The Travelers 1

by Lee Hunnicutt

  Thirty minutes passed. They had run out of tears but couldn’t stop sobbing. After a while the sobbing stopped. Their breathing was ragged.

  Beth let go of the boys and put her hands to her face. Sonny sat up, his legs straight out in front of him and looked at the ground. Jack rolled over and buried his face in the dirt.

  Beth was the first to speak. “We have to go back.”

  “No, no” said Jack. His voice muffled by the ground.

  Sonny said, “You can go back. I never want to see something like that again.”

  “We might be able to get a clue as to where we are.” Her voice was shaking. “I can’t go alone. You’ll have to go with me.”

  Jack rolled over, swallowed hard, sat up and said in an equally shaky voice “I’ll go with you. It’ll be the hardest thing I’ve ever done but I’ll go.”

  “Sonny?” Beth asked.

  All Sonny could do was shake his head no. He didn’t trust himself to speak.

  Jack got to his feet. His legs were weak. He gave Beth his hand and pulled her to her feet.

  Without a word they started back to the wagon. They hadn’t gone twenty feet when Sonny joined them. Jack and Beth didn’t say anything. Beth gave a weak smile and touched her brother on the arm.

  As they came nearer the buzzards reluctantly hopped away from their grizzly feast. Jack picked up a rock and threw it at one to no effect. All the bird did was give a little hop but didn’t fly off.

  There was clothing, furniture, three large chests and debris lying all around and in the wagon Sonny and Beth began sifting through it. Jack began to wander around the wreckage. None of them looked at the bodies if they could help it. Jack went over to what they had thought were horses. They were six mules. All of them were peppered with arrows. Jack put his foot against the rump of one of the mules and pulled one of the arrows out of the mule’s flank. He went back to where Sonny and Beth were. He picked up what looked like a petticoat and wiped the arrow as clean as he could and then he wedged the arrow under the outer straps of his pack.

  He tried to speak but had to clear his throat to do so. His voice was hoarse. “Have you found anything?”

  Sonny said, “Whoever did this took anything of use or value. I haven’t found a thing.”

  Beth said, “I’ve found some books. They’re school text books in English and” she reached in the back of the wagon and pulled out a large book “what looks like a family Bible. That’s what it is, a Bible.” She opened up and turned to the first page. “If this Bible belonged to these people, they were the Matthews family.” Her voice began to break and became high pitched. “They were married….” She had to stop.

  Sonny reached over and gently took the book from her hands and began to read. “Joshua Kerry Matthews, born April 16, 1830. Married Alice Elaine Potter, born November 27, 1833, on May 7, 1850.” He read on to himself and then closed the book. “They had five children. Two died in child birth. They had three girls and a boy that lived. One girl was born in 1855 and the other in 1862. The boy was born March 12 1870.” He looked around and said, “there are only five bodies here. Where’s the boy?”

  They looked around the wagon and by the mules and found nothing. They then began pulling things from the wagon and to look under the furniture and clothing.

  Beth was in the wagon pulling things out when the boys heard her gasp. They looked at her and saw her back out of the wagon She turned. She had both hands pressed to her face covering her nose and mouth. She was taking deep gulps of breath and making sounds as she breathed in.

  Jack stepped over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. She turned and buried her face in his chest and sobbed “Oh God Jack what have we gotten ourselves into? This is horrible.”

  Sonny walked over to where Beth had been in the wagon and lifted what looked like a table cloth. He stepped back clutching the cloth and turned. His face filled with horror. Jack looked in the wagon and there lying in the corner of the wagon was a baby boy, his skull bashed in.

  Beth had buried her face tightly into Jack’s chest and was holding him so hard that he found it difficult to breathe. He said, “Let’s get out of here.” He had a hard time getting Beth to let go of him so he moved her to his side, put his arm around her and walked towards the mountains. She kept her face buried in his chest.

