Tread Fearless: Survival & Awakening (The Gatekeeper Book 4) (22 page)

Becky was asleep, as were the other two prisoners in the barn. John went over to her and gently removed the tape from around her head. He also checked her pulse, and finding her heartrate strong and steady, he went over to check on the two men. When he finished, John stepped out of the barn and began walking to the toilet sitting in the middle of the driveway island.

John was so caught up in reflecting on the spiritual experience in the barn that he didn’t even hear Adam walk up to him from the house. “Is everything okay, dad?” asked Adam, as he fell into place next to his dad.

“Oh. Hey Adam. Yes, everything’s fine. I thought you were off shift?”

“I am . . . just thought I’d check on you. Something felt a little different, and I was worried about you.”

“Sorry to worry you, but everything’s fine,” replied John. Adam motioned to turn and walk back to the house when John added, “I’d enjoy your company . . . if you’re willing?”

“Sure dad. I’m glad because . . . well, we’re not gonna kill them people . . . are we?”

John sighed and faced his son. “No, Adam. We’re not gonna kill them. But I’m not exactly sure what’s gonna happen to them, either. We’ll probably just end up letting them go, but not until morning . . . after we leave,” finished John. “How are the others holding up?”

“You mean Corbin and Marcus?”

“Yeah,” replied John.

“They’re doing well. They love working with Pete . . . and learning how to be soldiers. I do too.”

“You were a soldier long before Pete arrived,” remarked John.

“You taught me a lot,” said Adam with a nod. “I never thought I’d need everything you taught me, but now I know the deal. You always knew though . . . didn’t you, dad? You always thought something like this would happen?” asked Adam.

“I guess in a way I did, but by the time I really knew it would actually happen . . . it would have been too late to teach you anything,” said John, as he approached the toilet and pulled up a clump of dried stems from the bowl. He sat on the toilet after brushing away the loose dirt on the seat.

“It’s pretty funny . . . the toilet seat sitting in the middle of the yard like this,” remarked Adam.

“That it is,” chuckled John.

“Hey dad, I . . . I want to talk to you about something else . . . something important.”

John looked up at Adam. His son’s face was barely lit under the brim of his hat despite the illumination of a near half-full moon that hung in the night sky above them. John could hear the tension and worry in his voice, and he wondered what was troubling him so much. “Sure, son. What is it?” he asked, tenderly.

“Well, you know how you have those dreams and visions and stuff?”

“Yes?”

“Well . . . I have them too.”

“You do?” asked John, coming to his feet.

“Well . . . maybe not just like you, but I’ve seen things in my dreams . . . and even more now since the disaster. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m a little worried I’m gonna be like you.”

“Hey! What’s wrong with that?” asked John, half kidding, but also a little serious.

“It’s not like that, dad,” added Adam. “It’s just that you do some pretty wild things, and I don’t know if I’m ready.”

John didn’t know if Adam’s revelation thrilled or worried him, but it explained a lot. Adam never seemed to question John’s spiritual abilities, and he always took everything John did or said about such things in stride. He put both hands on Adam’s shoulders and said, while turning his back to the yard-toilet, “Here, sit down and tell me all about it.”

Adam smiled and sat. And after he cleared his throat he said, “I don’t like people watching me on the toilet.”

“Well then, I recommend you don’t do anything embarrassing,” replied John.

“Dad . . . what’s happening? It’s more than the disaster . . . isn’t it?”

It was John’s turn to clear his throat. He took a knee next to Adam and said, “You’re right, Adam. Things are changing. I don’t completely understand it myself, but I’ll tell you this, things are changing for the better. I know people don’t like change, especially when it’s hard, but sometimes change is necessary. It’s a very big deal.”

“Is God behind the change?”

“That’s a good question, but yes. I believe He is,” replied John.

“I thought you stopped believing in God?”

“Why would you say that?”

“Well, because we stopped going to church, and reading the scriptures, and stuff.”

