Beyond the New Horizon

by Christine Conaway

  It looked like their moves were choreographed with no useless actions. They worked as a team as if they had been doing it together their whole lives.

  By the time Lucy came out from behind the tree, Sam was strapping on his backpack. Lucas had his bow, and Sam’s Ar-15 hung over his shoulders.

  The fire had been covered with dirt, hiding all traces they had ever been there.

  “You up to walking for a bit?” Sam asked while looking at Lucy.

  “Yeah, I’m good. That sleep really helped me a lot.” Lucy stood in front of him, “Sam, thank for what you did yesterday. I couldn’t have walked one step out of there.”

  “No worries, but now we need to make tracks. I don’t know what…”

  With whipping branches and snapping limbs, a herd of deer crashed through their campsite, leaping in panic barely missing Lucas in their fright.

  Sam stared back the direction the deer had come from. When he didn’t see any more of them, nor hear them, “Okay, Lucas you follow and keep your eyes open. Something spooked those deer. They don’t run like that for nothing.”

  Sam started off at a fast pace. Lucy and Gina walked in the middle following the same well-trodden trail the deer had taken.

  “Could it be those men are coming this way? You did say something spooked the deer. Maybe that’s what it was.”

  “Nope. Those men were too busy trying to find their clothes. I stuck around watching them until they headed off down the trail in the opposite direction from this.”

  All of a sudden the ground under them groaned and rolled as if they were riding a wave. Trees cracked, and bushes swayed, Lucy first, then Gina, were thrown to the ground. Lucy let out a little shriek and Gina threw herself on top of her friend. The noise the forest was giving off; the sound of falling and breaking trees, the groaning as the ground settled back down was enough to scare both of the women. Gina tried to see where Lucas and Sam were but neither were in sight.

  Finally, the ground settled, and Gina looked around. All around them trees had fallen crisscrossing their trunks. Gina was amazed that with all of the trees that now lay on the ground, they had not had any fall on top them.

  “You okay?” she asked Lucy, whose face was inches away from her own. Lucy was staring up at her as if she had been the cause of her fall. “Hey, I was trying to protect you, so don’t give me that what the hell did you do look. Think of it as me saving your life…or or at least trying to.”

  “Then get off please, or you are going to be the cause of my demise…I can’t breathe,” Lucy groaned.

  Gina rolled off Lucy and sat up. She looked around and saw Lucas stand up. Somehow his bow was now in two pieces, and he had leaves sticking out of his hair.

  “Are you okay Lucas?” She saw him nod yes and held his bow up for her to see. It was in two pieces with only the bow-string holding it together.

  “Sam?” Gina called.

  “Here! I’m okay, but I think I could use a hand.”

  Gina didn’t see him, but a large pine had upended from right beside the trail they had been on, and the roots had opened up a huge fissure in the ground.

  When she got close to it, Sam was kneeling in the hole, covered in dirt and leaves. The roots still vibrated above his head, with trickles of loose dirt raining down around him.

  He quickly undid his pack and held it up to Gina, “I can’t get out with this thing pulling me backward.”

  “Dang, I guess we should be grateful it didn’t land on you.”

  Gina reached down, and with a grunt, pulled his pack up beside her, and held her hand out to him. Just as he got his torso up on level ground, the earth began to shake again. It wasn’t as bad as the first quake, but enough to make Sam scramble the rest of the way out of the hole and flatten himself beside her.

  “Earthquake? I didn’t realize they had quakes up here.”

  “We have shakers every now and then, but that is the worst one I have ever felt. I’m not so sure it was a simple earthquake. But, let's get the heck out of here, with the size of the quake, there’s sure to be plenty of aftershocks.

  “Too late,” Lucy shouted, still sitting where Gina had left her.

  The ground began to tremble. It wasn’t enough to bring more trees down, just enough to let previously broken limbs fall, and the last of the leaves cascade to the ground. The tremor lasted several minutes.

  “The longer they last, the more damage they do. They don’t have to be severe to tear shit up, but it makes me wonder if it was an earthquake at all.”

