Essential Beginnings (27 page)

“Will you wait until I’m done, missy?”

Henley inhaled and counted to ten to prevent herself from snapping at the older man. Ernie called her
missy
when he wasn’t pleased with something she did and she was damned tired of it. Mav came out of the lodge and walked over to where she was sitting right when she was about to ask Elijah to hand back the list. He surprised her when he leaned down and kissed her. He’d been tense ever since returning from his hike up to the hot springs, not that she could blame him. He’d taken quite a while to get back to her and let her know that the area was clear once she’d notified him that one of the perimeter alarms had been activated. They had no idea who’d been down there or why.

“Why do you have that look in your eye?” Mav inquired, keeping a hand on her shoulder.

“Because I won’t give her the list back,” Elijah muttered, finally finishing going through the twenty-eight names. Eleven of them were too elderly to do any hard labor, so after much discussion some of them were posted to the HF radios. The others were detailed to food preparation and kitchen duty. That left seventeen people who could be used for the harder tasks. Besides the ones who’d already been given their duties, Gage Dorian was assigned facilities maintenance. Rob Wicks was assigned to the livestock. Lola and her daughter, Missy, wanted to stick with what they knew—which was taking care of the running day-to-day operations of the lodge. The sheriff and Ernie, however, had managed to talk Missy into supervising the nighttime sentries, namely because she could outshoot the lot and had better organizational skills than any of the rest of them. Mabel had already staked claim on the kitchen. Mr. Jenkins had been given the task of battening down the lodge and cabins to ensure they could withstand ten centimeters of wet ash. Sherman Roan would run the grow room in the bunker while Terrell Vaughn would transport supplies and materials to whomever needed them. Kirk Parson would now maintain the natural mountain spring in the bunker as well as test the remaining springs in the valley for acid content. Henley would run logistics of the whole operation. “Here. The ones with the marks next to their names are the ones you have to worry about should the going get tough around here.”

Elijah had handed the list back to Henley, but she held it up high enough for Mav to see as well. There was a star next to the names of Gage Dorian, Sherman Roan, Mrs. Nantri, and Reggie Thomas—who totally shocked Henley. The mayor? Elijah was telling them they needed to worry about the mayor?

“Reasons?” Mav got straight to the point, removing the paper from Henley’s hand and folding it in half.

“The first two are selfish and will most likely start stealing rations when no one is looking. The third is here because of Ratliff, even if she did give me a damned good cane. As for the mayor, well, he’ll pretend to hand over the reins to the sheriff while standing back and waiting for him to make a mistake. It’s more pride, but that’s the downfall of good men.”

Henley scanned the area, ensuring that no one was close enough to hear them having this discussion. No wonder Mrs. Nantri had asked if she could learn the HF radio system. Mav had told Henley time and time again that people showed their true colors at times like these and she was utterly astounded that she’d read some of these people so wrong.

“I’ll share this with Tank and the sheriff,” Mav disclosed, giving Henley’s shoulder a squeeze before he walked off of the porch and headed up the access road to the bunker. He turned back around before he got too far. “Tell Missy, Jeremy, Dylan, and Jason that I need to talk with them before they go on rotation. The sheriff is currently monitoring the entrance along with Parson but I’d like for someone to be on a higher elevation.”

Henley stood and walked around Elijah, patting him on the shoulder. He might be a tad bit crotchety but he was sharp as a tack. The more they planned and the more everyone agreed on what was being decided, it made her confident they could survive what was coming their way. Worst-case scenario would be that the ash was too thick for these structures to take, which was highly unlikely due to the way Ernie had them constructed. If that did happen they would all move into the bunker for whatever the number of days needed before venturing out and seeing what was left. She had a feeling Mav would disagree with inviting certain outside individuals inside, but there wasn’t a chance in hell she’d leave anyone out here to fend for themselves. After having gone over the capacity, they found they would be able to move more cots in specific areas but it wouldn’t be for a ten-year span that way it was originally planned. There was plenty of space and supplies to go around for at least a couple of years if needed—it was better than nothing.

Henley made her way to where Dylan and Jason were helping their father with the horses, taking the time to look up at the sky. Once in a while ash would float down to the ground, but it wasn’t much more than a reminder of what was coming their way. They would be ready. She was proud of what they’d accomplished in the last couple of days. With Ernie’s well thought out plan and what they’d all referred to as his irrational hobby, they had a sustainable way of life here for as long as they needed until the infrastructure of the States rose out of the ashes.

It wasn’t long after she’d passed on the instructions from Mav that Henley decided to stop by her cabin to grab a sweatshirt. The evening air had chilled a bit and since she was more than likely going to be out late this evening going over numbers with everyone, she’d like to be comfortable. She’d unlocked the cabin door, but instantly remembered the extra step that Mav had wanted her to take before entering. She looked up to where the strip of tape was located and saw that it was intact. She removed it and would have to replace it with another before she locked up for the evening.

Henley finally pushed the door open and then shut it behind her as she made her way across the living area and into the bedroom. She took time to use the bathroom and wash her hands before walking over to her dresser. She drew the shirt she was wearing over her head, opting instead for a thin long-sleeved shirt meant to be worn underneath something heavier. She’d just opened the drawer where she kept her sweatshirts when she thought she heard something in the living room.

Henley quickly turned, leaving the drawer open while her hand went to her holstered Beretta. She didn’t move, but instead stayed where she was to see if she could hear anything else. Silence reigned and yet the air was heavy as if she wasn’t the only living creature inside her cabin. Her heart rate sped up and blood rushed through her ears as she strained to listen. She’d lived here for three years and had never once been afraid.

