Solar Minimum

by Greg T Meyers

When Horsa didn’t return to the dinner after being called away for a harbinger herald, Gus and his friends wandered out into the cool night air high in the Kootenai National Forest, which was northwest of Whitefish, Montana and just 12 miles away from the Glacier International Airport where the King was to send his private atmoscraft tomorrow. The Toprak camp seemed to be more active than normal, especially for one in the morning as the division officers appeared to be assembling in the large mess in the northern end of the encampment.

  Gus looked up at the clear night sky and marveled at the grand display of stars and the unmistakable silver ribbon that stretched from horizon to horizon known as the Milky Way, ”To think this transcendent display was always above our heads in DC but completely hidden from us by our illuminated cities and man’s fear of the darkness. It’s odd really when you think about it. Most of our so-called modern conveniences isolate us from the universe and inconvenience us in the end. I can’t think of any manmade substitute that matches the awe-inspiring power of looking upward when the veil of society is removed. Every night all this inspiration and comfort is before us but we first have to embrace the darkness and our fears to find true peace.”

  Gus breathed deep feeling the cool air fill his lungs and refreshing him from the banquet comma he had been in for the past four hours. The rest of the group did the same much like after seeing someone else yawn it is nearly impossible to not yawn yourself. Walking back to their assigned quarters they observed dozens of men being bound and escorted to a type of holding facility away from the general encampment. Gus recognized one of them that he knew was a harbinger, “They are collecting the harbingers. Something is afoot, something very dire. Why they would collect the harbingers is lost on me but whatever it is, I believe it is big enough that it will present us with the opportunity we have been waiting for.”

  As they made their way back to their tents they noticed the entire camp was alive with activity but it was unclear what was happening or why, even their usual guard was missing from outside their tents. Horsa had assigned the group a small detachment to serve as their personal guard to protect them but everyone knew they were little more than prisoners to be used and discarded as the needs of Toprak changed.

  Gus motioned everyone to gather close once he had walked all around the outside of the tent ensuring that there were no guards or harbingers near, “Whatever is going on in the camp regular assignments have been discarded including the guard posts both within and around the perimeter of the camp. We won’t get a window better than this to part company with Toprak.”

  Everyone nodded and without a word they collected everything they would need for a 12 mile hike out of the mountains and down to the airport in complete darkness. Supplies and gear were plentiful and they packed up everything they could prudently carry. Luckily the moon was nearly full and once they were away from the lights of the camp they could see surprisingly well.

  Little was spoken as they followed Hank through the rugged northern Montana wilderness mostly since they were expecting to be spotted by a Toprak sentry or scout but as the first mile was behind them Gus began to speak, “Whatever was happening in camp it was more important than the six of us. Toprak never lets go of an asset unless its value drops or becomes meaningless to them. The only scenario I can come up with is that the U.S. Government has surrendered making my position void—but that is ridiculous I know. I’m not suggesting they let us go but we were an afterthought that wasn’t important enough to consider.”

  “I don’t care about any of that, I’m just glad we escaped,” said Shay as they came to a rather large river.

  Hank walked upstream looking for an easier place to cross as Matt went downstream and after a few minutes they both returned suggesting their current location was as good as any. The river was only about 20 feet wide and probably only between two and three feet deep but in the cool autumn air, getting wet was the last thing any of them wanted to do. The current was the most concerning issue about crossing the river, in Matt’s mind. He was convinced he and Hank would be alright but he worried about the others losing their footing and being swept downstream into the darkness, which would mean certain death either by drowning or from being slammed up against logs and rocks.

  Hank found what appeared to be the shallowest place in the river and waded out half way as Matt followed. The current was much stiffer than they both initially thought and they struggled to get their footing but after a few minutes they were sufficiently stable to motion the others to cross just above them so that if any lost their footing Matt and Hank would be able to stop them from perishing into the darkness.

  Ted and Jess entered the water first and were able to cross with mild difficulty but as Shay was midway, he stepped on a very slippery rock covered with moss and he immediately went down into the water up to his neck and washed downstream. Hank reached out just before Shay passed him. He pulled him up to his feet and then escorted him to the other side.

  Before Gus even stepped in the water, Matt knew he would not be able to stand in the strong current so he walked over and motioned for Gus to climb on his back. Hesitantly, Gus held onto Matt’s shoulders and jumped on his back. He felt like a child and said nothing as Matt supported Gus by holding his legs and they made their way slowly across the river, Matt being very careful and choosing his steps. Surprisingly, Gus seemed very light to Matt and having an additional 180 pounds on his back was meaningless when it came to balance and physical stamina. As Gus held on to Matt’s shoulders and felt his muscles tighten he was shocked at how hard they were, like rocks all the way down his back. Gus felt as if he were holding on to the back of a horse not a U.S. Senator.

