The Changing Earth Series (Book 5): Dark Days in Denver

by Hathaway, Sara F.

  “Did you guys see that huge crack by New Dove? Dexter asked excitedly.

  “That was crazy,” Erika agreed.

  As they approached the tents for military personnel, a familiar face approached.

  “I knew I’d find you here eventually,” Kyle Brovowski announced.

  “Kyle! I was so worried about you and Cassidy,” Erika exclaimed, hugging the man. “After the bombing in Albuquerque I wasn’t sure if you made it.”

  “We did. I heard that ya’ll took Vegas, but they bombed it heavily. Word was that the Lone Survivor survived again, though,” Kyle explained. His long wavy hair was loose under his cowboy hat and with only his vest on, his muscles looked huge sticking out the sides.

  “Is Cassidy here?” Erika wondered, looking around.

  “No, she’s out on a scouting mission for a couple of weeks,” he replied.

  Noticing her family curiously watching the conversation, Erika remembered her manners.

  “Kyle, I would like to introduce my family,” Erika told him, lowering her voice so she wouldn’t be overheard. “You know Vince and Dexter, or Eddy and Justin as they are known here. Oh, and I’m Karen . . . Anyway, this is my mom, Nancy; my daughter, Star or Jenny here; my youngest son Daniel or Danny; my in-laws, Earl and Kay, and their adopted daughter, Megan. That guy over there,” she said, pointing to Johnny, is Johnathon Johnson.” Erika figured there would be time later to explain who he really was.

  “Nice to meet you all. I’m Kyle Brovowski,” he replied. “I met Karen and Eddy in Dallas and became,” he paused, looking for the words, “their driver, I guess.”

  “Do you guys need help getting checked in?” a lady questioned, watching them converse.

  “I guess so,” Earl replied. “I’m Earl Kase . . .“

  “I know who you are,” the woman interrupted. “Well, actually, I know who they are,” she explained, pointing at Vince and Erika. “And if you’re with them, then I know where you need to go.”

  Earl seemed deflated and replied shortly, “Well then, I guess all you need to know is we’re with them.”

  “I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to be rude. I’m just really busy and I have orders to check them in,” the lady explained.

  “No offense taken. Do what you gotta do,” Earl replied.

  Erika could tell from his demeanor that he was offended. She laughed at the woman’s arrogance. Earl was a doctor and in Erika’s mind the service he could provide to these people was far greater than anything she could do.

  “Staff Sergeant (SSgt) Kase?” the woman asked Erika to catch her attention. Erika just stared at the ground. “SSgt Karen Kase?” she repeated.

  “Oh, me? I’m a SSgt?” Erika wondered.

  “That’s what your uniform says,” the lady confirmed. “Come on, I’ll show your family to their tents.”

  “Lead on,” Erika commented.

  They followed the woman down the row of tents and then down another and another. They greeted strangers along the way.

  “Here they are,” the woman announced, reaching the tents.

  “Two tents?” Erika wondered.

  “Yes, just two. It’s all we could spare,” the woman explained, hustling off to take care of something else.

  “How do you want to split up?” Vince wondered.

  “Nancy and Johnny can stay with us. Then it’s five in each tent,” Kay suggested.

  “That’s fine with me,” Nancy replied. “Johnny and I can be roomies,” she teased.

  “I’d love to share my abode with a cougar like yourself,” Johnny teased back flirtatiously.

  “Let’s get settled in and grab some chow,” Erika suggested, disgusted by their banter.

  “Sounds good. I can’t wait to put this bag down,” Daniel moaned, shifting the weight of his pack on his back.

  Dinner was a carefully doled out portion of canned meat and veggies. The vegetable medley was soft but palatable. There was fresh lettuce and spring greens on the side. During the meal another quake rumbled the ground beneath them, but they were becoming a part of life. The minor tremors hardly made anyone skip a beat.

  “I’m going to volunteer at the little school they have going. The woman running it looked very overwhelmed,” Kay commented.

  “You know where I’ll be,” Earl added. “Never a shortage of work for doctors.” He scowled. “Always too many patients and never enough supplies.”

