“So they haven’t forgotten about my brother and his kids,” she mused.
“Hardly,” answered Jeremy. “Yes, your Dad being found and brought back is incredibly important to our survival but family is still family.”
“Good,” she breathed. “I’m glad.”
“Now will you come back into the house and return to the land of the living?” he groused.
“Once I’m done. I did kind of mean that I have to take care of this big fella here and then I’ll come in,” she answered.
“So long as you actually do come in.”
“I will,” she retorted, throwing a bit of water in his direction.
He dodged out of the way easily, and the horse nickered warningly, stamping his own foot in protest at the sudden activity around him. Shiloh rubbed his nose in reassurance, noting that he still looked mostly sleepy and disinterested. “Then what was the stomp about, eh?” she asked the horse.
He simply pushed her with his head into Jeremy and the two fell sideways into the wall before blowing out a breath with his nose.
“I think I like his idea,” pointed out Jeremy.
“Great, Sheridan has a matchmaking horse,” groused Shiloh, and then she sighed as Jeremy helped her back up to her feet. “Go on, Jer, I’ll be up as soon as I finish with him.”
Jeremy snorted in amusement before he turned and left the barn. Shiloh looked at the horse in the eyes. “Okay, Mr. Big Ideas. I get the point. I’ll finish what I was doing and let you go to bed… and I’m off to my own after.”
The horse only continued to munch on his oats.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Derek paced one way and then the next as he looked over what they had managed to pull together over the past few days. “Did I hear correctly that you were planning a serious expedition into Sudbury?” asked Sheridan as she walked in and noticed the supplies laid out on the garage floor. “Apparently it’s no rumour.”
Derek shook his head, but other than that did not answer goddaughter as he returned to his list, checking what was on the floor against it. Sheridan watched Derek, sighed once, and left Derek to his inventory.
I’ve lost him, realized Sheridan. Once he’s out there there’s a good chance with the way the world is now that I won’t see any of them again.
Sheridan stopped and looked out the window, past the paddocks and the horses to the solar field beyond. We need that field up and running, though, Sheridan groaned and ground the heel of her hand into her forehead. I don’t know if anyone else could attempt this—he knows my Uncle, he knows where to find him… and he’s got his own reasons to go back there.
No one else can do this.
When she opened her eyes she noticed Marissa staring at her. “What is it?” Marissa asked, her voice quiet.
“Derek is in the garage taking stock of what’s now in there for that expedition of his,” answered Sheridan, another sigh escaping her. “Once word got out that he was even making serious plans for an expedition to Sudbury the Rangers, my militia, and even our civilians gathered anything they could scrounge up. I don’t think he’ll be able to use or take it all, but at least he should have first pick of what’s available.”
“He’s planning on selecting only what he can use,” Marissa answered, tilting her head and laying a hand on Sheridan’s elbow. “Everything else goes to the other Rangers. What’s really bothering you?”
“Well, once he leaves I don’t know if I’ll see any of you again,” Sheridan relented, and she pointed to the garage. “I can’t help but have a bad feeling about this. I don’t want him to go—but at the same time I know I can’t keep him here without locking him in the basement.”
Marissa snorted. “And he’d hate you for it.”
“I know,” answered Sheridan.
“Then why aren’t you out there helping him?” she asked. “If you’re so sure you won’t see him again, why don’t you spend what little time you believe you have left at least making his job easier?”
Sheridan sighed again, but turned on her heel and returned to the garage where she found Derek still organizing what he was planning to take with him. Sheridan paused, and held her breath for a moment.
“If you think you’ve snuck up on me, you’re wrong,” said Derek, although he sounded muffled as his attention was focussed on the contents of one of the bags. He then looked up, “What is it?”
“Do you need a hand?” asked Sheridan.
Derek lifted an eyebrow and his eyes lost focus for a second. “I’m sorry?” he asked finally, confused.
“A hand… some help… you know—figuring out what you’re taking and then packing it up?” asked Sheridan again, slowly.
“I’m not seven,” came Derek’s sharp reply, and then he huffed. “Sorry, you know how much I hate this part of getting ready for anything.”
“That I do,” mused Sheridan. “I’d offer you a coffee, but I have a feeling that’s the other part of why you’re taking a wander.”
Derek snorted, and then laughed. “You’d be right.”
“So… what’s the first thing on your list to find?” asked Sheridan, looking around.
“A good tent—large enough to comfortably sleep at least three, and if the weather turns rotten can be comfortable to spend time in unless we find other shelter,” answered Derek. “Thinking of one of those rapid pop-up multi-room things, if I can find one, plus a large tarp to go over it and extend past it… that way we’re dry, and our horses are too. Maybe even our cooking area.”
“I have one of those—Terrence bought it for going to the SCA with. It’s big enough to house the both of us, my Dad, another couple we always went with… and it has this common room in the middle that’s big enough to walk around in. It pops up easy and then folds down small enough to fit into the back of a car… my Smart, not Terrence’s truck.”
