.
“No, and I know some of those down there are complete families,” Ian answered. “That far tent? That woman holding the toddler and the two kids playing in the dirt are hers. The man to the far right of her with the FNFAL is the dad. I read the lips of the kids when he left.” Rhonda looked at the FNFAL, which was a rifle. To her it looked like the rifle was nearly as long as the man was tall.
“Brah, we have to be sure on a group this size,” Lance sighed. “These guys know how to move and fight.” Ian just nodded and Rhonda didn’t say anything as she listened to them.
“They use bows and know how to move, that’s for sure,” Ian said. “I agree, Lance. We need to watch them before asking.”
For five hours Rhonda had moved with the boys, and though she scouted with them nearly every time they went out, she was still blown away. When they’d first come up on the group Ian had suspected they might be remnants of the Nazis, but was soon proved wrong because there were many ethnicities in the group. A fact both boys seemed to love, everyone was armed. Rhonda could see with her own eyes even kids who looked no older than seven were armed.
Wanting to contribute, “They’re scavenging but aren’t going southwest toward the perimeter. I think they’re just staying on the fringe, hoping to remain invisible and use the Wild Ones for protection,” Rhonda said, scanning the group.
“Oh, listen to Rhonda,” Ian chuckled softly, feeling Dino move behind him. Lowering his binoculars and glancing over his shoulder, he saw Dino looking at three does through the trees. Knowing Dino would leave them alone, Ian went back to scanning the camp.
“Ian, you were right on starting Bravo,” Lance sighed. “If we’d waited longer, it would’ve been worthless. But I say let’s watch this group awhile just to make sure. They know what they’re doing and that many shooters could hurt Bravo if they’re bad.”
“Brah, I don’t want to ask them now,” Ian smirked. “They’re fine just where they are, for now.”
“How long should we watch?” Lance asked.
“A month, at the very least,” Ian answered, shocking Rhonda and Lance.
“You have a bad feeling?” Lance asked because he didn’t.
“No, but like you said, if they’re bad, they could be a problem,” Ian answered. “But look to the left, far side of the camp where they’re skinning that deer.” Rhonda and Lance both moved their binoculars to where Ian had said. “Those two people beside the one skinning? They’re being taught. Notice how they don’t move like many of the others? I think this group picked them up and is teaching them. Granted, pure speculation, but that’s what I think.”
“Yeah, if you look about thirty yards to the east of them, a woman is showing that man and woman how to tie a rope,” Rhonda said, an
d the boys shifted their gaze. “I can guarantee you, the woman watching hasn’t been in the woods much.”
“That’s what I mean. Let’s let them stay while we watch ‘em. They’re gathering survivors and let’s see what they do,” Ian suggested.
Lowering his binoculars, “Okay, let’s watch ‘em,” Lance said glancing at his watch. One day a week, Lilly set up a clinic in the clubhouse and it was today. If someone had a problem they came in, but Lilly also had scheduled checkups for everyone, just so she could build a health history. What Lance thought was funny was when Lilly was done with the people, she went to each group to check out their animals. Since Jennifer and Lori were learning, they always stayed with Lilly.
Lilly had already proven her worth several times over as the groups’ doctor. Last week, Patrick’s son Larry had broken his arm, from falling off a roof that he wasn’t supposed to be on. They’d driven Lilly over and she’d splinted Larry’s arm and cast it. The entire time Patrick had been telling Larry he wasn’t getting out of work.
Lilly had tried to get Lance to join in her teaching, but when Lance had been in the bunker and she’d used the ultrasound on Holly, Lance had just left. Seeing the baby and remembering the video he’d had to watch on childbirth, he didn’t even want to think about how the baby got out.
It was because of Lilly’s importance to the group that Lance didn’t want her on patrol, but he damn sure wasn’t going to say it. If she wanted to go and it was okay with Lance, she was going.
“Guys, since we agree, let’s leave them a surprise and see how they react,” Lance suggested.
