“What are you thinking?” Tim asked.
“I was wondering if we could take a short cut, but I don’t think it’s worth the risk. I’m guessing that there are a lot of elevation changes and the trail might be too narrow in spots, so I propose we spend the night out here. Can’t say I’m looking forward to it.”
“Me either, but we’ll just have to make do. It’s only one night. Hell, I can stand on my head in a bucket of shit for one night if I have to.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s quite that bad,” Cory replied dryly.
“It’s an expression we used in the Corps when things sucked and you needed to pull it together.”
“Pretty colorful.”
“We thought so.” Both men barked a short laugh, and then Ben joined them.
“You guys ready to roll?” Ben asked.
“Might as well, I guess,” Cory replied. “I just checked the map and there’s no way we’re getting to the ranch tonight.”
“We could make it if we keep traveling after dark.”
“I don’t want to take the risk of losing an ATV to a rock or someone running off the trail. I’ve seen that happen many times in the park. I don’t care how attentive you are, things have a way of jumping at you on these roads. They haven’t been maintained for some time now. You notice how many rocks are sticking up out of the roadbed?”
“You’re probably right. Not worth the risk. One more day won’t kill us.”
“We could stop early and head in first thing in the morning. About twenty miles ahead there’s a campground that has a hand-operated well and a fire pit. We could at least stay warm and maybe get cleaned up. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m feeling pretty ripe right now. We haven’t had a shower since we left the ranch.” Ben nodded his agreement.
“I wasn’t going to say anything,” Tim chuckled.
“Thanks. At least I can fit in a shower,” Cory retorted.
“You want to light a fire tonight?” Ben asked doubtfully. “That’s pretty risky.”
“We’ll have to stand watch if we do, but it may come down to being worth the risk. It gets really cold here this time of year, and I doubt anyone is around. I’ve been watching all morning and I haven’t seen a tire track or even a boot print on the road.”
“Well, I guess we’ll leave it up to you. You know the park better than we do, so it’s your call.” Eric and Justin approached the group.
“We gonna sit here until you old guys are eligible for Social Security?” Eric quipped.
“Cool your jets, sonny,” Ben replied. “We’re thinking on things.”
“I can see the smoke coming out your ears,” Justin said with a smile.
“All right,” Ben sighed. “Let’s get moving.” Everyone piled back into the ATVs, with Cory and Ben taking their turns at the wheel. Cory led with Ben following. The incline steepened considerably. After an hour, Cory pulled over and Ben pulled up next to him,
“We’re only a few miles from the campsite. I want to head up another mile or so and then go in on foot. I doubt there’s anyone there, but we have the time so why not be cautious?” Cory had been thinking over Ben’s reluctance to have a fire, and a little nagging doubt had entered his mind.
“Okay by me,” Ben shrugged. They again started up the trail; after a mile, Cory pulled over, got out of the vehicle, grabbed his AR, some water and binoculars, and headed up the road. Tim grabbed his weapon and joined Cory.
“How far up is it?” Tim asked.
“About a mile.”
“We better stay silent from here on out,” Tim said. Cory nodded his agreement and the two men continued up the road. They crested a small hill that looked down on the campground and Cory carefully glassed the area and then handed the binoculars to Tim. Tim traversed the entire area once. Then he did it again. Nobody was in sight, but Tim nodded for Cory to retreat back down the road. They walked back two hundred yards and Tim motioned for Cory to take a knee.
“I saw what looks to be at least one set of boot prints by the well. It might be two,” he whispered.
“Me too.”
“You want to go back and circle the perimeter of the camp?”
“I think we’d better.”
“I’ll circle the place if you want to do overwatch,” Tim suggested.
“You have the .308, so you do the overwatch.” Tim shrugged and nodded. The two men made their way back to the camp stealthily, and Tim took up position on the crest of the hill in a stand of bushes.
Cory entered the forest and headed west, then turned north. He took one step at a time, stopping to listen and look toward the camp. He stayed in the trees and made his way to the back of the campground. Cory paused and detected no sound, so he continued around the camp, stopping and listening every few steps. Finally, convinced nobody was there, he stepped into the clearing and waved for Tim to come down.
Cory examined the boot prints and decided it was two sets, not one. He waited for Tim and they moved off together, following the prints until they disappeared in the tree line. They were clearly headed west, through the forest and off the trails and roads.
“You want to follow them and see how far they go?” Tim whispered.
“Yeah, let me lead.” Cory moved off with Tim following and they moved a few hundred yards into the forest before the prints disappeared. Cory nodded his head toward the camp and they quietly slipped through the trees and made their way back to where the ATVs were parked. The group was seated in the vehicles. Cory and Tim stopped to the side of the ATVs.
“There’s two sets of boot prints at the site,” Cory informed the others. “They disappear into the forest heading west. We followed them for a few hundred yards, but the prints disappeared when we hit a rocky part of the forest floor.”
“How fresh were they?” Ben asked
“No way to be sure, but I would guess this morning. There must have been some snow on the ground that melted off. The ground is still damp and the prints are pretty clear.”
