Farmageddon

Farmaggedon

The Beginning of the End

Chapter 1 – On the Road

Two sets of tire tracks were imprinted in the soil in front of him. No telling if they were ahead of him or had passed south days ago. With no rain for the last six weeks, the heavy soil on the road revealed little of the riders of the motorcycles that had left the tracks. That they were carrying a heavy load on what appeared to be dirt bikes was the only tell-tale sign someone had been passed here.

Looking over his shoulder, Michael, looked down the embankment towards the scrub brush, he waved his arm. Slowly, the others crawled and stepped out of the small grove of aspens to scramble up to the road. Backpacks and wagons full of gear were pulled up behind them. Two of the older members of the group came out of the trees leading the very large Percherons draft horses. There was little hope of the horses making the climb, so they were led north along the small ditch that ran along the bottom of the embankment.

Shielding his eyes against the sun beating down, Michael wrapped his head with the camouflaged kerchief and motioned everyone to gather around him. Looking over the motley group, he shook his head ruefully. There was no way to hide such a large group and the makeup of them made it unlikely they would win any battles that ensued. They would just have to hope that it wouldn’t come to that.

There was no sound in the small valley, nothing moved, not even the trees. It was too still and everyone sensed that. “What are we waiting for? Let’s get a move on,” growled Roland. That one was going to be trouble, Michael mused. “I’m waiting because I want to be sure we are all accounted for”

“We all need to keep close, I don’t want anyone wandering off, the tracks show that someone has been through here in the last two days.” Michael kept his eyes locked on Roland to be sure his message was getting through.

Michael looked through the faces surrounding him, searching for his son and daughter. With an internal sigh, he spotted them at the back of the group, intently watching the southern road. Good kids, he thought, always thinking of their retreat lines. Though they were not the youngest of the group they were certainly not anywhere old enough to have to worry about all that they took care of for him. Yeliah at twelve and Colton at ten, were both carrying crossbows and had the shorter machetes strapped across their backs.

Scanning the rest of his troop, he nodded with satisfaction that all of them had their weapon of choice at hand.

“Alright then, let’s get a move on, Horse and Hoss are already up on the road and we want to find fresh water before dark. Standard formation, Roland, you and Lance take the point, the rest of you stay back about twenty feet. Tye, your with me, we’ll bring up the rear.” Then before his daughter could raise her voice in protest, he nodded towards Roland’s retreating back and with a nod and a wink, gave her permission to stay near the lead. To his son, he again, with a nod, asked Colton to keep to the rear with him.

Roland was already down the road, walking on the left side, with Lance covering the right side, both of them scanning the brush and watching the dust on the road for tracks. The horses fell in behind the two scouts and the rest of the group trailed out keeping within arm’s reach of each other. It was going to be a long, tense day, worrying about those two trail bike tracks. Not a good sign.

Four hours later, Michael whistled and pointed to the left side of the road. There was a waterfall coming down the rock cliffs. There really wasn’t anywhere to stop except just settling there in the roadway. But the little ones were already two to each horse with several others having climbed into the wagons being pulled by the adults. A rest was much needed and with fresh water at hand, he wasn’t going to be choosy. Roland and Lance trotted back to rejoin them. Roland nodded to the other side of the road and Michael joined him away from the rest of the group.

“Those tracks appear to be headed the same way as we are. Lance took a closer look and he thinks the tire nubs are worn on the back tire enough to determine that. I looked at them, but damned if I can tell, but he’s ex-armed forces, so I trust his judgement,” Roland was talking low and fast. Michael could tell that the stress of running point with those tracks leading away was wearing him thin.

“Why don’t you and Tye trade places, walk with me and keep an eye for anyone coming up behind us?” Michael thought it only wise to give him the option instead of pushing Roland to the breaking point. They used to have a term for this in the days before the Rise, ‘post traumatic stress’ or some such nonsense. As far as Michael was concerned, if you couldn’t take the pressure, you were better off putting that gun below your chin and letting those who could take care of business. But right now, he needed every set of hands that could fight.

Roland looked ahead, then over to where Lance was joking and laughing with one of the prettier girls that had joined them in Squamish. Frowning, he turned back to Michael and shook his head, “no, I’ll be fine. What do you think, I can’t handle this? I’ve done far worse before you ever came along.”

Sighing, Michael just shrugged, “suit yourself, just offering a change.”

He walked over and squatted down beside his daughter. Rubbing the top of her head, he whispered softly, “Love you princess. How are things going up there?” She looked up with glowing eyes, “they keep talking, not really paying attention to what’s going on around them. Lance keeps trying to convince Roland that he should be the one to lead.”

Michael snorted softly, “I knew that man was trouble from the minute I set eyes on him. He had way too many weapons to be just a regular Joe. Keep your ears and eyes open kiddo, things look like they are going to get worse before they get better yet.”

Seeing his son next to a younger couple with two boys about the same age trading cards spread out on the asphalt in front of two of the boys, Michael walked towards them. He smiled as he saw his son reach into a pouch on his belt and give each of the youngsters a handful of marbles. Then he had to laugh out loud as Colton reached into his backpack and handed each of the boys a slingshot and heard him giving instructions on where to aim and how to load the leather pocket. Colton hearing his father glanced up with a grin.

“Hey Dad, this is Kaden and Logan. They joined us in Squamish and they are twins. I’m showing them what to do if you tell us we are being attacked by raiders or muties.” Michael ruffled his son’s dark brown hair and squatted down, holding out his hand, “Pleased to meet you boys, stay close to your mother and keep your ears open. We’ll do what we can to keep you safe.”

Everyone seemed to be rested, smiling and not quite so tense which was a good sign. He stood and cleared his throat. “Okay people we need to keep moving, the daylight is fading and we need to get clear of these rocks and cliffs.” He could see Roland and Lance still standing together on the north side of the group, heads together whispering. This was not the place or time to deal with that situation, but it was going to need to be handled sooner rather than later.

Chapter 2 – Camping Out

Dusk found them another twelve miles up the road. The rock cliffs had fallen behind and there was a very large waterfall with a large pool at the base. The tents had been set up, small cooking fires were going and the sixteen older kids had gone to the downstream side of the pool to wash out as many of the clothes as they could before the darkness was fully upon them.

It had been slow going for the group and he hoped they didn’t find any other survivors. Their supplies were already low and finding those three families struggling on the rock cliffs of the Chief were stretching them thin.

His tent was set up close to the cliff, the kidlets had taken care of that. Tye was standing beside the six person dome tent, rifle leaning against his shoulder. “What’s for dinner tonight Tye? More beef stew?” Tye just laughed and shook his head, “You’ll have to wait and see what Yeliah has cooked up for you.”

Michael ducked down and entered the tent, dropping his backpack onto the cot set up beside the entry. He leaned his rifle against the wooden rack set up on the other side of the entry. He noticed that both crossbows were not racked yet. Stepping outside, Tye was pointing to the right, which was away from the rest of the group. Trust his little girl to know that he would need to unwind before speaking to the rest of the group.

He settled down onto the camp chair and picked up the bowl of food sitting on the table beside the chair. The aroma was out of this world, where had she found ground beef he wondered. The chili was delicious and as the warmth spread through him, he found himself reliving the last week of struggles they had all been through.

The realization that they were going to have to head inland had been there for a while, but he had put it off, waiting for his wife to return from shopping in town. After night had fallen without her return he had packed the truck with all of their camping gear; two tents, the camp stove, lanterns and the only rifle they had was the one his father had given him twenty years before. That it was an antique from the Second World War was irrelevant, it still worked. He had told the children they were going to go camping, that was far more exciting than the truth. Civilization was falling apart and lately a whole lot faster than he was ready to admit.

Snapping back to reality, he sighed and stood up. It was time to visit the various fires to check on the status of each member of the group. He turned and almost knocked his son and daughter over. “How long have you two been waiting here?” he laughed as he pulled them into a hug.

“We were just waiting for you to stop day dreaming,” his daughter mumbled from against his chest.

“Well, let’s make the rounds, we’ve got new ones to welcome and old ones to reassure,” Michael said as he took each of them under an arm.

Chapter 3 – Keep Your Friends Close

The three of them headed out of the firelight, with Tye falling in behind them. Staying off to the side and blending into the darkness. Michael walked into the next campfire area and was shocked to see Roland and Lance sitting there chatting with the newcomers that had joined them in Squamish. Normally, Roland kept to himself on the opposite side of the encampment. Lance was obviously gaining more control over the new situation than he had imagined.

“Good evening folks, just thought I’d drop in to welcome you to our group. But I see that my friend Roland has already done that. Thank you Roland for making our guests feel part of our new family.” Michael’s voice was heavy with sarcasm and everyone there could feel the sudden tenseness in the air.

Lance stood up and pulled forward an M-16 that had been leaning against the log beside him. Michael knew that Tye was still standing in the dark and that the two troublemakers were fire blind, unable to see him. Lance casually flipped the heavy rifle up and around, so that it was now resting on his shoulder and forearm. Not a good situation, with Tye only carrying a crossbow, a bullet might find him before the crossbow bolt reached Lance. Knowing that his children were also involved in this situation, he squatted down beside the fire. Lance’s rifle did not follow him but he knew that the muzzle was still pointed where he had been standing and his two children were still in harm’s way.

“Colton, these are the folks who had the two twins with them, right? Why don’t you head on over to the tent and see if the boys need anything, we’ve got some clothes that might fit them.”

Not waiting to see what the response from Roland and Lance was going to be, Michael looked over at the long haired man who was the father of the twins. His long hair was pulled back into a ponytail that had been braided. On his head was a knitted cap of multiple colors. Michael smiled as he recognized the old colors of the Rastarians. These would be peace loving people, unwilling and unable to get involved in their internal or external fighting. He smiled broadly at the man, nodding gently, then turned to face the young woman. Long blonde hair cascaded down her back and she was almost shaking she was so frightened. Michael turned to his daughter and waved her forward.

“Yeliah, the young miss here appears to be cold, why don’t you take her over to our fire and get her some of the delicious dinner that you made for me.” Again, he didn’t hesitate, but held out his hand to assist the young lady to her feet. Holding his arm protectively around her, he ushered her towards his daughter and waited until they were out of the firelight.

Turning back to the fire, he noticed that the rifle was now being held much firmer and was definitely pointed in his direction. “Young man, I didn’t catch your wife’s name or yours?” Michael asked as he held out his hand to help the father up.

“My name is Gary and my wife is Ellen. You met the boys earlier when your son was assisting them with some toys,” the father replied quietly.

The rifle barrel followed them as Michael escorted the young father around the fire towards where their tent was pitched. “You’d best go check on those boys of ours, no telling what they will be getting into, in your new home.”

Having kept his eyes away from the fire and towards the outskirts, he had seen Colton exiting the tent with the boys. Michael had also been sure to keep the fire between himself and Lance to ensure that Lance had to watch him through the light.

“Now that we are alone, care to tell me what the two of you are up to?” Michael growled as he turned towards Lance. His focus was on the more dangerous of the two, but he also had Roland in his peripheral vision. The leader of this trouble was quite obviously Lance, as Roland had been with them for the last four weeks without any signs of rebellion. That didn’t make Roland less dangerous at this point though.

Lance just raised the barrel of the rifle slightly when his eyes widened. “You’d best lower that rifle mister or I’m going to feed your kidneys to the dogs.” Colton’s voice was silky smooth and full of confidence. He sure didn’t sound like a ten year old boy.

Roland took a step towards his friend, however, a twang and thunk of the crossbow bolt hitting the tree beside him made him pause. “I wouldn’t do that Rolls,” Tye’s voice came out of the dark.

