Compass Call: Survival & Awakening (The Gatekeeper Book 3) (54 page)

CHAPTER 15

D
espite John’s information that the two railroad men were safe to approach, the news about Roger being armed concerned Pete too much for him to abandon his overwatch plan altogether. John was fine with that, but asked Pete not to shoot Roger, even if he pulled out his gun and pointed it at any of them. He added that Roger would most likely be nervous and cautious, but he probably wouldn’t shoot anyone without talking first, like in the form of an introduction. Pete didn’t think that was funny, but John assured him he wasn’t trying to be. He explained to Pete that Roger, and his co-worker, were generally harmless, and not a threat to anyone in their company.

Pete shrugged and said, “OK . . . you’re the boss,” and led Jeff quietly into the woods. Their plan was to approach the camp from the south, and then position themselves to cover John’s and Adam’s approach from the east. The difference in routes would give Pete and Jeff enough time to settle into their overwatch positions before John and Adam reached the camp, but John walked slowly to give them a little more time. He and Adam strolled casually along the pasture side of the fence, carefully watching for signs of life.

When Adam started walking tactically, moving carefully and carrying his rifle at port arms, John reminded him that they weren’t on a hunting trip, and to relax. Despite their military style weapons, John’s goal was to appear as if they were out exploring the area, so he wanted to look and act as casual as possible. He tried to make conversation with Adam, to help relax him a little, but he gave up when Adam didn’t
respond. John saw that his son was too deep in his role to talk, so he put on a more serious mind and played along with him.

They saw fresh signs of cattle, such as cow pies and fresh hoof prints, but there were not animals to be seen. Adam wondered if the cows were hiding in the trees, which they tended to do when the weather was extreme, but John pointed out that he thought the barbed-wire fence ran the entire length of the wooded area along the tracks, so they couldn’t even reach the trees. John wondered if the fence irked the land owner. To be so close to living water, but have to water the cattle with stock tanks, must have really bothered him.

A snap of a twig stopped the two men and they quickly dropped to a knee to survey the area. John studied the tree line, and after a brief moment he pointed to his ten-o’clock. Adam squeezed his dad’s shoulder to tell him that he also saw what John was pointing at, and then continued to watch. A white-tailed deer, a young forked-horned buck, stood staring back at them. From its place in the shadows of the cedar and elm saplings, the deer continued to study the two humans warily. John wondered if Pete and Jeff had scared it, perhaps disturbed its daytime resting place.

Ready to move on, John stood and Adam followed his lead. The deer flinched but didn’t bolt, his ears flicking around on the top of his head like two radar dishes searching for a target. The sight of the dear gladdened John. After seeing the ash covered doe in his backyard several days ago, he was concerned that all the local wildlife had been wiped out. Apparently the wild animals were doing better than their domestic cousins; or at least the cows anyway.

They resumed their walk along the fence, occasionally glancing up to check where they were in relation to the rising line of smoke. After a few minutes, Adam loudly sniffed the air and said, “I smell fried chicken . . . fried chicken cooked in farts.”

John laughed and said, “It smells more like bacon to me. And it doesn’t smell like chicken farts.”

“I didn’t say chicken farts . . . I said, cooked in farts.”

“What’s the difference,” teased John.

“Difference is in the smell, dad. And it doesn’t smell like bacon. No way.”

“Fine, suit yourself. We’ll find out what’s cooking soon enough,” said John.

When they were completely down-wind of the camp, John and Adam slipped through the fence and made their way into the woods. Having seen the camp from above, John knew the area well enough to walk right up to it, but Adam insisted on playing it cautious. John couldn’t fault him for that since he’s the one who trained him, but he did want him to relax a little. “Adam, tell me what you know from what you sense?”

“You already said there’s two guys,” said Adam.

“What else, other than what they have cooking, can you pick up on?” asked John.

Adam was quiet for a moment and said, “I agree with you, they don’t
feel
dangerous, but I still think we’ll scare them.”

“Anything else?”

“I think . . . let’s see . . . one of them is taking a leak,” said Adam, as he pointed to their eleven-o’clock.

John said, “Huh? How do you . . .” and he turned to see where Adam was pointing. John chuckled and added, “You’re a real comedian.”

“Takes one to know one, dad.”

“True that,” replied John.

“Please, dad, don’t make me barf.”

The man was wearing a bright yellow and orange reflective vest that was draped over a denim jacket. He was busy watering a tree with his back to them, about thirty meters into the woods. John turned to Adam and said, “Good eyes, but I was talking to you, so of course you saw him first.”

“Yeah? Well, that’s why I wasn’t talking . . . so I could pay attention,” quipped Adam.

“He was in your visual area of responsibility,” replied John. “Mine is twelve to six . . . yours is six to twelve,” teased John.

“But you taught me to look everywhere . . . all the time,” replied Adam.

“That’s true. And I did it so I could relax a little when we walk through the woods together. You just passed your test. Good Job, son.”

Adam chuckled and said, “Even though the world sucks right now, dad, it’s great to be here with you.”

“I love you, too, Adam. Now get ready,” said John, and yelled, “Roger! Is that you?”

With a start, the man quickly zipped his fly and turned around. The man’s actions made John chuckle, and he wondered what it was about modesty that mad a man stop to zip up his fly before turning around to face a stranger. “He’s either one cool customer, or very modest,” replied John, as the man turned and hesitantly waved. John and Adam waved back, and they walked forward to meet him.

