by Brant, Jason
Karen stood beside another wagon, identical to theirs, and yelled something up at the person in front. Her clothing had changed as well; the blood-covered dress replaced with a man’s black shirt and tan pants. Her strong, wiry figure still shown through the baggy clothes and McCall took it in as he worked his way to her. She got even more animated when someone yelled back at her and she started pointing her finger at whoever it was.
Several people were crammed in the back of the other wagon, each with blankets wrapped around them. Two children huddled together, their heads peeking out from under a blanket. A blonde woman spotted him when he got past the horses and let out a small cry. She covered her mouth quickly and pointed at him, whispering to someone beside her.
Karen turned her head at the shout and spotted McCall. She stood in place, her jaw dropping open as she watched him limp toward her. “McCall!”
He braced himself as she sprinted forward, heading straight at him, her mouth breaking into a smile that seemed to cover her entire face. She threw her arms around his neck, still running full speed, and knocked both of them over. He didn’t even try to catch himself with his shot leg as he tumbled backward into the deep snow.
They sunk a foot deep, with the white powder falling into their faces as Karen showered him with kisses. He could barely get a breath in as she kissed his forehead, cheeks, and mouth. She laughed when a large clump of snow fell in his eyes and he shook his head like a dog, trying to throw it off.
“Are you trying to kill me?” he asked. He attempted a serious look, but couldn’t keep a faint smile from touching his lips.
“I’m fairly certain that nothing can kill the infamous Mad Dog McCall.” She stood up then and helped him pry himself out of the man-shaped indentation he’d made in the snow. “You’ve been on the verge of death for over two weeks now.”
“Two weeks?”
Could it have been so long? Looking around now, he could see that they were at the base of the mountain range that had been far to the north. He knew they had a long distance to travel, but he never expected it to take two weeks to get here. The lack of elasticity in his muscles, and the amount of fatigue they’d incurred by just walking around the wagon, concurred with what Karen said.
“You woke up a couple of times and mumbled some gibberish, but you always passed out again within seconds. You ran a fever for a full two days that I was certain would finish you off.”
“How far have we come?” McCall looked past the lead wagon and saw a large stone wall that sat at the base of some impossibly tall mountains. “And what the hell is that?”
Karen followed his gaze. “We’ve been heading further into the mountains for days. These are the highest peaks we could see. We made it the whole way while your lazy ass was sleeping.” She pointed at the enormous wall ahead. “We have no idea what that is. We were just arguing about what to do next.”
The two deputies of Sheol climbed down the front of the other wagon and walked back to them. Jane and Walter came around from the other side, breaking into smiles when they saw him. McCall put his good arm around Karen’s shoulders and let her take some weight off of his leg.
“Glad to see you’re back with the living,” Gary said.
“It didn’t look good for awhile,” Jane said. She still held her axe by her side. McCall wondered if it might be permanently attached to her hand.
“I don’t die easy,” McCall said, reasserting his well-known bravado.
“Apparently not,” Gary said.
Karen pointed at the wall. “Mike and Walter want to try and find another way around the mountain. I think we should try and find a crack, or shallow spot, and break through.”
“That’s a pretty damned big wall,” McCall said. It had to be at least twenty feet tall and had a smooth, almost sanded surface. There would be no way to climb over it.
“Do you see the path behind it though? It runs right between those peaks, almost as if it was cut right through the mountain,” Karen said.
He could see it, but it might as well have not been there with the wall between them and it. “Why don’t you want to try and find another way around?”
“We’re out of food,” Karen said. “The further into the mountains we’ve come, the less wildlife we’ve seen. We’ve got too many mouths to feed and we can’t keep any meat from spoiling beyond a day or so. If we try and find another way through and don’t spot anything soon, we’re dead.”
Simple enough, McCall thought. He doubted that anyone here had an intellect even approaching Karen’s, so he would go along with whatever she thought gave them the best chance. He examined the wall a bit more and thought he could see two lines running down it, a dozen feet apart.
“That looks like a door,” McCall said.
“We think it is.” Walter stepped forward and stood by Gary. “But we’ll be damned if we can see how it opens. Even if it had hinges, it would be way too heavy for us to push open anyway. We’d need Hercules himself to even budge it.”
“Help me over there,” McCall said to Mike.
The man mountain didn’t budge.
“You can’t be this stupid,” McCall said, glaring at the large man. “We need to help each other, or none of us are going to make it.”
After some prodding from Gary, Mike relented and helped McCall walk over to the wall. He nearly carried him, lifting most of his weight off the ground with one arm, and grumbling the entire way. He managed Mad Dog’s weight like a man would a child. McCall made a mental note to never get in a fist fight with the big man.
Two lines had been hand cut into the wall and ran the entire way to the top. He tried to peer inside them, hoping to see if they went the entire way through, but the stone was too deep. There didn’t appear to be any other spots on the wall like those two lines.
“Who could have done this?” McCall asked. “We’re in the middle of nowhere, so who built the wall? This must have taken years, maybe dozens, to build.”
No one responded for awhile. Everyone stared at the wall, contemplating the questions.
