Dangerous Shores: Book Three; The End of the Road

by Christine Conaway

  “Hush…you guys will wake the dead. The kids are trying to sleep in here.” Maggie was wrapped in a survival blanket and her boots. She turned and went back in, Rob and Alan right behind her.

  “Daddy, Nana says it’s time to get up. We’re going to leave today and she says if you want anything to eat you better get it now.”

  Rob rolled over. In spite of the hard ground he had slept well. His body ached but he knew once he got up and moving he would feel better.

  He groaned and stretched. He yawned, sat up and looked around in surprise. The carts were packed. The fire was out and everyone was standing around dressed in their outer clothes ready to leave. Angie and Liza wore a mishmash of everyone else’s clothes. Both girls were looking far better than when they found them. They were clean and they had color in their cheeks.

  “What time is it?” Habit directed him to look at his arm. He still wore the circle of lighter skin where his watch used to sit.

  “Early, but we thought we’d get an early start. Ellen says if we get with it we can make it to the farm today.” Maggie told him.

  “I said we might make it to the farm. That’s if we get a move on and nothing crops up. At least it’s stopped snowing and the wind has died down some. I don’t like the looks of the clouds but we should make good time.”

  Someone had made the same beef hash from the day before but it was filling and still warm. Rob sat up, ate his share of breakfast and packed up the sleeping bag. He used his finger to scrub at his teeth. They’d run out of toothpaste and salt days before.

  Lucky charged out of the door before it was fully open followed by the younger kids. Olivia had never seen snow before other than in pictures. She stood there and stared around. Her eyes were big and her mouth open in surprise. She reached down and picked up a handful and threw it down immediately.

  “Is it supposed to be so cold?” She blew on her fingers.

  They laughed and with Rob and Alan leading the way they set off. It had been decided they would keep the wagon empty other than the kids packs. They were light and wouldn’t add any weight to the load. Everyone would walk and when they tired, they would take turns riding. Holly was in her usual place hanging off of Dana’s chest, her head stuck out of the back pack. Dana had a hard time fitting Holly in the bag because she seemed to be growing so fast. She had changed from the half-starved puppy Ellen and Frank had found.

  Ellen, Maggie and Brad pushed or pulled the carts and wagon. Maggie had the wagon until the kids needed to ride then one of the boys would pull it. She hadn’t been feeling well and Hannah had made her confess to only taking half of her medicines because she was trying to make them last. When Hannah explained she may as well not take them at all for all the good they were doing her she agreed to use the full dose. They hoped to find more somewhere after they got settled in, but they all knew how they would lose their potency with the passing of time. Hannah did have her book on medicinal plants and hoped to come up with alternatives once spring arrived.

  In the distance they saw spirals of smoke rising in the air so they knew there were others out in the valley.

  They had no recourse but to walk down the highway. There was no trees or ditches to hide in if they were seen. They hoped that no one bothered them but they were prepared for everything. Jamie, Rob and Jessie followed keeping track of the empty road behind them with Hannah and Rosa watching their sides.

  They passed the high school without seeing anyone. The outside wall was blackened from a burned out car that had been crashed into the wall and all the glass was broken out of the windows.

  Everyone was starting to feel the cold by the time Ellen saw their next turn. She was surprised by how well they were doing. No one had ridden in the wagon yet but the novelty of being on the road again had worn off. They had quit laughing, skipping and playing a mile or so back. Angie, Liza and Olivia were starting to drag their feet. Ellen could see the three girls were getting tired and were probably cold. They had put all of their extra clothing on Angie and Liza but with the lack of body fat, it was going to be hard to keep them warm.

  She figured they had walked five miles or so and knew that just after they made their turn there used to be an old barn belonging to one of her friends from high school. She hoped the barn was still standing. They would hold up there for a short rest.

  As soon as they made the turn on to Garrison road she saw they were going to have problems. While the wind had blown the snow of off Badger road, it had piled it in huge drifts across the road in front of them.

