Dark Titan Journey: Wilderness Travel (24 page)

John dropped the empty magazine as Nathan looked into the mirror and saw a man open the truck’s door and fall out. Nathan was in third before he saw a muzzle flash behind him, and the old deuce picked up more speed.

“Look out!” John yelled. Nathan took his eyes off the mirror and looked forward to see Rodger’s car on the side of the road, picking up speed. Nathan slowed down, keeping Rodger’s car and trailer in front of him. He didn’t want a lucky shot to hit the fuel trailer. Mythbusters said it couldn’t be done, but he’d be damned if he was going to find out if a bullet could ignite a five hundred gallon fuel trailer.

In a few seconds they rounded a curve to see the other trucks moving at a slow crawl. “I’m moving to the passing lane. We are going home, over!” Nathan shouted in the radio.

“Shit, we were waiting on you, over,” Nathan heard someone call out. It was false dawn and his NVG was becoming useless so he took it off. Seeing Nathan take his off, John did the same.

“You think you got one?” John asked, passing Nathan’s M-4 back.

“Have no idea. I just wanted them to leave us alone,” Nathan said grabbing his rifle.

“Is it alright to feel a little weird?” John asked looking out the front window.

Nathan laughed, “I think I need to change underwear when we get back.”

Shock spread across John’s face. “You were scared?” he asked in disbelief.

“Shit yeah, I was scared,” Nathan said. “If getting shot at doesn’t make you scared you are insane.”

John breathed a sigh of relief. “Well that makes me feel better because I might need to change my undies as well.”

Nathan laughed as they continued down the road. After only ten more minutes they were pulling into Bob’s long driveway. Before they even got close to the house they could see people pouring out of it running toward them.

John reached over tapping Nathan’s arm. “I guess they are glad to see us,” he said smiling and sticking his hand out of the window waving at the crowd. Nathan smiled as he pulled over to the barn.

When he stepped out of the truck he was hit by Jasmine as she flew at him, knocking him down. They landed in a crash with Jasmine hugging him tight. Nathan winced from the impact as he felt other impacts driving him into the dirt. Opening his eyes, Nathan saw the kids piling on Jasmine’s back, crying.

The weight started to get to Nathan, driving the air from his lungs. He really wanted that air. Not meaning to hurt them, Nathan started throwing people back till he could breathe. “John!” he heard Amanda yell. Rolling over to his hands and knees, Nathan watched John get the same treatment. The only difference was that Amanda reached him first, not knocking him down. Jasmine and the others took care of that.

Pulling in air to his lungs never felt so good as Nathan closed his eyes, filling his lungs, and felt small arms wrap around his neck. Opening his eyes, he found Emma latched on his neck. “Miss me?” he asked.

“No,” Emma said with her arms around his neck.

“Did you get a job?” Nathan asked, smiling getting up on his knees and hugging her tightly.

“No,” Emma said smiling. Then she looked up. “Sky,” she said.

Nathan laughed. “Yeah, that’s the sky,” he said getting up and walking over pulling bodies off of John. By the time he got to John, John’s face was red from lack of air.

Jasmine spun around with blazing eyes. “We were telling him we were glad you got back!” she shouted.

Seeing the wild look in her eyes, Nathan took an involuntary step back. “And for that we are much appreciative but he needs air. You guys were crushing the air out of him,” Nathan said, pointing at John, whose face was still red.

Jasmine’s hands flew to her mouth as she helped John up. “John, we’re so sorry!” she cried out, followed by everyone else.

With everyone’s help they pulled John up. He had his customary smile. “Oh it’s okay, I’m glad to see y’all too,” he said, hugging everyone. Ares bounded out of the cab of the truck, barking at the group, telling them,
‘Hey I’m here too.’
The kids hugged Ares and Athena joined them.

Jasmine turned to Nathan, who was stretching his back. “What happened? How did you hurt your back?”

Looking at her out of the corner of his eyes, Nathan snapped, “From someone knocking me on my ass.”

“You got beat up?” Jasmine cried out.

Nathan stumbled back. “Ah no, when you knocked me on my back knocking the air out of me,” he replied.

