Mountain Home

[Christian for Israel]

Chapter 7

After they had finished eating, Jack asked Pam to have a seat on the couch, he wanted to discuss something important with her. Pam got excited, thinking that he was about to suggest they get more 'involved'. She hurried to the couch and sat down expectantly. Jack was a little confused at her excitement, but determined to go ahead with what he needed to say.

"Pam, are you a christian?" he asked.

Somewhat taken aback by the question, Pam stammered out "uh...I guess so, my parents were I think, but we never went to church or anything."

"Do you believe in God?" He asked.

"Sure."

"Do you think you're going to heaven when you die?"

"I guess so Jack, I hope so."

"I'm sure you've heard of the Ten Commandments, have you broken any of them?"

Pam thought about that for a second. "I don't know, maybe."

Jack said "all right, let me put it like this. Have you ever taken anything that didn't belong to you?"

Pam was uncomfortable with such personal questions, but she wanted to see where Jack was going with this. She also remembered that he'd said this was important, and she trusted him. "A few times, mostly when I was younger."

"Have you ever told a lie to get someone else in trouble?"

She remembered back to a time when she'd lied about getting into her fathers liquor cabinet, and blamed it on her cousin, who was staying with them. She wasn't proud of what she'd done, and was embarrassed to tell Jack about it. "Yeah, I've done that." she said guiltily.

"How about this, have you ever looked at someone and had lustful thoughts about them?"

Now she was really embarrassed...just a few minutes ago she'd been doing that very thing to Jack. "I guess so." she said.

Jack said "you know, the Bible says that lusting after someone is the same as adultry, and is a sin, right?"

"I-I didn't know that." she said, not meeting his eyes.

"So, not to be blunt, but what you're saying is you're a liar, a thief, and an adultress, right?"

At this, Pam wanted to be anywhere but here with Jack. What must he think of her? She was all those things, and worse. How could anyone, even Jack, like her now?"

Jack continued "you said you believe you're going to heaven, why do you think that?"

Pam had no answer, all she could do was stare at the floor at her feet, remembering all the bad things she had done. After a minute Jack said, "is it because God is good?"

Pam perked up, that must be it! "Yeah...yeah that's it Jack, God IS good."

"You're right about that Pam, God is good. But tell me this, imagine that a serial killer was brought before a judge, having been convicted of murdering a bunch of people. Imagine that he said to the judge 'your honor, I confess to killing all those people, but I don't think you'll put me in jail, because I heard that you're a GOOD judge, and I know you wouldn't let that happen to me.' Now, if the judge is REALLY good, what will he do?"

Pam spoke immediately, this was an easy one. "He'd put the man in jail Jack, he deserved to go for what he'd done."

"That's right Pam, but that's also the problem. You see, God really is good, and it's that goodness that won't allow a sinner to go to heaven."

Pam sat stunned, feeling lost and afraid. She was so sure Jack would show her a way to get away with what she'd done, but now she realized that she deserved to be punished for her sins.

"Ok Pam, now imagine this. It's you in the court room. You've been convicted of a terrible crime, and the judge looks at you and says 'you have been found guilty. It is the sentence of this court that you either pay a 25 billion dollar fine, or serve 25 years in prison.' Now, you KNOW there's no way you could ever pay such a fine, so you're resigned to your punishment. but as you start to leave the court room, the judge says 'wait, I have just been informed that someone you don't even know has paid your debt...you are free to go.' How do you think you'd feel?"

Pam was still thinking about her sins, but seeing a glimmer of hope, she said "I'd feel great."

"Well Pam, that's just what Jesus did for you!" You see, God made the law, and you broke it by sinning. But God loves you SO much that he sent Jesus, His son, to come to earth and pay your debt.
The Bible says 'the wages of sin is death' Pam, that means that in order to pay for your sins, Jesus had to die...and He did, He went to the cross and died for your sins. All you have to do is confess your sins to Him and ask and He'll forgive you and save you from hell. Remember, He already knows about your sins, He wants you to confess them for your good, not His."

Pam couldn't believe this. Here she had been thinking she was going to hell, and deserved to go, and now she'd found out what God...what Jesus had done for her. She just sat there, unable to speak. finally Jack said "Talk to Him Pam, Jesus wants to have a personal relationship with you. All you have to do is talk to him in your own words."

