The Changing Earth Series (Book 3): The Walls of Freedom

by Hathaway, Sara F.

  Finally, she reappeared at the top and signaled for Dexter to cross. Erika couldn’t help but marvel at the strength of her son. He gracefully crossed the line with ease and stood for a moment talking with Star at the top. Then they both disappeared. This time they stood waiting even longer. They watched the sun climb higher and higher.

  “You think they’re okay?” Toni quietly asked Erika.

  “I sure hope so. They are really good at moving stealthily as a team,” Erika replied proudly.

  “I’m going to check it out,” Vince said, concerned for his children. He was kicking himself for letting them go instead of taking the responsibility himself.

  “Just wait, my friend, you have some smart kids there. They know what they are doing,” Vlad said, holding Vince’s arm.

  Vince hoped he was right. Then, suddenly, they reappeared, giving the all-clear signal.

  To get Daniel across the gap, they hooked a rope to the front of the stretcher and one to the back. Then they tied it around the cable that crossed the gap. Erika climbed onto the cable with a rope hooked to her waist and to the front of the stretcher. As she climbed along she would pull Daniel with her. She felt the cable bounce as Vince got on behind them. He would push from the back to make sure Daniel didn’t come unhooked from Erika and slide back down.

  Toni was going to climb across with baby George in the pack on her chest. Finally, Vlad would come with Boris. Boris was another issue. He insisted on climbing across himself, but at only five years old his father was scared he would not have the strength to make it all the way. They ended up tying him to his father so that if he fell his dad could still haul him up.

  Erika set off, gingerly moving one hand over the other. She didn’t realize how far down it was until she was out on the line. Just don’t look down, she told herself over and over. The cable burned in her hands, but she knew her young son’s life depended on her finishing this traverse so she continued steadily on. Vince was quietly watching her from behind, making sure she was okay. His body was put to the test but he locked his legs in and used most of his arm strength to make Erika’s job easier by pushing Daniel’s stretcher along the line. The sweat beaded and dripped from their heads as they plodded along, inch by inch. It seemed like an eternity to Erika. She could hear baby George crying in the distance. It got quieter as she moved along and then stopped all together as Toni stuck her breast in his mouth.

  “You’re almost here, Mom,” Dexter declared from the side she was trying desperately to reach.

  Erika rotated her head back and saw she was indeed almost there. Her pace quickened when she saw the end in sight. Soon enough, Star and Dex were reaching out to make sure she put her feet down on the slippery rock safely. Dexter untied the rope from her and he and Star pulled Daniel in to safety. Vince finally had both feet on the ground and breathed heavily next to his wife as they recovered from the strenuous climb.

  As soon as they were off the line, Toni had the baby strapped in tightly and began the climb across the water. Vlad put his son on the line in front of himself and they were on the move as well.

  Toni’s pace was much quicker. She was strong from years of survival on a boat. Boris was holding Vlad to a methodical pace and the party at the top waited anxiously. Much to their surprise, they heard a bang.

  “Was that a gun shot?” Star commented earnestly.

  Toni was just as startled as everyone else. She crawled along the rope like a monkey navigating its tree-bound home. She was at the top in a flash, looking back at what all the worried faces at the top were staring at. Boris clung to the rope like a tick. His dad was dangling from the rope with just his arms. One leg dripped blood.

  “Dad, there’s a guy out on that ridge,” Dexter confirmed, scanning the cliff.

  “Star, fire some shots at him now! We can’t have him shooting anymore,” Vince commanded, getting his bearings on what needed to be done. “Erika, Toni, take Dex and set up a perimeter, just in case there are more headed this way.”

  “What are you going to do?” Erika wondered full of concern.

  “I’m going after Vlad and Boris!” he exclaimed, not waiting for her objection that was sure to follow.

