Families First: A Post-Apocalyptic Next-World Series Volume 6 Battle Grounds

by Lance K Ewing

  They all had a quick laugh at the remark before getting down to business.

  “Lastly,” continued David, “the group as a whole is onboard in a nearly unanimous decision. I used to worry about a day like this coming…couldn’t get it out of my mind some nights and didn’t sleep a wink before they came.”

  “Before who?” asked Janice.

  “Before my old friend, Lance, and his crew came through. They left their homes and everything they knew—not to move 30 miles away but 800 miles, and not knowing if they would ever even make it! It’s like they used to do when settling the Old West. Families would head out in large groups, and some would splinter off when they found what they were looking for, like my Tina did. The rest of them kept moving, hoping that each day wouldn’t be their last.”

  David continued: “We’re being asked to play a major part in our country’s new history, for better or worse, just like our forefathers arriving here from England two hundred and forty years ago. We are rebuilding our country—not from scratch, though. We still have buildings, houses, roads, some vehicles, and we all remember what it used to look like. For that reason, our job is easier than those coming before us. However, this time, instead of fighting the Indians, we are the ones to be tamed and contained. Maybe I commute the 40 miles to town each way or settle closer. I don’t know yet, but my family will live free, or I will die trying. The rest of it doesn’t matter all that much.”

  “I couldn’t have said it better if I tried,” said James, getting nods out of the rest of them. “Now, to the gritty business of the Sheriff and the Judge. You know what they would do with us if the tables were turned, right?”

  “Yeah, I know,” said Jason, with David nodding in agreement.

  “They would have us strung up or shot,” James continued, “and if we’re not careful, they still could. It’s good to have the Army as a backup, but my experience with Government is that things run slow—and sometimes too late is really too late. On the other hand, without the deputies and townsfolk, they are just two people. Judge Lowry is apparently as passive as we always thought he was—the big man with a gavel but not so much, once on the other side of the bench. As for the new Sheriff, she’s a certified killer, but aren’t we all now?”

  “Just so we’re on the same page,” said David. “And I’m only asking because I don’t know anything about the town. My question is, in a pinch, who are the deputies and townsfolk going to back and be loyal to?”

  “James!” said Jason, without hesitation. “They will back James all day long, I’m sure of it.”

  “And you?” David asked, looking at James.

  “Yeah, I think he’s right—and we’re about to find out, I guess. The questions now are what and how?”

  “I vote that we remove them from their posts and send them on their way,” said David. “I’ve heard rumors of this whole hanging business, and it isn’t something I’m interested in being a part of.”

  “Me neither,” replied James, “and one of my conditions for the Colonel, if I am to be Sheriff, is a pick-up program. We catch the bad guys, and they pick them up and do whatever they do after that… I’m guessing, though, that they will not be going peacefully. And as we have already seen, the Judge did leave once, only to return a week later.”

  “That’s true,” agreed Jason. “You know, when we were straight with the Judge and Sheriff Johnson, like when you told them about the still, it turned out okay.”

  “Yes, that’s true,” replied James, “but now we are not talking about something to be swept under the rug. This is their very livelihoods and positions of power that they—or at least she—would kill to keep.”

  “If Mike—the guy you met up at my place before—were here, I would suggest a full-on kidnapping,” said David. “But since he’s gone, my vote is a meeting to see where their heads are.”

  “Okay, I see where you’re headed,” said James, with Jason agreeing. “Either way, the Military is taking over. The Judge and new Sheriff have to know they can’t possibly fight them and win.

  “I’ll set up a meeting,” James continued, “but just you and me, David,” for now.

  “I want to go,” said Jason.

  “Really? You hate those things!” said James. “And this one will be nothing like the ones before. This one is high stakes and deadly serious.”

  “Oh,” said Jason. “I forgot, but I’ll still be there if you need me.”

  “It’s okay. I need you here, watching the ranch. Okay?”

  “Sure, James, whatever you need,” replied a relieved Jason.

  * * * * * * *

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Second Chances Ranch

  Weston, Colorado

  “Hold on just a few, David. Let me try to get hold of my friend, one of the deputies. I’ll get him to set up a meeting—tomorrow, if possible.”

  James got his old friend on the radio, who was headed home from work.

  “I’ll be there in ten and have some information…and it’s not good,” the deputy said. “You may want to break out a jar, maybe two, of the good stuff for what I have.”

  “I think we’ll stick around to hear this,” said David. “Okay with you, Mel?”

  “Oh yeah… I’m not going to sleep tonight if I don’t hear what he has to say.”

  * * * *

  They greeted the deputy, with Jason opening the ranch gates, and Janice had a drink ready for him.

