Free The Forgiven The Fallen The Forsaken by S.M. Armstrong Page B

to Manny on the satellite phone.  He
gathered the group together passed out maps, and said, “You’ve all met my
brother in law, Jim.  He’s going to ride with Reaper and guide you back to the
ranch.  Manny is about three hours back with engine problems.  I’m going to go
get him and his load and I’ll be at the ranch directly afterward.  Questions?  Okay,
let’s go.”
    Five minutes
later they were pulling out of the lot toward Jim’s place with Jim in the
passenger seat of Will’s coach. It didn’t take long for Jim to figure out that Will
was impossible not to like with his constant and infectious smile.  I’m glad
this guy’s not selling cars, thought Jim.  And with the size of him,
it's a good thing he's happy go lucky.
    Jim asked him,
“You belong to Ricky and Evan?” 
    Will smiled and
said, “Yeah, the fruit of my groins.  They been good for you?”
    “Yeah.  Good
kids all round.  Shit taste in music, though.” 
    Will laughed
from the gut and said, “Tell me about it!” 
    Jim said,
"I've got to ask.  Why do they call you 'Reaper?'" 
    "Came from
my college football days and has followed me ever since." 
    Will
entertained him with stories of the kids for the rest of the drive.   Soon they
were back at the ranch with Denise, and Julie directing the RV’s into RV ports
and the semis off to open area to the side. 
    Denise called
everyone together once they were parked.  “Rob says he’ll be here with Manny in
a few hours.  He left lists here of items we still need.  Everyone look over
the lists.  Anyone with expertise in a particular area, grab that list. The
back pages are things you should pick up if doing so doesn’t screw your primary
tasks. 
    “The envelopes
have ten grand each.  Take what you need, because it will be useless after next
week.  Personal purchases are fine. Hiking boots and cold weather gear are
going to be important.  And I may be an accountant, but if you bring me receipts
I’ll kick your teeth in."  There were several laughs at this.
    Denise
continued, “We’ll have a few hours before most of the stores open, so grab some
sleep if you need it.  Breakfast is ready over at the cabin for anyone who can
eat.  Welcome to hell week.”
    With the
tractor trailers, Dave and Frank followed Helen’s example and bought large semi
trailers, had them loaded at warehouse stores, and dropped off the loads at the
ranch.  By the end of the day they had enough lumber, hardware, roofing and
other building supplies for a couple of houses, and a 40 foot flatbed loaded
with bags of cement protected with thick tarps.  The ranch was starting to look
like a distribution center more than a ranch. 
    They added a
used bulldozer, a cement mixer, and two more water trucks to the heavy
equipment.  There were now more above ground water tanks, thousands of gallons
of fuel for the helicopter, and several more metal building kits, including a
hangar.  There were ATV’s and dirt bikes, and Dave even brought back a trailer
full of Harleys, prompting Jim to ask, “What, no BMW’s?” Dave answered,
“Pussy,” and Jim decided he liked the guy already.
    The animal pens
were overflowing with the addition of sheep, cows, and several horses.  Next to
the pens were piles of fencing materials and two massive loads of hay.  Three
more 9 foot high, 40 foot long shipping containers had been placed next to each
other as a makeshift barn.  Dave quickly cut out the nonessential walls between
them with a plasma cutter and had placed a Franklin stove in the back to heat
the structure.  A raised roof could be added later if it seemed necessary.
    To the sides
were placed two more storage containers to make up part of the walls of the new
pen and to eventually provide more shelter for the animals.   For now they were
packed with animal feed.    
    Rob found Manny
that morning near Needles, California.  They had abandoned Manny’s truck and
brought his cargo trailer in with