“You got any booze behind that bar there?” Mars asked.
“There should be, yeah.” Finn said. “You want me to…?”
“…I got it.” Mars said, already heading over. “Anybody else?”
“I’m good for now.” Xander replied.
“Yeah, I’m fine, thanks.” Ken said.
While Mars went off to quench his thirst, Xander, Ken and Finn removed their coats and took a seat in the few remaining pieces of furniture that didn’t have a stack of logs covering it.
“Okay, Finn, let’s have it.” Xander said. “I only counted eight pick ups on the way in, but I’m pretty sure I loaned you guys 15. How many of you are here?”
“There’s 16 of us here plus 12 of the staff.” Finn replied. “We took some serious loses before we managed to find this place.”
“What do you mean by that?” Xander asked. “There were 30 of you and you were armed to the teeth.”
“This wasn’t the first place we found, Xander. We came up on another place the day we arrived. As soon as we stopped our trucks at their gates a bunch of guys jumped us. Heath’s crew was in the lead and they were instantly wiped out. Simon was killed too along with three guys from his crew. Me, Gerry and Lyle managed to back our crews the hell out of there, but we lost 10 guys along with their trucks.”
“Fuck me.” Mars said, sitting down with his tall glass of vodka.
“If 16 are here and 10 are dead where’s the other four?” Xander asked.
“Lyle and his guys wanted to find something a little further away.” Finn replied. “Those people that attacked us are only 10 or 11 kilometres up the road and they were worried that they’d come pay us a visit.”
“Maybe we should pay them another one.” Mars said.
“There’s dozens of people over there, Mars.” Finn said. “They’re heavily armed and well organized. Whatever those guys have got set up over there, they have no intention of losing it to anyone. The owners here told us they’re some sort of prepper community, but they don’t know much more than that. I guess they pretty much keep to themselves.”
“Until you show up at their gates.” Xander added.
“So, they haven’t come around here?” Ken asked.
“You guys are the first people we’ve seen since we arrived.” Finn replied. “Honestly, I don’t think those preppers go out on raids or anything. I think they already have everything they need and all of their efforts are concentrated on protecting it. Those pricks knew exactly what they were doing too. Heath and them were just thrashed.”
“I’m gunna take your word on that one and leave it alone then.” Xander said. “Sucks to lose the trucks and the weapons, but we have enough for our needs.”
“Alright, so who’s in charge around here?” Mars asked.
“You’re looking at him.” Finn replied. “Me and Gerry still have our crews together, but Gerry didn’t want the job. I handle security and he handles the help.”
“Where the hell is the help?” Xander asked.
“They all go out hunting every other morning.” Finn replied. “The owners, the cooks, the maids… everyone. They’ll be back in time to get dinner started.”
“You gave these people weapons?” Xander then asked.
“They already had a few rifles, but we’re working together, yeah.” Finn replied. “We met with the owners when we arrived… a nice old German couple. We told them that we’d be willing to provide security and hunters in return for a place to hold up for the winter. I’m pretty sure they knew what we were, but they let us stay anyway. I think they figured that others would eventually come along and having guys like us on their side would be an advantage to them. Better the devil you know and all that.”
Tom suddenly appeared in the doorway and said, “Imagine their surprise when they see that you opened the gates for the first group of devils that showed up.”
“Find a place to sit down and shut up, Tom.” Xander said.
“Have things been running smoothly, Finn?” Ken asked. “Any problems we should know about?”
“Everybody’s been getting along fine.” Finn replied. “The place is fairly warm, there’s stacks of firewood out back and there’s a hand cranked well pump that takes water all the way up to the top floor. The only real problem is our food stores. The hunting lately has only been so-so.”
“Will you have enough to get us all to the spring?” Xander asked.
“Not sure… maybe if the hunting picks up a little.” Finn replied. “We moved all of their freezers outside to keep everything frozen. There’s still a good amount of frozen foods, but the canned goods have taken a pretty good hit.”
“You thinking of just staying here now?” Ken asked.
“I’m not sure yet.” Xander replied. “There’s already 28 people living here and we’d take that number to 35. I’ll have to take a better look around and do a little math.”
“I could get used to living in a place like this.” Mars said.
“Any decent looking women here, Finn?” Xander asked.
“A few, but they have husbands that…”
“…Good! Nothing worse than sleeping alone on a cold winter’s night.” Xander said, unwilling to hear what their husbands may or may not have to say about the matter.
“I understand.” Finn said.
“Alright, here’s what we’re gunna do.” Xander said, smacking his hands together. “When that hunting party gets back I want those staffers disarmed. They’re currently out on their last field trip. From now on they cook, they clean and they keep the fires going. We can handle the hunting and security on our own. I want to meet with these owners and hear what they have to say. If they’re willing to accept that this place is under new management… maybe they’ll be permitted to keep on being a nice old German couple.”
