Chapter 26

Kate could feel the ground below her feet running at a slight gradient away from the entrance.

Build on high ground. It will always be dryer and easier to defend.

Now that her eyes had adjusted to the darkness Kate could make out shapes, sizes and distances. She stopped one hundred meters from the entrance near some short bushes that smelt fresh and clean. Looking back toward the entrance she could see that she was a couple of meters below its crest, in a slight depression, and out of the wind. Below ground the temperature had been constant, never changing and there was no wind, just the slow movement caused by air recirculators.

“Do you think this is far enough away?” Kate asked. “Or should we go on up to the next rise?”

“I would think this is okay,” Humphrey answered. “Until the sun’s up we won’t see much anyway. Besides, we’re out of the wind here.”

“It’s a little cool,” Hunter agreed. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

Okay,” Kate agreed, “let’s rest here. Humphrey, can you hand me my backpack?”

“Sure,” Humphrey answered setting the pack down in front of Kate. “Smells like cedar, Ashe juniper, actually,” he commented.

“Is that what that is?” Kate asked. “It’s wonderful.”

“Yeah, smells great,” Hunter said, then added, “What do we do now?”

“Sit down and wait,” Humphrey stated.

“Wait a minute,” Kate said and she keeled down beside the backpack. She pulled out the poncho Jolene had given her.

“Here,” she told Hunter, handing the poncho to him. “Spread this out on the ground, over there by the bushes. We can sit on it. It’ll keep the chill out of our bottoms and maybe the bushes will help keep the wind off us.”

Next Kate pulled out the blanket Jolene had given her. She tossed it to Humphrey. “We won’t freeze,” she stated.

“What else do you have in that magic pack?” Humphrey asked.

“Whatever’s in there, I hope it’s enough,” Hunter laughed waving the poncho out in the air, spreading it out above the ground. When it fluttered down to the ground he quickly moved to sit down. “Perfect, if you like sitting on rocks,” he intoned.

“Better than being under one,” Kate replied and everyone was silent as she pulled the shoulder bag off and set it down on the ground.

She took the canteen off the backpack, shook it, looked over at Hunter and said, “Not much in here. How much is in your bag?”

Hunter lifted the water bag off his shoulder, pressed around on the bag and answered, “Maybe half full.”

“Okay, let’s not drink much,” she ordered. “No telling when we’ll find more water.”

She picked up the shoulder bag and pulled the knife from inside and sat it down beside her. Holding the bag up she estimated the amount of jerky remaining.

“We have another two days of jerky left. Three days if we skimp. There is some stuff in the pack we can eat but the jerky’s the best. We start skimping now.” She handed the bag over to Humphrey.

Humphrey took the bag and blanket over and sat down near Hunter.

“Kate, you act like you’ve been doing this your whole life,” Hunter said with admiration.

“Mom and Dad taught us how to survive,” Kate answered. “They knew life would be a challenge.” Kate rubbed a hand across her eyes and picked up the big knife. She opened up the handle and checked the compass. The compass had a luminous dial and was easy to read.

“The moon isn’t exactly due west,” Kate stated. “South is a little bit more to our left,” and she pointed out the direction with her left arm.

“You have a compass there?” Humphrey exclaimed. “That’s great. Where ever did you get that knife?” he asked.

“An angel named Jolene gave it to me,” Kate answered, screwing the compass back onto the knife’s handle. “Also everything we have here came from her.”

Kate stood up and moved over onto the poncho and sat down near Humphrey. She looked up at the sky. The moon had already moved down to the horizon, near the low crest of the hill behind them. Venus was nearly touching the horizon.

“What happened to the city?” Kate asked. “We were in the New York City subway down there. Where’s the city?”

Humphrey answered, “There’s three sets of tunnels in North America. I thought your parents would have told you.”

“No,” Kate said shaking her head. “They never said anything. They never really said we under New York. I just figured it out.”

“The government set up some safe zones in case things got out of hand. Which, they did.” Humphrey explained. “The subway was the easiest thing to replicate and keep some kind of semblance of what we had. There was a secret lottery. The winners went under ground when the collapse came. The others were left outside.”

