Megan pushed him out of the way so she could see. It was a small hunting cabin. It wasn't exactly big. In fact, she was pretty sure it was about the size of one of those tiny homes that had been so trendy before the EMP hit.
“Well, it's a cabin. I don't know how we are going to squeeze seventeen people in there, even if we all stood shoulder to shoulder,” she said not sharing his enthusiasm.
“It's better than nothing. We can always build on. The idea is somewhere to run to. Honestly, if we are sending anyone here, it’s because our numbers have been depleted and we can't fight back. The survivors will fit just fine.”
The realization of what could happen over the next few days was sobering to her. She could die. Wyatt could die. The time they had right now mattered. She wanted to make the most of every minute.
“Let's check it out,” she said pushing him forward.
There was a small stick threaded through a latch that was holding the wooden door shut. Not exactly the most secure place, but she pushed out the negative thoughts. If the other two groups hadn't found anything, this was their best and only option.
Wyatt opened the door and popped his head in.
“Holy crap!”
Megan didn't know whether to be scared or happy.
“Holy crap!” Wyatt said again.
“What? What is it? What's wrong?”
He grabbed her and pulled her in. “Look!”
Megan's eyes adjusted to the dark interior. She blinked several times before finally focusing on a glass gun cabinet in the corner of the room. It was filled with rifles. There were three crates stacked next to the gun cabinet; all labeled in block letter with the word “Explosives”.
Along with the guns and ammunition, there were several five-gallon buckets along the edge of the wall.
“Do we dare open those?” Megan asked. “What if they are poop buckets?”
Wyatt chuckled, “Not every bucket is a poop bucket.”
She didn't look convinced.
“I don't know,” Megan gestured around the room. “Rustic cabin, no bathroom, you do the math.”
“I'll open one. If it’s poop, we know, but what if it’s ammunition or food?” Wyatt asked.
“I'll wait.”
Megan stood near the door. She had accidentally opened one of the poop buckets at the lodge not knowing what it was. She was scarred for life.
Wyatt pried up the lid on one of the buckets.
“Well, it isn't poop,” he said. “It's beans. A lot of beans.”
“Check the other two,” she ordered. She wasn't totally appeased.
“Ammo and,” there was a pause, “Sugar or salt. Hold on,” he said. “Sugar.”
“That's awesome. With our food store being raided, sugar will be a welcome addition. Should we take what we can carry and come back tomorrow to get the rest?”
He nodded, removing rifles from the cabinet and handing them to her.
“We'll take these for now along with some of the dynamite. Tomorrow when we come back, we'll look around for any other supplies. We will need to have a small stockpile here, just in case.”
Megan felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders. At least they had an option if the lodge was compromised. It wasn't as nice or stocked, but it was better than sleeping under the trees.
As they walked back to the lodge, Wyatt talked about how ironic it was they were looking for a bug out location. The lodge had been their bug out location and now they were very possibly going to have to leave it behind. A bug-out for their bug-out.
“I'm so glad you know about all this stuff. I never would have thought to find a backup home. I guess I’ve always been in the mindset to take it as it comes. I have to start thinking like you. Always thinking about the future and playing out the various scenarios. You are very smart, Wyatt Morris.”
He turned and kissed her.
“Thanks, but it isn't being smart. And really, it was all my dad. He was always telling us to plan for anything and everything. His motto was prepare for the worst and hope for the best. I have tried to keep that mindset. I think I kind of forgot.”
Wyatt told her he knew not to get complacent. He knew survival situations were fluid. They were constantly evolving. They had been comfortable in the lodge, but if they had to move, that was fine. All he needed was his family. He could figure out the rest later.
Right now, he wanted their focus to be on getting through the coming week alive and Megan couldn’t agree more.
26
Wyatt was hoping Brenda and Greg would be able to get the rifles in working order. He could see they were old and it was hard to say how long they had been sitting in that cabin; although judging from the amount of dust, definitely years. Brenda had proven her ability to dismantle, clean and fix firearms more than once. She was probably the closest thing to a firearms expert they had.
“Wyatt. Megan. I'm so glad you are both back in one piece,” Rosie greeted as they walked through the back door.
He stopped abruptly. The kitchen smelled amazing. He looked around and saw a huge spread of food.
“Mom, isn't this a bit…extravagant?”
She smiled, “Sometimes you need a good meal with good company to overcome hard times. We didn't get to enjoy our big barbecue feast. The group needs this,” she said the last part so only he could hear.
Taking a deep breath in, his mouth instantly began to water followed by the rumbling of his stomach at the smell of roasted turkey. While they had been eating turkey off and on for the last month, this was different.
Megan pushed him out of the way, “Oh my goodness, Rosie! When did you do all of this?”
The woman smiled, “We have had those pumpkins sitting out there, waiting to be canned. Willow and I got the idea to make some fresh pumpkin pies. Then Garrett returned with three fresh turkeys and the idea popped in our heads. Thanksgiving!”
Wyatt had forgotten about the holiday. It didn't seem all that important in the grand scheme of things. After the raid, he wasn't sure there was a lot to be thankful for.
