Beyond the New Horizon (Book 3): Living on the Edge Read online

  Beyond

  the

  New Horizon

  Book Three

  Living on the Edge

  Copyright© 2017

  By Christine Conaway

  No part of this book shall be reproduced in any manner except with written permission of the author.

  The is book is a work of fiction written solely from the imagination of the author. Any resemblance to places, incidents, events, people living or deceased is completely coincidental.

  A special thanks to Chancli Conaway for the cover photograph from one of her many adventures.

  This book is dedicated to my daughter, Jennifer. She has always made my life complete and supports me with her patience and love.

  Table of contents

  Chapter One; Icing on the cake

  Chapter Two; Who’s fault is this?

  Chapter Three; Are we at risk?

  Chapter Four; Accident or what?

  Chapter Five; One man’s family

  Chapter Six; Turncoat!

  Chapter Seven; Ready for the move

  Chapter Eight; Caravan of vehicles

  Chapter Nine; Staying behind

  Chapter Ten; Buggies and wagons

  Chapter Eleven; Old friends

  Chapter Twelve; Someone has shot Gus!

  Chapter Thirteen; Looking for problems.

  Chapter Fourteen; Girls and planes!

  Chapter Fifteen; Play on words

  Chapter Sixteen; Better things ahead

  Chapter Seventeen; The disappearance

  Chapter One; Darkest Times

  Chapter One; Icing on the cake

  It had been two weeks since Gina, Sam, John, and Andy had left together to find Matt and Lucas. With John’s unfortunate injury, he and Andy were forced to return early, leaving Gina and Sam to find the boys.

  They had found them as well as a little hellcat; Sam’s description of her, by the name of Olivia Wilson. She had been held captive by a group of people who had taken over the log-cabin restaurant and truck stop in Haugan, an unremarkable tourist stop just east of the Montana border, but escaped when a mini-war broke out among the residents. Olivia had fallen on top of Sam from out of a tree. She had intended on either killing him by landing on him or forcing him to kill her. She had already determined that she wouldn’t go back and be a slave again.

  Without by the boys knowing, Olivia had followed them west until a violent earthquake had separated them.

  When Sam and Gina finally caught up to the boys, Matt is injured, they’d lost a horse and Carlos’s jenny to the quake.

  It had taken them several days to find their way through the hills to reach Mark’s ranch. Aftershocks and tremors had plagued them every day. Sam swore he didn’t recognize any of the surrounding mountains anymore.

  Mark had agreed when the day before a mountain had risen out of nowhere and belched smoke and ash high into the sky.

  The next morning, they had left, leaving Matt to recuperate with Mark and Evelyn for a few days until the swelling in his broken leg subsided enough for Mark to put a plaster cast on it.

  The trail, with the melting of the snowpack, was clearly marked by footprints and horse’s hooves in the mud. When they reached the split, they could go right and head for the hayshed or down the slope to the trailer.

  Looking down at the camp, Gina remembered looking down on her truck. It felt like a lifetime ago. She now realized how unprepared she, Journey and Lucy had truly been. At night, sometimes, she wondered what it would have been like if they had been home when the lights went out. Lucy had always joked that by buying the freeze dried and dehydrated food in bags was setting them up for when the apocalypse struck. Now, they knew how unprepared they would have been. Survival didn’t mean having enough food, survival didn’t mean having enough ammunition, nor did it mean having a safe place to hide out. Survival meant having the fortitude to do all that needed to be done to stay alive. Ammunition, food and a safe place were the tools to get and to keep you there; the proverbial icing on the cake.

  Gina almost laughed when she realized it would be a long time before they had cake or frosting. She looked over at Sam and found him watching her with his head tilted as if trying to read her mind.

  She shook her head, “Hah! Not this time. Not even you could guess what I was just thinking.”

  He smiled, “But you’ll tell me later. Right?”

  “Maybe. You could say I was reminiscing. Which way boss?”

  With a nod of his head, he indicated they should go down. Below them, she could see the cows in the pasture that John had roped off and a small band of horses down by the creek. She saw Abby, Sherry and Mike’s two kids, Maggie and Junior running toward the trailer. The adults were sitting in chairs around the fire pit. Laughter drifted up to them, and Gina wondered how much they would find to laugh about once Sam told them everything they’d learned from Mark.

  They had heard enough to be frightened of what their future would hold for all of them. While most of it, they had already guessed and discussed, had always been nothing more than supposition, but to hear it as fact from Mark, had been the eye-opener. To find out that they had been more correct than they knew, was unsettling.

  John stood and watched them approach. The emotions that crossed his face were readable from a distance. Gina hoped that he planned on taking Lucas aside to have his discussion, rather than embarrass the boy in front of everyone.

  She need not have worried; everyone showered hugs on him, including his father. John held him just a little longer than everyone else until Lucas squirmed to be free. As if John thought it would be the last hug they ever shared, he let his arms slip away, and Lucas stepped back.

