Paradox Valley

by Gerri Hill

  “And?”

  “Well, he drove all the way around to the north and tried to come down one of the forest service roads there, sir.”

  “And his vehicle became disabled,” he finished for him. “Now what?”

  “He hiked back out. It’s pretty desolate out there. I think he was several hours on foot before he found someone to help him. Sheriff’s department is involved now.”

  “Is the Department of Transportation still cooperating?”

  “I believe they want to reopen the road, sir.”

  “Which means people will try to drive into Paradox, only to have their cars stall.”

  “Yes, sir.” He paused. “I’m hearing there will be something on the news tonight…a Grand Junction station, sir.”

  “Great,” he said dryly. “Okay. I’ll inform Brinkley. Thank you, Lieutenant.”

  Well, they’d managed to keep the local authorities out of it far longer than he’d thought possible. And now it had made the news. Well, they had known that it was only a matter of time before it leaked out. But, he reminded himself, that was General Brinkley’s problem, not his. His only problem was the three missing crew members and it looked promising that they’d walked away from the crash. He’d let Brinkley worry about the media.

  Chapter Thirty

  Corey and Dana were making sandwiches from the bread that Jean had baked. The bread was still warm, and Corey couldn’t resist slathering a piece with butter and eating it right then and there. She didn’t think she’d ever had real homemade bread before. She looked up from her chore as Jean came in and she had to hide her smile. Dana had already warned her that Jean would be wearing Hal’s clothes. The jeans were several inches too long and had been rolled up, revealing pristine white socks and an ancient pair of athletic shoes. A belt was cinched tight around her waist, holding the pants up, and she had a flannel shirt tucked inside.

  “No need to say anything, Captain. I’m aware of how awful I look,” Jean said as she nudged her out of the way. “Dana and I can finish this.”

  “You don’t look awful, Miss Jean. Quite charming, in fact.” She was surprised that the compliment brought a blush to Jean’s face.

  “My bag is by the door,” Jean said. “It’s only a light blanket and a pillow. I daresay this is the first time I’ve traveled and did not bring a change of clothes.”

  “Hopefully we won’t be gone more than two nights,” she said. “I’ll go see if Butch needs help.” She paused. “We need to get going soon. The day’s almost wasted.”

  “You’ll thank us for these sandwiches later,” Dana said with a smile. “Or you can have one of your little freeze-dried things instead.” Dana turned to Jean. “She inhaled a piece of bread earlier with enough butter on it to clog an artery.”

  “Like I didn’t see you sneaking a piece too,” she countered. “We leave in ten minutes.”

  Dana laughed. “If only we had a clock to determine those ten minutes.”

  Butch was leading all four horses up to the house when she went outside with Jean’s bedroll.

  “No problem with the saddle?” she asked. They’d only found one saddle at the Milstead’s place. Jean had pointed them to an old one in their barn, but she warned it hadn’t been used in forty years or more.

  “It’s in pretty good shape,” he said. “I oiled the leather real good. It should hold up.” He motioned to the house. “We about ready to head out?”

  “Yeah. They’re finishing up with the sandwiches. Jean had a leftover pork roast in the freezer that she took out this morning. We’ll eat good tonight, at least.”

  “I thought I smelled bread baking,” he said. “My grandmother used to bake bread all the time.”

  “She still alive?”

  He nodded. “Nursing home up in Grand Junction. Dana’s grandmother too,” he supplied. “Dementia,” he added. “She doesn’t talk much anymore.”

  “I can relate,” she said. “My grandfather died of Alzheimer’s. He was only seventy-six.”

  The screen door opened on the front porch, and Dana stood there with two bags in her hands. She looked between the two of them and frowned.

  “Why so glum? Did something happen?”

  “Plenty’s happened,” Butch said. “But nothing new. We were just talking.”

  Dana came down the steps and handed Corey one of the bags. “Try not to eat them all,” she said with a wink. “They’re for breakfast.”

  Corey peeked inside, expecting sandwiches. “What is it?”

