Essential Beginnings (9 page)

Mav automatically lifted his turn signal and pulled off to the shoulder of the road, initiating his hazard lights. He reached for his cell phone and took it off of the car’s hands-free link before placing the device to his ear. He was picking up sounds that he hadn’t before and figured Berke was in the process of hauling ass from Texas to Washington. Mav had a ton of questions but went with the most vital.

“How long do we have?”

“Paige doesn’t know and she went against a specific direction even telling me the truth, so our conversation was brief.” Berke muttered quite a few foul words underneath his breath before continuing. “Tank’s been right all along, Mav.”

“Listen closely,” Mav advised, swiftly bringing Berke up to speed on Tank’s summary of how this would play out. “The population of Lost Summit is forty-eight, and that doesn’t include Ernie and Henley residing up at the lodge. The bunker can’t hold that many people for an extended amount of time, but I figure a lot of them will head north like I originally suggested. Those that stay could probably survive in town, but would fare better being up at the lodge.”

“You’ve changed your mind about that?” Berke asked, somewhat surprised. “You think the area is that well protected?”

“Tank has obviously spent a lot of his idle time planning for something like this and although we might razz the shit out of him for it, he’s come to some solid conclusions. In short, the blast radius of one hundred miles will initially be the worst area affected, but with the ash cloud reaching the east coast within seventy-two hours…eight-five percent of the United States is going to be buried under six hundred and fifty cubic miles of ash and debris very quickly. Lost Summit is reasonably protected from the blast and ash, at least until the winds of the northern hemisphere carries it around the earth…and even then we should be able to make do considering the valley has its own natural resources—natural water springs, Ernie’s natural gas well, and a screen of very large mountains in all directions. The bottom line is there will be no safe place to go, but we have a better chance in Lost Summit than anywhere else. So get your ass here as fast as you can but steer clear of the blast radius. Call the others and tell them what’s taking place while I head back to town. Take a circuitous route and bring what you can. Make sure you are well armed and bring all the reloading supplies from your shop if you can.”

Berke acknowledged he’d heard Mav’s request, but neither spoke the words aloud. Having a small arsenal on hand during times like these was the safest plan for them and their loved ones. The saying
it’s better to have a gun and not need one than to need a gun and not have one
sprang to mind. His own stash was back in Illinois at the apartment he was renting. That wouldn’t help them now.

Mav’s gut tightened as he thought of the various reactions yet to come. Half of the town would follow Tank’s lead, but the other half would either not believe him or allow fear to override their common sense and flee to the north. Panic wasn’t an easy emotion to quell, especially when it was formed in a group mentality. It was the people with the intent to take advantage of a distressing situation that they had to worry about. Especially those that wanted what Ernie had built for themselves.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Berke replied with no preliminaries.

“I don’t know how long we’ll be able to have contact with each other after it erupts.” Mav finally shut off his hazard lights and shifted the Jeep into drive, making a U-turn in the middle of the road after looking both ways. “The weight of the ash, especially if it rains, will take out most of the electrical grid fairly quickly. Try to stay in touch until then so we at least know of your whereabouts when time runs out. After that use 14.275 megahertz during the day and 3.975 megahertz at night. We’ll monitor those frequencies for emergency transmissions until everyone arrives. Get the word out to the others.”

“I’ll see you soon, brother.”

Mav spent the next five minutes trying to get ahold of Ernie, but the older man had a tendency not to take his cell phone everywhere he went. The lodge’s main line just ran and rang, indicating that Henley was still out and about. She wasn’t answering her cell phone either and was probably seeing to the guest that was arriving this morning.

Mav finally set the phone back into his console, knowing and trusting that Berke would call the rest of the group while he took care of the residents in town. They had been a team before and they would be again, because the world as they knew it was going to change forever. The silence in his vehicle became stifling and he rolled down the window, allowing the breeze to fill the Jeep. The scent of pine and shrubbery enveloped him, reminding him that the earth had endured many obstacles. He spent the drive back imprinting the scenery in his mind for he knew it would never look the same again. Survival surpassed anything else, including his personal feelings regarding Henley. This moment and the years ahead were about life and death. Fate had given them a hand that they couldn’t win, but it was in Mav’s nature to stay at the table as long as he was able. This time he also needed to keep his fellow players in the game.

H
enley finally had
time to herself and she took advantage of it by walking down to the river. Her attempt to talk to Mav had been a disaster and she was forced to face the type of person she’d become, which was no better than those people she’d left behind in her old life. Knowing that she’d stereotyped Mav for years without ever attempting to find out the truth didn’t sit well with her and she was now forced to examine her life. Mav was right when he’d said she belonged here in Lost Summit, except it wasn’t for the reasons she’d originally thought. Her home had not only become a refuge, it had become an unhealthy hiding place. She’d made it to the edge of the water where a large boulder she’d designated as her own was located.

The sound of running water was the only remedy for her frayed nerves. It had always been that way for as far back as she could remember. Lost River ran down from the Canadian side through the town of Lost Summit and paralleled the road that ran east out toward the campground and the lodge. Lost Mountain Lodge was actually situated in a valley between Lost Mountain and Snowy Peak on the north side of the river. Ratliff’s Summit Creek Campground was closer to town below the closed Pine Peak Silver Mine on the north face forward sloop of Salmo Mountain above the wide ravine that Lost River ran through. There were several major creeks that ran down off of both Salmo and Lost Mountains, all of which fed the growing river as it ran east toward the southern sloop of Snowy Peak.

