The cabin’s front door glinted gunmetal gray and appeared heavy and thick. It weakened the rustic nature of the cabin, though its windows destroyed it. The “windows” were more like firing ports. Scattered on each of the two walls, he could see three or four small circles of glass, at various heights. He noted that each wall had one that was barely a foot off the ground, so someone could fire out from the prone position. As he completed his survey of the cabin, Cooper noted the metal roof had a skylight cut in. A ground-mounted solar array lodged where it had ample access to the south sky.
His eyes drifted across the clearing. Almost an acre of ground was prepared as a gardening area. The ground lay fallow. Next to that were several neat rows of fruit trees. Given the elevation and knowing Dranko’s no nonsense approach, Cooper guessed they were hardy apples. He spotted a cluster of white beehives set at the edge of the clearing. Finally, a derelict silver bullet-shaped Airstream trailer was grounded opposite the wooden cabin. Sunlight sparkled off its distinctive metal shell.
Dranko was already out of his vehicle, rifle in hand and moving adroitly toward the cabin. Cooper felt remiss, his mind having drifted as he had taken the scene in. Hastily, he grabbed his rifle and raced to catch up to Dranko and take up the supporting position. He covered Dranko as he approached the front door. Dranko checked it and found it locked. He motioned Cooper forward. Within seconds, Cooper joined him at the door. Dranko fished out his key and prepared to unlock the door. Cooper made ready to clear the cabin as soon as the door was opened.
“Don’t shoot me! Don’t shoot,” a muffled voice rang out from behind the door. Dranko’s eyes flashed and he dropped his keys in shock. His mouth fell open. His jaw moved, but no words came out.
“Unlock the door!” Cooper shouted.
“Promise you won’t shoot, first,” the voice on the other side pleaded.
“Sure, I won’t shoot you.” Silence ensued. Then, Cooper heard the metallic snicks as multiple locks were disengaged. Cautiously, the door inched open.
Dranko’s face grew crimson, veins bulging on his forehead. He recovered and slammed the door open. Cooper followed quickly enough to see a man pushed backward by the door and falling in a heap on Dranko’s cabin floor. He was a skinny, young man. Pimples still dotted his face, which he was frantically shielding with waving arms.
“Don’t hurt me, Mister. You know me! You know me!”
Dranko and Cooper exchanged looks of surprise.
“Get up, then. Let me see you!” Dranko’s face was a contortion of rage, curiosity, and impatience.
Clumsily, the man gathered himself to his feet. He wore blue jeans and a white Budweiser t-shirt. Tan work boots adorned his feet. Disheveled blond hair fell to his shoulders. His facial muscles were tight, in a bewildered and frightened grimace.
“You remember me,” he nervously croaked. “I can’t remember your name. Mr. Dinko or something like that. But, I helped you install that solar unit a few summers ago.”
Dranko’s face fell and his body deflated like a fast-leaking balloon. “It’s Dranko. Yeah, I remember you. Tim or Tom, right?” He dropped his rifle onto a nearby couch.
“That’s right, Tim,” the man said.
Dranko began pacing the room, agitated hands ran through his hair. In a few moments, he was animated again, “Are you kidding me! I can’t believe it!”
“What?” Tim asked.
Dranko drew up in front of Tim, looking him in the eye. “I only had one person ever help me build up this place. I did everything right to keep a low profile here. And, the one person that knew about my hideout is already here when I make it!” He threw up his hands in exasperation and paced a tight circle once again. A scant smile crept onto Cooper’s face. Dranko spotted it and leapt upon him for it.
He wagged a finger in front of Cooper’s nose, “You see! You call me a cynic! What are the odds? I even hired this kid from two towns over so he wouldn’t be blabbing to locals.”
Cooper fought the laughter bellowing up from inside, but lost. His chortling made Dranko grow apoplectic. He grew a deeper shade of red, “Sure, laugh at me! This is the story of my life! If it can go wrong, it will. It should be called Dranko’s Law and not Murphy’s.” He ranted as he strutted about the room, arms flapping in exaggerated self-pity.
Tim remained stoic in the middle of the room. He looked happy to be ignored for a moment. His bulging eyes tracked Dranko around the room as best he could, while remaining still.
Dranko continued grumbling, but the ferocity began fading.
“Why don’t we find out what damage has been done?” Cooper asked. Dranko stopped in his tracks, thought for a moment, and nodded his head once. Then, he returned to where Tim was standing.
“When did you get here?”
“A week ago,” Tim said, nervously.
“Anyone else with you?”
“No, sir. My girlfriend died early from the Plague.”
“You bring your own food or did you eat mine?”
Tim’s eyes grew wider, “Both. I didn’t have much at my place when all this started. But, I’ll pay you back, I swear!”
“With what,” Dranko returned, his voice flat.
“I’ll work for you. Whatever you need!”
Dranko squinted, “We’ll see about that. You mess with my guns?”
Tim’s eyes darted back and forth, “I tried. I was scared with everything that’s happened. I didn’t have one and was scared up here by myself. But, I couldn’t open your lock.”
“Did you try to break it?”
Tim shook his head frantically, “No, sir! I didn’t break anything here. I figured you’d show up eventually and I wouldn’t want to, anyway.”
Dranko cocked his head, suddenly thinking of something, “How’d you get in here, anyway?”
“That took me two days. Your locks were impossible to pick. I searched all over this place and I finally found your extra key after two days. Putting it under the beehives was pretty clever.”
“You slept outside those two days?”
Tim grew sheepish, “No. I did jimmy open one of the windows on the Airstream.”
Dranko glared at him, “So, you did break something then.”
“Not really, the lock wasn’t fully engaged. So, I got it open without breaking it.”
Dranko looked chagrined, “I see.”
“Look around. I kept your place clean and in order.”
“I bet that’s true. I didn’t see any trash outside,” Cooper intervened.
“How’d you get here?”
“I drove into Estacada, but ran out of gas and couldn’t lay my hands on anymore gas for neither love nor money. So, I left my car and walked up here.”
“Alright, we need to discuss what to do with you,” Dranko said, and motioned Tim to move outside.
They followed him.
“Go stand over in the garden area so we can talk.” The others in their group were milling about the vehicles. Cooper and Dranko walked over to join them. “Don’t do anything stupid,” Cooper called over his shoulder to Tim. Tim nodded fervently.
“Who’s that?” Angela asked.
“Proof that optimism is stupid,” Dranko groaned.
The corner of Cooper’s mouth downturned, “He’s someone who worked on installing the solar unit, so he knew about this place and showed up.”
“He’s the only person I ever had up here to work on anything! So, naturally and of course, he shows up!”