  Lucas said something to his father and John nodded. They turned and walked toward the horses in the field.

  Once on the ground, Sam took Gina’s reins from her, and he and Andy led the four horses off. As soon as Olivia was relieved of her horse, she moved to stand behind Gina. She looked like a rabbit ready to flee and clung to Gina as if she were her only lifeline.

  “It’ll be okay. Those two women right there are the women I told you about and that’s Lucas’s mother. You probably know everyone else.”

  Olivia nodded, and Gina realized she probably didn’t know how she was supposed to act. She had been sex slave and servant long enough that reverting to her previous disposition, might take a while if it ever happened.

  Gina hugged Olivia, “It’ll be okay. There is no one here who will hurt you, and you don’t have to say anything to anyone.” Gina deliberately kept her voice so that no one could hear but Olivia. She turned Olivia to face the group of women and kids.

  Journey and Lucy had read the scene perfectly and stood to wait for Gina to introduce the girl, rather than rush in for their usual hugs.

  “Well, I know you. You’re that Wilson girl,” Mary exclaimed, as she rushed over to them. Mary took both of Olivia’s hand in hers. “Lord have mercy, but you look half starved. Let’s walk up top. I have a nice stew we’re having for dinner, and I need to check on it. You can help me put together some biscuits.” She led Olivia away by one arm.

  Olivia looked around for Gina as if she needed rescuing, but Gina only nodded at her to go.

  “Come on kids. You all grab an armload of wood and bring it up top,” Mary hollered over her shoulder.

  When they had left, Journey and Lucy came over to her, and each gave her a hug. Journey pulled her to the fire where their old metal coffee pot, blackened from use on the fire, sat on the side of the grate.

  Journey picked up an empty coffee cup, looked inside it, deemed it clean enough
and poured it full. Lucy had pushed Gina into a chair and sat beside her. Journey handed the cup to Gina and pulled another chair in front of her two friends.

  “Now tell us, where the hell have you been? Do you even know how worried we’ve all been about you?”

  Lucy leaned close to Journey, “Back off! Jesus, you sound just like her mother. Give her a chance to sit for a minute before you start grilling her for Pete’s sake.”

  Journey clamped her lips together and did look a little chagrinned. “Sorry, but when John and Andy came back without you and then the earthquakes I was so afraid something bad had happened.”

  Lucy, held her hand up in front of Journey’s face, “Stop it.” Gina, just ignore her. Drink your coffee and relax for a minute.”

  Gina put the cup to her mouth and sipped. It was hot and black, just how she preferred it. “My God, this tastes like ambrosia. I don’t believe I can live without coffee.”

  “Oh, stop it! You better get used to it, because we’re down to the last can and then it’s instant until it’s all gone.”

  Gina drained the cup and held it out to Lucy for more, “I guess you’ll have to shoot me then. I can’t live without coffee, and you both know it.”

  Journey always in her role as the lifesaver, “We’re going to have to wean you off it just like they do with drug addicts. We’ll find something else to take its place.”

  Gina took the full cup back from Lucy, “I was only kidding,” she laughed. “Since we left I haven’t had much coffee at all. I didn’t even have a headache this morning.”

  “Tell us about that girl. Where did you find her, and did you and Sam have sex?”

  Gina frowned as she felt her face flush, “What? Why would you ask something like that?”

  “Because she got laid and can’t wait to tell you about it. Asking you first is her way of leading up to it. You know, reciprocity?” Lucy wiggled her eyebrows at Journey.

  Gina looked from Lucy to Journey, her mouth hanging open. She saw the blood rush to Journey’s face, “Oh, you’re a nasty girl. You and Andy did the deed?”

  “Lucy, you need to shut up and mind your own business.”

  “Isn’t that what you just asked Gina? Geez, it’s all you’ve talked about since it happened. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought it was something new that you and he had just discovered.”

  All three women were laughing uncontrollably by the time Lucy got done talking. Gina sprayed some of her precious coffee all over the ground.

  It took several minutes for them to regain any composure. Gina sighed and sat back in her chair, content to be back with her friends and sharing a joke together, the way they used to.

  “The way she talks about it, you’d think she’d been a virgin, and he was her first.” Lucy’s eyes popped open, and she threw her hand over her mouth, “Oh my God…you weren’t, were you?”

  It was more than Gina could stand, “Oh my gosh Lucy. Even you know better than that. Of course, she wasn’t.” Gina looked at Journey, “Were you?”

  Journey’s face turned bright red, “That is none of your business.”

  “Oh, my God,” Lucy squealed, “Wow, no wonder you were so embarrassed when we went to see Shades of Gray.”

  “That was a stupid movie and made women look like a bunch of whores.”

  “Oh, it did not, it just showed you the benefits of having a good imagination.”

  Not one of the three could deny what Lucy said, and they laughed until Journey pointed to the men who were walking toward them.

  The women struggled to regain their composure; they were careful to not look at each other. With their eyes forward, they watched as the guys came closer to them.