Lance lowered his rifle and let it hang loosely from his fingers. “Not sure what you think is going on, but we were just welcoming the newcomers. Warn’t doin’ nuttin’ else.”

Michael just shook his head. “We’ve had this conversation Roland. Everyone agreed that a leader was needed. You put your name forward, as did Marco and Victor. You all had grand ideas of what we should do. Once it was all said and done, the group we had voted. I was the chosen. Then and twice since. Every time we get newcomers, you try again and again to take the leadership. Now this time, you’ve got armed support and you think the others will follow you that way? Give your head a shake.”

Turning to Lance, Michael stepped forward and pulled the M-16 from his hand. “You are not welcome in our group. I’ve heard enough of your bullshit. You’ll stay in your tent until morning, with Marco and Tye keeping an eye on you.”

Marco stepped forward from the other side of Roland, shouldering him as he went by. Roland reacted instantly, pulling a seven inch hunting knife from his belt and slashing at Marco’s back. There was a moment when it all seemed to move in slow motion and then Roland was falling to the ground with a crossbow bolt in his throat. Lance was still standing stiff and still, Colton’s knife point in his back prodding even harder as a reminder.

Michael heaved a sigh and turning to Lance, pointed at Roland’s body, “His blood is on your hands. You were welcomed into our group and chose instead to try to undermine my authority and wrest control in an underhanded manner.”

Tye stepped forward and pulled out a set of wrist ties from his belt, “Turn around bucko, I’m pretty sure you’ve been through this routine.”

Colton pressed forward with his knife blade, as Lance turned and with that, he grabbed the knife out of Colton’s hand, spun around and threw it at Tye, then leaped across the fire and into the darkness.

Tye was still standing, but he was holding the knife that had flown towards him, his large ham like hand trying to staunch the flow of blood that was oozing from his right collarbone area. “I’m alright, go get the son of a bitch,” he grunted, as he pulled it out.

Michael waved them all down, “Let him go, we’ll never find him in the dark and only put ourselves at risk. Double the patrols around the perimeter though.”

Holding his arms out, he hugged his son to his chest and inhaled deeply in his son’s hair. “Thank you for your bravery, son. I’m glad it wasn’t you that he tried to take out with that knife. Now let’s go find your sister and finish talking to everyone before we get some sleep.”

Marco had slung Roland over his shoulder and headed to the horse pickets. Another body to dispose of, but at least Roland had not had wife or children with him.

Chapter 4 – Decisions, Decisions

At five in the morning, with darkness still upon them, Michael lifted his head, listening intently. Nothing moved outside, there was no repeat of the noise that had caused him to stir.

He had been laying there, thinking about the beginning of the end. Having made the decision to leave their home in east Maple Ridge, knowing in his heart that his wife wasn’t coming back, he had started packing the Dodge Ram pickup truck. The tank was full and he had several thirty gallon tanks of gasoline in the garden shed. He had asked Yeliah and Colton to get the sleeping bags and tents from the basement while he carried up the Coleman propane stove. When Yeliah had asked what they were doing, he’d explained that they were going to need to go camping for a little while.

The news channels had been full of stories for years about the loss of organic farmland. More stories had been growing about how the fresh food that was being grown was so full of pesticides and genetically modified genomes that it was causing mutations in humans. The government had been advertising that everything was safe, everything was being monitored and tested appropriately. However, it became rampantly evident that none of this was actually the truth. Large bands of mutated humans had been caught ransacking grocery stores in the Prairie properties in the center of Canada. A month after the first riot, an even larger group tore apart a government office in Ohio, then a third riot happened in Nebraska. The National Guard had been called out in the United States, but the mutants had weapons as well. Clearly they were not merely citizens, armed more like a militia and organized to strike, execute government officials and abduct citizens. The U.S. government had reacted with swiftness trying to quell the uprising. Missiles had been launched, and though non-nuclear, the bombs that had fallen across the central bread basket states and province, resulting in clouds of dust and ash to blanket most of North America.

One of the unexpected results of the bombing was the destabilization of the fault lines across the western seaboard. Earthquakes far exceeding the 9.9 MM scale rocked the west coast from California to Alaska. Aftershocks had completed the destruction of most of the power grids that had survived the first three quakes. The hydro dams along the Peace and Columbia rivers had cracked and then spilled the lakes they held back, flooding out vast tracts of land. The coast of California had fallen into the ocean as had much of the west coast of Washington state and British Columbia.

Michael shook his head as he remembered the ensuing panic that had swept through the province of British Columbia. Their five acres that had been mountainside had become riverfront as the Fraser River flooded and the Pacific Ocean had swept in replacing Richmond, Surrey and Coquitlam with sea water. What had been Burnaby was now barely an island.

He couldn’t take the memories any longer, it lead him down the lane to memories of his wife. Putting his feet down beside the cot, he encountered a warm, furry body. Michael rubbed the head of his Newfoundland dog, Bear. The dog groaned with pleasure at the ear rubbing. “Come on big fella, let’s go roust the rest of them and see what we can round up for breakfast.”

Pulling on his black leather jacket and grabbing his cowboy hat from beside the tent door, he ducked under the flap and stood up outside, breathing in the ocean air. It was just over the rock ridge they had been walking beside, although it had been there before, it was now at road level instead of two hundred feet below. Looking around he could see in the pre-dawn light that he was the first one up, except for the guards who were coming in from opposite ends of the camp. Most of the campfires had gone out overnight except the one beside his tent. The camp table was set up in front of the tent with the Coleman stove on top. Michael checked the coffee pot for water, and started the burner, before reaching into the bin under the table for the coffee. At that moment Tye arrived rubbing his hands together, “freakin’ cold out there Mick, we better hurry up and get these folks to some kind of shelter.”

Michael just nodded, as he stared at the campfire next to his. Sighing, he turned back towards his tent and reached inside for his walking stick. “Let’s go make sure they’re alright. Okay?”

He didn’t wait for his large friend to agree, but turned and walked towards the small tent where his son had helped keep the twins safe. Pausing outside the tent, he tapped his cane on the log set up as a bench. The tent flap opened and the young father stepped outside. “You doin’ alright son? Just wanted to check before all the stories started flyin’ about. We’re a small group, so sometimes things get said before the facts are known.”

“Ye…ye…yes,” Gary stuttered, thought whether that was the cold or nerves, Michael couldn’t tell.

“I want you to know that we value your contribution and I’ll make sure that you and yours are safe.” Michael shook the young man’s hand. “I’ve got coffee on the cook stove, if you and Ella wish to stop by for a hot drink.”

Michael whistled and Bear came quickly to his side. “I’ve got to check on a few of the others that we didn’t make it to because of our little incident here. If you want to have breakfast at my tent, my daughter will be up shortly. I’ll join you there.”

Tye was still standing there waiting for Michael. It was obvious that Tye had been awake all night. “Tye, why don’t you head on over to your tent and take a break. I can take care of myself.”

“But Mike, I wanted to talk to you about Lance, we still got him tied in his tent.”

Michael turned back towards Tye, “Just rest first my friend, I’m going to need you well rested when we get to that situation. I just need to talk to Horse and Hoss first.”

Tye nodded and headed for the tent that was even further up the small hillside behind Michael’s tent.

Michael found one of the twins giving the large Percherons a bag of oats and warm water while his brother added an extra blanket on top of the one that was already on the horses. “Horse, Hoss, how are you and the horses holding up?” He couldn’t tell them from each other since they shared identical looks and swapped their clothes seemingly daily, with one in red one day, then blue the next.

“I’m Horse, he’s Hoss,” the one in blue said. “I’m thinking if it gets much colder, these big boys are going to be needin’ a whole lot more feed than what we’re carryin’ with us.”

That was what Michael needed to hear, though not exactly what he had hoped for. “I’m hoping that in Whistler we can find more horses so that the little ones can ride and also more feed. Not sure if you’ve been there, but there were a couple stables there that did trail rides.”

The twins nodded without a word and resumed getting the horses ready for the day’s trip.

Michael headed back to his own tent, stopping as he went to say good morning to the rest of his troop. He mentioned what had happened at Gary and Ella’s campground to several of the group who had started with him in Maple Ridge, wanting to have the right version out there. This done, he knew that the rest of the gathering would know the truth before they hit the road.

Reaching his own campsite, he could smell the bacon and eggs and grinned. Trust his daughter to make their traditional Sunday breakfast. He had kept track of the days, despite the days all running into each other as they trudged north-west. He had not been aware that Yeliah was keeping track as well. The young family was seated at the camp table already eating, steaming mugs of hot chocolate in front of the young twins. Michael sat down and right away, Colton was there with a plate of food and a cup of coffee. “Dad, can I have a sleep-over tonight with the twins? Yeliah said she doesn’t mind.” Michael was about to say no, when he realized that his son was still just a kid who needed to still do kid things.

“If it’s alright with their parents, I don’t have a problem with it.” The gleeful shout from both the twins and Colton was reward enough for a man who was carrying the well-being of forty people on his shoulders.

Yeliah sat down beside him and he scooted over to give her room on the end of the bench. “Well, what happened with Lance? I went and said a prayer for Roland at the spot that Marco buried him,” she mumbled around a mouthful of scrambled eggs.

Michael nudged her with his elbow with a nod at the twin boys. Her left eyebrow raised questioningly and he followed up with a whisper, “they didn’t see and don’t need to know.”

“Fine,” she grumbled, stuffing a piece of bacon in her mouth. “I’ll just have to wait and ask Tye.”

“Colton, why don’t you and the boys head on over to the horses and help Hoss get the wagons loaded. I need to have a talk with Tye and Yeliah and Gary here about our route today.” Michael gave his daughter the same look back with the raised left eyebrow, only his was with sarcastic humour.

The boys grabbed a couple more pieces of bacon and ran off towards the northern edge of the encampment.

“Alright now, Lance is still in his tent, cuffed and ankle tied. I’m going to let him go after we’re all packed up.”

Both Gary and Ella gasped in shock. “You can’t let him go!” they both yelled at the same time. “You don’t know him like we do.”

Michael was surprised and it showed on his face. “What do you mean you know him? How could you? He joined us in Lion’s Bay, we didn’t find your family until Squamish.”

Gary’s shoulders slumped and he put his head in his hands. “He’s my brother. He was in the Marines down in San Fran when the first quake hit. Rather than help out, he bugged out and headed up here. He knew we were in Canada and figured that we could hide him.”

Michael jumped up, “Tye, we’ve got big trouble!” he yelled as he started running towards Lance’s tent. The sound of running feet behind him was reassuring but he was scared it was too late. He couldn’t catch his breath, the fear inside threatening to overwhelm him. His son and Lance’s nephews were on this side of the camp, if anything happened to them……. He shook his head, it was going to be alright.

Marco was still standing there, leaning against a tree beside the tent, his gun still leaning against his shoulder. “Is he still in there,” he huffed as he stopped before the tent. There was no answer from Marco and he looked closer, there was no doubt, he was too late. Marco’s eyes were blank and definitely dead. He pulled back the tent flap and could see that the back had been cut open.

“FUCK!” he yelled, then under his breath muttered, “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he yelled again, “TYE! Did you frisk him and toss his belongings?”

Tye was standing behind him, bare-chested and not at all out of breath. “Of course I did. There was nothing left inside his tent. I left his ankles and his wrists tied behind him and put him inside his sleeping bag.”

Tye had just seen Marco. “Aaaaghh! That bastard killed him? With what?”

Michael looked over his shoulder, “he’s a Marine, he probably just looked at him sideways.”