Pam slid off the couch and onto her knees. With tears streaming down her face she began confessing her sins to God, asking for forgiveness and salvation. After a few minutes she stood, still crying, but with a smile forming as well. She looked at Jack and said "I feel different Jack, like I was a different person." Jack knew she needed a hug, and opened his arms. as he held her, he said "you are a different person Pam, the Bible says that when you're born again the old you is gone and you are a brand new person."

Stepping away from the girl, Jack went to a book shelf and picked up a Bible. "This is for you Pam, it's God's word. This will tell you everything you need to know to begin a personal relationship with your Savior. Jesus wants to have a relationship with you, but it was up to you to make the first move."

Pam took the book. She hadn't even held a Bible since she was small, but now there was a yearning within her to read it, to find out what God wanted to say to her. Jack suggested she go to her apartment and start reading. He even marked where the Gospel of Matthew started and told her to begin there. He said the Old Testament was important too, but the New Testament would have some answers for her. Pam said she'd start reading it right now. She gave Jack another hug and said "thank you so much for sharing this with me Jack, I never realized how much I needed Jesus, I think you have changed my life." Then she left and went to her place to start reading.

Jack knew she'd be busy for several hours, so he took the time to go back to the garage and take care of a few things. First he decided to empty his friends' stuff out of the back of the truck. He put the personal stuff in one pile, and the guns, tools, and other useful items in another. After it was all out he gathered up the personal stuff and took it to his apartment, storing it away in a closet. Returning to the garage, he gathered up the tools and other stuff and took them into the maintenance area. With that done, he checked over the truck, making sure all the fluids were topped off and that it was ready to go if needed. He went over to one wall and flipped a switch, turning on the diesel pump. Then he grabbed the fuel hose from it's wall mount and filled the trucks' tanks. With these jobs taken care of, he returned to his apartment to get cleaned up and start dinner.

When dinner was ready he went to the intercom and called Pam, and a minute later she stepped off the elevator. Jack was amazed, the girl positively glowed! She really did seem like a totally different person. As they sat down to the table, Jack said grace. For the first time, Pam said Amen. When dinner was over, they sat on the couch and talked. Pam was full of questions, and Jack did his best to answer them, referring to scripture whenever he could to show her the verse. Pam soon asked for a pad and pen so she could write down the verses and read them later. Encouraged by her enthusiasm, Jack got them for her.

"One question I have Jack, is about baptism." Pam said.

Jack said "now that you're a believer, we do need to take care of that. You do understand that baptism itself has nothing to do with salvation, right?"

"But then why do we do it?" She asked.

"We do it because Jesus told us to Pam, but baptism itself is symbolic. it symbolizes the washing away of our old selves and the birth of our new."

Pam said she understood. "so that's why the man on the cross next to Jesus was saved, even though he wasn't baptised."

"that's right Pam. Baptism doesn't save you, and it isn't necessary for salvation, but we are told by the Bible to baptize everyone if possible. Since we are servants of Jesus Christ, we do as He asks us.

"Ok. So, are you going to baptize me?"

"Sure, we can do that right now." With that, Jack got up. He led the girl into his bathroom, which had a large whirlpool tub. He filled the tub with warm water, and when it was full he asked Pam to get in. She felt strange getting into the tub with clothes on, but knew there wasn't any other way. She really wanted to do this, it was almost a need. after she'd gotten in and settled on her knees, Jack put one hand on her nose and the other behind her head. He said "Pamela, you have confessed Jesus Christ as your savior in my presence, and stated your willingness to be baptized. You have said you understand the symbology of this act, and that you are fulfilling the command of Jesus, is that correct? She nodded her head. Jack said "then I baptize you in the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit." With that Jack pinched her nose closed and leaned her forward until her head was under water. He quickly raised her back up, and as she came out of the water she smiled from ear to ear. "Pamela, you are a new creature in Christ, welcome!

Pam got out of the tub, gave Jack a big hug, then went back to her apartment to change into some dry clothes.

[PyroUSC]

Israel,
I'm enjoying the story. As of late, however, it has gotten even more unrealistic. After all, if he is that much of a devout Christian, wouldn't he have given away his money long ago to charity or to a televangelist? With that much money he could have fed an entire third world country for several years. Instead he selfishly spends it on a bug out location that is far more than he could ever need. I also find it hard to believe that a devout Christian would be canoodling a 16 year old girl at a camp site and stockpiling implements of death. Remember, turn the other cheek. Perhaps that is a future plot twist when Pam finds out what Jack is really about.

