EMP Lodge Series (Book 1): Dark Retreat

by Grace Hamilton

  Megan was so engrossed in their conversation; she was surprised to see the small town of Perry spread out ahead of them. What had once been home to two thousand people now looked abandoned. Megan said a silent prayer and hoped they would find medicine hidden away in one of those abandoned homes or at the school.

  KYLE SAT in the chair that had been moved next to the bed Caitlin slept in. The stupid dog wouldn’t move and he wasn’t interested in being bit by those massive teeth. It didn’t help that Rosie was hovering and came in constantly to check on the little girl or give her some foul smelling liquid.

  He fought to keep his irritation from showing. He had hoped that he could get in and out without any of them being the wiser about the little girl. He planned to come back for the supplies with a group of his best soldiers, later. For now, he wanted to get away from the very watchful eyes of these people.

  The dog wouldn’t be a problem for long. Kyle had insisted Duke be fed a diet of rice and chicken. They didn’t have any chicken, so Kyle asked for eggs. He was given powdered eggs, which would do just fine.

  He explained Duke had probably eaten something bad and just needed to give his tummy a rest. Eggs and rice were nice, bland and easily digested. Since he was a vet, they all believed him and were more than happy to comply.

  It was only a matter of time.

  Albert had been by a few times and Kyle didn’t like the old man. He always looked at him as if he could see right through him, which made him nervous. Albert would be the one to expose him if he didn’t get out of here soon. It was time to push up his plan.

  Kyle walked into the kitchen, “Rosie, do you have any peppermint tea? I seem to have an upset stomach,” he said rubbing his stomach. “I think I may be coming down with something. I hope whatever Caitlin has isn’t contagious.

  Rosie put down the dishes she had been washing, “I do have some tea.” She walked over and put a hand on his forehead, “You don’t feel warm. None of us has gotten sick. Maybe it was all your recent travels. I think I have some peppermint growing in one of my herb containers. If not, I will see what else I can come up with.” She ushered him to the table and told him to have a seat.

  He watched her walk out the front door.

  As soon as she was gone, Kyle quickly went back into the room. Albert had been absent all morning and Jack was supposed to be out doing something with the fencing with Willow and Ryland tagging along. He only had a few minutes to get this done. Kyle leaned over the little girl who looked frailer today than she had yesterday. It would be a quick and easy task to snuff the life out of her. She was barely hanging on as it was.

  He grabbed the pillow from the other side of the bed, took a deep breath and prepared to end this situation as quickly and quietly as possible.

  “What are you doing?”

  The gruff voice from the doorway startled Kyle. It took him a few seconds to recover as he fought the urge to growl in frustration. Tilting his head left and right to crack his neck, he turned to face the man.

  “I was just getting another pillow to put under her head,” he explained with all the smoothness he could muster.

  Albert eyed him. Kyle could tell he wasn’t buying a single word.

  “She seems to be having a hard time breathing. I’m worried fluid could be building up in her lungs from her lying flat on her back for so long.” His explanation was plausible, he thought. He had watched enough television in the past to know all the patients tended to be propped up in the hospital beds.

  “Huh. Well, how about we let Rosie do any shifting or pillow fluffing. I could use your help out here, seeing as how that wrist looks to be all better now.” Albert’s voice made it clear he didn’t like the guy and didn’t trust him.

  Kyle smiled, “No problem. I’ll put this pillow over here.”

  Albert didn’t budge. Kyle realized the man was not going to leave until he did. He would have to try again later.

  One thing was for sure, he did not intend to leave this place until that brat was dead. Walking past Albert, Kyle decided that maybe one more wouldn’t be so bad; although he doubted the old man would go down without a fight.

  18

  Megan, Wyatt, and Chase headed directly for the school, but Wyatt cautioned against simply walking in. He insisted they go in slowly to make sure the place was clear and no one lived there. Once they cleared the small school, they split up to search the office as well as all of the teachers’ desks in the classrooms. They were not surprised to find plenty of OTC pain meds, packs of gum, a few packs of cigarettes, and even a very well hidden bottle of vodka.