“What do you mean . . . a cool customer?” asked Adam.

“I mean, he didn’t run when I yelled for him,” said John.

“But you called him by name, dad,” reminded Adam.

“I know, son, but that’s not a guarantee for calmness. These guys have been out here alone for more than a week. They’re comfortable, but not that comfortable. I bet he thinks we’re with the railroad,” said John.

As if on cue, the man hollered back, “Are you guys with BNSF?”

“Not exactly,” John yelled in reply, “but we’re here to help. You’re Roger, right . . . the train’s conductor?”

The man paused a step with John’s reply, but then continued boldly forward when John used his name and position. “That’s right, the name’s Roger Burke. I’m the conductor. And you are . . .”

“John. John Anderson. This is my son, Adam. It’s nice to meet you, Roger,” said John, as he extended a hand in greeting.

Roger accepted John’s hand and shook firmly. He briefly eyed their weapons before asking, “If you guys aren’t with BNSF, then
who are you and what are you doing here . . . and how do you know my name?”

“It’s a long story,” said John

“Were you sent here to pick us up? You know . . . we got tired of just sitting here. We managed to override the auto-shutdown and uncouple an engine. We were thinking about rolling out without dispatch’s approval. Matter of fact, if you showed up an hour later we might have already been gone. I guess cutting off the computer got us noticed after all. Now maybe . . .”

“Hold on a sec,” John interrupted as kindly as possible. It was obvious to him that Roger had a lot on his mind, and though John appreciated his anxiety and excitement, he needed to bring him back down to earth. John was happy to hear they were leaving, but Roger was in desperate need of an update. “I’ll explain everything. I wish I could tell you we’re here to help . . . and maybe we will help, but we’re not with the railroad. Well, I’m not anyway, but we have someone with us who is. However . . . he’s not here to save you either.”

Confusion lined Roger’s face, and since he didn’t leap into another barrage of questions, John decided to hold on to the opportunity to speak. “I don’t know what you think happened, but the world, or at least our part of the world, changed when the ash started to fall. But I think we should join up with Terry so I don’t have to repeat myself,” finished John.

“How do you know my . . . our names, if you’re not with the rail-road?” asked Roger.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you . . . I also know you’re armed,” said John.

Roger’s hand went to his coat, but then he stopped and dropped it to his side. “Then you know things you shouldn’t know . . . no one but Terry knows about my gun,” he replied.

“We’re not a threat to you,” said John, “but we are in trouble. Can we go to your camp so I can settle a bet with my son? He seems to think you’re cooking chicken.”

“Chicken?” huffed Roger. “I wish. Follow me, gentlemen.”

When they got close to the camp, John heard Pete’s deep and familiar voice reverberating through the trees. He knew Pete was intentionally preparing them for his presence. Roger heard Pete’s voice too, and quickly drew his pistol. “It’s OK, I know that voice. He’s a friend of mine,” said John, as he put a hand on Roger’s shoulder. Roger nodded and returned the pistol to his pocket. John yelled, “Coming in!” and a moment later they stepped into a small clearing that was the camp.

Pete acknowledged John with a wave. He and Jeff were busy chatting up Terry, and acting as if they had known him for years. Pete had a way of easily befriending people, the right people anyway, in a quick and natural way. It was one of Pete’s qualities he most admired. What surprised John was that his friend so blatantly deviated from his own approach plan. Pete was known to stick firmly to a plan, especially his own plan, and this was the second time today he changed things around.

When Jeff finished saying something to Terry about cattle, the three men stood to greet the late-comers. Pete opened with, “Hey, John. Glad you could make it. This is Terry.”

“How do you do,” said John, and shook.

Terry pumped John’s hand three times and released it like a grenade. He said, “Nice to meet you,” and turned to Adam.

“And this is my son, Adam.”

Adam extended his hand and received the same strange handshake. “Nice to meet you, sir,” replied Adam.

“Good manners for a youngster. Nice to meet you too, son,” replied Terry. “I see you found Roger.”

“We did. We found him in the trees back there a ways,” replied John. “We saw your smoke trail and decided to come investigate.”

“Do you guys own the property around here?” asked Roger.

“No,” replied John. “We live a few miles away . . . in a rural neighborhood just east of here.”

“I’m curious to hear how you know so much about us. Can you tell us what’s going on? It feels like we’ve fallen off the face of the earth,” said Roger.

“Sure, but can we sit?” asked John.

“Absolutely, as long as we do it by the fire. We were make’n supper when you fellas came along,” said Terry.

John settled on a log next to Adam and admired the ingenuity of the two railroad men. They found an old, metal shopping cart, laid it on its side, and built a fire in the basket. They were using the side of the shopping cart as a grill to cook their meat. “That was a good idea . . . using a shopping cart as a grill.”

“I thought so too,” replied Terry. “We found it in the cattle tunnel . . .” “Cattle underpass,” corrected Roger.

“Right. The cattle tunnel,” replied Terry, with a look over the top of his glasses at Roger.

“I was wondering how the cattle reached the water,” said John

“Yeah, they’re over there now . . . by the river. We thought about eating one of them big fellas, but decided against it. We have enough food on the train to feed a town.”

John and Pete exchanged knowing glances. Terry noticed and said, “So you’re interested in our food. It must be worse out there than we thought.”