The Changing Earth Series (Book 1): Day After Disaster

by Hathaway, Sara F.

  “My name is Jane. We aren’t going to harm you, the girl, or your horses.” Jane said honestly. Her eyes directly met Erika’s gaze so there would be no doubt.

  Erika dismounted, leaving Star seated on Artaz, and went to shake Jane’s hand. Erika was so small compared to Jane. She felt as if she was sitting in the front row in a movie theatre when she looked up to talk with her.

  “Hello, my name is Erika.”

  “Nice to meet you, Erika, please follow me. I’ll show you the river crossing and a place where you can keep your horses while we talk,” Jane instructed.

  During this time, Erika was inconspicuously surveying the compound. Twelve people composed this group. Sam was always close to Erika, waiting for her to make the wrong move. A small guy with a gray beard and dancing green eyes stood next to Sam. Three other men that looked to be in about their thirties stood on the other side of the circle of people. Four teenagers, three boys and one girl, stood quietly just outside the circle. Two additional women were standing on the other side of Erika. The group lowered their weapons and turned along with her to follow Jane along a passageway.

  The space immediately to the left of the passage they were following looked like it was used for bathing and clothes washing. Erika saw the river meandering by. Towels and clothing hung on a line, swaying in the breeze. The area on the right of the passage looked like it was used as sleeping areas. These rooms were built from the same material as the outer wall, but they were shorter. The passage down the middle opened into a large communal space. Here the river was loud. There were cooking stations and communal tables. Erika breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the bridge they’d made to cross the river!

  “This isn’t a crossing. It’s a bridge!” Erika was ecstatic; finally, a stroke of luck coming her way. She wouldn’t have to worry about how to keep her things dry or make sure Star was safely across. They could simply clippity-clop across an actual bridge.

  “I showed you mine, now you show me yours,” Jane urged her. The teens snickered quietly at her comment. “You can tie your horses up over there by the river,” Jane commented, looking crossly at the teens.

  Erika led her horses to a half wall that had iron rebar posts sticking up out of it. It was perfect for tying the horses to. They could reach the water from their tethered area and they drank heartily after days of trekking across the mountains on Erika’s dwindling supply. After she made sure the horses were watered, Erika walked over to the sitting area with Star in tow.

  “Please sit here,” Jane instructed, indicating a seat near her that was in a circle with the other seats, and everyone sat down. Sam was the only one still standing. He left to go take his place at the guard house. Star was content to sit on the ground beside Erika.

  Erika started to speak, “I came to tell you all about an impending attack,” she said calmly. She felt weird. Like she was in an old-school war movie and she was the messenger of death.

  “What! When?” Jane panicked for a moment.

  “Tonight,” Erika said steadily, even though she was flush with emotions. This was not her fight. She was going home and even though she really felt that she needed to help, she was also thinking of herself, Star, and her family. Putting herself at risk for a fight that was not hers, would not be a smart move now. She was too close to home to fail.

  “How do you know? What else do you know?” Jane questioned; she was eager to know all the information, so she could plan. Erika spilled her heart out. She told Jane about her close call with those horrible men in Auburn, how Star came to be in her care, and then about the spying she did at the top of the canyon.

  “They’re going to use grapplers to bring down the walls? The walls aren’t aluminum, they are iron. Will it work?” Jane asked.

  “I don’t know anything about grapplers or metal or any of that. All I know is what I heard them say, and it seems their estimation of the situation was wrong to begin with. Those guys seem really creepy and I just thought you all should know what they’re up to,” Erika replied. She gave them all the information she knew. She didn’t have a clue about how to successfully attack or defend something.

  “Taylor,” Jane said, directing her attention to one of the teenagers. He was tall and lean with brown shaggy hair. “Go relieve Sam at the guard post and send him here.”

  “Okay,” Taylor quickly replied as he loped off.

  “Steve, you designed a lot of this place, what do you think? Jane questioned calmly.