  “Pigs in a blanket,” Dana said. “Or sausage rolls, if you prefer. And if we stay with Miss Jean much longer, I’ll be as big as a house.”

  “I guess you’re starting on another seven pounds then,” she said. She gave Dana’s body a teasing perusal. “I don’t think seven pounds would harm you, though.”

  “Clothes tend to hide imperfections, don’t they?”

  It was too easy and Corey couldn’t resist. “I don’t know. If you want to show me later, you know, without clothes, I’ll be happy to give you an assessment.”

  Butch laughed, and Dana’s eyes widened as her face turned red. “Oh, my God…are you flirting with me?”

  Corey wiped the smile from her face. “Of course not. This situation is far too dire for flirting.” Then she grinned. “I was simply offering my services.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “I can assist you with…a lot of things. I’m very…talented.”

  Dana’s face remained red, but she met her gaze. “I’m sure you are, Captain.”

  “She’s your Dream Girl, all right,” Butch said.

  Dana turned on him with a glare. “Not…a…word out of you,” she said as she pointed threateningly at him, causing him to laugh louder.

  “Dream girl? Do I want to know what that’s about?” she asked.

  “No, you do not,” Dana said curtly.

  Jean came out carrying a wicker basket with a handle. She looked questioningly at them. “What’s so funny?”

  “Nothing,” Dana said quickly. “They’re tormenting me, is all. And enjoying it far too much.”

  “It’s nice to hear laughter.” Jean looked over at her. “I guess I’m ready. I don’t see the point of locking up the house, do you?”

  Corey went to her and took the basket from her hand. “Whatever you feel comfortable with, Miss Jean.”

  “I packed a little dog food for Lucky,” Jean said.

  “We can share ours with him too,” Butch said. “He’ll be fine.”

  Corey stood back as Butch helped Jean up and onto the saddle. The horse they’d chosen for her was the young mare from the Milsteads. They’d thought maybe they’d put her on Gretchen since she was so gentle, but she was also huge compared to the mare.

  “I guess now’s a good time to confess that it’s been a few years since I’ve actually been on a horse,” Jean said as she took the reins from Butch. “I’ll be lucky if I don’t break a hip or something.”

  “We’ll travel slow enough,” Corey said. “You’ll be fine.”

  She and Dana both went over to Gretchen. Dana grabbed the reins before she could and she pushed her aside.

  “I’m fairly certain that this is my horse,” Dana said.

  “Again…you didn’t even know her name,” Corey said as she went over to the white stallion. He was spirited and probably more than she could handle. It wasn’t like she was experienced around horses. She had hoped that Butch would volunteer to ride him, but he’d stuck with his mount, not even suggesting a change. Her only saving grace was that he was smaller than Gretchen and thus not quite as intimidating.

  She rubbed his head a few times, then grabbed the saddle horn and pulled herself up. He danced sideways as she swung her leg over the saddle and she pulled up on the reins, trying to quiet him.

  “Please don’t throw me off,” she murmured as she leaned down and patted his neck.

  “How long’s it been since you’ve been on a horse?” Jean asked.

  Corey grinned. “I rode a pony on my
twelfth birthday,” she said. “Of course, now Gretchen the last few days. She’s a sweetheart.”

  “Which is why I have her,” Dana said with a flirty smile.

  “I think the captain should be on the stallion anyway. It’s fitting,” Jean said. “However, I do recall a story once where he tossed Carl into the creek. You might want to be careful when we get there.”

  Butch led the way, and for the most part, they rode single file. It didn’t take long to come upon the creek, and Butch turned west, heading upstream. The afternoon was slipping away from them, and Corey wondered how many hours they could travel before dark. Out of habit, she glanced at her wristwatch. It was an old-fashioned watch with a face and hands. Not the kind that needed daily winding, unfortunately, but one that was battery operated. Or had been. It was stalled at 5:14, the time they’d dropped her off at the checkpoint. How many days ago was that now? she wondered.

