EMP Catastrophe | Book 3 | Erupting Chaos

by Hamilton, Grace

  He’d been given the gift of strength. He didn’t plan on wasting it.

  Nikki puttered around the room, doing useless things like monitoring and checking vitals and hovering. Her doom-and-gloom had infected the suite’s four walls. As much as she tried to keep her spirits up around him, David could sense her endless worry over his condition. On one hand, he knew she was fretted about his health. On the other, he wondered if he represented all of her other patients. The ones she’d failed. If she kept him alive, it would mean something.

  David pretended to fall back asleep again to avoid useless conversation full of how are we feeling today? until he heard the front door creak open, the shuffle of footsteps out, and the shuffle of new footsteps in.

  He cracked an eye open to see his wife ease the door closed behind her. Alone at last. When she turned to him, he saw her face break out in soft pleasure to see him awake and cognizant. Love swelled in his chest. They had been through so much together. Sometimes, he couldn’t imagine his life without her and was happy he would never have to know.

  “Were you playing hooky?” she asked.

  “Help me get out of this blasted bed,” he said, throwing the cover off. He held his hand out to her.

  Ruth took it eagerly even as she shook her head in negation. “You’re not supposed to strain yourself,” she said in a soft voice.

  Fear. David smiled at her. She was always so full of fear. “I won’t,” he said. “I know you’re worried about me, but a short walk won’t kill me.”

  “A short walk where?” Ruth said sharply.

  “Out to the porch,” he said. “If I don’t get some fresh air, I might explode.”

  “We could open the window,” Ruth suggested.

  David gave her a look. “You know what I mean.”

  Ruth sighed, giving in easily. “You’re the worst kind of patient,” she said.

  “I know.” David squeezed her hand. “You’re my accomplice. Help me up.”

  She leaned closer and eased him up by supporting his back and arms as though he were an ancient china doll that might crumble under the slightest pressure. He wanted to roll his eyes at her, shake her off, leap to his feet, and prove once and for all that he wasn’t weak or failing. Instead, he gritted his teeth and kept his irritation in check. It wouldn’t do to upset her. He knew she was only trying to help. He didn’t know how long he would be able to keep accepting her help, if he was honest.

  Once he managed to swing his legs over the side of the bed, Ruth took his elbow and helped him up to his feet. He hated how knobby and shrunken his knees looked. The skin of his thinning arms seemed to hang lifelessly off of him. He’d been bedridden for little over a week, and it seemed as if his strength had been sapped from him. It had been so easy to degrade into this weak shell.

  Balancing his weight against Ruth, he stood up. His legs shook. He gave her an encouraging smile. “I can’t wait to get out of this room,” he said.

  Ruth chuckled. “It’s always been hard for you to sit still. I would know.”

  He wanted to kiss her. How many years had they been in each other’s lives? He’d wished for so many more.

  Together, they tottered down the hallway, and David saw everything in a wholly new light. First, he noted the potential of the hotel—something he had sensed when Matthew first showed him the property pictures online. Now, he saw the place not as a commercial effort, but a haven where his son would grow old and his grandchildren would lead completely different lives. He wouldn’t be there for most of it, but with each step on the hardwood floors, he placed wishes into the hotel’s foundation. Wishes for good to all who passed through the hotel and relied on its walls for shelter.

  Ruth opened up the front door. A soft breeze whistled through the doorway, washing David’s face in freshness. He took in a deep breath and let out a sigh of relief. The sunlight covered him with radiant warmth. Ruth took his elbow again and helped him out onto the porch. She finally settled him on one of the rockers that sat in the light. He looked out to the jagged mountain peaks surrounding them. All at once, he felt both overwhelmed and strangely at peace that those mountains would be there long after he left this world. They felt like unshakable landmarks.

  Ruth sat down next to him in the other chair and scooted it as close as possible to him. He smiled at her. “I wish I was with Matthew looking at the well. I wonder, how it’s going?”

