EMP Lodge Series Box Set | Books 1-6

by Hamilton, Grace

  The remaining members of the lodge reconvene at an old hunting cabin to hatch a rescue plan, knowing time is of the essence. With limited resources and manpower, they must face a highly trained, elite military force—but Spraggat’s agenda is far darker than any of them could have imagined.

  With the lives of her beloved daughter and newfound family hanging in the balance, Megan will only be able to rely on herself as the final step in America’s demise begins...

  1

  “We have to keep moving!” Megan hissed as they crouched in an overgrown field. “They aren't going to stop following us. Hiding is only delaying us getting back.” She popped her head up to see if the NRU soldiers were still lurking in the street.

  Wyatt shot her a look. She knew he was frustrated with her complaints, but hiding instead of getting back to the lodge where her daughter was in danger was killing her. She wanted to sprint the entire way. Instead, Willow and the baby and those damn NRU soldiers were slowing her down. Seriously, they’d tried to explain they didn't know what they were carrying, but the Powers-That-Be at the NRU weren't exactly listening.

  As soon as the dust settled, it’d been chaos. Between the yelling and all the guns pointed their way, they’d managed to make their escape when an adjacent building collapsed after the initial explosion. The soldiers went running for cover while Megan and her friends escaped.

  The gangs that surrounded the city buildings all but ignored them as they raced by. The area immediately surrounding what was left of the NRU looked like a war zone. Buildings had caved in from the force of the underground explosion. Megan tried not to react to the bodies littering the pavement, filled with shrapnel from god knew what had been inside the NRU. Wyatt pointed out they needed to grab what they could on their way out of the city for their journey home.

  They weren't given much of an opportunity to be picky. It was a grab and go. No time to search the bags they were stealing or to check any of the buildings for supplies. They were in an all-out run for their lives.

  Megan defiantly glared back at Wyatt, but stayed put, hidden by the tall grass. The soldiers were passing and although she was angry, she wasn't about to reveal their location. Once they were far enough ahead, Wyatt motioned for them to get up and start moving. She nearly jumped up from her place in the grass. One look from Wyatt had her slowing down. Again.

  Megan stalked along, the stress and frustration with the situation boiling in her belly. It took them nearly a week to reach the NRU. Even moving double time, they were still at least three days away from the lodge. It was maddening. All she could think about was Caitlin. She’d left Caitlin with that monster.

  They’d been pushing themselves hard since the explosion yesterday afternoon. They only stopped moving for a few hours last night to get some rest. Even Willow was willing to keep going. She was extremely worried about Ryland. They all were. Everyone they loved and cherished was back at the lodge.

  “They'll be okay,” Wyatt said, falling in step beside her. “Chase and Brenda are there to protect them. They aren't exactly powerless.”

  “She's a little girl, Wyatt. Chase and Brenda aren't only protecting her. They have several other people to watch out for, not to mention the lodge, the garden and the property. They’re going to be stretched very thin.”

  He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. “Don't think worst case scenario. We have our own situation to deal with. I need you focused on this, right here, right now. If the soldiers find us, they won't believe our story. We’ll be held up for days or weeks.”

  “Or worse,” Bryan added.

  Megan glared at him before, agreeing with Wyatt. She got what he was saying and wanted to believe all would be okay, but the fire in her belly was still burning strong. As soon as she got back to the lodge, she was going to knock Neil on his butt with a very large stick. How dare he take advantage of them and put all of them in jeopardy? They saved his life!

  When they were about halfway home and well away from the city limits, Megan breathed a sigh of relief. Every mile they put between them and Ravena meant they were a little safer and she was that much closer to her daughter. The sun was setting, which was a blessing and a curse. They were critically low on water. She had a headache and could feel the cramps in her calves indicating she was dehydrated.

  “Up ahead,” Bryan pointed out. “There’s a lot of green trees and what looks to be a rocky hill. Water flows downhill, right?” he asked Wyatt.

