EMP 1500 MILES FROM HOME (15 page)

Once, years ago, I knew a group of roommates—two guys and three girls—who roomed together in college. Twenty years later, well established in their careers, they were still roommates. They created their own nontraditional family and, for them, it was a stronger bond than their own birth families. That always seemed strange to me, but now, with Julie and Yeti, I was beginning to understand.

I found Julie with the horses and helped put the packsaddles on the horses and load them. Julie didn't want to leave any of our gear behind, even for a night. She was right. By the time we had the horses ready, Yeti showed up. He was carrying two military ammo cans and had three M4s slung over one shoulder.

"I brought spoils," Yeti laughed. "Three full-auto, government-issue M4s, and 1,000 rounds of ammo."

"That is quite a haul, Yeti."

"Yeah, they gave me my pick. These are the best of the lot. They all shoot right on target. I got one of the vets in town to try all of the rifles out for me. That guy can shoot really well."

We strapped the ammo to one of the pack horses. Once that was done, I examined the carbines. They were all in great shape and each had three magazines taped together Nam style. The open ends of the exposed magazines were covered by condoms to keep out the dirt and grime, or as Julie put it, the enchanting New Mexico dust.

The extra magazines made the rifles a bit unwieldy, but having 90 rounds available on the gun seemed to make up for that to me. I thought Yeti had done well and told him so. He beamed. I pushed the Mosin into a rifle scabbard on a packhorse and took one of the M4s. In the fading light, it was the superior weapon. Julie strapped the M16 she had been carrying to a packhorse and took an A4 as well.

We set out armed with weapons that probably cost the government several thousand dollars each—our tax money at work.

We made camp about a mile from town and heated up some beans. Julie produced a block of cheese she was given in town, so we feasted on beans and cheese. I took first watch and Julie and Yeti were both asleep in less than two minutes.

I sat with my back to the fire and the horses behind me. I had learned to trust their sense of hearing and smell to be better than my own, so I was always listening for a warning from them. I watched and listened, but mostly listened for anything unusual.

In just a couple of weeks since the End of the World, my hearing had greatly improved. I was now aware of sounds I would have never noticed before. I think hearing is like a muscle; it can be trained to become stronger. Also, before the End of the World, I was usually surrounded by city and town noises. Only now did I realize how much I detested city noises and the crush of humanity around me.

At first I had been nervous in the outdoors, in spite of the training in wilderness survival Cap had tried his darnedest to drill into me. Now I felt more at home in the 'empty' desert than I ever did in town. I guess I was a country boy at heart and never knew it.

I sat listening and thinking about the future. I thought about what I needed to do to get home, and, at the same time, wondered how I would be able to keep my new family as well. It would be easy to blend Yeti into my Indiana family. Lucy would love him and treat him as a son, but Julie? I had not been unfaithful to Lucy with Julie, but there was something powerful and unsaid between us. It was more than a casual attraction. I could see it in Julie's eyes, and sometimes in her face, when she didn't know I was looking. I felt it in myself, though I said nothing.

I was comfortable when I was with Julie, just like I was when I was with Lucy. Even though Julie and I were not lovers, I didn't think Lucy would react well to her if, for some reason, she made the trip to Indiana. But, times were different now and there was no way to predict what would happen. The best I could do is just keep going each day.

I woke Julie for second watch, rolled up in my blanket, and passed out. When I awoke it was past 10:00 AM. Yeti sat on a rock with an M4 in his lap.

"Hey guys, I am hungry. What's for breakfast?" Julie was awake but still in her blanket. We both got up at the same time.

"Children, children," Julie laughed, "all they do is eat."

I restarted the fire and Julie opened some more beans. I figured we needed to find some other kind of food pretty soon or we would all fart ourselves to death.

Wayne

After breakfast, we hid our horses and gear and went back into town. This time the guards were awake, all ten of them. They waved us through and a couple shook Yeti's hand. We headed for the center of town, the café. It was full. We joined the mayor at his table. Julie and I declined any food, but Yeti happily downed a huge steak. He said the protein would help him lose weight and might counter the effects of the beans.

"The meeting is at 2:00 this afternoon, Wayne. Meet me here and I will take you there since you don't know the town very well yet."

"Thanks Bill," I said. Julie and I passed the morning talking with townsfolk. Julie even ran into a few high school classmates. With them, the conversation became do you know so and so; what happened to so and so; and many details about people I did not know, and probably never would. Yet I listened intently for information that might prove useful. As a salesman, I learned that one can never know too much about the people he may have to deal with.

The meeting was interesting, but in the end, there were no real answers. As best could be figured the MRAPs would help with security as would outriders and sentries.

The conversation soon shifted to food. There was enough food in town for another week or two. It looked like there would soon be a brisk trade in beef from the surrounding ranches and game taken by hunters. No one knew if there were enough cattle in the area to support the population. It was decided that some of the local ranchers should be invited to the next meeting.

