by Payne, T. L.
As Harmony walked back across the field toward the cabin, Maddie thought about relationships in the post-collapse days. She remembered listening to stories her grandmother told about how, in her great-grandparent’s day, the communities held dances so the eligible young people could meet. Otherwise, all they had as prospective mates were their close neighbors.
Who is going to have time for dating, anyway?
She tried not to think about Jacob. She knew that with his new responsibilities as county sheriff, she likely wouldn’t see much of him.
All for the best. I sure don’t have time for guys, either.
Harmony wasn’t alone when she brought lunch sometime in the early afternoon. Austin carried the basket this time while Harmony held a gallon jug of tea.
Maddie waved her brother over and the four teens sat on the ground in the shade of Maddie’s tree stand. Austin and Zach were quiet. Harmony was chattering away as usual. As Maddie took a bite of her salmon patty sandwich, she didn’t at first notice the homemade bread. She held it out and stared at it with her mouth open.
“You like it?” Harmony asked.
“Like it? I love it! I didn’t know you knew how to make bread.”
“Austin helped me. He did the kneading. I made sourdough starter so we can make bread when the yeast is gone. It won’t last forever, but the sourdough starter will last as long as we feed it.”
Maddie was surprised that a fifteen-year-old girl knew all those things but was grateful she did.
Maddie recalled her grandmother always having a bowl of it on her counter. So did Ryan’s mother. Mrs. Masters made the best sourdough rolls ever. Maddie tried to recall how many pounds of wheat berries and flour her dad had stored. She’d need to work out the inventory with Harmony to make it last.
“This is amazing, Harmony. We need to make out an inventory and ration our food until we can get crops in next year and establish some type of trading system with the local farmers. We don’t want to run out halfway through winter.”
“We have lots of food stored in our basement,” Austin said without looking up.
“I’m sure your family will be glad to have the supplies, come winter,” Zach said.
He briefly glanced over at Harmony then returned his gaze to his food.
“Yeah, if they are still around.”
“What makes you say that?” Harmony asked.
“With my dad and sister gone, and the Jewell’s setting their targets on my family, they will likely set out for Shannon County to stay with relatives down there. We mostly have women and children living on our place.”
“Then, the extra food will be welcome there, too. If you need help packing it up, I’d be glad to give you a hand. When would you be leaving?” Zach asked.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Why not?” Harmony asked, handing him a glass of sweet tea.
“I want to stay here and make sure those Jewell’s get what they deserve. Jacob will need me to testify at the trial,” Austin said, taking a sip from the red plastic cup.
“When do you think the trial will take place?” Maddie asked as she took her own cup from Harmony.
Austin took a long drink before answering.
“Jacob said they would likely have it in a couple of days. He didn’t think they could hold the crowds off much longer than that, but it is up to the judge.”
“Are you nervous about testifying?” Harmony asked, reaching over and placing a hand on Austin’s arm.
Zach looked up and then back to his sandwich. Maddie felt so bad for him. She wondered if, after the trial and things died down, the community could hold dances like the old days. She needed to find her brother a new girlfriend and get his mind off Harmony.
“I’m not nervous. I just—I don’t know,” Austin said.
His green eyes glistened. Maddie could tell that he was struggling not to tear up.
“We’ll come with you. We will be there in the courtroom to support you. Won’t we, guys?” Harmony said, volunteering them all.
“Well—um. I guess a few of us can go,” Maddie said, looking to Zach.
Zach shrugged his shoulders and continued taking little bites from his sandwich.
“See, we are here for you,” Harmony said before removing her hand from his arm and pouring herself a glass of tea.
For the next fifteen minutes, Harmony went on and on about the goats and wanting to make cheese when they were old enough to produce milk. Maddie was relieved when Zach stood and excused himself.
“I should get back to my post and keep a look out for those guys.”
“Yeah, me too. Thanks so much for lunch, guys. It was great," Maddie said, climbing the steps to her stand.
“We are having a surprise dessert with dinner. I’ll bring you some if you’re still out here,” Harmony called as she and Austin headed back across the field to the cabin.
Harmony did as she promised and brought them chicken noodle soup with more homemade bread along with the surprise strawberry shortcake. Maddie had never cared much for strawberries from a can but whatever Harmony had done with them had made all the difference.
Shortly after Harmony and Austin dropped off dinner and the sun began to set, Maddie heard three alert duck calls coming from the south of her stand. She blasted two quick calls in acknowledgment before seeing Lugnut and Rank appear in the road.
“What did you find,” she called as she jumped down from the tree stand.
Zach sprinted across the field and arrived just as Lugnut and Rank hopped over the barbed wire fence. Rank’s right hand shot up to his left shoulder. The gunshot wound he’d received on his journey to rescue Jason was not quite healed yet.
“We located them about three miles south of here. They are holed up in a barn back down a private drive and hidden from the road,” Lugnut said.
“How many of them are there?” Zach asked, handing Rank his water bottle.
Rank turned it up and emptied the bottle before answering.
“As far as we could determine, about twelve to fifteen men and some women.”
