Eden's Legacy (Eden Rising Trilogy Book 3) Page 4

  Hours later they were still in the tree. The grizzly appeared to have fallen asleep at the base of the tree, but they knew better. Toward dark, the bear suddenly got up on his hind legs and rubbed his back on the tree, then moved into the woods. Lila remembered Nick and Jason saying that grizzly males marked their territory by rubbing the trees.

  Lila looked at Katie.

  “He’ll be back,” said her daughter. Then she said, “I have to pee … really bad.”

  So did Lila. Suddenly, she had an idea. She adjusted herself on her branch and undid her belt, carefully sliding her pants down to her thighs. With her naked butt hanging over the branch, she peed down the side of the tree.

  As she peed, she said to Katie, “He was marking his spot. I wonder how happy he’ll be to find that we marked it too.”

  Katie’s face lit up. She climbed down to a branch on the opposite side of the tree, pulled her pants down and copied her mother, soaking that side of the tree with pee.

  Soon after that, the bear returned, grunting and snuffling as he walked. Lila couldn’t help admiring what a magnificent animal he was. At the same time, she was more than happy to keep her distance.

  As the bear approached the tree, he was bothered and shook his head. He came closer, appearing to smell the tree. He wasn’t happy at all and shook his head some more. He looked up at Lila one more time, then sauntered into the woods.

  “He’s not coming back,” said Katie.

  Lila was pretty proud of herself and was tempted to climb down, but it was getting dark.

  A search party would be out looking for them soon. Ben wouldn’t wait until morning to send help. She and Katie were better off staying right where they were. If no one had come by morning, they could leave.

  Two hours later, they heard a gunshot. Lila pointed her rifle in the air and fired off a round. A few minutes later she saw flashlights. She pulled hers out, cranked it up, and pointed it in the direction of the others. The crank flashlights weren’t as powerful as the battery flashlights she grew up with, but at this point in time, all traditional batteries had lost their charge. She shot one more round to keep them coming in the right direction. They saw her light and she could hear the sounds of horses coming up the trail. A few minutes later, Aaron, Emily, and Sean crowded around the bottom of the tree. She was glad to see that Ben stayed home, given his healing injuries, although it was probably killing him to do so.

  “Got lost, did we?” asked Aaron with a chuckle.

  “Long story,” said Lila, helping Katie down.

  Sean pointed his flashlight at the base of the tree and saw blood patches and Katie’s bloody arrow.

  “But a good one, I bet,” he said.

  Lila and Katie, now on the backs of the horses, just looked at each other and smiled.

  *****

  The bear was spotted from time to time over the next couple of years. It stayed away from the Yellowstone settlement, and the Yellowstone residents, in turn, stayed far away from the bear if they sensed his presence. The couple of times people ran across him, he was just as aggressive as he had been with Lila and Katie. Jason, the veterinarian, said it was the largest bear he had ever seen, and had no explanation for the bear’s ornery behavior. His only theory was that the bear was alive at the time of the event, and like so many other large mammals, his brain got a little fried.

  The bear became somewhat of a legend with his occasional appearances, prompting Ben to call it Bigfoot, after the urban legends that he remembered from childhood. Katie couldn’t understand the name.

  “Of course his feet are big, Daddy. It’s because he is big. He couldn’t have small feet.”

  Ben decided that it would be better to wait until Katie, who tended to think literally, was older before trying to explain the name and tell the story.

  The Bigfoot sightings stopped about three years after Lila and Katie’s encounter. No one knew what happened to the bear, whether he just moved on or he died. Curiously, he was missed by all in the Yellowstone community, with the possible exception of Lila and Katie.

