Without Law 9, page 24
“That’s pretty accurate,” Paige chuckled. “It was built by a French engineer, but he was actually from Canada.”
“Hold on,” Anna said. “Did you say Ticonderoga? Like the pencil?”
“Well, yeah,” Paige agreed. “But the pencils aren’t named after the fort.”
“Oh,” the redhead said with a frown.
“If I recall correctly, the fort was occupied mostly by the British,” Paige said. “Until the late 1700s when it was abandoned.”
“Is it still in good condition?” I asked.
“Well, after it was abandoned the townspeople tore it apart,” Paige chuckled. “But it was restored in the 1900s, so it should be in decent condition still. It was a fairly large tourist attraction.”
“If someone else is already there, that could be very bad,” I said.
“Oh,” Bailey said with a frown. “I guess it is a Fort… does it have a moat and stuff too?”
“It does,” Paige said with a nod. “But it’s a dry moat, and there’s no guarantee it’s still there now anyways since it’s been a tourist attraction for so long.”
“Well, shit,” Tara said.
“If some bad people have taken it over, it will be nearly impossible to eliminate the threat,” Anna added.
“We’ll have to be careful as we approach,” I said.
“We haven’t really been down that way,” Ken said. “I wish we could help more, but I really don’t know if anyone is there.”
“It’s alright,” I told the dark haired man. “I appreciate it.”
“It’s pretty late,” Karen said. “I’m going to head to bed. There’s not much room, but you all are welcome to sleep in the cabin with us.”
“That’s alright,” I said with a point at our tent. “We’ll be fine out here.”
“Yeah,” Paige agreed. “And we’ll be heading out in the morning.”
“Alright,” Catelyn said. “Well, goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” Bailey said with a smile.
The group headed up to the cabin, and I threw a few more pieces of wood on the fire. The night air was crisp and chilly, but I couldn’t focus on that, I was too busy thinking about who might be at Fort Ticonderoga.
“Do you really think somebody took over the fort?” Tara asked.
“It’s highly likely.” I nodded. “It’s where I’d be if I had to find a defensive place to live in all winter.”
“Shit,” Tara huffed. “What are we going to do if they have?”
“We’ll assess the situation and handle it like we always do,” I said.
“Do you think we should try to get there on foot?” Anna asked.
“I don’t think so,” Paige piped up. “If we go on foot, they’ll definitely be able to spot us.”
“Won’t they spot us in a boat, too?” Tara asked.
“We can hang back and check it out with our binoculars,” I said. “And if we need to get away quickly, the boat is our best bet.”
“Alright,” the platinum blonde agreed.
“Also,” I said with a soft smile. “You all did a good job showing these people how to trap.”
“You helped,” Paige said.
“Yes,” I agreed. “But you all initiated it, and you took the lead. I’m proud of you.”
“They’re nice people,” Bailey said. “They’re just trying to survive, they just didn’t know how.”
“You’re right,” I said. “They seem like nice people, and you did a good thing by helping them.”
“Thanks,” the blonde said with a blush.
“And it was a good idea to tell them to go to the library, too,” I told Paige.
“No one ever thinks of the library,” the brunette said with an exasperated wave of her arms.
“Not everyone is as smart as you,” I chuckled.
“Or as much of a nerd,” Tara snickered, and Paige stuck her tongue out at the platinum blonde.
“I’m sure you all are tired,” I said. “I’ll take the first watch.”
“Are you sure?” Anna asked. “I could do it.”
“I got it,” I said with a soft smile.
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Tara said, and she gave me a kiss on the cheek, then headed for the tent. “Night, Tav.”
“Night, Tar,” I chuckled.
“Thanks,” Bailey said with a kiss on my other cheek.
“Wake me up in a couple hours,” Anna commanded, and then she headed for the tent as well.
“I’ll take the third shift,” Paige offered with a smile.
“I’ll wake Anna up in a while,” I agreed. “Now get some rest.”
The girls all headed into the tent, and after a moment of griping and giggling, they settled down and were quiet. The fire crackled at my feet, and I stared out at the lake and the reflection of the stars once more.
I really was proud of what the girls had done for the strangers we had met that evening. Having the knowledge to help someone take care of themselves was a great gift, and I was happy that they were so willing to share it with good people.
It would be a long day tomorrow, and I could only hope that anybody we encountered would be as good as the people we had encountered that evening. But I wasn’t betting on it.
I knew from first hand experience that the more likely outcome was a bunch of assholes.
Part of me hoped that the fort was empty and abandoned, but the other part of me felt certain that it couldn’t be that easy. This trip had not yielded much in the way of people around, except for those that had taken up in the cabin, and I figured that there had to be far more out there. There was the possibility that anybody at the fort would be nice, decent human beings, but there was a greater possibility that they would be crazy assholes who didn’t care about anything or anybody but themselves. A fort would be a very desirable place to control, so whoever had it was probably strong and smart or they wouldn’t have been able to hold on to it.
