Beyond the New Horizon: The Last Sun,

by Christine Conaway

  “Evelyn, do you think this is still good to eat?”

  She looked up and didn’t see anything, but she knew the voice, “Charlie McGrubber, what makes you think I can see through rock?” Evelyn hadn’t gone to see the outside yet because she didn’t know if she could stand any more of the changes that Willy had told Charlie had appeared outside. As far as she was concerned, the changes so far had brought nothing but grief to all of them.

  “The meat that was drying in the smokehouse when the storm hit. Is it still edible?”

  “Oh for crying out loud, Charlie. Does it smell bad? Did you taste it?” Evelyn yelled up at him.

  Charlie looked at the piece of thin cut meat and raised it to his nose and sniffed. He was prepared for it to be rancid and had already wrinkled his nose just in case. All he smelled was smoke and maybe a hint of the spices the women had marinated it in, but he couldn’t imagine how it hadn’t rotted over the past few months.

  The meat wasn’t as brittle as it usually was and he realized that as quickly as the storm had set in and as low as the temperature had dropped the meat had probably been flash frozen. As if he was prepared to spit it out, Charlie put the piece to his mouth and bit down. He pushed it around the inside of his mouth savoring the taste. Saliva began forming, and he had to slurp to contain it. He tucked the meat in his cheek and announced, “It’s still good. It tastes wonderful. Evelyn, come up here and see this. The smokehouse was full, and it still is.”

  The memory of well-smoked meat drew her up the carved steps. She realized her feet sank a little with each step and wondered how that was possible unless the temperature outside had soared above freezing. She was forced to stop as soon as the sunlight hit her eyes. She closed them and still saw the bright light. A little at a time, to allow her eyes to adjust, Evelyn opened them and stared around.

  “Oh, my Lord, what have you given us this time?” The sky was a bright cerulean blue with a few fluffy white clouds floating by. While there was no green, the now open valley lay spread out before her. To her eyes, it appeared as if the rock formations had lost height and the end of the valley no longer ended at the rock wall, far in the distance. Something moving held her attention, and she shaded her eyes while she figured it out.

  Wordlessly, Evelyn moved her mouth and flapped one hand at Charlie and Willy who were standing with Kenny and Sherry beside the now open smokehouse.

  “Look! Look there!” She screeched while pointing to the south.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Gina stopped and pulled Journey to a stop as well. The two of them had slowed as they walked afraid of what they would find. It had appeared the rest of their group was as apprehensive as they were and lagged behind them also.

  “Oh my God…someone is alive,” Gina breathed out and turned to where the others were herding the horses, goats and the cow ahead of them. Gina realized that no one else had seen the survivors. She had no idea who it was that she saw, but for any of them to have escaped was far more than they had hoped for. Sam had thought they would be on a recovery mission if they could even find any bodies.

  “Sam, someone is alive.”

  Sam’s head jerked up, and his blue eyes met hers. Gina nodded, a huge grin stretched her mouth wide. She pointed, Sam followed her finger with his eyes and then he began to run, scattering the small herd of animals.

  Before he could reach the people standing at the edge of the snowdrift, he was passed by the four younger people. Lucas, in an uncommon gesture of love, threw his arms around Sherry, as soon as he reached her.

  Gina and Journey stopped just out of arm’s reach, both afraid to ask. Lucy, Ben, and the baby were not in sight. Abby had come to stand beside Gina and twined her arm through Gina’s.

  “Where’s my Dad?” Abby asked as she tightened her grip on Gina’s arm. “And Lucy and my brother?”

  Charlie came to stand in front of the three, his eyes looking everywhere, except directly at them. “We’re not sure. The whole roof collapsed, and we just dug our way out ourselves. We’re hoping they found somewhere safe when the quake started. We were just going…”

  Tears began to gather in his eyes, and Journey stepped up to offer him comfort. He had two sons who were not in sight and a young woman who was to be his daughter-in-law, and she realized they had each lost someone close to them. They couldn’t bring Mark and John back, but maybe Charlie was right, and the others were safe in a pocket like she and the others had been. They had come around the end of the valley not expecting to find anyone, and they found Charlie, Willy, Kenny, Evelyn, and Sherry. It was possible for the rest of them to still be alive too.