Stooping into the tent, he noticed the sleeping bag was gone. Smart man, knew he was going to need warmth. The floor of the tent was also ripped up and his first thought had been that was due to the thrashing to get out of the sleeping back and cuff-ties. But he could see now that there had been something buried beneath the tent. A large knife sheath was still laying there. The tear marks on the tent floor looked like they had been made by teeth. Heaving a sigh, he left the tent to find out that Tye had lowered Marco’s body to the ground.

“His pistol is gone and so is his knife.” Tye said quietly, “And all of his bullets from the rifle have been taken.”

“S’alright, let’s get everybody together. We need to get ready to leave and I want everyone on high alert.” Michael was gritting his teeth without even realizing it, his anger at his own stupidity making it even hard to think straight.

Yeliah and Ella were just catching up to them and Michael waved them back. “Marco’s dead, you don’t need to see this. Let’s find the boys and make sure they’re safe.”

Fifteen minutes later, Michael stood in a now somber group, his son and the twins had been found safe and sound with the horses, helping load the wagons. Everyone was accounted for. He went over last night’s events and what had been found this morning.

“We need to make a decision now. Do we keep moving north and try to make Whistler this afternoon or do we stay here and try to find this murderer?”

There were murmurs of assent at each of his statements and as it usually is when you have more than one person, there were disagreements. The loudest for staying and looking for Lance was Tye, it had been his brother after all who Lance had murdered and Michael didn’t blame him. Michael let the discussion go on for a few minutes, but as the debate got louder, he realized it was time to assert his leadership again.

“Alright, I can see that we don’t have a consensus here. All those in favour of staying, put up your hand,” he called out over the loud voices. There were now only five out of the forty holding their hands up.

“Well, that settles the question. Tye, can you and Fred and Paul meet me at my tent in five minutes? I have a job for you. The rest of you, get your things packed up as quickly as you can, we’re hitting the road in thirty minutes.”

Michael climbed down from the stump he was standing on and pulling his son close, gave him a hug. “I was worried that Lance had grabbed you as a hostage, I’m so glad you went straight to the horses.”

“Awww Dad, you know I can take care of myself.” Colton said.

Chapter 5 – Poignant Reminisces

Michael met Tye outside of his tent and taking the big man to the side away from everyone, gave him his mission. Tye and one other of his choice were to try to track Lance for four hours, if they have not found anything by noon, to head back to the main road leading into Whistler.

“Make sure you are keep your eyes and ears open, this guy may expect us to come after him now that he’s killed one of us. He’s a seasoned Marine and was part of the team they sent into Oklahoma to try to quell the mutant uprising. His brother is Gary but they don’t want anything to do with him, he was basically holding them hostage for the last three months. It wasn’t until they escaped the house he’d had them penned up in, that he headed in towards Vancouver. He may try to come back around us, just be careful.”

Tye nodded and headed to his tent to get his belongings. He was going to have to travel light and left the tent and camping gear for the kids to pack up for him.

Michael sat down heavily in his camp chair watching Tye head off into the bush to circle the camp before collecting his partner in this endeavour. Yeliah was fast and efficient at packing up, a trait she had learned from him early on. The campsite was already packed and waiting for the wagon to swing by for loading. He sighed, realizing once again why governments had grown so cumbersome and dictatorships were so few. It was just far too much of a burden for one person to shoulder. His thoughts wandered back to where he had been this morning, reminiscing about the beginning of the end.

The corporate giants that had been manufacturing food, plants and animals through genetic modification had tried unsuccessfully to have all organic food banned for the past decade. Claiming that the diseases and fungi that were spreading through their crops were what caused the need for genetic modification and blaming the organic products for generating these diseases. Despite their huge budgets for lobbyists and lawyers, the tough organic markets survived this assault. The next step in the battle involved discrete poisoning of the wells and water supplies of the larger organic farms. The resulting backfire from this tactic had lead to the formation of Farmer’s Cooperative Militia, a small dedicated band of farmers determined to preserve their culture and way of life. Patrols of larger farms kept any further attacks from occurring but the damage appeared to have been enough. Farm after farm closed as their products died on the vine. The FCM saved what seed they could and started seeking remote villages and hidden enclaves that would store their products. The collusion between the corporate world and the government seemed obvious as their appeared to be no forthcoming prosecution of individuals for the vandalism.

When the mutations in humans had started appearing, again, the corporate world attempted to spin the first few as one-offs that were the result of poor living conditions. However, as the number of mutations in both newborn and older children continued to grow at an exponential rate, centered primarily in the States and Provinces that were the site of the massive corporate farms and bio-culture greenhouses, there was little doubt in the average citizen’s minds. The final straw in the towns and cities that supplied workers on the farms was when adults started developing mutations. At first it was just protests in front of government office, and then it graduated to full scale walkouts of the farm labourers. Riots started with stores and offices being looted and smashed. The police refused to step in, having lost faith in their local government and many of them starting to show the same signs of change that their neighbours did. Despite all of this, the federal governments still did nothing to stop the genetic manipulation of plant and animals. After two years of inaction, the Muties as they had become known as started to form militia groups and commit raids on both government and corporate headquarters. The United States government set up road blocks and started to build walls along both sides of the roads leading into the central parts of the country. The Canadian government was now acting basically as a puppet on a string to the US government and followed suit, with walls going up along the Ontario border and the highway passes in the Rocky Mountains being blockaded in an attempt to keep the all of the Muties in the interior, offering further proof to the world outside that there were severe problems in the food chain. When the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. were bombed at the same time that the Parliament West Wing in Ottawa, the White House authorized the ultimate solution. The bombs rained down across southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, parts of Minnesota and Wyoming. Wiping out huge swaths of countryside, town after town just disappeared from the map.

“DAD! Dad, come on already! We’ve got to get going.” Yeliah was standing down by the roadside with the wagon, everything else already loaded.

Michael stretched, folded his chair and ran down to the wagon. “Sorry kidlet, I was just thinking about home,” he lied.

Normally, he would have walked at the rear of the pack, but with Roland, Marco and Tye all gone, he knew he would have to take over for now. He was concerned about Lance coming up behind him and did not want to leave it to his daughter and son unprotected. “Of course, I should have thought of this sooner,” he said out loud, talking to himself.

“Yeliah, you’re going to walk recon with me at the front until Tye gets back. Colton, you and the twins stay in the center of the group, keep an eye on the other young ones and watch the hills and trees to the east of the road. Anyone see Gary and Ella?”

Hoss pointed ahead, and Michael spotted them with a large wagon full of personal goods. He trotted up to the young couple, “Gary, I need your help. With Marco dead and Tye checking for where your brother may have gone, I’m going to have to take the lead here. I need someone at the rear to keep an eye out. We’re kind of short on manpower, so I’m asking you to stay near the rear, keep Horse and Hoss company and just watch for anything suspicious.”

“Anything I can do to help sir. I feel responsible enough already, if I can help, I might feel less guilt,” Gary replied. Ella reached for his arm and squeezed it.

“What can I do to help Mike?” Ella asked.

“Just stay in the center where your boys and Colton are going to be, keep an eye on them for me?” Michael nodded to where the boys were already moving to.

Chapter 7 – Dark Corridors

They made good time, seeing log cabins and A-Frames before mid-afternoon. Tye though had still not re-joined them. Michael was getting very worried. He had lost too many good men on the road here and the cost was starting to seem a little bit high. Neither Yeliah nor he had spotted any sign of Lance. There was also no sign of any other human activity, which really concerned him. Twice during the day he had sent Yeliah to the rear of the column to check on Gary and the horses. At lunch he had made sure the rest of the group was still doing fine while seeing that Colton was still continuing his education of the twins. Everyone was needed to help in keeping each other safe from the youngest to the oldest.

Michael remembered coming here with his wife Janet several times as they had enjoyed skiing on Blackcomb Mountain. Now with the heavy overcast shrouding the mountains, there was little sign that they were still there or even what condition they were in after the 12.4 earthquake that had rocked the entire west coast of North America. If there were any people left here, they were making sure that there was no visible sign. No smoke, no sound of generators, no vehicles or tracks. They had lost sight of the motorcycle treads in the road not long after leaving their camp this morning. Those tracks had come onto the road from a forestry trail.

Michael turned to his daughter, “Yeliah, if I remember correctly, there were stables at the northern side of the village. Between here and there, were several large hotels. We might be able to source some more supplies. Also, there was a small medical clinic in the center of the village too, since they weren’t big enough to have their own hospital. Let’s get everyone together at that parking lot.” He pointed to a large buckled piece of concrete in front of a collapsed grocery store.

His daughter directed the wagons of the group into a seemingly random order around the parking lot, and he could tell, there was logic behind the placements. She was keeping the older couples together, the young families together and the single men well away from the single mothers. Like father, like daughter, he thought, observant and always planning. Michael laid out for the group what he expected to find in the village, the medical clinic, the hotels, the garden center, the grocery store and most importantly the stables. He asked Horse and Hoss to take Peter and Terry, two of the young single guys, with him to scout the stables. Both Peter and Terry were armed with hunting rifles and Horse had his cavalry sword, while Hoss had his cudgel, so Michael wasn’t concerned about their safety.

He asked Ella, George and Yeliah with the four other single mothers and the Percherons to find a place to set up camp for the night. There were five more families with two kids each that he split up to reconnoiter for water and firewood. Michael made the suggestion that they look near the Fairmont Chateau, as it had been the fanciest and most expensive hotel.

There were five other young men, well armed, and he asked them to split up and be the protection for each group. While he knew them by sight, he had not been able to get to know them personally, but his daughter had and she nodded in agreement. That left himself and Colton and he knew where he was going. “Colton, you’re with me, we’ve got to find food, we’re getting low.”

Looking at what was left of the Overwaitea store, he questioned if anything would even be salvageable or if it had been looted already. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as his Grampa Joe used to say.

“Colton, see if you can find any openings around the side there, I’ll go around this way and we’ll meet in the rear.”

As they both came around the corners at the same time, they spotted the large hole at the rear of the building where a loading dock had been. The way the earthquake had struck or perhaps it had been the massive aftershocks that occurred for several weeks after, the building had sloughed forward leaving the rear wall intact except for the rolling door. Pulling an LED flashlight from his backpack, Michael shone the light inside. Nothing moved. Keeping Colton behind him, he moved into the interior scanning for any sign of movement. It was obvious that the store had been looted, but the rear storage area here had been left largely intact. Stepping through what had been a doorway into the front of the store, he could see that most of the shelves had been toppled with canned goods spread across the floor. The smell of rotten meat hung in the air and both Michael and Colton pulled their shirts up over their noses. Edging along the left side, they crouched down under several fallen beans and found the front cash area. There were no signs of struggles or bodies anywhere. Post earthquake looting had occurred, but from the amount of food still left in the store, not very much. Pointing back at the rear, Michael made a circle motion and they crawled under two shelving units that had formed a tunnel and headed towards the rear of the store again. As they came up to standing height, he could see another flashlight shining into the darkness. Colton was about to call out, when Michael quickly shut off his flashlight and finger over his lips indicated to stay quiet. There were no guarantees that it was one of their own and he didn’t want any surprises.

Edging forward they watched as the light followed the same path as the one they had entered through. With a sigh of relief, Michael stood up as he recognized the outline of Tye standing in the light.

“You make a fine target outlined against the outside light, my friend.” Michael called out.

Tye turned towards him and then was pushed forward by an arm that had been out of sight. “And you make a great idiot falling for the bait and switch” Lance’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

Now, Michael could see that Tye’s hands were tied in front and covered with a jacket. DAMN! He thought, why, why, why had he not realized that Tye would never have walked into this place like that. He had been too easily distracted by the discover that the camp would have food to eat this evening.. Well, everything happened for a reason and he would ride this pony until the show was over.

“Well, well, look what the cat dragged in,” he drawled. “To what do I owe the distinct displeasure of your visit?”

