Beyond the New Horizon (Book 4): Dark Times

by Conaway, Christine

  Exasperated listening to the two men argue, Charlie stood up, “Maybe we should see about locating the tractors before we go any further.” Charlie looked at Mark, “What about in your trailer? You have anything edible?”

  Mark frowned, “There is. We have those thirty-gallon barrels we put aside for the church food basket. Rice, beans and flour and I’ll bet she packed more than that. Our cellar was full of canned food.”

  “Let's get to it then. Take the horses or leave them?”

  Charlie looked to where he had tied them to separate trees after giving them their fill of water. He knew at some point they had to have more to eat than the little foraging they’d been allowed, but he couldn’t see leaving them behind. “Ride them. I don’t even want them out of our sight.”

  “Let’s get to it then.”

  Mark led the way mounted on Red. They had made it further away from Charlie's wagon than either John or Mark had imagined and after several hours of winding around stopped at a trickle of water to give the horses a much-needed drink. John had scraped out a hollow, allowed it to fill and the dirt to settle before letting the first horse have some. As soon as the horse's muzzles hit the water, John wondered why he had let the dirt settle at all. When the animal finally raised his head, the tiny amount of water left, was as muddy as before the dirt had settled.

  It was obvious they would have to allow the depression to fill before giving the next horse a drink.

  Mark had ridden further up the trail while he waited his turn at the watering hole and John heard him holler.

  “I’ve found it! My trailer is here, but the tractors are both gone as well as the camp trailer.”

  “Jesus Mark, not so loud!” Charlie hissed. “Idiot!” he added probably only for his own hearing, but John heard and for once agreed.

  The sound of disappointment in Mark’s voice spoke out loud and clear. Someone had apparently found them first which did not bode well for them retrieving their belongings. When they had found the contents of Charlie's wagon had been disturbed but not taken, he had wondered why, but if they had found the other two wagons first, maybe they hadn’t had room to take it all.

  John stopped and puzzled, “Why would they leave Mark’s wagon? Why not just pull it out of there if they had diesel to move the tractors?” Now more than ever, John had no doubt whoever it was, would be returning for the rest of it.

  He sighed and rubbed his temples. His headache had returned with a vengeance, and he hoped their stressful situation had been the cause of the first one, but now he wasn’t so sure. Granted, it felt different and was located in a different place on his head, but he couldn’t help but wonder if the tumor had changed locations. They had told him it was inoperable and for the time it seemed to have shrunk, but the doctors had also said that things could change quickly.

  Closing his eyes against the pain, and as hard as it was for John to look to the higher deity for relief, he said a silent prayer that his remission would continue, at least until after he got his whole family situated in a safe location.

  “You okay?” Charlie asked, bringing Jack to the water hole.

  John shrugged, “I guess as good as I can expect.” He saw the puzzled look that Charlie gave him and was grateful the man didn’t question him further. It was hard enough talking about his cancer to Mary, let alone telling a man he didn’t know all that well. He was aware that if the headaches continued or got worse he would have to be more forthcoming than a simple explanation.

  They heard Mark coming back through the brush and turned to listen to what Mark had to say.

  Mark sat slump-shouldered and staggered some when he climbed down. Lifting his eyes to meet theirs he said, “It’s all gone. Both tractors and John’s camp trailer. My trailer has been stripped of everything but the barrels and a few odds and ends, and I expect they’ll be back for those.”

  “Not sure that I understand why they left the barrels or your trailer?”

  “The barrels are too heavy or maybe too awkward to carry, and both tires on the one side are flat.”

  “Why not load them on the other trailer?”

  “The camp trailer was full of furniture and the stove. Maybe they didn’t take the time to look at what was in it.”

  “I guess they weren’t very smart then because a thinking person would have singled the tires out and moved it anyhow,” Charlie said and went to take Red from Mark to lead him to the water.