“You’re going to leave a deed?” Rhonda gasped, dropping her binoculars.
Rolling his eyes to the heavens, “I said surprise, not deed,” Lance moaned.
Adjusting her mask and picking up her binoculars, “Had me worried,” Rhonda mumbled. “You ever deed me, I’ll swim the ocean to put distance between us.” Rhonda felt the two moving and turned to see both easing down the slope. She turned to see Dino just staring at her as he panted. “They need to include me in that mental link they have,” she told Dino as she got up and moved after them.
As the sun was going down, a group was leaving the bowl via one of the trails and came to a stop. Off to the side was a stack of boxes, but what caught their eyes was a written note on a piece of cardboard.
Hello,
We know you are here and you may stay but we will be watching. If we see you are a gang that hurts or torments, death won’t be swift. Don’t go to the southwest for any reason. You will find a radio and solar charger. Only use it if you are attacked, and help will be coming. Remember, we are always watching and if you prove worthy, we will meet with you. Here is some food and supplies from us,
The Wild Ones
P.S. If you see robots, leave them the hell alone. If you see a pile of dead stinkers turn back, there is a bot near and it will kill you.
Chapter Seven
It was early one morning in October as Heath, Dwain, and Percy drove across the valley heading to the build house. Heath glanced back at Percy and saw him scanning around with his rifle gripped tightly. After the four had moved in with the Bear Trap group, everyone had seen just what had impressed Lance and Ian. Alvin, Julie, Gail and her brother Percy were very intelligent, but could also think on their feet. Turning back around, Heath knew those four were the only ones who could ever compare to Ian and Lance and maybe even be smarter but unlike Lance and Ian, they couldn’t fight and when it came to building what they’d planned, none could compete with the boys. Oh, they were learning to fight and doing it fast, but it would be a long time before they caught up, if ever. And Heath thought in time they would be able to build like the boys, just not as fast. The four were nerds and of that, there was no doubt.
In their late twenties, Alvin and Julie had both been working on their second PhDs. Alvin, in civil engineering and Julie, in electrical engineering. Percy’s sister Gail had been working on her masters in Bio/Organic Chemistry while Percy had been working on his masters in mechanical engineering. Percy had graduated high school at fifteen, and his sister at sixteen. Gail was now twenty and Percy was eighteen. That had impressed Heath and still did, but when he’d talked to Mary about Ian and Lance after the moms returned, Percy had been scared to talk to Sandy because she’d been acting hostile then. Heath found out the school board had tried putting Ian and Lance in high school last year, but the parents had refused. They’d wanted the boys to have a childhood.
The parents had paid for tutors and the extra curriculum for the boys, which satisfied the school board. But if the world hadn’t crapped out, the boys would’ve been sophomores when they finally went to high school the next year, skipping the ninth grade. The school board had wanted them to skip two grades, but their parents had all agreed that the two could skip only one more grade.
After Mary had told Percy that they hadn’t done anything special to make the boys turn out like they had, Heath didn’t feel as bad a parent anymore.
At the bottom of the valley and past the meeting house going toward Hinkle to the south was a new work area. “You ever find out what we’re building there?” Percy asked. The mountains of steel that had been accumulated were rather daunting. There were steel pipes big enough to walk through that were being turned into huge shredders, and two huge crane trucks along with other heavy equipment.
“Nope. They just call it the ‘master plan’,” Heath answered over his shoulder. “But you can ask ‘em.”
As Heath turned on the road heading up the hill to the build house, Percy looked at the new construction area. It was on a natural ten-acre shelf that had two houses. Heavy equipment had been used to dig back into the hillside to extend the ledge and was still there to work on the site. Now with the shelf at twenty acres, three huge foundations had been started on it. With one building at the back, nearly at the excavated hillside, the other buildings were at each end making a U.
