Beyond the New Horizon

by Christine Conaway

  “This whole business is getting more complicated as we go, isn’t it? Do we need to go get him or at least see if he’s okay?”

  “We’ll take this stuff to the camp and talk with John. There’s a back way from the cabin that’s actually shorter than coming back here.”

  “Sam, You can’t haul enough hay on that trailer to do us any good. Why don’t we take this load up and come back for hay with the tractor? We can go get my trailer and fill it too.”

  Sam nodded as if either Gina was right or agreeing with his own thoughts. The Jeep didn’t look capable of pulling a trailer with anything on it.

  “Now, back to what I wanted to ask in the first place, How are we going to get up that hill?”

  Sam laughed, shaking his head, “Okay, I admit coming down the way I did was one of my dumbest stunts to date. It sure didn’t turn out like I thought it would. There’s a cut, not 500 feet from where I came down.”

  “You could have gotten us both killed, but you didn’t so I guess that is a thank you. From now on can we stick to the roads?”

  “Yeah. I don’t like the looks of those clouds. We need to get our butts in gear.”

  “Are you guys going to take all day or what? In case you haven’t noticed, it’s snowing out here. While you two were lolly-gagging around, I mixed some of the vegetables and meat together so we can eat before we go.”

  “Coming!” They hollered in unison.

  Ben had fixed a soup of sorts. It wasn’t as good as the stew from the night before, but it would put something in their stomachs for the trip back to the cabin.

  As much as Gina would have liked to say he’d fixed a fine breakfast, she didn’t want to encourage him to cook in the future. His soup was exactly what he’d said. Green beans stewed tomatoes and canned meat. It was hot, was the best she could come up with. The taste of the tomatoes overpowered the meat or the vegetables. Gina couldn’t force herself to finish it and dumped her bowl into the fire pit when Ben’s back was turned.

  Within the hour, the rest of their salvage was loaded. They decided Ben would lead with the trailer and Gina would ride in the Jeep with Sam, following to watch their back trail. They hadn’t seen or heard anything that said they were either being watched, or other people were around, but Sam didn’t want someone sneaking up behind them.

  The windshield on the Jeep offered little protection from the snow or wind, their only relief came from staying close enough to the trailer it blocked some of the wind. With the canvas top off, wet snow built up on every flat surface.

  Gina looked back and could barely see their tire track impressions. The act of turning around made her dizzy, and she thought it was because of their motion and the contradicting direction of the falling snow. She shut her eyes briefly restoring her equilibrium.

  As the temperature dropped, the snowflakes got smaller and harder, the wind stirring them into a frenzy at times.

  They at least had a small amount of protection, Ben, on the other hand, was fully exposed to the wind and snow sitting up high on the tractor seat. They had bundled up in the salvaged clothing as best they could against the cold, but the stink of smoke clung to the clothing and Gina wondered if she would have to throw up before they got there. Her stomach rolled with the motion of the jeep.

  Apparently, it wasn’t only her. Sam slammed the brakes on and leaned over the side. Listening to him gag forced Gina to lean out her opening. Ahead of them, the trailer stopped.

  “Oh God, I feel horrible.”

  Sam wiped his mouth. His coloring had faded from rosy-cheeked to green. Gina knew she couldn’t look any better and she felt sweat forming on her forehead.

  Ben stumbled back to the Jeep. “Guys, I’m sick.”

  The last thing they had done was to eat before they left the house. For them all to be sick at the same time, Gina came up with the only diagnosis possible.

  “Ben, which jars did you use?”

  He was on his knees in the snow, leaning forward. When his stomach settled back down, he sat back on his heels, “I got them from the cellar.”

  “Did you check the rims for residue or rust?”

  “No. I opened them, dumped the shit in the pot and heated it up. Canned food doesn’t go bad…does it?”

  “Not usually, but it can if the jar doesn’t seal correctly or has a chipped rim, or isn’t processed properly, it can. Did you at least smell it before you cooked it?”