Flying at Nathan, Jasmine wrapped her arms around him and Emma. “I’m so sorry. I was just worried. You guys were supposed to be back before sunrise,” she said pulling back wiping tears from her eyes.

Nathan wrapped her in a hug. “It’s not like we wanted to be late. But thank you.” He kissed the top of Jasmine’s head. Not liking that ‘kid’ kiss, Jasmine moved her hands to the back of Nathan’s head, pulled it down, and kissed him on the lips.

“You kiss me on the lips buster,” she said, releasing him and smiling.

Fighting not to blush, Nathan laughed. “People could get the wrong idea.”

Jasmine scoffed, “Like I care.”

Bob ran over with the rest of the family. Howard and his family wrapped up Nathan and John then Bob walked over as Nathan held out his hand not wanting to be crushed again. Bob batted his hand out of the way and wrapped his arms around Nathan.

“Oh shit,” Nathan muttered as the bear hug started. Luckily Bob’s wife Mindy slapped Bob’s arm.

“Bob, quit squeezing him so tight. He’s changing colors,” Mindy snapped.

Letting Nathan go quickly, Bob stepped back. “Sorry,” he said, embarrassed. “Just glad y’all made it.” He reached out to shake Nathan’s hand.

Nathan looked at the outstretched hand with dread.
If his arms can do that, will he break my hand?
Nathan thought as he slowly grasped Bob’s hand firmly and quickly pulled in Bob for a ‘man hug’ with one arm. Caught off guard, Bob returned the hug and Nathan let go, getting his hand back uncrushed.

“We’re glad to be back and to see you too,” Nathan said, hugging Mindy.

“We’re fixing to start unloading,” Bob said, pointing to the barn. “We pulled out the tractors.”

“Is one of the rooms in there empty?” Nathan asked, pointing at the barn.

“Yeah,” Bob answered.

“Can we use it to store some stuff?” Nathan asked.

“Hell yeah, I’ll give you the keys to it,” Bob said, walking toward the barn.

“Later will be good. If you don’t mind, I want some food,” Nathan said.

Bob stopped and turned around. “The rest of the guys you went with are already inside eating. We’re emptying the trucks,” Bob said.

“We’ll empty this truck,” Nathan said, pointing at the deuce-and-a-half. “Don’t worry, you will understand later.” Nathan motioned to John to follow him to the house.

Seeing the two head to the house, Jasmine and the kids followed. They entered the back into the kitchen and Jasmine led them to the dining room area. In there they found the group that had made the run eating. Nathan put Emma down, which made her start yelling.

“Emma, I need to eat,” Nathan whined, looking down at Emma.

Emma reached up and was opening and closing her hands. “Naafen,” she cried out.

Surprised by that, Nathan smiled and reached back down. “Well since you almost said my name I guess I have to hold you now,” Nathan said, picking her up. Emma squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Grabbing Nathan’s arm, Jasmine led him to a chair at the table then brought him a plate. Like a starving man, Nathan vacuumed up the bacon, eggs and hash browns. Looking around the table at the group and seeing John smiling filled Nathan with warmth he had not felt in a long time.

Chapter 17

Day 21

When Nathan finished eating he led his group back to the barn and was amazed to find most of the trucks empty. Looking at his watch, Nathan confirmed that he had only been inside about an hour. “Shit, they are fast,” Nathan said leading his group to the deuce-and-a-half.

“What?” Jasmine asked.

“They’re almost are done unloading,” Nathan said.

“Nathan, Bob has five boys and one daughter, who are all married with kids. Then you have Rodger’s three boys and their families. Then you have the four field workers and their families. Last night while you guys were gone, six deputies showed up with their families. They have close to fifty people who can work here,” she told Nathan.

“Wow,” Nathan said. “Then they have an excellent shot at making it.”

“I’m still not staying,” Jasmine snapped.

Not even replying, Nathan walked over to Bob, “Which of those rooms can I use for storage?” he asked.