That meeting I would not attend. I hoped to be on the Double H. We left the next morning at first light. By early afternoon we were walking up the lane toward the ranch house. We made better time on the road now, probably because we were more hardened to the routine of walking, and better rested and fed than usual. Yeti was moving more strongly than I had seen him move before. His clothes were getting baggy. So were Julie's. I estimated she had lost 15 pounds since we started. I felt like I had lost a few pounds myself.

It took a half hour to walk up the lane to the ranch house. When we got there, several men with rifles greeted us. "Who are you and what do you want?" The older man said.

"Hi Dad. It's me, Julie."

"Julie?" The old man lowered his rifle. At his cue, the others did the same. Julie, Yeti, and I were also carrying rifles, but ours were slung over our shoulders. "Julie, how did you get here?" Her father asked. By now they were hugging and the ranch hands, mostly men in their 40s to 60s, were shaking Yeti's and my hands.

Soon we were seated around a table on the porch. The days were growing colder and the warmth of the sun felt good. Once we were seated, Julie said, "Let me introduce Wayne."

Her father leaned over and shook my hand. "Thanks for bringing my daughter home, Son."

"You are welcome," I said, "but without Julie we would not have made it this far. She is our horse wrangler."

"And this is Yeti, Dad."

"Yeti?"

"A nickname, Sir. My real name is Fowler Yett. Everybody just calls me Yeti."

"Son, this is the West, and if what I think is going on is, then there are no more laws. You can choose your own name if you like, just as many Westerners did a hundred and fifty years ago. Many families out here were started under assumed names."

"Yeti is fine, Sir. I am used to it."

"Dad, Yeti is part of my family now," Julie said.

"And how about Wayne here?"

"Sir, I am on my way home to Indiana where I have a wife and a son. I consider Yeti a son. I also consider Julie family, but not in the way you are thinking."

"Dad, Wayne has been honorable in every way."

Julie's dad looked at both Julie and I in turn for almost a minute. "Kids, the world has changed. Wayne, you don't know what is waiting for you in Indiana. That area will be much harder hit than out here because it is much more populated. I think normal rules of etiquette are not so important any more. There are obviously feelings between you two. I will say straight out that I approve of whatever relationship you two have or want to have."

Julie started to speak but I made the sign for silence. Her dad noticed and one eyebrow slowly rose. "Sir, I appreciate your sentiments, but I intend to be faithful to my wife."

Julie's dad smiled. "That's admirable Son, but life has a habit of turning out differently than we think it will sometimes."

"Yeah, Wayne," Julie said. "Listen to Dad."

"I agree," Yeti chimed in, "Mom, Dad, you guys should get it on." Julie's dad sputtered and laughed. I was embarrassed and Julie gave me a look that embarrassed me even more.

"Enough of this," I said, "can't we find something better to talk about?"

"OK, Wayne," Julie's dad said, "tell me about yourself."

"Well," I said, "I am a salesman, or was, I guess. I also used to be a carpenter."

"Can you use hand tools?"

"Yes, my hobby, when I can find time, is hand tool woodworking. The only electricity I have in my workshop at home is for the overhead lights."

"That may prove a useful skill."

"I make furniture. Folks won't need new furniture any time soon. I intend to make my way home as a trader."

Julie's dad said. "Stay here until spring. You can't travel during the winter anyway."

"Thank you Sir."

"Call me George. I would like it if you stayed on permanently, and I am sure my daughter would as well."

"Thank you," I said, “but I have to go home. My wife’s father is taking care of them, as we planned just in case."

"You are a prepper then?"

"Not really," I said, "but my pa-in-law is a big time prepper."

"What is his name?" George asked.

"His pa-in-law is Cap Williams," Yeti burst in.

"I know Cap," George said.

"From the military?" I asked.

"No, we are both preppers. I met him at a conference maybe four years ago and we have been corresponding since."

"Dad, I knew you were worried about the future, but I didn't know you were a prepper?"

"Yes, Julie. I have been since your mom died. There is something about losing someone you love that just makes the possibility of other bad things happening seem more real."

"You picked a great hobby then," I said.

"It isn't a hobby Wayne. It is a way of life. I would have thought Cap taught you that."

"Yes Sir, he did. And now I know you are a real prepper and not someone who just pretends to prep."

"Smart boy, this one," Julie's dad said looking at her. Julie nodded.

"Dad, why don't you show Wayne and Yeti around the ranch, and I will fix supper. How many hands do you have on the ranch now?"

"Six."

"OK, I will fix for everyone. I think all the hands need to get to know my guys too."

"Sure thing, Julie," her dad said. "Can you boys ride?"

"I can a bit," I said. "But Yeti weighs too much for a horse and I am too heavy to ride one for very long, so he and I have been walking."

"The ranch is too big for walking. We have over 14,000 deeded acres here. That's about 22 square miles. You will have to ride. You boys wait here. I will get the horses."