  “Okay then. We need to figure out where everyone was when the quake started. If we all survived it, so could they.”

  “Sierra and Joe went to the waterhole for me,” Evelyn began, “and Ben and Jesse were working on the hides they were tanning. So, they would have been…across the woodpile beside Sam and Gina’s sleeping area.”

  “Lucy and the baby were sleeping by the fire…” Willy said. He knew the ceiling above the fire pit had collapsed, but none of the others knew.

  “Stop calling him the baby! He has a name just like we all do.” Abby screamed. She deflated and sagged against Gina.

  “Honey, we didn’t know they’d settled on a name. What is it?” Gina asked her. She had already detected the look that Willy and Charlie had exchanged and thought she knew what had happened. She felt the same grief that Abby was feeling, but knew she couldn’t express it until she knew for sure. To have lost Lucy was unthinkable. She knew the way that Journey had stiffened beside her that she was feeling the same loss and disbelief Gina felt.

  “Charlie…his name is Charles William,” Abby sobbed.

  Charlie must have realized the significance of Lucy and Ben naming the baby with his name, and his eyes teared up. He was unable to speak.

  “Let’s get started then. Right now, their biggest fear will be the loss of oxygen.” She looked at Charlie, “How bad was it on your side of the cave-in?”

  He shook his head, “not good. There’s only room for a couple of us at a time down there so it would be best if we form a line and pass rocks out.”

  “Let’s go then,” Sam said and headed for the opening with Andy and Lucas close behind.

  “Matt, can you and the girls see about moving some of this snow away from the entrance?” He didn’t stand around waiting for an answer, but entered the opening and disappeared, followed by Andy.

  As the rocks were passed up, they were thrown aside until the pile of rocks hindered their efforts. Matt and Abby had to leave the line and throw or roll rocks clear to make room for the new ones coming out. They worked until the sun began to go down and sight below was no longer possible. Hampered by dust and no light, Sam finally called a halt.

  “That’s it for tonight. At this point, we’re a more of a danger to ourselves down there. We have no way of knowing how stable the roof will be once we remove the rocks. We’ll get started again at first light.”

  Someone had lit a fire and Evelyn had a pot simmering on the edge of the fire. Sam frowned and sniffed the air as he walked up. “You guys have food?”

  “Not the way you’re thinking. We have jerky soup. The meat that was left in the smokehouse was still edible, and Sherry showed Willy where the cattails were. They dug some up, and I cooked them. It isn’t much, but it’ll fill your belly, and it’s hot.”

  Sam sighed and wiped some of the dirt off his face, “We can’t ask for more than that then.” In a lower voice only meant for Evelyn, he asked, “How are you holding up?”

  Her shoulders slumped, and she tried to put on a brave face, “Oh, I’m fine. I’ll be better when we know.”

  Sam knew what she was talking about and while no one had addressed the truth about the people still trapped inside the cave, he saw that Evelyn was a realist. He saw the grief in her eyes and in the way that she stood. He had seen her mumbling to herself and felt sure she was praying for them, and while he
didn’t have much faith in the power of prayer, he couldn’t discount it either. Something had guided them to the cave and kept them alive for as long as they had been. He hoped the loss of the others wasn’t the price they would have to pay for their continued survival. Seeing the despair on Gina and Journey’s faces every time he’d had to face them was more than enough to urge his rescue efforts on.

  Charlie was relentless when it was his turn in the cave, he had two missing sons and a girl who was to be his daughter-in-law. Sam vowed that he would account for every person in their group before he would stop searching.

  He looked up when he saw Lucas and Abby headed toward the cave entrance. “Hey, you two. Where do you think you’re going? I’d like for everyone to stay around the fire.”

  Lucas looked at Sam and tipped his chin up, “We’re going to listen.” With his comment, he took Abby by the hand and continued walking.

