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

by Hathaway, Sara F.

  The order was followed immediately, and everyone was rushing to get the supplies packed onto their backs.

  “Did you see Big John?” Erika questioned when Vince returned to her side.

  “No, but we gotta unpack the cart and carry as much as we can on the horse. Give the kids their packs,” Vince said, straight to the point. There was no time to worry who’d made it and who hadn’t.

  “I wondered how long it would take to come to that realization,” Erika replied under her breath. She had watched Kit struggle under the heavy load for far too long. She quickly packed up the kids while Vince loaded the essentials onto the horse.

  “I’ll walk the horse, you walk with the kids, let’s go!” Vince commanded, completely driven. He would not stop until they were safely over the mountains.

  Erika fell in behind Vince and Kit with the kids in tow and Ripper still stuck to her side. She looked back for a moment to see who was there. Nancy and Brett were right behind them. Penni and her two girls were behind them. Greg and Penni’s son, Mitchell, had gone back to the end of the line to make sure everyone was keeping up and check for any stragglers that might have survived the chasm. Penni walked along with the same worried look. Harold’s family was behind Penni, and they put Carol on one of the horses. Jen danced between the remaining horses, making sure they were still all right and staying as calm as possible. But the trees were so thick and strewn about that Erika couldn’t see farther beyond that. She thought of her friends and wondered who was still with them.

  They were now passing the high mountain lake. It was empty. The cracking in the earth was relentless. They trudged on and on. They took very short breaks now and again to rest the children, elderly, and horses but the constant shaking was like a whip at their backs driving them on and on. There was no time to count the remaining folks. When they stopped, everyone just stood in line, panting and gathering their strength. Each time they did stop Vince was hopeful that Big John would catch up with some survivors, but it never happened. Then Vince’s fear for his family and the remaining people would get the better of him, so he would get the train moving again. Erika was quiet. The strength in her husband’s eyes was reassuring. She watched over the children and picked Dexter up when his feet could no longer carry him along.

  Night fell, and they kept moving. A compass ensured they were still moving east and the slope of the mountain intensified. The people and animals were so tired, and the endless shaking rattled them to the bone.

  Erika was startled by a hand touching her back. “Are you doing all right?” It was her mom. “Brett said he could carry Dex for a while if you want.”

  “That would be great, Mom. I see Star is starting to falter a little, and I can’t carry them both,” Erika admitted.

  “Let’s get Vince’s attention and stop for a second so we can regroup,” Nancy suggested, knowing they needed to keep going, but the whole group needed a chance to reposition their kids and supplies if they were going to keep up this pace.

  Erika passed Dexter to her mom and rushed up next to Vince to relay the message. He was not pleased with the request, but he didn’t protest either. They were getting close to Tahoe now, and he needed to make sure everyone was prepared to make the final push. Plus, he was holding tight to the thought that Big John was going to catch up.

  The kids were asleep on their feet so most of the supplies were unloaded off the horses and onto people. The kids were loaded onto the horses. The shaking wasn’t stopping, and it worried everyone fiercely. They took a much-needed breath and pushed on for the final climb up the side of the mountain. People stumbled and slipped over a massacred landscape. In the dark they kept walking. The sound of trees cracking and falling was deafening, but they continued on. They climbed over the debris and prayed that no trees or rocks would fall on them. Many prayers were said that night and by some miracle they stayed safe, for now. As they cleared the last ridge of the mountain, the shaking became so vigorous no one could stay on their feet. Even the horses laid down and hugged the earth hoping it would not give out underneath them.

  “Is that water?” Erika yelled to Vince

  The sound of a gigantic wave crashing was overwhelming and drowning out all other sounds.

  “No, it’s Big John!” Vince yelled back.