“To become Raiders,” Kate finished.

“Yes,” Humphrey acknowledged, “To become Raiders.”

“No wonder they attack us,” Kate said.

“Yes, no wonder,” Humphrey agreed.

They were all silent for several minutes.

“It’s beautiful out here,” Kate repeated quietly. “We were stupid to create a world where we had to hide underground.”

“Yes,” Humphrey agreed. “People don’t always make good decisions. Well, it might be better to say that some short term decisions don’t hold up over the long term.”

“That’s a nice, polite way to explain stupidity,” Kate commented.

“I supposed,” Humphrey acknowledged. “As you get older it gets easier to see both sides of a question and the sometimes dubious answers promulgated to solve the problems.”

“Whatever,” Hunter responded. “I’m going to try to sleep.” He lay down on his right side and wrapped his arms around himself. He was snoring softly in no time.

“So much for his time clock being confused,” Kate joked.

“Easily falling asleep is another one of those things that changes with age,” Humphrey observed.

Kate and Humphrey sat quietly watching the stars cross the sky.

“Do those three stars have a name?” Kate asked and pointed out three stars close to each other, which formed a line.

“That’s Orion’s Belt,” Humphrey answered. “That red star is Betelgeuse. That forms his shoulder. That white star is Rigel. It’s his left foot. And there’s his head and his bow,” Humphrey pointed out motioning with his right hand.

“He was a great Greek hunter that the gods were jealous of, right?” Kate asked.

“That’s what some say,” Humphrey answered. “In China, it’s Shen, three stars. And that bright red star down there on the bottom left is Sirius. In ancient Egypt the rising of Sirius, preceded by Orion, started their solar new year. Orion and Sirius have names and histories from every people who have ever observed them.”

“It’s beautiful,” Kate answered.

Humphrey picked up the blanket and wrapped it around Kate’s shoulders. “Try and rest,” he said. “I’ll sit up and keep watch.”

Kate was warm and comfortable all wrapped up in the blanket. The clean, cool air was refreshing after years breathing and smelling tunnel air. Kate moved closer to Humphrey and leaned against his shoulder. She quickly fell asleep.

Chapter 27

“Kate. Kate you need to wake up.”

Kate opened her eyes. Humphrey was keeled beside her. He was shaking her shoulder softly.

“Kate, you need to wake up,” he repeated. “The sun’s coming up. It’s sunrise.”

Kate looked past Humphrey’s face up into the sky. Stars were still out but they were different than when she laid down.

Kate started to raise her arms but found herself covered in the blanket so she pushed up from the ground into a sitting position. The cold night air rushed in under the raised cover and made her shiver.

“Whew, it’s cold,” she exclaimed squirming into the blanket and pulling it around her shoulders and back.

“Yeah, it’s a little cool out here,” Humphrey agreed, standing up from beside Kate. “If you want to see the sunrise, you better stand up. It won’t last long.”

Sunrises. There is nothing like sunrises and sunsets. The whole world stops to watch.

“The sunrise? Where?” Kate exclaimed jumping up to her feet.

“Over there in the east. Like usual,” Hunter laughed pointing towards the east horizon.

Kate turned following Hunter’s guidance. Looking out to the east Kate realized the night was not as dark as it had been. Twilight! And along the horizon there was a touch of light. And in between, there was nothing but low rolling hills covered in sparse clumps of grass and an occasional juniper bush.

“Shhh,” Humphrey answered. “Watch the sunrise.”

Kate watched, the line of light grew wider. From as far as she could see left to right there were clouds near the horizon. They began to pick up color. She saw them change from a pale pink into a deep red. And the clouds stretched out into long fingers, red tentacles with pastel blue sky washing up between them.

Higher up in the sky dark clouds showed themselves as the horizon grew brighter. The darkness lightened into a dark gray, then into yellowish, whispery shapes with dark gray contours floating high above.

And then everything changed. The reds and pale blues along the horizon were brighter and whiter. The pinks and blues moved over to the clouds above Kate’s head reaching into forever.

