Chapter 58

The grand commander suggested it is time that I take a wife. I was shocked he thought me worthy to carry on the population. Then he suggested I pay for the privilege with an advance on my salary. I now see how he plans to generate the funds to keep his new country afloat.

—The journal of Isaac Ryland

The candlelight flickered across the wooden room. Andrew was surprised something so small could give off so much light.

“I think you deserve one of these,” Dustin said.

He reached into a small box behind him and handed Andrew a drink.

“I told you my story,” Andrew said. “Who are all of you?”

“I think your RAG agent called us mountain men,” JR said.

“That doesn’t tell me much,” Andrew said.

“We need to wait for your friends to wake up,” Dustin said. “If their stories match yours then we know whether or not to tell you the truth.”

Andrew took a gulp of his drink.

“Carter and Zack might lie,” Andrew said. “I almost did.”

“Why didn’t you?” JR asked.

Andrew shrugged. He knew the reason: Mia. If he had just told her the whole truth he wouldn’t have been in this situation right now. She would still be with him and they would have formed a better strategy together, but that was more personal than Andrew was willing to get.

“Don’t worry about the blond men,” Dustin said. “If your RAG agent backs you up—and he will if he thinks you’re a traitor—you three have nothing to worry about.”

“I take it you don’t support the Registry?” Andrew asked.

“We don’t support anything the American government has to offer,” JR said.

Dustin gave him a smack on the side.

“What? Do you really think he’s some spy sent by the grand commander to search for small pockets of people living in remote villages?”

“So this is a village?” Andrew asked.

Dustin gave JR another nasty look.

“We are a group of individuals who prefer solitude,” Dustin said. “We self-govern and like our existence unknown.”

“How long have you been living up here?” Andrew asked.

“A long time,” Dustin said.

“And how many people are up here?”

“That’s enough questions,” Dustin said.

“I thought I knew everything about America,” Andrew said. “Nobody mentions this area, except for in ghost stories.”

“There is water,” JR said. “That’s all humans really need.”

“Were either of you in service?” Andrew asked.

JR shook his head no and Dustin smacked him again.

“Stop that,” JR said. “Either he’s telling the truth and we can trust him or he’s not and we have to kill him. What does it matter if we talk for now?”

“Mikey said keep him in the dark,” Dustin said.

That made Andrew gulp.

“Did you steal our car?” Andrew asked.

“Yes,” JR said. “Do not smack me for that. His question didn’t make me divulge any of our secrets.”

“Why?” Andrew asked.

“We don’t see a lot of them parked on the side of the road,” Dustin said. “Debated leaving it and letting you men go on your way, but we didn’t know what you were up to.”

“That and the car does us a lot of good,” JR said.

“I think my friends and I will need it back,” Andrew said. “That is, if you’re okay with letting us continue our mission.”

“Worry about that later,” Dustin said.

There was a lull in the conversation.

“When will my friends be awake?” Andrew asked. “We really should be on our way soon.”

“They’re up now,” JR said. “Being questioned the same as you, only you had about a two-hour head start on them.”

“If you live alone up here how did you make the tranquilizer?” Andrew asked.

“Plants,” Dustin said. “Nature is filled with wonders, if you know where to look.”

“We live off the land,” JR said.

“So a group of men living alone in the mountains?” Andrew asked. “Did you find each other after your time in the orphanage?”

JR and Dustin exchanged looks.

“Yes,” JR said. He looked at Dustin for approval.

“We planned on reporting for service but forgot about our enlistment dates. Nobody ever came out here to get us, so we stayed,” Dustin said.

“How did you steal our car and follow us?”

“That’s simple,” JR said. “A group of us stole the car, then five of us stayed behind and followed you. If those rocks hadn’t fallen you would have never known we were there.”

“What were you planning on doing?”

“Waiting until you died and then hiding your bodies,” Dustin said. “Of course we assumed you were all RAG agents then. We thought about killing you but didn’t know why that one was tied up. It made us . . . curious.”

“Never kill someone unless you have to,” JR said.

“Have you?” Andrew asked.

“Not me,” JR said. “Dustin neither.”

“But others here have?” Andrew asked.

“Not in a very long time,” Dustin said. “Stop worrying about the other people here.”

Footsteps came up to the door. Andrew could see the figures in the darkness approaching. He felt relief when an untied Carter and Zack walked into the room. Two men similar to JR and Dustin were behind them. Andrew rose from his chair and the two walked over. All three exchanged brief hugs complete with pats on the back.

“I’m not sure it was smart telling these men everything,” Zack said. He gave Andrew a raised eyebrow.

“We’re alive, aren’t we?” Andrew asked.

“Dustin, JR,” a man said. “Mikey wants to see us outside.”

Andrew’s two watchers rose and Zack and Carter took their seats.

“What is this place?” Carter asked.

“A group of men with no love for the Registry,” Andrew said.

“I knew it,” Zack said.

“Well they told me that,” Andrew said. “It was obvious since they didn’t kill us when I talked about stopping the American government.”

“No,” Zack said. “I’ve heard stories. There are pockets like this all over the country. That’s why if we can delete the master server our plan will work. There are tons of men fed up with this way of life. They will rally behind us.”

“I don’t think we need to worry about the women not joining our cause,” Carter said.

“We need to keep moving,” Andrew said. “We’re supposed to meet Mia near the capital tomorrow.”

“Let’s meet this Mikey and then get our car back,” Zack said. “We can be on the road in an hour.”

“Who’s Mikey?” Carter asked.

“I think he’s their leader,” Andrew said. “My guess is his word is the law.”

“You have part of that right,” a voice said.

Andrew turned toward the doorway. The figure standing in the firelight wore the same tight pants and boots as JR and Dustin. There was a billowy blue shirt over them and a scarf loose around the neck. Over the shoulder a salt-and-pepper braid hung. The face was hard and had a few lines. The mouth showed a beautiful, toothy grin.

“My name is Mikey,” she said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”