“Hmm, you’re right. I haven’t been a very good example to you. But I never stopped believing in God, not for one minute,” replied John.

“Then why’d you stop going to church . . . and reading the scriptures?”

“Oh, lots of reasons. They’re excuses mostly, but part of it was the army. Some of it was me thinking I knew everything. I thought I had everything figured out. I thought I was free to make my own decisions and choices. I had no idea that me being here, marrying your mom, having you and Abby, was all part of some big plan.”

“What do you mean?” asked Adam.

“Well, I mean everyone has a purpose. I just didn’t understand mine until the disaster . . . until just a short time ago. I think it will be different for you, too,” replied John.

“How so?” asked Adam.

“For one, you’re special. I know you are. I can feel it . . . see it in your eyes even. You’re here for a very important purpose. And me . . . I think I’m here to get you there.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I mean, I believe it’s my job to get you to the point of when and where you’re supposed to be . . . to do what you’ve come here to do. The same is true for Abby. It’s what good parents are supposed to do for their children . . . set them up for the future,” said John.

“Ah, that’s not what I expected you to say,” replied Adam.

John grunted and said with a grin, “Tell me about your dreams.”

“Okay. Um, I see things I don’t understand. Sometimes I’m looking at pages in a book, and sometimes I’m really there, in the places I go. It’s all so real. Do you know what I mean?”

“I do,” said John.

“Anyway, sometimes I’m fighting, and sometimes I’m helping people. One time, I saw you and mom. You guys were sitting on a park bench. I walked up to you, and before I could say anything, you looked at me and asked, ‘Are you ready?’ That’s all you said, dad. But before I could answer, I was sitting on the bench next to a strange girl.”

“A woman, or a girl?” asked John.

“A woman, I guess,” replied Adam. “Why . . . what do you think it means?”

John was silent for a moment, thinking about Adam’s words. Then a thought came to him and he said, “I don’t know what it means, but I think you were sitting next to your future wife,” said John, and he patted his son’s knee approvingly.

Adam jumped to his feet and shouted, “What? No way, dad! I’m not ready to get married!”

“Way,” replied John with mirth, as he stood to join him.

“Dad, please, whatever you do, don’t tell mom or Abby about my wife. Okay? Please . . . promise me.”

John chuckled and said, “Promise. Your secret’s safe with me, but was she pretty?”

“Of course she was, dad. Please.”

John heard voices and turned to see Pete returning to the barn with the two grave diggers. He got Pete’s attention with a shout and said to Adam, “I better get back to work. Can we continue this talk again later? I’d really like to hear more about your spiritual experiences.”

“Sure dad. Thanks for talking. I love you,” said Adam, as he turned to head back to the house.

“I love you too, buddy. I’ll be in in a few minutes,” said John, and he headed back to the barn to help Pete secure the prisoners.

“Everything okay?” asked Pete, when John joined him in the barn.

“Yeah. I was going to ask you the same,” replied John.

“The ground was tough . . . it took longer than I thought,” replied Pete. When he saw the tape on the ground by Becky he asked, “Did you have any trouble here? Did you knock her out?”

“What? No, of course not. But I did have to tape her mouth. She was . . . talking too much. I removed the tape when she fell asleep.”

Pete grunted and said, “Help me secure these two so we can talk. I’ve learned something important and need to share it with you. It’s about Mary . . .”

“Who?”

“The old woman, Mary. She’s Jessy’s mom,” offered Pete.

“Oh,” replied John. “I didn’t know that was her name,” he added as he lead the tired and dirty male prisoner back to his post and secured him to it with fresh zip-ties.

Pete was doing the same with Jessy and said, “Let’s talk outside in a minute. Can you bring me the water jug?”

John grabbed the jug and handed it to Pete, who then poured water into Jessy’s hands so she could wash the dirt out of her open blisters. “I’ll bring you a few bandages in a minute. But I need to have a talk with my partner here. You want front or back?” asked Pete.