  There was a faint cry of a man screaming over the sounds of the gigantic wave that was chasing him. The shaking continued, and the edge of the mountain was about to give way. The remaining group scrambled with their horses to the eastern side of a huge crack that was forming along the ridge. Vince and Greg looked at one another and ran for the edge of the crack as one side began to break away from the other. Big John leapt into the air as the mountain began to shear in half. He flew in slow motion through the air with his arms extended and bam! Vince and Greg each caught one of his hands and hoisted him to safety.

  The shaking suddenly stopped. Everyone made a final effort to get away from the newly formed edge, and then they collapsed. No one bothered to pitch camp, no one spoke, they just collapsed into little family heaps of people. Even the horses lay back down and silently fell asleep. Slight aftershocks shook them during the night on a few occasions, but no one noticed. Compared to the shaking they had endured, it was insignificant. Their exhaustion was so extreme that adrenaline was the only factor pushing them forward. Their bodies were toast. There was nothing left to give.

  Chapter 34

  Erika watched the morning sun rise crisp and clean. She saw the remaining horses. They found an area of grass and were munching away, enjoying the calm. She heard the older adults, keeping the children, who had slept through the final panic, busy and quiet. That way the adults and teenagers, who carried the bulk of the load, could rejuvenate their bodies. Slowly but surely everyone started to awake. Erika had fallen asleep in Vince’s arms last night, and there was not a more welcome sight than watching him open his eyes and stare into hers.

  “We made it,” Erika said in a sigh of relief.

  “Oh my God!” Vince gasped as he stared out over the cliff.

  “Holy crap!” Erika agreed.

  The whole side of the mountain had sheared off and the Pacific Ocean filled the void. The surf crashed into the mountain about fifty feet below the top of the cliff and ocean mist flew in the air.

  “I wouldn’t stand so close if I was you,” Big John said as he, Greg, and Penni walked up to them.

  “All those people,” Penni said with tears in her eyes.

  “We made it, girl. The kids are safe. That’s all we can think about now,” Greg said trying to reassure her. They all felt the pain.

  “I’m serious, though, guys. We made it safely and let’s keep it that way. I don’t know how the mountain will hold up to the ocean,” Big John said as he turned his back to the new coastline and walked away.

  “He’s right. Come on, guys, let’s go,” Vince agreed as he held Erika’s hand and went to follow John.

  The group was alive and kicking when they returned. Everyone was talking about how lucky they were to have made it and thanking Big John and Vince for being the slave drivers that kept them moving and alive. Jen and Mitchell walked out to check on the horses. Besides some scrapes and bruises, they were fine.

  Erika began to take stock of everyone they lost. Three of the ten horses fell into the hole. The group now numbered thirty-two individuals. That meant eighteen had died. Susan, whom she had just met, lost her husband and first-born daughter, Zoey. Edward tried to save her and fell in the abyss along with her. Dan and Val Winslow were helping with the horses in the back and died as well. The loss that saddened her the most was the loss of Randy and Michelle. They fell behind because Michelle was pregnant, and the fast pace was hard on her. Erika began to cry when she thought of them and their unborn child that would never know life on this Earth. Maybe it was for the better, Erika thought, what were they supposed to do now?

  Once the group was counted and back on their feet, they decided it would be best to leave the new coa
stline as far behind as possible before they set up a more permanent camp. They needed to regroup and rest for a couple of nights before they moved on again. They needed to figure out what to do and they had earned a break.

  They hiked through the day to the east side of Lake Tahoe. The ocean rushed, momentarily, into the lake, but the lake stayed for the most part within its boundaries. There were dead fish everywhere around the edges. Some were dead from the surge of the lake boundaries when the ocean and lake combined, and some were dead from the new salinity level of the lake. The group collected and gutted all they could carry. They would make an awesome feast, and the extras could be dried for the future.

  They found a gorgeous area, free from any other survivors. They figured the people here fled down the mountain toward Nevada in the shaking. Regardless, they left plenty of goods for this group to pillage. The camp was set, and food was prepared. Everyone stuffed themselves so full they could hardly keep their eyes open after a meal like that.