Also, 16% return on his money seems a bit optimistic, don't you think?

[Christian for Israel]

realistic? it's fiction, it's not supposed to be real life but instead is intended to expose some truths to preparedness minded folks without losing their interest as well as introduce preparedness concepts to a few christian friends of mine.

i never said he was a 'devout' christian, just that he's a christian. that said, not all christians feel led to give everything they own to charity. also, there isn't enough detail to judge him...if he's getting 16 mil every year he well may be giving 3.2 mil to charity (20%) and would still have enough to do what he did. how much do YOU give? how much do you 'selfishly' spend on yourself? shouldn't that be between you and God?

as for a christian building this complex or owning 'implements of death', maybe he built it as a place for his christian friends to survive a catastrophe. also many christians (myself included) like guns and shooting...what's wrong with that? and 'turn the other cheek' doesn't apply as the lesson of that verse is to forgive AFTER the attack, but 'a man who doesn't take care of his family is worse than a sinner' does, as it involves defending against an ongoing attack.

16%? literary license.

[DocOutlands]

The "turn the other cheek" bit was addressed to insults, NOT to threats of bodily harm. Bit of a difference, there.

[Christian for Israel]

exactly. thanks doc.


Chapter 8

The next morning, Pam awoke feeling wonderful. As she lay there enjoying the feeling, still half asleep, she started thinking about Jack, imagining what it would be like to wake up in bed with him. After a few minutes however, she realized she was falling into the same routine as before, and that what she was doing was lusting, and it was sinful. Suddenly she didn't feel so wonderful anymore, she felt remorseful instead. Getting out of bed, she dropped down on her knees, and begged God to forgive her, although she wasn't sure if He would. After all, she was supposed to be different now, right? That meant she wasn't supposed to think like that anymore. Unsure of what to do, and needing answers to her questions, she suddenly felt the need to confess her thoughts to Jack.

Pam stepped off the elevator, intent on talking to Jack. As she stepped out she saw him on the couch, with his head in his hands. Suddenly concerned that he was upset or sick, she quickly crossed the room and sat on the couch across from him, asking "are you ok?"

At the sound of her voice, Jack looked up and asked her to hold on a moment. then he bowed his head again, and she heard him say softly "these things I ask in Jesus name, amen." Looking up at the girl, he said, "yeah, I'm ok, why do you ask?"

Pam said, "I thought you were upset or sick, the way you were sitting with your head in your hands like that."

"No, I was praying. I try to read the Bible and pray every morning before I start the day. You might want to consider doing that also, it really helps to get you focused on serving God every day."

Pam was relieved, and said, "ok, I'll try that." She looked at him and hesitated, then said "I have a confession to make Jack," she paused, "I've been having...thoughts, about you..." He kept a neutral expression on his face, waiting for her to continue.

"Sexual thoughts..."

Jack smiled gently at her "I understand Pam, and I was aware of it."

"You were?"

"Yes, but now you understand that it was wrong, don't you?"

"I know, but the thing is...I had those thoughts this morning also."

"And?"

"And I thought I was supposed to be a new person. What happened Jack, did I mess everything up? I asked God to forgive me again, but I don't know if He will. I'm so confused." Pam was becoming distraught.

"No, you didn't mess everything up Pam, what happened to you is normal, all new believers, and a lot of old ones, go through this. Of course God forgives you, what's important is that you recognize that what you were doing wasn't right, and repent of it."

"Repent? what's that?"

"Repent means to turn away from your sins. Think about it like this, God stands at one end of the road, and sin stands at the other. When you're following sin you're walking away from God. When you repent, you're turning away from sin and walking to God."

"Ok Jack, I understand. but how many times can I repent? is there a limit?"

"No, as long as you truely repent, God will always forgive you. Sometimes we christians make the same mistake dozens of times, even hundreds, But God is ALWAYS faithful to forgive us. Remember, we are God's children. When a child makes a mistake, like spilling his milk, does his mother or father hate him, and turn him away? And even if he makes that same mistake many times, as long as he's sorry the parent will always forgive him, right?"

"Oh, NOW I understand! Thank you for explaining it all to me, I'd be lost without you to help me."

"No you wouldn't, because you have God to answer your questions now. All you have to do is pray and read your Bible, and God WILL give you all the answers you need."

Pam was feeling better now, and soon their conversation turned to other things.

"What are we going to do today?" she asked. Jack replied "How would you like to go flying? I thought we'd take one of the helicopters and have a look around town, and even look at the base."