Yeti and I watched as Julie's dad walked toward the barn. I weighed 265 when the EMP hit. I guessed I weighed about 240 now. I would need a big horse to carry my weight. I figured Yeti had lost weight, but he was still well over 300 pounds, probably on the high side of 350. Julie said none of our horses could carry him, and that I shouldn't ride one for too long. But our horses were small. Julie called them cow ponies, or cutting horses. None of our horses stood even fifteen hands.

Before long, Julie's dad came out of the barn leading three horses. The first was about the size of our horses. The second was much taller, long-legged, and well muscled, but it was the horse that came last that amazed me. It looked like a Clydesdale. It was huge.

"These horses will carry you boys with no problem," George said. He handed me the reins to the tall horse, and Yeti the reins to the big work horse. "They are both gentle horses. They shouldn't give you any trouble."

I took the reins and the horse nuzzled me. He seemed a friendly sort. I liked this horse right off. "What kind is he?" I asked.

"This is Mr. Wade, a Percheron-Arab mix. He stands just under 19 hands and can carry you all day long. We usually use him as a pack horse, but he rides well." He turned to Yeti, "now this horse, Bootsie, is a full blood Percheron, a draft horse, bred for moving heavy loads. He stands only 18 hands high, but he can carry and pull a much heavier load than Mr. Wade."

There were a couple of slab-sided 30-30s in the rifle boots. Yeti put his M4 down on the porch and went with the 30-30. I removed the 30-30 from the boot on Mr. Wade and stuck the Mosin into it instead. The Mosin stuck out of the boot more, but it worked OK. I was used to that old gun now, and I liked the extra range it had over the 30-30, especially in this open country.

We mounted the big horses and followed George. Yeti was unsure of himself in the saddle. I felt that way myself. We followed Julie's dad for a couple of miles until he led us to the top of the tallest hill in the area. There we dismounted. I removed the Mosin and slung it over my shoulder. After watching me, Yeti removed the 30-30 from his boot and hung on to it. Julie's dad left his rifle in the boot.

George pointed to the west. "Do you see that long black hill?"

"Yes."

"That is the western boundary of the Double H." He pointed to the north. "The boundary to the north is almost three miles from here." He also pointed out the eastern and southern boundaries. It was a very large ranch. What interested me most was the band of trees that crossed the ranch and looked like it ran behind the ranch house.

"Is that a stream?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Intermittent?"

"No, it runs year round. We have some of the best water in the county on the Double H. My great grandfather was one of the first to settle the area, before it was US territory. He made sure the ranch had good water.

There were Apaches here then. From the stories I heard growing up on the Double H, there were a few run-ins with Indians. In fact there are over 20 Apaches, and several of my relatives, buried on the ranch."

"How many cattle do you have?" I asked.

"About 800 head."

"So it takes about 17 or 18 acres per cow?"

"When we irrigate pasture, we can run almost 1200 head. Our herd is small right now. We sold three hundred head a week before the EMP."

"Did you see the flashes?"

"We saw one, to the east."

"There was another to the west."

"I guess it may be even worse than I thought."

"That is what I am afraid of," I said.

"Do you think they will get the electric grid back on?"

"If they do, I suspect it may be many years from now, although I hope it won't be that long."

"Having no electricity doesn't bother us at the ranch. We still run just fine without electricity. We cook on a wood stove."

"Does Julie know how to cook on a wood stove?" I asked.

"Yes, she does. She cooked on that old stove until she went away to college. Besides, Louisa is in the house, and she will help her. Well, truth of the matter is, Louisa may not even let Julie cook. Louisa thinks of that kitchen as her very own. You boys can meet her at supper tonight. That woman is one good cook. That is why I hired her."

"Do you have sentries posted?" I asked.

"Well, no. We are pretty isolated out here."

"Maybe it is time to post some," I said, and told him about all that we encountered on the trip to the ranch. His eyes grew larger as I talked. When I finished talking, the sun was beginning to set, so we mounted the horses and started home.

George rode alongside me and we continued talking. Yeti didn't contribute to the conversation as he was focused on staying on Bootsie. "I had no idea that it would get that bad out there," he said.

"Neither did I," I said. "I guess we are all learning as we go."

Supper was good, although I wasn't sure who actually cooked it. The ranch house had a huge dining room and a table that would easily seat 20 people. There were ten of us, and we clustered at one end of the table. I ate like a pig, but I noticed Yeti held back a bit. Maybe he was just trying to lose weight, and maybe he didn't feel well. I would ask him later, if Julie didn't beat me to it. I thought it was too bad that Julie didn't have any children because she would have made an exceptionally good mother.

Julie

I sat next to Dad at the table after all the dishes were washed and everything was put away. The hands were in the bunkhouse, Louisa was puttering around by the wood stove, and Wayne and Yeti were talking on the porch.

"I am glad you made it home, Julie. I have been worried about you. I didn't know where you were when the EMP hit."

"You never told me about EMPs and such, Dad."