Essential Beginnings (23 page)

Mav figured this was coming and accepted the offer with a handshake. Felix then concentrated on the drive back down the road, giving Mav time to think. According to Henley, Truman had made reservations for a cabin back in January. The first question that needed answered was if he’d known a natural disaster had been about to occur, along with how he would have gained that information. His timing couldn’t have been more impeccable and that wasn’t something to take frivolously.

“Tread lightly but don’t push too hard,” Mav suggested, thinking it might be better to keep an eye on Truman than it was to show their hand. “Maybe mention that someone caught sight of an armed man to see what his reaction is, but it’s better to keep him in the dark of what we suspect.”

“I’ll play it by ear,” Felix answered, not promising anything. He’d been around the block a time or two and Mav respected his experience. “Any word from Berke, Owen, Mason, or Van?”

“Not yet, but I haven’t had time to monitor the HF radio.” Mav spotted quite a few vehicles up near the lodge parking lot, but not as many per people due to limited amount of space. They’d suggested to everyone that it would be best to leave the majority of the cars and trucks in town. Ernie was standing near the entrance to the fishing lodge, which was where Felix pulled to a stop. “Where’s Henley?”

“She’s in the lodge assigning rooms to those who are older and the cabins to those who are younger and able to stand watch.” Ernie waited to continue until both Felix and Mav were out of the car. He looked around the area and found the quiet unsettling. There were no signs of animals, nor was the wind blowing to give animation to the trees lining the edge of the forest. He glanced up at the sky, but nothing appeared abnormal. “We’ve done a headcount and have around twenty-eight people, with an additional eight that we’re expecting. My boys and then Mabel’s son, along with his wife and children.”

“So that means Rat has roughly eight or ten townsfolk with him,” Felix surmised, tipping his hat back and thinning his lips. Mav calculated that there were more people than supplies within the bunker should they need it, but there wouldn’t be a choice as to who was left outside to fend for themselves. He and his team would sacrifice their lives for these people if need be, just as they had done when they were fighting for Mother Freedom in the green machine. “We lost quite a few people this morning who are headed for the border. Any chance they’ll be able to make it back this way if they get spurned at the border?”

“The Canadians are protecting themselves,” Ernie said in understanding, running his fingers down his mustache. “They’ll be affected by this too and it is Canada’s responsibility to take care of their own, not ours. Hell, there isn’t a place on this earth that won’t be touched by what is coming our way.”

“Tank, Jeremy will be back with the other men once they clear out the rest of the farm. We spoke to them about guard shifts and they’re pretty much all we have to work with. I’ll conduct some firearms and sentry training once they get here. We can arm them with the M4s and a basic load out. I’ll be in with Henley until then, but I’ll show them the designated vantage points for guarding the area when they arrive and we get the basics out of the way.”

Mav left Ernie and Felix to talk amongst themselves and headed toward the front of the lodge. The large heavy door opened before he could grab the handle and Henley stepped across the threshold. Her eyes were slightly bloodshot and there was a tinge of blue underneath her eyes to indicate her exhaustion, but to him she’d never looked more beautiful. He pulled her into his arms, not caring who could see them. Her warm body melded with his and he buried his face in the softness of her hair, which had come loose from her hair tie.

“How are you holding up?” Mav said after a while, pulling Henley only far enough away so that he could see her face. “Has anything happened while I was gone?”

“Just getting everyone sorted out, including Kellen. I told him to stay in the cabin he’d been assigned but I haven’t seen him since we got back.” Henley half smiled and then patted her hip where she was still carrying, her one hand remaining on his shoulder. He’d wished the last three years had been like this, but he wouldn’t take this moment for granted. He wouldn’t question the timing or the reason they’d communicated fully. Questioning created doubt and he was done with that. It certainly didn’t fit into the future. “I had things covered here while Ernie was taking care of the perimeter. He mentioned he was waiting for you though.”

“Yeah, I just spoke with him.” Mav took Henley’s hand and led her away from the lodge along the curved access road leading off toward the location of the bunker, a barn with a corral, and the NG Wellhead blockhouse. Kirk Parson must have been assigned the cabin closest to Truman’s, which worked to Mav’s advantage because he was currently unloading a suitcase from his car. Kirk was in his mid-fifties and ran the fish and bait shop in town. He could more than handle a firearm and he wouldn’t ask questions if Mav were to request that he keep an eye on their guest. “I’m going to show Jeremy, Dylan, and Jason where I need them to set up during the night. Ernie, Felix, and I will take the dayshifts. Ernie and I will also backup the night shift as needed, at least until the rest of the guys get here.”

Mav held Henley’s hand on the short walk and it felt more natural than breathing. Her fingers laced perfectly against his and he found that he needed a minute alone with her, away from everyone and everything. He detoured away from the entrance to the bunker and guided her down to where she liked to sit sometimes near the barn. He’d caught her sitting on a specific boulder a time or two on his past visits and he wanted to share that with her.

The view was through the woods from behind the lodge to the south downhill side where the pond faced the four-season room. It was a lovely sight and it covered the entire southeast approach from any point lower in the valley toward the lodge or the NG Wellhead Blockhouse. This would certainly turn into one of their sentry posts.

“Shouldn’t they have arrived by now?” Henley asked with worry etched into her voice. She didn’t hesitate to fit herself in between his thighs when he positioned himself on the large rock. Once she was in place, he held her to him and wished he could ease her worries, but he couldn’t. Technically Mason
should
have been here by now considering he’d been in Nebraska when word had spread about the eruption. “Is there no way we can get a hold of them?”