  Vince, Erika, Nancy, Brett, Big John, Greg, and Penni went to sit high on a hill where they could watch the children playing in the meadow below. They sat and talked. The smell of fish drying wafted through the air. From their vantage point the conversation from the camp could just barely be heard. The horses played and ate in the grass. Off to the side of the hill Mitchell and Jen were quietly snuggling and talking. It was so peaceful and beautiful. Erika thought back to a life she had once known. Everyone so busy they didn’t have time for one another. Technology was so intrusive it occupied the few extra seconds of life they did have. Having been through so much and looking out over this beautiful scene, Erika realized that maybe this was not the beginning of the end but a return to innocence, a finding of oneself.

  The End

  The Lost Vegas Years

  The Changing Earth Series

  By: Sara F. Hathaway

  Chapter 1

  “When is Big John going to get back?” Dexter wondered, looking at his mother with his beautiful gray-blue eyes.

  “He’ll be back soon. Right now, we have to finish drying all this bear and fish meat,” Erika explained to the young man.

  “But Mom, it’s so boring,” the young child whined.

  “You can go play with Willow,” his mother suggested.

  “Yeah,” Dexter answered thoughtfully, pushing his feet around in the dirt.

  “What’s wrong with that?” Erika wondered, petting her dog, Ripper, absentmindedly.

  “She’s been so sad since her dad and sister died. It’s not much fun,” the five-year-old boy explained.

  “Give her time, Dex. It’s hard to lose the people we love,” Erika told him.

  “How we doing, baby?” Vince asked, approaching the smoldering fire. He was carrying back water with Star from the lake.

  “Doing good.” Erika was elated at her progress. Scanning the landscape, she watched multiple little fires spread out across the expanse. Everyone was hard at work storing as much food as possible for their journey east.

  Vince approached Erika after setting down his buckets of water. He kissed her gently while Dexter ran forward and hugged his father tightly.

  “Star, do you want to go play?” Dexter asked excitedly.

  “Yeah! Let’s go! If that’s okay, Erika?” Star questioned before leaving.

  “I guess so,” Erika teased. “But stay close, okay, guys?”

  “You got it, Mom, love you!” Dexter yelled as they ran off with Ripper toward the lake.

  Vince and Erika watched them go. Erika always loved the massive trees and beautiful rock outcroppings that adorned the Lake Tahoe area. Her mind still puzzled over the question of what had happened to all the people here.

  “What’s up?” Vince asked, seeing her mind wander.

  Erika walked back over to the fire, poking at the little strips of meat, drying in the smoke.

  “Where did they all go?” Erika wondered.

  “You mean the people here?” Vince asked.

  “Yeah, where did they all go?” Erika questioned again.

  “I don’t know. Maybe they evacuated. Maybe they knew they couldn’t survive the winter here,” Vince suggested.

  “I guess,” Erika answered, unsatisfied with his response.

  “Shouldn’t Big John be back by now?” Vince wondered.

  “He should,” Erika agreed, removing a strip of meat and replacing it with a new one.

  She piled the dried strip in a large stack. They took the meat to their central structure where they found Penni packing all the dried meat into bundles for traveling.

  “Here you go, Penni. More food for the packs,” Erika teased, seeing that Penni was getting a little overwhelmed.

  Penni tossed her blond hair to the side and sighed. “I know we need the food, but tying all these bundles is getting old,” she admitted.

  “Where’s my mom? Isn’t she supposed to be helping?” Erika queried.

  “She took a break to go out with Brett down the trail a ways to look for Big John,” Penni answered, busily putting together another bundle of meat.

  Erika’s brow furrowed with concern. Big John’s scouting mission was supposed to be quick. They weren’t far from the Nevada State line. Big John was looking for a safe route.

  “I can go check on them if you want?” Vince suggested, seeing her concern.

  “No, I’m sure they’re fine. Let’s give it a little while longer,” Erika replied.

