by J. P. Castle
“I’d do it all again if I had to,” said Caleb. “I suppose I owe you thanks, too, for helping nurse me back to the land of the living.”
“It was the least I could do. I can’t lose any more family members. I can’t.”
“I’ve told you twice now that I’m not your family, or your brother.”
“Yeah, ‘n I don’t understand why you keep saying that. We’ve grown up together. You’re always at my house. I mean, I see you every day. So, yes, you are my family in my eyes. You can think whatever you want to in that bent up brain of yours.”
“You’re such an airhead sometimes,” said Caleb with a smirky grin on his face, preparing to explain himself. But, in the usual Caleb style, he’d hit a nerve with Bryce again.
“Well—you must be healed. You’re back to your jerk self,” she snapped, turning to storm off. She could hear Caleb laughing, which didn’t help his plight.
Man, how is this so difficult? Are all girls like this? Can she not simply stand still for five minutes and listen to me.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The Dinner
MORNING CAME, BASTIAN sent Ginger and Mateo off to Laramie for supplies. They conversed about their lives along the way.
“So, were you born here, Mateo?” said Ginger.
“Yes, I was. My parents migrated here from Mexico the year before I was born. I’ve been here all my life. The way they explained it to me, life down there was both ruthless and lawless. Women were constantly kidnapped, raped, killed, or sold into prostitution. Men who didn’t belong to gangs or cartels couldn’t afford to feed their families. Those that did belong to the gangs tended to have shorter life spans. The government does nothing about it.”
“I was a military kid. We moved around a lot . . . made it hard to keep friends. Pretty much stayed a loner,” said Ginger.
The pair continued the idle talk and purchased the supplies on the list. They stopped at several locations until they’d filled the van full.
“Is it just me, or do these store shelves seem emptier than usual at every store we’ve stopped at?” said Ginger.
“Yeah, I noticed that, too,” said Mateo.
Leaving the final stop, he noticed a folded paper beneath the windshield wiper. Mateo plucked the piece from the wipers, and hopped into the driver’s seat.
“What’s that?” said Ginger.
“It says . . . ‘Tell him to stay put at the present location. You’re safe for now. I’ll be in touch soon, Uncle A.’”
“Wow, someone’s been watching and following us this whole time. I didn’t even notice. I’m usually keen on my surroundings. I really wasn’t paying attention at all,” said Ginger.
“At least it’s good news to take to Bastian. Nice to have someone on our side. Not sure how much more I can take of being chased by killer helicopters,” said Mateo.
BASTIAN SEEMED PLEASED with the news upon their return. “Wow, that’s scary. Scary, we are too naïve to realize we’re being watched. But comforted by the fact that, at least it’s by someone wanting to help us. TONIGHT, WE FEAST . . . I want us all to eat together. We might just make it through this, after all,” he said.
Everyone helped sort out supplies and prepare the evening meal. The mouthwatering smell of roast beef filled the air, taking its sweet time to cook over the fire pit.
The girls kept the stove busy in the R.V. When the time came, they all made their way around the mini buffet spread across two picnic tables.
“Before we eat,” said Bastian, “I want to thank everyone here for the contributions they’ve made to the group. The past couple of weeks have tried us all. There were times that we were in question about whether we’d make it or not. Even through the savagery, back out there, outside of this camp, we’ve managed to stick together and make everything work. Let’s take a moment for the ones we’ve lost . . . both parents and friends.”
Everyone bowed their heads in silence. The somber moment put an instant damper on the group’s uplifted mood. No one wanted to be reminded of what they’d lost, but it was the right thing to do.
“Okay,” said Bastian, “Pastor, would you bless our meal?”
Thirsten perked up.
He never expected he’d be blessing anything ever again. “Uh, um, sure, yes, yes, of course. Lord, these past few days have been filled with great turmoil, even longer for this group here. I thank you for bringing them into my life, saving me from myself, and giving me a sliver of hope that humanity remains intact, despite the horror that surrounds us. Please, bless this meal we are about to receive and allow it to nourish our bodies. Know, Lord, we are profoundly grateful for it. In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen.”