The size of the buildings was large, to say the least, two hundred feet long and just over a hundred wide. Heath had seen the plans Ian and Lance had given Alvin after they’d learned he had a doctorate in civil engineering. For someone who didn’t have engineering experience, Ian and Lance were really good. Helping on the greenhouses, Percy soon realized Lance and Ian drew rough drafts before refining and making changes while they built. The only problem was, they weren’t the ones building now, everyone else was. A case in point, Heath and Dwain had been over the greenhouse project and soon realized Lance and Ian had never put doors in their plans for any of the buildings or the pool house. If built to plan, the buildings would’ve been structurally sound, with windows out the ass, but you couldn’t have gotten inside them.
Not bothering the boys or even telling them, Heath and Dwain had put doors in. They knew if the boys had been there, the doors would’ve been put in. They had come to understand the two could way overthink a problem, but they could always come up with a solution. When the dirt was removed from the hillside for the greenhouses, it was moved to the valley floor where the levee was going to be for the small lake. But the soil had a lot of rocks the size of balls, from baseballs all the way up to soccer balls with some boulders the size of small cars. The boys had moved off, pulled out notebooks, and had started talking about building a trammel, a rather intricate trammel, to sift the dirt out.
Again, not bothering the boys, Heath and Dwain had moved off, gotten some one-inch-thick floor grating and welded it together. Then they’d mounted it on steel beams so a front-end loader could pour a bucket out with a dump truck sitting underneath. Then the front-end loader would put its bucket under the grating and shake it. After ten minutes, only the rocks were still on the grating. Raising the bucket up, the front-end loader would dump the rocks off the other side.
It was in his first week there when Percy got to help build a battle bot, and Percy had been blown away. The fact that two ‘boys’ had designed and built them without any engineering or computer training was jus
t hard to believe. He could see a few flaws, but was very hesitant to point them out. The main reason was Lance and Ian had built them and they worked. Lance and Ian had improved the design after seeing what worked better with each generation, but Percy had been told there weren’t many new changes to the ones being built now.
It was only when his sister kept calling him a sissy for three days straight, Percy finally went to Lance and Ian. He had really expected them to be hostile, or at least indifferent to his suggestions, but they weren’t. They were both ecstatic and let him make the changes. Much to Percy’s relief, the changes had improved the functions of the battle bots.
“It has to be important because they stopped the work on the greenhouses,” Dwain said looking out past Heath. The frames were up, along with the doors the boys had forgotten, but none of the windows were in the ceiling and only half the walls were up. Now, that didn’t include the pool area. It was done and enclosed. Everyone in the coalition had been brought over to swim when it’d been completed. They had watched Lance with Lilly on his shoulders and Jennifer on Ian’s have a chicken fight but the boys never left the pool, even after the contest was over. When Heath had led the Bear Trap Clan home, the boys finally had gotten out and wrapped towels around their waists. It was then Dwain had understood why Lance and Ian stayed in the pool so long.
“I just want to know where in the hell we’re going to get that damn many panes of glass to close up the roof,” Heath scoffed.
“I’m willing to bet three shifts at the clubhouse, Ian and Lance already know,” Dwain challenged.
“Fuck you,” Heath snapped. There were now a hundred cameras around them with more added each week, and that was still Dwain’s primary job. He was using the internet cable in the area to hook them up and feed them to the clubhouse after cutting the cable where it left the perimeter so they could power it up. And since Dwain was doing that, Lance and Ian had him dropping all power lines from the poles inside the three mile perimeter. As always, nobody asked why. Now, it wasn’t so much that the boys made a person feel dumb, it was when they explained everything, it was a lengthy process and that took time away from a project. Also, as Percy had come to find out as they worked, Lance and Ian were making plans on other things and when they were interrupted, that stopped the train of thought. More than once, Allie or Carrie had yelled at someone when they’d interrupted Lance while he worked because they knew Lance was thinking of other things. Now, unless the two were talking, everyone left them alone.
Forsaken World | Book 6 | Redemption Page 10