Grunting, he knocked the ash off the end of his cigarette and concentrated on what he was doing. He couldn't afford for the explosive to be ruined by getting too wet or muddy. When he’d arrived in the area, he’d only been provided with enough to complete the job. He didn’t ask where it came from nor would more be available if he screwed up. Walking carefully under the small bridge, he pressed the C-4 against the cement pilings. He had spent several minutes studying the structure of the bridge, trying to determine the best place to place the explosive. He didn't want to use more than he had to in case he was given another assignment.
His watch beeped signaling it was time to see if there were any messages from command. Vlad sighed. He would have to climb to the top of the hill to check for a radio transmission. There were too many trees to get a decent signal where he was. He was finding it harder and harder to move around. Gone were the days when he could have sprinted up the hill. He was lucky he could walk at all.
Huffing his way slowly to the top of the hill, he gasped for breath. Flipping on the radio, he heard a series of beeps. It was an encrypted message. Despite the EMP and lack of consistent means to communicate, with the increasing number of HAM operators, it was far too risky to leave messages that could easily be picked up. Generally, the communications were brief and lacked any real detail in the event someone could decrypt it. He was a trained professional and didn't need step-by-step instructions. None of his colleagues did. That was why they were the best of the best.
When he deciphered the message, he staggered back.
DAM STILL UP.
How could that be? He’d heard the C-4 explode. Could a rock somehow have managed to plug the hole in the dam? That would be just his luck.
“Chert poberi!” he cursed in Russian at his own incompetence. Too much was riding on his success. Failure wasn’t an option. Especially now. Chances were high that he wouldn’t live long enough to make it home to Mother Russia but before he died…
He would blow the dam and complete his mission.
Vlad walked back down the hill to the bridge double-checking the C-4 placement before climbing back up the hill. He couldn't afford another mistake. It was a slow journey up, but he didn't give up. He didn't let his burning lungs or his shaking legs stop him from getting out of the way of the blast.
BOOM!
He turned to look back, ensuring his goal was achieved and when the smoke cleared, there was rubble where the bridge once stood. He smiled to himself. There would be no communications sent indicating he had failed again. With the main route into the city gone, no one would be coming to check on the dam anytime soon. If they did, they weren't going to be able to get up to the area and instead would have to travel all the way around, adding hours, possibly days to their travel time. It was exactly what his people wanted. Every little hindrance put in the way of the Americans would cement their own plans.
Now, he would have to make his way back up the mountainside to the dam. It would take him longer than normal, but he wouldn't stop until he finished the job. The dam had to go and Vlad never failed.
8
Megan had kept herself busy most of the day avoiding everyone as best as possible. Her head was swimming with thoughts and ideas. Now she knew why Jack was always writing in his notebooks and drawing things out.
That's what she needed to do.
The day was warm and the sun was out. She couldn't stand the thought of being inside and decided to grab a notebook and head out to her favorite spot in the copse of birch trees. She sat on the bench, staring off into space.
She took a few moments to appreciate the sight of the goats lounging in the sun. She had never seen such cute creatures. They were back-to-back, slowly chewing their cuds and looking around the area. They looked comfortable and peaceful, as if they didn't have a care in the world.
Megan had read in one of the books upstairs that goats could get pregnant as early as eight months and she hoped that Misty would be one of those goats. They were all looking forward to fresh milk, but it was probably going to be at least another eight to ten months at the earliest before that would be possible.
Goats had a five-month gestation period, and then Misty would need to nurse her kid or kids for at least two months. Megan sighed; it seemed like forever to wait.
Duke, followed by the children, interrupted her daydreaming.
“Mom, what are you doing?” Caitlin asked.
The kids were unaware of the danger looming up the mountain and she wasn’t about to tell them. They couldn't do anything to stop it and she didn't see the point in worrying them.
“I'm going to do some drawing,” she said, patting the notebook.
“Oh,” Caitlin said, clearly not believing her mother. “Can we take the goats down by the stream?”
“No. You can walk to the edge of the trees, but don't get out of sight of the lodge. The goats will appreciate all that grass and foliage that is popping up down there. You guys stay in the open area and be sure to avoid the traps.”
“Fine,” Caitlin said.
Megan knew Caitlin didn't appreciate being told no, but she didn't want them too far away. If the dam did break, she wanted the kids within earshot so they could evacuate quickly.
She opened the notebook and stared at the blank page. Leaning her head back, she closed her eyes and prayed for an epiphany to hit her. She had a vague idea of what needed to happen, but she needed to iron out the details. That required silence and deep thought.
“I'll keep an eye on the kids so you can focus on saving us all,” Tara's voice startled Megan.
She turned to see her friend walking towards her.
“I didn't mean to scare you. I know what you’re doing,” she said gesturing to the notebook. “I saw Jack do that once, while he was supposed to be resting. I’m ready and willing to do whatever you tell us. I don't want to leave here. I know we only just got here, but I like it. It’s given me a sense of comfort when I didn't think I would ever feel safe again.”
Megan slowly nodded. “I know what you mean. This place has so much promise. What about Evan?” Megan asked, knowing Tara disagreed with her boyfriend.