  “They probably thought they had a gold mine with the tractors, but I bet if we took the time, we’d find them not far from here. Neither one had much diesel, and they couldn’t have gotten far,” Mark stared in the direction he’d come from. “I guess I should have taken note of which way they left.”

  “Doesn’t matter. If it was those same guys, they probably weren’t thinking about food, and I would say they probably aren’t really smart. It would be beneficial for us if they thought that our trailers and tractors belonged to those people down there,” John told Mark as he watched Red drink.

  “I guess there is that. With them eliminated, then there’s no hurry to come back here. What do you guys want to do? I don’t want to be in the area when they come back. Not only would we be probably be out numbered but for sure out-armed as well.”

  They stood and listened to Red slurp up the water for a few seconds. When the horse lifted his head and the pool was devoid of water, Charlie led him to tie him beside Walker and Jack.

  “We have no idea how long ago whoever took the tractors was here, so we have no idea when they’ll be returning. It galls my ass to think about losing those barrels though dammit. They could mean the difference between life and death for some or all of us. I don’t think I want to give them up,” John told them while glaring at Mark’s trailer.

  “Well John, I can see the upside and the downside to moving them, but I agree. If we hide them, they’ll know we’re in the area. Not us by name, but that someone else is up here, and you can bet they’ll come looking. The upside is, we’ll have the food.”

  Mark dusted his hands, “I vote for the food, so let’s do this. Those suckers are heavy, but I loaded them with just Evelyn and Matt’s help, so it’s doable.”

  John spent a few minutes going through Lucas’s saddle bags and came up with a ball of paracord. “Just what the doctor ordered. Charlie, can you find us a couple of tree limbs long enough to place the barrels end to end?”

  Charlie climbed up the short incline where he could see the trailer and looked at the barrels. They weren’t all that tall and figured twelve feet should do it. He had no idea what John had in mind, but the satisfaction on his face said John believed he had the answer.

  Charlie remembered hearing what the girls had rigged up and thought that John had the idea to build a travois on his mind. He decided, nine feet for the barrels and an extra three to attach to the saddle stirrups. He set off armed with only his pocket knife. Finding trees that were small enough and still strong enough to carry the barrels proved harder than they’d thought. Having to cut them down with pocket knives further delayed their departure.

  Finally, with two poles of similar characteristics laying side by side, they trimmed the branches away.

  John whittled a notch around one end of each of them and tied the notched end to the stirrups. Red didn’t seem to mind and stood relaxed his weight on one foot with the other resting on his toe, his head hanging down while John wove the paracord back and forth tying a half hitch on each side as he worked his way down the length of the poles.

  Mark rolled the barrels to the back of the flatbed trailer, and he and Charlie set them down. They tipped them on their side between the poles and used the last of the paracord to tie them down. When John led Red forward, Charlie saw their first obstacle.

  “We may as well leave them written directions the way those poles dig into the ground. A blind man could follow our tracks.” He stood with his hands on his hips looking from the gouges in the dirt to the wagon bed. The tracks seemed to scream, �
�They went this way!”

  “Mark, do you feel comfortable about leading one of my horses?”

  He nodded, “I guess so. They aren’t any different than leading Red, just bigger. What do you have in mind?”

  Charlie chuckled and went to Jack. He made a quick braided knot out of his tail and tied Walker's reins into it. “Saw this on one of my old westerns. Always did want to try it out.” He did the same with Walkers tail and braided Red’s reins into the knot. Satisfied, he walked to the rear and bent to pick up one of the poles.

  “Come on John, pick up the other side,” Charlie said as he reached down to show he was going to pick up the closest pole.

  With Mark leading the horses, John and Charlie carried the ends of the poles eliminating the drag marks.

  “Good idea,” John grunted after he’d looked behind them and saw only the hoof marks, “But we can’t carry this very far, and we need to do something to disguise our trail.”

  “We don’t have to, just far enough and they’ll give up looking for us. We’ll come back and see if we can’t clean it up some.”

