Darkness United Read online

  comfortable in any one place was a slippery slope. Meg had big plans of taking her schooner around the world if she could. It was time to go.

  Meg grabbed her shirt and slipped it over her head before scooping up her boots. “Unfortunately, I do,” she finally answered the brunette, crossing to the bed and leaning in for a kiss. “But maybe I'll be back someday.”

  The woman snorted a laugh. “I bet you say that to all the girls,” she said but lifted her head to accept the offering.

  Their lips met, and the warmth of their mouths together was sweet, but the earlier passion was gone. Meg was already thinking of the day ahead and the feel of the shifting deck under her feet as they sailed to the next horizon. Filled with excitement at the adventures ahead, she had no trouble breaking away and walking to the door.

  “Thank you for a great night,” Meg said with a smile, and the brunette waved her off.

  “Just go and safe travels,” she said.

  Her tone was sincere, and Meg was relieved to sense there were no hard feelings. Knowing the time was right to make a clean getaway, she slipped out. Hopping down the hallway while she put on one boot and then the other, she was thankful to not meet anyone before she made it out the front door. Breaking into a jog, Meg laughed. It really had been a night of great sex. The brunette was just the right amount of submissive, yet feisty too. Maybe someday, I will look her up again, she thought as she neared the shore and her beautiful seventy-foot schooner, the Wind Dancer, came into view. It was not until Meg was almost to the gangway that she realized she did not even know the brunette’s name.

  LOOKING AT THE PILE of her handwritten notes sitting on the edge of her desk, Grace groaned. The work was both depressing and tedious. And she had been avoiding it all morning. Typing up refugee intake forms on the old relic of a typewriter was one of her least favorite things. It would be easy to delegate the task, of course. After all, she was a major, and if she wanted to force the issue, there were enlisted men and women she could request for her own use.

  It would mean pulling someone from another more critical assignment though, which was not her style. Not to mention I would probably end up with a private from infantry, she thought. Listening to someone hunt-and-peck all day would drive her nuts. As she resigned herself to the job and reached for the first document, a knock on the frame of her tent was a welcome reprieve. “Enter,” she said, and an Army specialist slipped in through the flap. She came to attention and saluted.

  “At ease,” Grace said as she returned the gesture. “What is it?” The specialist snapped to parade rest and stared at a spot just over Grace's shoulder. Raising her eyebrows at the soldier's formality, she felt a sense of unease. Do they somehow know how much I hate what is happening here?

  she thought. As much as she guarded her feelings, there was always the possibility her poker face slipped a little.

  Especially when she was dealing with the refugee children.

  “General Ramsey requests your presence, ma'am,” the specialist said. Then, Grace really did worry. Seeing Ramsey rarely meant good news.

  “I'll report immediately,” she answered. “You are dismissed.” The specialist snapped back to attention and saluted. Grace stood this time and returned it before gathering up her headgear to follow the specialist into the rain.

  Luckily, the general's office and command center were nearby. She ducked in, returned the salutes of the soldiers in the outer office, and then waited to be called in. After a

  stressful twenty minutes, the general sent for her. This time it was Grace's turn to salute first, but the general waved it off. “Sit down, Major,” he said, tapping a pile of typed pages on his desk. “I've finally been reading your reports. There are some trends which concern me.”

  “Yes, sir,” Grace replied still not sure of the general's intention.

  The man leaned forward in his leather chair. “By the way, these are excellent work,” he said. “You've done a good job handling all of this business.”

  Appreciating the compliment, Grace relaxed a little.

  “Thank you, sir,” she said. “But you have questions?”

  General Ramsey nodded. “Portland, Oregon, and the surrounding areas,” he said. “People coming in are reporting they evacuated from there. A lot of civil unrest and no food.” Grace had to agree. Whatever was happening in the once beautiful city was definitely not good. Still, she waited for the general to continue. “I think we need to relocate any additional survivors to Aberdeen,” he stated. “In fact, I want to start taking a proactive approach from here on out. I'll give you two days to hand over your other duties, but afterward, I'm assigning you the task of organizing a reconnaissance team. Objective, assess all cities and towns within a seventy-five-mile radius. Commandeer any supplies and prepare to relocate survivors to Aberdeen.”

