A Powerless World , Hunt, Jack [easy novels to read txt] 📗

was doing that, the door opened and one of the militia stumbled in, held up by none other than Captain Benjamin Evans. His arm was looped around him. Two more militia guys followed, rifles at the ready. “Where the hell is the doctor? We went to the hospital and they said she was here?”

A hand shot up among the people. “Over here.”

“I need this man looked at.”

Doctor Esther Tanning elbowed her way through the crowd, waving to a few others who helped pick the man up and carry him out. Out of breath, Captain Evans took a seat, his hands covered in blood. He was sweating and out of breath.

Dan stepped off the small stage and made his way over. “Captain, what happened?”

He took a second to catch his breath. Evans wiped his bloody hands on his fatigues. He hadn’t spoken to him in about a week. “My men were going door to door, alerting everyone to the new rules of moving into town if they wanted to continue to get supplies and protection. A group of raiders managed to kill some of those posted at the south roadblock. The county is under attack.”

Dan looked up at Elijah, who stepped forward and placed a hand on Evans’ shoulder. “Any casualties of our own?”

“Two.”

Elijah nodded then looked up at Hank.

“You asked me what war we are fighting that requires ammunition. Does that answer your question?” Elijah said.

Chapter Five

Hank could smell bullshit from a mile away and it was being slung at him from all sides. He sent Seth and some of his other boys to perform surveillance on the south roadblock, find out what went down from those in the area, and speak to anyone who might have witnessed this so-called attack. Not sticking around to hear the rest of Dan’s horseshit, Hank mounted his horse and headed home to make some drastic changes. He could sense trouble, he’d seen it coming the moment the militia showed up with trucks full of supplies. Who in their right mind would do that for others unless they had an end game?

Upon entering the house, he barked orders like a commander in chief.

“Ruth? Get whatever you need, we are heading back up to the farm.”

“What?”

He charged into the bedroom, not stopping to talk to her. Time was of the essence. He figured they had maybe twenty-four hours before the militia showed up making demands. He’d seen the look on Dan’s face, that gullible moron. He’d bought into the attack, hook, line, and sinker. Not him. He could tell a lie from a mile away.

“Hank. What are you talking about?”

He was fishing through the closet. He pulled out a suitcase and began slinging clothes into it. “We should have done this sooner.”

Ruth got in his way, pressing a hand to his chest.

“Hank. Would you stop for a damn minute and tell me what is going on?”

“The militia. Dan. A cock and bull show. That’s what’s going on,” he said, slipping by her and collecting a few more things.

“And?”

He stopped, shirt in hand. “They’re planning on coming here and removing our weapons.”

“What? Why would they do that?”

He tapped the side of his head like a mental patient. “Think, Ruth. Think about it. It’s a helluva lot easier to control people if they can’t fight back. So you make up some horseshit story about the county coming under attack and Dan falls for it like a gullible moron.” He stopped again, noticing that she looked confused. He took hold of her arms. “Listen. Don’t worry about it. Just get what you need, and we are heading up into the hills and staying at the farm. It’s where we should have gone since day one.”

“But everything we need is here. Besides, they’ve already been here asking for us to move closer to town. And now you want to move farther out?”

“Yep.”

“And supplies?”

“We’ll get what we need from the land, and the rest we’ll hunt for.”

“Hank, there are some supplies you can’t get from the land. I’m certainly not wiping my ass with corn on the cob!”

“Listen to me, Ruth. You might have to. So buckle up! Until I have a better idea of what is happening, I don’t want you going down there. The Rikers have the right idea. Stay up in the hills. Ain’t no one coming up there who isn’t ready to lose an eye or two.”

Ruth stood in the doorway, arms crossed, face puzzled. She’d opted to stay home instead of going with him to the meeting. “I’m telling you, had you been there tonight, you would understand.” He walked over and took hold of her again. “You trust me, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then don’t ask me any more questions. We head up to the farm, and stay there until I know more.”

“You’re worrying me, Hank.”

He hugged her. “Everything will be okay,” he said, looking over her shoulder, realizing that he couldn’t guarantee that. A storm was coming and he sure as hell wasn’t going to be caught in it.

Seth arrived by horseback in the small community of Benbow, two miles southeast of Garberville, with his brother Derek. After suffering the wrath of his father two weeks ago over the attack on Miriam Riker, he was trying his best to earn his way back into his father’s good books. Luke had always protected him from his father, standing between them, taking a few of the slaps that came his way, but now he was gone, he had to face the music.

After climbing onto the roof of Benbow Historic Inn, he brought high-powered binoculars up to his eyes. He scanned the Frank Belotti Memorial Bridge that stretched across the South Fork Eel River, a fast-running river that snaked its way through the lush redwood forest.

“You know, I think they should blast that bridge and bring it down,” Derek said. “At least that way, it would make it harder for raiders to get into the county.”

Without taking his eyes off the bridge, Seth replied, “Derek,