by T. L. Payne
“Where would FEMA have taken her?”
“My guess is Marseille. They have a joint FEMA/National Guard training facility there. That is where this bus was headed.”
“I read about that place,” Zach said. “My dad’s—”
He started to say that his dad’s friend, Ryan lived near there but stopped himself. He did not want to divulge any information that FEMA could use to find him.
He would go to Ryan’s and the two of them would go to that FEMA camp and get his sister. He just hoped that she was indeed there. Like the man had said, going into Chicago would be a bad decision.
Chapter 28
Master’s Farm
Marseilles, Illinois
Event +5 days
The pre-dawn crowing of Foghorn, the rooster, was something Maddie did not think she would ever get accustomed to, nor did she want to. Although she woke early to run before school, being awakened before daylight was still not something she enjoyed.
Ryan was already up. She could tell by the smell of fresh-brewed coffee wafting in from the kitchen.
Thank God for coffee.
Conditioned through his years in the military, Ryan had always been an early riser.
Looking over to a still-sleeping Emma, Maddie contemplated getting out of bed. She picked up a lock of Emma's curly red hair and spun it around between her fingers. She'd always wanted a little sister. This just wasn’t how she imagined she would get one.
Ryan had offered Emma her own room, but after the ordeal of the last few days, she requested to stay with Maddie.
Maddie pulled the quilt over Emma’s exposed arm and ran a hand over the plaid fabric that had once been Ryan’s dad’s shirt. She had helped Ryan's mother stitch the quilt on her last visit there.
Sliding out from under the covers, Maddie placed her feet on the floor, stretched, and pulled on Mamaw Masters’ bathrobe. Ryan’s mother had passed several years earlier, but he had yet to pack away her things. At that moment, Maddie missed her greatly. She had been as close with Mamaw Masters as had with her own grandmother.
She pulled up the collar and inhaled. It smelled freshly washed. Mamaw Masters made her own soap, shampoo, and household cleaners from materials she grew on the farm, so everything in the home had its own pleasant herbal aroma. She sold her soaps along with fresh herbs, flowers, and eggs at a local farmer’s market.
Leaving the door open a crack so she could hear Emma, Maddie made her way down the long hall. A well-worn path in the hardwood floor led the way to the kitchen at the back of the farmhouse.
“Did Foghorn wake you?” Ryan chuckled.
“He did,” Maddie said, yawning.
After pouring herself a cup of coffee, Maddie pulled a bar stool away from the island and took a seat across from Ryan.
“Tell me again, why on earth do you have a mean rooster who crows before daylight?” she asked, rubbing sleep from her eyes.
“You don’t need me to explain the birds and the bees to you—or do you?” Ryan chuckled.
After taking a long drink of his coffee, he gently settled the mug back on the counter. He ran his hand down the length of his long sandy brown beard. It was at least six inches longer than the last time Maddie had seen it. The beard grew in contradiction with his close-cropped hair.
Catching movement from the corner of her eye, she spotted Emma in the doorway. She hugged the door frame and peeked her head into the kitchen.
Maddie walked over and gave her a hug.
Ruffling Emma’s wild, untamed hair, she asked, “How did you sleep, Em?”
“Okay,” Emma said. With her arms around Maddie’s waist, she looked past her to where Ryan sat.
Maddie leaned down and whispered in her ear.
“It’s okay. He’s family.”
“You want some breakfast? I got bacon and eggs,” Ryan said, standing to his feet.
If Maddie had not seen it for herself, she would not have believed the world had gone to shit. Nothing at the farm was different. The lights were on. The stove worked. She had hot coffee and was about to have eggs and bacon for breakfast.
Maddie took Emma’s hand and helped her onto a barstool next to her. Ryan sat plates of bacon, eggs, and toast before them. Maddie almost cried, it looked so good.
“You don’t really appreciate good food until you think you’ll never taste it again,” Maddie said, snapping a crisp piece of bacon in two.
