Families First: A Post Apocalyptic Next-World Series Volume 4 Hard Roads

by Lance K Ewing

  * * * *

  Samuel dropped off Patty at the Ranch at breakfast time for a briefing with Mac and Cory.

  They both advised her on what to say and what not to, once she was asked the obvious question about wanting to stay up there with Ralph. She responded immediately with “Not in a million years!”, getting a smile out of Rico.

  “Try not to agitate him and don’t mention anything about Rico,” they advised her.

  “He’s a piece of work, for sure, but I’ll try to keep calm. And don’t worry, Rico. I won’t mention your name. I already saw the trouble it caused Mac, and that wasn’t even true.”

  She kissed Rico like they had been dating for weeks and asked him not to worry, just go back to work.

  The ride up was much the same as yesterday, with two differences. They had Patty in tow, and both Cory and Drake were armed with rifles and two concealed-carry pistols.

  This time, walking up to the front door, they were asked right in.

  Cory looked at a puzzled Drake, nodding discreetly towards the nearly spotless floors all across the house.

  Cory wasn’t surprised, seeing the body under the blanket left exactly where it had been yesterday and the odor no better.

  Clean house…check, he thought. One dead person still inside…check.

  Patty held her nose as they walked back to Ralph’s room.

  Drake, without being asked, removed the woman from the house, and finding a shovel out back he set out to give her a proper burial.

  None of the bystanders offered to help and they stayed a fair distance away, giving him enough privacy to duck behind the work shed, where he lifted the old rotting plywood that covered the top and discreetly picked the lock on the cellar door.

  Drake thought it was well hidden, and he wouldn’t have found it if he had not seen Mr. MacDonald go inside several times over the past year. Quickly down the 12 stairs, he shone his flashlight, scanning the compact room with ceilings low enough to force him to duck down.

  Mr. MacDonald was meticulous about labeling each heavy plastic bin—the kind that would withstand most anything that nature could throw at it. It only took a few minutes for Drake to find what he was looking for inside a small daypack that he put over his shoulder. He left the cellar door locked and concealed, just as he had found it…

  She locked eyes with him as he looked up. A beautiful light-skinned African American girl of maybe 16 or 18, he couldn’t be sure. Her long hair and big brown eyes gave her an exotic look. Had she seen him go into the cellar? He couldn’t be sure but thought it likely.

  She smiled and disappeared into the trees, running away from the house, making him wonder if it had just been his imagination. He hadn’t seen her before in the numerous times he had observed the property.

  * * * *

  Cory and Patty entered the dim-lit room where Ralph lay propped up on the bed.

  “Patty,” called out Ralph. “I’ve missed you so much.”

  She didn’t respond.

  “I’m sure you have missed me,” he said as a statement. “Cory, you can wait outside while we talk, if you don’t mind.”

  “Oh, but I do,” Cory replied. “I’ll stay right here,” he added, looking at a relieved Patty.

  “Okay, then how have you been, my love?”

  “I didn’t ever expect to see you again,” she responded without acknowledging his question. “Then I hear my son is gone, kidnapped at gunpoint by men directed by his father. But it’s funny, because I knew it wasn’t him you wanted; you never did. What sort of man doesn’t want his only son around him? What sort of man beats his only son until he can no longer stand. What sort of man has his only son so scared of another beating that he will lie to protect the one man in this world whose God-given job is to protect his son? What sort of man?...”

  “Okay, all right, we get it,” Ralph replied, laughing. “Let’s say even some of that were true. I am a changed man. Maybe it was a bullet to the gut, fighting for your honor, or I’ve just been away from you too long. Either way, I want you back to live here with me, and you can even keep the boy if you want.”

  Cory, even with all he knew, was surprised by this man’s casual demeanor and her calmness about it all.

  There was no weapon visible on him this time, and Cory hoped it stayed that way.

  “I’ll be crystal clear, so you can understand,” said Patty. “I would never in a million years get back together with you, Ralph.”

  “So, you’re saying there’s a chance,” he replied, holding up his right arm and yelling, “Yes!” Cory recognized the joke referencing a 1994 cult classic movie, figuring Ralph was either delusional or just now realizing the relationship could not be repaired.

  He called one of his men by the front door to get Joshua.

  Joshua ran down the stairs and straight into his mother’s outstretched arms, crying loudly.

  His father may as well not even have been in the room, as neither acknowledged each other.

  “Did anyone come into your room last night?” whispered Cory.

  “No,” came the reply.

  “The body’s gone,” Ralph’s man told him. “The older boy took it out behind the house.”

