EMP Lodge Series Box Set | Books 1-6

by Hamilton, Grace

  He knew instantly it was a sore spot.

  She rolled her eyes. “I was married and attached. Unfortunately, Derick was not.”

  Wyatt knew what that meant. Her husband was a cheater. “What an idiot.” The words came out before he knew it. He’d meant to keep that to himself.

  Megan raised an eyebrow. “I’m going to assume you were talking about him and not me. Although, the term applies to both of us. I should’ve known and he should’ve known better.”

  She turned to take in the view from the small hill they’d climbed. “It’s all in the past. I got Caitlin out of the deal and learned to be more independent. I lost myself when I was with him. I didn’t work. I didn’t do anything. He was my everything and I was his nothing. It was a huge mistake, but it taught me a lot.”

  Wyatt hated Derick. The guy he’d never met conjured up intense feelings of rage within him. He’d hurt this beautiful woman who seemed nothing short of perfect to him. His natural instinct was to protect her. To heal her heart.

  “I’m sorry,” was all he could say. Megan turned her head to look at him giving him a sad smile. If he hadn’t seen her lips move he wouldn’t have heard her whispered thank you.

  He didn’t know what else to say and he truly was sorry she had to go through that. “You ready to head back?” They’d been walking for about thirty minutes, not really going anywhere. They were simply enjoying the beautiful day and the company. It felt good to talk about something other than their current reality.

  Megan nodded. “Yep. I want to check on Caitlin and then get to that school.”

  On the way back to the cabin, Wyatt asked her how she’d managed these past couple months. She explained how she’d stayed home. When her neighbors started to disappear, she’d locked the doors and stayed inside most of the time, only making trips outside to her backyard to use the toilet. When she told him about a group of men that had torn through her neighborhood, demanding allegiance, he suspected they might be the same group that had killed his father.

  He was amazed that she’d managed to flee and live on the run for so long with a little girl to care for. The woman had a fighting spirit, which he suspected was driven by her instinct to protect her daughter. She wasn’t some wilting flower. Even with her limited survival skills, she’d managed to keep going.

  “Can I teach you some basics about wilderness survival? Maybe some self-defense moves as well?” Wyatt asked. He didn’t want to pressure her into doing something she didn’t want to but if she ended up leaving, he wanted to make sure she could take care of herself.

  He’d made sure everyone in his group knew how to build an emergency shelter from branches; how to start a fire by creating a fire bow using a long stick with paracord attached, another stick as a spindle and flat branch or piece of bark as the fireboard; and the basics of water purification. He wanted to make sure they could survive on their own should they ever be lost or separated from the group.

  Megan perked up. “That would be amazing!” she said with a great deal of enthusiasm. “I would really appreciate it. You never know how much you don’t know until you’re trying to survive.”

  She stopped walking. “I’ve been lucky that no one has tried to hurt us. Thankfully, most people have left us alone.”

  Wyatt stuck out his hand. “You show me more about hunting and trapping and I’ll show you survival skills.” When she shook his hand, he added, “No freeloaders,” and gave her a teasing smile.

  “You would all be vegetarians without me,” she quipped.

  “You’re probably right,” Wyatt laughed. “But, we do need to give you some basic self-defense skills in case someone decides they want to take that deer you shot or wants to make you his new wife—whether you like it or not.”

  He meant to keep it light, but he was very serious. This was no place for a beautiful woman to be alone and unprotected. His dad was a very capable man and he hadn’t been able to survive an encounter with the people who wanted what he had.

  “I know. My dad always told me it was better to get away than to fight an attacker,” Megan explained. “His trick was a good, swift kick to the groin and then run like hell.”

  Wyatt flinched, causing her to laugh. “Maybe I can just tell the attacker what I’m going to do and that will be enough.”

  “Definitely won’t be enough, but you’re on the right track. This is something I’ve learned.” He stepped closer to her. “Let’s say you’re attacking me. You have about three seconds to take action. Never think about what you’re going to do. Just do it. Ready?”

