Beyond the New Horizon

by Christine Conaway

“Carlos will be just fine until we can get there,” Mary said, resting her hand on John’s shoulder. “No one would ever think to go back there.”

  “Can we come out now?” Abby called from behind the tarp.

  Mary nodded at Ben, “Is it okay? She’s been really worried about her Dad. I told her I would ask.”

  “If someone will give me my pants, I would like to get up too, please,” Gina said, sitting up. “I think I could use the facilities.”

  Lucas jumped up and grabbed Gina’s pants and the sweatshirt she had been wearing. Careful to not drop them on Ben, he handed them across to Gina.

  Journey didn’t see the harm as long as she maintained distance. She believed it was a case of food poisoning and not a communicable disease as she had first feared, and hearing Abby’s voice may have a calming effect on Ben. He had been tossing and turning but still hadn’t woken up. He was on his side curled into a fetal position.

  Gina, after she finished dressing climbed out over Ben and looked for her boots. She was grateful to see they were drying by the fire. Journey saw her looking at them and tossed them to her. Gina sat on the deck and slipped them on. The leather was stiff, and she had to work her feet around to soften the leather. As soon as she had both on, Gina jogged to the privacy of the trees.

  “Abby, you can see your Dad, but until he feels better, I’d like you to not get too close. Okay?”

  Abby looked from her Dad to Journey, “Does he know I’m here?”

  “I’m sure he does. He just needs to rest and get better.”

  Abby sniffed and turned her watery eyes back to Journey, “He’s going to get better? Right?”

  “Yes, he is,” Lucy said and went to Abby. As if remembering, she looked at Journey and tipped her head to Abby. “Is it okay?”

  “Why not? You’ve already exposed her, if it had been anything but what it is.”

  Gina came back, shivering and looked around for her jacket. Not seeing it, she stepped as close to the fire as she could get and held her hands out. The flames had burned down enough for Mary to begin cooking pancakes.

  “I’ve only got strawberry jam to put on them, but at least they’ll fill you up,” Mary said as she flipped the cakes over.

  “Maybe the smell of them will wake Ben up,” Lucy said coming to stand beside Gina.

  Abby looked up, “Daddy can’t smell them. He doesn’t taste things either.”

  “What? Abby, what are you talking about?”

  Abby’s eyes got big when Journey yelled, and she shrank away and stepped back into Lucy.

  Lucy, put her arm around Abby offering comfort, “Jesus, you don’t have to yell.”

  Journey set her plate on the log beside her, and sighed loudly, “Sorry Abby, I didn’t mean to yell, but this is important. Your Dad has no taste or smell?”

  Abby shook her head and looked up at Lucy, “Not since he came home. He was in the hospital for a long time. They put a metal plate in his head, and he told me they robbed him of his taste. He was really mad because he really liked the smell when we barbecued. He used to say it was the best part, smelling the food when he was cooking.”

  “Well, that makes sense. No wonder he ate so much of the soup he’d fixed. He had no idea something had spoiled,” Gina said.

  “Dad said it took the joy out of eating.”

  “I imagine it would. So I guess that leaves him out of that detail,” Sam said followed by soft laughter from all of them.

  “Do not worry, there are lots of other projects that need our attention. He won’t lack for something to do,” John said. He stood and stretched as much as he could and handed his empty plate to Mary. Looking at Sam, he asked, “Now, what did you find at the ranch? I can see you salvaged some things by the full trailer, so I am assuming the root cellar was okay.”

  Sam hadn’t put jam on his pancake, just folded it in half, and ate it slowly. He had been having cramps and didn’t want to push his digestive system by overloading it with food. With the last bite in his mouth, he talked around it, “You can thank Gina for that. She did the salvaging, and she found useable stuff in the house too. I would have left it all, but she thought we could clean it up and use some of it.”

  Gina blushed with every eye turned to her. She hadn’t done anything that any of the other women wouldn’t have done. “I was being practical, is all. Mary, you can look through it and see what you want to keep. All of the clothing, blankets, and footwear can be cleaned and used. It all smells like smoke, but by the time it gets down below freezing, we’ll all be grateful to have it.”

