EMP Lodge Series Box Set | Books 1-6

by Hamilton, Grace

  She slammed a fist on the table, “I hate this, but fine. Yes, please teach my daughter how to be a little soldier.”

  “Megan, you know it isn't like that. You have to be on board with this or she is never going to do it,” Wyatt reasoned.

  “Fine. I will talk to her and let her know I need her to do this.”

  Greg stood, “Great, we'll get started on it today. We don't have time to put it off.”

  Wyatt looked pensive, “I think we should also teach everyone here, especially the women and kids some self-defense. I showed Megan some moves a while back and they came in handy.”

  Megan nodded. Oh yes they had. She had managed to disable Kyle Grice and save her life and the life of her daughter. She absolutely wanted Caitlin to know how to escape anyone who tried to take her or got close enough to harm her.

  “I'll go talk to Jack. See how he's doing while you guys get your training classes organized,” Megan said leaving the table.

  “See if the kids are up and moving yet. We'll be out at the ball field cleaning things up and then set up some targets for them,” Albert said.

  “I will. Thank you guys for doing this. I can't say I am thrilled with the idea, but I do understand how important it is,” Megan said making eye contact with Albert and Greg.

  They both smiled and nodded before heading out the door.

  Megan tapped on the door to Willow and Jack's room.

  Willow swung it open. Her eyes were puffy and Megan could tell she had been crying.

  “Hi, come in. I'm going to get breakfast started,” she said before rushing past Megan.

  Megan walked to the bed where Jack was laying. His face looked red. He had a fever. It was evident he was in some pain.

  She put her hand on his forehead, “I'll let your mom know.”

  “Don't bother. Willow woke her up hours ago. My mom gave me one of her magic teas. It was to be expected. My body has to fight the infection. It’s not a big deal, Megan. I can fight this; Willow is just super sensitive after everything that has happened.”

  Megan didn't blame her. She wasn't exactly chipper when Wyatt had been laid up. His injury was bad, but Jack's was already showing signs of an infection.

  “What's up? When are we attacking?”

  She laughed, “How'd you know?”

  He rolled his eyes.

  “Because I know you and your blood lust and I know you would have convinced Wyatt to exact some serious revenge.”

  “Well, you know we have to do something.”

  He nodded, “Yep, and don't you dare think I am going to sit in this bed while you guys go off on a crusade. I’ll be right there, taking out as many as I can.”

  Her gaze fell to Jack’s thigh, “We'll just have to see about that.”

  Megan quickly told him about their plan to attack within the next few days. She explained the self-defense training everyone was going to go through and the shooting lessons the kids would be getting.

  “Ryland will do great. He is a good shot. So will Caitlin, of course. I hope Amy isn't too young.”

  “I don't think her age matters at this point. We aren't going to have them packing, but if it gets desperate, it will be good to know they can pick up a gun and fight back.”

  Megan couldn't believe she was defending the very idea she had just argued against.

  “Get some rest, Jack. I want you there by my side when we kill that vile man.”

  “I will. Thanks for coming by.”

  Megan headed out to find Wyatt. She wasn't entirely sure what she was supposed to be doing today. There was a nervous energy racing through her veins in anticipation of going to battle. This was probably not a big deal for Wyatt or Chase, but for her, this was huge.

  Wyatt was talking with Tara and Willow. Both women were nodding their heads, looking nervous and excited at the same time.

  “There you are,” he said when he spotted her walking towards them.

  “What's up?”

  He winked at her, “I need you to be my victim for our little self-defense class here.”

  She laughed, “The chance to knock you on your butt, you bet! I wouldn't miss it!”

  Megan and Wyatt worked together; setting up three different sessions to ensure everyone had a chance to learn the moves. When it was time for the kids to go through their lesson, Megan worked with Caitlin. She wanted her daughter to feel comfortable with hurting another person if her life depended on it.

