Kiamichi Refuge (11 page)

***

About the time that Charlie and Tanner left the lodge, Richie Baxter was leaving Kanichi Springs with a load of prescription medicines and everything else he could pack up from his store. Rumors that several convicts were coming to Kanichi Springs had been flying around ever since the prison riots. Richie didn’t know if the rumors were true, but he figured that one way or another, things were going to get scary soon, so he packed up all that he could fit in his Tahoe, and put the rest in an old enclosed trailer that he had bought from a neighbor a few months back. Towing the trailer, he set out to find Erin’s place. Once he got outside of town, he called her.

“Hey, it’s Richie. I had to bug out, and I am on my way to you. Can you give me some general directions?”

Third Week of July

Over the next several days, the group at the lodge settled into a new routine. Ian’s schedule for the night watch worked out well, pairing each of the original three men with one of the women, for three-hour shifts, with Vince as a backup guard. He was still reeling from finding his sister and nephew with their throats slashed. They had both been sexually assaulted, and that convinced him that he knew who was responsible, because it was exactly what Ollie had threatened.

Since Valerie was not experienced with any type of weapon, she was the only female who did not stand guard, but Tanner and Ian were working with her on gun safety and had just started teaching her to shoot.

Every few days, they would take her at least a mile into the woods to practice, so the sound of gunfire did not attract attention to the lodge. Tanner knew of a place where the shots would echo through the mountains, making it difficult for anyone to accurately pinpoint where the shots came from. Valerie’s reluctance to be around guns had vanished the day she was mugged, and she was eager to learn.

Erin and Jen were up on the deck one morning, picking green beans and watering tomatoes. Jen had been very quiet for days, worrying about her family. Erin reached down to pull a few yellow squash, when they heard the dogs growling.

Grabbing the rifle she had propped against the railing, Erin gestured for Jen to follow, then led the way downstairs. Each of them had an assigned place to be, so that every approach to the lodge was covered. Jen’s post was at the window across the living room from the door.

Tanner peered out the front window, carefully scanning the woods for any sign of movement. A flash of blue caught his eye; someone on foot was coming up the driveway. When the figure came completely into view, Tanner realized that it was Lydia, and she wasn’t alone.

A middle-aged couple limped along behind Lydia, the woman supporting the man, who seemed to be struggling. Tanner put a finger to his lips for silence, then beckoned to Jen. She quietly moved over to Tanner’s position. He gestured toward the window.

“Anyone you know?” he whispered.

Jen leaned around to look, and blurted, “Oh, thank God! It’s my parents!”

She started toward the door, but Tanner stopped her. “We need to wait. There may be someone else out there, with weapons pointed at them. Let’s make sure that they’re not being forced to act as bait before we open that door.”

The three newcomers stepped onto the porch and Lydia knocked on the door, Waiting and watching, Tanner finally signaled Jen to step back and let him open the door.

“Come in, quickly,” he urged, practically dragging Lydia inside. He helped the Martins, and as soon as they were inside, shut and bolted the door.

Jen held her parents tightly, as tears streamed down her face. When she was finally able to speak, her voice was hoarse and raspy, but the questions were rapid-fire.

“Are you okay? What happened? Where are the boys? Are you hurt?”

“Let us sit down and we’ll fill you in,” her mother begged. “We’re exhausted and your father hurt his knee.”

Everyone joined them in the living room, with Charlie watching the back door and Vince guarding the front. Erin got each of them a drink of water and put a pot of coffee on to brew.

Jen’s dad insisted that he had only twisted his knee a little bit and would be fine as soon as he had some rest, so Jen got an ice pack out of the freezer, wrapped it in a small towel, and handed it to him before placing an ottoman where he could elevate the leg.

“We left Tulsa early, but didn’t make it out of town before we ran into a roadblock,” Jen’s mom began. “They said that we were free to go, but young people between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five were being conscripted into a security force. They…they took our boys,” she sobbed.

Jen’s dad patted his wife’s leg and continued the story. “They told us that the boys would be trained and assigned to a town in another state to keep people safe. They’ll be fed and issued uniforms, but can’t contact us until they complete their training and arrive at their assigned base. I think they take them to other states to discourage them from deserting and trying to get home.”

