American Revenant (Book 2): Settlers and Sorrow (4 page)

Chapter 6

            Continuing
across the large yard and up the hill, it took them just a few minutes to reach
the main building of Camp Oko Tipi.  They were silent for that short walk,
stunned by Jonathan Cambrey’s story as well as his hospitality.

            They
stood in front of the main house, which was the communal kitchen and gathering
area for large families or groups staying at the camp.  There were several
outbuildings surrounding the main building, with another building off to the
right.  This building looked like either an office or a family cabin.  Other
than the main building in the front parking area they knew there were seven
separate cabins for families.  Each of these cabins acted as bunkhouses, with
only basic amenities. 

            There
was also a baseball diamond right out front, and an enclosed basketball court
up the hill to the northeast.  A small concrete in-ground swimming pool was
down a narrow graveled trail, to the west of the main building. 

            “Well,
we could stand out here all day and gawk, or we could get inside the main hall
and take a look.  After that, we can walk the perimeter of the camp; see if
it’s something we can make defensible.”

            Lisa,
Rick and Jimmy followed Gordy up on to the narrow front porch, where they all
stood looking at the door. 

            “Give
it a knock, make sure there’s nothing hiding in there?”  Jimmy asked.

            Rick
tapped the door hard with the butt of his pistol, keeping it in hand just in
case, while Gordy and Lisa kept watch behind them.  When they heard nothing
Rick knocked again, harder this time.  They waited nearly a full minute before
trying the door.

            Rick
kept his pistol up in a ready position, while Jimmy tried the door.  The knob
would not turn.  “It’s locked tight, deadbolt and all.  Break in or check the
windows for another way?”

            “I
hate to break the lock if it isn’t necessary, but I’m pretty sure they keep
this place buttoned up tight when it’s not in use.  Go ahead and see if you
can’t bust it open.  We can tie it shut with something when we leave and make
it a priority fix when we come back.”

            Jimmy
and Rick take turns at the door, both kicking it at the lock area, as well as
driving their shoulders into the door.  They bruised their shoulders plenty,
without budging the door at all.

            “It’s
a solid lock.  Doesn’t surprise me, I’m sure they had to worry about vandals
way out here.  Let’s take a walk around the building, maybe we can see a better
way in. 

            They
came down off the porch, going around the right side of the building.  They
went all the way around the structure, from the larger front part around to the
open pavilion in back, without seeing an easier way in.  The back door seemed
to have just as sturdy a lock as the front.

            “It
looks like all of the windows are wire reinforced, so just busting one and
climbing in is out.  We could shoot out the locks on the front door.  Well,
just shoot out the deadbolt, the door will pop open easily after that.” 

            “I
think you may be right, Rick.”  Gordy said.  “I hate to do it, not because of
the noise, but damaging the lock sucks.” 

            At
the door, Rick took Jimmy’s .30-30 and placed the barrel directly against the
door where it met the jamb.  “Usually you would do this with a breaching shotgun,
but we don’t have one, so I’ll make this work.  Side note guys; we should
always have a shotgun in a group.”

            “Duly
noted Rick.”  Gordy faced away from the door and covered his ears, with Lisa
and Jimmy doing the same.  “We’re ready, go ahead.”

            Rick
angled the rifle up and slightly out, putting the barrel in what he thought
would be the best position for disabling the lock.  Turning his face away, he
slipped his finger into the trigger guard and squeezed slowly, so he wouldn’t
slide the gun away from the spot he wanted to hit.

            The
loud report of the rifle set Rick’s unprotected ears to ringing.  He handed the
gun back to Jimmy, and they all took a moment to examine the hole.  The bullet
had struck exactly as Rick had hoped, tearing the deadbolt out as it went
through.

            Jimmy
stepped back and gave the door a solid kick next to the knob.  The door flew
open, and Rick had his pistol up and ready before the door could slam back
against the inside wall. 

            They
stepped into a large open room, tables were pushed back against the walls
leaving a straight shot to the back door leading to the open pavilion.  There
was a small, but well-appointed kitchenette. An older refrigerator, propane
oven and cook-top, and a small microwave fit neatly in between a few cabinets. 

            “Remind
me to check the propane tank outside, might be a nice stroke of luck if it has
any in it.”

            “It
would be, Gordy.  It would be cool if we could somehow get electricity, run
that old fridge too.”  Jimmy looked at the others, thinking they would laugh,
but they were only nodding their heads.

            “Does
anyone fully understand how EMP works?”  Jimmy asked.  “I mean, we have to be
fairly certain that it was an EMP that put the power out since everything went
dead at once, right?  Cell phones and things would still work if some nutbag
had blown up a sub-station.

            “I
know from everything I’ve read, that no one really knows what an EMP would do
overall, but most experts agree that any modern electronic devices would be
toast.  Too many tiny circuits and such that would burn up fairly easily.  There
hasn’t been any extensive testing done since the 1960’s I think.”

            “So
maybe that old refrigerator would work if we could somehow get power?”  Lisa
asked.

            “It’s
possible I guess.  But I think we should focus on making this place livable by
making it defensible.  You guys want to take a walk around the edge of the
place, see if we can set up some sort of fencing or wall to help make it more
secure?”

            “I’m
not sure a wall is feasible,” Rick offered.

            “I
know if we were to wall off the entire camp it would be a monumental effort,
especially without heavy equipment.  I’m confident that we could do a fence of
some type though.  Something simple, but strong enough to keep the dead from
walking right in to the camp should be sufficient, at least for the short term.”