  They all reached the other side shivering from the cold water and as luck would have it, a cool breeze began to blow from the north chilling everyone. The effectual temperature felt like 9 degrees and Matt was now worried about hypothermia which was something he and Hank had not considered. Hypothermia was a quick killer and Matt knew the first signs were like that of being drunk—staggering, disorientation and general silliness. He looked around at the others looking for signs and saw Shay sitting on the river bank with his head down and not moving.

  As Matt approached, Shay still did not move until Matt placed his hand on his shoulder and he lifted his head only slightly.

  “You alright there man?” asked Matt rubbing his back reassuringly.

  Shay didn’t speak at first but then finally said in a defeated tone, “Are any of us going to be alright?”

  Matt could tell Shay was suffering from more than just the bitter cold and he sat down next to him and sighed, “Well—I could sit here and give you a Sunday School hurrah but that’s only going to warm you up for about 15 minutes. The truth is, we all just might freeze to death up here in the high Montana mountains in late fall or we might meet up with bears, wolves and hell, we might even be eaten by the Skanicum.”

  Matt’s version of a pep talk wasn’t helping and Shay shrugged off Matt’s hand on his back angrily, “I get it, we just might as well be eaten by all of them and get it over with!”

  Matt sighed again and after a short pause he continued, “I would never let that happen to one of my closest friends in the world.”

  Matt stood up and offered his hand to Shay but when he didn’t reach up to take it, Matt continued to hold it out. After several minutes, Shay looked up at Matt as he said, “Come on brother, I’ll pull you along.”

  Meeting up with the rest of the group who had assumed that Matt and Shay were ahead of them, Matt determined that at least for now everyone seemed to be in their right mind and the best thing they could do for their health and their rescue was to keep moving toward the airport.

  Hank determined that it would take them at least six hours to walk 12 miles through a dark wilderness without a trail, possibly longer and the hours seemed all the more tedious and painful as they hiked in wet clothes. Hank then stopped and looked around as if he had heard something.

  “What is i
t?” asked Matt.

  “The wilderness makes no sound,” said Hank still turning his head trying to hear anything in the darkness.

  As the six men stood quietly, all that could be heard was the wind high above them in the pines whistling an unsettling melody. Not even a single cricket could be heard and now that the highly irregular silence was mentioned, it was all they could focus on. Never in all the years Matt and Hank had spent in the outdoors had heard such a quiet night. Hank knew that all animals and insects were more attuned to the world than man was and when nature went quiet, it usually meant terrible things lay in store. Hank quickly decided that he would gain little by alerting the group to such information and suggested that they all just push forward.

  Hank set the pace slightly faster than their previous march hoping that they would not only get out of the wilderness faster but hopefully burn more calories and warm everyone up. The group was again relatively quiet except for the awkward rhythmic squeak of five pairs of shoes expelling water as they hiked. After a few minutes, Jess began humming quietly and it brought a surprisingly welcomed peace to the deathly quiet wilderness. The tune was familiar to Gus though at first he could not place it, but as he hummed along he remembered and in his mind sang the words.

  “O Gladsome Light of the holy glory of the Immortal Father, heavenly, holy, blessed Jesus Christ. Now we have come to the setting of the sun and behold the light of evening. We praise God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For it is right at all times to worship Thee with voices of praise, O Son of God and Giver of Life, therefore all the world glorifies Thee.”

  He remembered hearing the hymn throughout most of his childhood and young adult life in the Oxford church where his father worked. It was perhaps the oldest Christian hymn known in the world and he could still hear the a cappella voices echoing off the stone walls in the grand church. It was known as the Lamplighter Hymn and was anciently sung in every Christian home at sundown, “O Gladsome Light,” said Gus out loud, remembering the name of the hymn—very fitting and welcomed my dear Jess, thank you.

  After he had hummed the hymn through several times he began to sing the words out loud in Latin just as they entered a narrow walled canyon, his voice echoing off the tall granite cliffs around them. Feeling the fever of the hymn, Gus couldn’t help but join in and as they completed the last byzantine phrase it echoed in a deep reverberation off the walls of the natural cathedral just as the first rays of sunlight began to light the eastern sky.

  As they came out of the walled canyon, they could see the Flathead Valley below and the small town of Whitefish and then the long unnatural landing strip of the Glacier Airport to the east of the town.

  Standing in the early morning light they could hear the sound of an atmoscraft descending which was the sound of a low-pitched hum and within a few minutes they could see a small private craft descending into the quiet valley.

  “It’s the King’s atmoscraft,” said Gus laughing with joy, “There is a God in heaven and our timing couldn’t have been more perfect.”

  Shouts of happiness and relief erupted from the group as a blanket of hope descended upon them. The site of civilization and their royal transport preparing to land only a few short miles away energized everyone and they increased their pace to almost a full run as they made their way down the foothills and into the fields of wheat.

  Their pace would have been faster if they had not been hiking all night but as they came out of the tall wheat and onto a long dirt road that lead toward town, they resumed their slower but brisk pace still being set by Hank who had successfully lead them through the wilderness exactly on point to their destination.

  The King’s atmoscraft had already circled twice and appeared to be circling a third time still high above the valley, “Why aren’t they landing?” said Shay.

  Ted had noticed several military vehicles at the airport when they were in the foothills and wondered who or what faction of the government had control of the airstrip, “Maybe they can’t get clearance to land—there is a good chance whoever controls the airfield will not give them permission.”

  Shay then sighed, “It’s always something.”

  Just then a very large explosion was heard and it shook the quiet valley as a large mushroom cloud could be seen rising from the opposite side of the valley in a narrow canyon above the town. After a few minutes it was followed by a rumble that sounded like thunder but instead of echoing into the distance it was growing louder. Hank stopped and turned to the group once he determined what the sound was, “Water!” he said as they all looked at him in confusion.

  Hank knew the surrounding territory better than anyone, having grown up outdoors in Montana and he knew that Hungry Horse Reservoir was above the Flathead River valley. He couldn’t be exactly sure the path the water would take but he was certain it would eventually flow downstream which was at the southern end of the valley. He quickly lead the group back up into the foothills where they could be more sure they were safe from the flood of water that was probably heading their way. As they ran they could hear numerous explosions behind them, shaking the valley and sending great plumes of smoke into the air.

  Exhausted, they finally stopped and turned around once they reached a hill of sufficient height and saw a wall of water engulf the valley, dousing the fires that had already destroyed half of the town.

  “Well, we know this wasn’t the work of Toprak since they are still encamped 12 miles away. This must be the work of some other government faction,” said Ted trying to understand what was happening.

  As they all watched in horror, they heard the King’s atmoscraft making another pass around the valley and as it went over their heads, they all waved their hands trying to signal to the pilot but even if they were spotted there was nowhere for the craft to land. Unlike old airplanes, atmoscraft only needed a few hundred yards to land but due to both the explosions and the flood there wasn’t that much flat land to be found in the valley. Even worse, the surrounding mountains were forbidding and offered no flat ground for at least 100 miles. They watched the craft as it made one more pass and then abandoned any attempt at landing and disappeared over the mountains to the East.

  For a long while, they all sat and watched the valley below first be destroyed by fire and then be washed away. It was hard to believe what they were watching as just a few hours ago they stood on this very spot and looked at the airport as their salvation. Hank knew that regardless of what had happened or why, they were running low on supplies since they only anticipated that they needed to reach the Flathead Valley. Hank stood up and strapped on his pack. Without a word he started walking south along the foothills and everyone else quickly followed.

  “Where are we headed,” asked Shay who was the first to fall in line behind Hank.

  “South,” was the only thing he said.

  Shay turned and looked at Matt who was walking behind him hoping for more explanation.

  “Kalispell is just south of here. Maybe we can find transportation there,” said Matt, but the closer they got to Kalispell they could see that it too was laid waste and burning in a pile of rubble. The water from the dam had flooded some parts of the city but it was of little consequence since most of it was already destroyed.

  “What the hell is happening!” yelled Ted upon seeing almost every manmade structure destroyed.

  There was no sign of any army in the area or any indicator that man had anything to do with what they were witnessing. From their vantage point, they could see people fleeing into the mountains for safety including whatever farm animals had been fortunate enough to escape the confines of their pastures. Hank ran ahead and leaped upon a stray horse. He was able to calm its spirits sufficiently to be managed and he then rode to find other wild horses and one by one was able to secure enough for the entire group.

  None of the horses were saddled and Hank gave the Senators a quick lesson on how to ride a horse without a saddle, stirrups or reins.

  Still heading sou
th, it was nightfall before they reached the outskirts of Missoula and they could tell by the illumination of the red sky that it too was burning in the darkness. There was no moonlight now that thick clouds of smoke filled the air making the night very dark and heavy. It was almost impossible to ride now since it was too dark to see even a few feet ahead and Hank discovered what appeared to be an abandoned building several hundred yards in front of them in the last visible light of the day.

  In complete darkness he led the group up to the chain link fence that surrounded the building no doubt designed to keep transients and vandals out. Matt was in no mood to ride around looking for an entrance and he jumped off his horse and grabbing hold of the chain link he ripped the fence from the posts and threw it aside.

  The building appeared to be some kind of old military base, long since out of use and as Matt returned to his horse, Gus was staring at the dark building, frozen.

  “After you,” said Matt, signaling for Gus to ride ahead.

  It took Gus a few seconds to respond but he slowly turned to face Matt and said, “Did you see that?”

  Matt was far too tired to be observant of details and he looked at the building quickly and then back at Gus, “Nope, I missed it.”

  “Forget it,” replied Gus shaking his head.

  They all rode into the compound and dismounted their horses and just as they were about to enter the building Matt turned to Gus, “Just curious, what did you think you saw?”

  Gus looked at Matt and said quietly, “Shay—peering through that broken window,” as he pointed above their heads to a small second story window.

  Matt looked at Gus and then looked for Shay who was just entering the compound. They looked at each other again, casually shrugged and walked through the door.

  Once inside, everyone quickly found a place to lie down and before long they were all sleeping on the hard floor, hoping tomorrow would show them that today had only been a dream.

  The morning sun awoke Shay first as it streamed blood red rays of light through the broken square panes of glass in the old building. It was surreal unlike any morning he had ever experienced. The sun was silently trying to shine through the thick smoke that covered the entire sky from horizon to horizon and like the lack of light, it was also much colder. Since everyone was still sleeping, he decided he would have a look around and walking out of the room he entered into a long hall that seemed to span the entire building. As he walked along he noticed what looked like small single room apartments on either side of the corridor and at first he thought the old building was a penitentiary but he was only half right.

  Toward the end of the corridor he found several loose papers on the floor and picking up one of the larger pieces, he blew off the think dust and read the caption, “Avenge Pearl Harbor, Our Bullets Will Do It.” He picked up another poster and saw it was a very unflattering and menacing drawing of a Japanese man with the inscription, “If you lived as hard and fast as a Jap, we’d SMASH Tokyo a lot quicker.”

  Shay let the poster fall from his hand as he realized where he was. He was standing in the very building where his grandparents were taken to be processed shortly after the Pearl Harbor bombings in Hawai’i. He thought it terribly ironic how they had sought refuge in the very building where his grandparents were incarcerated almost 100 years ago. He wondered the building for a few minutes allowing his thoughts to do the same and as he passed a particular room he thought he heard a voice.

  Stopping, he walked backwards and peered into the empty room where he thought the voice had originated. The room was empty and contained only a small square window with several broken panes and after confirming that the room was empty, he turned to walk out when he distinctly heard a voice call out, “Shai my son.” Shay froze. There was only one person who ever called him Shai and that was his grandfather.

  He whirled around and saw a man leaning back in a chair against the back wall of the small room which greatly startled him and he stumbled backwards into the partially opened door, shutting it. The man laughed as he saw that Shay was genuinely afraid. Shay could see through the man and the chair—there was no denying that he was in a room with a ghost.

  He turned around to run out the door and reached down to grab the knob but there wasn’t one. The knob was missing but the bolt in the door was securely shut in the jamb. Shay pounded on the door and was about to yell for help when the man stopped laughing and called out to him, “Shai, Shai, Shai my son. Has it been so long that you don’t recognize me? I’ve come here to help you not scare the devil into you.”

  Shay slowly turned around to face the ghost finding it had stopped leaning back in his chair and was now standing before him, “I suppose I looked much older when last you saw me but when we die, we all resume a younger, more perfect age—and thank goodness. I would hate to be a sick old man forever,” he said laughing.

  As Shay studied the man he slowly began to recognize who he was and he responded slowly feeling like a child, “Grandfather?” He then considered where he was and how terrible it must be to have to be trapped here, “Are you stuck in this building forever.”

  The ghost laughed, “No, no. It doesn’t work that way—never has. Reappearing back on earth is rather difficult and it’s easier to visit the places that were familiar to us that’s all. I have many memories of this old place and not all of them were dark, especially the day we were told we could return to Honolulu.”

  The ghost smiled as he remembered, “Ah—that was a very good day.”

  Shay stared at the ghost of his grandfather in disbelief, “I—I don’t believe in ghosts, ‘er I didn’t use too. How is this happening and why here?”

  The ghost sat down again and smiled at Shay, “It is so good to see you again. Congratulations on being a U.S. Senator! Wow, you sure showed your dad huh?”

  Shay was speechless as the ghost continued after a deep sigh, “Like me my boy, you live in a darkening world, growing darker by the minute I’m afraid. Before this day is over the entire world will be a smoldering ash.”

  Shay came to life, “You know what is happening out there?”

  The ghost nodded, “Your sun is passing through one of its cycles which is causing terrible things to happen everywhere—but it isn’t all terrible, civilization is starting over and hopefully man will be smarter in what he builds this time.”

  “This time?” asked Shay.

  “Yes, it has all happened before and it might even happen again. Your red sun is very unpredictable,” said the ghost.

  “So, how did you know I was here—did you follow us?” asked Shay still trying to understand how things worked in the world of the dead.

  “I did. We dead people are very aware of what is happening on this earth; however we rarely get the chance to intervene or even interact with mortals on any level. However, with your sun doing what it is at the moment, it makes things easier for us since you mortals are more able to see us. Previous to today, we sometimes get the chance to be near you but you can’t see us or hear us—only feel us. I was very excited when you came in here last night and I was hoping we’d get the chance to talk. Our time is limited as I can only be in this state for a short time, but I wanted you to know I have seen and felt your dismay. I have known such dismay when they dragged me here and I felt completely hopeless and utterly helpless, like you did today.”

  The ghost paused and looked into Shay’s eyes, “It is never too hopeless to be helpful. Remember that. It is what won my freedom and will be the very thing that saves yours I believe. It is time for you to pound on that door; your friends are looking for you. I will be near you when I can my son,” and the ghost motioned for Shay to begin pounding.

  Shay slowly turned around and began knocking on the door and calling out “I’m in here!”

  Within a few minutes, Matt was heard outside the door, “Shay?”

  “Matt, I’m in here, the door knob is missing and I can’t open it.”

  “Stand away from the door,”
said Matt as he kicked the door open breaking it nearly in half instead of opening it.

  Shay thanked him as he began to step over the broken pieces of the door and then turning around he saw the room was empty once more.

  “Did you forget something?” asked Matt which somewhat startled Shay.

  “Huh? Oh—no. I found something actually.”

  Matt and Shay joined the others in the back room and the rest of the group was staggering to their feet from a miserable night’s sleep as Shay enthusiastically announced, “You know what this place is?”

  Everyone looked at him a little annoyed being so full of energy and in such good spirits on such a dark day in the world’s history, “This was a detention camp used during World War II, my grandparents were actually stationed here for questioning before they were released and sent back to Hawai’i.”

  Gus was aware of Shay’s ancestry. He walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder and smiling said, “It’s good to find hope in a helpless situation.”

  Shay looked at Gus in surprise at nearly repeating exactly what his grandfather had just told him and Gus only smiled back at him and then turned to the others, “Shay here is right you know, there is still much to hope for in the world. We are not alone; we have many friends who like us are trying to survive and defeat evil. I suggest it is time we joined them.”

  Gus began to gather up his things, placing them in a backpack he took from Toprak and started to walk toward the door.

  “Where are we going?” asked Matt.

  Gus turned around and smiled, “Home Sir Matthew.”

  Matt then realized what he was referring to but was still unclear how there were going to manage traversing an ocean, “How? The last plane out of here just flew away and there is still the Atlantic in our way, how do you propose we get over that?”

  Gus paused for a moment and then continued, “From what I remember, there is an old floating museum in Astoria called The Star of India, A tall ship built around 1860—an iron ship still in good repair and the last I heard they still take her out annually in the summer. With any luck, we might be able to commandeer her.”

  The Star of India was once a longtime fixture in San Diego but in the ‘20’s the citizens of California demanded more responsible leadership of their bankrupt state and they sold off large tracts of land to the private sector and as part of the California garage sale, the Star of India was sold to the state of Washington for 1,000,000 GD and was restored with its original name Euterpe, which was the Greek muse of music and meant gladsome delight. The Euterpe had circumnavigated the world 22 times, the last one occurring just two years ago as part of the ship’s 175th birthday. The ship was 280 feet in length with a draft of 21 and a half feet, a monster of a ship to sail with just six men however, Gus decided to keep that minor detail to himself hoping they could find some extra hands on the coast.

  Shay would have normally been the first one to point out any flaw in Gus’s plan—like if anyone knew how to sail—but after his recent interview he quickly volunteered to be hopeful. “I’m with you Gus,” he said as he walked over and rolled up a dirty blanket and stuck it in his backpack. Gus smiled knowing what was motivating Shay as Ted and Jess were still wiping the sleep from their eyes and clumsily trying to catch up with Gus and Shay’s energy.

  Walking out to the yard surrounding the compound, Hank and Matt were already releasing the horses from the makeshift corral they had made last night using the chain link fencing Matt was able to effortlessly rip from the posts. Hank noticed that the horses had been feeding all night on the tall grass that was now low stubble and after mounting up, he lead the group westward into the foothills in search of water for both themselves and the horses.

  Riding away, Shay turned around for one last look and smiled, and then turned around again noticing that the building was perhaps the only one in the vicinity that was not destroyed. Gus was riding directly behind Shay and seeing him turn around multiple times asked, “What’s the matter, you see a ghost?”

  Shay stared at Gus for a moment not knowing what to say and then shook his head, “I just noticed that building is the only one still standing. What’s so special about it?”

  Gus also turned around and then said, “Hmm—that is curious,” and then continued riding saying nothing more.

  As they rode, Gus reflected on what Shay had observed and began running through different chemical scenarios in his mind and what he knew about redox reactions. Gus had always been intrigued with chemical reactions and how the presence of one element with another created something altogether new and he loved to experiment whenever he could. Over the years he had determined that boiling water in a copper kettle produced much better tea than a steel container and light years better than boiling water in a glass container. He had discovered that the copper actually changed the water molecule slightly enough to better extract the flavor of black tea making it burn ever so slightly while going down and then finish smooth. He smiled when he remembered once boiling the tea and the water together in an old wooden bowl and gave himself methanol poisoning—he couldn’t get out of bed for three days and quickly determined that wasn’t a good combination.

  Several miles later, Gus called out to Shay who was still riding ahead of him, “Arsenic.”

  Shay turned around confused, “You need some or are you offering?”

  Ted who was riding behind Gus chimed in, “I think that might be the answer to the events of the past 24 hours, I think we should all have some.”

  “Arsenic is why that building didn’t burn like the rest,” said Gus, “Modern cement contains trace amounts of arsenic—you mix that with ozone and you have Armageddon.”

  Everyone continued to ride along quietly considering what Gus had said and after a few minutes Matt responded flippantly, “Good to know Gus, we’ll have to avoid that in the future.”

  The ride was long and mostly quiet as everyone followed behind Hank in single file, only stopping along the clean streams for water and they all ate the last of their food at noon and it was now almost dusk. They were making their way in a near west-southwest direction however, riding in a direct path was impossible when traversing mountain ranges and at the moment they were heading due west as they were just about to come out of a narrow canyon. Gus rode past Shay and Matt and came alongside Hank and told him that they needed to stop. They had been riding for almost seven hours strait and now was as good a time to rest as any.

  Everyone dismounted, stretched their legs and rubbed their aching backsides, none of them was used to riding bareback or even a horse for that matter—everyone except for Hank that is. He was no worse for the long ride and didn’t even dismount while everyone else rested.

  “Why did we stop?” asked Matt as he approached Gus.

  “For the past couple hours I’ve had a general feeling of caution wash over me and just now I saw in my mind the valley we are about to ride into—it was full of Toprak soldiers,” said Gus as he sat down on a fallen log wiping sweat from under his beard.

  The last time anyone had shaved was over two weeks ago and they all had inch long beards and growing longer every day. Their hair had also grown longer since they left DC. and they all looked like a band a renegades and mountain men.

  Due to the heavy smoke in the air, daylight was shorter than usual and rather than continue out of the canyon in the dark, they all bedded down for the night and made their way into the valley at first light. While everyone expected to see traces of a Toprak army in the valley, no one expected to see what they found.

  The valley was covered with bodies as if there had been a great battle and the dead were left to the coyotes and Skanicum. Looking around it was obvious that the battle had been an internal one, Toprak soldier against Toprak soldier and the losses on both sides were great. Ted estimated that there were over 40,000 dead which was about half of the Toprak army in America. Gus correctly assumed that the army must have reassembled after the Minimum and had major disagreements
on what to do and where to do it. However many survived the battle, they could see their tracks heading on a northwest course, no doubt returning to the ships that brought them here docked in Vancouver.

  The dead were all brutally mangled as was Toprak’s signature warfare. As they made their way across the valley they collected individual soldier rations off of the dead and out of their packs—collecting enough provisions to last several months. The only thing they now needed was some pack horses. There were many dead horses on the battlefield and Hank guessed that there might be stray horses in the surrounding wilderness that fled the scene and as he rode through the lodge pole pines he spotted a total of 11. One of them was badly wounded and was lying in a bed of joint grass slowly bleeding out. Hank climbed off his horse and mercifully slit its throat, and rounded up the other horses and led them back.

  Everyone gathered up whatever ancillary supplies and gear they could find and each of them except Hank also pulled a saddle off a dead horse and placed it upon their own—a very welcome comfort in a very raw world. Matt traded out the mare he had been riding with a large Percheron that Hank found which was much better suited for his size. Walking through the battlefield, Matt also collected several long swords and placed them in a rifle scabbard attached to his saddle and he especially prized a very large two-headed axe weighing over 100 pounds. With his increased strength, wielding it was easy and he took great pleasure trying it out on large logs and trees, being able to fell a tree over 15 inches in diameter with one swing.

  By early afternoon, the pack horses were all burdened with their maximum loads and they happily mounted up using their stirrups and sitting comfortably in their saddles. When they were ready to move out, Gus turned to look for Matt and though he was not seen he could be heard grunting loudly after which a large tree could be heard falling somewhere in the forest. Gus turned to Shay and told him to go and tell Paul Bunyan it was time to go and in a few minutes they both rode up joining the group.

  Refreshed and now well provisioned, the feeling in the group was much lighter and Matt even talked Jess into singing as Gus and Matt joined in with the harmony, but after a short while the rest of the group took a vote prohibiting Matt to sing.

  Making good time for an overland horse ride, they reached the Pacific just as the winter snows began to lay down a heavy white blanket in the Cascades. Whereever they could, they followed the highways and interstates which made their progress much faster than traversing the wilderness. Most of the major bridges had all been destroyed of course but wherever the roads were made of asphalt and not concrete they had an easy ride.

  They also intentionally stayed away from the larger cites since whatever had survived would no doubt be warring amongst themselves for the limited supplies of food and water. However, they were surprised to see just how few people had survived even in the smaller towns and they guessed survival was less than 10 percent.

  They approached the Columbia River around noon and made a quick camp but with no fire, not wanting to attract any attention. Tongue Point where the Euterpe was docked was on the other side of the Columbian estuary which was nearly four miles across. They needed to find a means of transport, even the smallest craft would do and they began riding the shoreline looking for any kind of boat or dingy.

  Hank and Matt rode along the old 401 highway which was now a pile of rocks and ash. Near the Astoria-Megler Bridge they found a car ferry washed up on shore and as they inspected it, they found it had a ruptured pontoon. The sun was starting to set and they had already rode 10 miles to find the ferry so Hank determined that they would probably not find anything as good, Matt nodded in agreement.

  Hank ordered Matt to go cut down four or five large trees as Matt smiled and quickly walked up over the small bluff to the north of the estuary and in a few minutes Hank could hear trees falling after each loud grunt. Within a few minutes Matt returned dragging a large tree over the bluff and made several trips bringing more.

  Hank de-limbed the logs and tied them together and then he and Matt pulled the ferry over the top of the logs and secured them. Standing back very proud of their quick work Hank noticed that the ferry was still firmly beached and wondered how they would ever get it floating. Without a word, Matt tied a rope to his horse and attempted to pull it into the water but it only moved a few inches and in frustration, Matt climbed off his horse and in waist-deep water pulled on the rope and together they successfully dragged to ferry until it floated.

  Hank jumped up onto the deck of the small ferry with his gear and smiled at Matt, “You make good horse.”

  Matt also unloaded his gear onto the ferry and then slapped his horse sending it running out of the river and disappearing over the bluff. At first the current was almost too much to overcome as they labored to paddle against it trying to stop from being pushed out to sea but they slowly started to make headway and then Hank noticed that the tide was coming in which pushed them inland where all they had to do was steer around debris and aim for camp.

  Now that they didn’t have to paddle, they both leaned on the rail and looked out for people on the shore that might do them harm. Matt wasn’t overly concerned since the days of gunpowder were over and he thought to himself how cowardly guns were in general and how much more honest a sword fight was—even humane. His thoughts were interrupted by Hank tapping him on the shoulder and pointing to the large Astoria-Megler Bridge. Since it was nearly all made of concrete, it was in pieces lying in the relatively shallow waters of the estuary. Scanning the horizon they both determined that once they secured the Euterpe, skirting the north side of the estuary would give them the best chance of not running aground since the waters there appeared deeper.

  In the red twilight, they came within shouting distance of the camp and Shay, Ted and Jess all came to help them land the ferry. They loaded up all their gear and then waited for the sun to completely set so that they could hopefully progress across the river unnoticed. The Euterpe was docked on the east side of Tongue Point which would allow them to approach the dock completely unnoticed and then skirt the small peninsula and climb aboard on the starboard side.

  As they made way, they occasionally struck items in the water but it was too dark to see what they were exactly and even if the sun were up, the water was like thick black oil from all the ash in it. As they approached the other side where the current was strongest they could smell death and drawing near the peninsula they could see mounds of dead salmon washed up on the shore. Everyone covered their noses until they reached the east side and to their surprise, the Euterpe was not tied up to the dock but was run aground 30 yards ahead of them. By the look of the angle it leaned, it appeared that it might actually float at high tide and Hank guided the ferry onto the rocky shore and not wanting to make a noise, everyone held their breath as it made a loud scrape.

  Quietly, they all made their way toward the Euterpe leaving Hank and Gus on the ferry to guard their supplies since food had become more valuable than gold.

  Matt was his usual fearless self and was actually a little giddy as he climbed up the side of the ship and Shay bit his tongue remembering that he was acting exactly like he was when they were following Abdul on the Ellipse in DC—reckless and immature.

  Stepping on deck and finding it quiet, Matt signaled the others to come aboard as he quietly explored the entire upper deck finding it empty. Matt may have been confident but even he knew once they went below decks in the darkness, it was a different game where anyone—even a woman could prove deadly with the right weapon and angle. Since Matt was the only one brave enough to pull a suit of Kevlar armor off a dead soldier back on the Toprak battlefield, he went first as the others drew their swords and slowly climbed down the fore companionway.

  After coming to the first deck, Matt thought he heard something move behind him and turning around he saw a flash of light and then something that sounded like a gun. He then concluded it was a gun as the bullet hit him in the arm knocking him into a post. He threw his
axe into his other hand and swung in the darkness in the direction of the shot and he felt the axe strike something and then fall to the deck with a thud.

  Just then a match was lit and turning around they saw a woman standing with a knife in her hand shaking. Her right leg was badly burned and she limped backwards seeing that she was outnumbered three to one and the site of Matt’s axe caused her to drop her small knife and in a defeated tone said, “I’ll give you what you want but I don’t have any food.”

  Matt set down his axe and reached out taking the lit match from her and lit an oil lamp that was hanging on the companionway railing, “We only want the ship, we are not here to hurt you or take anything from you.”

  The woman looked over at the man Matt had killed and saw that he was nearly cut in half. Matt started to apologize to the woman when she stopped him, “I’m not crying over him—I think I’ll be thanking you unless you want the same thing he did.”

  Jess pushed passed Matt and took her by the hand. He assured her that she would not be molested in any way and that she could now travel with them and enjoy both their provisions and their protection. She looked at them in disbelief wondering if there were still men of honor and integrity left in the world and as she looked at them in relief she asked, “We’re not going anywhere—if you hadn’t noticed the ship is wrecked. Even if you could, where would you go?”

  Ted was still standing on the companionway and as he took the last two steps down to the lower deck he assured the woman that they could get it afloat, “It appears she will float again at full tide and with the help of all the sails, she just might pull herself off this sandbar. Then if we get that luckily, we will be sailing for England.”

  The woman laughed, “You’ll die before you get halfway since there are no provisions on board. This is a bloody museum; I should know I used to work here.”

  Matt was pulling at his shoulder trying to inspect the gunshot wound and determined that the bullet was still lodged in his arm which surprised him at such a point-blank range. Tearing off the sleeve of his shirt, he tied it around his arm to stop the bleeding and as he pulled it tight using his teeth he replied, “We have supplies enough. Were you and that man the only ones on board?”

  “Yes, we were able to defend the ship using some old black powder and a flintlock pistol that was in the museum; however that ball in your arm was the last of it.”

  Matt nodded as he realized now why the reason the bullet had not passed all the way through his arm. It wasn’t a bullet, just an iron ball and probably without a full charge of powder.

  Ted was thinking through the implications of the powder and how it was able to ignite as he turned to the woman, “Old powder you say—how old?”

  The woman looked up as she tried to estimate its origin, “Probably late 17th century. We used to have a pirate display on deck four with artifacts from the Caribbean—although I had always surmised that it was fake.”

  Jess then extended his hand to the woman, “Jess Erdem mam,” and he went around the group introducing everyone as they nodded in a casual greeting.

  “I’m Nicole—did you say your name was Jess Erdem—the Senator?” said the woman after exchanging greetings with the group.

  “Yes ma’am, in the flesh—beat up and worn-out but I’m the guy.”

  Nicole smiled and then blushed slightly, “I’m from Dallas—I didn’t vote for you by the way, but I wish I had now.”

  Jess smiled warmly, “Maybe in the next election hmm?”

  Just then they heard footsteps on the upper deck and soon heard Hank’s deep raspy voice shouting down the companionway, “Is this a rabbit hole or a badger hole?”

  Shay turned his head and yelled up, “The badger is dead, just us rabbits left.”

  The supplies were quickly brought on board and stowed below decks and they began stretching sails as quickly as they could be brought up on deck. Not being able to help at all due to her leg, Nicole watched everyone struggle in the darkness trying to fit the sails and after a few minutes she turned to Gus who appeared to be in charge of the failing operation, “You guys don’t have a clue what you’re doing do you?”

  Gus turned to Nicole and smiled, “Is it that obvious? Have you rigged her before?”

  Nicole nodded, “A few times. I was part of the crew that circumnavigated her two years ago and after returning to port I stayed on to work the museum.”

  Gus gratefully turned the operation over to Nicole and within the hour every sail was spread as the flood reached full tide and the ship slowly moved upright and began to scrape off the sandbar with the help of the wind in the sails. Navigation at night in the estuary was always hazardous but tonight it was doubly so with all the new unmarked hazards in the water and Nicole recommended that they drop anchor once they cleared the Tongue and wait for sunrise before attempting to sail past the destroyed bridge. Everyone agreed and they anchored in 45 feet of water about a mile offshore and they all slept for the few hours that were left before a red sun appeared over the Cascades.

  Wining the anchor was hard work since it was so fast in the muddy bottom but as they all pushed at the windlass they slowly pulled it free and Nicole ordered only the lower main and mizzen sails to be set so that she could navigate slowly around the obstacle course between the Tongue and the Pacific.

  As they slowly moved forward in the morning breezes Gus saw Hank on the shore waving them off. He hadn’t noticed that Hank wasn’t on board and as he called the crew over to the taffrail they all looked on in panic thinking that they had somehow forgotten him. Their fear was soon abated when they saw him give a final wave and rode off with a half dozen other Indians toward the Cascades.

  “What is he doing?” asked Shay feeling like Hank was making a terrible mistake.

  Gus put his hand on Shay’s shoulder, “He’s going home. His home has always been in the wilderness and as you know, it is all still very much alive and well. You know it’s funny—for over 200years the Native Americans were at the bottom of American society but today—today they ride unmolested and firmly in control. I should think they will alone control America’s future, especially since Horsa is on the run.”

 

 

 

  