Storm Tide Rising: Blackout Volume 2 (36 page)

Mike listened carefully as he sat in the darkness and tried to pick up even the faintest sound. He heard the deep, rhythmic breathing from outside the open doorway, but he couldn't tell which direction it was coming from. Someone was deeply asleep, in any case. Other than that, a cricket chirped loudly from some hidden corner inside, echoing the dimly heard songs from outside the high window behind his bed.

Mike cursed under his breath and lay back down. One of the only sounds that had always kept him awake at night was crickets chirping. He once slept through a category three hurricane in an open garage, but a singing cricket would get him every time. He briefly considered tracking the insect down and squashing it, but he quickly discounted the idea. Not only was he far too weak to crawl along the floor, he was fairly certain he’d make enough noise to wake the dead.

So, Mike stared at the dark ceiling overhead and listened to the night sounds, trying to ignore the crickets, both inside and out. After a while he was pulled from his reverie by the sound of distant footsteps echoing down the hall. There was some muffled noise from out in the hallway, and whoever was sleeping was roused.

Two shadowy figures stepped into the room through the door at the other side, and Mike heard Maria's voice whisper. "How is he doing now? Did the fever break?"

"Yeah, I hope it did anyway," Alyssa answered. "He was mumbling something earlier, but I think he might have been dreaming. What's it like outside?"

"The rain's stopped, finally, at least," Maria said. "Everyone's gone, though. They left us what they said they would, but they're gone."

"And Alex?"  Alyssa asked quietly after a long moment of silence.

"Still nothing," Maria answered.

Mike decided he'd heard enough, and he sat up slowly and a little painfully. "How long was I out this time?" he asked nervously.

Alyssa snorted hard. "Don't be dramatic, Mike. You were only asleep for a few hours. Your fever went up to about a hundred, but I think that was probably more because you overexerted yourself than anything else."

"Then what did you mean about everyone being gone?"  Mike shot back.

"Shouldn't listen to people’s conversations, Mike," Maria scolded him, and much to Mike's surprise he actually felt bad for intruding. "But we meant exactly what was said. We're the only three left at the White Water Center. The rest are gone. North to get around the city, or West to leave it behind."

"Jesus, and you stayed because of me?"  Mike rasped, his heart sinking suddenly. "You should have left with the others."

"Not just for you, Mike," Alyssa replied. "You remember Alex? Well, he helped a lot while you were under the weather. As soon as it started looking like you could possibly turn the corner and get better, he went out for a supply run. He hasn't been back since."

"How long?"  Mike asked weakly.

"Three days ago now," Maria answered.

Mike shook his head and tried to stand. "That's too long to be out on his own. No way he could carry enough water to last that long, and it's got to be hard to find clean water outside."

Alyssa shrugged slightly. "You've got to be creative, but it's not impossible. Alex is tougher than I thought when we first met him. I think he'll be back...eventually."

Mike's eyes had adjusted enough to make out Maria as she frowned at her older sister. "We may not have that long to wait. We only have limited supplies now ourselves, and things are getting desperate in the city. Before many more days pass we're either going to run out of water or we're going to have someone come knocking on that gate and they're not going to leave. What then?"

"Before this fight really heats up," Mike interjected, "can I get something to eat and drink?"

Alyssa shot him a glare, and Maria giggled a little as she stepped out into the hall to get a protein trail bar and citrus flavored sports drink. Mike tried to follow the sisters' conversation as they debated the merits of either staying or leaving, but his brain was still moving slower than normal. He was slowly feeling stronger as his body clawed its way back from the infection that had nearly killed him.

Both the meal bar and the drink were gone surprisingly quickly, and Mike stretched back out on the infirmary bed. His eyes grew heavier and heavier as he tried to listen to what they two women were saying. Eventually, their half-heard words faded to a dim hum, and then they were gone altogether as Mike drifted into a deep, untroubled sleep.

Ch.59

Word Gets Around

Joe stepped out into the darkening gloom and pulled his leather bomber jacket close around him. His M4 hung from a sling on his back, and a holstered Beretta was strapped to his upper thigh for a quick right-handed draw. Joe wore light neoprene mechanics gloves and kept his hands well clear of his pockets as he walked down the front steps and across the yard. The rain had all but stopped, and a heavy mist that was almost a thick fog hung in the air. Everything was saturated, and the mist made the wool fringe of Joe’s collar damp by the time he reached the gate.