Chapter 18
After weeks of operating on high alert, the group at George’s cabin slowly allowed themselves to relax a little and fall back into their old routines. By late March, the raid they feared inevitable had never materialized and Stu was finally convinced to reduce their watch schedule. They were still guarding the trail day and night, but Stu had decided to reduce their numbers considerably. Now only two guards were on shift at any given time, but two additional guards were always on ‘stand-by.’ The two stand-by guards were permitted to stay home, even go to bed, but they were to remain dressed and ready to move at a moment’s notice. Only their boots and their weapons were allowed to be left at the door.
Instead of signal horns to alert them to intruders, like they had at Orchard Park, Stu had several lines set up on either side of the trail. From as far away as 300 metres, heavy gauge fishing lines had been tied to the trunks of various trees. Running through the forest, all of the tensioned lines terminated in camp at a centrally located mechanism of Stu’s design. They all ran high enough overhead that they wouldn’t be tripped accidentally, but low enough that anybody could reach them with a stick or a rifle.
If the guards pulled any one of those lines Stu’s spring loaded mechanism would trip causing a hammer to slam into a bell. The guards’ location wouldn’t be given away, but everyone in camp would immediately know that someone or something was approaching. As the security team members responded, everyone else would take cover as quickly as possible. If the emergency occurred at night the stand-by guards would be the first out the door. Happily, other than a couple of successful test runs, the lines had never been pulled and their nights had remained peaceful and quiet.
Everybody was overjoyed that life around camp was slowly getting back to normal. Once again, only the security team members were carrying firearms and the smell of gun oil didn’t permeate throughout everybody’s homes. They had no idea how Hal and his people were making out, but Stu and his were doing swimmingly. Their little home in paradise was finally beginning to live up to the hype.
Even the weather was starting to ease up. They still had a fair amount of snow on the ground, particularly in the
shaded areas, but it had definitely begun to melt. Other than a fairly significant snowstorm a day earlier, the sunny and mild days were finally starting to outnumber the cloudy and cold ones. This fact was unquestionably taking its toll on winter’s ability to keep them from their friends.
Knowing they may soon be able to make the trip back to Weyr Resort, George decided to go out to the gravel road to take a look. Being out in the open, they assumed that the road would be losing its snow cover much more rapidly. George plowed the snow to within a half kilometre of the trailhead and then he, Grace and Cole snowshoed the last leg out to the road. Unfortunately, they returned with the disappointing news that the road continued to remain covered in snow and ice. Even if the nice weather held out it would be a while yet before they could check in on Hal and his group. George planned to inspect the road again in another week.
“So, that’s it then.” George said as he walked up from the dock. “Everybody stays off of the ice.”
“Well, that sucks.” Leo said. “Is it really that thin?”
“It’s broken away from the shoreline in places, Leo.” George replied. “There’s probably open water all over the place out there.”
“The hunting on the other side of the lake was really good too.” Leo said. “Without crossing the ice it’s gunna take us half a day to get over there.”
“You should be happy, Leo.” George said. “Once the ice is gone you can take the boat across instead of walking it.”
“Not until that water warms up, he can’t” Sydney said.
“Just stay closer to home until we can take a boat over there.” Stu said. “You guys should be able to start fishing off of the dock again soon.”
“How low is the chest freezer getting?” Sydney asked. “I mean, with no hunting and now no ice fishing…”
“We’ve got a few weeks worth of venison and moose still in there.” George replied. “I think there’s a dozen pickerel down at the bottom too. We’re good for a while yet.”
“We’re gunna have to start curing some of that meat soon.” Stu said. “It won’t be long before it’s not cold enough outside to keep it all frozen. We don’t want to run the generator full time.”
“Fran’s been working with Gwen, Grace and Cole on that already.” George said. “They said they’ll have everything they need when it’s time to get started.”
“Maybe a few of us should head out on a hunt then.” Leo said. “Give them something fresh to work with. Corey’s been waiting for weeks to try and redeem himself.”
“I think Corey’s busy today, Leo, but you can go ahead and get ready.” Sydney said.
“Seriously? I can go?” Leo asked, surprised that the hunting moratorium had finally been lifted.
“You can, but I don’t want you venturing out further than two kilometres and you can’t go alone.” Sydney replied. “You have to ask Brody, Jenny and Dion if they want to go too. There in the cabin eating breakfast.”
“And stay off the ice.” Stu said sternly. “I mean it, Leo, I’ll shut you down again in a heartbeat if I see any of you out there.”
“Understood.” Leo said as he ran off to gather the others.
“What the hell is Corey busy with?” George asked.
“George… didn’t you notice that Corey was gone for a couple of days?” Sydney asked in return.
“Yes, but I haven’t spoken with him.” George said. “I have no idea what that guy’s up to.”
“Well, he spent two days and a night out there.” Sydney said. “He wants to spend the day with his family.”
“You spoke to him then?” Stu asked. “Did he say he found the spot I told him about?”
“He found it.” Sydney replied.
“And…?” Stu asked.
“Ha! You know Corey.” Sydney said. “He said, ‘mission accomplished’ and gave me a thumbs up.”
