Boys Become Men: Book Three ~ Mountain Ranch

Jimmie had been racing his big truck up the mountains, the powerful diesel engine protesting as he crammed his foot on the fuel pedal. Both fuel tanks were full and he wasn't concerned about fuel, only getting away from those mushroom clouds! He had an auxiliary fuel tank as part of his tool box in the truck bed where there was another 225 gallons there that could he run down by gravity to the main tank, which held 75 gallons of diesel fuel.

They could see more of the mushroom clouds off to the west, it was likely Phoenix! The scene was frightening, like something out of a science fiction movie! Their route took them up through the mountains of the high desert, the roads were narrow, but fortunately, they encountered few other vehicles. Jimmie was taking the turns as fast as he dared, the tires were screaming in loud protest at each turn and his three passengers were hanging on for dear life.

Nobody complained, however, all they had to do was look out the window and they could see the ominous red clouds of the nuclear bombs! Those blood red clouds even looked evil!

They circled around Flagstaff and hit Highway 180 that would take them to Jimmie's Grandfather's Red Mountain Ranch. The truck was pitching right and left and Jimmie was pretty sure it was not the road, the State Highways Department had completely repaved the road only the last summer. Limbs from trees near the highway were falling, and Jimmie was dodging broken tree parts that were lying on the roadway. He looked out his side window and saw fire at the top of Squaw Mountain! He screamed, "Oh, My God, LOOK! That damned volcano is blowing its top!" He prayed the lava would go the other direction and that his Grandparents would be safe.

He pulled the radio mic from his dash and punched the Transmit Button, "Red One, Red One, this is Red Three, come in Red One! Over."

They heard, "Red Three, Red Three, this is Red One. Are you headed for here, son? Over."

Jimmie replied, "Red one, Red three, Yeah Gramps, we are just passing Humphrey's Peak. I got three guys with me, is that OK? Over."

They heard, "Red Three, Red One, as long as one of them is your guy, Carl, it's all good. Have you your key to the lower gate? Over." Jimmie's face was glowing red and Carl was choking.

Billy had a death grip on Andy Fellows, they had just become boyfriends and he wasn't about to lose him now! He had snatched Andy off the High School Rotunda when they fled from Tucson. He hoped and prayed that the people at Jimmie's Grandfather's ranch would accept Andy like they did Carl. He had finally found someone he could love and who loved him back and he sure as heck wasn't gonna lose him now, even if the whole world was going down the tubes!

Jimmie was still pushing his truck for all it was worth, despite the hobby-horse road and the billowing clouds of ash and smoke pouring off the mountain, he was doing 80 miles per hour on that poorly paved road! The ranch road would be better, although it was dirt and gravel, his Grandfather kept it graded. He knew they were coming up on Red Mountain Ranch Road and, as soon as he saw the mailbox, he crammed on the brakes and turned left, directly towards the mountain of fire.

The huge pickup skidded on the grainy ash that the volcano was spewing out as he made the turn, the other three were wide-eyed, they had not known that Jimmie was into dare-devil driving. He had always babied his truck and treated it gently.

Jimmie said to the other boys, "The lip of the caldera is low on the south side, all the lava will flow out, towards Phoenix." He prayed he was right.

He stopped and jacked the truck into 4-wheel drive before they continued up the mountain. The engine was still protesting the treatment Jimmie was giving it. The roar of the engine made conversation almost impossible and they could see that Jimmie's teeth were clenched in concentration to keep the heavy truck on the road! Perspiration was rolling off his face as he struggled to keep the huge vehicle from going airborne on the sharp curves.

When they arrived at the lower gate, Jimmie handed Carl the key. Carl hopped out of the two-seat cab, he saw a ten-foot high welded steel gate and steel fencing going as far as he could see in both directions. It looked like fencing around a military installation he had seen years ago on a school field trip.

He got the gate open, and Jimmie drove through and then waited for Carl to relock the gate and climb back in the cab. Carl said, "What's back here, Wall Street? That fence and gate would stop an Army Tank!

Jimmie grinned and replied, "Just wait 'till you see what my Gramps has for us back here."

Carl looked at his boyfriend and asked, "US?"