  “From what I hear, they’ve figured out a plan on how to proceed. I know Matthew would love to have you there with him.” Ruth squinted into the light.

  “Maybe I should try and help,” David suggested wistfully. “You know Matthew doesn’t know the first thing about hard labor. Spent too long at that computer selling ideas and his creativity.”

  Ruth tsked at him. “Our son made a good life for himself. I know you know that, you curmudgeon. I also know you’re proud of his creativity.”

  David grinned. “You do know me.”

  “Once you’re all healed up you can go help him. Which will be a while from now. Don’t get any ideas about sneaking out of your room. Your grandson already did that.”

  David let out a soft laugh. Ruth had told him about Patton’s adventures, which honestly made him glad. The boy needed to gain some independence and challenge his parents. Wouldn’t be a proper child if he didn’t. “I know, dear,” he said, and let that soft knowledge that he didn’t want to recognize fill him. “I won’t be going back to work after this. It’s just a wish.”

  Ruth gave him a quizzical look. “That sounds suspicious.”

  David reached out and took her hand in his. How many times had he held her hand? Each time had been a gift. “It sounds suspicious because I know I won’t be here much longer, Ruth. I can sense it. My time is coming. I’m going to die soon.”

  “Oh my god, don’t be dramatic,” Ruth said, squeezing his hands hard. A flash of fear went through her face. Her eyes filled with tears. “Don’t say things like that. You’re too stubborn to die. You’ll be walking around the property in no time.”

  David didn’t say anything. He only stared at her as if he could memorize her every feature. “Do you remember our wedding day?” he asked softly. “It’s been on my mind lately.”

  “You sentimental old fool,” Ruth said fondly. “Why are you thinking about that?”

  “I was remembering that I remembered barely anything about the day. Not the dancing. Not the cake. Not even the guests. But what I do remember so vividly it feels like it was yesterday is the first time I saw you walking down the aisle. I’m not a man of many words, Ruth. I’m not creative like Matthew. But my darling, you were beautiful.”

  Ruth’s chin quivered, and she entwined their fingers tighter together. A soft silence descended over them, and he knew that even if she wouldn’t accept it, she knew it. Their time was coming to an end. Richer or poorer. Till death do they part. Ruth gripped his hand as if she could keep him there through force of will alone. They stared at the mountains in silence until Matthew walked around the side of the hotel, coming to a standstill when he saw his parents.

  “Well, if that isn’t fate, I don’t know what is,” Ruth said, leaning in to kiss David’s cheek. She stood up and beckoned Matthew over. “Come over here, Matt. Your father needs a word with you.”

  David chuckled at the uneasy fear that crossed his only son’s face. Matthew looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He ascended the steps slowly as Ruth slipped back inside the hotel. Matthew eased himself down on the abandoned rocker. “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  David’s chest began to sting. He couldn’t figure out if it was fatigue or emotional pain. “The more important question is, how is the well restoration going?”

  Matthew barked a laugh and launched into telling David all about the lengthy project: about how Wyatt was a good ally to have, about how the crew had argued logistics for hours, about how they had to engineer a way to both hand dig and pump the water up. “At least Allison has no interest in the well,”
Matthew concluded. “She’s been out in the garden all hours of the day. It’s Patton I need to worry about. That kid is giving me gray hair.”

  “Ruth told me about his stunt,” David said, already missing this easy conversation and closeness with his son.

  “God,” Matthew said and ran a hand through his hair. “I lost it. Full-on lost it. I don’t think I’ve ever been that angry with him before. After everything that happened, I never thought he’d do something like that.”

  “He’s headstrong like you. You probably don’t remember it, but you used to do things like that that drove me up the wall. Disobeying me, trying to put one over on me or Ruth, just up to no good most of the time.”

  Matthew pretended to stick his nose in the air and gave David the sly eye. “I did no such thing,” he said and David laughed. The conversation ended naturally, and David watched his son, full to the brim with pride. He knew he hadn’t always done everything right, but he knew that Matthew had grown to become a fine man with an excellent life. What else could a man ask for his children?

