Reclamation (Best Laid Plans Book 4) (31 page)

Although it looked like he'd have plenty of opportunities to enjoy these mountain surroundings soon, when he was living here and trying to wrangle hundreds of displaced people into some sort of orderly community.

That thought broke the mood, and with a sigh Lewis turned his thoughts to planning the upcoming evacuation.

About four hours later he heard the truck rumble to life farther up the canyon, and Lewis stood and stretched out a few kinks as he made his way back to the road. The vehicle drove into view not too long after that, and he moved over to the other side of the road so he could hop into the passenger seat as it crunched to a stop next to him.

“How did it go?” he asked.

It was Graham, behind the wheel, who answered. “Pretty good, I'd say. That cliff is rigged to collapse and bury the road beneath it, making a nearly impassable blockage.” He looked over at Lewis for a moment and grinned. “I suppose the enemy could pick their way over the rubble on foot, but it'd make them sitting ducks. That's what you'll be there for, right?”

“Right.”

Williams cut in, sounding a bit impatient. “We're done here, Halsson. All that's left is to drop you off and pick up Larson. Know where he'll be?”

Lewis nodded. “The same place I'm going. I'll point you the right way once we're out of the canyon.”

A few minutes later Graham stopped the truck on the dirt road near the taller hill, and Lewis shook hands with the two soldiers and hopped down to the ground. As he was shutting the door behind him Matt emerged from the shelter, looking a lot more cheerful and relaxed than when Lewis had last seen him a few weeks ago. It seemed like his reunion with his family had taken some of the weight off his shoulders.

Williams called for him to hurry up and get in, but Matt ignored him for a second to come over and say his goodbyes, and helloes, to Lewis. “Sorry we didn't get a chance to really catch up,” he said. “I wanted to thank you for taking care of the town while I've been gone, and for looking out for my family. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.”

“It's the least I could do.” Lewis offered his hand. “Be safe out there, and look out for Trev for me.”

His friend ignored the handshake and pulled him into a hug. “For sure. And you take care of everyone here.”

“I will.” Lewis watched as Matt pulled himself up into the back of the truck and disappeared. He thought that was that, but then Williams and Graham, who'd hopped out too and were waiting by the hood, made their way over to him.

The corporal turned to give the canyon a thoughtful look. “Well, we've done as much as we can to secure that road. The rest is up to your town. If things start looking bad in the area we'll send some soldiers to help you out, and if you run into trouble at any point you can radio in. General Erikson's group will be in charge of the northern region when he arrives, specifically Colonel Grimes guarding up along Highway 6. He can probably get help to you fastest in an emergency.”

Lewis appreciated the offer, although he had a feeling the town would be smart to assume they'd be on their own in a true emergency and prepare for the worst. “We'll do our best.”

As Williams stepped away he nodded to Graham, and the demolitions specialist stepped forward holding a backpack. “Here's a few replacement parts for the wiring and detonators in case something goes wrong with them,” he said. “Along with detailed instructions on how the explosives were wired and how the wireless receivers work, which will hopefully be enough for you to fix the problem.”

“We'll figure it out,” Lewis said, reaching out for the pack.

Graham hesitated giving it over. “The transmitter to set off the detonators is in there, too. I'd appreciate it if you'd put it in the care of the most responsible person in town. Ideally we want that road open for our own use until such a time as it becomes more a liability than an asset, so you should hold off on detonating the charges until blockheads are coming up the canyon itself, at the last possible moment.” He snorted. “And if you're feeling daring you can wait until they're actually under that cliff and take a few of them in the explosion.”

Lewis took the pack, holding it gingerly. “I think we can get the timing right.” He thought of the truck full of explosives they'd sent into the raider camp.

“All right, then.” Williams started for the truck, Graham following. Once the two were inside and had slammed the doors shut behind them the corporal called out the open window. “We'll be keeping in touch over the radio to let you know what the blockheads are up to, especially if they start nosing around this area. We won't let you get caught flatfooted.”

