Megan was uneasy. How did you fight off an enemy you couldn't see and didn't know anything about?
Wyatt asked the question that Megan had been too afraid to ask. “Would they take a little girl?”
No one answered for several long moments.
“I honestly don't know,” Bryan finally said. “I can't imagine them taking care of a kid. They look like a bunch of militants. They wear camo and carry enough guns and ammunition to take on a small army. I can't see them wanting to deal with a kid. It would slow them down.”
Although the description of the marauders was only slightly terrifying, it did give Megan some comfort. They would hopefully ignore Caitlin.
“What about the Green Woman?” Evan asked no one in particular.
“The Green Woman?” Megan asked. “What is that? Like an actual person?”
Her mind instantly went to some comic book character.
Sharon quickly explained. “We call her the Green Woman because she is always dressed in army green. She never says a word, but she draws her gun quicker than any person I have ever met. She has never actually said she was going to hurt one of us, but she makes it clear she doesn't want you near her.”
“We’ve seen her a few times, but we keep our distance. I'm pretty sure she has a home around that big meadow, which is where we usually run into her,” Evan explained. “She seems harmless, just a little on the odd side. Always alone.”
Megan reached into the leg pocket of her cargo pants and pulled out the map she had used to find Evan's camp.
“Where? Can you show me where you’ve seen her most often?”
The meadow was huge and considering it was a giant square, the Green Woman could live anywhere.
Evan walked around the table and stood over Megan, he pointed to a section.
“That's the area where we fell!”
Wyatt jumped up to study the map as well.
“Are you sure? We covered that area during our initial search for Caitlin.”
Wyatt couldn't believe he could have walked right past this Green Woman.
“We'll check there on our way back tomorrow,” he told Megan.
“Even if she isn't there, she may know what happened. She can stay out of sight. You wouldn't even know she was there if she didn't come out and make herself known,” Bryan explained.
“Thanks for the tip,” Wyatt said.
There was a pause in the conversation as another gust blew through. Wyatt looked around at the tents.
“So, I have to ask, what’s your plan for winter? I mean, tents don't seem like a real good option. The two cabins aren’t going to cut it either. Are you moving into town?
Bryan answered, “We will stay here. Town is too dangerous right now and food is scarce. We thought about it but we’re hoping we’re better off up here. We had to weigh the two options; live in houses with limited access to food and water or live in small cabins with plenty of resources around us.”
Wyatt nodded. It made sense. In town, they would have to walk a lot farther to hunt for food. In the mountains, meat was plentiful if you knew how to hunt. The snow could be used for water. He understood their reasoning but was still concerned about their shelter situation.
“What about that barn?” Jack asked. “Why don't you stay in it?”
It was Sharon's turn to explain, “The roof is not in good shape. We can't risk a heavy snowfall causing it to collapse. Thanks to the plans you helped draw up, next spring we will fix the roof but we didn't have the time or materials to do it before winter this year.”
“So, you will all stay in these two cabins?” Megan asked. She had counted fifteen people in the group. There may have been more in town, scavenging for supplies. Evan's tiny little cabin would certainly be cozy and the woodstove would keep it warm, but they would be sitting on top of each other.
Wyatt looked at Megan. She could see the doubt in his eyes. She silently agreed with him. They had to have another shelter somewhere. Their reason for secrecy was understandable. They weren’t going to press the issue.
The silence held some tension. The other group had secrets they wanted to hold onto. Wyatt quickly tried to change the subject. “Tara, I saw you carrying some snowshoes earlier. Did you make them?”
“Yep and I really hope they work!”
“Can you show us how you did it? We have a couple pairs, but it would be nice to have a pair for each of us. We have no idea how much snow we will get up here but I imagine it will be more than we want to try to walk through.”
“I don't have any more willow branches here but I can tell you how I did it. I’m sure there are other ways and you can certainly fine tune this set up but this is something I read about years ago and just did my best to copy,” Tara explained.
“Willow branches, about two inches around, are the best choice. They are nice and flexible. You could use other branches, but you would need to slowly steam the wood to get it to be nice and bendy.”
She sent her daughter to grab the snowshoes she had finished earlier.
“Basically, each shoe should kind of look like a tennis racket with a rounded toe and a pointed heel. The width needs to be a few inches wider than the boot you will fasten to the shoe. I like to make mine about thirty-to-forty inches long. They are easier to manage and provide the support you need to walk on the snow.”
Her daughter returned with the snowshoes. Tara held one up. “I stripped similarly sized branches to make the frame and used smaller branches to create crossbars where the ball of the foot will go. You’ll definitely want the toe hole so you can drag your feet across the ground. Without it, you’ll have to pick your feet up each time you take a step and that gets exhausting. Since we don’t have a lot of paracord or leather to spare, I mixed both strips of bark with the paracord in a weave pattern across the shoe frame. I used leather straps to tie them on, but you could use anything, even duct tape if you had to. Now, technically, you could use them at this point. The key is making sure you tie your boot to the shoe really well.”
