At that moment, as if in answer to her prayers, a few things happened all at once. First of all, Star woke up, and even though she was trying hard to be tough, she started to whimper like a lost puppy because of the pain in her leg and the shock of this escapade. Erika turned to shush Star because Erika thought she had heard something in the bushes. She thought maybe she had been followed by the gang but then a sight, more welcome right then than anything she could imagine, hit her eyes. It was Jimmy D! He had met up with the others but when no one else came up the hill, he went back down to see if anyone had survived the blasts and gunshots he had heard. He was just about to give up the search, figuring everyone was dead, when he heard Erika scream.
“I thought you guys were goners. I figured with horsepower, you would have been to the meeting spot hours ago. So, I had to come and see what happened, and this definitely explains it,” he said just as dryly as ever.
“Oh, thank God, you came back!” Erika exclaimed desperately. “Star is hurt, Jimmy. The bullet went right through her leg and it killed Artaz.”
“What? Star is hurt?” He hadn’t realized she was hurt because of the darkness and the huge dead horse spread out in front of him. He quickly turned his attention to Star. “Hey, you okay, sweetie?” he asked softly.
Star snapped a quick reply. “No, I have been shot!”
“I guess you are right.” He couldn’t help but laugh a little at the irony of the little girl. The great thing about kids is they live in the moment so they can adapt to severe tragedies faster.
“Well, what are we going to do?” Erika asked impatiently. "We can’t just sit here.” She couldn’t get the thought of those Auburn guys sneaking up the hill behind them out of her mind.
“How I see it is we need to do two things: get Star up that hill to some kind of help and cleanliness; and get that meat off that horse and up the hill so we can eat,” Jimmy replied matter-of-factly.
“You want to do what?” Erika was shocked. “We don’t have time for that, Jimmy.”
“Look, Erika. That’s a lot of meat right there and we have people, including ourselves, that need to eat. Now, I was a paramedic for a few years so I can patch the kid. Do you know how to deal with that?” He pointed to Artaz.
“Well… yeah… I guess so. I have dressed out a lot of animals but never a horse.” Erika was still stupefied.
“Well, get to it,” Jimmy said as he turned his back to Erika and started to tend to Star’s wounds.
“Jimmy!”
“What, Erika?” He was getting very impatient now. “Are we going to get through this night, or what?”
“I don’t have a knife!” Erika snapped back.
“Here!” He threw the knife to her and then he flipped Star onto his shoulder and turned to go.
“No, no, I’m not leaving Erika,” Star pleaded with Jimmy.
“Yes, you are, sweetie.” He was starting up the hill and Star began kicking and screaming.
“Star!” Erika snapped. “There’s no time for that now. Jimmy is helping us. I can’t get you and the horse meat both to the top but Jimmy can get you up there and come back for me. Now you just act like a good girl and I’ll meet you at the top. I promise.”
Star was not pleased but knew Erika was right, and Erika’s eyes looked wild. She relaxed; Jimmy took one look back at Erika and trotted up the hill.
Erika flipped the knife open and looked at poor Artaz. He had been so faithful and carried her so far, but the simple fact was, he didn’t make it. Jimmy D had been correct. The meat from this animal would be most welcome, even though the thought of eating horse meat was still freaking her out.
It was still very dark but she had to work quickly. The sun would be up soon, and if any of those guys from Auburn were following her, she would be a lot easier to find in the daylight. Thinking of those crazies in Auburn started to really eat into her mind. What if they were already tracking her? What if they were coming up the hill right now? Jimmy had heard her scream; what if they did too? Her mind was racing out of control now, and her hands began to shake.
“Oh God, please help me now. I have to get this done.” She flipped the horse so that his belly was facing downhill and began to carefully cut his skin away from his abdominal lining. As she cut, the stomach began to expand and she was extra-cautious not to pierce it. She knew the immense stink that it would cause. It wasn’t long until she was cutting off the last remaining pieces of connective tissue in the interior cavity, and Artaz’s guts rolled down the hill. Some people would have savored the liver, heart, or kidneys, but Erika had always found it absolutely disgusting to eat any of the organs out of an animal.
