by Nathan Jones
Trev slumped down next to his cousin, resting his head back against an uncomfortable chunk of wood. “This is all my fault,” he said miserably. “I lost us everything.”
His cousin shook his head and sighed. “They would've found out about this place eventually. They're thieves, they wouldn't leave us alone as long as they knew we had supplies they could steal. Plenty of people in town knew we had those supplies who might've eventually let them know, or they could've discovered the place while scouting around town.”
“But if Mandy hadn't ratted us out we would've had time to get everything safely cached.”
Lewis looked over at their wagons piled with winter gear. “We managed to get as much as we could out of there. It could be worse. At least Turner decided not to mention our guns even though he knows we have some. Maybe he's not a complete tool even if he is helping Ferris.”
Trev wasn't sure he believed that, and he didn't think Lewis did either. In spite of his calm words his cousin was practically grinding his teeth as he continued. “In a way there's a small silver lining. After Mandy ratted us out, if we'd managed to cache everything Ferris would've taken one look at our empty shelter and known we had. He would've forced us to show him the caches. Maybe this way he'll leave us alone now that he's taken what's in there.”
That made Trev feel even worse, and he was about to apologize again when his cousin stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “You took pity on a starving woman and helped her. You couldn't have known she was a terrible human being who'd try to destroy your life for self-serving reasons.”
Trev nodded, although the reassurance didn't make him feel any better. “So what now? The Larsons would probably take us in.”
“No,” Lewis said immediately. “Between FETF and the refugees this place his going to be full of starving people before winter even arrives. If we stay we'll only have to worry about more thieves, including those wearing FETF uniforms. I'd rather spend the winter where we can be sure we'll be alone, and where we might be able to hunt and trap ourselves some meat and even forage, since I snagged my book with all the information on edible plants in the area. A place we know well and have spent plenty of time exploring.”
His cousin was staring straight ahead, and Trev followed his gaze to the Manti-La Sal range looming over them to the west. “You're joking,” he said, immediately hating the idea.
“I'm dead serious,” Lewis shot back.
“Our hideout? It's barely a lean-to! We'll be dead in a month if we last that long.”
While growing up he and Lewis had spent a lot of summers up in the mountains near Electric Lake and following the Huntington River. They'd fished, explored, camped, and swam. They even had a little inflatable raft they'd used on both lake and river.
But they'd only been up there during the warmest months of the year in June, July, and August, since at that high elevation the snows came early, fell deep, and stayed late. Of course there was also plenty of water and game, the entire area was blanketed with forests full of deadfall they could use for firewood, and Trev had even found patches of wild raspberries and golden currants. But at the same time . . .
The hideout really was just a lean-to, dug out of the side of the mountain and crudely made of deadfall and tarps. Sometimes it wasn't even good shelter on summer nights, especially when it rained, and he didn't see it as an option at all for winter.
But Lewis just smiled at his protest. “It's not as bad as you remember. I was up there this summer cutting firewood to bring down, both for personal use and to sell, and I spent some time making the place a proper shelter, including installing a small wood stove. It still leaves a little to be desired, but nothing we can't improve on when we get there.” His smile widened. “More importantly the price of fuel started to really skyrocket halfway through the project, so I decided the firewood I'd already brought down would have to be enough. I never bothered to get back up there and haul the rest down, which means there's still enough up there to last us the entire winter.”
Trev shook his head doubtfully. “We were already worried about how difficult winter is going to be. Now you want to head to the place with the most vicious and long lasting winter you can possibly experience in this area and stay there? Even camping out right here would be better!”
“Would it, though?” Lewis shot back, jerking a thumb over his shoulder at where they could still hear the distant shouts of FETF goons going through their stuff. “We were worried about how difficult the winter would be for the town, not us, and we've got the best winter gear possible. Because conditions are so brutal up there we wouldn't have to worry about being bothered by other people.”
There was a long, strained silence as Trev thought that over. To be honest he wasn't nearly as keen to stick around in Aspen Hill after everything Mandy had done to trash his reputation. Hard as he knew it was going to be there was also a certain appeal to heading up to the hideout. “We'd have another long hike ahead of us,” he finally said with a sigh.
It wasn't an exaggeration. To get there they could either go directly over the mountains or travel south to Huntington and follow Highway 31 up to Candland Mountain for around 75 miles, uphill most of the way. That was the long, long way around since their hideout was basically on the other side of the mountains about 15 miles to the west of them. Yet even so the long way was the easy way to go, since the alternative was taking the poor, rock-strewn, brutally steep road of gravel transitioning to dirt up Aspen Hill Canyon just behind town, then following other dirt and gravel roads that weren't much better to meet up with 31. A much more direct path but over much rougher terrain.
There was no question which route they'd take, since not only was it shorter but it was almost guaranteed they wouldn't meet many people along the way, if any at all. There was also the added bonus that their shelter was northwest of town which put them slightly closer to their destination, and they could follow the dirt road next to them right to the Aspen Hill Canyon road.
At his capitulation his cousin nodded and actually managed a strained smile. “You've been having all the fun road trips lately. My turn to go on one with you.” He shrugged. “Either way we'll need to wait until tonight to load things from the cache. I don't want to do it with Ferris just on the other side of the hill.”
