The Quest
Copyright© 2026 by A Well Traveled Man
Chapter 5
Life on the Ranch
In three days, he arrived at his new home, parked the trailer next to the house, and drove back into town. Chad bought a tow bar, picked up plenty of food at the market, and towed my F-150 home. While at school, he ordered a 20’x40’ pole barn built off to the side of the house, so he pulled both trucks and trailer inside after unloading the food.
The first was getting the lab equipment into the cave and setting it up. That took a week. He took a few days off to relax before starting his next project. The next project was the house. He removed all the furniture and carpet and repainted the house. Home Depot put in new carpet and kitchen flooring, then he replaced the kitchen appliances and updated the countertops and furniture. That was it for now. That took a month, but now he has a place to live, and the next project was security.
Chad had a new electric gate installed with solar backup. The area had yard sales and farm sales almost every weekend. He picked up a 14-foot trailer, a small tractor, and a practically new Kawasaki 4x4 mule at an estate sale. They sell everything out here, no questions asked. He now has a nice gun safe and quite a collection of firearms.
He always wanted a .45 Long Colt six-shooter with a gunfighter holster. Everyone carries a firearm, so it’s expected that you do too. So, he picked up his .45 Long Colt and 30-30 lever Winchester at a yard sale in town. The Winchester stays in the rifle rack in his pickup when I’m out and about. He built a reloading bench in the pole barn for all his gun calibers and all the powder and bullets to reload. Today, he bought a Barrett 50 caliber and three other rifles from an older man who is retiring and moving to a senior living community. The Barrett looked new but didn’t ask any questions.
He put storm shutters on the house and storm doors on the front and kitchen doors. At the front gate, he installed a driveway sensor and camera with a call button. The last thing Chad did was install CCTV cameras around the house and pole barn, so security is finished for now.
Time for another dose of the serum. He kept it in a small refrigerator in the den cabinet now and injected himself and put it in his diary on August 16th, dose and measured his height, and he grew one inch to 6’5” and gained 5lbs to 230lbs. Again, the changes still are primarily internal. His cognitive skills, reflexes, and heightened senses continue to improve, and my pheromones have remained under control. His mind reading and the influence of others continue to evolve, and it’s become second nature to take a peek for my peace of mind and security.
Chad adapted to the local clothing, western style, if you could not guess, and I always wear a cowboy hat or a baseball cap and sunglasses everywhere. Now he blended in as a local, and no one pays me much attention. No one knows of his degrees, so I’m just that tall rancher who lives here. I’ve built a new computer to do my work. The laptop worked well in the dorm, but he needed more power to run the servers and monitor the video feeds. Now he has two 32” monitors on my desk, and he can see all the security cameras and work on my programming and server upkeep.
He still hasn’t figured out how or where the fiber internet came into the house, so he’ll keep using it for free. Chad rented a trencher and ran an internet line to the cave and three phone wires in PVC pipe. His goal is to set up a mirror in the cave so he can monitor the cameras and the gate from there. He bought a kitchen table and a nice leather recliner at a yard sale yesterday.
Chad was slowly filling the cave with everything needed to live and work remotely. The engineering department said a water flow generator would supply power if the flow were strong enough. He bought a gauge, then went online and ordered the right generator, so it’s here too. Waste is still an issue to solve, but he can do without it in the short term. He’s building an inter-door steel reinforced with a heavy-duty locking latch. If someone gets through the outer door, this one will stop them. It’s over 300 lbs. on rollerball hinges like safes use. He put a survival backpack in both trucks, the mule, the house, and the cave. I’m ready to start working on the cave.
He planned to build a second-floor living area and have the lab and gym on the first floor as soon as he finishes installing the door this week. He’s read several books on construction and has it all laid out in a program on the laptop. Weekends are reserved for recreation. Chad built a shooting range behind the house and spends some evenings and weekends practicing with his bow, arrows, and firearms to stay sharp. He is getting better.
Yard and farm sales, and attending local events like barbeques, cooking contests, and various events, as well as local groups and city plans, round out his weekend. It seems something is happening almost every weekend. I’m still amazed at how different this is from living in a big city. The weekend events were for entertainment but also social interaction. Being isolated on the farm all week, the weekend events allow him to meet and talk to people. That’s how I met Bill, sitting at a picnic table during a local chili cooking contest. We were talking, and I mentioned my problems removing two tree stumps. He said To hell with digging.