  Ben shook his head and buried his hands in the snow by his knees. He vomited until he had nothing else left.

  “So, I poisoned us? Is that what you’re saying?”

  “I hope not. We need to get to the cabin immediately before we find ourselves unable to drive.”

  “If I’m right, it’s only going to get worse. We need to be at the cabin.”

  Gina hadn’t eaten all of her food and didn’t feel the need to vomit as often as the two men had while they were stopped. Journey had always accused her of having a cast-iron stomach and maybe it would prove to be a blessing now. She felt dizzy and weak, but not to the extent she couldn’t function. Ben was having a hard time standing, and she suspected he had eaten more than all of them.

  “Sam, can you drive the tractor?”

  He only nodded as if he didn’t trust himself to speak. As if the simple act of opening his mouth would produce more than words.

  “Can you help me get Ben in the Jeep? We can’t have him passing out and driving it off the road.”

  Ben mumbled incoherently while they put him on the passenger side. He immediately slumped forward and would have fallen out if Sam hadn’t grabbed him.

  “We need to tie him in. Look on the back floorboard for some twine or rope…anything we can use.”

  “Thank God for binder twine,” Gina said and reached for a wad of it under the driver's seat.

  The temperature dropped, and Gina thought being cold and shivering was the only reason she was able to stay awake and keep her eyes on the slow moving trailer. They stopped, they threw up they moved some more. Time ceased to exist for her. She picked out one rusty spot on the back door of the trailer and kept her eyes locked on it. If it grew closer. She slowed down if it stopped completely, so did she. Her inside grumbled and rolled, her head ached, but she didn’t vomit. She wondered if it would have been better if she did.

  The temperature continued to drop as they rolled up the road. The snow, blinding at times, continued to fall. Gina hadn’t gotten the Jeep out of second gear, and she wondered if they would have to stop and make camp. Ben hadn’t stirred since they’d tied him to his seat. He hadn’t thrown up again either. Every once in a while, she would reach over and feel for a pulse. Each time, she felt relief when she found his skin to be warm down inside his collar and a heartbeat.

  Gina was in a daze and didn’t realize until she bumped into it, that the trailer was stopped. The steering wheel in front of her grew fuzzy and moved on its own. The motor died. Gina slumped over it and sighed deeply. That was it, she couldn’t hold herself together any longer. It was her last thought before everything went dark.

  Chapter Twenty-two……Contagious or not?

  “John, how long are we going to wait before we go looking for them?” Mary asked. She had Nathan resting on her shoulder after feeding him. He had fussed, and she worried she wasn’t providing enough milk to satisfy him. Each feeding time was taking longer than the time before and when he did seem full, he would spit most of it back up. She didn’t remember either Lucas or Sherry being as sickly or as fussy as Nathan. She had been worried about him since the day they brought him home from the hospital. They hadn’t planned on adding to their family after Sherry was born and John liked to blame it on her for being too fertile. She blamed it on him for forgetting to take condoms on their camping trip and surprising her in the middle of the night.

  They had forgotten to use them countless times in the past with no repercussions then, had thought nothing of it until Mary had gotten the flu.

  They had put off
going to Missoula where their doctor was located until her vomiting throughout the day could no longer be ignored.

  After examining her, the doctor had asked for John to join them in the examination room. She remembered the cold chill that had traveled up her spine when the doctor looked at the both of them. “I’m afraid Mary doesn’t have the flu.”

  His face draining of all color, John had reached for and taken her hand in his. He was obviously as afraid as she was about what the diagnosis could be. They had talked about cancer countless times, but had put it aside. She had no cancer in her family history. They had put it down to the stress of getting the hay crop in, the sale cows to market and the upcoming elections.

  Doctor West, had raised his hands in front of himself, “Don’t go getting all worried. Just because you’re not a spring chicken anymore, doesn’t mean we can’t have a healthy baby.”

  The idea of having a baby had not crossed their minds. Cancer or some equally horrid disease, but not a baby.

  Nathan finally released a burp and Mary felt it was safe to lay him in his basket and pulled the blanket up against the cold.