  He jumped onto the line with a piece of rope in hand. He used it to slide down the cable quickly. There was no time to appreciate his heroic deed. Erika knew he was right; there were probably more of them headed this way. Toni wrapped George up tightly so he couldn’t move and disrupt the rapidly forming operation. She tucked him in next to Daniel, grabbed her rifle, and they were off to put a wall of fire in between the mystery shooters and the men on the line. They set up behind trees, spread out along a ridgeline that the men would have to cross to get to them, and waited.

  Star’s shots continued to ward off the first shooter. Vince had reached Boris and had him climb onto his chest. He prayed to God for the strength to do the climb one more time with the unusually large five-year-old.

  “You gonna be able to make it, Vlad?” he questioned the injured man.

  “Yes, yes, just please get my boy out of here,” Vlad yelled back urgently.

  “See ya at the top, buddy,” Vince yelled trying to give him the confidence to continue the climb.

  It took every ounce of strength Vince had to traverse the cable one more time. He kept checking back on Vlad who was slowly climbing along. As he reached the end of the cable and put Boris down he heard gunfire in the distance. He grabbed his M1 Garand and set off toward the sound, checking back on Vlad one more time before he left.

  “Stay here with Star and wait for your dad, okay, Boris?” Vince ordered the boy.

  “Okay,” Boris whimpered with fear in his eyes.

  Vince quietly crept through the trees. They were blackened with the sign of a recent forest fire, but the undergrowth showed signs of recovery. Then bang, bang, bang, more gunfire. He quickened his pace as he approached the ridgeline Erika, Toni and Dex were set up on. He kept his pace steady and his ears open. Then he thought he heard something in the woods off to his right. He paused and listened harder. Crunch, crunch, crunch, there was something out there. He posted up behind a tree in a dark shadow and watched the three men moving in, trying to flank the defenders on the hill. He waited until he had two of them lined up then, bang, the men fell dead. The first guy in line turned around in surprise when bang, another shot from Vince’s rifle blew a hole through his chest and dropped him to the ground. Vince looked down at the M1 Garand. Nice rifle, slicker than owl shit, he thought.

  In a matter of moments, Vince heard steps coming up cautiously from the left and the bird-whistle greeting call that his son always used. He and answered Dexter with his own call.

  “You okay?” Dex queried as he reached his father’s side.

  “I’m fine. Are the girls okay?” Vince asked, straining to hear if there were more men coming up from the right.

  “Yeah, we took down two more over there,” Dexter pointed out towards the ridge.

  Star’s shooting had ceased, indicating she either hit her target or there was no need to continue the barrage because everyone was across safely.

  “Think it’s all clear?” Dex asked his father.

  “I don’t know, there could be some sleepers out there. You stay here and keep an eye out. I’m going down to check on Mom.” Vince was still concerned and at the same time he marveled at the fact that his fourteen-year-old son was so grown up, “Do you need another magazine?”

  “Nope, I’m good,” Dexter replied, tucking himself into the shadows as he had been trained to do.

  Just as Vince was setting off, Star approached huffing and puffing.

  “Did you get him?” Vince wondered.

  “I think so,” Star replied, sliding to a stop.

  “Did Vlad make it?” Vince asked.

  “Yup,” Star replied.

  “Okay stay here with Dex. Make sure to hold this line. I’m going to check on the girls.” Vince was already on the move.

  “Got it,” Star repl
ied, posting up on the opposite side of Dexter.

  Vince found the girls still watching the ridge for any more signs of soldiers.

  “How’d you guys do?” Vince asked quietly as he approached.

  “Good, I think. We got two,” Erika said proudly.

  “I got three, sneaking up behind you,” Vince declared, bursting her bubble.

  “What would I do without you?” Erika exclaimed sarcastically, giving him a big kiss.

  “Well, today you’d probably be dead,” he jested back. He kissed her firmly. “I love you.”

  “I love you too. Thanks, baby,” Erika replied.

  “How’s Vlad and my boy,” Toni queried urgently.

  “They’re okay. They crossed safely. Star thinks she got the shooter,” Vince replied, calming the woman’s nerves.