  Mary nodded and began gathering the dishes, “Girls, you two can heat some water and clean up the dishes. Lucas, you need to go bring some more water for them please.”

  It was obvious Lucas didn’t want to be left out of the conversation and turned hopeful eyes to his dad, “But Dad, what about Carlos?”

  “Get the water, and then we’ll talk.”

  “I’d like to check on the horses, so we can do both Lucas. I’ll go with you, and we’ll be done sooner.” Gina said as she stood up.

  Lucas grinned at her, “Thanks.”

  “Are you okay?” Journey asked. It seemed Gina had bounced back better than the men had.

  Gina held her hands up, “I confess, I would have been as sick as them, but you know how I feel about canned tomatoes. After a couple of tastes, I dumped mine in the fire pit.” She looked at Lucas, “But, that doesn’t mean we’re going to run either way.”

  Lucas sighed, “But you’ll wait until we get back? Right, Dad?”

  “Lucas, Go get the water and take Gina to the pasture. We need to check the horses anyhow.”

  Lucas grabbed three of the empty five-gallon buckets, and with Gina following close behind, set off through the trees.

  By the time they returned, Ben was sitting up drinking from a cup Lucy held for him. He was pale and complaining of stomach cramps.

  Journey was sure they hadn’t contracted any sickness the others could catch, so it was decided, they would move Ben into the cabin to rest, and Mary would keep and eye on him and Nathan.

  Once that was taken care of the others sat around the fire discussing what they should do.

  “John, I thought we could go in the back way to get to Carlos. Remember that big old Army tent we took there for the crew to sleep in while we were branding? If I remember right, it’s rolled up under the trailer. It would solve the problem of where we all sleep. Set up the old potbelly in it and we’d be set.”

  John grinned at his brother, “Damn, I think you’re right. I was always going to go and get it, but never did. Now, I guess I’m glad I kept putting it off. We need to take some food to him and check on the cows.”

  “Well, sorry big brother, but you’re still in no condition to ride so there is no we involved. By tomorrow, Gina and I will both be well enough to go. Today, we sort through that crap in the trailer and decide what we’re going to use and not use.”

  “That sounds like a good project for today, and it’ll give the kids something to do.”

  Chapter twenty-three…………Chastized

  The sound of breaking glass followed by laughter drew everyone’s attention. They had spent the day sorting through the canned food, and with the added light, more had been set aside for disposal. If it looked off color or had an odor or any leakage, they set it aside to throw out. A hole had been dug a short distance from their camp to bury it. Lucas, Abby, and Sherry had taken several bins of the suspect jars to the dump site.

  Mary leaped to her feet from where she had been washing the full jars they had saved and ran off. “Nooo! Lucas, dammit, what are you doing?”

  “Wow, she doesn’t swear and never at her kids. She’s pissed,” Sam told them with a chuckle. “I’d like to be a squirrel in a tree and hear the rest of that conversation.”

  Gina laughed, “You forget she’s wearing a gun and she’d probably shoot you for dinner.”

  Lucy stood up, dried her hands and rubbed her back, “Th
at’s the last of it. Now, what?”

  On both sides of her, she had totes. One was piled high with wet clothing, and the other steam rose from the cooling water. Her hands were chapped and red. Lucy had washed everything they had brought from the ranch house, and she and Gina had rung as much of the water out as they could. John and Sam had strung binder twine between several trees to use for a drying line.

  “Now, we hang it all up. It will freeze dry, and we’ll move it into the cabin a few pieces at a time until it’s all dry.”

  Three thoroughly chastised children preceded Mary back to the fire. Their totes were now filled with the empty jars.

  Mary pointed to the water she had been using for the full jars, “You three can wash those.” Without another word, she stomped off to the cabin.

  Lucas glared at Sam when he heard him snickering, “How were we supposed to know? She said throw it out!”