The tip of the sun was above the horizon. It was too bright for Kate to look at, a bright white, cutting all the color near the horizon into bright yellows. Overhead the pinks were red and as Kate watched, they turned to white. Whispery, white clouds stretching their tendrils out over her head.

Then it was over. The sun was up. The clouds were white and the sky blue.

Kate looked at Hunter, then at Humphrey. They both smiled at her.

“What did you think?” Humphrey asked.

“It was just… beautiful,” Kate answered. “Mom and Dad told us about sunrises. But you can’t describe that.”

“No, you can’t,” Humphrey agreed. “I had forgotten.” Then he asked Kate, “Did you sleep okay?”

Kate pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders to keep the morning chill away. “Yes, I slept great.” She looked around the empty plains. “We live in a subway tunnel but there’s no city?”

“Yeah, where’s the city at? There should be ruins or something,” Hunter agreed.

“I guess no one ever explained the idea behind ‘preppers’ to you. Did they?” Humphrey asked.

Kate and Hunter shook their heads.

“We can discuss it on the trail. Okay?” Humphrey requested.

“Sure,” Kate replied. “We need to get going, anyway. Did you rest any?”

“I slept a little,” Humphrey answered.

“I slept great, too,” Hunter interjected. “And I’m hungry!”

Kate laughed. “Well, eat something then. I need to walk around to the other side of the hill. I’ll be right back,” she said.

“Don’t go far,” Humphrey instructed. “There could be animals out there.”

“Thanks for mentioning that!” Kate responded. “Just what I wanted to hear. I’ll be quick.”

Hunter sat down on the poncho and pulled the shoulder bag over as Kate, wearing the blanket like a cloak, walked away.

The ground was hard under foot as Kate walked. There were small clumps of grass, mostly yellow colored, scattered about. The fragrance of the juniper filled the air. She heard a lone bird calling out. She followed the line of the small hollow they had camped in as it turned away from Humphrey and Hunter. When the hill blocked them from her view she stopped and looked for a little shelter. There was a small juniper off to her left. She headed toward it.

Kate stepped around the bush. There was Luke stretched out on the ground behind it! He turned his head around and looked up at her in surprise.

“What are you doing here?” Kate demanded.

Luke jumped to his feet, red faced and stammering, “Well… ah… “

“You’re following me!” Kate accused.

“I love you,” Luke finally stammered out.

“Like that means anything!” Kate snapped angrily. “You lied about my sisters! You knew that girl back there wasn’t my sister.”

Luke raised his empty hands up in surrender. “But I saved you,” he reminded Kate.

“And I thanked you for that,” Kate snapped back. “How can I trust you? You lied to me and you just ran away back there.”

“You let that other guy come between us,” Luke pleaded.

“Hunter didn’t come between us. I don’t love you,” Kate replied. “You have to have trust before you can have love.”

Luke lowered his hands, shaking his head he said, “You just threw me away, like I was nothing.”

Kate calmed down a little, replying, “I didn’t throw you away, Luke. You ran away ‘cause you knew what you’d done.”

Luke suddenly stepped forward and grasped Kate in a bear hug and pulled her tightly to him. “I love you, Kate,” he repeated.

Kate tried to wiggle loose. Luke clutched her tighter.

“Let me go, Luke,” Kate ordered. “You’re hurting me.”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“I’m not ever letting you go, ever,” Luke replied and he tried to kiss Kate.

Kate twisted her head away from Luke’s lips and as she struggled against him his grip loosened and Kate was able to spin around placing her back towards him.

“No!” Luke shouted and pulled her back tightly against his chest. “You’re not ever leaving me.” He pulled Kate so tightly she had trouble breathing. “And don’t think about pulling that little knife on me!” Luke roared into Kate’s ear.

Luke reached across Kate with his left arm and took hold of his right sleeve with his left hand. He increased the pressure from his left arm across her chest and released his right hand hold on her. Now with his right hand free he ran it down along Kate’s side following her contours down to her hips and then over her thigh until he reached the dagger. He pulled the blade from its sheath and tossed it aside.

