The Off Grid Survivor Box Set: Complete The Off Grid Survivor Series Books 1-4

by Connor Mccoy

  “It could be our army getting back on its feet,” Tom said. “I mean, why would we think everything in the country would be knocked flat on its back? I’m sure the government prepares for things like this. They probably had trucks and supplies stashed away in case of catastrophes, and only now they’re getting up to speed.”

  “Whoever it is, it sounds as though they’re throwing their weight around. I’m all for giving aid to people, but ripping it out of people’s hands at the point of a gun is another matter altogether,” Conrad said.

  “Well, I say we get ready in case they decide to show up,” Camilla said.

  “Wait, are they coming?” Tom asked.

  “Nigel said they’re headed in this general direction, but you got to figure they’ll find us sooner or later.” Conrad stood up from his chair. “So, that means we have to make plans. The trees I stuck in the driveway can stop ordinary civilian trucks, but an overwhelming force of men can still get around them.”

  Sarah leaned forward in her seat. “You’re making plans to fight them?”

  “Of course. Worse comes to worse, we have to be ready if they show up looking to take the farm,” Conrad said matter-of-factly.

  “Conrad.” Sarah shook her head. “Don’t you think that’s going overboard a little? We still don’t know these people are bad.”

  “If they’re throwing people off their land, that’s bad enough for me,” Conrad said.

  “No kidding,” Camilla said.

  The meeting wrapped up, with everyone breaking off to handle their chores. However, while the living room cleared out, Conrad quickly caught Darber by the arm before he could depart the room.

  “Hey, Ron,” he said, urgently, but as quietly as he could so to not get the attention of anyone who might be within earshot. “We need to chat.”

  “Yes, we do,” Darber said, calmly, as if he had expected Conrad to approach him like this. “I finished all the tests.”

  Conrad released his friend. “Then we have to talk in private, now.”

  Conrad closed his bedroom door as silently as he could once Darber had slipped inside. He then took the extra step of checking his window. It was cranked shut. If they kept their voices fairly low, they shouldn’t carry. Almost everyone but Carla was outside anyway, so their conversation should be private.

  Darber sat down, stone-faced. He had been used to giving news like this. Conrad was certain of that. The rancher vowed to take whatever Darber threw at him, even if it was the worst news he could receive.

  Darber didn’t mince words. “It’s malignant. It’s attached to your right tricep muscle, just above your elbow.”

  Conrad sucked in his lip a little. “How much time do I have?”

  “Without treating it, probably less than six months, depending on when it spreads. Unfortunately, without functioning CT scans to work with, I can’t tell if it has spread anywhere else. But, assuming that it is localized in your arm, we still can operate on it.”

  “You can do surgery, even without electrical equipment?” Conrad asked.

  “Yes. It’s not very complicated, and with the supplies you brought back, I think we’ll be in fine shape.” Darber looked at the box on Conrad’s dresser. “Of course, you’ll still have a recovery period, and your arm will be weak for a while. You’ll have to be cautious or you could fracture the bone.”

  Conrad turned to the box. Since Darber had shared his first inklings about Conrad’s possible condition, he had made sure to ask Nigel if he could procure certain medical instruments. Nigel had indeed come through, and not a moment too soon.

  “But I’ll still be able to do my jobs around here,” Conrad said.

  “There will be some diminishment, I imagine. With exercise, you could re-strengthen your arm, but you’ll have to be cautious going forward. It would be easier on you if you were a young man. At your age, even being in as good a condition as you are, recovery will take longer.”

  “Can you give me the odds?” Conrad asked.

  “No guarantees. I’m sorry. That’s the best I can do. But even if we’re successful in removing the tumor, you’ll have to keep a close watch on this for the rest of your life. Cancer reoccurring always is a possibility, and given how much of our medical technology we’ve lost, we easily could not see it coming.”

  Conrad nodded. “Thanks, Ron.”

  “Are you planning to let the others know?” Darber asked.

