Badlands: A Post-Apocalyptic Journey

by Nathan Jones

  The man's prices were absurd, but she didn't have the heart to refuse Skyler in his present melancholy mood. Even though he seemed to get sadder and sadder as they ate. “I miss Tom,” he finally said in a heavy voice. “Why'd he leave us?”

  Kristy rubbed his shoulder. “He didn't leave you, honey.” He left me. Of course she didn't say that, though. “He just left, that's the way he is. But maybe we'll see him once we get back to Utah.”

  “I hope so.”

  Once they were done with their meal she decided they'd found out what they needed and it was time to head back and consult the Hendricksons about purchases. They were halfway back to the warehouse, Skyler trudging along behind her not in a talkative mood, when out of the corner of her eye she saw him abruptly whirl and look back the way they'd come.

  “Mom!” he shouted.

  Kristy spun as well, alarmed for a moment until she recognized the happiness in his voice. She followed his pointing finger to see Tom coming down the street towards them, leading a mare carrying a loaded packsaddle. For a moment she could only stare in shock, which quickly gave way to a surge of happy relief.

  He hadn't abandoned them after all.

  With another shout her son ran down the street to hug the mountain man, and Kristy gave a joyful shout of her own as she followed, only a step behind in joining the group hug.

  Tom couldn't have looked more surprised by their response if his new horse had reared up and also thrown her hooves around him. “Um, I take it Gray came around with your share of the trucks' sale?” he said hesitantly, obviously searching for a reason why they were so happy to see him.

  She laughed and pulled back before the poor man died of embarrassment. “Forget the half ounce,” she said. At his raised eyebrow she colored slightly. “I mean it's amazing, a godsend.” She abruptly slapped him on the arm in mock anger. “We thought you ditched us and headed back to Emery on your own!”

  The mountain man blinked and looked down at Skyler, who nodded in solemn confirmation. “Where did you get that idea?”

  “When the sheriff came around with our share from the trucks he told us you were all loaded up with your pack and looked ready to head out,” Kristy explained. “And then we didn't see you for hours with no word where you'd gone.”

  Tom gave her a lopsided smile. “Well first off, when do I ever go anywhere without my pack?” he asked. She opened her mouth, then closed it sheepishly; of course Gray had seen him ready to hit the road, that was his default state. “As for where I've been . . .” he continued, reaching back to pat his new mare on the neck. “I was buying this beauty and supplies for the trip.”

  Skyler sidled closer to the horse and gave the mountain man a questioning look, then at his nod of permission tentatively petted the animal's nose. “You going to name him Horse, too?”

  Tom shook his head, wearing that faint half smile that would be as good as a grin on anyone else. “Already named her Mary.”

  Kristy couldn't help it, she laughed out loud. It was as much the joy at seeing him still there and the relief he hadn't left them as because of the stupid name. “Mary the Mare?” She approached and also rubbed the animal's soft nose; Mary really was a handsome horse, probably cost a fortune. “Well at least you stick to a theme.”

  “Why just not call her Mare, then?” her son asked, brow furrowed.

  The mountain man gave him an incredulous look. “Because that's a silly name.”

  Skyler's puzzlement turned to a child's wounded dignity. “You're teasing me, aren't you.” Tom just laughed in response, and her son magnanimously let the matter slide as he pet Mary's nose again. “Can I go for a ride?”

  “That depends.” Tom turned and gave Kristy a solemn look. “Like I said, I was planning on heading back to Emery. I won't need much more baggage for Mary than supplies for the road, so if you folks want to come along I suppose you'll have plenty of opportunities to ride. The Hendricksons too, if they still want to head to Utah.”

  If that was his idea of a romantic statement it was, well, exactly what she would've expected from him. And ridiculous as it seemed Kristy felt her heart flutter as she met his eyes and saw the usual intensity of his gaze.

  Except this time he wasn't looking at the road ahead or some task that needed doing, he was looking at her. And asking her to come with him. It wasn't exactly dropping to one knee with a diamond ring upraised, or even a stolen kiss by moonlight, but it was something. And perhaps the start of something more.

  “We won't be riding your horse, Mr. Miller,” she said firmly.

  Skyler made a disappointed noise, and Tom blinked. He didn't show it in his expression but she could see the disappointment and hurt in his eyes. “I underst-” he started to say.

  Kristy spoke right over him, reaching into her pocket for her coin pouch. “We have our portion of the sale of the truck, so if you're willing to offer some advice I'd like to buy a horse of our own. I believe the Hendricksons will as well.”

  Her son predictably went nuts over that news, so gleeful that Mary took a nervous step away from him, tossing her head. As for Tom, he gave her a cautious smile, which she warmly returned. “I'd be happy to.”

  “Good. And since the name Horse is available I suppose we'll have to use that.”

  Epilogue

  Homeward Bound

  It turned out to be a convoy in its own right that joined them on the road back to Emery.

  A surprising number of people didn't consider even Grand Junction safe enough, given the threat of invasion from the south; they'd all suffered too much already at the invading soldiers' hands, and were eager to avoid further encounters at all costs.

  So more than twenty of the freed settlers from the convoy chose to join Tom, Kristy, Skyler, and the Hendricksons. They'd all looked to Tom to get them home, and although assuming leadership of the convoy was the last thing he wanted to do, he grudgingly admitted he probably had the most experience when it came to the job.

  Besides, if he didn't do it some walking pile of horse excrement like Simon would take over and make his trip back to Emery a miserable one.