Kate was gasping for breath. She felt Luke’s weight shift to his right as his hand followed along her body. As he pulled the knife out she squirmed around enough that she got his left forearm in her mouth. She bit as hard as she could and stomped on Luke’s right instep.

Luke shouted in pain and lost his balance, falling to his right. He took Kate down with him. They crashed heavily to the ground. Luke lost his grip and Kate was momentarily free. Kate leaped up and started to run. Luke grabbed her left ankle, tripped her and brought her back down to the ground. He moved quickly on top of her and sat up across her waist.

“Don’t you every lay a finger on me again!” Luke roared. And he hit Kate.

Luke pulled back his right fist to strike again.

Chapter 28

Over Luke’s right shoulder Kate saw the grim look on Hunter’s face. Luke’s weight was suddenly lifted off of her. She saw Luke flying through the air, landing several feet away. Hunter jumped over her and bounded over beside Luke.

“Kate? Kate? Are you okay?” Humphrey shouted at her. Kate moved her head slowly to her left until she could see Humphrey’s face. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.

“You poor thing. Can you stand?” Humphrey asked trying to help her up.

Kate tried again to answer but nothing happened. She realized she really could not feel the left side of her face.

With Humphrey’s help Kate was able to get to her feet. Suddenly she was dizzy and nauseous. Her mouth seemed filled with liquid. She spit and saw a bright red stream land on the ground at her feet. Everything went black.

When Kate woke up she was laying on the poncho in the shade of a juniper bush. The sun seemed high in the sky. Her jaw hurt. She raised her hand up and gingerly touched her left jaw. It was hot to her touch. She held her hand against the heat and felt the swelling tenderly.

“You’re back,” Humphrey said happily. “How do you feel?”

“I feel fine,” Kate mumbled out the right side of her mouth.

“Right,” Humphrey replied. “Do you think you can sit up and sip some water?”

Kate nodded and moved to get up.

Humphrey jumped over beside her, “Just take it easy. All you need to do right now is sit up, okay?”

Kate nodded and with Humphrey’s help she sat up. All the color around her started to drain away like someone was washing the color from a picture.

“You’re looking pretty pale there,” Humphrey stated. “You okay?” he asked again.

The color started to come back in as Kate nodded her head. “How long?” Kate asked.

“Couple of hours,” Humphrey answered. “I got you back over here to the camp and got you laid down.”

“Luke?” Kate asked.

“Don’t worry about him,” Hunter replied. He moved over so that Kate could see him. “He won’t bother you.”

“Did you...” Kate started but Hunter interrupted her.

“Don’t worry about him,” Hunter repeated.

Kate nodded. “We need to get going,” she said. “Raider’s gettin’ way ahead of us.”

“We’ll catch ‘em a lot faster when you’re well enough to walk fast,” Humphrey replied.

Kate nodded again. “Did you get my knife?” she asked.

“In the sheath,” Hunter told her.

Kate felt down and touched the knife’s hilt. Then she slowly stood up with Humphrey’s help. “I can walk fast,” she said.

Humphrey turned and looked at Hunter.

“If she’s ready, let’s go,” Hunter stated and he began to pack up the backpack. “Find the trail and get started,” he told them. “I’ll catch up.”

“Thanks,” Kate said and slowly started up to find the trail with Humphrey following behind her.

Hunter folded and rolled up the poncho and added it to the backpack. Then he lifted the pack and slid into its straps. He picked up the shoulder bag and water skin and followed after Kate and Humphrey.

Kate and Humphrey were looking off towards the south when Hunter reached them.

“May I have the bag?” Humphrey asked. “I want to check the direction with that compass.”

Hunter slipped off the shoulder bag and tossed it to Humphrey who caught it and quickly had the knife’s compass out verifying the direction Larson had taken.

“South, South East,” Humphrey stated. “Right on 165 degrees.” He screwed the cap back on the knife and tucked it into the bag.

“You ready?” he asked Kate.

Kate nodded and started off along the trail.

Humphrey looked at Hunter.

“Tough kid,” Hunter stated.

“Tough isn’t the half of it,” Humphrey replied slinging the bag over his shoulder. He followed after Kate, with Hunter bringing up the rear and keeping an eye on their back trail.