Go to Hank’s Rancher Supply and buy some dynamite sticks. It removes them quickly, and he’ll give you instructions on how to use it right. Then our conversation changed to which chili was best. He left thinking wholly shit, and they sell dynamite to ranchers. Chad wondered what else Hank sells. He stopped by the store and picked up a case of dynamite, a 50-foot fuse cord, a post-hole attachment for my tractor, and a rebuilt jackhammer.
This place was a gold mine. So, he thought, leaving for home. He now has Hank’s Rancher Supply catalog and 24 sticks of dynamite in my truck and drives home like it was a typical day. He put a large rebuilt generator on layaway. Spending large sums of cash attracts unwanted attention, so he would make smaller purchases of items likely to raise an eyebrow. Home Depot rings up a $2000 sale like it was $50. But a small merchant like Hank’s or the gun store from which I get my reloading supplies would be suspicious. So, I put the generator on a 30-day layaway with a $50 deposit and will pick it up next month.
Time for another dose of the serum. He got the serum out of the small refrigerator in the den cabinet, injected himself, put in his diary October 17th dose, measured his height, remained at 6’5”, and weighed 230 lbs. Again, the changes are still mostly internal. My cognitive skills, reflexes, and heightened senses continue to improve, and my pheromones remain under control. Chad’s mind-reading and the influence of others continue to evolve, and it’s become second nature to take a peek for his peace of mind and security, but now I can process it faster. The big change is moving things with my mind. I found out by reaching for a bottle of water, and it came to me. It freaked him out at first, then he started testing his new skill like the scientist I am. Then it hit me how dangerous this new skill was. One slip-up and all my work would go down the drain.
Chad had stopped reading people for a while, and only the new people who could be a threat. The danger of someone with latent skills feeling my probe gave me the jolt; he needed to use it like he does hacking computers. Go in quick and get out; don’t often do it to set a pattern to get caught. He’s been buying books at yard sales that look interesting for a while, and one he’d read was about a kid who was hit by lightning during a storm. He was riding his bike home when it happened. He discovered his new mind-reading skills while recovering in the hospital.
The story started interesting and then, halfway through, turned from good and interesting to sad and disappointing. But during the story, he developed a shield to protect himself from the government psychics after him. He threw the book in the burn pile, half-read, but the mind shield stuck in his head. So, he did as the kid in the book did and envisioned a solid shield around his brain, then went back to work, forgetting about it.
Moving things with my mind helped me finish the cave build-out, and he was delighted with the finished product. All the plumbing is on the second floor, and with the jackhammer, he opened a hole for a 4” waste drain pipe to go through and the PVC pipe with the extra internet wires to come in. Chad bought a small septic system and put it in himself. The hardest part was hiding the drain pipe, but he got it done. The water flow generator works great. The dealer recommended their auxiliary power storage box to provide a steady flow of electricity, so he purchased it as well.
He had a lot of small projects to do in the cave, but he planned on doing them during the winter. Locals said winter could be cool and pleasant to downright nasty, so it’s a crap shoot. He planned for the nasty and used one small room for storage for my projects and parts for repairs. Chad had an extra flow generator, a water pump, repair kits for the sinks and commode, and plenty of light bulbs. Another room was my vault and armory. It has a high-security door that he drove to Albuquerque to pick up. He didn’t want anyone to know about it, so while there, Chad shopped without worrying and stocked up on winter clothes, canned food, cases of bottled water, and freeze-dried food.
He saw an army surplus store on the way into town, so he stopped on the way out. We talked as he looked around, and when he found out I took Tony Jeffers’s course, the back room opened up. And oh my god, what a sight. Chad said he was good with weapons, but got two tranquilizer dart guns, night vision goggles, some smoke and flash-bang grenades, and binoculars with night vision. When we returned to the main sales area, he got the tree- and snow-colored camos, the climbing gear he needed, and two camping backpacks filled with tents and sleeping bags, all matching camo. Chad paid the bill, thanked him for the help, and drove home. Shit, he spent twice as much at the surplus as he spent in town on supplies.
When he got home and put the supplies away, he went to bed. The ladies auxiliary cook-off was tomorrow, and he didn’t want to miss that. Bill said that it was the best of the best at the chili cook-off. He told me those ladies know how to cook, so don’t miss it, or you’ll regret it all winter. He arrived, and the man wasn’t kidding. Chad snacked on everything that looked good, but the problem was that it all looked good. Then came the dessert section. Chad sat outside to let the food settle, where he met Janice. She was a newly divorced paralegal secretary, very good-looking and with a body to match. We talked, then she wanted me to follow her home. Man, it was all he could do to turn her down nicely.
