Beyond the New Horizon (Book 2): Desperate Times

by Conaway, Christine

  Journey didn’t get the chance to spend time with Gina after all. Once they had reached the hayshed, they had to scramble to find dry clothing to put on.

  Sam built a fire and erected one of Gina’s shelter halves over their heads. They sat and shivered until the flames caught and the fire began to throw off heat.

  The snow continued to fall, but the temperature had risen turning the hard pellets into soft flakes. They didn’t blow around like the hard pieces of ice, but settled on every available surface.

  Andy and Sam decided that before it got too dark, they would walk up to the old homesite. Sam wanted to listen and make sure no one was up there.

  Once they were gone, Journey and Gina sat and stared into the flames in companionable silence.

  “So, what do you think of Ben and Lucy?”

  “I don’t believe we could have picked a better match for her and he comes with a ready-made family.”

  “So is there something you want to tell me about you and Sam?”

  Gina blew air from her mouth as if blowing Journey’s words off and rolled her eyes, “Why is everyone so interested in my love life?” She laughed at Journey, “Not that I have one as far as that goes.”

  “Well, I guess I am just looking for justification then. I’m going to give things a chance to grow between Andy and myself.”

  Gina burst into laughter, when she was able, “You mean you want to jump his bones.”

  Journey glared at Gina, “Why does everything with you get reduced down to the gutter?”

  Gina saw the glaze of tears in Journey’s eyes and realized that Journey was putting too much thought into Gina’s words, that maybe Journey was trying to justify her feelings for Andy to herself. Maybe Journey believed their age differences would prove to be a hindrance in their future lives together.

  “Aw Journey, you know I was only teasing you. I think you have a lot to offer each other. Andy seems to be a great man, and I know with everything that’s happened there aren’t many choices for either of you.”

  Journey sat there with tears glimmering in her eyes as she analyzed Gina’s words, then her face fell, and she attacked Gina with both fists, pummeling Gina with blows. “You are such a bitch!” She rolled off the still giggling Gina and lay on her back trying to catch her breath. “He is a pretty nice guy, and I do deserve him.”

  “Yes, you do. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. You just needed to convince yourself.”

  “Hey, you two. We could hear your caterwauling from clear up at the river. What’s wrong?”

  “Caterwauling?” She looked at Journey and saw that she had her hand clamped over her mouth to silence herself. Gina realized it was a good idea and clamped her own hand on her mouth, but not before a snort escaped. Which made the situation worse for both of them.

  The guys had run back to camp with drawn pistols as if they expected to have to defend the women.

  Andy looked at Sam and shook his head, “Damn crazy women!”

  “Yeah, I agree. But hey, they’re our women so what does that say about us?”

  The snow continued to fall the rest of the night. When Sam and Gina took Andy and Journey’s place at the fire after a five-hour rest, it was still coming down, and Sam began to think they would have to put some sort of shelter over the barrel to keep the fire burning. More than once the snowfall was dense enough that it threatened to put the fire out.

  By daylight, it was easy to see all traces of their tracks had been obliterated by heavy white snow.

  Sam looked at Gina, “You still have those little opera glasses in your pack?”

  “They are called binoculars for your information, and yes. For your information, when I bought these in 2012, they won an award for being the best compact binocular available. They’re Zeiss Victory binoculars, and I’ll tell you what, they are worth every penny I paid for them.”

  Sam hefted them in his hand, “Hard to believe you can see anything with them, they’re so small, and they don’t weigh anything.”

  Gina sighed, “That’s why they’re so perfect for our packs. They work great and don’t weigh us down when we actually leave the horses behind and go hiking.”

  “Let him see for himself. Sometimes it takes actions to prove words. Right now it feels like you’re wasting yours.”

  “Agreed! It’s kind of like that horse and water thing again.”

  Sam took the binoculars and stomped off, “I’ll be right back.”

  Looking puzzled, Andy sat down on a hay bale out of the falling snow, “Horse and water thing?”

