Reclamation (Best Laid Plans Book 4) (8 page)

It was a somewhat imbalanced setup, skewed on the idea that Trev was the strongest and had the best endurance out of the group and needed to handle more of the load. His two siblings gave it all they had, but they weren't quite strong enough to make up the difference and Trev ended up with a lot of the weight. That was something he was willing to handle, but it meant that in spite of the help the job was far more difficult than even towing Lewis's wagon last fall had been.

Unfortunately it was just as difficult for the rest of his family, meaning their progress was slow and painful even starting out.

Trev learned from Jim and Linda as they went that there'd been a fierce debate among their family about whether to go for the handcarts or purchase bicycles. Newtown had enough decent ones for their family to ride, but doing so would've meant leaving behind just about everything since no bicycle trailers were available and Vernon had taken all the store's backpacks. It would be a faster trip, but in many ways a more difficult one.

In spite of that Lucas had argued for the bikes. If the rumors they'd heard in Newtown were true then the surviving Gold Bloc forces were pushing southwestwards hard behind them, trampling the fleeing internment camp prisoners in their path as they rushed to capture objectives before any sort of resistance to their invasion could be mounted.

Their uncle didn't want to be stuck on the road pulling wagons with the idea of enemy soldiers close behind, which is why he'd pushed for the bicycles. Even though they couldn't outrun trucks, at least they gave enough speed to possibly outrun an army that had to deal with complex logistics.

Mary and Jim agreed with him, while Trev's dad was on the fence. But his mom and aunt insisted that they'd have a tough time of things if they arrived in Aspen Hill with no food, and if the town was already suffering then at best they couldn't expect any help, and at worst they'd be an added burden. Besides, they'd already purchased the supplies Vernon had left them with and it would be a waste to leave them all behind.

Linda agreed with them, and also argued that with so many bikes something could go wrong with one, which would make the rest useless since they could only go as fast as the slowest person in the group. Everyone who supported going on foot could also point out that ultimately they'd already sacrificed speed by losing the truck trying to get these supplies, and it didn't make any sense to abandon that purpose now when the handcarts were available.

Eventually the rest of the family came around to the position of going on foot. The time they'd made in the truck had put a healthy buffer between them and the chaos behind them, and even Lucas admitted that the Gold Bloc soldiers would be dramatically slowed down if they tried to take and hold territory as they went, no matter how they rushed to take things quickly. As long as the family pushed hard every day they should be able to get to Aspen Hill long before there was any danger from the enemy behind them.

Trev was kind of irked that he hadn't had a say in the decision, especially since he probably would've voted on the side of taking bikes. But the family had needed to decide on something and he wasn't around, so they'd picked the best choice they could.

Now, watching their maddeningly slow progress as they reached Highway 23 and started west, he saw even more confirmation that they should've gone with the other option. At least to his mind, although it seemed like the realization of just what they had in store for them sinking in on the faces of his loved ones as well. They had an almost unfathomably long distance to go like this, and while they might get stronger as time went on they also had to worry about possible injuries or illness that would slow them down. Not to mention sheer exhaustion.

It would be pointless to say he'd told them so when he hadn't had a say in the matter at all, even though he was the only one with any real experience going on difficult journeys with bikes
and
on foot hauling wagons. With the decision already made throwing in his opinion now would just make everyone more miserable. All he could do was shoulder his burden and do his best to keep everyone's spirits up as he got them physically and mentally prepared for a long, long trip.

At the very least he could estimate that in the month and a half or so it would take them to get home at this pace they'd only eat through a quarter of their 2,400 pounds of wheat, leaving them with roughly 1,800 if all went well. They'd have to work much, much harder to get that food home, but once they did they'd be in a better position than if they'd made the journey on bikes with nothing at all.

He just hoped Aspen Hill didn't desperately need them for something before then, and the pursuing Gold Bloc troops really were so bogged down by their conquests that they didn't have time to trawl smaller roads out in the middle of nowhere.

But it was pointless to worry about anything but the trip ahead, so he positioned his right shoulder more firmly on the pushbar and continued on, each laborious step taking him and his family closer to home and safety.

It was Lewis's idea to go out the third day after the Retaliation.

He and Jane were more rested than they'd been in over a month. The evening they'd spent with Matt and Sam had turned into binge watching movies until he and Jane both fell asleep on their beanbag chair and, he assumed, his friends shut everything down and headed off to bed themselves.

Knowing that they didn't have to worry about a patrol anytime soon had led to a surprisingly restful night, where he slept far longer than he usually would have, and when he woke up in the morning he found Jane going over her gear and happily joined her doing the necessary repairs and maintenance on his own, a much more thorough job than he'd been able to do for a while.

That was just the beginning of the day, since being free from patrols didn't mean that there weren't still plenty of things to do. Stuff they hadn't been able to give their full attention to before now, since most of their time had been spent sleeping or walking their routes outside of town.

The gardens needed work, and looking after the traps while they were there, and they had the rabbit hutch to work on and hunting that could be done. There was also plenty still to do to make the shed a bit more comfortable and secure to live in. And while they were at it, it couldn't hurt to think about building a new structure to relieve the crowded conditions inside the shelter itself. Matt's family and Jane's group were enduring the situation with good grace, but there were definitely no objections to the idea of expanding the living space.

And it would be nice to spend more personal time with his wife without feeling like it was being stolen from more pressing issues. He cherished the time they spent patrolling together but it wasn't exactly restful or relaxing. The previous night had been a nice change from that, definitely something he could get used to.

If nothing else he had his radio and current events to keep up on, although that was a depressing way to spend the time these days. Or he could delve into his hard drives for a book to read or listen to.