  “At least dinner’s not rat,” Erika commented cheerfully, scraping off the last bits of food from her plate. She was tired of his endless moaning, but he had not been surviving on the edge for as long as Vince and Erika had. Shoving her chair back, she headed to go clean her dish.

  The group sat in an awkward silence until Nancy said, “Geez, what’s her problem?”

  They chuckled, releasing the tension.

  “She’s just concerned about Greg and Penni. Plus, I don’t think she’s very hip on the idea of living someone else’s life,” Vince interjected.

  “I’m with her on that one,” Star added.

  Erika never returned to the table. Vince found her outside talking with Kyle and a small group of young adults. Their voices were hushed, and the conversation ended as Vince joined them.

  “You okay, baby?” Vince wondered.

  “Yeah, I just need a break from the negative energy,” she commented quietly.

  “Hey, Karen, I’ll catch up with you later,” Kyle told her.

  “See you later,” Erika replied, watching Star come out of the door of the mess hall with Kay and Earl.

  “He’s just so . . . Ahhhh!!!” Erika commented about Vince’s father as they walked up.

  Nancy came out the door with the rest of the family.

  “You guys ready?” Kay asked.

  “It’s gonna be an early morning,” Earl added.

  “Yup,” Erika agreed, letting them walk on ahead with Vince.

  Erika dragged her feet so she could walk behind the family alone. Dexter saw her unhappy body language and joined her. He didn’t ask what was wrong, he just walked along with her to provide companionship.

  They walked quietly amongst the trees as they neared the river they needed to cross to get back to their tent. It was a lovely setting with lush pines, aspens, and ferns dotting the riverbank. They walked across the bridge, listening to the babbling water.

  “It’s beautiful here,” Erika commented, taking a deep breath.

  “It is. It reminds me of that river we used to go to when I was little, before the quake,” Dex mused.

  “You remember that?” Erika wondered. They hadn’t talked about that in years.

  “Sort of. We used to pick ferns like that,” he said, pointing to a plant. “Didn’t we?”

  “Yeah, fiddlehead ferns. I used to bread them and fry them,” Erika replied, enjoying the special memory.

  As they neared the main military building, they heard a commotion in the yard.

  “Put him in the brig!” Lieutenant General (LtGen) Merkley shouted.

  A crowd was gathered around, and Erika fought to get a glimpse of the man he was talking to.

  “Don’t do this, sir!” the man on the ground shouted back.

  Erika recognized the voice. No, it couldn’t be! Erika thought, craning her neck to see.

  “Get him out of here!” Merkley commanded to the surrounding soldiers.

  The man was brought to his feet. His hands and feet were bound together, but Erika knew his frame. It was Patrick Bennet. Erika couldn’t believe it. She stared in disbelief.

  “Was that 1st Sgt Bennet?” Dexter asked her, not trusting his eyes.

  “I think so,” Erika commented. She saw Kyle standing in front of the crowd as it parted. “Kyle!” Erika shouted, gaining his attention.

  He trotted over to her.

  “What happened?” she wondered.

  “I don’t know,” he said honestly, “but Bennet socked Lieutenant General Merkley right in the face!”

  “What?” Dexter excl
aimed. He couldn’t believe a man like Bennet, who was so focused on following the rules, could ever strike a superior.

  “Did you say that Bennet socked Merkley?” Johnny asked, joining them with Star.

  “Saw it with my own two eyes,” Kyle admitted.

  There was another small tremor underfoot as they stood in awe of Bennet’s actions.

  “Do me a favor,” Erika looked to Kyle.

  “Sure,” he replied.

  “Can you find out where they’re keeping him and let me know?” Erika asked.

  “You got it,” he said, heading off towards the military building.

  The family headed towards the tents, speculating on what drove Bennet to do such a thing. There was still no sign of the second helicopter load from Nevada.

  “Mom, what about Carmen?” Daniel asked, looking at her with his deep brown eyes.

  “I don’t know, buddy,” Erika replied honestly.

  “You said that Bennet was going back to get him. We saw him right there, but where are Carmen, Greg, and Penni?” Daniel asked again, his voice tinged with anger.

  “That’s what he told me, Daniel,” Erika explained.

  “Us, baby, that’s what he told us,” Vince interjected. “I never would have left them if the helicopter wasn’t going back.”