She slowly took a step forward to the bedroom door, which she’d left open. She had a direct line of vision to the front door. It was ajar. Henley knew for a fact that she’d closed it behind her and she could have kicked herself that she hadn’t locked it. It wasn’t like there was anywhere to hide considering the layout of the cabin, but she was still too far away from the door to see the living area.

Henley soundlessly withdrew her weapon and quietly took a few more steps, bringing her closer to the threshold and giving her a better visual. She still couldn’t see into the corners and she tightened her grip on the butt of the weapon, trying to ignore the perspiration that now coated her palms. Mav’s words kept resonating in her head about the desperation people felt in these circumstances. Why would someone target her though?

“Henley, why is the door open?”

“Shit, Mav!”

Henley startled at the loud entrance Mav had made, his voice booming through the cabin. She lowered her gun, his gaze following and suddenly darkening in intensity. She swore her heart had rammed against her chest as the adrenaline had rushed through her and she leaned against the doorjamb for support. Her legs were now made of Jell-O and her fingers were trembling as she holstered her weapon.

“What the hell is going on?”

“I must not have locked the door after I came in—don’t lecture me about it either—and I heard someone out here.” Henley glanced uneasily around the room now that she had a full visual and didn’t see anything out of place. “Do you think—”

Henley didn’t finish her question since Mav was no longer in the cabin. He was through the door before she could stop him, although she did follow him outside. She kept her hand on her weapon as she stayed in the doorway and waited for him to return. It wasn’t a good idea to go around the other side when he wasn’t expecting it, catching him off guard. She scanned the area, but found nothing or no one in the vicinity of her cabin.

“Get what you need,” Mav instructed as he rounded the corner, startling Henley once more. It was apparent he’d found something or else he wouldn’t appear so heated. “We’re calling a meeting and instructing everyone that they now have to patrol in twos. No one is to leave the main area without someone by their side.”

“What did you find?” Henley asked, searching Mav’s face for answers when he didn’t reply right away. A sliver of fear ran up her back, replacing her earlier confidence that they had everything under control. “Mav?”

“We still have someone inside our camp. There are footprints leading away from the back of your cabin, but then they fade into the trees.” Mav reached for her, rubbing his hands up and down her arms in what she assumed was reassurance. Unfortunately, the tension in his body caused her to recognize the danger they were in. “Whoever breached our security earlier today never left and now we’re all targets.”

M
av camouflaged himself
against Henley’s boulder, keeping his Rock River AR style rifle at the ready. Being next to her favorite place had him thinking of her and he was so grateful to have her by his side during this strange time. Her irritation at him joining the others to help with security was quite adorable, although he doubted she’d look at it like that. She was also a little peeved that he was out here while she was at the lodge accounting beans, bullets, and bandages. She did agree they needed someone inside that was well educated in weapons. The majority of the camp’s group was holed up in the main lodge with the older generation. The other men and women were now doubled up and patrolling the immediate area above and below the encampment, east to the bunker and west to Whispering Creek. The sheriff had made a run down to the Pine Peak Silver Mine to have a conversation with Rat.

“I appreciate the use of the HF radio.”

Mav glanced over to Kellen, who was his partner until Ramsey returned to camp. This way he could keep an eye on the man without leaving him to roam free. There were too many unknowns right now and the sheriff seemed to think that maybe Rat had someone staking out the place, but that didn’t explain why the person entered Henley’s cabin.

“That Special Forces team that you’re with…how many of your men are out there?” Mav asked, keeping his tone casual. They might as well shoot the shit while monitoring the area. From their vantage point they’d be able to see someone coming a mile away down the slope—especially with those Northrup Grumman M24s. “I overheard you say you were at a fishing lodge, but you kept the coordinates off of the air.”

“I’ve been nothing but honest with you since I set foot on this property,” Kellen said as he continued to look through his glasses. He did pull them away to look over at Mav before he finished answering. “The team I’m with is made up of four men—including me—and one woman. There are only two on the West Coast, which is who I spoke with this evening. The other two were out of the States when Yellowstone erupted.”

“So your team knew of your
vacation
?”

Kellen sighed and shifted his stance so that he could rest his elbow on his knee as he brought up his binoculars. Mav wasn’t about to let this go, because there was no way in hell a man like Truman would take a fishing vacation packed the way he was. He was either hunting or scouting, but there was a damn good reason for his presence. Kellen finally pulled the M24s away from his face.

“Look, the team was granted leave and I had some personal business to take care of that I’d put off long enough. This area was convenient, that’s all—a place where no questions would be asked. A base of operations that was out of the way.” Kellen barked a laugh, more at himself than anything else. “Only someone with my luck would end up at a retired Marine’s fishing lodge who just happened to be a prepper. To answer your question, my team is always well aware of my location. There wasn’t a need to broadcast coordinates just for some schmuck to overhear and head this way. It appears we have enough trouble on our hands with the locals.”

“This personal business you’re talking about—I take it that it’s still unresolved,” Mav guessed, more comfortable now that the pieces of the puzzle were fitting together. What he wasn’t too crazy about was that there weren’t that many people around this area Truman could have personal business with. Did that mean that he was looking for someone who resided in Lost Summit? “Would you care to expand on that?”

“No.”

Mav hadn’t expected Truman to share his personal business and with Yellowstone erupting, it was highly doubtful that he would get whatever it was resolved anytime soon. They sat in silence, observing the area and taking note of anything that appeared out of the ordinary. An hour eventually passed before they saw headlights entering the camp and heard Jeremy’s voice come over the two-way radio announcing Sheriff Ramsey’s return.