Placing Colton between him and the pair at the rear of the building, he pushed down and back on his son’s shoulder. Colton started to melt away into the darkness of the interior, but Lance’s voice echoed off the walls.

“Tell that brat of yours to just stay beside you, no surprises this time you little bastard.”

Michael froze as he realized that Lance was wearing night vision goggles, of course a Marine would be well equipped. That gave him an idea though. His hand still behind his back from pushing Colton behind him, he flicked his fingers as if starting a lighter, then stretched his fingers far apart, hoping that Colton would figure it out. The thought crossed his mind that they should all learn some form of sign language.

Not wishing to give away anything, he took a step toward Lance, “so what’s it going to be? Swords at six, pistols at high noon? Just you and I. There’s no need to get everyone else involved.”

Lance pushed Tye further into the ruined building; a machete was strapped across his shoulders, but the large Bowie knife that was in his hand made it very clear that this was no social visit. “I want all of my weapons back and my family as well. You’ve convinced them that you’re some kind of saviour when I know you’re just a small town dictator.”

Michael heard the click behind him and ducked as the bright flash of the flare lit the interior of the former store. Lance screamed as he clawed at the goggles on his face. Tye taking full advantage swung around and knocked him to the ground, before jumping onto his chest. Tye’s large hands were wrapped around Lance’s head, bouncing it off the concrete floor. Michael ran forward and pulled him off of Lance’s now limp body. There was no doubt, that this time Lance would not be returning to haunt them any longer.

“Colton, now that the store is lit, take a quick look around for any propane or butane tanks. Quick now son, we don’t want to waste any more of our daylight hours inside this place.” Michael called out to his son, as he picked up Lance’s knife and cut the Ty-Cuffs around Tye’s wrists.

“You’ve got some explaining to do my friend, yes indeed, can’t wait to hear this story,” he whispered to Tye as he pulled the big man to his feet. “Let’s at least pull his sorry ass out of the way.”

Colton called out, “Dad, I’ve found a whole shelf full, plus there’s two Coleman stoves here and some lanterns.”

The two men headed into the store to load up on supplies that were much needed in their group.

Chapter 8 – Road Too Far

The camp had been set up next to the large glacier stream flowing from the huge chunks of granite that had sloughed off the side of Blackcomb Mountain. This had once been ski slopes, chair lifts and gondola towers, now it had all been shaken and stirred like the best James Bond martini. The foraging teams had dragged in a number of small generators, several of which still had gasoline in them. Three strings of temporary construction lights had been strung through the center of the camp making it appear as if some form of civilization had been restored in some miniscule way.

Michael appreciated how desperate everyone was for that sense of normalcy, but the noise of the generators echoing off of the surrounding mountains grated on his nerves. There had been no sign that anyone might still be living in the valley here which concerned him. This seemed like an untapped corner of paradise and it confused him why there were no survivors here. He discussed this with Tye and several others that had come back from foraging. They had to assume that Vince, who had gone out with Tye was either dead or hurt badly enough that he wouldn’t be returning. The children in the group were running through the camp excitedly with the lights making it feel like they were holding back the darkness of night for a little bit longer, people were laughing and smiling.

There were four new stoves heating up some of the canned organic stew and vegetables they had recovered from the store. The smell of food, the sound of the generators and the children laughing, relaxed even Michael and Tye. Sitting in front of a campfire with his cowboy boots off, Michael sighed, as his mind drifted back again to the departure from Maple Ridge.

After the earthquakes had shaken up both the east and west coast of North America, tsunamis had reduced the low lying areas into salt laden swamps. The family had managed to continue to eke out an existence at their rural property in east Maple Ridge. They had been “preppers” after seeing a show on National Geographic TV. Getting ready for the end of the world as we know it could be a challenge but they had worked together and involved the children as well. The house was equipped with a back up generator that was connected to the natural gas line and they had a second one in the cellar that would work on diesel. Their garden was all organic and isolated in a semi-rural part of the larger urban center. Without any large corporate farms around to cross contaminate their stock, they had been able to put away a huge cellar full of canned vegetables and fruit. The only concern they’d had was water storage, though they had a well drilled down a hundred and fifty feet that pumped ten gallons per minute, earthquakes could disrupt the water table. They had installed in the basement several large stainless cisterns bought from Fraser Valley winery that had been going out of business. Everything had been going well, that is until the bombings had started.

No one knew if it had been ordered by the President or if it was a General gone rogue, either way, the wave of insanity that rolled out of that initial launch was immediate and irrevocable. The page had been turned and there was no going back. Within days, the first earthquake had hit off the east coast. Florida had been reduced to a memory, New York was now a large bay, and eastern Canada had lost two of the Maritime provinces. Tidal waves had crashed across the landscape, erasing traces of humanity still remaining. Those who had tried to flee inland were swept up and pulled back to where humanity had arisen from thousands of years before.

There were no warnings and no government assistance. Ottawa as a capital had lost its way and the ocean sweeping in through the St. Lawrence seaway had sufficiently spanked Canada’s capital for their arrogance, so it seemed to the militias and mutants that had survived the bombing from their own government.

The west coast was hit within days of the east coast earthquake. The quake seemed to go o n for hours, though the Global TV news station out of Vancouver and KIRO news out of Seattle stated the three initial quakes had only lasted minutes. It was difficult to call anything after the 12.4 quake an aftershock, for the rolling had come hourly. The power went out as the Peace River and Columbia River dams ruptured.

The children had been terrified and Janet and Michael had set up the tent in the center of the property after the east coast quake fearing the worst. If it wasn’t the end, it was the only sign they needed that this was the beginning of the end. That day was etched in his memory, December 21, 2042. Four days before Christmas, not that they celebrated overly much, this year in particular was supposed to be more about the spirit than the gifts. The house, despite being built on the bedrock of Thornhill had not been structurally sound enough to resume living in, though it still stood upright for the most part. The cellar that they had built beneath the garage on the other hand, was strong and secure. The tunnel they had built that had an exit near the garden had also withstood the shaking. They set up the cots in the cellar, they had their food, shelter and fuel. They had protection from looters and were rural enough that they had not been seen as a basket of providence. However, as predicted, the well had ceased providing water.

This is what had lead Janet to attempt a trip into town. Wanstalls had been the hunting and fishing store and they figured that she might be able to find old man Jim Wanstall and round up some water purification tablets at the very least. They didn’t want to have survived just to succumb to a water borne illness. Michael had wanted to go, but Janet said she wanted to check on her friend Angel. She had taken the Dakota instead of the Ram, since she’d be able to negotiate the smaller truck through some of the road upheaval better.

The loss of internet and cellular towers had severely cramped what had become second nature to most of society. Instant communication whether needed or not. Michael often wondered how society had managed to get along without all the technology in previous generations. Turned out, they were going to have to find out. Janet had been worried about her friend Angel and her son Ray for several weeks, with Ray being wheelchair bound, the loss of electricity was going to have a serious impact on getting Ray in and out of his bed and chair. She had said that she would be back in three hours max and headed out. The kids had been busy picking green beans before the rains started to avoid the rust that formed when they were touched while wet. By late afternoon, Michael had a knot in his stomach, by the time it was dark out, he was fearing the worst.

The next morning, he had fed the kids and pulled one of the Yamaha 175’s out of the garage. Janet had never learned to ride the dirt bikes, but Yeliah had wanted her own as soon as she was eight. They had decided to wait until this year and the Honda XR 75 was still a bit large. He didn’t want to leave the kids behind, but was nervous enough as it was at what he might find. He decided that no matter what, they would be safer with him. Gearing up in their leather and pads, they headed towards town. The roads were worse than could have been imagined, sinkholes and crevasses, trees down, power lines strewn everywhere. Michael could see that Janet had been this way with fresh tracks up and around the sides of the larger holes and through the smaller ones. They found the Dakota about eight miles away, parked in front of two large cedars that completely blocked the way. Angel’s house was still another two miles down around the bend. Maybe she had just gone ahead and walked, he thought. So he and Yeliah, with Colton clinging to his back, had powered up and behind the huge root ball now pointing skyward and carried on. There were cars overturned on the other side and several bodies. The strangest thing that he realized was that there was no other sound, no traffic, no sirens. Things that they didn’t hear a lot of where they lived, but here closer to town, should have been obvious with this much destruction. Driving down the street, houses were tipped, toppled and in some places just a pile of rubble. The incredible amount of wanton destruction caused by Mother Nature was incomprehensible. There were no signs of survivors anywhere. They had passed several bodies and Michael could hear Colton retching at the odour that was now becoming quite evident.

As they pulled up in front of what had been Angel’s house, he knew that Janet had not arrived here. There was a foundation and a pile of what looked more like a giant’s matchstick box. Sighing, he stopped and turned off the bike as Yeliah pulled up beside him.

“Where do you think everyone has gone, Dad?” she asked, looking around wide-eyed.

“I don’t know princess, but I think that there must be a Red Cross shelter set up somewhere further in town.” He could feel Colton’s arms tight around his chest and patted his son’s hand, “It’s alright little buddy, I’m sure that we’re going to find your mom just fine.”

“What about Jordan and Alex though Dad? They lived down the street from here and their house is gone.” Colton sounded shell shocked, but they all were feeling it.

All he could do, was repeat what he’d told Yeliah, that he was sure there was a shelter somewhere looking after survivors. But inside, he was scared, the level of destruction was far beyond what he had imagined. He couldn’t see how anyone could be coping with something of this magnitude. Where was the United Nations or NATO or the Canadian Armed Forces? Why was there nothing on any of the emergency channels on the radio. He scanned the airwaves every night, trying to find any indication. He knew that he should not have let Janet go, he’d felt that way, but let her override his concerns.

He told the kids that they would ride a bit further into town and see if the city council had set up a camp or if there were any instructions on where survivors were supposed to go. What they found instead was even more death and destruction. Still no signs of survivors and he decided that the kids had seen enough. They had ridden their dirt bikes in along what had once been Dewdney Road, but he thought that they should try going back along Lougheed Highway, it had been the designated Emergency Access route. That way was even worse for it followed along the Fraser River and the tsunami and subsequent waves from the aftershocks had wiped out most of the road, those parts that had not sunk into the river. Michael made the decision to head up a side street and head across country. They arrived home and that night as he tossed and turned, his three a.m. decision was still the same when he climbed out of bed at six a.m. It was time to head inland to his great grandparent’s farm.

There was no other way to get everything out of the area, even with the Dodge Ram lift kit in it, the number of sinkholes and trees down had been enough to keep even the dirt bikes from accessing the roads.

Having traveled the Lougheed just for that six miles between the core of Maple Ridge and their property on the eastern edge of town limits, he knew they wouldn’t get far. But damned if he was going to walk the entire way. They loaded up as much of the food and camping gear that they could into the rear of the truck the next morning. Weapons that had been stored, were all mounted in the rear and the doors of the truck. They left by noon and actually did not have too much trouble going south and meeting up with the Lougheed, but that’s when things became interesting. The man-made lake that was three miles east of their street had breached the dike, but as it appeared to be shallow, he was going to drive across what was left of the dike. Yeliah stopped him and pointed out the large semi truck cab that was sunk down to the top of the windows halfway across. Michael swore in frustration and they headed back up their street to try Dewdney. There were two crossings available by going north and then east, but both of them involved dams that had been built over one hundred years prior. He was not hopeful and that proved to be the case at both the first and the second dam. That left either going straight through the bush or heading west before going north. They decided to work their way west and then north. The two largest water reservoirs for the Vancouver area were behind even larger dams, but he knew that they would be able to skirt that by going through a forestry road. The trip until they had reached this area had now taken them two months, collecting survivors as they went. This was not what he had anticipated, just wanting to reach his great grandparents small abandoned farm in Lytton. Realizing how long it had taken, Michael was jarred back to the present.