"Really! That'd be awesome!" the girl squealed.

"I thought you'd like that" Jack smiled. "Ok, after we eat, we'll get ready and go. As soon as we're done here, go get your rifle and that belt of magazines and come back here."

A little while later they were walking down the tunnel to the hangar. Jack had a rifle also, an H&K 91, and a vest with several magazines in it. He also had a large automatic in a shoulder holster. The door to the hangar was about half way between the dome and the entrance to the complex. Upon entering the large room, Pam stopped and stared. Before her were at least a dozen planes, most of which were small, but one large one was near the front. "What's that?" She asked, pointing to the large craft.

"That's a C-2 Greyhound. It's a passenger version of the US Navy's E-2C Hawkeye airborne radar plane. It's the largest plane in my collection that can fit on the elevator, and only then because the wings fold back."

"Are we going to fly that today?" Pam asked

"No, it's more for long distance flying. I thought we'd take the Scorpion."

"Which one's that?"

"It's the small helicopter near the elevator. It's a nice reliable homebuilt that I put together several years ago. It's pretty strong, and lots of fun to fly. Also, since it's near the door we don't need to move everything around to get it out." Jack winked at her.

"Ok, cool." Pam said.

Before going to the craft, Jack went over to a rack near the entrance door. From it he removed a couple of boxes, handing one to her. "Put that on your belt Pam, it's a combination radio direction finder and emergency locator beacon. If anything happens while we're out, and we get separated, turn it on and point the antenna all around you until you find the strongest signal. That'll be the shelter, here. Once you have a signal, follow it and it'll take you home. If you get hurt or trapped, lift the red cover and push the button underneath and it'll activate a signal that I can use to find you."

Pam took the unit and clipped it to her belt. Jack said "there's an emergency pack beneath the seat in the chopper also, in case you need it."

They walked to the doors, and Jack pushed a button to open them, which also opened the doors above the elevator. Then he went over to the tail of the helicopter and, pushing down on it, caused the nose to lift so he could roll the small craft onto the elevator. Once there he pushed a button labeled 'up', and they began to rise. On the surface he quickly cleared the tie-down strap, and told the girl to get in. Starting the craft, they were able to take off a few moments later.

Jack brought them up about fifty feet, then angled towards town and tipped the nose over, quickly gaining airspeed. Pam was thrilled to be flying, and had her face stuck to the canopy, watching everything around them. After a few miles of fairly open country, during which time they'd risen to about a hundred and fifty feet, she saw that they were starting to pass over more and more homes and businesses. Within twenty minutes they had arrived near the town proper. Seeing a population area for the first time since the plague, they both felt ill at ease. It seemed to Jack like they were flying over an empty motion picture set, or a ghost town. They didn't see any people at all.

Circling downtown a few times, Jack decided to land. He flew over to main street near the center of town, and found a spot clear of power lines to set it down. As they came close to the ground however, the stench overcame them, the smell of death and rotting corpses. They both began to gag, and Jack quickly increased throttle and altitude until they were again above it. Back in the clean air they looked at each other, knowing that, in this town at least, they were likely the only living people around. Starting to feel a little better now that they were above the smell, Jack told Pam he still wanted to check out the airbase, so he turned towards the southwest and they started off at a sedate pace, still looking for signs of life below.

The area of the town they were travelling over now was different than the way they'd come, and they could see the occasional body out in the open. Also, they could see a few animals around, and signs that some of the corpses had been partially eaten. The sight made Pam sick again, and she asked Jack if they could go home. He said they could as soon as they checked out the base, and increased speed, gaining even more altitude until the details below were harder to make out.

At the airbase, the smell was even worse. Jack realized that it was blowing in from town on the prevailing breeze. Realizing there was no reason to continue until that smell had gone away, he turned around and started for home.

Arriving back at the complex, Jack circled the property to assure himself that no one had come up while they'd been gone. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary he landed on the elevator and shut down. As soon as the blades had stopped turning they got out, and Jack secured the rotor with it's tie-down strap. then, hitting the 'down' button, they descended back to the hangar. Upon reaching the bottom, Jack wheeled the Scorpion back to it's parking space. Telling Pam to return the direction finders to the rack, he walked over to a small electric aircraft tug, which was attached to a fuel trailer, and drove it over to the bird and topped off the tanks. when he was finished he returned the tractor and the two of them walked to his apartment.