  “I told you she would want the jars, but you used them for your bombs anyhow.” Sherry looked smugly at Lucas. “I told you.”

  “Are you guys going to leave in the morning?” Journey asked Sam.

  Gina was putting the last of the provisions they were taking to Carlos, into her panniers and looked at Sam for his answer. They still had several hours of daylight, and she had wondered why they wouldn’t leave once they were packed. Gina and the girls had walked to the pasture earlier and brought Gus, Sailor and a big bay gelding that Sam rode, by the name of Clyde back to camp. Gina had laughed when she saw him, but his name fit. Half quarter horse and half Belgian, he dwarfed Joe, Lucy’s gelding.

  They were tied to trees, munching from feedbags. The kids had brushed them down, removing the frost from their thick winter coats.

  “We don’t know what the trail is like and I personally don’t want to have to navigate it in the dark. We may have to clear brush or maybe fallen trees, so I’d rather take the full day to get there.”

  Lucas had sulked because he wasn’t going with them, but they had decided they would use the tractor. Lucas, Lucy, and John would go get Gina’s trailer. They could use it for storage or for someone to sleep in. Lucy had only consented to go with them when Gina pointed out that she was the only one who knew where they had hidden the bags of things they hadn’t packed on the horses.

  Ben was recuperating nicely, but was still plagued by diarrhea and cramps. Journey had started him on erythromycin that John had kept for use on the cattle. She was sure the dose she had him on was probably more than required, but it was the same antibiotic used on people, just in a powder form. She knew that, like medications used for fish, and well marked, “Not for human consumption,” they were basically the same, but with a smaller price tag.

  The next morning, both groups set off at the same time. John driving the tractor with Lucy and Lucas, both armed and leaning against the fenders one on each side of John. They thought the trip that had taken the girls a week would take them a day each way. John had fixed one of their totes behind his seat on top of the built-in tool box, and Mary had filled it with what they thought they would need.

  Gina and Sam sat atop their horses and waved them off. Gus had attached himself to Clyde and was happy to follow the big horse. If Gus dropped his head, he would have almost been able to walk under Clyde’s belly.

  Journey glared at the mule when he seemed to be grinning at her, as he followed Clyde, not even tightening the lead rope.

  “Damn mule,” she muttered as they disappeared up a well-concealed trail into the trees. The wheel ruts were barely discernable under the covering of old leaves, and fallen branches. She looked around at the others. Mary stood waving as John, and the tractor had disappeared down the trail to the road. They could still hear the sound of the motor, as they turned onto the gravel, but it would soon be too far away to track their progress.

  Abby and Sherry sat and stared at the fire, both silent for a change. Journey went and sat when she saw Mary slump onto the log beside the girls.

  “Okay, now that everyone has left, this is what I think we should do.” She waited until all three looked at her, “I think we should go down to the mine and get the rest of our things. The food we stored inside the cave will come in handy as well as the tent. There are some shelter halves too that will make good tarps, or we can use them for ground sheets or whatever.”

  “Can we use one of the travoises and bring back the sacks of feed too?” Abby had grown more animated at hearing Journey’s plans. “And the hay?”

  Journey shook her head, “No, not the hay. At least not this trip, but I know Gina and Lucy, and I could use our clothes.”

  “Is it safe to go down there?”

  Journey looked at Mary, “Probably. I’m actually more interested in getting the powder milk we have there and the oatmeal. I think we need to start Nathan on some solid food. Oatmeal and the milk would give him more nutrition than he’s getting now.” She saw the effect her words were having on Mary.

  “But…” Mary sniffed and hid her face. Finally, she confessed, “I don’t have enough milk to feed him. He’s always hungry.”

  “That’s not your fault. Once we get him on solid food, you’ll see a difference. I am not a pediatrician by any means, but it makes sense. I know I have friends who started their babies on cereal when they were two months old. How old is Nathan anyhow? He’s got to be close to that.”

  “Nathan was two months old when we brought him home from the hospital. He came early and had to spend time in the NICU. He’s almost five months.”