  Chapter 5

  By the time Katie was ten, she was already traveling far and wide by herself, when she wasn't in school. Despite being a stellar student, with interests that ranged from science to history, school bored her. She couldn't wait for the school day to end so she could mount Scooby and go exploring. Ben and Lila realized early on that Katie was different, and as such, normal rules didn't apply to her. She knew not to do anything foolish—she had grown up in a world where a poor decision could be deadly. She was always home before it got dark and always did her homework after dinner. If she was asked to come home right after school to do chores, she complied enthusiastically. In many ways, she seemed like a perfect child.

  But Ben and Lila were worried. Katie got along with just about everybody and had many friends, which pleased them, but she had no close friends. There was no special person in her life. Her special friends were her horse Scooby and her dog Ralph, although Ralph was getting older and spent more time around the house and less time taking trips with Katie. Katie had an adventurous streak that left her little time to make normal friends. If they weren't into exploring nature, she didn't seem to see the point in spending time with them.

  When she was younger and they were new to Yellowstone, she had formed a strong bond with Sophie, a neighbor who was the same age as Katie. When Katie was kidnapped by the Paradise crowd, Sophie and her mother were captured along with her. But while Katie showed a streak of bravery—despite being scared—Sophie spent much of her time in a state of panic. After Paradise, Katie spent less and less time with Sophie, the friendship eventually fading away. Brenda, Sophie's mother, couldn't understand Katie's pulling away from the friendship, but Ben and Lila knew. Katie didn't understand—and as a result, couldn't respect—the absence of courage. Subconsciously, she had nothing left in common with Sophie.

  Ben and Lila had many talks about their daughter, always coming to pretty much the same conclusion each time: she was who she was, and there was nothing they could do to change that. Not that they necessarily wanted to change her. To do so would be to trap and constrict her. Both of them had dealt with numerous constraints as children and understood that, and in this new world, it was the last thing they would want to do to Katie.

  Although Katie never verbalized it, she found animals to be much more interesting than humans. And the animals seemed to sense it. She could get within feet of a deer before it took flight—and occasionally even found one that would let her touch it.

  While she carried a rifle and pistol for protection when she rode and was an excellent shot, she rarely used either. She found the noise unnatural in the wild. She used Ben's old pistol crossbow, and was just waiting for the day when she would be strong enough to manage a full-sized crossbow.

  *****

  The day she met the cat, her life changed forever.

  It was a Saturday (at least, according to the calendar Nick had come up with based on lunar activity) and she had the day free to explore. She went down the valley three or four miles, far past her Uncle Aaron's property, to a pine forest she often visited. A fast-running stream originating somewhere in the distant high mountains ran along the edge of the forest. A few months earlier she had found a large flat rock at the edge of the stream, and it was perfect for daydreaming and animal watching.

  This day was no different. She had her eyes closed, listening to the running water next to her and the crying birds high above in the trees. She had dozed off and almost missed it. Maybe it was Scooby's fussing in the woods where he was tied, or maybe it was the squeaking coming from across the stream—an unfamiliar sound. She woke with a start. Across the water on the opposite bank and fifty feet upstream was a mountain lion with three small cubs.

  Despite often seeing tracks of the big cats and sometimes hearing a cry in the woods, she had never actually seen a mountain lion. She was amazed at its size; its sleek and muscular body was like nothing she had ever s
een. Fascinated by the scene playing out before her, she remained perfectly still, so as not to disturb the family outing upstream. If the big cat knew Katie was there, she gave no indication of it. Katie was often accepted by the animals as just part of the backdrop of nature.

  The three cubs were playing and the mother was doing her best to round them up. She was probably teaching them something, but Katie wasn't sure exactly what. The cubs were small, maybe two feet long, and they were rolling around, having the time of their lives. Katie watched for the longest time. The mother had long since given up trying to teach them anything and was now lying quietly watching them frolic.

  Katie was momentarily distracted by an eagle overhead when she heard a screech. She looked back to see one of the lions in the water. Their wrestling had gotten them too close to the edge of the stream and one had gone over the edge. The mother leapt up and with a powerful swipe knocked the remaining two cubs several yards from the edge. In a second she was racing downstream, trying to catch up with the young cub, who was trying to keep its head above the swirling water.

