Amanda laughed softly. “It really is. It’s hard to imagine anything horrible happening in the world when you can see this night sky and hear the forest remaining so alive.” She inhaled deeply. “Everything smells so fresh, so clean… so new and full of promise. Can’t we pretend everything is normal?” she asked wistfully.

  “That’s moss and wet pine needles you’re smelling,” Ennis joked.

  “Ha ha ha. You know what I mean. This is the kind of place people dream of retiring to, and we’re living it,” she replied.

  “If only there weren’t crazy people not more than a dozen miles away, ready to take over the world and all the people in it,” Austin quipped.

  “Seriously, though. What if we could hide this place? Make it our own private retreat that the rest of the world will never find? Think about those people who live in the Amazon. They’ve lived away from the world in general, maintaining their own little corner with no one bugging them,” Amanda said.

  “It’s a nice idea, but it isn’t realistic,” Austin said, unwilling to dwell on a fantasy.

  “It could be,” Ennis replied.

  Austin leaned forward to look at him, peering around Amanda’s wistful expression. “How? There are too many people, and this place is too close to the city.”

  Ennis shrugged. “Not really. There are a lot less people living in the city than there were two months ago. I would guess a large chunk of the population fled to their own secret hidey holes, and another large chunk’s been killed or perished for one reason or another,” he reasoned.

  “That is so sad,” Amanda murmured, half to herself. “What do you think the population is right now? And it’s been what, a matter of a few months?”

  Austin shook his head, sighing at the gravity of the situation. “I don’t know. By the end of winter, I think it’s safe to assume the population of the United States alone will drop in half. With no food supply, few people with electricity to heat homes, and sickness in general, it’s going to be devastating,” he said. “And the South is probably losing people to heat stroke as we speak.”

  There was a silence among them as they all digested the information. Austin hadn’t let himself think too much about the devastating effects that the EMP would have had on people all around the country. He’d been caught up in his own world, trying to save his daughter, and now just trying to survive. He’d seen some of the death first-hand, but knew that was only a small glimpse into what would have been happening in the larger cities. He pushed it out of his mind, preferring to stay in a place where he didn’t have to think about children dying or their parents dying and leaving them alone in the world to fend for themselves.

  “Want a drink?” Ennis asked, holding up a bottle of whiskey and cutting through the gloomy silence that had wrapped a heavy cloak of dread around them.

  “Sure,” Austin said, grabbing it and taking a swig directly from the bottle.

  “Austin, we need to make a plan,” Amanda said.

  “A plan for what?” he asked.

  “For staying here.”

  He looked at her, then his brother. “Even after we saw those men in the forest?”

  “They were a good five miles away. Maybe more, considering how fast we were walking. We don’t know they would ever have found this place,” Amanda pointed out.

  “And if they had?” he asked.

  “We can take steps to hide this place a little better. We talked about it before, and I think it’s more important than ever to do it now,” she explained.

  “What do you have in mind?” he asked, resigned to the idea at least for the immediate future.

  “We block the road leading to the driveway first,” Ennis answered.

  “With?” Austin asked.

  “There’s enough manpower here, we can put some large boulders into place, maybe a couple large logs,” he said.

  Austin chuckled. “The guys we saw were on foot; they’ll go around.”

  “If the road is blocked, we eliminate the threat of people coming in by car. You said those soldiers you encountered on the way here were in Humvees?” he asked.

  “True—Amanda and I saw them when we were traipsing around to cover our tracks. I guess that will slow them in that respect,” he agreed, though unconvinced it would help prevent people in general from finding the house.

  “The dirt road leading up here is already fading with lack of use. We’ll help it along. People might assume it’s an old logging road,” Amanda said, reasonably enough. “We can cut some tree branches and toss them over the roadway off the main road. We’ll make it look as natural as possible. So far, everyone has been smart, not using the same paths around the area when they go out looking for plants or for walks. We talked about that early, and everyone listened.”

  Austin nodded. “Okay, I like that. What about creating some kind of alarm system to give us warning when someone is close?”

  Amanda nudged him with her shoulder. “That’s the spirit. We have all those cans from the canned food we’ve been eating. We can attach them to some fishing line strung low to the ground. They’ll clank together when someone trips the wire.”

  “How are we going to hear that?” Ennis asked.

  Austin looked at him and shrugged. “We might need to talk about having security running around the clock. And at night, when there’s no one talking, sound carries pretty far.”

  “What? Really? You want someone to stay on watch all night?” Amanda exclaimed.

  “Yes, really. Wouldn’t you rather be safe than sorry?”

  She looked thoughtful before nodding in agreement. “You’re right. I have to keep reminding myself we’re not in Kansas anymore, so to speak. Even in the barracks with hundreds of airmen sleeping in their bunks, there was always a night shift keeping watch over things. There are enough of us to take turns, too. Do you think the revivalists will participate?”

  “They have to. This isn’t only for our safety. They’re here too,” Ennis replied. “And it’s not like we’re talking about shooting anyone. We’re talking about keeping watch. They see anything, they’ll be raising an alarm, not going on attack.”

