Hidden Flames (23 page)

Prue nodded against his side, her eyes suddenly rather heavy now that the stress had been taken away. Morning would come by quickly and she wasn’t looking forward to another trek in the mess that awaited them outside. At least the worst was behind them and they finally had a destination to reach. The question she had deliberated about since they left Florida now slithered back into her thoughts…would there really be a safer sanctuary than the homes they’d abandoned on the East Coast?

T
hey had finally
arrived in the northwestern Washington State wilderness town of Lost Summit and its remains weren’t anything like the vibrant green village Owen had left not even two weeks ago. He led Prue and Rosa through Main Street, going no more than twenty miles per hour. He passed the post office on the left, noticing the American flag was still raised although barely moving on the flagpole. It hung down with an occasional movement, but the fabric showed the strength it had to endure from these harsh, abrasive elements.

The Summit Café was on the corner and the windows were dark with no one coming or going the way it usually was on a typical morning. Mabel, the owner operator of the diner, was up at the fishing lodge according to Mav. It was no secret that Ernie had a crush on the widow and Owen had to wonder if this situation had finally forced the relationship along at a faster pace than old Tank had been taking it before it had all started.

The grocery store across the street must have had some damage to it at some point because one of the windows had been boarded up. Pete Lockton couldn’t be very happy about that, but the community would make sure everything was up and running if the ash ever stopped and they were able to return to their homes.

“Owen, do we need anything here in town before we keep going?” Prue called out her question, her gasmask swinging both directions as she took in the sights. She pointed toward the hardware store on the left. “Should we stop?”

“No, we’re only twenty to thirty minutes away.” Owen goosed the throttle. The tires caught the tread and jerked the bike slightly, but it evened out once he got back into a relatively faster speed. “Ernie and Mav will have guards posted on either side of the road up ahead, keeping track of incoming and outgoing traffic. They’ll no doubt radio ahead, but Mav knows we’re arriving sometime today.”

Prue and Rosa were once again wearing denim with jackets covering their upper body to prevent the ash from hitting their skin, as well as protecting them from the cold. The gasmasks were in place and Prue had made Rosa wear his helmet, much against his indecision and lack of a better plan. His concern first and foremost was Prue, but he could understand her need to protect her baby sister.

The road started to incline and Owen carefully studied the landscape on either side of them as the tree lines became thicker. Ernie and Mav would have had to come up with some innovative security measures to keep the lodge as safe as possible from intruders with ill intentions. There was a lot of ground to cover, along with protecting the natural resources that would aid in their survival.

Nearly thirty minutes later, since Owen had kept their speed at a minimum so as not to dismay those men and women who were undoubtedly monitoring the road, they met two armed young men that were waiting at the turn off. They were wearing gasmasks, even though the ash wasn’t as heavy up here as it had been in town. Lost Mountain Lodge was actually positioned between Lost Mountain and Snowy Peak on the north side of Lost River. The mountains definitely protected this area and it was good to know that they actually had a fighting chance of surviving this catastrophe.

Owen recognized Jeremy Jenkins as one of the guards. He was in his early twenties and the son of the hardware store owner, Marvin Jenkins. The other male on patrol looked like one of the Wicks boys, but Owen always got mixed up in identifying Jason from Dylan. They were farm boys and knew the lay of the land like the back of their hands. Mav had made some good choices here, but there were still many approaches that were open season for threats to sneak in.

“Owen?” Jeremy called out, raising an arm and giving the thumbs up signal to the overwatch. “Man, it’s good to see you. Jason, let Ernie and Mav know that Owen is finally here.”

“The others?” Owen asked, keeping his bike idle as he spoke. Prue and Rosa remained silent while Jason communicated into a two-way radio. “Did they make it yet?”

“You’re the first,” Jeremy replied, his gaze veering away to look at the women. “Why don’t you park your bikes up behind the main lodge? We’ll find something to cover them with and then get you set up in the bunker complex.”

Owen looked past Jeremy’s shoulder, taking in the general state. Ernie’s spread, which was always meticulously maintained, was now covered in ash and looked like some kind of burnt-out forest valley. There wasn’t any humor to be had over the fact that the man had spent years preparing for such an event. There were a dozen cabins spread out around a main lodge farther up the slope, which must be currently lit up by one of the many generators that Tank had on hand. He could just make out the shroud of light farther up the incline, backlighting several hinds where the overwatch sniper’s nest must be. They climbed the grade with their bikes on the ash-covered, hard-packed gravel road, arriving at a large saddle that interrupted the steady climb of the valley’s slope. This saddle was home to the main compound of the lodge and its surrounding cabins.

The central building was a massive beauty of logs and a wrap-around porch that extended on all four sides, the south side being enclosed into a four-season porch. The red of the cedar logs shone through as the lights shone on the grain and it was nice to see the use of electricity after having gone so long without it.

“Why the bunker?” Owen asked Jeremy who had followed their progress up the road and into the compound where he paused before pulling the bike farther around the lodge. He had agreed with Ernie and Mav over one of their few radio calls that it was best to keep the bunker for critical use, especially considering that in an enclosed area people’s tendency to get cabin fever escalated pretty quick after being corralled. The overabundance of people they had on hand would make things pretty tight inside the developed areas of the mine. “I thought Ernie was going to have everyone use the cabins and lodge until it was absolutely necessary to relocate everyone into the bunker.”

“There is only so much room, especially since Rat and his crew joined us.” Jeremy turned when Jason said something to him, but Owen hadn’t been able to catch the words. “Go on up to the lodge. We have to get back down to the road. Mav is just getting back from doing a perimeter search.”