Trev nodded. “While we wait I'll go say goodbye to Matt. Think it's okay to let him know where we're going?”
His cousin hesitated. “I'd say no, but if we can't trust him we can't trust anyone. It's probably good to have at least one friend down here anyway. Go on, I'll try to hide the cache better and keep watch over it. The mood I'm in I almost hope someone comes to steal it.”
The words were said half jokingly, but from the way Lewis glanced towards the home they'd just been kicked out of Trev wasn't completely sure. He hoped for all their sakes that Ferris was too busy cataloguing his newest score to go poking around.
Trev left his weapons behind with Lewis and went straight south to avoid the shelter and prying FETF eyes, then headed east for town and made his way along the smaller streets. To his surprise he met Matt leaving the Larsons' house with a plastic bag in one hand.
When his friend saw him coming he immediately made a beeline over. “Trev!” he said, clapping his shoulder. “I was just heading over to find you. I heard how my parents treated you and felt terrible about it, especially after everything you've done for us.”
It was a bit difficult to shrug that off after they'd taken Mandy's side against him, but Trev managed to. “It's fine.”
“From the sound of things it really wasn't. They'd had to put up with Mandy for almost two weeks listening to her slander you so they weren't in the best of moods when you arrived.” Matt lifted the plastic bag. “Listen, me and April explained the trip and everything that happened and they wanted me to apologize to you on their behalf and thank you as well. We also wanted to give you these cans of bear spray. I realize it's a pathetic gift compared to what you've done for us, but I felt like I
had to give you something.”
Trev took the bag, trying to smile in spite of his foul mood. “Thanks, man, but you know I'd help you any time. I'm just glad we all made it safely.”
His friend's smile faded. “Although things aren't as good as they could be, are they? I heard about Ferris, and I know you and Lewis really need to worry about FETF poking their noses where they don't belong since you've got your shelter and all the stuff you've prepa-”
“He's already there,” Trev interrupted. “Kicked us out and stole everything.”
Matt flinched and slowly went white. “Holy cow, already? And they took everything? You had supplies to last you for years, and beds and a stove and bathroom and everything else. A perfect setup.”
Trev could only shrug, still too raw about it to say anything, but after an uncomfortable silence he cleared his throat. “Listen, I wanted to talk to you about the cache we left behind on the way down. I'd have a bad time trying to get it on my own, so if you and your family can think of a way to bring it back here you can have it all.”
Matt gaped. “Seriously? We can't take that, especially not after you just lost so much.” But even as he said it he stared longingly north as if envisioning all the supplies they'd reburied. That food could make a huge difference for the Larsons this winter, which was why Trev had decided to give it to them if they could manage to get it.
“We're not as bad off as you think even after losing our place,” Trev assured him. “We'll be okay. And I wanted to do something to make it up to your family for putting up with Mandy for me. Not to mention being such good friends for as long as our families have known each other.”
“Thanks, man,” his friend said sincerely. “That could be the difference between life and death.”
Trev nodded, although he felt he had to give a word of caution. “It's a lot of food, yeah, but between you, Sam, April and her family, and your parents that cache might run out quicker than you think. Even if you go to half rations this winter, which you'll probably have to do.”
He glanced back towards the shelter, feeling his jaw tighten in spite of his efforts. “Word of advice, though. Keep it a secret from everyone, and when you do bring it down bury it where Ferris can't find it and don't take it out until you really need it. He's taking the big stuff now and holding to his “regulation” about 2 weeks of food storage, but I've got a feeling in the future he'll start robbing you guys of anything he can lay his hands on.”
“Right,” Matt said somewhat dazedly. Then he blinked and focused on Trev's face. “Hold on a second, “you guys”? You're talking like you're leaving.”
Trev nodded and jerked his head towards the mountains to the west. “We are. Up to our old summer hideout.”
“Over the winter?” his friend demanded incredulously. “That's crazy! You'll be socked in under 10 feet of snow for nearly nine months!”
He smiled a slightly crooked smile. “And still somehow more hospitable than living under Ferris's size 9 boot.”
Matt shook his head almost frantically. “Don't go. You can stay with us in our house. You'll be perfectly welcome.”
“Thanks, but your place is going to be crowded enough. Anyway me and Lewis are kind of looking forward to getting away from people.” He gripped his friend's shoulder for a moment. “Don't worry about us, we'll find a way to survive. You and your family do the same.”
Matt reluctantly nodded and offered his hand, then on impulse pulled Trev into a crushing hug. “Thanks. For April and her family, for beating me around my hard head until I finally saw reason about coming home, and for all your help and advice. For everything.”
Trev hugged him back, a bit embarrassed to realize tears were trying to sneak free. “Anytime, man. Stay safe.”
They separated, a bit awkwardly, and after a few final farewells Trev turned and started back for the woodpile. He'd been looking forward to his first good night's sleep in a long time in his own bed inside the shelter, but now it looked as if he might be staying up late tonight.
He was beyond exhausted, his body screaming for rest after traveling so far almost nonstop all this time, miles and miles every day. But it looked like his journey was far from over.
