Mountain Home

[godisnum1]

where'd everybody go?

btw, I'm still here... but you're gonna laugh at why I haven't been responding, though I've received every e-mail update and been chompin' at the bit to read more. But for the time being, I'm STUCK on Chapter 14... because my fiance is MAKING me wait for her to "catch up" to me!! :D We've both been VERY busy with our classwork though, since she'll be flying down here on Monday to spend a week with me and my family while we all drive up to Alabama for Thanksgiving with my dad's side of the family, and we both HAVE to get all of our homework done for next week so we have nothing to do while we're together (since we've spent most of our relationship 1,200 miles apart) and we like to enjoy what time we have together. :)

Anyway, I PROMISE I'll be posting again as soon as she gets caught up to me and WE get caught up to you!!! lol

Bran <><

[Christian for Israel]

Brian, THAT is a good excuse! you take care of what you need to and comment when you are able. also, tell your fiance' her comments are most welcome also.

elittle, all those reasons plus the tendency for them to run away...pigs are just dangerous. give me a BAR any day!

[Christian for Israel]

Chapter 20

Eric had been spending a considerable amount of time flying the Viper. He loved the little jet, and took it up whenever he could. One day, while ac***ulating flight hours in it and showing Robin how it handled, they flew over a small valley about sixty miles north of the complex. Looking into the valley, they spotted cows grazing, and knowing that Jack wanted a bull, the boy decided to fly low and slow over the area and see if they could see any.

After several minutes, Robin called out “there’s one Eric, off to the right.”

Looking to where she’d indicated, he spotted the animal also, and knew the others would be pleased. Circling back, he checked out the rest of the valley, then returned to the complex to tell them the news.

After landing, the couple hunted down Jack and let him know what they’d found. Hearing about the bull, Jack got the details of the area and said “If that’s the same place I’m thinking of, that animal’s gonna be tough to get out of there.”

“Why’s that?” Robin wanted to know.

“Because there’s no road into the area, except for a dirt bike trail. Last time I tried to drive there, even the mog had trouble. There’s no way we’ll ever get that horse trailer in there, and that’s the only way I know of moving an animal that size.”

Deciding that the bull wasn’t likely to leave the area anytime soon, the group agreed to discuss it with the others and figure out a solution to the problem.

Upon hearing the news and finding out about the situation with the location, Mel said “you know, I saw a movie on TV one time where these guys carried a water buffalo under a helicopter. Do you think you could do that with the Huey, Jack?”

Considering her suggestion, Jack thought it might be possible. “Maybe, but it’d have to be knocked out. I doubt if we could attach the sling to the animal with it awake, and if it thrashed about it could injure itself.”

“What about knocking it out with a dart gun?” Pam asked.

“Where would we get something like that?” He asked.

“A veterinary hospital?”

“Hmm, I guess we could look, anyway,” He replied.

That afternoon Jack, Mel and Eric took the Huey into Mountain Home. Jack knew there had been a large animal clinic in town that had serviced many of the ranches in the area. Finding the place, he landed in the parking lot. Leaving Eric to watch the bird, the other two went inside to see what they could find.

Walking inside, they were surprised to see the dried out body of a person in a lab coat lying halfway behind the front counter. Taking a closer look, Jack saw that it was the woman who ran the place, the Vet he’d dealt with on several occasions in the past, as he’d used her as a source for medications for the shelter. He figured she must have stayed here to take care of the animals, and eventually died here.

Moving past her into the back room, the two were startled to see all the dead animals. Hesitating for a second, they stared into the cages.

“Well, at least the smell is gone. It’s so sad though, you know?” Mel said.

“I know,” he responded, “But it’s something we’re going to see a lot of as we go around looking for stuff, so I guess we’d better get used to it.”

Looking around, they found the supply room. On one shelf was what they were after, a tranquilizer rifle and darts. Looking further, they found the anesthesia meds, and a dosage chart for various animals, including cattle. Taking everything, the two returned to the chopper.

“Find what we needed?” Eric asked when they walked out.

“Yep, at least I hope so, anyway.” Jack said.

“We’d probably better test this stuff on a cow before we use it on the bull though,” Mel said. “I’d sure hate to go to all this trouble and then kill the dang thing by giving it an overdose.”

“Or have it wake up before we get it home.” Jack quipped

Agreeing, the group took off and went to a local cattle ranch where they’d left several cows. After finding one for the experiment, they filled a dart with the listed amount of the drug for cattle, and fired it at the animal. It took several minutes to have any effect, but eventually it went down and stopped moving. Approaching the cow, Mel checked for breathing and found everything looked all right.

“We’d better wait until the drug wears off. That way we’re sure the animal is all right and we’ll know how long the effect lasts.”

Thinking that last part of her statement to be the most important, Jack said “ok, let’s get something to eat, I packed some stuff in the chopper just in case.”

Ribbing him about always being prepared, the others went back to the bird to wait.

Two hours later the cow started coming around, and forty-five minutes after that, it got up and started to graze. Deciding they had seen enough to know the stuff worked, the they returned to the complex, as it was starting to get dark.

The next morning the group met in the hangar. They decided that Mel would stay behind with Robin this time, and the others would go get the bull. Robin looked dejected at the thought of staying behind again. After all, she’d worked hard to keep up with the others so she wouldn’t have to be left out anymore. But they had convinced her that, in her ‘delicate condition’, playing with a full grown bull just wasn’t too bright.

Jack had left the Huey on the elevator the night before, since they would be taking it back out in the morning anyway. It’d been quite a trick getting it squeezed into the crowded hangar, and in the end they’d had to disassemble two kit planes and move them and the Para-glider to the top level of the garage silo. Only the fact that this particular model of the craft, the 412, had folding blades made it possible, as the four blades stuck out almost twenty feet to each side, and the elevator was only thirty feet wide.

Getting the craft set up for flight, the group got on board and headed to the valley in question. It took more than two hours to find the bull, and Eric was getting frustrated, swearing to the others that they’d really seen it. Finally they spotted it, hidden for the most part under some trees near a stream that ran through the valley.

Knowing it would be impossible to hook up to the animal with it under the trees, Jack brought the bird in low, scaring it and making it run out into the field. When it was far enough away that there was little chance it would head back, he told Pam to go ahead, and she fired, hitting the animal in the flank. Within minutes it was down, and they cautiously approached. Determining the bull was well out of it, they spread the cargo net they’d taken from the army reserve base out behind it. Getting that done, Eric asked “How are we going to move it onto the net jack, it must weigh a ton!”

“Watch and learn, grasshopper.” Jack said.

“Grasshopper? Huh?” Eric said, looking confused.

Realizing he was too young to remember the old TV show, Jack said “forget it, it was before your time.”

Tying the bulls’ legs together, Jack attached a rope to them and tied the other end to the landing skid of the helicopter. Then getting in, he lifted off and gently pulled until the animal rolled over, settling in the middle of the net. Setting down again, they untied the rope from its legs and gathered the corners of the net, fixing them to the cable attached to the sling hook on the chopper.

When they were all set they got aboard and Jack eased the load into the air. Traveling slowly so as not to set up a swinging in the load, they made their way back to the complex. The flight was uneventful, and they arrived an hour later. Setting down the load, Jack told Eric to get out and cut the bindings on the bull’s legs, then come back. When he returned, they lifted off and landed on the elevator pad, planning on retrieving the net after the animal awoke and moved off. With the task accomplished, the group went inside to grab a bite to eat.

*

Over the next several days, they observed as the bull got used to his new home. Eventually he took over the herd, and started mounting the cows one by one. This made Jack very happy, not only would they now have a renewable source of beef, but they’d also be able to collect fresh milk. The milk problem had always bugged him. Powdered milk was ok, but it didn’t last more than a couple of years in storage. Worse than that as far as he was concerned, it couldn’t be used to make ice cream, and he’d always liked ice cream. Now, with fresh milk available, they could make that and many other things besides, including real butter and cheese.

Pam had also noticed the bull in action, but she wasn’t thinking about milk. She’d noticed that Robin’s belly was starting to poke out a bit, and it made her want to have a baby of her own. Finally coming to grips with the idea of getting married, she decided to talk to Jack about it.

Calling him on the intercom one morning, she asked if she could talk to him about something. Jack told her to come on up and waited for her in his apartment. When she arrived he could tell she was nervous, so he invited her to sit down and relax, taking a seat across from her.

“I can see you’re upset Pam, what is it?” He asked.

“I’m not upset Jack, I was just wondering…why haven’t you ever asked me to marry you?”

Startled by the question, he replied “well, for starters, I didn’t want to push you. I could see that you weren’t all that thrilled with the idea, and I figured that I could wait until you were ready.”

Overcome with love for him because of his consideration, the girl said “at first I didn’t think I was ready, and the idea kinda scared me, but the past few months here have changed that. I want to marry you Jack, I want to be your wife.”

With happiness filling his soul (he’d wondered if she’d EVER get over her reluctance to getting married), Jack took the girl into his arms and said “that would make me the happiest man alive babe.”

Thrilled with his response, she said “so, when can we do it?”

