Dark Titan Journey: Finally Home (26 page)

Still giggling, Jasmine climbed off her saddle, then pulled Chip down. “Emma doesn’t really want anyone but you.”

“Of course,” Nathan said, climbing down and holding Emma out at arm’s length. “She wants to let me know she’s the boss, and my pride would stop that.” Letting out a squeal, Emma gave him her toothy weird smile. “I wish you would quit that,” Nathan said, pulling her in for a hug then setting her down. Emma immediately ran over to Ares and Athena. The dogs were lying down panting as Emma dove on them laughing. Neither moved.

They set up camp and sprawled out under the tarp shelter as the sun rose in the sky. Amanda rolled over till she was beside Nathan. “We are still leaving tonight, right?”

Nathan closed his eyes. “Amanda, we traveled for sixteen hours. Let’s rest and take some time off.”

Amanda shook her head. “We can leave later, but let’s go tonight. I don’t like being here.”

Nathan looked around at the group. “Anyone else for some downtime?”

Everyone shook their heads and John stood up. “Nathan, I have to agree with Amanda. It feels weird here.”

Nathan studied John and nodded. “All right. We will leave later and only travel till sunrise.”

Jasmine picked up Emma. “Get some sleep. We’ll wake you for your shift,” she more commanded than requested. Knowing better than to argue, Nathan closed his eyes.

Chapter 18

Day 51

Jasmine gently shook Nathan. “Nathan, it’s time to get up.”

Slowly, Nathan opened his eyes, seeing Jasmine smiling at him. “Boy, that was some hard sleep,” he said, then noticed it was dark. Sitting up and looking at his watch, Nathan saw it was past nine p.m. “Why didn’t you wake me sooner?”

Jasmine stood up. “I let you sleep.”

Knowing arguing about it was hopeless, Nathan looked around to see the camp was packed up. “I’m surprised you guys didn’t just throw me over my saddle.”

“Never thought about that,” Jasmine admitted, and grabbed Nathan a plate. “We fed Emma already and it wasn’t easy. We left you some water in the shower bag.”

Feeling very useless, Nathan ate, led the morning routine, and showered. When he was done, Emma was standing in front of him, holding out Woof. Picking her up, Nathan tucked her in the Emma sling and climbed on Smoke. Pulling out his map, Nathan kicked Smoke into a walk.

Satisfied with the route, Nathan put the map up and eased Smoke into a trot. Amanda rode up next to him as Nathan lowered his monoculars. “Nathan, F-U reports the government pulled a lot of troops out of here, sending them east. Only Denver and Boulder have a large military presence.”

“Good news for us,” Nathan said.

“Maybe,” Amanda said. “Since about four this afternoon some of the channels on the scanner have blanked out when people start to talk. I think they are jamming them.”

“Makes sense. If they are moving troops out, they don’t want people calling out what roads they are using so ambushes can be set up,” Nathan said, and picked up the thermal binoculars, turning them on.

“What if they’re really moving here?” Amanda asked.

“Doesn’t make sense if they are, and they can’t block all frequencies, we would know,” Nathan said, flipping up his monoculars and scanning around with the thermal binoculars.

“I was just worried,” Amanda confessed.

Nathan finished scanning, turned the thermal off, and lowered his monoculars. “Worry is good. We have more than troops to be worried about. Keep listening and let me know if you hear something about us or near us.”

Giving Nathan a big smile, Amanda pulled back on her reins and fell back in the line behind him. They continued northwest, seeing small herds of antelope around them. Stopping anytime they came near water, Nathan could see the group was on edge.

“What’s wrong, guys?” he asked.

“Something’s not right,” John replied in a quiet voice, and the others nodded in agreement.

Nathan looked around. With the exception of some antelope, mule deer, and cows, they were alone. “Guys, you need to relax.”

“Nathan, I’m with them. Something feels off. Like we’re being watched,” Jasmine said with a nervous expression.

Nathan pulled out his map. “We are making camp.”

“Are you crazy?” Amanda asked.

Nathan shook his head. “You guys are so wired up, if one of you were to fart your head would blow up. You’re too edgy.”

“We’ve barely gone fifteen miles,” Amanda objected.

“I don’t care. And all of you are going to sleep after camp is set up,” Nathan said, leading them away from the small stream. He stopped the group in a deep gully that emptied into a small ravine. When camp was set up Nathan made everyone lie down and when he heard them all breathing in a deep rhythm he crept up to the gully looking out over the small hills.

Not seeing anything, Nathan climbed back down and watched Ares and Athena. They were lying beside the group. “They just didn’t get enough sleep,” Nathan mumbled. Creeping up to the side of the gully, Nathan sat watch.

