“Keith is the authority out here, Dad! You know that! Look at all he does to help the people in this parish.”
“The sheriff’s department he worked for was wiped out before we got here, Andrew. And Keith couldn’t even protect his own wife. And look what happened to his house and to his brother-in-law, Vic, just since we arrived! We can’t stay here, Andrew. Just because we haven’t had any problems since Shauna left doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen any day. And even if it was safe here from robbers and killers, do you really think you can stay out here from now on and just keep catching fish every day? How long do you think that’ll work out before the bayou is all fished out? What happens when you can’t catch anything anywhere around here because everybody else in the parish has the same idea?”
“There’s not that many people still living here, and you know it, Dad! We hardly see anybody when we go out in the boat, especially not in all those little bayous and dead lakes Keith knows about. The Atchafalaya Swamp is huge, and we’re only fishing in a tiny part of it. Besides that, we can hunt too if we need to, and Bart’s been saying he’s gonna teach me how now that the weather’s getting cooler. But we don’t have to worry about staying here anyway after what Keith found out. They found Megan, so Eric’s gonna want to leave here on the schooner. It’s what he’s been planning all along and you know it. When we get to the islands he knows about, the fishing there will be even better. And if it isn’t, we can just sail to someplace else. We don’t have to ever worry about going hungry, Dad, not with a boat like that and all the stuff we have to survive with. That’s why it’d be dumb to go to some stupid refugee center. Bart said we’d be herded in there like a bunch of cattle and once we were there, we wouldn’t be able to get back out. He said we could be there for years! We could die in a place like that, Dad! I’d rather take my chances and try to survive on my own! You can go if you want to, but I’m not going!”
“We’ll talk about this later, Daniel, when your stepmom and stepsister get here. I’m not going to argue about it right now, but I think they’re going to tell you the same thing I’m telling you. From what Keith said, Jonathan didn’t mention Eric, so he must not be with them. He may be dead, Andrew, or he may have abandoned them just like he did years ago. The sailing away idea was his, and not Bart’s or Keith’s. If Eric doesn’t come back, it won’t be mentioned again, and you know as well as I do that Shauna and Megan aren’t going to want to stay out here in this swamp with Bart and Keith from now on. So, the refugee center is our only real choice.”
“Eric Branson’s not dead, Dad. I’ll bet you anything he’s not. And he’ll be back, you just wait and see!”
Andrew stormed off to the edge of the bayou and Daniel let him go, preferring to pace back and forth in Keith’s driveway as he thought about what he was going to say to Shauna when she and Megan returned.
Twelve
“I WONDER WHY THEY aren’t all together?” Bart asked, as Keith pulled out of his driveway. “I reckon we’ll find out soon enough.”
“All I can figure is that Shauna and Megan waited behind somewhere while Jonathan went on ahead. I would have expected them to all go to Vic’s house, thinking we were still there, but when I asked Greg if that was where they were, he said no. He said Jonathan would tell me more when we got there.”
“And he didn’t mention Eric at all?”
“No, but that doesn’t mean Jonathan doesn’t know where he is. I don’t think they would have made it back here without his help.”
“No, me either, Keith. I guess if we’ve been waiting this long with no word, it won’t hurt us to wait another fifteen minutes until we get there. But boy, I sure am happy to hear they found Megan! I’ve gotta say I’ve been really worried about her and that I really had my doubts. I can’t even imagine how relieved Shauna’s feeling about now.”