Ryan stared at Emma as she greedily forked fluffy scrambled eggs into her mouth. She looked up and he smiled back at her.
“These are amazing,” Emma said. Her green eyes sparkled.
"Thanks," he said.
"You know, you remind me of someone. Are you famous?" Ryan asked.
Emma looked to Maddie before shaking her head.
"You sure? I could have sworn I saw you in a commercial for a movie."
He snapped his fingers and pointed to Emma.
"I know who you are. You played the girl in Brave,” Ryan joked.
"Don't say it,” Maddie warned.
Emma lowered her chin and gave Ryan the stink eye.
Maddie leaned in close to Ryan and whispered, "She hates that movie. The boys used to tease her. Whatever you do, don't call her Merida."
"You are Merida,” Ryan bellowed.
Maddie turned to Emma.
"Let's get him," Emma said as she scooped egg onto her fork and flicked it at Ryan.
Emma squealed as Ryan opened his mouth and attempted to catch the scrambled eggs the girls were hurling at him.
"Okay, Okay—I’m sorry. It won't happen again. The next person who throws food has to do all the dishes," he laughed, shielding his face with his arm.
The girls dropped their forks on their plates. Maddie pointed to Ryan's beard, and the two broke out in uncontrollable giggles.
Ryan stood and brushed egg from his shirt and shook his beard over the sink.
"There are four more pieces of bacon over here. If you two can stop cackling, I might let you have them."
“I love bacon. I didn’t think I would ever taste it again. This here is heaven,” Maddie said, stuffing more crisp bacon into her already full mouth.
Staring down at her plate, Maddie thought a meal like this demonstrated the difference between being prepared or unprepared for the apocalypse. Ryan had been prepared. Her dad had been somewhat responsible for that fact. He had pestered Ryan for two years before Ryan gave in and went to conventions and meetups with him to learn the skills required to pull all this off. It had brought them all even closer as a family.
Ryan came down every summer and drilled with them at the cabin in Texas County. He had brought his buddies down once. They had practiced perimeter security, and her dad had shown them how to survive in the woods. Those had been Maddie’s least favorite drills. She hated the primitive camping. She drew the line at eating bugs, but Zach loved to gross her out by eating grasshoppers.
“I’ve got two freezers full of meat and vegetables. That, along with the chickens, pigs, goats, cows, and horses, makes me totally self-sufficient here on this little slice of paradise.”
An old wood cook stove still sat in the corner opposite its more modern counterpart. The same rooster-print curtains hung above the window over the sink. A wooden dough box and a cheese vat table lined one wall. Cabinets were sparse. The kitchen looked like it had one foot in the nineteenth century and the other in the twenty-first.
“After we finish up here, I’ll show you my setup. You’ll probably recognize some of it. I used a lot of your dad’s designs.”
“He’d be proud that they have helped you,” Maddie said.
“Tomorrow, we can run over to see a buddy of mine. He is a ham operator. We can see if his radios still work. If they do, maybe we can get some idea how it is in California.”
“Can we? That would be awesome. I’ve tried not to worry about Mom. I know she wouldn’t leave Grand and Grandpa to fend for themselves so she would stay put. I worry about things getting rough
there in San Diego.”
“Your mom is very smart and resourceful. For all her bluster about your dad’s preps and drills, she paid attention and knows her stuff. She knows where to go out there to get any resources she needs. Your dad had contacts there. If she needs help, she knows what to do.”
He sipped his black coffee. He still drank from the same Marine Corps mug she remembered. The image of that mug was seared in her mind. The last time she had stayed there she had made the mistake of washing it—with soap. Ryan had not been happy about that. Mamaw Masters said he thought washing it would ruin the flavor of the coffee. He hadn’t washed it since he came home from Afghanistan. He’d drink coffee from it all day, then before bed he would rinse it out and put it on the windowsill in the kitchen.
Maddie pointed to the mug.