Bob pulled a key from his pocket and led Nathan to a small room in the corner. “We used to store parts in here but it got too cramped so we built a bigger one,” he said pointing at a much larger room on the other side of the barn. Opening the door, he showed Nathan a small ten-by-ten room. “This big enough?”

Nathan nodded. “Oh yeah.”

When they were alone, Nathan and his group unloaded the truck, putting some ammo and all the gold, silver, jewelry, and cash in the small room. Locking the door Nathan went up to the loft with everyone tagging along. They looked out the loft window over the farm. “I’m sleeping up here,” Nathan told everyone. “You can sleep in the house if you want.”

“Casey and I are staying here with you,” Amanda said. Everyone else agreed they wanted to sleep there as well.

They went back to the house and gathered up their packs and the wagon, moving everything but the wagon up to the loft. As they were setting up, Bob brought them some old army cots to use. Nathan took a quick nap and was up again for lunch. He made his way to the picnic tables that were set up outside and he and his group sat down. The kids moved so Bob and Rodger could sit beside Nathan.

Rodger took off his duty belt. “I could sleep for a month,” he said dropping down on the bench.

“I hear ya,” Nathan said. “I had to take a nap.”

“I did too,” Rodger replied. Bob snorted with laughter.

Nathan grinned at the two. “Since you two run this group, I need to meet with you tomorrow afternoon. Just you and no one else. I really wouldn’t advise telling anyone about what we discuss or what I give you.” They both looked more than a little alarmed.

“What the hell do you have?” Bob asked.

“Tomorrow,” Nathan replied, and Bob reluctantly nodded his head in agreement.

Rodger leaned over the table. “Our other brother, Dennis, will be here tomorrow. Can we bring him?”

“Does he help make decisions for this family?” Nathan asked.

Bob and Rodger laughed, and Bob answered, “The General thinks he runs this family! If it weren’t for him the farm wouldn’t be here, not to mention the help he’s given us since this started.”

“Fair enough,” Nathan told them.

Bob grinned. “Just to let you know, Howard is his favorite nephew. Dennis and his wife can’t have kids so they spoil ours and the grandbabies. He’s been by twice since this started but only for a few minutes. He told us last week he was coming up to spend the night tomorrow.”

“Do you think he knows what’s going on?” Nathan asked.

The smiles left Bob and Rodger’s faces. Rodger nodded. “He knows a lot about what’s going on. He hasn’t told us much but he knows much. He’s keeps a straight face but we know him and Dennis is worried about something.”

Staring off, Nathan thought about what he needed to get done then addressed Bob. “I need you to get some people to show the kids how to ride and care for horses. I’m going to use several hundred rounds of ammo teaching the kids and Jasmine how to shoot. If you don’t mind.”

“We can start this afternoon. We have enough saddles to get started,” Bob said.

“Rodger can you take me to the co-op to get some tack?” Nathan asked.

Shaking his head, Rodger held up his hand. “After lunch. I’m not moving till I eat,” he said in a firm tone.

“Hey that’s what I’m doing here,” Nathan said, laughing.

The food was set out and everyone fixed a plate. Sitting back down, Nathan watched Emma just lower her face into her plate, shoving her face into some mashed potatoes. “Are you guys just going to let her eat like that?” he asked the group as Emma came up for air.

“That’s how she eats off a plate. We’ve tried to feed her but when she sees a plate, she thinks it’s a food trough,” Jasmine told him as Emma dived back down.

Getting up, Nathan sighed and picked up Emma, who started yelling. He grabbed her plate and went back to his spot. “Hey! That’s enough!” Nathan snapped, shocking Emma and everyone else into silence.

With wide eyes, Emma looked at Nathan with more than a little uncertainty. Nathan picked up his spoon and started it towards Emma’s mouth. Having none of that, Emma turned her head and pushed the spoon away. “Fine, the hard way then,” Nathan said and put her between his legs, wrapping her up. Grabbing the spoon, Nathan guided it to Emma’s mouth as he held her head still. Emma wouldn’t open her mouth so Nathan pinched her nose closed.