Chapter 8 – Paradise Lost

Michael came out of his reverie and realized that Tye had gone ahead and powered down the generators. The area was now dark except for two small fires that had been shielded. This was good, it showed him that the group was able to think on its own and didn’t need his constant direction. That came as a relief and the weight being lifted off of his shoulders was immediate. There was no mistaking the quiet that had settled over the camp, the children were now tucked in and the adults were drifting into the area around his own small fire. Yeliah had settled Colton into his tent and was wandering through, handing out red Solo cups of organic apple and orange juice that had been collected from the store.

The men that had gone along as guards were setting up a perimeter and two of them were patrolling the outer edges of the camp to watch for any surprise visitors. No survivors nor even bodies had been found. All along the roadways and buildings they had encountered they had found evidence of the death and destruction wreaked by the earthquakes and floods. Here, it was as if every person had been plucked up and removed by the hand of God.

Michael looked around at there group of parents, seniors, single moms, single dads, couples and singles. With the loss of two of their members and the young man Tye had taken with him to track Lance, they were now down to thirty five adults. There were eleven children other than his own two, bringing the total group to forty eight including him and Yeliah and Colton. There was an inequity in the number of women to men, but he was sure that given enough time and travel, it would equal out. This was only a stopping point but with no bodies or signs of survivors, they could rest here for a while.

“We are here because you all thought the prospect of a nice little farm in the interior of BC far away from the destruction and flooding sounded like Paradise. But what I want you to know is that for a few days, maybe a week, we are going to rest here. We will recover the food and other supplies we need.”

“It’s strange that there is no sign of anyone here at all,” Tye piped up. “So we need everyone to be extra careful when you are scavenging.”

Drew, one of the new recruits stepped forward, “we did find signs of motorcycle or ATV tracks leading north out of town. Fact is, there was a lot of tracks, so I’m thinking they were here and recently.”

Michael was surprised that no one had mentioned this fact before now. Even with all the drama over Lance’s return, someone should have said something. Nothing they could do about it now, but he asked if they could double the number of guards walking the perimeter just to be sure that there were no surprise returns.

Over the next several days, they collected as much of the organic canned food and dried food that they could find. He was insistent that they not open or retrieve any of the foodstuffs that was not labelled as organic. Michael had discussed this with a nurse practitioner who had joined the group in Burnaby. There were no guarantees that the causes of the mutations wasn’t already in the air or water supply, but they could try to reduce the affects as much as possible.

There was no still no sign of the former residents or those that had left on the motorcycles and ATV’s. A couple of the young men decided it would be a good idea to scout the area to the north and Tye agreed to go with them.

Yeliah seemed a bit despondent and Michael realized that they had been on the move ever since discovering the empty Dodge Dakota that Janet had been driving. There had been no time to mourn or think about their loss, the destruction had not only destroyed their beautiful city, but their family as well. Michael decided to take his two kids, just the two of them and himself, off on a family adventure. They would climb up the more stable part of the slopes and see what the view was like. Maybe they would discover a hidden cavern or lost treasure, Colton wished aloud. Michael laughed for the first time in months. He told the kids it would be more likely to spot a Sasquatch than discover treasure, which for some reason excited them even more. Mythical creature or gold and gems, either way, seemed like everyone was up for the adventure.

They left early the next morning, climbing slowly through the crushed hotel debris, over chunks of granite that were bigger than a semi tractor and through layers of fallen trees. By ten a.m., they had reached the bottom of the ski slope and could see what was left of the mountainside through the thinning clouds. The rain had let up last evening and the sun was warm on their backs. Steam rose from the water soaked grasses and shrubs as they warmed in the sun. The view was definitely going to be worth the climb with this kind of weather Michael thought. Quite likely they’d be able to see across the Salish Sea to Vancouver Island, which should reveal how much the coast line had changed. The ocean now reached to within miles of Whistler since Howe Sound had been thrust up the valley.

It was after two p.m. when Michael stopped the kids. They had been running ahead, then coming back, teasing him that he was getting old. The mountainside had been radically changed with the giant avalanche of trees and rocks. The chasm left behind from that slide had left a smooth face beside which they were picking their way through the tree debris.

Turning around and sitting down on the nearest tree trunk, he looked out across the valley, down to what used to be Howe Sound. Where there had been islands, there was now open ocean. What had been a beautiful coastline was now a tortured, twisted mess of tangled nature. The ocean at least looked at peace finally instead of fitfully trying to gain more access to the land.

Michael put an arm around he of his children and held them close. “Lord if you’re up there and watching as we destroy the beauty that you gave us, we could use a little help again. We’ve lost our loved ones and I know you’ve brought them home to you. A little sign of your love and generosity would be much welcomed now though.”

It was as close to a prayer for his wife as he would allow himself. If he didn’t say it out loud, then maybe she might come back to them alive. That small kernel of hope was worth holding on to.

A sound on the slope above them caused them all to turn and look. Movement in the trees above and to the south, they tracked it, waiting to see what would appear. Michael had his father’s Smith and Wesson .45 calibre semi auto pistol strapped under his arm and his great grandfather’s .302 British Enfield rifle leaning against the log, but he didn’t reach for either one. Something wasn’t quite right about the situation, but he didn’t feel threatened. Suddenly, Yeliah pointed, there between the trees, was a very tall, muscular, fur covered humanoid. A smaller one stood to the rear, with the adult putting an arm protectively behind. Yeliah drew in her breath with excitement and Michael placed a calming hand on her arm. This was magical and he didn’t want it to end. For his entire life, he’d heard stories from his Grampa Joe who had wanted to find the legendary Sasquatch. Now here they were right in front of him.

He stood slowly and placed himself between his children and the hairy creature in front of him also with his arm placed protectively in front of them. The adult Sasquatch placed both hands in front of it in a symbol reminiscent of prayer and slightly inclined its head. Suddenly Michael heard a deep sonorous voice, but it was inside his head, “I wish thee no harm Michael Carpenter. We need to know what your intentions are in this place.”

The shock was evident on his face as he sat back down on the log. Yeliah and Colton were obviously hearing a voice as well, for the look of wonder on their face was magical to behold. All the wrong that was happening in the world and he discovers a legend.

What did they do wrong all those years that researchers had been searching for these creatures, he wondered?

Again, the voice came back inside his head, “Do not dwell in the past Michael Carpenter, we do not have the luxury of time on our side. Why are you here when all the others have left?”

The realization that they were psionic was not so startling as the fact that he was carrying on a conversation with a mythical creature using his thoughts.

“No, you are not carrying on a conversation, you are ignoring me while you think about nonsense. Enough, Michael Carpenter, concentrate please. Why are you here?”

Michael stood, “we are here to escape the insanity that has changed our planet. The earthquakes, the floods and tsunamis, the violence and death that has swept across our cities has left too many dead.” He spoke aloud, in order to ensure that his thoughts were organized and precise.

“We know of the problems facing this planet. We have seen the destruction and we have discussed this with the others. You must leave this place, it will not be safe for long.”

“What do you mean? Why won’t it be safe? What others are you talking about?” Again, speaking out loud to stay focused, Michael was now agitated.

The Sasquatch stepped forward and swept his arms out on both sides. There standing amongst the small trees that remained on the slope, were well over forty more large Sasquatches.

“Hello Michael Carpenter,” came multiple voices in greeting.

Impossible, he thought, then grinned. It was a miracle unheard of in his lifetime or his parent’s parents lifetime. Amazing and beautiful were his next thoughts.

“Why now? Why are you sharing your presence with us?” he asked. “What has changed? Humanity has always gone about ruining this planet, why are you revealing yourselves?”

The first creature stepped towards him and this time, there was an urgency in it’s voice, “You cannot know the repercussions that your kind has brought about to our small planet, but it must be told. You are to carry the message and be the light. Your children and their children must also become the bearer’s of this message.”

The world has changed forever and we can no longer protect you and your kind from the violence that has gone on for centuries while you strived to reach the stars. This planet you call Earth has long been a way station for my kind. We have fought to protect it from the Yeti who have also been coming here. They had long wished to turn your world into an ice planet like the one they had come from. All you need to know for now is that there are others of your kind that we have sent north of here. This valley has become unstable and with the pending battle that we see happening, your people need to be gone. Thou must not tell your followers of our existence. But in thee we place the Light that must be saved. We will instruct thee on how your children will become the Guardians of the Light. For now, go forward and gather up the rest of your kind, you were on the correct path. North you will go and then turn and follow the Lillooet River until thou reaches the place of your ancestors. This will be the base where we will find you and continue your instruction. Leave within the next day for after that, this valley will no longer exist. It has become our Paradise Lost.

There was a sighing sound and there were no more creatures standing anywhere in the clearing around them, other than the little one that had been with the speaker. It stood there blinking and smiling at them then, with a bow, it disappeared as well.

Yeliah and Colton were still standing there, slight smiles on their faces.

“What did you see Dad? Were those Sasquatches like Great Grampa Joe used to tell us about? Are they coming back to help us?” Colton was tugging on his hand as he peppered him with questions. Yeliah tried to shush him, but Michael ruffled her hair, which he knew she disliked, but he was so excited at the promise of further visits, he couldn’t help himself.

“Yes, son, those were Sasquatches and we will be seeing more of them. For now, the Old One has advised me that we must leave. Did they speak to you as well?” Michael queried.

Yeliah nodded, thoughtfully looking towards where the young one had stood. “He told me that I was chosen to lead and also that I cannot speak of them to the rest of our group. Dad, what am I supposed to lead? I’m only a kid.”

Michael could sense the worry and concern in her voice and just pulled her tight to him in a fierce hug. “You will get there one day princess, for now, lets just concentrate on getting this group to safety. What about you Colton? Did you speak with them too?”

Colton sat down on the log and pouted, “they only told me that I had to keep quiet about them or they would make me come serve them in their home. I think they were joking though, because they kept laughing. How come she gets to lead? I want to help too.”

Michael reached over and pulled his son into his arms, “You are important already. The Old One promised that both of my children will become Guardians of the Light and our job is to first help our friends to reach safety. There, these new friends will join us and help us to find our way in the new world.”

Chapter 9 – Running Rapids

The group waiting below was excitedly awaiting their return. Two of the young men had returned from the northern road and reported that the road was in good condition, passable for vehicles. Tye and his new friend, Drew, had also come in from scouting the forested area. They had found numerous dirt bike tracks and ATV tracks that all headed in the same direction. There had been no other motorcycles found in any of the cabins or garages below the hotel remains, but several trucks with fuel in them had been discovered. There were also a number of electric vehicles in the garages that had not been crushed by the large concrete beams. These they had no way of extracting and the frustration was evident on people’s faces as they discussed not wanting to walk any further. One hundred and thirty miles had been covered over the past two months and they were footsore and ready for a return to normalcy. He agreed that they should try to use the three pickup trucks, for as long as they could. Knowing that there was a river they were going to need to follow, he suggested that they try to find any inflatable rafts that they could.

He pulled Tye to the side as soon as possible and without revealing his experience, informed him that they were going to need to move the group within the next two days. Tye didn’t question him, though there were raised eyebrows, the trust they had built up over the past several months now stood him in good stead.

The trucks had trailers attached that were stocked with all of the food, rafts, generators and solar power panels that they could find. Benches had been built in the rear of the trucks and there were side panels constructed to keep anyone from falling over the side. They were ready to leave by the second morning and Michael was relieved that it had not dragged out for any longer. The memory of that deep voice inside his head was driving him to get out of the valley as soon as possible. Thinking of the term Paradise Lost was haunting him as much as the excitement at the prospect of interacting with the grand creatures he had witnessed on the slopes of Blackcomb Mountain.