“You want me to wash that for you?” she laughed, standing and picking up her plate.
Ryan balled his hands into fists and shook them at her.
“You keep your paws off my mug this time, missy, or else we are going toe to toe.”
Returning to her seat at the island, she placed her elbows on the counter. Laying her head in her hands, she stared out the window. Dawn had arrived without fanfare.
“You think Zach and Mom are okay? You think they will make it home?”
“I know they will. Don’t worry, Maddie. They know how to survive just like you do.”
“But it is rough out there, Uncle Ryan. It is worse than I could’ve ever imagined, and it has only been a couple of days. Hell, people were looting and killing people within hours in Chicago.”
Ryan scratched his head. He looked down at his nearly empty mug.
“People did that before the power went out. That is nothing new for the Windy City.”
“They lit the police station on fire,” Maddie said.
“I imagine that would be the first thing some of them would do. They didn’t have respect for law enforcement before, and now they have their chance to really show their frustrations.”
Maddie straightened and stretched. She was still sore from her fall on the trail and the rough handling by the brothers. She studied the new bandages Ryan had put on her wrists and ankles after they had arrived. She thought about how good it had felt to crawl into a real bed with crisp, clean sheets. She yawned and arched her back.
“Don’t even think about going back to bed. We have work to do. Those eggs don’t collect themselves. I already milked the goats, but they’ll need fresh hay and water. And that dog of yours will need a doghouse,” he said, pointing back and forth between Maddie and Emma.
Maddie chuffed.
“He isn’t our dog. Me and Emma are his humans. He chose us.”
Emma grinned and nodded “How many chickens do you have?” Maddie said.
"Oh, about thirty I’d say. There are a few ducks and turkeys mixed in with them too that I picked up at auctions."
“Speaking of chickens, we should take eggs with us to give Earl. I’m sure his wife is ready for something not from a can or MRE by now.”
“Earl is the ham operator? You think he could find someone to get a message to Mom?” Maddie asked.
Ryan paused and took another sip of coffee. He got up and poured himself another cup.
“Fill up?” he said, pointing to Maddie’s mug.
She nodded, and Ryan filled her cup. Placing the pot back on the stove, Ryan turned and stared out the window over the sink.
Growing impatient for an answer, Maddie asked, “Do you think he knows anyone in San Diego?”
“I don’t know about specifically San Diego, but I know he has contacts out in California.”
“Why didn’t you ever get a ham radio? I know my dad talked about getting into it, but…”
“I didn’t make it a priority. I figured since I knew a few in the area, I would focus on other things. You have to do what you can with the resources you have, and I put security above communications—at least that type of comms.” Ryan said, returning to his seat across from Maddie.
“It looks like you have done a good job preparing from what I can see. It was amazing coming here and having a hot shower and cold drinks.”
“We have your dad to thank for that,” Ryan said, looking toward the ceiling.
Maddie gave a slight nod.
An awkward silence fell between them.
Maddie rose and walked over to the sink. As she washed her coffee mug, she looked out past the rose garden to the pasture dotted with cows, goats, and horses. The chickens pecked and scratched around the barn. Cooper slowly rose from the hole he had dug in the loose dirt in front of the barn doors and walked over to the porch steps. Craning her neck, she watched the big white dog plop down and stretch out. He looked like he was settling in just fine. She supposed he missed Ray Junior and Darlene. The memory of their lifeless bodies lying on the floor of their kitchen brought a wave of nausea. Her heart pounded in her ears. She could barely hear what Ryan was saying.
“Before you or Emma go outside, I need to show you both the perimeter defenses I have set up around the property. Most are out along the property line, so you won’t have to worry much about them at the moment. There are a few motion sensors near the barn, garden, and chicken coops. There are a few more low-tech alerts in places that might startle you. You should know about those before you go wandering around. They aren’t dangerous or anything, but they’ll scare the crap outta ya if you set one off.”
“How do you keep the animals from tripping them?” Maddie asked returning to her seat.