Jimmie had an ear-to-ear smile on his face and said, "Yup, US. Gramps knows about you and me, and he will accept Billy and Andrew, too! Don't you worry none, Gramps n' I have us all covered!" He grabbed Carl's hand and held it against his own cheek, "Carl, I love you and you n' me are gonna be together for a very long time, like forever! This is a lifetime deal, I ain't a lovem n' leavem type!"

It took them another two hours to wind their way up the mountain to the Ranch House. Jimmie stopped the truck as they came over the last rise to allow his passengers to see the ranch house sitting in the small mountain valley. He could see another truck sitting in front of the house and an Indian man standing beside it. He knew that had to be Albert Yellowbush, his Grandfather's Ranch Foreman. (Author's note: Yellowbush is a type of sage that has yellow flowers)

He began driving down the incline, towards the house as he saw that it was, indeed Al Yellowbush. He could see the two men were arguing, so he jumped out of the truck, he had never known Albert to be violent or even argumentative. He ran up to his Grandfather and hugged him before asking, "Al, what's wrong Bro?"

Albert Yellowbush grumbled. "Yore Gandpa wants me to move our people up here, but wes don't wanna be a burden, he has done helped us enough already!"

Oliver Bates through up his hands and started to walk off, Jimmie grabbed Albert by the shoulder and said, "Bro, you listen to me, you git offin' yer goldamned high-horse and git yore folks up here right NOW, theys big trouble down below and I ain't gonna toss n' turn all damned night prayin' yus folks is alright. Now GIT!"

Neither Albert or Oliver had never heard such words out of Jimmie, they just stared until Jimmie said, "Go On, Albert, go git yer folk! NOW!"

Albert just shook his head and headed for his truck, shouting over his shoulder, "Yes sir, Mr. Jim!"

Oliver smiled and looked at his grandson, who was as tall or maybe even a bit taller than himself and said, "Boy, when did you git so gol'damned noisy?"

Jimmie looked at his Grandfather and replied, "Gramps, this here ain't no playin matter, theys droppin' bombs out there an' that damned volcano is running liquid rock down the south flank! It's gonna get far worser afer it gits any better, Albert needs to git his people up here wheres we kin keep'em safe!" The hill will protect us from the lava n' that damned liquid rock will flow somewhere else.

He then introduced Carl and Billy Paige, and Andy Fellows to his Grandfather. The old man invited all the boys into the house, where his wife, Emma had some fresh coffee and her famous cinnamon raisin buns hot out of the oven. The smells coming from the kitchen were drawing the hungry boys like a magnet.

The two orphaned boys had been allowed only a glass of water and a piece of toast for breakfast and that was many hours ago. They were hungry enough to try chewing on rocks!

Jimmie asked, "Grams, have ya' heard from Mom and Dad yet?"

The elderly woman looked at Jimmie sadly and said, "Son, their plane crashed in Salt Lake City, there were no survivors." Carl jumped up and held his boyfriend while the young man wept the bitter tears of an inconsolable loss.

Carl looked at Jimmie's Grandmother and said, "M'am, is there someplace I can take Jim and get him to lay down?" Emma told him where Jimmie's bedroom was and he took up the weeping young man in his arms and gently laid him on the bed.

Jimmie looked up through his tears and said, "Don't leave me Carl, please stay with me." Carl just stretched out beside Jimmie on the double bed and held him as he cried out his anguish over the loss of his parents. Jimmie, at last, fell asleep and Carl continued to hold him safe in his arms, he belonged to Jimmie, and Jimmie belonged to him, only death could ever part them as far as Carl was concerned. They would grow old together.

Billy and Andy cleaned up the kitchen, telling Miz Emma to go sit on the porch with Mr. Oliver.

Carl joined them after he was sure that Jimmie was fast asleep. After several hours, they spotted a dust cloud coming over the ridge, it was Albert and his people. They had their trucks loaded with their belongings and piled high with their children.

Carl stepped off the porch with Billy and Andy on his heels, not wanting to wake Jimmie. Mr. Oliver had told them the Indians could settle in the Foreman's Cottage and the several bunkhouses for right now.