“First we both need to make sure we know what we’re getting ourselves into. You know that marriage is permanent, right? God allows divorce for only one reason, but even then He doesn’t like it. In a perfect relationship, the couple would forgive and work through any problem, and stay together. Also, if someone else came along in the future, someone closer to your own age, you would still be married to me and wouldn’t be able to just up and leave, no matter how much you liked this other person.”

“Oh Jack, I’d NEVER want to leave you! No matter who came along. I love you, and I’d never do anything to hurt you, ever!”

“Ok, as long as you’re clear on that.”

The two spent several hours discussing the details of marriage, and in the end Jack felt the girl really was ready. But he also knew he was biased, and asked her to talk to Mel also, just to make sure.

Mel was thrilled that the girl had finally made the decision, but she also understood the importance of being sure. After talking with her for the rest of the afternoon, she was convinced as well. Next, they had to decide how to conduct the ceremony.

Pam suggested that Mel officiate at the service, but she disagreed. “According to scripture, women aren’t supposed to take a position superior to a man, and that rules out me performing the marriage. As I see it, there are only two options. First, as Eric pointed out when he married Robin, the Bible doesn’t say anywhere that a pastor or other official is needed. The reason we did it that way before is that the law said we had to, and the Bible DOES tell us to obey the authority of the land, which means obeying the law as long as it doesn’t oppose scripture. But now, with society and its laws gone, we can fall back on the scriptures themselves to find out how to do things. Therefore, if you two decide, you could simply stand together in front of the rest of us and declare your intent to stay together and fulfill the marriage covenant.

“Second, you could get Eric to officiate, as he’s the only other man here, and therefore the only one able to fulfill the role. Why don’t you and Jack talk it over, and decide which way you’d like to go. I won’t mention these options to the others to spare Eric’s feelings if you choose not to use him, ok?”

Pam said that would be great, and went to talk these things over with her husband to be.

In the end they decided to do it themselves. Standing in front of the rest of the group in the chapel, they recited their vows, almost word for word the same ones Eric and Robin had said. Afterwards, Jack bent over and kissed his bride, amid the cheering of the others. Retiring to the rec room for the reception, Pam couldn’t wait to finally get her new husband alone. After a short celebration, Jack took his bride to their apartment, and they didn’t show themselves again for two days.

[jrain]

Still enjoying the story. Keep it coming.

[Christian for Israel]

Chapter 21

Just because the newlyweds didn’t leave the apartment for two days didn’t mean they spent the entire time in bed. On the contrary, mostly they sat and talked, watched movies together and generally enjoyed spending time together, just the two of them.

When they finally did emerge, Pam was radiant with happiness and Jack seemed more relaxed than the others had ever seen him. Mel thought it was cute the way they both walked around with a grin on their faces all that day, but she didn’t comment on it.

For her part, Pam was deliriously happy. She’d been a little afraid on their wedding night, but Jack had been slow and gentle, being more concerned with her happiness than his own. The result had been an experience beyond anything she’d ever imagined, and way beyond anything her friends had ever talked about when she was in school. Thinking about it, she realized that what Robin had said was most likely true. When done right (in marriage), and when both people were serving God, sex truly was a thousand times better than if she’d just ‘done it’ with anyone who was available.



As it was now early September and Jack knew winter would be there before they knew it, he decided that the livestock would need better quarters for the long cold months ahead. Sitting down with the others, he sketched out what he thought would be needed. The rest of the group offered suggestions as he went and they finally agreed on how to go about the project. After a trip into Mountain Home for supplies, they got to work. Two weeks later they were almost done, and everyone was impressed with what they had accomplished.

The animal barn sat on top of the number three silo. This was one of the storage silos and didn’t open anymore. There was however an access port that used to be used to fill the liquid oxygen tanks for the missile. That would give them access to the structure without having to walk through the snow that usually started some time in November. It was through this access port that they also ran the water and electrical lines, ensuring that the water pipes wouldn’t freeze. The barn was built large, and divided. The bull had his own area, built out of heavy steel pipe and angle iron, to make sure he didn’t break out. The cow area had one section set aside for milking and another for calving. Dividing the cow and bull areas was a feed trough set up with an automatic feeder. They’d found it at the co-op in town and it would provide just enough for all the animals each day. The hopper was filled with enough feed to last for six months. Next to the trough was a water tank, also accessible by both sides.

Going through the back wall one entered the pig house and chicken coop. these two sat side by side and also had automatic feeders and waterers. Doors to separate outdoor yards were set in both sides, and could be closed during cold months. All the pens had concrete floors and there was a hose available to allow the group to hose down the pens to help keep the place clean. Heaters attached to the walls would keep the temp above sixty degrees automatically and all Jack and the others would have to do was wash the floors down every few days and collect the milk and eggs.

Jack and Eric had been wiring in the lights and were almost finished when Jack’s pager started buzzing. Dropping what they were doing, the two men raced down the access port and to the intercom at the entrance to the silo. Hitting the button, Jack called for someone to go to the control room and see what had set off the alarm system. A moment later Pam called back and told them that they’d gotten a message in on the radio.

Jack had forgotten all about the automatic signal they were sending out, as there had never been a reply. Telling Pam they’d be there in a minute, he and the boy started off towards the power dome at a trot.

Out of breath from the run, he saw the message on the monitor next to the radio.

“G6WZZMJ calling whoever is sending out the automatic signal. Please respond.”

Sitting in front of the terminal, Jack typed “hello? Can you hear me? Who are you? We’d about given up hope of finding anyone else around, this is the first time anyone’s called us on the radio.”

After a moment, more words appeared on the screen. “Well I’m not surprised, as this frequency is usually only used for air traffic. I just happened to be bored enough to be monitoring it when I heard your automatic signal. My name’s Michael and I’m in upstate New York.”

“Hello Michael” Jack typed, “my name’s Jack and I’m in southern Idaho. How are things where you are? Is there anyone else there with you? Have you contacted anyone else?” He was full of questions. To actually be communicating with someone across the country was amazing to him after so many months of silence.

“Well, things aren’t too good here Jack, I don’t imagine they are many places anymore. There are five of us here, myself, my wife, and our three kids. As for contact, I’ve spoken with several groups around the world, but no one has the ability to do more than just talk.”

“Did you say your wife and kids? How did you all manage to survive the plague together?”

“Well, I guess they aren’t really my wife and kids, although I think of them that way now. Jennifer I met about three months ago and she found two of the kids along the way to where I’m at. The other child, Eddie, I found in his parents house not long after everyone around here died. I know they’re not really my family, but it makes it nicer to think of them that way.”

“Sounds like they’re family to me Michael. You said things aren’t so great there, why is that? Is there some way we could help?

“I don’t see how. We were doing great at first, but we live in a very rural area. At first I went all over looking for folks, and used up most all the gas I could find doing that. Now that we’re all together here, we’ve gone through the food quickly and there’s no more around. We don’t have enough gas left to go looking for more and it’s too cold to walk, especially for the young’uns. By my figuring we should have enough to get us through to January…after that I don’t know what’s gonna happen.”

Thinking for a moment, Jack said “Michael, I need to discuss something with my people here. Could you call me back on this channel in about two hours? We may be able to do something to help you all out.”

“Are you serious?! Sure, I’ll call you back…what could you do?”

“I’m not sure at this time, let me talk it over with my people first.”

“Ok, talk to you in a couple of hours then… G6WZZMJ out.”

Switching off the radio, Jack looked at the others and suggested they go into the dining room where they’d be more comfortable and discuss an idea of his. Getting up, everyone filed out.


An hour later they were still ‘discussing’ Jack’s idea. Actually, discussion was too nice a word, in reality this was an argument.

“I just can’t believe you want to bring them here Jack, especially after what happened with Doug.” Mel said, throwing her arms up in frustration. “Didn’t that whole episode show you how dangerous it is to open ourselves to outsiders?”

“Mel, calm down, have a seat and let me say my piece…please.” Jack was weary, this wasn’t going as he’d thought it would.

Pam, Eric and Robin hadn’t said much, mostly they just sat on the sidelines and watched, but Eric was decidedly with Mel on this one, he didn’t see any reason for them to open themselves to that sort of danger again. Thinking about what had happened before, he put his arm around his wife and drew her close.

“Look, first off there’s no reason to get upset, I just want to put it to a vote. And I won’t do anything until we have a unanimous decision, so just relax.” Jack started. “Next, I have two main reasons why I want to do this, and after I list them we can vote. If just one here is against this, we won’t do it…fair enough?”

The others looked at each other, nodding. Mel sat down, still looking upset, but willing to listen anyway.

“Ok, reason number one. These people need help. They had no reason to lie to us as we’re thousands of miles away and they never thought we could do anything for them in the first place. They need help or they’re not going to make it through the winter. As Christians, our duty is to God first, and one of the things He tells us to do is help each other. As for the danger, as long as we are doing His work, we’re supposed to look to Him for protection, setting aside our fear and trusting Him to take care of us.”

At this, Mel spoke up. “What about what happened with Doug, why didn’t God take care of us then Jack?”

