Chapter 36

Silver rarely drew sentry duty, but it was her night in the barn. She sat on the chair listening to the sounds of the night. The sound of crickets was a constant white noise atop the backdrop of howling coyotes or some kind of dogs. Wild dogs had been a problem of late, having banded together. They had reverted to their feral nature, and eliminated the smaller breeds, as well as anything else they could catch. It was not uncommon to see a German shepherds alongside a Rottweiler or Pit-bull. These were the unofficial top of the food chain.

These packs had been tough on the wildlife and were an ever-present threat to unwary people. Thankfully the children were all inside the compound where it was safe. The group had originally shot stray dogs because of their potential threat, but shooting without authorization from Derek was now forbidden by noise discipline. Sounds carried and they had to worry about the new neighbors noticing them only a few miles to the southeast.

Lately they had taken to trapping them and shooting them with bow and arrow when the opportunity presented itself. They had consequently killed quite a few large dogs which would probably have presented a problem later on. However, for every feral animal removed from the food chain there were usually a dozen to take their place, plus they were breeding.

A century before their ancestors had gone to great lengths to remove large predators from the area, in part to protect their livestock, and in part to protect themselves. Now generations later the pets of their great great grandchildren were running the countryside, killing and devouring anything within their reach.

She sighed and repositioned herself in the chair. Two more hours before her shift was over. She watched the full moon slowly traversing the sky and picked out a group of stars that Bryan and she had once pointed to and said was their own constellation. He had named it "Silver Heart" and it was roughly heart shaped at that. It just made her feel less alone when he wasn't around. She smiled at the memory.

She was paying attention to two dogs sniffing each other a few yards in front of her when the sound of an engine brought her out of her tunnel vision. Up the road from her left came a 4x4 that fit the description Bryan had given from the night that the Militia had come to town.

It appeared to be alone and was creeping along, using the ambient light of the moon instead of headlights. It was creeping, she saw, because there were men marching alongside it. They carried their weapons in a semi-ready position. Her earpiece buzzed as the other sentries noted the truck as well.

Andrew was in the command center and asked her for an update. She clicked the microphone twice, indicating she was unable to speak. This was replied with a warning to stay silent and be careful. She clicked once to acknowledge.

The tension hung in the air as the truck continued on. Soon it was out of sight. A few minutes passed and the western sentry reported that the truck had cleared the hill to the North and was out of sight.

Time passed and Silver radioed her observations to the command center. Her relief, in the form of Matthew, came at the regularly scheduled time. He was walking across the road, when suddenly he looked off toward the north and broke into a run toward the barn. Silver picked up the rifle that was assigned to the OP and waited at the ready.

As Matthew was climbing the stairs to the loft the truck came back around the corner from the opposite direction. This time it had headlights on. Behind it was a truck and livestock trailer full of what appeared to be cattle. Behind that was a car which Silver knew belonged to the neighbors that lived about three miles north. They passed much quicker than they had come and disappeared into the night toward town.

Matthew and Silver looked at each other.

"Guess they found somebody to raid tonight," Matthew said.

"I think I know who," Silver replied. "I know that car."

Matthew settled into his seat. "You should probably let Andrew know that then." He held out his hand and she handed the rifle and radio to him.

Fifteen minutes later she had relayed the information to Andrew and Derek, who had come in following the original sighting of the truck and men.

"Looks like they're pillaging the surrounding area," Derek grunted. "The question is, were they on a blind mission or did they know to look where they did?"

Andrew looked up from the radio which he had just turned down. "And how many people in town know we are here?"

"And how many people would roll on us for some kind of favor?" Silver asked.

Derek made a disgusted face. "I think it's time we start to deal with this thing head on."

The other two looked at him silently, waiting for elaboration, but none was forthcoming.

"First things first," he said. "I need to get in touch with my brother and mom. Tomorrow I want to go survey the place you said the car came from and see if we can learn anything from that." He turned and stepped out of the trailer without another word. Silver shrugged at Andrew and shook his head.

Derek had opted to take Bryan along on the mission that next morning and they found what amounted to a crime scene. The house had been torched. There were three bodies, all of them male. And the corral which had clearly had bovines in it the day before was empty. All of the vehicles that would start had gone back down the road with the convoy the night before apparently.

What they marauders had missed however, was the three horses in a nearby pasture.

"Should we take the horses?" Bryan inquired.

"I guess there's no harm in it since the owners aren't going to raise any fuss," Derek replied somewhat dryly. He sat down on the ATV and rubbed his leg, grimacing. "I'm glad you talked me into taking this thing instead of hiking. I'm still kinda sore."

"Andrew says normal rehabilitation time for something of that magnitude is a year plus," Bryan commented.

Derek nodded. "It's probably never going to be perfect," he replied. He continued rubbing it for a minute then turned back to Bryan. "Do you care if we go over and check on my brother and mom?"