“I do now.” Nate tried even harder to get a view with his flashlight.
Ben worked his way back up and then he had no choice but to go down when the section he was climbing was too steep to drive and then he slowed when he realized he couldn’t go much farther because there was nothing. In front of them were a few large boulders in the way and for some reason, they couldn’t see what was on the other side. The hillside was gone. It was far too foggy, or was it mist? The river was too loud. It sounded more like a waterfall.
He grabbed the flashlight from Nate and shined it up to the top of the hill where they had been just moments ago. It was steep and farther away than he thought.
He gunned it as he headed straight up what was actually a steep mountainside, nothing like the hill Nate claimed they were on. When that wasn’t working because he was losing traction and the rocks were pulling them down because of how heavy they were, he worked on turning around, gunning it in spurts until they were able to head back the way they had come. He kept making progress working his way up until they finally reached the top and things leveled out.
His heart was pounding in his ears as the last stretch back to flat ground was the toughest as the softer dirt continued to give way and wouldn’t allow them back into the forest again. Once the front tires caught traction on some tree roots, they made it.
When he was sure the trailer was on stable ground too, he stopped, turned off the headlights, and sat there in the dark trying to calm himself down. He gripped the steering wheel to steady his trembling hands. His heart was pounding in his ears and he could feel his pulse in his injured arm. The fear that they were about to be done for had its grip on his whole body.
Nate was muttering to himself so softly that Ben couldn’t understand a word. Mainly because of the rush of blood that was still pumping through his ears.
Ben’s arm started throbbing. He hadn’t noticed it felt so bad when he was gripping the steering wheel fighting for their safety. His head throbbed too. Probably from all the adrenaline pumping through his body. He pinched the muscle of his bicep to try and block the shooting pains and then he rubbed tightness in his chest. He sure didn’t need a heart condition to go with everything else that had happened that day.
He turned off the Ranger so he could listen for the truck or any sign of their pursuers. It would have been completely silent except for the wind that whistled through the windows when it gusted and Nate was still carrying on, mumbling about something.
“I’m so sorry, that could have been so bad. I prayed, Ben, I never prayed so hard we’d get out of that. I saw it, I saw the water and the mist right there at the end. I don’t know how we got up that hill or how you managed to turn around like that and not lose that blasted trailer. That was what was pulling us down. I can’t explain what kind of miracle just happened.” He went back to muttering the same thing but softer. When he couldn’t stop muttering, he covered his mouth with gloved hands as he kept looking back where they had come.
Ben rubbed his head as he tried to calm himself. “It wasn’t your fault. We could have sat there, stayed in shooting range, or do what we did. I don’t really want to know where we almost wound up. Everything is quiet now. I wonder if they could see that waterfall from the road and think we met our end. I think we should stay here in the woods for a while. Give those guys a chance to head back to Beaver Creek or get far ahead of us. I sure don’t want to see them again.”
“Umm-hmm.” Nate nodded but kept his gloves over his mouth.
“I don’t want to be so close to the place where we almost met our end, though.” He started the Ranger and meandered through the woods until they were surrounded by trees and were far from the mountainside and far enough away from the road too. He leaned his head back and wrapped up in the sleeping back to keep the chill away while they waited.
28
Amanda
Amanda had to keep shushing the girls when there was a lot of arguing in loud whispers when they were trying to settle down in the Suburban for their second night. No one was happy they were still stuck in Old Betsy. It was much colder that night than it had been the night before and all their body heat was fogging up the windows even though it was far from warm.
Their mom was taking up the entire middle seat. Which meant the five girls and Tyson were going to have to share the very front and far back bench seats.
Amanda had the worst spot in the whole vehicle. Right in front of the steering wheel and the pedals were in the way on the floor. Charlie was on the other end. Zoe was trying to settle in the middle but that was almost as bad as the steering wheel section for her. Charlie kept griping when Zoe’s feet would bump hers on her side of the car. Holly and Mae were in the back with Tyson. He was still wanting Charlie or their mom but Mae was starting to win him over by playing with him and his little dog. Fortunately, he was fine with Mae when it was time to sleep. She had made him a bed on the floor with her bedspread as his mattress and she used her two favorite blankets to keep herself warm while Holly was on the other side of the bench seat doing her best with Buddy in front of her. He could have slept in the back but he kept bumping into the chickens’ cage disturbing the birds so Amanda told Holly to keep him in front of her on the floor. Besides, he wanted to sit there and keep watch until things quieted down.
Amanda needed to see out the windows and the only way to do that was to keep the windows cracked. Her sisters complained as the cold air spilled in.
“You brought all your bedding so use that. We could be out in a tent and it would be far colder so figure out how to deal with it.” Amanda was done being patient and couldn’t get comfortable. She tried reclining the seat some. That seemed to help Charlie. It didn’t help Zoe or her.
“You keep sticking your knees where I’m sitting.” Zoe pushed her legs.
“My legs are a lot longer than yours and I can’t find a good spot for them.” She wanted to shove her sister over so she’d be in Charlie’s space more. She didn’t have anything crowding her where she was sleeping. On top of that, somehow Charlie managed to fall asleep already.