Jen began to cry softly. “We’ve been so worried. How did you get separated from your car? Some friends of Tanner’s found it a long way from here.”

“We stopped on the turnpike to, uh, relieve ourselves, and three guys came by and carjacked us. They had the drop on us before we knew they were anywhere around. So we set off walking. We slept in the woods, and went hungry. Then we finally got to Kanichi Springs, and found Lydia, who offered to bring us out here. She didn’t have any gas for her car, so we walked.” Jen’s dad took a long drink of water. “Without her help, we would still be in town, trying to find a way to contact you.”

“Where are your cell phones? I tried and tried to call you,” Jen asked.

Her mother looked embarrassed. “We left them in the car, along with our guns. What a stupid, amateur mistake! I can promise you that we won’t do
that
again. Now, aren’t you going to introduce us to your friends?”

Jen introduced Tanner, Ian, Richie, Vince, and Charlie, adding, “You already know the rest. Guys, this is my mom and dad, Frances and BJ Martin.”

Turning to Lydia, Erin asked, “How are things in town?”

“Lonely. A lot of people have left, mostly those able to walk to wherever they’re going. I don’t know where they went, but there’s nothing left to stay for, really. There’s no food to buy anywhere. Electric power is spotty now, and off more than it’s on. The water treatment plant is shut down. People have gotten sick from drinking water from ponds and swimming pools. Some have died. I guess anyone who could get out just left. I was almost out of bottled water, and completely out of food.”

“Then you’ll stay here. You can’t go back to town now. You’re welcome here.”

***

Charlie moved upstairs to the men’s dorm so that Frances and BJ could have the other downstairs bedroom and be together. Lydia moved into the women’s dorm with Sarah, Jen, and Valerie.
I’ll have a room to myself for now,
Erin thought,
at least until more people show up.

After a quick shower, BJ put on some clothes that Richie loaned him, and asked Tanner to come out to the porch with him.

“My wife is pretty upset about the boys. Do you think they’ll be okay?”

“I’m not sure that ‘okay’ exists anymore, but if they have food and water, and are working with a group, they may be safer than we are here. It depends on where they wind up,” Tanner replied, trying to be honest without being negative.

“I would go after them, if I could, but until we know where they are, there’s nothing we can do, I guess. I hope that they can at least stay together. So, how did all of you wind up here?”

Tanner leaned back and explained. “I grew up in Kanichi Springs and I knew Erin’s uncle. He was a friend of my family, and I’ve been checking in on the girls as often as I can, staying overnight lately to help with guard duty. Charlie is a fellow from town who had been living in an old shack in the woods near here, at least until he can harvest his plants. He grows a little patch of marijuana, but he’s a good guy. He got jumped by some thugs, so Erin took him in.”

Ian and I have been friends since we were toddlers. He helps me with my dog training and kennel sometimes, and I help him unload trucks of furniture for his store in McAlester when he needs me. There was trouble in McAlester. Ian’s store got looted by a mob, so he came out here, too. On the way, he found Vince, who worked at the prison. He needed a place to stay, and we can use the help.”

BJ looked around the clearing and chuckled. “Well, I guess this amounts to early retirement for me. Not exactly how I pictured it, but I am thankful to be alive.”

***

Tanner left that afternoon to check on his family, walking through the woods almost soundlessly, as his grandfather had taught him. The soft snap of a twig breaking drew his attention to a meadow on his left, where a doe grazed. He saw bobcat prints and three squirrels, and made a mental note that he might need to add more meat to the larder soon.

Nearing his destination, Tanner stopped and surveyed the area. He heard the sounds of children playing, and that told him that his family was okay, so he crossed the yard and tapped lightly on the back door.

Rose lifted a corner of the curtain to make sure it was him, then unlocked the door and let him in. Talako followed close on Tanner’s heels.

“I’ve been around since you stopped to admire that doe. You travel well in the forest, but you let me get close. Be careful, son. These are dangerous times.”