Day 52

There he sat for several hours as the sun slowly broke the horizon. When the sun was over the horizon, Nathan had to agree with them: something didn’t feel right. Slinking back up the gully, he scanned around and still didn’t see any sign of humans. He looked back down the gully, and Ares and Athena were still sprawled out. “They are freaking me out now,” Nathan concluded.

It was eleven when he woke Jasmine. She sat up, smiling. “See or hear anything?” she asked.

Nathan shook his head. “Just animals.”

Jasmine stood up and hugged him, making Nathan’s heart skip a beat. “Thank you for the sleep.” She told him then put on her pants and top. It didn’t take Nathan long to go to sleep.

When Nathan felt someone shake him, he could swear he had just lain down. He opened his eyes to see Jasmine smiling. “Sun will be down in an hour.”

“I hope you guys feel better today,” Nathan said, sitting up. Amanda handed him a plate. He looked around to see camp was packed up. “Do you guys feel better?”

“We heard some helicopters earlier,” Tom offered.

Shoving food in his mouth, Nathan looked around and could tell the group was still nervous. They were just trying to hide it. “We cross I-25 tonight and won’t see another interstate till we travel four hundred miles.”

“We are going to watch the interstate before crossing?” Amanda asked.

“Yes we are,” Nathan assured her.

When Nathan was done, he gathered his stuff and picked up the ever-present Emma. After Emma was in her sling, Nathan turned to see everyone already mounted up. Shaking his head, Nathan climbed on and kicked Smoke leaving the gully.

They hadn’t traveled far when the same feeling Nathan felt before he went to sleep started creeping over him. He scanned with the thermal and kept looking around with his monoculars but didn’t see anything. Fighting the urge to kick Smoke into a dead run, he eased her into a trot.

It was after midnight when he stopped them at a small stream behind a hill. A mile away, I-25 was on the other side of the hill. Nathan climbed off Smoke, handing the reins to Jasmine. Grabbing his thermal binoculars, Nathan eased up the hill.

Nathan sat for over an hour watching the interstate. From his the hilltop, he could see for miles, but other than animals he didn’t see anything. Hearing something coming up behind him, Nathan looked back to see Jasmine crawling up beside him.

“See anything?” she asked.

Nathan passed her the thermal binoculars. “Other than animals, no.”

“What have you been up here so long for then?” she asked .

Letting out a sigh, Nathan lowered his monoculars. “You guys are right, something is weird.”

“About time you felt it,” Jasmine said, lowering the thermal binoculars.

Ignoring the remark, Nathan took the binoculars. “We will move fast across the interstate.”

Jasmine nodded, wondering if Nathan expected her to complain. “If you want to ride hard the rest of the night that’s fine with us.”

“Too easy to run up on trouble,” Nathan admitted, backing up off the hilltop. Jasmine followed, and when they were off the hilltop, they stood up and jogged down to the others. “Stay in line, and if you see something, call it out. If we are shot at, pass me by and head to the rally point.”

“See anything?” John asked hopefully, and Nathan shook his head.

“I hate Wyoming,” Amanda mumbled.

Natalie nodded. “Yeah, something is not right here.”

Nathan pulled Smoke’s reins, turning her so he could see the others. “Guys, don’t think about it, just stay alert. Remember what you have been taught, and think. If you start popping rounds off you could hit one of us.”

They all nodded, then Nathan spun around, kicking Smoke. When they rounded the hill, Nathan had Smoke pour on the steam. They covered the mile to the interstate in no time. They slowed only to go up bank and over the interstate. When they were back on the plain, Nathan kicked Smoke hard back into a full-bore gallop.

He looked over his shoulder to see the others right behind him and the dogs struggling to keep up at the very back of the line. Emma woke up with the wind hitting her face and didn’t care for that. Reaching down, he pulled her sling over her, forming a cocoon.

When the interstate was far behind them, Nathan pulled up on Smoke’s reins, slowing her to a walk. Nathan patted her sweat-soaked neck. A hand shot out of the cocoon, holding a sippy cup. Refilling it, Nathan handed it back as Emma started to babble quietly. “It’s okay,” Nathan said, patting the cocoon.

Seeing a pond up ahead, Nathan guided Smoke toward it. When Smoke saw the pond, she broke into a trot. Reaching the water, Smoke lowered her head, drinking. Nathan looked back at the others as their horses started drinking. “The horses need rest,” he said.

“They rest every day,” Natalie objected.

“We are averaging forty miles a day. Since we picked up the other horses they are much better, but they need to rest,” Nathan said. “We will travel tonight but will take a day off after that.” Hearing several groans, Nathan was getting ready to start shouting.

“Hey,” Jasmine snapped at the group, “my horse stumbled a few times back there. Nathan said they need to rest, so they rest.”