  “Oh…wow, I wouldn’t have thought that, but we can definitely start him on real food. I believe that it will make a huge difference in his attitude.”

  If Nathan wasn’t sleeping, he was fussing and now knowing how old he was, Journey began to get worried. She didn’t know much about premature babies, but she thought she read somewhere they had health complications as they grew up. The best they could do was to watch him and give him the best care available and pray it would be enough.

  “He sure makes a lot of diapers to wash,” Sherry complained. “I always get to wash them…”

  “I’ll help you. I don’t mind,” Abby offered.

  “You will care when we have to do the poopy ones. They’re the worst.” Sherry held her nose and looked up at the sky as if to demonstrate how bad they were.

  “Oh, stop being so melodramatic. By the time you get them, they’ve already been rinsed and soaked, and just remember young lady, that I had to do the same for you.”

  Sherry flushed and looked down, embarrassed to think she had ever worn diapers at all. “I know,” she conceded, “but I’ll bet Lucas never had to wash mine.”

  Mary raised her eyebrows and began to laugh, “No, he did not. We had a washer and a dryer, so the worst he ever had to do was carry the lid to the diaper pail to the laundry room.”

  Sides sore from laughing, Journey stood up. Why don’t you girls go bring up Joe and we’ll go see what we can get. This is one time it would have been nice to have Gus, but Joe will do fine. I’ll go in and tell Ben what we’re going to do and see what he thinks.”

  By the time the girls made it back leading Joe, Journey had talked to Ben. He had wanted to go with them, but admitted he wasn’t up to it yet. He cautioned Journey to watch for any indication there had been anyone on the road, and to not go into the cave if it didn’t look safe. He told her about the cave in.

  Abby in front, Journey in the middle and Sherry behind, they started off down the trail. At the road, Journey stopped Joe and inspected the road surface. She could see old tracks and the ones the tractor had made that morning, but nothing to worry her.

  At the cave, she saw the opening had collapsed, burying their possessions. She held Sherry’s arm while she slid off onto the bank beside them. Journey followed her down, and Abby swung off on her own. She tied Joe and went to inspect the damage.

  “Well, I guess we don’t go in after all. The quake must have collapsed it.” Journey stood with her hands on her hips, wishing she had
her gloves, but they were in one of the duffle bags inside the cave.

  Abby bent down and picked up a smaller rock and tossed it off to the side. Sherry not to be outdone began throwing rocks aside too. As Journey bent to move some of her own, she realized the mouth of the cave hadn’t collapsed at all. The rocks above the opening had slid down blocking the mouth. As they worked, small rocks and dirt continued to sift down the face, and Journey wondered if it was even safe to be doing what they were. As much as she wanted their stuff, she didn’t want to get any of them hurt.

  When the three of them managed to roll an unusually large boulder away. Journey could see into the cave itself. It was just the encouragement they needed to continue. With the removal of the last bolder, Journey thought she would fit through the opening they made and pass the bags out to the girls.

  Kneeling in front of them, “I’m going to go in and pass whatever I can fit out through the hole. You guys grab it and move it over to the trees. Watch for more rocks coming down.”

  On her belly, Journey wiggled through the opening. Once inside, she felt the walls closing in on her and her heart rate jumped. At first, she felt like she couldn’t breathe and had to force herself to calm down. She knew what a panic attack was, and had dealt with them from patients at the hospital. While she had seen them, she had never had one, but recognized the signs.

  Feeling more in control, Journey saw their bags had not been disturbed. Dragging the first one forward, she realized it would not fit through the hole she had come in. She would have to take things out until it did. Feeling around in the dark, her hand felt the slick nylon surface of one of the half shelters. Journey laid it flat and pushed part of it out of the hole.

  One of the girl's hands reached to grab it, “Wait. Let me put stuff on it and when I holler you guys pull it out. The bags are too full to fit through the opening.”

  Crawling around in the dark, Journey managed to not only get their bags out and all of the contents, but the bags of horse feed as well. The only things remaining were the tent and the bales of hay, and she had already decided the hay was going to stay behind.