  Sonny stood as if rooted to the ground staring at the baby. His body gave a sudden jump as if he was suddenly waking up from a nightmare and then he turned and walked away.

  They walked slowly to the mountains as if sleep walking, not saying a word, Beth hanging on to Jack and Sonny trailing about twenty feet behind. They walked this way in silence for the next hour. Finally, Jack stopped and he and Beth sank to the ground. Sonny walked past them as if he didn’t see them.

  Jack said sharply “Sonny!”

  Sonny stopped, looking straight ahead not saying a word. He felt that he was in a dream world. He didn’t know what he wanted to do. He didn’t want to think and he knew that he didn’t want to be here. He wanted to be home and far away from death and torture.

  Jack sat there stroking Beth’s head. He gently pushed her away. Put his hand under her chin and lifted her face. She dropped her head not wanting to look at him. He raised her head again and softly said, “Beth, Beth, we can’t stay here. We have to move on. We have to get a grip on ourselves.”

  She looked at him not seeing him. He shook her and again softly said, “We have to move on. We have to go.”

  Recognition came back into her eyes and she seemed to transform herself. “I know, but it was so horrible.”

  “Yes … it was. But we have to go now.”

  She leaned over and softly kissed Jack on the cheek and said, “Thanks Jack, let’s go.” and stood up. She offered Jack her hand and pulled him to his feet.

  They walked over to Sonny and Beth said, “Let’s go Sonny. We have to get going now. We have to think about ourselves. If we don’t, we may end up like that family back there. Sonny?”

  Sonny looked at Beth and then at Jack. His eyes started to focus. He swallowed hard and said, “You’re right, let’s go. I want to get as far away from this place as I can.”

  Beth took his hand and the three of them set off towards the mountains.

  After coming off of the last hill where they had found the wagon, the terrain flattened out and the mountains rose up above them tall, snowcapped, and overwhelming. They were in a valley that was about eight miles wide. There were more trees than they had seen before and the grass was lush. Six miles across the valley they ran into a narrow river that was about thirty feet wide. They passed through a large clump of big pines and sat down on the bank.

  They hadn’t said a word since Sonny had last spoken. They sat there in silence watching the river, the sun hot on their backs.

  Finally, Beth said, “I want to take a bath. I feel dirty and I can’t seem to get the smell of that place out of my clothes and nose.” She shrugged off her pack, undid the straps, reached in and pulled out a plastic bag with a bar of soap in it. She took her boots off. She got up and waded into the river until the water was just above her knees. She then sat down and plunged her head under water. She didn’t want to lose sight of the boys and she didn’t want them to lose sight of her but her modesty got the best of her. She said, “I’m going to take off my clothes, take a bath and then wash my clothes so turn around.”

  Jack said, “Come to the bank to take your clothes off, Beth and leave them on the bank. When you finish bathing, then wash your clothes on the bank.”

  “Why?”

  “You don’t want your clothes washing down stream. We can’t afford to lose anything.”

  She thought about what he said for a minute and then nodded her head. “Go ahead. Turn around.”

  Both boys pivoted around and looked back the way they had come. Because of the trees and the distance, they could see nothing of the wagon and what lay around it. Just looking in the direction of the massacre made Jack shudder.

>   They could hear Beth splashing in the water behind them. Sonny couldn’t help himself and had to look over his shoulder from time to time just to see if she was OK. Soon they heard her scrubbing her clothes.

  “You can turn around now.” She said.

  They pivoted back around as she was walking up the bank towards them. She was wearing her shirt that fell to mid- thigh and carrying her socks and pants. She walked pass the boys to the trees and hung her pants and socks out to dry. She walked back to the boys and said, “Are you going to get cleaned up?”

  “I am,” said Jack. “How about you Sonny?”

  Sonny nodded and started to take off his boots. Jack took his boots off and they both started down to the river. When the boys stepped into the water they both let out a yelp. Sonny spun around and yelled to Beth “This water’s freezing. How could you walk out in it without saying a word?”