"Well, that was disappointing." Jack remarked.

"It's so sad...all those people." Pam mumbled.

"I wonder how many are left, around the world, I know that Mountain Home isn't a good gauge of the rest of the world, but I have to believe that there are at least a few groups of people left, somewhere."

"Do you think we'll ever find any?" Pam asked.

"I don't know...I hope so. This world would be mighty lonely with just the two of us."

When they got to Jacks apartment, he got them a couple of cokes and they sat and talked. Both were somewhat depressed after their trip, although they both had known it'd probably be bad. After a bit, Jack stood up and said "it's too early for lunch, and I don't think either of us has much of an appetite after that, so why don't we take a walk and I can show you some of the rest of this place?"

"Ok Jack, that sounds good."

They stopped by her place so she could drop off her rifle. Jack had put his away when they were upstairs. Then they walked down the tunnel, towards the power dome. As they passed the junction they came upon a door to their right. "This was the original entrance," Jack said "but the military filled it with debris and capped it with concrete when they left. I guess we could have cleared it, but there wasn't really any point as I intended for the antenna silo to be the main entrance." A little farther on they came to the first of two doors on the left side of the tunnel. Jack opened it and they went inside. Pam looked around and saw that the room was a tunnel section about a hundred feet long, and filled with a massive engine.

"This used to be one of two water storage areas. I opened it up and now use it to house the emergency generator. The complex used to be powered by four eighteen cylinder diesel generators that were housed in the power dome. Without all the equipment we don't need nearly that much power, and I had plans for that dome, so I had this area converted. The engine and generator came out of a locomotive, and can put out as much as three megawatts of electricity if necessary." Pam looked at the huge engine and was impressed. "If you're down in this part of the complex, once in a while you may hear the engine crank up and run for a few minutes. It does that automatically to keep the engine from sitting idle too long. It'll definately startle you when it happens, but it's nothing to be concerned about."

At the next door Jack showed her the clinic. "this room is the same as the last, an old water tank. But as the clinic, it can serve as a dentist's office, emergency room, and even a surgery if necessary. One of my friends who was supposed to come to the shelter in case of an emergency was a practicing veterinarian, he was going to be our doctor."

Pam made a face and said "a veterinarian?! Why would he be the doctor?"

"Think about it," Jack said "most people doctors are either specialists, or general practitioners. A specialist only really knows his area of expertise, and a GP rarely has any experience with anything other than viral infections, bumps and bruises. But a good country vet often has dealt with bullet wounds, major trauma, and all manner of diseases and ailments that animals get into, but that any other doctor would likely never see in his career. Also, a vet has to have a working knowledge of a dozen different anatomies instead of just one, and switching from them to human isn't all that difficult."

Pam thought about it and, even though it made sense, it still sounded weird. They walked on, and soon came to the door to the power dome. Inside, Pam saw that the room was a partial circle, with tables and chairs around. "This is the main dining room. the kitchen is off to the left, and to the right is the control room and armory. straight ahead is an elevator to the upper floors and also a passage to the apartments on this level." Pam was looking around, realizing how many people were supposed to be using this place, and started to feel a little bit lonely.

Jack showed her the control room, pointing out the security monitors and alarm systems. He also showed her the controls for what the complex could use for defense. There were ten high pressure, remote control flame throwers around the outside of the complex. Jack said that each one had an aiming camera mounted on it, and was capable of shooting burning jellied fuel up to two hundred yards.

"They each have a two thousand gallon tank, which allows a full minute of fire, and they're set in such a way that their fields of fire overlap, giving us a major defensive weapon in case of attack. Each weapon is stored below ground on it's own hydraulic elevator, and can be raised in about ten seconds if needed to defend the complex. The reason I went with flame throwers instead of machine guns, is that the laws are very loose concerning them, as many farmers use smaller ones to clear brush. Machine guns and heavier weapons are difficult if not impossible to obtain legally, and for christians, the Bible tells us to obey the authority of the land, which means 'don't break the law'." Pam nodded her head in understanding.

"The security monitors and motion sensors, along with other kinds of sensors, are tied in to the computer network. if a sensor goes off a warning buzzer sounds from the computer terminal in my place, and the ones in both my second and third in commands' rooms. Also, this pager I carry has a wireless link to the system and will alert me. From any terminal I can access the monitors, and either issue basic defensive commands to the system, or call a 'red alert'. because of this, we don't need someone monitoring the system all the time. that's good, because no one was going to be here except me unless there was an emergency."