  It was obvious to Erika that Jane was in charge here. She bore the weight well. Erika watched her frantic reaction to the immediacy of the situation melt into a calculated calmness. The ability to objectively think, here in this world, was a skill Erika admired. Jane was quickly working out a plan. Erika watched her carefully evaluating all her resources before concluding.

  The man she questioned, Steve, was a big man with blue eyes and very strong-looking hands. His intimidating presence with a rifle startled Erika when she arrived. Now, with his rifle stored away, he looked much friendlier.

  “If what she says is true, we don’t have time to worry about defenses anymore. They will be tested tonight whether we like it or not.”

  Just then Sam arrived with a questioning, panicked look in his eyes. Taylor must have informed him of the situation while relieving him, Erika thought. Sam was a smart guy with lots of mechanical knowledge but the energy he projected was very negative. This lack of emotional control explained why Jane was in charge and not him.

  He came into the circle in a frenzy. “What did I miss?” he questioned. “What in the heck is going on?”

  “Obviously, Taylor filled you in on what Erika told us, Sam. We need to decide what we’re going to do, and I was just asking Steve about our defenses,” Jane replied and looked at Steve again.

  “Yeah, he told me. How can we believe this girl, Jane?” Same questioned. “I mean, she comes waltzing down the mountain with two horses? How did she ever get by the patrols? I think she’s a plant.”

  “You can believe what you want, Sam but I’m telling you the truth,” Erika defended. “I have no reason to lie to you.”

  “Maybe you’re just trying to run us off, so they can have the river access,” Sam interrogated Erika, standing over her.

  “I don’t care if you stay or go!” Erika snapped back, “But that’s what I heard.”

  “Sam!” Jane interrupted his next argument. “Sit down! The risk of not trusting in this information is too great. We have to explore our options,” she told him, turning back to Steve. “Please continue, Steve.”

  “As I was saying, the walls are stout and not made of sheet metal like those crazies think. However, a grappler thrown over the wall may be able to hook it and pull it down,” Steve explained, calculating the possibilities involved with this attack. There were still many variables unaccounted for.

  Erika interrupted the conversation, asking, “Do you mind if I see to my horses and the girl? We have a long way to go still.”

  “It’s your plan to leave, then?” questioned a woman Erika had not heard from yet. Her blond hair was starting to gray. It hung to her shoulders. Her hazel eyes told a story of deep pain and many nights of crying herself to sleep.

  “Yes, I’m leaving. I know the situation here is critical, but I must get back to my family. I’m not a member of this group, not that you aren’t all great people, I’m sure, but I’m simply passing through. Plus, I heard those assholes saying that they plan on taking prisoners for their own use, just like slaves or worse. They’re freaking crazy and I do not plan on being one of those women they are so short on,” Erika replied honestly.

  She felt so callous for not staying to help them defend this place, but she was so close to home. She couldn’t wait to see Vince and Dexter.

  “I’m with her,” the woman replied. “My kids may be alive, and I have to know. I’m leaving too.”

  “Jaclyn, we talked about this. There is no crossing the river that way. They dredged the lake o
ver there. It is deep and wide. The upper Auburn clan guards the few crossings that exist. It’s certain death,” Jane replied.

  “Don’t you see, Jane? It doesn’t matter anymore. If my kids are dead then I’m dead, or I might as well be. Who wants to live in this messed-up world anyway? What am I going to do? I must go back. I have to know. If it means my life to find out, then so be it. I’m going,” Jaclyn said firmly, standing up to go and pack her things.

  “I’m sorry,” Erika said. She felt like this sudden discord in the group was her fault. She walked with Star over to the horses.

  Taking out the sitting blanket for Star, Erika knew this would be their last stop before reaching the top of the canyon. Erika dug into the food bag, concerned about their depleting supply. Hopefully the people at the top of the canyon are friendly, she thought. There was a piece of beef jerky left and some raisins. She ripped the jerky in half and gave Star the bigger one. Then she divided the raisins. Erika figured it might be their last meal, so it might as well be a good one.

