by Nathan Jones
A young woman gave him a disappointed look. “They won't be bringing back anything else?”
Matt hesitated. “Well those who went might have picked up some items for themselves or their families, using the profits from their own trade goods.”
“That doesn't seem fair,” she complained. “Why do they get things for themselves?”
“Because they volunteered to do a dangerous and difficult service to the town, so they were there to have the opportunity. Didn't you hear about the convoy getting attacked yesterday?” The group reluctantly nodded, and Matt shrugged. “A chance to do some of their own shopping seems fair to me.”
“And me,” Sam agreed, although as she joined the group she gave the young woman a comforting hug. “Believe me, there's plenty of stuff I want, too. We'll get our chance once these trade runs become a regular thing. And hopefully safer for those who go.”
Matt gave his wife a grateful smile, and she smiled back and came over to give him a hug too, then stayed with her arms around him. Out of habit he glanced around for Olivia, and saw she was being held by Eva Halsson while Mary gushed over her. A very visibly pregnant Alice Watson was hovering nearby with Deb waiting for their turns, while Rick and Trev chatted not far away.
After excusing themselves from the group of speculating townspeople Matt and Sam made their way over to their friends. “How are the expecting parents?” Matt asked.
Alice gave him an amused look. “Which ones?”
“Both,” Sam said, then her tone turned teasing. “Although one of you has five months on the other so you tend to draw more attention.”
At six months along Alice was definitely entering that stage where people started asking if the baby was due soon. Not long ago she'd commiserated with Sam about how, excited as she was to be a mother, her baby seemed to be the only thing anyone ever wanted to talk about.
Deb and Trev looked slightly uncomfortable. Maybe because people were a lot more hesitant to get excited about their pregnancy after the miscarriage. Actually Sam had gotten commiseration of a different sort from the brown-haired woman; about the nonstop heartfelt concern for her and the baby's health she received from neighbors and loved ones.
To Matt's relief his radio crackled with Lewis's voice before he had to navigate that prickly subject. “We're about to come in sight of the town now.”
Matt immediately raised his voice to address the crowd. “Here they come!”
Around him conversation ceased and everyone turned expectant looks to the western ridge. A loud cheer erupted as the truck came into sight on the road, maneuvering along the narrow dirt road hauling an overloaded trailer.
The cheers quickly died out to murmurs of dismay, though, when people saw the plastic covering the destroyed windshield and windows. As the truck got closer the bullet holes also became more visible, and the replaced tire on the trailer, and the dismay turned to alarm.
Word had trickled to their ears over the radio about the ambush on the convoy, and there'd been a lot of worry about the fate of their friends and the vital supplies they carried. Even so, the sight of so much damage was painful to see. Matt could hope that if there'd been any bad news Lewis would've radioed ahead instead of waiting to deliver it in person, so everything was probably fine.
Even so, he couldn't dismiss the worry that his friends hadn't all made it through the attack, irrational as it was. Especially since the blurry plastic made it hard to see how many people were in the cab.
To his relief the truck finally got close enough that he could see three indistinct shapes inside, upright and at the very least alive. As the vehicle pulled up to the crowd and parked, with Lewis, Gutierrez, and last of all Carrie emerging apparently unharmed, a relieved cheer rose from the gathered townspeople.
The first few minutes were spent in a reunion as the returning trio were mobbed by friends and family. At least as much as they could stand, considering Lewis spared most of his attention for his wife, mom, and sister, Gutierrez and Carrie both had few close friends, and all three were loners in their own ways and for their own reasons.
Finally Matt collected the keys to the truck and hopped in to get it moving towards the town storehouse. He drove slowly, and the celebration naturally followed as the gathered townspeople drifted after him.
“We'll distribute the food based on who contributed trade goods and who needs it most,” he called after he parked and people popped open the back of the truck and the trailer to eagerly view the contents. “But first let's get it all unloaded.”
As willing hands got to work with the task, Matt led Lewis into the storehouse and over to the small stockpile of trade goods the town had gathered for the next run down to San Antonio. “You've seen the market down there,” he told his friend. “You'll have the best idea what will be worth taking down, and what will sell best.”
“I'll look it over,” Lewis agreed. “Show me what you've got.”
Matt nodded and picked up the clipboard on top of the stockpile, ticking down items as his friend began poking around the pile and inspecting a few things a bit closer. As they worked Lewis also filled Matt in on how the trip had gone, and Matt returned the favor by outlining the few but major changes the town had undergone while the convoy had been in Mexico.
Aspen Hill had seen an entire shift in perspective since Colonel Grimes's visit. The knowledge that there were people out there willing to trade for the stuff that had previously seemed of fairly low value, at least to people struggling to feed themselves and keep from freezing to death, had turned a lot of people to new tasks.
Of course the work of tending crops, hunting, gathering, logging, building, and improving everyone's circumstances were all still there. But on top of those now people were venturing out scavenging for things they could trade to Mexico for food, necessities, and items they simply couldn't produce themselves. They were sifting through the ruins of old Aspen Hill and expanding their search for miles in the surrounding area, as well as contemplating ventures into nearby cities for serious scavenging.
