The Package

It had been a couple of days since John and Mike enjoyed their first piece of chocolate cake. They decided to lay low even from the couple they had met. They had made some improvements to the old barn including repairing the walls and doors. No one could see the inside when the barn was fully buttoned up. However, the new repairs would show that someone was living there. They went over to the old Pickford mansion for supplies. They found a generator that needed some work and best of all a grill and a wood fired stove. They could cook their food properly and stay warm in the cool mountain air. Since they had managed to secure the barn, they no longer pulled watches. The doors were lockable from the inside, secured with double timbers and some bells they found in the house to make noise if someone should try to breach the doors. They were both able to sleep at the same time which suited John better. As they both got into their military sleeping cocoons, Mike piped up, “John, we should work on the perimeter defense tomorrow. If nothing else, it would help keep the animals away from the barn.”

“Good idea.” John yawned.

“I’m thinking of a fence, split rail. I don’t want it to be too militaristic or someone would wonder what we are trying to protect.”

“Smart thinking. Let’s get some sleep now. I’m tired.”

“Ok John. See you tomorrow morning.” Mike said as he secured his cocoon. The next morning, the men awoke and went through their morning routine of getting breakfast, stoking the stove, and dressing for the day. John was the first one to open the door to take care of biological necessities. His eyes were still adjusting to the morning sun when his foot kicked something. He looked down and saw a small package. It was wrapped in brown paper. “Hmm, we know who this is from…unless the Islander sent it.” John thought. “Hey Mike! We’ve received mail.”

“Mail? Are you hallucinating?”

“No, come look.” Mike made his way to the door and saw the package. The two men were well versed in terrorist tactics, and they were being extremely cautious.

“I hope that does have a motion trigger!” Mike said.

“No, I don’t think so because I kicked it before I saw it. At least it doesn’t have that kind of trigger. We’ll need to lift it and angle it to see if it has a mercury trigger set for an attitude.” replied John.

“Ok, I’ll set up a lever and we can fling it from a safe distance.” Mike and John built their lever with a board and a log. Since John had kicked the box, they felt relatively safe putting it on the low end of the board. Mike looked at John and nodded. “One, two, THREE!” Both men pushed the other end of the lever down as hard and fast as they could. The package was sent sailing back towards the forest. It landed and rolled several times before hitting a tree and settling.

“Well, it doesn’t seem to be a bomb. Let’s go get it and see what’s inside.”

“Ok, but I think we should open it outside just in case.”

“Yeah, no problem.” John said as he pulled his knife. The men examined the exterior of the package. There were no markings on the outside and no damage except for their test fling. There were no liquids spilling from a ripped corner. John used the edge of his knife to slice the paper off the box. No wires. John looked through the ripped corner using his flashlight and only saw two pieces of paper. Feeling more confident, he cut open the top of the package. They saw a handwritten note and a picture. John picked up the note and Mike took the picture. John read the note, “We know what you have found. Do not flash those coins around again. Smelt what you need. This is for the protection of the entire community.”

Mike looked at the picture of a couple. He had never seen them before. “John, do you recognize these people?”, Mike turned the picture to face John. John’s face went ashen. It was the couple in the locket. Mike wouldn’t have seen it because the round fused locket closed and probably destroyed the picture inside.

“I need to go back to the Ice House. Why don’t you start laying out the fence line?” John stated.

“Ok. Why do you need to go the Ice House?”

“I need to find out who delivers the mail and see if I can find the meaning of the picture. I am hoping they will feel more comfortable talking to one of us. If I don’t return in three hours, come look for me armed for battle.”

“Armed for battle? Do you think those two could hold off one of us let alone both? Remember we took on entire pirate ships and won every time.” Mike said.

“Yes, I know but these folks give me a certain vibe. They seem awfully protective of this area, and we do not know who the Islander is and what capabilities they have.” John explained.

“Gotcha. Three hours and I’ll come in full battle gear.” Mike agreed. John took off to the Ice House. Mike looked around the perimeter and began to drag posts and rails into place. They had found several tools in the barn and scattered about the mansion’s former gardens which would help him. He grabbed a shovel and began digging the first post hole. The work reminded him of the drudgery back at base and just like back then, he had to be prepared for an unexpected attack. His battle gear was lying next to the barn, less than s short sprint from anywhere. He hoped he wouldn’t have to gear up.