Tara shrugged. “He wants to leave. He thinks it would be safer and he may be right, but I’ve learned the hard way bad things happen no matter where you are. I would rather be with people I trust and can depend on when those things happen than on our own.”
Megan nodded in agreement.
“I know you can do this, Megan. You have proven yourself to be a resourceful woman. You focus on that. I’ll take care of the kids, and apparently the goats,” she said, noticing Misty bounce across the open field.
“Thanks, Tara. I hope I can pull this off. I don't want to let any of you down.”
“If it works, great. If it doesn't, I guess we all have to accept it wasn't meant to be. Fate has certainly thrown me a few curve balls.” Tara looked away. Megan knew the woman was still mourning the loss of her young son.
Tara gave Megan a last smile before heading towards the kids who were all chasing the goats. Megan took a moment to appreciate the sight of the carefree play as she heard her daughter laugh. They were going to fight to keep that. They all deserved to have normal lives full of fun and good memories. The fear and hardships they had faced were too much already.
Megan picked up the pencil and started sketching. She hadn't seen the dam, which she was going to have to do to get a better plan, but she had a general idea. She penciled in the lodge, the existing stream that branched off the river that flowed into town and the dam itself.
Wyatt had told her the water would flow directly down the hill and flood the lodge area.
She studied the rough diagram. If they could build the dike on the east side of the lodge and divert the water back into the river, it would keep the water heading away from the lodge. The river would flood, but it was far more capable of handling the excess water than the tiny stream was.
Megan was studying her sketch when Wyatt ploppe
d down beside her.
“Is that the plan?” he asked, looking at her notebook.
She turned it so he could see it better.
“Yes. You think it will work?”
He shrugged. “I don't see why it wouldn't. But, how do you plan on building this? Is that the dike I’m looking at?” Wyatt pointed to the wall she had roughly drawn along the side closest to the lodge.
She cringed. “Yeah, supposed to be. A while ago, when Jack was talking about the cabin he wanted to build for him and Willow, he talked about cob bricks. I’m thinking we could make those bricks and use them to build the wall.”
“Yes, I do remember him saying something about how all the clay down by the stream would be good for the bricks. Do you think it’ll work?”
Megan started to get excited. “Yes! He said it was like nature's cement. We’ll mix the clay with grass. The grass will act as tensile, adding more strength to the clay bricks. He said he wanted to make large bricks, which would work best with tall grass. The grass in the meadow is what he had talked about using.”
Wyatt studied the drawing for a few minutes.
“This would require a lot of bricks. Is there enough material to make that many?” Wyatt asked.
Megan shrugged.
“We could certainly use bricks and rocks. We could make mortar like we used on the cabin. I don't know where any bricks are laying around, but there are definitely enough rocks.”
“I know where there’s a whole pile of bricks,” Wyatt said quietly.
Megan knew exactly what he was talking about. The bricks at Linda and Harry's house. The place where Jack and Greg died. The house had been built with stone and a huge brick chimney, which had been damaged in the explosion.
“That's far. Anything closer?” Megan did not want to revisit that place ever. It was still a raw nerve.
“Let's talk to Brenda. She knows this area like the back of her hand. She’ll know where to find more bricks and materials if there are any around here,” Wyatt said, clearly not wanting to push the issue.
They sat in silence, listening to the sounds of the birds. In the distance, Megan convinced herself she could hear the water. She couldn't possibly, but in her mind, she envisioned white water rapids tearing down the mountainside waiting to flood their home.
“We should probably get something other than daydreaming done today,” Megan said standing from the bench.
Wyatt didn't move.
“Should we? I kind of lost my steam with the thought of losing everything. What's the point of filling the root cellar or starting on another cabin if it is all going to be wiped out? We could be out scouting for a new place to live instead of spinning our wheels here.”
Megan put her hands on her hips and narrowed her gaze. “Wyatt Morris. Don't you dare start getting negative. You have to stay positive. Everyone is looking to you for guidance and will take their cues from you. If you are not convinced this will work, they won't be. They may panic. We can't do that to Willow.”
“I know, I know, it's so risky! What if it doesn't work? What if the water floods the area and we have to run for our lives? I have to think of the risks. If we chose to leave now, we could come back when it was safe.”
“Wyatt, we don't know if it will ever be safe. There are always going to be problems. Granted, this is a big one, but if we can build the dike, we can eliminate this one menace. We will take every new threat as it comes. There is no point in borrowing trouble,” she said, sitting back down next to him.
Wyatt stared at her.
“You know, it wasn't more than a few months ago, our roles were reversed. You were the one who would stress out over every potential threat. Now, I am.”
She leaned in and kissed him. “You made me strong.”
“And you’re making me strong.”
“Okay, then. Are you good?”
He stood. “Yep. Let's go find Brenda. Hopefully, she will have some secret stash of bricks. I would like to present a solid plan to the group at dinner tonight. Give everyone the night to digest it and make their own choice to leave or stay.”
