Greta frowned and wrinkled her nose. “Carla, listen to your brother. We don’t have slaves, we don’t rape pretty young girls, and in a month, you’ll be free to leave if you want to leave. You’ll work hard, be tired at the end of the day, and learn to respect Tom and Alan’s leadership. I’ll be at the Community for a month to help start new recruits. I can be a friend or a boss. How that works is up to you. Until then, do what you’re told and give us a fair chance.”
Tom said, “Gather your stuff, and we’ll help tie it onto the pack horses.”
Tom was a bit shocked to see how little they had with them. Then he remembered they’d escaped only two weeks ago and hadn’t wanted to scavenge in town for fear of being caught. The pitiful stuff they owned had been taken from abandoned farmhouses.
Tom didn’t want to take the chance of riding double with the three, so they walked the mile to the Community.
Granny B whispered to Tom. “Our Greta is growing up. I hope these three pan out because Greta has two eligible bachelors in front of her. She handled them like a pro. Maybe she needs to be permanently assigned to the Community.”
Tom replied, “I was thinking the same thoughts. She’s much stronger than the wimpy high maintenance snot-nosed kid we met several months back.”
Alan and Bill watched the group approach. They stepped out from their cover to greet Tom and his crew. Bill exclaimed, “It looks like you’ve found some new people. Will they be joining us?”
Tom replied, “Yes, they’re a bit reluctant, but a warm place to sleep and a full stomach should convince them.”
Bill replied, “Great, we need some good people. Hey, why is Kate wearing a sling?”
Tom frowned. “A hunter mistook her for a deer.”
Colt winced. “That’s not quite true. I hit the deer, but the bullet hit the lady. I’m very sorry.”
Bill pointed to Alan and laughed. “Alan is in charge of hunting.”
Tom didn’t get the humor. He frowned. “This is Colt Roberts, his sister Carla, and their brother George. They escaped from the gang and were trying to hide in the woods. They killed a deer and brought it along to share. Make them feel at home. I know you’ll give them the usual orientation. I hate to say that we have to move on. I’ll try to stop by on my way back home.”
Tom turned the new folks over to Alan, who introduced Bill and himself to the three siblings. Tom watched for a minute as he rode away and saw Alan slapping Colt on the back and shaking the man’s hand.
Tom spoke to Kate and Granny B. “That Alan is either very good at public relations or pulling a great con job on us. I asked Bill and Greta to keep a sharp eye on him and his family.”
Kate laughed. “I did the same.”
Tom replied, “I guess one can’t be too cautious considering what we’ve been through.”
Kate had a rough trip because riding the horse made her chest move from side to side and front to back. “Damn, are we there yet? My chest is hurting something fierce.”
Tom kept a straight face. “I’ll rub it for you when we get to the cave.”
“In your dreams. You ain’t touching me until this pain goes away.”
***
Rick greeted them before they arrived at the entrance to the cave. “Aren’t you running a bit late?”
“A wee bit. We ran into three lost souls and invited them to join the new community. I shot one of the men in the arm after he shot Kate in the chest. You know, just a normal day in the Clark family.”
“Is Kate okay?”
“Yes, but my chest feels like it was hit by a Mack truck.”
Rick shook his head. “I can’t wait to hear this story.”
Granny B and Jackie ushered Kate into the cave and onto a couch to rest while Tom filled Rick in on their trip. After the update, Tom said. “I promised we’d have Granny able to broadcast by the end of the day. We need to get this gear unpacked and set up. I wanted to be back at the ranch by late in the day. Now we won’t head home until tomorrow morning.”
Rick said, “That’s actually good for what I have planned. The other day, Kate helped me get a couple of the drones working. I’ve been flying them around the area.”
Tom was eager to fly the drones, so he rushed unloading the equipment and helped set the radio in place while Rick and James readied the balloon to go up after dark. They’d decided only to broadcast after the sun went down, so no one would spot the balloon. Granny B had noticed how antsy Tom was, so she shooed him out to see Rick.
Tom walked out of the cave’s entrance and saw Rick and Jackie getting the drone ready to fly. The carrying case had DJI 1100 Pro Hexacopter printed on the side. Tom was sure this thing had been the love child of a ceiling fan and a video camera. It stood about four feet tall, had six propellers that covered a circle with a six-foot diameter, and had many widgets attached to the body in the center under the propellers. The landing gear was two vertical carbon fiber tubes that formed a T with two horizontal tubes. It had two lithium batteries, three cameras, and two spotlights. This was the smallest of the drones they’d found.
Tom watched Rick test the controls while Jackie held the drone down to the table. “Will that refugee from a cheap Sci-Fi movie fly?”
Jackie chastised him. “Hell yes! This 1100 model had the new Logan Lithium batteries. It