At the far end of the control room was the door to the armory. Within, Jack showed her one of the fifty sets of combat gear. Each set included a set of body armor, an H&K 91 rifle along with a dozen magazines, a set of load bearing equipment, and an M1911 .45 caliber pistol. He said that, if the place was ever attacked, this was their last line of defense. they'd try anything else they could first, but if push came to shove, the residents themselves would do whatever it took to defend the place and their families.

Leaving the control room, Jack explained that the entire second floor was made up of apartment units, so they instead went to the top. There, Jack showed her the small chapel, and the recreation area, which had a few comfortable couches and chairs scattered about, several computer terminals, and a cabinet with games and books. "The computer has a library of nearly twenty thousand books you can read from any terminal, but some folks still prefer to hold the book in their hands, so we have some of them as well."

Pam spent a few minutes looking through the games and reading the titles of the books, when suddenly, Jack's pager started buzzing.

[DirtPirate]

OH! :shock: I can't believe you left us hanging right there!!!! :shock:

C'mon...post up some more! &#58

[Christian for Israel]

ok...here's a pic of the 'scorpion' helicopter, made by rotorway:

[img]http://avia.russian.ee/foto/scorpion_too.jpg[/img]

[Christian for Israel]

Chapter 9

When his pager went off, Jack went over to one of the recreation room terminals and turned it on. As the screen came up he logged in and brought up the security system. A motion detector for the main gate had been tripped, and he selected the camera for that area and examined the picture. There appeared to be a beat up old truck not far from the gate, and he could see a couple of people moving about. He said to Pam "looks like there's someone at the front gate, but I can't make out who it is from here. let's go to the control room and see if we can zoom in on them." With that, the two went back downstairs.

Arriving at main control, Jack went to the monitor station and selected the gate camera for the large monitor. Zooming in on the truck, he saw that it was old and rusted, and the bed was piled high with stuff. He counted three people moving about, looking like they were discussing something. Two of them he was sure he'd never seen before, but the third looked familiar. after a minute it came to him, that looked like Melissa!

Jack said "I think I know one of them, that looks like the wife of one of my friends who was supposed to shelter here. I don't know the other two, but they don't appear hostile, they seem to be discussing something as equals." Thinking for a moment, he continued "Pam, stay here. I need you to watch my back. I'm going to go out there and try and bring them in. I don't think it's likely, but Melissa may be being held against her will, being used by the others to get in here. Sit here and watch the screen, they're not in range of the nearest flamethrower yet, but if they shoot me and come inside, as soon as they get past that orange post next to the road, they will be. Remember, it takes a few seconds for the weapon to raise up and get in firing position, so wait until they get about half way between the post and the flamethrower before activating it, so they won't have time to retreat even if they see it. as soon as it's up, hose them down." Jack quickly showed her how to operate the weapon control station and select the appropriate gun, and said he'd try to keep out of it's area of fire so she wouldn't toast him as well. Pam was nervous and very serious, realizing that this wasn't a game and that their lives were on the line.

She said "Jack, do you have to go? If anything happened to you I don't know WHAT I'd do. I think I'm falling in love with you, I don't want to lose you now." She pleaded.

He looked at her. "I care about you two Pam, and I'll be careful. But those are people out there and even if they're not the ones I'm thinking of, there are dang few people left. We as christians have to do everything we can to help others, if we were to lock ourselves away from others who need our help, how could we face God when the time comes? Besides, if that IS my friend, we'll be a lot better off with her and her friends in here with us."

Pam knew he was right, but she was still scared and worried for him. still, she said OK, and watched nervously as he left the room, stopping at the armory first and picking up a rifle and vest. She wished that she'd asked him to hug her goodbye, but she didn't want him to think she was trying to come on to him again. Suddenly he walked back in again, and Pam's eyes lit up. He said "I almost forgot" and reached for a couple two-way radios in a charger along the wall. Handing one to her, he said he'd call her if he needed her. With that, Jack walked back out of the room. Pam slumped back, she'd been sure he was coming back to give her a hug.

Walking out into the tunnel, Jack was thinking about Pam. 'Maybe I should have given her a hug to reassure her before I left,' he thought, but he didn't want to send the wrong signal to someone who had so recently confessed to having a problem lusting for him. Putting thoughts of the girl out of his mind, he walked towards the garage silo.