  “I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Matthew said softly. “You have no idea how grateful I am to see you outside. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you, Dad.”

  David made a humming sound and knew he had to break the truth to his son just as he had done to his wife. “I won’t be around forever, though. Every ticker has to stop sometime.”

  Matthew’s face fell and he looked away, rapidly blinking. He took in a deep, shaky breath, and David knew that his implication had been understood. But he had to make sure Matthew knew what being the head of a family meant.

  “When I’m gone,” David began.

  “Dad, no—”

  “When I’m gone, Matthew,” David said, “you’ll be the one a lot of people look to. This is your home, and not only will the kids be looking to you as their role model, but others who come here looking for help will do the same thing. You have to be prepared for that.”

  “I can’t do that,” Matthew said. “I can’t be brave and strong all the time. I make the wrong decisions half of the time.”

  David tutted. “Being a leader isn’t about being strong or flexing your muscles. It means being as smart as you can and surrounding yourself with people who are even smarter than you are. You need to listen to them and learn from them and rely on them. You already do that, Matthew. I’m so proud of you. All the time.”

  Matthew coughed and grimaced as if trying to keep himself from breaking into tears. The pain in David’s chest increased until it ached to sit upright. He felt dizzy. He wanted to lie down and sleep. This outing had exhausted him more than he’d anticipated, and he knew his time was near. He looked again at the vista of mountains, the sunlight, and smelled the fresh air. He didn’t want to leave, but his body was signaling that he had used up his well of strength. He needed to rest.

  “Help me back inside?” he asked Matthew.

  Matthew nodded and stood up, taking David’s elbow. David looked up at his son once more and said, “I meant what I said. Don’t doubt that.”

  Matthew clasped his hand. “I won’t, Dad. I promise.”

  19

  Max had deliberately stayed away from the well restoration team.

  It wasn’t that he was scared, exactly. But being around a bunch of guys who were a) gun club and b) stronger than he was and c) didn’t think he was very funny made him nervous. It made him feel as if he were back in prison. When he had to be on his guard all the time.

  He’d never told anyone that. Would go to his grave never breathing a word of it. Yet the sensation never went away, especially as he healed up from his brawl with the cartel members. He felt weak. In prison, you did not want to be weak.

  It didn’t help that he knew Jade was calling him all sorts of names, like selfish and self-centered, behind his back. Heck, sometimes she said those things to his face. But she didn’t understand.

  Max didn’t know how to be around people anymore. He didn’t know how to fix car engines, or plant a garden, or how to track deer, and he certainly didn’t know how to repair a well. Opening himself up to that kind of ridicule around men who did know what they were doing was a sure way to get...well, not shivved, but maybe punched.

  Logically, though, he knew he couldn’t hide anymore. If was going to be part of the Riley family—even more, part of this hotel community—he actually needed to be part of it. No more excuses about being scared or getting shanked. Nope, Max needed to become a member of society, and not just any member, but a productive one at that.

  Which was why he was out here. On the outskirts of the well restoration team’s group, listening to some dude named Shawn tell Max that he was a mason. Max wasn’t quite sure at this point if Shawn was an actual honest-to-god mason who could fix bricks and stuff, or like a member of that secret Masonic order, but he was trying to figure it out by context while keeping his mouth shut.

  “Put the rest of the stones over there,” Shawn instructed as the men finished clearing out the rocks surrounding the external lip of the well.

  Identity solved. An actual stone mason. No secret orders here.

  “I think I can restructure the outside with new grout and stone placement,” Shawn finished, pushing his glasses up his nose. “Will probably take a while, but might as well try.”

  “Now we just have to worry about the internal structure,” Matthew said, sounding down on his luck. Matthew peered over and down into the hole. A set of poles crafted into a triangular shape with some sketchy jerry-rigged pulley system was next to him. Max eyed it suspiciously as he listened to Matthew make a humming noise of displeasure.

  “That one wall looks like it could collapse,” Wyatt said from the other side of Matthew, answering Matthew’s unsaid observation.

