“Won’t that scare them off?”
He shook his head. “They might be a little shocked, but from a repeat threat? They’d rather have the protection.” He pulled her closer. “They’ll like the idea that one of the group has the intestinal fortitude to pull the trigger when the need arises.”
She sat up and stared down at him. “And you think that’s all it will take? Then they’ll love us?”
He shrugged. “They may not love us right away, but they’ll know they need us.” He gave her a wry grin. “Every group needs that one individual who is willing to get their hands dirty so the others can stay clean.”
“And that’s us.” She smiled broadly.
“That’s right, baby, somebody’s got to do it,” he pulled her to him again, “and that somebody is most definitely us.”
24
Hatcher spent the majority of the next day driving through the park and yelling for Shelly. He ventured off of the roads and checked some of the old animal trails. He couldn’t mask his disappointment when he discovered that most of them had grown over.
He stood over the bones of what he felt almost certain was once a buffalo. He picked at a few of the bones and noted the teeth marks. As he rolled the bone in his hands, noting the damage, he knew that the marks weren’t from any predators native to the park.
He dropped the bone and sighed as he came to his feet. “That explains why the trails are all but gone. They’ve stripped the park of wildlife.”
As he made his way back to the four wheeler, he paused, his eyes scanning the shadows of the forest. “They had food.” The realization struck him and he felt the corners of his mouth pull into a smile. “They had food.”
With a newfound enthusiasm, he mounted the ATV and turned back towards the station. He needed to pull his maps and resupply for the next leg of the mission.
He slid the ATV to a stop and bounced off, a new spring in his step. He entered the station without hesitation and turned for his office. He had just reached the door when he caught a shadow in his periphery.
At the exact moment he realized he wasn’t alone, a female voice yelled, “Don’t move!”
Hatcher stood still and slowly turned his head. In his heart, he truly hoped to see Shelly. He was disappointed to find a young woman shakily holding a pistol on him.
“What are you doing in that uniform?” He didn’t attempt to mask the disdain in his voice. “That isn’t yours.”
She thrust the pistol out more forcefully. “I said freeze!”
Hatcher slowly turned, his gaze narrowing on the frightened young woman. “I asked you a question.”
“And I told you n-not to move!”
He planted his hands on his hips and slowly shook his head. “I don’t have time for this.” He turned and walked into his office, leaving her in the middle of the station with a mask of total surprise.
“Hey!” she yelled, coming around the corner and facing his office. “I told you—”
“Look, I guess there’s nobody left to arrest you for impersonating a park ranger, but—”
“I AM a park ranger.” Her voice held a new confidence that Hatcher didn’t expect. She stepped closer, the pistol still outstretched in her hand. “And I told you not to move.”
Hatcher sighed and dropped the maps he held before he turned to her, his mouth a tight line. “I have things to do.” He waved her off. “Pick through whatever you want, but stay away from the locker room and this office.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed as she watched him totally dismiss her. “Who the hell are you?”
Hatcher sighed and lowered his head. “This was my station.” He turned to her and gave her a stoic look. “I knew all of the park rangers here, and you weren’t one of them.”
Her eyes widened and she lowered the pistol. “Are you Daniel?”
Hatcher froze then turned to her. “How’d you know that?”
She holstered her pistol and visibly relaxed. “I worked for Mitch Richardson.” Her voice softened as she stepped closer. “He brought me on during the last round of hirings and…” her voice trailed off.
Hatcher fell into his chair, a soft smile forming. “You worked with Mitch?”
She nodded. “I’d only been on for a couple of weeks when everything went haywire.”
“That’s one way to put it.”
“You called him up to assist with the benefit concert.” She looked away, her lower lip quivering. “He told me to stay behind; that somebody had to man our outpost.”
“Son of a…” Hatcher groaned. “I didn’t even think about the other…” He sat up suddenly, his face hopeful. “Have you seen or heard from Shelly Montgomery?”
The young woman shook her head. “I’ve never heard of…wait.” She turned and pointed toward the locker room. “Those are her uniforms in there, aren’t they?”
Hatcher looked past her arm and had a ‘duh’ moment. “Yes.” He brushed by her and pushed open the door to the locker room. He stood in the doorway and stared at the mess. “Did you do this?”
She shook her head. “I saw it like that earlier.” She approached slowly from behind. “But no. I didn’t touch anything.”
Hatcher leaned against the open door and stared at the clothes strewn about. He noticed Shelly’s tapered uniform top and bent to pick it up. “I came back to find her.”
“I’m sorry,” she replied quietly. “I’ve only been to this station twice since the outbreak. I haven’t seen anybody.” Her voice softened as she spoke. “That’s kind of why I was so surprised to see the truck out there when I came by today.”
“What are you still doing here?” He turned and gave her a confused look. “Why didn’t you head home or go find your family?”
She sighed and shook
