There was giggling. “Get your dirty hands off me and go wash them. Start behaving, or the water will be turned off.”
Tom turned to Kate and whispered, “What water? That doesn’t make any sense.”
Kate chuckled and then whispered in his ear. Tom whispered back to her. “Oh, boy, am I clueless.”
Tom whispered, “We need to get a bit closer without being seen,” and crawled a few more feet closer to the people. A young woman was tending a pot over a campfire. A baby was on a blanket next to her. The tow-headed boy ran up to his mom. “I hate rabbit stew!”
Tom had to stifle a laugh and watched as a man walked back to their camp from the pond. He had a pistol in his waistband and a hunting rifle slung over his shoulder. Tom watched closely and saw the woman had a gun on the blanket next to her child. Tom and Jackie watched them eat and heard them talk about their plans for the future.
“Doris, a family could find an open spot up here and build a cabin. There are plenty of cattle, chickens, and pigs running wild, so there’d be plenty of meat. I could find an old hand plow and start a garden, grow some corn, and maybe some wheat. I could go down to the feed and supply store and fetch some seeds. We’d just have to make it through the winter, and then farming will keep us alive.”
“Jerry, that sounds nice, but this land belongs to someone else.”
“Babe, most of the folks will die off over the next two months from starvation, or the gangs will kill them. If we can stay hidden up here, we can survive. We have all our prepper food hidden by the pond and plenty of water. Our tent will do until I can build a good lean-to.”
Tom rolled on his side, facing Kate, and kissed her. “I’ve seen enough. We can go back home now.”
Kate and Tom carefully backed away until they could stand and walk down the hill. Tom waited another few minutes before he thought they could safely talk without being heard. “What did you think about those folks?”
Kate clung to Tom’s side to keep from stumbling in the twilight. “I feel so sorry for them. They’re going to freeze this winter, and that baby will probably die first.”
Tom turned and placed his lips close to her ear. “You’re an old softy inside of that rough and tough exterior. You’re going to try to talk me into taking them down to the bunker, aren’t you?”
Kate deviously said, “No, not me. Your grandfather would roll over in his grave if we took in that dangerous baby and its family."
Tom snickered and patted his girlfriend on the back. “Did you ever see a baby lion grow up and eat a buffalo? The buffalo probably thought the cub was cute.”
“Boy, are you brainwashed?”
Tom chuckled. “That, my dear, was sarcasm.”
“So you’re in favor of helping them?”
Tom stopped and faced Kate. “What I’m saying is, I’ll back your play with Granny B and Jackie. Lay the baby stuff on pretty thick, and you’ll win Jackie over. May luck and God be with you on convincing Granny B.”
*
Chapter 4
The Clark Ranch – East of Ashland, Oregon.
“The baby is so adorable and just cooed, and I swear I heard it try to say mama several times. The little boy was so sweet and polite to his parents.” Kate piled it on thick.
Jackie hung on every word. “Are you telling me they’re going to try to stay up by the pond this winter in a ragged old tent?”
Tom made his pitch. “The man mentioned he planned to make a lean-to, but I doubt that would be much better than a tent.”
Granny B had been uncharacteristically silent during the discussion. “I guess we’d be doing them a favor by running them away from here. There should be plenty of empty homes down in Ash … .” Granny B saw the long faces. “I was just yanking your chain. Kinda like you two were doing with those sour faces and baby talk. Let’s go up there and bring them down to the bunker. We’ll put both of them to work, and I’ll spoil the kids.”
Tom replied, “I guess we’ll have to blindfold them and get them down here in the morning. We need to be careful about how we contact them. I don’t want any misunderstandings to grow into gunshots and dead people.”
Jackie said, “I have a few ideas that I’ll bounce off you before morning on how to approach them.”
“Good deal,” Tom said
North of the Clark ranch by the pond.
Jackie and Kate talked as though they were walking down the greenway in Ashland, chatting away about life in general and their boyfriends. Kate led them right into the family’s camp and acted surprised when the woman raised her weapon. “Stop, or I’ll shoot.”
They both raised their hands, and Jackie said, “We came up here to invite you to join our group. We have plenty of food and shelter. Staying up here in the winter will be the death of your family.”
The lady’s hand trembled while trying to hold the big .44 Magnum revolver pointed at the women. “We don’t know you, and my husband doesn’t cotton to strangers. He’ll be back here in a minute. Sit down and wait for him.”
“Ma’am, your husband is walking this way from the pond about now with our men. We waited until he was gone to avoid a gunfight. Here they come now,” Jackie said.
Tom and Rick walked into the camp with the woman’s husband sandwiched between them with his hands zip-tied in front of him. Kate