  “Miss Jean, you might know this better than I do,” Butch said. “The horses can’t follow the creek up the canyon. On the map, it looked like there’s an old road of some sort up here. Do you know for sure?”

  “Yes. Hal said they would most likely follow the Jeep road along the south rim of the canyon. Back in the day, before they built the new road to Paradox, this was the only route.”

  Butch pulled his horse to a stop. “I’m not familiar with this area,” he said to Corey. “I don’t know how far to follow the creek before we can’t anymore. Might be best to head up to the south rim now and follow the Jeep road. Maybe we can pass the canyon and get back to the creek before dark.”

  Corey pulled out her binoculars and scanned the ridge above them, then up ahead where the creek flowed. They’d gone over the topo map several times, but neither of them could determine how far along the creek they could go before the canyon swallowed it up. It still looked relatively flat, and she thought they’d still be able to climb to the ridge later. Of course, they’d probably make better time following a road instead of picking their way across the many boulders and rocks that lined the creek here as they got closer to the canyon. Better safe than sorry, she supposed.

  “The Jeep road follows the creek, right?” she asked.

  “Yeah, it winds around the top of the canyon ridge,” he said.

  “Okay…let’s head up then. It’ll get dark early down here in the canyon.”

  It was a fairly easy climb to the top, and the horses made it without any problems. The Jeep road was in pretty good shape, and they picked up the pace a little as she kicked her stallion into a trot. They were on the south side of the creek now, and the view down into the canyon told her that they’d made the right choice. It had narrowed considerably, and she knew they’d be scrambling to find a way out had they stayed down below.

  The sun was getting low in the sky by the time they passed the steepest part of the canyon, and the creek again leveled out into a green valley below them. She saw movement along the creek and whipped out her binoculars, surprised to find three horses but no riders.

  “What is it?” Butch asked. “Cattle?”

  “Horses,” she said. “Take a look.” She handed over the binoculars to him.

  “Looks like they’re tethered.”

  “I don’t see any people,” she said. “Do you?”

  “No. No movement.”

  Corey turned in her saddle, looking at Jean. “How many riders went out with Hal?”

  “I think it was going to be the six of them,” Jean said. “Carl, Dusty, Jim, Graham, Curtis and my Hal.”

  “Could be their horses,” Butch said quietly.

  “Let’s head down then,” Corey said. “It’ll be a good place to stop for the night, if nothing else.”

  It was steeper than it looked, and it was slow going to get down to the creek. At one point, Jean’s mount slipped, and she let out a little scream but held on until the horse righted herself.

  “You okay back there?” Corey called over her shoulder.

  “I’m still in the saddle,” Jean said. “Won’t mind putting my feet on the ground again, though.”

  Corey looked back at Dana. “You?”

  Dana gave her a slight smile. “Me and Gretchen are doing fine.”

  When they got closer to the creek, Corey could make out the remnants of a camp. There appeared to be four bedrolls laid out, a couple of backpacks, a coffeepot sitting on rocks beside a fire ring.

  “Oh my goodness,” Jean said excitedly. “That’s…that’s our Daisy.”

  Corey held her hand up, signaling them to stop. “Stay here,” she said as she rode closer. She pulled her horse up and slipped from the saddle, still holding onto the reins.

  She saw the discoloration on the rocks and assumed it was blood. She looped the reins on a limb of a small bush and then followed drag marks. More blood, she noted. A lot of it.

  “What is it?” Butch called.

  She looked at him, then slid her glance to Jean. “Got blood,” she said.

  She whistled for Lucky, who was already in the creek splashing around. He bounded over to her and sniffed the ground. He gave a low growl and the hair stood up on his back as he seemed to be following a scent trail. She went after him into a clump of bushes. She saw no tracks and found no more blood, but Lucky seemed to sense something. He barked a couple of times, then retraced his steps back to the bedrolls. Finally, he seemed to shake himself, then with a wag of his tail, he headed back to the creek and jumped in.

