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

by Hathaway, Sara F.

  Erika was liking Rob more and more. He was a no-nonsense guy and an efficient coordinator.

  “As soon as all the carts are finished being built, we’re out of here. I’m trying to get as many carts built as possible from the available building supplies. We have to bring as much as possible. We can’t leave behind anything that could be of some use in the future because who knows when we’ll be able to replenish supplies like this,” Rob explained. “There are lots of people that want to come with us to the Lotus Camp. There’s nothing left for them here. I’ve considered the implications and see it two ways: It’s good because we’ll have plenty of hands and horses to move the goods. However, the group in Lotus may not want to take in this many people. All these supplies we’re bringing might make the Lotus Group much more welcoming,” Rob concluded, grinning. He was thinking of the medical supplies, among other goodies they were gathering.

  “Either way, we need to take as much as we can,” Vince agreed.

  “That’s what I’m saying. I surveyed their power generation equipment and they gathered a lot. They stockpiled generators. Some were being used for parts and others were in great shape. We found gasoline stocked in just about every kind of container imaginable. They have solar panels on the roofs of any of the buildings that are still standing. These guys must have been stripping the entire area clean. We even found a whole stack of panels not in use yet. They had rolls of wire to run the electricity stocked up as well. It was a goldmine of power goodies. I want to take as much of that as we can,” Rob concluded.

  “It makes sense, Rob, but it’s going to be heavy,” Erika noted.

  “That’s why I want to leave as soon as possible. We’re going to be moving slow,” he declared.

  “We’ll do what we can,” Vince agreed, but he just wanted to get back to his children.

  They spent the rest of the day recovering, knowing that the next day would not allow much time for rest.

  Chapter 26

  It was a crisp morning when the caravan set out. The inventory was organized and strategically packed into all the carts they built. The group lined up like a human and horse train. Vince and Erika took their place among them. They left that sad place behind and no one looked back. The going was extremely slow. The carts slipped and slid, but everyone made it down to the river in good shape.

  Jaclyn, the lady from the River camp that they rescued, was leaving once they reached the river. She was headed back up toward Foresthill, a town on the same side of the river as Auburn but further upstream. She searched Erika out before leaving.

  “I’m going to finish the mission I started before those monsters altered my plans,” she declared confidently to Erika. “I want to find out what happened to my kids. Thank you for saving me,” Jaclyn told Erika sincerely. She hugged Erika tightly and said good bye to everyone. Her eyes welled with tears as she took her heavy pack and began to carefully make her way along the river bed.

  The caravan halted at the bottom to construct a makeshift bridge. The carts were too big and heavy to make it across the river without one. They were already having a hard-enough time making it through the muddy mess. While they were stopped, a few small fires were built, and everyone ate another meal. Building the bridge ended up taking longer than they thought because supplies were scarce. People were sent to pilfer anything of use from the old River camp. In the meantime, camp was pitched for the evening. Going uphill with the carts would be much harder than it was going down. Rob thought it best to tackle it in the morning. No one wanted to attempt the climb in the middle of the night.

  This whole mission was a much larger production than anyone would have imagined it would be. Erika was in awe as she looked out over the group. There were at least forty people and ten horses in all. Each pair of two had a cart to pull, except for those who were injured. They were being towed behind the horses. It was a sight to see: makeshift equipment assembled into wagons that could be pulled by a horse team.

  As the fire crackled, Erika thought about how different the reality of having horses pulling carts was from the old movies she watched. The horses they were relying upon were kept as pets, used for a pleasure ride now and again. Now they were being asked to do much more than their training prepared them for. The choppy terrain amplified the task’s difficulty to near impossibility. The group’s determination was the equalizer. They needed the horses’ power.

  Vince joined her by the warmth of the fire. It burned brightly in the evening dusk. Surprisingly, they didn’t talk about their experiences at the compound. Each of them was dealing with their own inner conflicts. Their minds were filled with alternate choices they could have made. They made small talk about nothing important and enjoyed one another’s company. When their meal of tuna and rice was done, and the dishes were washed. Vince decided he wanted to go visit Greg and talk with Rob about tomorrow’s plans. There was something else on Erika’s mind.

