Page 1 of Stranger Gifts

CHAPTER ONE

Something was different for them. Something had changed. They’d been safely hidden in the mountains and valleys of Wyoming for almost twenty years now and yet they no longer felt safe.

Encroachers on the property were happening more frequently in spite of their attempts to keep them away. Their gifts were extraordinary but those same gifts had forced them to remain reclusive, not keeping up with the outside world in many circumstances. They would make short trips into the local small town now and then, occasionally venturing further out if they needed to but beyond that, they didn’t move from their mountain.

“They’re still coming, Kane. What do we do?” asked Garrett. “I’ve tried creating the wind tunnels and nothing is working.”

“We can’t stay,” he said shaking his head, looking at everyone. “I’m sorry. I know I promised that this would be our forever but they’re coming for us and we have to move. There are too many of them for us to risk any more lives.

“Take what you can carry and we’re going to walk out of here. We know the trails, the mountains better than anyone. We have to leave. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, Kane. We knew this was coming,” said Hawke. In the distance they could see the dust being kicked up by the convoy of trucks. Kane turned to his friends.

“Garrett once we’re a safe distance away, destroy the homes. Scatter them as far as the winds will carry them.” Garrett nodded, knowing there was no other option. “Pack what you can carry. No more, no less.”

As the small group scrambled, they could hear Gable in their heads.

“You have to run now,”he said breathlessly.“I’ve tried to hold them off with the animals but they have a g-grizzly. A trained grizzly that’s already killed one of the wolves.”

“Gable!”yelled his brother Griffin.

“You have to go. I’ll hold them off as long as I can. I love you guys. I love you all.”

They knew they had no choice. If Gable couldn’t get the bear to listen to him, it had been trained or altered in some way.

An hour later, standing on the ridge of the mountain, they looked back at their precious community, now being swirled by hurricane forces winds. The debris was scattered hundreds of miles away, leaving nothing except storm damaged land. There were no signs of life.

Days of walking backroads, trails, and off-grid maps had them all exhausted and hungry. Stopping for the night, they sent a few of the men to gather food with what cash they carried with them.

“Kane, it’s going to be alright. You’ve done everything you possibly could,” said his wife, Aislinn. He shook his head.

“We’ve lost Ben and Mary, Yuri and Melanie, now we’ve lost Gable. How many more have to die?”

“Babe you’re doing all you can,” she said hugging him.

“It’s not enough Aislinn. I thought I could do it alone. I thought I could protect everyone and ensure our safety but I don’t think I can any longer. The world has changed and we didn’t keep up with it.”

“We couldn’t keep up with it, Kane. You did what you believed was the right thing to do.”

“I may know of someone we can go to for help. It’s a risk. He may not even remember me but I’m hoping that he’ll trust a brother.”

“Ask the others how they feel. It’s always been a group decision and that doesn’t change now,” she said kissing him sweetly. “Speak to them in the morning, honey. Let’s eat and get some rest.”

Waking in the campground in southern Arkansas, the rag-tag group of people were in surprisingly good spirits considering what they’d been through in the last few months. Several people were moving around, preparing meals, others were shaking out the sleeping bags.

Leaving their homes was the hardest thing they’d ever had to do. They’d been settled, each with their own home, and living a life away from prying eyes and onlookers. When they saw the groups of people moving through the valley toward them, they knew they had to run. There was no time to take anything personal or to pack cars or vans with items. Besides, cars and vans could be easily identified and chased.

Thank goodness they were always prepared. Tents, sleeping bags, utility bins filled with supplies and food, it was ready on make-shift sleds to haul on the trails. As they escaped on the route that had been planned for years, they took one last look back at the only place that had ever been home for them. And watched it burn before moving eastward. That was seventeen days ago.

“Good morning,” said their leader. “Everyone okay?”

“All good,” nodded several of them. “Any word?”

“No. A few strange vibes, but nothing concrete that we can use. I think we need to try and find my old friends.”

“They’re not going to want to take all of us in,” said the other man.

“I don’t think you understand. It’s kind of what they do. If we’re in trouble, they’ll help us. We probably should have gone to them in the first place. We can’t keep running from campground to campground. Sooner or later, someone is going to find us, and we’re going to be out of luck.

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