  Beth just smiled sweetly at her brother. Sonny snorted, turned and followed Jack into the water.

  By the time the boys had finished bathing and washing their clothes, Beth had gathered up wood for a fire. She had stacked stones in a circle near the trees and had placed some of the wood inside the circle of stones. She had chosen a good place for a fire. The trees made a semicircle of trees and brush that ran down close to the river and on the other side of the river the trees were thicker and ran for hundreds of yards down the bank of the river in both directions. In order to see the fire, you would have to be in the clearing between the clump of trees where they were making camp and the river.

  The boys had done as Beth and were just wearing their underwear and shirts. They hung their pants and socks near Beth’s.

  Jack said, “Do you think we should build a fire? What if whoever killed those people see it or see the smoke?”

  “We’ll build it small and I’ve used only dry, old wood,” said Beth. “Besides we have to eat.”

  Jack shrugged and said to Sonny “Let’s dig out our cans and get some water in them.”

  The boys pulled out the number ten cans from their packs and went to the river and filled them three quarters full of water. By the time they got back Beth had started the fire.

  They threw a cup of rice and a handful of jerky into each can. They then chopped up two onions and two carrots and put half into each can. They seasoned the stew with garlic powder and all season salt. The cans were then suspended over the fire.

  While they waited for the water to boil, the three of them then set about making camp. Just inside the tree line they snapped two ponchos together and strung them between two trees to make a tent. They peaked the roof about six inches from where their ponchos were snapped together. This was so if it rained the water would run down the peak over the snapped seam and on to the ground. Otherwise if they peaked the roof at the seam water would come in through the seam.

  They then blew up their air mattresses. They put their mattresses on the ground under the tent. They put two of their poncho liners on top of the air mattresses. They then tied one of the poncho liners onto the third poncho and laid that on top of the other two ponchos. Tying the poncho liner to the poncho did two things. If water did get in under the tent, the poncho tied to the liner would keep water off of them and the poncho would help keep their body heat from escaping into the air.

  They went back to the fire. The cans of stew were now boiling. The carrots were still hard and would need another thirty minutes of cooking so they sat around the fire not saying anything for a few minutes.

  The bath in the river, the cold water and the activity of making camp had gotten their minds off of their ordeal at the wagon. But now their thoughts returned to the wagon and thoughts of their own survival. What had they gotten themselves into? They were just twelve years old. What could they do? They were in over their heads. It was their worst nightmare. They stared into the fire as if hypnotized. Panic and hopelessness were about to set in.

  Beth looked at her brother and Jack and could see the despair that she felt in their faces.

  She was the first to speak. “We can’t give in to this. This is a tough, harsh, unforgiving land that we have been dumped in. We can’t let it beat us. Remember what Frank hammered into us ‘When the going gets tough, you get tougher. When you’ve given it your best and you are still losing, you reach deep inside you and give more than your best.’”. She was now yelling. She was on her feet. Her face was red and her fists were clenched. “You never give up! NEVER GIVE UP!” She was now yelling at the top of her voice. She had bent over so that her face was inches from the boys faces.

  “I am not going to let this beat me. I won’t let it destroy me. I will fight until my last breath.” She moved her head from one boy to the other as she spoke. “Frank was right when he quoted that German. ‘What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.’ As horrible as it was, it WILL make me stronger. Now get off of your asses and quit wallowing in self -pity.” She straightened up and started to kick the boys in the ribs.

  All of this, especially the kicking, electrified the boys into action. They both jumped to their feet, Sonny yelling “OK, OK, OK! We get the message.” Both were rubbing their ribs.

  Jack said, “Did you have to kick us so hard?”

  Beth was standing across from them, breathing hard, her fists clenched ready to fight. Her face was still red.

  Not that they wanted to but neither one had the guts to take her on. The boys looked at her. There she was pissed off, ready to fight, standing there in her shirt and underwear, with her skinny legs. She was a sight.

