“We’ve been through all those houses. No one is living there,” the man replied.

  “We only arrived a few days ago. We saw the house was empty and claimed it for our own,” Mike said easily. “We didn’t know it was spoken for. We’ll move on.”

  The soldiers exchanged looks before one stepped forward, eying Amanda closely. The gun was still sitting in her waistband. She could reach for it, but she’d be shot before she ever got a shot off. Ezra’s rifle lay next to his pile of clothes, which the soldier immediately spotted.

  “How many weapons do you have?” he growled.

  “Just the rifle, sir,” Ezra replied, taking another step out of the water.

  “Don’t move,” the soldier ordered, raising his gun and aiming the barrel at Ezra’s head.

  Ezra’s hands went up. “We’ll go.”

  “This area is under our control,” the soldier announced proudly.

  “I thought this was an Air Force Base,” Amanda asked.

  The soldier sneered at her. “It’s our base now.”

  “Oh, we didn’t know. We came here looking for refuge. We’ll move on,” Amanda said, using a small voice.

  The soldier stared at each of them in turn. The men in their state of undress was actually helping their situation, Amanda realized. If the soldiers would have encountered them thirty minutes before, the situation would have been very different, but as things were, they couldn’t have looked more harmless and unthinking.

  “You seen anyone else out here? We’re looking for a group of people, a woman and a couple guys who would have come from the west, making trouble,” the soldier asked.

  “We’ve seen lots of women and lots of men. Most dead,” she replied nonchalantly, fear making her nervous.

  They were looking for her, it seemed, but how had they known she’d be in the area? Her mind raced as she thought about Austin being captured and tortured for information. She quickly corrected her thinking, however. He would never give up the plan. Though, one of the others might have.

  The soldiers seemed satisfied with her answer, and slowly retreated, leaving them with instructions to get out of the area by tomorrow if they didn’t want to be removed in body bags. Once they were out of sight, the men quickly dressed, no one talking in case the soldiers remained nearby. Amanda didn’t want to look like the woman in charge. She walked over to Ezra, whispered in his ear, and then wrapped her arm around his waist. His arm went around her shoulder as he pulled her into his side.

  No one questioned them as they put on a big show, looking like the happiest couple in the world, Ezra carrying himself proudly and taking on the role of the leader of their group. If the NWO soldiers were watching, she hoped they had eliminated all suspicions about their identity. Things were going to be much more difficult now. Getting into the computer center to launch the missiles was going to take some serious planning.

  31

  Savannah walked alongside Raven, Andy barely keeping his eyes open as the gentle rhythm of the horse’s hooves lulled him into contentment. They weren’t far from Boise, and all she could think about was seeing her father again. She owed him a huge apology for running off. She knew it was wrong to have done it, but she couldn’t change things—and, in her mind, she wondered if maybe she’d been meant to be there to save Andy. There was no doubt in her mind that he wouldn’t have survived without her and Malachi finding him, and she figured that had to mean something.

  “I think we can be there tomorrow,” Malachi announced, walking beside Charlie.

  “I wonder why they didn’t go to that other base,” Savannah mused aloud. “It was closer.”

  “Amanda and Sarah said the missiles needed were at the Warren base. Your dad did mention it,” he answered.

  “Oh,” she replied, staring across the flat terrain with the freeway seeming to stretch on forever. She was so tired of the flat, dry land with so very few trees to break up the monotony.

  “Look!” Malachi pointed to a sign, never seeming to tire of pointing out even the smallest of sights.

  Savannah herself was sick of the signs and the history. As it turned out, they really were following the Oregon Trail. There were various signs marking spots along the way. It was like the world’s longest, most exhausting history lesson. Reading about the journey was one thing. Actually walking it was entirely different.

  There was a large gazebo off the road they were traveling, which seemed odd—why would anyone have bothered planting it in the middle of the southern Idaho desert? Malachi had already veered off-road, taking Charlie with him as he headed in the direction of the structure.