  “Not for a few more days, until I can get around a little better. Hell, right now I can’t manage more than holding a pistol. We’ll give them a couple of days and then Lucy and I will go down.”

  Mary shook her head and nodded at Journey sleeping on a pallet in the corner. She had both Sherry and Abby wrapped around her hiding under the last quilt. The three girls had spent the night keeping watch while Lucy and Lucas had slept. Without the benefit of a fire to keep them warm, they had come inside at daylight, drank some warm broth and fallen into the makeshift bed fully clothed.

  “I don’t think that will work. There’s no way that Journey is going to let you guys go without her.”

  “We can’t afford to let her go. She doesn’t realize how valuable she is to us.” John said, keeping his voice low to avoid waking the girls.

  “So, you think something has happened to the others?”

  John jerked his head in her direction, “Hell no, I don’t think anything happened. Sam is too smart to let them get caught in an ambush or anything like that. No matter what, Sam would find a way to send one of them back. I think he could have had problems with the jeep or anything. Hell, maybe the snow is worse down below than it is up here. You know how many times that’s happened.”

  “John, Sam is not Superman, no matter what you believe. He has two people with him that he knows nothing about or what they’re capable of. Shit happens, and you know it.”

  “I know Sam. They’ll be back. We’ll give them until tomorrow.”

  Mary saw the doubt on his face, and she knew he was worried. While she did think Sam was fully capable in most situations, but they had never been presented with one quite like they were in. Who could have foreseen a solar flare taking out the power grid, followed by an invasion of their home so quickly? John had offered to hook up the wagon and give them a ride to Hogan, but it hadn’t been enough.

  The first night after it happened, Sam had warned them it was going to turn to a shitstorm, his words, but she hadn’t been prepared for the number of people that had come looking for help. They weren’t satisfied with what she and John had offered, but had wanted everything.

  They did not care if they left enough for her family or not. There was no way any of them could have prepared for what happened next.

  Mary knew Journey and Lucy were both concerned when the group hadn’t made it back the day after they had left. The ranch was less than a five-hour drive from the cabin. If the house was gone and there was nothing to salvage they would have been back the same night and when they hadn’t returned by the next morning John had assumed they would be loading the trailer with hay. Mary and John had loaded the trailer many times and knew they could do it with only the two of them in a couple of hours at the most.

  Lucy ducked in under the doorway tarp, “Someone is coming up the road, and it doesn’t sound like the Jeep.” She looked from John to Mary as if expecting them to have an answer.

  John cocked his head to the side and listened. “Mary, you, Lucy and Lucas get back in the trees. I recognize that sound, but not sure why it’s coming this way. Journey, it’s time to wake up girl.”

  Journey sat up without question, realized the girls were still asleep beside her and careful to not disturb them, she climbed from the bed and grabbed the rifle John had given her for watches.

  “What?” Her eyes were barely open, and she was prepared to fight. She blinked trying to clear her eyes. “What is it? Are they back?”

  “Company coming up the road. It could be Sam, but no sense taking any chances.”

  Journey nodded, set her rifle down and slipped into her coat. Buttoning it, she followed Mary out the door.

  John hated not being the one who led their security, but had admitted earlier, that while he felt better, he couldn’t hold nor fire his rifle. He would have to settle for being the last defense for their home.

  Outside, the snow had piled up, and except for the motor sounds down the road, all was silent.

  Journey’s breath froze on her face as she breathed out. Snow blinded her eyes. She joined Lucy behind a tree, and they waited. The motor sound didn’t move any closer, but was too far away to see.

  She couldn’t see Lucas or Mary through the blowing snow and knew they couldn’t see her either.

  “Whoever it is, seems to be stopped right down the road,” Lucy breathed in her ear. “I’m going to get Lucas and go see.”

  “Be careful, and make sure Mary knows it’s you before you get shot.”

  “Not to worry, Lucas and I figured out a call sign.” She disappeared from Journey’s sight.

