EMP Lodge Series (Book 1): Dark Retreat

by Grace Hamilton

  Megan started walking really fast again. He walked behind, waiting for her to groan in frustration. Instead, he saw her start spinning around in circles with her hands up and shouting to the heavens.

  She must have found the milk thistle. He ran over and looked at the plant in all its glory. It was surrounded by a small group of other milk thistle plants in the gravel that ran alongside the highway. It was the most beautiful sight he had seen. When she reached out to grab it, he quickly stopped her by grabbing her hand.

  “You don’t want to get stabbed by those prickly leaves. Let me grab the scissors and the container.” He reached into his pack and pulled out the items, carefully cutting the purple flowers from the top of the plant like his mother instructed. It was the tiny brown seeds they needed. He cut them all, just in case they would need more.

  Megan scanned the area; “I think I see more!” she called out excitedly

  She darted about twenty feet away jumping up and down as she laughed. She was giddy and it was becoming contagious. He was happy for her and Caitlin. Sealing the container, he walked to where she was stood unmoving, her head hanging low.

  He gently pulled her around to face him, “What’s wrong?”

  She looked up at him and he could see tears in her eyes.

  Megan shook her head and smiled. Before he knew what she was going to do, she grabbed him and hugged him. Wyatt dropped his pack and wrapped his arms around her slim figure. They stood that way for several seconds while he relished the contact between their bodies.

  Megan pulled back, but didn’t break contact. Wyatt wasn’t going to miss his chance, he quickly kissed her. The kiss was short and sweet, but she didn’t pull away. She didn’t slap him. They looked at each other before Megan put on her all-business face and told him she had found more milk thistle. She wanted to collect it all just in case Caitlin needed more than Rosie thought. Anything left could be saved for future use.

  Wyatt did as she asked. Following along behind her, he snipped off the purple flowers in every patch she pointed out. The walk back to the cabin was done at a rapid rate with Megan setting the pace. She didn’t want to stop to eat and, more than once, she went in the wrong direction and Wyatt would gently correct her by walking in the right direction. Megan would quickly fall instep behind him, but she was in such a rush, she usually ended up getting in front of him and before he knew it, she would veer off course again. It was funny and endearing, but in a real survival situation, if she was on her own, it could be incredibly dangerous.

  “Megan,” he said softly.

  “Yeah,” she responded, slightly out of breath from her jogging pace.

  “Remember that bag I told you about?”

  She slowed her pace a little, “Yes?”

  “I know I said I wasn’t going to push and, while we would all like you to stay, I would like you to stay. I’m going to add a compass to the bag. You need to know the cabin is northwest from town. Just in case you ever want to find your way back to me, us, follow the signs to town and then use the compass to find us. If you are at the lake, we are due north from there. Okay?”

  She turned, hands on her hips, “Are you saying I am bad with navigation?”

  He started laughing. “I’m not saying you are bad at it. I’m just saying you could use a little practice. Okay, a lot of practice.”

  She tried to look mad, but she started laughing. “Okay, thank you, but like I said before, you really don’t have to do that. I’ll be okay.”

  “Just so you know, there’s also a gun in the bag.”

  When she started to argue that she didn’t need it, he held up his hand. “You never know. You need to be able to protect yourself and your daughter, Megan. This world is no joke. You know how to use it. It isn’t dangerous to carry a gun.”

  She sighed, “Fine, but I doubt I will need it. It will just be extra weight. That’s if I even need your bag.”

  Wyatt wasn’t so sure about that, but had to accept she had managed for three months on her own. He wasn’t going to give up on convincing her to stay. He knew she was going to stay for a while to let Caitlin heal, but he hoped that once she saw the benefit to them sharing the duties that kept them alive and the camaraderie in general, she would stay for good.

  “I’m thinking about a goat.”

  Megan stopped, turned and looked at him as if he was a goat. He realized what he said probably sounded a bit odd. He had a real knack for saying the dumbest things around her.