  “We need to shore it up somehow,” Matthew responded. “Pack the earth down. Strengthen it with concrete or sand or something. Then we need to replace the stones in better alignment so that it holds the structure upright.”

  Maybe it was a Masonic order, Max thought. All this sounded like a confusing riddle.

  “Easier said than done,” Wyatt said with a wry smile. “Most likely we’ll have to use wood scaffolding to keep the earth in place while we remove the ruined stones and put in new ones. Then we have to pack new earth down in and around it. Once it’s settled, we’ll be in a good spot with a sound foundation.” Wyatt traced the beard around his mouth with his thumb and pointer finger. “It’s just a dangerous job for one man. That’s all we can safely fit down there at a time.”

  “I don’t mind,” Matthew said, completely focused on the well. “I’ll volunteer.”

  “You’re crazy,” Max blurted out. He winced. He hadn’t meant to say that, but now that the words were out there, he couldn’t seem to stop himself. “You can’t go down there to fix the interior. What if there’s a cave-in?”

  “That’s a risk I’ll have to take,” Matthew said, staring at Max as if he were the alien. As if Max was the weird one for not volunteering to risk his life. “We need clean, sustainable water. Period.”

  Max sighed. Classic Matthew move. This was beginning to shape up like one of those situations where Jade would label him a selfish jerk. Okay. Personal growth. He could do this. Going into that dark hole would be way easier than giving Jade another reason to despise him. “Last time you went down into the well, you fell,” Max pointed out.

  Matthew glared at him. “That was because I slipped.”

  “Or because you’re too heavy. I should be the one to go down there. I weigh way less than you do. Less strain on that rickety frame of a rigging you’ve built. Shifty too, I might add.”

  He meant that last bit as a joke, but the rest of the restoration crew glanced at each other and didn’t leap to defend the rigging. Okay, so maybe it was just as shifty as it looked. Not a good sign, but he couldn’t back down now.

  Matthew’s frown intensified. How was that even possible? “That’s not a good idea,” he said.
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br />   “Why not?” Max asked, detecting an undertone in Matthew’s voice he did not like. “I’m lighter than you. Less strain on the rigging. If something happens, that’s less mass to pull up and out. Ergo, less strain on everyone. Plus, since I’m so compact, I can maneuver in there easier than you.”

  “Absolutely not,” Matthew said and shook his head sharply.

  “Now, let’s hear him out, Matt,” Wyatt said. He leaned back and crossed his arms, lowering his head as if deep in thought. “We should consider it.”

  “Out of the question,” Matthew said and turned on Max. “If Kathleen knew I’d let her brother put himself in harm’s way again, I’d never hear the end of it.”

  “If Kathy knew I’d let the father of her children into a deep, dark well and something happened to him, I’d be banished. Believe me. I lose way more if it’s you on the line, Matt.”

  “It’s not about who has less to lose,” Wyatt pointed out. “We aren’t prioritizing those who have families. We’re not sacrificing men who don’t have families. We’re all equals here.”

  “Sure,” Max said. “That’s a nice sentiment. But let’s be real, okay? If we don’t want to make it about who Kathleen loves more—and believe me Matt, it’s you—then we’ll make it about shoulder size.”

  “Shoulder size?” Wyatt asked. Holy buckets, did he just crack a smile?

  “Shoulder size.” Max squared his chest and did a superman pose. “Look here. I’m slender. I’m short. I’m wiry. Look at Matt.”

  Matthew glared harder.

  “Not slender,” Max pointed out. “Bulky. Taller. Not fit for well shaft work, that’s for sure.”

  “Be serious, Max,” Matthew said.

  “I am,” Max said. “You want seriousness? Okay, here it is. This is the least dangerous decision for everyone involved. I’m the smallest guy. I won’t get stuck. I will be at a reduced risk doing the work because of my build. I don’t have an Excel sheet to calculate the numbers, but I’m pretty sure I’m right on this. I’m ready to hear a rebuttal. Anyone?”