“Who says He didn’t? How do any of us know that without God’s direct intervention, Doug wouldn’t have dragged Robin off into some dark corner, like in one of the storage silos, and then raped her? If he’d done that, there’s no way any of us could have gotten to her in time to stop him, and she’d be in a much worse condition now, if he didn’t kill her outright. It’s obvious to me that God wanted us to witness to that man, which is why he came here to begin with. But God also was watching out for us, and that’s why Doug was stupid enough to attack one of us in an area where the others would be close by.”

Mel wanted to keep arguing, but she saw enough truth in what he said to keep her mouth closed.

Continuing, Jack said “now for reason number two. Robin and Eric are going to have a baby soon. Pam and I are working on that as well.” At this, Pam blushed. “So tell me…who’ll our kids marry when they get old enough? Each other, right? But who will THEIR kids marry?”

Jack paused a moment, letting the others think about that for a second.

“According to experts, it takes at least six hundred unrelated people of child bearing age to provide enough genetic diversity to allow a society to grow. Without that many, the descendants will eventually end up marrying their close relatives, and the society will die due to mutations resulting from compounded genetic defects, including retardation and sterility. The only way to avoid this is to get as many different people of child bearing age together as possible, at least six hundred, but preferably several thousand.

“Look, letting others in here may have its dangers, but is that any reason to deny our descendants the chance to exist? Think about out grand kids, and our great-grand kids, don’t they deserve a chance? Well, we’re the ones who get to decide if they get that chance or not, and that decision involves just what we’re discussing right now…whether to gather as many people as we can and bring them here, or not.”

“Ok, I’ve said my piece, why don’t we all pray and think about this tonight and vote on it in the morning…ok?”

The others sat there stunned. They had never even considered the children or their future, only thinking about what was best for themselves. Realizing their own selfishness, they got up and went out of the room to pray and think about what they’d heard. Jack took the opportunity to call Michael and ask him to call back the next day, then went to his apartment.

The next morning Jack and Pam walked over to the dining room. The night before, when he’d gotten up to the apartment, Pam had been in tears. As he’d stepped off the elevator she’d gone to him, hugging him and asking him to forgive her for being so selfish.

“It’s all right, you didn’t know.” He said, trying to comfort her.

“But you were right, Jack, and the rest of us were wrong. We HAVE to get other people here, I see that now. If we don’t our children won’t have any future at all.”

Glad that she’d seen the light and hoping the others did now as well, he had continued to comfort his wife until they went to bed.

Entering the dining room, they saw that everyone else was there as well. Mel looked embarrassed, and Eric still looked unsure, but Robin smiled at them when they walked in and Jack thought that everything would probably be all right.

They decided to vote before breakfast, and as Jack had hoped, it was unanimous in favor of bringing Michael and his family in.

After they ate, Jack got on the radio and made contact.

“Michael, my people have reached a decision and would like to invite you and your family to come stay with us. We have a large shelter I put together before the plague, and it has room for dozens of people, and food and supplies for a long time.”

“Wow, that’s a generous offer Jack, but there’s no way. We can’t even get into the towns in this area, how would we ever get to Idaho?”

“Don’t worry about that, we’ll come get you. Is there an airport near you?”

“Well, I believe there’s one about thirty miles south in Rome. I think it has a paved runway, but I’m not sure.”

“That sounds perfect, where exactly are you from there?”

“We’re near an area called ‘Michigan mills’. It’s right at thirty miles NNW of Rome. I can give you the coordinates if you want.”

Jack got the coordinates and asked Michael to hold on a second as he looked it up on the terminal. Finding it, he typed “ok, that looks good. We could be there in the morning if that was acceptable. We’ll land at Rome and come up to your area by helicopter, if that’s ok.”

“Sounds great.” He hesitated, “I have to ask one thing though…what’s the catch?”

“Tell me, are you a Christian?”

“You better believe it.”

“How about the others there?”

“Jennifer is, and we’re raising the kids that way as well.”

“Excellent. Well, to answer your question, the catch is we live with the Bible as our guide here, and we would expect your group to do so as well. Also, as this is my shelter, you’d have to be willing to live under my authority, although we make most decisions as a group.”

“What would happen if we didn’t agree on something?” Michael wanted to know.

“Well, if we couldn’t work out our differences, we’d either bring you back to where you are now, or take you anyplace else you wanted to go, within the same distance.”

“Sounds fine to me then, and yes, we’d love to join your group.”

“Ok then, we’ll be there some time tomorrow morning. I’m sure you’ll hear us when we arrive.”

“Great, we’ll be looking for you in the morning, G6WZZMJ out.”



They spent the rest of the day getting ready for the trip. Knowing they would need to refuel at least once in order to make it home and that it was too risky to take the chance that a fuel truck would still run, Jack took the Huey into town and found a gas powered pump at the local fire department that could be used to pump flammable liquids. It put out a hundred gallons a minute with the four inch lines that came with it, and he figured they could completely refuel the plane in about an hour and a half. Returning, he secured it in the C-130, then went into the hangar and brought out the Viper.

“Why are you messing with that?” Pam asked.

“We need more firepower than the Huey can provide hun’, in case these people aren’t so friendly after all. The wings come off easily and we can put them back on and be ready to go within half an hour after we get there.”

“Cool.” The girl said.

Getting the wings off, Jack and Eric pushed the plane up the ramp and secured it inside the transport. Next they brought in the wings and tied them down as well. Lastly, they moved the Huey itself into the plane, using the winch to get it up the ramp. When it too was secured, they went inside.

Jack had reconsidered the design of the small plane and its gun. Removing the rear control stick and moving control to the front ****pit only, he’d made it so that someone in the rear could reload the gun. They had since placed two more ammo cans in the rear area, giving them a total of three hundred rounds of fire power.

Thinking about the situation, he decided they would have to break with protocol and have everyone go on this trip. Robin would have to be in the Viper with Eric in order to reload the gun if it were needed, and Mel and Pam would have to stay with the plane for security. Realizing they would need more firepower than just the H&K’s if anyone made a concerted effort to take the plane, he considered his options and finally decided to dis-mount the M-249’s from the Kestrel and have the girls use them. That would give them an impressive amount of firepower and should allow them to hold out until he or Eric could get back.

Hoping all the bases were covered, he went inside for the night. Letting the others know they would be leaving at 2am, he headed for bed.


At five past two in the morning the group took off. Quickly climbing to altitude, Jack set the auto-pilot and went back to the cabin to eat breakfast with the others. The cargo plane wasn’t the most comfortable aircraft they could have chosen, but they made do. After hours in the air, the auto-pilot buzzed to let them know they were coming up on their destination and Jack and Eric went up front to check out the area and bring them in.

Scanning the area in the dawn light, they didn’t see anything moving. Lining up on one of the two concrete runways, Jack brought the plane in, coasting to a stop and parking with more than enough runway ahead of them to take off again.

After getting the Huey and Viper out and bolting the wings on the little jet, the men flew over the airport in the chopper, looking for a fuel truck. Finding one, they set down and went over to it to see if it would run. To their amazement, it cranked up after Jack attached the jump-start box to its battery. Getting in, Eric drove to the plane, as Jack brought the chopper back.

The truck had a little over a thousand gallons in it. After putting that into the plane, they had to make several trips to the tank farm to refill it. The tank farm pumps didn’t work of course, so they used the portable pump they’d brought to fill the truck. Within three hours they had the plane fueled and ready to go and Jack was feeling much better about the situation. Getting into the Huey again, he got into the air and headed towards Michigan Mills. A minute later, Eric and Robin took off as well, so they could be in the area when Jack landed and offer air support if it were needed.

A few minutes later, after flying over farm land and a few houses, Jack came to the coordinates Mike had given him. Hovering next to a farmhouse, he saw the front door open and a middle-aged man step out. The man wasn’t armed so he set the bird down, making sure it was pointed at the house and the trigger for the rockets was armed just in case this was a trap. As he settled, the man approached, keeping his hands away from his body so as not to make Jack nervous. When he was a few feet away, Jack opened the door and stepped out, sticking out his hand to the man.

Shaking the offered hand, Mike said “Jack, I presume?”

“Michael. It’s good to meet you in person. Where’s the rest of your family?”

“They’re inside. I wasn’t sure you wouldn’t turn out to be hostile, so I had them get into the basement while I came out to meet you.”

“I understand perfectly Mike, as you can see, we also took precautions.” Jack said, indicating the armed chopper.

Continuing, Jack said “well, if you’re convinced that we’re here to help, get your family and get aboard…it’s a long flight home and I’ll feel better when all my people are together and in the air.”

Mike walked back into the house and a moment later he emerged again with a young lady and three small children. All of them were carrying bags of belongings, and they walked out to the helicopter and climbed aboard, with Jack’s help. When they were all set, Jack called Eric and told him to return to the plane, then he took off and headed back as well.

Everything went as planned, and as they were flying back, the two groups got to know one another. Mike turned out to be forty-six and his wife was twenty-three. The kids were Allison, age eleven, Robert, age nine, and Eddie, who was seven. None of them was related by blood, but they were indeed a family, and they acted like it.

