EMP Lodge Series (Book 2): Dark Hunt

by Grace Hamilton

20

  Megan woke up feeling as bad as she had the first morning after her accident. The fall in the barn had done more damage than she thought. She laid perfectly still, breathing through the pain.

  “I think you may have re-sprained it or maybe tore the tendons that had started to heal,” Rosie said from the bed across the room.

  “I hope not. It doesn't feel like that. More of a throbbing pain.”

  Rosie got out of bed and pulled the blanket off Megan's leg. She gasped when she saw the exposed foot.

  “Oh sweetie, we should have unwrapped this last night. I need to get this bandage off. We need to get some circulation to those toes. Your ankle must have swollen after you fell.”

  Rosie quickly unwound the bandage and Megan sighed in relief. The bandage had been restricting her ankle for so long, it felt as if it had been let out of a small box.

  “With the bandage off, you need to stay right here in this bed.” She grabbed the pillow and blanket off her bed and used them to elevate Megan's leg.

  “Not again,” Megan groaned.

  Rosie put her hands on her hips and looked down at Megan, “You shouldn't have made the journey in the first place. Your ankle wasn't healed. I don't think it’s that bad though. It looks good and is already pinking up. Yesterday was simply too much. Relax for an hour or so and then we will get you up.”

  “Fine.”

  Megan lay in the room all alone listening to the wind howling outside. The rain was beating against the window so hard she worried it would actually shatter it. The thought of trying to walk home in a storm that seemed as bad as the one that caused her original injury didn’t appeal to her.

  She heard a knock on the door before Wyatt popped his head in.

  “Hey, heard your ankle is giving you some trouble,” he said sitting next to her on the small bed.

  “Yeah, but Rosie doesn't think it’s all that bad. Just need to stay off it for a bit.”

  He nodded, “I radioed back to Chase. All is good there.”

  When she looked at him in question, he shook his head no. “No, she didn't come home.”

  “I am hoping we can find that green lady they were talking about,” Megan said excitedly.

  Wyatt hesitated, “Well, we will.”

  When he paused, Megan scowled at him, “But?”

  “But, it is really nasty outside. Like tree branches coming down and muddy. Evan has offered to let us stay another night.” When she started to protest, he held up a hand “You need to rest the ankle. Jack is going to help them get that roof on in exchange for a couple of bows and some of the arrows John has made.”

  Megan sighed in frustration, “Wyatt, we need to talk to this Green Woman.”

  “I know and we will; but not today. We can't risk you getting hurt again and what if one of us slips or a tree branch takes us out? It isn't safe out there right now.”

  “Fine. But I am not going to sit in here by myself all day. Will you help me up please?”

  He waggled his eyebrows, “Or I could join you and we could stay in bed all day.”

  She slapped his arm, “Wyatt! We are guests. Help me up.”

  He laughed. He scooped her up from the bed and carried her to the couch. She complained about it, but he told her it was more efficient and to deal with it.

  The door opened, bringing in a huge gust of cold air along with Rosie.

  “Wow! It is nasty out there. Megan, would you mind hanging out with Tara's kids for a bit. I am going to help her clean up the other cabin. It’s too small for four people to be in and it isn't safe for the kids to be roaming about.”

  “Sure. It will give me something to do.”

  Megan realized she had no idea how she was going to entertain the kids. Without TV, video games or the ability to go outside, she imagined it would get pretty boring. She suddenly felt anxious. Caitlin was easy to entertain. She loved to read, draw or hang out with Duke.

  Megan looked at Duke, “You better help me out today, buddy. I hope you are ready to be the star of this show.”

  He barked and wagged his tail. Megan hoped that was a yes.

  The day passed by rather quickly. People were in and out of the cabin for different reasons. Megan was convinced it was Wyatt and Rosie who were making sure she stayed off her leg.

  The kids, Donavan and Amy, looked bored. Megan had a feeling they were here to babysit her and not the other way around.