  Grace struggled to keep her face passive. In her opinion, the general's new plan was a mistake. Aberdeen was already straining all its available resources. Adding so many more people, especially if it was possibly against their will, would be a disaster. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do about it. Orders were orders.

  “Yes, sir,” was all she said.

  The general stood up from his desk and walked to a map of the Pacific Northwest on the wall. After motioning her over, he studied it for a moment. Grace looked at the dots representing small towns in all directions. She was not

  familiar with them having only been stationed in the area two months before the solar event. Finally, General Ramsey tapped one of the dots. “I think you should lead a unit to here post haste,” he said. “I want us to get control of this access point.”

  Grace noted the symbol for a bridge while leaning closer to read the name of the town beside it. Just one word.

  Astoria.

  CHAPTER 3

  hief Taylor Barnes wheeled her bicycle into the holding Cyard behind the town's police station just as the rain started again. The weather was a mixture of sunny moments and hard downpours all day, and she was glad to miss the latest spell of wet. Parking the bike in the rack with the dozen other bikes used for patrols, she ducked into the building slipping out of her raincoat. As she walked through the station, she heard the cheerful voice of one of her favorite deputies.

  “Here we go,” Deputy Aims said as he escorted his two prisoners into the lobby. Taylor arrived just in time to see the pair of men shuffle along in front of Aims with shackles around their ankles and wrists. She instinctively scanned the two prisoner's eyes. One still held anger, while the other gave her nothing but a blank stare. Taylor held back a sigh as she considered them both. Three months in and they still haven’t received the memo, Taylor thought. There’s law in this town now. Their gang leader, Jeff Eider, is long gone and not coming back.

  She looked at Aims. “How’d it go today?” she asked and Aims shrugged. He was a good guy and Taylor liked him a lot. Ex-military and had a wife with two kids. Best of all in Taylor’s opinion was the fact he was fine with guard duty.

  Since the town agreed to sentence the two men who attacked Jackie, Anna, and Laura to eighteen months hard labor down at the docks, Aims was the one who watched them.

  He grinned. “Today’s fun was cleaning fish. Guts everywhere,” he answered. “Had to throw buckets of water

  on these two before I was willing to let them come back with me. Figured we don’t want them to smell up the cells.”

  Taylor nodded. “Excellent thinking,” she agreed and with a last glance at the two men, she headed for the exit. “Keep up the outstanding work, deputies. I’ll be at the house if anything comes up.” Aims and the desk sergeant both gave little salutes. They were meant in good fun. Taylor chuckled and then was outside on the sidewalk headed back to the house she shared with Jackie. Or maybe I can catch her still at the office and walk her home, she thought with a smile.

  After a quick check of her watch, she turned in a different direction to head downtown.

  As she walked, her mind wa
ndered back to when she caught the two outlaws now under guard. There should have been a third man, a giant by description, but he was lost into the wind. The two men honestly did not seem to know where he was or what direction he fled. At best, they claimed the giant had run with their leader Jeff Eider, but Taylor knew that was not true. Jeff Eider was dead and buried. A smile played at the corners of Taylor’s mouth as she considered how the evil man died. Even though as an officer of the law she should not take pleasure in vigilante justice, Taylor could not help but feel a hint of pride knowing Jackie saved the day. With the gun I gave her, no less, she thought and finally grinned as she went through the front doors of city hall.

  SITTING IN HER OFFICE in the undamaged half of Astoria's city hall, Jackie Scott listened patiently to Mrs. Weeks. She was a regular visitor, and Jackie always enjoyed her company. Ever since Jackie became Astoria's city manager, second only to the mayor Greg Orion in terms of the town's governing authority, she spent a lot of time listening to

  residents. It was a part of her new job which she loved.