  She nodded. He could tell she was a little nervous.

  “If an attacker grabs you from behind, don’t try to pull away. Chances are the person will be stronger than you are and ready for you. First thing you want to do is lift your leg to stomp on their foot but when you do, make sure you drag your heel down the front of the shin and then land as hard as you can on the top of their foot. Not their toes as some people might be wearing steel-toed boots. On the foot itself. If you have a hard heel, twist your foot as you grind down for better impact. If you stomped on them hard enough, they should release you or loosen their hold enough that you can turn around. At that point, you want to give a swift knee to the groin. Your attacker is going to automatically hunch forward. So tap that foot down, get some speed and use both hands to grab the attacker’s head while, bringing your knee back up.” He demonstrated the motion. “See?”

  “Oh my! That looks painful,” she cried out as he pretended to drive his knee into an invisible person.

  “Come on, let’s practice.” Holding his hand out, Wyatt had Megan come closer to practice the moves with him. “Now, in case you need to deliver a killing blow, after you kick them in the groin, instead of trying to break their nose with your knee, you’re going to use the palm of your hand.” Wyatt demonstrated how to slam the palm into the nose with the intent of breaking it and then, follow up with a forward thrust but, instead of throwing a punch, his fingers were curled against his open palm and pointing toward the sky. “If you hit them hard enough, you can cause bone shards to enter the brain through the sinuses causing a kill shot and, if for some reason you can’t, jab your fingers into the person’s eyes to temporarily blind them.”

  She looked horrified. “I don’t think I could do that,” she said honestly.

  “I understand it seems harsh and a little over the top, but your life depends on you getting away. You need to disable your attacker as long as possible. A bleeding nose, watering eyes and breathless from the first blow will give you at least ten seconds, hopefully more.” His voice had deepened as he talked and he watched her with an intensity he hadn’t felt since his years on the Chicago police force. He was definitely all business as he made her practice the steps with him over and over until it felt almost like a dance.

  Breathless, she stopped to take several deep breaths. “I get it. I hope I never have to do anything like that though.”

  “That’s enough for now, but I’ll show you more moves you can do to protect yourself. Your dad was right; always get away if you can. Going hand-to-hand is never the best option. You’ll get hurt, even if you do win. If you’re in a true wilderness survival situation, the smallest cut or injury could become life threatening. Hurt the bad guy and get away. Period. Whatever you do, don’t stop to see how much damage you may have done. Just go,” he reiterated.

  “Got it. I promise I’ll run as fast as my legs can carry me if I ever meet a bad guy in a dark alley.”

  She was teasing him, which was fine, but he truly hoped she understood how serious the matter was. Her life could end up depending on it.

  Megan pulled out her water bottle, only to discover it was empty. Wyatt saw her sigh and put it back in her pack.

  “How about we start right now?” When she looked at him in confusion, he explained. “I’m going to show you how to use that water bottle to make a water filter. Then you can drink the water from the stream.”

  She didn’
t look convinced. “I’m no expert but, I know not to drink water that hasn’t been purified or filtered. I don’t want to find out the water is loaded with harmful microbes and I spend the next several days with dysentery or worse.”

  He nodded. “Yep, you’re right, but we can make a filter. Watch,” he said holding out his hand for her water bottle. He used his knife to cut off the bottom couple inches. She didn’t look happy.

  “I’ll get you another one,” he told her. “Now, we need some charcoal. I happen to know we used to have fires around here and I bet I can find what I need.”

  Looking around, he dug around with the toe of his boot looking for the old ring. Hitting an unnatural formation, he bent down and started moving the leaves and dirt. Spying the burned out wood buried underneath, he lifted it up and scooped some of the charcoal up and put it in the empty bottle that was now upside down. He walked towards the stream and used his hand to stir up the area along the bed. Using his cupped hands, he scooped gravel and sand on top of the charcoal.

