Chapter: 9

[David Sackett]

David chuckled, "Oh, I know how you feel. My family might as well be on Mars up in Alaska. I was an Army chaplain before the change." He shrugged, "But, your kin are safe. Your daughter, her husband and their two kids. They're pulling close to a thousand people through this nightmare. They'll be glad of the extra hands. They ought to be close to bringing in the wheat and corn harvests."

[Angel Ryder]

"We've got a lot of goodies from Iowa, they would have rotted in the silos." Angel gestured back at the caravan. "Now i remember you... from the wedding. Took me a minute there. We've got a couple hundred here, not too shabby considering it was just me, a doctor and a handful of others. Kat here rescued us from nearly being someone's lunch."

[Kat Donovan]

"I... we just did what was needful, and we were rewarded." Kat replied with no hint of false modesty.

David smiled, "The Lord works in mysterious ways, and rewards the righteous. Sometimes here on Earth and other times in heaven. The Wiccans call it the three fold something or another. A three fold reward for good, and three fold punishment for ill. I should love to hear about your journey, especially your tales of Iowa. It would be well after dark before you reach the Talon Ranch. I know spot down by the river and we can tell our stories."

[Angel Ryder]

"Sounds like a wonderful idea... I'm sure the others wouldn't mind relaxing for a night. Dashing knights in shining armor. Like something out of a fairy tale." Angel said as she gave him a smile. "Kat, tell the caravan we're going to settle in for the night. So David... be honest with me... how IS my daughter doing? I've been worried sick about her."

[David Sackett]

Kat reigned her horse and started barking orders to the relief of their party, as the Infantry dispersed shedding their brigantines and preparing to get the wagon train moving again.

David looked back over his shoulder impressed. "You've done well. Obviously. And no, I wasn't avoiding the question. Just a lot to take in. She's good. Truly. And she's safe. Well, safe as anyone can expect in this time. The closest doctor to her is still in Cañon City, and a lot can happen you know. But, she and that husband of hers are resourceful, and their old ranch house is more or less a village in itself. They had plety of cattle, and we split a grain train, that's where they got the seed for the wheat. And rumor has it that there's another kiddo on the way blessed is the Virgin," he said with a happy smile.

[Angel Ryder]

"Wow... that's wonderful news." Angel said with a broad smile. "Haven't had a ton to smile about these days, but that certainly puts a smile on my face. And we do have a couple of doctors and nurses among us now." she chuckled lightly. "Resourcefulness is something I instilled into her at a young age, like my mother did to me. Except I didn't drop her in the middle of a forest in workout clothes and a stick and told 'survive' like my mother did to my sister and I."

[David Sackett]

David gave Angel a stange look not fully comprehending what she had just said. "Your mother?"