John reached the Ice House quickly. It was faster now that they knew the route. He opened the door and saw Pete at his table and Alice was at the bar drinking coffee. “Alice, Pete, can I have a word with you?” Pete motioned for them to come to the table. Alice sat down next to Pete and John sat across from Pete where he could watch the door.

“What do you want to talk to us about?” Pete questioned.

“Who delivers mail around here?”

“Mail? There’s no mail service around here. There’s only the three of us and now you two.” Alice explained. John threw the photo and note on the table for them to examine.

“Who sent these to us then?”

Alice gasped. “That’s a photo of the Pickfords! Why would anyone send you that? You didn’t know them, did you?”

“No, I did not know them. However, I recovered a locket that had their pictures in it during a routine patrol. That locket is what led Mike and I here.” Pete grabbed the note and silently read it. He looked up at John, then to Alice.

“We didn’t write the note nor have the photo. It was the person who lives on the island, Joanne. She’s the Pickfords’ relative.” Pete stated. “She’s right about keeping what you found secret and if you ever need to use it, smelt it down. Say you got it from that pirate ship you defeated.”

“Why? Is the treasure that well known?” John asked “Hey! I thought you said the islander’s name was Willow. Who is Joanne and how is she and Willow connected?

“Oh my, yes! In these parts, it was legendary. Many people came looking for it. They destroyed the mansion more than nature did. Several threatened us but we didn’t know where the treasure was located. We used to have several more residents, but they sold themselves as guides to the treasure hunters. None ever came back. Not even the treasure hunters. As for Willow and Joanne, her real name is Joanne but as I stated before, we call her Willow because of her willow tree.” Alice gushed.

“I don’t know how you found the treasure, nor do I care. We are just looking out for the community and don’t want anyone to get ideas, especially the warlords and certain survivalists. They could send an army that would overrun us easily. I know you two are soldiers, combat veterans. From what you’ve let loose, you’re good ones too. We’re hoping that if we just leave you alone up there, you’ll stay and help protect us from other adventurers. We can provide food when you need it and information that we come across.”

“We initially came out here looking to escape war. We were planning on the Ural Mountains or the Rocky Mountains. The locket decided which one we would go to. We can act as a police force and help keep people from disturbing the community. I would like to meet with Joanne if that is possible.” John explained.

“Yeah, we can set up a meeting. She usually comes up to visit once a month. This Friday, y’all come here at noon. She’ll be here and we can prepare her for the meeting, you know set the tone, so she won’t be nervous about it.” Pete offered.

“Oh, you’ll love Joanne! She’s the nicest person in the world. Do you want some lunch? You’ve been here awhile.” offered Alice.

“Awhile? How long?”

“About three hours now,” quipped Pete.

“Oh shit! Be right back!” John yelled as he was heading out the door. Right on time, Mike was coming down the lane in his exoskeleton, fully armed. “Mike! Abort the mission!” Mike stopped his exoskeleton and performed a full scan on John. The device confirmed it was John.

“What happened?” Mike asked through the speaker system. The noise and John’s reaction piqued Alice and Pete’s curiosity as they peered from the doorway. They looked at each other with a worried glance. Had they trusted the wrong people?

“Mike, I just lost track of time. Come on, get out of the suit and let’s have lunch with Alice and Pete.” John was looking desperately at his companion. He knew that in battle mode, things are different. If he couldn’t get Mike out of it, bad things could happen. “Come on Mike. I know you’re hungry and we can set at a table with Mike and Alice.” Mike seemed to think about all in front of him. He double checked his sensors, there were no threats in the area. He hit the exit sequence and the exoskeleton seem to melt away from him, disappearing into a storage mode.

“Food does sound good. I’ve been working hard on the fence. So did you find out about the brown paper box?”

“Yeah, we can talk about it over lunch.” John assured as they walked past Alice and Pete and sat at Pete’s table. Alice and Pete once again looked at each other. Who were these two men? Pete walked over to the table and Alice went to fix lunch.

“OK, who are you? That suit you’re porting is elite military.” Pete questioned with a glaring look.

“We are former military. As I stated before,” John said. “We were part of an elite guard. We were frontline troops, and we have exoskeletons. We left because we were so tired of war. I had found the locket on patrol and knew that I could use the gold to buy my way out of the area. Mike has been by my side for a very long time. He helped me during battle and all the way here. We did fight pirates on our trip here as well as a few survivalist and warlord troops. We really are looking to lay low and just stay away from war.” Alice put plates in front of everyone and sat in front of Mike. She gave him a nervous look.

“Don’t worry Alice. You were never identified as a threat,” Mike Said.