Derek spun around on one foot to face Sheridan. “Where the hell are you hiding that?” Derek then blinked as he thought about it and laughed. “Let me guess, the same room you pulled my armour from?”
Sheridan nodded, and then said, “In fact, you might want to check in there for anything else you think you might need. While we like historical re-enactment, I don’t like sleeping in the wet, the cold… or on the ground. Most of it came from that big camping and fishing supply place down in Vaughan… the one you can see off the 400.”
Derek grinned, knowing exactly what store she meant. “Well, that will make life a bit better out there.”
* * * * *
Twilight held more than simple darkness now. The roads became darker than pitch, and no one had reason to be out there other than the Rangers.
As the sun went down it became progressively harder for Derek and Marissa to pack. Finally, with a heavy sigh, Derek said, “We can either turn on a light, or light some candles… or we can call it for the night and just go to bed.”
Marissa shrugged, sliding her pack off the bed and onto the bench that sat at the foot of the bed. Well, that was a decisive answer, he chuckled as he did the same. “Everything all right?”
“Derek?”
“Yes?”
“Shut up and come to bed.”
He looked up at the ceiling, although he knew she could not see him, and said, “Just a second.”
Making sure what he packed was not about to fall and force him to repack everything, he carefully moved his pack over to lean against a chair before sitting on the edge of the bed.
As he stared out the window and to the sky, he felt her tug at the buckles and fastenings of his armour. “I didn’t realise there were so many modern clips and buckles to this,” said Marissa. “What are you thinking?”
“That not six months ago all I had to do to even go to bed was fall into it,” he answered. “Now I have not only clothing but the armour I wear out of habit… and the weaponry.”
“Which, and I’m going to thank you for this, you had the wisdom not to bring to bed with you,” she answered.
“It has
its own maintenance and that is better done where the tools are,” he answered, shrugging off the first layer of armour as he helped her with the second. “Do you think we packed enough?”
A snort was his answer. “You pack like you always did for one of your trips into the bush—with just as many spare sets of socks.”
“Can’t have too many dry socks,” he grinned as he turned his head.
Despite the sun being down and the room lit only by the stars and the moon, he could see her clearly enough. Once the last of his armour fell to the floor, he pulled at her hands until she sat beside him on the edge of the bed and she leaned her head on his shoulder.
“Do you think we’ll make it back there?” she asked.
“We have to,” he answered, frowning. “We can’t make that field work for us if we don’t find someone that can make it work. We may find someone else—but I’d still like to find Garrett… and I’d still like to get some things from our house.”
“Same here,” she answered.
“I wouldn’t worry too much about it,” he said, with a small shrug. “We’re more than prepared to make it there, and back. If we avoid the city we won’t run into anything major—and maybe, we’ll even meet a few other communities like ours.”
“And once we get back to Garson?”
“We get what we want and need and we get our asses back here,” he answered, and his eyes widened slightly.
After all we’ve been through, all that time… the mortgage and the payments… and I just gave up on my own house in order to return here, he thought to himself. Have I changed so much in less than six months?
“What about our house?”
“I… just had the same thought,” he answered, and then he shook his head. “But, with the choice in front of us, which would you rather? Family or the house?”
“Family, any day,” she conceded.
“Then we’re decided,” he said.
She nodded as she leaned into him again, and he held her tightly. There was one thing he knew that she did not… and to be able to return home would mean the difference between leaving a message for their children—who had not been expected back home this year—on where to find them and that they were still alive.
That was supposed to be my surprise for New Year’s, he thought. But that went so far sideways that even if Felicia or Alexander made it up here that they won’t know where to look… but if they stuck around the area then maybe—just maybe—we’ll find them or be able to leave something to tell them where to come and find us.
And then we really will have all our family in one place…
… I hope.
* * * * *
Derek kept looking over at Abigail, back to Marissa and back to Abigail again. Marissa watched him, smirking a bit as she did, as she shook her head at his confusion.
Abigail is… she is definitely different, mused Marissa as she watched her husband falter every time he caught sight of the young woman.
It was easy to see why Derek was so caught off guard. He’s still not quite resigned to the new way of life, realized Marissa. He keeps expecting everything to return to normal—and this one to end without warning the same as the other did.
Abigail had already accepted her new life and it was plain as she was a walking arsenal of weapons. She still, even then, took two machetes and two hatchets and strapped them to her hips and back.
Abigail looked over at Derek and, with a lopsided grin, said, “I still think you’re going a bit light.”
“I agree with you,” said Derek. “I just haven’t got to the full weaponry yet.”
“You didn’t think we were letting you three go on your own, did you?” asked Zachary as he walked in with Emilie, the both of them already packed and ready to go.
“I was a bit worried that we were,” answered Marissa. “Glad to have you with us.”
