Believe: The Complete Channie Series (160 page)

Jonathan
didn’t see any other backpackers or hikers, so he didn’t need to go far to find the isolation he sought. He had no agenda or daily mileage quotas, so he took his time. On the morning of the third day, he woke up with a restless feeling so he decided to break camp and hike a little deeper into the wilderness. But first, he needed to refill his water supply. It wouldn’t hurt to clean up a bit either. He retrieved his backpack from the fork of the aspen tree where he’d stashed it the night before, pulled out his hydration system, a couple of high-energy power bars and his hygiene kit. He wouldn’t be gone long, so he left everything else, including his prosthesis, inside his tent then backtracked a couple of miles to a stream he’d crossed on the way in. The water was too cold, even for wading, but it felt good to rinse the grime away with a washcloth and shave the stubble off his face.

As he was hiking back to camp, the north wind picked up. The sun crept higher into the eastern sky but held no warmth. The temperature dropped ten degrees. “So much for extended weather forecasts.”

Jonathan picked up the pace and jogged back to camp in case the storm turned out to be more than an afternoon snow flurry. His sleeping bag would keep him alive, even in a blizzard. It just wouldn’t be much fun. He was about a quarter-mile from camp when a tiny white feather landed on his shoulder.

The memory of Franklin’s funeral blasted a hole through Jonathan’s chest. He fingered the thick, gold chain around his neck, but didn’t pull it out. He could still feel the weight of the medallion next to his skin. He was afraid that the glass vial Dad gave him would break so he’d had the feather from Franklin’s funeral encased in resin and mounted on a solid gold disc—the words ‘Brother’s Forever’ inscribed on the back.

Jonathan wasn’t superstitious—or even remotely spiritual—but this wasn’t the right habitat for white doves. It was a pretty strange coincidence. “Is that you, Frankie?”

Another feather drifted into view then several more. If Franklin wanted to give Jonathan a message, he’d know he’d need to make it obvious. A doubter like Jonathan wasn’t going to believe any supernatural sign unless it hit him over the head. A gust of wind delivered another flurry of feathers, too many to count. They fell along the sides of the path, as if Franklin wanted Jonathan to follow the trail back to his campsite.

He rounded the final bend and froze. Shredded scraps of blue nylon littered the ground. Goose down, not dove feathers, drifted in the wind like falling snow.
My sleeping bag?

His tent was also shredded, the poles bent like pretzels. Despair swept over Jonathan. He could handle the destruction of his campsite, but not what it meant. The feathers he’d thought were a sign from Franklin were nothing more than debris.

A twig snapped. Jonathan’s army training kicked in. He ducked behind a boulder, held his breath and listened. Another twig snapped. The noise came from his right. Jonathan peeked out from behind the left side of the boulder and spotted his prosthesis on the ground at ten o’clock, about fifteen feet away. His pulse pounded behind his ears. Whoever did this had better hope his iHand still worked, or there’d be hell to pay.

Jonathan stayed low as he crept forward. He grabbed his prosthesis then ran back to the boulder. He tested it to be sure it still worked. The servos hummed and clicked as he opened and closed the robotic fingers. He climbed on top of the boulder to get a better view and found a black bear, digging through what remained of his other pair of jeans. Jonathan had stashed his food out of the bear’s reach, but he’d forgotten about the bag of trail mix in his pocket.

The bear lifted its muzzle. Sunlight glinted off something hanging from its mouth.

No! Not Franklin’s dog tags!
Jonathan pointed at the bear and yelled, “Drop it.”

The bear stood on its hind legs and lifted its nose into the air.

“You do not want to mess with me.”

The bear dropped to all fours then huffed and jerked its head up, lifting its front paws. It grunted then slammed them back to the ground and charged.

Jonathan spread his feet as wide as he could on top of the boulder, raised his arms over his head, puffed out his chest and roared at the bear. His primal scream was still echoing through the valley when the bear skidded to a stop. It huffed once then turned and ran the other way…with Franklin’s dog tags still in its mouth.

Jonathan slid off the boulder and took off after it. But he was no match for a wild animal. It didn’t take long for the bear to disappear into the forest. Jonathan searched the ground, but didn’t find any sign of the bear or Franklin’s dog tags. 

All he could do was hope the damn beast had dropped the tags and not swallowed them. And keep searching.

Or give up and hike back to the car.