“Right now, they are set at chest height.”
Emma leaned over and whispered in Maddie’s ear. Maddie pointed to the powder room just off the kitchen.
After Emma shut the door, Ryan said, “Emma might not be as strong as you are, Maddie. She’ll need our help to process all that happened.”
Looking up, he continued, “That's part of the reason I wanted to show you both my security systems. When I got back, I had a hard time feeling safe anywhere. Helping your dad with the perimeter defense plan at the hunting cabin showed me I could take control of things in my life. It helped me to be able to make a safe space for myself. When I was in Afghanistan, I had my team, and we had the ability to defend ourselves as well as be on the offense. When we were back at base, we had walls and razor wire and guards at the gates. Back here at home, I felt exposed.”
Maddie nodded.
“I know what that feels like. That is why I felt so much relief when we got here. I felt safe for the first time since this whole mess started.”
“I want you and Emma to help me with the last of my perimeter defense plans for that reason too. Being a part of a team and taking back control of your own safety can really boost your sense of security. But we can’t get too comfortable. Soon, the cities will run out of resources and the scavengers will come.”
Maddie raised her eyebrows. She knew what he was saying was true. She had seen it already in the city. She'd done it herself. She wanted to pretend a little longer that the chaos wouldn’t come near them there on the farm.
“I have people coming soon. Friends. A group like your dad had set up of like-minded people willing to pull together and make it through this,” Ryan said.
He looked for a response.
Maddie was quiet. She was lost in thought. She remembered the group her dad had gathered. She’d trained with them at the hunting cabin. She'd seen very little of them after her dad died, especially after her mother had married Jason. Jason thought the whole prepper thing was crazy, paranoid redneck stuff. He had said so--out loud--to her dad’s friends.
“When are they getting here?” Maddie asked, returning her gaze to Ryan.
“I imagine they are all heading this way now. Most live here in Illinois. They are single men, without families. We kinda thought we’d stick together, maybe join a larger group after everything settled down.”
“Do I know any of them?” Maddie asked.
“You know Rank and Lugnut.
The others are guys from the local gun club. They are veterans too, mostly Army, but we don’t hold that against them,” Ryan said, grinning.
Maddie beamed. Lugnut was one of her favorites from her dad’s group. He was never serious about anything, but he was seriously scary if you pissed him off. She was particularly happy she’d be seeing Rank again. She felt better already knowing those guys would join them.
“I’m looking forward to seeing them again. Are they all sporting duck dynasty beards too?” she asked, reaching over and flicking the end of his beard. He swatted her hand away.
“Don’t fear the beard,” he said, chuckling.
“I know they will be happy to see you here safe and sound,” Ryan said, his voice trailing off. He stared into his coffee mug.
Maddie stared at it too as if it possessed some power that might reveal the whereabouts of her mother and brother. That question nearly consumed her. The not knowing was agonizing. She could not imagine what parents of missing children must endure. She hoped that Ryan’s ham operator friend could tell them something about how things were in California. Maybe even in San Diego, itself. Any news was better than nothing. Her imagination ran wild in the void of information.
A low growl at the back steps roused Maddie from her thoughts. Looking through the screen door, she watched Cooper. He stood with his hackles raised and his tail held high. He sniffed the air then took off. His barking trailed off toward the front of the house.
Ryan stood, grabbed a rifle leaning in the corner, and ran toward the front door.
“Maddie, get Emma. Stay in the bedroom until you hear from me,” Ryan called over his shoulder.
The bathroom door flew open and Emma peered out, her eyes wide with fear. Maddie shot to her feet, grabbed Emma’s arm, and the two ran down the hall.
“Maddie, what is going on?” Emma asked.
Ignoring the girl’s questions, Maddie went straight to her pack. After retrieving the pistol she had taken from her kidnappers, she rushed over to the bed. Grabbing Emma by the hand, she pulled her gently to the floor.