  Speaking of the redheaded man, he'd slipped away not long after Gray passed out everyone's share of the gold, leaving even those who'd been his close friends behind without a word. Although honestly not many people were sorry to see him go; between how he'd ignored the warning before the attack and got everyone captured, his complete lack of any sort of sign of leadership during captivity, and the bile he'd unreasonably spewed in front of the entire convoy, both at Tom and at Kristy, a young single mother who was well regarded by most, just about everyone considered his disappearance a good riddance.

  Honestly, Tom wasn't sorry to see Simon go, either: it would've been too tempting to sock the guy right in the face for some of the vicious things he'd said about Kristy if he'd stuck around.

  Although he had to admit he had a new appreciation for the immense pressure the redheaded man had been under as leader of the convoy, when he found himself inundated with things to do to prepare almost thirty people for a trip across southern Utah.

  It was amazing how as soon as some people had someone in charge to look to, they seemed to completely shut off their brains and relied on that person completely. Some of his new charges even outright passed him their share of the truck's sale so he could buy supplies for them, as well as wagons and carts to share out among everyone to haul their things. They did it without hesitation, completely trusting him to give back whatever was left after he'd made the purchases.

  Which Tom did, of course. But it still amused him just how quickly they washed their hands of their own fate once they found someone else ready to take responsibility for it. Ten years after the Ultimatum he would've thought they'd be a bit more protective of their independence.

  Either way, with Gray's help he finally had the convoy outfitted to travel. Mary, as well as Horse and the Hendricksons' new mule, were all repurposed as team animals hitched to wagons or carts. The convoy had foo
d, they had water, they'd replaced many of their necessities, and they had the AK-47s and pistols that Tom had taken from the enemy soldiers in the trucks and given to Brandon and the others, as well as the rifles and pistol Kristy had taken from her attackers that she and Bob now carried.

  At the request of some of the men going with him he'd even bought back the two AK-47s he'd sold, selling them on to his people. He couldn't complain about the hassle; once they were out in the badlands the more guns they had, the better.

  Things almost seemed like they had back during the original trek with the convoy, as they set out from Grand Junction and started back along the familiar road home. People were still traumatized by their ordeal, which was to be expected, and they were weaker and tired easily, requiring far more breaks and earlier stops. But they made up for it in part by their determination to press on, leaving the threat of enemy invaders far behind them; the convoy made good time that first day, almost ten miles.

  That night after dinner Tom once again found a comfortable spot to watch the sun set over the hills west of Grand Junction. The solitude after days of dealing with other people's problems was nice, of course, but he couldn't help but find himself looking around for Kristy. Hoping that she'd join him, like she had so many nights on their trek to Newpost.

  To his relief he soon saw her familiar figure leave the convoy and start out to where he sat on a grassy hillside, pale blond hair trailing behind her in the evening breeze. She smiled a warm greeting as she settled down on the grass beside him.

  “Finally a moment to yourself, huh?” she asked. “I almost hate to interrupt it.”

  Tom was acutely aware of how close she was sitting, simultaneously thrilled and scared to death by it. He did his best to match her light tone. “At this point watching the sunset together is practically tradition.”

  “I like the sound of that.” She settled back, blond head turning forward to the brilliant colors on the horizon.

  For a few minutes they sat in companionable silence. Tom enjoyed that, even though he spent most of the time wondering if he should be doing something, making a move. He just didn't have much experience with what to do in situations like this, and that experience was all over a decade old.

  Which was why he nearly jumped out of his skin when Kristy's hand unexpectedly sought out his.

  He sat with his heart in his throat, simply enjoying holding her hand as a few more minutes slipped quietly past. Then he mustered all his courage, gently freed his hand, and, trying to be cool about it, put his arm around her.

  For a breathless eternity that couldn't have lasted more than a second or two she didn't respond. He sat perfectly still, terrified the young woman would pull away, maybe even slap him for his audacity.

  Then Kristy gave a soft sigh and settled in against his side, resting her head on his shoulder as she continued to stare at the setting sun. Tom sat there torn between shock and giddy delight, nature's splendor on the horizon fading to the background in the wonder of holding this remarkable woman in his arms.

  He couldn't think of anything to say, and she seemed content to continue sitting quietly as they watched the day's fading brilliance together.

  Eventually Skyler joined them and the mood changed. Kristy gently disentangled herself from Tom to hug her son, and they once again fell silent as dark descended. As the stars came out Tom began pointing out some of the constellations to the boy.

  Although he could've stayed like that all night, after a half hour or so he grudgingly acknowledged they had an early start in the morning and they were all weary after a day of travel. “Hate to break up the fun, but I'm going to turn in for the night,” he said reluctantly, standing and offering Kristy a hand up.

  She took it, pulling Skyler up with her. “I suppose we should follow your example.”

  He was gratified that she sounded as reluctant as he had, and couldn't help but smile as he started back to camp. Especially when her hand once again sought his out and she leaned slightly against his arm. She only stepped away once they reached her tent, so she could unzip it and shoo Skyler inside.

  After the boy disappeared into the tent she rejoined Tom, and they stood together for a moment near the dying fire. He wasn't sure whether he was supposed to kiss her, but apparently he missed his window of opportunity because Kristy seemed to get tired of waiting, turning to look down at the glowing coals.

  “You know, my friends were teasing me earlier that I must have a thing for convoy leaders,” she joked.

  Tom wasn't sure how to respond to that, although he certainly didn't mind the idea. “Do you?”

  The flaxen-haired woman laughed lightly, stepping forward to kiss his cheek. Then she slipped past him towards her tent. “Goodnight, Tom.”

  Tom stood for a few moments staring after her as she ducked inside, fingers absently brushing his cheek. Well it hadn't exactly been a dizzying romantic moment, and more awkward than he would've liked.

  But considering how the evening had gone, all in all it definitely seemed like it could be the start of something.

  Thank you for reading Badlands!

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