  The stream wasn't rushing at a great speed, but the current was still strong—much too strong for the cub. Katie could immediately see that the cub was going to die if she didn't do something. The mother was panicking, keeping abreast of her cub, but helpless to do anything about it.

  Katie jumped off the rock and ran to Scooby, quickly untying his reins from the branch. She was in the saddle in a matter of seconds. The startled horse reacted to her touch and shot off downstream. Katie kept an eye on both the mother and the cub, hoping to get ahead of them and intercept the cub before it drowned. She looked ahead and saw the spot about a hundred and fifty feet away. A rock jutted out into the stream. If she could reach it in time, she could maybe grab the cub as he went by.

  She was now ahead of both lions, but she'd have to go even faster to reach the rock and put herself into position in time to intercept the cub. Scooby seemed to sense the need for speed and picked up his pace. When they reached the rock, Katie reined Scooby in, almost sailing over his head. She jumped off the horse and hit the ground and rolled, momentarily dazed. But she quickly regained her senses and rushed to the rock. She made it with seconds to spare. She braced herself as best she could. The cub was small, but she knew it would still be heavy as she tried to pluck it from the water.

  It was almost there. It had stopped struggling, but Katie hoped it was just exhausted, not dead. Almost … almost. Now! Katie reached out and grabbed the waterlogged animal. The force of the current almost pulled her off the rock, but she flopped to her belly and somehow managed to stay on the rock.

  She pulled the lion cub to her chest and held on. She felt its heart beating. He was alive, but his energy was totally spent. She laid there for a minute, catching her breath. Then she looked up to see the mother lion sitting on the other side of the stream watching her warily. Katie stood up, holding the cub. She instinctively knew that what she was about to do was dangerous, but she was willing to take the chance.

  She stepped into the water. The current was strong, but the water only came to her knees. She struggled across, keenly aware that she couldn't use her arms for balance, as she fiercely held onto the cat. He was regaining a little strength and was beginning to squirm. She didn't have much time.

  She reached the other side. The mother cat was sitting about five feet from the stream bank, watching Katie intently. A low growl emanated from deep inside her. Ignoring the sound, Katie gently set the cub down on the bank, then stepped back two strides. But then she stopped. She had just saved the lion's cub and she refused to retreat. She had a point to make. She wasn't even sure why she had to make the point, she just did. She had to show the big cat that she was no different from them, that they had nothing to fear from her.

  The lion growled again, a little louder, but Katie refused to budge. The mother lifted her paw, showing her claws. Again, Katie didn't move. Finally, the lion focused her attention on her cub and ignored Katie completely.

  Katie had made her point. She stepped back carefully until she reached the rock. She climbed onto it and just sat, watching the mountain lion. Every once in a while, as the mother was licking her cub, she would glance up at Katie.

  "I'm not going anywhere," she said quietly, but loud enough to be heard by the lion. "In fact, let me introduce myself. Cat, my name is Katie." She stopped and thought. "No, my name is also Cat."

  She knew from that moment, that she would never again be known as Katie. Her name was Cat … with a C.

  She made her way back to her horse, who had retreated into the woods, nervous to be in the vicinity of a mountain lion. She climbed onto Scooby's back and just sat there watching the two lions. The mother had the cub in her mouth and was carrying it back upstream. Just before Cat rode off, the mother stopped, set the cub down, and looked back at Cat. She stared for a full ten seconds, then picked up her cub again to make the journey back to her other cubs.

  *****

  Cat returned to her favorite flat rock by the stream the following week and the week after that. She spent as much time there as possible, often seeing the mother and cubs. They began to see her as a fixture of the scenery, never actually approaching her but knowing that, in fact, she was nothing to be feared.

