“No,” Emma said.
“You’re right, I wouldn’t,” Nathan said, handing it back. Nathan snapped his fingers and Ares, Amanda, and Athena all came running. “At least they all listened.”
Leading them out of the stream bed, Nathan led them cross country and they came to a paved state road. Without pausing, Nathan led them over the road and back into the fields. Behind him Natalie announced, “I really don’t like roads with painted stripes anymore.” Everyone, including Nathan, murmured agreement.
Even with the small rolling hills around them they could see reasonably far. It wasn’t much farther before Nathan led them back onto a dirt road and picked the pace back up. Seeing a house ahead, Nathan pulled out the thermal binoculars and scanned the area. The house wasn’t much warmer that the area around it. None of the windows were showing heat, so Nathan turned off the thermal and continued on.
The house was about fifty yards off the road as they rode past. When they were even with it, Nathan glanced toward the house and dropped his head. The front door was wide open. Nathan glanced up at Ares and Athena. Both were trotting down the road ahead of him with their tongues hanging out. Hearing someone coming up beside him, “I saw the front door, Jasmine.”
Jasmine jerked in her saddle. “You know the sound of my horse?”
Nathan laughed. “No, but I figured it was your turn to come and ask.”
Jasmine smiled. “So you know what we are doing?”
“Yes, and it’s smart, it gets everyone used to finding out information and doing something they don’t want to,” Nathan said.
Hearing that explanation for her idea, Jasmine smiled. “What do you make of that house?”
“Just that it looked like the others we’ve seen before. I didn’t notice bodies hanging,” Nathan said.
“There’s no way they can clear out the entire countryside,” Jasmine stated.
“Oh I know that but—” Nathan stopped suddenly.
“What?” Jasmine asked, seeing Nathan had a suspicion about it.
Shaking his head, Nathan huffed. “So far we’ve only seen them emptying areas near interstates. In Kansas we started noticing empty houses twenty miles away from the interstate. It didn’t matter what interstate, we found houses with the front door open twenty miles out all the way to the interstate, then twenty miles past it. But that house back there is forty miles from I-80. The town of Cambridge is only a few miles down the road.”
“We’re only forty miles from the interstate?” Jasmine asked, pulling out her map.
“Yes but we’ll cross it ninety miles from here,” Nathan said.
Jasmine nodded in understanding, seeing how I-80 curved northwest. Then she opened her pages back to Kansas and looked up. “In Kansas, would you say the government controlled that area?”
“Hell no,” he stated without a second thought.
“But everyone on the radio says the government controls the interstate to Denver. What if in the areas they control they send troops out farther to gather up people?” she offered.
“Shit,” Nathan said, pulling back on his reins and stopping Smoke. Nathan pulled out his map and grease pencils. He slowly drew a forty-mile-wide corridor on both sides of I-80. Grabbing his thermal binoculars, Nathan scanned ahead and spotted a house to their northeast. Dropping his binoculars, he led them out in the field, heading to the house.
Jasmine was scared of the look on Nathan’s face as she rode beside him. “Nathan, what are you thinking?”
“I think your idea is right. We are fixing to see if it is,” Nathan said as they rode through the field.
Jasmine started thinking about the idea she’d had. “What, them moving further out?”
“Yeah, now keep your eyes open,” Nathan said as he pulled Smoke into a walk, leading them up to the dirt road that ran past the house. When he scanned the house earlier it was cold like the last one, and his thermal had confirmed it. When they were even with the house they saw two bodies hanging by their necks on the porch. “Stay here,” Nathan said, riding forward with Ares beside him.
Getting closer to the house, Nathan could tell it was covered in bullet holes. Looking around the yard he found the piles of brass. Climbing off Smoke, Nathan looked at the brass. Some of the brass was coated in dirt and slightly sunk in the ground. Walking to the house he looked at the bodies and they were badly weathered. Having no intention of stepping in the house, Nathan walked around the outside but didn’t see anything else. Looking down at Ares, Nathan saw he was relaxed.