  She saw the barn was still there but a snow drift rose halfway up the front of it. There would be no stopping there. They were going to have to dig themselves a path through the drifts on the road.

  “Okay…now what?” Rob asked.

  Ellen sighed loud enough everyone had to have heard her. “Well damn.” She looked around. “Well we could cut across the field and avoid the road but it’ll be hard to take the carts.”

  “And we’d have to get through that.” Rob said pointing at the skeletons of blackberry vines. The three strand barbwire fence on the north said of the road was covered in vines. Snow had piled up against them too making them a formidable barrier. But they would only have to dig their way through one snowdrift rather than a half mile of it.

  She explained what she thought they should do. This was a decision she would leave up to the guys.

  Hands on hips, Rob, Alan and Brad walked up and down and surveyed the fence. Alan pointed back the way they had come.

  Ellen looked where he’d pointed and grinned. She hadn’t noticed it but there was a wire gate giving vehicle access to the pasture. They turned the carts around and went back to the gate. There was a snow drift up the fence line but nothing in front of the gate.

  “Okay can everyone grab a bag and put it on? We aren’t going to be able to pull these carts loaded through the grass so if we all carry something it will make it easier on the people who move the carts.”

  Olivia decided because she didn’t have a bag to carry that she would pull the wagon with the black plastic bag containing most of their loose blankets. The sleeping bags were tied on top of the men’s back packs.

  She didn’t pull it for long because she kept getting it high centered on the grass hummocks and she wasn’t strong enough to pull it off. Jamie finally took it from her. She grabbed a hold of his hand and held on as he propelled them both across the pasture. By cutting corner to corner across the pasture they were able to save a few footsteps over using the road. Once they had lifted the carts over the barbwire fence and gotten everyone through they only had a short distance to go to the next turn off. Once they made the turn Ellen called for a few minute’s rest.

  The road in front of them was solid drift until they reached the tree line. There was no getting around it. The fence and blackberry vines that had grown over it, made the perfect blockade for the blowing snow.

  She knew there was no way the smaller kids could cross the drift on their own. Just the task of fighting their way through it would wear the kids out. It would be hard enough on the adults. The drift was at least three feet at the shallow end and a hundred feet across.

  She stood with her hands resting on her hips. She looked at Rob and Brad, “What do you think?”

  “Just a suggestion but what about putting some of those bags on the boys and letting them barge a trail through. I don’t want them getting soaked but the bags should keep most of it off of their clothing.”

  “They look almost as tired as I feel, but we do need to get up into the tree line before it gets dark. I’m afraid the trees will be the only shelter we have for the night. We’re only five miles out but like I said before it’s the hardest part of our journey.”

  “Jamie, Jesse can you come here for a minute.”

  Both boys ran up. Their cheeks were bright red and they were puffing clouds of warm air. Brad explained what they needed them to do. Equipped with black garbage bags worn over their shoes and tied to the
ir belt loops they started off side by side. They cleared the first thirty feet in no time and then had to rest. Wading through the deep snow was taking its toll on them. What had seemed like it would be fun had now become hard work.

  Alan and Rob traded places with them. It wasn’t fun for them either and they soon knew how tired the boys were. They kept at it until they had finally broached the drift. It would still be hard to get the carts through but with them all carrying something they felt they could do it.

  An hour later they had topped the first rise in the road. “That’s the tallest grade we have to traverse. It’s all uphill but the grade won’t be as steep. Does anyone want to find a place to tuck in around here or about a mile up is a horse pasture with a huge rock we could probably hang the tarp off of for sleeping under.”

  Hannah, Maggie and Rosa had the kids by the hand and were dragging them up the hill. They were doing what they could to keep up, but lack of good food for Liza and Angie had left them with little energy. It was pretty clear that all of the kids would have to be carried or pulled. They were not going to be able to keep up the pace.

