Kate took a deep breath. “You don’t think he would fall for her crap. Do you?”
“No, but she might try to undercut you with him. I’m going to drop a few subtle warnings to my grandson, and you need to stick to him like glue,” Granny B said.
Kate’s shoulders slumped. “I hate this soap opera crap. Can’t we just pitch her down into the pit at the cave?”
Granny B’s eyes popped open. “Now that’s a thought. Darn, girl, we think too much alike. I hope it doesn’t come to that, but it wouldn’t hurt my feelings.”
Kate gulped. “I was kidding.”
Granny B had one of those big old country girl grins. “I wasn’t kidding.”
***
There were only about twenty million survivors spread out across what had once been the civilized world. Third-world countries fared much better from the EMP-caused chaos but were engulfed in endless wars to conquer each other and take as much land as possible.
The oceans were beginning a long process of cleaning themselves from a thousand years of pollution. Only a few hundred military vessels were plying the seas and almost no civilian ships. The usual Asian and African sail-powered fishing boats were still hunting their game in the saltwater. The rivers and streams were cleaner of chemical pollution, but were becoming fouled with human waste. The air was filled with smoke from cooking and heating with wood and coal.
Animal life surged in population at first, and then game animals became the only source of meat. The fish in the ocean recovered much faster without the huge factory ships gobbling up fish every minute of the day. The enormous Chinese fishing vessels were stranded all around the world. The crews deserted and moved inland where possible to eke out a living. Military groups from numerous countries were stranded at their assigned bases, and immediately had to compete with the surviving locals for food and other necessities. Brutal battles were fought across the globe. The locals rarely won a fight. There were too many weapons and ammunition in small groups of highly trained men for the locals to ever win a battle.
Life was literally dog-eat-dog and might made right all over the world.
***
Several miles northwest of the Clark Ranch
Their horses sauntered along at a good pace through the evergreens and tall grass. The smell of wood smoke rose from the city below and contaminated the clean mountain air. Tom wondered what the environmentalists would protest about in this new world. He looked behind them every now and then to make sure no one followed and to check on the packhorses, which were loaded down with supplies and the balloons Jerry had found.
“Granny B, the pills are working, and Lucy bought your explanation. I wouldn’t press my luck beyond three to four days,” Tom said.
Granny B replied, “If Lucy keeps giving her one in the morning and one before supper time, Sam will sleep like a baby. I hope to get the radio working and work out what I’ll be broadcasting about who I am and where I’m located. We don’t want people trying to find us.”
Kate thought for a minute. “Keep using Granny B, but change your location every time you start your program. That should confuse them.”
Tom said, “I don’t think any non-military groups would have the equipment to be able to trace our signal back to our location. I’ve given this some thought, and I plan to test the radio here, but move the location of the actual broadcasts around southern Oregon.”
Kate’s head was shaking side to side. “No! Don’t you think the bad guys have a much larger chance of finding us out on the road than if we stay put. It seems like every time we go out scavenging, we have to kill thugs and gang members. Wouldn’t it be nice to go a week without killing anyone, even if they deserved to die?”
Tom knew Kate was right and mentally kicked himself in the ass for not thinking of that possibility first. “I agree. I was wrong.”
Granny B jumped in and interrupted. “Kate, write that down. A man actually admitted he was wrong today.”
“Granny B, you’re my loveable grandmother, so I won’t dog you about being a smartass.”
“I am smart and cute.”
Kate knew to stay out of the banter and kicked her horse to pull ahead of the others. She caught something out of the corner of her eye, and her hand shot up as she steered her horse into some thick bushes and short pine trees. Granny B and Tom pulled in behind her.
“Look up north about there,” she said as she pointed in the direction of the movement.
They didn’t see anything, but after a minute, they heard someone talking in the distance. A man’s voice boomed through the forest. “Shut up the whining! You’re better off with me than having Carlos’s men raping you anytime they want you. I know where a cabin is up here somewhere.”
A young woman’s voice could be heard. She chuckled. “A blind man could find the cabin before your sorry ass. We’ve been wandering around looking for this freaking cabin for two damn days. Untie us and let us go!”
The man replied, “I said shut up! We’re going to live up here in these woods like Mormons in the old days. You three are going to be my wives. You’ll cook, clean, and raise a big garden. Then, I’ll spend the night with a different wife every night. We’ll have a passel