On any other day, this would be the time when the animal would be hung and the skin would be removed before the animal was broken down into individual parts. Right now, Erika had no time for this. She also knew it would be way too hard to drag the whole animal to the top. The quickest way to get as much meat as possible was to quarter it. This was basically removing the leg and the giant pushing muscles that areas like the shoulder and hip contain. With the skin still covering the precious meat below, she began to frantically hack at the pieces she wanted. This made it very difficult because she had to actually cut through the skin and then the connective tissues to remove each quarter of the animal.
Erika was just finishing hacking off leg two when the first rays of the sun shot over the mountainside. Usually, Erika was not really a cheery person in the morning, but on this day, the sun’s pure glory overwhelmed her. She wanted to take a moment to revel in its glow, but she was being pushed, physically and mentally, to a limit that she had never known. Emotional stresses were everywhere: those crazy guys were out there, she hadn’t slept in days, and food had been awfully scarce. She heard a noise and looked up. Jimmy D was back, just as he had promised, and he had brought Kit and the cart with him as well!
“Look at that, you’re almost done!” he said gratefully. “Sorry I took so long. I decided to unload Kit’s cart and bring some backup help.”
“Oh, am I glad you did.” Erika’s eyes began to tear but she kept on working frantically, trying to get leg three cut free. She was done and Jimmy grabbed her arm.
“Erika, we have to load up and go now.”
“Why? What’s going on?” Erika was delirious, and all she could think about was completing this task. That meant leg four was next, and she was not leaving all that meat behind.
Erika slumped back on her heals to take a rest and focus her attention on Jimmy. She surveyed the landscape in a far-off stare. She could almost see herself sitting in a bloody mess, with one cut-off horse quarter in one hand, and two others piled in a heap. She came back into her mind, and her eyes were tracing the blood stain up her arm. She looked at herself and saw she was completely covered in blood as well.
Jimmy D broke her gaze. “On my way down, I could see a couple of guys stirring around at the river compound. Luckily, they were still on the other side, but still, I’m not sure if they are on this side or not. Plus, there are always scavengers in this area. Let’s go! We have enough meat.”
Erika and Jimmy D loaded the gigantic horse quarters into Kit’s cart. The horse stood patiently, but the smell of death was in the air, and he seemed to be on the edge of spooking and running for his life.
“Easy now, Kit, we’ll be out of here in no time.” Jimmy D’s calming voice reassured the horse and Erika as well. Jimmy led Kit up the hill, and Erika walked with them as if she was in a dream.
Her thoughts went toward her source of strength—her home and her loving man. As her feet stumbled on, she could only think of him. She was looking into his eyes and they filled her with strength. Her steps seemed to lighten as their march up the hill continued on. She felt absolutely gross blood and dirt covered her from end to end, but she didn’t care. All that mattered was getting home to him. Danger swirled all around her and blocked her every move, but she no longer cared. She would walk through fire if she had to but she was going to ge
t back to her soul mate.
“Erika!” Star came limping over.
They had finally made it to the group at the top and she was met with hugs and statements of appreciation, but Erika was so exhausted that her vision began to blur, and she fell into the arms of Jimmy D. He had been watching her on the way up and was hoping she would make it all the way. She was a proud woman and probably would have been opposed to adding her weight to the immense load Kit was already pulling up the slippery canyon side. She had tripped multiple times, but halfway through, she seemed to pick up the pace and now here they were at the top. Jimmy was amazed by her. He had never really expected that she actually did know how to butcher the horse, and butchering that animal took a lot of strength. He had to wonder where she drew this immense power from. When they got to the top, he saw Star’s yell break Erika’s concentration, and her swaying body told him she would not be conscious long.
Star was alarmed when Erika fainted, “Erika! Erika, wake up!” she wailed.