“Shit!” Maddie said.
“Yeah, not good,” Lugnut said.
“How are we going to maintain watch, Lugnut? Zach and I are exhausted, and the two of you haven’t slept, either.”
“We are going to get some rest tonight and then we are going to post a watch on their place. It is better to have someone watching them in order to alert us early if they head this way.”
“Let’s all head back to the cabin and tell the others. I don’t think we will be seeing anything from them tonight,” Rank said.
“Why not?” Zach asked.
“They found someone’s moonshine stash.”
“Oh. That probably means we won’t have any problems from them tomorrow either,” Maddie said.
“Why would you say that?” Zach asked.
“Hangovers are a bitch.”
“And how would you know?’
“I went to a college party once,” Maddie snickered.
Maddie followed Zach, Lugnut, and Rank back through the woods to the cabin. Everyone ate strawberry shortcake as Lugnut and Rank filled them in on their rowdy new neighbors to the south.
“We thought that we would set up in the spot we had staked out and watch their movements over the next few days. We need to learn what they are up to and be able to know if they are raiding houses or attacking people on the roads,” Lugnut said through a mouthful of dessert.
“Can we spare people to sit out there? Without the radios, how would you even alert us if they are heading this way?” Maddie asked.
“This would be a reconnaissance mission to gain intel on the activity, mostly. We need to know what kind of threat they pose,” Rank said.
“So, are you meaning you and Lugnut together again or what?”
“Not together, we would be taking shifts and likely just during the day unless we notice that they are active at night. From what we’ve seen so far, it looks like the
y aren’t active after dark.”
“Shouldn’t you notify Jacob and let him deal with them?” Austin asked.
Lugnut placed his fork on his plate and wiped his mouth on his sleeve before answering.
“I think the new sheriff has enough on his plate at the moment. I don’t know his skill set, but I’d rather know for myself what is up in our own backyard.”
“I agree. After the encounter Zach, Ryan, Harmony, and I had with the convicts, I don’t want to take any chances,” Maddie said.
“I think it is a good plan. After we know more, we can decide what to do about them. Right now, we are in the dark, and that is a dangerous place to be these days,” Ryan said, scooping more shortcake onto his plate.
“We need to find those damn radios. They have to be on this property somewhere. That would make all the difference,” Maddie said.
“Ron said he had a couple. Maybe we can borrow them for a day or two?” Zach said.
Lugnut turned in his seat to face Zach
“I’ll go over and ask him in the morning.”
“Ask him if he remembers where my dad hid ours.”
“Are you sure you dug up all the cache barrels?” Maddie asked.
“Yeah. I’m positive. Dad made sure I memorized them all.”
“Well, we have a plan for tomorrow. We all need to get a good night’s sleep so we can be alert and sharp on watch tomorrow,” Rank said.
“Shouldn’t we post watch tonight? The convicts aren’t the only threats we might face.” Zach asked.
“I’ll take the first watch,” Ryan said.
Jason held up his hand
“And I can take second.”
“I can take a watch too,” Austin added.
“Okay, that will get us through until morning,” Rank said.
Lugnut grabbed up everyone’s plates and headed to the sink.
“I’m beat. I’ll be asleep before my head hits the pillow.”
“Me too,” Maddie said. “I’ll help with dishes in the morning, Harmony.”
“No. I’ll get them. You guys get some sleep,” Harmony said.
Austin took the empty strawberry shortcake pan from Harmony.
“I’ll help you.”
Maddie detected no reaction from Zach. He looked as dead on his feet as she felt. She’d been right. She had fallen right to sleep, but nightmares woke her in the early morning hours. The vision of the convicts’ blood and body parts raining down on her when they unearthed her dad’s booby trap haunted her most nights lately, but they were particularly vivid now with the new threat from the rest of their gang.
She knew what they needed to do about them, but she wondered if the rest of the group was ready to do what was necessary to ensure their safety.
Sometime after four in the morning, Maddie gave up trying to go back to sleep. After dressing and making a pot of coffee, she joined Austin in the loft of the barn.
“I brought coffee, if you’d like some,” Maddie said as she eased herself down onto a bale of straw.
“I don’t drink coffee, but thanks,” Austin said. “You couldn’t sleep?”
“Nope.”
“Nightmares?” Austin asked.
“Yep.”
They sat in silence for several minutes before Maddie brought up what she had come to ask him.
“What do you plan to do? After the trial, I mean.”
“I don’t know. I’m sure my family will want me to go to my uncle’s in Shannon County, but I don’t think I will.”
Maddie hesitated before responding. She’d thought it over but hadn’t discussed it with the rest of the group.
“You could stay on here. We need people to help guard the place. There’s so much to do to prepare for winter, and then all the work to grow and raise food. It's overwhelming to even think about. I haven’t talked to the other’s, but I’m sure they feel the same way.”
Maddie turned to him and watched his reaction.
At first, he said nothing, appearing to think it over before answering.
“I guess I could stay for a little while until I figure things out. I could hunt and try to get you guys stocked up on meat. If you know how to preserve it, that is.”
