by Liscom, Sean
They were communicating with Las Vegas through a series of relay communications sites spread throughout the state. This is where they had screwed up again. Though they controlled the majority of the state, they mistakenly assumed that nobody would be listening in on them. They were transmitting in the clear.
Jill laced up both of her boots and stood up. She refolded the note and put it in her pants pocket. The nausea that had plagued her earlier was gone and the sleep seemed to be what she needed. Even if it wasn't really good sleep. She
glanced at her watch, a little after 9pm. She eased her way out of the room and made her way upstairs.
Harold, Jim and Darren were once again seated at the dining room table. They were speaking in hushed voices when Jim saw her coming up the stairs.
“You alright?” he asked.
“I'm better now. I got some good news and some sleep,” she said as she was getting another glass of water from the kitchen. Once she was seated at the table, she lowered her voice and began to speak. “Did you hear what I heard when I was standing by the window this morning?”
“No,” Harold said for the three of them.
“The asshole in charge, Ray Judge, was ambushed in the Amargosa Valley area this morning. He and his driver were the only ones to escape.”
“Jason and Melissa?” Jim asked. Jill slipped the note from her pocket and slid it across the table to him. He opened it, read it and passed it to Darren. “So there's a chance.” he said.
“Yeah, there's a chance. Have you come up with a plan to get us out of here yet?”
“We've got nothing, Jill. They had all of us clearing out the warehouse today. Truckload after truckload went into Elko today,” this was Harold speaking.
“How many men? Anybody get an accurate
count?” she asked.
“Twenty five or so but they are watching us like hawks. The only time we get any privacy is when we are in here and I'm pretty sure I know why,” Darren said and pointed out the window. Jill got up and pulled the blind back so that she could see out. Sitting directly in front of the barracks was a Hummer. There was a man standing in the turret and he had the .50 caliber machine gun pointed at the front door. “There's another one out back,” Darren said from behind her. She closed the blind again and went back to the table.
“Okay. It's pretty obvious that these guys are pretty high strung since their boss got jumped this morning. We need to settle them down and get them to drop their guard.....”
“What are we supposed to do? Bake 'em a cake?” Jim interrupted.
“If we need to, yes. We are going to do everything that we can to make these boys feel at home, Jim. I had a conversation with one of the guards, Don, he's not real happy working for Judge and I get the impression that he's not the only one. We need to gain their trust, maybe
actually get them to like us a little bit. We need to move quickly though. I promised Bill that this ranch would be ours again in two days.....”
“Are you serious? That's impossible, Jill!” Darren said.
“I'm serious, Darren! It's our only chance. Shooting our way out or trying to get over the wall won't work. I need you three to spread the word through the rest of our people.”
“What are we going to do about Elko?” Jim asked.
“I don't know yet. Let’s work this one problem at a time,” Jill replied.
Jim started to say something else when there was a knock at the front door. All four of them went silent and looked back and forth between each other. There was a second knock.
“I'll get it,” Jill said, standing from the table. She walked to the door and slowly opened it. She was greeted by the guard, Don.
“I just came by to check on you.” he said. “You doing okay?”
“I think I just needed some sleep. I was exhausted,” Jill replied.
“Oh, okay. I'm glad you're doing okay,” he started to turn away from the door.
“Don?”
“Yes?” he said turning to face her again.
“Thank you for taking care of me this morning. I really appreciate your kindness.”
“It was no problem, Melissa. Good night,” he said and then left. Jill closed the door and went back to the table.
“Melissa?” Jim asked. Jill spent the next few minutes explaining the story to the three men.
“That was a brilliant play by Jason,” Harold remarked.
“Yeah, I just wish that he had told me what he was going to do. I'd have been a little better prepared,” Jill said. “You should spread the word about that too. We don't need anybody blowing my cover.”
Wednesday, August 16th, 2017
Southern Nevada.
Melissa and I had found the wash that Paul had told us about and we followed it north all night. Both of us were so intent on putting one foot in front of the other, we didn't bother with any conversation. We would stop every two hours and allow ourselves a sip of water and five minutes of rest. When the sky began to lighten in the east, we began to look for a place to hold up for the day.
I'm not sure how many miles we covered but both of us were exhausted by the time the sun made it over the ridge to our east. The best we could come up with for shelter was a rock overhang. It wouldn't offer much shade but it was better than none. It was about a quarter of the way up the hillside and it offered a decent view of where we had come from and where we were headed.
Both of us managed to get a couple of
hours of sleep but by 10am it was too hot to do anything but sweat. By noon, the temperature was soaring and our shade was gone. The air was as still as anything I'd ever seen. No breeze at all to offer any relief.
“Fuck this.” I finally said out loud and stood up. Melissa looked at me and then returned her attention to the valley to our north.
“Do you see that or am I suffering from heat stroke?” she asked and pointed. I squinted my eyes and looked in the direction she was pointing.