  They never made it a mile before John called for a halt and both men set the poles down. The stopping and starting and uneven terrain had made almost impossible to move quickly. With Mark having to stop frequently to clear the way involved Charlie and John picking up and setting down numerous times. John’s height quickly became a disadvantage unless he bent over at the waist to equal Charlie’s shorter stature. The barrels weren’t heavy with the horse carrying the bulk of the weight, but it was awkward for the two men to fight their way one-handed through the brush. Their faces were covered in scratches from being slapped by limbs the horses had bent and set free as they passed.

  Charlie finally called for a halt when he heard John groan for the dozenth time. His own back felt as if it were on fire and he could only imagine how John must feel.

  “Mark how about you stay with the animals while John and I go back and clean up our trail? It’ll give him the chance to walk upright for a while,” he asked. He saw the frown on John’s face, “You up to going back or would you rather stay and rest for a few minutes?”

  Massaging his lower back, “I’ll go with you. If I sit down, I may not be able to get back up.”

  Even without the drag marks the trail was easy for the men to follow with the horse’s tracks, broken branches and gouges made when they’d set the poles down and back at the wagon, John and Charlie saw their trail was a dead give away as to which direction they’d gone. A blind man could have followed it.

  Using their hands and feet and they filled in their tracks. They pushed and pulled rocks, branches and debris to further cover their trail and gathered leaves away from the wagon and spread them around hoping to disguise it further.

  The two of them made their trail as inconvenient to follow as they could.

  Hands on his hips, John surveyed their efforts, “I guess that’s all we can do. It’s not great, but better than it was.”

  Charlie nodded and hoped whoever came back was blind. “Maybe they’ll be too occupied by the loss of the barrels to notice our trail. Their boot prints will go a long way to cover our tracks and maybe whoever comes back will be blind in one eye and poor vision in the other.”

  John laughed softly, “Maybe. Let’s get out of here.”

  Chapter Twelve

  “Mary! Is this what we were supposed to be looking for?” Abby stood holding a handful of stalks in her hand up for Mary and Evelyn to see. The girl was covered in thick mud from her knees down, and her arms were covered to her shoulders. Her face had almost as much brown mud drying on it. Her pants were pulled up past her knees, and her feet were bare.

  Mary walked into the light looking at Abby’s hand with a smile. “Good job! Those are exactly what we were talking about. That whole area should have cattails, but I sure wish we had a rake or hoe. It would be easier to dig them up than getting all wet and muddy.”

  “Matt made us a rake of sorts out of vine maple branch. It works pretty well, but he didn’t give it to me until I was already dirty.”

  Mary hugged Abby and took the bunch of cattail bulbs from her. “Did Maggie and Lucas find anything?”

  Abby shook her head and looked over her shoulder, “They haven’t come back yet. Matt and Sherry are still digging these, but we wanted to make sure before we wasted too much time. Some new shoots are coming up, and Matt wanted to know if we should pull them too?”

  “No, let's leave them to grow as long as we can. You guys all know what a dandelion is don’t you?”

  “Phtt! I hope so,” Abby said laughing, “But Matt just told us we need to look for stinging nettles too.”

  “You do, and they’re all over in the pasture. They’re only small yet so let’s not pick them until we have to. There are so many other weeds out there we could collect but for now just dandelions, any old cattail tubers and the other plants on the list. If the temperature continues to drop, we’ll begin gathering the nettles.”

  “Matt said they’re like spinach when they’re cooked.” Abby made a face as she spoke.

  “Not quite but they are full of nutrition and vitamins, and they do taste good.”

  Abby turned to walk away and stopped, “I almost forgot, we saw the cows, and Matt says they are yours. He got close enough to see the brand, but he said they’re really spooked right now, and we should leave them be.”

  “He would know.”

  “Mom! Mom! Come quick!”

  Mary turned to where the voice was coming from. It was Lucas’s voice, and she couldn’t tell if he was excited or afraid. Without another word, she ran toward his voice. She could hear Maggie as she got closer to the trees.

  “Who owns him?”

