The Changing Earth Series (Book 2): Without Land

by Hathaway, Sara F.

  “Oh that’s nothing. Just a scratch. We have to avoid infection out here but it should be okay.” Erika knew she would have to monitor the cut on her head but didn’t consider it a major injury at this point. “Team A is lost, for all we know, so we are going to have to focus on our team’s survival. Let’s get started on a temporary camp so we have someplace to move Sergeant Walker to as soon as they have him stabilized enough to do that. It’s gonna be nighttime soon, and we need to make sure we are set up.”

  Vince was impressed at the emotional control she was employing. She had been taught a playbook for this scenario and she was focused. He liked this take-charge woman and he felt a little excited by it.

  “Vince!” Erika had turned and was talking to him as he gazed blankly at her.

  “Yeah, I’m sorry, what?”

  “I want you and Star and Kim to start thinking about food. We need inventory on what was salvaged and what we can scrounge around here. Dexter.”

  “Mom,” he replied

  “I want you and Rob and Roxy to do a water filter check. How many straws, canteens, and bags do we have?”

  “Got it!”

  “Greg.”

  “I want you and Mitchell and Jen to get together a temporary shelter. Somewhere we are not going to get flooded out or baked by this damn sun. Remember that the desert animals also like cool areas too, so make sure there’s no snakes, bees, rodents, or other animals that wouldn’t like us moving in.

  “Yes, ma’am!”

  “Harold…you and I need to talk to Sergeant Pontever.” Harold was Erika’s information guy and knew the route as well as the sergeant.

  “Got it,” he replied enthusiastically.

  Erika got the sergeant’s attention and waved her over. She watched the sergeant check with Betsy and Penni to make sure she was no longer needed.

  “How’s he doing?” Erika wondered.

  “His legs are really tore up, but by some miracle the femoral artery is intact. That gives him more time but we need to get him to help fast.

  “Do you think we can move him?” Erika wondered. Sergeant Bennett had told her that if they were stranded it would take at least two gallons of water per person per twenty miles. She wondered if she could move this whole group, let alone Sergeant Walker.

  “I don’t think so, Recruit Moore. We are going to have to send a team for help,” she replied thoughtfully.

  “I agree. I have everyone setting up a temporary camp for now. That way we’ll have someplace comfortable to let Sergeant Walker rest. Where are we?” Erika questioned frankly.

  “We are on the west side of the Zion National Park. We are not too far from Vegas. Thank God we made it past the river, or we would be having an entirely different conversation. Any sign of Team A?”

  “No sign of Team A, ma’am. Mitchell and Jen went down river to see if they could find the bus but didn’t see anything. That river is rolling.”

  “I’ve never seen it like that and I’ve lived in this area all my life, except when I went to Afghanistan. “

  “How far in miles?”

  “I’d say at least one hundred and forty miles to go, why?”

  “Whoever is going will need water…” Erika paused to calculate the math. “Each person will need about fourteen gallons of water for the trek.

  “We can’t carry that and we don’t have that much on hand.” Sergeant Pontever looked bewildered.

  “Our canteens filter the water so you can carry river water and just pour it into the canteen. Hopefully you’ll find more on the way but for now you’ll just have to carry what you can.”

  “Carry what I can? You’re volunteering me?”

  “I think that’s the best idea. You are the highest ranking officer, but I am the leader of this team. I know their strengths and weaknesses better than anyone. I’ll sent two recruits with you, but I think it should be you.”

  “I was hoping to stay with Terrance…I mean, Sergeant Walker,” she corrected herself blushing at her slip-up.

  “That’s why it has to be you, Sergeant Pontever. You have the most motivation to get there fast. I will watch over him. Penni and Betsy will be by his side but you have to save him.”

  Sergeant Pontever pondered this for a minute. “You’re right,” she replied finally.

  “Who do you want to take?” Erika queried.

  “You know the team best. Who do you suggest?” the sergeant countered.

