The dirt road continued, so Billy followed it down into the valley. He encountered a stream that was slightly frozen at the edges, but it was flowing too fast to freeze all the way over. He crossed the stream and turned toward the north. He stopped the Jeep and got out. He looked at the soil and saw it was black. The stream must have brought soil and nutrients out of the mountains when it flooded each year; this was perfect soil to farm. He got back in the truck and drove to the end of the valley where it turned to the right and continued into a break in the mountains. He drove a mile and stopped. His eyes widened and he got out of the truck. He looked up and saw a dam on top of the mountain. Water flowing out of the dam is what made the stream flowing through the valley. He turned off the Jeep and started walking up the steep slope toward the dam. Eventually, he found a paved path leading toward the top of the dam. He hesitated and then walked forward. He moved closer to the dam and suddenly heard, “That’s about close enough Pardner!” Billy turned to the left and saw a man with a bow pointing an arrow at him. “Just what are you doing here?”
The man hadn’t pulled the bow back, but Billy knew he fire could before he could do anything. “I’m looking for a place for my town to farm.” The man’s eyes narrowed, and Billy continued, “Five communities have come together to flee from the bands of killers threatening us in Nebraska. We hope to find a new place to live and build a city.”
The man said, “Come with me.” He turned and headed toward the dam. They walked about two hundred yards and Billy saw about thirty men sitting in chairs on top of the dam. The man walked over to them with Billy right behind and the closest man said, “What have you caught here, Carl?”
“A farmer, Brandon.”
“Say what?”
“He says he’s looking for a place where his people can farm and build a city.”
The man turned to Billy and said, “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?” Billy sat down on a chair and told them what had happened. After fifteen minutes the man said, “So, let’s get this straight. You have about eight thousand people running into the mountains looking for a place to settle, right?”
“Yes Sir.”
“And you intend to start farming?”
“Yes Sir.”
And you think this valley would suit your needs?”
“I do. The soil is good and there’s a water supply.”
The man nodded over his shoulder at the huge lake behind the dam, “That is an understatement.”
“We also want to build a city that we can defend against the killers if they ever show up.”
The man stared at Billy and then looked at the older man sitting at the end of the chairs, “Hey Pop! What do you think about this?”
“I’m sick of eating K-rations! Farmers sound good to me!”
Brandon turned back to Billy, “I’m Major Brandon West and I’m in command here. We’re getting close to running out of our food supplies. We have enough to last about another year and then we’re going to have to either leave or find another source of food.” The man paused and said, “Tell you what, we’ll give you the land in the valley if you agree to give us some of your crops.”
Billy stared at the men and said, “Do you own the land to give it to us?”
Brandon laughed, “You’re wise to be so young. This dam was built here to provide water and electric power for a secret government facility. It was intended to be like Cheyenne Mountain and provide a secret place for important people in the government to come and hide if nuclear war broke out. Most of the facility was completed except for the blast doors and electronic systems. When that damn alien put a suppression field around the planet, this place was forgotten. All the soldiers here boarded helicopters and got out fast when the President launched that nuclear missile in the Atlantic. They told us to remain in place until we’re relieved. After the suppression field was put in place, they told us to fend for ourselves. So to answer your question, it is now our land to do whatever we want.”
“Why did you stay? Why didn’t you just leave?”
Brandon shook his head, “Most of us did. Those that remained are single and had nowhere to go. As we learned over the satellite communicator how bad things have gotten, we decided it was safer to just stay here.” Brandon smiled and added, “Honestly I think we’d enjoy the company; the food is just icing on the cake.”
“Are you sure about this Sir?!” Brandon nodded and Billy stuck out his hand. Brandon shook it and said, “Graham, have all the water conduits been installed in the caves.”
“Yes, but we capped them off when the project was called off.”
“Reopen them. Jim, what about the electrical?”
“They were completed before the water lines were installed. We can turn them on by just throwing a switch.”
Billy’s head tilted, “Caves?”
Brandon smiled, “The engineers cut out a place under the mountain that can house twenty thousand or more. It was pretty much done when the project was stopped. It looks like you and your people have struck gold.”
Billy’s eyes were wide as he smiled and said, “I need to get them up here!”
“I don’t know how you’re going to get large trucks up the hill.”
“We’ve brought four Allis-Chambers Bull Dozers; they will clear a way for them to make it here.” Brandon nodded and Billy ran back toward his Jeep.
Brandon looked around, “It was going to waste!”
Pops looked at him and said, “No one’s questioning you Sir. You made the correct decision.”
Brandon smiled, “At least every day won’t look the same and someone can use all the hard work we put in building this place.”
Four men said, “Amen to that.”