Finally landing at the complex, Jack suggested they get everyone settled inside and put the equipment away in the morning. Everyone agreed, as it had been a long day, and after getting the new additions settled in their own apartment, everyone turned in for the night.
__________________

[610Alpha]

I thought Jack asked Mike to call him back after 2 hours but Jack actually called him back the next morning. I wonder what Mike thought when he tried calling and no one answered :)

[Christian for Israel]

Jack called him back that night.

The others sat there stunned. They had never even considered the children or their future, only thinking about what was best for themselves. Realizing their own selfishness, they got up and went out of the room to pray and think about what they’d heard. Jack took the opportunity to call Michael and ask him to call back the next day, then went to his apartment.

nice try though. ;)

[Christian for Israel]

Chapter 22

Lying in bed one morning, Mike still felt like he was in a daze. The past few days had been a whirl, even more so than the first few weeks after the plague. Thinking back on events, he was amazed for the hundredth time that he was safe and in a place that was well stocked for the winter, and much more.

When he’d first seen Jack, hovering over his front yard in the Huey gunship, he’d been sure he’d made a bad mistake and that this stranger was about to kill him and his family. Then upon meeting him face to face and realizing they really were safe, he’d been too busy getting everyone aboard and settled down to really consider things. Landing at the airport a few minutes later next to the huge military cargo plane and then seeing the little jet fighter taxi up a second later had shocked him afresh, just who were these people, he wondered.

On the long flight to Idaho he and his family had gotten to know Jack and his group, and he finally started to relax. These people really seemed to be what they claimed, Christians who simply wanted to help him out. That was a welcome relief, God knew they really needed help.

On the flight they’d learned that Jack lived in an old missile silo, so landing and going underground wasn’t too much of a shock. The long walk from the entrance to their rooms was disconcerting, but by that time he was too tired to give it much thought. All he wanted at that point was to get his family settled and crawl in a bed somewhere. He figured everything would still be there in the morning.

The next morning he had been filled with amazement. He’d always been into preparedness, and had even installed a shelter at his house, but nothing like this. This was the kind of place he would only have dreamed of, if he’d ever even thought that big. It was huge beyond belief, had enough food to feed the ten of them for fifty years, and obviously set-up by someone who put quality first. When Jack had shown him the control room he thought he’d died and gone to heaven. The radio and security equipment was top notch, better than what some countries had. Looking over the set-up, he’d been stunned to see how Jack had closed off almost all frequencies, effectively amputating ninety percent of the radio waves. It was sheer luck he’d been monitoring that air traffic control frequency and heard their signal, he’d never in a million years have thought to look there for anybody who was trying to make contact with others.

After he set the gear up the way it should have been to start with, they started getting signals from other groups almost immediately. Jack had said he couldn’t believe there were that many out there, and hung his head as Mike explained what the problem was.

That had been several days ago, and Mike had effectively taken over control of the radios. He had made contact with groups all around the world, many more than his old set-up had allowed for. Over the past few days he’d contacted everyone he could, at Jack’s request, and he was trying to find out how people were set and if they needed any help. Most groups seemed to be ok for the moment and said they would probably make it through the winter without a problem, but there were a couple who were in a bad way. One was in Australia, a group of eleven, mostly teens and pre-teens, the survivors of a clash between two groups of plague survivors. They had fled when the adults were killed in the fighting, and made their way to the northern town of Darwin. They said they were scavenging daily just to find enough to eat and didn’t know how long they could continue. Mike had told them he would see what he could do and went to talk to Jack. Jack decided to wait until the morning to discuss it with the whole group, as by then many were already in bed for the night.

Lying in bed that morning, Mike was grateful to God for the blessing of finding this place. Hoping the group could find a way to help the bunch in Australia, he got dressed and went down to breakfast.



Walking into the dining room with Pam at his side, Jack saw that again Jennifer was helping Mel with breakfast. The younger girl was a fine cook and seemed to love cooking for the whole group almost as much as Mel did. Sitting down at a table with Mike, the couple chatted with him quietly. Finally, the others wandered in and breakfast was served. Jack marveled again at what Jennifer had been able to do with storage food, and commented to Mike. For his part, Mike had gotten used to it, so he just sat there smiling and feeling proud of his new wife while Jack complimented her.

After breakfast, Jack asked for everyone’s attention, and announced the news about the group in Australia.

“Can I have your attention everyone. Our new radio expert has been able to undo the mess I made with our communication gear, and as a result we’ve been able to get in voice contact with over a hundred groups of survivors around the world.”

He paused as everyone cheered for a minute, then continued. “Having spent the better part of yesterday talking with these groups, a clearer picture of the world scene emerges. It seems the plague reached all parts of the world, there were no groups of people who were not exposed and devastated by the disease. We have also learned that several of the countries took the opportunity in the last days of the sickness to launch attacks on their neighbors, apparently to settle old scores. That, combined with the sickness itself and even reports of survivors battling for resources with each other, has led us to conclude that as few as one hundred thousand people probably survived until now, maybe less.”

Stunned at the magnitude of the news, the others just sat there stunned, unable to even speak. Everyone was aware that a hundred thousand people was practically nothing and really wondered if the human race would be able to survive this after all.

“With so few left, and with survivors scattered around the globe, it’s very possible that many of humanity’s descendants will die out due to lack of genetic diversity. That’s why I feel it’s so important that we gather people together here…we may be the last chance humanity has to even continue to exist.”

Having said that he paused then continued “I said all that to lead up to this, Mike has made contact with a group in Australia. There are eleven in the group, mostly kids and teens who escaped from a battle between surviving adults. They are in the town of Darwin on the north coast, and they need help. Mike has explained our desire to help, and the way things are run here, and they have agreed to live by our rules, if we can find a way to bring them to us. What I need is the approval of the group to make this attempt. It won’t be easy, there’s nearly seven thousand miles of ocean between us and them, but I think we can do it if God is willing. What I want everyone to do is, go to your rooms and pray about this. We need His direction before we can do anything, and I want to be sure we all get the same message from Him. After lunch we’ll see where we stand, and go from there. That’s all.”

With that, the group got up and wandered off to seek God’s will on the issue.




After lunch they voted, and Jack was pleased to see that it was unanimous to try and bring the group in. he knew it would be a dicey operation, but he truly felt in his heart it was what God wanted them to do.

As they began to discuss how to go about this, Eric spoke up. “Well, first we need a plane that will make it. Jack, didn’t you say you had a long range corporate jet at the airport in Mountain Home?”

“Yeah, but I don’t even know if it’s airworthy. I haven’t seen it since before the plague.”

“A corporate jet?” Mike asked skeptically, “wouldn’t that be too small? And just how long is long range anyway?”

“Actually it’s pretty big for a corporate jet, its one of Bombardier’s Global Express and can seat up to thirty if you wanted that configuration. I wanted it for myself and a few friends, so I ordered it with seating for twelve, but it sure is luxurious,” he smiled. “And as for range, if we keep the speed down to five-fifty or so, it’ll go nearly seven thousand miles.”

Staring at him unbelievingly, Mike said “this I want to see!”

“Yeah, me too,” Eric spoke up. Besides, we need to see if it’s ok, don’t we?”

“Ok, I guess that does make the most sense, its better than trying to fly a passenger jet for the first time over the Pacific Ocean anyway. Why don’t we go take a look at it and go from there?”

Agreeing, the three men got up and walked to the hangar. Getting the Huey out, they quickly flew to the municipal airport at Mountain Home. Landing in front of the hangar, Jack got out and unlocked the doors. With a bit of effort he got them moving and soon had exposed the plane for all to see.

Upon seeing the jet for the first time, Eric was overcome. “It’s BEAUTIFUL,” he said, staring at it.

Indeed, it was beautiful. It was long and sleek, its wings were swept back and had little vertical winglets on the tips. It looked like it was going fast just sitting on the ground, and Eric couldn’t wait to get in and fly it.

Jack opened the door and the men went inside. Eric thought it looked even bigger on the inside than the outside. All the seats were leather, and suddenly he got a feel of what kind of life Jack had led before the plague.

After a few minutes, Jack got back out. He went to the fuel taps under the wings and opened them to see if any water had ac***ulated in the tanks. Thankfully, it didn’t appear that any had. Walking over to the ground power unit, he got it running and, with Eric’s help, hooked it to the plane and went to the ****pit to try and start it. A moment later the engines wound up and the plane started to idled smoothly. After a while he shut it back down and, looking at the others, he said “Well, that answers that question. I guess we’re good to go as far as the plane’s concerned.”

Flying back to the complex in the Huey, they discussed what else they’d need for the long flight.

Back at the shelter, having solved most of the problems with the trip, Jack sat with Pam and Mike and plotted their course.

“I want to make sure that, no matter where we go to refuel, we have enough in reserve to get us back to the previous location.” Jack stated. “That way, if we can’t find usable fuel, we’ll still be able to return to the last place and refuel, meaning we’ll be able to make it home. Los Angeles is the first logical stop, followed by Hawaii. We shouldn’t have a problem finding fuel in either place, and each leg will be less than three thousand miles, giving us our safety margin. Where we go from Hawaii is the question, however.”