  “I mean, I remember Kyle said something about helping a family deliver a goat or something. I think we should see if we could barter some of what we have to get a goat. I have never actually had a goat, but imagine if we could get a dairy goat. Fresh milk. My mom could make cheese,” his voice trailed off as he thought about everything they could do with fresh milk.

  “Why not just get a cow?” Megan asked.

  “We don’t have the fencing for a cow, yet. And, a few goats would be easy enough to raise, care for and ultimately breed. I think,” he added as an afterthought.

  He was going to talk to Kyle about what it took to take care of goats and, if he knew of any in the area. He wasn’t going to tell the guy they had things they could trade for a goat, but wanted to see if he could get any leads.

  They needed to think long term. A renewable source of food and more bartering items. A goat kid could be worth some meat, veggies or even some building supplies. He imagined being able to trade cheese for eggs and other food. That sparked another idea. They needed chickens. He would have to do some scouting to see if there were any neighbors willing to trade a couple of hens.

  “You look pretty pleased with yourself,” Megan said before turning back and heading up the hill at breakneck speed.

  He laughed, “I just had a few ideas. I know Chase was talking about building those fences on one side of the property, but what if we made that into a pasture? We could have chickens and goats and, oh! We could even have pigs. Megan, come on, you have to get excited about the idea of bacon. Pork chops, steak, sausage.”

  She laughed, “Are you hungry? You seem to be pretty hung up on food.”

  He realized he was a little hungry, but the thought of a farm was her fault. He was thinking of the future. Their future. He was thinking of building a little homestead that included her and Caitlin. Having animals meant having a steady supply of food. It meant they didn’t have to rely so much on hunting and would have a fresh food source.

  His mind whirred as he thought of all the possibilities and the supplies they would need to build a shed or barn for the animals. They had a busy few months ahead of them. Wyatt hoped he could count on Megan to stick around and help.

  KYLE HEARD them before he saw them. He knew Jack heard the men as well. He sighed; this was not going to end well for Jack. He was already trying to think of what he was going to tell the rest of the group about how Jack died.

  “I know you heard that,” Jack whispered.

  Kyle nodded, “I did. How about you stay here and watch my line and I will go check it out.”

  Jack argued that he would check it out, but Kyle insisted. He grabbed the fillet knife that had been sitting on a rock. They had already caught quite a few small brook trout. They had done some fly fishing upstream, but moved downstream and were just letting the flies float.

  He walked upstream a bit. The voices were growing closer. He slid the handle of the knife up the sleeve of his jacket, being careful not to slice his hand open. The stream was still a bit too wide for him to cross without sinking to his waist. He waited behind a few trees prepared to motion his men away. Hopefully they would understand his hand motions and take the hint. They weren’t the brightest people in the world.

  He heard rustling through the trees. He waited and watched.

  A tap on his shoulder had him spinning around with the knife out, ready to kill whoever was behind him.

  It was Jack. Both men froze. Kyle had the knife inches from Jack’s neck. It was at that moment the voi
ces became clear.

  “What the hell is going on?” Wyatt boomed. Kyle could hear splashing water and knew Wyatt was coming across the stream.

  Kyle looked back at Jack, “I’m sorry, man. I didn’t know it was you. I heard the voices and thought someone was going to ambush me from behind.”

  He dropped the knife and Jack took a step back his eyes wide as he stared at Kyle in shock. Wyatt came up the bank and headed straight for Kyle. Jack quickly jumped between them.

  “Stop, Wyatt. It isn’t what you think.”

  “Isn’t what I think? He had a knife to your throat, Jack!” Wyatt pushed his little brother out of the way. “You want to tell me what is going on Kyle or should I just drown you right here?”

  Kyle had to think fast. There was no way he could take both of these guys—one of them alone would easily overpower him. “I didn’t know it was him!”

  He did his best to look horrified and scared at the same time.

  Jack quickly explained the situation. He told Wyatt, Kyle was checking out the noise when he snuck up behind him, startling him.