“I hope they stay. I don't want anyone to leave and, to be honest, we need every person here to pitch in to get this done. If the four or five that want to leave do go, we could be in bad shape,” Megan explained.
“We'll figure it out,” Wyatt said, his earlier apprehension dissolved.
They found Brenda upstairs, cleaning weapons. The woman was meticulous about the guns insisting they needed to be cleaned regularly to ensure they were always ready to use.
Megan quickly gave Brenda the rundown of their plan and she nodded in excitement when Megan explained their need for bricks.
“I know a place. It’s a burnt-out house between here and my old cabin. The fireplace and the chimney are the only thing left, although it was crumbling last I saw it,” Brenda explained.
“That sounds like exactly what we need. The bricks don't have to be perfect. We can use plenty of mud to fill in any broken pieces,” Megan said.
“We have that sled. We will load bricks and drag them back,” Wyatt said.
“You need to assign the tasks, Megan,” Brenda informed her. “The only way this will work is if everyone does their part. You, we, are undertaking a monumental task.”
“I know. We will, but we don't even know if everyone is on board yet. Once we find out who is willing to stay, we can come up with teams for each task,” Megan replied.
“They should stay,” Brenda said in a way that suggested that anyone considering leaving was not making a wise decision.
Megan shrugged. “It's their choice.”
Brenda didn't look convinced.
“Thanks, Brenda. I'll count on you to lead the way. Even if a few people do choose to leave, we can still try to save the lodge but first, we need those bricks.”
“Sure,” Brenda said, returning her attention to the guns.
Megan and Wyatt left the woman to her work. Despite Wyatt's earlier declaration, there were plenty of things to be done around the lodge. They couldn't ignore the chores. Megan wanted everything to be as normal as possible.
There was washing to be done, a new outhouse to be built, and Wyatt was going to finish building the new smoke house.
“I'll see you in a bit,” Wyatt said, kissing her before walking out the door.
Willow and Rosie were at the table, rolling out the pemmican. Megan hated the stuff, but she knew it was a necessity. It was a little better than eating jerky when they were out hunting. With the scouting missions they were planning, it would come in handy. If they had to leave the lodge and leave their food supplies behind, it was going to be a necessity. The pemmican would store for months without any refrigeration.
“Just one pan?” she asked, surprised. Usually they made several.
“No, we still need to grind up that other dried venison. We are using the last of the dried blackberries. Hopefully we will get to replenish our supply,” Rosie answered.
“Do you need any help?” Megan asked.
“Sure, you can start grinding that venison with the pestle. It doesn't have to be a powder, but as ground up as you can get it,” Rosie instructed.
“Okay.”
Megan had never actually helped make the pemmican in the past. It was something Rosie had experimented with months ago and had slowly been improving her recipe. It wasn't the worst tasting food in the world, but it certainly didn't make Megan want to ask for more.
They chatted about the weather and how much the kids were growing while they worked. The doom and gloom was avoided. Megan knew Rosie was purposely avoiding the topic to keep Willow calm.
“We’re all in need of some shoes,” Megan commented. “I know the kids are outgrowing theirs and the rest of ours are falling apart.”
“The next run into town, we will add it to the list,” Willow said. “We’ll need baby clothes as well if we can find any.”
Megan was glad Willow was looking to the future. That was a goo
d sign.
“I’m glad cloth diapers were so trendy before the EMP. Hopefully, we can find some of those as well. I'm sure the disposables are all wiped out by now,” Megan said,
Rosie smiled. “Ah, yes. The good, old-fashioned way of diapering. It isn't quite as bad as it was made out to be. It will certainly be more laundry, but we will manage. We should probably look for another toilet plunger as well. We are going to need a third bucket for washing diapers.”
Willow sighed. “I can’t believe I’m going to have a baby in this world. It's so primitive.”
Megan agreed. “Yes, it is. It will be interesting for sure, but we'll figure it out. They say it takes a village to raise a child and you will have more than enough helpful people interested in baby cuddles.”
“So long as that includes diaper changes, I’m good with that,” Willow quipped as the women laughed.
They all went back to their tasks, thinking about the needs of an infant and how they would manage without stores, doctors and hospitals.
“I think I have this about as ground as it’s going to get,” Megan said, showing Rosie.
“Yep. That’ll work.”
Rosie grabbed the large mixing bowl and dumped in the ground, dried meat and the dried berries that had already been ground into a fine powder. The equal parts were stirred together. Picking up the pot of rendered fat from the woodstove, she slowly poured it into the powdered mixture. The fat was from the deer they had just harvested.
Rosie stopped pouring. “Does that look like about a third portion?”
“I think so,” Megan said, hoping it didn't have to be exact.
Rosie added a little more before calling it good. “If you could mix that all up for me, I'll grab another pan.” Rosie put the pan on the counter. “Pour that in and I’ll smooth it out.” Megan did as she was told while the older woman supervised.
“There,” Rosie said, wiping her hands on the apron she was wearing. “We'll let these two pans dry overnight and cut them into bars tomorrow. You're going to need them for all those runs you’ll be making,” she said, winking at Megan.
EMP Lodge Series Box Set | Books 1-6 Page 65
