Lamp Black: Second Edition, Disaster, Preparedness, Survival, Awakening (The Gatekeeper Book 2) (52 page)

“I thought I already was your hero,” replied Pete, with mock indignation.

“I only called you that to get you to marry me,” teased Bonnie, “but I am proud of you. I know I didn’t always trust you . . . that I can make matters worse, but I promise you, I’ll be better next time.”

Pete stopped the truck and put it in park. He leaned over and embraced Bonnie. “I love you. I’m sorry I scared you. That was a strange situation, and I didn’t have time to explain or prepare you for it, but I’m very proud of you too. You’re dealing with everything a lot better than I thought you would.”

“Yeah, well, maybe I’m coming to terms with it,” snorted Bonnie.

“I hope not . . . at least not the crazy stuff. I hope it doesn’t last long,” replied Pete.

“You can say that again,” said Bonnie, as she yawned, long and hard.

“I hope it doesn’t last long,” repeated Pete.

“You’re a dork.”

“You’re a sweet potato.”

“Truce?” asked, Bonnie.

“Truce,” agreed Pete.

P
ete was too tired to drive any further that night, and Bonnie definitely wasn’t prepared to drive, so they agreed to search for a safe place to park and sleep for the remainder of the night. Pete drove slowly down a side road until he found a place that he thought would adequately hide them from view of anyone passing by. He spotted an old, dilapidated barn that sat on the crest of a small hill. Its weather-beaten side boards looked solid, so Pete parked the truck and walked over to give the barn a closer look. He hoped to park the truck in the barn, but after seeing the cluttered interior and rotten roof beams, he parked on the far side, as close to the barn as he dared.

The ash continued to fall, but it was coming down more slowly and less thickly. He didn’t know how long it would continue to fall, but he really didn’t care. He couldn’t do anything about it, so he wasn’t going to add it to his list of worries. Besides, he knew his truck could handle the ash, even here in an unplowed field, or on unused roads. Once back on the highway, where moving traffic kept accumulation down to a minimum, Pete was confident they could reach John’s in less than twenty-four hours.

He returned to the truck and told Bonnie what he found. “We can’t park in the barn, it’s filled with old farm equipment. Besides, the roof looks like it’s about to give way to the ash any minute. I think it will cave in soon, and we don’t want to be under it when it does, so we camp right here,” he said with a sigh.

“Is it safe here?” asked Bonnie, as she yawned and rubbed her eyes.

“Safe as anywhere we can find tonight,” answered Pete, as he replied with a yawn of his own. “Well then . . . I’ll pee, brush my teeth, and sleep. What about you? Do we need to pull shifts?”

“No, I don’t think so. I’m too wound up to sleep right now. Go ahead and get ready for bed. Do you need me to get your sleeping bag from the back?” asked Pete.

“Nope. I’ve got everything I need.”

Pete rested his head against the seat and worked on his neck with tired hands. Bonnie moved about as she made herself a bed on the truck’s rear bench seat. It was big enough for Bonnie, but not for Pete; at least not stretched out. But he was fine with staying in the front. He didn’t want to get too comfortable anyway, not in an unknown area, so he decided to stay in the front and sleep in a partially reclined driver’s seat.

Pete knew he should be tired, but he was too wound up from dealing with Roy to sleep. When he thought about it, things had turned out pretty good for them so far. Finding Lynda meant they didn’t have to deal with Roy. Roy probably deserved to die, but Pete didn’t fancy himself a killer. In his book, shooting an unarmed man was murder; it lacked the warrior ethos that was so firmly engrained in his psyche. Despite the overwhelming evidence of Roy’s guilt, Pete didn’t want to kill the man, directly or indirectly. He was glad he followed his intuition to interrogate Roy, that it lead him to rescue Lynda.

“I need to step out. Is it OK?” asked Bonnie.

“I’ll step out and stand guard. Can you do your stuff without light?” he asked.

“Yes. I’m getting used to it, but I do miss the dome light,” she said without complaint as she climbed out.

Pete smirked as he listened to Bonnie go to town on her teeth. She was borderline fanatical about keeping her teeth clean. She brushed them at least three times a day, or more when the opportunity presented itself. She drove the boys crazy with her insistence they follow her example, and they did, and had no cavities to prove it. Pete wondered if his boys were still brushing their teeth.

He wished he could talk to them, tell them he was proud of them, that they turned out to be fine young men and good Soldiers. Pete wondered what they were doing at the moment, if they were productively engaged, or just sitting around scratching their heads waiting for orders by an idiot commander like the one on Fort Hood. Both boys were in areas that probably didn’t experience ash fall, but that didn’t mean things weren’t crazy around them. To Pete, it seemed like the country was just waiting for an excuse to implode, and if the eruption wasn’t such an excuse then nothing was.

When it came to the disaster, the government, and therefore the army, would eventually succumb to the same logistical challenges everyone in the country would face; limited access to food. The army was a big and capable operation, but it also relied on many of the same logistical support deliveries as civilian corporations, namely the routine delivery of fuel and food stuffs. Pete knew the disaster would set the country back several years, if not permanently, and he was very much interested in reaching John before things got worse.

He knew Fort Hood had a generous stockpile of MRE’s and T-Rations, the latter being little more than large, single-course, TV dinners, but they would most likely save them for the troops. Soldiers were the last vestige of control the government could maintain in a world of chaos, so Pete doubted they would disband the Army any time soon. That meant the MREs would probably not be given to civilians. Policing a State required Soldiers, and Soldiers needed food, water, and fuel. That meant his boys would be gainfully, if not reluctantly, employed for the duration.

