Lamp Black: Second Edition, Disaster, Preparedness, Survival, Awakening (The Gatekeeper Book 2) (67 page)

What John didn’t know was that Abby was attracted to Marissa because she was like a sister she never had. Abby also liked how Marissa mothered her young children. It wasn’t an indictment against Jenna’s mothering skills, it’s just that Marissa wasn’t her mom, which meant they could talk together evenly, like friends.

When Anthony, Marissa’s youngest, and her eight year old son, Michael, began following Abby around the house, she became their sister, aunt, teacher and nursemaid. They were intrigued by her ability to self-administer insulin, and they rarely shied away from her use of an Epi-pen. Abby was their shepherd.

Capitalizing on their interest in her medical procedures, Abby converted the two younger boys into set roles that included student, housekeeper, restaurateur, artist, and their favorite, paramedic. Abby not only kept the children distracted from their challenging confinement of the house, but she employed them in a way that benefited everyone. Freed from no longer having to entertain her children, Marissa was able to dedicate all her free time to the kitchen, which everyone very much appreciated.

Marissa and Bonnie also hit it off, and together with Jenna, the three women were often seen standing together in a tight group talking quietly among themselves, or laughing, or crying and sharing a group hug. John would comment on what he called their “strange womanly ways,” but he eventually stopped teasing them when Pete suggested the men join them in sharing a few group hugs of their own. John got the hint, not so much because he wanted to avoid the male bonding, but because he didn’t think Paul would like it, even if it was a playful suggestion.

After Paul walked away from the pool work detail, Pete no longer seemed interested in talking to him, though he did remain polite and friendly. Paul wasn’t ignorant to Pete’s attitude about him, so he tried to avoid being caught in one-on-one situations with Pete. John knew Paul’s sullenness ran much deeper than Pete’s handling of him, but he wasn’t ready to address it. While not on duty, Paul would usually just pick up a book, and then sit in a quiet corner to read. John decided not to interfere with Paul’s quiet time, thinking it was his way of dealing with the stress of the attack, but he knew he would have to do something to make him feel more welcome, and a part of the group.

All in all, John felt their group dynamic was pretty solid. In fact, it was better than he would have ever imagined given the complete randomness of their collection of people in the house. It wasn’t a group he would have planned to bring together, but it worked. Even Pete and Bonnie were an unexpected surprise. They were the closest thing he had for family in the house, but he never thought they would have joined him. In the three days since the ash started to fall, they added Corbin, the entire Hernandez family, and now Pete and Bonnie. They were a party of twelve, but John didn’t think that would be the end of their numbers. He didn’t know how he knew that, he just knew.

The disaster changed so many things for them, and had done it so quickly that he figured there must be other good groups out there. The question was how to find them, and maybe even join up with them. He chewed on his lip when he realized he called everyone in the house, “his group.” He was prepared, and it was his preparedness that allowed him to facilitate the survival of the group, so maybe that made him responsible, but he couldn’t help but wonder what he’d be doing if he didn’t prepare. He figured he’d be out looking for food and water just like everyone else.

He was only half listening to the conversation going on around him when he tried to imagine living without being prepared. People out there were, at this very moment, struggling to stay alive, and here he was, sitting in his family room with his friends and family, savoring
the results of a delicious meal, with not a care in the world, or at least a major care anyway. He almost felt guilty. He had plenty of food and water, power, and security. He hoped the solar panels would begin to work again, now that the rain cleaned them off. It would be nice to be able to use the wall-plates to turn on lights once again, and to flush the toilets, to shower, and to do laundry without having to mess with the generator.

With daytime electrical power restored, life in the house would seem normal again. But that also concerned John. If he had the only “normal” house in the neighborhood, then it would certainly attract attention, and the last thing he wanted was to attract attention.

And earlier, when Pete asked him about the disposition of the neighborhood, John was a little embarrassed to say that he had done nothing to protect it. He told Pete about the two interactions he had with his neighbors, that they both involved violence, and assumed responsibility, but he admitted he really didn’t have the time or energy to do anything more than what he already did.

As for the neighbors themselves, John wanted to believe some of them were at least a little prepared, but he wasn’t willing to bet on it. For now, John was only interested in planning for the group’s immediate future, whatever that would be. He had a few ideas floating around in his head, but he wanted to talk privately with Pete, which was difficult to do without offending Paul. John didn’t want to add to Paul’s feelings of isolation, but he also didn’t want to assume that the Hernandez family was going to accept everything he proposed. So John decided to keep his mouth shut and see where things took him. It wasn’t like him to be so blasé about life, but he needed time to think. He was moving in uncharted waters, and every decision deserved careful consideration.

“You’re awful quiet,” said Jenna, as she leaned close to John.

“Sorry, just thinking,” he replied.

“What are you thinking about?” asked Pete, clearly ready to discuss anything more interesting than food preparation, which was all the ladies were talking about since they sat down together after dinner.

“I was thinking about what will happen next,” said John, and the group fell silent. John had effectively tossed a wet blanket over the party, and he knew it. “I’m sorry to spoil the mood here, it’s just that Pete shared some very serious news about what’s going on outside, and I’m a little worried about it.” John looked at Pete, and then scanned the faces of the others at the table. “We should be prepared to leave the house.”

The replies ranged from “What?” to “Aren’t we safe here?” to “We just got here.” John raised a hand and said, “Please, let me explain.” When everyone was quiet, he continued. “Look, I know what you’re thinking. But consider this from my perspective. No one likes it here more than me. We’ve got everything we need, right here, under this roof. We’ve got more food than we can possibly move with the vehicles parked in our driveway. And we’ve got water, power, the shelter, and the means to protect ourselves. We’re sitting pretty nice right now, but that is exactly why we need to be ready to leave.”

