The Long Road Home

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Page looked around the area in awe. The pond Mouth had sent them too, was south of the interstate and deep in the woods. The area around the ponds were open and sunny so they would be safe from the rippers here.

'Please tell me we are going to hang here for a while Sarge?' Ryan said looking around. 'This place is amazing.'

'We are.' Ty assured him. 'At least until our new friends are settled in and we know they are safe here.' he frowned to Page. 'We can't stay much longer than that though. I am taking my men north to our old base and we are getting better equipped. Then we are going back to Pineview and taking out Burk and his butchers.' Page nodded.

'I wish I could join you.' She said rubbing her sore jaw where Burk had hit her. 'I owe the prick one.' Ty nodded frowning.

'I will give him your regards.' He swore. Page nodded and stood slow holding her ribs. She pulled the cot out of the cart and Jones took it from her hands.

'You rest,' Castle ordered. 'we got this.' Page chuckled amused and sat back down. The three days they were stuck in the tree, the soldiers had no food or water on them. It was Page and Kidd's supplies that fed them and ever since, they had not let her lift a finger.

Page looked to Kidd and smiled seeing him looking around the beautiful pond with fascination.

'Why don't you grab your pole and see if you can catch us diner?' She suggested. He nodded and motioned her to come. 'I can sit with you, but I don't know if I will be able to fish.' He nodded and grabbed their things. Ty pushed her chair to a spot a little ways from camp. He took Page's pole and cast it into the water before smiling to Page.

'It's been years since I last went fishing.' He said as he sat down in the grass beside her chair. Kidd sat on the other side of Page. 'I lived in Maine. We had the whole ocean to fish in.'

'Maine?' Page said surprised. 'Why did you leave? That's a beautiful state.' He nodded his agreement.

'I moved where the marines sent me.' He said with a smile. 'I may go back someday. Mouth says there is a settlement near my home town.'

'Do you have any family waiting for you?' She asked and he shook his head.

'Nope.' He replied. 'It's just me.' He looked to her. 'How about you? Mouth mentioned you were heading to New York. Why so far?'

'I have a cabin in the mountains,' She replied 'and my twin brother Mic is waiting for us.'

'How did you two end up in Montana?' Ty asked as he cocked his head. Page could not help to notice how cute it made him look. 'I heard a little of your story on the radio, but I wasn't sure what was real and what Mouth was exaggerating.' Page gave him a sad smile.

'Mouth doesn't exaggerate.' She said 'He is a little exuberant, but he sticks to the facts.' She looked out to the pond and told him everything. Page left nothing out. When she finished the three were silent. The rest of the group had joined them as she spoke.

'Shit.' Ty said stunned. 'Mouth said you have been on the road from the start. I have to admit; I didn't understand how you could travel for a whole year and just now hit Montana.' Page shrugged

'Wish I could say it's just us.' She admitted 'But every stop we make, we hear stories of others who had hit just as much shit as us. One poor guy lost his wife and four children in a raider ambush. At least we still have each other.' Kidd gave her a thumbs up when she smiled to him.

'Page, can I see where the ripper got you?' Theo asked frowning.

'Knock yourself out.' She replied 'It's the right one.' She watched as he removed her new hiking boot and took off the ankle brace. The scab covering the gashes looked gross, but Page knew it could be much worse.

'My.' Theo said looking a little green. He looked to her. 'How did you control the infection?' Page shook her head.

'I was out cold for most of it.' She admitted. 'One of our companions at the time was a registered nurse. She took care of it.' Kidd got her attention and signed. Page translated.

'Kidd says Carrol kept washing it out with antibiotic wash and peroxide. She had to keep it open to drain and changed the bandages every hour. He also says she fed me a lot of pills.' She looked to Theo 'The pills I remember. Penicillin and oxycontin.' Theo nodded frowning.

'We lost a lot of good people to ripper taint.' He told her. 'I know now what we did wrong. We closed the wounds after initially cleaning them out.'

'The rippers are filthy.' Page said frowning 'I guess Carrol told Mouth how to treat a ripper wound.' Theo nodded

'We only just learned of Mouth and his broadcast, when we freed you.' Ty explained before looking to his squad. 'Taking into account what we have heard on the radio this last week and Page's story, I don't think our trip north is going to be as fast and easy as we thought.' they nodded and Kidd bounced to his feet and ran to Page's cart. He returned with Page's rulebook and handed it to Ty.

'Good thinking tiger.' Page said smiling. 'Ty that is a list of rules we live by. I add new ones as I go, but what is listed there has saved our lives more than once.' Ty nodded frowning.

'You should add do not always trust people in official uniforms.' He said tugging on his collar. 'There were a couple of squads back there that supported Burk. My people had to bust a couple of heads of a few of them who we found torturing some of the rippers.' He frowned. 'I don't like rippers, and will kill one without pause, but I do not condone torture.' She nodded her agreement. Ty's pole gave a hard tug and he grabbed it and reeled in a decent sized whitefish. His team slapped his back in congratulations until Kidd's pole jerked.

Between the two, they had bass, whitefish, and sunfish for dinner that night. Ty had his squad set up their camp beside the water. It was more open and they would be able to see any rippers as they cleared the trees. Page added another level of security as she and Kidd hung clusters of empty cans hanging on ropes in the trees.

'Smart.' Monroe praised watching over the two as they worked. 'How did you come up with this idea?'

'We pick up tricks like this from other travelers on the road.' Page explained. 'No everyone out here is good, but it can be worth stopping to talk to other travelers.' Monroe nodded frowning.

'Others?' she said 'Just how many people are nuts enough to be traveling out here? I would think they would want to stick to the settlements where it's safe.' Kid shook his head not looking up from his work.

'Kids right.' Page said finishing the knot on her side. 'Settlements can be just as dangerous as traveling. Mouth told me about on in PA that got attacked by raiders, then over run by rippers.' She sighed sitting back in her wheel chair. The little bit of work was causing her far more pain in her back and side then was comfortable. 'The world has become a dangerous place and I am not even sure there is a truly safe place left on earth.'

'I sure hope your wrong about that.' Monroe sighed. Page hoped so too.

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