The Wild West: Graham's Resolution, #6

By A. R. Shaw

Graham's Resolution continues with the 6th installment, The Wild West, and this time arrows fly.

For fans of Lee Child and James Patterson, a medical thriller that hits too close to home by USA Today bestselling author A. R. Shaw.

Graham Morgan's brief respite is over when he realizes surviving a decade after a devastating pandemic continues. But now it's not his own life threatened; it's the next generation's existence he has to protect from an enemy that just won't quit.

With the aid of a peaceful society, the script flips, but will it be enough to save them all from a relentless enemy?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Apocalyptic Ventures, LLC
• Release date: Dec 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393049449

A. R. Shaw

USA Today bestselling author, A. R. Shaw, served in the United States Air Force Reserves as a Communications Radio Operator. She began publishing her works in the fall of 2013 with her debut novel, The China Pandemic. With over 15 titles to her name, she continues the journey from her home in the Pacific Northwest alongside her loyal tabby cats, Henry and Hazel and a house full of books.

Book preview

1

Paige

Though her voice was as raw as her hands, she’d used it to say, "My name is Paige Asher... please help me."

Life was a precarious thing. Snuff out one breath too long and your days were ruined forevermore. Her goal was to keep breathing.

Get up!

Paige knew this. Had seen that breath held too long. With her own eyes, she’d witnessed the silent pause happen too often. You went all stiff after that.

They’re coming!

Her mother was the first, but she’d left her before the collapse. That’s when her brother, Lincoln had taken her over. Or at least he’d tried to. She fought him every step of the way, though he gave it his best effort. And every single thought of him over the years broke her heart all over again, so she tried not to think about him. Not only did she miss him like hell…she hated him too, for leaving her all alone in this mess, just like all the others. Not that it was his fault. She knew he didn’t want to go. He’d had nothing to do with the cause of the pandemic. His job was to preserve and protect, after all. Her last glimpse of her brother Lincoln, she remembered picking up the abandoned child and walking away from him as he lay in the police cruiser dying of the virus. She’d set her lips thin and tight and with a cut of her eyes, she’d walked away with the orphan into the darkness with resentment in her heart.

He’d made her leave and he’d even sent Enzo with her, though she’d turned Enzo back to him at the last moment. She didn’t want to leave Lincoln all alone. She knew too clearly how that felt. Her lasting regret was the dark edge in her eye. That was something she could never take back and now, after all she’d gone through, she was alone again.

Get up, now!

Well, she wasn’t totally alone. There were always her captors. They were nothing but resilient that way. And they were coming for her now. She could hear them. Their tires screeching, their pounding footsteps slamming against the pavement. Fuckers. She didn’t have to open her eyes…she knew. They were always chasing her, no matter how many times she’d escaped.

She did her damnedest to keep that fate from Cheryl, but she’d failed there as well and here she was now, lying in the middle of a smoke-filled forest road, with raging fires coming from either side. And those jackasses are still on my ass? It was a rhetorical question she couldn’t help but ask herself. She was so tired of running.

Paige rolled to her side then and realized the palms of her hands were not only raw, but skinned and scorched, her knees bloodied, damaged just like the rest of her, and she was pretty sure her arm was broken again, but that was nothing new. She’d sustained multiple fractures, lacerations and other injuries over the past couple years. Mostly at the hands of guys wearing dresses.

But there was something about the cold sear of burns that was the worst kind of pain. That stinging came from within. It was the one kind of pain she couldn’t help but scream out from mid-center of her chest no matter how hard she tried to remain silent.

Fire…made her scream. She didn’t know that about herself before. She’d learned. It made her arms tremble like now. She opened her eyelids because those inner warnings were not going to stop and although she heard someone approaching, she couldn’t help but see the involuntary flutter of her hands before her. She marveled at how, without intent, her open palms vibrated like butterfly wings in front of her face…only a large part of the skin of one palm hung down low from her wrist. She wasn’t sure where the skin from her other hand got off to.

They’re here.

Her line of sight traveled past that horrid wonder because there was something curious about the man standing over her—something she hadn’t seen in a long time.

He was wearing pants.

2

Clarisse

H onestly, I didn’t think we’d find more, Dalton said.

More what?

Loners. You know…people needing our help. If you haven’t survived to this point…what’s to keep you going? he said.

"Dalton, can you just watch where you’re going and slow down for a second? I’m trying to put an IV into this newfound person. Clarisse continued, We were fine for a while, dammit. Thriving even." She leaned over the back of the middle seat with a new needle port in her hand. The woman named Paige had slipped into unconsciousness again and Clarisse wanted to get the needle into a vein before she woke. As it was, the spidery network within her arms kept collapsing. Dehydration didn’t play well with needles.

In a lowered tone, Dalton said, If you hadn’t noticed, sweetheart, we’re fleeing a fire and who knows what else.

Let’s not scare the children, please, Clarisse said in a singsong voice.

That’s why I said it…oh, never mind, Dalton replied.