Owen was aware of the fiasco that had gone on with Stanley Ratliff and the people who’d decided to separate from those townsfolk that had come up to the lodge with Ernie. The two men had always been at odds from the day Ernie had purchased the fishing lodge and started fixing up the place. Rat had taken it personally and thought the fishing lodge was direct competition for his camping grounds located farther south of the river along the same road east out of town. The two men had never seen eye to eye.

Ernie had always ignored the repeated barbs that Rat would throw his way over the years, but apparently the situation had escalated to the point that Rat had risked lives after convincing a group of people they would be better off at the camping grounds instead of coming up to the lodge, which was rich with essential resources that would sustain them through this disaster. It turned quite deadly when Rat’s son had taken Henley Varano hostage. Big mistake considering she was Mav’s lover and he was renowned as a crack shot.

Owen had been given the basic details of what had transpired, given the outcome of the subsequent events…Rat and his group now resided up here at the fishing lodge. Rat’s son had died during the mission to save Henley from death in the form of a very deranged young man. It was quite generous of Ernie to have taken in the group of people that had originally rejected his offer. With that said, Owen had no doubt that Ernie and Mav were keeping a close eye on the man and his cronies.

“Owen, I want Rosa with us,” Prue murmured, putting a hand on his arm as they walked back around the north side of the main building on the surrounding screened-in porch. They’d gone ahead and pulled the bikes behind the main lodge. There was an entrance to the bar area back in the rear and another on the north side leading into the restaurant’s dining room, but Owen decided to make their way around to the front of the lodge. “You might know these people, but I don’t.”

Owen laced her fingers with his and brought her hand up to his mouth where he gently kissed her knuckles. Prue wasn’t the type of woman for public affection, but she was his and the best way to indoctrinate her to his friends—family—was to show everyone that they were together. Everyone would treat her with respect, but they would also know that he protected her with his life.

“Owen, is that you?”

The craggily voice came from the porch ahead as they rounded the corner toward the main entrance. Elijah Burch was easily in his eighties and had a tendency to forget to put in his hearing aids. That didn’t seem to be the case now, and Owen eased Prue up to his side as he finally took off his mask. Jeremy, Jason and others that were moving around the compound still had theirs on, but underneath the screened-in porch was so well protected that the ash stayed on the outer side of the screen.

“It sure is,” Owen answered, walking over the hardwood planks to pat Elijah on the back. “It is so good to see you, Elijah. That was one hell of a trip, but we managed to make it. Elijah, this is Prue and her younger sister, Rosa.”

“It’s nice to meet you, ladies.” Elijah usually needed a cane, but he managed to gradually stand up and shake Prue and Rosa’s hands. He was nothing if not a gentleman. “You had us worried.”

“We ran into a bit of trouble and—”

Owen tensed as a man dressed in black stepped out from around the building, an M4 carbine rifle slung over his shoulder. He was all of six feet tall, with rather long black hair and dark eyes that took in everything and everyone. His bearing indicated military service and yet there was something in his stride that all but shouted trouble.

“Damn, it’s good to see you.” Owen turned at the sound of Tank’s voice, the older man taking the handkerchief away from his mouth as he walked closer. The two of them embraced, Owen finally feeling like he’d made it home and that they could now handle anything that came their way. Ernie patted his back a few more times before releasing him and taking a step back. Owen looked over his shoulder and sure enough, the stranger was still walking up to the edge of the railing and watching them closely. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, boy.”

“If it isn’t our resident tracker,” Mav called out, moving past the mysterious man, up the wooden steps, and through the screened doors, making his way over to where the reunion was taking place. And that’s what it was, regardless that Owen had been here not even two weeks ago. Owen squeezed his friend and brother before stepping away and introducing Prue and Rosa. “It’s nice to meet you both. Come on. Let’s head inside and we’ll get caught up in front of the fireplace. A lot of things have happened and we need you in the fold as quickly as possible.”

Ernie was already smoothing down his mustache as he used a smile and sparkling blue eyes to put Prue and Rosa at ease as he led them inside the building. Elijah sat back down without a word, taking up his usual guard position on the porch. There wasn’t a chance he could stop anyone who might have bad intentions, but he sure as hell made a damn good monitor.

“You didn’t tell me you were recruiting.” Owen kept his voice low so that it wouldn’t carry, while stopping Mav from following the rest of the group inside and motioning back over his shoulder. “Who is he?”

“His name is Kellen Truman,” Mav replied, his lips thinning just a bit. His friend wasn’t too sure about this stranger either, which put Owen more on edge than before. No one wanted someone inside the camp that would have to be watched twenty-four seven, but then again, Rat was on the property as well. “He showed up here for what he said was a scheduled vacation the day Yellowstone erupted. Come to find out he had personal business in the area, but he’s actually proven his worth. He is Special Forces, with a team of four headed our way just like the rest of our group. Two of them have already arrived here with us.”

“I know you well enough that you don’t trust him.” Owen followed Kellen Truman’s path as he turned back toward the entrance of the camp where Jeremy and Jason had departed back down to their positions. What exactly did this Truman fellow do when he was out on patrol? “I don’t like his looks.”

“Couldn’t be because he resembles one of those models that Henley used to work with, could it?” Mav said, humor lacing his tone and yet not covering up the fact that Owen had hit the nail on the head. It apparently bothered Mav more than he was letting on. He rubbed the back of his neck and finally admitted the reason why the man was still on the premises. “He saved my life last week so I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt for now.”