  Wyatt nodded. “We'll check under rocks and can dig a little to see if the water is close to the surface. The side of the hill will keep that area shaded quite a bit, which means any water there won’t evaporate too quickly. Hopefully, we can find some puddles under rocks or dig shallow holes. We can't waste energy digging too deep, but we can dig down six to twelve inches and see what we can find.”

  “We still have daylight,” Megan pointed out, wanting to keep moving.

  Bryan looked back. “Shh, they're coming! What the hell is wrong with these guys?” he asked in frustration. “They won't give up! How do they keep finding us?”

  They all turned to look behind them. In the distance, they could see a much larger group of soldiers headed their way. It was only getting worse. Clearly, the troops at the NRU had regrouped and were sending out bigger search parties, which didn't bode well for them.

  “Move, now!” Wyatt ordered, sending them scrambling in the direction of the green trees.

  Bryan made it to the area first, declared it was safe and the rest followed.

  “We don't have time to look for water. They’re gaining on us,” Wyatt pointed out. “We need to find somewhere to hide.”

  “How about up there?” Willow said, pointing up the hill.

  The rest of them looked to see where she was pointing.

  “A cave?” Megan asked, slightly unsure about the idea. “What if there are wild animals in there?”

  “We shoo them out,” Wyatt said, already moving up the rocky incline.

  Bryan stepped behind Willow as if he could catch her should she start to slip. Megan was surprised to see how nimble she suddenly became. Having a small army on your heels tended to make anyone, a little more athletic Megan supposed.

  When Megan reached the top of the hill where the cave was perched, Wyatt had already declared it clear. He was ushering everyone in, ordering them to get as far back as possible. It wasn't very big, but provided enough cover for them to shelter in. Megan complied with Wyatt's orders, squatting down on the cave floor allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness.

  She could smell the dampness mingling with a pungent smell she couldn't quite identify. She thought the ceiling was low and it was hard to see much of anything. A noise outside reminded her of their current situation and she quickly focused her eyes on the cave opening.

  “Shh,” Willow was saying over and over to JJ while the baby made grunting noises. There would be no one popping out of the floor to save them should JJ start wailing at the wrong time.

  “They're right outside,” Wyatt whispered, crouching next to Megan.

  Megan glanced around. There was no cover. Their clothing was dark and the once khaki-colored pants they’d all been wearing were dingy and brown. She never thought she’d be so happy to be dirty. The dirty brown condition of their pants actually helped in this case, but if the troops looked in the cave with bright lights, it was all over for them. The backpack she’d been carrying shifted and snagged on the rocky wall, giving her an idea.

  “Take off your packs, rub them on the ground and crouch behind them as best you can. We can form a wall of sorts, like the Spartans did with their shields.”

  No one questioned her instructions and quickly did as told. They could hear a commotion outside. The troops had discovered the cave and were making their way up the hill. Megan's heart raced as she crouched behind the pack, praying it was enough cover.

  A beam of light followed by another and then another crisscrossed around the cave. None of them dared to
breathe. The squatting position was extremely uncomfortable and dehydration was making the situation worse. Megan’s legs were cramping to the point she couldn't take it a second longer. Her heel slipped, driving her backwards into the wall. By reflex, her hand flew up to steady her body, smacking into the wall of the cave.

  In an instant, there was the sound of wings flapping overhead, followed by a breeze. Megan fought back a scream. She prayed Willow would have the same self-control.

  “Bats!” one of the troops yelled, shining his light upwards. The other beams followed. Megan hesitated, but followed the beam of light, clamping down on another scream. There were what appeared to be thousands of tiny bats flying towards the entrance.

  The troops didn't have the same control and there was plenty of yelling and what even sounded like some girl screams as the bats made their swift exit out of the cave.

  “It's empty. Let's keep going. If we don't find them, the CO is going to have our butts,” one of the men said. No one argued with him. The bats had scared them off.