  She looked back at the others and shrugged. “I guess it’s okay.”

  Butch helped Jean from the saddle, and Jean held on to him as she found her balance. She murmured her thanks, then went directly toward the bedrolls. She stopped at one, staring down at it. As Jean’s shoulders slumped, Corey knew it had been Hal’s. She looked over at Dana, who nodded before going to stand next to Jean.

  “Was that Hal’s?” Dana asked gently.

  Jean wiped at a tear on her face. “That old quilt. Wasn’t hardly nothing left of it. His momma made it for us right before we married. That…that was his pack. It never occurred to me that he didn’t have it with him when he came home.”

  Butch walked over to where the three horses were. They appeared to be skittish and Corey watched as he spoke to them in a quiet, calm voice. Only two were still tethered and he soon had the other secured as well.

  “They’re okay,” he said.

  “What should we do with them? Turn them loose?”

  Butch shrugged. “They might make their way back home. Might not.” He led all three to the creek and let them drink. “I suppose we could take them with us.”

  “Well, we can’t leave them here,” Dana said.

  “We’re not leaving my Daisy here, Captain,” Jean added.

  Corey sighed. It would slow them down, no doubt, but she knew it would be pointless to argue. “Then let’s head out and find a place to camp.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Dana nibbled on the pork sandwich, trying not to jump at every little noise. The fire was still burning brightly but beyond the circle they sat, it was black dark.

  “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep,” she finally said.

  Corey added another limb to their fire. “We’ll take shifts,” she said. “Two at a time.”

  Dana had hoped that would be the case. Whatever fate those men had met—and it was most likely something very terrible—she wanted no part of. Had they been killed in their sleep? No, their bedrolls had looked undisturbed. Had something lured them out?

  “I’ll take the first watch,” Butch said.

  “I’ll partner with you,” Jean added. “My body is tired, but my mind isn’t.”

  Corey’s tent was up, and she’d already offered it to Jean. Dana wondered if they could take turns sleeping in it. The tent would offer no protection from…well, from an attack of…of some sort, but at least it would provide a sense of security. Albeit a false sense.

  “Do you know how to use a gun, Dana?” Corey asked.

  Dana
nodded. “I’ve shot before, yes. It’s been a lot of years, though.”

  “We should be okay tonight,” Corey said. “Lucky will be on guard too. He’ll alert us if anything comes up.”

  The dog was lying between Butch and Corey, hoping for a handout. Dana had noticed that Corey had given at least half of her sandwich to him. She probably wasn’t hungry. Dana had seen her sneaking sausage rolls a couple of times during their ride today. Still, Corey seemed awful quiet this evening.

  “Got a little moon tonight too,” Butch added. “Once it gets higher in the sky, it’ll give us some light.”

  Dana hugged her knees to her as she stared into the fire. “Seems so strange to be out here like this, doesn’t it? Like we’re the only people left on earth. No sounds. No cars or trucks. No planes.”

  “We haven’t heard any planes because they’ve designated this area as a no-fly zone,” Corey said. “An unplanned military training exercise is the excuse. Whatever is jamming signals and killing power and batteries…well, they have no idea the reach of it.”

  “You think we’ve made the news by now?” Dana asked.

  Corey shrugged. “Probably.”

  “That won’t really mean anything for us, though, will it?” she asked.

  “Hard to say. Depends on how much press it’s getting and how truthful the answers have been. One reason the power company didn’t try to rush in was because they were told a radioactive satellite fell to earth,” Corey said. “That’s one way to keep people out.”

  “Unbelievable,” she murmured.

  “I know.” Corey met her gaze across the fire. “You should get some sleep. Why don’t you take the tent?”

  Dana looked over at the tent which was a good distance away from the fire. She looked back to Corey. “I’m…I’m scared.” She looked away for a second, embarrassed for being so frightened. Even Jean seemed to be holding up better than she was. But…what the hell? She swallowed down her pride and looked back at Corey. “Can we both fit in there?”