“You going to tell me what you’ve got stirring in your brain?” Sadie asked as we entered the clearing around our camp.
“No mystery. Feeding an army is hard work.”
“You’ve got that look.”
“You aren’t even looking at my face.”
“That’s because I can’t see it. No one can. Seems like you could lose that makeup. Look like a human for a change.”
“Stop trying to be my mother.”
“Someone needs to. Who sends their teenager to stage a coup?”
Approaching the cook area, Amelie helped me lay the deer on the table. “There wasn’t any sending about it. We signed up to do the right thing for our country.”
“Well, I don’t have to look at your face to know what you’re thinking.” Sadie pointed at me. “You get that slump in your shoulders, like you’re thinking you’re carrying the weight of the world. You’ve got to stop that, or you’ll end up with a heart attack by twenty.”
“You’re not my mother. We don’t need mothers out here.” I helped Amelie untie the animal’s legs.
“You’ve never talked about yours.” Sadie handed me a knife.
I didn’t want to think about her. Raising the cleaver over my head, I brought it down on the deer’s neck. Blood shot out and landed on Sadie’s face. She screamed, and I stifled a laugh. Part of me felt bad, but it got her off the topic of my mom.
As the heat reached sweltering levels, we napped in the cool cavern in shifts. Afterwards, Amelie set to work storing the cooked jerky strips, and I told Sadie to get her bow and arrows for another hunting expedition. We had five deer and hoping that we would have a lot of set up of new equipment the next day, I wanted to have enough food on hand. If deer were our only form of sustenance, calorie-wise we’d need three pounds per person per day. That came out to be three hundred pounds with a full force of one hundred, or five deer a day. We were going to have to extend our range. Perhaps even set up remote camps for hunting.
Taking in the fauna, I decided we’d need tree stands for overnight stays in the forest. Snakes and cats were still a threat, but alligators and coyotes couldn’t scale trees. Perhaps we could build a smokehouse between the main camp and the hunting outpost. How long will we be here? A month max, right? There were two months on Zhou’s ultimatum. We couldn’t let it get past the thirty-day mark. That gave us thirty-three days, six weeks to recruit forty more bodies from the east to band with us, plus plan and train. What if no one else came?
I shut out my worry and focused on the task at hand. Winding west as the sun hugged the skyline, light filtered through the trees and bounced off leaves, wet with the afternoon’s thunder shower. I spotted a bobcat and signaled to Sadie to freeze. It glanced our way for a second and trotted into the undergrowth. As we continued deeper into the forest, I heard shuffling and grunting noises. I froze, listening to the odd sound. The soft cry of a lion caused my pulse to quicken. Squeals erupted in the brush to our left, and I yelled to Sadie to find a tree.
Huddling on a branch beside her, we watched as a herd of boar charged past underneath, causing the tree to sway. A lion zipped around the herd, perhaps trying to find a small piglet. But the youngest were wedged inside a pack at least thirty strong. I gripped the trunk as the ground rumbled under us.
“I was just kidding about liking bacon,” Sadie whispered as the last of the herd cleared the branch.
“We’re not getting anything in that direction.” Hanging onto the limb, I lowered my legs and jumped to the ground.
“You’re going down there with that mountain lion running around hungry?” Sadie’s eyes scanned the forest.
“I’ve got a gun. Besides, we need three more deer.”
“I think I’ve had plenty of hunting for one day. Those pigs are seriously scary. Have you ever seen one of those? They have huge fangs.”
“Too bad. You need to keep moving. You’re on my get-in-shape-in-three-days plan.” With a bigger group and more tech, we were at higher risk for detection. I didn’t want to make her more nervous, but I also didn’t want her to end up in a prison cell.
“When did you become my superior? I’m not your lackey.”
“You are if you want to stay alive.” I slid my gun from the holster and flipped off the safety. “Have your bow ready. Boar wouldn’t be bad meat either.”
My idea of following the herd to see if there was a stray lame animal paid off. But the lion had the same plan. I wouldn’t risk firing a shot if we weren’t in immediate danger, so we left the boar and hiked south, away from the herd. We found two small doe beside a stream and brought them down easily. Lifting them to our backs, we trudged back to camp.
A half-mile from camp, my walkie talkie dinged. I pushed the button to transmit. “Copy.”
“They’re here.” Amelie’s voice sounded through the device.
Pocketing the radio, I readjusted the animal on my back. At camp, the number of vehicles and people milling about took me by surprise, and my heart issued a thud. I reminded myself of the trees whose branches covered all but a small space at the center of the meadow. With little light left, it’d be hard to spot us unless someone had reason for suspicion. Head down, I focused on getting to the meat prep area.
“Who are you?” A passing guy stopped in front of me. His eyes raked from my head to feet.
“The one carrying your dinner.” Stepping around him, I kept walking.
“Okay, seriously hard core, I take it.” He continued towards the cave.
“You could have been nicer.” Sadie set her animal on the ground as we reached the cookers.
“Again, with the mom thing?” I didn’t like people noticing me. Didn’t want to be seen. I loathed so many bodies.