  More importantly, for Cat it was life-changing. She could live in the human community, interact with her fellow humans, but she knew that no matter what happened, her heart would always be in the animal kingdom.

  Chapter 6

  Three years later, the Pony Express came to town. We had often wondered just how many settlements existed out there. Enough time had passed for those who had spent the early years wandering to have finally settled down. We knew about Monett and Paradise, and word had filtered in over the years about others. Putney, Vermont was the furthest eastern settlement we had heard of, but we had also had new arrivals who spoke of communities in New York State, Kentucky, South Carolina, Iowa, and Michigan. But we knew there had to be others. The Pony Express riders answered that for us.

  They arrived in Rock Creek on a rare day when both Ben and Lila were in town. They had taken Cat to the dentist and were on their way to have dinner with Sean and his family when the two riders came down the street. They each trailed a loaded pack mule.

  The three waited for the riders to reach them. On one of the saddlebags were the words "Pony Express" in large letters crudely written in white paint.

  The one closest reached out his hand to Ben. "I'm Steve. This is Oliver. Can't believe we're finally here."

  "Nice to meet you. I'm Ben, this is Lila, and our daughter Cat." He pointed to the sign. "This for real?"

  "It is. It was about time the different settlements in the country communicated with each other, so Oliver and I took it upon ourselves to make it happen. 'Pony Express' seemed like an appropriate name. It was an important part of the settlement of the west. It can do the same thing now. Ben and Lila, huh? You the famous ones?"

  "I guess."

  "Lots of stories about you—even to this day. Most folks thought you died."

  "We get that a lot. So what do you carry?"

  "Letters, mostly. And lists of names of people at the various settlements. Over time, once we have accurate lists and we know who's still alive, it'll make our job easier. Right now we have to turn away lots of people who want us to bring messages to missing loved ones on the off-chance that they might be alive. If we did that for everyone, we'd need a dump truck to carry them all. So we're telling people to write letters to people that they know are in one of the other settlements. We don't have too many of those yet, but over time, once all the communities have resident lists from the others, we'll have more. Right now, our mission is to gather up names." He reached into the bag behind him and pulled out a letter. He handed it to Ben. "You've got mail. Huh, that phrase is a blast from the past. Anyway, a guy named Brian, the mayor of Monett, Missouri wanted to touch base with you. We were there a couple of months ago. Now that we know
you are actually alive, we can give it to you."

  Ben smiled and handed it to Lila. "Nice to know he's still the mayor."

  "This is exciting," said Lila. "What a wonderful idea you came up with. It's a way to connect our country again."

  "We're hoping we can inspire more people to help us," said Oliver. "Otherwise, the mail is going to be extremely slow. If we can establish a post office in each settlement and have enough people to work shorter routes, this could really work. A letter from Monett bound for Yellowstone could be delivered to Paradise, or to Deadwood, South Dakota, another small community. Once there, the person responsible for making the run to Yellowstone could take it. It might be a while before it's all in place, but once it is, a letter from, say, Vermont to Yellowstone might only take a month or two."

  "So how many settlements are there?" asked Ben.

  "We've been on the road for a little over two years. So far we've located twenty-seven. I'm sure there are more, but we feel we've done pretty well finding that many. This is as far west as we're going."

  "How did you find all the towns?" asked Lila.

  "Word of mouth. We didn't wander aimlessly, although we did find a few of them by accident. If we heard enough evidence that a community existed, then we'd try to find it."

  "Do they vary much in size?" said Ben.

  "They do. From what we hear, yours is the largest. The smallest has about twenty-five people. There are a few around that size. Most are in the 200 to 500 range. We've also been told of some communities in Canada, but we'll leave that to someone else. Just connecting the twenty-seven that we've found so far here in the States will be quite a chore."

  "It's interesting," said Ben. "On one hand, knowing how devastating the event was, it's hard to imagine that many people surviving. On the other hand, When you think of how over-populated the country was and how few people there are now, it's mind boggling."