The Trip to Raptor Bluff (7 page)

“Those sticks are too big to catch fire from a match,” said Andrea.  “You need to light some kindling first and then start adding bigger sticks.”

Reba ignored her and tried to ignite a dry branch with the cardboard match.  After she had burned through six of their precious supply with no luck, Andrea sighed in disgust and gently lifted Tara’s head from her lap.  “Give me the matches before you use them all.” 

Reba lit another match and watched helplessly as it burned out.  The piece of wood she held smoked but did not ignite.

“I said you need to light some kindling first!” snapped Andrea.  “What do you plan to use for matches when you’ve burned through all of those?  Go get some small twigs and leaves!  Now!”

Reba sullenly threw the half-empty packet of matches at Andrea and went in search of dry twigs.  Andrea built a small tower with the wood already there and used the kindling Reba brought back as a starter.  The kindling caught first and slowly climbed to the tower.  “Thank god!” Andrea said.  “Now we need some rocks for a fire ring and a lot more wood.  If we are smart, we can keep the fire going so we don’t have to use all of our matches.”  She looked up from her squatting position and said, “Go!  We need big rocks and lots more wood.”

“
You
go!” said Reba.  “I’m not your slave!”

Andrea cursed to herself as she rose clumsily to her feet.  “We’ll both go, you worthless piece of
shit
!  You go right and I’ll go left.  The rocks need to be big enough to keep the embers from blowing out and spreading the fire to the trees.”

It was dark when the fire pit was finally built.  A large stack of dried wood lay in a disorderly pile beside it.  Andrea checked on Tara and sighed with relief when she appeared to be sleeping.  “She’s finally getting some rest.” 

“I am not,” mumbled Tara.  “I can’t sleep.  Everything hurts too much.  Oh god!  My stomach is cramping again!”  She tried to sit up but fell back again.  The sickening smell of feces filled the air around them as Tara’s bowels emptied.

“I can’t do this anymore,” wept Andrea as she was rising to her feet.  Tara was lying in a pool of diarrhea that ran from her buttocks to her calves.  The watery filth dripped slowly from the plastic poncho and onto the ground.

Reba and Andrea both gagged as they slid the poncho from underneath Tara.  Reba stumbled through the dark to rinse the poncho in the spring but decided at the last minute to leave it for the next day.  She tossed the filthy thing to the side, washed her hands, and settled herself back by the fire.  Andrea used the last of the stolen toilet paper to clean Tara’s body, and then resorted to leaves.  When Tara was lying down again, this time close to the fire and on the bare earth, Andrea broke in to hiccupping sobs.  “I can’t believe they left us here!  I just can’t believe we were abandoned like this!  Tara could die out here!  We could
all
die out here!  What if there are bears or wolves?”

Reba rose from her spot next to Andrea and moved to the opposite side of the fire without saying a word.  She spread her poncho on the ground, donned her warmest jacket, and laid her head on her backpack.  Her feet were freezing but she didn’t have any socks since she had only packed flip flops for the trip.  She lay on the ground and shivered herself to sleep.  Andrea dozed with her back against a tree.  Tara moaned and tried to picture the bus lying on the rocks below.  There had to be a way to get down to the beach, and if her OxyContin was still in the bus….

The temperature was in the low sixties but the hikers had all removed their wraps and tied them around their waists.  They trudged slowly through the dense overgrowth in silent misery.  Seventeen-year-old Pepper and fifteen-year-old Libby were quietly crying, and Shelly was fighting tears.  Brenda was close to tears herself but would not break down in front of the teens.  They had only been hiking for ninety minutes but between the overgrowth, the sharp rises and falls in the terrain, and the weight of their backpacks, the going was excruciating.  Each person carried a duffel bag which made the hike even more difficult.

“You guys take a rest while I scout out the area,” said Brenda, slipping out of her pack and collapsing to the ground.  “Drink some water but be careful with it; we don’t know when we will find more.” 

“Mom, I remember seeing those roads leading up to the mountain houses right before we stopped at the park,” said Shelly.  “We should be there by now.”

“We have to be close,” replied Brenda.  She looked at the spent teens and said softly, “You kids are my heroes.  This hike would be tough even if we were on a trail.  Between your duffel bags and your packs…” 

“I don’t know how much further I can go,” whispered Libby. She was a tiny sophomore who looked like she belonged in middle school.  Her thin white hair straggled out of long braids, and her delicate skin was flushed crimson with exertion.

It was the first complaint of the morning and Brenda’s eyes filled with tears of compassion.  Between lugging backpacks full of liquid and trying to get through the heavy overgrowth with duffel bags, the kids were being pushed well beyond their limits.  Brenda doubted they had covered more than half a mile. 

Brenda acknowledged Libby’s statement with a pat on the arm and studied the area around her.  Going west in search of coastal hiking trails, or even the 101, would be the easiest route but she cancelled the thought as soon as it arose.  The ground close to the cliffs would be unstable, and a misstep or an aftershock posed too much danger.  Their only option was to keep fighting their way south through the woods.

“I think I’m going to head out alone to get a feel for where we are.”