Entering the garage, Jack contemplated driving the mog out to the gate, but decided that it might scare whoever was out there, if they weren't who he thought they were. Deciding that keeping it low key was best, he got in the truck and drove it into the tunnel that led to the maintenance shop, clearing the elevator. Then bringing the elevator up to the next level, he selected one of the Max six wheel drive vehicles and, climbing in and driving onto the pad, he hit the button that opened the doors and raised him to the surface. Exiting the silo, he made his way towards the main gate, being sure to detour far enough out so that he wouldn't cross into range of the flamethrower. As he approached the gate, he saw that the people there apparently had heard him. there was a flurry of activity as they dove for cover, and a second later a shot rang out!

Jack immediately dove off the Max, the vehicle continuing on a dozen yards until it came to rest, idling. As jack tried to make himself one with the ground, he called Pam on the radio, letting her know he wasn't hit and telling her to remain alert. Then he called out "MELISSA!, IT"S JACK. STOP SHOOTING!"

Immediately he heard voices from the gate, then "JACK? IS THAT REALLY YOU? I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD."

"Well I'm not yet, but I WILL be if people keep taking shots at me!"

The woman called back, "we're coming out Jack, please hold your fire." and with that, all three of them stood up and put down their guns. Jack stood as well. He walked over to the Max and got aboard, driving it cautiously over to the gate.

As he pulled up, he said to Melissa "thank God you're alive! Are Jerry and the kids..."

"They're dead." Melissa said sadly "They died a couple of weeks ago from the plague."

Jack opened the gate, quickly going to the woman and holding her for a moment. Stepping back he said "I am so sorry Melissa, I know how much you must be hurting. I wish I could do something to ease your pain."

"It's ok Jack, God is helping me to get through."

Trying to change the subject, he said "who are your friends?"

Visibly pulling herself together, she gave him a weak smile and said "This is Eric Williams and his friend Robin Jeffrey. We found each other on the way here.

"Nice to meet you two. Well, why don't we get inside, I'm sure you're all tired and hungry. After you've had a chance to rest you can tell me about your journey."

"Sounds good to me, I've been trying to get here for more than a week." The woman said.

Jack called Pam on the radio to let her know everything was ok and they were coming in. Pam immediately replied "thank God! I was so worried." At the sound of a female voice coming from the radio, Melissa gave him a curious look, but said nothing. After they pulled their truck through, Jack closed and locked the gate. Then he led them back to the silo.

Jack instructed Eric to pull onto the elevator pad, and to stay to one side so he could get the max on as well. When they were set he pushed the button and they descended into the complex. Jack stopped them at the second level and put the Max back where he'd gotten it, then comtinued down to the third and told the group to grab their stuff and follow him.

At the junction to the main tunnel, they were met by Pam. She jumped into Jack's arms nearly hysterical, saying she'd thought he was dead when that shot was fired. He reassured her that he was fine, calming her down, but aware of how nice it was that she'd been so concerned for him. When she'd regained control of herself, Pam turned to the newcomers and said "I'm Pamela."

Jack, remembering his manners, introduced the others to the girl, and they started walking toward the dome, Pam sniffling and trying to dry her tears.

Arriving at his apartment, Jack told the others to have a seat while he got lunch together. As he went to the kitchenette, Pam followed him saying she'd help. Jack was aware that she seemed to be sticking close to him, and figured she was just a little shy around the others.

Serving lunch, Jack said "So, tell me about your trip Mel.

"Well, after Jerry and the children passed, I wasn't sure what to do. I wanted to die myself, and I figured it'd happen pretty soon. After a few days had passed and I still didn't get sick, I thought about forcing the issue. I was just so torn up about losing them. In my depression I actually prayed for God to kill me too, but while I was praying, God gave me peace instead. It was then that He led me to understand that He wasn't through with me yet, that He knew I had suffered greatly, but He still had plans for me. After hours of crying and praying, I pulled myself together enough to make some plans. Our plan was always to get here if we could, so I tried calling you, back before the phones went out. I couldn't get ahold of you, no matter when I called, day or night, and finally figured you'd died of the sickness as well. Finally, after praying about it, I got my things together and started trying to get here."