  Austin took another drink from the bottle before handing it back to Ennis. “I agree. Plus, we saw what they’re capable of. I know they all have their own beliefs about taking a life, but human instinct is to survive. If they’re threatened, they’re going to fight back. Really, worse comes to worse, all we need them to do is fire a shot in the air and alert the rest of us that we have a problem.”

  “Good point. When we present it to them, that’s exactly what we need to tell them. I think that will help it go over a little easier,” Amanda said.

  “What about setting traps?” Ennis offered.

  “Like, human traps?” Amanda asked, her voice full of disgust.

  Austin chuckled. “I don’t think he meant for eating. I think that’s a good idea, but we’re going to have to make sure we’re all careful not to trigger them ourselves.”

  Amanda playfully slapped his leg. “I knew that, Austin. But, okay… We can rig something in the trees. When a person triggers the trap, a bucket of something will dump over their heads.”

  “That works. What are we going to put in the bucket?” Austin asked.

  She shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know; poop, rocks, thistle heads, pee,” she said.

  “I like that—well, not the poop, but the other things are great,” Austin agreed.

  Ennis chuckled. “I think poop is a great idea!”

  Amanda giggled, taking her turn with the bottle. “I know if a bucket of poop dumped on my head, I’d be turning around and going the other way.”

  The three of them laughed, enjoying the peaceful night together as they kept brainstorming for another hour before deciding to turn in for the night. It was nights like these that made it easy to forget about the destruction happening all around them.

  Austin couldn’t shake the feeling that the worst was yet to come, though. Maybe it was his journalist’s intuition in overdrive, but something felt off. There was no way they could all live up here happily ever after, not with soldiers actively hunting them and others. It wasn’t a matter of if, but when the house would be found. He wanted to be prepared as much as possible.

  11

  Malachi sat down next to the tiny creek flowing downhill from what appeared to be a natural spring. Amanda and Austin had come across it on one of their scouting adventures, telling everyone they had found a source of running water. With no real destination in mind, he’d set off on his own to explore the mountainside, eager to see the creek. He knew he wasn’t supposed to, and knew it was risky, but he needed time alone.

  It had been three days since the encounter with the soldiers in the woods. Austin and Amanda were already planning their next scavenging mission into the city, claiming the risk was a necessary one. Malachi had volunteered to go. He needed to see what it was like out there. Plus, he wanted to get away from the constant barrage of opinions from the other revivalists who were looking to him as their new leader amongst the group. They all wanted him to hold regular sermons. He wasn’t up to that—not yet.

  He needed time to think and get his head straight. Everyone had an opinion and wanted him to hear it. He was only fifteen, though! He didn’t know what to do. He wanted Austin or Ennis to make the decisions. Unfortunately, there was an obvious divide between the two groups. There was his group and there was Savannah’s family. And he, even though he was the youngest, had somehow become the person the revivalists were turning to. It was like they needed him to give them the okay to stay or go. It was too much.

  It felt like he’d been in a nightmare that wouldn’t cease. Everything was wrong. His life had been so easy, so boring, even if it hadn’t been the life of a typical fifteen-year-old. Traveling the country, preaching and spreading the word of God while being homeschooled was all he knew. His mom, dad, and grandpa had been his whole world. He’d never had close friends his own age, or even a cell phone to surf the internet with before the EMP had happened, but he’d had his family. He had known what he was supposed to do with his life, too, and now all of that was in question.

  His father had always assumed he would carry on the family torch, but he was supposed to have learned more from his father before the torch was passed to him. He hadn’t learned enough yet, no matter what the others thought. Worse, he no longer felt that draw to be a part of the family business. In fact, he wasn’t entirely sure he had ever felt the calling. He’d always assumed it would come later, when he got older. Now, he felt like he was at a crossroads in his life and he had to make a decision, but there were no clues or knowledge for him to base that decision on.

  Malachi picked up a stick, stirring the crystal-clear water and wondering what to do next. They had traveled west with the intention of going home. Staying at the house hadn’t been part of the plan. Things had just kind of happened that way. But at least his mom was perking up. The sermon he’d given last night seemed to have helped her. She’d smiled for the first time in a long time and fallen into some of her old ways, leading the very small group in song before sitting and chatting with everyone.

  He took a deep breath, inhaling the clean air before slowly making his way back to the house. He didn’t want anyone to notice he’d been gone. Savannah would probably be looking for him already. She was trying to be his friend, but he’d been pushing her away. He didn’t want the distraction of a pretty girl. He was having a hard enough time trying to keep his mind right.

  When he returned to the house, he found his mom sitting alone under the shade of some tall pines about fifty feet from the house. He sat beside her on the hard ground.

  “Why are you out here all alone?” he asked.

  She offered him a small smile. “I like to come out here alone and think. It makes me feel closer to your father. I swear I can hear him beside me sometimes.”

  Malachi nodded in understanding. “I believe he is watching over us.”