“Mom, no!” came Shelly’s frantic protest.  “What if something happens to you?”

Brenda tucked a strand of curly blonde hair behind Shelly’s ear.  “Shhh.  Listen up, OK?  Here’s my plan.  I can move a lot faster if I leave my pack with you and just take one water bottle.  I’ll head south until I come to a road going up the mountain – we already know there are roads not far from here – and then I will come back for you.  Think about it, Shelly.  It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“I’m coming with you!”  Shelly attempted to hide her quivering chin by wiping her freckled nose on her sleeve.

“Your mom is right,” said Pepper.  “She’ll be much faster on her own.  I’d like to know how much further we have to go, too.”

Brenda sent Pepper a grateful glance before she hugged Shelly.  “Stay here with Pepper and Libby, OK?  I will be back in a couple of hours, I promise.” 

Shelly stared solemnly at her mother before nodding in reluctant acceptance. 

Brenda quickly snatched a water bottle from her backpack, reminded the girls to stay away from the western side of the area, and disappeared into the woods.  Shelly’s filthy and distraught face filled her mind and she finally let her own tears flow. 

Even without the weight of her backpack, the hike through the overgrowth was frustratingly slow.  Shredding and dropping bits of pink paper to mark her path stalled her further but she couldn’t risk getting lost.  She was sopping with sweat and breathing heavily when her nose alerted her to the nearness of asphalt.  Forgetting her exhaustion, she crashed forward until she came upon the ruined remains of a paved road.  The road was in large slabs, some of them standing almost upright.  Smaller slabs and crumbled sections went up the steep hill before the road turned to the south and disappeared into more forest.  From her position, she could see the Pacific Ocean to the west.  Her body tingled with a rush of vertigo when she realized how much of the mountain cliff had dropped to the coast, and how close she stood to the edge.  She backed up slowly and surveyed the area.  Walking on the fragmented road would be impossible, but at least the areas on either side appeared to be somewhat cleared.  The walk uphill along the edges of the road was steep but doable.  Renewed by hope, she sighed a prayer of thanks and walked back the way she came.

The girls were laying with their heads on their duffel bags when Brenda emerged from the trees.  Shelly ran to greet her, understanding her mother’s large smile to mean she had found a road. 

“Time for a celebration!”  Brenda cried, clapping her hands.  “Drink some water and help yourselves to a candy bar.  I found the road and the houses can’t be too far away!” 

The cheering that erupted was accompanied by a few sniffles of joyful relief.  “We’ll be home by tomorrow!” cried Libby happily.

“Not so fast,” warned Brenda.  She did not want to curb the enthusiasm but understood that she needed to manage expectations.  “Even if we find a satellite phone at one of those homes and can let Joshua Zeem know where we are, it will be days, if not weeks, before he can get rescue this way.  The section of the 101 where those homeowners turned onto their road is gone.  It isn’t going to be easy to get to us.”

“And we might not find a phone,” said Shelly.

“We might not, but Lucy and Rick are looking for phones, too.  They know to send help this way so we will be fine.  It just might take a while, that’s all.”

“Weeks?” groaned Libby.

“Hey, let’s look on the bright side, OK?” chided Brenda.  “I remember seeing at least five homes up there, and there are probably more that weren’t visible from the road.  Even if the homes are ruined, there will be supplies to make our lives a lot more comfortable.  And there has to be a water source, right?  Otherwise people couldn’t live in the area.  There should be  food, too.  Those folks have a long drive to the nearest grocery store so I wouldn’t be surprised to find whole pantries stocked full.”

“And people!” shouted Shelly.

Brenda nodded and wondered how she was going to prepare the girls for what they might find; if those houses were as ruined as the road leading up to them, there was a high likelihood that they would find seriously injured or even dead people in the rubble.

“How far away is the road?” asked Pepper.

“It took me an hour to get there, but I wasn’t loaded down with a heavy pack.”  She thought about leaving the packs where they were but then dismissed the thought.  “We need to take our gear with us in case we don’t find any houses today and end up having to set up camp in the woods.”  She glanced at her watch.  “It’s two o’clock.  It will be slow going but we can make it to the road, and maybe even to a house, before dark.”

Brenda noticed the bleeding blisters on Libby’s shoulders when Libby winced as she slid into her backpack.  When Libby reluctantly showed Brenda her bare shoulders, Brenda was relieved to see that the blisters were small, but she still worried about infection; even the smallest wound could turn deadly with no medical care available.  She used half a packet of antibacterial cream and some of their meager supply of bandages to treat the wounds, and then she and the girls repacked their bags.  They placed their clothing and food bars in their backpacks and moved the drinks into two of the four duffel bags.  Having two people carry the heavy duffels by each holding one handle was manageable.  The two empty duffel bags left over from the reorganization were folded and stuffed on top of the drinks. 

“We are off!” said Brenda.  “Pillows and sheets, here we come!”