Winter up in Manti-La Sal National Forest. His journey was just beginning.
Epilogue
Returns
Ferris got what seemed like half the town out to empty their shelter. From the sounds of it the people of Aspen Hill were celebrating as they made a human chain complete with carts, small wagons, and even a larger horse-drawn wagon to take everything back to the storehouse. From their behavior it was clear they considered Trev's and Lewis's devastating misfortune to be a bounty as great as the supply truck FETF had brought.
It was hard to listen to that from behind the woodpile without secretly thinking some very resentful thoughts about their neighbors.
The only saving grace of the town celebration was that by nightfall the shelter was completely empty of anything useful, even the solar panels stripped off and taken back to be installed where they could be put to better use. That meant nobody was around to witness as Trev and his cousin uncovered the cache enough to get at what they planned to take with them.
Between the two wagons they decided they could carry around 600lbs of food, mostly canned but with a base of 6 buckets, plus all their other necessities piled on top. That was more than 6 months of food for two people, which should be enough for them to eat fairly well all winter, even up at their hideout where winter lasted longer, provided they could do even a little hunting and foraging to supplement their diet.
Along with the food, winter gear, and camping supplies they also brought a good chunk of ammunition for the weapons they were going to bring. For Trev that constituted all the ammo for his .223, while Lewis left behind his shotgun and .22 rifle and all the ammo for them because of weight concerns, taking only a quarter of his store of ammo for his HK G3 and 1911, which meant still had more for each gun than Trev had total, and the guns themselves.
Altogether it was around 600lbs of food, 200lbs for the guns, ammo, and accessories, and 100lbs for their winter gear and camping equipment. Added roughly 75lbs for the weight of the wagons themselves and 25lbs for water and it came to around 1000lbs, split 600 on Lewis's sturdier wagon and 400 on Trev's.
There was some uncertainty about whether Trev's wagon could handle that much weight on bad roads, but they wanted to keep the distribution of weight as even as humanly possible. That was because almost as big a concern as the wagons was whether the two cousins pulling them could manage that much over long periods of time, especially uphill. They would definitely be going much, much slower.
The last thing they did to get the wagons ready for travel was lash everything down tightly with rope, then throw tarps over everything and tie those down as well. Now the wagons could even tip right over without spilling anything or damaging precious equipment and could be easily righted, which would save time later.
Although Lewis's wagon had the pushbar he opted to remove it and go with the belt harness, while Trev wrapped his heavy winter coat around his waist and tucked it up into even more padding so he could fit his wagon's rope over it in an improvised belt harness of his own. They'd have to take turns hauling the lighter and heavier wagon, and going uphill they'd probably have to pair up to haul the wagons one at a time on the steeper stretches, especially Lewis's, but it would be worth it to have all those supplies.
As long as they didn't get robbed again. But as Trev slung his Mini-14 where it could be easily brought to bear and he watched his cousin practice drawing and holstering his .45 in its underarm holster, he was resolved that now that they were down to nearly the last of their vital possessions any bandit would have this stuff over his cold, dead body.
But preferably theirs.
Lewis had night vision goggles, a treasure among all the other things he'd prepared and thankfully one Ferris had overlooked, and so he took the lead with them while Trev followed behind. In
spite of the weight their wagons rolled smoothly even over dirt road, as long as they avoided any rocks larger than a pebble, but from feeling the resistance of pulling that weight at even a slow, measured pace on flat ground Trev had a feeling the trip up the mountain was going to be brutal the moment they started going up even a slight slope.
Their pace would probably make even the speed he and Matt and the Lynns had managed on the way back to Aspen Hill seem blazingly fast in comparison, but at least they'd be strong as mules by the end of the trip.
The dirt back roads, most of them barely ATV trails, were silent and deserted as they followed them in the direction of Aspen Hill Canyon and the road leading up it. They did their best to be silent, too, ears pricked for the sound of movement or voices around them and eyes straining for any telltale lights. But it looked as if nobody but them was interested in traveling at night, and aside from a few times when they had to get their wagons unsnagged from protruding rocks they encountered no difficulty.
After they'd gone about half a mile Lewis glanced back at him, the silhouette of his head oddly distorted by the goggles. “You know I can see you frowning. What's up?”
“I'm still having trouble getting over what Mandy did,” Trev admitted. “I can't believe anyone would act like her.”
He couldn't see his cousin's expression, but when he spoke he sounded sympathetic. “If it makes you feel better I can pretty much guarantee you that even after everything she's done to get ahead and the trouble she's caused you, you're still better equipped to survive than she is.”
“So? She's got Ferris to bail her out.”
Lewis stared thoughtfully back at the town. “For as long as it suits him. I've got a feeling those two are birds of a feather. Either way all Mandy has are her lies and manipulation, and once those stop working for her she'll be up to her neck in it.”
“I'm not sure I'll be any better off,” Trev muttered. “You've spent all your time learning what you needed to know to survive, but more and more I feel like I was just playing around with getting prepared and now it's too late. At best I got the bare minimum supplies and equipment to survive without ever learning the skills.”