That wasn't all that was going on. Now that the blockheads seemed well and truly pushed back behind the CCZ borders, aside from occasional slave raids the military was doing their best to repel, some members of the town were talking about heading back into the valley and rebuilding old Aspen Hill.
When Robert Paulson had come to Matt with the idea it had hit him right between the eyes like a ton of bricks, but he had to admit it wasn't a completely unreasonable opinion. New Aspen Hill's valley was lower elevation than the surrounding mountains, but still high up compared to the valleys east and west of the mountains.
As for old Aspen Hill, along with warmer temperatures the soil was slightly better for crops and the growing season would be longer, and they wouldn't be surrounded by snow-covered mountains and trapped in for large parts of the year. They'd also be slightly closer to the ruins of civilization where they could do more scavenging, and passersby would have an easier time reaching them for trading.
And a lot of people, such as Jack Dawson, were protective of land they owned down there and wanted to get back to it. Of course these days just about everything outside the mountains was frontier property, where settling it basically constituted a claim that nobody was going to contest. Even so some people didn't want to abandon their homes, now that they had the option to go back to them.
Robert seemed to be the driving force behind the move, and certainly its most eager advocate. He was even going so far as planning out logistics for getting everyone and their possessions down there, as well as construction projects for the restored town. Hailey Nelson wanted to go with him, with the idea of moving the town's livestock between the two locations for more extended grazing.
Although Matt had a feeling a stronger motivation for the young woman was an increasingly serious relationship with Robert.
It had to be said that nobody thinking of leaving wanted to cut ties with Aspen Hill. From the sounds of it they wanted to basically be th
e other half of Aspen Hill, just down near the old ruins and a fairly long travel distance away. Matt wasn't sure how that could possibly work, although he certainly didn't argue with everyone wanting to remain close.
As for Lewis's news, while Matt had noticed that the three hadn't brought back any livestock, he was still disappointed to learn that they weren't a feasible option and probably wouldn't be for a while. Aspen Hill would have to manage with the animals they had for now, although the possibility of purchasing turkeys from the Prestons' settlement was definitely one they'd follow up on. At least there was good news about the medicine his friend had managed to purchase, which would please Terry and Dr. Langstrom.
When Lewis got to the ambush and their narrow escape Matt had to fight down rage. “At the risk of repeating the mistakes of the past, I almost wish we still had a few nukes left so we could blast the so-called CCZ to oblivion.”
His friend shook his head grimly. “We'd be blowing up all the slaves they've taken along with them.” Lewis then passed on Faraday's news that US and Canada were planning raids of their own to strike at the blockheads and free slaves.
“Think the military will want civilian volunteers, like they did for the war?” Matt asked once he fell silent.
“Doubtful. That was a move of desperation, and there are more than a few ways siccing civilian raiding parties on the blockheads could go wrong.”
“Well if they do, I'm sure there are more than a few people in Aspen Hill who'd like a chance to be part of it.”
Lewis shrugged noncommittally. “Maybe. Not me.”
That surprised Matt. His friend had been all about going after the blockheads during the fighting. He'd even gone above and beyond his duties to protect the town in exile and had staged raids on the enemy occupying their town. “Not for any reason?”
“Well maybe if it's really necessary,” Lewis admitted. “But I have my family to worry about, and this ambush was an unpleasant reminder of the stakes. I won't take that risk.”
Ah. Matt supposed that part of Lewis's recklessness had been knowing that if anything happened to him his dad would be there for the family. Now that weight was fully on his shoulders, and he was obviously feeling it.
Matt understood. After Olivia's birth his entire perspective had changed, so much so that if she'd been born before he went to volunteer to fight the blockheads, it hurt his soul thinking of how much harder it would've been to bring himself to do it. The idea of leaving her without a father haunted his dreams even now.
He knew there were plenty of soldiers in the war who'd faced that same agony, and it gave him a still more profound respect for their courage and sacrifice.
“Well I'm glad we're far from all that up here in the mountains,” he said. His friend nodded, and the conversation drifted to more pleasant topics as they got back to work.
* * * * *
Trev ran his fingers over the boxes of reloading supplies sitting on Lewis's reloading bench. “We spent all winter on the last batch of bullets and didn't even use up all our reloading supplies,” he pointed out. “Now we've got twice as much to work with, and we'll be racing the clock since every trade convoy the military sends down to Mexico is a lost opportunity for us. I'm assuming you thought of a solution to that?”
“Sure,” his cousin replied with a lopsided grin. “Our business needs some employees.” He gestured vaguely. “Specifically, there's several crippled veterans who want to make themselves useful and need a task that doesn't require much moving around or heavy lifting. This would be perfect for them, and for us.”
Trev liked the thought of that. He knew Matt had been fretting over ways to put the veterans to work, both for their sake and to benefit the town. This would actually be a great solution for everyone involved.