All of that was far too much to do in one day, and a lot of it would require ongoing effort. But he'd gotten a good start on it, enough that he felt a bit more comfortable setting everything aside for a full day to do something else. Something he and Jane had both been wanting to do, and now that they had time to work with they agreed to give it a try.

So after another full night of sleep they got up early, collected the bicycles he'd purchased from the storehouse as part of his payment for the cache he and Trev had sold to the town, lightly packed only the most necessary gear for a short trip, and got ready to head up Aspen Hill Canyon.

There were plenty of reasons to go. They wanted to look for good hunting spots, they wanted to do some more long range and thorough scouting above the town for things they and the townspeople would find useful or might be a threat, and most of all they wanted to venture farther afield and find the Norman family's lost herd of sheep, which seemed to have disappeared after the raiders scared them off.

The plan was to travel light and put some real miles behind them, exploring the smaller backroads in the mountains west of town. If the snow had cleared off the higher roads they might even try traveling all the way to Highway 31 to check on the hideout, with the plan of returning to live there again at some future point if necessary.

Jane really liked the idea of wintering there after hearing him describe his time spent in the mountains with Trev. And much as Lewis loved his cousin and enjoyed his company, he had to admit that the prospect of spending the frigid months confined in that small space with his wife instead was a lot more appealing.

Finding the sheep was the main priority for this trip, though. The herd had a big head start on the people searching for them, and had likely retreated up to familiar grazing grounds in the high mountains to escape whatever fright had accompanied the violent capture of their shepherds. No one knew exactly where those grazing grounds were, but Lewis knew the area fairly well and had some ideas.

Now that he and Jane had the free time and some bicycles they wanted to check those spots out.

They invited Pete Childress to come as well, since the young man had devoted so much time to finding the lost animals after they'd beaten the raiders, and Tom Harding and his son Alvin were familiar companions from other hunting trips and seemed happy to come along. They also invited Matt, half expecting their overworked and overburdened friend to refuse, but surprisingly Matt almost ran to retrieve his old bike from the shed at his family's house and get it working.

Lewis could tell by Sam's obvious disappointment that she wanted to go, too, but they were going to be pushing themselves hard to cover ground and he wanted to spare her that in her condition. Not to mention there was no telling what sort of work they had to look forward to if they actually found the herd, facing the prospect of bringing it back down the canyon.

Which was all rational, but Lewis was still relieved when Sam took the news with good grace, admitting that she really was feeling too tired to be biking dozens of miles up steep mountain switchbacks. She assured them she was happy to keep to her original plan for the day, getting the new hens and rooster they were getting from Jack Dawson settled in with Henrietta in the chicken coop Lewis and Matt had finished the day before yesterday.

The group set out not long after breakfast, the reminder of their dwindling food stores serving as an incentive to get something done today. Almost immediately Pete rode ahead and set the pace up the canyon, determined to find the animals that had eluded him for so long. He was familiar enough on his bike that he spent almost as much time waiting for them to catch up as he did making his way up the steep winding road.

Lewis considered himself in the best shape of his life in spite of lingering weariness and slight malnutrition, but even he found the pace brutal. As for Tom, the older man was looking gray in the face by the time they reached the top, and from Matt's frequent concerned glances it was obvious his friend was on the verge of telling him to turn back.

“Maybe we should slow down,” Lewis suggested as they took a breather and admired the view. He didn't do it completely for Tom's sake, but because they were well away from Aspen Hill now and needed to spend a bit more time searching the area. Not only for possible threats but also for anything the town could find useful. Scouting was one of their goals up here, after all, and that was hard to do while zipping around on a bike.

Pete didn't seem happy about the suggestion, although he stuck with the group when they set out again. At least until they reached the first fork in the road, where he pulled off and stopped several feet along the dirt path that branched off to the left.

“Maybe we should split up to get more searching done,” he suggested. Then, almost before the words were out of his mouth, he took off.

Matt stared after him, not looking too happy himself. “Well there he goes,” he muttered.

Tom scratched at his stubbly chin. “Should one of us go with him?” he asked. “We shouldn't be letting anyone run off alone.”

“He's been alone on most of his trips searching for the sheep,” Jane pointed out.

The younger man was already nearly out of sight. Lewis grimaced. “I'm not sure any of us could keep up with him.”

Matt shook his head firmly. “I'm with Tom, we don't want anyone up here alone. Even if it means chasing him around all day.” His friend looked over at him and Jane. “You two want to go?”

Not the worst idea. The two of them probably had the best chance of keeping up, and with any luck they'd be able to keep the more reckless youth out of trouble. “Sure. Keep your radio handy.” Lewis nodded to his wife and they took off down the dirt path.

The road was still mostly uphill, but compared to the slope up the canyon it felt practically level. Lewis actually enjoyed giving in to his impulse to pedal fast and feel the crisp mountain air whistle around him, a grin spreading across his face. The day was cool and nearly perfect for light exercise, and the snow had receded from the slopes surrounding them. Wildflowers were starting to peek out through green grass that would rarely reach that deep shade of color throughout the rest of the year, even when it was rainy.

This was the sort of thing he'd loved to do before the world went crazy, spending an entire day or even multiple days as he left his shelter on foot and hiked and camped wherever his mood took him. If he was really in the mood to get lost in nature he'd take his truck up to some higher point and go from there, or go all the way to the hideout and roam beyond familiar territory to explore the steep mountain slopes that seemed to go on and on.

In spite of that constant roaming he'd been a relative tenderfoot when it came to survival skills, but he'd done his best to prepare for any disasters he might encounter, and hadn't let his inexperience keep him from doing what he enjoyed.