  Often people would come to her with fresh ideas for making the city better, stronger, or more productive. Of course, other times her drop-in visitors were full of nothing but problems. In fact, one of her other regulars was convinced a zombie apocalypse was imminent, but otherwise, the issues were often small and quickly resolved. Especially since she had an in with the chief of police. Thankfully, Mrs. Weeks was from the first category, and today she presented an especially intriguing idea. “A giant Christmas tree,” Mrs.

  Weeks said. “In the center of town.”

  Jackie nodded, liking the idea, but seeing some challenges too. There would be no way to light the tree, of course. Still, with bows of ribbon and other decorations, it could be very pretty, she thought and gave Mrs. Weeks a warm smile. “I like it,” she said. “But it will require a lot of coordination. Are you interested in putting a formal plan together?”

  Mrs. Weeks clapped her hands with excitement. “I am. I would love that,” she answered just as Jackie knew she would.

  With a nod, Jackie stood up from her chair and came around the desk to stand beside Mrs. Weeks.

  “Then I am officially assigning it to you,” Jackie said.

  “Let’s meet again in a few days and you can present some details. Does that sound okay?”

  Mrs. Weeks got to her feet. “More than okay,” she beamed as she turned to be on her way.

  “Thank you so much for stopping by, Mrs. Weeks,” Jackie said as she escorted her toward the door to the office. “I think a Christmas tree will be a great way to show Astoria's warm and caring spirit.”

  Mrs. Weeks nodded. “Oh, so do I,” she said and then stopped to grab Jackie's hand. “Thank you so much for always being willing to listen to me. We are so lucky to have you.”

  Jackie squeezed the woman’s hand. “I’m the lucky one,”

  she said and then watched the woman bustle away.

  After a beat, Jackie turned to the row of chairs in the hall where people who wanted to meet with her waited. To her pleasant surprise, Taylor was the only one waiting.

  “Have a nice evening, Mrs. Weeks,” Taylor said as the woman passed her.

  “Same to you, Chief Barnes,” she said as she scooted out the door.

  Taylor returned her gaze to Jackie. “And hi there to you.”

  The woman’s voice was low and sexy, so much Jackie felt a tingle at the tone.

  “Hi there to you too,” Jackie said with a sultry smile.

  “Need counsel, Chief?”

  Taylor chuckled and walked to her. Unable to help herself, Jackie ran her eyes down the woman’s muscular, broad-shouldered body. So powerful, and yet she can be so tender, Jackie thought as she lifted her gaze back to the woman's face. There was nothing but love in Taylor's eyes, and Jackie felt her heart skip a beat. And I love this woman in return.

  “May I walk you home?” Taylor asked as she took Jackie’s hands in hers. Jackie leaned in for a quick kiss. It was meant to be tender but held a little more heat. Taylor could never seem to get enough of her and knowing it thrilled Jackie to her core.

  “Yes, you certainly may,” she bantered and turned back toward her office. “Let me grab my things and lock up.”

  AS DINNER TIME RAPIDLY approached and the daylight faded, Sam Quinn tried to keep her mind from wandering.

  Standing at one corner of the cabin she was helping her friend Will build, an idea percolating in her brain kept popping up. Forcing herself to refocus, she held a log steady

  while the young man hammered long nails in to keep the beam in place. Because they could only work on it for about an hour every evening after chores at the farm were finished, the job was only halfway done. Still, she was impressed with how well it was coming along. Although there was enough room in the house for everyone when Andres and his family found a loft in town, Sam understood when Will came to her a couple weeks before asking for help building a log cabin. There was plenty of timber around, and Will drew up a simple blueprint. Understanding how her friend and his wife, Callie, would want privacy and space to call their own, she agreed to help.

  Will and Callie were a good pair, and Sam knew the farm was lucky to have them there. Ironically, their arrival occurred under strange circumstances. In fact, Will and Callie had been trespassing in a sense. When Taylor and Lexi saw the suspicious flashes of light in the woods and went hunting for them, they learned the two were lost and stranded far from their home in Sacramento. It was a no-brainer to invite them to stay. The fact Will turned out to be a heck of a farmer was a huge bonus.