  “A call sign? How juvenile,” Journey whispered.

  In minutes, Journey heard a couple of bird calls and realized that must have been their call sign. She smiled to herself. It was actually a pretty good idea. If she hadn’t been listening, she might not have recognized the bird calls for what they were.

  Journey shivered and wished she had taken the time to throw on the extra jacket John had given her to wear for guard duty. She wondered if any of them had dressed to be outside. Lucy and Lucas would have, but she didn’t think Mary had taken any more time than she had. Finally, she heard Lucas.

  “Mom, come on down, but tell Dad, it’s Uncle Sam. He brought the tractor back, but he’s passed out or something. They all are.”

  Journey didn’t take the time to cross back over to the cabin and tell John but ran down the road to where she could see a big red tractor blocking the road. Lucy was bent over something on the ground by the side of it. Journey dropped to her knees beside her.

  “It’s Sam. I’m going to see about Ben and Gina. The Jeep is right behind.”

  Journey nodded and rolled Sam over. His eyes were closed, and he was cool to the touch.She felt inside the collar of his coat and felt for a pulse. It was there and racing against her cold fingers. He pulled away from her touch and groaned.

  “Sam, are you shot?”

  He moaned again but didn’t wake up. He had what looked to be food spilled down the front of him, but when Journey leaned closer, she smelled the vomit.

  “Lucas. Stay away from them. Sam is sick.”

  Mary called to them, “Is that them? Why are they stopped there?”

  Journey saw Mary coming down the road, “Mary, Stop! Go back to the cabin and keep the girls there too.”

  Mary stopped unable to see the danger, she continued forward slowly. “Sam? Journey, what’s the matter with him? Where are Ben and Gina? Where’s Lucas?”

  “I’m here Mom, with Lucy.”

  Journey stood up and faced Mary, “Mary, whatever is wrong with them, Lucas, Lucy and I have already been exposed. You need to go back to the house and keep the girls inside.”

  Mary put her hand over her mouth in horror. Just that day, they had talked of how dangerous catching the flu or some other bug could mean for them. Lucy had rea
d to them the dangers of previously eradicated diseases coming back without antibiotics to fight them. A simple cold, or the flu, pneumonia, measles mumps, dysentery or any number of illnesses, could be the end of civilization. The number of people who would die in the first three months would be a breeding ground for a number of deadly diseases.

  Bubonic plague could make a comeback without proper hygiene and burial of the dead. It had never been completely eradicated, to begin with. It wasn’t an illness you came across every day, but there were still cases being reported to the CDC. Some of the refugees had been put in quarantine with tuberculosis and a plethora of other contagious diseases, just that past summer.

  Mary turned and ran back to the cabin, a sob escaping her as she ran. She knew she couldn’t do anything to help the women and Lucas. She had to keep the baby and the girls safe.

  Journey watched to make sure she left and rolled Sam back onto his side in case he vomited again and went to Lucy.

  Gina was laid out on the snow and was cold enough that the flakes of snow weren’t melting from her face. She could see in the snow where Gina had vomited too.

  Lucy and Lucas were trying to untie some twine that held Ben upright in the passenger seat. She knelt beside Gina. She saw her eyes moving under her closed lids, “Gina,” her voiced cracked, Journey had to fight back the tears. “Honey, what did you do?” She didn’t expect an answer and laid her hand on Gina’s cold face.

  “The food…poison,” Gina croaked out.

  Journey leaned closer, “You ate poisoned food?”

  Barely moving and without opening her eyes, Gina nodded once. “Jars,” she took a deep breath, “I think the jars were contaminated.”

  Journey let the tears come then, she could deal with food poisoning. It would depend on how much was eaten and what type of food poisoning it was.

  The first order of business was to get the three out of the weather and warmed up. Journey couldn’t take them to the cabin in case Gina was wrong. What if they had been exposed to something? That would mean they saw other people. They had no way of knowing if they had been exposed to an illness and Gina only thought it was food poisoning. Journey didn’t want to take any chances until she knew.