Everyone said amen, whether they’d ever gone to church or not, they were all thankful. Thankful for the plentiful bounty of food, and grateful to be spared from the hell that lay beyond the entry gates of Vedauwoo campground.
“OH MY GOSH! This is so good,” said Ollie. “Tastes just like home. Mom’s food is . . . was . . . awesome. Rani can’t cook, though.”
“Ollie, will you hush,” said Rani, shaking her head.
Everyone giggled.
“Why are you always bossing on me to be quiet?” said Ollie, rolling his eyes. “It’s true. You burn everything . . . even my toast.”
Rani sighed and cast her eyes up in the air.
“You’re right, Ollie, it’s delicious. Your sister helped cook it too, and so far, nothing is burnt that I have tasted,” said Mr. McCrady, trying to defuse the situation before Rani went to Defcon 2. “I don’t remember having a meal this fine in a very, very long time . . . even when we were back home in our old lives.”
Everyone ate until they were stuffed, then topped the meal off with chocolate pie, cake, and ice cream. Bastian sat down beside Troian to play with baby Ezra for a while.
Rani’s heartrate skyrocketed when she noticed Bastian on daddy duty. Don’t ruin dinner with an outburst, Rani. Don’t do it. You got this. I still want to choke Troian right now, and maybe Bastian too, but it’s not even her fault. I feel nuts. NUTS. It’s the baby’s fault. If we just didn’t have that baby. No, no, it’s not Ezra’s fault. He didn’t ask for this either. Why is this so hard?
Rani tried to control her primal thoughts of jealousy. Her mind raced from one point to the next. She crawled onto the blanket and joined all three of them instead, trying a new approach. Bastian handed baby Ezra off to Troian. Rani rushed to take the infant’s place, cozying up to Bastian. She leaned forward to give him a kiss in front of Troian—in front of everyone.
Bastian pulled his head backward slightly.
“Something wrong,” said Rani in a low tone.
“Inappropriate timing,” said Bastian softly.
Rani got up and went inside of the R.V. Inappropriate timing? No, that would be if I hit you over the head with one of the fire logs right now. Which is what I’d like to do. Inappropriate timing . . . am I losing him?
Troian remained silent. She wasn’t the only one to notice tension growing between the two, but she sincerely didn’t want to be the cause of it.
Bryce sat on a log beside Ledger. In fact, she’d eaten her meal there beside him, too. Caleb kept a close eye on her as always from a distance. Strange as it was, Bryce did the exact same thing to him, but she still didn’t reason why.
Caleb limped over to Bryce and leaned down into her hair, where no one else could hear. He couldn’t help but steal one smell of her before he spoke. “You love pissing me off, don’t you?”
Bryce remained silent, didn’t move, simply raised her baby blues up toward him. “Well, I am an airhead.”
Caleb left her there, even though he didn’t want her sitting next to Ledger. He roamed over to chat with Troian and Bastian.
“So, Amir, anything interesting on the news today?” said Bastian.
“Actually, Youlie and I just finished reading a new Marksmen Monkey post called ‘The Long-Con Theory.’ Basically, it says Breckenridge, Colorado, and Anaconda, Monta
na were the immediate, isolated targets to pump fear into the nation.
“This primed the minds of citizens, so now they’ll willingly line up for the vaccine. Now, the Marksmen Monkeys are saying the government’s goal is to vaccinate as many people as possible with a different kill vaccine. One that won’t start killing until nearly everyone has gotten the shot. This way, people getting the vaccine can serve as proof that it’s safe, and no one is dying from it. The government needs to earn trust, so more people will comply,” said Amir.
“That definitely explains why they want the second vaccination round to take a full three to six weeks before it activates. The long con, yes, it sure is, makes perfect sense,” said Bastian.
“They’re also saying portions of the shots are placebos and won’t kill people . . . but will sterilize a certain percentage. The last line of the post said . . . ‘If this doesn’t play out as we stated, we’ll shut our website down,’” finished Amir.