  She slowly picked her way through the camp. It was a solemn night full of self-reflection. Most folks built small private fires to cook their food and were keeping to themselves. Younger folks gathered around the communal fire and were chatting quietly. Erika headed toward its glow. She recognized Michelle and Randy’s faces, glowing in the soft light of the fire. Erika watched them chatting. She assumed they were talking about their sniping fury at the compound because of their gunlike hand movements. Love was in the air and it looked as if these two were really starting to hit it off. Why not, they were about the same age, Erika thought.

  Erika chuckled to herself as she interrupted, “You guys did a great job out there. I don’t think I’ve had the chance to properly thank either one of you yet.”

  They blushed with pride and Randy said, “Thank you Erika, we just did what we had to do.”

  Such a mature response, Erika reflected. Here was this kid, seventeen, he should have been finishing his junior year of high school, and here was this ditsy eighteen-year-old girl who should have been finishing her senior year. Now they were being turned into snipers and facing a rapidly changing world. They were looking fear straight in the eyes and they were falling in love in the process.

  Erika didn’t want to disturb them any longer. To change the subject and get out of their hair, Erika queried, “Do either of you know where Harold and his family are camped?”

  “Yeah,” answered Michelle. “If you follow this line of carts,” she pointed over to the right, “they’re down there, kinda by the horses.”

  “Cool, thanks,” Erika said.

  “Are you going to see them?” Michelle asked.

  Erika sensed there was something wrong by her tone of voice.

  “No, I was just asking for the sake of it,” Erika jested back.

  “Well, I was just asking because,” she lowered her voice and leaned closer. “Don’t say I told you, but. . .” she stammered.

  “Just spit it out, Michelle,” Erika encouraged her, getting a little impatient with her slow reply.

  “I went over there to visit with them. After all, they were pretty much the reason why we went to Auburn in the first place. Anyway, Harold’s oldest girl, Jen, well, she’s fifteen and I thought maybe we could be friends. Harold said I could visit with her, but it probably wouldn’t do any good. It didn’t,” Michelle said, just as ditsy as ever.

  Erika wasn’t following her explanation at all. “Why? What’s wrong,” Erika asked, shooting right to the point.

  “Those guys, Erika, those guys fucked that girl up, literally. They beat her and did. . .stuff to her, she just sits there, staring,” Michelle said in one breath.

  Erika should have known. She heard what that guard said before Greg shot him. Doug took his hatred for Harold and Erika out on Harold’s daughter. Erika knew the whole story. She heard it from the mouth of the beast himself. Erika killed his brother and set his horrible plot into motion. Harold put up more of a fight than Doug intended, knocking out one of his teeth in the process. The two of them were on the top of Doug’s list and
he directed this anger at Jen. Erika had only tasted a little of Doug’s rage, but Jen endured it for days. The fear that Erika experienced for only a matter of minutes must have been minuscule compared to the fear and desperation that Jen must have felt. Erika thought about those silk sheets and his beady, hungry eyes. An innocent fifteen-year-old girl had those eyes fixated on her and felt the sickening touch of those sheets. Erika wanted to puke. There must be something I can do, Erika told herself.

  “Thanks for the heads-up, but let’s not give up on her,” Erika encouraged Michelle. She felt horrible for the girl and wanted to make sure Jen would have a friend if she wanted one.

  “I won’t,” Michelle whispered. “But I really hope she can snap out of it. Honestly, I don’t know if I could.”

  “I hope she can too,” agreed Erika, ignoring the second part of Michelle’s statement. Deep in her heart she wondered if she would be able to overcome that experience as well.

  Erika left the fire headed toward Harold’s camp. She walked down the row of carts and saw, at the very end, Carol and Betsy whispering quietly as they finished washing the family’s dishes.

  “There she is!” Harold boomed as Erika walked up. For a moment he sounded exactly like his father. He walked up and gave her a big hug. Carol and Betsy left their work to join in on it.

  “What are you guys doing camped way out here?” Erika asked, excited by a positive mood she didn’t expect to find here.