  “Do you guys like to play Scrabble? I saw the game sitting on the shelf.”

  Donavan didn't look interested. “Amy doesn't spell. She's seven.”

  Megan wanted to tell him it was a great way to learn, but let it go. She scanned the shelf and saw Candy Land.

  “How about Candy Land?”

  Donavan rolled his eyes, “Fine.”

  He grabbed the game off the shelf and they set it up on the floor in the living room area.

  “Amy doesn't get to win just because she’s the baby,” Donavan stated with authority.

  “I would never do such a thing,” Megan told him. This kid was nothing like Ryland even though they were probably very close in age.

  “Donavan, what do you like to do?”

  He shrugged, “I don't like to play baby games.”

  Megan gritted her teeth. “Okay, so what do you like, then? Do you like to play ball, go hunting, drawing?”

  The boy perked up when she mentioned ball. She was quite proud of herself for finally finding the little chink in his armor.

  “Well, I used to play basketball a lot but now I can't.”

  Megan understood the kid's frustration.

  “Maybe Evan can find a basketball. It wouldn't be hard to make a hoop,” Megan offered.

  Donavan thought about it for a few seconds, “But the ball won't bounce on the dirt.”

  Oh this kid, Megan thought.

  “Well, you could practice your shooting at least.”

  That seemed to appease him.

  They played three rounds of Candy Land before the kids decided they’d had enough of her company. Donavan came up with an excuse to go check on his mom and they both left without looking back.

  Megan was thankful for the silence, but kind of missed their company, even if Donavan was a bit surly. Amy was fun and reminded Megan a lot of Caitlin.

  She kept waiting for Wyatt to show up and say they were leaving to search for the Green Woman. When lunchtime came and went and they were still there, Megan had a sneaking feeling they weren't going anywhere.

  She became angry and frustrated. Every minute they sat around here was another minute Caitlin was out there doing who knows what.

  “What do you think, boy?” she asked Duke. The kids had left to go help with chores, leaving her and the dog alone in the cabin.

  Duke was sprawled out on another couch, his head propped up on the armrest. He barely wagged his tail. Clearly, he didn't feel like being disturbed.

  “Well, I am tired of waiting around. I'm going to see what's going on.” She stood, waited a few seconds to see if the rush of pain would hit and then started towards the door being careful not to put too much weight on her ankle.

  Megan carefully made her way through the thick trees. The ground was wet and slippery from all the rain. She assumed that was why Wyatt had decided not to come get her.

  The main camp area was a flurry of activity. There was a small group in the gazebo and she could see smoke rising from the brick oven. Her mouth watered at the thought of fresh bread again. Bread with yeast just couldn't compare to the flat stuff they’d been eating the last few months. Rosie's bread recipe consisted of nothing more than flour, salt, water and oil. It tended to be very bland but edible.

  There were two men; Megan couldn't remember their names, using small shovels to rub mud into the cracks between the logs that made up the cabin wall. She knew this was called chinking. She had loved history in school and had always thought it was very cool how the pioneers had built their homes with things they found in the environment.
r />   The mud had a bit of a reddish tint, which told Megan there was some clay in it. She watched as they slapped scoops of mud on a log and then used the shovel to push it in the cracks. In the old days, pioneers often used dried corncobs to help fill in the gaps. They had quite a few of those cobs back at their own camp. They were saving them, but none of them knew exactly for what. They just knew they would be useful.

  She spotted Wyatt almost instantly. He was holding a ladder for Jack who was standing close to the top, working on the roof of the new cabin. From what she could see, they’d made good progress. She knew a lot more about the construction process than she did before the EMP.

  Jack had used long poles made from branches to create trusses. The trusses looked like triangles sitting on top of the cabin frame. He was obviously building it extra sturdy to handle the snow load. She knew by looking that the trusses would be exactly two feet apart. That was the way he built. He said it kept things easy and gave all the support they needed.

  When Wyatt noticed her, he smiled. She gave him a look that let him know she wasn't pleased.