• • •
Billy arrived at the Jeep and drove out of the valley. He arrived at the interstate, put his spare tire beside the road, and turned east. He set his odometer to zero and wondered how much progress the convoy had made, and he pressed the accelerator. After a few minutes, he decided that dying before he delivered the information wasn’t a good idea. He slowed down from seventy miles an hour and watched the road ahead of him. He saw the convoy ahead and was thankful it had made it around Billings. He crossed the median and came to a stop.
Amos turned to Chase and said, “It looks like Billy’s Jeep ahead on the median.”
Chase squinted and still didn’t see Billy. He blew the truck’s horn three times and began slowing. The long line of trucks passed the signal back and they came to a stop just as the first truck arrived at Billy’s Jeep.
Chase got out of the truck putting on his jacket and Billy rushed up, “I’ve found a place!! It’s up in the foothills and it’s perfect! It has everything we…”
Chase raised his hands interrupting him, “Slow down Billy! Now tell me slowly what you found.” Billy started talking and Chase questioned him numerous times. Finally, Chase said, “I need to go see this place. How far ahead is this dirt road you’re talking about?”
“I set the odometer and it’s eighteen point six miles ahead.”
Chase saw Allen walk up and he said, “You should come with us.” He turned to Amos, “Set the odometer on the truck and start looking for Billy’s spare tire on the side of the road. You might want to get someone up here with you looking for it so you can stop the convoy.”
“I’ll get Margarette to come join me. Her eyes are far better than mine.”
Chase handed Amos his binoculars, “Have her use these.” Amos took the binoculars and nodded. Chase turned to Billy, “Let’s go see what you’ve found.” Billy, Chase, and Allen got in the Jeep and turned west.
Chapter Two
Brandon watched the tankers unloading their fuel into two underground storage containers before leaving to go back to the abandoned truck stops scattered along the highway. Brandon watched the process and said, “The fuel delivery systems are located just outside the front wall.” He turned to Chase, “They present an inviting target if you’re attacked.”
“Can’t we just put up doors and not worry about it; we’ll be locked safely inside the mountain.” Brandon snorted and Chase turned to him, “What?”
“Do you not think the bands of killers don’t have heavy construction equipment just as you do?” Chase stared at him. “You’re going to need to build a wall around the entrance and cover the fuel heads against fire arrows fired over the wall. You’re going to have to stop them away from the mountain facilities.”
“How are we going to build a wall?”
Brandon pointed to the side of the entrance at a huge pile of stone blocks, “That is what was removed out of the mountain. Use that to build a wall. You have some cranes that can handle the weight and you can use the bull dozers to move the blocks into position.” Chase thought about it and Brandon added, “The first level has enough room for you to store all of your heavy machinery, tractors, and farming equipment. If you are attacked, that is where you’re going to have to store them until the attack is over.”
“We don’t know anything about fighting,” Chase stated.
Brandon shrugged, “It’s time you started learning.”
Chase could only sigh but knew the Major was right. The next day, he started the building of a wall around the entrance into the mountain. The wall would extend twelve-hundred-yards around the entrance and be made into a curved shape. Any longer, there wouldn’t be enough people to defend it. Hell, there weren’t enough people who knew anything about defending it now.
• • •
Winter’s last gasp was taking place and the last of the flatbed trucks were arriving with items they found out in the plains that would be useful to the community. Chase chastised two truck drivers for loading up with thousands of battery units. “What in the hell are those?”
One driver turned to Chase, “They’re the battery modules used in electric cars. We found them in an abandoned factory in Kansas where they were distributed.”
Chase frowned, “Do you see any electric cars around here?!”
Brandon walked up and smiled, “Now that is something.”
Chase turned to him, “They serve no useful purpose!”
The truck driver raised his hands, “They’re all we could find Chase. Everything else has been pilfered and taken.”
Brandon chuckled and Chase turned to him, “They’re a waste of space! What are we going to do with them?!”
Brandon put his hand on Chase’s shoulder, “I know you have a lot of fuel in the storage tanks but one day, you might run out, right?” Chase raised a shoulder and nodded. “My boys can use those batteries to operate the electric motors we didn’t use in building the facility.”
“For what purpose?”
“We’ll attach them to the axles on your tractors and make your machinery hybrids. The regular engine will keep them charged and you’ll increase your mileage more than double or triple with gas and diesel alone. Plus, an electric motor has a lot more torque than a standard gasoline engine. We can build chargers to recharge them overnight. If push comes to shove, you can just use them on electricity alone if you run out of fuel one day.”
“You can do that?” Chase asked.
“Piece of cake,” Brandon responded. “Your machine shop can build what’s needed to attach them to your machinery. You have enough battery modules here to put two on each tractor’s axel; they’ll be plenty powerful to do your farming.”