“It’s all right, Star,” Jimmy said confidently with Erika’s limp body in his arms. “She’s just exhausted. She’ll be fine in a couple of hours. You wait and see.”
“Come on, Star. Let’s go see what little Jim and Tyson are doing. They have some toys in the cart. Let’s just let Erika rest for a while.” Joan came in to reassure Star.
Joan was married to a man named Richard Cunningham. They had their own son and another boy, Taylor, they had found all alone after the quake. It was better for Star to relax and be with the kids. She was hurt bad, but she still would not rest. They told Star what a big girl she was for helping with the little boys, even though she was hurt, and this gave her a real sense of purpose. Those boys were her responsibility, and she was going to take good care of them no matter what.
“So, now what are we going to do, Jimmy?” Randy asked. Randy was one of the teenagers that had been instrumental in getting the supplies to the top of the canyon in one of the handcarts they had designed.
“Great question, Randy, and honestly, I really don’t know. First, let’s get everything in that handcart loaded into the other one and the horse pack so we can put Erika in that cart and keep moving,” Jimmy suggested.
Even though they had won a sort of victory last night, it was not without some great losses. They were free but they had lost their homes again, and they had lost their leaders. Jimmy was racked with indecision, but he knew he had to get as far away from this canyon as possible.
“Jimmy, I know we need to go, but we all had a really long night, and I, personally, would love to eat something before we go,” Kim whined.
She was a heavier-set teenage girl, and even though her mechanical knowledge had been a huge asset for the cart building, she could be a bit of a nag sometimes.
“Yeah,” Steve said. “Look at all that meat you guys hauled out. I am starving.”
“I know, Steve. I’m famished as well, but I think we should move on to someplace safer before we feast on that meat. Plus, we will need some place to smoke some of it so we can save it. There is no way we can eat all that, and most of it will go bad.” Jimmy just wanted to get going. He could see the vultures circling the carnage in the canyon, and he knew the scavengers would see them as well. It wouldn’t be long until they were fighting for their food all over again if they didn’t get going soon. “So, come on guys, let’s move!”
Joan and Richard kept the kids occupied while the others quickly worked to re-sort their limited supplies again. They put Erika into one of the handcarts and started to move. It was a sight out of the past and certainly one not seen in America for a long time. Kit led the charge with Jimmy D guiding him. Second in the caravan was Erika’s handcart. It was being pulled by Randy and Taylor. They had decided to put Star in the cart with Erika since her leg was not in any condition for a long walk. After that, Joan and Richard followed along with the kids so they could keep a watch over Erika and Star. Next in line was the second handcart that was overloaded with supplies. Tom Jensen and Steve were pulling that one. Bringing up the rear and on lookout for any followers were Jim Harlow and Kim.
Chapter 16
When Erika finally woke up, it was to the smell of roasting meat. It smelled so good. Her stomach rumbled and her mouth watered. She opened her eyes and realized she was in a tent that had been erected between all of the carts they had made. It looked to be early morning, because it wasn’t dark but it wasn’t extremely bright either.
“Hello, hello, sleepy head.” Joan had noticed her begin to stir. The kids were still sound asleep from the distressing night they had the night before, and Joan was taking care of housekeeping duties and keeping her eye on them.
“Good morning, Joan,” Erika said sleepily.
“We made it, Erika, and I want to thank you. If it weren’t for you I doubt I would still be here with my family, all together. We would have been totally unprepared for that attack. I don’t really know what else I could say other than thank you. Thank you so much.” Joan was in tears as she said this.
“Oh, Joan, I’m just trying to get home to my family too, and it wasn’t anything that someone else on my journey hasn’t done for me. I just thought it was the right thing to do.” Erika had tears in her eyes as well.
The two embraced in a deep hug. It felt so good to be sharing someone else’s pain. Feeling Joan’s energy was making her stronger, at the same time Erika’s energy was making Joan stronger.
“Okay, enough blubbering. Where’s Star? How is she?” Erika quickly remembered her traveling companion and the fact that a bullet had ripped through her leg.