With no food, no shelter and no way to build a fire, that’s exactly what any sane person would do. Especially since the temperature had dropped another ten degrees in the past hour.

Franklin wouldn’t want Jonathan to risk his life, searching for his dog tags, especially since the odds of finding them were ridiculously low. He’d have a better chance of winning the lottery. He turned around and groaned out loud when he saw the dark grey clouds spilling over the northern peaks.

Jonathan had been born and raised in Leadville. He could read the signs. This wasn’t going to be an insignificant early autumn snow shower. A blizzard was coming.

He’d never make it back to his car before it hit and there was nothing left of his campsite. “I am so screwed.”

Jonathan shoved his hand in his hair and turned around as he considered his options. He could build a lean-to out of pine boughs, but he’d still most likely freeze to death. A yellow stain on the side of a mountain caught his eye. Mine tailings. A smile spread across his face. 

His great-great-grandfather had survived several winters, living and working inside his primitive mine during the gold rush. Jonathan didn’t like caves or mines, but he didn’t have to go inside very far. Just enough to get out of the wind and the snow. He’d endured worse in Afghanistan, he could handle a little snow. At least no one would be shooting at him.

BREAKING BOUNDARIES

T
HE
MELANCHOLY
SOUND
OF
C
ANADA
geese woke River. She stretched her sore muscles and opened her eyes. The sun warmed her face, but her breath fogged the air when she yawned. Three white trails crossed each other in the turquoise sky—marks left by outsider’s flying machines. They were too high to see anyone on the ground. The ones River needed to hide from were the smaller, noisier contraptions. She needed to break camp and get going if she wanted to catch up with the goat herd. She’d been on their trail for a week and was more than ready for a nice long soak in the cleansing pool and her own bed. Besides, the mild weather wouldn’t last forever.

As if to prove her point, a handful of lazy snowflakes fluttered to the ground. The rare mix of sunshine, blue sky and snow was an omen of change.

River sat up and looked over her shoulder. Dark grey clouds boiled behind the northern peaks. A gust of wind lifted her braid off her back and whipped it over her shoulder. Blizzard’s coming.

If she didn’t find the goats soon, snow would obliterate their trail. It would be a long, cold winter without milk, butter or cheese. She pulled her sheepskin parka from her pack, fed Sugar a ration of oats, and grabbed a chunk of jerky to eat while she rode.

Two hours later, Sugar balked and refused to go around a weathered granite outcropping. She veered to the left, nearly unseating River. It wasn’t unusual for a change in the weather to make a horse frisky, but Sugar was acting downright skittish. She snorted and tossed her head then backed up. Something’s wrong.

The hair on the back of River’s neck stood on end. She jammed the reins under her thigh to free her hands and pulled her bow off her back. She slid the bottom tip inside her boot so she could string it without dismounting. The elk horn tip gouged her ankle as she slid the string into the notch at the top, but she barely noticed the pain. The whole maneuver took less time than a single breath, but sometimes one breath could mean the difference between life and death.

River nocked an arrow and scanned the outcropping. Whatever was scaring Sugar was most likely hiding up there.

An angry snarl sent a chill down River’s spine. Sugar dropped her head and bucked.

River flung her loaded bow away from her body then slammed to the ground. The fall emptied her quiver and scattered arrows everywhere. It also knocked the breath out of her lungs. At least she hadn’t impaled herself.

Sugar bucked two more times then took off at a dead run. Without the added weight of a rider, she should make it back to the ranch before the blizzard hit. Reuben and the boys would be worried sick when Sugar showed up without her, but River had a much bigger problem than a riderless horse.

The largest cougar she’d ever seen was creeping closer, stalking her. He laid his ears flat against his skull then snarled and clawed the air.

River tried to force air into her lungs, but her body refused to cooperate. I am a hunter. I refuse to die without a fight.

She slowly slid her hand across the ground toward her bow then teased it into her hand with her fingers. But even with the added length of her bow, the closest arrow was still out of reach.

“Hey!” An outsider stepped out from behind a rock and waved a stick at the cougar, drawing the beast’s attention. The aspen branch in the young man’s hand was almost as long as he was tall and about three inches thick—but it wasn’t going to stop a full grown cougar.

“Don’t run.” The young man spoke in a low, calm voice as he edged closer, positioning himself between River and the cougar. “It’ll trigger his predatory instincts.”

