Beyond the New Horizon: The Last Sun,

by Christine Conaway

  They waited until the motor sounds faded away and left the shelter of the trees. Staying close to the edge of the road, they walked single file until Willy reined up.

  “Do you smell that?”

  Gina sniffed. She did smell something, but it was barely there. “Smoke? Old barbeque? I don’t know. It’s too faint to tell what it is.”

  Willy pointed ahead, “Maybe the store is open. See the chimney there through the trees?’

  Gina followed his finger and saw rocked piled up in the shape of a chimney, but something didn’t look right to her. “How far above the roof does the chimney usually stand?”

  “That one goes all the way up the outside of the building and probably two or three feet more. Why?”

  “Because I don’t see a rooftop. It looks like it’s standing there by itself.”

  They rode across the roadway to approach the building on the south side and found what was left of the Avery store and cafe. Blackened timbers and the wall of rock that had once been the west wall and fireplace.

  From the shelter of the trees, they watched and waited, but saw no one. Willy pointed out the dirt parking lot and the rust-colored dirt. Gina frowned at him, because she didn’t understand the significance, and Willy realized she had no idea what had made the stains in the soil. He shook his head to never mind and turned his horse away. They crossed back over to the north side of the roadway and rode east with Gina following close behind Willy. They hadn’t gone a mile when Willy stopped. Seeing Gina close behind, he pointed to the ground.

  “They came down there,” she said. “How far in front of us do you think they are?”

  Willy climbed down, “Hold him for a minute, and maybe I can tell you.” He used a stick and prodded around in the brush until he found what he was looking for. He flipped the horse manure over and saw it wasn’t dried out. He dropped the stick and walked back to the horses, “Early this morning or late last night would be my guess.”

  Gina grinned at him, “Do we go back and get the others or try and find the men?”

  “Until we know what’s going on, I suggest we leave the wagons right where they are. We have no way of hiding them if the guy on the motorcycle comes back unexpectedly. After everything we went through to get the stuff this far, there’s no way I’m taking a chance of losing it. We’ll go back and move them closer for the night, and at daylight, we go find Sam.”

  When they got back to where they left the women and wagons, there wasn’t a sign of them. There was no sign they had ever been there. No wheel marks, no charred ground from the fire Journey had used to make coffee…nothing.

  “Alright, you guys. This isn’t funny. I know you’re here because I can still smell the goats.”

  Willy chuckled, “And the chickens.”

  “But other than the smell, you couldn’t tell we were ever here, could you?” Journey stepped from behind a huge bush.

  Willy stared at Journey and comprehended that the bush she had walked out from wasn’t just any old bush. Some of it was already starting to wilt, and the single bush was made up from several different types of leaves. Studying it, he could just make out the square corners of the box. While the disguise was good, it would not hold up to close scrutiny if it was parked alongside the road but it did change his plans some.

  “Good job. I would have ridden right on by if I hadn’t smelled it, but I don’t think anyone else driving by would have noticed the odor. From the little we’ve seen of these men, they probably don’t smell any differently, and just maybe our goats smell better.”

  “What did you find? Are we near the river?” Lucy asked as she stepped out from behind Journey.

  “Are we almost there?” Olivia asked, coming to stand beside Lucy.

  Willy rolled his eyes, “Olivia, don’t you mean, “are we there yet?” He looked around, “where’s Miss Sierra?”

  “With the horses. It seems that she has a way with them and they stay quiet whenever she’s near. Heck, even the chickens are infatuated with her.”

  Gina looked at Willy because they hadn’t found a river or even a creek and she had forgotten about it. She had assumed the store must have sat a short way from the water and then put it out of her mind. She had thought Sam had said it ran beside the store, but hadn’t seen it and assumed she’d heard wrong.

  “It’s gone,” Willy started. The whole damn building is gone, and the Saint Joe is nowhere to be seen.”

  “Someone burned it down. There’s nothing left but the chimney,” Gina interrupted thinking he was talking about the store.

  “The Saint Joe is gone? That’s impossible. It was there the last time I flew over this area, barely two weeks ago. Rivers just don’t disappear.”

  “Well, it’s gone now, but we did find where the guys came out of the brush.”

  “Well, let’s go then!” Journey said and grabbed one of the branches they’d used to hide the wagon and began to pull it off.

  Before she could dislodge it completely, Willy stopped her, “In the morning. The road down there is being used by other people too, and we don’t want to run into them without the others being with us.”

  “So, we’re just going to sit here and wait?” Journey asked, still holding the butt of the branch.

  “I think until daylight we should. We’ve come this far with the wagons and all our stuff. It would be a shame to take a chance on losing it all when we’re this close.”

  He could see the women were anxious to find their guys, but taking unnecessary chances would be stupid. Not only could they be exposing themselves to members of their own group, but from the number of visible wheel marks on the road to a whole lot of other people too. Willy didn’t think they would be the kind of folks to ignore the animals, the vehicles or a bunch of good-looking women.

  “Morning will come quickly, and I’d sure hate for the camouflaging you did to go to waste. We’ll tuck in here for the night and head west in the morning.”