“She’s fine. Look.” Joan pointed to Star nestled between the two boys, all sleeping peacefully and snuggly.
“Wow, they are so precious.” Erika was impacted by the peaceful scene and could not help but see Dexter there in one of the boys’ faces.
“She has been such a blessing. We told her it was her ‘job’ to look after the little kids and make sure they stayed safe. Girl, let me tell you, Star sure did step up to that plate. She has been watching them like a hawk, even with her leg. She must be in pain, but she is not showing any of it.” Joan was obviously relieved for the help with these two rambunctious young men.
“Where is everyone? Where are we, Joan?” Erika noticed the silence around the camp and was hoping everyone was okay. Besides that, she had no idea what had happened after she passed out, or where they took her to.
“Let me fill you in. After you and Jimmy D made it to the top, you passed out, and we decided that it was best to keep moving and try to get someplace safer. We crested the top of the mountain yesterday and made it into Cool. The people that are occupying Cool were very leery of letting thirteen new people into their group so they let us camp over here. We are on the hill across from town. They have been really nice though, not anything like those crazies in Auburn. Right now, we are preparing a big meal for both groups to eat. With all the meat we have, we thought sharing might be a good way to break the ice and get to know one another. We cut up some of the meat from one of the horse’s hind legs into strips for drying, but the other group has about thirty people in their camp, and they look really thin. Now Jimmy D and Jim H are out at the Cool camp talking about the group in Auburn and the future of our two groups. Taylor and Randy went out to gather firewood because we will need fires long into the night for cooking and drying meat. Kim and Tom Jensen found some friends in the Cool group. Tom was on the football team in Auburn and used to play and party with some of the kids in Cool. We let them go and hang out. Figured they need some sense of how life used to be. Steve is in charge of drying the meat, and he has been cutting meat and putting it on the racks since we finished making camp last night.” Joan finally had Erika caught up with what had been going on.
“That must be that wonderful smell I keep getting a whiff of.” Erika was still getting her senses together for the day and that roasting meat was all she could think of. “Joan, I think it is me who should be thanking you all. You
could have left me and taken all the meat and supplies, and I would have never known it.”
“Don’t be silly, Erika. We owe you our lives; we will watch out for you always.” Joan couldn’t believe her suggestion.
“Wait a minute. We’re in Cool? This is great! I am almost home. I am right down the road. Oh, I can’t wait. All I have to do is get to Georgetown.” The reality of her location made her mind race. How long would it take her to get home now? She was so close.
“You will never make it without some food in your belly, and you don’t want to see them again after all this time looking like that, do you?” Joan pointed at her.
Erika looked down and realized she was still soaked with horse blood. It had dried across her skin, and her clothes were a mess.
“Come on. I’ll help you get cleaned up. We have a bath ready for you.” Joan was gesturing for her to leave with her.
“You have a bath ready for me?” Erika was surprised.
“We knew you would certainly need it when you woke up, and we have all used it already so I wouldn’t say it was just for you, but we did put clean water in it for you,” Joan explained.
“What about the kids?” Erika questioned.
“I’ll keep my eye on them.” Joan assured her.
Star had roused during the conversation Joan and Erika were having, and she whispered from in between the two snoozing boys. “Hi, Erika.”
“Oh, Star, I love you.” Erika was kind of surprised to hear that come out of her mouth, but she really did love that little girl. Their union had happened so fast. She looked over at her beautiful new daughter. Then Erika got up and went over to kiss Star on the forehead.
“How’s your leg feeling, baby?” Erika remembered the searing bullet and could only pray that Star would recover.
“It hurts really badly, but there was a doctor here in Cool. He looked at it and said I should keep it very clean and rest a lot, and as long as I do that, I should be fine. So, I’ll just wait right here. I have to heal fast so I’ll be ready to go with you.” Star was reassured by Erika’s affectionate words toward her, but she was still frightened that she would be left behind because of this injury.
Day After Disaster, The Changing Earth Series, Uncut Edition Page 13