by Tara Ellis
Camping in Banff National Park was a summer trip her mom had wanted to take for years. When her dad announced he could get the two weeks off from work that year, they’d spent hours planning all the details. Emily’s fifteen-year-old brother was just as excited, and he and her dad got new fishing poles as well as the tent. Emily was less than enthused, as she had what she liked to call real-life problems since graduating from high school and entering the harsh world of college. It was only under the threat of being disowned that she finally caved and agreed to go. Her mom would have never done it, but—
Emily blinked slowly as her thoughts muddied and she forgot where she was. When the dusky interior of the tent came back into focus, replacing the safety of the family room, she made a small whimpering sound. She wasn’t home. She would never be home again. She was alone in the tent in a remote campground in the middle of nowhere and no one was coming to help her.
Using the surge of panic to lend her strength, Emily reached out, determined to drag herself outside. Horror quickly mixed in with her other rising emotions as she realized she could barely lift her arm. Her eyes wide, Emily searched for the water bottle and saw it lying a few inches away, empty. She remembered then, sucking down the last few drops sometime during the long night. When was the last time she’d gone to pee?
It was a mistake to stay in the tent. If someone wandered by, they would assume the campground was abandoned. Although it was a remote site, there had been a few other campers near the lake when they first arrived. That was one of the reasons her father had her stay there when he decided to go find the rest of their family. He thought it would be safer for Emily at the campground than in town, since they had no idea what would be going on there.
The first week hadn’t been so bad, aside from the unbearable weight of not knowing what had happened to everyone. Several times, Emily had taken her backpack and started down the gravel road, determined to go find them herself. However, each time she ended up panicking after going for miles without seeing another person, until she finally turned around. The farther she got from the false safety of the tent, the more intense her fear became, until she couldn’t overcome it. The nearest town was more than forty miles away and Emily had no way of knowing what she might encounter on the way. Besides, back then, she still had some food left and plenty of water. The fire was going and she was confident she could get by for weeks, if she had to.
By the time Emily realized her mistake, she was too weak to leave and the other campers had disappeared the first few days after the event. She was alone. She would die alone.
Normally, as soon as the sun came out the tent would start to warm up, but it was different that morning. Emily shivered uncontrollably and she suspected her body had lost the ability to regulate its temperature. That was something she’d learned about in one of her pre-nursing classes.
A tear slid down her cheek, the precious fluid cutting a trail through the dirt before soaking into the pillowcase. Her vision blurring, Emily once again thought she might have been lying in her bed at home, and she clung to the illusion that time. Was that her mom lying next to her?
With the last of her strength, Emily balled her mother’s favorite sweatshirt in her hand, forgetting how she had pulled it over her head the night before to help block out the cold. “Mommy…” she whispered into the fabric, taking a shuddering breath. “I’ll be home soon.”
Chapter 19
PATTY
City Center, Mercy, Montana
“Here, use this one, Sergeant—” Patty hesitated in front of the homemade brick grill, trying to remember the soldier’s name.
“You can just call me Jay,” the young man said with a grin. “And while I’m happy to help you out, I can’t guarantee any of the steaks I cook will be edible.”
Patty waved off his concern before handing Jay a lighter. After the last town dinner, they’d swapped out the metal barbeques for the much larger wood-burning grills. She was rather proud of the craftsmanship, and they should last for years to come. “I have a feeling there won’t be too many critics here today.”
They’d just finished an early-morning meeting with the city leaders, where they’d all unanimously welcomed Senator Jenson and the 1st Force Recon Unit. Patty had a private talk with Tom beforehand where he filled her in on the seed vault, a detail omitted from the rest of the council members. She understood the need to withhold the information for the time being, but it was a good reminder of why she stepped down in the first place. Patty was in her element ordering everyone around in the town square. She was happy to leave the political maneuverings and life-or-death decisions to Tom.
“Patty!” Melissa walked across the square with way too much purpose for the early hour.
Patty knew the doctor missed the meeting due to some sort of medical emergency, though she hadn’t gotten any details. “Is everything okay?”
Melissa nodded, a large smile spreading across her face. “Yes! Carrie delivered a healthy baby girl a couple of hours ago.”
Her chest swelling with joy, Patty hugged Melissa and then clapped her hands together. “Something else to celebrate today!”
“I’m picking up a few things for Carrie from the clinic, but I should be back in time for the food,” Melissa explained, already walking backwards. “I’ll see you later!”
Her step lighter, Patty made her way across the stage and towards the other cooking area that was basically in the alley behind City Hall. She needed to make sure the two soldiers had found the tasks she’d assigned them, which was overseeing boiling corn, potatoes, and eggs. The rest of the 1st Force Recon team were on an extra water-run to the river. Patty didn’t want to use the purified spring water for cooking.
It was going to take large amounts of water to boil all the food necessary to feed upwards of five hundred people. They expected a good turnout for the Fourth of July celebration, and not only because of the promised meat. It was close to a month since the gamma-ray burst changed all of their lives, and their emotional needs were now becoming just as important as their physical. Patty knew they could throw as much food and comfort as possible at the people of Mercy, but without the proper sense of community and hope, none of that would matter. Especially with the threat of a military takeover looming. A defeated town might welcome the intrusion.