Climbing back on Smoke, “Ares, come,” Nathan said, heading back to the others. When he reached them he pulled out his map and studied it. “Rally point is now here, we’re changing routes.” Holding out the map, he pointed at the spot, and the others gathered around.
The new rally point was just inside the corridor he had drawn. “If it’s true we’re inside the search area,” Jasmine said.
“I know, but just barely. I want to be where they already cleared, just in case they decide to come and make the corridor bigger,” Nathan said, putting up his map.
“Nathan, have you heard any gunshots tonight?” John asked.
Thinking about it, Nathan couldn’t remember hearing any since last night. “No, has anyone else?”
Jasmine looked around. “I haven’t heard any but I can’t swear it because they are part of the background now.”
“Yes, that’s why we should hear one every once in a while. But John’s right, I haven’t heard one since last night,” Nathan said, propping the SAW across his saddle.
Amanda looked through her notebook. “Where is Grand Island?”
“A hundred or so miles to the east,” Nathan said.
She stopped turning pages. “Yesterday someone called ‘Mad Hatter’ said they were moving people out of a camp in Grand Island, taking them east on rail, and the ants were moving up twenty-nine.”
“I don’t remember seeing that,” Nathan said.
“Well it was there,” Amanda said. “You even wrote on the same page. What you wrote I don’t know.”
“Keep an ear on the radio and let me know if you hear something,” Nathan said.
Amanda nodded. “I’m only picking up stuff on ham frequencies. I swear I hear guys on military radios. They keep talking about sitting reps, action reporting, saluting, spotting reports, and such.”
Hearing her Nathan’s body slumped in his saddle. “Do you mean Sit reps, after action reports, Salutes, and spot reports?”
“Yeah, you’ve heard them talking like that?” she asked.
Nathan shook his head. “When did you start hearing them?”
“Not long after we started tonight,” she said.
“Write down everything they say,” he said, grabbing his thermal.
“But I don’t know what they are saying,” Amanda informed him.
“Just write what you hear. If you hear someone calling in a spot report on seven Uniforms on Alpha transports let me know fast,” Nathan said, kicking Smoke hard into a trot. The others spread out and started to really scan around.
Before the discovery Nathan had been leading them on a more northerly direction, but now it was hard northwest. When they could, they cut through fields, but when they came to drainage draws, Nathan would either get off and lead them through or take the nearest road west.
It seemed Nathan never put down the thermal binoculars as they moved at a steady canter on the road and a trot in fields. It was three a.m. when Nathan rode off the dirt road they were on, heading down a draw toward a creek. Amanda gasped, seeing trees ahead.
Everyone else was looking at the house less than a mile away. John had looked at it through his thermal scope and discovered it was cold like all the others they passed, but he couldn’t see the front door. In their forty-mile dash in six hours they had passed a dozen houses and they were all cold. Of the ones they moved past the front of the house, they could see door was open.
The stand of trees Nathan led them into was be
side a small creek. When they reached the center they couldn’t see the fields around them. Letting out a collective sigh, the group climbed off their horses and started taking the saddles off. Seeing the area get bright, they turned to see Nathan holding his tablet. His monoculars were flipped up and he was studying the tablet hard.
“What about light discipline?” Jasmine asked.
“We can’t see out so they can’t see in,” Nathan said without looking up. It was then they realized he was still on his horse.
“Aren’t we camping here?” Amanda asked. Her saddle was already on the ground.
“Yes,” Nathan said, scrolling the tablet. He turned it off and climbed off his horse, blinking his eyes to adjust them. Dropping his pack he turned to Natalie motioning her over. Carefully taking Emma out of the sling, Nathan handed her to Natalie as the others gathered around. He took off his messenger bag and handed it to Jasmine.
Taking the messenger bag, Jasmine watched Nathan check his vest. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to check on something,” he said, climbing on Smoke.
“Let us come with you,” Jasmine said.
Nathan lowered the NVGs. “You’re kidding, right? If I get in shit I’ll have to move fast, making quick changes. You will slow me down and we’ll all get killed.”
“Then we don’t need to know,” Jasmine enlightened him.