  Drake was back, vowing to finish the burial at a later time and hoping the coyotes, mountain lions and black bears would leave her be, although he wondered.

  “Drake, please take Patty and Joshua outside while I finish talking to Ralph.”

  “So, this is the part where you shoot me and tell everyone else to head on down the road?” asked Ralph.

  “Only if you make it easy and draw on me,” replied Cory, with a wink.

  “Not today, officer. No, I’ll not be doing that today, and I’m sure you won’t just kill me without cause. In fact, I would bet my life on it.”

  Now Cory was the one feeling flustered.

  “You have exactly 72 hours from right now,” said Cory, looking at his watch—let’s call it 8:30 a.m. to leave this property and head far enough away that I don’t ever hear about any of you again. We gave you what you wanted, and now we’re done here.”

  He turned to leave when he heard the click of the hammer.

  “Bang!” said Ralph coldly, as Cory walked out the front door.

  “Let’s go now,” he told Patty and Joshua.

  They met up with the rest of the group, all relieved to have her son back unharmed.

  “Joshua?” asked Drake. “Did you see a girl around 16, or 18 maybe?”

  “There are two, I think,” he replied.

  “Did one have darker skin and black hair?”

  “No. The two I remember were sisters, and both had blonde hair.”

  “So, there are only those two young women in the whole group?” asked Drake.

  “That’s all I saw near that age,” said Joshua. “Except for the one in my dream last night. That one climbed right in the window and laid down next to me until I fell asleep. She said to be brave, and nothing could hurt me… Did you see her in your dreams too?”

  “No, not me. I don’t dream. In fact, I hardly even sleep,” Drake replied.

  “You’re a brave boy,” Joshua heard from more than one of the men.

  “We’ll hold a spot on our security team for when you get older,” Mac told him.

  “Really?” an excited Joshua replied. “Did you hear that, Mom? They want me on the team—when I’m older, though, of course.”

  She kissed him on the head, saying, “I missed you so much, kiddo.”

  “Me too, Mom.”

  * * * * * * *

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Second Chances Ranch

  Weston, Colorado

  James slowly settled into his new life, never once complaining in front of anyone.

  The crude ramp Jason had made was now in place for navigating the front porch stairs, and he vowed to update it as soon as possible.

  Janice made the downstairs office into their new bedroom, moving the bed and furniture with Jason’s and Laur
en’s help. The girls, and even Billy, pitched in, carrying pillows and blankets.

  “See, Daddy!” called out Billy when they were finished. “We made this just for you so you can feel better soon.”

  James didn’t have the heart to tell him he would likely not be getting better and chose to focus on what he could change. He made a goal to be back to work after the upcoming weekend but was unsure if Janice would allow it.

  Monitoring the radio, as he was doing more of now, he received a radio transmission from his old friend David up on the mountain.

  “We’ve turned them away,” David said, “with the help of part of the US government. They’re on Interstate 25 still, at least they were when passing us. Hopefully, they found enough fight already for today and don’t wander off your way as they pass.”

  “You all okay?” asked James.

  “We lost a couple of men, but we fought hard and held them off. So yeah, it was a good day.”

  “We saw a couple of helicopters a ways off, but that was about it,” said James. “The town Sheriff here has a few men hidden pretty well, with a good view of the roads coming into town. We’ll figure it out, old friend, if we have to, but I sure hope we won’t.”

  “All right, let me know if you need anything down there,” said David. “I’ll check back in a couple of days if I don’t hear anything.”

  * * * *

  This Saturday, the tables would be turned, and James would be the one staying home and watching over the property while the rest traded their wares.

  Janice wanted to cancel just for a week or two, but James was insistent they go, not wanting to be the reason the routine was changed.

  Jason took the day off work to help around the ranch and get ready for trading tomorrow.Both he and Janice would get more than a few questions about James, and they all spoke about how they would be answered.

  Things were different today for chores, as James was the one observing now. He was pleased with Jason’s care to make sure they were done right and watched as “Uncle Jason” let Billy help, like they had known each other for years.

  “You’re good, Lord,” he said aloud, far enough from Jason and Billy not to be heard. “You always watch over us and provide what’s needed, and for the life of me, I can’t understand any of it. But you are good, Lord. You surely are.”

  Jason and Lauren took the girls around in the afternoon to gather trade supplies.

  Carla begged Chance to come, but he refused to leave James’ side.

  “We’ll keep watch from the porch,” called out James, patting his loyal friend on the head.

  With the trailer packed with the usual eggs, vegetables, honey, beef jerky and growing seeds, they settled in on a Mountain House freeze-dried spaghetti dinner and made an early night of it.