  Megan and the rest of the group stayed put. She could hear the shallow breathing of the others and an occasional whimper from JJ, but the cave was eerily quiet. She looked upwards, unable to see anything, but wondering if there were more bats perched above.

  “I'll check outside,” Wyatt said, barely a whisper.

  Megan could see his form moving towards the cave entrance and then outside. After several long, tense minutes, he walked back in.

  “It's clear.”

  They each let out the breath they’d been holding. Megan stood and shook out the leg cramps from the awkward position she’d taken.

  “I think we can stay here tonight,” Wyatt said, walking into the cave and shining his light above. “Our bat hosts seem to have vacated the premises. They’ve already looked here and assumed we’ve kept moving. We need to rest for the night and this is as good a place as any.”

  “Isn't bat poop deadly or something like that?” Willow asked.

  “Yes, but we aren't going to be here more than a night and it’s deadlier out there. The sun is about gone. Walking in the dark would be treacherous and using our headlamps would alert the NRU soldiers to our presence,” Wyatt explained.

  Megan's instinct was to keep going. She had to get to her daughter. Every fiber of her being was demanding she protect her child, but she knew better. She knew walking in the dark could be extremely dangerous. They’d made it out of the city, which meant they were in wild animal territory. She didn't want to tangle with coyotes, skunks or whatever else was lurking in the dark.

  “That's a good idea. We could all use the rest,” Megan agreed, hoping to calm Willow down.

  Willow sighed in frustration, but she had to know it wasn't safe. She also had to think about JJ. The baby needed out of that carrier. He would be getting very fussy soon enough if they didn't let him out to stretch.

  “I'll go see if I can find some water,” Bryan said, taking an empty water bottle from his pack.

  “Here, take mine, too,” Megan handed him her own.

  They did the best they could to make the hard ground a little more comfortable, but a cave wasn't exactly posh. The ground was rocky and hard, but it was cold, which provided some relief from the heat of the day.

  Megan did what she could to stuff a few of the plastic bags she’d collected on their journey with dry leaves and grass. There was no shortage of garbage in a world without trash services. It wasn't exactly soft, but it was better than nothing at all. Bryan passed around the water bottle he managed to fill with water he collected from a puddle and purified with one of the last tablets they had found in one of the stolen bags.

  “This is when we need one of those filtering straws,” Bryan groaned. “I couldn't get all of the water in the small puddle because it was too shallow. One of those straws and we could all have a nice drink.”

  “We have to get water in our bodies,” Wyatt said. “We can't go another full day without something to drink.”

  Megan chuckled. “You aren't going to tell us we have to drink our own pee, are you?”

  Wyatt rolled his eyes. “You've watched too many of those survival shows.”

  She scoffed. “Well, they did it.”

  “You don't want to drink your own urine unless you’re hydrated and it’s nice and clear or a faint yellow,” Wyatt explained.

  “Why?” Willow asked.

  “Urine is your body's waste product. Your kidneys filter out the stuff your body doesn't need and expels it. Drinking urine, especially dark urine, only makes your body work harder to clean what you ingested. That causes even more dehydration,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “When you’re dehydrated, one of the first signs is dark-colored urine. I mean, you wouldn't eat garbage or poop, would you?”

  “Eww, Wyatt, that's gross!” Megan exclaimed, fighting back a shudder.

  “We got it. We don't have to drink our pee,” Willow laughed. “What a weird conversation!”

  “We'll set up a solar still before going to bed tonight,” Wyatt said, grabbing the last plastic grocery bag and the canteen. “It isn't going to do much good overnight, but hopefully the morning sun and the heat in general will be enough.”

  “Really?” Megan asked, intrigued to see what he was going to do. “I'll help,” she said, following him back out of the cave.

  “See if you can find a stick to dig a shallow hole,” Wyatt instructed. He bent down and used his hand to clear an area before determining it was too rocky. He moved to another area and declared it would work.