Carl saw that there were four families, so they had Albert Yellowbush and his family in the Foreman's Cottage, and each of the other families were to take a complete bunkhouse.

Albert, again, started to protest, and Carl said, "Don't make a fuss right now, we can sort it out later. There is just too much happening right now."

Albert looked at Carl and said, "You love him, don't you?"

Carl replied, "Yes sir, I do, and I am gonna help him get through this. You know his Mom and Pop died in a plane crash at Salt Lake City?"

Albert had to grab onto the porch railing, "Oh My God in Heaven, when?" They both ran for the front porch and held Oliver and Emma Bates in a tight embrace as they mourned the loss of their only son and daughter-in-law."

Carl and Albert got Albert's folks settled in, while Andy stayed with Jimmie's grandparents. Towards dusk, Jimmie came out and joined them on the porch. He was red-eyed from crying and a little shaky still, but he was determined to be a "man" and do his duty towards those who were depending upon him. Carl whispered in his ear, "Sit here, love, and I will get you a cup of coffee."

He gave Jimmie a kiss right in front of everyone and giggled when Jimmie's face went scarlet. Emma laughed and said, "Jim, you turn the prettiest shade of red..."

Oliver said, "Hush, Emma or I will kiss you so everyone can see where it came from!"

Everyone got a laugh out of that, and Jimmie finally calmed down. He turned to his Grandparents and said, "I DO love him, ya' know!"

Carl noticed the sky over the mountain and said, "Is that thing gonna hurt us?"

Oliver replied, "Not unless it begins to blow, as long as the lava just pools and dribbles over the south lip, we should be ok." Billy and Andy just sat there, taking it all in and thanking their lucky stars they were with people who accepted them for what they were, not for who they loved.

It was an uneasy night and every time the mountain belched, the boys were up, looking out the window to see if there was a river of lava headed their way. By morning, they were all red-eyed and bleary, but the mountain top was clear, not even any smoke could be seen up there at the top! The wind was blowing all the fumes the other direction, when Billy opened the window, all they could smell was fresh, clean mountain air with the scent of pine trees.

Albert got his men together, they were all cousins of his, and he told them to move the cattle back down to the lower pasture, where they would be safe from any volcanic gasses or fumes the volcano might spew out and that any liquid lava was unlikely to reach that far.

He told them that they were to all go armed, he said, "I don't want nobody thinkin' that just cuz the times is strange, there is free beefsteak on the hoof out here! We are not the super meat store to supply any tomfool who happens to have a hankerin' fer a rib steak!"

The cowboys left to drive the herd back down the mountain to the Snake Creek pasture. It was still early enough in the year that there was a little water running in the creek and the grass was still a bit green. Calvin Yellowbush and his younger brother, Pete, would stay in the line cabin and guard the herd. They were the younger cousins of Albert Yellowbush. The had both been born on Red Mountain Ranch, and their Uncle Albert had taken them in when their papa died, and their mother had runoff.

By late afternoon, they had the cattle settled down, and Albert and the rest of the cowboys were getting ready to return to the Ranch. They had Albert's old Herder Collie, Annie, with them, she was too old to do much work, but she enjoyed the trip down and back.

As Albert was getting ready to mount his horse, Annie began to whine and paw the dirt. He got back down from his horse and went over to the dog, "What's wrong, Annie? Is there somethin' botherin' ya'?" Annie would run a few feet and then look back to see if Albert was following her.

After a few times, he did follow her, and she ran down the hillside, toward the creek. As he rounded a large bush, he found his dog, she had two small boys holding her collar. They looked to be pre-teens and were very dirty and frightened.

He knelt beside them and said, "Who are you, boys and where did you come from?"

The closest boy said, "..aah, Sir, we was camping with our parents, and this bunch of rocks come rolling down the hill an' buried our parents tent sir, theys gone, we can't find them anywhere!"

Albert called for his crew, and they had the boys lead them to where their parent's camp had been. It was a gulley completely filled with huge boulders that had slid down the mountainside. The small creek was beginning to fill up behind the dam of rocks and boulders.