  “Carlos did so I suppose we do now. It’s alright boy. Hang in there.”

  Mary burst through the last of the brush and found Maggie and Lucas kneeling in the grass. She could see something lying in front of Lucas and rushed toward them.

  “Oh my God, Bear. Oh, poor boy, what’s happened to you?” Mary knelt in front of the dog, and at the sound of her voice the hair on the back of the dog's neck settled back down, and his snarl turned into a whine. He flopped onto his side with his tail tucked up between his legs. When she saw a pathetic excuse for a wag, Mary reached out to him.

  “Bear, it’s okay. You’re safe now. Lucas, run and find me a blanket or something we can carry him on.”

  “I can carry him Mom. He just didn’t realize who I was that’s why he was growling.”

  “Lucas, just do as I asked. This dog is in a bad way right now, and he’s liable to bite out of fear. Just go ask Evelyn for a blanket.

  Lucas reluctantly went to do as she had asked. He didn’t understand why Bear would remember his mother and not him. Bear didn’t know Maggie, but the dog should have recognized him. He briefly wondered where Lucky, Carlos’s other dog was.

  By the time Lucas returned with a blanket, Mary had run her hands all over Bear’s body and all four of his legs. She decided that his right foreleg was probably broken and he was hardly more than fur and bones. The pads on his feet were raw as if he had run for miles across rocky terrain and in several places his hide had been scorched away leaving raw burns on his skin. They looked red and inflamed to her.

  As if it had just occurred to her to do it, she called, “Lucky! Here girl!”

  They heard a whimper from further inside the brush covering.

  Lucas immediately sat straighter and cocked his head to the side. “There!” he pointed.

  “Be careful Lucas. If she’s in as bad shape as he is, she’s apt to bite.”

  Lucas nodded and crawled toward the noise. “Oh holy crap,” he exclaimed. In a softer voice, he said, “Hey big girl. It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” The smaller dog crawled on her belly toward him. “You remember me don’t you girl. Oh man. What do you have here?”

  “Be careful Lucas.”

  “I see what Bear was so protective of. Mom,
Lucky has three little puppies in here.”

  “That’s impossible. Your father told Carlos to get her fixed, and I’m pretty sure it was your dad who took her to the vet.”

  “Dad did take her, and I went with him. We kind of got sidetracked that day, and he was going to take her back, but I guess he never did.”

  “That’s what we need right now,” Mary muttered. “Bring her and the puppies out so Bear can see she’s okay.”

  As soon as the puppies and Lucky were in front of him, Bear settled down. Lucky was in as bad of shape as Bear was. Her paws were burned and raw as well as patches of hair missing.

  The puppies were thin and only a week or two old. Their eyes were open and made mewling sounds. Feeling Lucky’s teats, Mary was pretty sure she didn’t have any milk to feed them. Mary sighed heavily, “Just what we need right now. Puppies and no way to feed them.”

  “Mom, if we feed Lucky won’t she produce her own milk? I’ll hunt some rabbits down for her.” He saw his mother wasn’t convinced and he saw the doubt on her face, “I know what you’re thinking but at least let me try. Why these might be the last dogs on earth for all we know, and you know how great of a watchdog Bear is.”

  “Let's get them back to camp and see what we have. They’re both so skinny I can’t believe she didn’t lose the puppies.”

  “Because she knew how important they might be to civilization.”

  Mary laughed and shook her head, “I think you would say anything to keep these puppies. I guess we’ll see. Now, put Lucky on the blanket with Bear and grab the other side.”

  As soon as Lucas bent to pick Lucky up, she rolled her lips back and growled at him. The hackles on the back of her neck rose up, and her jaw quivered, threatening him.

  “Hey it’s okay momma, we’re not going to hurt you,” Lucas crooned to the distressed dog. With his words, he stroked her side and reached down for one of the puppies. He slowly picked one up and handed it to Maggie who was behind him. “Put it beside Bear, so she knows we don’t mean any harm.”