  “Not yet,” Conrad said quickly, “This is one thing I don’t want to drop on their heads if I can help it. I’ll give it some thought.”

  “When do you want to operate?” Darber asked.

  “Like I said, I’ll give it some thought,” Conrad said.

  Chapter Eight

  Sarah followed Tom into their bedroom. Tom stripped off his shirt, then tossed the sweaty garment into the laundry basket near the foot of the bed. The pair exchanged some small talk, but Tom never once addressed the burning question on Sarah’s mind.

  Finally, she couldn’t take it. “So, what do you think?” she asked.

  “About what?” Tom asked.

  “C’mon, Tom, you know what I mean. I haven’t heard one peep out of you about this whole military situation.”

  Tom turned to her. “I don’t know. Sounds like it could be bad news.”

  “But what if it isn’t?” Sarah slowly approached him. “C’mon, you know how crazy talk can spread. What if these soldiers have a good reason for shifting supplies around? Some people obviously need help more than others. God knows we’re in pretty good shape. I only can imagine what it’s like if you’re living in a town like Redmond, starving to death in the streets.”

  Tom only could speak an “I know” before Sarah continued. When she wanted to, Sarah could speechify for over an hour.

  “No one has said these soldiers are mowing people down with guns. No one has talked about…” She shivered. “…abusing women. I just think there could be a good explanation for all of this. And besides, you know the American military has contingency plans for this kind of stuff. They plan for nuclear war. They plan for natural disasters. This isn’t that different. They must have had vehicles and planes tucked away for emergencies. Maybe it took this long to gather everyone together for the rescue operation.”

  “Look, I get it,” Tom said, quickly, “Old Red, White and Blue’s coming to save us. I’d love to believe that. But you know militaries also can be bad news. We don’t know who’s leading it. It could be the president, but it also could be some general or nutcase terrorist.”

  “I know. I’m not saying just jump in and hug them. But Conrad sounds like he’s going to fight them without even checking to see if they’re on our side.” Sarah cringed.

  “I mean, God, we now have a little baby. You want to see little Conrad have to dodge bullets before he can even walk? It was one thing when the party was all us, but it’s not.” She pushed her gray hair away from her cheeks and forehead. “Tom, I want my little grandson to be safe. I want Liam and Carla to grow old. I want the fighting to end. Is it so hard to believe our lives can be normal again?”

  Tom shook his head. “I do, too.” He sat down on the bed. “With all the desperate people and nutjobs out there, a booming farm like this always is going to be a target. But if the military is with us, they could protect us.”

  “That’s right!” Sarah smiled as she sat down next to him. “We finally could have peace. I don’t care if I have to work a little harder to provide for someone else. Let me do it if I never have to pick up a gun and patrol this house ever again. Let soldiers do that.”

  “But you know Conrad’s going to hate the idea. He won’t trust them, not one bit,” Tom said.

  “I know. He might chew my arm off for even suggesting it, but it’s his grandchild, too. This is his family. He can’t see anything in life beyond his warrior persona. He’s always been like that.”

  “Let me guess. He told you about his favorite Western?” Tom asked.

  “Shane?” Sarah ask
ed.

  “No, The Searchers,” Tom replied, “But Shane’s a close second.”

  Sarah frowned. “I never knew that. Never mind. You know what I’m getting at.”

  “Don’t worry.” Tom wrapped his arm around her. “I’ll talk to him about it. I’ll take the arrows for both of us.”

  Conrad switched on the ham radio. He unfolded the piece of paper, then tuned the radio to the frequency written on it.

  “Tigerbait, this is Drake,” Conrad said.

  “Read you loud and clear,” Nigel’s voice filtered through the speakers.

  “Hey. It’s not a telephone, but it’ll do,” Conrad said, “So, where the hell did you get ‘Tigerbait’ as a call sign?”

  “I’ve fished since I was seven years old,” Nigel replied, “I’ve got quite a story behind that.”

  “Tell me later. Have you heard anything new out there about our new friends? I’ve got some disquieting news on my end.”