“We do. We have a smokehouse out behind the barn. That would be a big help, Austin. You’d be doing us a huge favor.”
They did need him. They needed people who could shoot. The fact that he could hunt and knew how to raise animals was a huge plus. She imagined that he was feeling pretty low after having lost his family. She feared that there would be so many more families that suffered similar fates in the coming weeks and months as society continued to plunge into lawlessness. She hoped that their little county could weather the change better than the experts predicted. She would do what she could to ensure they were in the ten percent that survived.
Chapter 18
Creede, Colorado
Event + 15 days
Beth felt a hand brush strands of hair from her face, then something cold and wet against her forehead. She tried but was unable to open her eyes. Her eyelids were heavy, and it hurt to try. Her hand flew up to push the wet, cold object away.
“It’s okay. You’re going to be all right now,” an unfamiliar voice said.
“She’s awake. Go tell Mother.”
“Where is Maria?” Beth asked, trying to sit up.
Nausea hit her, and she laid back down.
What the hell happened to me?
Beth’s mouth was dry, and it was hard to speak.
“Your friend is probably in the laundry facility this time of day.”
Beth tried again to open her eyes but only managed to lift her left eye a crack.
“Where am I? What happened?”
Her throat hurt.
“You were in an accident. You wrecked your truck. I’m afraid it was totaled. Your friend, Maria, she’s fine. She received a busted lip and some bruises, but she’s good. Our veterinarian took a look at your dog, and he is okay too. He sure is a cute little thing. The children are enjoying having him here.”
Beth tried to recall the accident. She remembered nothing after they had left the Kingman compound. Her first thought was that the cartel had attacked and taken them hostage.
Was that what happened to Roger? Is he here too?
“Where am I?” Beth asked again, trying to swallow.
“You are at the Khambalia Seekers Mission.”
What the hell have I gotten myself into now?
Beth strained to open her left eye. Out of the corner, she could make out a blurred female figure sitting on the edge of the bed. The woman’s sandy brown hair was up in a tight bun on the top of her head. She wore a plain blue denim dress with a white apron. Her eyes were dull, and her face expressionless.
“How long?” Beth croaked.
“How long have you been here? Just a couple of days, I think. I wasn’t here when you were brought in. Sister Thedra and Brother Joseph found you on their trek here, I’m told.”
Sister who? Brother what? What the hell?
“How bad?”
Her throat was getting worse the more she tried to speak. The woman reached over and retrieved a glass from a bed-side table and held it to Beth’s lips. Water ran down her chin as she drank.
She reached up and touched her face. Bandages wrapped the top of her head.
“You suffered a head injury with an open laceration to the scalp and forehead. Your right eye is still swollen. That is why you can’t open it. Your lip is cut, and your ankle may be broken. It is quite swollen, as well. We splinted it and have kept it elevated, but we don’t have ice.”
“I need to see Maria. We need to get going. I have to get home,” Beth said, pushing the glass away.
“You need to rest,” another voice said.
The female figure at the foot of her bed jumped. The bed shook as the woman turned toward the voice.
“Mother Lyra. I was just explaining how she came to be here and the injuries she received,” the
first woman explained.
“Thank you, Aurelia. That will be all. You are needed in the nursery.”
“Yes, Mother Lyra,” the woman said.
Beth felt the bed shift and heard the rustling of clothing. The door shut and an older female figure stepped around to the left side of the bed. Beth turned her head so she could see her.
“Hello, Beth. I am Mother Lyra. Despite the circumstances of your arrival, we are pleased to have you here. We will do whatever we can to make your stay as comfortable as possible. Believe it or not, we were prepared for this event and had taken steps so that the transition was a little easier on our residents.”
Mother Lyra also wore her salt and pepper hair in a tight bun that poked out the back of a white bonnet that reminded Beth of the television show, Little House on the Prairie. Mother Lyra looked just like the storekeeper’s wife, Mrs. Oleson.
“What is this place?” Beth asked.
“This is the home of the Seekers of Ascension to Khambalia,” she said, her voice monotone.
“What is that?”
“Oh, we’ll have plenty of time for our story later. Right now, you need to rest and recuperate. Do you think you could sit up?”
Beth nodded her head, but she wasn’t sure why she had, her head was pounding now, and she was sure it would be worse when she sat up. Mother Lyra took hold of Beth’s left arm and helped her to a seated position. After fluffing a pillow from a chair in the corner, she placed it behind Beth.
After the room stopped spinning, Beth looked down at her ankle. From the look of her toes, she feared it might indeed be broken. It appeared that someone had done a good job of applying the splint.
They must have someone with medical training.
Beth remembered the plans she and Greg had made for their survival group. He had recruited Ron Hillman, an Army medic from the nearby Army post.
She wondered if Ryan and the kids had made it to the cabin yet. Would Ryan be able to pull the group back together?
She tried to wiggle her toes, but they were so swollen they barely moved. Without an x-ray, it would be hard to tell if it were broken or badly sprained. Either was terrible for her. Without the truck, she had no idea how she would get home. She felt tears well up in her eyes.