  That night at dinner, the mood was very subdued. There was no dinner conversation. No kids teasing each other. Even Duke was very mellow choosing to lay by the fire rather than his usual place at the table, where he waited for scraps to fall.

  Immediately after, everyone who wasn’t on guard duty headed to bed. The tension in the air was thick. Megan didn't completely trust all the new members and she imagined they were feeling the same thing. Their fates were tied together. If they weren't on board with the plan to attack, it wouldn't work. They needed everyone working together.

  She decided to talk to Wyatt about it once they were alone and everyone else was asleep.

  “Do you think all of the new people are really okay with our plans?” she asked.

  He shrugged, “If they're not, they should leave. I think tomorrow we will need to talk with each person. Get an idea of where they stand. Bryan and Evan will probably have a better idea about their people, but I want to judge for myself as well. I don't want a bunch of lip service.”

  Megan was relieved he was on the same page.

  “So, do you think we're ready?”

  He thought for a second, “I don't know that I would head out to take out a top terrorist, but I think we can get it done. We have surprise on our side, which is always going to be a good thing. They won't expect us to take the battle to them.”

  She breathed a sigh of relief. If he was confident, she was confident. They could do this. They could fight back and win.

  Megan prayed the cost wouldn’t be too high.

  24

  Megan shivered as she stood on the bank of the stream, drying herself off as best as she could before pulling on her shirt. Thankfully, they were going straight back to the lodge or she would spend more time making sure she was completely dry before dressing to avoid losing too much body heat. She had taken a quick sponge bath the day before, but she hadn't been able to shake the feeling of being dirty. She wanted a bath—a cleansing bath.

  It was far too much effort to fill the tub upstairs and with so many people in the lodge, it felt weird. When she had complained to Wyatt, he suggested a dip in the stream. It would be ice cold, but she didn't care. Or at least she didn't think she would care, but after a few minutes, the icy water proved to be too much.

  “You are going to freeze to death in there!” she scolded Wyatt who was lazily splashing around in the water.

  “It gets your blood pumping. It's invigorating,” he yelled back.

  “No, it freezes your blood. You’re going to have hypothermia.”

  She focused on putting on her clothes as fast as she could. The warmth of the sweater she had been wearing quickly took off the chill. The gun Wyatt had brought along with them was sitting on the top of his clothes.

  They were close to the lodge, but he didn't want to risk being unarmed.

  Splashing and heavy breathing behind her alerted her to Wyatt's trek out of the water.

  She watched him striding towards her. He was freezing. He would never admit it, but his skin was bright red and the way he moved told her he was feeling that prickling sensation that happened when a person was overly cold.

  “Hurry up. I want to go stand by the fire now.”

  “You are the one who said you wanted a bath. I was just trying to accommodate,” he said with a wink.

  “Bath and plunging into a stream of ice are two different things.”

  He laughed, “Well, now you know. You have to admit it really wakes you up.”

  She nodded, “Yes it did. But now I really wa
nt a fire. And hot chocolate. With marshmallows.”

  “I can get you a fire, no can do on the cocoa.”

  He picked up his gun once he finished dressing and they headed back towards the lodge.

  Megan relished the feeling of clean hair. Pouring a cup of water over her head was not the same as washing her hair. The cold water had left her scalp tingling, but it felt great.

  “Shh,” Wyatt said, suddenly pulling her behind a large tree.

  Megan's heart skipped a beat and then began pounding so hard it hurt.

  “McDaniels?” she gurgled, barely able to form the word.

  He shook his head. They both waited and watched.

  Earl was skulking through the trees. He kept looking behind him. Wyatt gestured for Megan to stay put. They watched him for a few moments before Wyatt mumbled that he had enough.

  “Earl, right? You're Earl? I don't think we really got the chance to talk,” Wyatt said walking out from behind the tree with Megan following close behind.

  Earl froze. The look on his face revealed how shocked he was.