  “I told Greg the helicopter would be back,” Dexter added, feeling guilty.

  “Okay, guys, calm down,” Erika directed, noticing the rising anger level. “We don’t know what happened yet. Let’s wait to see how angry we need to get.”

  They smiled at her joke, understanding the reality. Without facts they couldn’t solve the problem.

  Chapter 3

  Within the hour, Kyle was softly rapping at the tent canvas. Vince was resting on the cot. His run-in with the captain and a full day of traveling left him exhausted.

  Erika pulled the flap back. “Come on in,” she told him.

  “Hi, Kyle, want some water?” Dexter asked, holding up a pitcher of water. Trucker sat vigilantly watching him, panting in the corner beside Daniel. The young man sat with a notepad and a charcoal stick. The stub of charcoal moved like lightning across the page, and Daniel didn’t even look up.

  “Sure, thanks,” Kyle replied, sitting at the small table in the tent.

  “How did it go?” Erika asked, standing beside the table.

  “He’s being held in a series of cells they have in a building right by the training center,” Kyle replied. “Is Vince doing okay?” he asked, looking towards the man peacefully sleeping on the cot.

  “He got pretty beat up in the encounter with Mathew Tweed’s captain. You may have noticed the missing tooth earlier,” Erika said sarcastically.

  “And the bruises,” Kyle added. “Must have been crazy to go back there again,” he commented, referring to Las Vegas.

  “It was, dude,” Dexter interjected. “And then, man, it got pummeled.”

  “It was just the same old place we left behind,” Erika said somberly, thinking on her words for a moment. “Anyway, I got to go see Bennet and find out what happened,” Erika insisted, irritated with the delay.

  “I’ll go with you,” Kyle suggested.

  Star, Johnny, and Megan greeted them at the door as they were leaving.

  “What are you guys up to?” Erika wondered.

  “We’re heading into town,” Johnny elated with a sly smile on his face. “Just came to get Dexter. You ready, bro?”

  “I’m good to go. Daniel is going to take care of Trucker and Dad for me, right, buddy?” Dexter replied.

  “Uh-huh,” Daniel muttered, working vigilantly.

  Erika chuckled at the boy’s focus. She noticed that Johnny seemed to be feeling better, as well. The news of his father’s imprisonment hit him hard, but it seemed as if a weight had been lifted. Dexter, Kyle, and Erika joined them and they all left the tent together. The young adults were excited about the possibilities that awaited them in the town, and chatted giddily as they went along. They slowed as they approached the military facility.

  “You guys better stay safe,” Erika instructed them.

  “We will, Mom,” they assured her.

  “Bye, Karen,” Johnny said sarcastically, smiling as he left.

  “Smart-aleck,” Erika jested back.

  She left with Kyle and entered the facility. There was a small group of soldiers training in the field on the left. They headed towards the large building that dominated the space. Erika didn’t know many of these mercenary soldiers. The northern camp she was familiar with in Minnesota had been annihilated. Many of her friends escaped, but they were in Montana already. The contacts she met down south in Texas were Militia members, and they were fighting on a different front altogether. LtCol Virgis was still absent from the camp. He was helping the people in the west evacuate. Bennet was Erika’s major connection to these mercenaries and now he was behind bars.

  “You certainly know your way around here,” Erika commented.

  “This is Cassidy’s training center. The feds gave up on this place a long time ago, but Cassidy’s father put together a militia force. The Federal Government treated them like a mercenary force. They kept in contact for a while. Having the image of a united force in the area keeps the homesteaders safe and law maintained in town,” Kyle explained. “I’ve made a lot of trips up here from Texas.”

  “I had no idea,” Erika admitted. “Lead on, then.”

  She felt much more secure in this new knowledge and walked across the grounds at ease.

  “Erika!” a voice snapped at her from behind.

  She wasn’t supposed to use that name here, so she continued around the side of the building and into the shade.

  “Erika Moore!” the voice summoned her again.

  Looking back into the sun, she turned around slowly. It blinded her eyes and she couldn’t see the face of the individual.

  “What in the hell is going on here, ma’am?” the voice asked again as the large silhouette approached.

  As he entered the shade, Erika began to recognize him.