  Sam almost hollered to stop them when he realized that with the noise of moving and falling rock as they worked, they wouldn’t have heard if someone was trying to get their attention. If anyone could hear someone, it would be Lucas. He had an uncanny talent for hearing things that other people couldn’t. Charlie had said that Abby was almost as good as Lucas. Even though the two kids couldn’t have seen him, he waved them on.

  “Just be careful,” Sam called after them.

  Lucas waved over his shoulder in return, to let Sam know that he’d heard.

  Sam knew that Lucas was as worried about his mother and there would have been nothing he could have said that would change Lucas’s mind. From the corner of his eye, he had seen Charlie shake his head at him when he’d first called out to Lucas. Sam took the gesture to mean to let the two go. While they were working in the darkness, Charlie had confessed to Sam that he didn’t hold out much hope for his other two sons or Sierra. He had no idea where they’d been except Evelyn had said they were by Sam’s sleeping area when the shaking started.

  While Sam had never examined the arch of rock above his sleeping quarters, Gina had mentioned that it looked solid, but they had already removed much of the loose rock and rolled any boulders away from their area. They had found their two sleeping bags, and while they were full of small stones and dirt, they would at least help to keep some of them warm. They had recovered Gina’s black rucksack where they had stored several of the confiscated handguns and ammunition they’d taken from the thugs. They had been cleaned and wrapped in pieces of clothing that neither of them wore. The clothes had oil stains from the handguns, but at least they would offer warmth and some protection against the elements.

  Her 30/30 was beyond repair as was his AR 15. They had been propped in a niche after their last cleaning along with the bag. Sam tried to see the rest of the cave in his mind and if there would be any way for the others to have moved to a safer place before the ceiling collapsed. Anywhere against one of the outer walls would have offered some protection, but he just couldn’t remember where everyone had been situated.

  Andy, Charlie, and Willy moved to sit surrounding Sam, and he looked at each of them expectantly, “What?”

  Willy pointed to where Gina, Journey, Evelyn, and Sherry were cuddled up in the two bags. Olivia, seeing the men move close joined them, kneeling in from of Sam with her back to the fire.

  Like the rest of them, she was dirt covered and tattered. Her hands were covered in small cuts, and her fingernails were crusted with dirt. Seeing Sam studying her, Olivia curled her fingers into fists to hide them.

  “Aren’t you going to catch some sleep while you can?” Sam asked, looking at her.

  Olivia frowned and looked at the sleeping women. With a shake of her head, she pursed her lips and frowned, “If that’s an attempt to get rid of me, it’s not going to work. I think I have the right to know what you’re going to say the same as they do.” She waved a finger to indicate the other men.

  Sam almost laughed at the defiant looked she aimed at him, “Yes you do. I need to start thinking of you guys as adults and not children. Speaking of children, where’s Matt?”

  Olivia aimed her chin at her right shoulder, “Down there. He thought he heard something.”

  Sam jerked his head up, “Damn him, he knows we’re supposed to stay together.”

  Olivia smirked, “He didn’t really go anywhere. He’s behind that bush, going to the bathroom but didn’t want to say it to me, and Kenny went with him.”

  Sam relaxed, “Okay then. What I wanted to know is if anyone thinks there’s any chance someone could have survived?”

  “Of course, they could have! We did.” Charlie said, his voice tight with grief. “I’m not going to quit looking until I know. If they managed to get into one of the alcoves or under one of the arches, it’s possible.”

  “Charlie’s right. Think how soft the dirt and rocks were for Lucas to carve out the flue. It seems like this cave is made up of a combination of solid rock and shale held together with dirt. If they did manage to get on one of the thicker walls, it’s possible. I’m just worried they’ll run out of air before we find them.” Willy looked between Sam and Charlie, “We need to have light to work, but we need to be rested, or one of us is going to get hurt, and that won’t do anyone any good.”