That was where Patty saw herself as most valuable, aside from helping with the medical needs at the clinic. She would do her best to work as the glue that helped hold the community spirit together. Patty had lived in Mercy for most of her life and loved the town and the people in it. The complete isolation they’d been forced into was something they needed to embrace and learn to cope with, and she knew the best way to do that was to focus on the people who remained. Together, they could accomplish whatever needed to be done, but only if they didn’t lose sight of what it was that made them call Mercy home in the first place.
“Riders!”
Patty had been staring at her feet as she walked while reminiscing, and she jerked to a stop at the shout from the soldier she’d been approaching. He was pointing down the alley, and sure enough, there were two riders charging up the side street.
Tom appeared from behind her and he paused long enough to fill her in. “It’s the returning Pony Express riders we sent to check out the station. South gate radioed they were on their way in with some news.”
As they neared, it was obvious to Patty that the news wasn’t good. They looked utterly exhausted, dirty, and their horses were spent.
“The station is gone,” one of them shouted without any preamble, and Patty realized the filthy man was their main rider, Jed. “Taken over by a bunch of soldiers.”
Tom exchanged a look with Bishop, who had followed him into the alley. “Were you able to learn anything about who they are or what they’re doing?” Tom asked. He held the horse steady while the man slid to the ground, barely able to stand on his own.
“No,” Jed said apologetically. “I’ll be honest with ya, Tom. Thos
e guys scared the crap outta me. Had to be at least a couple dozen, all armed and with horses. They meant business and I have a family to take care of.”
“It’s okay, Jed,” Tom said, placing a hand on the other man’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t want you to take any extra risks. We all appreciate you bringing back this news, though. Now we know who Caleb is really talking to,” he added, turning to Bishop.
Patty watched the conversation with a growing sense of unease. It was safe to assume Dillinger was behind the attack on the station. Not only was he getting closer to Mercy, but he’d effectively cut off their supply train. The medication and other first aid provisions were already dangerously low. Without the ability to scavenge or trade for more, they were going to be vulnerable to various medical issues and the subsequent deaths, for those with conditions requiring treatment.
“It looked like they were getting ready for something though,” the other rider added, still on her mount. “Horses were being packed up and they even had a wagon out with a bunch of supplies in it. We rode hard for two days to get word back to you.” The woman glanced around at the group in the alley, and then the row of large pots cooking over the open fires. “You still doing the barbeque thing today? I’m assuming you made it back in time to stop those outlaws?”
Patty realized the riders had no idea what had transpired over the past three days and were likely half-starved and sleep-deprived. Looking around, she spotted Crissy pushing Trevor in a wheelchair. “Crissy!” she called, waving the girl over. “Take these two and find them some food.”
Crissy turned in their direction, laboring to get Trevor across the long grass. “Sure thing, so long as we can eat too?”
“Sure,” Patty agreed absently as she stared at Trevor. The teen with his splinted leg sticking out reminded her that Russell had never showed at the clinic the day before and she hadn’t seen him anywhere that morning. “Crissy, was Father Rogers at the clinic when you left?”
Crissy shrugged. “I haven’t seen him in a couple of days, maybe three. Why?”
Patty’s brows creased as she shook her head. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter how he chooses to spend his time. Thank you for helping.”
“We’ll take care of the horses,” Tom assured the riders as Patty began to usher Jed away and motioned for the woman to dismount. “Go over to the stables to get some fresh ones to take you home when you’re done eating.”
As Crissy happily complied and began leading the newcomers away, Patty turned back to Tom and Bishop. “Tom, do you think we should still—”
Tom raised a hand to effectively cut her off. “If Dillinger is getting ready to move on us, then it’s all the more reason for us to speak to the town about it. Now, before it happens, Patty. Since we don’t have phones or email, this is the best way to get it done.”
“He’s right,” Bishop added.
Patty was taken aback by the tone of Bishop’s voice. There had been a change in him since his son arrived. The normally somewhat passive man was on edge and it made her even more anxious. “We don’t want to cause a panic,” she pushed, concerned with how the fear might undermine the town.
“The only way we can possibly keep this place from being turned into a FEMA shelter is to get enough people to stand up to them,” Bishop retorted with some heat. “Trying to keep the residents ignorant of what’s going on won’t help. It certainly won’t prevent it from happening here. Dillinger might be willing to kill a couple of farmers here and there who dare to push back, but taking on a whole town is something different. I can’t imagine anyone would give that order, or that enough of his men would follow it.”
Patty wrung her hands together as she looked at Tom, evaluating his reaction. She knew the man well enough to recognize the resolve on his face. Nodding slowly, she did her best to stay focused on the positive. “Okay, then. There’s still a lot of work to do over the next few hours before everyone starts arriving. Let’s make sure we show them how strong we can be together.”
Turning from the men and horses, Patty concentrated on her breathing. She knew the lack of sleep only added to her state of anxiety. Three hours in the basement while listening to Caleb tap away on his radio wasn’t enough. She only had herself to blame for feeling overwhelmed. Straightening her back, Patty forced herself to walk with more purpose. The role of goodwill ambassador was a self-imposed penance, and one that she would carry out whether she felt like it or not.