And it wouldn't hurt that every single one of their employees could also double as a guard in case of potential thieves.
Unfortunately manpower wasn't the only issue. “What about tools? We ran into the problem of too many cooks in the kitchen even with just you, me, Jane, and occasionally Deb or Jim.”
Lewis grimaced. “Yeah I thought of that, too. We'll need to rig up at least one more bench, ideally two. As for the equipment for them, we'll either need to jury rig a setup from spare parts that are a close enough match to what we need, get Hank Charleston the machinist's tools and materials he needs to do the job, or find someone else with reloading equipment who's willing to sell. Maybe a combination of all three.”
“So basically we keep going with what we've got while you once again harass everyone in radio range to find what you're looking for,” Trev said. “Or we limp along with a few more rinky-dink benches that'll probably produce inferior quality bullets.”
“I'm so glad I have a partner who offers solutions, not problems,” his cousin said dryly. “Luckily I've got at least one solution. I spoke with Ned Orban about it, and he agreed to consider me first if he happens across any more reloading tools.”
Trev bit back a grin. “Of course you did. So now we just have to wait until the trader gets around to visiting town again, considering he's got a much better destination in San Antonio.”
“Right.” Lewis rubbed his hands together. “While we wait I guess we'll just do what we can. Let's get started.”
It turned out they didn't have long to wait. Lewis and the others barely had a chance to settle in and rest after their ordeal, and the town was still buzzing with excitement over the success of the trading run, when the defender patrolling near the road west of town stirred new excitement the next morning with the news that a truck was heading their way.
Ned's eye-catchingly painted truck, to be exact.
There was a new flurry as townspeople scrambled to gather up anything useful they had for trade, while Trev joined Matt in getting together the available town leaders to greet the new arrival. The trader drove up into town long before either of those tasks was finished, greeted by a small but eager crowd as more people constantly trickled in.
Trev had been on his way to grab Gutierrez to join the welcoming committee, but before he reached his friend's house the former soldier emerged, all geared up with a fully loaded backpack on his back and a duffel in his arms.
Wow. Trev paused. “I don't remember scheduling you for a patrol,” he said. “Actually I planned to let you have some time off after what you went through on the trip.” But as he spoke the thought tugged at the back of his mind that Gutierrez never packed that heavy for a patrol. Were those things to trade to Ned, or maybe he was planning another of his days-long forays?
His friend shifted a bit uncomfortably. “Um, yeah. I probably should've told you sooner, but I need to resign.”
Trev blinked. “What?”
The former soldier sighed and hefted his duffel. “Well it can't be too much of a surprise considering I've got all my worldly possessions with me, but I'm leaving with Orban.”
* * * * *
Raul was a bit hurt that news of his plans to leave barely put a dent on the town's excited frenzy of trading.
Sure, all his friends made it clear they'd miss him, much more sincerely than he'd expected, and a few people who got wind of the news came around to shake his hand and give him their best wishes. Still, after everything he'd done for the town he'd expected a bit . . . more.
Then again, what could he expect? Aspen Hill had taken him in as a despised raider who'd betrayed his own group to come to them. They'd been willing to give him a chance, and let him put his past behind him even when he couldn't let himself. They'd befriended him, even seemed happy he was courting one of their own when he'd been dating Mary.
And after all that he was abandoning them. Maybe it wasn't him who should be disappointed here.
When Raul reported in Orban looked delighted to see him, but the man was busy talking to the town's leaders so he just directed Raul to plant his stuff next to the truck and start helping Paul.
Raul was happy to get to work as the trader and his bodyguard began the
tricky process of emptying their truck of trade goods and filling them with other (always more profitable for Orban) goods. But when he had the chance he made his way over to where Matt and the town leaders stood. “Can I talk to you for a second, Matt?” he asked.
Matt immediately allowed himself to be pulled aside. “I heard you got a job with Orban,” his friend said. “We'll all be sorry to see you go, but it looks like this is a great opportunity for you. Congratulations.” He offered his hand.
Raul firmly returned the handshake, glad his friend was responding this way. Although it didn't do much for his guilt. “I can't thank you enough for the chance you gave me, back when I came over.”
“The town's had no reason to regret putting our trust in you,” Matt responded.
“No, I mean you personally,” Raul said, trying to express gratitude that could never properly be expressed. “You gave me a chance when no one else would, spoke on my behalf when everyone else wanted to treat me like a criminal. You were my friend right from the first.”
“And I couldn't have asked for a better friend.” Matt actually looked as if he might be tearing up. “You'll be missed, Raul.”
He had to fight down his own emotion, and did his best to grin. “Hey, it's not like I'm leaving for good. I'll still have my house here, and I'll be back whenever I'm not traveling.”
His friend looked relieved. “Good. I was a bit afraid you were on to bigger and better things.”
“Aspen Hill would be impossible to top.” Raul stepped back. “I should probably go say goodbye to a few others.”
Matt nodded and joined him as he made his way back to the town's leaders. Most of them were friends, or at least people he'd worked with, and he owed them their own thanks.