“Could the rumors be true?” Karen asked. “Is there some kind of civilization around here?”
“What civi—” McCall stumbled on the word. “What?”
“The rumor in Sheol is that there is a settlement of some sort beyond the mountains.” Karen nodded toward Jane. “They said that people would occasionally leave the town and head north, hoping to escape Evans and his torment. And for the love of God, you’ve never heard the word civilization before?”
McCall ignored her sarcasm and tried to focus on the idea of people living beyond the mountains. Could it be true? He’d never heard of such a thing, but his life had been one of isolation and fear mongering. Even if the possibility of such a place existed, he couldn’t understand how they would survive without ever being in contact with anyone else. That would mean they were completely self-reliant. In this day and age, that sounded nearly impossible to do.
“How far down, or up, does the wall ago?” McCall looked in both directions and didn’t see an end to it.
“We don’t know,” Mike said, his voice rumbling. “I want to try and find out, but your woman is being a pain about it.”
“If we could somehow get over this, it would be a hell of an obstacle for the dead to get over,” Jane said.
In the excitement of waking up out of his long slumber, McCall had never thought to ask about their situation with the moaners. The fact that everyone stood out in the open without a lookout of some kind, meant that they probably hadn’t seen one in a long time. No one carried any guns with them either. Jane had her trusty axe with her though.
“I don’t want to lose a day or two trying to find another spot with a clear path behind it,” Karen said. “I have a feeling that I won’t enjoy starving to death.”
McCall took a few pain-ridden steps to the wall and placed his hand against it, feeling the cold stone.
“But we can’t spend all day—”
The door push
ed open slightly when McCall applied some pressure. It only moved a few inches, but that was enough to grab everyone’s attention. The argument died as everyone looked at McCall in shock.
“Did no one try and actually push this?” McCall asked.
“We didn’t see the point.” Walter stepped beside him and looked at the place where McCall had pushed. “Look at the size of the damned thing. There’s no way you should’ve budged it!”
McCall placed his working hand against it again and pushed harder. The stone moved a few more inches and stopped. He didn’t use much strength, but it moved anyway, as if it had been expertly placed in the wall on a perfect hinge. The door must have weighed several tons, yet opened with relative ease. The engineering involved in such a feat was beyond anything McCall had ever seen.
“Maybe you should have tried,” McCall said.
Karen gave him a dubious look, her eyes narrowing as she looked him over. “I guess so.”
He knew her confusion was as great as his. He couldn’t explain any of it. The door opened, and fairly easily. How could any of this be possible? A wall in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by an enormous mountain range, with a several ton door that opened with ease – it didn’t make any sense.
The others moved to either side of McCall, putting their hands against the cold stone. Together, they pushed the door open another ten feet, giving the wagons enough room to pass.
Beyond the door was a narrow, winding trail. It had been carved into the side of the mountain, giving safe passage to any who could have made it this far. Even if the dead caught up to them and managed to get through the door, the path would work as a funnel and slow them down. It would make an outstanding choke point for a battle.
“I... don’t understand,” Karen said. She stood beside McCall and looked up the trail with him. “What is this place? What have we found here?”
“I don’t know, but it sure beats the hell out of Sheol,” McCall said. He’d learned a long time ago not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Even he couldn’t contain his curiosity though.
“We’re in uncharted territory here,” Karen said. “This feels like the point of no return. If we go forward, I don’t know that we’ll be able to go back. We probably couldn’t get the door open from this side.”
“There’s not much to go back to,” Gary said. “Besides, I gotta see where this leads. It’s one of the damnedest things I’ve ever seen.”
“Whoever built this probably isn’t looking for company,” Karen said.
“I don’t care,” Jane said. “I want to know what’s going on.”
The rest of the group agreed, nodding their heads and chattering about the wall, door, and path. McCall continued staring at the gate. He worked his way behind it, looking for hinges, but found nothing. Whatever kept the door in place must have been built inside the cracks where they couldn’t be seen. But how could that have been possible? Whoever built this had an understanding of the physical world far beyond McCall.
Gary helped him close the door. He hoped that any moaners that made it this far wouldn’t push against it too hard. If a couple of them piled up they would be able to push it open.
They heard an audible click when the door swung shut. McCall placed his fingers in the crack and tried to pull it open again – it didn’t budge. He hoped the clicking sound had been a locking mechanism of some kind. That would have secured them beyond any doubt. He couldn’t help but question how the door could be reopened though, as he couldn’t see any place for a key.
He rejoined the group, deciding that he’d seen weirder things. They were fleeing an army of animated corpses after all. The small amount of moving around he’d done had already tired him and he wanted to return to the wagon before his strength gave out.
As everyone prepared for the next leg of their journey, McCall took a seat in the front of the wagon with Karen. She guided the horses away from the mammoth door, taking the lead as they started up the trail.
McCall didn’t know what could be on the other side of the mountain, but he was dying to find out.
Chapter 20
It took them a full two days of traveling along the trail to find the end.
Stephen, surprisingly, had shown some interest in the odd location they found themselves in. The mountains on either side of the path were almost completely vertical, reaching untold heights above them. The steep slopes protected them from the snow, letting only small amounts through. That had relieved Karen more than she had let on to anyone else. She knew that a large snow storm would have stranded them there, leaving them unable to go forward or back.
