No Help Forthcoming

After a small breakfast Haven left the group and went to wake Seth up. Thinking he had slept in after the long night before, she quietly entered the room he was sharing with Nathan only to find it empty. Puzzled by this, she popped her head out the door and looked down the hall to see if he might be in the bathroom, but the door was standing open. She walked down the hall checking the three other rooms, but Seth wasn't in any of those.

She went back to the great room and finding Hollis, asked if he had seen Seth this morning. He hadn't.

Haven started to worry and went outside to look around. She walked all around the large compound, but Seth was no where to be seen. She looked over the small brick wall that separated the driveway from the front lawn and had her answer. His truck was gone.

Back inside she went straight to the room he had slept in and looked around, finding the folded piece of paper on a bed side table. She opened it and read the few short sentences. Seth had left in the night for Salt Lake City to find his mother. Haven was mortified, and she ran out yelling for Hollis and Verbena.

Verbena jumped up first and ran to her with Hollis right behind her. Donelle came from her bedroom where she had put Neala down for a nap. Bretta stood in the kitchen, her eyes like saucers as the commotion ensued.

"Seth is gone," Haven stuttered handing the note to Hollis who went over it and looked at his wife with a distressed expression.

"Are you serious," Deag asked coming in from the garden room where he was listening to radio communications. "What the hell is he thinking?"

"He says here that he's going to find his mother," Hollis reiterated. "He can't be far. I can hustle up and try to bring him back."

"No," Deag interrupted adamantly. "We can't chase after him. We'll be leaving ourselves too vulnerable, and Haven, we can't put Hollis at risk. It wouldn't be fair."

Tears streaked down Haven's cheeks.

Bretta came over and put her arms around her friend in a tender show of affection and sympathy. "He'll make it back. I'm sure of it. We gotta let him try to find his mom, Haven," she exhorted her gently.

"Bretta is right," Donelle interjected. "Now Deag, take the girls and start teaching them how to use the radio. All of us need to know how."

Bretta took Haven and they followed Deaglan to Donelle's garden room turned ham radio center.

Donelle took a deep breath. "These kids. Too young for serious relationships. You can't tell them anything, they know it all."

Verbena shook her head. "Its just heartbreaking, and who knows if Seth will survive. Salt Lake City is one of the worst hit. We're going to have to keep an eye on that girl, so she doesn't sneak out too, and go after him."

"Yep," Hollis agreed. "We're going to make her sleep in our room, so we can stop that little idea before it sprouts. Maybe Deag can get her interested in the radio and it will give her something constructive to do."

"Yes," Donelle agreed. "And I'll talk to Len later and tell him he has to start teaching them to use a gun. That'll keep them occupied. We'll just keep her busy. Its all we can do."

"She and Bretta can help with the kids as well," Verbena included. "Haven needs to start thinking about her own baby and helping with the kids is a perfect beginning."

Donelle pursed her lips. "Damn these kids, having kids." She went back to check on Neala and Rois.

Verbena and Hollis went outside to smoke. They went around to the plaza and sat around the fire pit. Hollis lit a smoke and handed it to Verbena and lit himself one. They just sat there for the longest time staring at the woods from beyond the brick wall. Finally, Hollis looked at his wife.

"You think I should have gone?"

Verbena's face was expressionless. "I don't know."

"Well, I do." Hollis answered his own question. "Haven has been with us a long time Verby, how can we just sit and do nothing? He can't be far anyway."

Len chose that moment to walk up. "So, who is in trouble now?"

"Seth snuck out last night. He left a note saying he was going to find his mom." Verbena recounted stormily.

"Yeah, I saw him leave." Len stated blandly.

Hollis stood up. "You didn't try to stop him Len?"

"Yeah." Len replied lightly. "I talked to him at length. Listen, I tried to convince him we could get news about Salt Lake City on the radio and that I thought it was a bad idea to put himself out there. He just wouldn't listen. I even threw Haven in the mix, but he had convinced himself she'd understand."