  He and Gina climbed down and led their horses into the thicker brush. When Olivia followed, Gina handed her reins to the girl, “Would you please?”

  Olivia took the Appy and Journey’s mare and led them further back into the bushes.

  They kept a cold camp that night and ate the last of deer jerky. With everyone excited about seeing the men again and the possibility of meeting up with the others, not one of them were ready for sleep, and all were willing to stand a turn at watch. The problem was that they all wanted to take their turn first.

  With the heated whispers, that sometimes rose above the level of a soft voice, Willy stepped in. He pointed, “Miss Sierra and Olivia, you two go first, then Lucy, you and Journey can have the second watch. Gina and I will have the early morning. I don’t have to tell you to stay in the trees and wake the rest of us if you see or hear anything.”

  Gina saw the embarrassment on each of their faces for quarreling like little children. Silently Gina pushed one index finger down her other as if to say, shame on you. Journey stuck her tongue out, and Gina shook her head.

  Gina watched Willy lay a saddle blanket out and recline on it. He pulled his hat down over his eyes, turned on his side with his arms crossed and appeared to go to sleep. She didn’t think there would be much sleeping for any of them but was surprised when minutes later she heard soft snores coming from his direction.

  Her saddle was standing on end with her Navaho blanket draped over the top of it. She dragged the blanket off and laid it out, the sweaty side down. She thought it would be better to have to clean it when she woke than to pick the hair off herself when she got up, or have to breathe in the scent of horse all night long. Gina used her saddle as a pillow and stretched out. She didn’t have a hat to pull down over her eyes but realized there was no reason to worry about this. The sun had set, and with the cover of the trees, Gina thought she could sleep. She was wrong. Journey and Lucy came to sit, one on either side of her.

  Gina opened one eye and found Journey staring down at her, “What?”
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br />   “How can you sleep? Aren’t you excited?”

  Gina rolled onto her side facing away from Journey and found Lucy staring at her with the same intensity as her other friend. She groaned, “Oh come on, you two. Tomorrow is going to come early, whether I sleep or not and I prefer to be rested. Go away.”

  When neither woman moved, Gina opened her eyes and pushed herself up to lean her back against the saddle, “What?”

  “We’re worried.”

  Gina waited for Journey to continue and when she remained silently looking at Lucy, Gina gave Lucy her full attention. “Are you okay? The baby? Your leg? What is it?”

  Lucy’s brown eyes finally met hers, “We’re both fine. My leg is what it is, but I’m worried about the others. How do we know John, Mary, and the others are here? What if we’re walking into a trap? How do we know someone didn’t deliberately burn that building down?”

  Gina put her hand on Lucy’s knee, “Slow down. We don’t know anything right now, but we’re not going to ride blindly into anything. I’m sure Willy has a plan, and if he doesn’t, we’ll put our heads together and come up with one.”

  “How is a man supposed to get any sleep with you ladies jawing all night?”

  “The girls are worried, and I have to admit that I am too but not about tomorrow. I’m worried about every other day after tomorrow. I’m worried about how we survive the rest of our lives.”

  Willy sat up and pulled his feet close to his butt. With elbows resting on his knees, he studied the three women. “You three have so much in your favor, and you don’t even realize it yet. You’re young, you’re healthy and smart. Between the lot of you, you have the talents and abilities to survive anything. You’ve all made it this far, and that’s more than some folks can say. I think this winter will test all of us, but I also think we’re up to the challenge.”

  “Does that mean you do have a plan?”

  “Yes, Miss Journey, I’ve been laying here contemplating our next move. Some of you won’t like it, but I feel it’s the safest way to go about this. Someone should stay with the wagons. They’re too big to hide quickly and too valuable to have exposed. So, I can leave it up to you ladies to decide who stays or I can voice my opinion?”

  Both Journey and Gina pointed at Lucy. She glared at them, “Why me?”

  Journey patted her stomach, “It’s obvious, but because Sierra doesn’t have much experience with guns, I think she should stay too, and there is her ability to calm the animals.”

  “I was thinking more of Sierra and Olivia. According to Sam and Ben, Lucy may be the best defense we have.” When Journey started to protest, he raised his hand, “Women have been having babies since the dawn of time, and it’s not like there is a lot of strenuous activity when shooting a gun.”

  “But, what about her leg too?”

  “Journey, you worry too much about this leg of mine or rather the lack of it. Other than needing a saddle, I can ride as good and outshoot the both of you. I don’t need to be coddled all of the time.”

  Gina shrugged and rolled her eyes, “She’s right, and that’s what I was thinking.”

  By the time they had worked out the details for the morning, it was time for Journey and Lucy to stand their watch. Willy and Gina stretched back out on their blankets. Gina barely moved when Olivia came and curled up beside her.

  The sound of repeated gunshots woke them up just as the sky began to lighten. Gina lunged to her feet, her hand reaching for the 30/30 in her rifle scabbard before her eyes were fully open.

  Before they could saddle up and ride to the rescue, the sound of men shouting at each other and running engines stopped all movement.

  Gina looked at Willy and found him as grim-faced as she suspected her own expression to be. They stood silent until the four-wheelers drove past and then saddled as quickly as they could.

