Chapter 5

Ted said, "You two stop getting ready to fight or I'll kill you myself." He paused and looked at the woman. He said, "I am guessing you weren't a willing member of this particular group?"

She nodded. He looked back at the two erstwhile leaders and said, "You two lay down on your stomachs after you get rid of all weapons." Two pistols and two knives hit the ground. Then, the two men did. Ted came to one as I covered the other. He placed his knee on the guy's back and began to frisk him. He quickly found a pistol in an ankle holster, pulled it and put a bullet in the base of the man's brain. He went limp in death.

Ted looked over at the other and said, "You're next. If I find a weapon on you, you're dead, too." The man turned to pull something. I shot him between the eyes first and he went over on his back dead. Ted gave him a quick search and came up with a small derringer.

He looked over at the woman. I said, "You will speak for now. Tell us your name and your story."

She looked very scared. Ted looked grim frequently though he just didn't have a sunny, smiling visage. It didn't mean he wasn't a kind compassionate guy. It just didn't appear that way from his face and voice. She finally gave a mental shake that was a bit visible and began to speak. "I am Michelle Rush. My parents and brother survived the Day and I was thirteen years old. We lived in Denver. Dad kept us inside during the worst of the time after the Day. My mom was a nurse and was at the hospital. She stayed there until there were no new patients. Dad got her and brought her home when she called and said there was nothing more she could do. Dad owned a small construction company. It was about two weeks after the Day when he went to pick up my Mom. When they got home, she went to bed and slept until the next morning. She looked very tired and emotionally worn out. When her parents were killed in a plane crash a year or so before, she got that way. The next morning, she was awake and fixing breakfast when I woke up." She gave a shrug.

"Anyway, we stayed in the house for three years until the power went off and the stores around didn't have anything left for us. It was late May when we agreed that leaving our home was the only option because we all knew we wouldn't survive winter without power. The heat was gas but, with no power, to operate the fan, it wouldn't do much good.

"We didn't go far. Dad took us into the mountains driving four big SUV's loaded with supplies. He owned a hunting cabin with three other friends and we went to it. It was designed for no power. We all had guns. My brother and I were started on shooting when we were twelve. Our lessons continued after the Day. My brother had been learning to drive and I was added to those lessons when they restarted after the Day.

"We reached the cabin without seeing anyone except in the distance. We went up the dirt road and Dad and Jim closed it up behind us and spread leaves to hid any sign of our passing. Dad said that his friends didn't make it and no one knew the place existed. He warned us to be careful for another year to let things 'settle down.' He had made a trip with Jim the summer before to check it all out. They were happy that nothing was disturbed before or since. We had plenty of supplies and planned to stay away from the stores as long as possible. Jim and I had quit growing so could wear clothes out rather then out grow them. We hunted enough to keep us in fresh meat and stayed there for over a year. It was an idyllic time. We only made two trips for more supplies. Using two of the SUV's, we could load them thoroughly with dry goods. When we returned from the trips, we hid our trail. We saw no one on those trips. We made jerky and smoked our meats to have plenty of supplies.

"In mid summer of 2015, we decided to make a more thorough search for survivors. I don't know but I think Mom and Dad wanted to find some kids our age. I never asked and they never said. We left with me driving one SUV with my Dad riding shotgun and my Mom driving the other with Jim beside her. We were all armed. We had gotten used to carrying weapons. Officially, it was to protect against animals but I think my parents were concerned.

"We toured much of Denver but saw no one close up. We had managed to find gas but it was getting tougher to find and to get it. It's lot easier to pump it when there is power. We went home to the cabin hiding our trail as always. That night, we had a family council. Mom and Dad wanted our opinions about staying or looking for a community of survivors. Jim wanted to go but I liked the cabin. It worked and we were safe. Our talk continued late into the night. Finally, we decided to look around in a couple of the neighboring cities and towns. Mom suggested that we leave notes at stores if we could figure out some method of contact. Our cell phones had died shortly after coming to the cabin. We had some little hunters' walkie-talkies but their range was limited. We charged a few things with a gas-powered generator including their batteries. Water for washing and bathing was heated by fire. In the winter, it could take a while to heat. The run from the outside shower back inside could be invigorating, too. It was lonely but a great time in my life with my family.