  “Lay it on me,” Nigel said, sounding tired, “I don’t have anything new to share.”

  Conrad told Nigel the story of the army taking supplies and redistributing them to other areas. Nigel didn’t sound shocked at all. “Sounds like what I thought,” he said with a sigh. “Conrad, if this comes our way, there’s nothing we can do about it. We’re toast. Most of our men are armed, but we just can’t compete with trucks and machine guns. We just have to hope they’re benevolent.”

  Conrad refrained from saying what was really on his mind and pushed forward with the issue he really had called about. “I hope you don’t mind, but I do have a favor to ask. You know that package you delivered to me the other day? I’m about ready to use a lot of it, and I’d like to ask for your help.”

  “This is about you, isn’t it?” Nigel asked.

  Conrad huffed loudly. “Yeah.”

  “Is it bad?” Nigel asked.

  “It’s not good, but there’s a chance I’ll pull through this. I’m going to give it my all. Will you give me a hand?”

  “Sure,” Nigel said, “Just tell me what you need.”

  Conrad rubbed his eyes. Once again, he was up before the sun rose. His body instinctively knew when to rise, though in the past few weeks climbing out of bed had become a chore. It was as if his discussions with Darber had alerted his body that he was sick and told him to act that way. He massaged his right arm quickly to try soothing the latest ache.

  He wished Darber’s diagnosis was the only thing he had to worry about. Nigel’s story plus Red’s account only had thrown another wrench in the works. Ironically, learning about the new army had helped him focus. Conrad knew he couldn’t let his health issues slide. He had to deal with the tumor to stay alive, to guard his home and family.

  If Ron had told me this just a year ago, I wouldn’t have cared much about it. What did I have to live for then? Dying of cancer would have taken me out peacefully.

  He was closing in on a big decision. However, that still left the shadow of this new military to deal with.

  Conrad poked his head out of the doorway into the living room. A figure shifted in the easy chair by the couch. Conrad’s pulse quickened. Nobody was up this early in this house but him.

  An adult male’s head turned. Tom blinked his bloodshot eyes. The man looked as if he hadn’t slept at all last night.

  “Tom.” Conrad approached. “You look like you’ve been run over by a semi.”

  Tom closed his eyes and tried to laugh, but it came out as a cough. “I think I’d prefer a semi.”

  “Let me grab you some coffee.” Conrad turned to the kitchen. “It’s too early for a drink. I can’t have you drunk while you’re cutting the wood.” He chuckled.

  A few minutes later, Conrad came back with a steaming mug of coffee. Tom took it and drank deeply. “Thanks,” Tom said afterward. Conrad brought his own cup, which he sipped as he sat in the chair opposite Tom.

  “You alright? I hope you’re not in the doghouse with Sarah,” Conrad said.

  “No.” Tom yawned. “I’ve just had too much on my mind.” He drank again before continuing. “We’ve been wondering about that army you told us about. Sounds like they could be trouble, right?”

  “The whole thing just makes me itch.” Conrad stared at his cup. “I don’t expect the government to swoop in and say everything’s peachy again, but when you’ve got an overwhelming military force sitting on your front lawn, that just flashes a big red light. It’s even worse when they’re taking what they please.”

  “Yeah. I figured you wouldn’t trust them.” Tom cleared his throat. “But maybe we should consider that they really are out here to help us. Just hear me out. We’ve never heard of them actually mistreating anyone, right? I mean, barbed wire, camps, executions, things like that. How about we call off the war and try getting more information?”

  “Call off the war, huh?” Conrad narrowed his eyes. “Is Sarah telling you shit like that?”

  “The two of us discussed it.” Tom raised his finger while deepening his voice. “You know what I mean.”

  “I’m not saying I’d shoot them at first sight,” Conrad said with some irritation, “but if they say they want my land, I am going to show them the door. I’ll make sure they either leave peacefully or on a stretcher, but they will be going one way or the other.”

  “But that’s just it. What if there’s someplace better for us to go?” Tom asked,

  “You can stow that talk right there. We’re not resettling anywhere,” Conrad cut in.

