Tread Fearless: Survival & Awakening (The Gatekeeper Book 4) (10 page)

“I know what you mean. I ran into some of that trouble about five miles back,” offered Mark. He had a feeling Ed was fishing for the truth, and since he had nothing to hide he was ready to tell all.

“You did? Please tell me about it,” said Ed, clearly showing new interest in Mark.

“Sure,” said Mark with a pause. He looked at Ed and said, “I was passing through a thick patch of vegetation a few miles back when two men jumped me at gun point.

“Really?” asked Ed. “You look like you handled it pretty well.”

“Yeah. It was a quick fight,” replied Mark.

“What’d ya do with the two men?” asked Ed.

Mark looked at Ed and knew he was more aware of the fight than he was letting on, so he decided to provide more detail. “Only one man had a pistol. I disarmed him, and then dispatched his bat-wielding partner after a short round of unarmed combat,” added Mark.

“Did the armed man get off a shot?” asked Ed, as he studied Mark closely.

“They were both armed. That bat was also a weapon . . . complete with nails. But yes, he did manage to fire off a single shot. But I didn’t shoot him. I did, however, shoot his partner . . . twice . . . after I managed to break contact with him. He had me in a pretty deadly bear hug,” replied Mark.

“Please . . . can you give me the complete report with all the details . . . start to finish. It’s important I hear your side of the story before deciding what’s next,” remarked Ed in a serious tone.

Mark nodded and replayed the entire event for Ed’s benefit, giving him all the details he asked for, and then some. When he finished, Mark reached for his water bottle and drank deeply while Ed processed the news.

A moment later, Ed leaned back and opened a small cooler sitting in the truck’s bed. He pulled out two water bottles and handed one to Mark while saying, “Not sure how cold that water is, but this one’s sure to be. You want it?”

“Don’t mind if I do. Thanks,” replied Mark. And then, after Ed had his turn to drink, Mark asked, “You already knew about the fight, didn’t you?”

Ed looked at him, and then nodded while saying, “I did. We received a report about thirty minutes ago over the scout channel. They heard three shots and went to investigate. Said they found two bodies and what not.” Ed took another drink and asked, “Why’d you leave the pistol?”

“You’re right, I forgot to mention that. I promised the guy I would leave it for him. He was alive when I made that promise, but he died
before I left. I felt compelled to honor my word with him despite his exit,” finished Mark.

“Well, you’re a man of your word, I’ll give you that. Still, I would have liked to see you manage those two troublemakers. We’ve been looking for them for a couple days now. They were accused of . . . well, it don’t matter anymore. Justice was met,” replied Ed, and he tipped his water bottle up for another drink.

“You know, I cursed myself for wasting those two shots on that big guy, but he almost had me with his bat, and the bear hug.”

“The scouts didn’t find the bat, but I’m sure it’s around there somewhere. But thanks for being open and honest with me, Mark.”

“I’ve got nothing to hide,” replied Mark. “I just wanted to get through this area without a problem. In fact, I would love nothing more than to reach Fort Worth without having to hurt another soul, but as you know, people have their own motivations.”

“That they do,” replied Ed. “Say, would you mind meeting with the county sheriff before you go. His name’s Greg Green . . . a really good guy. He’s been looking for someone with your expertise to . . . well, I’ll let him talk to you himself, but the headquarters isn’t far from here, less than three miles in fact . . . right off the interstate. It’s in a church building on a hill next to the interstate. We’ve turned it into a kind of fortress of sorts. I think you’ll like it.”

“Will the meeting include a hot meal and a place to rest for the night?” asked Mark.

“I believe I can arrange that,” said Ed, as he stood and waved to Gary. “Gary, we can go now. Go round up the guys and I’ll help Mark get his gear in the truck.”

“You’re not the boss of me,” whined Gary.

“OK, you help him load up the bike and I’ll go get the guys,” replied Ed.

“I got it!” snapped Gary, and he walked away in a huff.