  “I would take Rob and Star. They can both go the extra mile. They are loyal and strong,” Erika admitted, even though the idea of splitting the group up even more didn’t really appeal to her.

  “She’s right,” Harold interjected. “The two of them can do that walk in a few days. They are machines.”

  “Then it’s settled. We can follow the old road, so we can leave tonight and walk through the night and early morning, resting in the afternoons.”

  “I agree…that will help to keep your body temperatures down,” Erika interjected. “Are there any towns along the way to score supplies at?”

  “Negative, Recruit. The towns around here relied mostly on huge propane tanks that were buried underground near the towns. When the quake hit, many of these tanks blew up and the towns were obliterated. Plus, what was left was stripped by survivors and then the military.”

  “Okay then, your team gets all the food, water and portable water-purifying systems. We can keep the big purifier here at our camp and just use the river water.” Erika’s mind was racing with survival information. She knew the team walking would have the short end of this stick, so they needed the supplies for energy.

  “We can’t take all the food. What will you guys eat?”

  “Leave enough for Sergeant Walker just in case we can’t forage any, but look where we are. It’s spring and this area should be booming with edibles. If they are here, we’ll find them. What else will we have to do?”

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure. Now we’re wasting time, let’s get your team ready to move,” Erika concluded.

  Erika noticed Harold was talking with Vince, who had returned with Greg and Dexter to help move Sergeant Walker to the encampment they had set up. In a matter of moments they were ready to move. The going was slow in the heat, with Sergeant Walker moaning as he was delicately carried across the beautiful high desert landscape. The camp was located on the western facing side of a mountain. Erika was awestricken by the gorgeous landscape spread out before her eyes. All shades of green danced everywhere. It was all growing and full of life. Flowers of all kinds of colors popped out and welcomed them. Erika’s blood pumped with the excitement of being in such a magical place but she kept Sergeant Bennett’s voice echoing through her head: What is our mission, operation details, strategy, tactics, tools and techniques?

  “So, what do you think?” Vince said beaming with pride as they got Sergeant Walker situated in his tented area.

  “Looks good, Vince,” Erika replied, consumed with mission parameters.

  “Looks good…check this out. See, we have a fire area in there that will vent out the corner but reflect off all those rocks for heat at night. Sergeant Walker will need it.” Vince had walked under the tarp that was covering the main area and was pointing out various features. “Over there is a natural cave. It will sleep at least four of us at a time, and don’t worry, we have been smoking it out to make sure there are no varmints, bees or hornets in there.”

  “Perfect, Vince, it looks perfect. Good job, guys.” Erika congratulated her team. “Now we have to get Sergeant Pontever, Star and Mitchell ready to go. They are going back to Vegas for help. Let’s load them up with all the food, water and filters they can carry.”

  “Got it,” they responded without question. Before the evening fell, they had the team ready to leave and were waving goodbye.

  “I love you, Star. Travel safely and swiftly,” Erika said to her beautiful daughter as she left.

  CHAPTER 32

  THERE WAS NOTHING left t
o do. Erika sat down to a small plate of food, but she just couldn’t relax.

  “Hey baby, you doing okay?” Vince asked, sitting down next to her to share her warmth.

  “Yeah…besides this horrible pickle we’re in.”

  “It’s gonna be all right. We are going to get home to Daniel,”

  “I know we will, that’s just how we roll,” Erika replied sarcastically, smiling at him. She wondered how he could be so lighthearted in the middle of all this. She had thought he would be pissed. “I just hope we get Sergeant Walker back too before it’s too late,” she said worriedly.

  “We are going to do the best we can. Penni and Betsy have hardly left his side, but I don’t know what else they can do out here.” He spoke as if to himself but quickly came back to her. “So what do you have planned for the morning?”

  Nancy joined Vince and Erika by the firelight. She was finished setting up sleeping mats and tidying up the area. She was always a flurry of movement. Erika could see the look of frustration as the light from the fire flickered off Nancy’s face. Erika braced herself for an emotional confrontation.