“What’s your take on what’s happening, Thirsten? Is this the apocalypse? I’m a man of science, but I still believe in God. I concluded long ago, science is a cool way to explain further how God did things,” said Mr. McCrady.
“I don’t believe this is the full-blown apocalypse, as described in the Bible, but it could be a precursor. I do believe this to be the work of Satan to turn people against God. Satan is a powerful influencer. He offers many distractions . . . video games, cell phones, social media, among other things.
“There’s nothing wrong with any of those things, so long as they don’t keep you from your soul’s salvation. These distractions have allowed certain things to go unnoticed, pollution, population, and such—until it was too late. Now we have what Satan loves, anarchy, and chaos.
“Because of the suffering, people are more willing to turn against the Creator, blaming him for not stopping these atrocities. When in fact, they should’ve taken some personal responsibility to be better stewards of the planet. That’s the way I view it from my perspective.”
“Why doesn’t God stop him?” said Troian.
“Because that’s not how it’s written. It would also interfere with the free will of man. The choice man has to do the right thing, or fail. But trust me, God will set things straight in the end, and Satan will lose. This could be one of many sufferings to come.”
Joaquin stepped over to Thirsten and put his hand on his shoulder, “Now see, you are still needed here. Some of us here don’t understand the details of such things. I don’t. And I’m glad you didn’t die.”
Thirsten’s eyes filled with tears, thankful to be needed again.
DODI ‘N HANK
THE FOLLOWING AFTERNOON people munched on leftovers. They rested their minds on the hope that maybe they’d be safe at this location until Bastian’s uncle was able to come and help.
The smell of rain loomed in the air, clouds clustered together, but not enough to cause alarm. “You up for a hike, Mateo?” said Ginger, standing there with her hands on her hips.
He glimpsed up from the picnic table bench, “I’m game.”
Vedauwoo had a lot to offer anyone with a love of the great outdoors. It would be uncommon if a person didn’t see several moose, herds of antelope, deer, and free-range cows, along with many other animals on any given day.
The mountains in the park welcomed all skill levels, one could climb with or without ropes to high elevations. Ginger and Mateo climbed atop one of the medium size bluffs. The crisp air up there refreshed their lungs, something Ginger hadn’t experienced in quite a while. The view stretched as far as the eyes could focus in any direction.
“It sure is something,” said Mateo. He winced at a small herd of antelope fleeing across the valley below.
“What are they high-tailing it from?” said Ginger.
Mateo clutched ahold of her arm and pulled her down into a squatting position. He pointed. “Two blue uniforms, same as the ones from the other day.”
“Wonder if they’re friendly, or not?”
“Hard to say. So far, few we’ve seen have been friendly. We need to hurry back. If they’re here, more could be here, too,” he said in an anxious tone.
The pair trekked back down the mountainside, bouncing from rock to rock. It took a good thirty minutes to reach the bottom, and fifteen more to get back to camp.
“We shouldn’t have gone this far,” said Ginger.
“If we didn’t, we wouldn’t have seen them,” said Mateo.
BASTIAN’S EXPRESSION CHANGED from happy to concern when they shared the news.
“Great, it never ends. We need to be ready. Prepare to pull out of here people. Ledger arm up those that can shoot. We don’t have an overabundance of ammo, but we have enough to stave off a small attack.”
Everyone hurried around camp. Some folded down tents, others packed up supplies. Hours later, they all sat in silence at the fire’s edge—waiting. Those armed remained back in the darkness, away from the light given off by the flickering flames.
Each person envisioned the horrors coming next, waiting for General Given to spring from nearby bushes to wipe them all out. No one could relax on this peaceful moonlit night or enjoy the many stars above.
“If they’re gonna kill us, I wish they’d get it over with,” said Bryce. “I can’t stand going through this crap every day.”
Caleb, hardly ten feet away from her, remained hidden in the cloak of the night. “Quiet,” he said, “I hear voices.”
Caleb stood steady. Ledger, Bastian, Ginger, and Lumen moved slowly toward the voices with their weapons drawn. The rest of the group huddled in fear behind the R.V. Troian tried to keep the baby quiet with Mazel’s help.