  “Lets go find out,” Toni replied, full of anger and revenge.

  “Hold on a second. Let’s be smart about this. I’ll take point. You two cover me,” Vince suggested.

  “I got you,” Erika acknowledged.

  She kept him in her vision and scanned the trees for any sign of danger as he moved from dark shadow to dark shadow. Then he would halt and Erika and Toni would carefully move forward, but kept a good distance so they had a wider view of any potential danger up ahead. They passed by the two men that she and Toni had killed. They were in uniforms similar to those the soldiers wore at the refugee camp, the American Flag plastered on their shoulders. Vince made it to the point where the shooter was and motioned the ladies forward.

  For some reason he was shocked to see the soldier was a woman. He held his gun over her.

  “Oh...you...are...all...dead,” the woman choked out, with gobs of bubbling blood.

  “No, you’re dead, whore!” Toni said coolly as she pulled the trigger on her rifle and sent the woman’s brains splattering across the rock.

  “Well, that solves that. You remind me of my friend Greg,” Erika said, wrapping her arm around Toni and giving her a squeeze. “He would have done that just the same way.”

  “Sounds like someone I could have gotten along with,” Toni laughed.

  “Good job, ladies,” Vince said, plodding up the trail behind them. “We’ve got to move fast now, someone could have heard all those shots.”

  They went back to check on Vlad and Daniel. The group determined that it would be smarter to take the soldiers’ jackets to replace their rescue jackets, and Toni was fitted in the outfit of another solider. That way, if they were seen from a distance, they would not attract as much attention.

  The bodies of the soldiers were thrown down the ravine with rocks tied to their legs so they would sink deep and no one would find them. The group was aware that the absence of the soldiers would not go unnoticed forever, so they tried to clear the area of tracks and signs of struggle before they set off towards Reno again. Now there were two stretchers to carry.

  The landscape had merged into something Erika was more familiar with. Huge pines loomed above them and the gray rocks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains welcomed her home. They had reached the place that Erika had known as Echo Summit in the days past. They cautiously approached knowing that this area might be well attended to by the military.

  Erika waited in the evening chill, stamping her feet to keep them warm. Star was finishing her scouting sweep before the stretchers would be moved over to the edge. Erika shifted the heavy weight of her pack on her back.

  Finally they heard a shrill whistle from up on the hill above them. It was Star’s signature call, confirming the all-clear. She would stay posted up on the high point, ever-vigilant for any patrols coming their way.

  Erika pushed forward with the rest of the crew. Peeking over the edge of the rocky cliff, she could see Tahoe off to her left. The airport there was still in use by the military. They would have to be extremely cautious.

  “We’re not going that way, guys,” Toni said quietly, tapping Erika on the arm. She pointed down to the right.

  There was a small game trail down the cliff a-ways.

  “We’ll have to rappel down, but it’s the safest way to get past the guards,” Toni advised.

  “Are you serious?” Vince looked shocked. “How are we going to get them down?” He indicated Daniel and Vlad.

  “We’ll have to tie them to the stretchers and lower them down. We’ve done it before. We’ll send one climber on either side to make sure they don’t flip.”

  Erika heard Star’s whistle again and looked toward her. Star’s hand signals indicated that three guards were headed their way but they were still a good distance off. They would have to move fast. Daniel was the lightest so they tied him to the stretcher and then fastened ropes from the handles. Toni tied a chest harness to Vince and Dexter, and the three of them were gone over the side. Erika and Toni slowly let the rope out and lowered Daniel to the ledge. They pulled the ropes back up and repeated the process with Vlad. Star had come down from her perch and helped Erika lower Vlad down, with only Toni to guide him. As soon as they were all on the ledge, Erika untied the rope from the tree that they used for the stretchers. Star untied the other one and took the other side of the rope down the cliff so it made a “u” around the tree. Erika held it for her from the top as she rappelled. Then Erika put her faith in Star and went down one side of the rope while Star held the other side at the bottom. Once Erika was down Star pulled the rope just as the guards approached.