After a few minutes of brisk walking, Kate began to slow down. Humphrey caught up with her and matched paces.

“You still okay?” Humphrey asked.

“Fine,” Kate answered. “Jaw hurts.”

“Probably will for a while,” Humphrey answered. “Best I could tell, nothing’s broken.”

Kate looked over at Humphrey, “He said he loved me, so he hit me. How is that love?”

Humphrey kept looking forward, watching the trail. “Smarter and better educated people than me have failed to answer that question, Kate.

“Some people think they have to own someone. Controlling them, is loving them.

“Others can’t accept rejection. They meet someone they think they can’t live without and they refuse to see any other path to their life.”

Humphrey was starting to breath heavily. Walking across the soft ground of the rolling hills and talking did not go well with his back injuries.

But he continued, “Folks like to blame genetics, ‘It’s in our genes.’” Humphrey shook his head. “Too much testosterone and men start thinking with the wrong brain.

“And sometimes people are just stupid, selfish creatures only concerned about their wants. They don’t even think about their needs, much less someone else’s. The trick is to quickly identify what kind of person you’re dealing with,” Humphrey finished.

“Luke said I was ‘pretty’ the first time he ever spoke to me,” Kate remembered “I guess that should have told me he was crazy.”

“Well, I wouldn’t make that jump so fast,” Humphrey laughed. “You are a pretty young woman.” He looked over at Kate with a smile and asked, “So am I crazy too?”

Kate grinned and answered, “Maybe.”

They walked silently for a couple of minutes then Kate asked, “How did you know I was in trouble?”

Humphrey nodded his head back towards Hunter. “Hunter heard something and asked if I had heard it. I hadn’t but the next time he heard it, he tore off after you. By the time I got there he had Luke on the ground.

I got you up and away from there. I didn’t want to see whatever he was going to do. He was very angry,” Humphrey finished.

“Does that mean I have to worry about him now?” Kate asked.

“No, I don’t think so,” Humphrey answered. “Hunter seems a little immature, if you know what I mean. Kind of like Lenny in Of Mice and Men.”

“Who’s that?” Kate asked.

“Just a guy in an old play. Nothin’ for you to worry about. And I don’t think Hunter is either,” Humphrey finished.

Kate was looking at Humphrey as he talked and walked. She realized he was struggling to keep up.

“Are we still heading the same direction?” she asked.

“It looks like it to me,” Humphrey answered.

“Let’s take a break and check,” Kate suggested as she stopped. “I could use some water and that bathroom break I never got.”

Humphrey stopped. “Okay, but don’t go far. There could still be other animals out there.” He looked back at Hunter, “We’re taking a short break, okay?”

“Sure, sounds good,” Hunter answered as he closed up the space between them.

He saw Kate walking away and asked, “Where’s she going?”

“Little girls room,” Humphrey answered.

“What?” Hunter asked with a confused look on his face.

“You kids,” Humphrey sighed. “She needs to use the restroom.”

“Oh. Okay. I’ll watch,” Hunter answered.

“Don’t watch to close,” Humphrey replied. “She might kick your butt.”

Hunter grinned and nodded but moved closer to the direction Kate had taken.”

Chapter 29

Humphrey eased himself to a sitting position on the ground. He unslung the sack from his shoulder and pulled out the big knife, unscrewing the compass from its handle.

In a couple of minutes as he checked their direction, Kate, followed by Hunter, walked up and sat down.

“It’s hot out here,” Kate stated. “I wasn’t expecting that. I’m not sure what I was expecting.”

“Well, we’re lucky it’s not summer,” Humphrey replied. “Then you would see some heat.”

Humphrey shaded his eyes and looked up towards the sun. “And the sun’s brightness is giving me a headache. I could use some sunglasses. Here,” he said and handed the compass to Kate, “would you double check the direction? You have younger eyes.”

“Sure,” Kate answered. Taking the compass she rotated it until she had north positioned then she aligned herself with the trail. The trail still headed straight out along the 165-degree mark.