Hollis narrowed his eyes at his Uncle. "I think we should go after him."

"That won't do a bit of good, Hollis, except get you killed. Look, if the boy wants to put himself in harm's way you won't stop it. You might prevent it for a time but eventually he is going to find an escape"

"Lord have mercy, Len." Hollis said with a roll of his eyes. "What if the boy doesn't come back? Did you ever think of that, Uncle?"

"He knows the danger, the possibilities. But if anyone goes, it will be me. Best you not say anything to Deag or Donie," Len cautioned. "You, Deag and Mark can handle things here if I have to go fetch him."

"We can, but I wish I had known what he was planning, because I would have hogtied him." Hollis ended with a snort.

Len lit up a smoke as Hollis and Verbena sat and talked.

She looked lovingly at her sweet husband who she had known since childhood. They had grown up together in Pojoaque, New Mexico, one of the eight Pueblos of the Northern Council. Of course, Verbena's uncle Len had too, but reservation life had never been enough for him. He had gone to college and with his Native American allotment, purchased a small property in Delores Colorado and the crumbling diner in Monticello.

After She and Hollis married, he convinced them to leave New Mexico and come to Utah, where they had been ever since, living and working the diner. Len had built a nice apartment upstairs, which he had lived in, but he wanted to be in the hills and mountains of Colorado and when Hollis took over the diner that is exactly what Len did. He purchased a little RV and moved, starting his YouTube channel and continuing to study their native heritage.

Hollis and Verbena had worked hard and turned the diner into a prime stopping point for travelers and locals alike. They built friendships and most of their locals were like family. Billie Jo and Seth entered their lives in just that way, with Billie Jo working as a part time waitress while she went to nursing school. She practically raised Seth there, only ending up in Moab after graduating and taking a job at the local hospital. But as Seth grew up and became independent, Billie took advantage of a big opportunity in Salt Lake City and moved. Seth worked for a local rancher, keeping the apartment he had grown up in, also doing side work for Hollis, where he met Haven.

Verbena had never been able to have children, losing three pregnancies to miscarriage, but still her life had been full, and she had found plenty of kids to mother over the years. Now, her relationships with these young people had brought new heartbreak because she loved each of them as if they were her own. They hadn't been able to reach their kitchen manager, Cole Johnston or the two young cooks who worked under him, Ervin Williams, and Jasper Luna, a young man also from Pojoaque. She desperately hoped to find them but each day that passed her fears were proving the possibility that she wouldn't. The two other waitresses employed at the diner were older women who had more than likely made it to a family member for safety. Verbena really had no idea though, she could only hope.

Hollis saw the despair in her obsidian eyes and he felt for her. He knew how attached she was to her surrogate family, but he could do little to change anything either.

He supported her with his love and understanding and perhaps the day would come when this would all be past them, though according to Len, it seemed unlikely, and listening to the harrowing account he and Deag had shared with them, the cities and towns they knew had fallen into complete lawlessness.

Haven broke into their reflective reverie when she ran out saying that Deag needed them in the radio room. As they got up to follow her in, a muffled explosion echoed in the distance.

"That was a transformer!" Hollis grunted behind them. "That can't be good."

Everyone was gathered inside the small room at the back of the house.

Mark had the hand mic but now, they were all just listening to an alert coming through the static waves. Somewhere south of Telluride and moving south-southwest, a wildfire was burning out of control. There was no indication of how it started but local volunteers had gauged it moving at six to seven mph, WUI. It had started in the upland forest and spread to about three miles wide. The operator was strongly advising any people in the vicinity or path of the fire to take precaution as soon as possible and get as far away as they could. The simple reminder that there would be no forthcoming help was just a heads up from a citizen fire-watch organization.

Mark and Len turned and looked at Deag and the others. Mark was the first to find his wits. "We have to get out of here. Len, can you disassemble this radio unit pretty fast?"

"It will take about ten minutes," he responded immediately.

Mark stood up and faced the group. "This is it guys. Get packed up with as much as we can. I want to pull out of here in thirty minutes."