  Erika gave Star’s share to her but put her own food aside for a minute. The horses were enjoying themselves so much that Erika unsaddled and unpacked them. They had not been unpacked since leaving Henry’s and Erika thought for a moment she could see them smiling. Erika scratched them and rubbed them down with water. Thank-you for bringing us so far, she thought, praying for their continued safety in this last step of their journey. The horses seemed to sense her emotions and nuzzled her gently with their heads. Digging through the pack, Erika got out some oats that she had left for them and put some in their feed bags. Satisfied that the horses were well cared for, she sat down to enjoy her meal with Star.

  Erika watched the circle of people in deep debate as she nibbled her beef jerky. Sam, Steve, and one of the young teenage boys named Randy left to start working on some unknown task. Jaclyn, the woman who made a fuss, never returned to the circle. As she munched the last morsel, the discussion ended and the rest of the people dispersed. Jane was walking toward Erika.

  “We’ve decided to leave as well. Those men are just going to keep coming until they have accomplished their goal and we are all captured or dead. Plus, once the rainy season starts this river is going to rise and our comfy home might not be so comfy then. We don’t know where we will go but we will go and hopefully we’ll find a better place,” Jane said halfheartedly. This was a no-win situation for her. Stay here and defend a walled mudhole that was eventually going to flood or venture out into an unknown that may be worse than the situation here.

  Erika couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She thought she and Star would ride through and travel off again, but now everything had changed.

  Finalizing the decision in her mind, Erika almost jumped at Jane in her excitement. “Well, Jane, suddenly we find ourselves in the same predicament, heading in the same direction, so why don’t we travel together? My supplies are running low and my packs are light. We could build a cart and use the horse to carry more of your group’s goods out,” Erika suggested, thrilled that she would be able to help and keep moving. Everything was going to be okay.

  “That would be great! I don’t know how we could thank you for that. I want to let you know we don’t plan on leaving here quietly. We have water cannons that Sam and Steve are rigging to go off automatically. Once the marauders have made it through the walls and the water cannons we’ll rig our generator in the bridge to blow up and hopefully take some of those jerks with it. This will make it difficult to follow us. Hopefully, it’ll convince them to turn back,” Jane explained, laying the plan out.

  Erika was impressed. In just a few minutes of planning Jane had composed a great defensive strategy. They wouldn’t stay here and let stubbornness kill them all in a useless defensive plan to keep their compound. They were survivors and they knew moving on could keep them that way, surviving. But they were not sulking and dragging their heels out in defeat: they would provide these intruders with an unexpected surprise.

  Chapter 12

  During the next couple of hours everyone was immersed in preparations. Jane went around supervising and making sure her belongings were ready to go. Erika heard her voice over all the others directing and answering questions. Sam, Steve, and the boy, Randy, readied the defenses and were busy packing their belongings. When Randy was done he went and relieved Taylor at the post, so Taylor could pack.

  A smaller-statured man, Jim, approached Erika on his way to the bridge. “I used to be an electrician. I engineered this generator and now I’m going to turn it into a bomb,” he explained to Erika.

  “It’s really ingenious how you built the generator right into the bridge. Can you really make it go boom?” she wondered.

  “We’re gonna try,” Jim laughed, walking off toward the bridge.

  Pulling a smoke out of her pack, Erika watched Sam and a young teenage girl, Kim, at work building the cart. They utilized an old car axel and made quick work of the construction project.

  Approaching Jane, Erika commented, “It’s going to be a challenge for Kit to pull this cart in the mud.”

  “Then we better get them headed out as soon as possible,” Jane replied, understanding her concern.