Looking over a map of the south pacific, Pam said “man, there’s lots of islands down there…I never realized.”

“Yep, but most of them are too small to be reliable, and there aren’t any US military bases on them. I know we used to have a base on Pogo Pogo in American Samoa, but I don’t know if it was still active. From there it’d be an easy shot to the Australian mainland, but I don’t know how we’d find out without going there to see.”

Winding up their discussion late that night, they decided Pogo Pogo was their best shot. If they couldn’t find fuel they could always return to Hawaii and try somewhere else.

The next morning they decided to leave that afternoon. Everything was ready as far as they could see and Mike had spoken with the group that morning. The kids said they were going to move out to the airport and wait on them there. With everything settled, they decided Jack and Eric would fly and Mike would go along to provide security. After lunch Pam flew Jack to the airport in the Kestrel to pick up the Global Express, wanting to spend as much time with her husband as she could. She knew this was the most dangerous trip they’d ever contemplated and the fact that she couldn’t go with him made it that much worse.

When they’d returned to the complex, Pam spent several long minutes holding her man, but finally relented and let him get on the plane. The others also said teary good bye’s and, after several long minutes, the men finally boarded the plane and took off.

The trip to LA was short and uneventful, and Jack let Eric do most of the flying, getting the boy accustomed to the plane. They landed and found fuel without incident, and were soon in the air again headed out over open ocean. This was the part of the trip that worried Jack the most. Fortunately the Geo-Positioning Satellites were still working and they had no problem staying on course. After about five hours, they saw the island chain and soon thereafter found a large airport.

Landing, they quickly discovered that the fuel in the tanks at this airport had not been treated, and wasn’t fit for the plane. Debating what to do, they were startled to hear the sound of a rifle shot and see a hole appear in the wingtip next to them.

[Christian for Israel]

here's a pic of the bombardier global express:

Performance

High speed cruise 935km/h (505kt) or Mach 0.88,
long range cruising speed 850km/h (459kt) or Mach 0.80.
Range with eight passengers, four crew and reserves at long range cruising speed 12,400km (6700nm).
Flightcrew of two plus one or two flight attendants. Typical arrangements seat from eight to 18 passengers. Can be fitted with a galley, crew rest station, work stations, a conference/lounge/dining area, a stateroom with a fold out bed, toilet, shower and wardrobe. High density 30 seat corporate shuttle configuration offered.

http://www.airliners.net/info/stats.main?id=124

[FM18]

I reading and I am liking so far! Just saw your story for the first time last night. Thanks for putting it up for us to read. So far it is keeping me looking for the next chapter! I love the idea of having a decommissioned missle compound for a bug out location! :)

[Christian for Israel]

thanks FM18.

[Christian for Israel]

Chapter 23

Realizing they were being shot at, Jack and Eric dove for the ground while Mike brought the M-249 off his shoulder and started firing randomly in the direction the shot had come from. He had no idea where the shooter might be and wouldn’t until he fired again. As Mike was returning fire Jack made his way to the other side of the aircraft. Getting up he climbed into the door and went to the c0ckpit, getting the engines started so they could get out of there quick.

Finally, the shooter took another shot, and Mike had seen where it came from. The guy was on top of a hangar a couple of hundred yards away. He had no idea why the guy had chosen to shoot at them, but it didn’t matter. Lining the weapon’s sights on the area, he proceeded to empty the rest of his two hundred round magazine into it. As he started shooting, the planes’ engines turned over, and by the time he was done they were up to speed and the shooter had disappeared. Looking around for Eric, he saw a sight that made his heart skip a beat. The boy was laying face down in a pool of blood and he wasn’t moving. Still watching out for the shooter, Mike made his way over to the boy and checked for a pulse. Finding none he rolled him over and saw the bullet hole in Eric’s forehead. Knowing there wasn’t anything anyone could do for him now, he picked up the boy’s body as best he could, backing towards the plane and calling out for Jack to come help him.

Seeing Mike carrying Eric, Jack jumped out of the plane and went to help. When they’d gotten the boy inside, he too saw the damage and realized there was no helping him now. Overcome with grief at the loss of his friend, he fell back against a seat, feeling as if the whole world was closing in on him. Just then they heard another rifle shot and he knew he had to get them into the air or they’d all be dead. Returning to the c0ckpit, he pushed the throttles all the way forward and took off across the ramp, not even bothering with the runway.

After getting them into the air and climbing to two thousand feet, he programmed the auto-pilot to circle the area and went back into the cabin. Mike had moved Eric’s body into a seat to get him out of the floor, and was trying to clean some of the blood off him. He knew that Robin would be heart broken no matter what they did, but figured that every little bit they could do might help. Taking a seat across from the boy, Jack was at a loss as to where to go from here. Finally deciding that they needed to go back home, he told Mike he was turning around right now and heading back.

“Jack, I know how hard this is for you, but think for a minute about those kids in Australia. They’re counting on us coming for them tonight, if we don’t show up they may not make it.”

Looking at him as if he’d lost his mind, Jack said “Mike, are you crazy? How the h*ll could we continue after something like this? No, we have to get Eric back home now, those kids are just going to have to wait for another time.”

Mike looked pained, but went on regardless. “Think about this for a minute, ok Jack? If we turn back now, we may never be able to make another trip. What if some of those kids died because we turned back now, would Eric have wanted that? Look, I know this is hard, but as I see it, if we turn back now, he died for nothing. But if we continue, it won’t change a thing as far as his body is concerned, but it will honor his memory if we’re able to save the lives of others. What do you think he’d want you to do?”

Thinking about it for a minute, Jack realized Mike was right. Going on wouldn’t cause Eric any harm now, but going back could very well result in more deaths. Finally coming to grips with the situation, he told Mike he was right, and returned to the c0ckpit to try and find another airport where they could get fuel before going on. Sitting in the pilot’s seat, Jack cried quietly for a few moments. Then after a bit he pulled himself together and started looking for somewhere else to land.

After half an hour of looking, he spotted an airfield with military aircraft. Circling, he landed quickly, and taxied over to the closest fuel truck. This time when the men emerged, they acted like they were under fire already. Mike went first to cover them with the machine gun, then Jack came out also, H&K at the ready. The nearest building was at least a quarter mile away from where they’d parked, and after a minute they decided they were safe enough. While Mike kept them covered, Jack checked the fuel and found it to be in good condition. Getting out the portable pump, he had them refueled in under twenty minutes. Stowing the pump, he went to the
c0ckpit and cranked the plane, then signaled to Mike to get in also. Finally in the air again, they turned toward American Samoa.

The flight took them almost six hours, and by the time they got there both men were emotionally drained. They had prayed for strength to continue with their mission in spite of their loss, but sitting in the same cabin with Eric’s body took a lot out of them.

Finally arriving at the island of Pogo Pogo, they crossed to the south coast and saw an airport almost immediately. The drill was the same as their second landing in Hawaii, they refused to take any more unnecessary risks, and just like then, the place was apparently deserted. Pulling up to a fuel truck they found the fuel fresh enough, and quickly filled the plane, making sure there was enough for the return trip as well. That done, they boarded the craft for the final leg of their outbound journey.

After six more hours, three of which Jack had been able to sleep through as the auto-pilot flew the plane, they finally arrived at the coastal town of Darwin. The sun was just setting, as they’d chased it half way around the world, and he realized they’d be unable to land anywhere in the dark. That meant staying here until at least midnight so they would have daylight for their return trip. Putting the plane on the ground, they first took care of the fuel requirements. Then, taxiing to the agreed upon rendezvous spot, they spotted movement inside a building. Feeling completely exposed, the two men exited the craft quickly, assuming a defensive posture. As they watched the building, first one, then several young people began walking slowly out towards the plane.

As the kids began to emerge, the men relaxed. Approaching within speaking distance, the teen in the lead spoke. “You the blokes from America?”

“I’m Jack and this is Mike. Which one are you?”

“Donald’s my name, good to meet you.” The young man said. Noticing their obvious nervousness, he continued “you can take it easy mate, there’s no one else around here, we made sure of that.”

Relaxing, Jack lowered his rifle. He was well aware that this could be a trap, but didn’t know any way to find out for sure, so he decided to take a chance. Sticking out his hand to the young man, Donald shook it, smiling at him. As the others came up, he introduced them one by one. Shaking hands all around, Jack turned to Donald and said “we need a place to rest before we head back. Someone needs to keep a look out in case anyone else saw us land and is coming to investigate, and we need some help taking care of one of our group.” At this point, he paused. “He was killed when someone attacked us in Hawaii, and we need to do something with his…body.” Jack finished remorsefully.

When the others learned that one of these new people had actually died trying to help them, they were overcome. They were not unfamiliar with death, not after all they’d been through, but to know that somebody actually gave their life to save them made a deep and lasting impression. Removing Eric’s body gently from the plane, the young people carried him inside the building. There they finished the job Mike had started cleaning him up, and then wrapped him in a blanket. When they were done they gathered around, but obviously didn’t know what to do next. Finally, with the two men watching, one of the older of the kids began praying.