“Still South by South East,” she stated. “It looks like they might be headed for that high ground there,” she said singling out a low promontory on the horizon.

Humphrey followed her direction and stood up to get a better look. “You’re probably right. I think I’ve been up there. If so, that’s Larson’s major camp.”

“Then we’ll need to be careful,” Hunter said.

Kate and Humphrey both looked at Hunter in surprise.

“Yes, I can talk,” Hunter answered their looks. “I just don’t usually say much. If they have someone up there watching, they’ll be able to see this entire area. Maybe we should wait until it gets dark,” he suggested.

“Maybe,” Humphrey responded. “But Larson had everyone with him when we went into the tunnels. I guess we are about five hours behind him right now. So I don’t think anyone’s up there, yet. Tomorrow morning will be a different story though.”

Both Humphrey and Hunter looked at Kate for her thoughts.

“Let’s follow for a few hours, make sure where they’re heading,” Kate said. “If they don’t veer off direction we can stop and rest this afternoon and then start back up when it gets dark. How long do you think it’ll take us to get up there?” she asked gazing up at the promontory.

“Seven, eight hours,” Hunter estimated.

“About that,” Humphrey agreed.

Kate summarized, “Then if we walk another couple of hours, rest until dark, we could reach their camp about two or three o’clock in the morning. Right?”

Both Humphrey and Hunter agreed.

“Hunter, pass the water and we’ll rest a few more minutes,” Kate said picking up the jerky bag, which was nearly empty now.

About two in the afternoon they stopped again. The trail had never wavered off its direction. Humphrey pointed out a clump of junipers a couple of hundred meters ahead of them.

“You want to stop up there?” he asked. “The shade will be nice and we’ll be out of sight.”

“Sounds good to me,” Kate answered and veered off the trail toward the fresh smelling bushes. Humphrey lumbered after her with Hunter again checking their back trail and eyeing their target before he followed.

Kate took the poncho from the backpack and unrolled it in the shade of junipers.

“You two rest,” Hunter said. “I’ll take the first watch. I’m not too tired.”

“I’m not goin’ to argue,” Humphrey answered and he sat down on the poncho.

“Me either,” Kate agreed. “I feel like I’ve had my face kicked.”

Neither Humphrey of Hunter commented.

Kate pulled her boots off and lay down. She was instantly asleep.

“The sleep of the innocent,” Humphrey stated as he pulled off his shoes and lay down. In a minute he was asleep.

Hunter looked at the sleeping pair for a minute then moved around the bushes so he had a better view of their destination.

“Rise and shine,” Hunter called out. “Sun’s goin’ down.”

Kate’s eyes were heavy. They did not want to open. She wanted to sleep. She felt movement near her.

“Kate,” Humphrey called softly. “Need to get up. We need to get started.”

Kate raised her hands to her eyes and tried opening her eyelids manually. Her eyes resisted.

“Five more minutes?” she asked sleepily.

“Nope,” Hunter answered. “Humphrey already let you sleep too long. You need to get up now.”

“Okay, okay. I’m up,” Kate answered opening her eyes and looking around the camp.

It was almost twilight. She saw a bright yellow sun near the horizon and the moon rising to the east. Kate sat up and ran her hands through her hair roughly.

“Hop up,” Humphrey requested. “I need to pack the poncho. Everything else is ready to go.”

Kate stood up and stepped off the poncho. Humphrey dropped to his knees and started rolling it up.

“Why didn’t you get me up earlier?” Kate asked.

Hunter passed the water to her. “We tried. Have you ever heard of Sleeping Beauty? That would be you,” he smiled.

Taking the water skin Kate responded, “All my fault.”

“Sure is,” Hunter answered.

Kate got mad, “Then you….”

But Humphrey interrupted her, “Everything is fine. Hunter is just messing with you.

“And you’re easy to mess with,” Hunter said with a grin.

Humphrey continued, “You were tired so we let you rest. How’s your jaw?”

“It’s fine,” Kate snapped back. “Can we get started?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Hunter answered.

Humphrey handed the poncho to Hunter and picked up the shoulder bag. “There’s not much jerky left,” he said.

