Jack should know by now she didn't like playing the damsel in distress or the little lady who needed saving. She would wait and see what his plan was before she threw a fit. She may be the one that had to save them and that would require her presence to be a surprise.
She knelt, ready to spring, waiting for the signal.
It didn't come right away. While Megan waited, she looked around for something to hold her hair back. She had Rosie cut off quite a bit of the length off, but it still got in her way. She found Jack's ball cap in the corner of the tent.
Grabbing it, she tucked her hair up under it before pulling it tightly on her head
“What can we do for you gentleman?” Chase asked. The words were polite. His tone of voice revealed he was anything but nice.
“Oh, I think you know.”
The voice wasn't familiar. Megan could hear laughter from several men. She knew instinctively that this had to be the Raiders. They were back to steal and cause more trouble. She clenched her fists. These men were some of the worst of humanity taking what little people had with no thought to their survival.
A grunt followed by, “Who the hell are you?”
Megan tensed. The man was walking closer to Jack and Chase.
“You guys took all the extra supplies we had last time,” Bryan's voice came from the side of the tent. “We have nothing more for you to take.”
It was then Megan realized it was barking dogs that had first alerted her to the intruders. They must have woken Bryan as well. That meant the rest of the camp would hear the commotion. She silently hoped they stayed out of sight. She couldn't deal with any more deaths.
“I'll decide if you have anything I want. We're looking for some friends of ours,” the gruff voice said, right outside the tent door.
Jack's hand came down again. He wanted her to stay inside.
“I doubt we’ve seen any friends of yours,” Jack stated with a large dose of sarcasm.
“OOMPH!”
“You better step back!” Chase shouted.
Megan saw Jack's legs buckle. The man had just hit him! She wanted to burst through the tent door, firing her gun at everyone in view.
Jack must have known what she was thinking and wagged his hand back and forth.
“I think maybe you have seen our friends. We are looking for a group of little ladies. We seem to keep missing them. One's real cute. Long hair and has a little girl. The other one is some wannabe soldier. Short hair, big glasses,” he said, describing Brenda.
“As we told you the last two times you’ve been through, we haven't seen the women you described,” Bryan said, trying to hide the irritation in his voice.
Megan was shaking with anger. These men were worse than bullies and Jack, Chase and Bryan were at their mercy. She had no idea how many men were out there. Could they fight back if they had to? The thought of a gun battle at close range scared her to death.
“Whoa, dude. No need to shoot anymore people. Take what you can find and go. We have nothing left,” Bryan started. “These two just happened on our camp. We don't know them and quite frankly, they aren't welcome. We don't have the resources to support any more people.”
Chase backed up Bryan's claim, “We’re looking for somewhere to live through the winter. We don't want any trouble.”
There was a moment of silence. Megan hoped that meant the bad guys bought their story and would just go away.
BOOM!
A gunshot rang out followed by what sounded like a yip from a dog. Megan held back a scream. The opening in the tent was completely blocked. All she could see were feet and calves. She stared at Jack's legs, waiting to see if he would collapse. When he remained standing, she waited for screaming. Anything to tell her who had just been shot.
“That was not called for!” Chase yelled.
“This time it was a dog. Next time it will be you,” the man said. “Or maybe I'll shoot one of those goats.”
Another gunshot rang out and Megan saw red. Jack's hand immediately popped down. She was about ready to rip that hand off.
“I'm taking what I want. Move.” The voice was right outside the tent, now.
Megan froze. He was coming in.
Within seconds Jack's legs disappeared from her view and were replaced by a large, full-bodied man. When he popped his head in the tent, she flinched.
The man was ugly. Not ugly. Hideous. His scraggly beard and orange-tinted hair were a mess. In the center of his face was a bulbous nose that spread across his face. The redness on his nose and cheeks indicated he was a heavy drinker. She knew the telltale signs.
“Well, what do we have here?” he snarled, revealing a set of yellow teeth.
“Stay away from me,” Megan said with as much authority as she could muster.
The tent was far too small to fit them both.
“Leave her alone,” Jack said, pushing the man out of the way.
He extended his hand to Megan. She gladly took it and crawled out of the tent. The pungent odor coming off the man as she went by him nearly made her gag. He refused to move, forcing her to brush her body up against his.
He smiled making her skin crawl.
The man stood up and looked Megan up and down. She prayed he wouldn't recognize her as one of the women he had just described. With her new haircut tucked inside the hat, she hoped it was enough to disguise her appearance.
Jack put his arm around her and pulled her in close effectively staking his claim.
The man crossed his arms over his large belly, “She's yours?”
Chase and Jack exchanged a look. Megan nearly choked when Chase responded.
“Ours.”
That got a laugh out of all the men.
“Well shoot. You two certainly don't look the type, but her,” he said eyeing Megan again. “She does.”
Megan was offended, but Jack squeezed her, signaling her to bite her tongue.
“McDaniels,” shouted one of the men who had gone to the new cabin. “Got some stuff. Looks like they just restocked.”