“I need to find out what happened. If you’re going anywhere near the core of the city, then there’s a good chance we’ll run into a detachment that still has a few good cops in it,” Zachary said, with a shrug. “Someone will know if there’s anything… anyone… left in charge of this mess.”
“Like Reese said, glad to have you with us.” Derek nodded up to Emilie. “Em, you sure?”
“Dr. Wither has enough with the other nurses she’s managed to train,” Emilie answered. “You’ll need me more out there and I need to know what happened too.”
“All right then,” said Derek. “Lay out your things and let’s get ready to go.”
“When are we leaving?” asked Emilie.
“Tomorrow morning,” he answered.
The rest of the day seemed to crawl, and Derek found himself utterly lost. He had no idea what to do with himself. Marissa grasped his shoulder. “Enough already,” she said. “You’re enough to make us all jumpy.”
“Sorry, now that we’ve packed everything we can think of I can’t help but wonder if we missed anything.”
“You can’t pack any more without having our packs burst at the seams,” answered Marissa. “Please, as Shiloh says, take a chill pill before you give us all the same anxiety case.”
Derek blew out a breath, but calmed his own nerves enough to stop bouncing. “I need something to do,” he complained.
“Go read a book,” she said, pushing towards the stairs as the library had been moved up to a small common space that was not private enough to be a bedroom.
Derek sighed and went upstairs. Marissa shook her head and returned to her own book as she sipped her tea. The rest of the day was quiet, which was exactly how she preferred it, as was the evening.
The next morning was like Deja-vu. Derek and Marissa walked around the front of the house, leading their horse as they did, the others also going with them not far behind. Sheridan stood on the front steps and walked over to them. Sheridan checked a few of the straps of the saddles and their packs, and then stepped back.
“You keep safe,” said Sheridan. “And come back.”
“Don’t worry, I will,” answered Derek, although Sheridan looked like she was just about ready to cry. “Don’t look at me like I’m never coming back.”
“It’s not that—” Sheridan took a deep breath. “—All right, it is that. You’ve been gearing up to leave since this whole thing started. Just remember one thing, Derek. You do have someplace to come back to. You still have that yearling to train… Marissa, please make sure you all stay safe. I know how he is when he gets stuck on something.”
“I will,” said Marissa, staring at her husband. “Don’t think for a second that the real reason I’m going is precisely to do that.”
Sheridan nodded and then looked at everyone else. “All of you—don’t forget the same thing. You may not have known us for as long as these two have, but you all still have a place to come back to… if you want that. This is your home, too.”
“We’ll be back,” said Zachary, smiling. “And thank you… for everything.”
Derek looked from Sheridan and then to Lorraine. “Keep your eyes on the north road—as Zachary said… we will be back.”
With one final wave, Derek led the other four up the road to the point where it crested.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
In January and December, the snow drifts made it like a desert, thought Derek. I expected the desolation then… I didn’t expect it now. After all, it had been in the middle of winter when the wilds of the Canadian north took on a decidedly desert like look.
“I didn’t think it would be even more desolate in spring than in winter,” said Derek as the trees gave way to sprawling, but empty fields.
He had thought that when spring arrived and the bare trees filled in with fresh green growth and the grasses in the open fields grew that it would feel less empty.
The reality was the total opposite.
“We haven’t even gone that far,” Emilie said, quietly. “We’re not even as far as the Fire Hall yet… but there’s not a single living soul past the gate.”
“After what we went through, did you honestly expect there to be?” asked Zachary as he shook his head, and gently convinced his horse to continue north along the broken pavement.
Nature had not taken long to reclaim the land now that humanity was not around to maintain its devices and buildings. What the winter had frozen and the snow had collapsed was now growing over in green growth and hidden in the grass. The road—no longer regular traveled by vehicles—had grass growing in the cracks of the pavement.
Strangely, faced with this new life of trees, grass and wildflowers only served to make the feeling of desolation even worse.
In the winter it had been easy to think that the reason no one had come to check on anyone so far out of the city was due to how difficult it was to plow the road. If the road was not plowed then it was too difficult for a car or some other vehicle—even if pulled by a horse—to get this far.
Now that the snow had melted and the roads were clear—well as clear as they could be without anyone to maintain them—someone should have been out this way to at least check on their neighbours. At least a patrol or two from the Ontario Provincial Police from the highway or a cruiser from the local police service.
But nothing and no one had come down the road since the raiders back in January.
Derek looked at the other four and Zachary said, “I had hoped we were wrong.”
“I think we all did,” said Marissa darkly. “Well, that confirms it.”
“It doesn’t confirm a thing, except that no one has been able to get out this far,” said Derek. “We won’t know anything until we get to at least Lively.”
He coaxed his horse from a walk into a faster trot and the others followed. The trot was an easy pace for these horses, he knew, and they could maintain it for quite a while. The pace would see them at the Fire Hall—a trek that had taken a few days in the winter—in only an hour at most. As they rode they kept looking to the sides and to the ground ahead of them, always mindful of anything one of the horses could snag.
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