“Heading west is just more forest,” Ben said, puzzled. “Why would they be traveling off the trails and roads?”
“Maybe hunting?” Cory guessed. “Although I don’t know why they would be this far into the forest. There’s lots of game closer to town.”
“I don’t think they’re staying at the camp,” Tim added. “The prints are mostly around the well and the rest of the camp is clean. There’s no garbage, cigarette butts, or food wrappers around.”
“There is one other thing to the west,” Cory said. “The river where we arrested the convicts is about fifteen miles away. It’s a good source of fish and there’s a lot of game that drinks at that river.”
“You think it might be a base of operations or maybe a rally point?” Tim asked.
“I don’t think we’re ever going to know for sure,” Cory replied. “But I guess the only thing we can do is be cautious, go by the camping area, and put as much distance between us and them as we can today.”
“I guess we’re not going to get to clean up and have a fire tonight,” Ben said. “Probably just as well. We’re so close to home now, why take any chances?”
“Let’s get moving. We might be able to make it to the top of Granite Mountain. Tomorrow the ride will be downhill and we can get to the ranch in the morning.”
Tim and Cory got back into the ATVs and the group continued a steeper climb. The forest was now exclusively made up of the tall Ponderosa pine and the temperature continued to drop as they made their way up the mountain. They stopped twice more to stretch and give the vehicles a rest. When they crested the mountain five hours later, the light was fading and they stopped. Eric and Justin went separate directions to find a good campsite that would not be visible from the forest road. Eric returned first.
“About a hundred yards in, there’s a small clearing that you can’t see from here.”
“Can we get the ATVs in?” Cory asked.
“I think so. It’s pretty thick, but with a few turns we can
get there with no problems.” Justin returned and shook his head in the negative to the group.
“That settles it,” Ben decided. “Lead on.” With Eric leading on foot, the two ATVs wound through the trees until the group arrived at the clearing. Surrounded by the pine forest, the meadow also featured a large rock formation on the north side.
“Those rocks will make a good windbreak,” Ben said. “Let’s move over there and get set up.” They parked the ATVs facing the forest road and unloaded the MREs, some water bottles, and the blankets. Justin and Eric were on their knees brushing pine needles together to make sleeping areas that were around three feet apart, as close to the rock face as possible.
They only had four MREs left, so they buddied up on the rations, heated the pouches, and everyone grabbed a spoon from the ATVs. They sat on the pine needles sharing the food and washing it down with the refilled bottles of water.
“I’m going to get the lantern and keep it just high enough for us to be able to see each other; but let’s talk in low tones and stay on the down low. I doubt there’s anyone out there, but that’s what I thought at the campsite,” Cory whispered. He returned with the kerosene lantern, lit the wick, adjusted the flame to low, and set it on the ground in the middle of the circle of people.
“Funny, but I’m not really sleepy tonight,” Ben shared.
“I’m not tired either,” Eric added.
“Well, we all got a good night’s sleep last night and we’re probably keyed up about getting back home,” Justin offered.
The group sat in a comfortable silence for a while, each seemingly lost in their own thoughts. Rachael moved closer to Tim, who draped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer.
“Do you think things are ever going to get back to normal?” Rachael asked, addressing the group.
“Not in my lifetime,” Ben replied bluntly.
“I think it’s going to take a long time, probably decades, before we have enough infrastructures to begin living something like the way we lived before the EMP. But I have my doubts things will ever be exactly like they were,” Cory replied slowly.
“Even if they never get better, we have to stay positive. What choice is there?” It was Tim, speaking in a low, soothing voice. “We have to believe that someday we’ll be back to normal. Anything else is unthinkable for me.”
“I honestly don’t know,” Justin added. “I was studying computer science and we all thought that technology was going to answer all the big questions and solve the tough problems. The rate of technological advancement was still accelerating when the EMP hit. We thought that nothing could slow it down. Then this happened and I honestly don’t have a clue how we can get all that infrastructure back.”
He adjusted his position and took a swig of water before continuing. “We had just begun a new era of manufacturing, using 3D printers to create things we needed on the spot, and moving away from mass manufacturing. People were building cars using those printers. Now, you’d be lucky if you could find an old matrix printer that worked at all.”
“I was studying mechanical engineering and I know how to design and build stuff, but I don’t have anything to do it with,” Eric added. “We don’t have any of the electronic equipment needed to make circuitry. We don’t have machinery to build parts we need; we don’t even have the ability to rebuild the factories to build the stuff that we need to rebuild the country. Until that changes, I don’t see how we can really make any progress. If we can somehow find a way to get the factories running again, maybe we got a chance to make progress. But that’s going to take a long time.”
“I’m impressed you two have thought that much about the situation,” Ben said. His sons looked surprised at the statement.
“Figuring out problems as well as anticipating them is what we both do,” Justin said. “Remember, we had a few weeks to talk it over and think about it.” Everyone fell silent again, and the stillness, after days on the noisy ATVs, was enjoyable. The only sound they heard was the quiet rustling of the trees as a gentle breeze blew through them. The temperature was still falling and everyone moved to their bed of pine needles and covered up. Ben turned off the lantern and groped his way to his pallet, then fell into a deep sleep.