  Megan was searching the small room that served as the nurse’s station. She really couldn’t believe that more parents didn’t have medications here for their kids. Realistically, even if she did find any antibiotics, she would be reluctant to give any to her daughter since they still didn’t know what was wrong with her. But, as she’d already learned, she needed to keep busy to keep her mind from dwelling on dark thoughts. She froze when she heard a commotion in the hallway.

  Dropping to the ground, she crawled behind the main reception desk. She could hear several voices now. It wasn’t Chase or Wyatt. Peeking around the side, she looked out the bank of windows, which opened onto the hall and could see two guys who looked to be in their late teens or early twenties standing there. One was holding a shotgun that he had leaning against his shoulder. The way he held the gun, Megan couldn’t decide if he had never used one before or if it was empty.

  Hearing more voices, she duck walked along the length of the reception desk to peek out the other side. She saw another guy standing with a girl. These two looked to be a bit older and appeared to be arguing.

  As Megan was trying to decide what to do, the girl turned her head and spotted her. Grabbing her friend’s shoulder, she said something to him and he quickly reached for the door. Flinging it open, the wall shook as the door slammed against it and he called out, “Come out, come out, wherever you are!”

  Megan decided to try the innocent approach and slowly stood up from behind the counter making sure her hands were visible.

  “Hey, guys,” she said in her cheeriest voice possible.

  The group had crowded in through the doorway each pointing a gun at her.

  She put her hands up, “I don’t want any trouble. I was only checking to see if there were any supplies here. Same as you.”

  They didn’t answer. Just when she thought they were going to shoot her and be done with it, she heard Wyatt’s voice, “Leave. You can keep your weapons if you turnaround and walk right out that door.”

  Megan didn’t move. She had no idea if the group would listen or put up a fight. She silently prayed they would move on.

  One of the men spun around to face Wyatt, “How about you two leave, instead,” he sneered.

  “He never said it was just the two of them.” Chase’s voice came out of the shadows from the other side of the hallway. It was deadly serious. Even the hairs on the back of Megan’s neck stood on end and he was on her side.

  The woman was the first to start moving towards the door. “Ian, let’s go,” she demanded.

  Another one of the men started to follow her. Megan assumed Ian was the guy holding the gun on Wyatt. She considered trying to talk him into leaving as well but she couldn’t tell where Wyatt and Chase were standing and didn’t want to make it worse.

  “Listen to your friend and get out of here. We’ll be on our way and you can come back and do whatever it is you were looking to do. Just let us finish up our business.” Wyatt didn’t offer room for arguing or negotiating.

  The second man leaned in to whisper loudly in his friend’s ear, “Dude, let’s go. We’ll hit that market and come back. I don’t want any stupid books anyway.”

  Ian must have realized he was not going to win. “You have fifteen minutes, then we’re coming back and we aren’t going to be so nice next time.”

  Chase laughed, “Okay, man, whatever you say. Hopefully you bring m
ore firepower because that little gun isn’t going to do much.”

  Ian huffed, but left the school.

  Megan sighed in relief. That could have gone very bad. She was so thankful she had not tried to do this alone. Hard telling what would have happened.

  Stepping out from behind the counter, she met Wyatt in the hallway. Looking around for Chase, she saw him already standing by the exit looking out the door. Megan assumed he was watching where the others went.

  “Thanks, guys. I’m almost done, how about you?”

  Wyatt nodded, “We’re done. I’m going to grab a couple more books for the kids.”

  Megan walked back into the nurse’s office and quickly tossed the few bottles of pills into her pack along with the contents of the first aid box. She had no idea what any of the pills were, but meds were meds. She was hoping Rosie or Kyle knew how to make them work for her little girl.