  “This is crazy, Erika!” Nancy declared as she plopped herself down in a chair they had salvaged before the bus had disappeared into the water. “I can’t believe this…I let you talk me into going on this salvage mission…just one time beyond those gates in nine years, and look what happens,” she stammered on almost to herself.

  “Mom…Mom,” Erika interjected, attempting to stop this escapade before it got too emotionally charged.

  “No, Erika, this time we are in deep. We have no soldiers here, we’re all split up…no one knows what to do.” Nancy was worried. Her whole family was here, stuck again. Nancy had warned Erika a long time ago that she didn’t want her daughter constantly in these situations, but Erika's spirit was wild. Nancy wanted them to just find a way to stay safe and sound, for the sake of the children, but her daughter was so driven so set on changing the world. Now here her daughter was putting life and limb at risk again; it was enough to drive a mother crazy. Nancy looked right at Erika and spoke with a seriousness that Erika rarely heard, “You got us here, Erika.”

  Vince quietly looked on at the two women caught in a trance with one another. He knew Erika could handle the situation; he was just curious how she would do it, would she take control as the leader he knew lived inside her or would she lose control and blow up?

  He looked around, noticing that he was not the only one who was interested in this showdown. Harold had just finished feeding the ladies at the medical tent. Greg and Rob were just returning from their patrol; Dexter and Roxy had a suitable pile of firewood stacked up; and Jen and Kim had just finished cleaning up the meal.

  “No one knows what to do? Really, Mom?” Erika couldn’t believe this sudden lack of faith. She was annoyed but she understood too. Deep down inside she was frantic and in a panic. She wanted to scream and was just as frustrated with the situation as her mother, but now was not the time to show it. Now was the time to muster her courage, to walk with purpose. She had done it many times since the Great Quake. Right now, she knew she had to be the glue to hold the team together and get them home.

  “I know exactly what to do. While you all were learning about fabrics, buildings, and soil, I was out getting my butt kicked and my head filled with emergency parameters.” Erika was addressing the whole group now. “We can’t lose it now. Now is the time when we have to pull together to get Sergeant Walker home and get us back to the kids safely.”

  “Oh, little killa’ back in the house again!” Greg teased Erika, trying to lighten the whole mood.

  “Yeah, that’s just what I’m afraid of,” Nancy said sarcastically. Her body relaxed and she sat back in her chair ready to hear what her daughter had planned. They were here. She would just have to trust that they would make it home, again.

  “Shut up, Greg,” Erika jested back at him. “Seriously, guys, let’s sit down and assess our situation.”

  Everyone got comfortable. They had spread blankets around the fire to supplement the lack of chairs. Erika noticed Rob and Roxy snuggled together on a blanket of their own.

  “Okay, our mission is clear,” Erika began. “We just have to stay alive until help gets here. I’m thinking at the most that will be about five days.”

  “We don’t have enough food to last that long, Erika,” Kim chimed in.

  “I know, Kim.” Erika was upset that she had interjected so soon. “I had to send it with the runners, they are going to be burning a lot more calories than we will be. But let’s think about that in a moment. Right now I want everyone to really think about our location. What do you think the strength and weaknesses of this spot are?”

  “It’s dusty and there’s lot of bugs,” Roxy chimed in.

  Erika had to chuckle a little to herself. The girl was so much like her mother, and almost on cue, Penni came out from the medical tent.

  “What are we missing?” she mused.

  Erika noticed she looked absolutely exhausted. She would have to make sure that Penni and Betsy both got some rest. They could sleep in shifts but if they didn’t, they would be no good to Sergeant Walker.

  “We’re just formulating a game plan,” Erika said, getting up to give her a big hug. Erika wished she could loan Penni some of her own energy. “I can help out with that, you know,” Erika said, pointing to the tent. “I do know the basics.”

  “I know, but you’re of more use out here. Don’t let me interrupt, continue your conversation,” Penni insisted.

