Beyond the New Horizon

by Christine Conaway

  Sam turned and watched as Lucas backed up, heard him set the emergency brake and shut the motor off.

  Lucas, followed by the two baby goats, walked toward him. Sam grabbed his shoulder to prevent him from getting close to the drop-off. “We have to find another way down.”

  “Sam, what's the big deal? You’re acting like you’ve never been here before.”

  “Well, I’ve never seen a drop off here, nor have I ever seen a lake on the property before, so I guess you could call this a new experience for me.”

  “Uncle Sam, there’s another creek too. Where did that come from?”

  Sam shrugged, “I have no idea.”

  “You think the earthquake did all of this?”

  “There’s no other explanation. I guess we need to find another way down and go find out.”

  Gina saw the riders and horses ride up to the trailer and several people came out of the tent. They were standing around looking up at them. She waved, and they all waved back. She saw Matt take Sailor’s reins and lead him to an open shed. She heard Gus before she saw him. He had obviously missed his friends. He was moving as fast as she’d ever seen him move, followed by the bigger jenny. He was braying to the horses as he ran.

  Sam walked parallel to the drop-off and disappeared from her sight to return a few minutes later. He was more relaxed when he came back, and she thought he must have found a way for them to get down the drop-off.

  Gina was tempted to walk the rest of the way, after his stunt on their first road trip. While the Jeep had run well getting the goats, the hump in the middle was a reminder how bad Sam’s driving could be.

  “You coming or not?” Sam, as well as Lucas and the two goats, were already in the Jeep.

  “Oh, what the hell,” she said to herself. “Yes!” she said to Sam and hurried to get in the Jeep.

  As soon as Sam stopped the Jeep beside the tent, Journey came running over to Gina, “Did you find us a goat? We tried Nathan on some canned goat milk that Carlos had, and he liked it. He’s sleeping happy and full right now, and Mary says it’s the first time in months.”

  “We did, and one is a nanny. We don’t know if she can be milked or not, but she has babies.”

  “Oh, good. Carlos threw together a pen for them, so we don’t have to chase her all over when we need her.”

  Lucy limped over to the Jeep, and without a word, gave Gina a hug, holding it for a few seconds. “I’m glad you made it back safely. We were all so worried, with everything that’s happened.”

  “Let me help Lucas with the goats, and you can tell me all about it.”

  Gina looked around to see where Sam had gotten to. She had thought he would help them get the goats situated, but he and the other men were standing down by the lake. From what she could see, there was ample finger pointing and back slapping.

  Mary came up to her and wrapped her up in a hug. “Thank you for the goats. At first, I was worried that there wouldn’t be any there, and then the earthquakes…we were afraid you couldn’t get back. With the changes here, we were worried what the roads would be like or if those nasty men were still there. Lucy about wore her leg out with her pacing. Come in and have some tea and tell us all about it.”

  “Hey, slow down a bit. We’re back now and safe. I think we should wait until we’re all together to hear what happened. I’m kind of curious where the tractor and trailer are and why I saw John and Andy riding the horses down. I thought we were leaving them until last.”

  “Oh dear. I haven’t talked to John yet. He just arrived right before we saw you sitting on the hill. But I’m sure he has his reasons.”

  Gina watched as Mary and Journey went back to the tent, their heads leaning toward each other as if they were the best of friends. She felt a twinge of jealousy when she realized how close the two women had become. She thought that even Lucy had changed. Gina flopped into one of the camp chairs that someone had arranged around a fire pit. They hadn’t lit a fire in it, so she stared at the charred wood.

  So much had happened to them in the past three weeks, and outside of their home life, they had never interacted with many other people. It had always just been the two of them until Lucy had come along and then it had been the three of them. Neither of them, other than the occasional dinner date had a steady boyfriend.

  “You seem troubled, Miss Gina. Maybe it helps if you talk to Carlos?”

  Gina jumped, almost tipping her chair over. “Oh my God Carlos, you scared me half to death.”

  “My apology’s. I thought you would have heard this old man.”

  Gina laughed, “That’s one thing I will never consider you. You look like you’re doing okay to me.”

  “That was a very brave thing you and my boys did today.”

  Gina tipped her head, puzzled, she asked, “You mean bringing the goats?”

  He nodded, “Yes las cabras…our little Nathan will get some meat on his bones now.”

  “You’ve been around a long time. Have you ever seen anything like this before?”

  “No,” Carlos said sadly, shaking his head. “My whole life I worried something like this was going to happen. I just didn’t think it would come from God. I thought it would come from something our government did, but never from God.” Carlos slowly shook his head, “Now I think I’ve seen it all.”

  “There’s going to be a lot more to see. With everything that happened the past few weeks…I feel like our whole world is being recreated. My God, the mountains have even shifted, and now there’s a lake in your front yard.”

  He sank lower in his chair, “I’m just tired. I don’t like to see my family going through this. There is nothing I can do this time to fix it.”

  “But wait and see how it looks tomorrow, after we get rested up. Things always look better with the start of a new day.”

  Carlos smiled at her, “You’re right. I’m just tired,” he said and tapped the side of his head, “I’m tired up here,” patted his chest, “and here too.”