“This is amazing, guys. You really outdid yourselves—I cannot wait to have some pumpkin pie,” Megan said eyeing the pies cooling on the counter.
“What do you have there,” Brenda asked walking towards them.
She was eyeing the rifles like a kid in a candy store.
Wyatt smiled, “I got you a little project, Brenda. You think you can check these out and see if they are functional?”
She reached for the rifles, fixated on them.
“Yes. Absolutely. Thank you.”
Wyatt raised an eyebrow. The woman was a bit of a strange duck.
He figured he better clarify what he meant.
“I'm hoping they all work. There are a few more back at the cabin we found. If we can get them all functioning, there will be enough for every person here. With seventeen people armed, we stand a pretty good chance of defeating any army.”
Greg took one of the rifles and began inspecting it.
“Winchester model 94 .30/30s and some bolt action .30-06 and .270s. What do you think, Brenda? Can we handle the job?” Greg asked her.
She didn’t seem to hear him, as she turned and walked upstairs carrying the guns pressed against her chest.
Greg laughed, “I'm gonna take that as a yes.” Turning back to Wyatt and Megan, “I'll go put this upstairs and after dinner we will get to work.”
“Did anybody have any luck finding anything?” Wyatt asked the room in general.
Garrett answered, “We found a small dam upriver. Nothing else, though.”
Wyatt nodded. He had no idea there was a dam. It would certainly be a good idea to check it out once things settled down. Once the spring melt started, it wasn't unheard of for a dam to be breached. Things could get dicey.
Albert was sitting at the table, his leg propped up on a chair.
“Hey Al, I wanted to show you something. I need your expert opinion,” Wyatt carefully removed his backpack, being sure no
t to jar it.
He unzipped it and pulled out one of the sticks of dynamite he had taken from the crate.
“You think this is any good?”
Albert whistled low.
“Boy, what in the world are you doing with that?”
Wyatt smiled, “We found a crate full. Maybe it was used for blasting up here in the mountains. I don't know. You think it’s any good? Like, can we use it to blow some bad guys up?”
Albert nodded, “I'm guessing you can blow up anything, including us if you aren't careful. That stuff is old. Real old. There is no reason it wouldn't explode.”
He carefully handed the red stick back to Wyatt, “You best put that away somewhere real safe. You found a whole crate of it you said?”
Wyatt nodded. He could see Albert formulating a plan.
“And you found the blasting caps?”
Wyatt nodded, pulling out the pieces that would be put on the top of the dynamite and lit.
Albert looked impressed. “Those are fuse caps, which means we can light them and run. I think that would be a great way to get the message across to leave us all alone. You plan to take it to them?”
Wyatt hadn't thought it out.
“I'm not sure yet. We'll have to do some planning. I'm not sure I want to carry sticks of dynamite across the mountain.”
“With this cold weather, it won't be too bad. How was the crate packed?
“Some sort of waxy cardboard,” Wyatt answered.
“Did you see any crystals on the outside of any of the sticks?”
“Nope. Everything looked clean. Just dusty.”
“It's a great find, Wyatt. You too, Megan. You all did good today,” the old man praised as he smiled broadly. “Now that everyone is back, Rosie, are we gonna eat? I'm starving!”
“Oh, relax. You’ve been sitting there for an hour. We told you it wasn't ready yet,” Rosie scolded, bringing plates to the table.
“Willow, will you round everyone up while I get everything set up. We'll just set it up as a buffet. Everyone will have to find a place to sit.”
“Who's on guard?” Wyatt asked. He didn't want to take any risks. The last time they thought they could enjoy some time together with the entire group, it had gone very bad.
“Jack insisted,” Willow grumbled. “His leg is not getting any better, but he said he could sit and watch.”
Wyatt looked around the room to see who else was missing.
“Tara?” he asked.
It was Chase who came in from out back and confirmed his guess.
“With Jack. She needed to do it,” Chase said with authority. “She has been feeling like a victim, understandably so. This will be good for her.”
Wyatt didn't say anything. He wasn't sure an injured Jack and a fragile Tara were the best security choices, but so long as they were safely up in the bird nests with the ability to sound the alarm, he would leave it be for now.
“Let's go wash up, Wyatt,” Megan said, grabbing his hand.
He followed her out the door. He knew she wanted to talk to him in private.
“What's up?”
“Is it safe to have Jack and Tara on watch?”
He grinned. They were on the same page.
“We need to make sure everyone feels valued. We'll let them do their part until after dinner, and then we will switch out the guard.”
“Okay,” she said, nodding in agreement.
The next hour was filled with a lot of laughter and banter. Brenda was joining in the conversation and appeared to be enjoying herself.
Bryan had asked Brenda about her time in the service. She started talking and everyone listened in awe.
Wyatt watched Megan as she made her way around the room, chatting with the lodge members she hadn’t gotten a chance to know yet. She spent some time with little Frankie. He could see she was naturally drawn to the little boy.
