“So? Aren’t they just going to hang him and be done with it?”
“Probably, but Nantan, my friend in the tribal council, told me something that the man kept repeating, and said I ought to come and let you know. He thought you’d be interested in hearing what this white man had to say, even if it is a lie.”
“Me? Why would I care?”
“Because he claims he came here looking for you. Well, not by name, but he said he was looking for Aaron Santos’ uncle. When they asked him why, he said it was because Aaron had been traveling with his daughter, and that he had reason to believe they were both headed here, to your place on the reservation.”
Megan heard this and tried to make sense of it. Who could this man be, who thought Aaron was with his daughter? She knew Vicky’s mom and dad were in Portland, so it seemed unlikely her dad could have made his way here. Unless it was Colleen’s dad, there wasn’t anyone else in their group that could be mistaken for her if they had heard that Aaron had left for the reservation with a female friend. Megan went outside, apologizing for butting into the conversation, but she had to ask, even though she didn’t know Colleen’s dad’s name. “Do you know this white man’s name?”
“Yeah, they said it was Branson. I believe they said Eric Branson. Do you know him?”
For a moment, Megan was speechless, but then she got herself together and told them that yes, her father’s name was Eric Branson. Upon hearing this, Ethan said they would leave immediately to go and see this man who claimed to be him. The ride to the tribal militia headquarters seemed to take forever, with Megan seated in the front of Ethan’s pickup with Ava beside her in the middle as she told them all about her dad from the moment they left. She was certain there must be some kind of mistake, because it was impossible that her dad could be here. Even if he actually came back to the U.S. to look for her, which she hadn’t expected to happen, how would he possibly know she’d come here, of all places? Of course, she wanted to believe it, but it just seemed too far-fetched to make sense.
But the man that brought the news told them that this fellow they were holding wasn’t just some random civilian. The tribal militia had captured him easily enough because they greatly outnumbered him and took him by surprise, but the interrogator could tell he had combat experience and training. And he was carrying weapons that weren’t easy for civilians to come by, at least not before the anarchy started. Megan knew her dad had a look and a way of carrying himself that made it hard to hide the fact that he was a dangerous man, and he had the toughness and resolve to take whatever punishment that interrogator may have dished out. She hated to think that he might really be hurt though, just because he came here to find her, but she wasn’t going to believe any of this was true until she saw him herself. Before she was allowed to do that though, she was taken into the headquarters of the tribal council and militia to answer questions about Eric Branson herself.
“So, your name is Megan? Where did you attend college, Megan, and where did you live before that?”
Megan answered truthfully, knowing they were checking her answers against whatever this man who claimed to be her father told them.
“And you were traveling here with Aaron Santos because he was your friend in college, but you arrived here in a U.S. Army truck, with a story about Aaron being captured by some militia group in the mountains in Colorado….”
Megan wondered what they were trying to get to, and for a moment thought this might be some kind of trick. Some of the men present had already heard her answer these questions before, when they interviewed her before letting her in when the military escort dropped her off. But she kept reminding herself that there was no way any of these people would know her father’s name, and she didn’t know how they would have gotten it. She continued to answer truthfully, providing all the details they asked for, including what she knew of her father’s service. She told them that he was a Navy SEAL and which SEAL team he’d been a part of, and then she told them the names of two of the private security companies he’d worked for after he got out and began contracting. She didn’t know the most current one, but she knew he had signed on with a company that had lots of assets in Europe.
“If he’s here, it’s only because he’s looking for me,” Megan said. “He didn’t come back here to work for the American military or to contract for any militia, and even if he had, why would he be here on your lands? I just want to see him. If it’s really him, you’ll know he’s my father when you see the look on his face when he sees me. Please! I’ve told you everything I know!”