“I don't see anything?”
“Eight or nine miles out. Its either silver or white, just a speck,” I looked again, this time I shaded my eyes with my hand.
“Yeah, I think I see what you're looking at.”
“What is it?”
“Out here, God only knows.”
“Look though, that almost looks like a road leading up to it,” she pointed out.
“You're right. You want to go check it out?” I asked.
“It beats sitting here sweating to death.”
“Okay, let's go,” I said.
Wednesday, August 16th, 2017
The ranch.
Jill was the first one awake and she slipped
into the dorm style bathroom and took a shower. She took her time washing her hair and even took a little time to enjoy the hot water. All the while her mind was working on overdrive. Once she was done, she dried off and put her uniform back on. It was a little wrinkled but still fairly clean. There was nothing to brush her teeth with so she settled for rinsing her mouth out and rubbing her teeth with her finger. She always kept a hair tie in her sleeve pocket and she was going to need it today. Instead of putting her hair up in a bun with bobby pins, she pulled the wet hair back into a pony tail.
Satisfied with her new look for the day, she went down to the kitchen. It was more out of habit than anything. Here it was, Wednesday morning and none of them had eaten since Monday. “Gonna have to take that up with the management,” she grumbled to herself and got a glass of water. By 5:30, everyone else was awake and beginning to get ready for another day of servitude. At 6am sharp, Don and Lance came through the front door. Jill greeted them before they could start shouting for everyone to come down stairs.
“Morning, boys,” Jill said with a smile. “I'm not normally one to complain, but you have a bunch of hungry people in here. Is there something we could do to fix that?”
“What do you want us to do about it?”
Lance smarted off. Jill could see Don wince a little at the harsh comment.
“Give it a rest, lady. I know what you're doing. It ain't gonna work,” Lance replied. Again she could see the growing discomfort on Don's face.
“What is it you think I'm doing?” she shifted her tone to a more serious one.
“You're playing all nice and sweet, trying to gain some brownie points. I've seen it time and again.”
“Come on, Lance. Give her a break. They're hungry,” Don finally spoke up,” perfect, Jill thought to herself. Time to seal the deal.
“It's alright, Don. He's right,” she let that hang in the air for a moment. She caught both of them off guard. “Can we step out on the deck and talk for a minute?” both of them stepped backward out the door onto the deck. She went with them and closed the door behind her.
CHAPTER 19
Wednesday, August 16th, 2017
Southern Nevada.
I don't know if it was the heat or what but our little trek felt like a lot more than eight or nine miles but it had been worth it. We had found the dirt road that we had seen earlier and followed it for a couple of hours. When the object came into view, I knew exactly what it was. There was a steel frame that was about 20 feet square and it had corrugated steel on the top of it. It was angled slightly to one side and it had a rain gutter on it that led to a large stock tank underneath it. It was called a “Guzzler” by the department of wildlife.
I was skeptical as we approached it, especially since I didn't know when the last rain had been. I explained to Melissa that these were put in place to act as watering holes for the wild animals. They were scattered all over the state and I couldn't believe our luck in finding one. Even if there were no water in it, it would offer some shade against the brutal sunlight. When we were about 50 yards away, she broke into a run. I didn't have it in me to chase her so I just continued to walk. She slid to a stop and looked into the tank and let out a squeal.
“We got water!” she said loud enough for
me to hear. That caused me to pick up my pace a little. When she suddenly backed away from the tank, she had my full attention. She stopped me about 10 feet short of the guzzler. “Snake!” she exclaimed and pointed. Sure enough, there was a four foot long rattlesnake all coiled up and rattling its tail.
“Lunch.” I said as I moved closer. I pulled my shirt off over my head and threw it over the angry reptile like a blanket. It uncoiled and started to slither toward the edge of the shirt. I moved quickly to get to it and drove the heel of my boot down on its head when it emerged. I put my full weight on it and didn't dare take my foot off. After grinding down on it as hard as I could I was sure I had killed it. The body continued to writhe around my ankle.
“What I wouldn't give for a knife right now!” I grumbled. Melissa’s hands instantly started patting her pants pockets. She reached into one and pulled out a handful of stuff, a small pocket knife among other items. She unfolded the small blade and handed it over. After cutting the head off, I finally moved my foot.
“Where did you get that?” I asked.
“The guard that I was wrestling with at the gas station. I got that, his handcuff key, a half a book of matches and pen,” she said as she held the items up for me to see.
“When did you get all of that?”
“What? You think I spent all of that time wrestling around on that nasty ass floor for the fun of it? I was shaking the dude down!”
“And nobody checked us after that..... Brilliant work, Melissa.”
“Thank you, sir. I've never had rattlesnake, Bull snake but not rattler.”
“Same thing. It all tastes like chicken,” I laughed. The thought of food, water and shade had improved my temperament greatly.
Wednesday, August 16th, 2017
The ranch.