  “I’ll build up the fire because it looks like our only chance of staying warm tonight,” Kenny said when he came back followed by Matt. Both young men had their arms full of wood. The wood was damp from sitting under the snow and wouldn’t catch. It produced too much smoke and no heat. After repeated attempts to light it, Sam and Charlie had gone for some of the dry wood that had been moved out of the cave to make room for the rocks they were excavating. The dry was added to the fire, and soon they had it blazing. The ground around the fire pit soon warmed, and the men stretched out their backs to the flames. None of them figured they would sleep, but soon, soft snores emitted from each of them. The men were tired physically as well as mentally and relaxing for the first time that day, sleep over-rode thought.

  Inside the cave and finally alone, Abby and Lucas sat with their legs crossed, leaning against the pile of rocks that hadn’t been transferred outside yet. Holding hands, they both closed their eyes and waited for the silence to take over. They ignored the occasional pebbles and dirt sifting down, and the steady drip of water from somewhere.

  Lucas thought they had both fallen asleep when something woke him. “Abby? Do you hear…”

  “Hush…listen,” she hissed at him.

  Lucas closed his eyes again and did listen. He heard a steady staccato tapping. It wasn’t rocks falling or from the water dripping. Someone was using Morse-code to send a message.

  He squeezed Abby’s hand, “I’ll get Uncle Sam…that’s……”

  “Morse-code,” Abby finished for him. “That’s my Dad. I know it is.”

  “Or Lucy, she would know it too.”

  Lucas let go of Abby’s hand and tried to climb to his feet. His knees screamed out in pain as he tried to stand and his back joined in. Lucas had spent most of the day bent over throwing rocks, and rolling boulders and his body was crying out in protest. He figured they had to have been sitting for a long time before the tapping woke them up. He groaned and forced himself to move, “I’ll be right back.”

  As he ducked out the opening, Lucas noticed the gray pre-dawn light and thought they had been sitting in there all night. He shivered from cold and excitement. They had proof that at least one other person was alive. For Abby’s sake, he hoped it was her father.

  “Uncle Sam,” he shook his sleeping uncle and jumped back before Sam woke with flying fists. “Wake up, we hear someone, and they’re sending us a signal, but neither of us knows Morse-code.”

  “I do,” Willy spoke from where he was sleeping. “It’s been a while, but I used to know it really well.” He groaned and sat up. “Just give me a moment to wake up and get these old bones moving.”

  By the time Willy was standing and going to the cave, everyone had wakened, and their camp came alive with a
nticipation. The excitement was contagious, and everyone talked about the rescue, but no one named a name, afraid they would be wrong.

  Evelyn bustled around heating up the remaining soup and vocally wondered about adding more to it. Sherry and Kenny packed more of the dry wood to build up the fire just in case the warmth was needed, and Journey went through their meager clothing supply to see what they could use for bandages if they were called for. She wasn’t going to second-guess the injuries and didn’t want to destroy the clothing if she didn’t need to. She shook them out to remove the dust and laid them in piles of what was useable and what wasn’t.

  Gina just watched. She couldn’t get excited until she knew that whoever was in there was going to be okay. Evelyn had privately told her about the roof over the fire coming down, and Gina was prepared for it not to be Lucy, but she didn’t want to dash any hopes that Journey or Abby had for their friend and mother. It really didn’t matter to her who came out, just that someone did. To have all of them alive would be like winning the lottery.

  “Gina, everyone, Uncle Sam wants everybody to come and move the rock,” Lucas shouted from the mouth of the cave.

  As soon as Gina went to stand, she groaned and vowed to never take refuge in a cave for as long as she lived. Every part of her body cried in protest to the work from the day before.

  It was past noon by the position of the sun before the tapping had grown loud enough to be understood. What Willy did know is that there were two people trapped together. He could identify who they were but would refrain from saying anything. He claimed to be too rusty in the art of Morse-code to decipher any more than there being two people alive.

  They worked tirelessly until the part of the rock they were clearing gave way. Cries of pain and some cussing heralded their entrance. Lucas, being the smallest person inside the cave squeezed through the gap in the stone.

  “It’s Joe and Sierra,” he said with a note of disappointment. “They both say they are okay, just cuts and bruises.”