I glanced around the camp. For as much as I feared being recognized, seeing the cables, computers, antenna, and satellite dishes being unloaded felt like a victory. People who had the means to help us pull this coup off wanted the same thing we did. We would be victorious.
We sorted tech gear and got everything into the tunnels we could. Then we rendezvoused for introductions. I kept behind Amelie, head down and face aimed at the cave floor.
“And this is your advance Missouri team.” Ben from the Utah group motioned our way. “You have them to thank for securing the camp and dinner tonight. They came to us from Port Orford. As we briefed you before, they were sent to be a catalyst for this movement. They’ve proved their skills and will be a key part of all operations.”
Ben’s words reassured me. Even if I kept to myself, I’d be considered on the in-team. That was all I needed to get to Des Moines. When we got closer to a date, I’d decide who I could trust and put the group together that would help me rescue Nave and Mom. I hated the idea of trusting others, but Amelie, Mace, and I wouldn’t be enough. We needed backup.
After dinner, they dispersed the vehicles in the forest for cover. I worked on meat prep, watching and listening to everything around me. Chuck and Garrison, River and Shooter, and the rest of the Lovelock crew passed, not noticing the girl working in the dark. I heard nothing to cause alarm. Still, my heart raced when anyone approached.
With all the gear stowed and bunks sorted out, we met in the largest cavern for a strategy session. I hung near the back, trying to stay out of sight, but close enough to hear everything, especially the quite rumblings of anyone who might not be one hundred percent with us. They traded ideas for sending crews east and setting up surveillance. Gaining more men became top priority, and they took volunteers for two scouting teams, one to Kentucky and another to West Virginia. I would have liked for some of the Lovelock crew to be included in these teams as it would lower chances of us being discovered. But with their experience with Commander Butler and planning missions like ours, it made more sense for them to stay. The timeline demanded that planning, training, and recruitment occur together.
Amelie, Mace, Turner, and I decided two of us should always be on watch. I added that to my list of things I hated, not being
with Turner, but it kept us safer and that had to be the goal. Mace and I took first shift along with two from each of the other groups, leaving six of us in the command room. Mace and the ex-Lovelock people shared tech information, and I worked on calculating food needs for the mission and sharpening arrows. As our four-hour shift ended, I saw Amelie and Turner enter the room. Amelie crossed straight to me, and Turner joined the tech team at the computer table. Showing Amelie my system for sharpening the arrow tips, I followed Mace to our sleeping area.
I slept sounder that night than I had in many and wondered if I’d started to feel hopeful, relieved, comfortable, or just worked myself to the limit. I realized it to be a combination of all of those, which seemed like a good thing. Before sunlight, we held a whole-camp meeting. Turner and his team formulated a strategy to get teams to the Eastern groups. I ran with Sadie, and then we started looking for supplies to build tree stands. We hadn’t had much use for them in the west, but they would be good hunting tools in the forest. By sundown we had one up a mile out from base and enough supplies for another. It wasn’t big enough for two people, so I planned to wait until we constructed the second to man them.
Passing Turner in the tunnels, watching him from afar at dinner, and switching shifts magnified the loneliness I felt. I had conversations with Amelie and Sadie, but it wasn’t the same as sitting leg to leg with someone during a meal or snuggling in beside them to sleep. Still, I trudged on in my tasks, keeping my eyes diverted to the ground, mouth shut, and acted my part. I needed to be a nobody. That was how we’d keep each other and everyone else safe.
The next morning dawned and four vehicles with teams of two each started out east. Two would try to intercept a group in Kentucky, and two sought to find the West Virginia encampment. Without specific data on the supposed anti-Butler camps, I worried for our soldiers. Building the second tree stand kept me busy. With the structure complete by mid-afternoon, Amelie and I napped so we could man them after dark.
Each armed with bow, arrows, thermal detectors, a rifle, and knives, we took up our posts after sunset. We’d constructed the stands about a hundred feet apart to be close enough to help each other but far enough to get a second shot on an animal if needed. With the dimming light, the sounds of the forest grew around me. It was so dark I couldn’t see my hand, but the crickets, the frogs, the owl, contributed to a chorus that filled my head. Hearing a snapping sound, I straightened my back. The thermal detectors were for emergencies, and I leaned over the edge, trying to see below me.
We hadn’t picked the best night for hunting. The new moon offered little light, but our growing team needed the food. Plus, I had to feel like a productive team member, or I’d go nuts. Turner with his beard and cap sat in on their strategy meetings, but my part was the quiet, loner girl. Along with Amelie and Sadie, my job included securing and prepping food stores. I wanted—no, I had to—deliver.
Another snap and I switched on the thermal scanner. A heat signature in the shape of a person appeared not ten feet out. I grabbed the rifle and cocked it.
“Identify.”
A bird call answered my demand, and I realized it was Turner.
“Permission to come aboard.” His helmeted head appeared in front of me.
“There’s not much space up here.”
“I’m taking every second I can get with you.”
“What if someone saw you?”
“Tech geek and loner girl have a thing. No one will care.”
“Maybe.” I scooted to the corner as he lifted his legs up onto the platform.