When she tried to breathe through clenched teeth, Nathan shoved the spoonful of mashed potatoes in her cheek. This gave her a lopsided chipmunk expression. Dropping the spoon, Nathan held his hand over her mouth as she tried to push the food out but couldn’t. Emma fought so much she started swallowing the food. It caught in her throat, and she started to gag.

Hearing and feeling the heaves, Nathan removed his hand, letting her cough up the food, then sat her down and shoved a spoonful in as she gasped for air. Emma fought again and gagged. Nathan held her away from him as she coughed up the food. Ares caught on to this and ran up to them, eating what Emma spit on the ground.

The third time Emma fought she was weaker so she actually swallowed some food, but she still coughed and gagged. Repeating this process several more times, Nathan got Emma to eat. With watering eyes Emma realized Nathan wasn’t going to stop and it didn’t feel good. Reluctantly, Emma opened her mouth and let Nathan feed her.

After the potatoes were gone Nathan looked down at Emma, her eyes puffy and watering. “Emma, that was very good of you to eat without fighting me. I always win, so fighting me is useless. You will be the only one to lose,” Nathan told her, getting another spoonful. He looked up to find everyone staring at him. “What?” he demanded.

Seeing Emma’s head wobble on her shoulders from exhaustion, Jasmine gaped at Nathan in shock. “You could’ve choked her to death,” she accused.

“I’m a nurse, I could’ve gotten her breathing again,” Nathan said with certainty. “In case you’re wondering, once I got her breathing again, I would’ve made her eat some more. Resistance is futile.”

Watching the interaction, Bob and Rodger chuckled. Rodger leaned over the table. “You could’ve just taken her plate away till she ate like you wanted her to.”

“I prefer the direct approach, less time-consuming and less headache,” Nathan said as Emma continued eating. She was scared what would happen if she didn’t eat.

“Hey I’m just saying,” Rodger said as everyone else went back to eating. Ares looked up and moaned, seeing Emma wasn’t going to give him any more food.

“Ares, shut it,” Nathan snapped and Ares just laid down, giving Nathan sad eyes. Not able to take it, Nathan grabbed a chicken bone off Jasmine’s plate and threw it to Ares. “There, you big baby,” Nathan said as Ares snatched up the gift.

“Nathan,” Rodger said as he wiped his mouth, “what else do we need here?”

“A ham radio and someone who knows how to work it,” Nathan said, dumping another spoonful in Emma’s mouth.

“It’s that important?” Bob asked.

“Bob, it’s information. Information is what you need. They could run all the radios and keep up with what’s going on around you,” Nathan explained.

“I could see if Glen has his up and running,” Rodger told Bob.

“If it is, see if he wants to move his family out here then,” Bob said, nodding.

“Glen runs a computer store in town and has a nice radio set up. All I know it’s big with a bunch of lights and boxes,” Rodger told Nathan.

Feeling Emma’s little tummy getting round and seeing she wasn’t going to stop eating as long as he put food in front of her face, Nathan turned Emma around, putting her head on his shoulder. Emma was asleep almost instantly. Then Nathan picked up his fork and shoveled food down. “Is he someone that can be trusted and will work?” he asked between bites.

“Hell yeah, more than some of our family,” Rodger answered.

“You can’t let anyone ‘skate by.’ If they don’t work they have to be dealt with fast. It’s bad for morale and breeds resentment. It’s your family and farm, but that’s my advice,” Nathan told Bob and Rodger.

“They work or we will put them in a tent on the back of the farm and let them fend for themselves,” Bob snapped.

“What if that doesn’t work?” Nathan asked. Bob and Rodger considered what Nathan said. “Family can screw you just as bad but most of the times worse than outsiders. I’m just saying you need to think about it,” he told them as he finished eating.

“Let’s hope it never comes to that,” Rodger said looking down at his hands.

“You still need to expect it,” Nathan said, motioning to Jasmine to get Emma. “Rodger, can we take a truck to get the stuff at the co-op? I don’t think I can get everything in your Chevy.”

“Sure,” Rodger said, still thinking about what Nathan said.