“Father God, we thank you for bringing these people to help us, and especially for Eric. We ask you to cradle him in your hands, and comfort him until the day we are all together with you. We also ask that you help each and every one of us to bring honor to him, by living each day in service to you, that we may continue whatever work you had for him and that through us, his memory will live on forever. Lord, we thank you for his sacrifice, and for the sacrifice of all the others who gave of themselves so that we might live. In Jesus name we pray, amen.”

As the prayer ended, the kids drifted off in small groups. Donald told the men that a watch would be posted, and someone would get them up at eleven thirty if they wanted to try and get some rest. Thanking him, they found a place to stretch out, and soon were fast asleep.

Seemingly only a moment later, someone was shaking Jack awake. Opening his eyes, he saw a young girl of not more than ten, kneeling next to him and holding a candle. Thanking her he got up and roused Mike. After a few minutes to rub the sleep out of their eyes, they grabbed some candy bars from a busted vending machine the kids had been eating out of, and got everyone headed to the plane. They placed Eric’s body carefully in the back, out of everyone’s way, and the rest of the group found seats in the cabin.

When everyone was seated, Jack started the engines, and a moment later began to taxi towards the runway. Getting into the air, he set a course for Pogo Pogo, then set the auto-pilot and leaned back, wishing for some coffee to help him wake up.

An unknown length of time later he was awakened by the buzzing of the auto-pilot. Realizing he must have gone back to sleep, he looked at the GPS and saw that they were approaching the South Pacific island. He also saw that the sky in the east was lit, and that the sun was moments away from appearing. The land below was still dark, but he knew it wouldn’t be for long. Setting them to circle the area, he waited for enough light to land, wishing Eric was there to see the beautiful sunrise over the island.

Twenty minutes later they were on the ground and the men were able to refuel quickly and get back in the air. Deciding to skip Hawaii, as they had more than enough fuel to get home from here, Jack set course for Idaho and went into the cabin to talk with the others.

Donald had turned out to be twenty-two. He and his girlfriend Wendy, who was twenty, were the oldest in the group and the default leaders up until then. They were weary from the responsibility of keeping the others alive and safe, and were only too glad to turn leadership over to Jack. As they talked, Jack learned that Donald and Wendy were ‘born-again’, and several of the younger ones were Christians as well. There were a couple that weren’t, but he wasn’t worried about that, they had plenty of time to bring them into the fold also, if they were willing. If not, at least they’d be able to help them, and maybe one day they’d change their minds.

After eleven hours in the air, they finally reached the complex. Landing, Jack taxied up to the elevator and saw the others waiting to greet them. Seeing Robin, Jack realized he couldn’t put the news of Eric’s death off any longer. He hadn’t said anything over the radio when he’d called to tell them they were close, but now he had no choice.

Stepping from the plane ahead of the others, he made his way over to his people. Walking up to Robin he said “we were attacked in Hawaii Robin…Eric was shot.” Feeling horrible as he watched the girl’s face register the news and saw the panic emerge, he continued “I’m so sorry…but he didn’t make it.”

“WHAT?!? Where is he!” the girl cried.

“He’s in the plane, we cleaned him up as best we could, but…”

“I WANT TO SEE HIM, NOW!” she demanded.

Looking to Pam and Mel for help, he saw they were also in shock, and slow to respond. Finally Mel stepped forward and took the girl into her arms, trying to comfort her as she cried and demanded to see her husband.

Going back to the plane, Jack asked the others to get out and bring Eric’s body. As they emerged, Robin broke away from Mel and screamed “NOOO!” as she ran to the body of her man and cradled it in her arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

After a long while Mel and Pam were able to get the young girl up and into the shelter, and the others brought Eric’s body inside as well. They hadn’t been able to say anything to comfort the distraught girl, but they all wanted to help her and let her know how much they appreciated his sacrifice. Convincing them that later would be better, they took Eric’s body to the walk in cooler, planning on having the burial service the next day. Getting everyone settled into rooms, Jack went off to see if he could help in any way with Robin.

Going to her apartment, he knocked quietly. Pam opened the door, and Jack saw Mel coming out of the girl’s bedroom.

“I gave her something to help her sleep. I was worried that the stress of what’s happened would hurt the baby. Hopefully she’ll sleep for a few hours, but I don’t think it would be wise to leave her alone for a while. One of us needs to stay here with her tonight,” she said, indicating herself and Pam.

“Ok, whatever you think best.” Jack replied, bone weary from the whole experience.

“What happened?” Pam asked, “How did it happen, I mean?”

Telling them the story, Jack pointed out that he died saving the lives of eleven others. “You may want to emphasize that when you tell Robin, let her know her husband died a hero and that those he saved are here with us now and want to honor his memory in any way they can. Maybe it’ll make this a little easier for her…I don’t know.”

Feeling helpless, he said he was going to his apartment to try to rest. Letting Mel know she’d be down in a few hours to relieve her, Pam joined her husband, hating herself for her selfishness, she was still grateful to have her man home safe.

[Christian for Israel]

Chapter 24

Jack stood beside the freshly dug grave. Looking at the newly expanded group around him, he spoke. “Lord, we commit the spirit of our young brother to you. Please take care of him and keep him safe, comforting him in your presence, until we are all together with you in Heaven.”

Closing his Bible, he picked up a shovel and, assisted by some of the new people, began refilling the hole. Robin had been an emotional wreck since they’d arrived the day before and now she was crying freely. As the first shovel full of dirt landed on the body of her love, she collapsed, weeping uncontrollably. Pam and Mel moved close and helped the young girl up, carrying her back inside the shelter. Jack was also crying unashamedly, as were most of the rest of the group. Quickly filling the grave and mounding the dirt on top, the group went back to the garage silo to put away their gear. Jack intended to go into Boise later that day and look for an appropriate monument for his friend’s grave, as soon as he could find the strength to do so. For now, simply walking seemed to take every bit of strength he possessed and, making his way to the dining room, he collapsed into a chair, the tears still flowing down his cheeks.

A little while later Mel walked in and sat across from him. “I don’t know Jack, I’m worried about Robin. She’s taking this hard, much to hard for someone in her condition. She hasn’t eaten since she found out and only sleeps when we give her something. I don’t want to give her too much for fear of hurting the baby, but at the same time I’m afraid that all this stress will cause problems also. I just don’t know what to do.”

Jack shook his head, “we have all that medical equipment and no doctor to use it. I don’t know what to tell you, maybe in time she’ll come out of it.”

“Maybe,” Mel said, not sounding hopeful.

Pam walked into the room, “well, she’s asleep, and without pills this time. I guess the stress finally caught up with her.”

“Well that’s hopeful,” the older woman said. “Maybe with time she really will be ok.”



Later that day Jack asked the new people to get together with him. They met in the rec room on the third floor of the dome where Jack told them he had several things he wanted to discuss. “First off,” he said, addressing the group, “while I know that you all have seen enough fighting to last a lifetime, one of the rules we have here is that all adults are to be armed at all times. We consider anyone to be an adult as long as they act like one, no matter how old they are. But along with that authority comes responsibility, and part of that is helping with the defense of this shelter. Hopefully we won’t ever have to defend this place, but we have to be ready just in case. Therefore, I need to know, how many of you have experience with guns, and how much?”

Donald spoke up first, “all of us except Edward and Cindy have learned to use rifles and pistols, the group we were with insisted on it. They were too young as far as the group was concerned, which is why they never learned.”

Jack knew that Cindy was the girl who had awakened him at the airport in Darwin, she was ten and Edward was nine. He agreed that they were too young to be involved in shelter defense and told them they were dismissed and could go find Mike’s kids and play if they wanted. After they had left the room, he told the others he needed to verify their skill and asked them to assemble topside in half an hour.

Riding the elevator up, he noticed the chill air. Realizing that winter was on the way and that they wouldn’t be able to get outside much more, he determined to get everything they needed to do, done before the end of the week. One thing they had to do was assign people to tend the animals. They would have to round up the cows soon and get them into the barn, where they could stay warm and dry.

Thinking about all they needed to do, he walked over to the group. A little over two hours later he was satisfied that they all could handle themselves in a fight, and issued battle packs to each of them. As they were walking back to the elevator, Jack asked Donald “does anyone in your group have any experience with livestock?”

“Actually, I do.” He replied. “I worked on a cattle ranch for three years and I believe some of the others have done some farming as well.”

Happy with this bit of news, Jack told him he needed to know who had experience, as they would soon need to barn their animals and he needed someone to take care of them for the winter. Don said he’d get right on it, and went to talk with the others.

Returning a few minutes later, the young man reported that besides himself, Wendy, Matthew and Jason had all grown up on farms. Also, Ellen had spent a couple of summers at her uncle’s ranch and was used to caring for chickens and milking cows. Jack was delighted to find so much experience and asked Don to oversee the care of the animals.



Later that week they got the cows and the bull into the barn, and not a moment too soon as it started to snow the next day. The storm kicked off the season right, dropping a foot and a half of snow over the next three days. On the morning after the storm, as he was sitting in the dining room eating, Jack was surprised to see Robin walk in and sit next to him. This was the first time she’d emerged from her apartment since the funeral and all of them had started to worry that she would never recover from the shock. Looking at her, Jack saw that she had dark patches under her eyes and she looked like she had been crying again just that morning.