Patty headed for the broad front stairs of City Hall. There was something she needed to do.
“Patty!” a grating voice called before she’d reached the second step.
Closing her eyes, Patty set her lips in a thin line. She turned to face Gary’s wife, prepared to defend herself and the new mayor. In spite of riders being sent out to all of the council members’ houses the night before with a notice for the unplanned meeting that morning, Gary hadn’t shown up. Patty assumed it was an intentional stance to silently show his opposition, and now Emma was there to do the real talking for him.
“Have you seen Gary?” Emma asked. She glanced around nervously at all of the activity in the town square. “When he didn’t come home last night, I assumed he was staying in town again, because of all of—this,” she added, flinging her hands around. “Except, now I can’t find him.”
Patty frowned, unsure of how to answer. “Emma, Gary wasn’t very happy with the council after the last meeting yesterday morning, so I haven’t spoken to him since then. Why don’t you try over at The Last Stop?” When Emma scowled at the suggestion that her husband might have spent the night at a bar, Patty sighed. “I only meant that maybe he stopped in for a drink and someone might have seen him or talked to him.”
Emma glared at Patty and stuck her hands on her hips. “If Gary is in that place, it’s only because you drove him there.”
Any other day, Patty might have laughed as she watched Emma stomp off. Instead, the encounter created another layer of disquiet that followed her up the stairs. Once inside the darkened halls of the antiquated building, Patty was more relaxed, and by the time she reached her old office she was smiling again.
Approaching the whiteboard, she was relieved to see that Sam had left her numbers in the top right corner when he’d cleaned his writing off it. Grabbing a marker, Patty’s smile broadened. Finally, with their first successful delivery since the flashpoint, she was able to add to it instead of taking away. She didn’t know if the 1st Force Recon Unit or Senator Jenson were going to stay, but for the time being, she also considered them a part of Mercy.
Using her fingers to rub away the numbers 638, Patty replaced them with 647. They were growing. Mercy was growing, and she would do whatever was necessary to make sure it continued.
Chapter 20
ETHAN
Natural Spring, Mercy, Montana
“We can stay,” Ethan offered. They had just finished getting the second load of water secured and Tane was ready to head out. The only other person helping that morning besides him and Chloe was a woman who worked daily at the spring. “Why don’t you ride into town and help unload?” he said to her with a smile, hoping she’d understand he was trying to prevent Tane from doing too much physical labor. “Then you can make it in time before the barbeque starts.”
“I’d like that,” the woman answered pleasantly with a coy wink to Ethan. “My kids are going to be waiting for me.”
“You sure?” Tane asked from his perch on the wagon as the woman climbed up beside him. “If you want to ride back in too, I don’t mind coming out one more time. I’m sure Danny will save me some food and I can manage the refilling on my own.”
Tane referred to the impressive system Bishop helped design. There were two raised platforms that held containers fastened to a base which slid in and out of the wagon once it was lined up, so you could back right into it. Thanks to a leverage system, it only took two people to operate it, along with the driver. While one of the plastic tubs was being used to deliver water, the other could be re
filled. The only downfall was that, in spite of endless troubleshooting, the simple plumbing would constantly lose its siphon due to fluctuations in the spring’s pressure, so the water flow needed to be monitored. They had to refill the empty container Tane had just swapped out so it would be ready for a quick delivery later that night, after the party.
“Go ahead!” Chloe shouted, already waving goodbye. “This won’t take long and we’ll meet you there. Save us a couple of seats at the table.”
As the wagon lumbered away, Ethan watched Chloe skip across the open field to where their horses were tethered, calling to Grace as she went. The retriever had been acting weird all morning, hovering around the horses and sniffing at the ground. Ethan guessed it was due to the incoming storm, but the dog’s restlessness was starting to rub off on him.
Giving Tango an absent pat on the head, Chloe opened her saddle bags and removed what looked like two red scarves. Narrowing his eyes, Ethan couldn’t imagine what she was up to. But that was part of the reason why he liked her. “Hey,” he called out as she returned. “I don’t remember giving you that shirt.”
Chloe looked down innocently at the brown T-shirt with the words “I aim to misbehave” on it. “Oh, really? Pretty sure you did.”
Ethan emphatically shook his head. “It’s my best Firefly shirt,” he said, referencing their mutually favorite T.V. show.
“I know,” Chloe said unapologetically. “Here.”
Still frowning though not really mad, Ethan took the roughly cut scarf. Chloe must have made it from a scrap of one of his grandma’s sewing projects, causing his curiosity to deepen. Turning it over in his hands, he couldn’t help but smile when he saw the logo on it. It was made from a crude piece of colored, cut-out cardboard that was glued on, and it was the coolest thing ever. The green triangle with yellow stripes and blue star was the emblem for the rebel soldiers from the same show, called Browncoats. Red scarves were also originally part of their basic uniforms. Ethan immediately got the reference and how it might apply to their current situation in Mercy, what with being rising rebels and all. “So, why Browncoats and not the Rebel Alliance?” he teased, not willing to let her off so easily.