There were lights still on in some houses when Lynn tumbled out of her tree, legs numb with disuse. She flexed her neck and arms, keeping her eyes on the town below her. There was still a guard in front of the town hall; with her naked eyes, she could make out his dim, dark shape beneath the electric light that shone over the parking lot. The houses at the west and east ends of town each had a guard on the porch. Beyond the arc of the warm glow of electricity, Lynn could see nothing. There could be guards in the dark, there could be no one.
Lynn crept east through the woods. The man who traded for the wood splitter came prepared with a truckload of goods in exchange. If the men were willing to part with one they probably had more, and a guard to watch over them as well. She’d counted eleven men in all, and didn’t need the surprise of a twelfth if she and Stebbs chose to attack.
She crossed the road to the east and fought her way through brush to the stream. The moon came out, illuminating in stark brilliance that there was no choice.
She burst through Stebbs’ door without knocking, causing him to whirl on her with a frying pan raised above his head.
“Christ child, Lynn! What are you doing?”
“They’re building a dam.”
Twenty
“Shit,” Stebbs said when they crested the ridge. “You weren’t kiddin’.”
“Nope.”
Machinery littered the meadow on the far bank of the stream, skeletal and pale in the moonlight. A dark scar marred the earth around the stream where they’d widened a reservoir area, a massive pile of stone stood nearby, menacingly solid. Stebbs took Lynn’s binoculars and squinted into them.
“Shit,” he said again. “They’ve got a decent-size reservoir dug already, and plenty of stone to stop the river anytime they want. They probably couldn’t work in this mud, so they’re waiting either for a freeze or the ground to dry out.”
“Either way, they’d have Eli and Lucy out of water in a week,” Lynn said.
“Them and anyone else downstream who counts on it for water.” Stebbs handed the binoculars back to Lynn, and surveyed the dam area. “Shit.”
“When Lucy was sick, you said you and me aren’t the kind of people who don’t like situations we can’t control. You said we need to be able to do something.”
“I remember.”
“I think it’s time we did something.”
“I know it. But what?”
She regarded him critically for a moment, biting her lip. “How’ve you been feeling?”
Stebbs shifted his weight awkwardly on his bad foot. “I’ve been better, mostly back before I was cripple.”
“Can you lay still for a while?”
“Laying still is something I’m good for.”
“You eat anything lately?”
Stebbs forehead creased in confusion. “I ate well enough tonight. Why?”
“C’mere. I want to introduce you to a tree friend of mine.”
Stebbs was true to his word, making less rustling than Lynn, and even managing to fall asleep on his perch in the tree. Lynn had given him the long, wide limb she’d used earlier to stretch out on. She was nestled comfortably against the trunk where the limbs made a V, hugging her knees against her chest. She rested her head against her canteen, allowing the gentle swaying of the branches to lull her into a decent rest, if not sleep. The taut muscles in her back and legs screamed for a break, and she took turns flexing them as the gray light of dawn appeared on the horizon. She hissed at Stebbs to wake him, and they watched as the sentry climbed the cell tower.
“He come out at dawn yesterday too?”
“Earlier.”
Stebbs made a noise in his throat and borrowed her binoculars again. “Keep them,” she said. “I’ve seen.”
Through her rifle scope she watched the men go about the same duties as they had the day before. The guard who had been on her roof reclaimed his position in front of the town hall, and Roger brought the cow out of the church to graze.
“Milk,” Stebbs muttered to himself. “Almost forgot such a thing existed. Looks like they’re keeping their stockpile in the town hall, since it’s the only place that’s guarded. The cow and the women being the exception. You got to realize that we start shooting, some of those girls could get hurt.”
“I’m willing to take the risk. Bet they are too.”
Stebbs shifted on the limb, moving his gaze to the group of men headed toward the truck. The same four looters started it up and headed out of the village with an empty bed. “Those the scavengers?”
“Yup. I imagine we hit while they’re gone?”
“I would. They leave about the same time yesterday?”
“I didn’t see them go. They might even spend the night outside the village, the farther they’ve got to travel to forage.”
“We’ll want to hit on an off day, once they’re gone and not expected back.”
Lynn followed the truck through her scope, ignoring the urge to pull the trigger. “That was my thinking.”
Stebbs watched the village in silence for an hour, finally handing the binoculars back to Lynn and propping himself on one elbow. “Well, I’d say so far you’re right on. Take out the tower sentry first, then the guard at the hall. After that, the guy with the beard and then the one in the blue coat. The guy in the green hat we wait and see.”
“What about the big guy? The one in charge?”