Brenda did not try to hurry the girls, not wanting to add frustration to the already taxing hike.  They walked in silence for the full two hours it took to reach the shattered road.  “Time for a bathroom and water break,” she said as she passed out bits of toilet paper.  Her arms and legs shook with exhaustion.  She was a regular at the gym but her workouts involved weight machines and brisk walks on a treadmill.  She was thankful for the adrenaline that allowed her to maintain the exertion of hiking in unfriendly terrain, but she knew she would be sore beyond belief the next day.  She glanced west at the Pacific Ocean to gauge the sun’s position.  “We still have a few hours of daylight left.  How about this?  We rest here for half an hour, and then start up the hill towards the houses.  We can go for a good distance before sunset, and if we don’t find shelter, we will still have time to make camp and settle for the night.”

“Let’s rest for fifteen minutes,” said Pepper.  “I’m really afraid that if we rest too long, I won’t be able to move.  All of my muscles are quivering.”

Brenda looked at Shelly and Libby.  “What do you think, girls?”

“Yeah, I agree with Pepper,” said Shelly. 

Libby nodded a ‘yes’ that didn’t surprise Brenda at all.  Libby always looked to the others to make the decisions and followed whatever they chose to do.  The slight girl was a pleaser, Brenda noted.  She didn’t appear to have an opinion on anything.

“Libby, are you sure you are OK with the plan?”  Brenda asked gently. 

“I’m fine with it,” Libby said, but Brenda noticed the sheen of tears rising and pulled her into a hug.  It was a mistake.  The moment Libby’s head rested against Brenda’s chest, she erupted in shaking sobs.  Brenda watched Shelly and Pepper, and worried when she saw that they looked more fragile the longer Libby cried.  “Sorry,” Libby said when she had cried herself out.  “I’m just scared for my family, and I know they are worried about me.  They are probably freaking out by now.”

“Mine too,” sniffed Pepper.

Brenda knew she had to kill the exhaustion-induced despair creeping into the girls’ heads so she picked up her backpack and slung it over one shoulder.  “Pepper is right about not resting so long that our muscles lock up on us.  Let’s start up this hill and while we are hiking, I want you to help me remember the amazing luck we have had so far.  Our first stroke of luck was having a bus driver like Rick, who knew to pull far into Hammer Mountain Park as soon as he felt the ground shake.”

“Yeah, if he hadn’t done that, we would have been on the part of the mountain that crashed down to the beach,” said Shelly. 

“And then he was smart enough to get all of our stuff off the bus before the rest of the cliff fell away,” said Pepper.

“And we just happened to have enough food and drinks for everyone…” started Libby before Shelly cut her off.

“And don’t forget Caleb!  If we didn’t have him, we wouldn’t have found water!  Mom was so mad when she saw that Rick brought his dog with him, weren’t you, Mom?”

“I wanted to kill Rick for bringing that darn dog,” laughed Brenda, “and yet look how he helped us.  We’ve been pretty lucky if you ask me.  It sure seems that Someone up there wants us all to survive.”

The mood shifted and Brenda smiled to herself as the girls talked over each other trying to list their near catastrophes and miraculous deliverances during the past twenty four hours.  “Just twenty four hours,” she thought to herself.  “Has it really only been a little over twenty four hours?”

It took them over an hour to climb a quarter-mile up the steep hillside.  There was more clamoring than hiking, as they had to get around broken chunks of cement and tarred asphalt.  The uphill road was intersected by a street coming in from the south.

“Bet this road leads to some houses!” said Pepper.  “It has to!  Can we turn here instead of going straight?”

“My thoughts exactly,” said Brenda.  They all cheered at once when a tipped wrought iron fence indicated that a house was nearby.

“More good luck!” cried Brenda.  “The sun is about to go down and in another few minutes, this fence would be invisible.  We would have missed it in the dark!”  She hurried forward and tried to mask her disappointment when she saw that the house behind the fence was in ruins.  She was quick to speak, lest sweeping disappointment sour the tenuous mood.  “Hey, even if we can’t sleep in the house, the yard has lots of soft grass and the ground is level in some places.  What do you say we dump our stuff in the yard and see what we can find near the house?  We still have time to look for food, and there is time to make a fire, too.  Even if we have to sleep on the ground tonight, it will be softer than the place we slept last night.”

“Whew,” grunted Pepper as she dumped her backpack.  “No more uphill today, and that’s good enough for me!”

“It doesn’t look like anyone was home when the quake hit,” Brenda said as they passed the crumbling three car garage.  “There are no cars in the driveway or in the garage.”

“Lucky for them,” said Libby, her eyes huge.  The two-story A-frame house looked like it had been flattened from above; broken glass was everywhere.  “The whole front of the house was glass, probably so they had a view of the ocean from inside.”

“Exactly,” said Brenda.  “That’s why people pay the big bucks to live high in these hills.  The view from the second floor must have been spectacular, but all of those windows didn’t do much to support the house when the earthquake happened.  Let’s see what we can find around back.  I don’t want to get too close to the house tonight.  We won’t be able to see much in the fading light and someone could get hurt.”

“Looky there!” cried Shelly as they rounded the house.  “A whole bunch of firewood already chopped and ready for us over by the woods.”