After what we had been through with the hillbillies and the cannibals, I had begun to lose faith in humanity. Before all this, I thought war brought out the worst in people, but this decay of civilization had brought out a much worse evil.
I knew my team was ready for anything that came our way, but I hated putting them in danger, no matter how prepared they were. The thought of something happening to them grew a rage inside me that I didn’t even know I had until I met them.
I steadied my breath and watched the fire for a while.
It had been a few hours, but I figured the girls needed the sleep, and I wasn’t particularly tired, so I chose not to wake up Anna quite yet. Instead, I threw some more wood on the fire and took a drink of water from my bottle.
“Hey,” Anna said as she came out of the tent with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.
“Hey,” I said and I wiped water from my mouth.
“I thought you were going to wake me,” the redhead said as she took a seat next to me.
“I wasn’t feeling tired,” I said. “I figured you girls could use the extra sleep.”
“You need sleep too, you know,” she teased.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “But not as much as you all.”
“Probably more with all the crap you have to put up with,” the redhead chuckled.
“Nah,” I laughed. “You girls are great.”
Anna leaned her head on my shoulder, and I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her closer to me. It was nice to see my second in command be a bit vulnerable. She was often so hard and focused I forgot she had a soft side, though I knew I was the one who saw it most often.
“How are you doing with all of this?” I asked. “I know you still felt a bit sick today.”
“I did,” Anna sighed. “But it was better than before. I’m hoping if I focus on the task at hand like you said, then it will fade quickly.”
“I’m sure it will,” I agreed.
“Are you worried about the fort?” the redhead asked softly.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned at all,” I admitted. “But I know that we can handle ourselves.”
“Yeah, we can,” Anna said, and she looked up and smiled at me.
I smiled back, then leaned down and kissed the redhead. Her pink lips were soft under mine, and her breath was warm against my face. She was absolutely stunning.
“How are you feeling about the fort?” I asked.
“A little bit nervous,” the redhead admitted. “We haven’t exactly gone up against a fort before.”
“That’s true,” I chuckled. “But I have confidence in all of you.”
“I have confidence in everyone else,” Anna said with a small smile. “But I’m working on building mine back up.”
I realized she meant the incident with the hillbillies.
“You have to stop punishing yourself for that,” I told her. “You’ve more than made up for that one mistake.”
“I know you think that,” the redhead sighed. “But I could have gotten someone hurt, or worse, killed. It’s hard to forgive myself for that.”
“I understand,” I said.
“Really?” Anna asked with a raised brow. “You’re always so careful about everything.”
“Now,” I laughed. “I was a rookie once, too.”
“Hey!” the redhead said with a glare. “I thought I had at least made it past rookie.”
“You have,” I said and I kissed her forehead. “I just meant that we’ve all made mistakes. We just try to not make them again.”
“I feel like I let everyone down,” Anna said, and she lowered her head down. “It’s hard to get past that.”
“I think you let yourself down more than anyone,” I said with a soft smile. “And that’s okay. But you can’t punish yourself forever. You have to try to move on.”
“You’re right,” the redhead said, and she took a deep breath. “I’ve got to try.”
“Yes, you do,” I said. “I need my major in tip top condition.”
“I’ll do my best,” Anna laughed, and she laid her head against me once more.
We stared at the flames for a while, but soon I felt Anna’s head grow heavy against me with sleep, and I was left alone with only the crackle of the fire and my own thoughts to keep me company.
Chapter 15
The next morning I woke before dawn. Anna, Tara, and Bailey still slept soundly beside me, so I got up and headed out to the fire.
“Hey,” Paige greeted me as I took a seat.
“Good morning,” I told the brunette. “How was your watch?”
“Uneventful,” she said with a shrug.
“Shall we make some coffee?” I asked.
“I’ll make the coffee,” Paige said with a raised eyebrow. “You know you’re not allowed to make it.
“I know, I know,” I said with an eye roll.
“I’ll go get it,” Paige chuckled. “And something for breakfast, too.”
“Good call,” I said.
The fire still raged after a night of watch duty, and I threw a few more small branches on it to get it ready for our cooking.
Paige came back with a pot for coffee, coffee grounds, and several canned goods.
“I figure we’ll let Tara make breakfast,” the brunette said.
“Good idea,” I said. “She seems to be able to make anything taste good.”
“I know, right,” Paige laughed.
Paige got the water going for the coffee, and I took in the fresh morning air. It was a crisp spring morning, and the sky was a deep blue with a small bit of orange that just barely pierced the horizon.
“I’m excited to see the fort,” the brunette said after a while. “But also nervous of what we might find.”
“That’s a reasonable reaction to our situation,” I said with a smile.
“I always meant to go see the fort,” Paige said. “But anytime I got a break from school I just ended up studying.”
“Well, now you can see it,” I said with a grin. “Though we may have to kick some asses depending on who’s there.”
“So you think someone will be there?” the brunette asked with a raised brow.
“I definitely think it’s possible,” I agreed.
“Yeah,” Paige said. “But you said depending on who’s there, not depending on if someone is there.”