Bryan started to move towards the cabin, but Chase held him back, “Let it go, man. It isn't worth your life.”
Megan frantically looked around the area. A dog lay dead on the ground about twenty feet away, blood pooling around its body. She quickly looked to the goat pen and saw her kids playing like there was nothing to worry about.
“Thank God,” she said under her breath.
Jack squeezed his arm around her. “They're fine.”
“Load up what you can,” the man, who Megan figured out was McDaniels, ordered.
“So, miss,” he looked at her again. “Have you seen the three lovely ladies that have managed to escape us?”
There were angry shouts and nasty words from the men at the mention of the three women.
Megan shook her head no.
McDaniels squinted and cocked his head slightly, “If you three just got here, where'd you come from?”
Chase casually stepped forward, effectively shielding Jack as he took the opportunity to slyly push Megan behind him.
On any other day, she would take offense at being shoved behind a man. It was something Wyatt always did and it usually annoyed her. Not today. She didn't want that man to look at her and figure out who she was.
When they didn't answer, he pulled out the gun and aimed it at Megan's goats.
Megan jabbed Jack in the back so hard he was pushed into Chase.
“We’ve been wandering around. No real direction,” Chase stated.
McDaniels put the gun back in the holster at his waist.
“Maybe this will help,” he said pulling out a map from his back pocket. He unfolded it, holding it out for Chase to look at. “This is where we lost our friends,” he said the last word with a sneer.
Megan moved around Jack and Chase to see the map.
She saw the area where Brenda's house was located. Her eyes were drawn to an area of the map that had a large red circle on it. She turned to look at Jack who
gave a very subtle, almost imperceptible nod of the head.
She looked at the map again. The circled area was not far from Evan's camp. She could see small x's on the map. There was an x on Brenda's house and on Evan's camp. Megan had to play it cool. The x's marked camps that had been raided. It would make sense the red circle was where the Raiders were holing up. It could also indicate a stash of supplies. Maybe the red circle was a target? Megan made a mental note on the location. Once Wyatt was healed, she wanted to check out the area. It could be a warehouse full of goods.
“We haven't seen a thing the whole time we’ve been walking all over this stupid mountain,” she said, trying to sound as dimwitted as possible.
McDaniels stepped forward, eyeing her with intensity. Megan's heart was racing under the scrutiny. She prayed he wouldn't ask her to remove the hat. “I wasn't asking you, little lady. I was asking your boyfriends here.”
Chase and Jack both confirmed Megan's story.
“We haven't seen anything or anyone. We’re hoping to find shelter. These guys don't want us around so we planned on leaving at first light.”
McDaniels slowly folded the map back up, put it in his pocket and drew the gun again, pointing it at Misty who was on her hind legs, peering over the fence.
Megan lurched forward, prepared to tackle him, but Jack held her back.
McDaniels held the gun on Misty another second before putting it back in the holster.
He turned back to Megan, Jack and Chase.
“You're lying. I know there are plenty of groups around this mountain. Do you know why I know? Because I already found them and killed plenty of them for lying to me.”
They didn't bother defending their lie. There was no point. Megan was terrified anything they said at this point would unleash his anger. Would he open fire, killing them where they stood? Her instinct was to shout at the injustice, but common sense told her to keep her mouth shut.
“Move out of the way, so I can see what you got hiding in that tent,” he said, shoving Chase to the side.
It only took him a few minutes to emerge, carrying the new ball Megan had found in town. She had planned on giving it to Ryland and Caitlin. They’d become obsessed with playing catch.
She glared at him, but didn't say a word. He would probably shoot her or the goats if she tried to argue.
The other men had finished searching the other tents and the two smaller cabins. Each of them was carrying their finds, laughing and joking about what they’d managed to steal.
“You all take care now,” McDaniels said before turning and walking out of the camp.
Once they were out of sight, Megan turned to Jack and Chase, hands on her hips.
“How did they know to look for us?”
Bryan stepped forward, “We’re pretty sure they always leave a scout behind. Someone as a lookout.”
A chill ran down her spine. With the gunfight at Brenda’s house and the four dead Raiders, they’d assumed Megan had taken everyone out, but now it sounded like there must have been at least one more hiding among the trees. It was a scary thought. If Chase and Jack hadn't arrived when they did, reinforcements could have arrived and killed them all. She knew without a doubt they would have been killed where they stood.
“Why did we just let them take everything? Why is nobody taking these guys out? This is ridiculous!”
When no one answered, she looked at all the people standing around, staring into the trees where the men had disappeared with their food for the winter and other items.
“They’re going to keep coming back! Don't you see that?” she shouted in frustration.
It wasn't in her simply to lie down and be walked all over. Not anymore. Not ever again. Not since Kyle had tried to kill her and her daughter.
It was Bryan who spoke for the entire group.
“We can't take them. They will kill each and every one of us. If they don't kill us, there is a chance they would take the survivors as prisoners. Would you risk your daughter or Jack's wife being held captive by those men?”
That's when Megan realized what they were truly up against. Evan and Bryan's group had been diminished to the point they couldn't fight back. They were at McDaniels’ mercy.