  As Will drove the last of the long nails, Sam looked over the fields surrounding the farmhouse. Potato plants went on for acres. People were just finishing up working the rows, and Sam recognized them all as townsfolk who put in time with the plants in exchange for food. It was only one of many such arrangements around Astoria. The community really came together over the last few months, and even though there was still no electrical power, people were thriving.

  Finished with his task, Will looked over. “That should hold,” he said, glancing at the darkening sky. “I think we should call it quits for now though.”

  Sam nodded stretching her shoulders. “I agree. I think I’ll go check the barn one more time though before I head up,”

  she said.

  “Sounds good,” Will replied. “Thanks again for the help.”

  “Happy to do it,” Sam replied over her shoulder as she headed toward the barn. Having been a veterinarian student down in Corvallis before the worldwide blackout, Sam’s primary responsibility was caring for the farm’s animals. The farm expanded into raising livestock, particularly goats. In fact, a much welcome litter of kids was born three days ago and they proved to be quite the source of entertainment.

  With no television, movies, or computers, everyone was looking for something fun to watch. Why not baby goats?

  she thought as she stepped into the barn and turned on the lantern just inside the door.

  While she checked on everything, her mind again wandered back to the idea she thought about for over a week. Sam wanted to go on a scouting expedition to check out what was happening in the nearby towns to the southeast. Particularly in the direction of Portland. The trip would not only be fun and exciting but could open up possible lines of trade. There was one big snag though.

  Laura Kennedy. Sam loved her with all that she was and at times thought it might be time to ask Laura to be her wife.

  The idea of trading for an engagement ring while out scouting crossed her mind even. But it was this bond between them which presented the problem. Laura did not fare well when Sam was doing anything the woman perceived as dangerous. Sam riding away on her faithful horse, Lester, would definitely not go over well with her.

  Sam sighed and stepped up to Lester’s stall. The handsome animal came to the gate and brushed his nose against Sam's shoulder. Her heart filled with affection, Sam rubbed the horse's neck. “Wh
at am I going to do?” she asked her longtime friend.

  “Do about what?” she heard Lexi ask and turned to see her coming in the barn with a shovel in her hands. She rested the tool in the designated spot on the wall and walked to stand beside Sam and Lester.

  Sam smiled at Lexi and realized she was exactly the person to talk to about this. She had a deep respect for the level-headed woman. Taking in a breath and letting it out slowly, Sam looked Lexi in the eye. “I want to go on a scout,” she said and watched Lexi's face for a reaction.

  After a long pause, Lexi nodded. “I can see the merits,”

  she answered. “And I agree you're the right person to go.”

  At the words, Sam's heart soared. This was the kind of confirmation she needed, but then she saw Lexi's brow furrow. “But it's not me you need to talk to about this.” The tight feeling of anxiety immediately returned to Sam's stomach.

  “Laura?” Sam asked. Lexi's face showed she knew precisely how Sam was feeling. It was a heck of a dilemma, and Sam guessed it was not unlike what Lexi felt when she and Anna spent a few days apart while Anna was staying in town to be closer to the hospital. Everyone was able to tell how hard it was on them both. And now I want to put Laura through something similar? But for longer? she thought.

  “So, what are you going to do?” Lexi asked.

  Sam kicked the dirt with her boot.

  “I was hoping you could give me some advice,” she said.

  Lexi chuckled.

  “Oh no,” she said. “You need to listen to your heart on this one. Only you can decide.”

  Sam nodded. “I was afraid you would say that,” she said.

  “It's an impossible choice.” Sam knew no matter what she decided, one of them was going to be unhappy.

  CHAPTER 4

  nable to sleep, Grace walked the shoreline along the Ubay bordering one side of Camp Aberdeen. The weather was surprisingly mild for the moment, but a bank of clouds was visible on the distant horizon. Pausing, she watched the rising sun turn the sky a deep red along the approaching front. Grace knew it was not a good sign. Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning, she thought and suddenly was reminded of her mother. She had taught Grace the rhyme. The last time Grace saw her or any of her family was months ago in her parent's home in San Francisco. Grace just returned from a tour in the middle east, and everyone gathered for a party to welcome her back. It seemed so long ago.