Prepper's Apocalypse | Book 2 | Prepper's Collapse
the animals or crops. We had a good life until Carlos’s men rolled through, taking over all the ranches and farms.”Tom’s ears perked up. “Tell us more about Carlos and his men and their operation.”
Jerry seemed to slump down in his chair. Doris said, “We barely escaped with our lives. They’d captured the ranch and killed anyone who resisted. A greasy Mexican called Jesus was the leader of the group. He would make sure all the men were out working the ranch under armed guard while he stayed back and … and …” She choked up and then finished. “… had his way with the women left behind. That’s when we had to fight our way out of the area. If we hadn’t run out of gas, we’d be in Keno with Jerry’s uncle.”
“Wait a minute. You ran out of gas after the EMP blasts killed all of the vehicles?”
“Yes, older cars and trucks without electronic ignition will still run. Grandpa Smith had a big collection of old farm equipment and farm trucks. He’d kept every vehicle the ranch had ever used, and he purchased several trucks and tractors for his collection. I was his mechanic for the vehicles in my spare time. I borrowed one, and we left, barely escaping through a hail of bullets. Apparently, one of the bullets hit the gas tank on the old Ford two-ton truck.”
Tom jumped on the idea of gaining another truck. “Do you think they found the truck?”
Jerry grinned. “No. I hid it close to a clear cut for some powerlines once I saw the gas gauge drop down below an eighth of a tank.”
“Where’s the truck located?”
Jerry grimaced and then said, “I can barely pronounce the road. It’s Chinquapin Mountain Road. The truck is about two miles south of where you found us by the pond.”
Tom scratched his chin and then rubbed his jaw as he pondered the problem. “I’ve heard of it. Where on the road did you leave the truck?”
“Right where Chinquapin crosses the powerline clear cut. It’s hidden pretty good. I’ll help you find it.”
Tom took Rick and the ladies off to the side. “That truck is only a half-mile from here. After I go up and fix the hydro-electric turbine, we’ll go fetch the truck. Rick, could you go up to the pond with me? We’ll take the pickup to haul some tools and see what needs to be done.”
“I’m okay with that.”
Kate said, “Hook the trailer up, and Jackie and I can gather up the … hey, what’s their last name? I forgot to ask.”
Tom walked back into the kitchen area and didn’t see the couple. He saw Granny B, Jacob, and Lucy peeling potatoes. “Granny B, where’s the couple we brought into the group?”
Granny B whispered to her grandson. “June is showing them their room. I told her to give them one of the guest rooms to share as a family. If they make the cut, we’ll give them better rooms. What’s going on?”
Tom said, “I don’t remember getting their last name. Hey Jacob! What’s your last name?”
“I’m Jacob Clark. Daddy says we have family up here in these hills. We were looking for them when our truck died.”
Granny B’s nose wrinkled, and Tom’s eyes were as big as billiard balls. Tom did an about-face and almost scared the boy. “What do you know about these Clarks?”
The little boy said, “Mom said my great-grandpa was a mean old asshole and was mean to his brother. That’s all I know. Oh, he was mean to Mom.”
Granny B shifted from one foot to another. “What were your grandpa and great grandpa’s names?”
“I liked my Grandpa Jake. I’m named after him. I don’t remember Great-Grandpa Luke. I haven’t seen him in a long time. I miss Grandpa Jake. He’s still somewhere in Ashland,” Jacob said.
*
Chapter 5
The Clark Ranch – East of Ashland, Oregon.
“Tom, let’s discuss this before you go off halfcocked and ask too many questions.”
Tom smirked and then quickly changed to a smile to avoid Granny B’s wrath. “I plan to be fully cocked before I try to find out who these people are. Do you know any of the people Jacob mentioned? I never heard Grandpa Jonas mention those names.”
“Your grandpa would’ve never said a word about his brother Luke. Luke was a piece of crap and spent his first thirty years on this planet in and out of jail. He fathered Jake with a drunken floozy during an escape from the county jail. He robbed his relatives and bought drugs. I think I heard he got out of jail and tried to fool people into believing he found God while in jail. He went to jail for stealing our pickup and crashing it into a young family in a drunken stupor. Jonas and I disowned him, and as far as we were concerned, he was dead to us. I think he later married the mother of little Jacob’s grandfather, Jake. We lost track of them and steered clear the few times we ran into Luke or his son.”
Tom clasped his hands behind his head and sat back in his chair. “Granny, are there any other family secrets Jackie and I should know?”
Granny B grimaced while avoiding eye contact, “None worth telling or that are likely to bite us in the butt one day. How are you and Kate getting along?”
Tom knew she’d changed the subject to hide something.
Rick and Tom went up the hill to the pond with their ladies tagging along. The women started loading the trailer while Tom led Rick over to the hidden spillway. The turbine housing was about two feet below the waterline. He pointed to an indentation in the bank that was about five feet wide and three feet long. “See that limb sticking up