"Danny," Joe said, sticking his right hand out immediately, "good to see you again. And I'm glad you decided to come have a talk before shooting a cow this time."

Danny smiled and nodded. "I thought it would best to avoid any misunderstandings. Besides, I may have some stuff you want too."

"Well, you sure picked a heck of a time to be on the road," Joe said, and he stepped over to unlock the gate. "Why don't you come inside and sit down so we can talk and get warmed up and dried off. First, I'll have to ask you to hand over your guns while you're on our property."

Danny froze, and so did Tom. The air between the three of them suddenly seemed about to spark from the tension. "And what's to guarantee my safety if I hand over my guns?"

Joe fixed him with a cool, even stare. "I am. You come under my roof, you come under my protection. But I won't have someone I don't know walking around armed inside our fence line. That just ain't happening. Now, hand over your guns, or you can turn right around and go back the way you came. Understood?"

Danny paused, but knowing he had no choice if he wanted to talk to Joe, he nodded reluctantly. Joe motioned to Eric who took the man's two revolvers, his semi-automatic .45 and a lever-action rifle from the saddle of the horse he was leading. "He's got a few knives in here, Dad," Eric said after checking one of the saddlebags. "Should I pull them out too?"

Joe raised an eyebrow at Danny, who shook his head. "That's part of what I have to trade, not for personal use."

"Leave them in there, then," Joe said to Eric, never taking his eyes off Danny. "If you go for them while you're on our property, and I think you mean to do harm with them, I won't ask you to put them down. Got it?"

"Word gets around about you, Captain Tillman," Danny said after a moment. "People say that you're a hard man, but you're a fair man. I hope they're telling the truth."

Joe chuckled softly. "So do I," he replied.

Danny gave a slight shrug. "Fair enough," he said.

Eric tucked the man's handguns behind his belt and into a spare pocket of the vest he wore beneath his poncho. He handed the rifle over to Joe, who took it and checked the chamber to make sure it was clear. Danny led the horse through the gate, and Tom followed them.

"I'll stay on guard, Eric," Tom said, "You should go in with your father."

But Eric shook his head. "Tom, you sound like you're going to hack up a lung any minute," he said, patting the older man on the back. "You might have a cold right now, like you say, but if you stay out in weather like this you're going to get pneumonia. I'll be fine, and I'll come switch out in a little bit."

Tom started to answer, but a hard bout of coughing shook him from deep inside his chest, and it took several moments for him to finally catch his breath. In the end, he nodded and followed Joe and Danny to the house. Joe showed Danny where he could tie off the horse outside the backdoor and then led the man into the family room.

The room was crowded with children, adults, and the smell of fried tenderloin and fresh biscuits. Joe pulled Beth aside and whispered, "Can you take the kids to the front of the house, please? We're going to have some business to discuss, and it's stuff they might not need to hear."

Beth nodded, and with Christina and Beth-Anne's help, they started herding the children through the kitchen and toward the front wing of the house. Gilbert, Bill, and Levy all sat in the den still, exchanging greeting and introductions with Danny in quiet voices. Meanwhile, Blossom, Imogene, and Maimey all crowded into the kitchen to start fixing something warm for Tom and their guest.

Joe stood behind Levy's large patent leather recliner, and Danny stood in front of the crackling fire facing them, his pack still on his shoulders.

"Well, Danny," Joe said after the introductions were done, "I've got to tell ya, I wasn't sure if we'd ever see you again or not. I'm glad to see your uncle wasn't too upset with our deal."

"Oh, he was plenty upset," Danny said, "Just not with you. I would tell you what he said, but I don't think I'm old enough to use that language yet."

Levy and Gilbert both chuckled.

"That's one of the reasons I'm here," Danny said, his voice turning serious. "My uncle and I both wanted to show you that there's no hard feelings on his part, or on mine. We were both just doing what we had to do. And I brought some good knives, blankets, different stuff to see if you had anything you might need to trade."