After their third spat. Amanda turned her back to Zoe and stared out the window. If she could sleep at all she would consider herself lucky. Zoe kept turning back and forth and all over the place until she finally gave up and climbed in the middle bench seat and disturbed their mom on her way over.
“Zoe, what are you doing?” Amanda tried to grab her arm.
She was already on the other side of the Suburban. “Sleeping here where I can lean against the door. Look, her feet aren’t even over here.”
All Amanda could do was glare at her sister as she situated herself next to the door far away from her reach. Their mom was mumbling again as she drew her knees in and hugged her blankets tighter with sweat covering her face. Amanda chewed on her lip hoping that her mom’s fever was breaking.
Finally, all was quiet in Old Betsy and the only person awake was Amanda. The generator was on in the back and there was a flashlight that illuminated the road from the front seat to the generator where it sat beside the trailer. Nothing was shining on the street in front of them. Just the moonlight illuminated the outlines of the hills. It was very spooky to know there wouldn’t be any lights if there were any people living nearby. There was no glow from Horseshoe Bend behind them either.
Amanda rubbed her arms and pulled her blanket over her shoulders to keep off the cold air that flooded in the open window and chilled the car. Her eyes were getting heavy when she noticed there was, in fact, a glow up ahead in between the hills. She squinted but it didn’t help her see what was there any clearer. It was too far. It had to be a fire. Perhaps survivors from the disabled cars had banded together. She locked the doors and did her best to keep watch but wasn’t able to do it for long.
Amanda startled awake when something pulled her hair. She moved away from the window and screamed when there was a furry face staring at her through the window. She scrambled away and realized she still needed t
o close the window.
Everyone in the car woke up and once they saw the animal clinging to the window too, there was more screaming and the dogs were scrambling to get to it. The little dog was suddenly at the window jumping up to bite at the paw that was still reaching in the window. Amanda pulled Mitsi away.
“It’s a raccoon.” Charlie reached over her to close the window.
She caught its paw in the window and it screeched until Charlie opened it just enough to let it go. It hightailed it to the brush near the river and was gone.
Charlie was back on her side of the car and noticed the glow when everyone had finally calmed down. She tapped Amanda’s hand and pointed discreetly where the light was. “That’s too small to be a wildfire, isn’t it?” she whispered.
“Oh, I didn’t think of that. I assumed it was a fire at a survivor camp. I believe it’s probably close to Banks.”
“That would make sense.” Charlie didn’t relax at all as she sat on the edge of her seat and watched. “There’s so much light from the moon you can see the smoke rise into the sky. It’s small. It must be a campfire. That also means people are nearby and they might be hungry.”
“True.” Amanda wrapped her blanket tighter around her body. “That was one determined raccoon.”
“Did you check the generator?” Charlie asked.
“It’s still there and I can hear it.” Amanda looked in the mirror again to be sure. “That raccoon can’t get in the trailer.”
“Okay then. I think I’m going to be awake awhile if you want some sleep.” Charlie still seemed on edge. “Are you okay if I roll down my window a little so the windows stop fogging up?”
“You can roll it down if you promise to keep the raccoons away. I would like some sleep. Thanks.” She watched for glowing raccoon eyes before she rolled her window down a crack again. As she let out a sigh to relax, the tension from her racing mind eased and once she closed her eyes, she was out.
29
Ben
Ben didn’t dare turn off the UTV again. It was so cold. The heater was weak but it was better than nothing.
He waited longer than he wanted to before attempting to head back to the road. The occupants in that truck had him shook up pretty bad. He had managed to take a couple of short little naps so he wasn’t completely exhausted with it being so late into the night.
He’d been able to place foot warmers in his boots close to his toes before he started again. The hand warmers kept his fingers from freezing on the steering wheel. He was concerned that he’d already used several sets during their first night on the road but the Yukon would likely be the coldest place they’d be traveling through. It was still autumn back home.
Hopefully, they’d be able to make steady progress once they were on the road again and would be in British Columbia before the next evening. As long as they kept heading south, it should warm up so the nights wouldn’t be so dangerously cold without a decent heat source in the Ranger.
When he found a clearing, he had to stop as the sky glowed with dancing green and white Northern Lights. It was mesmerizing. He wanted to wake Nate but he was finally sleeping soundly. Nate had struggled to fall asleep in the bucket seats with the cold nipping at his face.
When Ben had his fill of watching the beautiful night sky, he scanned the trees to get his bearings looking for hidden ponds and trying to figure out where the road was. He was concerned that the truck was lurking somewhere waiting for them.
There was a high area that looked like it flattened out for the highway but it was quite a distance. The snow reflected some of the moonlight but the snow didn’t cover the ground all the way there. He’d have to get closer to the bare areas to see if it was water. It was cold enough that a pond would likely be frozen over but it probably hadn’t been cold long enough to be frozen very deep.
He meandered on the high spots the best he could, navigating around the trees and still couldn’t tell if they were approaching the road or if they were actually getting lost.
Luckily, he hit the jackpot finding the tall markers along the side of the road for snowplows. Navigation was easier and he was finally making good time. He just needed to keep an eye out for their inhospitable friends.