They all listened to Bastian speak.
“Stop right there. Lay your weapons down,” said Bastian, squinting his eyes at two figures approaching from the shadows. He shuddered when he distinguished their uniforms, figuring they’d come to kill them all, as directed by General Given.
The two soldiers complied, “Easy fella, we mean no harm. I’m Dodi, and this is my friend, Hank. We’ve deserted our military group, and we’re searching for a girl.”
“What girl?” said Bastian.
“Troian, a girl named Troian,” said Dodi.
“What do you want with her?” said Bastian.
“We have a message from her brother, Tony,” said Dodi.
“Ledger get their weapons,” said Bastian. “Come with us. If you’re who you say you are, your weapons will be returned later.” Bastian gave the command, and everyone lowered their weapons.
“No problem,” said Dodi.
The anxious group waited, scarcely breathing to not make a sound.
Amir peaked around the edge of the R.V. “They’re coming back, and they’ve got two men with them, like the ones we fought the other day, soldiers,” he said.
“Have a seat,” said Bastian. “The rest of you can come out now.”
Dodi and Hank sat down beside the fire, watching the rest of the group trickle out from behind the large motorhome. One by one, each person cautiously took a seat.
Bastian walked up and stopped directly in front of Troian. He spoke to her in a shallow tone, almost a whisper. “They said they were trying to find you.”
Troian peered around Bastian’s shoulder. “Me,” she said with an expression of confusion on her face.
Bastian stepped to the side. “This is Troian,” he said.
“Hi Troian, I’m Dodi, and this is my partner, Hank. We’re friends of your brother, Tony. We were there the other day when you had trouble at the roadblock. It was us that loaded your brother in the chopper that saved your lives. He was shot in the thigh, but he still pulled it off somehow.
“Unfortunately, after you all escaped, Tony was forced to land to patch his leg. Before we could get to him, Girard’s team surrounded him and Tony’s partner, Rich. Girard arrested them both. They’ll probably be sent to hard labor camps for now . . . then reprogramming. Both are too valuable to eliminate.”
Troian put her hand over her mouth. She handed baby Ezra off to Youlie, then stepped closer to the men. “So, he’s alive. You’re saying he’s alive.”
“We can’t guarantee it, but there’s a high probability, yes.”
Troian had no response, nearly bursting into tears but managed to swallow down the lump in the back of her throat. She naturally assumed that she’d never speak to Tony again, same as their departed, murdered parents. A small amount of relief filled her mind, along with the fear of what Tony may go through in a labor camp.
Ginger glanced over at Bastian. He had his arm around Rani, who had one hand on his chest. She could tell Bastian wanted to go to Troian, to comfort her, but couldn’t. Bastian caught Ginger eyeing him. She rapidly turned away.
“Um, you two must be hungry,” said Troian. That’s all she could say with her mind in shock.
“Yes, starving. Anything, anything you can spare we’ll eat. We haven’t eaten since the incident.”
Troian went inside to fix them a meal and collect her thoughts. She needed to be alone for a minute. Bastian sat down beside Ledger to talk to Dodi and Hank while the others listened.
“So, you both are aware of the vaccine hoax,” said Bastian.
“Yes, there are many of us that disagree with what the government is doing right now. Others also disagree but would never say so. They follow orders, fearing the consequences of disobedience if they don’t,” said Hank.
“We decided to take our chances and left when Tony needed our help. He would’ve done the same for us. If we’re caught, we’ll either be killed or put into labor camps with other defectors. Not everybody’s on board with the extermination plan.”
“Earlier today,” said Bastian, “I said we couldn’t take on more people, but this will surely be the exception. No way I can turn away two strangers that helped save our lives the other day. You both are welcome to join our group if that’s what you want.”
“We’d be grateful, thank you. We’ll do what we can to help around here. Hard to say what the nation will turn into out there in the weeks to come. There’s a lot of things for the government to sort out if they succeed with their plan,” said Dodi.