Kiss My Apocalips Ch. 05

The ladies had voted to drive right into the compound and lay claim to Hazy Mountain Resort; but I called everybody around and tried to lay down some rules. There were too many variables, too many things that could go wrong. I decide to consent, but with certain precautions. We would drive halfway up the gravel road, but then I would walk ahead, looking for any hidden traps, while they drove the vehicles slowly behind me. Once in the resort, they were to key on me and take my lead, especially if another person showed up. We would all be armed, but I insisted we would not be the aggressor in any confrontation. And, if we spotted anybody before we got there, we would abandon the entire project and find another place to live. I was not about to win territory through warfare. There were no objections.

Leaving the campsite set up, we had plenty of room in the bed of the pickup to carry everyone to the minivan. Keeping the same mix of people per vehicle, Wanda and I led the way down our logging path and along the gravel back roads to what we now thought of as Hazy Mountain. There was a "Posted" sign at the beginning of the steep, single-lane road leading to our destination. This area had not been logged, and the whole mountain was mostly Grand Fir, cedar, White Pine and Douglas Fir. The scenery was beautiful, especially when the trees on the outer-facing side thinned out and allowed a view of the valleys below. We were amazed to spot deer and some wild turkeys, which were not originally native to Oregon, but there were lots of them around now.

After we'd gone halfway round, I stopped the truck when the grade lessened a bit, and I got out, giving up the driver's seat to Wanda. I was surprised when Sadie joined me, saying that two pairs of eyes were better than one. We both held our assault rifles at the ready, but our eyes were kept downward, searching the gravel surface for any irregularities. We found none. Even hiking only half the length of the road, it was a long trek; but after about twenty more minutes, we reached the tall gate that allowed access to the property. It was still standing open.

There were no trees inside the perimeter, save the ones on the lawns in front of the buildings above. We were completely exposed now, and we still had about fifty yards to go after the chain-link fence. It wasn't a very good feeling being out in the open; but we kept trudging, the vehicles inching along behind us. At last, we were nearing the parking area near the largest of the two structures. I held up a hand to halt the pickup, and they both stopped just short of the wide gravel area. Everybody got out. As planned, they were all armed. We still had to round the corner of the building, and we did so slowly, cautiously.

"The grass isn't just green," I said quietly. "It's wet."

"I'm sure there's a timer," Sadie said, though she kept her voice low, as well.

A cow mooed. That had to be one of least expected sounds I could have imagined in that situation. "The big building is a barn!" I exclaimed. "How could we have missed that?"

"It's a lot more than a barn," Sadie commented, looking up at it. "There are a LOT of rooms up there. Looks like many of them are for storage; but some are open spaces, like offices."

The two of us moved forward, and Wanda, Doriana and Sofia followed in a sort of group about twenty feet behind us. I rounded the edge of the structure and stopped dead. Everybody else did the same. For a long, long time, nobody knew what to do. And that most certainly included me.

A woman was leaning against a large wooden barrel beside what I supposed was the front door, and she was looking at us. She was especially looking at me. She had jet-black hair that was tied in long, unbraided pigtails; and she had a piece of straw in her mouth. She wore a pair of overalls that were cut into shorts that accented some very shapely legs; and beneath the overalls, she wore a white tee shirt. What the bib of the shorty-overalls did NOT contain (and the tee-shirt barely did) were the two largest breasts I have ever seen on a woman. They spilled out of either side of the front of the bibbed pants and hung down to her lower chest. I guessed her age at about thirty. The butt of a very long shotgun rested on her right hip, and the barrel was pointed up at an angle away from us.

I raised my hands, and turned to look over my shoulder. "We are going to put our weapons on the ground," I told everybody.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, lover," Wanda said back.

"It's my call," I persisted. "Do it. Now." I lowered my assault rifle to the ground, then unholstered my handgun and laid it down next to it. Without further comment, they all did the same.

Holding up my hands, I advanced toward the woman. "Listen. We scouted out this place, and we really didn't know it was occupied. If it's alright, we'll just pick up our weapons, go back to our vehicles and leave; and we won't come back. You have my word. Is that okay with you?"

She only seemed to have eyes for me; she never looked toward the others. Slowly, she removed the piece of straw from her lips. "Do you know what happened to the people?" she asked.

I stopped. We were about a dozen paces apart. "Yes. Yes, I do, but it's a long story."

"Did you have anything to do with it?"

"No. I most certainly did not."

She narrowed her eyes. "But you know who did?"

I shrugged. "No, but one of the girls with me does."

She grimaced. "I don't care about those girls." She seemed to think some more. "The men that own this place; are they gone, too?"

"Where are they from? Where were they last Monday, eleven days ago?"

She shook her head a little, as if to clear it. It made her breasts bounce and re-settle on her chest. "Portland, Salem, Eugene, Newport and Bend. They live and work there. They were probably all in those cities last Monday."

"Then they're almost certainly not around anymore. I'm sorry, but they're gone. No city with a population of more than a few thousand is inhabited anymore."

She nodded. "Why did you come here?"

"The girls and I are looking for a new place to live. Like I said, we thought this place was unoccupied."

"I don't care about those girls," she said again. She pushed away from the whiskey barrel and walked toward me. I considered running, but there was really no place TO run, so I stood my ground. Halfway to me, she let the shotgun slide downward in her hand until she was holding just the barrel end of it, and then she let it fall over sideways onto the hardpacked surface. I thought it lucky that the damn thing didn't go off. When she got to me, she fell to her knees at my feet and bowed her head.

"I am Hannah. How may I serve you, Master?"

TO BE CONTINUED