“I don’t see that we have much choice,” Vince concluded.
They slowly snuck back to camp.
“Looks like we’re taking a detour, guys,” Vince announced, packing up his gear.
“Why?” Star wondered.
“There’s a huge wall out there and Cole is patrolling it. We’ll never make it to the gate without him seeing us,” Erika added.
“Crap,” Dexter exclaimed, plopping his body down on the ground. His puppy was already tucked into his pack for the hike.
“What’s the code?” a strange voice said from behind a tree.
Erika kicked herself. We didn’t leave anyone on watch, she thought.
“The code, Erika,” Vince said, breaking her mental assault on herself. He couldn’t remember what that man had told them. Something about an eagle and a snake, he thought.
The raindrops bounced off Erika’s lips as she sputtered out, “The eagle flies high to capture the snake.”
“So, you are the ones they are looking for,” the man said in a kind tone. “You must have some friends in high places to get clearance like you have.”
“I guess so,” Erika replied, signaling to her children to lower their weapons.
“My name is River Walker in your tongue,” the dark-haired man said, extending his hand to Erika.
Erika introduced herself and her family.
“I am going to get you through the wall, but then you must head north and out of our country. We no longer have much use of the white man,” he declared honestly. “Once out of our Northern lands, you can go wherever you want.”
“Sounds fair enough,” Vince answered.
“Can we get some antibiotics from you as well?” Erika asked, her concern for Vince always in the back of her mind. They had a few pills that Sam had given them, but Erika had a feeling it was not going to be enough to stop the infection that was sure to set into Vince’s arm. “My husband was injured by dogs on the way here.”
“I’ll see what we can spare as we pass town, but for now let’s just get through the gate. Are you ready to travel?” River Walker asked.
Chapter 19
The family followed the man through the pounding rain. They stood frozen as they watched Cole’s truck head back along the wall towards the gate opening.
“Come on,” the man whispered, running to the wall and sticking his hand in a hole. A small opening revealed itself in the wall. They had to throw their packs in and then jump through the small gap headfirst. On the other side they entered a beautiful forest. There was a two-lane trail with an old truck waiting in the trees. They loaded into the truck with a man who was feeding wood to what appeared to be a fireplace.
“Welcome,” the man said, noticing their looks at the contraption in the back of the truck. “Who needs gas when you have a gas-a-fire?” the man joked.
“A what?” Dexter wondered.
“A gas-a-fire. The wood goes in here,” he pointed to a small door, “and burns under low oxygen conditions. It creates vapors, which we collect here,” he pointed to another chamber. “Those vapors are directed into the carburetor which burns the vapors instead of gasoline. My great-grandfather learned how to make one during World War II.”
“Cool,” Dexter marveled at the mechanism.
They traveled on in silence while the man fed the fire. It was a welcomed relief to be safe from the government trackers inside the walls, if only the rain would let up, Erika thought. She had to admit, though, it was nice to be traveling by machine power rather than human effort. Inside the walls, Erika felt like she had traveled back in time to an alternate reality. As they neared town Erika saw long plank homes that looked like something out of a history book. The frame was made from raw wood roped together, and carefully hewn slabs of tree composed the walls and roof. It looked warm inside: smoke emanated from modern chimneys installed in the historic construction. These homes were the main feature around a few repaired modern buildings. The truck came to a halt in front of a hospital. River Walker exited the truck and instructed the family to stay put.
“But we’re at a hospital, the doctor can treat my husband properly,” Erika protested.
“Our medicine men do not treat white men,” he replied shortly. “You better make do with your ride and the medicine I am about to get for him. If you didn’t have such high clearance you wouldn’t even be getting that. Actually, you white folks would never have even been allowed in here.”
Erika watched him stomp away through the puddles. The guy that had been feeding the fire shrugged at them in a cheery way and went to find shelter from the rain. The family sat in the truck, feeling like drowned rats as the rain poured down. They huddled under their cloaks as people walked by pointing and whispering.
“Kind of feels like we’re refugees in the camp again,” Star commented.
“At least we have a ride,” Dexter defended. “I’m sick of walking.”
“Even with the ride, we have a long way to go, guys,” Vince retorted.
“And this freaking rain is not helping,” Erika commented.
“Winter will be here before we know it and we’re heading North. What are we going to do, Erika?” Vince pondered the season that would inevitably arrive.
“We have to make it as far as possible before it gets here and hope we make it all the way to your parents. If not, it’s been a long time since I winter-camped. We better save all the supplies we can and do a lot of praying. It is not going to be easy,” Erika thought out loud.
“You mean we are going to get to see real snow?” Daniel wondered excitedly.
“That’s right, Danny, but I don’t think you’ll love it that much when you find out how cold it is and how hard it is to survive in it,” Erika worried.
“It’s okay, Mom.” Star assured her. “We made it this far, didn’t we? We’ll make it to dad’s parents.”
“I hope so,” Vince responded. “But Mom’s right, it’s going to be a long, hard winter so we better stretch our food supplies as far as possible.”
River Walker returned with the other man.
“These are for you, it’s all we can spare.” He handed Erika a small bottle of pills.