  * * * * * * *

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Weston, Colorado

  Sheriff Johnson designated six of his deputies to be on patrol, covering the four main roads into Weston.

  One man would cover each direction, up to 20 miles, on four-wheelers from the hours of 6-7:30 a.m. and 5-6:30 p.m. on trade Saturdays, as well as two designated hours on Sundays, before and after church. The last two would float in between, in case of trouble.

  The Sheriff could not afford to have another incident, like the one that hurt James, that would keep his new-in-town families from safely trading or going to his church.

  He was not expecting to see James’ family this soon but greeted Jason, Janice and Lauren personally before opening trade. He explained the new security perimeters to Jason, who had stopped briefly on their way in this morning to talk with a deputy stationed on the road.

  * * * *

  After the official trade day rules were reviewed by the Sheriff, he went over the new policy, asking a show of hands for how many people traveling more than one mile into town had seen a deputy keeping watch this morning?

  Many in the crowd raised their hands, a few cheering.

  “Last and certainly not least, I am happy to inform you that your Mayor, James VanFleet, is at home, recovering well from last week’s unfortunate incident. Rest assured that those responsible have already been, or will be, dealt with harshly in the coming days. Thank you for coming, and happy trading.”

  After a brief morning storm, the sun was shining brightly and trade was under way.

  Janice couldn’t help but realize how many more people showed up each consecutive week and wondered from how far out they traveled to get here.

  “It might not be too long before James’ old friend David, on the mountain, gets included in the town limits,” she said to Jason, adding, “even though he’s in another state.”

  “I don’t think that matters so much now,” Jason replied.

  * * * *

  Sheriff Johnson returned to his jailhouse at the start of trading and began to pick up the plates from this morning’s breakfast.

  “Good breakfast, gentlemen?” he asked.

  Only the former councilman responded with “Yes, and thank you, sir.”

  “You two stay put!” he called out to the others, as he opened the councilman’s cell door. “Let’s go check out our chair.”

  The councilman had more freedom lately, although he still spent the nights in his cell.

  “The shop owner tells me you’re doing a good job,” Sheriff Johnson said as they walked down the main road towards downtown.

  “Thank you, sir. He helped in supplying me with essential parts. A few had to come in from Trinidad. If I could make it up to my old workplace in Pueblo, I could just grab one already built.”

  “That would be helpful for sure,” said the Sheriff, “but what used to be a two-hour drive in good weather is now an all-day trip or more, with more than a few pitfalls both ways. And then I wouldn’t really need you after that, right?”

  The Sheriff said this last phrase with a slight smile, as they both realized he was joking, well…sort of. Truth be told, he was starting to like the former councilman, at least more than the others he had cooped up and had to feed.

  “What else can you build?” he asked as they continued past the other stores downtown, with most still open for some kind of business, even if it was less than before.

  “I can build almost anything, I guess, short of a plane or a full-on house,” said the councilman.

  “What about a greenhouse? Could you build that?” asked the Sheriff.

  “Oh sure, that’s easy. I just need one more set of hands to help, and I can get one up in a matter of days.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind. Are you married or do you have kids?”

  “No, sir. Just a girlfriend up from Pueblo is all. At least I did before I ran my mouth and got locked up.”

  “Let’s talk to her,” replied the Sheriff. “After I see your progress, of course.”

  “I’m Ken, by the way,” he said awkwardly, reaching his hand out.

  “That’s good to know,” replied the Sheriff, shaking his hand.

  “And for the record, I’m sorry about how I spoke to you at the beginning. I’m not trying to get out of anything here; I just wanted you to know is all. I’m actually pretty excited about the jump. I’m too young to ever see Evel jump in person, but I saw his son Robbie jump the five military planes on the deck of the USS Intrepid ship in New York City back in ’04. I was just a teenager back then, but after that I was hooked on racing and jumping. Of course, I’ve never attempted something like you’re setting up. I get a helmet and gear, right?”

  “Now, what would be the fun in that?” replied the Sheriff.

  Ken got quiet, and he hoped he hadn’t overstepped his bounds. He had a good thing going with the Sheriff, at least compared to his two jail mates. There was a long pause, with Ken ready to apologize or say something about just kidding around.

  Finally, the Sheriff spoke like they were having a casual conversation between two friends out walking around town.

  “I’m looking forward to the jump as well, an
d Richard’s fight…if we can find a challenger, that is.”

  All I know is I’d rather jump a pool of man-eating sharks before having to fight him to the death. He hits hard,” the councilman said, rubbing his chin.

  “I’ll bet!” replied the Sheriff, with both of them laughing for the first time since they met.