  Erika liked the quiet couple that would be escorting Kit, Richard and Joan. They’d survived the quake along with their four-year-old son. They were also caring for another child they found wandering alone in their neighborhood. He was only three. It would be dark by the time they reached the top, so Erika gave them some candles. Using the light, the groups could find one another at the top. Since this group carried most of the valuable supplies, they decided that Taylor, Randy, and Kim would travel with them as well.

  Erika made small talk with Kim as she finished her cigarette. “How’d you learn to do mechanical stuff?” Erika wondered.

  “My brother died in the quake, but he loved to work on restoring classic cars. I helped him all the time. It annoyed him at first but then, he started quizzing me and asking for my help. I’ll make sure that cart makes it to the top,” she added confidently, as Sam joined their conversation.

  “Who’s going to make sure the other two handcarts you guys built make it up?” Erika questioned.

  “We have two more groups assigned to them,” Sam replied. “All of the groups will head up the canyon in different directions and meet at the top. This way anyone that decides to follow the group up the hill will only be able to find one group. Their only chance of getting them all would be at the very top, and then we’ll have the height advantage.

  “Did you give them some of the candles as well?” Erika inquired, making sure they were handed out. I knew that big old box would come in handy, she thought. She’d lugged them all the way from the restaurant. Thinking back on the experience, it seemed like a lifetime ago.

  Jim and Steve walked by with one of the handcarts and Erika saw Jimmy, or Jimmy D as he was called, and Tom Jensen getting ready to head out with the other one.

  “What’s Tom’s story?” Erika asked Sam.

  “A seventeen-year-old teenage boy. He was on the football team and was out running on the track when the big quake hit. It saved him but unfortunately his family was not so lucky,” Sam explained, frowning.

  “I better go and get my stuff loaded so they can get out of here,” Erika commented, jumping into action. She returned to Star and the horses. She was worried about separating from her supplies. It was a huge risk, but she wanted to be mobile if anyone needed help.

  “Star, you should really go with Richard and Joan. You can ride in the cart to make sure my supplies are safe,” Erika suggested, trying to make her feel like there was a job for her to do.

  “No, Erika, I’m staying with you,” Star replied, looking at the ground.

  “The other kids will be riding in the cart. It might be fun.” Erika tried again. Star took direction easily so far. This was the first time that Star would not comply.

  “Erika, I’m not losing you too,” Star demanded, looking up at Erika.
Her blue eyes shined with stubbornness.

  “Okay, you can stay with me, but you better stay right with me and do exactly as I say,” Erika told her firmly.

  “I will,” Star replied.

  As Erika packed up her things she took stock of what she had left. She wrapped up two of her three blankets together and strapped them onto the pack. Her saucepan was strapped down with her first-aid kit packed snuggly inside. Her box of candles was tucked into the blankets. Erika fondled the soft fabric of the outfit that Carol gave her, and then wrapped it up in one of the blankets and packed it away with the others. She still had a bag of rice that she hadn’t been able to eat because she didn’t want to risk building a fire or wasting the water. In the bottom of her saddle bag she carried three months’ worth of tampons. She was thankful to be lugging them around as well. She had no idea what the other women were doing at that time of the month, but was thankful she didn’t have to worry about that yet. When she was finished packing, she led Kit over and got him hitched to the cart. She tried one more time to convince Star to travel with Richard and Joan, but she would not budge and went over to stand with Artaz.

  Fully loaded with supplies from the camp, Kit’s group set off. Erika watched him cross the bridge and begin navigating the steep mountainside. He was strong, and he worked hard, fighting against the hillside. As dusk fell, the other two groups left to ascend the hill. Sam and Jane were staying behind to trigger the bomb on the bridge. Each of them carried a rifle and understood the risk they were taking. Jane would trigger the bomb while Sam covered her retreat.

  “Well, guys, I’m out of here,” Jaclyn announced. “I can’t wait to see my kids again.”

  “You all packed up and ready to go?” Jane asked sadly.

  “Yup, I figure two days and I should be back in Foresthill,” Jaclyn declared confidently.