  “How was your walk? Did you find the answers you were looking for?” she asked softly.

  He grimaced, realizing he’d been caught going off on his own. “Sorry,” he muttered.

  “Don’t be. I know you needed some time away. I would have sent out a search party if you were gone too long,” she teased.

  “It was good to be alone… really, truly alone for a little while. It feels like everything is so much louder now. Do you know what I mean?” he asked her.

  She smiled, and he noticed that the dark circles that had been under her eyes for so long seemed to be fading. “I do know. We have to remember to give ourselves time to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. He can bring us peace if we allow Him to.”

  “I know. It’s like all the bad stuff has pushed Him away.”

  “Which is why it’s time to find Him again. We need His presence to guide us,” she advised.

  “I do feel lost,” he said on a sigh.

  She paused, and then answered, “You’ve made me very proud these past couple of weeks, my son. You’ve really taken on such responsibility, filling his role. Your father would be proud, too. It’s okay to feel a little lost; we all do. We’re finding our way,” she assured him.

  “Thank you. I just needed some time to think. Some of the others came to me last night,” he added.

  She stopped the weaving of the tall grass she had piled up beside her. “Oh? What did they have to say?”

  “Some of them think we should be going into town to help others,” he said, knowing this was what had been weighing most heavy on his mind since they’d first told him the night before.

  His mom put a hand on his arm. “Malachi, you are a natural born leader. They are looking to you because they see you as a leader.”

  “But what about Harlen or Drew, or you?” he protested.

  She smiled and shook her head. “You are the next in line. You were born into this life. You already demonstrate leadership qualities. With time, you will feel comfortable.”

  “What do I do now?” he asked.

  She shrugged, staring off into the trees. “I think you know. What would your father do?”

  “You think we should go into the city and offer help?” he asked, a ball of nerves in his gut. He’d known she would say that, and that that was what his father would have said. What he felt was something else.

  She smiled. “I think we are in a position to help others. We have a doctor of sorts who could offer medical attention to those in need. Gretchen is studying the medicinal plants in the area. The vast library Ennis keeps has given us a huge advantage. Think about the volunteer work we used to do. Think about the meals we provided for those who had nothing to eat, and the shelter we offered to those who had nothing.”

  Malachi sighed. “These things are not ours to offer,” he pointed out.

  “No, but we can pray with those who need hope. We can offer them help in many ways, even if it isn’t giving them a home. We have so much here, how can we not share? What do you think God would do, were He here?” she asked, posing the question he had heard so many times throughout his life.

  The question was meant to provide him with a Due North reading on his moral compass. And, deep down, he knew what to do, but he also knew he didn’t have the support of Austin and the others. They weren’t big on charity. They were more concerned about keeping the house protected, and protected those who resided within. He could understand that, too.

  “It isn’t ours to give,” he reminded her.

  “We don’t always give material things. We give love, support, and understanding. If we have a single loaf of bread and there are others starving, what should we do?” she asked, her voice soft.

  He sighed. “We share. God always provides if we do the right thing.”

  She smiled, her eyes lighting up. “You’re a good boy, Malachi. I know you’re struggling. You can always talk to me, and God is there for you, as well, don’t forget.”

  “Mom, do you want to stay here?” he asked bluntly.

  She let out a long sigh. “I don’t know. I don’t know that we have a home to go to. I thought that’s what we were meant to do, but I don’t know if that’s our destiny.”

  “Harlen keeps talking about that refugee camp,” he said.

  She shook her head. “I don’t think it’s wise to travel that far. Not again. Salt Lake City, perhaps, but Seattle? Here, we have safety, community, and we can live freely. I don’t want to put your life at risk again. We don’t know if that camp is real or a rumor started by the people who’ve put out that disgusting literature. It could be a ploy, a way to get us all in one place to make their jobs easier,” she said vehemently, shocking Malachi.

  “So, you want to stay?” he asked, finding he was almost hoping she would say yes.

  “Yes, I think that is the right decision. If things change, we’ll reevaluate.”

  He slowly nodded. He was happy to know his mother was okay with hanging out a little longer. He’d feared that, as she’d begun feeling better, she’d have become more anxious to move on.

  “Do you think the tension will ease?” he asked, knowing she’d understand his meaning.

  “I think we all have to learn what it means to live together. I talked with Amanda yesterday. She talked about building some cabins to provide us more living space. There is tension because none of us really know each other. It will take time. If it’s meant to be, it will be,” she said, her voice firm.

  Malachi smiled. “It’s nice to have you back, Mom.”

  She chuckled as she picked up her weaving. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you the past couple of weeks. I was overwhelmed by grief. I feel like I can breathe again. You can always talk to me. Never feel like you have to carry your burdens alone. You have me, you have God, and your father is always present.”

  “Thank you. I needed to hear that.” He watched her work for a few moments, and then stood. “I should go find Jordan and Ezra. We’re going to be stacking that wood we chopped,” he said, dusting off his pants.

 

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