“Only if they stop long enough to set up a field expedient antennae for their HF radio, and we haven’t been here to monitor for emergency transmissions,” Mav said, looking out at the still water of the pond. It was too still, for usually small round wakes could be seen of passing water bugs treading across the surface or the occasional splash of a tail could be seen from the fish feeding at the surface. It wouldn’t be long before some of the ash arrived. “That’s where I’m headed, but I just wanted a quiet moment with you.”

“I, um, gave away your cabin.” Henley spoke the words matter-of-factly with the exception of a brief
um
. Mav smiled behind her, liking that she was comfortable enough with him to make that decision. It meant she was confident in him as well. “I thought we could put the guys in the bunker as their primary billeting since we don’t have any more rooms or cabins left.”

“That’s a good idea,” Mav approved, caressing the back of her hands that were resting on her knees, noticing that she didn’t wait for his reaction regarding staying with her at her cabin. He wouldn’t want to be anywhere else and there wasn’t a point in talking about it when it was what they both wanted. “Did you give Mabel a cabin? I’m sure we can rig up some sleeping bags for the rest of her family when they arrive.”

“I did. I also—” Henley broke off her sentence, causing Mav to brace for the reason why. He didn’t see anything around them until she pointed it out. “Mav?”

Henley moved her fingers underneath his to catch his attention. A miniscule ash had settled onto the back of his hand, letting them know that time was running out. They both looked up into the sky, but didn’t notice anything different than it was five minutes ago. This must have come from the high up in the atmosphere. It was a calling card and they’d been found.

T
he night was
quiet as Henley looked out the window into the dark, unable to see if any more ash had fallen. She and Mav had joined the others and spent the rest of the evening in the lodge’s great room making decisions that the vast majority of the group had been comfortable with. The topics had ranged from shelter to food, and then to security.

Ernie and Mav agreed to take everyone through the bunker in small groups as time permitted. All the men were provided with an M4 with a basic 180 round load out. The women that had skill with firearms were provided M9 Beretta pistols with one extra fifteen round clip and a shoulder holster. Classes on firearm safety, the cleaning, and the operation of the various small arms carried by the camp’s population would be conducted as needed. Everyone that was armed was told that they were to maintain possession of their weapon at all times and not to leave it anywhere for any reason.

By the time the sheriff had shared his thoughts and views, Ernie had also added on supplementary issues that no one had really thought of, such as group assignments and schedules for moving the entire contents of the outlying camp into the bunker based on milestone events. All in all, everyone was now on board with how the next few weeks or months would go until the National Guard was able to reach them with supplies. It was hard to imagine what the world would be like after they emerged from underground, provided that they were able to make it through the initial stage and transition into the mountain.

Henley and Mav had returned to her cabin after they had taken the time to eat the meal that Mabel had prepared for everyone in camp. Mabel was voted the official camp cook and in charge of meal preparation and food distribution. Mav had insisted that Henley eat something in the dining room as he explained to her that they had to take care of themselves if they were to be of any help to the others. It was strange to have dinner with him at their own table surrounded by the town’s people. Even after they’d been intimate she hadn’t contemplated coming out to the town about their relationship in quite so public a fashion. She’d mentioned that she’d never be the Martha Stewart type and he’d laughed, saying that was good because he definitely wasn’t interested in the popular Susie Homemaker icon. The light moment hadn’t eased the tension from what they were about to face, but it felt nice to take a minute for themselves over a nice hot meal.

A lot of things had changed in the course of a few days and it was as if Henley had been deposited into a different life. On one hand, she could have totally gotten used to this
playing house
thing since Mav had been by her side assisting in the meal lodge’s preparations. On the other, she could have done without the apocalyptic event that was causing them to ration everything down to their food.

They met with the individuals that had been assigned the various duties to keep the camp operating. Guards had to be trained. They didn’t have time to wash clothes or prepare their own meals. Animals needed to be fed, milked, and butchered. Rob Wicks was responsible for and handled those duties in an effort to do his part toward the group’s goals. God knows they had enough producing chickens to last quite a while. The facilities needed to be maintained inside and outside the mountain. Ernie had spent his entire day going over things with Gage, the town’s former garage mechanic, detailing how the various systems worked.

Everyone had kept the conversation light and not dwelling on the doomsday scenario they were facing. Henley discovered that she really liked Mav’s sense of humor and discovering facts about him that she’d never known, such as his affinity for Payday bars. He’d made a face when she said she’d preferred anything with chocolate and caramel together.

They’d eaten lunch out of her refrigerator in the cabin earlier in the day, which were precooked chicken breasts that she’d had in a Tupperware dish. They’d made side dishes from the things that were the most perishable. Anything canned or boxed would be saved and carried to the lodge tomorrow. Mabel would make meals in the lodge starting tomorrow morning and everyone would eat as a group during designated hours. That’s the mentality they needed and that’s what they would implement in order to survive. Breakfast and dinner would provide the largest part of their substance. Only a light lunch would be provided to carry them through their busy days.

“We were able to get a lot of things sorted out today,” Mav said, walking into the room after having taken a shower. Henley had done the same right after dinner and she was now wearing a pair of cut-off sweats and a faded red T-shirt that now appeared a dark shade of pink. She looked over her shoulder to see that he was only wearing a pair of jeans…nothing else. The temperature in the room began to slowly rise, surprising her that she could feel anything other than trepidation for what they were facing. It was a nice distraction, but he was anything but that. Mav had become her rock—her foundation that she’d come to rely on that had nothing to do with security. He was her emotional pillar that she’d always dreamed of but was forever afraid to have. “How are you feeling about the decisions made?”