Dark Titan Journey: Finally Home (23 page)

Letting out a long groan, Amanda looked off. “Can’t we just go northwest now?”

“The northeast part of Wyoming is very dry and harsh. Not that the route we’re taking will be easy, but it will be easier by those standards,” Nathan explained.

“I’m ready to be home,” Amanda complained.

“Just think, if we were still on foot we would just be getting to Kansas. If we were still alive,” Nathan said. Amanda took a deep breath and Nathan knew what was coming. “You piss me off and I will spit in your ear, I swear it.” Letting the air out in a huff, she shook her head at him. “I want to be home as well, but think about the here and now or we won’t make it.”

Amanda slumped down in her saddle. “I know. I’m tired of everyone trying to kill us and seeing dead people.”

“I know, but I need you to be strong,” Nathan said, grabbing his thermal to scan. Amanda slowed down and joined her place in the line. Spotting a small creek up ahead, Nathan stopped and turned around. “Fill up the water jugs; where we are camping water will be half a mile away.”

Tom and John climbed off, grabbing the jugs. Scanning one more time with the thermal, Nathan climbed off and helped them. When they were done filling them, they tied the four jugs to the pack animals and filled all bottles and hydration bladders, then headed off.

They rode till the sky started getting light and Nathan stopped at a wide drainage draw. The land around was scrub grass and bushes. Nathan climbed down and the others followed. They were done setting up camp long before the sun came up.

Jasmine walked over to Nathan as he covered Emma up. “Twenty gallons doesn’t seem like much water for us.”

“Only five is for us, the rest is for the horses and dogs,” Nathan said, standing up and dropping his vest. He grabbed Ares’s collapsible bowl and showed them how to water the horses. Ares wasn’t happy about it either.

When the horses were taken care of they all collected under the shelter. Amanda looked at the map with the girls. Jasmine came over to look and saw where they were camping. “Shit, there’s people that close?” she gasped.

“Yeah, three farms within a mile,” Amanda said.

Jasmine looked at Nathan. “Please don’t go see them.”

Sitting down and untying his boots, Nathan looked at her like she was stupid. “I have no intention of doing that. It wouldn’t justify the risk.”

Letting out a thankful sigh, Jasmine dropped beside him. “I don’t know why but I’m tired.”

Nathan moved down and started taking her boots off. “You haven’t slept in almost forty hours and we traveled quite a way.”

When Nathan pulled off her boots, Jasmine smiled and wiggled her toes. “How far?”

Amanda looked up from her map. “Fifty-eight.”

As Nathan crawled back beside her, Jasmine looked at him. “Don’t you think we’re pushing the horses a little hard?”

“No,” Nathan said. “They are holding up well, and as we move through Wyoming we will have to slow down. The water holes are pretty spaced out and will dictate how far we go. Remember the US Calvary averaged fifty miles a day for a week with every man carrying two hundred pounds of gear. I’m the only one that you can compare that to. Hell, even trail riders average thirty miles a day.”

“What about the riders?” Jasmine asked, motioning with her head to the kids.

“They are riding great and holding up better than I thought. When we get to western Wyoming we will rest for a few days, then continue,” Nathan said.

“Let’s just go,” Amanda said without looking up from her map.

Taking a deep breath, Nathan closed his eyes slowly, then opened them, throwing his head back. “Amanda, the arid trip through Wyoming is going to be hard on the horses. Going cross-county took more out of them then walking on dirt roads, and through Wyoming we will be going cross-country.” Nodding in understanding, Amanda just studied her map.

Seeing peace was here, Nathan called out guards and was soon asleep.

Chapter 17

Day 50

Lying beside a small outcrop of rock, Nathan looked northwest toward Scottsbluff through the thermal binoculars. Through the day they had heard some vehicles traveling down the road to their south, and Nathan was now watching a farm truck travel down a road leading to Scottsbluff. To the northeast half a mile away he could see a farm and a tractor working in the field.