  “Thank you, ma’am,” the deputy said.

  “I’m staying,” she announced. “So am I,” said Lauren, asking Carla to watch her sisters and little Billy.

  “You want everyone here to hear this, James?” the deputy asked. “No disrespect to anyone here—just asking, is all.”

  “Yep, they’re all family now.”

  “Okay,” he said, puffing his cheeks out and blowing air, as anyone might with big news. “Just for the record, James, I was already headed over here to tell you when you radioed.”

  “Okay, old friend. I understand,” replied James.

  He could see that Jason was getting nervous and fidgeting, same as every meeting they had before with Sheriff Johnson and Judge Lowry.

  “Okay, deputy. Hit me with it!”

  “They plan to arrest you and Jason tomorrow afternoon on conspiracy charges.”

  Janice gasped, as did Lauren and Mel.

  “Conspiracy of what?” asked James calmly.

  “Excuse me…pardon me,” said Jason, pushing his way through the small porch crowd and to the side railing, just in time to vomit over the railing.

  “Should we wait for him?” asked the deputy.

  “No, let’s get this all out now,” replied James.

  “All right then, on charges of conspiracy to undermine law enforcement and the Courthouse of the town of Weston. It sounds like a made-up charge to me,” he added.

  “Okay,” replied James, “but you still haven’t told me what this is about.”

  Janice and Lauren sat on the stairs, still within listening distance but whispering to each other.

  “Honestly, James, I don’t even know what this is about,” replied the deputy. “We had a little girl and her family, who I guess just wandered into town. Hitched a ride with a local farmer from somewhere out this direction, they said. One of the kids got hurt playing outside, and they came to town asking for a doctor. Anyway, the Sheriff…well, she seemed to know the girl and brought her and the dad in for questioning. Not ten minutes later, they called all of us in and told us to come and pick you both up tomorrow afternoon. I don’t get the connection, and they never told us. That’s the God’s honest truth, James.”

  “I know,” James replied. “Long story short, that little girl witnessed the new Sheriff murder the old one with a gunshot to the head. We brought her and their little family out here to stay in Jason’s old trailer. They were supposed to stay put until we could sort this whole thing out.”

  “Her brother busted his arm pretty good—or bad, I guess—and
got some deep cuts, from what I could see. Doc Walters could tell you more, though.”

  “Mark!” said David. “He’s at the hospital!”

  “I’m sure he’s all right. I didn’t hear anything about him or you—just James and Jason,” the deputy said, looking at a still-calm James and a pale-faced Jason, who had rejoined the conversation but remained silent.

  “Then what?” asked Janice, with her first question of the day.

  “What, ma’am?” responded the deputy.

  “With the notable exception of the Judge last week and the former Councilman…what’s his name? Every other arrest ends in a hanging or some type of fight,” replied Janice.

  “Ken, ma’am. Ken’s the old Councilman’s name, and they haven’t told us anything beyond bringing you two in tomorrow.”

  “Are you just supposed to surround the house or ask us to come in peacefully?” asked James, wanting to get ahead of this business.

  “Well, neither. You’re both due in town tomorrow for work, and she just wants us to pick you up from your office after lunch.”

  “That’s actually a smart idea, rather than trying to bulldoze your way on to my property. Not you, but you know what I mean.”

  “I do, and that brings me to the next part, so it’s no surprise. I’m the lead guy, I’ve been told.”

  “For the arrests?” asked Jason in a squeaky voice.

  “Yep, I’m afraid so.”

  James chuckled, getting a look out of everyone on the porch, including his wife. “What could possibly be funny right now?” asked Janice, clearly upset.

  “Well, it’s just that it’s better to be arrested by a friend than a foe, is all I was thinking, honey. Yeah, I guess it’s not that funny, after all,” he added.

  “James, this is serious,” said Janice, with everyone else nodding in agreement, except for David.

  “You don’t agree, David?” she asked.

  “Well, ma’am...of course it’s serious business, we would all agree. But I see it as your husband…I’m guessing, and tell me if I’m wrong, James… The way I see it is it’s just a formality, unless the two in power get together quickly and try to get something done in a day or so. Even then, you have the lead deputy watching out for you. You may end up in a cell for the night, but I’m sure the Colonel would be quick to get you out. Or you don’t show up to work tomorrow and see if they head out here.”

  “Nope,” said James flatly. “I don’t want them coming out here; there is too much to lose. I can’t have my family or Jason’s in harm’s way. We will show up for work right on time tomorrow, right Jason?”

  “Uh…uh…I mean, yeah, if it’s the only way.”

  “It sounds like it is,” said James. “At least they are planning on letting us get lunch first!”