  Erika could hear the chatter of the men somewhere up above but they hadn’t seen the rope slipping down the cliff. Thank you, God, she mumbled to herself. Star immediately got on the other end of Vlad’s stretcher and moved it into cover. Out of sight, the group waited, barely breathing, for the guards to leave. It took longer than any of them would have liked, and it was dusk before Star snuck back from her scouting mission and confirmed they were gone.

  Night fell fast and it made their precarious climb down the mountainside all the more dangerous. They didn’t dare use any lights that could have been seen by the guards above. Erika slowly and deliberately placed her feet on the ground as she plodded along by the glow of the half moon.

  When they finally made it to the valley floor, Erika looked up and saw the first rays of sunshine popping up over the mountain in the distance. The grass gleamed an emerald green, and she watched the mountain river meander through the meadow unabated. Her exhausted body breathed new life in this pristine landscape, and she reveled in the beauty and fresh smells of nature.

  Toni was still moving with purpose. She led them to a rocky outcrop. It looked like a pile of boulders, but once they wiggled past a certain space between two rocks there was a large cave inside.

  They had to take Vlad and Daniel off their stretchers and carry them through, but upon entering, the cave felt safe. They all flopped down and slept. Exhaustion had outweighed their hunger. There would be time for food later.

  Chapter 12

  It was intensely cold when Erika awoke. The dark of the cave engulfed everything but she felt Vince’s warmth still breathing peacefully beside her. Dexter’s and Star’s silhouettes outlined the small cave opening, illuminated slightly by the tiny half moon adorning the night sky.

  Erika quietly checked on Daniel who was breathing shallowly next to his father. Her heart ached for him. She would rather die a thousand deaths than watch her son lie there on the edge of existence. She slowly crept over to her two teens by the entrance.

  “Hey, Mom,” Dexter whispered to the night.

  Erika hugged him tightly, “Hey buddy. What’s the news?” She turned and squeezed Star just as tightly, focusing her misery into love for her two children.

  “No news yet. Toni left about an hour ago. There’s a small patrol with a fire that’s watching the upper hill. Their scouts come and go about every half hour.” Dexter pointed in the direction that they had come from yesterday.

  Erika looked out in the distance and saw the small glow illuminating the ridgeline.

  “Is he gonna make it?” S
tar questioned her mother with deep pain in her eyes.

  “Only time will tell, Star. Right now we just have to stay strong for him,” she said, willing herself to believe what she was saying. Erika wanted to burst out in tears and scream at the world. They had risked so much for their freedom, for Daniel’s freedom.

  The three of them stared at the cliff, lost in their own thoughts. A flashlight appeared, searching carefully along the edge of the cliff and shining into the valley now and again. They watched it complete a careful scan and then click off as the soldier carrying it returned to the warmth of his fire.

  Suddenly there were footsteps approaching the cave. The three scanned each other’s faces for a moment and then focused on the entrance, preparing for whatever was about to come through it. A figure appeared in the doorway. The silhouette was female.

  “It’s me,” Toni declared quietly, knowing what was awaiting her on the other side of the rocks. She entered quickly through the opening.

  “We’re clear to go, but our group is too big. We’ll have to go in shifts,” Toni declared.

  Erika felt Vince’s hand on her back as he joined the conversation.

  “We’ll take Daniel first. I’m thinking Erika and Star will go as well with Boris. That way Vince and Dex can help carry Vlad in the next shift,” Toni suggested.

  Erika looked at Vince.

  “Let’s do it,” he declared quickly.

  “We have to go now. The darkness won’t cover us forever,” Toni urged them.

  Erika wasn’t happy leaving Vince and Dex behind, but what choice did she have. She had no idea where they were going.

  Erika and Star jumped into motion, readying Daniel for the move. Erika carried his frail body and hugged her husband and son before heading into the moonlight with Star carrying the stretcher behind her.