  Erika offered Penni her chair and decided to just stand instead of sit. “Okay…where were we. Oh, yeah…bugs and dust.”

  “Too darn much as far as I’m concerned,” Penni said and Erika chuckled again. “What?” Penni wondered.

  “Nothing,” Erika replied, “so we’ve established we have bugs and dust. Which isn’t too good for the sergeant over there.”

  “We’ve got a great water source,” Harold chimed in, “but it’s weird.”

  “What’s weird,” Erika wondered.

  “Well, we’re really not familiar with the river patterns here, but why was there the huge rush of water that wiped us out, and now it appears that the water is running out.”

  “Sergeant Bennett told me to be cautious about the canyons if we were to get stuck out here. He said that there are flash floods with no rain, so maybe they are just that low sometimes too.”

  “But they sure are beautiful, aren’t they,” Nancy interjected, marveling at the beauty of the landscape they were trapped in.

  Everyone nodded in agreement. They had been caged for too long in a blah landscape and the beauty of this place was overwhelming, but Erika had been firmly informed of the dangers that existed here as well.

  “It sure is, Mom, but one thing I do know we can live without food for five days but not without water, so that is a mission priority when it’s daylight.” Erika didn’t want to stamp out the good vibes she felt filling the air now, but she needed to keep everyone focused.

  “Mom,” Dexter spoke up.

  “What, Dex?” Erika humored the fourteen-year-old.

  “I don’t like our exposure to that mountain ridge across the road over there,” he worried, pointing out to the horizon.

  “It’s pretty far out there, Dex…” Erika was going to correct him.

  “Yeah, but if you had a good rifle, you could pick us all off like flies,” Dex said with an eerie tone to his voice.

  Erika had to stop and think for a minute. He was absolutely right and she had totally missed it. She made a mental note to really pay attention to what her boy had to say; maybe he was more intuitive than she gave him credit for.

  “He’s right,” Rob interjected.

  “I agree,” Erika admitted. “Another mission priority for the morning. Greg and you will head out with the one rifles to check it out.”

  “But it was my idea, Mom. Why can’t I go?” Dex contested his mother.

  Erika looked
to Vince to see if he wanted to allow Dex to go or not. She didn’t need to ask anything; she saw the look in his eyes saying no way.

  “Because we will need strong hands with the water.” Erika tried to dismiss the boy.

  “But they’re both stronger than I am. Wouldn’t they be more help than I would be?” Dexter countered.

  “Dex, you are not going and that’s it. You are staying here to help with the water,” Erika said firmly. She knew what Vince’s opinion was and she wasn’t about to have all her kids separated. She was going to be certain one of them was safe in her hands.

  “Fine…whatever,” Dexter puffed in rejection.

  “One of the strengths of this place is we won’t have any sunlight for half the day, and if there are gunners up there we have that cave we can crawl back into. It doesn’t go that far, but it’s far enough to stay out of the line of fire,” Vince added, noticing that everyone was just presenting problems and not solutions.

  “And we have all these big boulders around. We could roll them in and dig a trench behind them. No bullets are gonna get through that,” Greg declared, as he brought Penni a glass of water.

  She took it from him and slugged it down. Greg could see her exhaustion as well, and gently rubbed her shoulders as he stood behind her. His short brown hair was red in the light of the fire, and Erika notice it was thinning quite a bit as he got older.

  “Then that’s the plan after we get the water secured,” Erika agreed. She knew it was pretty much useless to argue with Greg. When he did have an opinion, if someone disagreed with him, he would just get all puffy and usually go ahead with his plan despite the disagreement, or he’d blow it all out of proportion and do exactly the opposite with extreme anger.

  “Kim,” Erika said, regaining the girl’s attention. “In the morning I want you to scout out where we can find plants and animals to add to our food supplies.” Erika wanted to make sure she came back to address the girl as promised.

  Kim was pleased with the attention. Her eyes looked sexy on her thin frame as she beamed with pride. “Got it!”