  “Come on, Raven,” Savannah sighed, too exhausted to tell Malachi they needed to keep going.

  “Check it out!” Malachi said again.

  Savannah helped Andy down, walking to where Malachi was reading a large board describing what they were seeing.

  “That’s the city?” she gasped, staring at the buildings sprawled out in the distance.

  “It is. That’s Boise. We’re about ten miles away.”

  “Look at the river,” she said longingly. She would have killed to dive into that cool water, drink gallons of it, and wash her hair all at the same time. They hadn’t bathed in a week. There was dirt and sand clinging to her skin and her hair, and even coating her teeth.

  “We could stay here tonight and go into the city tomorrow. Your dad is down there somewhere. There’s a National Guard base, he said. He was supposed to be in that area,” Malachi added excitedly.

  “Okay. We can stay here for tonight. It’ll be nice to have a solid roof over our heads and something other than the ground to sleep on. That tent gets stuffy. Does that sound good, Andy?” she asked.

  The boy slowly nodded, still not talking a lot. Savannah looked around the area. It was filled with weeds and sagebrush. She saw nothing they could forage for dinner, though the river in the distance was beckoning. It was too far for them to get to before nightfall. She could wait one more day, she assured herself.

  They sat down on one of the picnic tables under the giant gazebo. It did feel good to rest her feet and get out of the heat of the day. Her eyes stared down at her hands, covered with a layer of dirt she felt convinced would require a full bar of soap to scrub clean. The color of her skin was darker than she had ever seen it, and it wasn’t all dirt. She’d gotten a deep tan from the hours spent in the sun every day with no sunscreen. She figured skin cancer was the least of her worries, of course. She wasn’t sure she’d live long enough to develop cancer.

  Malachi stretched out across one table, closing his eyes. Savannah watched him as he fell into a quick sleep and began snoring, and then her eyes moved over to Andy. The kid was just as dirty as she was. She offered him a small smile. Andy’s eyes widened as he stared at her, and in another moment she recognized the look as fear.

  “Andy, what’s wrong?” she asked, reaching out to take one of his hands in hers. “You’re okay,” she assured him.

  There was the slightest sound from behind her. Malachi bolted upright.

  “Don’t move!” a woman’s voice called out.

  Savannah spun around, ignoring the command. A woman wearing camouflage and pointing a rifle at them greeted her from perhaps thirty feet away, and she was getting closer, with other men and women in camouflage further out behind her. The woman’s dark brown hair was pulled back in a sleek bun. Savannah guessed her to be in her mid to late forties. She had a hardened, weathered look about her that was intimidating.

  Andy whimpered behind her. “He’s a little boy and you’re scaring him!” Savannah seethed.

  “You’re all kids! Is this a trap?” the woman barked.

  More women and a few men were coming up behind her, hurrying forward now that she’d gotten so close and initiated contact, all of them wearing the same green fatigues. She recognized them as U.S. military, but couldn’t determine which branch. “We’re not a trap,” Savannah said firmly, hoping the people pointing guns at them were actually the good guys.

  “What are three kids doing up here? Did Staff Sergeant Harrison send you here?” the woman asked.

  Malachi and Savannah looked at each other. “We don’t know who that is,” Savannah answered.

  “We’ve traveled from Colorado. We’re supposed to be rejoining our group in Boise,” Malachi explained.

  “Your group? What group are you a part of?” the woman asked.

  “My dad, his mom, and a few friends. We’re not a part of any army or whatever,” Savannah quickly added, noticing the way the woman had gone on edge.

  “You’ve come here from Colorado? On your own?” she asked skeptically.

  “Yes,” Savannah answered firmly, staring into the woman’s eyes to try and prove she wasn’t lying.

  The woman seemed to be evaluating them, sizing them up. “Get them some water,” she ordered.

  “Thank you. This is Andy. I’m Savannah, and that’s Malachi,” she said, hoping to put the woman at ease.