“You’re right, he is grumpy,” commented Mark as he worked to unhitch the bike trailer from the saddle post.

Ed chuckled and said, “Yeah, we’re all a little grumpy these days.”

“I know what you mean.”

CHAPTER 4

RIVER

E
veryone was loaded up and ready to roll, with little evidence that they had even stopped. All the trash was picked up and the waste holes covered. Even the tire tracks were being swept clear with sturdy cedar branches. The boys didn’t like having to sweep the tire tracks all the way up to the abandoned farmhouse, but John figured it was more to keep them busy while he and Pete discussed the route ahead. Paul was leading the detail while John and Pete conducted the map reconnaissance.

Long ago, John decided to turn control of the boys over to Pete. He did that for two reasons, he didn’t want to stifle Pete’s keen tactical sensibility and his rehearsed quick reaction drills, and he was too busy attending to the compass and other physical and spiritual matters for the company. Besides, the boys loved working for Pete.

John knew he couldn’t do everything, and working with the boys would require more attention than he could give them, so he was glad Pete, and even Paul at times, was keeping them busy. He knew, from experience, that if the boys were kept busy they were much less likely to get into trouble or be annoyingly bored. Pete also knew this, and he used every free moment to teach them something about anything. He had just given them another short lesson on security and land navigation before he had them sweep the dirt road.

But the job was only a distraction, for John and Pete wanted to discuss the route ahead privately, and without interruption. The compass was already telling them to go in a direction that was contrary to their previously agreed upon route, and since Pete was the point-man, he wanted to discuss it with John.

John wanted to check in with Sarrif, his spiritual guide and guardian, and ask about the course deviation, but he knew he shouldn’t. He had to trust. Besides, the instructions for use of the compass were very clear. If he was to check in every time it pointed him in a direction different that didn’t fit their planed route, then what was the point of having the compass in the first place.

“I don’t know, boss . . .” said Pete. “I think we should cut south of Bowie and head due east,” as he examined the map closely.

John looked at the compass again and saw the needle was still pointing north northeast, a direction that would eventually take them back to I-35. He didn’t like the idea of backtracking any more than Pete, so he handed him the compass and studied the map as he leaned against the van’s hood.

As soon as Pete held the compass, the needle shifted slightly to the left and settled once again on magnetic north. “Darnedest thing I ever saw,” said Pete, as he turned in a circle while holding the compass. “Must be your magnetic personality,” added Pete.

“That, or the metal plate in my head,” replied John, as he traced a line on the map. Before Pete could comment he said, “Look here. Up ahead we can take 51. From there . . . I’m guessing we’ll end up traveling on 455, and then 677. I have a feeling were supposed to cross the Red River as soon as possible. And the 677 crossing is a low impact bridge, I’m guessing concrete pylons and a flat road surface, nothing fancy. Not even a bridge in my book.”

“You got all that from looking at the map?” asked Pete.

“It’s a two-lane road . . . in a rural area. I’m surprised it’s even there given the limited population in the area. I don’t see any built-up areas for miles. I’m guessing it’s used by ranchers and such. But one thing’s for sure, it will be a lot less traveled than crossing on highway 81, or any of the other highway bridges east of us. A lot less dangerous too,” said John, as he turned to see Pete studying the brass compass closely. “So, what do you think?”

Pete grunted and looked at John. He handed him the compass and turned his attention to the map as John moved aside. After studying the map for a moment, and measuring off the distance with his thumb, Pete said, “Looks to be around fifty or sixty miles to the river from here. We should be able to make it by nightfall. That is if we don’t run into any problems, but crossing the bridge . . . well, that’s another matter of security.”

The two men knew such a chokepoint could be easily controlled by a determined enemy, but the question was, was there a determined enemy in the area. They had yet to meet any resistance along the way; in part because, so far, they successfully avoided all the populated areas. But populated areas weren’t the only threat to their travels. Even a small group of armed wanderers could cause problems for them. Traveling the back country roads was still the best option, and that seemed what the compass was trying to tell them.

