Chapter 22 ~ People
“Enjoy your desert walk?” Jake asked Dawson.
“I did,” Dawson said. “It was invigorating. “I felt all my worries just drift away. Nice for a change, to believe that maybe things will be better. It’s encouraging to know that the steps we take going forward will make things better for all of us.”
Jake stared at him quizzically. “Right, of course. Although, I’m not so sure about this whole thing without Rick. He was the military guy with the answers. We’re gonna have to come up with a good plan to deal with those people. It sounds like there’s quite a few in Milledgeville. Do you think we can take them on?” Jake kicked a rock across the road. They were standing in the center of the EarthShip community. It was pretty quiet now that there were fewer of them around. No one had disappeared since they’d arrived, but there was still a sense of foreboding hanging over the community.
“We’re gonna have to recruit some of these people.”
Jake looked unconvinced. “These aren’t fighters. These are people that ran away from society and government. They’re not battle-hardened soldiers. I don’t know how much good they would do.”
“They’ll learn, and they’re tougher than you may realize. They’re fighters, in spite of what you may think. Making a living out here, surviving, it’s not easy. They’ve had to fight for their livelihood every step of the way, and I don’t mean by climbing some imaginary corporate ladder. These people have had to fight just for the essentials of life. There’s not much water or food just lying around for the taking here.” Dawson opened his arms, motioning around him. “There are no street vendors here selling hot dogs and sausages like in the middle of New York City. You have to plan ahead and be prepared to do whatever it takes to survive. These people are tough, and they’re a tight community as well. They don’t take lightly to anyone doing harm to one of their own.”
Jake nodded in agreement. “Yes, I understand that, but you’re talking about people that live like hunters and gatherers. What we need are conquerors and soldiers.” Jake was skeptical, and part of the skepticism had to do with the fact that he didn’t want to go to battle either. It frightened him, even though he didn’t want to admit it.
“People can learn,” Dawson said with confidence. “I survived basic training and a tour of duty in Iraq; I know what people are capable of. They’ll do what it takes, especially if we don’t give them any other choice.”
Jake looked concerned. Dawson had changed since Harish’s interrogation. Leaving him alone with Harish was a bad decision. They knew that now, but the past was the past. “What do you mean. no other choice?”
“Don’t worry. It’s not like I’m gonna put guns to their heads and tell them how to live their lives. Someone else has already done that.”
Chapter 23 ~ Our Savior
Dawson, Pritis, and Jake walked the perimeter of the EarthShip community in silence. It was a quiet, early morning in the community. In spite of the serene setting, an uneasy tension filled the group. The conversation they were about to have wasn’t going to do anything to ease things. Instead, it was more than likely to escalate them.
Pritis broke the silence. “There’s something you want to ask me. I can just tell by the look in your eyes.”
Jake looked to Dawson, giving him the floor to speak. Jake wasn’t convinced that this was the right approach either, but few alternatives came to mind.
Dawson spoke up. “We can’t do this alone. We need the help of the EarthShip community. Even though I know that’s not what you want to hear, it doesn’t change the situation. These people we’re going after are out to get all of us. If there’s anything we should have learned in the last little while, it’s that we need to work together as one cohesive group. That’s how these terrorists managed to hurt us as much as they have.”
Pritis spoke without hesitation. “These people aren’t fighters. They left their lives behind and came here to find peace. To be one with nature and Mother Earth. Just look at how we live. How can you ask these people to go and fight hostile terrorists with murderous intentions?”
“I know,” Dawson said. “It’s not my first choice. Trust me; I’d love to have an entire battle-hardened battalion at my disposal to rout these guys. But the hard fact is that if there is such a battalion still existing in this country, they’ve got other priorities at the moment.”
Jake shook his head. “They shouldn’t. There’s no reason that we should have to take up this fight. We should be taking care of our families and making sure we have the essentials to get by. Traipsing after terrorists and attacking them at their fortified base is just crazy.”
Pritis started to speak up in agreement, but Dawson interrupted. “This is taking care of our families. It is first and foremost a basic essential need, to know that they’re going to be safe. It won’t matter if we have cupboards full of water and canned goods if we can’t be assured that someone’s not going to knock down our door and take it all. That’s just basic common sense.”
“Common sense left this country decades ago,” Pritis said coolly. “That’s why we’re here, and that’s why you’ll be fighting an uphill battle to convince my people that this is a good idea.” Dawson rolled his eyes. “If you think convincing me is tough, just try getting the rest of us to buy into your plan.”
Jake persisted. “This just seems like such a desperate attempt. Wouldn’t it make more sense to take a small group with a stealth plan to attack with?”
“You know what Harish told us. There are probably over 150 people in their headquarters alone. I don’t care how stealthy you are; those odds are incredibly stacked against us. Particularly with the loss of Rick. He was our best chance for a military advantage.”