Julia came into the room and hugged Tanner, smiling gently. She looked at her husband, then at her grandson. “You let this old man sneak up on you? For shame!” she teased.

Tanner patted his grandfather’s shoulder and laughed. “He is the
only
one who has been able to do that since I was eight. I guess I know a better man when I see one.”

Just then the twins threw themselves at Tanner, hugging him around the legs. “Uncle Tanner! Come see the pictures we colored!”

***

Talako, Julia, and Tanner sat on the porch later that night, talking about how the neighbors were doing and what was happening in the cities. Tanner told them what Lydia had said about the water being shut off, and people leaving town, and explained about Ian and Vince joining the group, and how Richie had arrived with a full load of medications.

“The only ham operator around here is Mac, as far as I know. Thank God that we have solar panels, but we need to start practicing light discipline. No lights from dusk until after the sun is up, unless we can blackout the windows.”

“Yes, and we’ll have to continue standing watch,” Julia added. “We have only six adults here, so we’re stretched thin.”

“I can stay here more, if it will help. Vince is starting to come out of the stupor he was in over finding his sister and her boy. He can take my spot on the duty roster.”

Talako scratched his chin, a habit he had when he was thinking. “We may take you up on that if things get any worse, but for now, you should stay at the lodge. You know, I believe I have a big roll of heavy black plastic in the garage. We could cover the windows, I suppose, in a room or two, so we could still use lights there. We’ll need to really watch the children to make sure they don’t reach for a light switch in the other rooms.”

“It’s already hard to keep them in sight and close to the house during the day. The older ones understand that something bad is going on, but the little ones want to play outside. They’re noisy, too.” Julia shook her head. “We need to do some drills or something to train them to get quiet, or to get down if there is danger. I hate to destroy their innocence, but they have to learn that life can be dangerous now.”

“So, Tanner,” Talako teased. “”How are you doing in your quest to win the heart of fair Erin?”

Tanner laughed softly, shaking his head. “It’s not a good time to court a lady, Grandfather. She has a houseful of people and the same problems we have, except there are no children there. Progress is slow, but she is warming to the idea.”

Grinning, Talako winked at Julia and turned back to Tanner. “True, the timing could be better, but I have faith in you. She’s a beautiful young woman. Smart, too. You chose well.”

***

Erin and Valerie were hanging laundry on retractable clotheslines that Erin had found in the mudroom and Ian had installed across the patio, when Charlie spoke softly from the back door.

“There’s news,” he called.

Ian and BJ sat near an old radio that Charlie had found in the men’s dorm. Television programming had gradually died out, and there was no longer any news to be seen on any channel, but some radio stations were still broadcasting. Reception was spotty, but the announcer’s words could be made out if the volume was turned up high.

“Continuing riots at the state prison have resulted in the deaths of several guards and at least ninety inmates, but the remaining guards have lost control of the situation, and withdrawn to safety, allowing dozens more inmates to escape.”

Residents in the area are warned to stay indoors and lock all doors and windows. Many of the escapees are armed, and all are dangerous. If you are alone, please be advised that you should join with others in your neighborhood to establish a watch. Check on the elderly and avoid travel for any reason. Escapees will be looking for food, liquor, and clothing to replace their prison apparel.”

Erin looked at Ian. “Will you move the clothesline into the house? We’ll let this load dry outside, then dry the rest inside. We probably don’t need to be out in the open hanging laundry, and we need all clothes we have.”

***

Tanner spent the night at his grandparents’, but got up before dawn and showered quickly with a scent-killing body wash. He dressed in camouflage leafy-wear, then grabbed his PSE Dream Season compound bow, and a quiver full of ICS Hunter 340 arrows, tipped with Muzzy 125 three-blade broadheads, and set out to find meat.

Moving silently through the woods, he carefully approached the tree stand that he had put up the previous fall. He hooked his bow and quiver to a line, put on his climbing harness and went quickly up the ladder. He then pulled the line up to retrieve his bow and arrows. Pulling his facemask on, he nocked an arrow and waited. The automatic feeder was empty, but a well-used game trail passed right in front of the stand.