“Do you two know who I am?” Jill asked the two men. Both of them shook their heads. “My name is Melissa Lange, as of now I'm the senior ranking member of the ranch staff. Yes, I'm trying to play nice with you. I have people that I'm charged with protecting and the best way for me to do that is to get along with you. I was sincere when I said that I would make enough food for you. It's the best option for me to keep my people safe,” she paused and looked both men square in the eyes.
“You need people to work for you, I get it. We are your prisoners, I get it. You've turned my home into a prison, I get it. You have been
generous in your treatment of us thus far, but they cannot continue to work on empty
stomachs. I'm trying to keep the peace because that's what keeps all of us alive. I don't want any special treatment, I just want to keep my people healthy. I assume that you do to,” she finished.
“Ray said that he wanted everything from the ranch taken into Elko,” Lance protested.
“Ray's your boss?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“Lance, I don't see your boss around here. I haven't seen him since you first set foot on my property. He took the Sterling’s and hightailed it out of here. He left you to do the dirty work. Well, this is the dirty work, making sure your prisoners are fed and ready to work,” there was a silence that hung in the air, she could see the indecision in Lances eyes.
“Fine. Take two people to the warehouse and get what you need. Don, you go with them,” he ordered.
“Thank you, Lance. As soon as I get them fed, they will be ready for work. You, both of you, are still invited to eat with us if you'd like,” Jill said. She could see the look on Dons face and she knew she already had him on her side. Lance just nodded.
“Get your help and get moving,” was all Lance said and he walked off the deck. After he was out of earshot, Don spoke.
“He's not a bad guy, Melissa. I think the stress is just beginning to get to him. Ray put him
in charge out here and then left him holding the bag,” Don explained.
“I'm sure your right. I think all of us are a little more stressed than we're letting on,” Jill said as she turned and opened the door. “Harold, Jim, I need some help moving supplies, wanna give me a hand?” she called inside. She turned back to face Don. “I just want to thank you again for what you did yesterday. I had been on duty for almost 72 hours straight, I hadn't eaten and I know that I didn't get enough water. Then I overheard your conversation about the Sterling’s and that did me in.”
“You're welcome.”
“I know that I shouldn't ask this.....” her voice trailed off.
“What?” Don asked.
“Well, have you heard anything about Jill and Jason?”
“Between you and me?”
“Of course.”
“I think they got away. The teams that Ray sent to Amargosa came up two bodies short. You really like them, don't you?” he asked.
“They're good people. They've spent a lot of time trying to get this community back on its feet,” she said as Harold and Jim came out onto the deck. She pointed to the warehouse and they led the way. She hung back a few paces and walked with Don.
“I don't understand.” he said.
“What don't you understand?”
“All this food for example, half a warehouse full. If they were doing so much for Elko, then why were they hoarding so much food?”
“They weren't hoarding it. When I first got here, that warehouse was full. They were using the food to feed us, the people that they were training.”
“Training for what?”
“I was part of a training program that they had set up for the city of Elko. Twenty five of us were hand-picked for the program and we came out here to live and learn. They taught us how to fight of course. I mean the world is still a pretty shitty place so ya gotta know how to fight, right? They taught us so much more though. How to take care of livestock, how to build and maintain wind and solar generators, how to farm, advanced first
aid, how to survive out there with nothing but our wits, the list goes on and on,” Jill said.
“What were you going to do with all of this training?”
“We were going to go to the communities that needed help and teach them what we had learned.”
“So..... You were going to be like the missionary's they used to send to Africa. You were going to help people help themselves?”
“I’ve never heard it put that way before but I guess it's a decent analogy,” she chuckled. He was quiet until after the cans of dehydrated food had been retrieved from the warehouse and they were on their way back to the barracks.
“You had a decent life here, didn't you?” he asked.
“Yeah, we did,” Jill said quietly. “In a world full of bullshit, we had stability,” again he was quiet. “Can I ask you something?” she asked and stopped walking.
“Yeah.”
“Why do you do this? We weren't hurting anyone, we were trying to help.”
“I don't know anymore. I didn't have a choice in the matter to be honest. It was this or be one of Adolpha’s slaves. At least this way, I kinda have some freedom,” he said.
“Who's Adolpha?” Jill asked.
Wednesday, August 16th, 2017
Southern Nevada.
We built a really small fire under the canopy of the guzzler and cooked up the snake that I had killed. While it wasn't great, it was filling. The water in the guzzler had a lot of
sediment at the bottom and quite a few dead bugs floating on the top so we decided that we needed to boil the water before we drank it. We
got lucky because the canteens that we had been given were steel. We filled them up and put them on the hot coals while we napped in the shade.
It was still hotter than hell, but it was beginning to get tolerable after the sun went behind the ridge. After getting our fill of water, we boiled our canteens one more time before setting out for the night. There was nothing left of the snake to take with us, we would have to keep an eye out for our next meal.