  Richard Cunningham entered the small shelter. His arms were full of another large stack of meat to add to Penni’s bundle.

  “Oh, Penni’s going to be so happy to see you,” Erika joked as they headed toward the door.

  Richard understood Penni’s dilemma.

  “I can pitch in here if you’d like, Penni,” Richard suggested. “We have plenty of hands out at the fire.”

  “That would be great,” Penni confessed.

  “Let me go gather up the children,” Richard told her.

  He put the meat down and left with Vince and Erika.

  “Any word yet?” Richard wondered as they reached a split in the trail.

  “No, nothing yet,” Erika admitted.

  “We need to leave here,” Richard urged them. “It’ll be winter soon.”

  “Two more days, max,” Erika told him. “We have to store as much food as we can carry. Who knows what’s out there.”

  “I’m on it,” Richard replied, heading off through the trees.

  Vince and Erika continued down the trail to their smoldering fire. The meat was drying well. Just as they were sitting down, they heard a large commotion at the trail head to their main camp.

  “What the hell’s going on over there?” Vince questioned.

  “I don’t know. Maybe you should check it out,” Erika suggested. As Vince turned to leave, she added, “And Vince, take your rifle.”

  He grabbed the gun and trotted off down the trail. Erika sat there watching the meat, wondering what was going on. Ripper came back with the kids, greeting Erika with a lick on the face. She hugged the animal tightly, laughing at him.

  “Did you guys have fun?” Erika asked.

  “Yeah, but Mom,” Dexter said in a panic.

  “What, baby?’ she wondered.

  “There’s soldiers over there,” Dexter informed her.

  The meat was at a critical point and Erika didn’t want to leave it, but the curiosity over the situation was killing her. Her brow furrowed with concern. Vince came running down the trail with a huge smile on his face.

  “What’s going on?” Erika asked.

  “National Guard, Erika! The National Guard has come to evacuate us, like they did everyone else that was here,” he explained.

  “Really? So, that’s where everyone went,” she said.

  “Come on, just pull the meat as it is,” Vince told her.

  Ripper felt the positive vibes of his family and danced around them as they pulled the meat off the lines. The family bounced down the trail, eagerly anticip
ating news from the outside world. When they got to the central meeting area, everyone was gathered there.

  “Is everyone accounted for?” a soldier asked Greg.

  Greg looked over the crowd and nodded, but Erika didn’t see her mom, Brett, or Big John.

  The soldiers addressed the crowd, “Everyone needs to pack up your belongings and follow us. We’ll depart in fifteen minutes.”

  “Not very informative,” Vince mumbled to his wife. She was feeling the same way.

  “Where are we going? What’s been happening to the rest of the country?” Erika questioned the soldier loudly over the crowd.

  The people looked to the soldier for answers.

  “We have housing for refugees and you can find out all the news when you get there. Please, go get your things and follow us,” the soldier replied.

  Everyone dispersed, upset with the lack of information but eager to be saved from the bleak circumstances they were facing.

  Chapter 2

  Erika held Vince’s hand as they followed the soldiers with their family group. The soldier assured Erika before she left that her mother was already at the State Line Checkpoint. Unsure of how to feel about this change of plans, Erika knew if her mom was already there, then that’s where she was going too. It’s not like we really have a choice, Erika admitted to herself, eyeballing the weapons the soldiers carried. She knew the rate of fire on those guns could outperform anything they were carrying.

  As they crested the last ridge, heading down into Nevada, Erika was awestruck. Cars lined up down the highway, heading into California on both sides as far as the eye could see. They were all stopped at the border where large chain-link fences barred people from entering. Heavily armed US soldiers patrolled the line. Ripper could feel Erika’s nervous energy and clung to her side. Vince squeezed her hand and looked at her. Erika gazed down at her children. The couple brought them up in between one another. Their friends felt the same energy, and everyone stopped moving.