“Kyle and I are going for a walk toward where Ryan said he saw those big game animals. We hope to get something big, and quickly. If we do, we’re going to need help bringing it back to camp. While we hunt with the rifle, I want you boys to scavenge for as much food as you can find, like you did yesterday. We’ll need to dry the meat when we bring it back to camp. Some of you find tree branches you can make drying racks out of for the meat. When we have a good supply of food, we’ll take the rafts on the lake and row to the dam. I think the town is just past the dam. You should be able to get help from there.”
Robert and Kyle walked in a northerly direction away from the lake. It was not long before they came upon a herd of deer, grazing on the side of a hill. The two men decided to go around the hill and shoot the deer as they crested its peak. The deer were facing down the hillside as they grazed the slope. Robert slowly crawled to the top of the hill to peer down the other side. His stealthy movements went unnoticed by their prey. From a prone position, Robert aimed at the closest deer. He wanted a side profile shot to get both lungs. The deer turned slightly, and at just the right moment, Robert squeezed the trigger. The crack of the rifle sent all the deer running away, back toward the lake. With the binoculars, he watched the wounded deer run, then stumble and collapse to the ground about one hundred yards from where it was shot.
After they all helped drag the deer back to the campsite, the boys helped to fillet strips of meat from the deer to start the drying process. The scouts had made several drying racks and poles to hold the meat over the fire. They spent the entire day collecting nuts and drying meat, so they could be ready to leave for the dam in the morning.
The next morning the scouts were up first, right at sunrise. They cooked the fish that had been caught overnight, and processed the pile of walnuts and acorns. After everyone got their fill at breakfast, the scouts pushed off the shoreline with Robert and Kyle. Each person had a turn with the oars and they rowed continuously until late afternoon. That was when the dam came into view.
“There it is,” said Ryan, pointing at the dam. “It’s a hydroelectric power plant. See all the buildings around it.”
Robert stopped rowing and turned to look at the dam. It was big; the complex of buildings meant one thing to him, trouble. There were probably still people there and he would like to avoid them. He just wanted to get Richard and be on their way after they let the scouts out on the shore.
They landed the rafts on a gravelly section of shoreline and got out. Robert went up the hill and looked around. A road went across the top of the dam, and from this road, he could see down into the shallow valley behind the dam, with the town below. Scanning the whole area, he did not see the truck or Richard anywhere. He did see a road that would take them around the dam. That was where they would need to get the rafts to in order to continue their journey downstream. They carried the rafts up the hill to the asphalt road atop the dam. Robert pointed toward the road that would guide them to their entry point on the river as it meandered through the valley below. Walking toward this road would take them in the direction of the complex of buildings at the power generating station. With the help of the scouts, they would be able to get the rafts to the next section of the river that was their pathway to home. Now they needed to find Richard. He might have gone into the town to get help for the two sick children.
They all walked past the rear of a car that was next to a building with a large open metal garage door. As they came around the vehicle, they noticed a man bent over the motor, working on it. He saw them at the same time, and jumped backwards, startled.
“Oh, shit, you scared me,” gasped the man. He quickly took another step back when he saw Robert’s rifle.
They put the rafts down on the asphalt and sat on them to rest.
Carefully watching Robert and the rifle, the man said, “I’m an engineer here at the plant. I’ve been stuck here for weeks. I thought I might be able to get this car running again in spite of what’s happened.” He threw a greasy rag at the motor.
“We’re using the river to get back home.” Robert turned and looked in the direction of the lake. “It’s a good way to avoid people.” Realizing what he had just said to the man, he turned back toward him and said, “No offense to you.”
“None taken.”
“We found an old pickup that still worked and were headed towards the dam when we came across these guys.” Robert pointed toward the scouts. “Two of them were really sick, so our friend Richard drove them here, we hope. The rest of us used the rafts to make it here. Have you seen anybody with an old truck pass through recently? A man with two sick boys?”
The man’s expression changed. He took another step away, so that he was completely on the other side of the stalled car. Robert did not like the man’s body language. The engineer looked downward, avoiding eye contact and began to speak.
“I was out here working on this useless piece of junk. A truck pulled in, and that caught my attention. The driver saw me and immediately drove over here.” He picked up a wrench and fumbled with it as he continued to speak. “I let him know that all we have here is a first-aid kit and some old civil defense rations we’ve been living on. Some of us are trying to get power back on for the town while we’re stuck here.” He cleared his throat and became noticeably nervous. “A sheriff’s deputy has been going back and forth on horseback to check on our progress. He showed up when I was talking with your friend. The deputy recognized the truck and accused him of stealing it. He handcuffed your friend and took him to town. He found your friend’s pistol.” The man finally looked up, not knowing what kind of reaction to expect from the men. “Here’s the worst part. The deputy said he was going to hang your friend Richard. Sorry to have to tell you this.”
Robert immediately stood up and turned to Kyle, “We have to get going. We’ll explain what happened so they don’t hang Richard.”
The man spoke again, looking back at the ground as he did. “The truck belonged to the deputy’s brother. If something happened to his brother, I don’t think you’re going to get him to understand.”
Robert sat back down on the raft. He buried his face in the palms of his calloused hands. Think… think… what can I do? After several silent moments, Robert stood up. “Let’s get going. We have to hide these rafts down in the valley, and then go to town and get Richard. We’ll ask nicely, and if that doesn’t work, we do it the hard way.”
They found a secluded location by the river near a narrow road that led to town. They concealed the rafts and walked toward town with the scouts. Robert explained to Ryan they were going to find out where Richard was being held, which was probably the police station. He wanted them to stay back because he did not know what was going to happen. Ryan gave the message to his fellow scouts as they walked toward town.
The town was not that large and it was easy to find the red brick building with a police headquarters sign on the front. Directly in front of the police station was the truck Richard had been driving. Robert motioned for the scouts to wait across the street at a city park. He told them not to go near the police station until they left with Richard.
Robert buried his hands deep into his pockets and followed Kyle through the glass front doors. The entry way had a reception desk that was empty. In the reception area were two uniformed lawmen, a sheriff’s deputy and a city policeman, sharing jokes between themselves and laughing. The officers immediately got quiet at the arrival of the two men.