The Changing Earth Series (Book 2): Without Land

by Hathaway, Sara F.

  “I don’t know. Alex told me to meet him at the garbage shipping warehouse, but maybe we should just jump a ride with them,” Vince said undecidedly. He stared down the hallway they had just come from, checking for soldiers.

  “Alex told me to meet him there too,” Star chimed in.

  “Me too,” said Dexter.

  “Me as well,” Erika agreed, “So, do we trust him? I’m so sorry I told Sergeant Bennett, guys.”

  “Let’s not worry about that now. We have to get the hell out of here,” Vince declared urgently. “I guess we have to trust him.”

  “I agree,” Dex nodded.

  “What do you think, Star?”

  “I’m willing to take a chance on Alex,” she agreed.

  “Okay, let’s do it then,” Erika concluded.

  They ran to catch up with the group headed out the door so they were concealed among the throng of people. Erika’s eyes were met with fires burning in the darkness and the sounds of gunfire and screaming. There were soldiers holding a line down the road. Erika and her family broke away from the group and headed toward the garden buildings. No one wanted to fight in there. Everyone knew their futures depended largely upon the plants in those buildings. They slunk along through the rows of plants, silently entering and exiting warehouse after warehouse to get over to where the railroad line was. The noise of the fighting grew quieter and quieter as they moved farther and farther to the outskirts of the camp. Finally they smelt the horrible smell of the garbage piles that were built up at the edge of the camp.

  Vince silently opened the last door and peeked out. There was a soldier standing there. Vince was hoping it was Alex and whistled softly. The man turned and it was indeed. He motioned for them to come over to the gate.

  “Hey guys…you made it,” he said, relieved, as he opened the lock and let them through.

  Erika took note as she passed through. Hopefully this was it, the gate to freedom.

  “Thank you so much, Alex!” Vince said in a shaky voice, trying to choke back a tear.

  “Don’t thank me yet. You see this garbage car. The train is leaving in three minutes. Up toward the front is a hole in the trash. Your go-bags are in there. You guys get in there and put the garbage over you. I know it sucks but it is the only way to get past the dogs. Protect your face. Wait for one hour and you will be far enough out to get out of the garbage. Then you’re on your own.” Alex said. “You guys have earned this, run and don’t ever look back.”

  “Thanks so much, Alex.” Erika couldn’t express enough gratitude.

  Alex said goodbye to the children. They had become like nephews and nieces to him, and he was sad to see them go but happy they were finally getting their ticket out of here. Vince and the kids climbed up onto the garbage to start navigating over to the hole.

  “This is disgusting,” Star said.

  Vince was speechless, trying to keep himself from barfing.

  Erika was just about to climb up onto the garbage when Alex stopped her.

  “Erika, there is something you and Vince need to know,” Alex admitted.

  Vince overheard Alex and stopped. He turned to look back, wondering what was going on.

  “You know when you guys were going to go on the mission as a family?”

  “Yeah,” Erika answered slowly.

  “Mathew found out you are still landowners. Vince’s parents, the ones up in Minnesota, are looking for you. Mathew would have to admit that he had treated landowners like refugees and didn’t do the proper family searches with your family. He didn’t want the blemish on his record so he was going to kill you all. Sergeant Bennett found out and that’s why he arrested you. He just wanted you to know,” Alex finished sorrowfully.

  “He saved our…” Erika mumbled, suddenly feeling very guilty for all the cursing she had directed toward him.

  “Yeah, he saved your lives, and that’s why we had to get you out tonight. Head north, find your family and stay safe,” Alex finished and turned to walk away.

  “Alex,” Erika declared running up to him. “Thank you,” she said, almost knocking him over with a big hug.

  She quickly climbed up into the trash heap and joined her family in the nauseating stench of the garbage, but they were going to be free. She could endure anything for an hour to reach that goal; well, almost anything, she chuckled to herself, envisioning Jack Dwyer spread out on the floor with his balls ripped off.

  CHAPTER 46

  AFTER COUNTING THREE thousand and six hundred seconds, Erika determined they were probably about an hour away from Las Vegas. They cleared the garbage away from over their heads and found their backpacks wrapped in black trash bags amongst the other trash. They knew they could ride the train for a day before it would stop to unload at the end of the next day. They were all excited to be heading west toward a place where home used to be. The area they were heading into was known as the badlands, and Las Vegas sat right on the edge of it. The quake had ravaged an already inhospitable land, and the ocean was so full of pollution that no one was eager to have coastal housing any more.

  The train chugged through the deserted desert. Nevada had never been a state that Erika loved to travel through. It had always been desolate, even back before the quake. Now it was a ghost land. They stunk of the garbage they sat on as they stared out at the expanse. The desert gave way to tiny towns that were slowly being exterminated by the endless blowing sand. Gas stations that hadn’t operated in many years were a common landmark. The paint peeled off in the hot sun and the wind blew the flakes through the air. Rubber hoses that used to supply the precious fuel had all been pillaged long ago by looters looking for anything of use after the quake devastated world trade.

  Erika’s mind was spinning. Sergeant Bennett had saved them. That jerk-off Mathew was going to kill them. They were landowners. Vince’s parents were still out there looking for them. Vince squeezed her hand and she could tell he was lost in the same questions that she was.

  She surveyed her children. Dex was sitting with Daniel. The wind ripped through their shaggy hair. They were pointing out at the expanse with excited looks. No doubt Dex was filling Daniel’s head with visions of dragons flying over the low-lying hills or the wonders of the things they might find at a “free” town. Star sat next to the boys. Her face was alight with the sunshine of the afternoon, making it glow like an angel.

  The train began to slow as it moved through the hills and over steep canyons. They were nearing the southern end of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. This was their stop; the next time the train slowed, they all jumped off together. They stepped into the woodlands and headed north toward freedom.

  THE END