  “What could it be if not a quake? What are you thinking?”

  “Saint Helen’s…that produced some aftershocks.”

  “An eruption? Is that it? You think one of the volcanoes erupted?” As if saying the words out loud brought clarity, Gina sucked air in loudly, held it for seconds and blew it out. “Please say you don’t really think these are caused by an eruption. Besides, there are no volcanoes close to here. Are there?”

  Sam chuckled without mirth and shook his head. “Unfortunately, we can’t go turn on the television or the radio to find out the cause, but yes, we do. We have Yellowstone, Ranier, St. Helens. These mountains are filled with volcanoes.” Sam began to walk.

  “Whoa Sam, slow down. None of those are close to here.” Gina looked behind to make sure Lucy and Lucas were following. Lucas had paced himself to Lucy’s awkward gait. It was obvious, she wouldn’t be able to keep up with Sam if her leg would even hold up for the walk to the cabin. Sam had said a couple hours, but at the pace, he was setting, even she wouldn’t keep up.

  Before Sam had gotten out of sight, he stopped, turned and walked back to them. “Look, I’m sorry. I’m really worried about the reason for the quake. I heard or read something somewhere, maybe on the internet, I don’t remember, but it was about Yellowstone setting up for the big one.” He shrugged his words off and began to walk again, but not as quickly as before.

  “Yellowstone? But that’s hundreds of miles from here. Would we even feel it?”

  “A few hundred by road,” Sam flung over his shoulder. “Much, much closer as the crow flies.”

  “He thinks Yellowstone has erupted?” Lucy asked, taking hold of Gina’s arm for support. “Remember that documentary we saw last spring? The one about the ring of fire? I thought it said that when St. Helens blew her top, it released the pressure and we probably wouldn’t have another earthquake of any magnitude for quite some time.”

  Lucy was right in one respect, they had caught parts one, two and the tail end of part five in the five part series. It had been an educational program and had made them think about a chain-reaction series of eruptions. They had even decided to make their next year trip up to the national park to see it before it could all disappear. They had already planned on ordering an annual backcountry pass.

  “I don’t know enough about volcanoes to say anything. However, I was in L.A. when they had that quake back in 1994. I don’t remember much about it except how afraid my parents were. Dad threw us in the car, and we headed for Las Vegas. He was worried about a tsunami. We had sand right up to the backyard in Newport Beach. It’s funny, but I don’t remember even going back there long enough to pack.”

  Gina had been walking with her head down, watching where Lucy put her feet. She had begun to stumble a while back and was almost ready to holler at Sam when Lucy pulled on her arm to stop her.

  Gina looked up, surprised to see Sam standing right in front of her. Not twenty feet in front of him was a gravel road.

  “I guess we’re not going to have to worry about people driving in here,” he said and waved his arm to include the road in both directions.

  Tamarack, Spruce, some Mountain Pine and a few leafless tree skeleton's crossed the road from the uphill side, their root balls rising high in the air, almost blocking access to the road.

  “Now what? How far away are we?” Lucy asked. Her voice sounded washed out as if she had already used up the extra energy from the previous night’s sleep.
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  Gina rubbed her hand across Lucy’s shoulders, “You okay?”

  Lucy sank to the ground rubbing her knee. “Not really. I don’t think I can walk another step.”

  For Lucy to admit that as readily as she had, Gina knew she was in pain. She probably had been, and not said anything. Maybe she didn’t want to be piggy-backed again.

  “You rest for a bit. I’m going to go talk to our fearless leader.”

  Lucas dropped down beside Lucy, and he looked as tired from carrying his pack as Lucy did, or maybe he didn’t want her to feel that she was holding them up. Gina was impressed how responsible Lucas was compared to the few kids she knew.

  Sam stood looking down the road, “We’re almost there. Another half hour or so. I’m just trying to figure out how to get there through all of these trees.”

  “It looks like it was mainly the ones along the road that fell, and mostly on the uphill side.”