“Robin, it’s good to see you up, we’ve all been worried about you.” Jack said as the girl sat down.

Looking at him, she said “I want to know how it happened…everything. I need to know, I can’t explain it, I just need to know.”

Seeing that she wouldn’t be put off, he slid his plate away and looked her in the eye. “We had landed in Hawaii and were coming back from checking the fuel truck. I guess we had gotten lax because we hadn’t had any trouble since that trip to David’s place, and we’d let our guard down. I blame myself for that, more than anyone I should have known how dangerous it was flying into a totally new area like that. Looking back, I keep telling myself that I should have stayed away from the buildings…and I never should have allowed any of us to just walk around as if everything was normal…I’m sorry Robin, what happened was my fault.” Jack looked down, the tears coming again.

Seeing his pain, she put her hand on his arm. “It’s not your fault Jack, it could have happened anytime. Eric loved flying with you, did you know that? He thought flying was the greatest thing in the world. He wasn’t even that upset that the plague killed everyone, he said that, if it hadn’t, he’d never have gotten the chance to do what he did. We both are grateful to you for that, along with everything else you have done for us.” She trailed off.

Jack pulled himself together and said “I’m so sorry Robin, I wish I could change what happened, I really do.”

“I know you do...so do I. but we can’t. I’ve been praying all morning, and God has shown me that everything happens for a reason, and even if we don’t understand why, we have to trust Him that He has a purpose.”

Amazed at the faith displayed in one so young, who had already gone through so much, Jack simply looked at her, tears still running down his cheeks. After a moment, the girl got up and moved closer to him, hugging him and saying “we’ll be ok, God will get us through this.”

Holding on to the girl, Jack dried his eyes and said “You’re amazing, after everything that’s happened to you, you’re still able to think of my feelings. You’re a good example for the rest of us, of how to think of others no matter what we’re going through ourselves.”

Moving back to her seat, Robin smiled slightly and said “I learned it from God Jack. I learned it by watching Him.”

Realizing that she was going to be ok after all, as long as she continued to lay her burdens at God’s feet, he suggested she eat something. She admitted that she was starving so Jack went to the counter and fixed her a plate. Soon Jennifer and Mel joined them from the kitchen, and the group was able to move on to other subjects.

Jack announced that he needed to go out and brush off the wings of the C-130, now that it had stopped snowing, and asked if anyone wanted to help. Just as Mel and Jen were saying they had a pile of dishes to do, Robin asked if she could go. Jack thought that was a good idea, work would give her something to think about other than Eric. Telling her to get dressed and meet him at the hangar, Jack got up to follow his own advice.

An hour later, with the job completed, Robin was feeling better. A couple of the new people had heard what they were doing and immediately went to help. With their aid, they got done sooner than they’d expected. As they were walking back inside, the new kids started throwing snow at each other and at Jack. At first Robin just watched from the sideline, but when Jack caught a snowball in the face she smiled for the first time in a week. Getting into the spirit of the game she also started throwing snowballs at the others. They were hesitant at first to return the favor but soon realized this was just what she needed and began pelting her with snow as much as each other. Finally tiring, they decided to go inside and get warm, Robin as much as anyone enjoying the companionship.




The rest of the winter they spent in the shelter. Mike had made contact with several hundred groups by the time the snow had melted. And the group was making plans to bring as many as possible to their home during the coming year.

Mel spent the winter months setting up a school for the children. Assisted by Pam and Jennifer she was using the encyclopedia and other programs in the computer and had turned the rec room into her schoolhouse, at least during the day. At first the younger kids resisted school, remembering how much they had hated it before. But this was completely different. They found that learning was actually fun, as long as the one teaching didn’t try to push them or hold them back. Mel had homeschooled her own kids before the plague and was well aware of the reason kids didn’t like public school. She did everything possible to ensure that her students enjoyed themselves while learning, and that they each were able to learn at their own speed.

By late winter Robin was bulging. Mel was amazed at how big she had become, but she seemed to be perfectly healthy. Except for needing help getting out of a chair or her tendency to waddle when she walked, she was as active as ever. Pam also appeared to be pregnant, and glowed, especially when Jack was around. The group had no way to be sure when either girl would deliver, but they knew Robin would be soon.

One evening in early March, Jack and Pam were spending some quiet time together in their apartment when Robin’s voice called out from the intercom. “Please…somebody help me…”

Looking at each other in alarm, they raced down to the girl’s place. They arrived just in time to see Mel emerge, helping the girl to walk.

“What’s going on!” Jack demanded.

Relax,” Mel said “her water broke, that’s all. I need help getting her to the clinic, I’d feel better delivering her there.”

Understanding immediately, Jack got on the other side and helped get her to the clinic. After getting her inside, Mel told Jack to go get Donald. Thinking that made no sense whatsoever, he looked at her questioningly.

“He’s got experience delivering cows, it’s the closest we have to a mid-wife.”

A moment later he told them that Don was on his way. Standing off in a corner watching the women get Robin into position on the bed, he felt completely useless. Finally noticing him, Mel said “GO Jack, you’re not needed here and you’d just be in the way.”

Not wanting to argue and glad for the excuse to be elsewhere, Jack beat a hasty retreat.

A moment later Don arrived. He took one look at Jack and grinned, finding it funny that he looked as if he were about to pass out. Stepping inside and smiling, he told Pam that her husband looked like he needed some help as well, then he moved over to Robin and checked her out. Looking up at the others he said “this may take a while, but everything seems to be going along fine so far.”

At this point the girl let out a scream of pain, shocking him and making him realize that she definitely was NOT a cow. Suddenly getting nervous, he continued to monitor her condition, but this time with a seriousness the others had not seen before.

Outside, the others had gathered. Standing with them, Jack was nervous, but very glad that he wasn’t needed inside. Finally Mel came out and told them that it might take all day and that she would let everyone know over the intercom when anything happened. Hearing this, the group broke up. Jack, for his part decided to go to the dining room and see if there was anything to snack on. Pam had been restricting his snacking lately, claiming that he was getting fat, and now that she was occupied, he thought it the perfect chance to go off his ‘diet’.

Hours later, after an uncountable number of screams from the direction of the clinic, Pam’s voice came over the intercom. “Ok everyone, it’s all over. You can come down to the clinic for a short visit if you like, but Robin needs her rest, so make it short.”

Getting up, Jack walked quickly over to the door of the clinic. As he walked in he looked to Pam. Noticing a dab of chocolate at the corner of his mouth and giving him a disapproving look, she said “she had twins! Two little boys.”

“How are they? Is Robin ok?”

“All three are doing just fine.”

“Twins huh? Wow!”

Just then Mel pushed the curtain back and Jack saw little Robin lying there with a baby in each arm. Smiling at her, he said “hello mommy, how are you doing?”

“Ok I guess, just sore as heck.”

“Have you decided on a name for them yet?” he asked.

“Uh huh. This one came first,” she said, indicating the one on her right. “His name’s Eric, after his father. And this one, “she nodded to the other one, “his name is Jack, after you.”

Stunned at her revelation, Jack sat down hard next to the bed. “I don’t know what to say, I’m honored Robin.”

Suddenly a tear rolled down the girl’s cheek. “I only wish Eric had been here to see this.” She said.

Jack couldn’t respond. He simply nodded his head.

[Christian for Israel]

Chapter 25

Near the end of March, Jack and Pam celebrated the first anniversary of their meeting. As both felt this was a personal thing, they kept it low key and simply spent the evening together in their apartment, talking about all that had happened over the past year.

A few weeks later, as the snow began to melt, Jack called a general meeting in the dining room. When everyone had arrived and found a seat, he called for their attention.

“We have several things we need to take care of this spring if we’re going to bring more people here this year. As I see it, the only practical way of moving people efficiently over the distances involved is to fly them, but I can’t do that alone. Therefore, I want to know who here is interested in learning to fly and who would be interested in going with the others to provide security. Next, we will need to find some light aircraft that we can use to train pilots, as well as bring a couple more C-130’s here from Gowen to use to transport folks. One other thing we need to do is go back to the army reserve base in Boise and get some more M-249’s, along with some heavier armaments, so that the smaller groups that will be going on these trips will be better able to defend themselves.”

Looking around the room, Jack saw several people had questions. Nodding to Donald, he said “yes?”

“How many pilots do you need?”

“Well, I’d really like everyone to learn. We all know that it’s a dangerous world out there, and we may very well lose people if we try this. We all need to be proficient in as many skills as possible so the loss of one of us won’t deprive the rest of the group of a needed skill. But for this job, I’d like at least nine people qualified to fly the C-130, a pilot, co-pilot, and a security person. That way, if a pilot is injured or killed while away from here, the other two can still fly home.”

Ellen, one of Donald’s group, spoke up next. “How old do you have to be to be a pilot?” she wanted to know.