The others sighed and agreed. Nathan led Smoke over to the grass and let her graze as he kept watch. The others followed, and Jasmine moved beside him. “You feel better?”

Nathan shook his head. “No, I swear someone is watching us.”

Jasmine looked up in the sky. “Think it’s a drone?”

“If it was a mid-altitude drone we would hear it. I can’t begin to think a drone is following us,” Nathan said, turning around and studying each member of the group.

“I agree with you, I feel like someone’s watching us,” Jasmine said, unconsciously gripping her M-4.

“If they are, we can’t see them, and they can move faster than we can. Thinking like that makes you paranoid. If they can see you, you can see them, and vice versa,” Nathan said.

“Then what is it?” Jasmine asked.

Nathan shrugged. “Shit if I know.”

They sat for half an hour, letting the horses graze, till Nathan led Smoke around the pond with the others behind him. Since they had ridden the horses so hard, Nathan kept them at a walk till the sun broke the horizon.

Up ahead they saw a windmill sitting next to an old dilapidated barn. Just past the barn was a gently sloping hill not much taller than the barn. Getting closer, they spotted two huge water troughs. One had several horse hitches next to it. Nathan led them over and climbed off Smoke, tying her to the hitch as she started drinking. As he dropped his pack, the others followed suit, and Nathan walked over to the other trough.

A rifle shot split the quiet morning air, causing Nathan to dive beside the water tank. Emma screamed when he landed on her, making Nathan roll on his back next to the trough. Pulling Emma out of the sling, he looked over at the others and saw a small form lying on the ground between the two troughs.

The others were crowding behind the other trough where the horses were tied up. Nathan saw Amanda run to the small form lying on the ground. “No, Amanda, stay down!” Nathan bellowed.

Just as Amanda reached the small form, another shot rang out. “Ugh,” Amanda gasped, falling down beside the other small form.

With the second shot, Nathan knew where the shooter was. Before Amanda hit the ground, Nathan stood up, aiming at the top of the hill behind the barn. “Ares, kill!” he shouted, running toward the hill with bloodlust in his heart. Ares bounded past him, growling, as Nathan kept pulling his trigger, spraying the top of the hill.

As he ran past the others, Jasmine stood up and started shooting, then the others followed suit. Seeing bullets kick up dirt all along the edge of the crest of the hill, Nathan saw movement on the left side of the hill top. Dropping his empty magazine, Nathan slammed in a new mag and concentrated his fire where he saw movement.

When Nathan reached the hill, Ares was getting close to where he was shooting. Nathan dropped the partial mag in his rifle and put a new one in as he ran up the side of the hill in a dead sprint. Nathan heard another rifle shot, then a person screaming. Screaming at the top of his lungs, Nathan charged over the crest of the hill, wanting blood.

He found Ares dragging a man around by his arm, shaking it violently. Ares let go of the arm and latched onto the back of the man’s neck, shaking his body back and forth. Letting his rifle drop to hang on its sling, Nathan pulled his knife and charged the man Ares was attacking.

Diving on the man, Nathan started plunging his knife in the man’s back. The first thrust felt like he was trying to drive it through concrete, but Nathan didn’t care. When the man stopped fighting, Nathan sat up. “Ares, break.”

Ares backed up, still hunched down with blood dripping from his mouth. Nathan rolled the man over to see he was still alive. “You shot a fucking kid,” Nathan said, moving his knife under the man’s chin.

The man gave a weak smile. “Yeah, and got another one too.”

Nathan raised his knife up and drove it into the man’s right bicep. The man let out a scream and reached over with his other hand. “Ares, hold,” Nathan said, grabbing the left hand. Ares lunged forward, locking his jaw on the man’s wrist, coming close to Nathan’s hand.

“Why did you shoot kids?” Nathan yelled.

The man didn’t answer till Nathan started twisting the knife buried in his bicep. “We found out if we shoot a kid others will run out to rescue them!” the man screamed.

Nathan could feel something he had never truly felt before, unbridled hate. “How many kids have you shot?”

“I don’t know,” the man gasped.

Hearing a growl from Ares, Nathan looked up and noticed blood on Ares’s back. Tears started down Nathan’s face as he looked down at the man twisting the knife. “How many more of you around here?”

“Two more, three miles from here in a house!” the man screamed.

“Did you radio them?” Nathan asked.

“No, we can’t use radios with the equipment we have,” the man gasped as Nathan quit twisting the knife.

Leaving his knife in the man’s arm, Nathan stood up and walked over to Ares. Taking a deep breath, he knelt down beside Ares and started brushing away his fur. On Ares’s right side near his rump, Nathan found a two-inch gash where a bullet had grazed him. Even though it was bleeding heavily, Nathan moved over to the man.

“What equipment? If you lie, the dog will eat your dick before you die,” Nathan said coldly.