  “The road was cut out of the hillside and probably undermined their root systems. Hell, I don’t know. I just know we have to go down. This should be the last hill before we get to the mine you guys were staying at, and the road to the cabin is a quarter mile this side of there.”

  “Good, because Lucy can’t walk. I’m thinking about going and getting one of the horses if we’re that close.”

  Gina studied Sam’s profile while he pondered her words. He certainly wasn’t the type of person she was normally drawn to. His looks could never be considered handsome in the classical sense, other than his startling blue eyes, his face could only be described as rugged. His skin was dark, whether, from the sun or some native heritage, Gina wasn’t sure, and maybe it was a little of both, but she detected strength, in his actions and his words. She thought that those two qualities carried more weight than good looks.

  “Hello? Did you hear me?”

  Gina felt the blood rush to her face. She realized she had been staring, lost somewhere inside her own head and hadn’t heard him.

  Sam grinned as if he had read her thoughts, “Yeah, I can see that you were in deep contemplation. World problems and all that.” He waited for her to say something. When he realized she wasn’t going to, “I said no need for that. If you can take my pack, I’ll carry her like before.”

  By the time they worked their way around the downed trees, Gina wished she had gone and gotten one of the horses, or at least Gus. He could have packed both bags as well as carried Lucy.

  As they neared the bottom of the hill, the fewer of the downed trees there were, and Gina wondered why that was.

  “ A better root base…more soil,” he looked at Gina, who had stopped and was staring at him, open-mouthed confusion on her face. “No,” he laughed, “I’m not a mind reader. You said it out loud.”

  Gina chuckled, “Good, I was beginning to think you were more tuned into me than I thought.”

  He looked at her, laughter in his eyes, “Oh, I’m tuned into you alright. I’m just not a mind reader.”

  Gina didn't know what to make of his words. She hadn’t meant tuned in the way he had taken it, and she felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment. It had been so long since she had a man in her life, and this was certainly not the time to start or even think of starting a relationship. The turn their lives had taken since their return to the truck, was mind boggling. With everything that had happened, it was unlikely, there would ever be a right time for romance or a relationship. Gina suspected it would take everything they had, just to survive the winter.

  Sam had dropped to one knee to allow Lucy to climb down. Favoring her bad leg, she hobbled to the side of the road and sat. Lucas, dropped down beside her as if he was as tired as she looked. Gina was feeling the aches and pains from carrying the large pack and gladly undid the straps and leaning to one side, allowed it to drop to the ground beside Lucy and Lucas. She stood straight and stretched her back. With a sigh, she turned to watch Sam.

  He had stopped, eyes down, inspecting the entrance to the side road. Gina walked to where he stood.

  The gouges in the road made by their travois poles had been washed out. The indents were still there but none of the sharp edges that would say how long it had been since they were made. As near as she could tell, there were no fresh tracks visible to her untrained eyes.

  “Do you think anyone else has been through here?”

  “No, I don’t think so, but I can’t be positive.”

  “Okay, so do we have a plan, or are me and Lucy just going back to the cave?”

  They hadn’t talked about what would happen once they returned. Gina was anxious to check on Sailor and the other horses and see how their cave had handled the earthquake. Gina realized it would be a good test for their shelter.

  Seeing how tired Lucy looked, she wanted to get Lucy settled somewhere, build a fire, take her boots off, and warm up. The horses would be fine until later, being turned out in the pasture with Sam’s horses.

  “Sam, do you realize that we know nothing about you or your family? Heck, I don’t even know your last name or if you’re married, have kids or anything.”

  He pondered her words, and Gina thought he had to be thinking about what she said, and then he got that telltale glint in his eyes. She knew whatever he said, would be full of information or nothing at all.

  “Akins, no and none…that I know of, and there’s not much else to tell.”

  “Well, okay then. I already know you’re all good people because only people with good moral and personal qualities would have gone chasing off through the woods to rescue someone you didn’t know. So, that means something, and they way Lucas was raised says a lot about his family values.”

  “Uncle Sam says I inherited all my good qualities from him, but Mom says he’s a philandering, womanizing, playboy, who…” Sam grabbed Lucas and slapped his hand over Lucas’s mouth to shut him up. Sam screamed and let go in shock when Lucas bit him.