Chad made up an excuse and asked for a rain check. Janice laughed and gave him her phone number. He also got the name of the attorney Janice worked for, and it was good to have a local attorney. He walked down the alley to his truck on the next street and drove home. For some reason, he felt a sudden rush to his head and pulled over for a while. It was like he had released something and felt lightheaded and dizzy. It passed, and he felt energized as he drove home. He saw a yard sale that was about to shut down.
Chad stopped and asked if there was anything left besides what was out. She said four boxes of books and that motorcycle no one wants, pointing to the motorcycle in the garage. He asked how much the books and bike cost, gave her $150, loaded the books and bike parts, and then drove home. He pulled into the pole barn and unloaded his find. Someone wrecked the bike and got the parts, but didn’t or couldn’t put it back together. Another winter project, he thought as he went through the first box of books and then took them to the cave for later reading material.
Time for another dose of the serum. Chad got the serum from the small refrigerator in the den cabinet, injected himself, put in his diary December 18th dose, measured his height, and remained at 6’5”, and my weight stayed at 230lbs. Again, the changes are still mostly internal. My senses seem to have stabilized, but my mind reading and the influence of others continue to grow. If he looks into someone, it’s a brief glance, but the information he gets at that moment is extensive, and he quickly continues processing it. The things I move with my mind continue to grow and improve the more I use them.
He decided to visit Sensi and Helen for a week and check on the servers simultaneously. My flight landed, and he rented an SUV and drove to the dojo. It was dark and locked up tight, so he drove to Helen’s. She hugged me and said Sensi had gone home to take care of his parents, who had become ill. He probably won’t come back. I have a letter for you from him, but see your girlfriend first, and then we’ll eat dinner and talk, chuckling as she leaves.
My girlfriend was happy to see me, and Chad took her out for a ride and told her about his new place. She was happy and settled down when we returned. Chad took care of her, washed up, and had dinner. The letter was short and straightforward, saying he was the business, so he closed the doors when he had to go. He asked me to take the gear, or it would be thrown out, so Chad was driving a Ryder truck home with the back full of gear. It’s good he hasn’t done anything with the gym area yet because it will be fully equipped now.
Chad pulled at 10 am, quickly unloaded the truck in the pole barn, hooked up the tow bar to the F150, drove to Albuquerque to return the Ryder truck, and drove straight home and crashed. He spent the next two days setting up the cave gym and had enough for one in the pole barn. Thinking what a fun time he had with the horses at Helen’s. Maybe he’d build a real barn and get a couple of horses to ride. He’ll have plenty of time to check into it after winter.
Chad went to the market to get supplies, picked up the local newspaper, walked outside with two carts full of food, and saw Janice lip-locked to some dude in a suit at the traffic light. It looked like she decided to stay home for the holidays, but he wondered who the guy was. He stopped, pulled out his phone, snapped a picture of them and the license plate, and headed to his truck. The ride home was full of thought as he pulled up next to the kitchen.
Putting everything away, thinking we were just friends, but did she lie to me? He put the truck away, headed to the computer, and pulled up the law firm where she worked. Right, there was a picture of the man in the car. He was a named partner in Cheatem, Foukem, and Howl. Then Chad hacked into the Department of Motor Vehicles, entered his plate number, left the site, and looked up his Facebook page. The latest entry was them in the hospital with Janice’s leg cast. As noted below, the wedding has been delayed by 7 weeks so Stacy can walk down the aisle. He saw a photo of the lovebirds in their ski gear on the slopes before the accident.
Further down was his announcement that he was running for the House of Representatives, and he was endorsed by the retiring member. The picture of him, his fiancée, the retiring member, and his wife. How sweet they look together, I say to myself. After checking our local newspaper’s website for Foukem, Chad found he was defending a man in Dallas Federal Court on fraud charges.
So, he accessed the Dallas Morning News Society section, figuring he would be rubbing elbows while in the big D. Sure enough, there are ten photos of him latched onto a Hunt granddaughter. In one, they were lip-locked off to the side of the couple photographed. He copied the file, shut it down, and questioned what to do.
What was his plan to marry Janice and get elected? Wait, what’s Janice’s or Stacy’s last name? Yep, daughter of a retiring house member shit, this is a good movie script. Ok, why go after another girl, or is there a bigger plan involving another player? He looked up his business and personal email addresses and sent an embedded email with his worm and the header, Hey, look what I scored this weekend showing a girl with big tits in a tube top and a click-to-expand option.