  Megan hobbled over to the cabin area. Jack had come down off the ladder and told Wyatt he didn't need him for now. Basically, he was giving Megan the all clear to scold her boyfriend.

  Wyatt and Megan walked a few feet away from the beehive of activity at the cabin to get some privacy. He held her around the waist, which she didn't want to admit was a huge help. It took a lot of the pressure off her one good foot.

  “Hey, I was just going to see how you were doing. Is the ankle feeling better?”

  She didn't bother answering his question.

  “I take it we aren't going to search for the Green Woman today?”

  He sucked in a breath through his teeth, “Well, I was going to talk to you about that.”

  Megan glared.

  “Jack is going to get them going on this roof and you really needed to give that ankle a rest. I know you want to get out there and find this green lady but if you end up getting hurt worse, it’s going to be bad. It’s only a day or two. You are already moving better. I'm sorry. I should have talked to you, but we got going on this roof.”

  His explanation made sense, but it irritated her. They were all doing something and she was once again sitting on her butt.

  “Fine. It isn't like I can say otherwise. So, it looks like you guys are pretty close to being done there,” she gestured to the roof.

  “Yep, just finished the trusses. Jack is going to get them started on placing the horizontal logs across the trusses. I don't think we need to stick around to help with the completion. He only wanted to get them started,” Wyatt explained.

  “Got it. I'm going to go back to the big cabin and chill, I guess.” She was pouting and she could tell from the look on his face that he knew it.

  “Think of it as a learning experience. Jack is getting to practice here. In the spring, we want to build a new cabin on the property for Jack, Willow and Ryland. Maybe we can build one for us as well.”

  Megan nodded. The idea was appealing. They had talked about having their own place, but it was always just talk. What if they could actually do it?

  The group had also talked about more people joining them. It was inevitable. Chase needed companionship. One day he would fall in love and want to bring a woman into the group. They needed more space. More private, individual space. So far, things had been okay but with that many people living in one house, it was bound to get tense.

  “Megan?”

  “What?”

  “Jack isn't doing all this work for nothing.”

  She raised an eyebrow. Her arms were crossed over her chest. He had told her before she looked just like Caitlin when she didn't get her way.

  “Evan regularly trades with a group farther east. It wouldn't make a lot of sense for us to trade with them, because it would be about a two-day hike one-way for us. But for Evan, it’s only one.”

  “Yeah,” she huffed, getting more frustrated.

  “That group has goats. Like a whole herd.”

  Megan's eyes lit up. She dropped her arms.

  “Really?”

  Wyatt smiled. “Yep. They have agreed to get us a nanny and a billy in exchange for building this roof. Two of the nannies in the tribe just had babies and they will get them once they have been weaned from their mothers. So, we’ll trek back here in a few weeks and we’ll need to bring them more socks as well.”

  Megan clapped her hands together like a little kid. “Are they the kind Willow was talking about? The kind for milking?”

  “Yep, Nubians.”

  Megan hobbled back to him and kissed him on the lips. “Thank you. Sorry for being a brat.”

  He laughed, “You are always a brat. Never apologize. The kids are going to be thrilled, huh?”

  Mentioning the kids brought Megan right back to Caitlin.

  “Yes, which is why you need to get this done so we can get out there and find Caitlin.”

  “I know, Megan. I know. And we will.”

  She turned to walk away. He swatted her on the backside, “Go rest that leg.”

  Megan turned back, rolled her eyes, “I'll be resting my leg and jotting down all the things I want Willow to make with that goat milk.”

  He laughed, “I'm sure you will.”

  Megan was stretched out on the couch, with her leg propped up like a good patient when she heard a knock on the cabin door.

  “Come in,” she shouted. It was way too much hassle to get up and answer the door.

  It was Greg, the radio guy.

  “Hi,” she said, not sure what else to say.

  He handed her a dark blue walking boot.

  “Here. I had found this a few months back and figured if one of us ever got hurt, it would come in handy.”