  Megan watched with rapt interest. Wyatt then told her to look for dandelions or green grass. She did so and gave him a handful. Wyatt pushed it on top of the sand and gravel.

  “Here is our filter,” he told her holding it up. “Hold this,” he said giving her the bottle.

  He dug in his own pack and pulled out a small canteen and a metal cup. He filled the canteen with water from the stream. “You hold this cup under the filter,” he directed. When she did as asked, he began to pour the water from the canteen over the now exposed bottom of the water bottle. The water trickled through and into the cup.

  “There,” he said, clearly proud of himself. “That’s an emergency filter you can use in a pinch. Obviously it isn’t as great as boiling water or running it through a real filter, but it’ll do.”

  She took a small sip of the water. “Not bad. Thank you. That will definitely be a good thing to know.”

  He nodded, taking the cup of water for his own drink. “You could filter the water a few times to make sure you got as much of the icky stuff out of the water if you had the time.”

  They put everything back in their packs and crossed the stream using a couple logs Chase had put over it. As they approached the cabin, they saw a flash of light coming from up high in a tree. Wyatt grabbed Megan’s arm and pulled her to the ground, shushing her as they went. The signal was one they’d come up with to alert them to strangers breaching their perimeter.

  “What was that?” Megan hissed as Wyatt held her arm to keep her down.

  “Someone’s coming.”

  “And?” she asked in an irritated voice.

  Albert’s voice carried through the trees. “One person. East about two o’clock.”

  Megan didn’t say anything, but Wyatt could tell she was concerned. “Albert is in the bird’s nest we built,” he said standing and pointing to a tree where Albert blended in with his green clothing. “If you know where to look, you should be able to make out the edge of the platform he’s sitting on.”

  “Should we tell the others?” she asked.

  Wyatt shook his head. “No, I have a better plan.” He made some hand gestures in the air, before grabbing Megan’s hand and pulling her behind him.

  They cleared the stream, heading back to where they’d been setting traps earlier. Wyatt stopped moving and scanned the area. It was all clear. Only one person slowly making his way towards the cabin.

  “We’re going to come up from behind,” Wyatt explained.

  She nodded. They were carrying their rifles and would hopefully present a strong force. Wyatt didn’t want to have to hurt anyone and they weren’t quite ready to fend off an army, big or small. These were dangerous times. A single person could be their undoing.

  He could be a scout, trying to see what they had and how many people were in the group. It was the way of the world nowadays and Wyatt was not going to put his family, even the non-blood members, at risk.

  Wyatt and Megan walked towards the intruder, who appeared to be limping and injured, which could easily be faked. The man had his back to them and didn’t hear them approaching.

  “Where you headed?” Wyatt called out, startling the man.

  He turned to look at them. Wyatt noticed his left arm was hanging limply at his side. His lips appeared to be chapped and he had signs of dehydration.

  The man appeared lost and a little dazed. “I was looking for some water and a place to rest.” His voice was little more than a whisper.

  Megan looked to Wyatt who gave a very subtle shake of his head.

  “Where did you come from?” Wyatt asked, not moving any closer and keeping his weapon at the ready.

  The man shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve been walking for days. I got separated from my family a while ago and I’m afraid I’m lost.” He looked around. “It all looks the same.”

  Wyatt spoke to the air. “Have Chase bring a bottle of water.”

  Megan would know he was talking to Albert who’d kept his position high up in the tree, but the man appeared confused as he turned his head right and left trying to figure out who he was talking to. Wyatt didn’t elaborate as the man didn’t need to know any of their hiding spots.

  The man extended his right hand stepping closer to Wyatt. “I’m Kyle Grice.”

  Wyatt shook his hand. “Wyatt and Megan.”

  Wyatt offered no further information and stared at the man while he waited for Chase. The stranger looked nervous, which Wyatt could understand given the situation.