He held their hands and said to them, "Boys, I am afraid they are gone, there is no way we can even move those boulders to find their bodies." The two boys were devastated and Albert knew he could not leave them there alone, so he picked up one boy and had his cousin, Donald, carry the other and they both put them in their saddles just in front of them. The other two Yellowbush cousins had remained back at the ranch house to help Miz Emma and Mr. Jim and Mr. Oliver.

The two Indian cousins were big men, but they had tender hearts. The two boys were so miserable that they did not even notice their surroundings until they reached the ranch. They got the boys to the ranch and Albert told Mr. Oliver all that they knew about the boys, which was very little. Both boys were cradled in the cousins' laps and were almost asleep. Their ordeal had exhausted them and the gentle rocking of the cow ponies had put them almost to sleep.

Jimmie and Carl came running out and took the two boys into the house. They got them both cleaned up and found some old clothes of Jimmie's that were only just a little too big for them. They sat on the edge of their bed and held the boys until their crying had eased.

The boys, John and Ian Murphy were brothers, John was thirteen and Ian was eleven. They asked, "What's gonna happen to us?"

Jimmie asked them, "Would you like to live here with Carl n' me?"

John, being a bit older, had already suspected the relationship between the two big boys and he whispered, "Are you two guys together, like boyfriends or somethin'?"

Jimmie said, "Yeah, we are, is that a problem?"

John replied, "No, No, not a problem, I eeer ahhhh...."

Carl said, "That's OK, John, you don't have to tell us anything, just know that you will have no problems with Jimmie and me."

The boy hung on Jimmie's neck, wailing and crying, "..IiIiII tthink Iiii er em I'm gay, too."

Jimmie just rocked the boy until he had fallen asleep. He looked over at his mate and smiled. Carl whispered, "Yeah, we can raise them!"

The two smaller boys settled right in and helped as much as they could. Miz Emma took them into her heart and Mr. Oliver thanked God there was something to take her mind off the loss of Jimmie's parents. They had always been a close family and now, all they had left of it was their Grandson, Jimmie. It would not be until later that he realized that Jimmie also came with some baggage named Carl!

It soon became apparent that Jimmie and his chosen mate, Carl, were leaders, even Albert paid attention when either of them spoke. Jimmie asked Albert, "Are there any more of your people down in the village, we are gonna need some more help up here."

Albert said, "Yeah, there are six more families, but, what are we gonna need them for and where are we gonna put them?"

Carl spoke up, "Albert, could we convert the old equipment barn into a motel?"

Albert thought about it for a while and then replied, "Yeah, it wouldn't be too hard, we could make the upstairs into bedrooms and the main floor as a commons area. There is water out there and, as long as we run the generator, there are electric lights. We may have to scare up some wood stoves for cooking and heat, but that won't be no problem. I ask ya' again, Why do we need them up here?"

Jimmie looked at Carl, who only nodded, Jimmie's eyes were shooting sparks as he replied, "Albert Yellowbush, where is your good sense, ifn' we gots yer people up here with us, we kin protect them, make sure theys got food, water and medicines n' most of all, theys ALL safe from harm!"

Carl added, "Albert, we are gonna need security people, it won't be long until the scavengers start showing up like locusts. I don't mind helpin' folks, but theys gotta give back some too. Them folks down in the cities will show up and strip us bare before theys move on like a bunch of locusts the Preacher man spoke about from the Bible times."

Albert thought for a few minutes and then replied, "Ya know, George Shaking Tree had been a Gunnery Sergeant in the Marines, I'll bet he could set us up a patrol service that would keep us an' the stock from harm. He done got a passel of teenage boys an' their friends what kin do guard duty!"

Albert saddled up his horse and took off for the village. By nightfall, George Shaking Tree had set up night sentries and daytime patrol, all armed with radios and rifles! Albert assigned the three youngest boys to radio duty and George taught them proper radio protocol.

With the number of people living on the ranch, Oliver was becoming concerned about food supplies. The garden would supply vegetables during the summer, but, at that elevation, summers were short and winters were long and hard! Hunting would supply meat and they could always butcher a steer, and they had plenty of eggs from the hens, but minor things, like spices, condiments and flour for bread were already running short.