            They
had turned left from the main house, following a narrow dirt road that led them
to the small, concrete swimming pool.  The area was completely surrounded by
deep trees, with the narrow driving path continuing past on the east side of
the pool. 

            “Could
we use this for water storage?”  Lisa asked. 

            “If
we could clean it out, make sure there were no chemicals lingering in there,
yeah it would be great for water storage.”

            “Rick’s
right,” Gordy added, “with the proper cleaning this would work well for water.”

            Jimmy
laughed, “Well for water? Nice one, man.”

            “Smartass,”
Gordy said, laughing along with the others.

            They
continued following the looping road, pointing out areas they thought would
best suit a fence.  They found the cabins dotted throughout the camp, not
liking that they were so far spread out.

            “I
think that until we get a fence up and possibly some sort of watchtower we
should keep everyone up in the buildings by the main house.” 

            “I
agree with that, Gordy, but we have to remember that we have limited manpower.
Using only hand tools it could take us a while to get up even the most
rudimentary fence.”  Rick looked around the camp, and down the road leading to
the main house.

            “If
you have some ideas, man, share them,” Jimmy said.

            “I
will, once we’re back and talking with everyone.  I need to think about it some
anyway.”

            They
were nearly back to the main house, when Gordy told the others that his left
knee was starting to hurt.  “I need to remember to wear that support when we go
out walking around like this.”

            Jimmy
was just about to open his mouth with a remark about being old when they heard
a gunshot nearby.

            Rick
looked at the others, “From Mr. Cambrey’s I think, sounded that close.”

            “Want
me and Jimmy to run ahead?  We can make sure he’s ok; you guys can catch up.”

            “No,”
Rick told her, “if you’re in a group you stay in that group no matter what. 
Never separate like that, it’s just asking for trouble.”

            Lisa
nodded in reply, taking Rick’s lesson in stride.

            They
stepped up their pace, even though Gordy was starting to limp just the
slightest bit from the pain in his knee.  They passed the stone marker set at
the edge of the graveled parking area, directly across from the main gathering
hall.  The stone was a memorial to the family that had donated the property
back in the 1930’s.

            They
made good time back to the Cambrey home, and found Jonathan sitting on the
front porch steps, his shotgun propped next to him.

            “We
heard a gunshot, are you ok?”  Gordy asked.

            The
old man sitting there on the porch steps wore the sadness on his face like a
mask.  It wasn’t something he could have hid from the others even if he had
tried. 

            Jonathan’s
voice was low and thick when he finally spoke.  “Did what needed doing, nothing
left but the ground now.”  He looked out toward the front yard, where his
wife’s bloody body now lay. 

            The
others stood there quietly, uncertain that any words would be sufficient for
the moment.  The silence lasted several long, uncomfortable minutes, until Rick
spoke.

            “Mr.
Cambrey,” Rick laid a hand on a bony shoulder, his voice gentle and soft. 
“You’ve done the hardest job; please let us help you now.”

            Jonathan
Cambrey looked into the hard face that spoke with such a caring voice and
nodded.  He pointed half-heartedly to a two-door garage that sat about four
hundred feet from the house.

            “Martha
always keeps her car up here by the house.  That’s my work shed, tools and such
out there, and my old truck.  You can find what you need in there.  Keys are on
a hook in the kitchen.”

            After
Jimmy retrieved the keys, the three men of the group walked down to the shed,
while Lisa stayed behind to sit with Jonathan.

            “My
heart breaks for that old man.  I just want to get back to the island, put my
arms around Tamara and not let go for about, oh, the rest of the day.”

            “Me
too, Jimmy.  I could spend the rest of my life holding Jan, and be just fine
with that.”

            Rick
stayed quiet, thinking that at least he had Tyler and Trish as a surrogate
family.

            Jonathan
had kept his work shed neat and orderly.  With the exception of a few oil
stains on the concrete floor, it was very clean.  Pegboard had been hung along
one wall, with each tool having its place.  The long workbench sitting beneath
the pegboard was just as neat and clean as everything else.   

            They
found several shovels hanging from pegs at the far end of the bench where
longer tools had been placed.  Jimmy and Rick each grabbed a shovel, and Gordy
pulled a pick mattock down from the wall. 

            Having
chosen the tools they would need to dig a suitable grave for Martha Cambrey
they took a moment to look around the shed. 

            Jonathan’s
“old truck” was a well-kept 1960 Dodge pickup truck.  Light brown in color,
there was no rust to be seen, though they could see bloody handprints on the
passenger side door.  “He’s taken damn good care of that truck,” Gordy stated.

            There
was also a large older lawnmower, with a front blade attachment and a small
trench digging attachment placed neatly beside it. 

            “I
don’t think Jonathan liked to buy new stuff.  Most of this is older, but really
well kept.” 

            “Well,
you have to think,” Gordy told Jimmy, “he came from a time when you didn’t just
throw things out and buy new ones.  You took care of it, fixed it when it
broke, bought new parts to replace worn out ones, instead of buying a whole new
whatever it may be.  For too long we’ve lived in a disposable society.  If it
breaks, buy a new one.  From cars to toasters, taking care of things and
keeping them in good repair is a virtue that has long been forgotten.”

            Jimmy
and Rick let Gordy have his soapbox moment without comment.  They had heard it
before on many occasions, and both men agreed with him on the subject.  There
was no point in beating that dead horse again.