There was little else either of them could say that wasn’t idle speculation, so after that brief initial conversation, Bart stared out the windows in silence as Keith drove, lost in his own thoughts. The truth was, Keith was somewhat shocked to get that call from Greg this morning, as he’d begun to have serious doubts that he would ever see Eric, Shauna or Jonathan again, much less Megan. Too much had happened in a short time for Keith Branson to have much faith in anything. Lynn’s death was the worst, of course, but so much more had been lost it was hard to fathom. Until his dad and Eric and the others showed up there in the schooner, Keith didn't really have a clear direction, much less a real plan for the future. The only thing he could think about was the day by day and moment by moment chores and duties that occupied his time and at fleeting moments took his mind off his sorrow. He knew he wasn't the only one suffering and that many other people, including plenty of residents right there in his own jurisdiction, had lost a spouse, a parent, a sibling or a child—some of them more than one. Sorrow and loss had become the new reality here and everywhere else in the country, from what little he could glean of conditions elsewhere.
When Eric and his dad first arrived here, their reports confirmed much of what Keith already knew, and when they talked about it, they all had to recognize that there was a good possibility that the country they’d all served would never be restored to what it once was. It seemed more likely that instead it would become a fragmented land controlled by competing factions, and Keith reminded himself that all he could do was focus on the parish and its people that were his responsibility. Eric said that he intended to leave the country with his family as soon as he could find Megan, but Keith wasn’t really interested in an escape like that himself. For one thing, south Louisiana had been his home ever since he’d met his now-deceased wife, and there was nowhere else he could imagine being that would make him feel better or restore what he’d lost here. He figured it was just as well that he remain where he was posted and do what he could to help his neighbors who were suffering there with him. If law and order could eventually be restored at least there at home, then what he was doing was worthwhile. And if it couldn’t, then he would probably die trying, and why shouldn’t he? Keith didn't consider himself any better than his deceased wife, brother-in-law, or colleagues that had fallen before him, and there was really little more for him to lose. He had nothing to fear and no reason to avoid taking risks if taking such risks was what he needed to do in order to make a difference. Keith was literally prepped for combat, both mentally and physically every time he left his property and today was no different.
As he drove towards Greg’s house as fast as the gravel road permitted, Keith reflected on his plans to eventually rebuild the Sheriff's Department or some similar police force to aid him in doing his job. His dad had been helping out a lot, but Bart, though still fit and able-bodied, was a little on the old side for that kind of work, and Keith didn’t want to risk losing another family member by putting him in the line of fire. He knew Bart would insist on doing all he could though, and the old man was content to stay there and help, unlike Daniel Hartfield, Keith’s other guest that had arrived with them. Shauna’s husband wasn’t even a consideration for law enforcement work, even if he’d been willing to learn, which he wasn’t. Like Bart, Keith didn’t like Daniel’s attitude at all. The man was simply unable to cope with a life so far outside of his comfort zone, and that had become more obvious by the day. The new shelter in Texas where Daniel so desperately wanted to go was probably the best place for a man like him, but the sad thing was that if he went, he would be taking Andrew with him. If not for that, Keith would have gladly offered to drive him there already. It would have been worth the risk just to get rid of him, but now, everything had changed again with that unexpected radio call he’d received, and Keith didn’t know what it would mean for his family. Would they stay or go elsewhere? He knew a lot of that depended on where Eric was and why.
Keith reached the end of the gravel and turned onto the paved road that led to Vic’s house. When he pulled up, both he and Bart got out and checked the doors and windows, calling out to Shauna and Megan in
case they were inside, but the place seemed abandoned.
“Wherever they are, it’s not here,” Bart said.
“We’ll go on to Greg’s then, and see what Jonathan has to say. He must have gone there when he didn’t find us or the boats here.”
It had only been a couple of weeks since Keith brought Greg home from the hospital, but his daughter, Rachel, and her husband, Jimmy, had been bringing him food and other essentials and Greg had insisted he didn’t need extra help. He said he’d rather be in his own home and that it was easier to get around in the house than on and off either of the boats at Keith’s place. Keith couldn’t tell him what to do, but he’d been checking on him every couple of days and would have been due to head over there today anyway even if he hadn’t gotten that call. If he had, he would have been in for a surprise, because when he and Bart pulled up in the driveway, sure enough, Jonathan was sitting there with Greg on the porch.