CHAPTER FIVE
Ben arose first and pushed his blanket aside as he rolled over on his knees and slowly stood up, emitting a soft moan. “I’m too old for this shit,” he muttered, and then moved away from the camp to answer nature’s call. As he was relieving himself, he scanned the horizon. They were at the highest point in the area and the view was spectacular. The sun was rising, slowly revealing the landscape below. The view was clear in all directions.
After finishing his business, he zipped up his jeans and stared off to the east, where he noticed a column of vehicles moving up Highway 69, heading toward Prescott. He narrowed his eyes, trying to bring the vehicles into better focus. He couldn’t quite make out what they were, but many of them were much larger than cars and trucks. He walked back to the camp, shook Cory awake and said, “bring the binoculars. I want you to look at something.”
“Uggh…yeah. Okay.” Cory got up slowly, retrieved his coat from under the blanket and donned it. He stumbled after Ben after retrieving the binoculars from the ATV, and walked out to the overlook where Ben pointed toward town.
“Can you see that column of vehicles?”
“Yeah,” Cory yawned. “Give me a second to wake up and I’ll glass it.” He yawned again and brought the binoculars up and stared at the column for a moment. Cory lowered the device, rubbed his eyes, and brought them up again.
“Jesus,” he whispered. “That’s a military column.”
“I thought it looked funny.”
“The Humvee-looking thing at the front of the column has a short flagpole on the rear of the vehicle. Let me look again.” Cory raised the binoculars again, zeroed in on the lead vehicle, adjusted the focus and said, “I have no idea who that flag belongs to, but it’s not ours. It looks like a tri-color flag—you know, like France has.”
“I don’t know anything about foreign flags. Do you?”
“No. I have no idea which flag that is.”
“I’ll go get the boys. They might know. The only flag I care about is the stars and stripes.” Ben shuffled off as Cory continued to glass the vehicles.
As the rear of the column rounded the corner on Highway 69, he saw two tanks and a line of supply trucks. Another group of trucks carried soldiers who sat on benches in the backs of the vehicles. The column stretched on for what seemed to be miles as it inched up Highway 69.
Cory lowered the binoculars after a few minutes and shook his head. He was pretty certain they had entered yet another challenge to their survival, only this time the bad guys would have all the advantages and firepower on their side. The entire group returned with Ben and stood gaping at the line of vehicles below.
“Give me the binoculars,” Justin said. He put them to his eyes and stared at the column for a moment before he located the lead vehicle. He adjusted the focus, lowered the binoculars, and again raised them to his eyes. He studied the flag for several moments.
“That’s the flag of Mexico,” he said in a monotone.
“You sure?” Cory asked.
“Absolutely. It’s in every Mexican restaurant in Phoenix, and I love Mexican food.”
“What the hell is the Mexican Army doing here?”
“I have no idea.”
“Did he say they’re Mexican?” Ben asked.
“Yep,” Cory replied. Justin continued to glass the column. When he reached the end of the line of vehicles, he lowered the binoculars.
“Those are tanks,” he said.
“Yes, they are,” Cory replied. “Question is what are they doing here?”
“Well, they’re still to the east of town, and we have to go through town to get back to the ranch. I don’t think we can get there before they do and I don’t want to try and pass them. It looks dicey to me,” Ben said.
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“We’re gonna have to find another route,” Cory replied. “Everyone else, get back to camp and get ready to move. Ben and I are going over to the other outlook and see if the route is clear on Williamson Valley Road.”
“What’s your thought?” Ben asked.
“We might be able to get to the bug-out spot at the cave we supplied in the forest and walk into the ranch. We have a store of MREs, water, and ammo there, as well as a few spare weapons and sleeping bags. I don’t know if we can work out a route, but I don’t have another idea. Do you?”
“Not really,” Ben replied, after thinking it over for a moment. “You think we can find it from here? We only went there from the ranch, and not from this direction, so I have no idea what’s between us and the cave. The terrain here is going to be difficult off the trail.”
“I don’t know either.” Cory paused for a moment and then added, “I don’t think trying to get by that column is an option, so let’s glass things from the other side of the mountain and see if the road to the ranch is open. If it is, we can just ride on in.”
“Right behind you.” The men crossed the summit and descended to another outlook with a view of Williamson Valley Road. Cory raised the glasses again and traversed the area between the turn off to the ranch and the intersection of the two highways that fed into the road. When he got to the intersection, he saw two more Humvee-like vehicles blocking traffic in both directions, and two crew-served machine guns on the other two corners. He looked back at the vehicles and noted that one was carrying a belt-fed machine gun and the other looked like some kind of anti-aircraft gun with longer and double barrels. The latter looked like an anti-aircraft weapon from World War Two.
“We got no choice,” Cory concluded. “We’re going to have to get to the cave, ditch the vehicles, and walk in to the ranch. If we try to cross on the ARVs, they are going to spot us. Or the noise of the engines will give us away. We can leave everyone at the cave and go see what Don’s plan is.”
Prepper's Crucible: Volume Five: A Post Apocalyptic Tale Page 9