The Percherons were not going to be able to keep up to the trucks if they found any stretch of open road. But for now, Michael asked that they keep the trucks to twenty miles per hour. Michael chose to ride in the back of the wagon train they had become with the horses and Hoss and Horse. Tye was riding shotgun in the front truck, keeping an eye out for any surprises, letting one of the young guys drive.

They made good time and found themselves on the border of where Pemberton had been by noon. The old highway had been in remarkably great shape once they were beyond Blackcomb. Duffy Lake road on the other hand was going to cause them more grief he soon discovered. Numerous creeks had created craters in the road prior to Pemberton, but of the three, they had been able to be forded without difficulty. Heading east they encountered what had been the northern end of Lillooet lake. Except the lake now stretched across the old highway off to the north. There was no way they were going to be able to drive around the lake. It was time to explore further options and they retreated back to the shelter of the tree line where they had seen several log cabins. What had once been a small strip mall appeared to be abandoned and without too much damage. Once again, they entered and discovered more untouched foodstuffs, collecting dust. There were directional signs pointing to the south regarding a Big Sky Golf and Country club. Not being an avid golfer, Michael was not aware of how large such a site might be. Yeliah had been fairly quiet since the encounter on the mountain top. Colton as well, was far more withdrawn than Michael was accustomed. He decided that they needed another trip away from the rest of the group, to recoup and find their centeredness.

Michael decided Tye needed to come along this time. The big man was going a bit stir crazy, babysitting this bunch of city dwellers. It was revealing how much people had ended up relying on technology when they started to set up camp and the priority now appeared to be regaining electricity and lighting, rather than campfires and tents. The older people in the group had claimed two of the cabins and were trying to connect the generators to the old electrical meters on the exterior. Michael just shook his head, wondering how in five generations, they had gone from pioneers settling the west to spoiled urban dwellers who seemed unable to cope with the loss of electricity and computers. Admittedly it had only been a handful of months since the Big One hit the west coast, but where most people were seeming to adapt, there was little else that the seniors in there group wanted than to return to the “old” days.

Michael, Tye, Yeliah and Colton headed south on foot, traveling along the edge of what had been the banks of Seton River, but had now become part of Lillooet Lake. The little village of Mount Currie had been erased from the map, but as they got further south, there was clearly an island in the center of the channel, and there on top was a large country club style golf course clubhouse. Michael could see that there were golf carts parked outside the clubhouse but the place looked deserted, no sign of any smoke or other indications.

“Colton, lets go down and check out the water. It’s sooooo blue,” Yeliah whispered to her brother.

“Be careful down there, little princess,” Tye grumbled, watching the kids slip and slide down the muddy embankment. “Looks like there’s still a pretty good current left from the river entering upstream.”

Michael nodded absently, watching the clubhouse. Something was niggling at the back of his brain and he was trying to remember what he had subconsciously seen that now seemed out of place. “There,” he pointed to Tye, “Look at the path on the side of the clubhouse.”

Tye nodded in agreement. It was obvious that the motorcycle or ATV tracks they had been following were at the side of the clubhouse. Somehow, the group ahead of them had made it over there. Though they had no means of reaching the building even if they wanted to, Michael was suddenly not quite so anxious to catch up to what appeared to be a very well equipped and organized bunch.

They must have had access to some form of boat that could transport at least a couple of the motorcycles. It was intimidating because Michael felt so inadequate to the task of keeping his group together and on task. They looked to him to lead them when all he had wanted was to get his children to safety in an isolated location where they might be able to grow their own food and wait out this huge disaster that their own governments had visited upon them. There was no going back at this point however, so he was going to have to drive them onward or else they were all going to die.

“Let’s get back to the camp, we need to go first thing in the morning. We’ll see how many Zodiacs there are, and the rest of us are going to need to head south to go around the end of the lake. We really need to get to Botannie Valley and safety.” Michael sounded strident even to his own ears.

That night as he lay on his cot Michael once again drifted back to the history that had forced them into this situation.

Chapter 10 – Food or Life

The corporations had taken over the bread basket of North America and corrupted the food chain with their poisons and genetic manipulation of most of the grains and feed crops. The feed crops going to the animals were in turn causing genetic mutations in the animals. Pigs, sheep, cattle were being born without legs, or two heads or multiple organs. There was denial from the corporations of course, blaming environmental causes. Scientists came forward to dispute these facts, but mysteriously disappeared or had their research dismissed as crackpot theories. Several laboratories that were started by groups such as Greenpeace and the Suzuki Foundation were the site of fires that the Fire Departments reported as suspicious but could find no trace of arson. Underground laboratories became the norm for anyone who sought to fight back against the giant machine that had become the food chain.

Organic farmers were being put out of business because of their lack of ability to provide any samples that were not contaminated by either the pollution found in the air and water or by the poisons being sprayed on a massive scale across the landscape. Lobbyists for the international conglomerate that had become known as Food or Life tried unsuccessfully to prohibit the importation of food from Africa and Europe. Even backyard farmers were finding it more difficult to obtain seeds or breeding stock that was not contaminated. Open air farming seemed to be going the same way that the desktop computer had gone early in the twenty first century. Greenhouses covered much of what had been the richest soil on the planet, with large steam plants built to generate the heat and light required to keep the food machine churning out its filth. The skies were blackened with the smoke from the coal powered plants with the government in both the United States and Canada preventing fusion plants from being built. The alternative seemed far worse to those small towns that still existed for workers in the greenhouses and coal plants. The sun never shone, water supplies were so full of toxins that it was impossible to turn on the taps without seeing dark brown or green ooze in the water.

There seemed little surprise on the part of Food or Life scientists when physical mutations started to appear in humans. The first child born in 2032 in Saskatoon that had two heads was dismissed as a Siamese twin that had not fully developed. However, the denials were drowned out by the huge outcry from south of the forty-ninth parallel as the mutations showed up in the hundreds during the latter part of 2033. The babies with mutations at first barely survived their births. Parents of the first few children, disappeared from public eye and were difficult to locate afterwards. As the number of mutations increased exponentially though, it was impossible for even the corporate machine to keep up and hide or destroy all of them. Many of the adults of child bearing age went underground and an underground railroad started similar to the ones that had smuggled black slaves from the south to Canada, except now it was children and sometimes parents. Those who went missing from the greenhouses though were treated as criminals or soldiers being absent without leave. By 2039 there was an entire town in northern Manitoba that had sprung up from the railroad bringing parents and children north. Then another one was started in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Southern Alberta and two were in Colorado and Montana. In 2042, adult mutations were reported and the corporate giant no longer even tried to hide or deny the changes occurring in humanity. It was almost as though they were revelling in it, with commentary that it was the dawning of a new age for humanity.

In 2047 though, it appeared that the new humans were tired of being someone else’s science experiment. A bomb was delivered to the head office on Wall Street in New York that took the entire 39th floor of an office tower out, the loss of human life was in excess of one hundred. A group claiming to be the ones responsible posted a video on the internet and through a television station, stating that they were called Humans for Life. It was the beginning of the end for the corporate food machine. Within two years, the greenhouses were being bombed, the coal powered steam plants and corporate offices around the globe became targets. The US government seemed unable to locate the perpetrators much as they had been incapable of finding the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq in the early 21st century. The Canadian government didn’t even attempt to locate anyone responsible for the criminal activity. Instead the Conservative government suspended parliament and declared a state of emergency. The War Measures Act of 1970 was brought back into force, declaring a curfew for all citizens. Benjamin Harper declared himself the Prime Minister of Canada without any formal election process. His next act was to declare the country of Canada a state of the United States, thereby allowing President Trump to begin systematically bombing not only their own bread basket states, but also the central area of Canada.

Michael lay there, shaking as the memories of the bombings seemingly still seemed to move the earth beneath him. The bombs had driven deep into the ground and what little daylight still filtered through the black clouds was now blocked by the dust clouds that rose from the explosions. The outcry was heard across the globe as even the most right wing despots in Africa and Europe finally raised their voices in protest. However, it came too late. The mutations that had been the final straw in North America had been showing up around the globe and the terrorist attacks now spanned the globe. The United States had little option but to try to eradicate their own home grown terrorist organizations and were unable or unwilling to get involved in an international cause. The United Nations had been disbanded by Secretary General Romney as his final deed. Bombs rained down around the globe and when the first nuclear strike happened in Israel, from a rogue Gaza Strip bunker, people feared the worst, expecting the entire planet to be engulfed in a nuclear winter. Instead, the first earthquake had rocked the planet from near the North Pole reaching far into the center of South America. Multiple plates seemed to be shifting at the same moment. The next quake hit off the east coast of the US, then another one in central China within hours. Europe was not left out of the destruction as the Mediterranean was swallowed by an incredible sink hole. The destruction by mankind had started a disaster that there appeared to be no escaping. Aftershocks rocked the world and humanity appeared on the brink of extinction. Then without warning, it all stopped.

Michael rolled off of his cot and stood up. There was not going to be sleep for him with all of these memories haunting him. He and Janet had already had Colton by the time the bombings had started. Living on the west coast of British Columbia in a bedroom community of Vancouver, they had felt immune to the affects of the poisons and pollution. Growing their own food from seeds that had been handed down through their family had given them a false sense of security, he supposed. For here he was leading a ragtag bunch of survivors through the countryside. Heaving a sigh, he headed for the latrine that had been dug to the west of their campsite.

Chapter 11 – Unexpected Visitors

As he stood there emptying his bladder, there was the distinct sound of a revolver being cocked behind him.

“Evening sir. Nice night for a stroll, don’t ya think? If you don’t mind putting away your equipment, there’s someone who wants to talk to you,” the voice was low and pitched for his ears only, male, but still hard to distinguish an age from what he had heard.

“Well, since you’ve asked so politely, I’m sure we can arrange a little visit. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Michael started to turn, but was tapped on the right shoulder and a hand propelled him forward across the latrine trench.

The hand stayed on his left shoulder, guiding more than pushing, helping more than demanding. That came across as a good sign and Michael relaxed a little as they entered the woods further.

“How did ya’ll get past our sentries back there?” Michael asked quietly.

“Phhff….. you’re boys don’t know a thing about keeping watch or setting up a perimeter. Well, except that big fella that shadows you. He’s a serious concern, for shore.” The voice was a little more relaxed and confident.

Michael realized that his eyes had adjusted and he could see in the shadows ahead that there were at least three people standing in front of him, twenty feet behind them he could see that there were at least ten more. Time to check in or check out, he thought, but instead the hand halted him where the three stood.

“General, this is the one, sir. He’s been leading the group since we started tracking them outside of Squamish, sir.” The young man’s voice came from behind him, sincere and full of pride. Pride over what, Michael was unsure of, but he could feel the confidence coming from the youngster behind him.

The man in front of him nodded and raised his right hand. Michael shielded his eyes a second too late as the lights of twelve motorcycles came on, blinding him. Holding his hand in front of his eyes, he attempted to get a glimpse of the man standing in front of him. Bathed in light, it was impossible to get more than an outline. Tall, bearded and shoulder length hair, muscular with motorcycle boots. Other than that, he couldn’t make out the facial features.

“General, is it? To what do I owe the pleasure of being hauled out into the bush like this?” The sarcasm was not lost on the man in front of him, Michael could tell by the way the man stiffened.

“You sir, are a puzzle and I do not enjoy puzzles,” the voice was deep and serious. “I wanted to discover why you were following us. I was told that you killed one of your own people while you were in my village. I needed to know what kind of threat you posed.”