“Jolene gave me some other stuff. It’s in the backpack,” Kate stated. “It won’t last the three of us long, but it’ll get us down the road for another day or two.”

“Good, we’ll need it,” Humphrey stated. He started out of the campsite, around the junipers and back to Larson’s trail.

Hunter raised the backpack up onto his shoulders and gestured towards the trail saying, “After you.”

Kate ignored Hunter’s grin and followed after Humphrey. Hunter fell into line behind her.

Humphrey waited on the tail. “Everyone keep an eye on the promontory,” he instructed, pointing to the low hills on the horizon. “That’s our goal.” He turned and started off in a fast pace.

Walking along, following Humphrey, Kate had time to watch the sun set. It was like seeing the morning’s sunrise in reverse. The yellow sun lowered and changed to red, lighting up wispy clouds along the horizon. As the sun dipped below the horizon there was a bright vertical flash of light and then the sun was gone.

Walking in the twilight Kate heard the sounds of birds calling back and forth, defining their territories. There was a myriad of squawks, and chirps, and whistles around them, suddenly filling the night. To her left, the moon was sliced thicker, chasing after the sun. Stars were starting to fill in the sky around it.

Kate was surprised by how long they walked in the twilight. Lights down in the tunnel always happened instantly. Sunset seemed to last forever.

Finally, as it was getting truly dark, Humphrey stopped and Kate and Hunter came up beside him.

“This is out last, best chance to take a good bearing on the hill,” he stated. He turned and pointed out the promontory again. “In a little bit we’ll only have the stars to back light it. That’ll make it harder to see and it’ll be harder to see where we’re walking. One of you want to take the lead?”

“I got it,” Kate answered and she started off toward the hill on the horizon.

“Okay,” Humphrey replied looking over at Hunter. “Watch your step, Kate. And don’t get too far ahead of us.” he called to her.

“Right,” she called back over her shoulder.

“We need to hustle,” Humphrey stated and took off after Kate with Hunter following.

Chapter 30

Kate, Humphrey and Hunter traveled a long time after the moon set, alternating the lead to keep each other fresh. Trail blazing was hard work, requiring intense concentration on each and every step. But the promontory had grown with each step until it now loomed high before them.

Orion had been on Kate’s left shoulder at sundown. It had passed over her head and rested halfway to the horizon on her right when Hunter called the next break. She and Humphrey moved up close and sat down beside Hunter.

Hunter passed the water to Kate. “I figure we are an hour from the base of the hill. What do you two think?” he asked.

Humphrey nodded agreement. Kate remained silent, drinking water slowly.

“Have you noticed the light up there?” Hunter asked.

“What light?” Kate asked.

“Off to the right, about halfway up there’s a light,” Hunter said and pointed toward it with his right hand. “It looks like a campfire maybe.”

Kate stared intently at the bright spot on the side of the hill. It was like a small star twinkling at her.

“Is that where the Twins are?” she asked passing the water skin to Humphrey.

“That looks about like where the camp was,” Humphrey answered. “Your sisters will be with Larson. He won’t let them get far away from him. They’re to valuable to him.” Humphrey looked over at the dark outline of Hunter. “How long has the light been up there?”

“About an hour,” Hunter answered. “It lit up a little after I took the lead this last time.”

“That sounds about right,” Humphrey stated. “An hour to the base of the hill, then a slow hour up to the camp. We’ve been moving a lot faster than a big group of people with women and little children. We’ve made up a lot of time.” He handed the water over to Hunter.

“Two hours we’ll be there with them,” Hunter said. “Then what do we do?”

A good plan now is better than a great plan tomorrow.

“We go in and get the Twins and Maude,” Kate answered forcefully. “They’ll be tired and not expecting anyone to jump ‘em. We get in and get out.”

“I agree with some of that,” Humphrey replied. “But your sisters and Maude will be some of those who are tired. And that includes us.”

“Well, what do you suggest?” asked Hunter.

“Maybe one of us should make our way up there and make sure where the Twins and Maude are. While one of us reconnoiters the other two can rest,” Humphrey proposed.