  They both burst out laughing. They laughed and slapped each other on the back and pointed at Beth.

  This confused her. She hadn’t known what to expect, but laughter was the last thing she would have expected. At first it just made her madder but then she looked at herself and then at the boys and she began to laugh too. She walked over to them and put her arms around them and hugged them both. They hugged her back. It was a good moment.

  They sat back down around the fire. The carrots still needed a few more minutes. The entire mood had change from despair and hopelessness. They were now ready to go on and to take on whatever came at them.

  Jack chuckled and rubbed his ribs.

  “You got something to say Jack?” Beth said accusingly.

  “Yeah,” Jack smiled, “I’m sure glad you didn’t have your boots on.”

  “Yeah.” Sonny said, touching his ribs gingerly.

  “Well if it’s any consolation to you, I hurt my toe.” Beth smiled.

  “What do we do now?” Sonny said in a more serious vein.

  “Well,” Jack said, “Frank always said you think better on a full stomach and a good night’s sleep. So maybe we ought to eat and get some rest and then think about making plans.”

  “I am pretty hungry.” Beth said. “And I could use some sleep. I’m exhausted.”

  “You’re right.” Sonny said. “The only thing keeping me awake is the prospect of eating.” He was looking at the cans on the fire as if he could eat the stew can and all.

  “Let’s eat.” Jack said. “The hell with the carrots. A little crunch never hurt anybody.”

  Beth reached into her pack and brought out a ladle. The boys had theirs and Beth’s canteen cups out and ready for Beth to start ladling the stew out of the first can.

  It was all they could do to wait for the stew to cool. They dipped their spoons into their cups and blew on the liquid to cool it enough to slurp it down. They each had about a third of a canteen of water left in their canteens. They used it to drink and cool down their hot mouthfuls of stew.

  They scarfed down the first serving and attacked the second can. After it was gone they felt a little better but were still hungry.

  Jack collected the canteen cups and the cans and walked down to the river bank and began to wash them. Beth threw a few more sticks on the fire and went down to join Jack at the river. She came back with the cans filled with water and once more suspended them over the fire to boil the water for d
rinking.

  Jack came back and lay down on the grass next to Beth and Sonny. They had planned to watch until the water boiled but the sun was directly overhead and the day was warm. Their blood sugar had risen and they no longer felt hungry. They were asleep before they knew it.

  When Sonny woke up the sun was just going behind the mountains. He looked around, reached out and shook Beth awake and then reached over and did the same to Jack. The fire had burnt out and they had no way of knowing if the water had boiled.

  They restarted the fire. Their pants and socks had dried so they put them back on and put on their boots. They sat down by the fire and munched on some jerky. They were still tired but they felt rested. They had had their first full meal in two days and about six hours sleep. They were feeling pretty good.

  Jack said, “I’ve been giving it some thought and I believe that we are in the Western United States in the Late Spring or early Summer of 1870.”

  “My thoughts too.” Beth said.

  “How so?” said Sonny.

  “Well the Bible that you read said that the baby boy was born in March 1870.” The memory of the baby and the wagon came back to them. They pushed it out of their minds. Jack continued “I don’t think that he was more than two or three months old and assuming that he was the baby in the Bible, that puts us in Spring or Summer of 1870.”

  “Makes sense to me,” said Sonny.

  “Me too.” Beth said.

  “I think we need to follow the river downstream,” said Sonny. “Settlements and towns grow up around rivers plus we’d be going south. That’s the up side. The down side is that we could run into an Indian village. Maybe the same guys that did in those settlers.”

  “I don’t see where we have much choice,” said Beth. “We’ve ten days maybe two weeks of food. We can catch fish and snare small game but I don’t know how we will handle the long haul, especially winter. I’d say judging by the vegetation we are in Colorado or Wyoming, maybe Montana. All noted for their hard winters.”

  “Well it looks like we go down river,” said Jack. “But right now let’s think about more immediate things. Like what’s for supper?”