  Chapter Three

  Sam woke at the first shot which was followed closely by several more. The others were on their feet almost as quickly as he was.

  “That’s a sound I recognize. Get tacked and let’s go. I think we’ve found John.”

  “How do you know? That could be anyone.”

  As Sam was throwing his saddle on his geldings back, he paused to listen, “That’s a 308, and there aren’t many of those around anymore.”

  “What about Andy and Joe? They didn’t get back yet?”

  “They’ll find us. Leave their horses tied where they are.”

  By the time they were saddled and mounted, Sam felt positive they’d found his brother, and they weren’t that far away. He led the men out onto the trail and jogged east. When Andy and Joe came out of the brush in front of them, waving their arms, Sam was almost unseated by the horse when it sat on its haunches to avoid running over Andy.

  Sam put his arm down for the man to swing up behind him, “What the hell?”

  “We went further than planned and didn’t want to miss you guys, so we stopped. As soon as the shooting started, we knew you’d be coming this way.”

  With Joe, safely on behind Ben, they set off again. They didn’t have far to go before they heard motors. With a sense of urgency, Sam turned his horse up a bank to hide in the brush with the others close behind him. They waited only a few minutes until several quads and a motorcycle passed by. As soon as they were out of sight, Sam set out after them. He could have taken any one of them out as they drove by, but he wasn’t sure which side they were on. Until he knew, they would follow.

  They didn’t have far to ride when they found the men’s quads but no sign of the riders. He turned into the brush again and leaped down. Hastily, he tied the horse, grabbed his rifle and saddle bag. With it flung over his shoulder, Sam beat his way through the bushes to find the backs of several men hiding behind a downed tree trunk. He waved at the McGrubbers, Ben, and Andy to spread out.

  Joe hunkered down beside Sam and when they heard the loud crack of a gunshot. To Sam, it sounded like a cannon. Joe nudged him, “That’s my Dad!”

  Sam didn’t know how Joe could tell, but believed him. With the sound of repeated gunshots drowning out their conversation Sam felt confident no one knew they were there and as near as he could tell not one of the hiding men had fired a shot. He wondered if they were trying to determine what was going on as he was.

  “Let’s try to flank these guys so we can see what’s happening.” He looked until he found each of his men and using hand signals Sam pointed out what he was going to do. He pointed at the barrel of his rifle and waved the flat of his hand under his chin. He didn’t know if they understood not to fire, but they each nodded.

  “Let’s go,” he whispered. It took them a few minutes to get to the front of the men, but on the way, Sam saw hoof marks on a dirt trail and identified some of them as being from Charlie’s draft horses. He pointed them out for Joe.

  Joe nodded and grinned. He had recognized them as well.

  They had to move up the trail quite a way to be able to see clearly exactly what was going on below and Sam was surprised to hear the report from his brothers 308 from above them. He crouched down and pulled Joe down with him.

  “Get your head down. Jesus, can’t you hear that? There’s someone above us, and we don’t want to be in their line of fire.”

  Even though Sam had pulled him to the ground, Joe pulled his head closer to his shoulders, “Who is it?”

  Sam gave Joe a look of disbelief, “How am I supposed to know? That’s what we’re here to find out. It sounds like John maybe, but I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have the only 308 in the country.”

  It seemed to Sam that they watched for hours and not minutes, but still couldn’t see who was shooting at who or why. Someone was hiding in a line of bushes at the base of a rock wall, firing out at a bunch of men spread out along the north side of the road, but Sam couldn’t determine if the men out front were the aggressors or being ambushed in a cross-fire. He watched and decided they needed to find out who was up above them. If he was right and it was Joh
n, the men spread out along the road would have to be the aggressors, but he couldn’t begin picking them off in case he was wrong.

  The people on both sides seemed to be rationing their ammunition, but it looked to Sam, that whoever was above them and hidden in the brush at the base of the rock wall had the advantage. Sam could see the legs or the backs of at least three men who didn’t appear to be in the fight any longer. Whoever was up top had an excellent eye and was efficiently picking them off.

  He tapped Joe on the arm, “Keep your head down and an eye on these guys and I’ll be right back.”

  With no pack on his back or others to look out for, Sam made good time climbing the hill. He realized his physical capabilities had improved. He thought he was as fit as he’d ever been.

  Sam heard Charlie murmuring to someone before he got up to them, and softly called out, “Charlie McGrubber. It’s me, Sam Akins.”

  “Sam? Is my Dad with you?”

  “Abby? What the hell?” Sam took the last step through the brush and found Abby with John’s 308 propped on a tree trunk and Charlie with an AR. “What is she doing up here with you? Why are you up here in the first place? Where’s John and the others?”

  “Is my Dad with you?” Abby asked again, never taking her eyes off her targets.

  “Yes. He’s with the others down below. Right now, they’re hiding in the brush until we know what’s going on.” Sam took Charlie by the arm and pulled him away until he felt he could talk without Abby hearing, “Why is Abby up here? What the hell are you guys thinking? She’s just a girl, and you have her snipe for you?”

  “She was a girl, and now she’s the best we have. Thank her Dad for her abilities, and now you need to get down there and let her do her job.”