They loaded water and food into the cab and the family helped them stock the back with wood and dung to keep the gas-a-fire going. Erika and her family squeezed back into the truck bed with the fuel.
River Walker showed them how to feed the gas-a-fire and took the other man, Eagle Feather, into the cab with him, explaining that his comrade might as well have a dry ride for at least half of the voyage.
It was a miserable ride to an unknown northeastern location. They huddled with their backs to the wind as their cloaks flapped wildly around them and the rain poured down. Sleep came in short bursts of moments of warmth, only to be shattered by the freezing rain and the task of feeding the fire.
They traveled for the rest of the day and long into the night. The clouds hung low over the lush forest that was rebounding from Mother Nature’s assault. Spotted here and there, Erika saw small smoke streams coming from fires built in tiny communities returning to an ancient lifestyle. It was almost surreal. Erika’s turn feeding the fire had ended, and she snuggled in between Vince and Dexter and slept.
The journey with River Walker ended at another great wall that the natives had erected.
“This is it, folks. Through the gate and on the other side of that ridge is Missoula, Montana,” he explained. “Be careful, you will be back in the United States Government Territory and the radio waves have been announcing the search for you. Take this,” he commanded, handing Vince two great big bags. One was full of jerky and the other contained dried fruits and nuts. “It is all I can do for you. It will not last you through the entire winter but it should get you a long way.”
“Thank you, River Walker,” Vince responded, extending his injured limb.
“Yes, thank you so much,” Erika agreed.
River Walker led them to the gate. There was no need to use a s
ecret doorway now. Cole was not waiting on the other side and with their tracking implants removed, their trail had gone cold a while ago. A beautiful forested mountainside awaited them.
“Look at that,” Star exclaimed as the family walked away from the gate.
“If it weren’t for this damn rain it would be perfect,” Dexter added, shaking the wet off his head.
“Even with the rain, it is perfect,” Erika retorted, taking a deep breath of the clean air.
“Smell that mountain air,” Vince chimed in.
They headed into the woodlands, aware that somewhere in the distance the city of Missoula existed. They kept a steady easterly pace, always aware that a winter trapped in the mountains might lie in their future. The mountains seemed to be preparing for it as well. The deciduous trees shed their leaves and the foliage let their flowers die.
After two days in the mountains they cleared the ridgeline and spotted the remnants of Missoula in the distance. From their vantage point they could see that the farming efforts had pushed into every available valley floor.
“Looks like we’ll need to stick to the hills,” Erika commented, surveying the land laid out before them.
“I wasn’t expecting so many people way out here,” Star commented.
“With so much less land and all the refugees from Washington and Oregon, I’m surprised there’s not more,” Vince added.
“There has to be a northern FEMA camp around here.” Erika continued the brainstorm.
“Lets definitely avoid that!” Dexter interjected.
“We need information, guys,” Star added. “Or else we could walk right into a trap, like we did before.”
“Yeah, but now we know so much more and trust much less. I’m not sure making contact is the best idea. You heard River Walker about them informing folks about us,” Erika pondered.
“Standing around here in the rain is not going to get us anywhere,” Vince interjected, sloshing back and forth in his wet boots. “We can’t go on like this forever. We need to stop and dry out.”
“North or south?” Dexter wondered.
“Looks to me like south is more farmlands and the north is more woodlands, so I say north,” Star added.
“But what if the north is more patrolled for that very reason?” Vince interjected.
“We are going to be taking some big risks either way, but remember when we drove through Montana? It seemed like the mountainous woodlands were always to the north and sparse to the south, so I’m with Star,” Erika concurred.
“North it is, then. Let’s just get going,” Dexter urged impatiently. “Dad’s right, we do need to dry out.”
They made it to the northeast side of Missoula before nightfall and made a small temporary camp with a Dakota fire just to be safe. The rain continued its relentless assault throughout the night. They woke early, unable to shake the chills from their bodies any longer. Their boots had barely dried at all as they slipped them on and continued on through the next day.
As the afternoon came to an end they were completely exhausted and drenched to the bone. Their waterproof boots were full of rain from the constant dripping down their legs, and their cloaks no longer provided any relief.
“We haven’t seen any sign of human activity all day. We have to stop and dry out,” Vince pleaded.
“Yeah, come on, Mom,” Dexter added.
“For once I agree with you guys,” Erika said. “I just don’t want to get stuck in these mountains when the snow comes.”
“We might not make it till the snow comes if we don’t dry out and get warm,” Vince argued, holding a worn-out Daniel in his arms.
“If we are going to do it, let’s do it right,” Erika acquiesced. “A real shelter with a real fire.”
“All right!” Dexter exclaimed. “I’ll start gathering wood.”
Chapter 20
Erika chose a place that was hidden amongst massive pine trees. Vince and Erika lined an interior fire pit with stones and dug a trench that would provide air flow to their fire from outside the domed debris hut they were envisioning. Erika covered the trench with small sticks tightly packed across the top and then layered that with sticky mud so the trench would not give in with activity over the top of it. Vince had found two longer alder trunks and bent them to provide an arc support system. Then he and his wife stacked small branches from the ground up to the supports, while Dex and Star’s wood pile grew. Branches were woven in and out of the support sticks to form exterior walls. Once they were completed the structure was covered with their tarps, leaving a hole in the top. Then Vince and Erika caked the structure with mud and forest floor debris to provide camouflage and help the tarps block the rain. Once the shelter was completed a cozy fire was started in the center.