  Wyatt didn’t look convinced, but stepped away from Kyle. Megan was still on the other side of the stream and had made no attempt to follow Wyatt. It wasn’t exactly the best place to cross.

  “Did you find what you needed to cure the little girl?” Kyle asked as casually as he could. He was hoping they would say no. He’d overheard Rosie talking about the risk of the girl’s kidneys shutting down. Without the necessary medicine, she could very well die on her own, which would make things much easier even if it were taking too long.

  Wyatt nodded, “Yeah, yeah we did. We better get going. Jack, you good?”

  Jack smiled, “Yep. He tries to fillet me again I will knock him on his butt.” The words were said as a joke, but they all knew it was a message for Kyle. “We are going to fill up the buckets so we can all eat well tonight.” He picked up the knife from the ground. “Oh, and Wyatt, I want to talk to you about aquaponics. Kyle here has been filling me in on how to get a system going.”

  Wyatt didn’t look interested, “Alright, we’ll talk about it tonight. I need to get to the house.” Wyatt went back across the stream.

  Kyle watched as he bent close and quietly talked to Megan. She looked up at him once, but quickly looked away when he stared back at her. Let them gossip. He wouldn’t be around much longer, but they would certainly remember him.

  23

  Megan and Wyatt ran the rest of the way back to the cabin. Once they could see the cabin in the distance, Megan surged ahead with Wyatt close behind her. She burst through the small front door shouting, “Rosie!” Gasping for breath, she rested her hands on her knees, taking long, slow breaths to slow her heart rate down.

  Rosie had been out back but quickly appeared in the kitchen, “What’s wrong? What it is?” she asked trying to keep the terror out of her voice.

  “We got it!” Megan shouted tugging the pack off Wyatt’s shoulder and fumbling to open it. She wasn’t worried about staying quiet. If her shouting woke Caitlin up, that was even better.

  “Oh, praise God!” Rosie put down the basket of laundry and quickly grabbed a pot to fill with water as Megan still fumbled with the pack. Wyatt stilled her shaking hands and opened the backpack. Pulling out the container, he handed it to Megan who rushed it over to Rosie.

  Megan paced a steady course around the kitchen and living room waiting for Rosie to prepare the tea. She silently wished that the woman would work faster as she shook the tiny seeds onto the counter, then ground them up to add to a cup of boiling water. It took about ten minutes, but Megan swore it was hours.

  Wyatt followed the women into the room where Caitlin lay almost lifeless. Duke lifted his head a mere few inches before staggering off the bed and heading for the door. Megan noticed, but didn’t pay much attention to the dog. She was focused on her little girl. She sat behind her and propped her up so Rosie could give her the tea.

  They all stared at the girl. Rosie’s laugh broke the tension.

  “It isn’t instant. We need to give it some time to work on the liver and clean out the poison. I’m going to go finish that laundry,” she said walking out the door.

  Megan cradled her daughter, quietly humming a tune and pleading with her to open her eyes.

  “Wyatt!” Rosie called with alarm in her voice. “Wyatt, you better come take a look at Duke.”

  Megan met Wyatt’s eyes. The alarm in Rosie’s voice put her on edge. She pulled Caitlin a little closer to protect her from whatever it was that scared Rosie.

  “I’ll check back with you two in a bit,” Wyatt told her, giving Caitlin’s head a gentle pat. “Holler if you need us.”

  Megan nodded and watched him leave. She prayed her daughter would wake up soon. Rosie had warned her that giving too much of the milk thistle could actually make her daughter sicker. If this didn’t work, she didn’t know what else to do but she would be damned if she let her daughter die.

  It was so painfully obvious that Caitlin was slipping away. Her mother’s instinct was screaming at her to fix her baby. She was trying, she just didn’t know how. Megan was so grateful for the help of the others; their friendship and simply being there had helped to get her through the past few days. Without them, she imagined she wouldn’t even be functioning at this point.

  WYATT BENT DOWN and rubbed Duke’s head. The dog was seriously ill and he couldn’t figure out why. The poor guy had barely made it out back before he began vomiting.