“I thought you had military experience as well?” Pritis said.
“I did one tour of duty, and that was as a grunt. I’ve never been in a leadership role, and I barely know where to start. We need to go after these guys with brute force.”
Pritis broke from the path they were walking and turned to head back in the other direction.
“Where are you going? We’re still talking,” Jake said.
Pritis kept moving as if she didn’t hear them. Then, she shook her fists in the air and stopped. She was talking to herself, mumbling under her breath. Neither Jake nor Dawson could make out what she was saying. She turned around and came back, looking like she’d made a decision. Not a decision she relished, though.
“I never thought it would come to this, but who could’ve predicted these kinds of events.” She pulled the ever-present cigar from her mouth and looked like she was going to throw it on the ground. That surprised Dawson and Jake almost as much as what she was about to say.
“There is a man that can help us. I know him, but I’m not so sure he’s gonna want to pitch in.” Pritis looked down at her feet and shifted as if she was about to walk away again. Clearly, this wasn’t an idea that she liked, but she felt she was running out of options.
“Who?” Dawson inquired anxiously. “If there is a better option, then you need to share.”
“I know what’s at stake,” Pritis said. “This man I’m thinking of doesn’t even know what I know about him. It was totally by accident that I even found out. I should never have known. I wish I didn’t.”
“Just say it,” Dawson said. “It couldn’t be any worse than the situation we’re in now.”
“It’s Owl.”
“Are you kidding me?” Jake said. “Owl? The same Owl that we just pissed off by taking Harish right out from under his nose? That Owl?”
“Yes, yes, yes! I know it sounds insane, but just hear me out. Owl is a very different man these days. In a previous lifetime, he was a highly placed official in the intelligence agencies of this country. I’m not exactly sure what role he played, but what I know is this. He had the confidence of the President of the United States.”
“Owl? That same crazy bastard that lives in a ramshackle hut at the end of the canyon
in the middle of the freaking desert? That Owl? He had the confidence of the President of the United States? I don’t believe it.”
“I know. I know. It seems insane, but you’re going to have to trust me on this.”
“I’m going to need a little bit more than that,” Dawson said. “If I’m going to trust my life and the lives of my family on this kind of craziness, I need you to be a little more convincing.”
“I think you’re forgetting one little thing,” Pritis said, chomping violently on her cigar now. “You came to me. You asked me for help this morning. Not the other way around. I’m not making this shit up. If you want to lead a stealth mission to take care of whatever bunch of crazy badasses are trying to wreck our country, then Owl is the man you need to talk to.”
Before either one of them could say anything else, Pritis turned and stomped off in the direction of her home. Neither one of them said anything.
Chapter 24 ~ The New Boss
The time for niceties was over, and Dawson couldn’t care less that Owl detected him creeping up on his home at the end of the canyon. What’s the worst that could happen? he figured. The crazy bastard will come out and shoot me? Then what? If he has half the brains and experience that Pritis said he has, I doubt he’ll take such an approach. He figured Owl was more bravado than action at this point in his life, and just wanted to be left alone. Dawson had also insisted on coming alone. It didn’t take long for the confrontation to begin. Owl was on extra alert these days, especially after losing Harish. Dawson figured Owl wasn’t going to be in a welcoming mood to start with.
“Get the hell off my property!” The words rang out from the end of the valley, echoing off the canyon walls. The command was then followed by two gunshots, one on either side but nowhere near Dawson.
“I just want to talk,” Dawson called out into the empty canyon. He was close to Owl’s home. A little surprised, but encouraged that Owl had let him get this far down the canyon without trying to warn him off. He was obviously in a state of shock that Dawson had even come, or he just didn’t care. Normally the shots were all it took to scare off would-be intruders, but Dawson wasn’t about to be deterred. There was too much at stake.
Dawson continued his slow approach up the canyon. He called out, “I have an offer I need to talk to you about. It involves both of us, and I’m pretty convinced that you’re going to want to hear it.”
“Last warning,” Owl called back. Another shot rang down the canyon. This time Dawson saw the bullet ricochet off a boulder to his left. He was close now, and it wouldn’t be long before they were face-to-face. Either that or his face would be in the gravel as he lay bleeding to death. Either scenario would be progress, he figured.
There was a house, but no Owl in sight. Suddenly, Owl appeared from behind him atop a small outcropping of rocks that Dawson had already walked by. He didn’t even see him hiding there.
“You’ve got three seconds to make a case before I blow your head off.”
“Well then.” Dawson shrugged. “You may as well just shoot because it’s gonna take me a lot more than three seconds to explain what I need from you. I’m not a fast talker.”
Owl leveled the shotgun, pointing it straight at Dawson’s chest.
“I’m sure our former president wouldn’t think much of you these days if he knew you were shooting strangers bearing gifts in cold blood,” Dawson said.