Megan didn’t know for sure what was going to happen next but the man asking questions nodded at one of his companions, who then left the room. It was several minutes later before the door opened again, and when it did, three men entered the room: the one who’d just left, a uniformed tribal police officer from the jail, and her dad! Megan nearly knocked her chair over getting to her feet she was so excited. And when he saw her there in the same room with him, his jaw dropped in disbelief. It was true! The tribal militia really had caught Eric Branson sneaking onto Jicarilla land!
* * *
Eric was immediately cleared of all charges against him by the Jicarilla tribal council after he and Megan each told their versions of how they were connected to Aaron Santos while sitting there together in the same room. When he’d first seen her, Eric had assumed that she and Aaron had made it there together as they’d set out to do. But hearing her tell the details of his capture and her subsequent meeting with the sergeant at that highway checkpoint, Eric immediately understood why he’d found that second militia camp completely destroyed.
“Of course they couldn’t tell you, since you’re a civilian and the conflict is ongoing, but you can bet that your intel gave them what they needed to make that strike. You did the right thing, Megan, and that took courage!”
But Eric knew this news left his daughter full of doubt as to Aaron’s well-being. Upon hearing that he found so many dead, she wasn’t convinced that Aaron wasn’t among them.
“I’m certain that I didn’t find anyone there that looked Native American, especially not anyone with long hair, and believe me, I looked, because Vicky gave me a good description. There must have been other hostages that were rescued, and we will find him, Megan, I promise you that! I’ll go and find that sergeant you talked to and convince him to look into where they were taken.”
Eric knew this wasn’t enough to dispel Megan’s worry though, and he understood why. Aaron could have been severely wounded in the attack and may have died later in transit to wherever they were taking survivors they rescued. A number of things could have happened to him, but the fact that the sergeant was able to finagle a ride to the reservation for Megan was promising. Eric figured they must have had a really good reason for wanting to know the location of that militia camp, and just as he’d thought when he first saw the devastation there, a really good reason for hitting it with such a hard and decisive strike. He was sure that there was a lot going on in this region that he didn’t know about yet, and that made going anywhere dangerous, but he’d promised his daughter he would do all he could to find Aaron, and he intended to keep that promise.
“Aaron is a great guy,” Megan assured him. “He said that if I came here with him, I could stay as long as I wanted, but he knew I wanted to try and get back to Florida where Mom is, and he said he would do anything he could to help me. Now I’ve got to help him first, but after I know he’s okay, I still need to find out about Mom and Daniel and Andrew. I’m really worried about them, Dad!”
“Don’t be, Megan. “Your mom isn’t in Florida, and neither is your stepdad and stepbrother.”
“How do you know that? If they’re not there, then where are they?”
“Daniel and Andrew are with your Uncle Keith in Louisiana. So is your grandfather. But your mom’s in Colorado. She came with me to look for you Megan, but I had to leave her in a safe place when I found out you were coming here. She’s probably not too
happy with me right now, but she’s sure going to be thrilled to see you!”
Eric gave her a brief run-down of the details; how he’d first returned to Florida and looked for them at their home, and then what happened after he made his way to his father’s place on the Caloosahatchee River. Megan was incredulous at all they had been through, and he barely gave her the half of it.
“You did all that for me? Mom took all those risks to come with you?” Tears were running down her cheeks as Eric pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her.
“Of course we did, Megan! You’re our only daughter! There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. I’m just sorry I wasn’t here to keep you from having to go through what you did in the first place.”
“Now I’m worried about Mom and Aaron! Are you sure she’s safe at that cabin? Anything could happen to them out there!”
“I don’t know any place that’s truly safe anymore, Megan, but I felt good about Bob’s cabin or I wouldn’t have left them there. I felt much better about that than I did about bringing them with me. It’s in a remote area and not easy to find, and the three of them are well-armed. Your mom’s a lot tougher than you may realize, Megan. And Jonathan will fight to the death for her. Vicky is a survivor too.”