  Duke laid down and groaned.

  “Stay here, buddy, I’ll get you some water,” Wyatt told him, standing up to go get his bowl.

  Wyatt had no idea what could have happened. Duke had been fine up until about a week ago when he first became listless. Kyle said he couldn’t see anything wrong with him but something wasn’t right. Duke had stopped eating altogether and now was vomiting. He looked around, hoping Ryland wouldn’t see his dog in such bad shape.

  Rosie was standing near the door, “What do you think?” she asked with concern in her voice.

  “I wish I knew. Maybe he got into something out on the property.” Wyatt stared at the dog, willing him to give a clue about what had happened. Nothing.

  “I’ll get the water,” Rosie offered turning to go inside.

  Ryland and Willow came around the house both covered in dirt. It was obvious they had been working in the soon-to-be garden.

  “What’s wrong?” Ryland called out rushing to his dog’s side.

  Willow looked at Wyatt, tears in her eyes. “Is he sick?”

  Wyatt shrugged. He didn’t know. Sick, yes, dying, he didn’t know and didn’t want to make the situation worse by suggesting it.

  Rosie put the bowl of water in front of Duke. He smelled it, but turned away.

  “Come on, boy,” Ryland encouraged. “Take a little drink; it will make you feel better.”

  Duke laid his head in his master’s lap and groaned again. Wyatt looked on, feeling helpless. Tears were streaming down Ryland’s face as he rubbed the dog’s ears and then his belly.

  Albert and Chase had come into the house. Hearing the commotion out back, they came to investigate.

  They both stood and stared at the scene in horror.

  “Oh no,” Albert murmured.

  Chase clapped the guy on the shoulder. He never would admit it, but everyone knew Albert was very fond of the dog.

  The adults formed a small circle around the boy who was quietly crying and doing his best to get the dog to drink. Ryland dipped his fingers in the water and put them to Duke’s mouth, but Duke wasn’t interested.

  “Hey, what’s everyone doing back here?” Jack said walking through the back door. His good mood vanished when he saw his son holding his best friend.

  He didn’t have to ask. “Mom, is there anything you can do?”

  Rosie took a deep breath, “Well I can certainly try, can’t I? Ryland, you just keep trying to get him to take water. Let me see what I can find,” she tol
d him before rushing into the kitchen. .

  Wyatt looked at Jack, “Where’s Kyle?”

  “We caught a ton of fish. He is down by the stream cleaning them. I came up to get a fire going so we could cook them.” His earlier excitement had vanished.

  They all stood in silence for several minutes watching the dog and Ryland. It was a heartbreaking scene. Every fiber of Wyatt’s being demanded he do something to help the poor dog. He just didn’t know what to do.

  Rosie popped her head back out the door, “How’s he doing?” she asked in a whisper.

  Wyatt shook his head.

  “I’ll make him more of that rice Kyle insisted on. He also mentioned canned pumpkin. I’ll check the root cellar, but I don’t think that is something we added.”

  The men slowly wandered away to take care of other tasks, leaving Willow and Ryland alone with Duke. It seemed like the right thing to do. Wyatt wasn’t sure what else they could do, but felt some privacy would be best.

  Wyatt and Chase had gone down to the stream where Kyle was supposed to be cleaning the fish to bring him back to check out Duke. The man was nowhere to be found. The fish were in a bucket, but he had vanished. Wyatt didn’t like it, but there was little they could do.

  Maybe the guy went for a walk or maybe he decided to leave. He didn’t know, but figured he would give it until sundown before he spent too much more time thinking about it. There were more pressing matters to deal with. Chase volunteered to finish cleaning the fish while Wyatt went back up to the house.

  He had just finished stocking the outhouse with toilet paper when Rosie appeared at the back door. Her cheeks were flushed and she appeared extremely agitated. Wyatt rushed back, assuming Duke had passed away. Jack had helped move Duke into the downstairs sitting area in front of the woodstove. He had a fire blazing. Ryland insisted the dog had been cold.