“We’re gonna lose time taking that route,” said Pete. “But I agree, it will be safer than any of the other crossing sites. Still, we’ll have to be careful. I’m sure we’re not the only ones to survive with brains.”

“You think we’ll have a problems crossing there?” asked John.

“Can’t say until I see it. I just don’t want to rush into anything. It wouldn’t take much to lose everything we have,” he replied.

“A night crossing then? Say early in the morning . . . around zero-three?”

“Worst case. But I want to see what we’re dealing with first. I’ll call a halt here . . . about five miles from the bridge,” said Pete as he pointed to a spot on the map. John looked over his arm and nodded. “Once everyone is off the road and hidden,” continued Pete, “I’ll scout ahead and scan the bridge from a distance.”

“I’d like to cross tonight . . . camp on the far side if possible. But I’ll leave it up to you. Any change in the compass and I’ll radio you,” said John.

“Have you given any thought to looking at it before we get there?” asked Pete.

“You mean spiritually . . . like jump out and take a look?” asked John in kind.

“Yeah. That’s what I was thinking.”

John pursed his lips and looked away. He saw Jenna staring at him from the Suburban parked behind the van. He smiled and waved. She smiled and waved back, and John turned to look at Pete and answer. “I haven’t . . . stepped out since the roadhouse. I haven’t left my body since then. But then again, I haven’t needed to. I suppose I can take a look at the bridge when we stop.”

Pete sensed John’s reluctance and said, “I think we can manage without you looking. I just thought it would save us a lot of trouble.”

John considered Pete’s statement and settled on the word ‘trouble.’ Though he shared the roadhouse account with Pete and the other adults, they had no idea how taxing it was to ‘step out.’ Not to mention how emotionally draining it was to work on the other side. Every minute of work on the spirit side felt like an hour of work on the physical side. A ten minute trip was like a full day’s work.

Not that he couldn’t get a lot done in ten minutes. He knew he could go just about anywhere, do just about anything in ten minutes on the other side, but John also knew it was about purpose. Working on the other side was serious business, and not to be taken lightly. He felt strongly that he couldn’t and shouldn’t travel unless he was prompted, or needed to for the survival of the company.

For John, checking the bridge didn’t meet that criteria. In fact, he felt very strongly that they had to do everything they could to satisfy their own mission as much as possible. They had to do everything they could with what they had, and then if they ran into trouble, then John could feel good about stepping out. But until then, the last thing John wanted to do was challenge his abilities through frivolous and irresponsible behavior, or exhaust himself to a point where someone in the company would have to cover for him driving or anything.

Until he got stronger, or better at working on the other side, he was cautious about how to move forward with his abilities. However, one
thing was certain, he would only travel when he felt right about it, and not when someone requested.

John looked at Pete and said, “I’d rather not get into the practice of scanning ahead unless otherwise prompted. Does that make sense?”

Pete studied John closely and said, “I never meant to impose. I just thought it would speed things up a bit.”

“Pete, I trust you with my life. In fact, there’s no one I trust more. It’s just that . . . well . . . what I can do by going to the other side is a gift, and I really don’t want to lose or abuse it. Can we agree that when the time it right, and necessary, I’ll act accordingly . . . that I’ll do the right thing?” finished John.

Pete nodded and said, “You’re absolutely right. My apologies, brother. I didn’t mean to impose on you.”

“I know you didn’t, and I’m not offended. But I also want you to know that it’s very tiring to travel, and when I do you’ll have to count me out for at least an hour.”

“That’s good to know. I had no idea it was that hard on you,” said Pete, as he began to fold up the map. “I trust you as well . . . more than anyone I know. I even trust that crazy compass you’re holding . . . and following. I’ll go wherever you want me to go . . . wherever you lead us. And I understand perfectly that you’re still learning your gift. I’m aligned, John. I really am.”