It was Michael’s turn to stiffen, not with outrage but in shame. He had never been a violent man, not raised his hand to anyone his entire life, so the fact that they had to resort to violence to stop Lance still needled him. Knowing that he was being judged, whether fairly or unfairly only poked the tiger, as his Grampa Joe had been fond of saying, so Michael sighed and said nothing.

“Really, that’s all you have to say in your defence? Let me not be the one to judge you then, after all, I’m a just man. These people can be considered your peers and they have seen or heard what you and your people have done. Atrocities committed in our small village, looting, stealing, killing. You have nothing to say to them?” The General’s voice was now the one that oozed with contempt.

Michael was thinking back to when he had first met Lance on the outskirts of what had been the town of Squamish. The young man had been arrogant to be sure, but Michael had thought there was promise in his contributions to the group. However it was evident from the moment that they started to head north that Lance was not going to accept direction or leadership. The continual challenges had been addressed night after night in meetings around the campfires. There was little Michael, Tye or Marco had been able to say to convince Lance to just live and let live. Lance had ended up paying for that attitude as the immortal Paul McCartney song said, with live and let die.

Michael was jolted back to the present with the barrel of the revolver poking him in the neck. “The General asked you a question. Answer him,” snarled the punk behind him.

Michael realized that he was in a no win situation. He could only hope that if he stalled, perhaps Tye would realize he had gone missing.

“Sorry, I was thinking about Corporal Lance. Dishonourably discharged from his unit for insubordination. Fled San Francisco when the fighting in the streets got too heavy. Bullied his sister and her husband, abused them and their children. Now you want me to justify defending myself, my children and people that placed their trust in me to keep them safe?”

Michael turned and slowly pointed at the headlights aimed at him. “You people want to judge others, yet you are here doing exactly what I did. Defending yourselves.” Michael’s voice had risen to enable him to address the outriders, but also to draw attention in the hope that Tye or a perimeter guard was nearby.

The situation seemed to deteriorate even as he thought that. The lights on the motorcycles went out, so he dropped straight to the ground even as the bullet was expelled past the top of his head from the gun behind him. The explosion told him it had only been a .22 calibre, but even that would have killed him, he thought as he swept the legs from beneath the young man who had forced him into this meeting. Michael swept around and with his forearm across the young man’s windpipe, choked him into unconsciousness. He was going to avoid any violence that involved killing someone if he could help it.

There were signs of a struggle near the spot the motorcycles had been shining from, though the shapes were of indeterminate size, he would swear later that they had been larger than human. Soon all that could be heard was the sound of running feet headed north of their position and Michael lay back down on the needle strewn forest floor, breathing heavily. He sat up abruptly, wondering whether the General had been caught up in any of the struggles or if he was in danger from the man. No sign of anyone around, not even his saviours. Michael climbed wearily to his feet and looked at the body beside him. The young man was stirring and Michael was unsure what to do about this. He wanted more information and needed to know exactly who this General person was, why he was so interested in their harmless group. Making the decision quickly, Michael bound the young man’s hands behind his back and then hauled him to his feet.

“Come on kid, we ain’t got all night, let’s get a move on,” Michael hissed, angry at being forced into another situation not of his own making.

Making his way back to the camp took far less time than it had seemingly taken to work their way to the General. Michael took the young man straight passed his tent to where Tye should be sleeping. Sure enough, the big man was nowhere to be found. Michael pushed the kid down to a sitting position and pulled a whistle on a thong, out from under his shirt. Three short blasts and he waited until Tye ran up to him, not even out of breath. Michael briefed him on the situation and the generators were re-started bringing the lights up to full strength. Leaving the young man in Tye’s capable hands, Michael ducked back into his own tent and stopped abruptly.

“Good evening sir, you didn’t really expect me to leave one of my own behind now did you?” came the clipped, even tones from the General. He was standing there, holding Yeliah in front of him with a large hunting knife gleaming at her neck. “Let’s examine the situation we find ourselves, shall we? I want my son back and you want your daughter unharmed. So let’s rejoin your pet gorilla and we’ll all go about our separate ways.”

Michael understood that this was not going to end happily for at least one of them, Hostage situations seldom did from his experience working in the school system. Holding his empty hands out in front of him, he maintained eye contact with his daughter. Once again, Colton was not in the center of the battlefield for which Michael offered up a silent prayer. At least one of the kids was out of harm’s way. Michael eased down to one knee so that he was at the same height as his daughter, ignoring the General completely.

“Princess, this is going to be okay. Daddy’s here and this man is upset because his son came back to the camp with me. We’re all going to go outside and meet his son now, okay?” Michael kept his voice low and steady despite the massive butterflies inside.

Slowly standing again, Michael now stared into the General’s eyes. Startling blue, almost violet eyes stared back from a craggy brow that was overshadowed by a shock of white shoulder length hair. The man had to be at least sixty if he was a day. There was a spark in those eyes though that shone bright enough that Michael recognized from his days as a high school counsellor. A wild, crazy light that shone with a vehemence of self righteousness.

“Shall we cut the crap or do you want to continue acting like a crazy person?” Michael knew that taunting someone who was deranged wasn’t going to win him any points, but at this point, he needed time to figure out his next step. “We both know this isn’t going to end well if it’s done through threats of violence. Put down the knife and let’s work this out.”

The General laughed quietly, “You think I’m going to give up my only bargaining chip then you’re the crazy one.”

Tye’s voice came from outside the tent, “Michael, are you alright? What’s going on in there? Colton says that you have an unexpected visitor.”

The General’s arm tightened around Yeliah and he nodded at the entrance. Michael stepped outside with the General following. Tye stood with a crossbow pointed at the entrance. Michael stopped short, in order to stay in the line of fire. He wasn’t risking his daughter’s life even in the hands of his best friend.

“The General here wants us to allow him and his son to leave without any further issues. With the ace that he holds, I would tend to agree with him. However, if he harms even the slightest hair on my daughter’s head, you are to kill both him and his son, are we all clear on this?” Michael raised his voice so that even the man standing behind him could not mistake the chill finality in his tone.

Tye didn’t bat an eye or give the slightest indication of acknowledgement. Michael watched David bring the young man from beside Tye’s tent towards him. They left the cuffs on his wrists and when they were beside Tye, the two of them stopped. Michael stepped forward until he too stood beside Tye, then turned and faced his daughter and her captor.

The General took two steps forward still holding on to Yeliah. “Come on son, let’s go, time to catch up to the rest of the team.”

Michael cleared his throat, “My daughter is not going with you, send her over here and the two of you can go on your way.”

“Not a chance asshole, she’ll come back safe and sound once we are into the woods. I let her go now and you’ll just kill the two of us,” snarled the General.

Tye finally spoke, barely above a whisper, yet it carried the same as if it had been shouted, “No one is going anywhere until the princess is returned to her father.”

The General snorted, “Princess? Seriously? This ragamuffin is the furthest thing from a princess this world has left. You can send my son over to me, he and I will take your brat with us. When we are down the road a couple of miles, we’ll leave her there for you to find when you continue your pursuit of us.”

“Not happening, creep, not on my watch. David, if he moves, slit the little bastard’s throat.” Tye growled.

The insanity of the situation was quickly spiralling out of control. Michael knew he had only seconds to prevent a massacre.

“Why do you think we are following you? Where are you and your group from? And above all, where are you going?” Michael peppered the General rapidly with the questions.

Surprisingly it was the General’s son who answered, “We are from Whistler. My father had an ATV tourism business. We were out in the backwoods behind the glaciers when the quakes hit. By the time we got back home, mom and Sue and Gramma had been buried in the collapse of the hotel where we all worked.”

The General sighed and pushed Yeliah away from him. “Fine, let’s all sit around and become grand old friends. There isn’t enough food or safe water for who we already have tagging along and you want to make more friends. Just f-ing lovely.”

Yeliah came running to her father and wrapped her arms around his waist. Michael put his arm around her shoulders.

“Yes, so we collected the survivors up and outfitted them with bikes from the biz. I was heading in to the interior to find a ranch we could rebuild and start over with. Then you and yours show up in my town and start rummaging through our stores.”

I know that there are numerous ranches in the interior that we could make a stand at and that’s where I’m headed. I don’t want to share and when the outriders reported that your gorilla there smashed in the head of one of your own, I wasn’t taking chances that you guys were willing to play nice and get along. I’ve seen too often what happens in these situations. My unit was stationed in Somalia after the damned UN sent us back in there to stop the pirates. I know how desperate people become in a disaster situation. So, you and yours keep away from mine and we’ll all just get along fine.

The General’s speech over, he motioned to his son. David reached over and cut the cuffs off of the youngster’s wrists. Tye had lowered his crossbow while the man was speaking, and his mouth had dropped in apparent shock.

“General Clayton? The General? My gawd, I didn’t recognize you. You visited our troop in Mogadishu. We were pinned down in the capital there and your chopper ripped through the rebels like they were paper dolls. Without your rescue mission, I wouldn’t be here today. Thank you sir.” With that Tye had snapped to attention and saluted as if he was back in the Canadian Armed Forces.

General Clayton turned and looked at the large man standing at attention still and stepped closer.

“You were there? No wonder this group has survived as long as it has.” Turning to Michael, he pointed at Tye. “This one will keep you safe, you need fear nothing with one of my soldiers at your back.”

This was a revelation that he had not seen coming. Michael had discovered that there were surprises in all of them. The small group gathered by the tents shook hands and Michael pulled the General aside to advise him where his gathering was headed. The General noted that he would send outriders down that way whenever he could spare someone.

Chapter 12 – Grief and Relief

The next day the group packed up all of their belongings. The General and his son had spent the night with the group and Michael Carpenter and Mark Clayton had learned that they actually had a lot of things in common. Both had lost their wives, though in Clayton’s case, his daughter had also been part of the loss.

They had served overseas for their country. Michael had been stationed in the Gaza Strip as an observer for the United Nations monitoring the peace treaty that President McKinney had negotiated between Israel and Palestine. Mark had been in charge of the troops eradicating any and all citizens in Somalia. Non participants in the violence that had enveloped that country had been sent to neighbouring countries, the rest killed on sight. It was the last act of the United Nations Security Council that had been dominated by North American allies. The uprisings throughout Africa had caused both China, India and Russia to withdraw from the United Nations, providing the excuse for many of the smaller nations to withdraw as well. The world that had already shown it was controlled not by nations but by mega corporations now had no international governing body. The soldiers who had been sent overseas were reviled as villains instead of the heroes that soldiers of old had been welcomed as. Many didn’t bother coming home at all, but disappeared off the grid such as Mark had done.

The rest of Mark’s outriders had come together at the camp. They reported that they had been attacked by large hairy creatures that had appeared and then disappeared, dragging them away from their motorcycles, but not harming them. Mark Clayton did not seem pleased by this report and came close to belligerent again with Michael, accusing him at first of collusion with the Central Mutants. Michael, caught between a rock and a hard place could not really tell the General that there were Sasquatches roaming the area that chose who, when and where they interacted with. So instead, he shrugged it off, claiming that their own group had been chased and had dealings with mysterious creatures at night as well. Michael diverted the conversation back to the term Central Mutants, not having heard this term.

General Clayton explained that the mutants had started appearing in the central parts of North America, but also in Central Africa, Central Asia and Central Europe. None of the mutants had appeared in any coastal cities. Thus the popular term was to call them Central Mutants. Michael had not considered that and the implications were staggering. There had to be a reason for this, but now was not the time to dwell on such ideas.

The two groups both headed over to what had been the Lillooet River. General Clayton’s outriders had discovered two barges tied to the banks of the lake and used these to get to the Golf and Country club. Though it might take them several trips with the speed of the outboard motors attached, once they were on the other side, one of the young men in Michael’s group suggested a pulley system be set up and using the driveshaft on one of the trucks they could greatly accelerate the process.