“Come again,” said Paul. “If we have it so good, then why would we ever want to leave?”

John turned to Pete and asked, “Can you give us your account of that neighborhood you passed through? I’m the only one here, other than Bonnie, who knows the whole story.”

Pete nodded and shared the story again, but this time with much more detail. For John, the report was very informative, and it served to solidify his plans for their eventual departure. When Pete finished the story, he looked at John, and asked the group, “Does anyone have any questions?”

“I do,” said Paul. “What does that neighborhood have to do with us?”

Pete was about to answer, but John stopped him with an upturned finger, “Because, Paul, in this neighborhood, we’re the food DC, the BEP, and the school house all combined,” answered John.

Paul nodded and said, “OK, I get that, but we can defend this place, can’t we?”

“We can, to a point,” answered Pete. “But you have to consider the implications of defending a place like this from all sides.” Pete looked at John for support, but John nodded for him to continue. “You see, we can defend against a small group of people, say maybe ten or possibly even twenty armed, angry and desperate men, but, however, you slice it, it’s a suicide mission. A siege is a no-win situation. They’ll eventually overrun us, and if we’re very lucky, they’ll only strip us of our supplies and leave us with nothing but the clothes on our back.”

“You call that lucky?” sneered Paul.

“I do if you’re happy to be alive. Unless, of course, you consider it luckier to be dead,” answered Pete.

Paul glared at Pete and said, “I don’t think the people in this neighborhood pose such a threat to us. All we’d have to do is shoot a couple of the bad ones, and leave their bodies hanging in the trees, and the rest of them would leave us alone.”

“Paul!” gasped Marissa. “Do you hear what you’re saying?”

“It’s OK, Marissa. I agree with Paul,” said Pete. “But the problem with that tactic . . . a fear tactic . . . is that it only works on weak minded or impressionable people. Desperate people, people with nothing to lose, won’t be that easy to scare away,” said Pete.

“But I think we can keep them out,” said Paul.

“There are a lot of ways to capture a place like this, but really, all they have to do is smoke us out. If we’re successful in keeping them out, then all they have to do is toss a few Molotov cocktails into the house and wait for us to come out . . . then we’re all dead. They can pick us off as soon as we step outside. I agree with John, it’s better to leave, or at least be prepared to leave . . . on our own terms.”

“That sucks!” said Paul.

“Yes. Yes, it does,” said John. “Logic won’t play into their decisions and actions. Their only interest will be in how to get what we have, and if we don’t give it to them, how they can take it from us. And if they can’t do that, then they’ll be bent on destroying it, and us. Remember, Paul, we’re talking about desperate people here. We can’t
defend against that type of desperation, not here, not with our small numbers. We wouldn’t survive it.” John studied their faces and said, “We’re not leaving here without good cause, but we do need to prepare to leave. I have a plan, but let’s talk about it tomorrow,” said John, “I need a little more time to think.”

The discussion shifted to lighter topics, and continued on for another twenty minutes until Marissa rose and excused herself to go prepare the children for bed. She grabbed Paul’s hand and they departed after saying goodnight. Shortly after they left, John invited Pete to his den. He quietly closed the French doors and asked, “Do you still want to read about my spiritual activity?”

Pete studied John’s expression for a moment and said, “Yes. And I know you’re worried about what I might say, but let me assure you, I’m very interested in learning about how you came to foresee this disaster,” said Pete.

It was John’s turn to study his friend. “OK,” he said, and opened his desk drawer. He placed a blue folder that contained some thirty-three pages of typed and hand written notes into Pete’s hands, and said, “Here you go.”

Pete looked at John with raised eyebrows, and said, “That’s a lot of homework.”

“That’s my complete record of everything that has spiritually happened to me since this all began. It goes back to the first dream I had about the disaster, and covers all subsequent dreams and experiences. Take your time with it. All I ask is that you don’t leave it laying around. I’ll leave you alone. I need to go spend a little quality time with Jenna. I also think I’ll turn in early,” finished John. He pushed open the doors to leave and said, “Oh, and one more thing, we pull guard shifts, but I left you off the roster until tomorrow, so get a good night’s sleep. I can’t tell you how glad I am to have you here.”

Pete replied in kind, and expressed his renewed gratitude to John and Jenna for their hospitality. John watched Pete settle into one of the den’s leather chairs, open the folder, and begin to read. He wasn’t sure what to think of Pete’s interest in his spiritual experiences, but he was glad for it. John desperately wanted someone to talk to, someone on this side of the curtain, the veil, or whatever it was, to know what he was going through. He needed his friend to know what he knew. John didn’t know why he felt so strongly about having Pete read his journal, but he knew it was important.

John made his way into the bedroom and found Jenna sitting on the bed reading another one of her nature books. She looked up when he entered and said, “I thought you’d be with Pete a little longer.”

“We’re both tired and ready for sleep. We’ll have plenty of time to catch up,” replied John.

“How long do you think they’ll stay?” asked Jenna, as she marked her book and closed it.

“To the very end, I hope,” answered John. “I need someone reliable I can count on.”

“You’re worried about Paul?”

John snorted and said, “You can say that.”

“Marissa is too. We were talking about him in the kitchen today. She said he wasn’t acting like himself.”

“Yeah? Well, I don’t know him well enough to say that, but I can tell you that something is bothering him. I’ll think about it and try to come up with a way to bring him around, but I could use his help. I don’t trust his judgment, and he has poor instincts, and a poor work ethic,” said John.