  “Um, yeah, I'm Earl. I came in with Evan and Bryan.”

  Wyatt nodded his head, “Yep, I remember. You were injured and my mom took care of you.”

  Guilt was written all over the man's face and Megan knew that was what Wyatt had intended.

  “So, where you headed?”

  Earl looked around, as if he hoped to escape or fade away.

  It was then Megan noticed the folded paper in his hand.

  “What's that?” she said pointing to the paper in his hand.

  Wyatt reached out and snatched it from him.

  As soon as she saw it, she knew what it was. It was the map they had used to identify where McDaniels was camped.

  Wyatt raised an eyebrow and Earl looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him.

  “I don't suppose you were planning on taking on the whole gang yourself?”

  Earl slowly shook his head. “No.”

  Wyatt nodded in understanding. Megan didn't get it. What was Earl going to do?

  “You were hoping McDaniels would let you join his group. You provide them with information about our planned attack and maybe where our traps are located in exchange for him letting you join them?”

  Earl’s head dropped and his shoulders slumped forward.

  “I hate to admit it, but I'm tired. I'm scared. I don't want to die. You have to know you can't beat them. If you can't beat them, join them, right? That’s what my dad used to tell me. I'm just doing what I think is the smartest thing.”

  Wyatt looked furious.

  “So you thought selling out the people who took you in was a better choice? Evan and Bryan took you in. They trusted you enough to bring you here and I trusted them. Now you are going to get my family killed to save your own skin?”

  Megan was furious. What kind of man betrayed the people who looked out for him? Sheltered him. Fed him.

  Earl shrugged, “I don't know what to say man. I'll go back, but I’m not going to help you fight McDaniels. That's a death sentence.”

  Wyatt looked thoughtful. He looked at Megan and then back at Earl, “How about you just go on your merry way. I'll keep this map and you can keep whatever food you stole.”

  Megan looked at Wyatt with shock. He was going to let the man go?

  Earl nodded, “Thanks, man and uh, sorry about all this. It's nothing personal, I need to look out for myself, you know?”

  “Yep, you sure do. Bye, Earl.”

  Earl turned and hurriedly walked towards the perimeter. Megan watched in disbelief.

  She was about to ask Wyatt what he was thinking when he pulled the gun out from his waistband. He didn't stop to think about what he was doing. He aimed and pulled the trigger.

  Earl dropped.

  Megan's mouth dropped open.

  Wyatt looked at her as he tucked the gun back into his waistband, “Him or us. Quite frankly, any man that would willingly put his life above women and children doesn't deserve to live.”

  Megan stared at the dead man. He had fallen onto the ashes and bones leftover from the pyre where the rest of McDaniels' men had been burnt. The pyre was meant to deter anyone else from trying to come after them.

  Striding over, Wyatt pulled the pack off the dead man and slipped it over his shoulder. “Let's get back. We need to have a talk with Bryan and Evan. If there is a chance any of their other people want to leave, I want to know now.”

  Megan didn't answer. She didn't know what to say. Wyatt just shot a man. He didn't seem bothered by his actions at all. He was all business.

  They walked back to the lodge without saying a word and Megan was surprised when she saw people hiding amongst the trees near the lodge, guns at the ready. After hearing the gunshot, those on watch had been in position, prepared for an attack.

  After settling everyone back down, Wyatt tracked down Bryan and Evan who were working on the longhouse that Jack had started. Megan saw Jack trying to help as well.

  She gave him a look.

  “I'm fine. I'm not swinging an ax; I’m only running the ax down the logs they’ve hewn. We can't afford to have anyone sitting on their butts right now.”

  Wyatt told the three men what had just happened.

  Megan imagined the look on Jack's face mimicked her own when it had happened.

  “I'm sorry about that,” Bryan said. “Earl was one of the more recent additions. We hadn't gotten a chance to know him all that well before we were attacked. The guy he showed up with was killed in the attack and he was injured. I guess we didn't think of him as a threat and that’s on us. We should have been more cautious.”

