It was going to take extreme measures to protect those he loved.
Amarillo, TX
Brent Whitman finally made it back to the prison after a long night and early morning evading the enemy forces swarming the city of Amarillo. They’d struck a blow against the enemy by sending those fuel trucks onto the airfield; he expected them to want payback.
“Hey, boss man,” a voice said from the darkness of one of the cells.
There were only six of them, including Brent, which was why they hadn’t left anyone at the prison to guard it. Thus, it came as a shock to find someone already inside. His old heart stopped, took a few seconds to collect itself, then resumed beating.
“Holy shit! Who’s that?” he finally managed to sputter out.
A young man emerged from the cell. His dark skin, long black-haired ponytail, and narrow eyes made him appear foreign, perhaps one of the Asian countries. The distinctive look helped Brent finally make the connection. The man was inside Terry Long’s cell—it had to be him.
“Long,” he said with relief. “We thought you were with these assholes.”
Brent pushed the man in the black-and-brown jumpsuit until he went into an adjacent empty cell. He’d come within a second of killing the man outright last night at the Cadillac Ranch, willing to write it off to the cost of war, but he changed his mind before he could pull the trigger. He’d been wondering if he’d made the right decision ever since. However, he had access to an entire prison. It wouldn’t cost him anything to hold the man, even if temporarily.
“Who is he?” Long asked.
“His name’s Will. He works for the people who wiped out America.”
“Wiped out?” Long looked around at the other ex-prisoners. The five men who stayed with Brent after being given their freedom. The five men who’d done significant damage to the as-yet unnamed enemy trying to gain a foothold in Amarillo. He also caught sight of Trish.
They all nodded. Brent replied. “There are thousands of men like Will. They came to the United States after the weapon erased everyone upstairs.” They all understood he meant the upper floor of the prison. All the men up there—guards and prisoners alike—had vanished on day one. “But it wasn’t only upstairs, and it wasn’t only in Amarillo. This is happening across the entire country.”
Long seemed to get it. “I went to my mom’s place up on Lake Meredith after you let us go. Stayed there for a few days. At first, I didn’t think anything of not seeing people. It was during the week, after all. But eventually, it worried me not seeing a single boat on the water, besides empty ones. I got curious and tried knocking on many doors of other lake homes. Found absolutely no one, but lots of their clothes. Yesterday, I was totally jacked in the head knowing the place had gone super wrong. I came here because you were the last people I’d seen. I thought I’d find someone, anyone—even you, boss—but the joint was empty. I might have been strangled by a bedsheet if you hadn’t come back when you did…”
He laughed, not sure what to make of the guy. Most of the men who served time in the minimum-security prison were a mixture of good and bad. Often, they got caught up in events bigger than themselves, acted stupidly, and ended up in the hoosegow to work it off. But he had a hard time remembering what Long did to get tossed in jail, or what his record was. He’d transferred in only a week or two before the world fell apart.
“You’re welcome to join us,” Brent finally replied, knowing he couldn’t stop him.
Long saluted him from the same cell where he’d done his short stint. “Thanks. I don’t care what you guys have in store for me. I’m only glad someone is left alive to talk to.”
CHAPTER 5
Big Thunder National Grassland, WY
Ted had a couple of hours behind the wheel to think about what happened at Devils Tower. He’d come to the conclusion he hadn’t been weak, but instead was simply being cautious. Sure, he could have shot the mama bear, but a wounded animal was unpredictable and dangerous. The safe play was removing his people from the situation. Since he’d done the retreat with success, his self-imposed after-action report was positive. However, it got him wondering about what was up ahead.
“We need gas,” he said dryly. An abandoned passenger car was a little to the side of the road, as if it stopped soon after its driver vanished. “This looks like a rather unique place to stop.”
He drove around the car, then put the SUV in park and shut it off.
“It’s wonderful, Ted. Nice work finding this tourist destination. Can we get out and walk around?” Emily remarked in a sarcastic tone, stretching her arms.
Ted looked in a three-sixty around the truck. They were on a slight rise in the road, but there was nothing but flat ground from horizon to horizon. They’d passed a sign announcing they were driving through a national grassland, and it lived up to the name. Wild green grasses were the only thing, besides the road, drawn into the landscape. After a quick check to the skies, he decided they could afford to all get out. “Stick close to the truck. After last time, I want to make sure we always have a buddy with us. Kyla and I both stumbled into the bear, uh, situation, because we were by ourselves.”
Kyla laughed nervously. “I don’t see any bears this time. Though I do see…”
He checked out his window. Kyla was looking toward the side of the road, but with bemusement, not fear. He followed her eyes and saw the objects of her delight. “Prairie dogs.”
When he opened his door, the prairie dogs cried