“Dude! Am I ever glad to see you two! I thought you had all cut loose and sailed away without us when I saw that Dreamtime and the Miss Anita were both gone! You had me worried, you really did! I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I would have checked out at your place before I left if I hadn’t found Greg here at home!”
Keith and Bart both shook Jonathan’s hand and hit him with a barrage of questions. It was ironic that he had been worried about their whereabouts, after where he’d gone and how long he’d been away, but after Keith explained why they’d moved the boats, he and Bart pulled up chairs on Greg’s porch and sat back to get some answers.
“I can tell you for sure those refugee centers in Texas are for real, because we heard all about them on the way here. Those guys that brought us across said we’d be better off going to one of them, and it was only because we had a letter from that Army major out in New Mexico that they agreed to hold off and let me come look for you guys. Eric cut a deal with the major before we left, and that’s the only reason we got a ride at all.”
“So, who are these guys?” Keith asked. “They’re not Army?”
“No, not the ones we rode with. I mean, we did get a ride on an Army helicopter to an outpost close to Amarillo, Texas, but after that, they turned us over to the contractors. The major said they were using a lot of those guys because military resources are spread so thin. This one is a company that’s based in Texas. It’s called C.R.I. You wouldn’t believe how many of them there are though! They’re almost like a real army; we saw them everywhere in Texas and it looked to me like about half of the men in their outfits are Mexican. They’re the ones running the refugee centers. It’s weird man! I don’t know what to think after seeing all that.”
“And Eric knew of this?”
“He knew what they told him, but I don’t think they told him the extent of their operations in Texas. Eric said he’d run across that company before, and that they didn’t have a great reputation overseas, but he still agreed to go on this raid that Major Langley put together with them, because it was a way for us to get back here. He didn’t want to put Megan and Shauna through any unnecessary risks, so he wouldn’t hear of any other way. Shauna argued with him and tried to talk him out of it, but Eric wouldn’t listen. He said he’d get here as soon as he could, and since it took us longer than we expected, I was kind of hoping he would have gotten here first. Shauna was too, and she’s going to be disappointed to find out he hasn’t.”
Keith and Bart listened as Jonathan filled them in on the details of the journey, beginning with leaving the Gulf Traveler at the Simmesport lock and dam, the battle for the towboat on the Mississippi River, his accident in the Rockies and all the way up to how he and Vicky made it through the wilderness to the Jicarilla Apache reservation with Wolf’s help. Keith couldn’t say that he was all that surprised when Jonathan mentioned that something was going on between Eric and Shauna after they found Megan. Bart seemed to think that was great news, almost as significant as the fact that they indeed found Megan.
“Good!” He said. “I was hoping that having some time together would make both of ’em come to their senses! I just wish Eric would have figured out a way for all of y’all to come back together, but I can see his way of thinking too. I probably would have done the same, given the situation.”
“So, the reason they gave for not letting the women come here was for their own safety? They kept them there against their will?” Keith asked.
“Yeah, you could say that. I know Shauna sure was pissed. Megan and Vicky tried to calm her down, and I did too. They said it was because of the agreement they made with Major Langley—the guarantee he gave to Eric that we would all get here safely. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but that’s what the C.R.I. unit commander told me. They first said we would all have to wait there until they sent a patrol into this area to escort us. When we kept telling them that you were a deputy sheriff here and that we had a safe place to stay with you, they said I was welcome to come get you, and that if you went back there and proved to them that you really were, they’d let everybody come back. But they also said none of us would be able to stay here long. They’re getting ready to evacuate all of this part of Louisiana, and they’ll either move the people that live here to the centers in Texas or to the new ones they plan to build here later. That’s why I was hoping Eric had gotten here first so we could get the hell out on the boat. It seems to me like that’s going to be our only option before long.”