  “I’m Master Sergeant Beth McAuliffe. Everyone calls me Macbeth. We’re with the Air National Guard,” she announced.

  “You’re with the Guard? Does that mean the government’s running?” Savannah asked excitedly.

  The woman winced. “No. Not technically.”

  Savannah sighed. “Oh.”

  “Who is that other person you asked about?” Malachi questioned.

  Macbeth let out a long sigh. “She was my right hand until a few weeks ago. We had a difference of opinion. Her tactics are not in line with my own way of doing things. We’ve sworn to fight for our country and that’s exactly what my team and I will keep doing. Harrison has taken a small faction of Airmen and some other people she’s recruited. They’re holding one of the hangars where the bulk of our supplies has been stored.”

  Savannah groaned. “More fighting?”

  The woman’s look softened some, understanding in her eyes. “Is it like that everywhere?”

  Savannah nodded, her eyes going to Andy, who was greedily gulping down the water that had been flavored with a packet of electrolytes. “Yes. My dad is hoping he can stop this from getting worse.”

  “And how does he plan to do that?”

  Malachi and Savannah exchanged a look. As much as she wanted to trust the woman, she knew it was foolish to take anyone at face value, but if they couldn’t trust the government and a woman like this, who could they trust? Ever? “He’s trying to stop the NWO,” she said simply.

  “You know about the NWO?” Macbeth asked, sounding surprised.

  “Oh, we definitely know about them,” Malachi muttered.

  “You know about them and your dad left you alone?” she demanded, sounding irritated.

  Savannah looked down at her hands. “I kind of ran away.”

  The woman paused, pursing her lips. “I see. And, somehow, your father is planning to take down the NWO? How big is this group? We’ve been in the area and we haven’t seen them. We’ve seen plenty of the NWO. We think they’re going to try and take over the base. Harrison is too stubborn to listen to me. We’re stronger together, but she’s convinced she can save herself by hiding out on base and guarding it. She won’t last,” Macbeth said with a hint of sadness.

  “My dad has information that can stop them!” Savannah blurted out, earning a look from Malachi.

  “Who is your dad?” Airman Cliff asked, having just introduced himself to Andy.

  “No one. He just happened to get the information right before everything went dark. We know the NWO has satellites hovering above the earth, armed with nuclear warheads that will be launched should our government make any forward progress in bringing the power grid back up. He came here to shut down the control systems that allow them to move the satellites. Our friends are on their way to Warren Air Force Base to use the launch codes my dad has to launch missiles at the satellites and take them all down,” Savannah said, speaking quickly before she changed her mind, her words tripping over one another as she rushed to get it all out before Malachi shut her down.

  Macbeth’s mouth was hanging open. The other men and women crowded under the gazebo looked just as shocked. After several seconds, Macbeth opened her mouth to speak and then shut it again, seeming to collect her thoughts.

  “Who is your father?” Macbeth asked again.

  “No one you would know. He isn’t military. He isn’t anyone,” Savannah answered. “He was a journalist before things went dark.”

  “And he’s planning to take on the NWO?”

  Savannah looked at Malachi before answering. “Yes. We’ve kind of been chased by them all the way from Tennessee. My dad has a USB stick that they want. I’ve been captured by them. They burned down the house we were living in and they’ve murdered several of our friends trying to get the information.”

  “How big is your father’s army—I mean group,” the woman corrected herself.

  “Five. There were five of them when they left Colorado,” Malachi answered.

  Airman Cliff scoffed, shaking his head and looking at some of the others. All of them smirked or outright laughed. “Five people are going to take on that army? You say you’ve seen them; what would make him think he could ever be successful?”

  “Because he’s the bravest man I know. My uncle is with him and they are not going to go down without a fight. He’s probably down there right now, fighting for his life. We have to get there and try to help!” Savannah snapped, her chin going up and her shoulders going back as she defended her father.

  Macbeth held up a hand. “You seem to know a lot about what’s happening.”