  Wyatt nodded in understanding.

  Megan imagined Earl had probably been scared out of his mind. He was so focused on saving himself, he couldn't see how much danger he was putting himself in, let alone the rest of them.

  “Needless to say, is everyone else solid? Garrett?” Wyatt asked.

  Both men vehemently nodded their head, “He is a good guy. Solid. Has always been willing to help out and when we were attacked, he saved little Frankie. I will vouch for him,” Evan stated.

  “Okay, then. Well, hopefully that was our last defector. Are we going to be ready to move in the next day or two?”

  Jack looked down at his leg, “I'm going with you. If you can give me a day or two, I'll be good as new.”

  Bryan and Evan both nodded in agreement.

  “To be on the safe side, we'll give ourselves five days. We have five days to get our people armed and ready, just in case our attack is unsuccessful. Every one of those men will be out for blood if they escape.”

  Chase joined the group, “We'll be ready. We’re making a wall of pikes right now. I have the boys working on sharpening some of those small downed trees into sharp points. We'll be using rope to tie them together to create a gate of sorts.”

  “Won't they just go around them?” Megan asked a little confused on how that would be effective.

  Chase smiled, “The gate will be under some branches and dirt. They won't know it’s there until it springs up in front of them. It will be the only open entrance to the lodge. There will be pikes, barbed wire and various traps along the rest of the perimeter. They will naturally go for the area with the least resistance.”

  Wyatt looked impressed.

  “Good thinking. Very medieval, but smart. I like it.”

  Wyatt gave him the rundown about the situation with Earl. Chase was equally disturbed by the idea the man would have betrayed them all if Wyatt and Megan hadn't happened upon him in the woods. The outcome would have been disastrous.

  “Alright, we are going to get busy. See you all tonight at dinner,” Wyatt said, grabbing Megan's hand and heading into the lodge.

  25

  The day started out with a flurry of activity. Wyatt and Megan were going out to scout for a bug out retreat, just in case McDaniels' men managed to breach the perimeter and get close to the lodge. If things were looki
ng bad, they needed an emergency escape plan.

  Brenda insisted she go along. She had been all over the mountain and knew the area fairly well. She hadn't found anything around her house or towards Evan's camp, but there were still plenty of areas to explore.

  “How about you and Chase go up the mountain a bit. Megan and I will go towards the west,” Wyatt decided.

  Chase agreed, but felt they could do more.

  “Why don't we send Garrett and Greg out, too,” he suggested.

  Megan agreed. The faster they found this secondary location, the better she would feel. Even if it only offered a breather for the group to recuperate until they could retake the lodge. She hated the idea of running blindly through the forest. She had been there, done that and didn't want to do it ever again.

  “Okay. Let's set a time to be back. Everyone sticks together. If a group doesn't come back by three, we know something went wrong and can put everyone at the lodge on alert. Agreed?”

  A chorus of agreements rang out.

  “Alright, get your packs and let's get moving,” Wyatt said, anxious to get started.

  Everyone quickly checked the gear in their packs and headed out in their respective directions.

  Megan and Wyatt hadn't found anything and were ready to call it a day when they saw a trail of rocks ahead of them.

  “A path,” Megan said squatting down low.

  She used her hand to brush away pine needles and some of the overgrowth.

  “Look!” she said, pointing to the rocks that were in a neat little row. She brushed away more needles and brush and found what she was looking for. It was another trail of rocks.

  “This is a path to somewhere,” she said in an excited voice.

  Wyatt stood between the two lines of rocks and looked ahead. Wherever these rocks led was obscured by the trees.

  He walked forward, kicking branches and thorny bushes as he went.

  Megan rushed to get right behind him, literally on his heels. When he came to an abrupt stop, her face hit him in the back.

  “Megan, we found it. We found the bug out location!”