  “Well, Kim here,” Harold hugged Kim closer, “has been reunited with Lightning, her horse, so we wanted to be close to him. He has a big job to do but Kim has been quite a help with the horses.”

  Erika could tell he was holding back the whole story and wondered if it was for Jen’s benefit as well. Regardless of where they were camping, the family was reunited and free, and that was the focus. Horrible things had happened. Harold was coping with the fact that he was not there to protect his baby from those men. There was a spot in him that was very hardened because of it. The scar would never go away, but he was dealing with it. All he could do was appreciate the fact that his family was alive and together.

  They talked about Henry, and Erika could see that Carol was very lonely without her love, but he would not have wanted her to give up. She was here with her family and she was going to thank God for every moment she spent with them. Carol mentioned that the experience and traveling were very hard on her. The arthritis in her joints was flaring and she didn’t know what pace she would be able to keep. Erika advised her to go talk to the doctor and see if she could get some medicine. Plus, he would have more ingredients to make salves.

  Jen was quite a contrast to the spirits of the rest of the family. She just sat there staring off into nothing. The bruises on her face and body were healing quickly, but the bruises on her soul would take a lot longer. Erika didn’t know how to approach her or what to say but she knew she had to say something. She wanted to think of something to reassure her that the bastards who did this were dead, and her family would give their lives to protect her. Her grandfather proudly gave his for that very reason.

  Erika went and sat next to Jen. The family admired Erika’s move to contact Jen through her veil of depression and moved to the other side of the camp to talk quietly. Jen’s light brown hair blew in the breeze as they sat quietly together. Erika remembered her vigor when they first met and her love for basketball. The silence was becoming awkward, but Erika still didn’t have the words.

  “You gonna tell me how everything is okay now and nothing will ever happen again?” Jen snapped.

  Erika was startled by the tiny voice so full of hatred. “Nope,” Erika replied. Still unsure of what to say, she paused for a moment. “All I can say is those guys are assholes sent from the devil himself. I’m sorry for what happened, but you’re going to have to live on. Your grandfather died to make sure you would never have to face those men again. If I know your grandfather, he died a little more inside each time they hurt you and he was unable to stop it. He killed that man, Jen. To protect me and to protect you. If you give up now, his sacrifice will mean nothing, and that’s not acceptable to me. Nothing will erase what those men did, but you can be strong and learn to protect yourself and your little sister.”

  Jen just sat there. She didn’t say anything more, and Erika didn’t have anything more to say. It was up to Jen now. Erika got up and said her goodbyes to the rest of the group. It was late, and tomorrow would be painfully exhausting. She headed back toward her handcart. Her ribs screamed with pain as she looked at the cart sitting there in the dark. Pulling that handcart, weighted down with supplies, was hell, but it had to be done. She looked around for Vince. He wasn’t back yet so she stoked their little fire, put on another log, and climbed under her blanket. At least sleep would dull the pain.

  Vince returned to the camp just as Erika was falling asleep. He tended to the fire again and climbed in next to Erika’s warm body. They talked about Harold’s family and about the plans Rob had for tomorrow. Then they discussed how Greg was acting like a big baby, sulking around because of his injuries and inability to be the center of attention, even though all the single females had stopped by to check on him. Then they chuckled, remembering the past and how it was almost impossible to get a night alone without the kids.

  Vince snuggled up closer and fondled Erika’s breasts. She tried to play coy and back him off because of the pain in her ribs. Vince’s soft touch continued, and Erika’s body began to tingle for his love. She gave in to the erotic moment and kissed his neck. Reaching down, he fondled her, while he rubbed his bulging pelvis against her. She reached down and took it in her hand. They moaned softly in the loving embrace. She willingly accepted his body. They moaned as the raw energy grew into a final moment of climatic passion. Vince looked deep into her eyes and they kissed. He snuggled up to her again. They cuddled into one another and fell asleep enraptured in the pureness of their love.