  “You can lead them to water, but you can’t make them drink.”

  After a few minutes, Sam came trudging back through the snow. It clung to his pants at knee height. His cheeks and ears were bright red from the cold. He was blowing on his cupped hands to warm them.

  “Damn, it’s colder than heck out there.”

  “Where did you go to?”

  “I climbed that walnut tree by the old creekbed. I wanted to pan the area and check for movement or tracks.”

  “Do you really think anyone is going to be moving around in this stuff? They’d have to be crazy.”

  “Or desperate.”

  “Well, both of you ladies are right. I didn’t see any crazy desperate people out there.”

  “It’s good you checked, though. If I was going to move on someone, this is exactly when I would do it. When they would least expect it.” Andy removed the grate and dropped another piece of dry wood on the fire, and returned the grate to the top of the barrel. “We’re almost out of wood, and I sure don’t relish the idea of packing it up from the bottom.”

  “I hate to burst your bubble, but unless we cut some, there isn’t enough to last more than a week. Carlos never planned on trying to keep the whole countryside warm.”

  “Cut it? With what?”

  “This is what separates the men from the boys. We have a double-bladed-axe, a wedge, and sledgehammer under the trailer. We used the chainsaw to cut the trees down and into to stove lengths, but Carlos split every last piece by hand.”

  “Is there a reason we can’t use the chainsaw now?”

  Sam frowned and pursed his lips, “Actually, I have no idea. Ben said his four-wheeler ran, until he and Abby ran it out of gas. So maybe.”

  “Man, that would sure make it easier. Not that I mind splitting it, but cutting it down and then into lengths with an ax…lot of extra work.”

  Gina had a thought, and she kicked herself mentally for not remembering sooner, “Guys, if those four-wheelers ran, then why wouldn’t your snowmobiles?”

  Sam’s eyes got big and round, “Holy crap! Why didn’t we think of them sooner!” He jumped up and ran around to the open bays with the other three right behind him.

  Sitting side by side were three older Polaris snowmachines. Sam jumped up on the trailer and pulled a worn nylon cover off the closest one.

  “Andy, inside the door to the man cave is a key rack. All three keys are marked. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a bunch of keys on a ring and tossed them to Andy. “The big silver key.”

  Andy caught them and left, with Journey following behind. Gina watched them go and then stared up at Sam.

  “Sam, I hate to ask, but what about gas for these? Do I remember you saying you guys had an above ground tank?”

  “We did, but I think that’s why the house went so fast. The gas barrel was in the circle drive right by the house.”

  Sam looked around and spied what he was looking for. Along the back of the trailer were four red five-gallon jugs. “Can you check those?” He pointed at the gas jugs.

  Gina reached for the first one, and it came up to easily when she picked it up. She set it back and went down the line checking each of them. The last one she picked up was less than half full.

  Sam watched her expectantly, “Well, that didn’t look good. Any?”

  Gina picked up the one with something in it and shook it. “Maybe half full.”

&
nbsp; “Hand it up here then. Let’s see if she runs.”

  Gina shook her head. “There’s not enough in here to run one of those very far. Why not save what we have for the chainsaw?”

  Almost in slow motion, Sam replaced the cover back on the snowmobile, his disappointment visible.

  “Never mind the keys, Andy.”

  “Well, that sounded manly. I was just saying.”

  “Got them,” Andy announced as he came into sight. He had a big grin on his face anticipating riding one of the machines.

  Gina shook her head, “The way I see it, we can use the little gas we have for the chainsaw, or we can have a few minutes of fun on one of these. We can’t do both, so it’s up to you guys.”

  Andy groaned, “I knew this was too good to be true.” He shuffled off to put the keys back where he’d found them.

  “I guess that’s his answer. Sam that leads me to another thought. What about diesel? We apparently don’t have an unlimited supply of that either, so what are we going to do?”