  “Hey you two, we’re about to sit down for dinner. You better get in here, or you’ll end up with nothing,” Lucy yelled from the tent.

  Gina shivered, “I guess I could stand to eat and warm up. I can’t imagine what we’re going to do when it gets really cold.”

  “You will all survive, don’t you worry about that.”

  Gina stood and helped Carlos to his feet, when he seemed to find getting up from the low chair difficult. She held his elbow on the walk to the tent.

  “You like my Samuel?”

  Gina felt her face flush, “Boy, you know how to put a girl on the spot.”

  “Do you?”

  Gina didn’t know what to say, but admitted, “He’s nice, but he’s a really bad driver.”

  Carlos chuckled, “Maybe that, but he’s a good boy.”

  With the long table full on both sides, Gina filled her bowl with the stew sitting on the back of the woodstove, and sat down on the edge of one of the cots. She saw Sam frown at her. He looked down the table and saw there were no empty seats, and shrugged. He picked up his bowl and plunked himself down beside her.

  She scooted over, creating space between them and he moved with her.

  “What are you doing?”

  He had a chunk of what looked like homemade bread ready to put in his mouth, “Having dinner.”

  “I can see that. Why are you here?”

  “I live here.”

  “Sam, don’t be so obtuse. You know what I mean. Why do you feel the need to sit here?”

  “Need doesn’t come into it. I wanted to. I can’t ask you out on a date, so I thought I would share dinner with you.”

  “I can see where we need to have a children’s table to keep the kids from bickering,” John said loudly for everyone to hear.

  Carlos leaned close to Lucas and whispered something to him. Lucas got up and left the tent. He returned several minutes later with a cart that held four folding tables. He had to have gotten them years ago. The metal tray lifted
up and snapped on the metal framework. Lucas went out again and returned with two of the folding canvas camp chairs, and set them by the stove. He set a table in front of each chair and returned to his place at the table.

  Gina watched to see what would happen next. Were she and Sam supposed to move to the table, she wondered? Before she could move, Abby and Sherry took their bowls and giggling, moved to the new tables.

  “Now, you two big kids come over here. We need to talk.”

  Gina rolled her eyes as if moving was asking a lot of her, and she couldn’t believe that John was giving orders. She did want to hear what had happened to make him and Andy decide to move the horses. She thought they were waiting until everything else was done before they moved them.

  Then it dawned on her that they could have had trouble getting the tractor down the road. She thought about their troubles on the highway, and that maybe the road down from the cabin was in no better shape than the freeway.

  Sam snapped his fingers in front of her face, “Hello? Did you hear anything I just said?”

  She had not, but she had emptied her bowl without thinking about it. Sam’s was empty too.

  Gina stood up intent on taking their bowls to the wash basin and felt like she was having a case of vertigo. The walls and floor seemed to be moving in different directions. The table slanted crazily sliding the dishes all toward John. The chimney came loose from the stove, and black soot filled the air. Hot sparks blew up to the canvas ceiling. Someone screamed, and that was all it took for the girls to start crying. She saw Mary stagger to the baby’s bed. Everything was happening in slow motion. She saw Carlos grab the stovepipe trying to reconnect the two pieces. The stove tilted making what Carlos was trying to do impossible. Sam stopped the stew pot from sliding off with one hand and helping Carlos with the other. Gina lurched to the stove and grabbed the pot from Sam. He threw her a grateful look and clamped both of his hands around the pipe. He held the open end up to the fitting that went through the roof.

  Just as suddenly as it began, it stopped. Sherry and Abby were under one of the cots, arms wrapped around each other. Both were crying. Mary sat on the ground, beside another overturned cot clutching Nathan to her bosom. Tears ran freely down her face.

  Gina sat with the pot of stew between her knees. She had no idea when she had sat down with it, or why. John still sat in his folding chair at the head of the table, arms spread wide holding every dish between them. Matt and Andy lay on their backs in the dirt with their legs still hooked over the wooden bench, while Ben had his arms wrapped around Lucy on the ground. Journey and Lucas were both occupied dipping water and throwing it on the canvas behind the stove.

  The only person she didn’t see was Carlos. He had been helping Sam the last time she had seen him. She was pretty sure from the look of pain on his face that he had burned his hands on the pipe.

  Sam wiggled the pipe and pushed it up with a grunt and let go of the stovepipe and it stayed in place. He turned and grinned at her, obviously proud of himself. Had the circumstances been any different, and had she been standing, Gina would have fallen down laughing. The whites of his eyes and his teeth were all that stood out on his face. He reminded her of when her mother had used cold cream and soot to blacken her face for Halloween before political correctness had come into play.

  Gina bent over and looked when she saw the sole of a boot at the far end of the stove. Careful of the hot pot, Gina crawled over to the foot. Carlos had fallen behind the stack of firewood. “Sam…Carlos needs help!” She pointed.

  Sam dropped down beside the old man and gently lifted him out of the wood pile. The way Sam picked him up, he was light as a feather. He carried him to the closest cot and laid him down.

