“As far as I know,” Matt replied nonchalantly. Richard nodded and then when Matt wasn’t looking, he took another pinch of the fern powder and gagged it down. Within minutes his stomach started to gurgle and he couldn’t stop salivating.
“Take it with food next time so you don’t look like you’re rabid!” Matt joked when he noticed Richard was foaming at the mouth.
“I just want to make sure I don’t get infected,” Richard replied after he wiped his mouth with a piece of tissue.
“That’s understandable, but don’t eat too much of it. It’s not exactly good for you,” Matt remarked.
“Aria never said it was dangerous,” Richard questioned.
“It’s toxic in high doses, but the real problem is that it causes miscarriages,” Matt revealed.
“All the time, or does it just increases the risk of having one?” Richard asked.
“If a woman is taking the powder, she can’t have children. That’s why I volunteered. I want to start a family when this is over,” Matt said in a tone that indicated he wasn’t going to elaborate on his statement.
“What about you Ethan, is that why you volunteered?” Richard asked.
“No, I just want to prove to everyone that I’m capable of taking care of myself. When you’re the youngest member of a clan, you get babied, and I’m tired of it,” he replied. Matt instantly started sucking his thumb while looking over at Ethan. “See, what I mean?” Ethan added.
“Well, you kind of set yourself up for that,” Richard said with a grin. “But in all seriousness, I promise each of you that I will not give up or give in until the production facility is destroyed, or I’ve died trying. I hope that the significance of this endeavor is not lost on individualistic goals, because the very future of humanity is riding on our success,” Richard said in a stern tone. The men looked away without saying anything in return. Richard’s comment had effectively killed the lighthearted mood, replacing it with the stark reality that humans were teetering on the brink of extinction.
Chapter 5
The alpine trees started to give way to more temperate vegetation as the men crossed the eastern side of Squaw Mountain and descended towards Marias Pass. The pass was a long narrow valley that ran east and west, crossing over the continental divide. It was one of just a few locations spanning several states where a highway linked both sides of the Rocky Mountains without climbing above eight thousand feet. Richard knew the road would be heavily traveled by the Augs and slowed his pace as they neared the pass.
“Why are stopping?” Matt asked when they paused behind a cluster of trees that overlooked the exposed highway below them.
“I think we should wait until dark to cross,” Richard suggested. A moment later a convoy of trucks appeared in the distance and he motioned for everyone to crouch down. As the trucks passed by, Richard used his binoculars to look them over as they ascended the hill one by one.
“What are they transporting?” Mitch inquired.
“I don’t know, they look like cattle trucks,” Richard replied as he handed Mitch the binoculars.
“They’re full of bodies!” Mitch exclaimed, as he quickly handed back the binoculars so Richard could take a look. Richard increased the power setting and then gasped.
“Are they human or Aug corpses?” Mitch asked.
“Human,” Richard replied in low voice.
“Are you sure?” Mitch questioned.
“Yeah… it looks like they are mostly children, and they appear to be severely disfigured,” Richard replied in disgust.
“What do you mean they’re all disfigured?” Mitch asked.
“Shush,” Richard scolded, but Matt overheard them and came over to see what they were talking about.
“What’s in the trucks?” he asked.
“Just some dead bodies,” Richard replied in a normal tone, hoping to downplay the event.
“Let me see,” Matt said, sensing that something was wrong. Richard reluctantly handed him the binoculars and then motioned to give them back. A split second later Ethan grabbed the binoculars from Matt and caught a glimpse of the disfigured corpses before the last truck crested the pass.
“What the hell were those?” he asked in a frightened tone.
“I don’t know,” Matt replied.
“They must have had some kind of accident in Great Falls,” Richard suggested.
“Oh,” Ethan replied, seemingly satisfied with his answer. Matt and Mitch knew it was something much more sinister, but they didn’t question Richard’s explanation in front of Ethan.
After the trucks were gone, Richard and the others moved further back into the woods so there was no chance they could be seen from the highway. Every so often a patrol would pass by, but the men just patiently waited for the sun to go down.
Once the sky started to dim, the mosquitoes came out and whenever one got close to Richard or Mitch, they frantically swatted at it.
“You’ll get used to it,” Matt commented with a chuckle.
“I suppose,” Richard replied in an uneasy voice.
“Is it dark enough to cross the valley?” Mitch asked, seemingly eager to get away from the buzzing mosquitoes.
“Yeah, let’s meet up on the other side by the trees,” Richard suggested as he cautiously headed down towards the roadway. After making sure there weren’t any headlights in the distance, he ran across the quarter mile gap to the other side. Mitch followed a moment later, then Matt, and finally Ethan crossed.
“How far are we going tonight?” Matt asked after he caught his breath.
“I was hoping to reach the eastern saddle of Goat Mountain. It’s about five miles from here,” Richard replied. In truth it was over seven miles away, but he wanted to get as far away from the road as possible before stopping for the night.
“Okay,” Matt sighed as they continued on.
After a few hours the pace slowed and it was obvious that everyone was getting tired from having traveled all day and part of the night.
“Hang in there… it’s just a little further,” Richard said in an effort to keep them going.
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I can do much more,” Ethan said in a sleepy voice.
“Okay, there’s a creek just over this next rise. I promise we’ll stop when we reach it,” Richard replied. Sighs of discontent echoed through the night air, but they marched on.
Once they reached Badger Creek, Richard took off his pack and set it on the ground. The others quickly followed suit, making sure Richard couldn’t change his mind about the stopping point. Then they tossed their sleeping bags on the moonlit grass and prepared for bed.
“I’ll take the first watch,” Richard announced after confirming they were still below eight thousand feet on his digimap. Unsurprisingly, none of the worn-out men objected. Richard sat on his sleeping bag, looking up at the crescent moon. Its haunting white glow made everything seem mysterious and cold. Richard clutched his pulse rifle as unseen nocturnal animals, and faint unidentifiable sounds played tricks on his weary mind. Every so often he would get up and search the area, but the patrols that had once scoured the lower wilderness areas for stray humans had become uncommon. Richard thought it was ironic that their dependence on the mosquitoes to infect the remaining survivors had actually made them more vulnerable. A situation he was eager to use to his advantage.
“How are you doing?” Ethan asked as he rose from his sleeping bag midway through the night.
“I’m cold and tired,” Richard replied with a yawn.
“Then get some sleep… I’ve got it from here,” he offered.
“Thanks,” Richard said in a weary voice.
After Richard had gone to sleep, Ethan circled around the camp to stretch his legs while keeping an eye out for Augs. As the night wore on, a dark wall of clouds slowly obscured the moon and it started to snow. Ethan went over to his pack to retrieve a small blanket, and then curled up with it on his sleeping bag. As the snow gently fell from the sky, Ethan stuck out his tongue and tried to catch the larger flakes. A few landed as intended, but more often than not, the flakes found their way into his an unprotected eyes, briefly stinging whichever one it fell into. Ethan gave up catching the snow with his tongue, and settled for observing the flakes as they landed on his sleeve. He was surprised to find that every snowflake had a distinctive pattern of its own. It was something he remembered being told in school, but he had never actually observed in person. As the night wore on, he made up other games to pass the time. Eventually, a faint glow on the horizon signaled the start of a new day.