“I don’t think we should go in,” Annaliese cautioned.
“That last Gordon sign pointed to this place right here. I have to check it out. Slide over and get behind the wheel,” Sebastian said as he stepped out of the truck.
Dead bodies were scattered everywhere.
Sebastian walked by each one to make sure they weren’t Gordon or anyone else he knew.
He moved a few out of the way so Annaliese could pull in without running over the corpses.
Once in the neighborhood Sebastian jumped back in. “Let’s drive around.”
The neighborhood seemed empty until they saw a small group of people huddled around a Humvee.
“Over there, that looks promising,” he said as she pulled up to the house.
Everyone around the Humvee stared at the truck as it pulled in. Gordon didn’t know who it was and was on alert. They didn’t think Truman’s group would be back, but they could never be sure. He kept his hand on his gun, just in case.
Sebastian looked at Annaliese and said, “Stay here and keep the truck running.”
Gordon’s grip on his pistol tightened as he saw the passenger door open. Wilbur too had her gun at the ready.
When the door opened, Gordon couldn’t believe his eyes. There in front of him was his brother, Sebastian.
“Sebastian?!” Gordon asked, elated. His eyes lit up.
Sebastian squinted and noticed his brother. “Gordon!”
“What the hell!” Gordon exclaimed.
Cruz looked astonished at what seemed like an endless parade of reunions.
Sebastian ran up and hugged his brother.
“What are you doing here?” Gordon asked.
“I was heading to McCall when I saw the signs.”
“Same here! I saw the signs with my name on it.”
“What do you mean?” Sebastian asked, confused by Gordon last comment.
“I only arrived here a little before you did.”
“I don’t understand.” Sebastian looked at him oddly.
“It’s a long story; we’ll have plenty of time to share.”
Annaliese opened her door and exited.
“Who’s this?” Gordon asked.
Annaliese walked up to Gordon, and just before she hugged him, Sebastian said, “Gordon, this is Annaliese, my wife. Annaliese, my brother, Gordon.”
“Wife?”
“You’re not the only one with long stories,” Sebastian joked.
“Uncle Sebastian!” Haley squealed when she saw him from the house. She ran from the house and right into his arms.
Sebastian held her tight and squeezed her. He didn’t want to let her go. Holding her, he realized how much he had missed her and Hunter. “Where’s Hunter?” he asked, looking toward the house where Haley had appeared from.
Gordon looked down and couldn’t quite say it.
Haley didn’t have that problem. She said, “Hunter died.”
A grim look wiped away the joy he had. “What? What happened? Oh my God. Gordon, I’m so sorry, brother.”
Gordon didn’t answer right away. With a slight tremor in his voice he said, “Let’s talk about it later.”
“Sure thing.”
They all had so much to share.
The remainder of the daylight was spent removing the bodies of Truman’s people and preparing the corpses of those in their group. With the ground frozen, Gordon had ordered that Truman’s group be burned. Mack, Scott, and Frank’s bodies would be buried aboveground. The numerous granite rocks that littered the surrounding area would be used to cover their bodies until the spring.
Troops from Mountain Home had made it to the community less than an hour before and had taken Wilbur, Cruz, and Christopher with them. Gordon said his good-byes and Cruz reminded him that he’d pass on his message.
With the evening now all to themselves, Gordon, Samantha, Haley, Sebastian, Annaliese, and Luke gathered inside Samantha’s house for dinner and drinks.
The yellow glow of dozens of candles illuminated the stark dining room. Gordon rose from his chair at the head of the table and raised his glass of wine. “I want to give a toast.”
Everyone raised their glasses and waited for him to continue. “To those loved ones here and to those loved ones who will never sit at our table again.”
After he finished the room was silent. In each person’s mind thoughts came of those loved ones who were lost.
For Gordon, Samantha, Haley, and Sebastian, there were thoughts of Hunter.
For Annaliese, she thought of her father and her mother.
And for Luke, he thought of his parents and even of Brandon.
Gordon, still standing, looked carefully at each person sitting before him. When he came to Samantha’s face, he smiled and winked.
She returned his wink and smile but also blew a kiss.
There was much for them to discuss but now was not the time for that. Tonight they would revel in their reunion.
“I can’t believe you’re married,” Gordon remarked, taking a sip of wine.
“I know, sometimes I can’t believe it either,” Sebastian replied.
“For what it’s worth, she seems like a good woman and I think Mom and Dad would have been proud.”
“I don’t think about them all that much. That’s sad, right? Is there something wrong with me?” Sebastian asked.
“Not at all, brother, that was literally another lifetime ago. I do miss them, but I know Mom wouldn’t have wanted to live like this and Dad would have been—”
“A stress case!” Sebastian injected.
“Yeah, he would’ve been for sure,” Gordon laughed.
“So what happened?”
“With what?” Gordon asked, suspecting the direction the question would lead.
“With Hunter?”
“I fucked up, pure and simple,” Gordon answered somberly.
“I’m sure it’s more complicated than that,” Sebastian countered.
“It’s not. Like someone told me, I made a choice and that choice was the wrong one; it got Hunter and others killed.”
“I can’t say enough how sorry I am for your loss.”
Gordon just stared at the hot coals in the fire pit. Thoughts of Hunter flashed in his mind.
“So where did you go?” Sebastian asked.
“Where didn’t I go? By the way, I ran into your old unit in Oregon,” Gordon said, clearly attempting to divert the topic of the conversation.
“No shit?”
“Yeah, I was in a bit of a scrape in Oregon and guess who showed up like the Seventh Cavalry? Gunny Smith!”
“Seriously? That’s crazy!”
Gordon and Sebastian chuckled about the irony of the encounter.
“He told me what happened with you. They chalked you up as probably dead, but I just knew in my heart you couldn’t be. I refused to believe it.”
“I thought about what you did and I have to say, you’re braver than I am. I probably would have just gone along with it,” Gordon said smugly.
“That’s because you gave up on the country a long time ago,” Sebastian said.
“Well, like I’ve said a hundred times, it gave up on me. Don’t fool yourself, Sebastian. Those bastards are only taking care of themselves right now while the rest of us fight each day to survive.”
“I wouldn’t be that cynical. I think most of the people who ran this country into the ground are now gone. I talked with the vice president and he seemed like a nice guy.”
“Of course he seemed like a nice guy, he’s a politician,” Gordon countered.
“I guess there’s no convincing you that our country means more than just those politicians who run it. You used to believe that we defined our country by our beliefs and our values.”
“Well, I was an idiot to believe that and look what it got me. Almost killed.”
“You weren’t an idiot. You inspired me to do something greater than myself. Even Mom and Dad were proud.”