Crawling back down the hill till he could stand without skylining himself, Nathan walked to the bottom where Ares was waiting. Ares followed him back to camp where the others were packing up. Emma ran over holding out one arm, the other wrapped around Woof, her stuffed dog. Letting out a sigh, Nathan picked her up.

“There are a lot of vehicles moving around here,” Nathan said as Jasmine handed him a plate. Sitting down, Nathan started the ‘plane’ up, making Emma giggle.

Wiping his plate off, John put it up. “I counted seventeen cars in my four hours. Several were new cars.”

“We know the EMP wasn’t as bad here. What I mean is the government is just forty miles away on interstate eighty and a battle was fought in Cheyenne just a day ago. Yet they are just going about life as if nothing happened,” Nathan said, landing the ‘plane’.

“What should they be doing?” Tom asked.

“Getting ready for a war,” Nathan said.

“Maybe they aren’t scared of the government,” Jasmine offered.

Nathan refilled the ‘plane.’ “Then they are either very brave or very stupid.”

“You think we have to worry about moving through here?” Amanda asked.

Not even looking at Amanda, Nathan nodded. “We have to worry about moving through anywhere. I just don’t want us to have to start dodging battles or military sweeps.”

They all sat quietly eating, lost in their own thoughts. “Nathan,” Amanda said, “do you think these battles are like battles you see on TV?”

Finally finished feeding Emma, Nathan grabbed his plate. “I’m sure to the people that are fighting them it seems like the mother of all battles. I’m sure there isn’t a lot of armor and air involved, yet, but the one or two we’ve been close too it sounded like several thousand duking it out.”

From the small knoll above them, Tom walked down from the guard area, cleaning his plate then packing it up. “You aren’t worried about UAVs?” he asked.

“Hell yeah, but there’s not much we can do about them. If they are low level we should hear them with our hunter’s ear, but if they are high level we will never know,” Nathan said.

“You think they have some around us?” Tom asked with a worried expression.

“I’m sure we’ve been spotted by at least a few since we started out, but again, America is big with a lot of people. Now, in the areas we are heading into there aren’t a lot of people, so if we are spotted I’m sure we’ll have trouble. But around us now, at first glance, we look just like a group of farmers or ranchers,” Nathan said as he shoveled food in his mouth.

Jasmine lifted Chip out of her lap and stood up. “So are you worried about the government?”

“Very,” Nathan answered.

“What about the gangs roaming around?” Natalie asked.

“Them as well,” Nathan said as he finished. “Guys, until proven otherwise, everything we come across is viewed as hostile. We can’t take a chance. I personally would like to make it to Idaho without talking to or being seen by another person.” Nathan smiled and started grabbing his gear.

Seeing Nathan getting ready, everyone went about the task of packing up camp. When they were finished, they stayed in the draw until the sun was beneath the horizon. Lowering his monoculars, Nathan led them out of the draw, heading north.

As they crossed the county road to the north, they spotted headlights coming toward them from the east. Nathan kicked Smoke hard into a gallop. Hooves clattered across the blacktop as Nathan led them out across a small valley. They were several hundred yards away from the road as a truck passed behind them.

Stopping Smoke, Nathan turned around, lifting up the thermal binoculars and looking at the truck. He could see four people sitting in the back, all of them holding rifles. It looked like they were talking to each other. Turning in his saddle, Nathan scanned around them as John moved up beside him.

“Nathan, it didn’t look like they were patrolling. They looked like farmers,” John said, holding the sniper rifle across his saddle.

“Yeah, I have to agree, it looked like they were just talking,” Nathan said, lowering his thermal. Off to the east, he could see lights coming toward them with his NV monocular, “Awful lot of traffic.” Nathan kicked Smoke, leading them away from the county road northwest.

They skirted the farms around Scottsbluff, staying out in the rolling hills with the cattle. Just before eleven, Amanda rode up to him. “Nathan, F-U is warning everyone to stay off their CBs and radios, and not to transmit from where they are. He said the government is sending out Homeland agents with troops to sites that transmitted recently.”

“I’m glad someone got the warning out,” Nathan said.