“Appreciate it.” Lewis lifted a hand in farewell. “Best of luck out there.”

As he watched the truck drive off he debated who to entrust the demolition gear to. He was pretty confident he could handle it himself, but since he'd been entrusted with defending the town while Matt was gone he needed to focus his attention on that. As Catherine had told him, when she'd come close to ordering him to reduce the number of patrol shifts he was taking so he could focus more on organizing the other defenders, leadership required delegation.

He had no doubt Chauncey could've easily handled it, but with his leg gone he'd lost most of his mobility, and that would probably be really important when it came time to blow the charges. Scott was good with technical things but he was gone with Matt, as was Rick, who took after his dad and had been helping with the radios.

The obvious candidate felt a bit like nepotism, but Lewis had to admit his own dad was probably one of the most responsible people in town, and shouldn't have too much trouble figuring out the technical details. They could also keep Chauncey in the loop and get his expertise, so things should work out.

Since he'd taken on Matt's duties he'd stopped the overnight hunting trips with Jane, so they'd set the tent up in a more permanent spot in the shade of the shipping container. Thanks to that, when he went into the container itself to deposit the pack in a more secure location it was the first time being in there in a while.

It was a lot less crowded now, with Trev away and the rest of the Smith family in the second house. That left just his parents and Mary to share the elevated sleeping area in the back, while the front had been converted into a living space.

Lewis stowed the pack out of sight until he could track down his dad and hand it over. After he'd done so he stood staring at it, trying to imagine the explosion the transmitter in that pack could cause, and what it would ultimately do to the canyon road. He knew he should be getting to town to begin planning the evacuation with Mayor Tillman and the other town leaders, but he let himself take a few moments to stop and let everything sink in.

The blockheads were still all the way over in Colorado, but at the moment that didn't seem all that far.

The next two days were a frantic flurry of activity as the town packed up to move, prioritizing the most important things first and saving anything that wasn't strictly necessary for later trips.

They didn't plan to go far, only an hour or so's walk away from the top of the canyon. Close enough that the defenders could patrol the area without having to hoof it too far back to camp, but far enough that if the townspeople had to flee from an unexpected attack they'd have the advance warning to get some distance before it was too late.

Lewis spent a lot of the time biking up to the site and back, coordinating with the few people who'd already arrived there and passing dozens more who were making the hike towing their possessions in whatever wheeled contrivance they had available or, with no other alternatives, lugging them on their backs. The number of people fleeing up the canyon increased by the hour, as the trickle became a flood.

The refuge he and Jane had found over a week ago was a shallow valley one slope over and upstream from the canyon, where a relatively flat meadow provided enough space for everyone. A tree-lined ridge not far to the west provided plenty of deadfall and trees that could be cut down for fires and making shelters, as well as signs of game that might provide some meat to feed the displaced townspeople.

He'd just come down from his third trip up and was going home. For the moment he was leaving his duties in the town to other people so he could focus on helping everyone living in the shelter pack up and get their own things out.

They had the handcart his family had brought, capable of carrying a surprising amount but woefully inadequate compared to what they had to take, as well as half a dozen wagons, including Lewis's own heavy duty one that had served him so well on the trip up and down from the hideout. They also had more than enough people to tow the wagons or carry things on their backs.

While Lewis had been scouting out their destination, preparing it for hundreds of people to set up camp and organizing the town's efforts in the evacuation, his dad and Uncle George had been tallying all their possessions and calculating how many trips it would take to bring them all up.

The last time he'd been down they'd been confident they could get all the most important things up in one trip, and another trip for things that weren't strictly necessary but would make life a bit easier and more comfortable up there. But to his dismay, when he parked his bike and went over to where they were loading the handcart his dad informed him that it would probably be two trips for necessities, and maybe two more total.

A lot of the issue came from the number of people living at the shelter, between his family, the Larson clan, and Jane's group. There were more possessions than expected split among that group, and their limited wagons and what they could handle on their backs just wasn't enough.