They had three milking cows that were fresh, so there was plenty of milk for the children, but they were out of baking powder for biscuits, pancakes and desserts. Emma had used the last of the cornmeal to bread the fried chicken the night before, and there was no more cooking oil.

Jimmie and Oliver got together and decided Jimmie and Carl would go down to Flagstaff and see if they could purchase supplies at the Co-Op. George insisted on sending two of his Warriors as guards to insure their safety.

As they were getting ready to go the next morning, Oliver handed Jimmie a cloth bag, when he looked in it, it was filled with gold and silver coins. Oliver said, "They might not be takin' American paper money no more, but I'll bet they will take this here stuff!"

With considerable worry, Jimmie began driving down the mountain, he had filled the fuel tanks in the truck with fresh diesel fuel and he was betting there was none available in Flagstaff. He was correct!

It was nearly noon when they reached Flagstaff and headed for the Farmers' Co-Op. There were a few cars and trucks in front of the building and a large crowd of people trying to gain entrance. The Co-Op had posted armed guards around the building, and they were holding the crowd back. Jimmie waved at one of the guards on the front door, he was a distant cousin. Eddie pointed to a side door that was large enough for Jimmie to drive the truck inside.

He drove around to the door and tapped his horn lightly, the door swung open, and they drove into the loading bay. The door went slamming shut the second the truck's rear bumper cleared the door frame. Jimmie and Carl went to see the manager, carrying the bags of coins with them. They had split up the coins, so that they weren't all in one bag. Carl kept his bag hidden inside his shirt.

The manager was delighted to see the coins and said he would accept them for payment, so they left one guard in the truck and Carl and Jimmie each took two men and they started working on the list that Emma had given them. Within a couple of hours, they had filled six hand trucks with bulk foods, Jimmie was a little worried that it all might not fit in the bed of his truck. At the last minute, he spotted a roll of rope and a large, heavy duty tarp and he put those on the hand truck, also.

They checked out, and the manager was right there to collect the silver and gold coins, the two young men were glad they had split the stash of coins as the manager took all the coins from Jimmie's bag. They couldn't argue, all the retail markets in town were empty, they had all been looted the night before!

They loaded the truck up and tied the tarp over the load, leaving just enough room for two guards to sit on the tool box. As they drove out of the parking lot, the crowd surged towards them, trying to snatch something, ANYTHING from their load. The guards had to fire a shot in the air to drive them away from the truck.

Jimmie sped out onto the highway, trailing a running crowd of people. He could feel the load, but he stomped on the fuel pedal and the huge diesel engine howled as it surged through the gears.

They left Flagstaff doing better than 80 miles per hour! It was fortunate that Carl had spotted some pharmaceuticals, and wound dressings in the pharmacy section, they were the last to be had and they were shortly going to need them!

Jimmie kept his speed up, fearing that they might be chased. He needn't have worried, the gas stations had run dry several days earlier and few people still had vehicles that were running. By the time they were 5 miles out of town, they no longer saw people walking along the road and the entire area seemed deserted as the great desert he had read about in Social Studies about Australia.

As he swung the big truck onto the highway that ran along the backside of the San Francisco Peaks, they spotted a small campfire with a bunch of kids huddled around it. Jimmie slammed on the brakes and got the truck stopped. Carl and two Warriors, Arthur Quaking Bush and Merle Wolf Hunter jumped out, holding their rifles at the ready.

They were met by a teen about Carl and Jimmies' age, he had a tree limb that he had fashioned into a club and was shouting, "Go away, I am taking care of these kids, GO AWAY! I WON'T LET YOU HURT THEM NO MORE!"

Carl raised his hands, showing the young man that he was unarmed. He said, "We aren't going to hurt you or your kids, but it ain't safe out here. Let us help you all, we can take you somewhere safe and get you some shelter."

The teen began to shake, and he stammered, "YyyYu Your ppppromise you wwwon't hurt the kkkids?"

Carl looked at Jimmie, who nodded a yes, and Carl said to the teen, "We all live on a ranch up on the mountain. We already got a bunch of kids living with us. If you will allow us, we will carry you with us and get you to some safety and a hot meal."

The teen replied, "I am Terry McDonald, you are sure you won't hurt my kids?"