  “We lost the gas tank, and the diesel barrel was supposed to get filled just before this all went down. They never showed up to fill it. There should still be fuel in it. No telling how much, though. I wish we had taken the time to check for fuel at Matt’s.”

  “We did check at Matt’s didn’t we? Isn’t that where we got the fuel you put in the tractor?”

  “I was lazy and only took the full can that was beside the tractor. The gauge said it was almost full. We’ll have to question Andy or Matt if they had an external tank.”

  “Well, I know where there are another forty gallons or so. If it’s still there.”

  Sam looked at Gina with a puzzled frown. “Where?”

  “In my pickup.”

  Sam nodded, “Let’s see if we can’t find some easier to get first.”

  “I just had another crazy thought.”

  Sam did one of Gina’s eye rolls, making sure the others saw it. “And what is that?”

  “What happened to my horse trailer? I thought John went and got it?”

  “I can answer that. We left it up at the cabin. John dropped it there when we went to bring the stock trailer down. John thought we should move the one with the supplies in it first.”

  “Do you think there is a chance it’s still there?”

  “I honestly don’t know. So much was happening at the time, I didn’t even look for it. I just got John out of there, and we came back here.”

  Gina shrugged, “I guess if it’s still there, maybe someday we can bring it down.”

  “Someday when the snow is gone you mean.”

  “Speaking of snow,” Journey commented, “It seems to have stopped. I made some coffee if you guys want some.”

  “I could use some if we’re going to be awake for a while. We are going down below? Right?” Gina looked pointedly at Sam, who nodded.

  “We have to. That’s why I went and had a look. There’s nothing moving out there and no trace that anyone has been. Gina suggested we get with John and go over our armament.”

  “Armament?” Andy asked, his voice puzzled.

  “Guns,” Journey whispered.

  “Oh, I thought we were going down for a meeting this morning anyhow, or they were coming up here.”

  “I thought it was all decided last night. Ben, Lucy and Abby are staying below and the rest of us are up here.”

  “Well, I hate to bring this up, but for a bunch of adults who are supposed to be defending this place, why do none of us have the rifles up here?”

  Finally, Sam responded, “This is a learning curve for all of us, but Journey is right. We need to be armed with more than handguns all of the time. We don’t know that that bunch is headed this way, but chances are, we’ll be seeing them anytime now.”

  “We sort of know where they aren’t, so does anyone else think we should know where they are?”

  “We probably should, but with the snow stopping, we would stick out like sore thumbs against the snow.”

  “And if something went wrong, our trail would lead anyone right back here.”

  They all knew that Journey had a valid point if someone did want to follow them it would be easy enough to do.

  “So, we just sit here and wait for someone to show up? I think I would rather be proactive rather than reactive. It drives me crazy knowing there is someone out there who may not have our best interests at heart.”

  “Let’s go down and talk to John. See what he has to say.” He looked from Gina to Andy, “Do you and Journey want to stay here and keep an eye out or go?”

  Andy looked at Journey, and she shrugged, “Doesn’t matter to me. But, Sam and Gina haven’t slept, and we have, so maybe they need to do something to keep them awake.”

  “Thanks…I hate to admit that you’re right. Come on Gina. I can tell we’re not needed up here.”

  “Gina, if you don’t mind me borrowing them, could you leave your binoculars with us? I can scale that tree too, and it would be easier to cover more ground than the naked eye.”

  Gina got them from the hay bale Sam had left them on and handed them over.

  “You’re not walking are you?”

  “Nope. We’ll take the tractor and trailer down in case they want to come back up with us. Andy, can you have a look at that solar on top of the trailer and see if there’s any hope for it?”

  “Wouldn’t it be fried along with the rest of the electronics?”

  “That I don’t know. It was under a heavy metal roof. May as well give it a look-see,” Sam started to walk to the tractor and stopped. “The tractor started.” He turned around and looked at them, clearly puzzled. With a frown, he asked, “Why would the tractor start? This whole thing doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Well, the battery box is metal and like you said it was parked under a metal roof and it is an older model.” Andy shook his head, “I sure can’t explain it. We saw the cars and semi-trucks parked all over the freeway. The lights went out.” He stared off into the distance, “Nothing I have ever learned can explain any of this. It’s like some things were picked randomly to quit working.”