“I don't suppose Catherine would let us load some of this into one of the trucks?” Uncle George said hopefully, looking at the stack of cots off to one side. They were lightweight but bulky, which wasn't a great combination for traveling. “We could strap them on top and barely add any weight. The town could use the extras too, as added incentive.”

Lewis shook his head regretfully. “There's a lot of stuff to take, and when it comes to wagons and carts we're better off than just about everyone so we're near the bottom of the waiting list. The town's gear all on its own will overload the trucks for one trip, and we're not sure how many we're going to get out of the fuel we have.”

His dad sighed and knuckled his back. “Well then I guess we'll have to resign ourselves to a few days of trudging up and down steep roads hauling heavy weights. We've had a bit of practice with that.”

“You guys more recently than me,” Lewis agreed. He looked around at the dozen or so people hard at work around him, with as many inside packing. “Where's Jane?”

His dad chuckled. “Patrolling. She insisted somebody had to, when everyone else was running around like chickens with their heads cut off.”

That was probably true, and reminded Lewis that he'd dropped the ball in that area while planning the evacuation. Unfortunately he was needed to help with the moving, or he would've gone to join his wife. Or at least patrolled another route, content knowing she was out there with him. “How are the Larsons coming with their preparations?”

“About like we are, I expect,” his uncle replied, making it sound like that wasn't a great thing. “If you want to take over slinging sacks of wheat I'll go check on them.”

Lewis hesitated. “I'll get the wagon loaded, but first I want to make sure Sam's got hers and Matt's stuff packed in and ready to go. I promised I'd look out for her.”

The two older men exchanged looks. “Absolutely,” his dad said. “You aren't the only one. We've been in a few times asking her if she was ready for us to load her things up, but she's dawdling at packing.”

That didn't seem like Sam. From Lewis's experience she usually went overboard pitching in to help. Maybe she'd needed help with packing and had been too embarrassed to ask. Either way it made it more important he go check on her.

He made his way inside, nodding to Ed and Mona in the living area and fending off Aaron and Paul when the two boys ran over to pester him with questions about their new home in the mountains. Shooing them away, he made his way over to the curtained off area that was Matt and Sam's room and slapped the curtain to announce himself. “Sam?” he asked.

A moment later the dark-haired woman's head popped out around the curtain, smiling. “Hey, you're back!”

“Yeah.” Lewis shifted his feet slightly, noticing her smile was forced as if she was making an effort to be cheerful. He hoped he wasn't intruding. “I just wanted to let you know we're packing things up now. Do you need help with anything?”

She disappeared back behind the curtain. “Sure, I'm just finishing up with this last box,” she called. “Come on in.”

He ducked inside to find his friends' “room” looking empty and forlorn, the two cots leaning up on one end against the wall and most of their things already packed up in one cardboard box, while Sam neatly arranged the rest in a smaller one atop it.

“Want me to get that one?” he asked, pointing at the full box.

The dark-haired woman nodded. “Sure, thanks.” She abruptly made a face. “I can't believe we have to move. Again. It's just one thing after another.”

Lewis shook his head wearily. “I know, we can't seem to catch a break. I really should've built this place up in the mountains.”

“Would've been way better for you,” Sam agreed, then hesitated. “Not so great for us or the town, though.” She glanced toward the wall of the shelter and abruptly changed the subject. “Do you think he'll be all right?”

“Matt?” Lewis asked. She nodded. “We saw him just a couple days ago. I'm sure he's still fine.”

The petite woman shook her head doubtfully. “Only now the blockheads are finally coming, and the military's not going to be protecting us on this side. Matt might be fighting them along 31 any day now.”

“The point isn't to fight,” he replied, doing his best to sound reassuring. “Their job is to make that route impassible, destroying the highway and nearby roads if they have to and putting down booby traps anywhere they can. They'll only fight if the Gold Bloc forces keep coming, probably on foot and walking into ambushes every ten feet. Matt and the others are going to be fine.”