  Journey was at his side before anyone else. She felt for a pulse and slowly removed her hand. Slowly, Journey, in disbelief, looked at John. With a shake of her head, Journey let him know that Carlos was gone.

  Sam read the look on her face and began chest compressions.

  John walked over and put his hand on Sam’s shoulder. “Don’t. Carlos wouldn’t want this. We knew it was only a matter of time. Let him go, Sam.”

  Sam sat back on his heels, his shoulders slumped in defeat. Sam lifted his hands from Carlos and held them in the air as if he didn’t know what to do with them. He looked around slowly, and bewildered was the only expression Gina could think of. It was clear how much these two men cared for the old man; one trying to bring him back and the other letting him go.

  Gina felt her throat tighten and knew if she sat there, tears would be running down her face. Then she remembered.

  “I’ll be right back,” she told anyone who was listening, and left the confines of the tent.

  Carlos’s trailer was as neat as when she had spent the night there. No dishes in the sink or clothing piled on the floor. The Bible lay on the same table she had found it before, its pages divided by a white envelope.

  Gina picked it up and opened the book. She was surprised when it felt warm in her hands as if someone had just put it down. She knew that was impossible, they were all together in the tent. She opened the book at the envelope. A passage had been highlighted, so she felt it had meant something to Carlos, and with the envelope placed where it was, he intended for someone else to read the page as well.

  She read, 1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

  Gina didn’t completely understand what the passage meant, but the similarities to their present circumstances were undeniable. Even she, who had grown up without the benefit of any form of religion, could see why he would have marked this message.

  Gina closed the book and hurried back to the tent.

  As soon as she entered, she saw John and Sam sitting side-by-side at the table a glass in front of both of them. Mary was busy filling other containers and setting one in front of each of the adults.

  In the time she was gone, Sam had managed to erase the soot from his face, but that was all. Black powder still clung to his hair and shirt.

  She laid the book on the table in front of John, “I found this the night I slept in the trailer, and now I see the importance of it. I think it was his family Bible.”

  John nodded and didn’t seem surprised to see the envelope. He opened the book and removed the letter and set it aside. He read the passage, silently. His lips formed every word. When done, he looked up and smiled, “He’s still giving us guidance, like always.”

  “Are you going to keep us in suspense? What did he think was so important?”

  John slid the book toward Sam, “You read it out loud so everyone can hear.” John fingered the letter, “and then I’ll read this.”

  When Sam was finished reading the highlighted words, he looked up, “Dang, it sounds pretty fitting to me, but I wish he had left us the answers.” He closed the book and slid it to the center of the table.

  Mary reached out and touched it. “I think his intent is for us to find it in here.” She sighed deeply, “Why don’t you read his letter, John?”

  John nodded and opened the envelope, almost as a drum roll the ground trembled for three or four seconds, and settled down.

  My family, it is time for me to go soon. I do not know the time or the day, but it will be soon. I am tired and ready. I do not wish you to mourn my passing, but to celebrate my long life. I would be happy on the hillside overlooking this valley that I love so much. I will be watching over you. Carlos

  John, turned the paper over to make sure there was nothing else and folded it. He looked at each of them in turn, “I should say that Carlos included all of us, as his family. He always said that the best family a man could have was the one he chose for himself. I believe he is right. We have been thrown together by circumstance, but I think Carlos is correct. It is up to us how we are to survive this apocalypse, bu
t I would feel better knowing that we have a common goal. I don’t see it being an easy road in front of us, but we can survive. Maybe someday…” he let his words trail off as if his sorrow was too heavy to continue. John wiped his eyes and sighed. With a watery grin, he added, “I have no idea where I was going with that, but I think we should turn in. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.”

  “Are we safe here? We don’t know what other changes that the last quake brought to us, and it’s too dark outside to see. And what about the stove? Is it safe to leave it burning tonight?” Mary voiced the concerns of every adult sitting at the table.

  Sam got up and tapped on the stovepipe, “This is as good as it gets tonight, but I think it’ll be okay. Maybe tomorrow, we can put a little screw in it, so it can’t come apart again.”

  John nodded, “For tonight, I think Mary, you Nathan, and the girls can sleep in the trailer. Gina, if you guys want to, spread out your sleeping bags on the floor over there. Us guys can sleep out here, and tomorrow we’ll get better situated.”

  Chapter Thirty…………Rest in peace

  Gina rolled onto her back, her eyes opening slowly. She felt rather than saw Journey and Lucy beside her. She knew they had both been exhausted when they finally got into bed.

  Journey had helped Lucy with her prosthetic and doctored her leg. It was obvious to each of them that Lucy was going to have to stay off of her feet and let it heal up. Her scars were an angry red, and the sides of her stump had been rubbed raw. She had lost weight, and the prosthetic no longer fitted her properly.

  Gina had found some ibuprofen in the medicine cabinet and given two to Lucy. It hadn’t taken long for Journey and Lucy to fall asleep.

  As much as Gina would have loved to snuggle back down in her bed, and go back to sleep, she knew it would be impossible. She would toss and turn, disturbing both of the other women. She slipped out of bed, crawled to the end where she had left her boots and pulled them on. Still fully clothed, she found her jacket in the dark and slipped out the door.