“I’m not arguing. This is how it’s going to be. I want to be back before daybreak. Set up the tarp like I showed you and stay under it unless you are tending horses. Set up camp and get food ready. If you hear shooting for God’s sake don’t come check it out. Wait here for a day. If I’m not back after that, stay on the route in the tablet. I’ll catch up. No fire and no sleeping till daylight. Amanda, keep Athena here,” Nathan said, kicking Smoke. Amanda held Athena. “Ares, come.”
They watched Nathan weave between the trees until he disappeared from sight. Amanda clipped the leash to Athena and Athena tried to leave. “Athena, stay!” Amanda snapped, and Athena lay down. “Give me that damn tablet,” Amanda snapped at Jasmine, and started digging in Nathan’s messenger bag.
Amanda pulled out the tablet, turning it on. When it was on she went to the menu and tapped the screen. John laughed. “Amanda, that’s smart.” Amanda never smiled or acknowledged him as she kept taping the screen.
“What are you doing?” Jasmine asked. Amanda ignored her as the map program came on.
“She’s seeing what the last thing on the computer was, what Nathan was looking at,” John enlightened Jasmine.
When the map opened Amanda swore. “Shit!” She tapped the screen, moving the picture out.
“What?” Jasmine asked.
“There are four, no eight houses to our south along this creek bottom,” Amanda said, holding up the tablet.
“He’s going to the houses?” Jasmine asked.
“That’s what he was looking at. He focused in on each of them,” Amanda said, turning the tablet off.
“Why?” Jasmine asked.
Amanda turned to her. “Now I know why Nathan hates that word. But unlike him, I don’t know.”
John held up his hands stopping everyone. “Okay, why would he want to go to houses? We don’t need supplies and we know the area has been taken. What’s he looking for?” They all racked their brains but couldn’t come up with an answer. “Let’s get camp set up. Tom, you and Amanda take the horses to the north side of the thicket. The map showed a grass field. If it’s not there, come back. This thicket is just over a hundred yards long and wide, so keep an ear out. Jasmine, you and I will set up the shelter and cover it. Natalie, you’re standing guard and watching the little ones.”
As they moved to set up camp, they figured right as Nathan climbed off Smoke at the first house. It was a collection of buildings with farm equipment everywhere. Nathan tied Smoke’s reins to a tractor and crept to the front. The door was open. He looked down at Ares who was just panting looking around. “Ares, search.”
Areas trotted toward the house and looked around, then back to Nathan. Relaxing some, Nathan walked quietly to the front door. Lifting the thermal monocular up, he started to search the house. Finding some notebooks and other useful stuff he started grabbing and stopped when he went to put it in his messenger bag. “Dumbass,” he grumbled, setting the stuff down as he searched for something to carry it with.
In a back bedroom he found a Cornhusker gym bag. Nathan emptied it and looked at the room. It was in perfect order and looked like an older boy’s room. Nathan figured the woman of the house was strict or the boy was super neat. He was leaning toward the first because all the parts of the house he had seen were pristine. He searched the rooms, finding another boy’s room, two girls’ rooms, the parent’s room, and an office. The dressers were closed and it looked like nothing was taken. Nathan rummaged around in them and headed to the office. On the desk was a daily tear-off calendar. The date was the day of the CME.
Finding a few more useful items, he tossed them in the bag then he headed to the kitchen. Opening the cabinets and pantry he found them fully stocked. The amount of food was rather impressive. Grabbing several items he threw them in the bag. He looked around till he found the garbage and saw an open microwave meal package on the top. Making another pass through the living room, Nathan followed a hallway.
He knew this would lead him to the carport after seeing the doors when he had approached the house. Opening the door and stepping in it was dark, even with the NVGs. He turned on the IR light and the room to his right eye was a bright green day. His left eye could barely make out the shape of a new Dodge truck and a Durango. Looking around Nathan froze seeing a wooden gun cabinet. Looking through the glass, Nathan counted sixteen rifles and four pistols.