Henley had walked the road leading down from the valley the lodge occupied. The gravel road followed the course of the valley’s creek and crossed over it near where it joined the river’s edge. It hadn’t occurred to her until now that Whispering Creek must be fed by several mountain springs similar to their own. It was clear, cold, and fast moving. The rainbow trout collected in the deeper pools closer to the river. The climb back up the lodge’s rock road over the bridge and up the gentle sloop would aid her in wearing away her tension so that she might sleep tonight.

She’d been eighteen when she’d moved to California, way too young to recognize that her parents had been right in asking her to go to college. She’d thought she knew everything and drove away in her partially restored 1964 white Karmann Ghia convertible with stars in her eyes. The most amazing thing was that she’d really made it and had become one of the most sought after fashion models in the industry. It hadn’t been easy and by the time she’d realized the price tag of success, it had been too late and the damage was done. Little by little the leeches and predators of the industry drained her life force away until she didn’t know whom she could trust or which way to turn. She’d become a shell of the young girl that had arrived with glorious hopes and dreams, leaving behind an isolated woman with health and trust issues.

The cold hard truth was that she’d had it easy compared to Mav and he had somehow come away without having a tainted view on the world. She couldn’t imagine the childhood he’d had and yet he’d turned into a man of honor…just as Ernie had said and she’d been too afraid to open her eyes and view him that way. She hadn’t wanted to see it because Mav affected her in a way that truly scared her. He made her want to be a better woman while he only wanted her for whom she already was. Maybe she didn’t feel he should be burdened with her as she was. She honestly didn’t know because her head still wasn’t on straight.

“You gonna sit out here and mope?”

Henley closed her eyes at the cutting edge in Ernie’s tone. She didn’t need this now, not when she was already beating herself up. She would need to find a way to apologize to Mav and she’d have to make it count this time. She hadn’t approached him in the best way earlier, but she didn’t want to discuss making another mistake with Tank.

“I was just taking a short break,” Henley said, doing her best not to sound defensive. She turned her head Ernie’s way as she spoke. “Kellen Truman is set up in cabin five and he’s requested the river fishing boat for five o’clock in the morning. I will say that there’s something off about that man.”

“I just met him and I agree with that statement, although I can’t put my finger on it. I’ll keep a close eye on him though.” Ernie crossed his arms and widened his stance as he looked out over the flowing river. “I take it things aren’t much better between you and Mav?”

“Tank, I don’t want to talk about it,” Henley ’fessed up, pushing off of the boulder. “I was wrong. I need to fix it. End of story.”

“You should have fixed it three years ago, but you didn’t.”

Henley could have used the excuse that three years wasn’t the issue. Mav had only been back to visit three times for his annual vacation and one additional time over a holiday. Basically she’d only seen him four times to personally ask about the magazines, but she’d chosen not to. She didn’t need to be reminded of how she’d mishandled things.

“And you could have shared a little more about Mav than some war stories,” Henley berated him, immediately regretting her words. Ernie wasn’t to blame for her mistakes and bad assumptions. A headache was starting to form and it wasn’t even lunchtime. “Tank, I’m trying. I really am, but nothing has gone right and I’ve only made things worse. You want the truth? Mav is different than the others for some reason and that scares me. I don’t know why, but he is and how I reacted to that was wrong. I can’t repair it overnight. I don’t even know if I can ever mend the damage I’ve managed to pile up because I’ve questioned his integrity.”

“Are you telling me that Mav told you about his childhood?” Ernie asked, facing her with a look of speculation. His one bushy eyebrow rose above to touch his baseball cap. “He doesn’t share that with just anyone, Henley.”

“I don’t think he intended to, which makes it even worse.” Henley slipped her hands into the back pockets of her jeans, just now seeing that Ernie had once again got his way. She was spilling everything and he would undoubtedly give his sage advice whether she wanted it or not. “My past troubles seem like a bed of roses after hearing a little of what he went through. I had loving parents, a town full of people who cared for one another, and I was accepted back without question. My trials and tribulations while I was away were infinitesimal compared to what Mav went through, and yet he’s a hell of a lot better person than I am.”

“You’re mad at yourself and rightly so, but there’s no point in crying in your beer about it. Mav will come around and when he does, you’ll have an opportunity to make things right. And he’ll let you because of who he is.”

“Friendship, though,” Henley warned, not wanting Ernie to get his hopes up. She highly doubted that Mav would want anything more after she’d made him feel like he wasn’t any better than the mud on the sole of her shoe. The pain in her chest at her transgression was nothing compared to how she’d made him feel and the need to drive after him once more settled in, but she’d never catch up to him now. She’d call him later tonight and hope that he’d pick up the phone to let her speak. “I—”

The sound of a vehicle pulling up on the gravel lane behind them could be heard a ways away, stopping Henley from probably saying something she’d regret. This day wasn’t really going her way, but she had no one to blame but herself. She hadn’t been prepared to see Mav’s Jeep pulling up on the road above or the butterflies that had decided to take flight in her stomach. Seeing him now that she’d come to her senses was a little overwhelming and she found herself really wanting him to accept her apology.

“Looks like your day is becoming a little brighter after all,” Ernie announced, appearing happier with himself more than anything. Henley didn’t comment as they walked up the slight incline to the roadbed. Something caught her eye farther up the valley beyond where Mav’s Jeep had pulled to a stop and she saw Kellen leaning against a tree a quarter mile up watching them through field glasses. He was about Mav’s height, with jet-black hair that went well below his collar and brown eyes that were almost as dark as his pupils. He was quiet, a little too quiet, and only spoke to her to answer any questions she’d had. He definitely didn’t remind her of any fisherman she’d ever met. Something wasn’t right about him, but she would let Ernie handle it. “Mav, what brings you back here so soon?”