  “I didn’t say we were,” Tom quickly replied. “I just said it might be worth hearing out.”

  “And where would we go? Where out there is going to be safe for us? The best place we could be is off the road in a house like this. They’ll probably offer up a refugee camp where you live night and day at the hand of whatever warden’s running the place. Forget it.”

  “Maybe they’ve retaken a small town or a city,” Tom suggested.

  “Same old situation. God help us, you don’t want to be inside an urban area with a bunch of soldiers looking over your shoulder. Something goes wrong, it’s either a powder keg where you get caught by a dozen maniacs trying to kill you, or it becomes a prison where you have no rights.”

  Tom rubbed the tired skin around his eyes. “You really don’t trust anyone, do you?”

  “I trust people. Institutions, well, all the ones I like are pretty much gone now.” Conrad took a long drink from his mug before placing it on the nearby end table. “But it’s a fool’s errand to trust an army that doesn’t have any accountability. If something goes wrong, who’s going to court martial them? Where’s the Congress to hold hearings? Now, don’t get me wrong. I didn’t trust those jokers when the lights still were on. But today, we don’t have those other jokers to provide any kind of check.”

  “So, you’re not going to give this a chance?” Tom said.

  Conrad scooped up his mug. “There’s not a chance in Hell that I’m going to give this place up. Not now. Not after all the years I put into it.” Then he walked slowly past the end table toward the space near the doorway to the kitchen. “If they come for me, if they tell me I have to go, I’d sooner burn this place down and take as many of them with me.”

  Lance placed the package on Nigel’s office table with a huff. “Here’s the last of it.”

  Nigel nodded. “Thanks.” The store owner rose from his seat. “Well, I guess there’s no use putting it off. Lord knows a lot of people don’t want me away from town in case…” He threw up his hands. “…the invaders show up. Guess I can’t blame them for being scared.”

  “They’re always talking about it, no matter where I go,” Lance said.

  Nigel straightened out his gray shirt. “Well, one perk of walking down State Road 22 is nobody’s going to be in my ear for much of the day.”

  “So, no one’s going with you?” Lance asked.

  “It’ll be a little quicker this way.” Nigel started toward the open doorway. “If I run into trouble, it’s j
ust my own ass I have to worry about.”

  “I want to go with you,” Lance said quickly, before Nigel could fully exit the room.

  Nigel stopped, then turned around with a frown on his face. “Excuse me?”

  Lance straightened up. “You probably shouldn’t go alone,” he said, as if offering an excuse to cover what he really wanted to do.

  Nigel looked at Lance as if the young man had gone mad. “You do realize I’m going to Conrad’s house. The one place on Earth you want to desperately stay away from?”

  “Yeah.” Lance nodded. “I know. But I want to see it. I want to see his family. I want to know that nothing I did caused any…” He huffed.

  “They’re all alive, if that’s what you mean, and no one’s been crippled or suffered any lasting injuries. So, I don’t think you need to worry.”

  Lance fidgeted. “I know, but I have to go. I need to do this. I want to see the house again, to see it all for myself.”

  Nigel shook his head. “You really got to soothe your conscience, don’t you? What if somebody recognizes you? I’m sure somebody caught sight of you through the windows as they were trying to blow your ass away.” Then Nigel pointed to Lance’s face. “Of course, the new beard probably will help.”

  “I’ll take that chance,” Lance said. “Please, let me do this. If you want me to go with you and just camp out in the woods, I’ll do that if it makes it easier.”

  Nigel quickly paced in a small circle. This was one hell of a wrinkle in his plans. By all rights, he ought to shut Lance down and head out. But would Lance decide to trail him anyway?

  “Alright.” Then he shot a slight glare at Lance. “But just be careful, and don’t let anything slip about your involvement with Derrick.” He poked Lance in the upper shoulder, though not hard. “Remember, you’re walking into this. You’re going to own whatever happens to you.”

  Lance nodded. “Yeah. I know.”