To start the fire they needed dry wood, so Dexter and Star went to work with their hatchets. They had to core each piece of wood by cutting away the moist exterior to reach the dry innards. They had a large pile ready to go outside the dwelling and covered it with a tarp and debris to keep it dry and hidden.
The puppies had played at Dexter and Star’s feet in the rain while the humans toiled at their task. Erika chuckled at them as she came out to fetch more wood. The puppies would grab pieces off the stack and run back and forth as Dexter and Star chased after them.
Once everything was ready for a long night they packed into the adequate shelter. It steamed like a sweat lodge as their clothes and boots dried by the fire. It was so warm and cozy inside that no one cared about the steam, and it even made the rain outside feel refreshing when they needed to go get more firewood.
It was a relaxing night, resting in the shelter. Erika made certain Vince was taking the antibiotics and cleaned his arm with antiseptic again. The imposing damp of the trip here had not been kind to his wound. Erika wrapped the wound and stared at the puppies panting by the door. They were not accustomed to the oppressive heat the family was enjoying.
The next morning was a dark and gloomy one. The rain continued on, despite the cursing of the family. Daniel played with the puppies and his transformer in the corner of the shelter, trying to stay dry and out of the way. Erika was hell-bent on convincing Vince to stay inside and rest. She explained that they needed to count and reorganize supplies so they knew exactly what they had and could pack everything tighter. When they finished that Erika convinced him to help her patch clothes and cloaks. He was clumsy with the needle, slowly stitching the holes, but Erika told him what a great job he was doing. She was happy that he had chose to stay in and help her in the warmth of the shelter. He needed more time to heal.
Dexter and Star had found their stride again now that they had a warm night and full bellies. They were eager to go scouting.
“Can’t we please go check things out?” Dexter pleaded with his mother.
“Is the wood pile full for tonight?” Erika wondered.
“Yup, all filled up with enough to last through another night,” he replied eagerly.
“Okay but please be careful and don’t make contact with anyone!” Erika ordered. “They have no idea where we are and I want to keep it that way.”
“All right, Mom, jeez,” Dexter replied.
“Don’t ‘jeez’ me after the stunt you guys pulled back in Empire,” Erika said, looking at him and Star sternly. “Scout east so we know where we’re headed tomorrow and that’s it. Oh, and if you can hunt any fatty animals we could really use it.”
“Why, Mom? We have plenty of meat,” Dexter questioned.
“We have a lot of dried meat, but no fat. If we had some fresh meat we could render the fat from it for weather-proofing our clothes,” Erika informed him.
“Oh, the bears will love us then,” Star chuckled.
“Hey, it will work and then we could hunt the bear as well,” Erika concluded.
The teens headed out, packing lightly and leaving the puppies behind with Daniel. Trucker whimpered as Dexter left, but the young man told the small dog to stay put. Trucker sat at the edg
e of the shelter staring at the doorway, awaiting Dexter’s return.
The teens headed southeast towards the highway they assumed existed. There had to be a way in and out of Missoula still in use. They delighted in stalking through the trees, constantly on the lookout for people or small game they could kill to suit their mother’s needs.
Before too long they spotted a dilapidated town that looked like something from the Old West. The tattered sign from the past declared it was a ghost-town tourist stop. They stayed on high alert, knowing this place would be a prime location for stragglers, but found it void of human life.
“What now?” Star wondered.
“Let’s keep going a little further,” Dex suggested. “That highway has to be south of here. It can’t be far.”
“Okay,” Star agreed, “But we’ll have to turn back soon if we want to make it home before nightfall.”
They slinked on through the trees. It was much easier to stay hidden amongst the foliage and they were feeling more at ease. Suddenly Star stopped and pointed to her ear. She made the sign of a vehicle to Dexter and pointed down the hill. They snuck up to a ridgeline where they caught sight of the highway. The old vehicles frozen in time had been pushed onto one side of the road. A vehicle leading a procession of people filled the other side of the road.
“Refugees,” Star whispered.
“There must be a hundreds of them.” Dexter looked on in horror. “What should we do?”
“We can’t do anything, Dexter. Mom said no contact, remember?” Star reminded him.
“Yeah, but all those people...” Dex said, wishing he could save them.
“And what are we going to do with all of them?” Star wondered. “Shhh...look.”
They watched as the procession was followed by a tank, painted green and creeping along behind them.
“Holy crap!” Dexter exclaimed.
“There must be someplace they are going and we want to make sure we don’t go anywhere near it,” Star declared, crawling back from the tree line.
“Amen, sister,” Dexter agreed.
They snuck back through the woods towards their camp. On the way home they found a pond with two fat, busy beavers making a dam. Dexter’s knife hit its mark, and Star clubbed the second one with a stick as it was headed back to its dam.
The Changing Earth Series (Book 3): The Walls of Freedom Page 14