Clarisse stole a quick glance in the rear seat of the SUV, where her two children were watching them play by play over the three sleeping infants in car seats between them. It was a tight fit, but they were managing. Addy sat at the far end of the seat on guard next to Paige’s unconscious form, keeping watch out the windows, checking in with the rest of the convoy with her radio, her hand always on the rifle by her side. Addy smiled at the exchange briefly and then went back to her job. Clarisse admired the girl’s dedication. She was good at it and Clarisse could not be prouder of her. Addy would forever be one of her own. Nothing would ever change that.

How are the babies doing back there? Clarisse asked her son, Logan.

He gave her a thumbs-up. Always a man of few words.

The new generation were all learning so fast, but she couldn’t help but shield them from the worst of this world even though they’d never known the world before.

Hold on! Dalton said.

Hey, be…careful! Clarisse said as momentum pushed her backward, needle in hand. What’s going on?

Log…on fire, Mom. Logan pointed to a cylinder flame rolling downhill toward them through the thickening smoke. As it slammed into an embankment of trees, sparks flew, igniting the surrounding dry underbrush, spreading fire with fury in an instant. Despite the fact that they were driving through it, everyone shielded themselves automatically. And then Addy raised her rifle scope to her eye, just in case, scanning uphill.

Coughing, Clarisse looked back at the children. Logan, help your sister and the babies. Get down and cover your noses and mouths as best you can. Keep the blanket over yourselves and the babies. Dalton…get us out of here, please, Clarisse said, more worried.

Addy had that look in her eyes. She was getting nervous too. Never a good sign.

On it, he said.

Still, he was grinning, she was sure of it. Despite the danger, he loved driving fast.

Then Clarisse finally hit the vein she sought, and the woman named Paige’s eyes flashed open again.

Don’t struggle.

Cheryl? Paige said and by the looks of her she was ready to claw her way out of there.

We’ve got you now. You’re safe, Clarisse said.

Paige slowly shook her head from one side to the other, eyes wild, as she swallowed, searching for words still too dry to utter, and warned, "No one’s safe! They’re after us; they’ll find us. You don’t understand."

Clarisse exchange a concerned glance with Addy. Even though the girl’s hearing was still impaired she could make out most things with the recent device she’d made for her.

Clarisse sat back, looked at her children in the backseat and back at the young woman’s tattered body. You’re wrong about that.

Paige saw the rifle in Addy’s hands and her eyes rolled back.

Clarisse knew then why she’d survived this long. Despite herself, she wasn’t naïve, and she was a fighter.

In a louder voice, Paige said, I have to find my daughter. They took us and slaughtered all the men in our camp. It’s been months. You don’t understand.

Clarisse glanced first at her little girl, Finley, long dark hair like her own and only six years old, peeking through the blanket and listening to her conversation with the stranger.

More quietly Clarisse leaned down and said, I assure you, we’ve played this game before. Tell me…what did they look like?

With a morbid chuckle Paige said, Pfft, you don’t know what you’re dealing with here. They wore black robes…they weren’t from around here. Then she lost the fight to stay conscious.

Paige... Clarisse tried to nudge her back awake. She wanted to say something to comfort her. Put her at ease. She wanted to tell her the girl Cheryl was safe, but it was too late.

3

Graham

Leaving the thick smoke behind, Graham stopped seeing the white caps of his knuckles on the steering wheel when they’d finally crossed the Columbia Gorge. At least here, they could see an enemy coming from miles away. The land was mostly barren of trees. Only massive broken windmills scattered or sprouted from the earth like some prehistoric woolly mammoth burial ground.

From the west, behind every tree or old building there was potential danger and he might lose someone else he held dear. Truthfully, his heart couldn’t take another loss. Even now, he continuously scanned the rearview mirror, keeping an eye on his loved ones even though he trusted Bang’s neat tricks as he called them. That fact that he sensed danger, or so it seemed, was a testament to his uncanny instincts. Graham gave that credit to his birth mother, Hyun-Ok.

Tehya caught his eye in the mirror and said, Can’t we stop? This is taking forever and there’re no trees here.

Can you stop wiggling around? Dad, make her stop. I can’t see, Bang said.

Graham laughed a little, finally finding peace now.

What’s so funny, Dad? Tehya said.

Some things never change. Stay in your seat, bug. I don’t want to get pulled over, Graham said.

Is that a joke? Uncle Sam would pull you over? Tehya said.

Graham pulled a hand down his face. It was a new realization. The adults talked about it sometimes. Where the older kids remembered what it was like before…this new generation…they didn’t know anything. It was like spinning webs for them of long-lost legends or fables.

When he didn’t answer right away, Bang gave it a shot. There were police that kept people in line, back in the day. If they saw you standing up in the seat like you’re doing now, they’d pull Dad over in a heartbeat and give him a ticket, he explained.

Are you serious? How did they do that? Did they crash into you?

No… He shook his head a little. They turned on lights and sirens. And that was a signal for you to pull over and stop your car.