Tara handed Wyatt the snowshoes, “And well, that's it! I don't know how durable these will be, but I figure they will last through this winter at least. Bit of trial and error, so we will see where we went wrong and go from there.”
“This is really impressive, Tara,” Wyatt said carefully examining the shoes. “Thank you.”
The wind and rain really started to pick up. Megan involuntarily yawned and quickly covered her mouth. Wyatt knew she had to be exhausted. He stood, indicating they were ready to turn in for the night.
Sharon, Bryan and Evan all exchanged a look that confirmed Wyatt's suspicions that something was up. He began to feel uneasy. Whatever it was they were hiding, couldn't be good. He second-guessed his decision to stay at the camp overnight.
He wasn't about to put his family in danger and figured if someone's feelings got hurt, too bad. You couldn't trust anyone and while these guys appeared to be all nice and hospitable, maybe that was their plan. Maybe they were lulling them into a false sense of comfort and would attack when they were asleep.
Wyatt put his hands on his hips and stared directly at Bryan and then Evan.
“What's the deal? Something is up. I would appreciate you being straight with us.”
Megan tensed. Jack moved to stand beside his brother. Rosie casually moved behind her sons and rested a hand on Megan's shoulder.
There was a very long, tense silence as the other group looked at each other seeming to have a silent conversation. Wyatt's heart raced as he considered the possibility they had walked right into a trap.
Tara looked incredibly nervous. She motioned for her kids to leave the gazebo, which increased the feeling of doom.
“We'll go. Just keep what we gave you.” Wyatt reached down to grab Megan's elbow. He would take his chances in the forest with a storm brewing. These people weren't being straight and he didn't know what they were hiding. He didn't like it one bit.
Megan stood, with the help of Wyatt and
Rosie. Wyatt kept his arm around her, prepared to shelter her if things got ugly.
Jack moved to grab the packs that had been propped in the corner of the gazebo.
The foursome backed out of the gazebo. The others stood and watched not making a move to stop them. They turned and Wyatt held onto Megan as they covered the distance to the fence line. With every step, Wyatt expected to be shot in the back or ordered to stop.
Megan leaned into his side, “It's okay. None of us could have known.”
He looked down at her, “I should have known. We need to get as far from here as possible. Can you make it?”
“I have to. I'll be fine. Just get us out of here.”
They reached the makeshift gates that led out of the camp. The two guards they encountered earlier stood at the gates.
“We're leaving,” Wyatt said. He kept moving forward.
One of the guards held up his hand “Doesn't look like it. Evan wants to have a word with you.”
Wyatt turned enough to see behind him. Evan was walking towards them with long, purposeful strides.
He turned back and whispered in Megan's ear, “When I say run, grab my mom and push your way through those guards. Do whatever it takes to get out of here.”
Megan froze, “We can't just leave you and Jack.”
Wyatt gave her a look that made it clear he wasn't in the mood for a discussion. He had decided and she had better obey.
Evan approached. His gaze never leaving Wyatt's face.
“You aren't leaving.”
19
Wyatt pushed Megan behind him. He stepped towards Evan, using his size to intimidate the smaller man. It wasn't exactly working. Evan had a smirk on his face that irritated and worried Wyatt.
“You aren't leaving,” Evan repeated. “There is no reason for you to head out in the dark in this storm. We have shelter for you. And no, we aren't going to kill you in your sleep.”
“Why would we trust you?”
“Because we are your only friends,” Evan stated. He said it in a way that Wyatt couldn't tell if it was a joke or a threat.
Wyatt could see Bryan approaching behind Evan. He debated ordering Megan to run, but something made him hesitate.
Bryan had an easy gait. Not the walk of a man who was about to execute the people he had just shared a meal with. He walked as if he hadn't a care in the world. Wyatt didn't know if that was a good thing or a sign of trouble.
He walked up, slapped Wyatt on the shoulder and chuckled. “You are one intuitive guy, man. Seriously. Are you ex-military or special forces or what?”
Wyatt eyed him, “Something like that.”
“Well, Mr. Paranoid, we would like to show you something. And it isn't anything crazy or evil.” Bryan looked at Jack, “Please, come with us.”
Wyatt wasn't getting any bad vibes. He looked past the fence line, into the dark forest. He thought about what it would be like trying to walk through the rocky, uneven terrain in complete darkness. With Megan's injury and the coming storm, Evan and his people seemed to be the lesser of two evils.
Jack looked at Wyatt and nodded his head, giving his agreement to see what it was they had been hiding. Wyatt hoped he wasn't leading his family to their doom.
“Okay. Any funny moves and I will break your neck,” Wyatt told Bryan. It could have been taken as a joke but Wyatt was very serious.
Bryan laughed, “Got it.”
They made their way back to the gazebo walked past the two tents that were set up next to Evan's small cabin and kept going. They were headed into the forest the camp backed up to. The area didn't look very inviting. It was heavily treed and the undergrowth grew wild. Evan pressed on, telling the others to watch their step.
Wyatt brought Megan up beside him again so he could help her navigate the uneven terrain. They walked about one hundred feet when they saw what the big secret was. There was a large cabin with another small outbuilding not too far away.