It was a repeat of the same rumors Keith had already heard, and coming from Jonathan, who had been in direct contact with members of this military contracting company as well as the Army, Keith was convinced that it was going to happen. The big question was how much time did they have? Jonathan had been granted a pass to come here looking for them, but he’d done it at his own risk. A small convoy of civilian semi trucks that were traveling east to Mississippi, also at their own risk, were permitted to access the interstate over on the Texas side, and Jonathan had gotten a ride in one of them to the exit near Vic’s. His broken leg was nearly healed, but he was still using a staff to aid his walking, and he didn’t know how he was going to hike the several miles down to Keith’s place from Vic’s. That’s when he got the idea to try the shorter walk to Greg’s house first. If nothing else, he thought Greg’s patrol truck might be there. Instead, he’d seen the Jeep Cherokee that had belonged to Keith’s wife parked out front and when Greg came to the door, learned that Keith had loaned it to him while he used the truck.
“There’s no need for you to go back to Texas,” Keith told Jonathan. “Bart can drive you back to my place in the Jeep and I’ll take Greg with me. It’ll look better anyway if they see there’s two deputies coming to get the girls. I can make them believe our department is still in good enough shape that sparing two men for a day was no big deal.”
“No, you need me to go with you because I know the commander. I told him I’d be coming back with you after I found you.”
“I’m going too,” Bart said. “You’ve got an extra badge I can wear, and it don’t matter that I don’t have a uniform. It’ll look even better if three deputies show up there. Get on the VHF and see if you can get ahold of Daniel or Andrew and let ’em know we’ll be gone a while. I hate to leave Andrew wondering that long, but as far as Daniel is concerned, I just as soon take him with us to Texas and deliver him to that damned refugee camp he’s been whining about!”
“I’m not so sure Shauna’s going to be all that happy to see him when we bring her back,” Jonathan said. “I know they’re married and all, but I can see her point. She gets mad as hell at Eric sometimes, especially when he does stuff like leaving us in that cabin the way he did, but then when it comes down to the way he handles all the bad shit we’ve run into, you know she can’t help but respect him. I don’t think she has much respect for Daniel anymore, to be honest.”
Keith agreed they would all go, even though it would mean driving two vehicles, so they’d have room for everybody when they returned with the three women. It made sense to de
putize Bart, and it was something Keith had been meaning to do anyway, now that he was essentially acting as sheriff in the absence of anyone else with more seniority. Keith had talked to a few local men still living in the area about recruiting them to help build up a new department, and while most were willing to help when he called on them, none of them so far had committed to wearing a badge because they were all too busy looking out for the survival of their own families. Keith knew he would get some of them together eventually, but the informal arrangement he had with them was working well enough for the time being. He tried the radio several times while Bart helped Greg get his gear together, but Daniel and Andrew apparently weren’t aboard the Miss Anita or if they were, the VHF wasn’t on. Keith wouldn’t put it past Daniel’s stupidity to turn it off, and it was possible that if he did, Andrew hadn’t noticed. Whatever they were doing, they were going to be in the dark now about what was going on, because Keith wanted to leave without delay. It was essential that they got to that C.R.I. outpost well before dark, not only to avoid raising suspicion upon their arrival, but because there was no way of knowing what they might encounter on the road. When they pulled out after Keith’s final attempt on the radio, Bart was driving the Jeep with Greg riding shotgun and Jonathan went with Keith. Greg still wasn’t fully recovered from his gunshot wound, but he could make a showing and he would have it no other way than to go along and help.
“Where did that company get all those men, Jonathan?” Keith asked as they pulled away from Greg’s first, taking the lead.
“I don’t know, man. Like I said, I saw a bunch of them that I think were Mexicans. But there were a lot of white dudes too. I don’t know if they were from Texas or somewhere else, but Mitchell, the guy in charge of the unit we rode over here with, said he was. He said he was from Odessa.”
Feral Nation Series (Book 7): Feral Nation [Sabotage] Page 12