River couldn’t breathe much less get up and run. But easy prey, lying prone on the ground, was even more attractive to a predator. The cougar narrowed his amber eyes, wrinkling his muzzle. He bared his teeth and hissed at the stranger then focused his attention back on River.

Time slowed as she watched the beast’s muscles bunch and twitch beneath his tawny hide. River gripped her bow with both hands and held it in front of her throat. She didn’t want to witness her own gruesome death, but she refused to look away when the cat leapt into the air.

The outsider screamed, “No!” and launched himself at the cougar, ramming his shoulder into the animal’s ribs.

River’s lungs finally responded to her body’s demand for air. She rolled to the side, grabbed an arrow off the ground and nocked it as she rose to one knee.

The cougar clamped his jaws around the outsider’s wrist then flung him to the ground with a jerk of his head, severing the man’s hand. He cried out, but it was a shout of anger, not pain.

River couldn’t believe he’d sacrificed his hand to save her. What sort of man does that for a stranger?

The young man sprang to his feet and faced the cougar. He glanced over his shoulder at River. “Stay behind me.”

Even now, he protects me.
River couldn’t see his injury since his back was turned, but there was no denying his courage. Or maybe it was stupidity. He kept shifting his gaze between her and the cougar. He knew she was armed. “Get down. You’re blocking my shot.”

Instead of obeying her, he hefted the stick in his right hand and…
twirled it.

The cougar sprang into the air.

The young man lunged to the side and smacked the cat on the back of the head as it flew past.

Amazing!

The cougar swayed on its feet for the briefest of moments then again focused his attention on River.

She finally had a clear shot, but the young man’s shout distracted her before she could release the arrow.

“Hey! Over here!”

The cat snarled at the idiot, eyed his stick warily, then obviously decided he’d had enough of that nonsense and ran away.

River released the tension on her bowstring and un-nocked her arrow then stood up.

The young man picked his severed hand up off the ground then turned it every which way, examining it. “Shit. I’m going to need a new one.”

He must be in shock. If River didn’t get a tourniquet around his arm soon, he’d bleed to death…except there wasn’t any blood.

The young man tucked his severed hand under his elbow then extended the other in greeting. “Hi. I’m Jonathan McKnight.”

River held her arms stiffly by her sides and stepped back. This outsider was probably infected with all sorts of diseases. “Your hand…why isn’t it bleeding?”

Jonathan’s smile faded as he took his severed hand out from under his elbow and showed it to her. His voice was soft but respectful. “This is just a prosthesis.”

River stepped back and covered her mouth and nose with her hand. Some diseases were airborne.  

“It’s not going to hurt you.”

“That’s not the problem.”

“I just saved your ass from that mountain lion.”

“You’re contaminated.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Influenza, measles, strep, syphilis—”

“Hey! I don’t have any STDs.”

“You could be sick and not even know it.”

“I’m not infected and even if I were, you can’t catch syphilis by shaking a guy’s hand.”

“Influenza is airborne.”

“Jeeze. What a germaphobe.”

“My people don’t use outsider medicine. A disease you consider a mild inconvenience could kill me.”

“Your people?” He scanned her body then locked his gaze on her bow. “Do you belong to a cult?”

River pressed her lips together. She hadn’t mentioned New Eden, but telling him she was a part of a community bordered on treason. “There’s a blizzard coming. You need to leave.”

“I need to find shelter. I was looking for a mine or cave to hole up in when that mountain lion surprised me.”

“Where’s your camp?”

“Destroyed by a bear.” He grinned, displaying a set of perfect, white teeth and two dimples. “It seems the wildlife is out to get me. I was chased by a wolf two years ago; a bear destroyed my campsite this morning; and now this.”

“Maybe you should stay out of the wilderness.”

“It’s a little late for that.” He rocked his head from side to side, cracking his neck. “I hate to ask, but can I stay at your place until the storm passes? I can sleep on the floor.”

“My place?”

“I assume you live nearby. Right?”

“I don’t live anywhere near here, but I know a place where we can find shelter.” Taking an outsider to the Enforcer’s cleansing station could land River in all sorts of trouble if anyone found out. But Jonathan had risked his life to save hers. Leaving him to fend for himself was a death sentence. Hopefully, she’d be able to escort him back to the border once the storm broke and no one would be the wiser. “You have to promise you’ll never come here again or reveal this location to anyone.”