  Chapter 27

  Vince and Erika awoke the next morning with loving sleepy eyes. When they emerged from the blankets it was to a cloudy sky. Nobody liked the looks of it, but Erika had felt it for days, rain was on the way. The river bed was not where they wanted to be camped when it started pouring. They packed up as quickly as possible. The bridge was completed and there was nothing keeping them there now. Breakfast would consist of dried fruits and nuts that you could eat on the move.

  Coming down the canyon was much easier on foot with no carts to pull or horses to worry about. Obstacles could be easily jumped or climbed around but now, going back up, these hazards would have to be methodically calculated. They planned to take essentially the same route to Cool that the River group took on their trip up the canyon, but the current group pulled much larger carts than the previous group. Also, the quakes kept the landscape in a constant state of change, so areas you traveled through days or even hours before could be completely altered.

  The group slipped and slid their way up the slope where the lake used to be, tediously avoiding stumps from old trees and new crevices that opened. When they finally made it to the tree line, the rain came in. Any tarps were used to cover wagons with water-unfriendly products in them. The situation became dreadful. They contended with the weight of the carts, the moist, slippery ground, and drenched clothing. No one smiled anymore. They put their heads down and pulled up and up.

  The group halted for a tree that came down in the pathway and needed to be cleared. Everyone sat around huffing and puffing while people took turns, hacking through the huge pine. No one felt like conversing and everyone was focused on reaching the top before night fell and all light was lost. They huddled under the carts and corners of tarps, trying to find somewhere dry to rest. Finally, the tree was cleared and cut up into rounds that were small enough to be carried. With the limited supply of firewood in the burn zone between Cool and Lotus they decided the extra weight of the wood was worth carrying. It was loaded onto multiple carts wherever it would fit. The only positive thing about carryin
g more weight was it helped to hold down the tarps in the rain and wind.

  The caravan was on the move again. The horses leading the way heaved their heavy loads up the mountain. Once the large wagons were through, the people followed. Erika and Vince lagged at the spot where the tree came down to make sure everyone made it through. Before long the horses popped up over the side of the canyon. As night began to fall, the last of the handcarts arrived in Cool.

  Everyone was completely exhausted. It seemed that Greg, having been hauled up the mountain in a cart, was the only one with any energy to spare. Erika and Vince found him at a communal fire, the only fire that was built tonight, cooking and telling funny stories to try to lift everyone’s spirits. Vince and Erika sat down on their blanket in the throng of people by the fire. Each person was given a little portion of rice and beans with canned roast beef. Rob and Gloria had taken careful stock of their food supplies and were rationing them out accordingly. Erika thought the servings seemed awfully small, given that they worked hard and had eaten very little that day. No one else was complaining, so Erika held her tongue. She was so tired and at least there was something warm in her belly.

  The rain slowed while they were eating, but afterward it came back with a vengeance. The people were wet and needed someplace dry to sleep. The tarps were limited and being used on the carts. Steve suggested sparing some by moving the carts as close as possible to one another and using one tarp to cover multiple carts. Eight tarps were gained this way. Some of them were used for everyone to sleep on and some were hung from the surrounding carts as rain cover. Everyone packed in like sardines in a tarp sandwich. It was a huddled mass of humanity that smelt of musty wetness, but it was warm. The warmth was welcomed as the night turned cold and the storm raged on.

  In the morning the sun turned the clouds a strange shade of green. There were whispers around camp about the volcanic fallout or toxic meltdowns, but the mission before them was still at hand. Rain or shine, the group must keep moving. There was no water, except what they carried from the river and they harvested from the rainfall. If they stayed put, it was only a matter of time until they would run desperately low. Even Erika, with her small stature, was required to crawl or sit under the tarp roof, but most of the camp stayed there to eat breakfast. It kept the area warm and dry. People talked with one another about how miserable the day would be if this storm kept up. After eating, they left what little comfort the tent offered behind. Rob called everyone into action. The horses stomped in the rain as they began the long march into territory Erika hadn’t been to since the mega-quake happened. Traveling this direction was once a familiar drive for her not so long ago. Her son went to preschool down this road and she drove it at least twice a week to go visit her mother’s ranch in Lotus.