CARTS - GOLF CARTS

Posted on Fri Oct 2nd, 2026 @ 11:20am by Department Leader Briar Maddox & Deputy Leader George Brooks & Team Leader Patrick Byrne & Team Leader Mateo Alvarez

1,336 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Pine Hollow
Location: Pine Hollow
Timeline: October 21st 2010 - From Midday onwards

Briar watched Amy disappear into the lodge before turning back towards the handful who had elected to come with her. "Alright," she said, tucking the notebook beneath her arm. "Fields first, then the orchard."

"Why fields first?" Patrick asked.

"Because I said fields first."

"Excellent agricultural reasoning." Briar gave him a look and started walking. They hadn't gone particularly far before Briar realised something. Pine Hollow was enormous. The lodge sat at the heart of the property, but the fields stretched well beyond it. Beyond those stood the orchard, barns, workshops and other buildings scattered across the valley. Walking everywhere was going to become annoying very quickly. "There has to be an easier way to get around this place," she muttered.

One of the others pointed towards a low building sitting between the workshops and the beginning of the orchard. "What's that?" Briar stopped.

They had checked the building earlier, but only enough to make certain there was nobody—or nothing—inside. Nobody had actually gone through everything stored there.

"Let's find out."

The wide sliding door protested when they pulled it open. Sunlight spilled across the concrete floor. Briar stared. "Oh."

Patrick appeared beside her. "Oh, this is *awesome*."

Parked neatly inside were several electric golf carts. Not the little two-seat carts Briar remembered seeing on golf courses. At least some of these were larger utility versions, with rear cargo beds for tools, feed, produce or whatever else needed hauling around Pine Hollow. Cables ran from several of them to charging points mounted along the wall.

Briar slowly smiled. "Okay. This changes things."

Patrick immediately headed towards the nearest one. Briar caught the back of his shirt.

"No."

"I was only looking!"

"You were about to drive it."

"I don't even know if it works."

"Exactly." She released him and walked over to the nearest cart. There was no obvious damage. No flat tyres. No sign that animals had nested inside it. She looked at the charging cable. Then at the small indicator on the charger. A light was glowing. Briar blinked. "Wait."

She looked back towards the others. "If that's charging..."

Someone else caught on. "The power's working."

At least here it was. Briar looked around the shed with considerably more interest. Pine Hollow had just produced another surprise.

"Nobody touches anything yet," she ordered. "We need George or someone who actually understands this stuff to check them."

Patrick looked wounded. "I understand golf carts."

"You understand crashing things."

"That's still experience."

Briar ignored him and opened her notebook.

**GOLF CARTS**, she wrote beneath her growing list.

Then underneath: **Check batteries. Chargers. Keys. How many work.**

She paused before adding another.

**Find out where Pine Hollow is getting electricity.**

That suddenly seemed much more important than the orchard.

Briar looked at the carts again. "If these work, we can use them for hauling produce, feed, tools..." She thought for another moment. "And getting the little kids around if we need to."

"Can we name them?"

Briar stared at Patrick. "We haven't even established that they work."

"So that's not a no." Briar sighed.

"Go get George."

Patrick grinned and took off towards the lodge. "Walking!" Briar yelled after him. He slowed. Marginally. Briar shook her head and looked back at the others. "Fine. The orchard can wait ten minutes." Her eyes returned to the row of carts. Pine Hollow, apparently, still had secrets to give up.

Patrick ran into the Lodge and called out "GEORGE!!"

From the living room, George sat up onn the couch he was currently laying on. "What's wrong!" He asked as he jumped to his feet and grabbed his hockey slick

"Come! You have to see this!" Patrick grabbed his arm and began dragging him to the door. "Briar wants you to look at something."

"Alright, alright!" George grumbled as he pulled his arm back and started to follow Patrick. He grabbed his goalie stick as the two boys left the cabin. "This better be good, I had just closed my eyes."

Patrick bounced as he ran ahead. "Didn't you pick a bedroom yet?" he called back to George.

"I'll pick one later. I just wanted to close my eyes for a bit first." He continued to follow the excited preteen towards the large shed, where the other group was standing, looking at whatever was inside.

Briar turned as George approached. "Hi" she said with a smile. "We found some transport for us. To get around this large spread." She stepped back and waved him in.

There, standing in a row, was eight electric golf carts, one maintenance golf cart and a flatbed electric utility cart.

George just stood there for a few beats, speechless. The more they learned about this place, the more it seemed too good to be true. Who exactly had set all of this up, and where were they? "Did anybody touch anything yet?" He asked the group, his eyes starting to move around the area, looking for anything that was an obvious sign of danger.

Briar shook her head. "Though the temptation is there." She admitted. "It will make getting to the orchards a lot quicker."

George agreed, but still didn't feel right about this whole set up. "I'll take a look at them," he said reluctantly. He then moved into the large shed. Moving slowly, his eyes slowly moving over every surface, looking for any signs of a trap.

There was no trap wires, Nothing. The carts all had clipboards attached with their maintenance logs attached, showing last date in early September.

George carefully checked every gauge, every connection, every wire. Finally, after about twenty minutes, he stood up and looked at Briar. "Whomever had this place before us, took great care of the equipment. I still don't understand why they are not here."

Briar nodded. "Maybe they got called back to one of the cities or to another place?" She suggested. "But their departure means we have this place and no adults to boss us around."

George chewed the inside of his left cheek. He didn’t like it. Perhaps it was just that they had been hounded and moved from one locationafter the next for months now, and he was beyond exhausted. "Just be careful." He said to her as he exited the shed. He looked around again, thrn decided that he couldn't go back to the main cabin, even though Amythyst had said they needed to. He needed time alone, where he could see over everything, in safety and quiet.

He turned to see the fire ranger stand again, then started towards it.

In about twenty minutes of hiking, he was finally climbing the stairs up to the top. Once op on the top landing, he slowly walked the perimeter, looking out at the entire valley. He picked up a pair of binoculars, that were sitting on a cabinet inside the small observation cabin, and looked out over the territory that was now their home. He saw the cabin, then the roaming livestock, then the group with Briar, as they slowly drove the carts to the orchard.

Finally, he looked up, out over the top of the distant mountains, and he could see smoke rising in several areas, far enough away that they did not pose any immediate threat to the group.

He went inside, and looked around. He found several highly detailed maps of the area, journals of the rangers who had stood firewatch here over the years. He even found an old Colt .45, complete with mother of pearl inlaid handle grips. Carefully, he ejected the clip, found it was full. He then slowly slide the back the slide, snd found another round, a Hollow point, in the chamber. He carefully reloaded the weapon and put it on safe, before he slid it under his belt, at the small of his back, then pulled his shirt down over it. Ge then sat down on the bunk in the corner. Before he knew it, he was laying down, fast asleep.

OFF

 

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