Jack knew she had just turned fourteen a week earlier and smiled as he replied “as long as you can reach the controls and handle the aircraft, I don’t care how old you are. Remember, everyone who acts like an adult and can handle the responsibilities of an adult IS an adult in my book.” The girl smiled at this, and he asked “any other questions?”

Pam spoke up, “how many people are we talking about Jack?”

“For right now, I want to concentrate on the North American continent. As Mike has informed me, there are about eight hundred people in the US and Canada who have made contact with us. Undoubtedly there are others also, but they simply don’t have access to radio gear or have other reasons for not talking to us. If we can expand by several hundred people this year, then next year we can try to bring in people from other countries also.”

Seeing that there were no more questions, he asked “How many want to be pilots. At the question, everyone’s hands went up. Smiling, he said “great. We’ll get started just as soon as the snow’s gone. Until then I’d like Mike, Donald, and one other to go with me into Boise to get more weapons and ammunition this afternoon.”

With that the meeting broke up. Everyone wandered off in little groups, talking excitedly.

That afternoon, Jack, Mike, Donald and Matthew took off in the Huey for Gowen field. The flight only took a few minutes, and soon they were at the army reserve building. Walking inside they saw that the storage rooms were still locked, and there was no evidence that anybody else had been there. Jack still felt uneasy in the area, but had faith that they could handle any problems they ran into.

Opening the storage area that held the machine guns, they loaded up a dozen SAW’s along with twenty cases of ammo. Looking further, they found several cases of M-203 grenade launchers that mounted on rifles and got them too, along with a dozen cases of grenades for them. When all that was loaded aboard the chopper, there was barely enough room for them, and they decided to head back and unload before looking for more.

An hour later they were back, and this time they came across a room that held anti-tank missiles, and a few more Browning machine guns. Taking two more Brownings and half a dozen AT-4 rockets, they decided they had enough and went looking for light airplanes they could use for trainers. Jack knew there had been a civilian flight school at the airport somewhere, and after looking for a while they found it. Sitting on the flight line, still covered with snow, sat three Piper Tomahawks and a Cessna 152. Landing, they got out to inspect the planes. Jack was delighted to find the Tomahawks, as the little plane was designed as a trainer. It had flight characteristics similar to much larger aircraft, and would be the perfect beginner craft to train his people to fly the large C-130.

After inspecting the aircraft, they decided they looked air worthy enough, and made plans to return as soon as the snow was gone and try to get them back to the complex. Having taken care of everything they needed to do, the men got back in the chopper and headed home.

By the first week of April they had gotten all the Tomahawks to the complex and begun flight training. The little planes had been structurally sound, but they’d had to replace the gas and engine oil to get them to run. Jack had filled a hundred gallon fuel bladder he had with stabilized fuel from his tank, and carried it to the airport, bringing Mel, Pam and Robin along to fly the planes. Draining the old Avgas from the tanks, they refilled them from the bladder. Next they found a good supply of oil in the flight school office, and replaced that as well. After they got the planes cranked and running, Jack found out that the batteries were too old to take a charge. Not wanting to have to jump start them every time they wanted to fly, he and Pam made a trip into town and found a battery supplier that had dry lead acid batteries in stock, along with a good supply of sulfuric acid to fill them with. Putting one in each plane, they were ready to go. After an hour of instruction on the flight characteristics of the little planes the girls got in and took off, followed by Jack in the Huey.

Back at the complex, they spent the rest of the day instructing the others, including Mike and Jennifer, on the basics of flight. The next morning they began taking the students up and within two weeks, all but one of them had soloed.

Deciding it was time to move on, Jack began instruction in the Greyhound for the better students, while the girls continued to work with the others. A few days later the last of the students, Rebecca, soloed and everyone was moved on to the larger Greyhound.

Jack saw that things were progressing well and, turning over instruction in the Greyhound to Mel and Pam, he started working with Mike and Donald in the Huey. He’d been concerned that he was the only one qualified to operate a real helicopter (the Kestrel didn’t count as it was more like flying a fixed wing), and wanted others to know how as well, in case something happened to him.

One evening in early June, as they were getting ready to eat dinner, the lights all over the complex went out. The group heard the generator kick in, and a second later the lights came back on, only half as bright as before. Jack came to the conclusion that something had happened to the power dam, and it would be necessary for them to fix it if they wanted to operate at full power from then on.

The next morning he took the Huey, along with Mike, and went south to the dam to have a look. Following the power lines, they ran into the problem about five miles from the dam. The lines ran over a series of hills at one point, and apparently one of them had suffered a mudslide due to the spring thaw. Landing, the two men got out to take a look. The slide had knocked down one of the towers, and buried a couple hundred feet of line. Realizing that this was going to be a major job to fix, they got back into the chopper and continued on to the dam.

The dam itself looked to be ok, and they soon figured out how to disconnect the flow of electricity so the powerhouse wouldn’t overload itself and so they’d be able to repair the damage without electrocuting themselves. Going back outside they saw that the lines headed off in two directions, and figured they could use the ones going to the factory as replacements for the ones that were buried. Back at the shelter, they informed everyone of the situation what they’d need to do to fix it.

The next morning they got a crew together and headed for the site of the trouble. As they were taking off Jack remembered something that had been troubling him, and set the bird back down again. Getting out without explanation, he headed over to the box where the power lines entered the shelter. Opening the box he disconnected the switch, cutting the complex off from the incoming lines. The last thing he wanted was for power from the generator back feeding the lines and electrocuting one of them as they worked at repairing the damage.

Returning to the chopper he told the others what he’d done. Giving him nervous looks, they asked if he’d forgotten anything else that might kill them, and he replied that he hoped not. This did not reassure them very much, and everyone was nervous as they finally lifted off.

At the site Jack saw immediately that the tower would have to be replaced as well, to keep the lines off the ground. Looking at the mess of dirt and rocks, Mike said “Jack, there’s no way we’re ever going to clear away enough of this mess to erect a tower, not by hand anyway.”

Knowing he was right, Jack replied “what do you suggest?”

“What we really need is a bulldozer. Also, a backhoe would be useful for digging footings, and we’ll need them if we’re going to mount that tower properly.”

“There’s no way we can get that kind of equipment in here Mike, we’re miles away from any kind of road.”

“What about flying them in?”

“Not likely, not with the Huey at any rate, its only rated at a ton or so in a sling load.”

“Could we find another helicopter, a bigger one?”

“I guess we could look, anyway.” Jack replied at last.

With the crew seeming more discouraged than ever at the size of the job, they returned to the complex to figure out what to try next.

That evening Jack got on his computer and checked the business directory for the surrounding area. Finding a logging outfit that mentioned having a heavy lift helicopter in Boise, he decided to go back to Gowen field the next day and try and locate it.

Spending the better part of a day looking through civilian hangars, Jack was beginning to worry that they’d never find what they were looking for. Finally, about an hour before they’d have to head back for the day, he got a call on the radio from Jason saying they thought they’d found what he was looking for. Getting directions, he arrived a few minutes later. As he walked into the hangar, a grin appeared as he gazed at an enormous helicopter. Jason walked up and asked “what is it? Will it be good enough Jack?”

“It’ll be perfect!” He answered, “it’s a Sikorsky Skycrane. They used to use these in Vietnam to move tanks around. If I remember right, it can lift about ten tons.”

Turning back to the weird looking craft the boy said “it looks like it’d break in half if it tried to fly.”

“I’ll admit it’s strange looking, but it’s just what we needed also.”

After spending the rest of the hour getting it ready, they managed to get the massive chopper started and idling before returning for the night. The next day Jack took his two student helicopter pilots with him as he went after the Skycrane. Getting the ship running they took off and headed to a local heavy equipment dealer and found a twenty foot shipping container. This they secured between the legs of the chopper and began filling with everything they thought they’d need for the job. Then they flew it to the complex and told the work crew to get in the container as well, as there wasn’t room for them in the cabin. Finally they took off and headed off towards the site of the mudslide.

Arriving, Jack set the container down near the work site and Mike got out to open it, letting the work crew out. Telling them to get everything set up he returned to the cabin of the helicopter and Jack lifted off, this time to get a small bulldozer. The men eventually settled on a D6 Caterpillar and got it running. They also worked on a backhoe, and planned to return for it as well. Slinging the D6, they carried it to the site, and Mike stayed behind to run it, as he had a little experience. By the end of the day they’d prepared the site for the tower. Having brought their camping equipment so they didn’t have to waste time commuting to the site, everyone got ready for bed.

Over the course of the rest of the week they disassembled one of the towers from the factory side of the powerhouse, and transported it to their site. Bringing in concrete mix and water, they poured the footings, them erected the tower. Finally, they salvaged enough line from the dam area and spliced it into the line running to the complex. After everything was set, Jack flew to the complex and closed the switch that connected the outside lines to the shelter and returned to the dam to complete the connection. A few minutes later he got a call from Pam saying the lights were on and everything seemed to be working ok.

Gathering his crew, they left the equipment where it sat and went home. Arriving over the complex they saw that the others had prepared a hero’s welcome for them, and landing, they took advantage of their new status.

[Christian for Israel]

here's a CH-54 skycrane as used in the last chapter:


this is the piper tomahawk they're using for flight training: