Beyond the New Horizon (Book 2): Desperate Times

by Conaway, Christine

  “Is everyone alright?”

  Journey, Andy, and Lucas nodded in confirmation. He turned his eyes to Matt. “Matt, you okay?”

  Without words, Matt held his hand up. The skin was already red and puffing up. “I caught myself on the stovetop.”

  Seeing Matt’s burned hand was all it took to get Journey to her feet. She grabbed an empty bowl from the container of dishes and thrust it at Lucas, “Fill this with snow.”

  Lucas grabbed it and hurried outside. As soon as he came back, Journey had Matt sink his hand into it. “Keep it there until I tell you differently. I’ll be right back.”

  Journey threw her jacket on and left. She hurried to the trailer where they had stockpiled their medical supplies. Opening the door, she realized that the girls and Mary were all in the bed asleep. It appeared as if they had slept right through the quake. In the bathroom, she sorted until she found a tube of Neosporin, a roll of cotton wrap and tape. As the last thought, she grabbed their only bottle of aspirin and a hand towel. The aspirin wouldn’t do much for the pain, but it would take the edge off.

  “Are the girls okay?” John asked as soon as she returned.

  Journey chuckled, “Yes, if you call sleeping through it okay, then they are.”

  “Well, I don’t think I could have slept through that. Every single one sets my teeth on edge. I’ve never felt anything like them before.”

  “Andy, they’ve been happening all day, just not as severe as this one. I think they’re aftershocks,” John added. “At least I hope we aren’t in for another big one. These little ones are bad enough.”

  “I wonder what kind of damage that one did?”

  “I guess tomorrow, Andy, you and I will ride out and see. With any luck, nothing else bad has happened. I don’t know how much more this old brain can handle. I’m getting too old for this.”

  Journey left Matt’s hand in the snow until the snow had melted. Only then did she remove it and have him open his hand. The skin on his palm and finger tips was blistered. She applied the Neosporin and wrapped his whole hand in the gauze. “Try not to break the blisters if you can help it. We need to do as much as we can to keep out any infection.”

  “It doesn’t even hurt…very much.”

  “Take two aspirin and call me in the morning.”

  Matt looked at her like she was crazy until he saw her smile. “Yes ma’am, but I don’t have a phone anymore.”

  “Get out of here. And try to keep it dry.”

  Matt stood up and started for the entrance and stopped. He turned around and frowned. “Where am I going?”

  His puzzled expression seemed to break the tension in the air. John, who had just taken a sip from his cup, started with a snort, spraying water all over, which turned into a belly laugh, and then all but Matt had joined in.

  “It’s not like we can send you to your room or anything. Hell son, you can’t even be put on dish duty.”

  Matt blushed and looked embarrassed.

  Journey felt sorry for him, “You can help me, Matt. I’m sure I can find something for you to do. Actually, as soon as I can dig out a book that’s somewhere in our stuff, you can study up on survival techniques.”

  “Or, let him read the journal Carlos left for us. He might find something useful in there besides, pemmican.”

  Everyone froze when the sound of running feet stopped in front of the tent flap, and someone's hand pulled it open.

  “Dad, come quickly. Mom needs you,” Sherry, no coat on, stood outlined in the opening.

  Chapter Four

  Gina stood frozen in place. One foot in and one outside the small room. She couldn’t decide whether to fall backward or rush whoever was holding the gun. The only reason she thought to rush them, was the gun was shaking badly enough, Gina thought it could go off no matter what she did. She thought about her 357, but it was still in the holster on her saddle. She had no idea if Sam was carrying or not.

  “Sam? Sam Akins? From up the road?”

  “That’s right Amanda, can you lower that gun. Sure wouldn’t want it to go off accidentally.”

  Gina felt Sam’s breath on the back of her neck. Her neck was now the warmest place on her body.

  Gina peered that the figure standing in front of her. Her eyes were still not adjusted to the dim light. All she could see was a shadow of the person Sam had called Amanda. She did still she the gun still pointed at her. The barrel had dipped as if it were too heavy to hold up. Gina thanked God it was. If it happened to go off, at least, she would only get shot in the leg or foot.

  With a hand on each of her shoulders, Sam moved Gina to one side. When Gina was out of the line of fire, Sam held his hand out for the gun.

  “Why don’t you give that to me? It looks way too heavy for you.”

  “No!” The woman almost screamed and pulled the barrel back up. Now, it was pointed right at Sam.

  “Come on Amanda. You know me, and Mary and John. Why don’t you just give me the gun? Let us help you.” Sam’s voice had taken on a calming tone like you would use with a small child. He edged closer to the woman. “That’s right. Give it to me.”

  Sam was further than six feet away from the woman, when she began to sob, “I’ll kill you. So help me God, I will.” The barrel of the gun bobbed up and down with her words.

  Sam stopped moving. Gina moved farther away from Sam. With the different angle, she could see the woman. Without having heard her voice, there would not have been any way to tell the sex of the person. Her hair stood on end, and to Gina, it looked as if someone had cut it off with a knife. Some hair was as short as an inch, and some were as long as two or three inches.

  Even without light, Gina could see the woman was dirty and in dire need of a bath. As the woman raised her gun back up to point it at Sam, Gina could smell the stench from her body.

  “Hey, Amanda. My name is Gina. I understand why you need the gun…I really do. It’s not safe for a woman to be alone without one,” Gina crooned to her. As much as she didn’t want to get any closer to Amanda, she knew she had a better chance of disarming her than Sam. She was beginning to realize that the woman had to be Matt’s stepmother. She tried another tack. “Matt is back at our place. I bet he’d sure like to know that you’re okay.”

  Amanda turned on her in a flash. The hatred that poured out of her mouth left no doubt the woman was unhinged.

  “That sniveling little brat…do you know what I did for him? Him and that drunkard father of his?” Amanda let one hand drop away from the gun and used it to fluff her hair. The barrel dropped lower. Now in the light from the window, Gina could see from the glaze in her eyes that she was either very sick or very crazy.

  Gina lunged away when she felt rather than saw Sam move. The gun went off with a deafening bang, and Sam slammed his fist into it knocking it to the floor.

  The woman scrambled trying to get her hands on it when Sam stepped on her wrist pinning it to the floor. The woman growled and tore into his leg with her teeth. She sounded like she was trying to tear him apart like a dog.

  Gina grabbed a handful of the woman’s hair, but between the length and how greasy it was she couldn’t hold on. She flung herself on top of her and wrapped her arms around her upper body and rolled, pulling the woman away from Sam. When her teeth slid off Sam’s thick coveralls, her teeth snapped together with an audible pop.

  She turned her attention to Gina, she squirmed and twisted like a wild woman in Gina’s arms. While Gina didn’t want to hurt the lady, she’d had enough. As if she had been trained in the art of fighting, Gina head-butted Amanda in the face. For a second Gina thought she would have to do it again, but as if she’d had a delayed reaction, Amanda went limp in her arms. Gina let go and rolled away and to her knees. Rubbing her forehead, she told Sam, “She’s all yours. You might want to tie her up or something before she wakes up.”

  It took a minute for Sam to respond, “Jesus, remind me to never piss you off.”

  Sam left the room, returning with
in seconds. In his hand, he had several loops of twine. He tied her hands and feet and rolled her onto her side.

  Gina stared at the woman, “What the heck was that all about?”

  “I have no idea. I’ve never seen her act quite like this. I’ve never seen her looking less than perfectly made up either. I wonder what the hell happened to her?”

  “As thin as she is and acting that crazy, I wonder what hasn’t happened.” Gina shuddered. “We need to find some light because I’m pretty sure there’s something dead out there.”

  Hanging on the wall, he found an old oil lamp. Sam took it down and shook it gently. He frowned, “It’s full.”

  “Well, maybe it was recently filled, or maybe she didn’t use it.”

  Gina looked around. The stench of the unwashed woman was beginning to get to her, and her stomach rolled. Gina placed her hand over her nose to block the odor and almost gagged. Stomach bile rose up in her throat, and she swallowed it down. Her hands had been in Amanda’s hair, and the smell on her hands was about to make her sick. Gina scrubbed her hands on her overalls.

  In a corner was what looked like a pile of blankets, some trash, and empty cans. It looked like Amanda had been hiding in the barn for some time.

  Gina began to feel sorry for the woman. They had no way of knowing what she had been through and almost regretted the head butt.

  “Don’t even think it. We’re not going to untie her until we know what’s going on. I’d like to know where Dave is and where the hell she got this.” He held up the gun Amanda had been holding on them.

  “Maybe it was hers or her husbands?”

  “Nope. I recognized it right off, and as soon as I figure out how to light this lantern, I’ll know for sure. I don’t suppose you…”

  Gina pulled a Bic lighter from her pocket and held it out to him. She smiled. Gina never went anywhere without one, and neither did either of her friends.

  He smiled at her, “Of course you do. I don’t know why I asked.”

  He removed the mantle and looked at the wick. Frowning, “This has never been lit since the wick was changed. It’s still new.”

  It took a couple of tries to get the lamp to light. When Sam put the mantle back on and held the lantern up, illuminating the small room. It also showed them how Amanda had been living. Gina clamped her hand over her mouth and rushed outside. Hands braced against the side of the barn, Gina emptied her stomach until nothing was left. She wasn’t surprised when Sam followed her out. He dropped to his knees facing away from her and wretched.

  Finally, he sat back on his heels. His face had lost the ruddy red complexion from the cold wind to be replaced by several shades of green. Gina wiped her mouth and spit onto the ground.

  “At first, I didn’t see why you ran out, and then I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.” He leaned over and dry heaved. When he was finished, he grabbed a handful of snow and held it in his mouth a minute, swished it around and then spit liquid out on the snow. He used his hand to scoop fresh snow over the vomit.

  “Just so you know, we’re not untieing that bitch for anything.”

  Sam nodded in agreement. “Why would she do that?”

  “Better still, who was that?” Gina shuddered, and her stomach spasmed.

  “I’m almost afraid to look.” Sam looked up at her, “You know we have to, right?”

  Gina sighed, “I know. I don’t like it, but I know we do.”

  “I’ll get the lantern,” he said and got to his feet. They walked back into the gloom of the barn and Gina waited while Sam retrieved the lantern. He held it up in front of them, and with Gina holding on to the back of his coat they walked down the aisle between the row of stalls. The first, second and third were empty. The fourth stall, the half-door was latched, and Sam looked over it.

  In his haste to back up, he almost tripped over Gina. She sidestepped to keep from being knocked to the ground. Sam held his hand over his mouth. The lantern trembled in his other hand, and Gina reached for it. Dropping it would be a disaster for them.

  “I’ve seen dead bodies before. You want me to look?”

  Sam’s eyes were huge and held a blankness she had seen in the eyes of returning veterans. She realized she should have been the one to look in the first place. Whatever was in that stall could have propelled Sam back into the hell of Afghanistan.

  “I have never seen anything like that in my life,” Sam said his voice held sadness. He sounded defeated.

  Gina took the lantern from him, held it over the half-door and looked in. It only took seconds to see all there was to see, and she stepped away. With the lantern in one hand and Sam’s arm in her other, she led him outside.

  Gina pushed the sliding door open as far as it would go, illuminating the interior. The horses had grouped at the far end munching off a stack of hay bales. She went back in and unhooked the top half of the stall door and closed it, latching it in place. She felt better, knowing that even the horses wouldn’t be exposed to the carnage the stall held inside.

  Gina looked into the tack room to see if Amanda had come to. She was still lying on her side the way Sam had left her. Gina was glad that she wouldn’t have to see the woman’s open eyes. She didn't think that she could stand to look at the woman without hitting her again.

  She’d heard of people who had behaved like Amanda. She’d learned about the Donner party in high school. She had just never heard of anyone eating another person raw. With no evidence of a fire and the bones that were thrown into a corner of the room, she had to think the woman had eaten someone without cooking the meat.

  Gina went to stand in the open doorway, taking in deep cleansing draughts of the frigid air. She needed to clean the stink out of her lungs.

  Sam walked up to her and took her hand and locked his fingers with hers. Gina looked up at him and saw he was slowly coming back to her. His eyes weren’t as haunted, and his color was better. Nothing could have prepared either of them for the atrocities that Amanda had carried out.

  “Why or I guess how could she have done something like that?”

  Gina shook her head, “I don’t know. What makes anyone do what they do. The need to survive at all costs? I just can’t answer that.”

  “The one that was hanging in the corner…that was Jake Minnaker. He owns…owned the next farm up the road. I recognized what left of his head. There’s no mistaking that head of red hair. The other, I think, is Dave, Matt’s father. I didn’t get a good enough look to be sure, but I think it is.”

  “What do you want to do? We can’t stay here.”

  “As soon as that bitch wakes up we find out what the hell happened.”

  “Do you really want to know or does it even matter? We know the truth, it’s laid out there in that stall. The question is what do we do with that information?”

  Sam shook his head. The expression on his face said he didn’t know. “We can’t tell Matt. He thinks his father had an accident or something and he’s had some time to deal with the reality that he’ll probably never see him again. There’s no reason he has to know about this.”

  Gina looked at him and frowned, “Have you forgotten that’s his stepmother in there?”

  Sam clenched his jaw and Gina could see the blood vessels stand out on his temples throbbing in time with his heartbeat. She heard his teeth grind as he clenched harder.

  “Sam? Sam honey? Are you still here?” The voice was as smooth as honey as if she were trying to entice him to come to her.

  Gina's eyebrows were up in her hairline, she mouthed to Sam, “Sam, honey?”

  “You have to understand the type of woman she is. She wasn’t hard on the eyes, but she thought every man was after her. She played Dave for a fool whenever a man was at the house. You heard what Andy said. He avoided any contact with her. I guess when I think of it, this whole thing isn’t that far fetched. She was always the ‘me first’ type of person.” He squeezed Gina’s hand once and let go, and expelled the air from his lungs. “Now I guess we go
find out what happened.”

  The pistol that Sam had taken from Amanda lay on the floor where Sam had dropped it when he had run outside. He picked it up and looked at it. He nodded once and smiled grimly.

  Amanda lay just as they’d left her. Her whole demeanor had changed. If she could have seen herself in a mirror, she might have seen how appalling she looked.

  Gina almost laughed when the woman actually batted her eyelashes at Sam. Her lips formed the look that she, Journey, and Lucy had called the fish-lipped look.

  Sam turned his face away from Amanda, and Gina thought he was holding his breath when he helped her to sit up. He dragged her roughly to sit her against the wall.

  Gina, lips wrinkled in distaste at having to touch them, picked up one of the blankets in the corner and threw it over the pile of stripped bones. She shuddered when she realized the blankets were not rust colored at all but had been drenched in blood, and it had dried.

  “Sam…aren’t you going to help me?” Her voice was all soft and whispery.

  Amanda wiggled, and Gina wondered if she was trying to get more comfortable or making a sexual gesture at Sam. Gina couldn’t look at her. She turned her eyes on Sam wondering how he was going to handle the situation.

  Sam turned a bucket top side down and sat. “Amanda, help me to understand what happened here.” Sam kept his eyes locked on the floor between his feet.

  “Happened? What do you mean?”

  He tapped the gun in his lap. This is the .44 Magnum that Jake won in that shooting tournament last spring. It’s even got his name engraved on the barrel.”

  Amanda’s eyes grew round, and she pulled her lips up into a pouty expression. Gina could see that at one time, the woman had been pretty, maybe even beautiful. It was clear that she thought she still was and could control a man with her actions.

  “He gave it to me. Well, you might say we traded for it.”

  “We?”