  She met Wyatt and Chase by the exit. Chase slipped through the door first as Wyatt watched. When he gave the all clear, he and Megan followed him out. They made a few more stops along the way, picking up things like a box of nails, some tape, and any food they could find. You just never knew what you might need and Wyatt’s motto was to have it and not need it, rather than need it and not have it. Megan remembered the windows but Wyatt told her, they would have to come back for those and bring proper tools and a way to transport them back.

  Megan had found a coloring book and a box of crayons with only a couple missing at the school. She dumped the container of broken crayons into her pack as well. Caitlin always liked to color and Rosie could use some to make more candles.

  She knew that even when her daughter woke, she was going to be very weak and would likely be bedridden for a few days. She had visibly lost weight and would need time to recover.

  The trip back up the mountain went a little faster. Megan was anxious to get Caitlin the medicine and Wyatt told them he was feeling uneasy about Kyle. They talked as they headed back and agreed that there was definitely something not right about him. As Wyatt explained, living in such an isolated environment, it was imperative that everyone get along. With everyone on edge around him, even if he turned out to be a valuable asset, it wasn’t worth risking the safety of the group. His comment made Megan appreciate again that they had welcomed her into their group but, it also spurred her on to get back to the cabin as quickly as possible.

  Wyatt decided that he would give Kyle a couple more days before sending him on his way. They all agreed that it wasn’t as if his medical experience was actually proving useful.

  They broke through the trees that provided a nice cover for the cabin and saw Jack working on one of the fence lines and hollered out in greeting. He came out to meet them and offered to carry Megan’s pack. She handed it over with very little argument. The strain of that steep climb up the hill had taken its toll on her and she was really glad that they didn’t try to cart those windows with them.

  As the group approached the house, Rosie burst through the almost hidden front door.

  “Megan, Megan!” She shouted. Her cheeks were flush and Wyatt dropped his pack, pulling his weapon trying to figure out what was wrong. Megan watched him go into defense mode, as he quickly scanned the area. The group of four picked up the pace and started jogging towards Rosie.

  “It’s poison. It isn’t a virus. It’s poison!” Rosie was out of breath as she grabbed Megan’s arm and started pulling her to the house.

  19

  “What?” Megan asked in confusion.

  “Mom, slow down,” Wyatt said calmly, putting his gun back into the holster.

  Megan stopped walking, which stopped Rosie.

  Rosie turned to the group, “Caitlin is suffering from nightshade poisoning. At least I think that’s what it is. Her symptoms match. The berries are actually tasty, but they are toxic. There are a couple of different kinds, but the only kind I can find in my research that would cause her symptoms and be found in this area are the deadly nightshade.”

  Megan shook her head, “I can’t believe she would pick and eat berries. She knows better.” Her voice shook.

  Rosie gave Megan a quick hug, “Sweetie, the berries look like a cross between blueberries and blackberries. She probably thought they were something she knew. Adults make the mistake all the time. It isn’t unheard of for a child to do the same. In fact, Black Nightshade isn’t actually toxic, but there is something called Atropa Belladonna that looks similar that is extremely toxic.”

  Wyatt took control of the situation, “Okay. So what do we do? How do we fix her?”

  Rosie shook her head, “I don’t know—yet. I just realized what it was. I need to do some research.”

  Megan started walking quickly towards the house, “I’ll help.”

  Now that her enemy had been identified, Megan was ready to go toe-to-toe to save her daughter. She was sure they could find a cure and Caitlin would be healed. She only hoped it was in time.

  FOR THE PAST FEW HOURS, Megan, Willow and Rosie were upstairs, going through a pile of books, looking for a way to cure Caitlin when Wyatt brought them coffee.

  “Any luck?” he asked.

  None of the women said a word. There was some head shaking and groaning as they poured through the books in front of them. He figured he better leave them alone.

  Checking on Caitlin, he heard Ryland talking. Poking his head in, he found him sitting in the chair next to the bed. Duke’s head popped up when he stepped through the door.

  “Hey, little man, what are you up to?” Wyatt asked Ryland as he walked over to pet the dog.