"The going was rough at first. Apparently something had caused a mass evacuation panic in Eugene. The roads were jammed solid, not just the highways, but the secondary streets as well. I ended up driving through yards and parking lots, and it took me three days just to get out of the area. Then, as I made my way through the mountains, there were occasional accidents that sometimes blocked the road completely. some of them I was able to clear with the winch, but others were too bad, and I was forced to backtrack and find other ways to get through. Eventually the road became clearer, and I was able to start making good time. That is, until I got to a small town called Harper. While driving through the town, someone started shooting at me from among the buildings. I heard a shot hit the truck, and floored the gas, trying to get away from the area. After a bit the truck got hard to control, I think they hit one of the wheels. Anyway I kept going a couple of miles, but ended up losing control and hitting a parked car. The truck wasn't fixable quickly, and I didn't want to stay in that area, so I grabbed what I could carry and headed off into the brush. After a while I decided that no one was following me, so I took off down the road. Coming to the next town, called Vale, I started looking for a place to spend the night."

Jack had been through Vale a couple of times, it was just across the border in Oregon, a tiny berg on an old state road, with nothing to make it stand out.

"I hadn't seen anybody the whole time I was traveling, unless you include the person who shot at me, and I didn't even SEE him. So, when I finally got to Vale I just went to the first store I came to, which was a gas station. I tried the door, and it was unlocked. It was getting dark, so I went in and locked the door then went to the back and got out my sleeping bag. I got into some candy from a rack, and lay down and went to sleep. The next morning I woke up because I heard glass breaking. I looked out into the store, and saw Eric and Robin standing just inside the door. When I spoke to them I thought they were going to jump out of their skin, but after talking for a bit they calmed down. They told me they were hungry, and just looking for food. I told them to help themselves to what was there, and they went right to it, stuffing themselves with the candy like they hadn't eaten in a week. Afterwards they told me they were all alone, and had nowhere to go. I told them I knew of a place that had food and supplies, and asked them if they wanted to go with me."

At this point, Eric spoke up. "After my parents died, I didn't know what to do. When I'd eaten everything there was in the house, I started looking in the other houses in town. That's how I found Robin. She was hiding in her home, having lost her whole family as well. We'd gone to high school together but in different grades, I'm a senior and she's a freshman, but we knew each other at least. We started looking for food together, and had just about decided to try to get to another town, when we found Melissa in the 'Stop 'n Go'. When she said she had a place to go, we both were so relieved, we jumped at the chance to go with her. I had my truck outside, so we helped her get her stuff together and in the truck, and left."

Mel spoke up again "we traveled all that day, and ended up in Boise. Knowing we needed some guns, we found a pawn shop there and got a couple."

Jack had seen their guns, a .22 rifle and an old Marlin .30-.30.

"There wasn't much ammo in the pawn shop, but there was enough. I gave the 30-30 to Eric, and took over the driving for the final leg of the journey. When we pulled up to the gate, I realized I'd forgotten the code to unlock it. As we were trying to decide what to do, we noticed you coming this way. I thought you were dead, and didn't know who would be coming towards us from the inside, so I told Eric and Robin to get down behind something."

"I'm sorry I shot at you mister, but Melissa said that there wasn't supposed to be anybody here. Anyway, it was just a warning shot. Heck, as bad as I was shaking, I doubt if I coulda' hit ya' even if I was tryin'."

Jack said it was ok, he understood. "I might've done the same thing in your place Eric."

Eric looked relieved.

"Well, that's our story. Now, what's yours?" Jack told them that he'd been staying with some friends in Butte when it all started. Then he gave them a rundown of the events up until that time. When he was finished, everyone decided it was time to call it a night. Jack showed Melissa to the apartment across from Pam. Then Eric and Robin, who said that, while they weren't a couple, they didn't want to be apart right now, to one further down.

Lying in bed that night, Pam was having trouble sleeping. She kept remembering the sight of Jack diving off the ATV, and her thinking he was dead. Then, after learning he was ok, she'd felt something totally different when she'd watched him on the monitor, walking through the gate and hugging this new woman. She'd been watching that woman since she'd come out from behind the truck. She appeared to be in her mid thirties...like Jack. Then, when she saw Jack hugging her, Pam felt something kind of like anger inside herself, and she realized that Jack would never want her with a grown woman here.

It was a long time before Pam got to sleep.

[DirtPirate]

Intriguing, although I'm not sure I would immediately trust Eric and Robin...not enough to sleep without some sort of warning that they might be out and about.

So...how many chapters do you have completed altogether?

[Christian for Israel]

oh, 40 something...

thanks for the feedback. it's readers like you that make it all worthwhile. &#58