“What the hell are you guys talking about?” George asked, completely confused now. “What mission?”
“You can go ahead and fill him in, Stu.” Sydney said. “I’m gunna help the boys get ready and remind them to be back before dark.”
“Yeah, okay.” Stu said. “Make sure Leo takes George’s 7mm magnum with him.”
“Aye, aye, captain.”
“Stu, what mission was Corey on?” George asked again. “You guys aren’t even filling me in on shit anymore?”
“It’s not like that, George.” Stu said. “Corey took the truck as far as you plowed to and walked out to the road. Then he walked all the way out to that old accident scene with the burned out minivan.”
“What? Why the hell would he want to go out to that mess?” George asked. “When Grace, Cole and I walked past that horror show it was all we could do to get away from it.”
“Well, the weather was still fairly warm when you…” Stu stopped himself and shook the image out of his head. “Anyways, that blonde woman on the side of the road had a couple of really nice rings on her finger. Her husband had a gold band too.”
“Oh for Pete’s sake… I had no idea.” George said, shaking his head. “Kind of morbid, though, don’t you think?”
“What else can he do, George?” Stu asked. “Take a ride into Toronto and look for a jewellery store?”
“No, I guess not.” George replied. “Can’t beat the price, I suppose.”
“George… the guy froze his nuts off by himself for two days and a night.” Stu said. “He even agreed to stay off of the road, so he didn’t leave any noticeable tracks behind. He did the entire distance walking through the damn ditch. Believe me, buddy, he worked harder for those rings than you or I did for ours.”
“Shit… I guess so.” George said, seeing Stu’s point.
“Stacey doesn’t need to know where that ring came from, George.”
“Nobody will hear anything from me about it.” George said. “I gotta say, though… good for him.”
“Ha! Yeah, well… that all depends on Stacey’s answer.”
◆◆◆
“Ah, for crying out loud.” Brian said from his seat in the family camper.
“What’s your problem?” Fran asked.
“My watch… I took it off last night for my shower and forgot to put it back on.” Brian replied. “The stupid thing died on me. Damn it, for seven months I managed to keep this thing going.”
“I thought you said that automatic watch never dies.” Fran said.
“That’s true as long as I remember to wear it.” Brian said.
“It’s already lunchtime and you’re just noticing now that you didn’t have it on your wrist?”
“What can I tell you…? I find this empty camper and your ageless beauty very distracting.”
“Nice try, stud.” Fran said.
“Two disappointments in under a minute.” Brian said. “That’s one for the record…”
…A sharp loud ring suddenly shattered the peaceful quiet of the morning. Someone had pulled one of the emergency lines. Before the bell’s chime had finished reverberating through the air, Brian was already up and moving.
“Find the kids and get to the cabin!” Brian said, immediately going for his boots and his rifle. “Tell everyone inside to load up and take cover!”
Without waiting for a reply, Brian was out the door and running for the trail. He was relieved to see Stacey running just ahead of him. Precisely as Stu had designed, the two stand-by guards would be the first to support the two on-duty guards. This morning, that meant Brian and Stacey would be backing up Terrell and Cole. As Brian continued in his sprint, he could see that Stu and the others were scrambling into action as well. They would be behind, but not by much.
“Stacey, don’t get too far ahead of me!” Brian shouted as he struggled to keep up.
Instead of slowing down, she suddenly veered left and dove head first into the snowbank. Not needing to see anything more, Brian dove in after her.
“Someone’s sprinting down the trail.” Stacey said as she tried to ready her weapon.
“Take it easy, Stace.” Brian said. “It’s just Cole. He’s really booking it though.”
“Cole, what’s wrong?” Brian shouted.
Without even slowing down, Cole ran right past and shouted, “They’re coming!”
“Where the hell is he going?” Stacey asked. “We’re here to back him up not do his job for him.”
“Just let him go, Stace. He’s obviously scared shitless.”
“That really pisses me off.” Stacey said. “The doc’s up there all by himself now.”
“You think we should go…?”
…Stacey got up, jumped back onto the trail and bolted off again.
“Of course, you do.” Brian said to himself as he got up and pursued.
“Brian, what do you see?” he heard Stu shout from somewhere behind him.
Brian thought about responding, but he was already falling behind Stacey again. He just continued running confident that Stu and the others would know enough to support their sorry asses. Looking ahead, he saw Stacey suddenly slam on the brakes and slide to a stop.
What Stacey and Brian saw running down the trail towards them was absolutely terrifying.
◆◆◆
“Do you still see it, Brody?” Leo asked in a whisper.
“Kind of, but it’s gone into those bushes again.” Brody whispered back.
“Keep watching through your scope. It’ll come out again. Dion and I will be right beside you. I’ll keep Jersey back until you’re ready for her. Just try to relax and take your shot.”
“Okay, Leo.”
Leo and Dion found a decent spot and quietly knelt down to Brody’s right. He encouraged Dion to target the bushes as well while he watched over the two novice hunters.
EMP [Collateral Darkness] | Book 4 Page 29