Megan showed little emotion when Eric told her what happened to Gareth. It was clear to him that whatever feelings she’d once had for him were long gone. Her concern now was for her family and her true friends, like Aaron. She wanted to be reunited with all of them now and wanted to know how they were going to make that happen. With her mom far to the north in that mountain wilderness, and Aaron’s location unknown, Megan wanted to know what they were going to do next. But they were still in the room where Eric had been brought in to meet her, and Aaron’s uncle and aunt that had been looking after his daughter since she arrived were still in there with them, waiting.
“You two are going to need a lot of time to catch up, and tell each other your stories,” Ethan said to Megan. “Both of you are welcome at my house for as long as you’d like to stay. Let’s go back there now and get away from this place. I’m sure your father has seen all he wants to see of it. You can discuss your plans there later and you know I will help you in any way I can.”
Eric thanked him, and Megan agreed that would be a good idea. Eric walked her out of the room with his arm around her, and they were about to get into Ethan’s pickup when Megan pointed at something out on the main road leading into town.
“Isn’t that your other truck, Ethan?”
Ethan turned around and looked, squinting hard to try and see through the glare on the windshield as he watched the battered old Toyota heading their way. “That is my truck! Now, who would have the nerve to steal my truck and drive it straight to the police station with me standing right in front of it?”
Eric didn’t know what to make of any of this until the truck skidded to a stop and the driver jumped out, causing him to reach for Megan’s hand, in case it was some kind of attack. But Megan tore away from his grasp and went running straight towards the young man who’d been driving. He was tall and long-haired and clearly Apache, and he ran to meet Megan with open arms.
* * *
Thank you for reading Book Five of The Feral Nation Series. I hope you enjoyed the story! Please turn the page for information on the next book in this series and more:
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If the Feral Nation books are the first of my works you’ve read, you might enjoy my other post-apocalyptic and action/adventure books. Turn the page for the full list and links to my other published works.
More by Scott B. Williams
THE FOLLOWING LINKS WILL take you to the Amazon Kindle versions of my most popular books that are available now. New books are coming all the time so stay up to date by signing up for my book alerts via my New Release Updates
Feral Nation Series
Feral Nation - Infiltration (Book 1)
Feral Nation - Insurrection (Book 2)
Feral Nation - Tribulation (Book 3)
Feral Nation - The Divide (Book 4)
Feral Nation - Perseverance (Book 5)
The Pulse Series:
The Pulse: A Novel of Surviving the Collapse of the Grid (Book 1)
Refuge After the Collapse (Book 2)
Voyage After the Collapse (Book 3)
Landfall: Islands in the Aftermath (Book 4)
Horizons Beyond the Darkness (Book 5)
The Darkness After Series:
Enter the Darkness (Series Prequel)
The Darkness After (Book 1)
Into the River Lands (Book 2)
The Forge of Darkness (Book 3)
The Savage Darkness (Book 4)
Apocalypse Series:
Sailing the Apocalypse: A Misadventure at Sea
Nonfiction:
On Island Time: Kayaking the Caribbean
Bug Out: The Complete Plan for Escaping a Catastrophic Disaster Before It’s Too Late
About the Author
SCOTT B. WILLIAMS HAS been writing about his adventures for more than twenty-five years. His published work includes dozens of magazine articles and twenty-five books, with more projects currently underway.
His interest in backpacking, sea kayaking and sailing small boats to remote places led him to pursue the wilderness survival skills that he has written about in his popular survival nonfiction books and travel narratives such as On Island Time: Kayaking the Caribbean, an account of a two-year solo kayaking expedition he undertook at age 25.
With the release of The Pulse: A Novel of Surviving the Collapse of the Grid in 2012, Scott moved into writing fiction full time. His post-apocalyptic and action & adventure stories draw heavily on his personal wilderness and ocean experiences to create believable scenarios often set in dire circumstances. To learn more about his upcoming books or to contact Scott, visit his website: www.scottbwilliams.com
Dedication
THIS ONE IS FOR Flint.
Perseverance Page 17