  Megan had to wear one of these years ago when she had sprained her ankle in a softball game.

  “This is great! I really appreciate it. Thank you so much, Greg. I'm not sure how I can repay you.”

  “Don't even worry about it. I'm sure there are plenty more of these things around. Most people ignore the medical equipment stuff. To tell you the truth, I have slings, knee braces and even a few back braces. These guys all thought I was crazy, but injuries are going to happen. I figure these braces and what not can help make it better.

  “You have a knee brace?” she asked. Her mind instantly went to Albert.

  Greg chuckled, “I have several. You need one?”

  “Actually, there is a guy at our camp. He has a bum knee. It only acts up every now and again, but I'm wondering if a brace would help.”

  Greg smiled, “I will get it to you before you leave tomorrow. Tell him I know what it’s like. I would love to meet him one of these days. Us old codgers gotta stick together.”

  Megan laughed, “Old codger is right. He is the sweetest, kindest, grumpiest man I have met in a long time.”

  Greg laughed again. “That pretty much describes all of us old guys. I better get back to it. I just wanted you to have this. I know you’re a tough girl, but you have a long journey back and a little support will help.”

  “I really appreciate it and I have no problem taking help, especially if it means that I can walk semi-normally.”

  21

  Megan was restless. Her body was not used to being so inactive. The past couple of weeks had been tough but now that her ankle was feeling better, it was even harder. She wanted to get up and move. She wanted to look for her daughter.

  Thanks to the new walking boot, she could comfortably walk and now that the throbbing was gone, she almost felt normal. So long as she didn’t overdo it, she was ready to find Caitlin.

  Rosie was softly snoring in the bed across from her. It wasn't loud enough to be irritating, but Megan envied her. She wished she were able to fall asleep so fast and sleep so peacefully. Ever since Caitlin had disappeared, Megan hadn't been able to sleep well at all.

  The lack of sleep was taking its toll. She was grumpy and
despite how tired she was, it made it more difficult for her to sleep. She had battled insomnia in the past but this was worse. Now, she lay in bed imagining what Caitlin was doing. She thought about whether her little girl was warm or scared. Was she being fed?

  Megan was staring at the ceiling when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She quickly sat up and stared out the dark window. The storm had passed earlier in the day and the almost full moon acted as a nightlight of sorts. The trees surrounding the cabin filtered the light, but she could still see a little.

  She watched the window, not moving a muscle. There! There it was again! Someone was out there!

  Megan quietly got out of bed and stood to one side of the window. She didn't want to alert whoever was out there that she was up. She strained her eyes. A figure emerged from the shed that was beside the cabin.

  “Just a little more,” she whispered in the darkness. The figure was nothing more than a shadow. A beam of moonlight cut through the trees. Once the shadow entered the moonlight, she would be able to see who it was.

  She got her answer within seconds. It was a woman wearing dark green clothes. It was the Green Woman! She had been here the whole time!

  Megan felt the anger and betrayal wash over her. The people they were calling friends and learning to trust had betrayed them. She knew it! She knew it when she saw Caitlin's gun hanging in the barn.

  She watched the woman, carrying a large bag, walk towards the line of brush and trees that concealed the larger cabin. Megan decided to follow her. That was the only way she was going to find her daughter.

  Megan quickly strapped on the walking boot and left the cabin, hoping she hadn't lost the Green Woman's trail. She crossed the cold, hard ground at a quick pace finding the spot she thought the Green Woman had entered the trees and carefully made her way through.

  Her goal was to be quiet and sneak up on the woman, but tree branches were snapping under her feet and the boot made a heavy thumping sound. Megan slowed down in order to control her breathing as well as the noise she was making.

  She broke through the trees into the clearing of the main camp area. It was eerily quiet. Megan stood completely still, standing just inside the tree line. Her eyes scanned the area, looking for movement. Her ears were tuned to pick up any noise that didn't belong in the still night. Nothing.