  “I’ve been moving since all of this started. I started out in Oregon and we drifted this way,” Kyle blurted out as he looked from Wyatt to Megan and back again. When Kyle turned his head back toward the forest, Wyatt shifted his stance so he was better positioned to protect Megan if need be.

  “Where is your family?” Wyatt questioned.

  Kyle looked down. “I don’t know. We’d made camp with some other travelers. I was asked to help a family whose goat was giving birth and having some trouble. I’m a vet or I was a vet. When I came back, they were gone.”

  Wyatt was intrigued by the possibility of having a veterinarian as part of their team. A vet would have some of the same knowledge as a doctor. He hoped. He assumed. Maybe he could help Caitlin and Duke, who was showing signs of being under the weather. This could be a very good addition. But this Kyle person was still a little shady and Wyatt didn’t fully trust him, but maybe they could at least get his opinion on the dog and Caitlin before sending him on his way.

  When Chase showed up carrying a bottle of water, Wyatt excused himself and Chase from the group. He asked Megan to keep Kyle company while he and Chase chatted. Albert had come out of the tree to join the men.

  Whispering, “He says he was a veterinarian. I’m thinking we bring him back to the cabin to take a look at Duke and Caitlin.”

  Albert growled, crossing his arms and turning to stare at Kyle who seemed a little less nervous as he looked around. “No. No way. We don’t have enough as it is. Besides. Look at him. Something ain’t right.”

  Wyatt had to agree that the old man raised a credible point, why did the stranger look so well fed? His cheeks were dirty, but he didn’t have that pale, washed out look of someone who was starving.

  Wyatt looked to Chase. “What do you think?”

  Chase shrugged his shoulders. “If it were just me, I’d say no, but there are more of us than him. I don’t know, man. If he can help the little girl.”

  In the end, they agreed they would bring him to the cabin, feed him and let him rest, but he would be closely watched. They all had valid reservations and not one of them completely bought his story, but it was worth a shot. They could fend off one guy if things got ugly.

  15

  Megan watched as the three men talked. She could see Albert getting angry, again. She was leery of the man standing in front of her, drinking the water as if he hadn’t drunk anything in days. She took the time to study his clothes. They were smeared with dirt and his f
ace was dirty, but his clothes were in very good shape. They contradicted his story of walking for days. Her own clothing had small tears, snags and was horribly stained as was Wyatt’s and the rest of the group.

  “What happened to your arm?” she asked.

  He looked at it, as if he’d forgotten it was injured. “Oh, I fell and, uh, sprained my wrist,” he explained.

  She nodded, looking down at the injured arm. She didn’t notice any bruising or swelling, but maybe it was an old injury.

  Megan had serious doubts about the man but maybe he was telling the truth. More importantly, he had a medical background, even if it was working with animals, maybe he could help Caitlin. She knew Rosie was doing everything she could to help her daughter but having a professional give a second opinion could be incredibly helpful. She looked at the guys talking and from Albert’s stance, she could only assume that he wanted the man gone. He was definitely not one for strangers and neither was Chase even if he was less vocal about it.

  Wyatt walked over and stood next to her. “We can take you back to our house, get you some food and water and allow you to rest a bit. In exchange, we have a sick little girl we would like you to look at. Maybe offer some kind of a medical opinion about what is making her ill.”

  Megan looked up at him. This was a brave, bold move. She knew the rest of the group wasn’t keen on accepting anyone new. This was all Wyatt. He was trying to help her daughter and was putting his entire group in jeopardy to do just that.

  He looked at her, gave a solemn nod, before placing his hand on the small of her back. She understood she was to stay with him and away from their new friend. That wasn’t going to be a problem since there was something about the guy that seemed off. For now, she would follow Wyatt’s lead.

  Albert had gone up ahead and was already in the bird’s nest and Megan could feel him watching the procession. Chase walked behind, holding a gun. Kyle was sandwiched between them. Megan realized how lucky she’d been. These guys were serious and for them to accept her so quickly made her very grateful.