Donelle grabbed the girls while Mark and Sherri headed outside to load gas cans and tools. Hollis, Verbena and Deag went downstairs and got busy grabbing food, water, guns and ammo. Len went to work taking down the Ham radio and throwing it in a box, then he went downstairs to help the others. Haven was almost paralyzed with fear as she packed clothing. If not for Donelle's prodding she might have been completely crippled in the current situation, and she wondered morosely if she would ever see Seth again. In a desperate bid to hang on to any possibility she went and gathered up anything he might have left behind in his room.

Sherri came in and began packing her and Marks back packs and sleeping bags and on a second thought, checked the room Lara had used and finding her bag still there, packed it out to her SUV as well. God only knew if they would all meet up again.

They loaded the three vehicles that had the most gas, with Len, Mark and Deag being the designated drivers. Donelle and the children rode with Deag and Donelle made Haven go with them to help with the children. Len, the two dogs and Hollis took his truck, Verbena and Bretta rode with Mark and Sherri and Len took the lead out, following backroads until they reached highway 145. In the distance, high above them on the ridgeline, heavy grey smoke hung in the air mingled with floating embers of burning ash.

Len cursed silently, clenched his jaw with determination, hung a right on CO-184 and headed in the direction of Mesa Verde National Park.

Behind him, Deaglan's brow furrowed worriedly. "Where the hell is he going," he said mostly to himself.

"To a safe place." Donelle answered to Deag's surprise. "Just follow him. He and Nathan have a location that's been prepared for years," she said looking at Haven. "And Seth knows where it is, honey."

With those words Haven promptly burst into tears. Her crying elicited a heart-wrenching hug from Rois as Neala rubbed her arm sweetly, and so grown up for six, assured Haven her daddy would take care of her.

"How will he know that we've gone there," she sobbed openly.

"He will. He helped Len a dozen times out there."

Deag gave his mother a thankful look. "I am so sorry I wasn't more involved." He shook his head, opening his mouth to say more but Donelle shushed him.

"I don't want to hear anymore about that Deag. You're here now. Doing everything you can. Its enough."

A huge lump formed in his throat, but he choked it back, wondering if he would ever get over the feeling that he had let so many people down. He watched his kids in the rearview mirror as they comforted Haven and some how a pride welled up in him pushing back the sorrow. His mom was right. It was enough.

A new resolve filled his thoughts and thinking about how scared and devastated he had felt when he discovered Miranda missing, he sought to calm Haven's fears, and apologized for his hardness when she had come to them about Seth. "When we get where ever it is were going Haven, we will figure out a way to go after Seth, I promise. Len helped me when he didn't have to and I'm going to help you."

Donelle smiled and reached back to hold Havens hand. "See there now. Let's dry those tears honey. We're all gonna stick together and get through this. We're all we got now, and we should have known Seth was worried sick."

Haven nodded. "I knew he was worried, but we just didn't know what to do. Our plan was to get to Hollis and Verbena at the diner and stay there but they were already gone. Then Mark and Sherri showed up and they said we should come back with them," she sighed.

"Well they did the right thing bringing you to us. You'd never have made it otherwise." Donelle said squeezing her hand warmly.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Haven admitted forlornly. "Seth doesn't seem to understand the danger. His mom told him the last time they talked not to go anywhere near Salt Lake City and to stay put at the apartment, but we were running out of food, there was no water, no electricity. We were so scared," she confided quietly.

"I know sweetie, everyone of us is scared too, but we have to think carefully, and we have to be open to each other. We have help each other make decisions that won't get us killed. We'll find Seth. Just be strong Haven. Rois and Neala have grown attached to you and we have to take care of them and your baby too," Donelle reminded her gently.

Haven remained silent, knowing Donelle was right, but inside, her heart was breaking. Neala rested her head on Haven's arm and smiled up at her and Rois linked his arm through her other arm and held tightly. Haven took a deep breath and stared out of the window as they drove further and further from where she wanted to be.