“So, we prove that they’re up and then what? Wait all day for tomorrow night?” Kate demanded.

“That would be best if we could,” Humphrey answered. “We would all have more energy for the escape that way.”

“It might not be good to let Larson and his men rest,” Hunter interjected. “We’ll be the ones slowed down by women and children.” Hunter looked over at Kate and said, “No offense meant, Kate. You can walk any of us into the ground. But can you sisters?”

“No offense taken,” Kate replied. “But you are right about the Twins. Maybe we can distract Larson,” she suggested. “There is some flint there in the big knife. Maybe we could set fire to the camp. That would keep him and his men busy.”

“Yeah, that might work,” Humphrey agreed. “Let’s get up and go. We have an hour to the base of the hill to think about it. We can stop there and make a decision. Does that sound okay?” he asked.

Kate stood up and answered, “Sounds good. I’ve got the point,” and she started out to the hill. Humphrey and Hunter scrambled to get up and follow.

Kate, Humphrey and Hunter stopped at the base of the hill which rose only one hundred fifty meters above them. They could hear sounds coming from the camp above them, indistinct talk and people moving around.

“I can’t see the fire anymore,” Kate whispered.

“It’s right above us,” Hunter whispered back. “I watched it all the way in. I didn’t realize we would be so close.”

Humphrey nodded and whispered, “The hill looked a lot taller out there. I feel like we’re sittin’ in the middle of them already.”

“Anyone come up with a better plan?” Hunter asked quietly. Kate and Humphrey shook their heads ‘no.’

“Okay then. Who’s goin’ up?” Hunter asked

“Not me,” Humphrey answered in a harsh whisper. “No way I can be quiet enough to get up there. And I think we’re too close here. We should fall back before someone sees us,” he added urgently.

“As long as we’re quiet, we’ll be fine,” Hunter whispered. “They won’t be looking this close for trouble.”

“Right,” Kate agreed. “This is a good spot. We can hear everything they do.”

“Okay then,” Humphrey agreed. “Who goes up?”

“I will,” Kate asserted.

“Maybe I should go,” Hunter responded. “You could rest. When we have your sisters they are going to keep you busy. They may not trust anyone else.”

“You don’t know what they look like,” Kate retorted.

“Red heads,” Hunter replied. “And they’re probably asleep right now,” he added, “Which means maybe we need to wait.”

Humphrey spoke before Kate could say anything, “If we are going to surprise them it needs to be when they’re asleep. We have a better chance then. There’s a couple of shacks up there. One’s bigger than the other,” he continued, “Larson lives in the bigger one. He likes his privacy so he makes his women and kids sleep in the other. Everyone else lives in tents or makes do on the ground. We just need to be sure Larson is in the big place and not with the kids.”

“Kate, you can trust me to do it,” Hunter’s whispered. “I won’t let you down, I promise.”

Kate looked at Hunter, searching his face for trust and strength. She finally agreed, “Okay, go. Humphrey and I’ll get the makings for a fire together so we can have a torch ready.”

Hunter stood up then reached down and touched Kate on the shoulder. “Work fast. It won’t take me long. We need to be ready go when I get back.”

Kate reached for the big knife. “Take this. You might need it,” she said handing the knife out to Hunter.

Hunter shook his, “I wouldn’t know what to do with it,” replied and then looking over at Humphrey he winked and added, “I’m more of a lover than a fighter.” Then Hunter stood up and moved off into the shadows of the night to their left. He quickly merged into the night and Kate could not follow his movements.

“If we’re goin’ to make a torch we’ll need a long limb and something burnable to wrap around it,” Humphrey stated.

“I’ve got those dirty jeans in the backpack,” Kate offered.

“That’ll do,” Humphrey responded. “Maybe we should light it in their fire. Making our own fire would show out location.”

“Yeah, and we might be able to pull some firebrands from their fire,” Kate suggested excitedly.

“That would be even better,” Humphrey acknowledged. “Then we could start fires in a bunch of places. I wish we had told Hunter to check out the fire.”

“Maybe he will,” Kate answered. “I think he knows what he’s doing.”