"And the beef," Joe said, arching an eyebrow. "I mean, that's why you're really here, right? The meat."

Danny nodded. "That's part of it, but not all of it," he admitted. "I saw on the way in y'all have had problems with the jackals too. Well, that ain't the worst of it. There's a group in town now that is calling themselves the 'Salvagers.'  They go into houses and take whatever they find as part of 'salvage operations.'  The problem is these people ain't too careful about making sure the house is empty of people first."

"You mean they're killing people and looting their houses?"  Bill asked from the couch.

Danny nodded. "Pretty sure once they run out of easy pickins in town, things are bound to get ugly."

"How many people are we talking?"  Joe asked quietly.

Danny shrugged. "I don't know myself, but from what I've been told, no more than about twenty five or thirty doing the actual killin and plunderin. We all figured if you hadn't heard about it, you'd better know in case they show up. Looks like y'all can pretty well take care of yourselves, though."

Joe took a deep breath, and shook his head. "Not sure how we'd do against that many at once. We've had a few stragglers and some unfortunate run-ins, but no real coordinated attacks. You?"

Danny shrugged uncomfortably. "We had one. Group of nine men tried to break down our storehouse doors, and we had to run 'em off. Killed three of them and shot two more. We were worried for a few days that they'd come back, but they never did."

"Why don't we hit them before they hit us?"  Joe asked.

"Look, I don't know what you did before," Danny said, "but I'm not a soldier, and none of the people we're with are. If someone comes after us we'll respond, but I don't know about going after people who are already dangerous. Now you seem pretty dangerous yourself, so that might not worry you, but it worries me."

Joe chuckled softly. "Last time I saw you, Danny, you stared me down while you were smoking one of my cows with two bear-sized guard dogs by your side, and you're calling me scary?"

"Just keep your eyes out for the Salvagers, okay?"  Danny said.

Joe nodded. "Fair enough, Danny, thank you for the warning," Joe replied. "Now what are you looking for as far as beef?"

"The meat I got last time is running thin," Danny said, "and we're going to need more to get us through the winter. We can hunt deer and squirrel some, but we need a solid and dependable source of meat, and right now that's y'all."

Joe nodded. "We're facing the same thing here," he said carefully. "But we're going to need to use this resource carefully so it doesn't dry up in the first few months. What do you have to offer?"

"Well, with the shop, we had certain dry goods in bulk that it's tough to get these days," Danny said as he set his back pack down. He rummaged through the main pouch for a bit, then pulled out three gallon-sized Ziploc bags, each full of a white substance and wrapped with plastic wrap. "Salt, sugar, and baking soda," Danny said as handed the bags to Levy.

"A gallon Ziploc of each isn't going to buy you much," Joe said, careful to keep his interest concealed. "How much of these can you get?"

Danny smiled, "Tons," he replied. "We've got a storage house with pallets of the stuff in hundred pound bags. We used the salt and sugar in curing, smoking, and processing for sausages and all kinds of other products. The baking soda was for our store front. You can cook with it, clean with it, all kinds of stuff."

"What's the rate?"  Joe asked.

"A pound of beef for a pound of salt," Danny answered, "and two for one sugar to beef."

Joe looked at Levy, who shrugged and nodded once. Joe stuck his right hand out to Danny. "I'll have to clear it with my partner in the herds, but I think we can at least tentatively say it's a deal."

Danny nodded, but didn't shake Joe's hand. "There's one more thing," Danny said hesitantly. "This arrangement will work for a while, but there comes a point where we won't want to get rid of any more salt or sugar. And we really want to get to the point where we can supply for ourselves."

"Sounds like you're suggesting another deal, Danny," Joe said. "Just what are we talking about here?"

"Well, my uncle has horses," Danny said, "You know they're good animals; you've got two of them. We were thinking we could work out a trade of some sort, calves for colts in the spring."

Joe's mind raced as he rolled over the possibilities. Horses were definitely something they were going to need to make travel easier and quieter. Especially if they were going to have to start dealing with organized threats and attacks. After a long moment, Joe nodded. "Like I said before, Danny, I'll have to go over this with my partner. He's out keeping an eye on the herds now, but when he gets back I'll talk it over with him. Can you stay a while?"