Their supply of food was exhausted. Her stomach grumbled just thinking about not having anything to eat. She noticed that she was getting noticeably colder when they ran out of food. She wasn’t sure if that had been her mind playing tricks on her or not, but it made the trip that much more miserable.
Jane had seen it first – the edge of the mountains and the end of the path. She’d hollered out, startling Karen as she dozed off in the back of the wagon, curled under a blanket with Stephen. When Karen popped her head through the opening at the front, she saw Jane standing up and pointing straight ahead, her normally calm and collected demeanor forgotten as she squealed in delight. She still held the axe of course.
The mountains came to an abrupt stop, along with the trail, up ahead. The path opened up into a valley with a large, expansive field in the center of it. As they continued forward, coming closer to the end, Karen could see more mountains becoming visible on the other side of the valley. They stood as tall as those they passed through, and enclosed the area from all sides, creating a secluded, and hopefully safe, spot for them to stay.
Instead of several feet of snow, only a slight powdering lay on the ground, allowing the grass to sneak through. Flurries fell from the sky, landing on their shoulders and heads in small flakes. A groundhog poked its head out of the ground a couple feet beyond the path and hastily retreated when it saw the horses. Karen salivated at the sight of it.
“My god,” Jane said, whispering to herself in awe at the sight.
“Do you see that?” McCall asked. He pointed further into the field as they arrived at the end of the trail.
Karen tried to follow his gaze, but couldn’t see anything other than the beautiful foliage and wildlife. Trees dotted the landscape, their trunks thick and strong. They appeared very old, having gone untouched by man. A clump of bushes off to their right looked like they might bear fruit in the spring. So much saliva filled her mouth that she had to spit it out.
“What are you pointing at?” she asked.
“The smoke,” McCall said.
Karen held a hand above her eyes, trying to cut the glare and see what he pointed at. Then she saw it – a thin pillar of smoke rising into the sky. It was at least a mile away, probably more. She felt her heart beat faster as she watched it, knowing that smoke rising into the sky in that pattern only came from something manmade. There were people here.
“I can’t believe it’s true,” Walter said. His head poked through the front opening of the wagon beside Karen. He’d been asleep when Jane spotted the field, but any signs of weariness were gone.
“Do you think they’re friendly?” Karen asked. The last thing they needed was a fight. With no one having eaten in two days, they all felt weak. And anyone that could build a wall like the one they’d passed through would be a formidable foe, regardless of their condition.
“I guess we’ll find out.” McCall didn’t show any signs of concern, making Karen more curious than anxious. He had an uncanny ability to read into a situation. If he thought they should investigate the smoke, then she would back him up.
“We don’t really have other options anyway,” she said. “We could try and dig that groundhog out, but the earth is probably frozen solid. I’m not sure I have the strength to do much of anything right now.”
They rode without speaking for a bit. Everyone gawked at their lush, quiet surroundings
as they moved across the expansive valley. Gone were the harsh winds and biting cold. The terrible storms and rocky terrain gave way the moment they’d entered the trail and only seemed to improve as they stepped into the field.
“At least they won’t know about your reputation,” Karen said to McCall with a laugh. She tried to make it sound natural, hoping to mask her jittery nerves. She prayed that whoever was ahead would be friendly. If they weren’t, everything they’d gone through would have been for nothing.
“We’ll be in a world of hurt if they do,” McCall said.
The other wagon pulled up beside them with Gary and Mike sitting up front. Gary gave them a wave, though his lips were pressed tightly together and he gave them a solemn look. Mike stared ahead, his back straight and his chest puffed out.
“What do you think?” Gary asked.
“This is what we came here for,” Karen said. “If they won’t take us in, then what else is left for us?”
Gary nodded a few times as he looked at the smoke. “I suppose it is. You think they’re Injuns?”
“Maybe,” Karen said. Whoever they were, she hoped they spoke English. They didn’t need a language barrier compounding their problems. “It doesn’t really matter at this point. I just hope they don’t shoot us.”
Movement ahead caught her eye. She held a hand up again, squinting against the light reflecting from the snow. The motion came again and again, moving in a slow rhythm. Everyone watched, captivated, as they moved closer. Karen saw McCall lift his shirt so it didn’t cover the handle of his Peacemaker, giving him quick access to the gun.
“I think that’s someone chopping wood,” Walter said.
Karen thought he was right. Further ahead, at the base of the column of smoke, a house became visible. Several more dotted the landscape, slowly appearing as they moved further across the field. To Karen it looked like they’d stumbled across a village of some kind. The expansive valley could support thousands of homes, and she wondered how many more were scattered about.
The man chopping wood stopped working when he spotted them. He lowered the blade of the axe to a tree stump and leaned on the handle, crossing his arms over it. A hand rolled cigarette hung from his lips, bobbing up as he took a drag from it. He had a full, brown beard that covered his face and neck. The sight of two wagons approaching from the other side of the mountains didn’t seem to faze him at all as he calmly waited for them to reach him.