Chase turned to the truck drivers, “I apologize; you made a good decision and it will probably be a god send in insuring our survival. Thank you.”
The two truck drivers smiled, and Chase nodded toward the entrance, “Use your fork lifts to move them inside.”
The communities met in the large upper floor of the mountain facility and were discussing what to name their new city. Everyone wanted to name it after their former communities and agreement was hard to get. Finally, one of them suggested naming the city Carter after the man who found the valley. Another shouted, “You’re only suggesting that because he comes from your community!”
The argument grew louder until Chase stood up and raised his hands. After a few minutes, the crowd grew silent. Chase shook his head and sighed, “Our old communities are part of a past we left behind. This is a new city and it deserves a new name of its own. I have a recommendation and I want all of you to think about it for a moment before rejecting it out of hand.” Chase paused and said, “A good name would be West Valley.” The room was silent, and Chase added, “It was Major West that gave us this land and it will honor him for this gift.” After another twenty minutes, the name was voted in with a hundred percent approving it.
• • •
The communities survived the winter and in the spring, they started farming the small valley. At harvest time, the crops were the best they ever produced; the soil in the valley brought forth a huge abundance of food. As the first cold winds of fall began whispering through the valley, the cold harsh reality of the world came crashing in on them.
• • •
Chase stared at the twelve men standing just outside the tree line and he knew they were killers. They were wearing military uniforms and they were heavily armed with swords, shields, bows and arrows. The wall was only ten feet high and the entrance through the wall was wide open. Chase knew that all he had worked on would go for nothing. If those men left and brought a band of killers back with them…”
“They’re moving this way,” Margarette remarked. Chase turned the binoculars toward them and saw she was right. They were walking down the slope toward the city. Chase shook his head and came down from the top of the wall and went to the entrance.
“Where are you going?” Alex quickly asked.
“Someone needs to see what they want.” Alex stared at him and Chase walked through the open wall toward the approaching killers.
• • •
Chase arrived at the stream ahead of the approaching men and stopped. The twelve men stopped a hundred yards from the stream, and they began dropping their weapons. Chase wondered what was going on. Once their weapons were on the ground, they continued forward. They arrived across the small stream from Chase and a tall man stepped forward. Chase asked, “Why are you here?”
The tall man stared at him and said, “I can tell by your expression that you are frightened. You have nothing to fear from us. We followed the path from the road to see what lay at the end of it. We’re surprised to find you.”
“You’re all killers!” Chase said harshly.
The man flinched and then he nodded, “Yes, we were. We decided to come and warn you.”
“About what?”
“You need to hide the path leading from the road. The bands of killers out in the lands around here are starting to come together. The food sources for them are drying up and they are moving this way; it’s only a matter of time until they arrive here.”
“How long do we have?” Chase asked.
“Maybe a year, possibly longer. But they are coming, and you need to prepare for their appearance.”
The tall man turned, and they started walking back toward their weapons. Chase shouted, “What did you mean you ‘were’ killers?”
The tall man turned and raised a shoulder, “All of us served in one of the bands of soldiers that raided communities. What we saw and what we did has left a mark on our souls that can’t be removed. The horrific things we did and witnessed has left all of us with unrelenting nightmares and we decided that we could not continue on that path. We walked away and we hope that death takes us soon to stop our sleepless nights. We will never kill another for the rest of our lives, however short they might be.”
The man turned and Chase shouted, “Don’t leave!” The man turned around and Chase crossed the stream and stood in front of him, “I have a proposition for you.” Chase was shocked by just how tall the man was; up close, he was huge. The man stared at Chase and he continued, “We are building a city in hopes that we can defend it. However, none of us know anything abou
t how to do it. We will allow you to come and live with us if you will teach us what we need to know to protect ourselves.”
The tall man shook his head, “I told you we will never kill another person.”
“And neither will we, but we don’t believe standing still while someone cuts off your head is the right thing to do. It only empowers those doing it.” Chase paused and added, “But isn’t killing one to defend yourself not dishonorable? Wouldn’t protecting us from what you once were be an honorable thing to do? It would make up for past wrongs you’ve done.”
The tall man stared at Chase as Margarette came running out from the wall and ran across the stream to stand beside Chase. She put her arm around him, and Chase said, “You shouldn’t have come, daughter.” Her eyes narrowed but she held on tighter.
The tall man stared at the young girl and blew out a breath, “We are unworthy of living among you.”
“Then live to yourselves and you won’t be considered citizens. You will not be allowed to have families and you will be the first to confront any enemy that comes here. We need your help to get us ready for what you say is coming.”
The men standing behind the tall men were all showing sorrow and one of them said, “Ryan, you know what will happen to her.”
The Watcher II: The Time of Suppression Page 2