  “I’m teaching Caitlin math,” Ryland piped up, as he went back to reading aloud from his book.

  “You know she’s asleep, right?”

  Ryland shrugged his shoulders. “Sure. But she was moaning and moving around a bit so, since math makes me sleepy, I thought it’d help her too.”

  Wyatt burst out laughing as he squeezed his nephew’s shoulder. “You know, I just bet you helped her.”

  It was then Wyatt noticed what must have been Megan’s wallet on the dresser. He had a bad feeling Kyle had been digging through the drawers when no one was looking and left it out on accident. Wyatt had been in this room often and never before had he seen anything to signify Megan’s presence except for that crayon drawing.

  “Hey, Ry, did you touch anything on the dresser over here?” Ryland’s answer of n’uh uh was enough for him.

  Wyatt picked up the wallet. Megan’s driver’s license fell out. Kyle had most definitely been snooping. What he hoped to learn about Megan from a license that meant nothing in today’s world he didn’t know. It wasn’t as if her address mattered now and it certainly didn’t matter what her name was or how much she weighed.

  Wyatt was putting the license back in the wallet when his eyes were drawn to the birth date. He suspected she was probably in her late twenties, but curiosity had him looking to be sure. His eyes widened when he realized today was her birthday. He double-checked the date on his watch and, sure enough, today the woman who had sparked something deep within him turned thirty-two.

  Caitlin was mumbling again and he heard Ryland grumble. “Uncle Wyatt, you’re disturbing her.”

  Wyatt put the license in the wallet and put it in the top drawer. He checked to see if Caitlin was coming around, but it was the same incoherent mumbling she had been doing for days.

  “Sorry, little man. My fault. I’ll leave her in your capable hands.

  Leaving, he turned to watch his nephew going over his math and holding up the book to the sleeping Caitlin. He hoped the ladies would find an antidote for the poisoning, and fast.

  Wyatt ran back up the stairs and asked his mom to come down for a minute. He let her know he was headed out to the fence line to check on Kyle who was still out working with Albert. He also told his mom about Megan’s birthday. Together they quickly planned a surprise that would hopefully lift her spirits.

  20

  After hours of reading, Meg
an stood and stretched realizing that it was now dark. Where had the time gone?

  Her eyes hurt from straining to see in the poor light. She couldn’t believe they didn’t have an answer. With the three of them working together, Megan thought for sure they would know how to cure Caitlin within a matter of minutes. It had been hours.

  She was so grateful Willow and Rosie were helping. Megan could have never gotten through all the reading on her own in this amount of time. It would have taken her days. Willow offered to help Rosie make dinner while Megan continued to search the books for any helpful information.

  When Rosie came back upstairs, Megan had several candles lit so she could see what she had written down. She thought she had an idea, but wanted Rosie’s expertise. All of the women had been jotting down notes as they came across potentially useful information. They regularly compared their notes and had been able to eliminate some ideas, narrowing down the potential cure.

  Because it had been days, the use of activated charcoal would likely be ineffective. Her organs had already absorbed the poison. Rosie was convinced the best option was milk thistle. She explained how beneficial it was to removing toxins from the organs and the blood. It was really their best option.

  The problem was, the plant wasn’t quite as common as its cousin, the common thistle was. Rosie told Megan it would likely be found growing alongside the highway and the key factor to look for were white streaks on the leaves that indicated it was milk thistle, rather than common thistle. Unfortunately, that was a good five miles away. Megan wasn’t deterred, she would find it. It was too late to go tonight, but she would be up at sunrise and on her way to find that plant.

  “Let’s go have dinner,” Rosie said, clapping her hands together.

  It was then Megan realized how lovely the house smelled. Rosie must have put together something pretty spectacular. She walked down the stairs and the aroma of fresh baked bread filled the air. It smelled delicious. On the center island, Megan saw three loaves of French bread. She began to salivate. The smell of garlic and basil greeted her next. Willow was at the stove stirring a pot.