“What the fuck is going on?” he said looking around. Ares just looked at him. Grabbing a crow bar off a work bench, Nathan pried open the cabinet door and the box door at the bottom. Seeing 5.56 Nathan loaded up and grabbed some other calibers they had. Leaving the guns, Nathan turned to leave and spotted a key rack on the wall by the door heading into the house.
Nathan grabbed one and hit the unlock button. The room flashed and he heard a chirp behind him. “Fuck me,” he mumbled, frozen in place. He slowly walked over to the truck. Its parking lights were still on. Opening the door the dome light came on, and a sound he didn’t think he would hear in a long time reached his ears: the door open chime.
Unable to resist, Nathan put the key in and turned. The instrument panel lit up. Not wanting to crank it, Nathan turned it off and closed the door. He walked back over and hung the keys up. Hearing Ares whining Nathan turned to see Ares looking at the truck whining. “You are way too smart,” Nathan informed him. “We can’t take it, as much as I want to. We can’t.” Nathan patted Ares.
“Come,” Nathan said, walking toward the door. Ares left the truck and stopped, seeing Nathan pick up a bag of dog food. “Woof,” Ares huffed. “I know it’s not your brand but your girlfriend is eating all your food,” Nathan said. They headed outside. On impulse, Nathan grabbed the door to close it and froze.
“Aw, that’s bullshit,” he said. “I know they leave them open but it is a learned behavior to shut a door. I wish dad hadn’t been so hard on me about closing the door.” Nathan looked at the door against the inside wall and noticed a doorstop shoved under the edge. Setting the bag of dog food down, Nathan looked around the door but didn’t see anything for a booby trap. He could tell the doorstop had been tapped in.
With the light on his NVGs still on Nathan studied it. It was big for a doorstop but he could tell it didn’t belong with the décor of the house. “Something’s not right about this,” Nathan mumbled, and walked outside, grabbing the dog food. He climbed up on Smoke with the bag of dog food, no easy feat.
Feeling the gym bag pulling on him, Nathan adjusted it and noticed it was full. “Ares, did you put shit in here while I wasn’t looking?” Ares just looked at him. Nathan headed to the next house, following
the dirt road leading to the house.
Heading down the road, Nathan noticed a dead animal in the road. Getting closer, he saw it was a dog, a lab. He could tell it had been dead a while. The bullet holes on its side said how it died. “Damn, they take a man and family out of his home then shoot his dog. When we get my guys home, you and I are going killin’,” Nathan told Ares. Ares sniffed around the body, giving off a soft whine.
The next house wasn’t as massive so it didn’t take as long, but Nathan came away with another bag full of stuff. Once again he found the same type of doorstop shoved under the door. Not wanting to touch it, he loaded up and started down the road, finding several more dead dogs. Several of the bodies had been ripped open by scavengers.
In was the fourth house Nathan found what he was looking for. It was a note dated the day of the CME, laying on the kitchen table.
Gary,
The army is here. They are taking us to Grand Island. They said a massive solar storm hit us and it wasn’t safe here. If you make it here from the oil field, come to us. The phone is out, along with the power. The army said they will have people take care of the animals, but they told me we shouldn’t be gone long. The kids are with me and your sister. Love you, and hurry to us.
Love, Jill
“This is fucked up shit,” Nathan announced. Not even looking through the rest of the house, he turned to leave and once again found the same kind of doorstop jammed under the door. “Fuck it,” Nathan said, pulling out a flashlight. Nathan took off his harness and knelt down on the floor, turning on his light.
He was temporarily blinded as he sat up on his knees, blinking his eyes. Ares woofed behind him, which Nathan took as dog for ‘dumbass.’ When he could see again, Nathan knelt down, looking at the doorstop.
It was a brown wedge about six inches wide, three inches tall at the back, and about eight inches long. The center had a black rubber strap running down it, and looked like it ran under the bottom. It was identical to the others. Taking off his gloves, Nathan gently touched it and was surprised to find it was plastic. “So they put a doorstop in so the wind wouldn’t close the door?” Nathan asked himself.
Dark Titan Journey: Finally Home Page 19