A thought flashed through her mind. Strength in numbers. She quickly pushed it out of her thoughts. Strength in numbers also meant more people to trust, and Megan wasn't ready to invite anyone else into the group right now.
4
Jack pulled Megan away from the others.
“We can invite them to come back with us,” he whispered.
“Jack, we can't. We don't know these people well enough and we don't have enough food or shelter for them.”
“Megan, you need to think about how much help and strength they would bring. We’re struggling to get everything done.”
“No, Jack.”
She tugged at his arm but he turned and walked back to where the others were standing.
“Why don't you and your people come back to the lodge? We can work something out as far as where you can all stay but it isn't safe for you here anymore. Those guys are going to be back. You know it and I know it,” Jack stated firmly.
Jack clearly didn't buy into Megan's apprehensions about bringing more people home. He was like a kid finding stray animals to adopt. She was going to have a discussion with him about his tendency to trust so openly.
On top of that, their own food supplies were dwindling with use and despite conservation efforts; she didn’t think there would be enough, which meant hunting in the snow. Rosie and Willow had been collecting herbs to help against various ailments but they would run out quickly if that many people were living in such tight quarters and someone got sick. They would all be sure to get it. Clothing, bedding, wood for heat and cooking, the list of things they needed to survive the winter was endless and would be rapidly depleted with so many extra bodies making for crowded sleeping arrangements.
It had taken her months to trust Wyatt, Jack, and the rest of the group with whom she lived. Inviting this group into their happy home would disrupt everything. Megan knew she would always be second-guessing the newcomers' motives. Would they be safe to have around her daughter?
In the end, it was Caitlin’s safety that was her number one priority and always would be. If she didn't feel like she could trust the people Jack planned on bringing in, she would have to leave. It was that simple.
Megan nearly wept with joy when Evan turned Jack down.
Thank God!
“Thanks, Jack, really, but we can’t accept.”
Bryan was a little more vehement in his own refusal.
“We aren't going to let them run us out of the homes we built with our own two hands. We’ve made a life here. We’ll fight them when we’re stronger.”
Megan wanted to hug him. Now, that very difficult conversation she was going to have with Jack could wait.
Her elation quickly faded when she looked around the camp at the faces of those who were left behind. They were exhausted. The remaining children looked anxious. Megan noticed Amy clinging to her mom.
There was another little boy who also seemed nervous almost all the time. Last night at dinner, he had nearly jumped out of his seat when a strong gust of wind blew a plate to the ground, smashing it to pieces.
It was hard not to notice the faces that were missing as well. Their numbers had been depleted, but it was more than just a missing face. The ones who had been killed were someone's loved ones.
Her heart went out to them, but she had to think about her own daughter and her family. It pained her to be so selfish, but it was the way the world was nowadays. She certainly didn't create it or make it that way. It was people like McDaniels and Kyle Grice that were destroying any bit of humanity that remained in this dark world.
Jack and Chase helped dig a hole to bury the dog before heading out. It gave Megan the chance to pack up their things after McDaniels thoroughly tossed their packs. The portable HAM radio and folding s
olar panel were ignored.
The man was, clearly, pure evil. He took the ball, knowing it was probably something special, but left the real valuables behind. Megan knew he was bad news and prayed he didn't find his way to the lodge. McDaniels and his crew could easily overpower them at the lodge. They didn't have Evan’s manpower or numbers had been easily defeated.
She pushed the thought out of her mind. There was no point in stressing over something she couldn't prevent or change.
“You ready?” Jack asked poking his head inside the tent.
“Yep. Let's get out of here.”
Chase was standing outside, trying his best to keep the goats from dragging him into the trees. Megan wanted to burst out laughing, but instead walked over and took the leashes from him. It was crude, but it would work so long as they didn’t decide to chew through the ropes.
The three of them talked very little as they hurried back to the lodge. They all had a sense of urgency about them. They didn't have to say the words.
With McDaniels’ Raiders in the area, they were all terrified the violent men would find the lodge when it was sorely unmanned and unprotected.
As they approached the perimeter of the property, it was Chase who stated the obvious.
“We are so unprepared. This flimsy fence and these silly booby traps are not going to stop the likes of McDaniels.”
Megan looked up, expecting to find Albert in the bird's nest, but he was nowhere to be found.
“I thought you told them to stay on guard?” Megan asked Chase. He was the security expert and instrumental in setting up warning systems around the property to alert them in the event they had company and that included someone being on watch.
Obviously, his advice had been ignored.
As the three of them moved past the perimeter and closer to the lodge, it became painfully obvious they were extremely vulnerable. They weren't trying to conceal their presence or avoid traps. They didn't have to, because there weren't any. It was an eye opener.
“We have to change this,” Chase stated.
He didn't need to state what this was. They all knew. After seeing what had happened at Evan's camp and the ruthless nature of McDaniels, it was painfully clear they needed to change their ways. The mountain wasn't safe anymore.
EMP Lodge Series Box Set | Books 1-6 Page 42