  “Have you ever seen Andy with his hat off?” Gina whispered loud enough for Lucy to hear and held the edge of her hand flat across her forehead, “White as an egg from here up.” She laughed.

  “Be pretty easy to find in the dark, wouldn’t you think?”

  “You two are such bitches. I’m not telling you guys anything ever again.” She sounded serious.

  Gina looked at Journey, afraid she’d hurt her friends feeling, but Journey couldn’t ever hide anything. She was grinning as if she had a secret. Unable to hold it in, they all burst into laughter as the men walked up.

  “It’s our pleasure to be of entertainment value for you women,” said Andy as he whipped his hat off and with a flourish, bowed at the waist.

  Gina whooped and fell over backward in her chair, Lucy fell on the ground out of hers, and Journey glared at the two of them, or tried to, but couldn’t carry it off and then she snorted.

  The men, joined in the laughter, even though they had no idea what had caused it.

  “Geez, I guess we should make an entrance more often if this is what happens. I haven’t heard so much happy laughter in a long while.”

  “Yeah, but Andy, why do I get the feeling one of us is the butt of the joke?”

  “Clang! Clang! Clang!” The noise came from the top of the hill.

  Gina quit laughing at the sound and sat up. Puzzled, she looked around. “What was that?”

  “Oh. I forgot you hadn't been here. That is the call to eat. That’s an old triangle John found and Mary uses it for meal call. Three times is for food and more than that; there’s an emergency of some kind. If you hear it, you come running.”

  “I guess that’s as good as anything. After the breakfast, we had at Mark’s I don’t know if I can eat yet. I still feel full.”

  “Gina, this is more than lunch. You need to be there when I talk to John. Everyone needs to hear this.”

  Andy sighed and helped Journey to her feet. With his cowboy hat back on, covering up his white forehead Andy didn’t look as funny.

  Hearing Sam say that they were going to discuss everything Mark had told them turned Gina’s good humor into dismay. She wondered how much it would change their lives.

  Gina held her hand up for Sam to help her up, “Well, that was fun while it lasted. I wish Mark didn’t have that stupid radio and we didn’t know anything. I’m not sure why, but it felt better when we didn’t know for sure.”

  He pulled her to her feet, “We are still going off what people we don’t know have said. There is no proof yet, so there’s no point worrying until it’s time. We’ll just tell him as Mark said it to us, and let him make his mind up.”

  “At this point does it matter how this got started? What worries me, is how we can survive it. Are we going to have to move?”

  “That’s something I’ve been wondering about too. The thing is, mountains surround us, so which way do we go? We could spend weeks going in circles trying to find a way through and never leave the area.”

  “Or, we sit here and wait. I’m not sure if I would rather be proactive or reactive. That mountain popping up out of nowhere scares the crap out of me, and how do we know it’s the only one lurking below the surface?”

  Chapter Two; Whose fault is this?

  After they had eaten, Mary tried to send the younger girls and Junior outside, giving them the option of hauling wood or watering the cows.

  “I think everyone needs to hear what Mark had to say, so they should stay.”

  “Sam, they’re only children. Surely they don’t need to be hearing this stuff.”

  “I’d rather stay,” Abby said, sitting back down on the bench.

  “I’d rather she heard this too if it’s all the same to you. These kids quit being kids the day the lights went out. We’ve taught them to use guns for defense and taught them how to kill. I don’t think they can go back to being just kids, just because we’re living under the illusion of safety.”

  John looked as if he wanted to protest, when Sam stood up, “Ben’s right. This is a family meeting with no exclusions. John, I see you want to deny it, but we are living under the pretense that we’re safe. After what happened to the boys in Haugan a couple of days ago, I don’t believe any of us are immune to what’s coming.”

  “
But Sam, you don’t know that anything or anyone is coming this way. We live out in the middle of nowhere. The towns around us have small populations, and I know most of the farmers and ranchers from here to Missoula, so who do you think is going to be coming here?”

  “I don’t want to argue about this, but the crowd who destroyed Haugan, St. Regis and according to Olivia, every town between here and Missoula, has been decimated by people just like these. For all, you know some of those ranchers and farmers, could very well be part of that group. When big money began to move in and force the little guys out, they sure didn’t keep the hired hands. They brought in their workers, and you know it. Ask Olivia, she saw some of these guys, and she knew some of them, and that didn’t stop them from hurting people, raping and abusing women and yes, sometimes children.”

  Every eye turned to look at Olivia for confirmation. Gina was afraid the girl would clam up under the scrutiny. When Olivia stood up and looked every person in the eye, Gina nodded her head. She knew right then that what Olivia was going to say was not going to support Mary or John’s thoughts on what could be coming their way.

  “Mr. Akin’s, you knew my parents pretty well didn’t you?”

  John nodded, “I did.”

  “You knew my father was a gun collector. He bought and sold guns for as long as I can remember and ammunition and he used to reload for some of his friends.”

  “What does that have to do with this?”