After lounging for the better part of an hour, the horse came over and gently nudged him with his head.
“Are you ready to go?” Richard asked. The horse flicked his ears back and forth in response to his gentle voice. “I bet you want to get further away from the Augs, don’t you?” Richard remarked. The horse snorted and then turned so that Richard could climb up on his back.
“You’re the most intelligent horse I’ve ever met,” Richard whispered into the equine’s ear. The horse lifted his head up and neighed as if to confirm Richard’s assessment. “You need a name though. I can’t just call you ‘horse’ all day long… How about ‘Einstein’, since you’re so smart?” The horse’s ears went back disagreeably and Richard could tell that name would not do. “How about ‘Alexander’, since you’re so courageous?” The horse flicked his ears again, seeming dissatisfied with Richard’s suggestion. “Alright, I’ve saved the best for last… how about ‘Dakota’ in honor of all the horses that helped the Native Americans fend off their enemies?” The horse’s ears perked up and Richard repeated the name. “Dakota, do you like that name?” The horse neighed and Richard patted him on the neck. “Dakota it is then. Now let’s get further up into the mountains and out of the Augs’ reach,” Richard added as they headed off into the darkness.
Chapter 11
On the fourth day Richard and Dakota reached the southern border of Glacier National Park. It had been a long haul, but they were only a day’s ride from the settlement. Richard wanted to keep going, but he could tell Dakota was tired so he led the horse into a large grove of fir trees so they could rest. They were high enough in elevation to avoid the Augs, but once the sun set it turned bitterly cold. Dakota seemed unfazed by the sudden change in the weather, leading Richard to believe that he must have been living in the mountains over the last few years. Richard on the other hand was cold, so he curled up inside his sleeping bag and zipped it up as far as it would go. After awhile, he warmed up and then fell asleep without realizing it. Occasionally, Richard would wake up and peek out from his sleeping bag to check on Dakota. Then he would go back to sleep after confirming he was resting peacefully nearby. One thing that Richard found amusing, was that each time he stirred, Dakota would open his big brown eyes, and stare at him until he went back to sleep. It was as if Dakota was making sure he wasn’t going to wonder off, rather than the other way around.
The next morning the ground was covered in a thick blanket of white powder that was nearly two feet deep. Richard was surprised by the unexpected snowstorm and had to practically dig himself out just to get up. After he cleaned the snow off of his sleeping bag and backpack, he went over to Dakota and brushed the snow off of him.
“What do you think?” Richard said as he mounted up. Dakota started to walk through the thick snow and then paused for a moment. “Don’t do it if you don’t want to, we can wait out the storm.” Dakota snorted, and continued on seemingly more determined than before. Richard periodically rubbed Dakota’s ears to keep them warm and dusted the snow off his head and nose as it accumulated. “You’re a good boy,” he repeated every so often to reassure the horse and let him know how much he appreciated him.
Dakota continued on for several hours, but the snow didn’t let up and the temperature never rose above freezing. By midday, the snow was nearly touching Dakota’s underside and Richard steered him under a rocky ledge that formed a natural shelter. “I know you can go further, but I think we should wait it out. Continuing on could be risky, and I doubt we’ll find a better place to stop,” Richard said in a reassuring voice. Dakota seemed content with his decision, and Richard dismounted him. Then he pulled a small blanket out from his pack and draped it over the horses back. “There you go, it’s not much, but it’s all I have.” Dakota pawed at the frozen ground and Richard knew that he must be hungry. “Wait here and I’ll see what I can find.” A moment later Richard returned with several large clumps of frozen grass and placed them at Dakota’s feet. Then he went out looking for more. After several trips, he came back empty-handed, “Sorry boy, that’s all I can find in this weather.” Dakota flicked his ears, and then leaned his head on Richard’s shoulder. Richard rubbed his neck for a few minutes and then started to shiver.
“Damn it’s cold,” he remarked as sat down under the ledge and ate a few bites of dried food that he noticed earlier when he was rummaging through his pack for the blanket. After he finished eating, he pulled out his sleeping bag and got inside so he could conserve his heat. The temperature continued to fall and the storm intensified as the afternoon turned to evening. After awhile, Richard felt his feet going numb despite the sub-zero rating of his bag, and he rubbed them periodically with his hands. Dakota stood by like a sentinel watching over him as he tried to fight off the overwhelming urge to sleep. Richard knew that the combination of fatigue and freezing cold could be deadly. Second only to the Augs, the weather was the greatest threat to the remaining humans. Richard slapped his face to try and keep himself awake, but at some point during the night he fell asleep.
Richard woke a few hours before dawn to find Dakota lying right up against him. The temperature was cold enough to have killed him, but with a thousand-pound warm-blooded equine pressed against him, he was warm from head to toe. Richard wrapped his arm around Dakota’s belly and then leaned into him as if he were giving the horse a big hug. “You’re my guardian angel,” Richard said in a soft voice. Dakota lifted his head in acknowledgment and then laid it back down once Richard closed his eyes.
The next morning, the sun broke through the clouds and its golden rays started melting the snow almost instantly. Dakota rose to his feet and turned broadside to absorb the warmth, while Richard dusted the snow off of him.
By midmorning the frozen wasteland had changed back to a more hospitable landscape and they headed out. The snow was still fairly deep in the low-lying areas, but as they continued on, even it melted down. Richard let Dakota stop as often as he wanted to nibble at the taller clumps grass or get a drink from the pools of melting snow. It was slow going, but by midday Richard recognized the area and knew that the settlement was not far off. “We’re almost there,” he said in an eager voice, as they passed by a creek he remembered crossing on the way out. Dakota quickened his pace sensing Richard’s anticipation, stopping only to eat the most irresistible patches of exposed grass.
After an hour or so, they finally reached the small hill that overlooked the settlement and Richard gasped in anguish.
“What the hell?” he cried out. Nearly all of the settlement lay in ruin, and pulse cannon blasts scarred the ground and trees that had once protected the camp. Richard immediately dismounted and ran down to the settlement looking feverishly for any signs of life. Everyone was gone, and he felt overwhelmed by disappointment and grief. Dakota trotted down beside him, and started nudging Richard’s side in an effort to console him.
“You’re a good boy,” Richard muttered as he shook his head in disgust. Then he knelt down and started to sift through the rubble for clues as to what happened. A moment later it suddenly dawned on him that there were no human remains among the ashes and rubble. He immediately jumped up and shouted, “Dakota, they must have escaped!” His thoughts quickly turned to figuring out where they had gone. “Into the mountains,” he thought, “but where?” Richard pulled out his digimap and examined it closely. “Where would I go if I was in Jake’s shoes?” His finger searched across the map, but nothing stood out. He knew any place over eight thousand feet would do, but there were literally dozens of such locations nearby. Richard put the map away and started to scour the area around the settlement for clues as to where they had gone. Unfortunately the snow had obliterated all traces of their footsteps and Richard finally threw up his hands in frustration.