“Front please . . . I’m not going anywhere,” croaked Jessy.

Pete nodded and led her over to the hay bale that John had only recently vacated. John saw the change in Pete’s treatment of Jessy, and he wondered what brought it about. He was curious to hear what Pete had to say, and walked over to the barn door to wait for him. While they walked to the toilet, Pete said, “You’re not gonna believe what I’ve pieced together.”

“You’re killing me, man. Out with it,” insisted John, as they stepped up onto the tire island.

Pete walked to the toilet and took a seat. John snorted mildly, thinking the toilet wasn’t such a bad idea after all, and said, “Something’s changed in you . . . about the prisoners.”

“That’s because they didn’t do it. They didn’t lock ‘em up in the barn . . . the old couple.”

“What? You’re kidding me? Are you sure?” asked John, snapping off the questions in rapid succession.

“I’m not kidding,” replied Pete.

John sighed and said, “Okay then . . . let’s hear it. What did you learn?”

“I had a brief talk with Mary before we buried her husband, but I didn’t believe it. I thought she was lying to protect Jessy. As it turned out, they were locked in the barn by some passing motorists looking for help. John, they were already in the barn when Jessy arrived with her friends . . . we found them having an ‘end of the world’ party, or some such nonsense. They had no idea they were here,” finished Pete with a yawn.

John digested Pete’s conclusions and said, “But that doesn’t explain their car being here. You mean to tell me that Jessy saw Mary’s car parked next to the barn, and believed she left without it?”

“I agree. I asked her that same question. Jessy said she thought they left with her uncle Bill from Burneyville . . . it’s a town just a few miles from here. He was sort of their caretaker, and would take them shopping and to appointments and such. Her seeing the car here didn’t raise any red flags. Besides, I think they were stoned when they got here,” added Pete.

“What about the mess inside?”

“They found it that way, but admitted to adding to it,” replied Pete.

Now that he thought about it, John realized that the food wrappers and dishes in the kitchen did resemble that of a stoner party. All he could say was, “This is crazy.”

“I know what you mean. It’s craziness on all fronts, brother. It’s about some nice old folks who offered to help some passing motorists, only to be corralled and locked in their own barn. Mary said she heard the kids pull up, but by then they were both too weak to yell for their attention. She said her husband wouldn’t drink any of the water . . . that he wanted her to live. Mary’s a sweet old gal. It’s a shame things turned out the way they did,” finished Pete.

John scowled and said, “Wrongful imprisonment . . . on two counts. Did she get a description of the people they helped?”

“She said she can’t remember any details.”

“Hmm, but I take it we’re not ready to cut them loose,” said John.

“The kids? Not yet. They’re still a threat to our safety and progress. And you know as well as I do that this won’t be the last of our sanity tests. Everyone we meet, from here on out, will be a potential threat to our survival. We can’t afford to lower our guard even for a minute. I think we should continue to guard the kids till morning, then let them go,” said Pete.

“I take it you don’t want them following us like lost puppies,” said John.

“I don’t think that will happen,” said Pete, “but I’m only speaking for Jessy. I was thinking about taking one of the guys with me in the van, and then let him out a mile or so down the road. By the time he gets back to the house to release the others, we’ll be long gone.”

“Mary could do that,” said John.

“Yeah, right. Then I guess we can take their car keys down the road a ways and drop them off in a bag or something.”

“That will work. We’ll have to feed them tonight, and bandage Jessy’s hands,” added John.

“Roger that. I’m thinking two-hour shifts tonight. I also think it will be safe to include Paul for duty once I explain the situation to him,” said Pete.

“Okay. Two hour shifts then, with a zero-six wakeup and zero-seven-hundred departure?”

“Sounds good to me,” replied Pete, as he stood up from the toilet. “I’ll brief everyone inside, and have someone bring out some food and the first aid kit.”