A Dead Man's Tale

Chapter 11 (Howard)

The past two weeks have gone by so quickly, Gabriel has been keeping everybody busy. I guess it's a way to get their minds off of the looming threat of the biker bandits in the area. I've been passed around from one job to another helping out where I can. Some days I help the group's mechanics maintain the vehicles or help on the kitchen to inventory supplies. My favorite duty is being on the lookout up on top of the quarry's water tower. It gives me time to think and sometimes write, like now.

Other than my average duties around camp I also watch out for Cortez, he's been restricted from his hunting expeditions for now. He's calmed down considerably since bringing home his prisoner. Gabriel has had the biker restrained in one of the buildings under guard, he doesn't want a mob forming, to look for blood, I guess.

Gabriel has accepted me as a part of his 'inner circle', which surprises me. I would have thought that his friends from his military and law enforcement days would form a close secretive group. I've shared some thoughts on the matter concerning the biker gang. The prisoner should be questioned, not tortured for information, then released somewhere far enough not to return to his people to report our location.

Another point was brought up.

The bikers have already attacked the one group in the area (their first victims) and knew very well that others exist. So why have they been so quiet. Several have a feeling that the bikers won't rush out of nowhere, the element of surprise is gone now that everyone-or at least our band at the quarry- has been on guard. Radio messages passed with the other groups have reported very little activity. In fact, one even went as far as to say that they had moved on after taking the supplies from their initial victims. I am not convinced and neither is Gabriel.

Despite the deliberations Gabriel wants to plan an escape plan in the event of an attack. It can't hurt to be prepared.

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Cortez has returned to a figment of his usual self. He's still a little shaky and has a strange look in his eyes but he isn't asking to go out hunting. Maybe the gravity of the situation and his actions has become apparent to him. The prisoner is still somewhere in the quarry, Gabriel has him hidden and I think he might be having him moved during the night to different rooms. Our numbers are so small we only take up a small portion of the facility so there are a lot of rooms he could be hiding in.

With so much time passing since Cortez brought back his prisoner and there has been no sign from the bandits coming anywhere near the camp or even along the highway, people are beginning to relax again. The average agenda of the days are coming back and everyone is going about their own routines. Recently, I've been more of a help erecting barriers in the road and repairing some of the buildings in the quarry. My engineering background is finally being usefully.

                                                                                                     ***

Cortez got to the prisoner and strangled him! He read my journal while I was out on watch and went searching through the buildings. Apparently, the one guard left to use the bathroom and Cortez snuck in to finish what he started. Gabriel is keeping it quiet from the others. During the brief sessions of questioning that he was put through the bandit made it clear the gang would search for a while but would move on soon. Now he's buried in a narrow opening in the quarry's shaft that we now covered over.

Cortez is a lot calmer, I guess killing the bandit has turned to a form of closure for him. In some way I understand. If my family was killed by these bandits I might be the same way. All I have now is the people that call the quarry home, this is what I'm going to protect. People are preparing for something. The quarry has been going under changes. Defenses have been put up that would hamper vehicles, trenches are being dug and Gabriel is offering instructions to improve people's shooting. I've sat in to learn more about guns.