Thinking of MRE’s, Pete thought of the four cases he carried in the back of his truck. He wasn’t at a point where he even considered eating them. They were compact, high energy meals, handy to have when traveling on foot or in a vehicle, but he ate more than his share of the package meals, and wasn’t eager to dive back into them. The same sentiment applied to Bonnie. She was never a fan of the meals, which is why she packed such a large lunch in the cooler before they left.

Bonnie climbed in and Pete did likewise. She sighed and said, “I bet you’re tired. Are you sure you don’t want me to take first shift?”

“No, you go ahead and rest. I’ll be fine. I’ll wake you if I need you,” replied Pete. Bonnie nodded and climbed over the seat to lay down. “But keep your pistol handy . . . just in case,” said Pete, as he opened the glove box and handed her the pistol.

She accepted the pistol with a simple, “OK,” and immediately curled up under a blanket to sleep.

Pete knew as soon as she was out. He was familiar with her sleep patterns, and it comforted him to hear her settle down so quickly, especially given the day’s events. He waited a few moments longer and opened the door to step out.

Small powdery particles of ash landed on his face when he looked up. He brushed them off with his hand and walked a short distance away to relieve himself by a bush. Not yet willing to return to the truck, Pete decided to take a walk around the barn. The ash didn’t bother him as much as he thought it would. It was a lower body workout that actually helped stretch out his legs.

He didn’t know the time, but he really didn’t care. They stopped for the night, and it was hard to control his anxiety over wanting to quickly reach John’s house. Delays kept popping up, seemingly good delays, helpful and purposeful delays, but delays nonetheless. It was hard to stop the trip, but he knew he needed the rest even if he didn’t feel tired.

Pete yawned, long and deep under the bandana over his face, and took that as a sign to return to the truck. He decided it was safe enough to take a short nap while Bonnie slept. He knew there was no way she could pull a watch in the hours that remained before the next blanketed sunrise. She endured more stress and shock in the past few hours than she did her entire life, so they would risk resting at the same time. Bonnie didn’t stir when Pete entered the truck, so he locked the doors, tilted the seat back as far as it would go, closed his eyes, and waited for sleep to take him.

Pete heard singing. It was a male voice, and his words were soft and beautiful, yet somehow unclear to Pete’s ears. They were strange words, foreign, but soft, clear, and filled with love and peace. When he opened his eyes, Pete saw a young man sitting next to him on the passenger seat. Bonnie, unaware of the surprise visitor, continued to sleep.

Pete studied the young man’s appearance. He was very clean and neat, fair even, and had not one spot of ash on him. His jeans and hoodie looked faded but comfortable, like something his own boys would wear. “Who are you?” asked Pete.

The boy stopped singing and turned to look at Pete with a smile. His face projected warmth and confidence, and was somehow vaguely familiar to Pete. “Do I know you?” asked Pete.

“A little yes, and a little no,” said the young man. “My name is Eli. I’m here to warn you about some trouble up ahead.”

“What kind of trouble?” Pete asked. He was growing more curious by the second.

“The kind of trouble that will end tragically for you and Bonnie without my warning,” replied Eli.

“Well then, let’s have it,” said Pete.

Eli smiled and offered a sweet and friendly laugh. “Papa said you were direct. Well then, tomorrow, during your journey north, you will come to another traffic delay. When you reach the delay you must immediately leave the road and hide.” Eli paused, looked briefly up as if looking for approval, and then continued. “As you helped Lynda, you must also help others. Others will need your help, Peter. When you see them, you will know what to do. Do not fear for vengeance. It is a tool for the just. Do not be afraid to mete out judgment upon the wicked, for all will be recompensed in the end,” said Eli. He turned to Pete and said, “You are a just and righteous warrior, Peter. You are just . . . You are just . . .” Eli’s voice faded away.

Pete opened his eyes and looked around. The passenger seat was empty.
Where did that kid go? Was it a dream?
Pete wondered. The clock on his dashboard read 03:38. He’d been asleep for about an hour,
and he was more tired than ever before. He glanced at Bonnie and saw that she hadn’t moved an inch. In fact, she was still in the same position he saw her in when before he closed his eyes.
How could she not hear the singing, or the talking?
Pete quietly opened the door and climbed out to look around. He walked around the truck twice looking for unfamiliar footsteps in the ash. He identified his and Bonnie’s tracks, but no others.

Pete thought back to the dream and remembered the kid didn’t have any ash on him. He knew it was impossible to walk outside and not get covered in ash, but he also knew nobody could get into his truck while the doors locked and the windows rolled up; at least not without waking him.
Yes, it was definitely a dream
. Pete didn’t know what had happened. He never had a dream like that before. And the message, he remembered it very clearly, that he would have to act to save more people, and that the use of deadly force was authorized.

Pete woke to Bonnie shaking his shoulder and saying, “Pete! Pete! Wake up. You fell asleep.”

Pete forced his eyes opened, but they felt glued shut. He raised the seat and glanced at the dashboard clock. “I’m awake. Sorry, Bon.” With her face centered in the rearview mirror, he couldn’t help but notice the concern in her eyes. “How’d you sleep?” he asked. When she didn’t answer, Pete added, “It’s OK, Bon. We both needed the sleep. I would have woken you if I was worried about our safety.”

“I slept fine,” she replied as she stretched. “You?”