“I guess I just figure that someone has to be there,” I said with a nod. “It seems too great of a place to pass up. Hell, if I had known it was that close, I may have taken it over.”
“I like our campus,” Paige said with a frown.
“I do, too,” I reassured the brunette. “But a fort is a whole ‘nother level of protection.”
“I guess that’s true,” the brunette agreed.
As much as I loved our home and what we had on campus, I knew that a place like Fort Ticonderoga was hard to come by, and it was valuable as hell. We had had one hell of a winter with the people that came through, and now that the bridge had been blown up to keep them out we had effectively made it more difficult for ourselves to travel. A fort that was well fortified and virtually impossible to break into would be a relief for everyone, and with it being so close to the water there would be a good supply of fish as well as water to purify and drink.
While we would have to make a lot of trips to get all our supplies to the fort, if it was a better place for our people, one that could keep everyone safe, then I was more than willing to go through the extra effort to make it ours.
Not everyone would be happy about it, I knew that, but it would be worth it to keep our group safe. Not only that, but if it was in the wrong hands, then we would have to take it under our control. It was far too risky to have a place that powerful in the hands of someone I didn’t trust.
The water got to boiling, and Paige dumped in a good amount of coffee grounds.
“I figured we could share with the cabin people,” the brunette said.
“That’s very sweet of you,” I said with a smile.
“Well we always pack enough,” Paige said. “And we can always take care of ourselves if we get stranded or something.”
“Paige,” I laughed. “You don’t need to worry, I think it’s a good idea.”
“Okay,” she said with a grin.
“I’ll go wake up the other girls,” I said and I stood up.
“No need,” Anna said as she came out of the tent. “We’re all awake.”
“Well, mostly,” Bailey said, and she pointed to Tara who still sat on the tent floor glaring out of her blanket cocoon.
“Sailing took a lot out of me,” the platinum blonde sniffed.
“Oh, whatever,” Paige chuckled.
“Is that coffee I smell?” Tara asked.
“It is,” Paige agreed. “I’m making it.”
“Alright,” the platinum blonde said, and she threw off her blanket. “I’m up.”
“I swear,” I laughed. “You’ll drink anybody’s coffee as long as it’s not mine.”
“Accurate,” Tara said, and she kissed me on the cheek before she plopped down next to me. “But, you know, I’d drink anything else of yours that you want to pour in my mouth.”
“Oh, my god,” Anna groaned.
“My coffee cannot be that bad,” I said with an eye roll.
“I think it’s from you being in the military,” Paige said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, when you’re deployed you just kind of drink whatever coffee you can get, right?” the brunette asked.
“I guess that’s right,” I agreed.
“So you don’t really care what your coffee tastes like,” Anna said. “It’s just coffee to you.”
“I suppose that’s true,” I chuckled.
“And that’s why your coffee stinks,” Tara said with a grin.
“Well, yours isn’t too fantastic either,” I teased.
“I’ll agree with that,” Tara laughed. “But I’m a good cook, so I make up for it.”
“Speaking of that,” Paige said. “Would you mind cooking breakfast?”
“Sure,” the platinum blonde said. “Are we cooking for the people in the cabin, too?”
“I figured we would,” I said. “I’m sure they could use another hot meal.”
“Yeah,” Bailey agreed. “Hopefully they’ll do better now that we taught them how to trap, though.”
“I’m sure that will help a lot,” I said.
“Coffee’s ready,” Paige said, and she pulled out some styrofoam cups. “I’ll go see if the people in the cabin are awake.”
“Thanks,” I told the brunette.
I grabbed the coffee pot and poured ten small cups of the black liquid, then I handed each of the girls a cup and took a drink of my own.
“This is good,” Tara said, and she looked at Bailey. “Maybe even better than your coffee.”
“I think you’re right,” the blonde agreed.
“It’s coffee.” I rolled my eyes.
“That right there,” Tara said with a shake of her head. “That’s why we don’t drink your coffee.”
I said nothing, but I reached over and pinched the platinum blonde on the hip.
“Hey!” she squealed and turned to glare at me.
“What?” I asked with feigned innocence.
“Oh, I’m onto you, buddy,” Tara said with narrowed eyes.
“Bring it on,” I teased.
The platinum blonde stared at me for a second, then busted out laughing.
“You’re ridiculous,” she chuckled.
I went back to sipping my coffee, but I saw Paige come back down the hill alone.
“Were they not awake?” I asked.
“They are,” the brunette said as she took her seat by me. “They said they’d be down in a minute.”
“Alright,” I said.
Tara sipped her coffee for another minute and then got breakfast started for the group.
Soon the people from the cabin joined us, and I handed them their coffee.
“It’s been forever since I’ve had coffee,” Cathleen said with a wide grin.
“I used to get a caramel macchiato every single morning,” Karen said with a sigh.
“I was always a vanilla bean frappuccino girl,” Tara said.
“That’s not even coffee,” Paige chuckled.
“Yeah, I didn’t really drink coffee before the EMP,” the platinum blonde said with a shrug.