  “Master Gunnery Sergeant (MGySgt) Nickleton, how the heck are you? I haven’t seen you since you were kicking our butts in Reno,” Erika questioned, relieved to see a friendly face.

  “I’ve been better. I just got into town to find out that Bennet’s in lockup,” he told her. He had a classic square jaw for a military man with a short pad of brown hair covering his head. His eyes were perfectly spaced, and his ears were just a touch too big.

  “I don’t know what happened, sir,” Erika admitted. “I was going to find out.”

  “Don’t bother. They’re waiting for LtCol Virgis to get back into town to figure out what to do with him.”

  Erika was deeply concerned. “Bennet was supposed to head back to the camp in Nevada to get another group on the helicopter. Do you know if they did?” Erika asked.

  “I don’t know. Like I said, I just got here myself. We were on one of the first convoys, though. The water has been filling Nevada. Not fast like before, more like someone slowly filling a bathtub,” Nickleton explained.

  “Well, I’m going to give it a try anyway,” Erika declared. “I’ve got to know what happened to my friends and what the heck happened with Bennet.”

  “I didn’t hear that,” Nickleton said. “I have to go report to my CO. We’ll catch up later.”

  “Oh, and here my name is SSgt Karen Kase,” Erika told him, making certain he did not use her name again.

  “Got it,” Nickleton declared, turning away.

  “Friend of yours?” Kyle asked, watching him go.

  “He was my training CO for Vegas, and he’s an old friend of Bennet’s,” Erika explained.

  They headed around the back of the building to where the cells that held Bennet were located. As they rounded the corner, Erika saw a long shed in the distance. It looked almost like a stable. When they approached the open end, the soldiers stopped them.

  “You two aren’t allowed back here,” the o
ne young man declared officiously.

  “What’s up, Jeff?” Kyle asked the man.

  “Hi, Kyle, what are you doing back here?” the boy asked him. His black hair, sticking out under his hat, blew in the wind.

  “You gotta let us go see one of the prisoners,” Kyle insisted.

  “Oh no, LtGen Merkley is pissed,” Jeff replied, laughing. “Who’s the cutie?” he asked, indicating Erika.

  “This is Staff Sgt Kase. She just got here,” he said winking, but it was obvious this young man did not recognize her.

  The other young man hadn’t opened his mouth. He looked on with curious eyes. When he saw Kyle winking, his suspicions were confirmed.

  “That’s Erika Moore, isn’t it?” he asked, recognizing her.

  Jeff looked at her, studying her face.

  “It is, isn’t it?” Jeff asked.

  “Yes, don’t say anything to anyone! But she really needs to talk with Bennet,” Kyle admitted.

  The two boys looked at one another and shrugged.

  “I guess, for Erika Moore, we can do that,” Jeff answered.

  “Thanks, man. I owe you one,” Kyle told him.

  “Yeah, you do,” Jeff said, standing aside.

  They entered the dimly lit building. Looking into the cells as they walked down the row, there was no sign of Bennet. Most had two or three people in them. Some were males, and some were females. Bennet was in the last cell, alone.

  “Kyle, can you give us a minute?” Erika asked respectfully.

  “Sure,” Kyle replied, returning to the company of his friend at the entrance.

  Bennet looked utterly dejected as he sat slumped on a cot.

  “Hi, Sergeant,” Erika said. She had first met Bennet when he was a sergeant and often used the term affectionately.

  His head popped up, startled.

  “Erika, what are you doing in here? Is Cole here yet?” Bennet wondered.

  “Cole isn’t here yet. What happened, Bennet?” Erika wondered. “Where’s Greg and Penni?”

  “I don’t know, Erika,” he admitted. He put his head down in his hands. “I told you we would go back. I don’t want to lose your trust again, but…”

  “What are you talking about?” Erika wondered, confused by his deflated demeanor.

  “I went back to fly out with the helicopter, but the pilot’s orders were to keep it grounded. I went to his CO, but the orders came down from Merkley himself. Cole’s out of town so I went to Merkley myself. Greg and Penni aren’t the only ones out there. I promised Terrance I’d be back,” he explained, springing to his feet and pacing furiously in the tiny space of the cell.