  “That’s not funny,” said Janice, with her arms crossed in front of her. “Deputy?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he answered.

  “I’m holding you personally responsible for the safety of these two family men, and I want your word right now that if things go sideways, you will flip over to our side—and I mean like that!” she said, snapping her fingers loudly.

  “Yes, ma’am. That I can promise you, even if it means my job.”

  “You’ve been a good friend to us over the years,” said James. “I trust your word, and you have done me more than a few solids recently. So, I have one for you. I will be Sheriff by the end of the week, if not sooner. David here will be Mayor, and Jason will retain his current position as Deputy Mayor, with all of us appointed by the United States Military. You will remain my lead deputy, if you’re up for it.”

  “You’re joking, of course—right?” he asked in disbelief.

  “He’s not,” said Janice, smiling. “It was supposed to play out over the next few months, but it appears to be accelerated now. However, the endgame hasn’t changed.”

  “But why…I mean, why now?” asked the deputy.

  “Because,” replied James, “our little town will play a big part in rebuilding this great country. I need loyal deputies I can count on. How about the others? Any deputies you think are bad or need to be purged from the roster?”

  “I’ll think on it, if that’s all right?”

  “Sure thing. But you have until tomorrow to let me know.”

  * * * * * * *

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Second Chances Ranch

  Weston, Colorado

  David and Mel said good-bye, vowing to be in town tomorrow before lunch. Jason lost his appetite for dinner, and James spent a quiet night with his family.

  “We’re okay,” James told Jason, finding him outside, wandering. “We will be in there a night, maybe two, and this will all be over.”

  “This is bad, real bad,” he responded—“the worst.”

  “You forget the position you were in when we met, my friend,” James responded. “We are not facing what you were, heading up the mountain road that day. Our families will be fed and safe. We will be inside together, with the lead deputy on our side. The Colonel is a radio call away, and Janice is trying to reach him now. Also, David is reaching out to Lance. The word will get out, and we will recover from this. The gang I was a part of a lifetime ago had a saying that every member learned. ‘If you are detained by the police or any other law group, don’t say shi...’ Well, you know the rest. That holds true tomorrow. Whatever happens, don’t say anything, not a word. I was always two steps ahead of Sheriff Johnson and Judge Lowry; I’ll be ahead of her as well. Just let me do the talking and I’ll get us out of this, one way or the other. At the very least, it will buy us time; and at best, they will let us go before someone else needs to get us out. We know what they did, and now they know it as well. And the last thing—get something to eat tonight, breakfast tomorrow, and lunch after that. You will need your strength, and sleep as much as you can tonight.”

  * * * *

  James was up early the next morning, not sleeping great but apparently better than Jason, in half-zombie mode.

  “Let’s get some coffee in us,” said James. “We’ve got a long day ahead.”

  “Can’t you two just show up around lunch?” asked Lauren, with agreement from her husband.

  “Sorry, we can’t do that today,” James replied, looking at his old-school wind-up clock, the only one still running in the house. It ticked all night in the Great Room downstairs, so anyone needing to know the time could check without bothering someone else. “Besides, we have to show up early and eat both breakfast and lunch at the Weston Grill and Tavern. Jason, we need to talk to as many people as we can today before…well, you know.”

  “What do we tell them?” asked Jason. “The truth?”

  “No, not that, unfortunately—not that. We just engage in polite conversation and let them know we have big plans for the town in our current positions. Who knows what lies the Sheriff and Judge have been dishing around town about us lately? We need to show the citizens we are on their side, and when we do get taken in, I hope it’s in front of the whole town. If that happens, we need to hold our heads high in defiance and let the citizens choose who to believe. They are good, hardworking, honest people, and besides fearing the Judge—and maybe even the Sheriff now—they know you and me as good people. When we take over, the town will already be behind us.”

  “Okay, that makes sense,” said Jason. “Show our faces and remain confident… Show our faces and remain confident,” he repeated.

  “That’s all we can do,” said James. “I told you before—we’re not going out like the rest that have stepped foot in one of those jail cells. We have too many people depending on us. Let’s get going,” he added, kissing Janice and giving Billy a hug and high five. “You kids take good care of your moms tonight,” he said. “Jason and I will be back home soon, but likely not tonight.”

  This was the first the kids had heard of it, any of them, and the girls had more questions than Billy—perhaps because they were older or maybe he had just gotten used
to bad things happening.

  * * * *

  David and Mel headed down the mountain with coincidental medical checkups for both David and Mark in town this morning.

  James didn’t want to meet them for lunch this day but was grateful they would be in town if things went sideways. He and Jason pulled into town early, bypassing the Sheriff’s office just in case they decided to step up the timeline.