  “Here,” Megan said, handing him the stick she’d found. She watched as he started digging.

  “I need you to collect as many green leaves, grass and weeds as you can find. Don't get the dry stuff. It won't work,” he instructed while still using the branch to hollow out an area in the ground.

  Once again, Megan returned with what he’d requested.

  Wyatt placed his canteen in the hole before taking the grass and leaves from Megan. She watched as he placed those around the container in the hole.

  “Okay, now I’m going to stretch the plastic bag over the hole. I'll need a few rocks or branches to hold it down around the edges.”

  Megan quickly grabbed what he asked for and helped him secure the plastic over the hole.

  Wyatt scanned the ground and picked up a small pebble. “I'll put this on the plastic, directly over the opening of the canteen. The heat from the sun in the morning will warm the greenery in the hole, creating condensation. The condensation will cling to the underside of the plastic bag, slide down with the weight of the pebble and drop into the cup.”

  “That is really cool. How much water will we get?”

  Wyatt grimaced. “Not much at all, but we can make a couple of these. Do we have any more plastic bags?”

  “I think Willow may have a couple in her bag. I know she had one of those Ziploc bags. I'll be right back,” she said dashing into the cave before returning with two more of the flimsy grocery store bags and a used, but clean sandwich bag.

  “Okay, we'll use these for water transpiration. Again, it isn't going to get us a lot of water, but every little bit counts.”

  “How do we do that?” Megan asked, holding one of the bags.

  Wyatt walked around the cave entrance until he saw a short green bush. “This will have to do. Place the branch inside the bag and tie it off. You want to make sure no air can escape or as little as possible. It’s the same thing as the solar still. The heat will create condensation, which will drip to the bottom corner of the bag. We want the green stuff to sweat.”

  Megan nodded, scanned the area and found a short tree. She didn't know what kind it was, but it was green and leafy, which was what she needed. She quickly copied what Wyatt did before returning to the cave opening.

  “Just as an FYI, never do this with plants or trees you know to be poisonous. You'd be drinking contaminated water,” he added as an afterthought before heading back into the cave.
/>   Megan followed him in. “I'm beat. Anyone else ready to call it a day?”

  They all agreed.

  “We'll start early in the morning. Hopefully, we can be back to the lodge by nightfall tomorrow,” Wyatt said, doing his best to fluff the makeshift pillow.

  “What about those troops?” Willow asked. “Don't we need to worry about them?”

  Bryan answered. “I don't think so. It isn't as if they knew where we were going. They’ve already checked here. They'll lose our trail for the night and hopefully give up.”

  Wyatt grunted in agreement. They were all beyond exhausted. Megan lay down next to Wyatt. It wasn't long before the entire group, including a very tired JJ, fell fast asleep.

  2

  Birds startled Megan awake. Sitting up, she groaned at the pinch in her back, courtesy of the rocky ground they’d slept on. Her stomach grumbled, reminding her she hadn't eaten since yesterday morning. None of them had.

  Wyatt moaned beside her. She was already dreading the mood he was going to be in. Hard ground, empty belly and tremendous stress made for a very grumpy man.

  “Hey,” she said, hoping to soften his mood.

  “We aren't moving until we get something to eat,” he growled. “None of us are going to have the energy to walk the rest of the way. I didn't want to, but that dried meat that was in one of the bags is going to have to do. I have to get something in my stomach.”

  “I know. I'll go out and see if I can find anything. I'm sure there has to be some rabbits or even squirrels around. If not, it sounds like there are plenty of birds to shoot,” she added, not trying to hide her own crankiness.

  “I don't think it's a good idea to have a fire,” Wyatt said. She could hear the hesitation in his voice.

  Megan thought about the risk. “You need food. We all do. Willow is breastfeeding and if she doesn't keep her strength up, it isn't going to be good for JJ either. We have to eat. We can build a small fire in here.”