“Nathan, F-U named locations around us they hit,” Amanda said

Whipping his head around, Nathan’s mouth fell open as he looked at Amanda. “What?”

“He named four areas around us,” Amanda said. “Three of the areas fought them off but one was taken in. Neighbors heard gunfire coming from the farm and went to investigate.”

Thinking about what he heard, Nathan looked forward. “Where was the closest to us?”

“Ten miles to the east,” Amanda answered. “The government tried jamming F-U. He’s been jumping bands as he reported, then he went off the air for ten minutes. He came back on saying the government hit one of his antennas.”

Nathan chuckled. “Seems they don’t like what he’s saying.”

Shaking her head. “He’s reporting some wild shit.”

“What else?” Nathan asked.

“The people in Cheyenne didn’t want to leave, so the government tried taking them at gunpoint,” Amanda said, looking away. “The death toll is in the thousands, but the citizens drove them out without help from the resistance.”

“At least the government is finding out that people won’t cower down,” Nathan said.

Nodding, Amanda agreed. “There is a huge fight going on in Ohio and Indiana. The government is pulling a lot of troops there to put it down. That is good news for us, right?”

Checking on a sleeping Emma, Nathan tucked Woof in beside her. “Yes it is, but they won’t pull all of them.”

“F-U said the ‘Patriot Air Force’ out of Texas, Oklahoma, Montana, and Idaho are shooting down drones at a record pace. Half the Air Force ran for patriot bases, so the government has to deal with them now as well. A Navy carrier group launched a bombing run on Washington, D.C. last night, but they didn’t get the president or any in Congress. There are reports that Russia isn’t going to send more troops here because they launched an invasion into the Middle East and it’s starting to bog down. China is only sending troops by air now after the Navy sank so many troop ships. Their invasion into Southeast Asia is almost complete but they need troops to hold it, or as F-U said, ‘Kill those that are there,’” Amanda said, looking at her notes, then started writing.

Nathan watched her write as he thought about what she said. “Any word how the New England states are reacting?”

Amanda stopped writing and looked at him. “When the president announced the new constitution, most loved it and riots stopped. Food was brought in and they’re enlisting in the ‘New American Army.’”

“Damn, I never would’ve thought liberals would actually fight for their stupid agenda,” Nathan confessed. “What were you just writing?”

“Texas pushed into Louisiana, and the government blew all the bridges across the Mississippi from Memphis down to stop the advance. Government troops in Arkansas are pulling to the northern part of the state in case Texas sends more troops,” she said.

Nathan smiled. “Bet that hurt. The patriots now control most of the oil fields and oil production in America.” Amanda didn’t respond as she started writing again.

When she stopped writing she looked at Nathan. “They’re putting the death toll in America now close to a sixty million, twenty million in California alone. The government has made huge burning pits in the New England states. In the coastal areas they are just filling barges and dumping them in the ocean.”

“I have to hand it to them, that’s smart,” Nathan replied.

“Reports from back east say it still isn’t making a dent in the bodies. Diseases are killing people faster than starvation and violence now,” she said. Nathan picked up his thermal, scanning around with Amanda still looking at him. “How many do you think will be left when this stops?”

Lowering his thermal, Nathan looked at her and shrugged. “I don’t know, but I’m betting close to eighty percent of America will be dead.”

“What about the rest of the world?” she asked.

“Everything I’ve read that you’ve written is saying that other governments are feeding their military and key populations. The rest are just herded up. I think they will be pretty close to eighty percent as well,” Nathan said, lifting the thermal back up.

The group behind them heard the conversation and just rode in silence, listening. Most had shivers run up and down their spines. Amanda didn’t feel like talking anymore and pulled up on her reins and fell back in line.

Finally coming to a small stream, Nathan led the group over so the horses could drink. Nathan handed his reins to Jasmine and dropped his pack. “Fill my water bladders, please. I’m going to that hilltop and look around,” he said, pointing to a tall hill the steam ran around.

