“Are you still planning to come back here after you attack the Augs?” Josephine asked.
“Of course, where else would I go?” Richard replied.
“That’s good,” Josephine replied, seemingly pleased by his response. As they sat there in the cool night air, they just held hands and enjoyed each other’s company.
Chapter 4
Shortly after breakfast Jake called for a meeting of his clan members and presented them with Richard’s plan to attack the production facility. Everyone seemed excited about the idea, and when Jake asked for volunteers, Ethan and Matt came forward. Ethan was a slender young man in his late teens who struck Richard as well mannered and intelligent. The other volunteer was Jake’s eldest son Matt. He was a tall, well built man who looked fit and battle ready. Jake was not thrilled that his son was volunteering for such a risky mission, but Matt was old enough, and more importantly, big enough to make his own decisions.
“When are we going to leave?” Ethan asked with a look of eagerness and excitement.
“This afternoon,” Richard replied. “It is going to be a long hike there and back, so only bring the items you consider to be essential. I also recommend packing just enough food for half of the trip to keep the weight down. We’ll supplement the difference as we go.”
“What about water, how much should I bring?” Ethan asked
“Not too much, just fill one hydration pack. I’ll pick a route that keeps us close to streams and rivers most of the way. Keep in mind that this could be a fairly grueling trek, so the lighter you pack, the better,” Richard remarked.
The men acknowledged his warnings and set off to gather their things and say goodbye to their friends. Richard knew they would have to travel through the high mountains and rural countryside on foot to avoid the Augs. The only areas left untouched by the Augs were the most remote mountainous and artic regions that were either too difficult to farm, or too remote to patrol. Virtually all mechanized equipment from cars to trucks to tractors had been repurposed to facilitate the production and dissemination of food for the Aug’s ever growing population. Even the larger animals had been rounded up and consumed long ago. There was virtually nothing useful left for the survivors, the Augs had repurposed everything when they took control.
Once Matt and Ethan had finished packing up their things and said their goodbyes, they met up with Richard and Mitch at the south end of the settlement.
“Looks like you’re ready to go,” Richard said as he cinched down his pack.
“We are,” they replied.
As they started off across the meadow, Josephine came running up from behind to join them.
“What are doing?” Richard asked with a surprised look on his face.
“I’m coming with you,” she replied in a firm voice.
“You need to stay with your clan,” Richard insisted.
“I’m as able as any man, and I have my own weapon,” she retorted sharply. Richard glanced at her clean pulse rifle and then noticed she had a battle pack draped across her shoulders.
“There is no doubt in my mind that you are as fit and able as the rest of us, but it doesn’t make sense for you to risk your life on such a dangerous mission. If we succeed, it will be the women, not the men, that help rebuild our population and save our species from extinction. Your life is far more valuable than all of ours put together,” Richard exclaimed.
Josephine cursed under her breath. She knew she could not have children, but this was not the time or the place to divulge such personal information.
“Alright, I’ll stay, but trade me rifles… yours is piece of crap,” she remarked. When Richard leaned forward to make the trade, she kissed his cheek and then whispered, “Do not assume to know everything about everyone. I will stay and protect the others, but you must promise me that you will be extra careful.”
“I will,” Richard replied, wondering what she meant by her previous statement, but smart enough not to ask about it in front of the others. Instead, he just gave her an apologetic look, and then headed off.
Josephine looked on as the four men disappeared into the woods. No one had ever dared to challenge the Augs on their home turf, but she felt a certain comfort in knowing it was Richard who would be leading the attack. There was something about him that she could not explain. An unseen force that drew people to him, brought out their strengths, and then forged an unbreakable bond. Josephine had not known Richard for very long, but she felt connected to him and hoped he would return.
Once the war party had marched southwest for a few miles, Richard stopped to check the digimap.
“Are we lost?” Mitch joked, knowing how keen his sense of direction was.
“No, but I would like to take a few moments to go over the route I have planned out,” he replied. Matt and Ethan finished taking sips from their hydration packs and then came over to view the map.
“To minimize our chances of encountering Aug patrols, I want stay up in the mountains as long as possible. To accomplish that, we’ll have to follow the old pack trails along the eastern side of the continental divide until we reach the north fork of the Sun River. From there, I believe the safest route is to follow the Sun River east towards Great Falls. If you look at the zoomed in view on the map, it appears that there is plenty of overgrowth along the river’s banks until we reach the farmland outside of the city. From there on, it looks spotty and we might have to travel at night,” Richard remarked.
“How far away is the Sun River?’ Ethan asked.
“I think it will take us eight to ten days to get there if the weather cooperates and the terrain isn’t too rough. After that, it’s a four day hike to Great Falls,” Richard said optimistically.
Once everyone was finished looking at the map, Richard put it back in his pack and they continued southwest into the mountains for several more hours.
When they finally intersected a smaller trail heading south near Apikuni Mountain, Richard pulled out the map and inspected it for a moment.
“Is everything alright?” Matt asked.
“Yeah, I just wanted to make sure we’re above 8,000 feet before we stop for the night,” he replied.
“Are we?” Ethan asked as he looked over his shoulder at the map.
“We’re pretty close, maybe we’ll go a bit higher just to be sure,” Richard replied, knowing that the Augs could not patrol higher elevations due to their extreme sensitivity to altitude, a weakness Richard exploited whenever possible.
After travelling another quarter mile up the eastern flank of Apikuni Mountain, Richard stopped above the tree line on a small flat area suitable for camping. The men quickly took off their packs, eager to rid their shoulders and backs of the burdensome weight.
“I think this is far enough,” Richard remarked as he tossed his bedroll down onto the dark red ground. It was an uncomfortable mixture of rocks and gravel, but he was so tired that it didn’t prevent him or the others from falling asleep.
The next morning Richard noticed several itchy welts on his arms and legs and a chill ran down his spine the moment he realized they were from mosquito bites.
“Are you alright?” Matt asked as Richard frantically dug through his pack in search of the pouch Aria had given him.
“I was bitten last night,” Richard replied as he dumped a scoop of fern powder on his tongue and then choked it down dry.
“Didn’t you take some yesterday?” Matt asked as he glanced over at him.
“Yeah, I took it with some water before I went to bed,” he replied apprehensively.
“Then you’re covered… don’t worry about it,” Matt insisted.
“Does the fern powder always work? Richard asked as he nervously scratched at the itchy red bumps.