  “Put Joe, Barbie and Liza in the wagon and I’ll pull them. If I have to I will take them up and come back for Olivia and Angie. Maybe even Hannah. I’m not sure she’ll make it if we don’t.” Rob offered.

  “Let’s tie a piece of rope on the handle and I’ll help you pull them up along with the tarp. One of us can stay with the kids and set up the tarp and get a fire started.”

  “Rob, I think Alan and I should go first. For one thing I know where the trail is to the pasture. It wasn’t well marked.”

  “That makes sense but I think either Jamie or Jesse should go with you for protection. Remember your line? WWFD”

  They laughed, because Rob sounded exactly like Frank. Their laughter stopped abruptly when they realized they no longer had Frank to remind them of good security.

  “Let’s do this then.” Alan looked in his pack for a length of line he’d put in there at the boat. It was one of the sheet lines. He had wondered at the time if it wouldn’t come in handy at some time and this proved him right. The line was 5/8 braid and would be easy on their hands and strong.

  He pulled it from his pack and threaded it through the handle. Ellen helped Liza, Joe and Barbie into the wagon and covered them with a sleeping bag.

  They started up the incline leaning forward putting their weight into pulling. With the two of them pulling it was easy to move the wagon. They were soon out of sight around a curve in the road.

  “Now, we can either sit here and wait for them to come back for us or we can start up after them.” Maggie said. She hated the thought of sitting and getting colder. Being used to the cold from past winters she knew if they simply sat and did nothing the cold would find its way into their bones faster than if they remained active. She for one didn’t want to sit down and have to get back up, not only for the cold factor but it would be harder to get started again mentally. Being the oldest member of their group she knew none of them could know how she felt. If it hadn’t of been for Rob wanting to go and take Dana with him because he felt that in the long run they would be safer, she would have stayed on her farm in Eureka and let the rest of the world be damned. She wasn’t a warrior or very good with a gun. Some days she just wanted to stay in her pajamas and read a good book. Now there would be none of that. They would all have something to do sun up to sun down. Never ending tasks to do just to get through a single day. She wondered how many days she actually had left.

  “Okay! Everyone up. We can start walking up that hill. We managed the one behind us and we can manage this one. We can’t leave it up to those two to ferry the rest of us up there. We have the two feet God gave us. Let’s use them.” She took Dana in one hand and Angie in the other, “Let’s go.”

  “Dana, if you would put that dog down on the ground and let her walk like God meant her to…”

  “But Nana…”

  “Please just do it. She can walk for a while and she probably has to go pee anyhow.”

  They stopped while Dana took the pup out of her pack. Lucky jumped all over in his excitement. As soon as Holly’s feet hit the ground, Lucky headed up the road after the others with Holly right behind him. Dana took off in a jog after them calling Holly back to her.

  Olivia came up from behind running up the hill after them, “Dana wait for me.”

  “It would seem they have renewed energy. If I’d have known putting that dog on the ground would have had those results I would have told her sooner.” Brad, Rob and Rosa laughed.

  She looked at Hannah who was the only voice she had not heard laughing. “Honey, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. I’m just tired.”

  “Aren’t we all?”

  They were talking as they walked when Hannah stumbled. Rob caught her by the arm before she could fall. He had been pushing the dock cart which held their back packs. As he walked he tried to remember what they had packed in them that was so heavy. As far as he knew the heaviest thing in them should be the water. They had removed most or all of the food and cooking pots and put them in the other cart, but it seemed like the farther he pushed the heavier the cart got. The only pack that they hadn’t touched was Frank’s. Ellen had been adamant that they leave his alone until they got to the farm. Out of respect they had honored her wishes. He thought he may just be tired too, but he unlike Hannah, wasn’t carrying an extra person onboard.

  Jesse and Jamie stopped beside them with the manure cart. It was full of the last of their food and the extra guns from the farmhouse and their cooking supplies. It was the heaviest of the two carts and took both boys to get it up the incline.