Well, I’d just keep going.

Graham chuckled. Then you’d get an even bigger ticket and might even go to jail.

Now Tehya shook her head. That’s silly.

Yeah, so sit down. And besides that, you’re making yourself a target, Bang said.

But she didn’t sit down.

Graham knew Bang had not yet relaxed his guard once they were at a safe distance across the state. That was a good thing. Graham lifted a hand to stifle what would come next. He knew Bang would begin yelling at his little sister and Graham decided to head him off. Seatbelt, Tehya, now, he said. Let me know how Cheryl’s doing back there.

She plopped down in the seat, which made Sheriff jerk up with a jingle of his collar.

Watch it, Tehya, Bang said with a hard edge, his voice having changed in what Clarisse called the man shift. It still freaked him out hearing a deep voice come from his boy, but he’d gotten used to it over the past few years.

She ignored him but said, She’s still asleep. She’s snoring. And there’s drool all over. Sheriff’s too. Sticky back here, she said, crinkling her nose.

Graham checked the mirror and saw Tehya’s face. Then he had to stifle another laugh. Deal with it, kiddo.

Where are we going to stay when we get to Uncle Rick’s?

I’ll tell you when you buckle up, Graham said. Both of you settle down. We’ll be there soon.

The irony of the situation was something he realized he couldn’t share even with Bang. They were too young to understand the generational annoyance of Are we there yet?

McCann might get it, he thought. He was old enough to remember…maybe the twins, but not Bang, Hunter, Kade, or any of the younger ones. Graham shook his head at how time had passed and where in life they were now. Some of them had multiplied. He now had Tehya, and Dalton and Clarisse now had Finley and Logan, now six years old. And of course, even the next generation were multiplying despite the dangers. Macy and McCann had Ennis and they were expecting another one soon. Despite all the dangers humanity finds a way to continue, ready or not.

The one thing he wasn’t looking forward to continuing on without was the place he loved most in life. Losing the cabin was a real possibility now and that was the only place he still felt close to Tala. There’d been enough of starting over. He didn’t want to do it again. And though he had nothing against visiting Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, where Rick and the others lived, it just wasn’t home. But he glanced back again and knew he had to do what was right for those he loved. He couldn’t keep them in harm’s way. To do that might cost him everything.

We’re staying in the big building with the diner on the first floor until we find where we want to live. You remember the tall condo building?

Which one? There’re a lot of big buildings there, Tehya asked.

Graham nodded. Yes, there are. I mean the one that Uncle Rick and Olivia stay in. There’re a lot of homes available in there. The diner is where we ate last time. You remember now?

Across from the park? Tehya asked.

Yes, that’s the one.

Bang said, Do we have to stay there? It’s so…closed.

Yeah, I know what you mean. Lots of stairs, too. We’ll start there and see how we like it. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll look for something else.

How long do we have to stay? Until the fire’s over? Tehya asked, smooshing her forehead against the window. He knew what she was thinking. He was thinking it, too. She already missed the Skagit River and the peace and solitude of Graham’s Camp. The cabin and lazy afternoons on the porch with Sheriff snoring on his side. It wasn’t just the fire they were fleeing from, however. He knew Bang was aware but perhaps not clear on all the dangers they might face in the months ahead and if Dalton and the others were right, there was no way he could keep the children there in so few numbers to fight them alone. That would be insanity.

Before he could answer, Bang said, It’ll be good for you, Tehya. There’s a lot of other kids to meet there.

I don’t wanna meet any other kids, Tehya said, hovering her hand dramatically over the new child, Cheryl, sleeping in their midst next to her in the back seat.

You can’t be a woods-rat forever, Bang chuckled.

Don’t call me that!

Hey, no yelling, Graham said. Look ahead…taillights. We just passed the state border. We’re nearly there. Wave to the guards. Uncle Rick already knows we’re here.

Why don’t they clean up the road here and move all the extra cars and stuff, like you guys said we did after the fall? Tehya asked.

Because they decided a long ago to use the obstacles to their advantage, Bang said. This gives them a strategic advantage.

Graham nodded. Bang learned well. That made him both proud and worried at the same time.

Well, why didn’t we leave ours in the way then like they did? Tehya asked.

Which Graham smiled at because she was also thinking and judging. Both great qualities as well in this world.

Because there’s more cover back home. Forest-lined streets make their own mess that we constantly have to clean up after storms to get around. Harder to have obstacles in the way on those narrow winding roads. Here, Bang tilted his head, it’s wide open. There’s no cover. Nowhere to hide so you have to make your own cover.

Then a loud bang made them all jump.

What was that? Tehya said.

The gasoline, Dad. Sam said this batch would ride rough, Bang said.

Graham tried to reassure them both with the tone of his voice. This was the reserve formula. It’s getting harder and harder even to make the stuff. We have to be thankful we were able to get this far again. Sam said he’s got a new formula in the works.

Bang chuckled, Yeah, most likely distilled from the mash that Mark discards.

"I didn’t