He motioned for me to climb on his lap, and I snuggled into his chest. For the first time in days, I felt warm and safe even if I knew it made little logical sense.
“See any game?” He pulled off my cap and ran his fingers through my hair.
“It’s too dark. Maybe we’ll have better luck close to sunrise. If not, we’re eating duck again.”
“You know I like duck.” He kissed my lips.
I smiled. “Amelie does too.”
I asked about plans for the coup operation. He described how we might cross the border in small groups and make our way to the capitol, positioning ourselves for a coordinated attack. They hadn’t heard anything from the group traveling to Kentucky, and it made him nervous. Assuming more soldiers arrived from the east, we would start training when they arrived.
“I know you feel different, but neither of us can go in. I don’t think Amelie, Sadie, or Mace should go either. They can stay with us, make sure whatever cure is running through our veins stays that way.” He stared into my eyes, perhaps knowing I would fight him on that point.
“Absolutely not. You can’t go in, but I have to get my sister. She’s not going to trust anyone else. Amelie already said she would go with me.”
“It’s not up to her.”
“Well, it’s not up to you either. You said it yourself, we need every soldier we can get.”
“Someone’s going to have to be on the outside team.”
“And we’ll figure out who we can trust to stay with you.”
He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “You’re going to be stubborn about this, aren’t you?”
“You bet I am.” I straightened my back so we were eye to eye.
We sat there listening to the sounds of the night. After several minutes, he squeezed me tight. “I have to get back and get some sleep.”
“I know.” I laced my arms around him and kissed his lips.
“I don’t like you being out here alone. You and Amelie have to be careful, especially when the new people arrive. I feel pretty solid about the Utah and Lovelock teams, but we have no idea what these other groups’ backgrounds are.”
I swiveled my hips and swung one leg around his waist so we were sitting chest to chest. Swiping my pepper spray from my belt, I held it in front of his face. I grabbed my knife with my other hand and pressed it to his neck.
“I’m not the one you should be worried about. Those teams we sent east, those people have huge metal targets on their backs, and they are the sitting ducks.”
He chuckled and wrapped his fingers around my hands, sliding the weapons from my grip. “Point taken. But the UNS is so focused on Port Orford, the western shores, and the borders that we can do just about anything under cover of this dense forest.”
“That doesn’t sound like good news for Port Orford.”
“No, but maybe that’s what they planned. Maybe they’re occupying satellite time so we can stage something here.”
“It makes sense.”
Spreading his fingers across my butt, he kissed me hard. “I love you. Be safe.”
“Always am. Don’t break a fingernail tapping on those keys, okay?”
Kissing me again, he leaned his forehead against mine. “How are you doing really?”
“You know, trying to be patient, not run off and do something stupid.”
Standing, he wrapped his arms around my waist and held me tight. “Please don’t do anything stupid.”
“You’ll be the first to know if I do.” I kissed his cheek. “Now, get out of here. Somebody’s got to feed everyone.”
“That’s what you keep saying.” He backed down the makeshift ladder formed by boards nailed into the tree trunk.
I leaned over and kissed him before his head disappeared under the platform. “Be safe. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Hearing him drop to the ground below, I rested my head against the bark of the trunk. Maybe it shouldn’t have been that way. Maybe I should be able to rally my own psyche, but that ten minutes with him recharged me, had me believing we could make a difference, and I would see my sister, mother, and father soon.
After two hours in the tree with no sign of game, I called to Amelie and we met on the ground. Using our night-vision goggles, we hiked south, finding a creek to follow. Seeing two deer wading, I realized the challenge of having only two hunters. If the animals were big, we’d need to be strong enou
gh to each carry one on our backs. Otherwise, one person would need to stand guard while the other trekked back to the cave to get additional carriers. Still, the need for meat trumped the risk of being alone in the forest, and we aimed and took both down at the same time.
The doe were heavy, about eighty to ninety pounds I judged helping to lift the smaller one to Amelie’s back. My shoulders and back ached under the weight as we plodded through the forest. I cursed the fact that we’d ventured so far out. As light crept into in the sky, we stayed under the trees and skirted around the main clearing to the kitchen. Leaving the deer in the middle of the prep room, we looped back to find Sadie and another volunteer.
Sadie and I returned to the forest to take advantage of the daybreak hour and cooler temperatures. Mace had been working with her on firearms in the tunnels, but with her age, I felt conditioning might be more important. We ran three miles into the forest and doubled back slowing to a hiking speed. At the pond, we shot two ducks before the flock spooked.
Retrieving the birds and hanging them on a branch, I doused my face and arms with cool water. Catching my reflection on the rippling surface, I dried my hands and reapplied the face paint. With the prospect of additional forces joining us, I would need to be vigilant, especially if we started training in small groups.
Back at camp, we stowed the birds and entered the cave, hoping for news from Kentucky or West Virginia. Entering, I could feel the energy like waves hitting me and headed straight for the tech room. T minus sixty days. We had thirty days to oust Butler. My eyes traced to Ben, Carl, Garrison, and River and then to Mace and Turner. None of them showed relief. My heart sank, and I approached Turner, wanting to reach out and touch him. But I held my hands tucked inside my crossed arms.
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