  Karen and Rosa came up arm in arm with Brad walking last in line carrying the Ar-15. They hadn’t seen so much as a track from an animal let alone another person that wasn’t fresh and made by someone in their group.

  To Ellen’s surprise, when they reached the trail she knew it led to the rock where she had attended a couple of keg parties back in the day. The trail had become a rough gravel road. The grass and weeds growing through the rock said it hadn’t been used in a while so they had continued up. They had used caution and found an abandoned half built structure. On a concrete slab sat a roof and unfinished walls. Stacks of two by fours and siding lay in stacks. Rolls of insulation were piled on the slab in one of the unfinished rooms.

  She looked at Alan, “Well I guess this will make it easier to build us a shelter.” She looked around, “Alan, the way I count it we now have sixteen people in our family. That’s not counting any of my friends that may have found their way to the farm. So, let’s not open up the insulation because I have an idea we’re going to need it in the future. I for one don’t want to have to roll it back up.”

  “We’re close enough to come back for it?”

  “We are. Less than four miles. So yes that’s close enough.”

  “Why did we stop then? We could go another four miles. It’s not even dark yet.”

  Ellen shook her head. She wore a frown wondering if he paid enough attention to the people around him. “That’s the reason.” She pointed at the wagon. Not one of the children had gotten out of it. They sat bundled up in the wagon. “They are exhausted and have you even been paying attention to Hannah lately? Can’t you see she doesn’t feel well?”

  “I am paying attention to her. When I ask she always tells me she’s fine.”

  “Alan, how can she be fine? She’s six months pregnant. There’s no such thing as fine. The fact is, I don’t know how she’s made it this far. I’m pretty sure I would have given up before now. I’ve got to get back down there or it’ll be dark before we can get back up here. You okay with doing this?”

  Yep. I’m going to wall off a corner by that cement patio so we can have a fire. I’ll get the kids gathering wood while you’re gone.”

  “Hey, sorry if I was brutal. We all need to keep an eye on her not only you.”

  “No worries but I’ll pay
more attention in the future. It would help if she’d be honest with me though.”

  “Or maybe treat her as if she is very pregnant and you knew there was no way she could always be fine.” She laughed. “See I don’t know what I’m talking about either.”

  She walked down the drive. She had only made it around the second turn from the road that led to the pasture when she heard voices. She stopped and listened and was surprised to hear the others and they seemed to be headed her way. Ellen stopped and waited in the middle of the road. They were strung out in a moving line of people, but the look on the two boys, Jamie and Jesse as they hurried the cart up the hill made her want to laugh. They looked like each was trying to out push the other. Ellen watched them duel for the lead. Having arrived in front of Ellen much faster than the rest of the group, she saw when it dawned on them how well they had done by working together. They set the cart sideways so it couldn’t roll back down the hill.

  They traded high fives with each other and with Ellen. She had never figured exactly what the high five demonstrated but she assumed it was much like a thumbs up. They watched Rob struggle with the dock cart.

  Both boys must have had the same idea because they both jogged and skidded on their feet back down the grade.

  She saw Rob throw his hands up relinquishing the cart to the boys. Laughing they pushed the cart up and past Ellen.

  “Hey! You might want to wait for me.” She told them when they ran right on by. They stopped. Their faces were red from the cold and steam rose off of their bodies. They had worked up a sweat pushing the cart.

  The others caught up and Brad and Rob both got on the handle of the cart and started up the hill.

  “Well damn…this is the way we should have been doing it all along.” Rob exclaimed when the cart moved easily.

  “At least going uphill.” Brad agreed.

  Ellen showed them were to turn and they were soon all standing in front of the skeleton of the house.

  Alan had tied the tarp to the two by fours making a small three sided room opening on the cement patio. Someone had gathered wood and a fire was already burning. The Liza was laying asleep on the quilt in front of the fire. Angie and Hannah went over to check on her.