  “Like she said,” Malachi spoke up, stepping forward, “Austin, her dad, has a lot of information. Someone found out what the NWO was going to do and slipped him a USB with the information. That was right before the EMP, but there are files and files on what the plans are, how they were going to distribute propaganda and all that, along with the information about the satellites and the missiles. The guy that got the information worked for the NSA. He gathered the information in hopes Austin could get it to the right people before they could launch their attack. It was too late. That man was killed by the NWO and they’ve been after Austin ever since. It isn’t a joke, ma’am, and I for one firmly believe Austin will do what he has set out to do,” Malachi said, his voice full of fight. “That or he’ll die trying,” he said more quietly.

  Macbeth looked from Savannah to Malachi, and then to her people. “We need to talk. Sit tight,” she said in a gruff voice.

  Savannah watched the group move away about twenty feet. She guessed there to be maybe twenty to thirty of them, with more standing guard near the roadway. The fact that she and Malachi hadn’t seen or heard them approaching was testament to their exhaustion. They’d been focused on the view and hadn’t been paying attention to what was happening behind them.

  “What do you think they’re talking about?” Savannah murmured.

  “I don’t know. Hopefully, it isn’t about whether or not to kill us. I’m tired of people trying to kill us all the time,” he replied.

  Little Andy gasped. “Malachi, really?” Savannah scolded.

  “Sorry. Don’t worry, Andy. They seem like good people. They gave us water,” he said, holding up his bottle of water.

  Savannah drank from her own, the somewhat putrid grape flavor making her cringe. She knew she needed the water and the packet of electrolytes that had been dumped in it. And they couldn’t be all bad if they were offering them water—she hoped.

  Macbeth walked back, a few of the men coming with her while the others stayed back, checking weapons and making various hand signals. Savannah got to her feet again, ready to fight if need be, even though she knew she didn’t stand a chance.

  “We’ll escort you into the city. The computer center you’re talking about is at our base. Your father will be ambushed. There were NWO at the main gates. Harrison may have already been overtaken. We have to try and help her, and we will help your father if we can,” she promised.

  “You’re going to help the person who kicked you off base?” Malachi asked.

  “I’m sending one of my people in to arrange a meeting. I think she’ll be more inclined to join forces if it means combatting the true enemy. One of the things we argued about was her wanting to go after the NWO, while I wanted to lie low and protect the base,” she explained.

  “Really?” Savannah asked. “You’ll back my dad?”

  “If he has what you say he has and he has a plan, I’d love to meet him and see how we can help. We’re here to serve. It’s what we signed up for and it’s what we intend to do until there’s nothing left. We’re committed to our country,” she said simply.

  “When?” Malachi asked.

  “Now. We can’t afford to wait,” she said, her tone grim.

  “What? Why?” Savannah asked, sensing there was something being left unsaid.

  “Like I said, the NWO has already been there. Harrison can’t hold them back for long,” she said.

  Savannah had been looking forward to resting, but it wasn’t meant to be. “Come on, Andy. Let’s get the horses.”

  “We have some nourishment packs. You kids look like you could use some food,” Macbeth offered, a smile on her lips as they moved to the horses.

  “Please. Andy hasn’t eaten in a couple days,” Savannah said.

  Macbeth smiled. “I’m guessing that means you two probably haven’t eaten in longer than that. We’re here. We’ll do what we can to keep you safe.”

  Savannah had to blink back the tears she felt pressing at her eyelids. She was tired, making her more emotional, but it had been too long since someone had taken care of her. She was tired of being strong for Andy. The idea that she could rely on someone else for a while was welcomed, even if it might be for just a short time. “Thank you,” she whispered, and then she turned to help Andy onto Raven.

  It felt good, safe, to be encompassed by armed soldiers, fighting for the good guys. She could let her guard down. She looked over at Malachi and smiled. He smiled back, and it was a real smile—something she hadn’t seen in days.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81