Suddenly, dogs barked at the front of the house and everyone stopped eating. “Is anyone watching the place?” Nathan asked, looking around. Bob and Rodger jumped up, grabbed weapons, and ran for the corner of the house. Many of the men did the same, following them. “Guess not,” Nathan said, grabbing his rifle.

Running around the corner of the house, Nathan saw several men heading back to the table. Walking through them, he found Rodger and Bob staring down the driveway. Following their gaze, Nathan saw two people on horses leading several more. He stopped beside Rodger and Bob. “Know them?” Nathan asked.

“Yep, that’s the rest of your horses. That’s Glenda and Mark. They run a horse rescue down the road. She’s a vet and he’s a farrier,” Bob said, raising his arm and waving at the two.

“You really need to get some people on watch,” Nathan said as the two rode into the yard.

“We are. We already started making the guard areas but we didn’t have radios. With the stuff we brought back, we do now. The women cleared out my old office so we can monitor radios there,” Bob said, as the two stopped and climbed off their horses.

“Here’s the rest of your horses,” Mark said walking over to Bob.

“They’re his,” Bob said, jerking his thumb at Nathan.

Mark sized Nathan up. “None of your horses need shoes, they all have good hooves but you need to care for them,” he told Nathan offering his hand.

“I’m going to get some more supplies today,” Nathan replied shaking his hand.

Glenda extended her hand. “Bob told us you were going to ride them to Idaho, is that right?”

“If they’ll get us that far,” Nathan answered, shaking her hand.

“Only if you take care of them,” she said with a stern look.

Knowing she was worried about the horses, Nathan smiled at her, “Ma’am, I was raised with horses. If I had mine, I wouldn’t think twice about riding him that far. I have a lot of stuff and really don’t want to have to hump it on my back,” he said.

Glenda smiled, feeling better. “After Bob left, Mark and I talked,” she said, holding up two gold eagles. “We want to give these back.”

“Keep ‘em, you’ll need them,” Nathan said, ignoring her outstretched hand and walking past her to look at the horses.

His eye immediately fell on a massive grey horse. “I like the Percheron,” Nathan said rubbing the massive neck. The horse regarded him with uncertainty, then enjoyed the stroking of its neck.

“Good eye,” Mark said. “She’s twelve years old and an excellent horse. The only problem will be buying a saddle and tack. They have some at the co-op but was expensive before this crap happened.”

Looking the horse over Nathan was happy with the horse. Each person in his group would have their own horse. They would also have one pack horse and two pack donkeys. “I can’t thank you enough,” Nathan said.

“With what you paid us for these, we will be able to feed the rest of them,” Glenda said, handing over a stack of papers. “Here are their papers and bills of sale.”

Nathan took the papers and Bob led the horses and Glenda and Mark to the back of the house. “Will you be ready to leave in ten minutes?” Rodger asked.

“Won’t be a problem,” Nathan said, heading to the back of the house.

He found Jasmine. “I’m going to town to get some stuff for the horses. No, you can’t come,” he said, seeing her take a breath to ask. “You and the kids have to start learning how to ride and care for horses. Bob is going to teach you, so start rounding up the posse. Remember your life and theirs will depend on how well you ride and take care of your horses.”

“Oh, all right. Just be careful,” Jasmine said, hugging him.

“I’ll make a special point to do that,” Nathan told her returning the hug. Letting her go, Nathan jogged over to the barn and grabbed his messenger bag. Walking around to the front, Nathan saw Rodger in a ‘74 Chevy quad cab at the front of the house. “Nice truck,” Nathan said, climbing in the passenger seat. Looking back he saw Howard and his two boys in the back. Everyone had their weapons between their knees.

Revving the engine, Rodger put the truck in first gear and pulled away. “Yeah, I remember when dad bought it. We almost sold it but instead we kept it in the barn.” He pointed to the brand new Chevy 3500 dually in the front of the house. “Bob just bought that three months ago and all it’s good for now is a lawn ornament.”

Nathan understood. “I have the truck my mom and dad bought me in the garage. It’s still in pristine condition,” he said smiling thinking of the truck. “How long did it take you to get this one running?”