Owl froze for just a moment, and there was a flinch in his facial expressions that told Dawson he’d hit a nerve. Maybe, he thought, Pritis wasn’t totally full of shit. The mention of serving a former president certainly seemed to get Owl’s attention. Dawson also thought he noticed a tremor in Owl’s right hand as he moved the shotgun to rest across his chest.
“I’m listening,” Owl said, glaring at Dawson under the hot sun. “You get 60 seconds now. You better make it good.” He tapped the shotgun. “It’s not that I give a shit what our former president may or may not think of me. I just want to hear what kind of story made you brave enough to risk your ass talking to me like that.”
Dawson figured that trying to convince Owl that he knew all about his past or to press Owl to verify or deny the stories he’d heard wasn’t important. What he needed to do at this moment was recruit the one man in a thousand miles who could give them a chance to win this battle.
“I’m not your enemy here, and I’m certainly not the worst of your problems. You may find that hard to believe, but there are a lot of other people looking to take away everything we have. Including your land.”
Owl reloaded the shotgun, then rested it back across his chest. He spat on the ground and looked at Dawson with the unbelieving look of a skeptic.
“Ever since the power grid’s been down, terrorist cells all across this country have activated, and are looking to take advantage of our weakness. For all we know, they captured the major cities and killed everyone in power.” Dawson wasn’t sure, but he thought he detected a hint of a smile on Owl’s face. He continued, “Harish, the man that you were holding captive, and that we took, was one of those men. It was our intention to—”
“Well now,” Owl interrupted. “That didn’t work out so well for you, did it?”
Dawson was surprised. The look Owl gave him suggested that Owl knew he had killed Harish. That wasn’t a conversation Dawson was interested in having and it wasn’t one that Owl seemed interested in pursuing. He was just making a point. Owl continued, “I know exactly who he was, and what he was up to. If you cocksuckers hadn’t been stupid enough and lucky enough to grab him from under my nose, I would have figured out a lot more about the problems you’re having than you realize.” The two men stared at each other, sizing one another up, trying to figure out who could be trusted. “I know who he is, where he came from, and why he did what he did.” Dawson started to ask how, but Owl wasn’t finished. “It doesn’t matter how. What matters now is where we go next with this.”
“I had some ideas about that.”
“I’m sure you did, and I’m sure they’re all shit. I assume, based on the remarks you’ve made so far, that you’re here to ask for my help.” Owl stared into the sun. “You won’t get it.” Dawson looked beaten. “But I’ll get yours. From here on, you do what I say, when I say it, and exactly how I tell you to do it. Understood?”
Dawson nodded his head.
“Alright then. Let’s get started.”
Chapter 25 ~ Drawing Straws
It was a sad home. It missed the sounds of family and children, arguments and laughing. It shouldn’t be that way. The house looked like the ideal resort getaway. An escape from the encumbrances of modern life. All stone and wood, with adobe brick throughout. It was the kind of place that big city dwellers would go just to get their fix of living like the other half. It was an extra bonus that the place was environmentally sustainable, and appealed to their save-the-planet ideals. Regardless of the fact that they couldn’t live up to those ideals in their everyday life. This was a refuge, not a reflection of their everyday life. A sign of something better, and perhaps a glimpse into the future of what was possible.
Unfortunately, this home was now missing the main ingredient that made every home a home: a family to fill it. Without people to fill a home with memories and life, it’s nothing but a pile of rocks and rubble. Owl wanted to look through one of the homes of the people that had gone missing. Pritis was with him but wasn’t sure why he wanted to inspect the place. He was in charge of the mission now, and they were willing to accommodate his every request. No one was happy about that, but for the time being that’s the way things were.
Owl walked around the place, surveying it like he was a first-time homebuyer. He opened every cupboard, nook, and cranny. He picked up items, turned them over in his hands, and plopped them back where he found them. He even went so far as to look through the refrigerator.
“Is all of this really necessary?” Pritis asked.
“No,” Owl answered as he made his way up the stone steps, towards t
he loft. It was a small house that had been occupied by a family of just three. The parents had gone missing and left their young one, just barely a toddler. They’d all slept in the upper loft area. There was one big queen-size bed and a smaller bed for the child. Simple accommodations, but practical.
“I’m having a hard time deciding,” Pritis said accusingly. “I don’t know if you’re actually looking for useful clues pertaining to the whereabouts of the missing parents, or if you’re just taking glee in the fact that we’ve given you full access to our community. A place you’ve got no business being. And the place—”
“What makes you think I have no business being here?” Owl said from the upper loft, looking down at Pritis in the living room. “I used to walk these grounds years before your people came and soiled the area with your footprints.” Pritis never answered, glad to get some response from Owl, who hadn’t said much the entire time they were there. As if on cue, and just to annoy Pritis, Owl resumed his silence.
America's Sunset: Final Days: A Post Apocalyptic Fight For Survival Page 11