Soon the sky clouded over again and blotted out all the moonlight. He could only see what the headlights illuminated and it was the hour of the morning that was the hardest to stay awake. Four to five in the morning was always when he couldn’t shake the fatigue. However, his head was pounding and the throbbing from his arm did a wonderful job keeping him from nodding off behind the wheel. He could tell more wintry weather was coming when the wind picked up and he was navigating through blowing snow again. The wind gusts blasted cold air through the gaps between the snaps on the vinyl window. The windshield was already a fogged-up mess except where the engine and the weak heater kept it warm giving him just enough visibility to keep his eyes on the road.
He had a little reassurance they were actually making progress when he spotted the sign telling him how much closer they were to Whitehorse, the largest town in the territory. That also meant they were closer to the southern part of the Yukon.
He was trying to figure out the math on how long it would take to get there if they continued to make good time when he realized there was a snowy mound sitting where it didn’t belong in the center of the road. He braked hard trying to turn before he collided with it. When he veered to the left, there was another and that one was dark and hairy. He struggled to come to a stop. When the brush guard bumped into a third one, it lunged out of the way.
“What’s wrong?” Nate woke with a start.
Ben wasn’t sure whether to stop completely or hightail it out of there. He’d bumped into a bison. There was a herd of them resting on the road. When the one he bumped let out a moan as it took off, it alerted them all and they were all moving at once. “We are in the center of a bison herd. I believe they’re somewhat perturbed now.”
The ones nearest the Ranger took off for the trees. A few of the hairy beasts behind them bumped the trailer as they went. He gunned it and had to brake as more bison moved right in front of where he wanted to go. The trailer was bumped every time he stopped.
“Shine a light back there, would you, so they can see the trailer before they turn it over.” Ben slowed so he could move through the gaps hoping that a bison head wouldn’t take out the flimsy vinyl window.
Nate scrambled to find a flashlight and grunted when he found himself bound up in his sleeping bag and blankets. Ben gave the Ranger some gas trying to frantically watch what was going on in the front and the back at the same time. When the engine revved, a bison turned to face them. Its massive head had snowballs clinging to the hair under its mouth and looked like it wanted to charge. Snorting steam out its nose, it let out a strangled sort of moo before it lowered its head to challenge the front end of the Ranger. It rammed its head against the brush guard and then started to rub back and forth as if the bumper was giving it a good scratch. It almost panicked when one of its horns got caught. It jerked its massive head up and fortunately, it turned enough at the right time so the bumper slipped off its horn before it raised the Ranger off the ground.
“I heard something crack.” Nate shined the flashlight in the bison’s eyes.
Ben backed up some and mashed the center of the steering wheel hoping it had a horn. It was the most pathetic high-pitched beep but at least it had one. The noise and the blinding light stopped the bison before it took on the Ranger again. It turned and moseyed away not even miffed in the slightest as it followed the rest of the herd.
As he started and stopped to wait for the rest of the slow-moving animals to get out of the way, he could tell something wasn’t right with the front end. The bison might have done some damage after all.
“How’d we get in the middle of a bison herd like this?” Nate worked on getting the sleeping bag to release him from bondage as he turned to look out the back window again, shining the light all around.
“They were just there, resting in the middle of the road. I wonder if it was putting off some heat at the end of the day so they settled down on the asphalt to sleep.”
“Yeah? Well, there can’t be much heat left at this hour.”
“They were partially covered in snow. They’d been there a while.” Ben watched the road and slowed when he noticed some hazy light above the trees up ahead. “I think we’re nearing a town.” Ben felt pain sink deeper into his muscles that tightened his neck and radiated down his spine. The pain also wrapped around to his shoulders and across his ribs. It was probably from the seatbelt and whiplash when he hit his head. He wasn’t sure if he should be the one driving through the town or give Nate the job.
“Have you seen any tracks from that white truck at all?” Nate asked.
Ben gripped the steering wheel. “No, I haven’t. The wind has been blowing snow all over the road, though. Maybe they are way ahead of us now? If they didn’t disturb the bison, they must be hours ahead of us or who knows where they went. I’m just relieved we haven’t seen them.” It seemed unlikely that they were that far ahead, though. The bison were covered in too much snow. However, the truck did have far better headlights and a spotlight so perhaps they were able to drive around the herd without disturbing them.
“Yeah, and waiting for us in town.” Nate looked at Ben with wide eyes.
“I have no idea what town is coming up or how big it is. See if you can find the print-out maps. There have been more signs but they keep advertising places in Whitehorse. I didn’t see any that gave mileage, I mean kilometers, to any other towns. As it is, the towns in this ridiculous forsaken wilderness are barely map worthy.” Ben rubbed his face and quickly regretted it when he hit the gash on his head. Suddenly overcome with rage, he started beating on the center of the steering wheel. The pathetic bleating of the horn didn’t help his frustration level. “This is stupid and beyond aggravating. How did this day go off the rails? We aren’t even near where the power is out yet and we’ve had nothing but bad luck.”
Endure Series (Book 2): Enduring The Journey: Page 19