Wyatt stood against the wall, eating his pumpkin pie, watching the scene. It reminded him of Thanksgivings past. His mom would always prepare a huge meal and invite people from the neighborhood. His friends and any other strays she could find were always welcome.
This was a lot like those days.
Evan stood beside him, “It's nice, right?”
“What?”
“People talking and getting to know each other. Breaking down some of those walls. Megan seems to be opening up to the idea of us being here,” Evan stated.
Wyatt knew she had been standoffish in the beginning. It was no secret to them or the newcomers that she wasn’t thrilled to have them at the lodge.
“She was worried. She doesn’t trust easily, especially if there’s any potential risk to her daughter. When she first got here, it took her a long time to warm up to us. Me, even,” he said with such incredulity it made Evan burst out laughing.
“You! You don't say. I would have thought she would have fallen at your feet.”
“You know what I mean. Give it time. She'll end up embracing you all—she's one of the warmest, kindest people I’ve ever met once you get to know her. I think once we take care of this other problem, everything will mellow out. We can get through winter and figure out how we are going to go about building a community.”
Evan slapped him on the shoulder, “We will succeed. All of us have already lived through some pretty rough stuff. We got this.”
The confidence in his voice was nice, but Wyatt wasn't all that convinced they would come out unscathed. He imagined there would be more losses before all of this was over.
He wasn't afraid to die during his two tours in Afghanistan or his time in SWAT; he knew death could come at any time. But now…now he wanted to live. He needed to live to keep his family safe and Megan and Caitlin were very much part of his family.
“You ready for bed?” Wyatt asked Megan.
She was standing against the wall next to him looking drained. Wyatt figured it was the socializing that wore her out more than the physical labor of walking to the hunting cabin. She didn't seem to be a social butterfly.
“I am. I'm beat. Are we heading back to that cabin tomorrow?”
“Yep. We'll take Evan and Chase with us. Bryan and Jack can keep an eye on things here. Albert is going to help Brenda and Greg get those guns cleaned up and in working order.”
“Good. I feel better knowing everyone will have guns and if a retreat has to happen, the people here will know where to go. We need to use the compass tomorrow to give everyone an exact direction so they all know how to get there,” she said.
He nodded, “Good plan. We'll try to track how far it is so they will know if they are close.”
“How?” she asked.
“Ranger beads are really the only option. Hold on,” he said opening the dresser drawer and pulling out a leather strap with a row of beads on it.
“What is that?”
“These are ranger beads, a tool used by the Army to help with land navigation. They’re very easy to use. They just aren't heard of much anymore since GPS was so much easier.”
She held the beads, rubbing them between her thumb and forefinger.
“So, all of the beads are at the top. When we start walking, we count how many steps we take. An average guy takes about sixty steps to travel one hundred meters. For every sixty steps, we pull a bead down. When we have pulled down twenty-seven beads, we have traveled about a mile.”
She looked at the strand. “There are only twenty beads.”
He nodded, “When you pull them all down, you start over, remembering how far you’ve already traveled. You can determine the distance you want each bead to stand for. We can use yards or miles, but it gets tricky remembering to count, especially when we travel through rough terrain. Our steps aren't going to be quite the same compared to traveling on flat ground.”
Megan marveled at the beads, “Well, at least it gives us an idea. We can have the kids make a set of these for every person here.”
Wyatt took the beads and put them on top of the dresser. It h
ad been a long time since he used them. He had held on to them more for nostalgic purposes than anything else, but he was glad he had them now.
“Once they’re made, we will have everyone attach the strap to their pack or on their jacket. That's how we wore them in the field.”
Megan stood, kissed him and smiled, “You are full of surprises. Those are clever. I can't wait to try them tomorrow.”
He laughed, “Don't thank me yet. Counting to sixty over and over gets old fast. You have to stay focused or you will forget what you’re doing. When you are all alone, thirsty or hungry, the beads are great because they give you something to focus on other than your misery.”
“I can see that.”
“I just pray everyone will learn how to use them. Their lives may depend on it.”
27
“Watch your step,” Megan instructed Caitlin. They had decided to take Caitlin and Ryland to the cabin so the kids would know where they would be running to should things go south.
The cabin didn't appear to hold any other bounty, but at least they had a point B to bug out to.
They had spent some time at the cabin, searching the area and looking for any surprises. Megan was worried there may be traps like Brenda had set. She didn't ever want to deal with that mayhem again. It appeared to be completely deserted and uninhabited.
It was exactly what they needed. They collected the remaining items and started the journey back to the lodge. The men were carrying the rifles and the dynamite, while Megan carried a container of the sugar and the kids carried the beans. They figured they would leave some of the food items at the cabin.
Wyatt explained that he planned on dividing some of their food stores once all of this was behind them. He wasn't going to risk their main supply being raided again. He was convinced there would be others like McDaniels, but next time, they would be better prepared.
“Wyatt! Wyatt!” Rosie was shouting, as they approached.
She was waiting outside the lodge as the group came from the west.
He picked up his pace and passed Caitlin and Megan who had been in front.
“What's up, mom? Is everything okay?”
EMP Lodge Series Box Set | Books 1-6 Page 54