  That Sam was blowing the bite completely out of proportion was easy to see by the way he was fighting off laughter. His indignation was a sham and poorly acted out.

  “Jeez, Lucas, some things need to remain private. Leave a man at least a smidgeon of dignity.”

  “You didn’t let me finish,” Lucas said and turned to Gina and Lucy who were trying hard not to laugh. “She also said he was a rare breed and the last of his kind. She would trust him with her soul and is one of the greatest men, next to my Dad, that she knows.”

  “Well, that’s more like it.” Sam threw back his shoulders and beamed at Lucas. He pulled Lucas close to his side, and one-arm hugged him.

  “I’ll pay you when we get back to camp,” he told Lucas, just loud enough for them all to hear and then grinned at Gina, “Now you know everything good there is to know about me.”

  Gina pursed her lips and frowned, she shook her head, “She forgot, devious and humble. Let’s just get this done. Cabin or cave?” Gina looked at Lucy as she spoke. Lucy had as much right to make a decision about where she wanted to go as Gina did.

  As much as Gina wanted to check on their belongings, she also wanted to meet Sam’s brother and family. She wanted to see Journey and check the horses.

  Lucy looked from Gina to Sam and shrugged, “ Honestly, I just want to get somewhere and sit down. I’m cold, tired and my leg is killing me. You guys decide, but sometime soon would be good.”

  “Cabin,” Sam and Gina spoke as one.

  “Ben, your friend and his girl are probably still there. If John is well enough to, we’ll have a pow-wow and decide what we all want to do.”

  Gina agreed, the horses had been moved to the pasture behind the cabin, that would take care of one of her concerns.

  “Walk or ride,” Sam graciously asked.

  Lucy refused to be carried, “I can make it that far. Being piggybacked is not the easiest mode of transportation, and I’m sure your back could use a rest too.”

  Sam conceded, “As you wish ma’am.”

  “You are so corny, Uncle Sam.”

 
“Yeah Sam, add that to your list of qualities.”

  Sam threw Gina a dirty look, that was reflected neither in his eyes nor demeanor.

  They hadn’t gone a twenty feet up the two-track trail to the cabin when a familiar voice called out, “That’s far enough. Identify yourself.”

  “It’s us, Ben,” Lucy called out. Before she could say another word, Ben came crashing through the underbrush and wrapped Lucy up in a bear-hug.

  “Oh my God Lucy, are you okay?” He pushed her out to arm's length, studied her briefly and crushed her back to him, “My God, I was so worried about you.”

  “She was probably better before you wrapped your mud hooks around her. Give the girl some room to breath.”

  It was obvious that Ben only had eyes for Lucy. Again, he held her at arm's length as if to inspect her from head to toe. “You’re okay?”

  Lucy smiled at him, and for just an instant, Gina felt a twinge of jealousy. Lucy had somehow managed to find something good amidst all of the chaos of the past couple weeks.

  Gina, looked away, embarrassed to have seen the hope on Lucy’s face. Maybe Ben was exactly what Lucy needed to help her survive the winter and finally put her depression behind her. Gina knew how far Lucy had come, the past couple of years, but she still suffered debilitating bouts of depression.

  They happened less and less as time passed, but she remembered Ben saying that Lucy still had nightmares. Lucy had never told her, about the soldier who had been killed, or her connection to him. She wondered if Lucy had ever confided in Journey. “Does it really matter now?” she asked herself.

  Gina understood the pain of losing someone you loved, but Lucy couldn’t know that because Gina had never shared that part of her life with anyone.

  “So, are we going to go up, or stand here and watch this tender moment? You two may feel all warm and fuzzy inside, but the rest of us are freezing.”

  “That’s a good idea. We’ve been talking while you were gone and have a few ideas we need to run by you guys. Your Dad is going to be fine Lucas. He’s one tough old man.”

  “Watch your mouth. That’s my younger brother you’re talking about…and I’m not old.”