  Journey went to stand beside him and placed her hand on his back, “Maybe we weren’t meant to know why. Maybe this is God’s way of giving us a do over.”

  Andy snorted, “I hate to break your bubble, but I don’t think God has anything to do with this.”

  “I know, maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part.”

  “We can’t stand here all day and eavesdrop, so let's get going.” Sam took Gina by her elbow and led her to the tractor. Gina stood up between the wheel well and the seat, holding on to Sam for balance.

  Gina looked behind them and saw the wide swath of snow they had plowed with the front of the trailer. “I guess there’s no hiding our tracks is there.”

  “At least here, unless someone comes this far, no one will see them.”

  Sam drove to the berm of the hill and stopped. They could see the smoke from the smokehouse and the tent, with a thin plume from the trailer.

  “If I didn’t know any better I would say it looks post card perfect. So peaceful and serene.”

  Sam nodded and took his foot off the brake. They had just started down the hill when Gina grabbed his shoulder.

  “What?” he asked and stepped on the brakes. The tractor had slid for several feet before it stopped.

  “Sam, do cows lay down in the snow?”

  “Not usually. Why?” He turned to see where she was now pointing.

  Four or five cows and the bull were standing bunched up by the trees on the west side of the valley. They stood, their gazes fixed on something on the east side.

  Gina was right. At least a half dozen cows were stretched out in the snow. He held his hand out, “Binoculars.”

  “I left them with Andy, remember?”

  “Dang.” Sam turned the wheel and angled off down the hill toward the cows.

  Gina sucked her breath in and held it briefly, “Oh my God,�
� she exhaled. “Who would do this?” She almost couldn’t get the words out past the lump in her throat. Gina stared in disbelief, the cows, those that she thought were lying down had all been slaughtered. As they drew closer, it was easy to see the blood that had disappeared in the snow, turning the white a soft pink color.

  Sam stopped beside the first cow and climbed down. When Gina went to follow him, he held up his hand, “Stay there. This will only take a second.” Reaching down he laid his hand on the cow's shoulder and shook his head. “She’s already cold. We need to get to the camp.”

  John and Lucas came out of the tent as soon as they got close. Lucas waved, excited to see them, his arm waved rapidly and then seemed to pause mid-wave. He slowly let his arm drop to his side. They could see him say something to his father and watched John peer behind them.

  John began to run, slogging through the knee-deep snow. When he got even with the tractor, Sam pulled it into neutral and bailed off in front of John. He tackled him to the ground.

  “It’s too late. They’re already cold.”

  Beside him, John struggled to sit up. The grief on his face made Gina want to cry. She didn’t think it was grief for the cows, but grief that someone could do this in the first place. She’d heard of people who hunted and slaughtered the animal only to take the hindquarters or the head, but for someone to do this to cattle was unthinkable. Why not just steal the whole cow? This was a senseless waste of meat.

  Sam stood and helped John to his feet, “We need to get everyone down here and save as much as we can. The only good thing is we’ll be able to save a lot of it.”

  John stood and stared, his shoulders drooped as if someone had stolen his energy. His face reflected the loss, and he suddenly looked older and to Gina, defeated. She understood they had been robbed, and their primary food source was now cooling on the ground, but if Sam was right, they could still save most of it.

  Sam looked at her hollow-eyed, and she wondered if his thoughts were the same. Gina shivered and was reminded that John was standing in the freezing cold with only a flannel shirt on and covered in snow from Sam tackling him.

  “We need to get some warmer clothes on and take care of these,” she pointed at the cows. Catching Sam’s eye, she pointed at John, who hadn’t moved. Sam nodded at her in understanding and took John by the arm.