Page 94 of Eco-Activist's Mountain Men
"Oh? What?"
"Survive."
"Oh."
"That's your mission, Luna, and it's a vital one. Remember, it's not just for your sake. You're carrying a child, so your survival is twice as important."
Jack's final words bring the seriousness of the situation home to us all. I glance through the window to the world outside, but all I can see is the yard and the buildings, the same as they ever were. The tops of the pines and larches that stand tall against the sky behind our camp sway gently in the September breeze, and either a rook or possibly a raven is flying east to west, heading God knows where. It all looks so normal, so peaceful.
But I can't help thinking that somewhere out there, Tim Collier is on the move, drawing ever closer to us. Bringing what? Vengeance? Death? The loss of all we hold dear to us? Despite the warmth of the late September sunshine, I feel myself shudder involuntarily under my hoodie.
CHAPTER 27
Luna
Will tomorrow be my last day on Earth?
Will Tim Collier find a way to get to me and kill me sometime tomorrow, just as he has promised?
I'm only twenty-four. There's so much stuff I still want to do. I'm too young to die.
I tell myself not to be so melodramatic. I've got four brave mountain men around me—including a brooding hulk in Luke, and a former Army Ranger in Jack. Maybe Collier won't even come. Maybe—like Jack said earlier—he was just shooting his mouth off. Letting off steam. He didn't really mean it, and he was just trying to scare me.
Well, if he's trying to scare me, he's definitely succeeding.
I'm so glad Luke has been assigned to stay close to me. It's not just the safety of having him here to deal with anything bad that might happen; it's the comfort of having someone there to keep me company. Right now, I don't want to be alone.
Toby and Eric spend an hour and a half digging out the two spare cameras and setting them up for live data transfer. Finally,they call the rest of us over, and we all gather around Eric's laptop. Sure enough, the screen is divided into four equal-sized boxes. Two of the boxes are grayed out and just have the words "Camera Not Registered" written across them. The other two show reasonably clear, real-time video images.
"That's great, well done." Jack stands between them, his arms clasped across their backs, giving them a squeeze across the shoulders to indicate his satisfaction.
"We'll head off now. Sooner we go, sooner we'll be safely monitoring any potential approaches via those two tracks."
"Okay, brother. Remember, this guy's military trained. Make sure you hide the cameras well. Before you rig them, check around to make sure you're not under observation."
"You bet, bro." Eric nods his agreement, and the two of them gather up the two cameras and take the rifle and ammunition pouch that Jack offers them.
"There are twenty rounds in there. The rifle's a single-shot, bolt-action, forty-five. No scope, just the standard sight. Not exactly a military weapon. It's designed for hunting, not self-defense. I've cleaned and tested it, and it's working fine. Make sure you're comfortable with operating the bolt before you go anywhere."
"Aye, aye, Captain."
"Okay, Jack."
The two of them file outside and head towards the barn where the quad bike is stored. A few minutes later, we hear the roar of an engine starting, and then the sound of the engine slowly dying away as the boys head out into the wild.
"Okay, guys," Jack lets out a deep sigh, as if he's been holding his breath for the last few hours. "That's about all we can do. Now comes the hard part."
"The hard part?" I turn to him, not sure what he means.
"Yeah. Waiting."
"Oh," I say. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
For five minutes, we sit there, the three of us at the kitchen table. None of us is saying anything. None of us knowing what to say or how to say it.
"I wish Southpaw was here," I say. "For all his attitude, he looked after me. I see that now. I didn't appreciate him enough when I had the opportunity. No disrespect to you guys—I really appreciate your support. But I'd feel even safer if Southpaw was here too."
"He comes and goes on his own schedule," Luke replies. He could turn up in the next five minutes, or we might not see him for a couple more months. Ain't no way of telling."