After a full day of transferring all of the people, animals and belongings, the day was nearing an end. The two groups agreed to stay together just a little longer in order to coordinate future endeavours.

The discussion that night again centered around their overseas tours on behalf of governments being run by mega corporations intent on raping and pillaging Mother Earth. Once Somalia had been eradicated of any native born citizens, the United States had sent in “peacekeeper” forces to protect the oil companies that were seeking the last of the resource beneath the desert. Although the situation had been significantly different in Iraq and Iran, the oil companies had maintained that the resource they were extracting belonged to them and were intent on gaining it through whatever means necessary.

That was the beginning of the end for the Middle East as far as Michael was concerned. The General disagreed, stating that the end happened when America had elected a woman as President. Michael didn’t disagree, but inside, he was shaking his head, thinking that his best friend and partner had been a woman. It was just then, he realized that he was now thinking of his wife in the past tense. The pain of that realization that stopped him cold in his tracks. Michael excused himself from the fire side and walked out into the dark.

It was very dark out past the circle of firelight. It took more than a few steps for him to start to gain some night vision. He passed several armed men as he walked, realizing that The General was not one to leave security to a few poorly armed civilians. Michael recognized the fact that this man was someone whom he needed to be very careful around. A fanatic who was racist and a trained killer with no morals. Their group needed to get on the move and down the Duffy Lake Road to Lillooet and then Lytton. Once they could get up the Botannie Valley to the north of Lytton, they’d be fine.

Michael thought of the loss of his wife, best friend and partner. All of their travels and joys they had shared. He kept walking as these memories chased themselves through and around his brain. Finally he collapsed to the ground and let the sobs finally find their way to the surface. As he lay there shaking, he suddenly felt a very large hand on his back, just placed there, yet it felt so soothing and warm. Michael knew in his heart who it was and just lay still letting the warmth fill him. The hand withdrew and Michael sat up, turning to face the large hairy being seated beside him in the lotus position.

“Michael, your soul is bleeding, yet still you continue to lead your people, truly you were born to save those who follow you,” the voice whispered this time inside his head.

He simply sat there staring into the big brown eyes overshadowed by the large brow and bushy, reddish eyebrows. Finally, he nodded and asked aloud, “Why me? Why have I been chosen by the universe to do this? I need time to grieve.”

“No, you do not need to grieve. All things happen for a reason and you will find a way through. When you do, the rewards will be unexpected but well worth the wait. Lead your people to safety,” the voice now sounded insistent and adamant.

The faint whisper of promise echoed through the ether that echoed with their unspoken communication. Michael could not even begin to hope and pushed aside such foolishness.

“If I must lead, then I will do as I am required to do, even if it is just to save my family. Can you promise me any assistance along the way?” Michael did not speak out loud this time, testing his own communication skills with the Sasquatch sitting beside him.

“Our peoples are not permitted to interfere. Already I have gone too far. I will be censured for this breach once the Elders have returned.” The voice carried a tinge of sadness that almost had Michael in tears again.

Michael drew in a deep breath, nodded and stood up. The Sasquatch also stood and towered over Michael. Placing both of its large hands on Michael’s shoulders, she leaned forward and placed her forehead against his own. The weight that had been on his shoulders, unseen and borne in solitude lifted. There was a brief flash of blue light and he was standing alone again. Michael turned and jogged back to the camp, avoiding the large campfire, he retired to his tent alone.

Chapter 13 – A River Runs Through It

Michael rounded up his group of rangers first thing in the morning and advised them to quietly go out and start scouting to the south. They needed to find a way across the river and he advised them that they would be leaving the next day.

Their group had grown overnight as several refugees had drifted in after Michael had retired to his tent. Michael was unsure whether he should ask them to join his group traveling south or just leave them with the General. Yeliah had come to him with his breakfast and only mentioned in passing that there were new visitors to the camp. He called Colton and asked him to find Ty, they had wasted enough time sitting here for three days. If the group didn’t keep moving, they would lose momentum.

Ty showed up within minutes of Colton leaving the tent, he’d obviously been standing guard outside. Michael sat down on the edge of the cot and looked up at his large friend.

“We’ve got to get moving. I’m worried that this General is going to try to either delay us or keep us from going where we need to go.” Michael sighed. “I’m not convinced he’s as well intentioned as he came across, otherwise, why would he have tried to abduct me.”

Ty just nodded and Michael thought back to the evening before, remembering that Ty had said very little the entire night.

“What’s going on my friend? You’ve been very quiet.” Michael raised his eyebrow at his large bodyguard.

“You gave him too much information.” Ty grunted finally. “He now knows where are base will be.”

Just then, Colton poked his head through the tent opening, “You better get out here, there’s going to be trouble,” he gasped.

Michael and Ty both bolted through the tent flap and could see down towards the river, three of their rangers were trying to pull a large barge to the shore and were being fired upon by the General’s men with crossbows. Suddenly one of the rangers went down with an crossbow bolt through his thigh, a scream echoed through the clearing. Michael pulled his .45 from his shoulder holster and aiming at the closest clicked the safety off.

Ty turned and snarled at him, “You’ll never reach him from here, just wasting bullets, let’s go.”

They ran full tilt down towards the river-lake, yelling at the camp to get attention. A shot rang out and another ranger hit the ground, clutching his shoulder. While it appeared obvious that they were only shooting to disable and not to kill, without knowing the full extent of the situation, Michael could only get angrier as he ran. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the General running towards the river as well, with his gun pulled. Suddenly, the General stopped, knelt and fired and one of his own men fell, futilely clutching at his abdomen.

Michael and Ty slowed to a jog, then stopped as they reached the spot where the General was now yelling into his shortwave radio. The last two rangers dropped to the ground and rolled towards the water. Michael couldn’t tell if they had been shot or were merely getting out of the line fire. The General turned to them, red-faced and clearly livid.

“I did not order this!” he growled through gritted teeth. “This is not my doing! I’ll kill them myself for disobeying my direct orders.”

Michael merely nodded, not sure what to make of the situation. “Let’s get down there and find out what happened.”

The three of them jogged down to where the two rangers were now sitting up on the grass along the edge of the water. The three men who had come in with the General were all prostate upon the ground. Two of them were obviously dead, bullet exit wounds through their stomachs leaving huge gaping holes which their intestines were spilling through. The third was laying there holding his left thigh together, though it was obvious he didn’t have long for this world. Michael stepped over the body of the dying soldier and checked on his own rangers. They appeared to have survived, though one of them had a crossbow bolt still sticking through his shoulder and another had a gunshot wound to his upper arm and calf muscle.

“Well, it looks like you kept your promise at least,” Ty rumbled, surveying the dead and dying.

The General growled wordlessly and spun on his heel, kneeling beside dying soldier. “Why? What did you think you were doing?” His gravelly voice was punctuated by screams as his hand squeezed the man’s thigh.

“Sir, you had ordered us to keep the barge hidden downstream. When they found it, we did our best to protect your property.” The man was panting, clearly in pain and suddenly a deep choking breath ended it all. Michael shook his head, still not entirely used to the brutality of this new world order they found themselves in.

Michael turned towards his own men, “What happened? Why is this now a battlefield?”

“The river runs through the entire valley. Only it’s no longer a river, but a huge lake that runs as far north and south as we could go with just a couple of hours notice,” one of the uninjured rangers reported as he stood up.

“We found this downstream about three miles and it has an inboard motor, which we thought would be useful for getting everyone downstream and across to the other side. We were just bringing it upstream when they started firing on us from the bank without any warning. We gunned it as fast as we could, avoiding firing back, like you had told us.”

Michael nodded thoughtfully as he turned towards the General, “Your property?”

“Well, not really, but we had discovered it about a week ago and we were going to use it to head upstream. I’d had it hidden downstream of here to avoid detection.”

The General at least tried to look contrite, but Michael wasn’t buying it. “You knew my people needed to get across, yet you never thought to mention this? I think you’ve been playing a game, I just haven’t figured out what’s in it for you.”

“I don’t need anything from you or your people, you are slowing me down. I only wanted to find out why you were headed this way. Since you are not tracking me or a threat, you go your way, I’ll go mine.” the General turned to leave, but was stopped by Ty’s hand gripping his upper arm.

“Not so fast soldier boy. I did some checking of my own last night. You’ve been holding out on my friend here. I was about to update him when this latest hell you’ve created erupted.” Ty appeared to be exerting no effort, but Michael could see from the wrinkles that erupted around the General’s eyes, that there was significant pressure being applied to his bicep.

“You’ve got far more people hidden upriver, all of them armed to the teeth, all of them male. What the hell are you up to?” Ty lifted the General off of his feet with the last question, spun him around and now had his knee in the middle of Mark Clayton’s back, both arms pinned to his side.

Mark Clayton, aka The General was no longer in control of the situation and clearly knew he’d been out-manoeuvred. There were none of his men nearby and he was in the hands of a very large, muscled, well trained soldier. His first response was to try to break free of the hands holding him, he tried to kick the legs out from under Ty, to no avail. Ty merely applied more pressure with his knee, arcing the General’s back to near breaking point.

“Alright, alright already, stop before you break my spine. Let’s talk about this.” He grated through his clenched teeth.

Ty applied a bit more pressure, pulling back on the man’s upper arms. “No, talk now.”

The General sagged, “There are about a hundred and twenty of us. Some of the boys are from south of the forty-ninth, out of Lewis-McChord Joint base. They scampered up this way pretty damn fast when the whole west coast started sliding into the Pacific. I’ve been gathering them all up as they came north. Along with our own boys out of New Westminster and Chilliwack. I think that the Caribo-Chilcotin will be a safer place than here on the coast and was leading them all up to the old Echo Valley Ranch outside of Kamloops.

Michael shook his head, he’d never heard of Echo Valley. “I don’t believe you. Why would you care if we knew how many of you there were? There’s still more to this story than you’re revealing.”

A crossbow bolt thudded into the deck of the barge as a voice rang out from the trees behind the camp. “Let the General go!”

Ty spun around with Mark in front of him. Michael dove for the waterline as did the remaining two rangers. There were no more arrows or bullets fired there way. Out of the trees, marched six of the General’s soldiers. Then from the north side of the camp, five more came striding through the tall grass. Michael looked south, back towards the road they had come in on and there were eight more coming towards them. This was a no-win situation and he decided it was time to end it.

“Mark,” Michael refused to give this man any more power by calling him General. “I’m going to turn you over to your people. You are going to call them all off and let us leave here, on this barge. Two of your people can come along and bring it back to you once we are across the lake.”

The General nodded agreement and Ty released his arms. The advancing men stopped, seeing their leader freed, awaiting further instructions.

Mark Clayton looked towards his men, then at the four men behind him. The two rangers appeared to be unarmed and neither Ty nor Michael were holding their weapons. All it would take is for him to say one word and they would all be dead. Michael held his breath, waiting for what seemed an eternity. Then without a word, the General walked stiffly towards his men and waved them back toward the camp.

“I will pick up my belongings and let you get on your way. We won’t bother you any further.” Mark Clayton tossed over his shoulder.

Michael and Ty both released a sigh of relief, unsure of what had just transpired. They stepped over and assisted the two living rangers up to their feet and finished pulling the barge up on to the grass, tying the ropes off to a nearby stump.

“Let’s get every one of our people down here and loaded on. We’ll need to round up the horses and if it’s not too much, I’d like to do it all in one trip.” Michael said to the three standing beside him. “Ty, you stay here.” Michael handed his Glock .45 and extra magazines to the large ranger.

The