Carl smiled and said, "Terry, look at those Warriors, do you think they would even LET me hurt those kids or yourself? They would put a bullet in me if they even thought I would do such a thing!"

Terry gathered up the children he was caring for, he had four young girls and ten boys, and they all had been hurt. Carl saw bloody clothing and children limping. One little boy was using a stick as a crutch! He knew he was going to have to question Terry about what happened to the children, but he needed to use some of those medical supplies he had just purchased right now!

He dropped the truck tailgate and began setting injured children on it so he could see what wounds they carried. At his scream, Jimmie and the two Warriors inside the truck jumped out and came running. They spent almost two hours cleaning wounds and bandaged hurt children.

Jimmie looked closely at Terry and then pointed to the tail gate saying, "Terry, you are next, let's see what has happened to you! Carl had to cut the teen's trouser leg and he screamed again when he saw what had happened to the young man, there was a bullet hole in his leg, and it was beginning to fester!"

Jimmie grabbed the first aid kit and told Carl to hold the boy steady while he gently probed the wound for bits of clothing or debris. He could see that the bullet had entered and exited, so he was pretty sure there was no metal in the boy's leg. Despite the numbing agent he had swabbed on the wound, they could see that Terry was in awful pain.

When they finally got Terry bandaged up, Carl asked, "Who shot you, Terry?"

Terry looked down, and the ground, and tears began flowing down his cheeks as he answered Carl's question, "My Daddy shot me." He continued in a whisper, "He didn't want no fags around...."

Jimmie grabbed Carl and gave him a big kiss on the mouth and then said, "Terry, ya' got no worries here, brother and I don't wanna hear that word, "FAG", ever again!" Ain't none of us "FAGS", whatever those are! We don't give a hoot who ya' love, just that love be true and faithful. We gots more important damned problems than who you wanna sleep with!"

Terry dissolved into tears and whispered, "THANK YOU in Jimmie's ear.

Jimmie was still seething as he climbed back behind the steering wheel and started the truck. Carl had held Jimmie's hands to get him calmed down, but all they heard during the entire trip up the mountains was "Damned Hypocrites" and "Stupid Asses"!

They crowded the hurt children and Terry into the back seat of the cab and onto the passenger seat in the front. The oldest boys and the four Warriors, along with Carl all sat in the bed with their precious load of food. The Indian Warriors held their rifles ready, they weren't gonna let anyone steal the food they had retrieved from the Co-Op. It was going to be a long time before there were grocery stores again and the stuff they had bought was going to need to be saved and hoarded carefully.

Jimmie drove slower, he had calmed down some, and he did not want to jostle their new passengers, as he made for the ranch turn-off. Again, they saw nobody, and they reached the lower gate just as the sunset.

Carl jumped out and unlocked the gate, letting the truck roll forward and through the gate. After he had relocked it, they continued up the mountain and finally reached Red Mountain Ranch. They had agreed not to use the radio, except in emergency, as it might attract attention to them up on the mountain.

It was not that they were hiding as much as the rioting and the violence they had witnessed down in Flagstaff had both frightened them and disgusted them, how could people be so durned stupid as to destroy irreplaceable food and needed supplies, just to grab a few meals for themselves? Worse, the medical supplies they had trampled were totally irreplaceable.

Oliver had the lights on, and Emma came out to the truck. When she saw what was sitting in the truck, her screams brought ranch folk running from all directions. They carried the sleepy children inside and Jimmie parked the truck out in the hay barn to be unloaded the next morning.

He closed the barn door, and George Shaking Tree posted two armed guards to protect the contents of the truck. In time he would come to understand that theft was not a problem among their friends, Indian and other folk, and that anything left around would remain safe until the owner came back to collect it. The guards were needed to keep marauding animals from carrying off everything in the truck!

They were to find that former Marine Gunnery Sergeant George Shaking Tree knew what he was doing and he and his Warriors were to protect the Ranch and its folk from outsiders for the many long years of the crisis. The current crop of children would be adults with their own children before the crisis abated. It would not, however, end, ever!

How long are they going to have to survive cooped up on the side of an active volcano? Will the small colony continue to grow and how are they going to feed everyone? Will young Terry find a companion to make his life complete?