Not in the mood to argue, Jasmine took the reins as Nathan adjusted the Emma sling with Emma sprawled out in it. The side of the hill was extremely steep and rocky, leaving Nathan sucking wind as he neared the top. He looked down beside him to see even Ares panting.

Getting on his knees as he neared the top, Nathan looked around with the thermal binoculars. Seeing deer running east, Nathan looked behind them and spotted movement almost a mile away on a ridge next to a road. The two heat sources looked to be human and hiding. Cussing quietly so he wouldn’t wake Emma, Nathan scanned around but didn’t see anything else.

Coming back down was almost as tiring as going up. Reaching the bottom, Nathan looked back at the hill with disgust as he walked over to the others. Everyone was mounted up waiting as he picked up his pack. “We have two people watching the road ahead, so we will have to swing further east.”

The group looked to each other, wanting to know who was going to talk. When everyone looked at John, he nodded. “You think they’re government?” he asked.

“I don’t know, and I’m not going to get close enough to find out,” Nathan said, leading Smoke across the stream. As one, the group sighed with relief and followed him.

An hour later, Amanda trotted up beside him, gasping. “Nathan, I think someone saw us.”

“What?” he said, lifting up his thermal binoculars.

“On the scanner, I caught on CB channel four, someone said they spotted seven horse riders leading extra horses and heading north. They said the names of some farms, and they named the county dirt road we crossed twenty minutes ago,” she said, looking around wildly.

“Calm down,” Nathan snapped.

“They can see us!” she exclaimed.

“Maybe, but we don’t want them to know we hear them on the radio,” Nathan said.

Forcing herself to relax, Amanda looked around slowly. “The man who spotted us was talking to a lady, and she said a group would ride out and check it.”

“Shit,” Nathan mumbled, digging out his map. Lifting up his thermal, he studied the map. “They didn’t say where they were coming from, by any chance?”

“Nelson’s farm,” Amanda replied.

“That doesn’t help,” Nathan said, folding his map up, kicking Smoke into a trot, and turning west.

Amanda stayed right beside him. “We are heading toward Scottsbluff.”

“Actually, between Torrington and Scottsbluff,” Nathan replied, looking back and checking on everyone.

“I’m sure that’s the direction the ones coming to check on us are coming from,” she said.

Nathan chuckled. “Yes, so am I.”

“Then why are we heading toward them?” she demanded.

“They will head along our last know, route, north. We are heading west. We will miss each other,” he said.

Not convinced, Amanda fell back in line as they trotted west. They stopped an hour before dawn at a stream to water the horses. Nathan looked over at Amanda. “Anything?”

“No, not about the search for us, but someone reported a farm north of Chadron was raided by a motorcycle gang,” she said.

Holding a sleeping Chip, Jasmine walked over to him. “You think we missed them?”

“I hope so. I’m not in the mood for a running gun battle across the rolling hills of Nebraska and Wyoming,” Nathan said.

“How far are we from Wyoming?” Natalie asked .

Nathan wrapped his arm around her. “About two miles.”

Jasmine jumped. “I thought we were camping in Wyoming?”

“We are, but we had to make a few detours, so we’re behind schedule,” Nathan said.

“Let’s camp here?” Jasmine asked.

“Too open,” Nathan said.

“Not here, but somewhere close,” she corrected.

Nathan shook his head. “There are several farms close by and I don’t want them getting lucky and spotting us.”

“If we ride in daylight they will,” Jasmine said.

Letting out a long sigh, Nathan pulled out his map and his tablet. He searched till he found what he was looking for. “Okay then, there is a ravine a mile northwest.”

Jasmine smiled. “That sounds much better.”

After filling water jugs, the group mounted up, following Nathan as the sun started peeking over the horizon. Nathan flipped up his NVGs as they were whiting out. Looking behind him at the group, he smiled, then turned around to see Ares stopped ahead of him looking west.

Yanking back on his reins, Nathan looked where Ares was looking. “Well shit on me,” he bitched. A mile away, he could see with his thermal monocular, a group riding horses was coming around a small hill. Nathan could tell his group had been spotted when several pointed at them.