Wyatt smiled. He knew they had been hiding something, but he didn't suspect it would be this. This was amazing.
He looked at Megan. His arm was wrapped around her waist, supporting her. She had gone completely stiff.
“What's wrong?” he asked so quietly that only she could hear.
“What if she's here?”
Wyatt shook his head, “They would have told us.”
Evan walked to the cabin, “It's an old forest ranger station. We don't want anyone to know it’s here. The tents are a decoy. The Raiders haven’t discovered this yet. If they knew it was here, they may decide they want it and the supplies we have inside.”
“Smart. Very smart.” Wyatt nodded in approval.
“We make sure to take a different route through the woods each time to avoid making a trail. Walking through the heavy brush and trees isn't fun but it helps maintain the natural barrier between the camp and the cabin,” Bryan explained.
Wyatt looked at the cabin. He would personally add some more defenses to it but the simple fact that it was completely out of sight was a very good offensive move.
Evan opened the door, “Come on in. We have two rooms we will give you guys, if that works?”
They walked in the door to find a very cozy setup inside. Two couches in an L-shape designated the living area with a potbelly stove putting off plenty of heat. There was a pot on the woodstove with steam rising out of it.
The cabin had a full kitchen with a small dining table and chairs in the middle. Evan opened a door, indicating one of the rooms they would occupy. There were two twin beds on either wall with a small window between. The door next to it was a bathroom, which wasn't functional. Another door led to the second room with two more beds with bright quilts on each.
Megan stayed on the ground floor as the rest of the group walked up a flight of steep narrow stairs to a loft area. Duke stood beside her, leaning into her good leg. Upstairs was a third bedroom. There were two twin beds in the room along with a couple of mattresses on the floor. The area could easily sleep another six-to-eight people.
“Most of us sleep in here,” Evan explained. “Whoever is on guard duty sleeps in the small cabin in the main camp. During the summer, we did use the tents but it’s too cold to do that anymore. We could in a pinch but why would we when we have this,” he smiled as he spread his arms wide.
Jack laughed, “You guys really had me convinced you were going to hole up in those tents all winter. I have to admit I thought you were crazy.”
They made their way back down the stairs.
“I'm sorry we were so shady, but we weren't sure how much we could trust you. This is our livelihood. We can't afford to lose it,” Bryan explained.
“I understand and appreciate you trusting us with your secret,” Wyatt answered. “But what made you decide to trust us?”
Evan and Bryan looked at each other and seemed to have another silent conversation. Finally, Evan spoke up. “What went down with Kyle was bad. Not just everything that happened to you guys. There was more, so much more. After my brother was gone, we decided that we need allies not enemies if we’re going to survive. The things he did…” Evan’s voice trailed off as he stared off looking at some unseen horror.
Before he could continue, Bryan added, “We know there are hard feelings but we figured if we put our cards on the table, you’d see that we’re sincere and have something to offer this partnership. More importantly, understand once and for all that we don’t have Caitlin.”
When he finished speaking, he was looking directly at Megan and frowning.
“Megan, maybe you should sit down before you fall down.” Bryan pointed to one of the couches.
She hadn’t realized exactly how much effort she was putting into standing up until Bryan said something. Without speaking, Wyatt took her elbow and guided her over to the couches where she sank gratefully down and leaned her head back. As soon as she did, other parts of her body began to point out small pains and areas of exhaustion. Closing her eyes, she felt Wyatt sit down nex
t to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and letting her lean against his chest. Opening her eyes, she watched Evan, Bryan, Jack and Rosie settle in the living room area.
The conversation dropped to a lull as Megan felt herself falling asleep. She hadn’t slept much the night before and the day’s intense activities took its toll on her; she was falling fast. She roused when a middle-aged man with a full beard stopped by. He looked like he might have been a biker once upon a time based on the leather cut he wore with various patches sewn on it. Despite his gruff appearance, the man was very soft spoken. Megan couldn’t help smiling as she imagined him playing Santa Claus.
The man, Greg, offered to radio back to the lodge on his HAM radio. Albert had one set up in a corner of his room, but rarely used it since they’d not been able to reach anyone for months.
Wyatt took him up on his offer to radio back to the lodge first thing in the morning.
“That’d be great, man,” Wyatt said quietly. “I’m sure the others are worried and I’d love it if we could let them know we’re okay here. All of us,” he finished as he stroked Megan’s hair.
Forcing herself to wake up, Megan shifted into a less comfortable position and smiled at the others. She had to admire everything they’d managed to accomplish with what they had. She’d also come to realize that Evan and Bryan’s group was much larger than they’d first suspected. They’d made it appear they were small in number, just like they kept this cabin a secret. It was smart. If The Raiders are as bad as they claimed, they didn't want to appear too capable. That might attract more attackers.
Tara and her two children had come in and headed for the loft room upstairs. Evan excused himself to join them.
As the conversation wound down, Bryan asked if there was anything else they needed.
“No, we’re good here,” Jack assured him. “I suspect we’re ready for bed as well.”
Dark Hunt (EMP Lodge Series Book 2) Page 13
