Compass Call: Survival & Awakening (The Gatekeeper Book 3) (25 page)

John stood, sat the legal pad and the pen on the bathroom counter, and proceeded to massage his rear-end. After close to two hours of hand writing the journal entry on the legal pad, his butt was numb from sitting on the hard plastic surface of the toilet lid. He turned on the bathroom sink faucet and just managed to grab the last trickle of water that emerged from the now pressureless line. He splashed what he had on his face and returned to the bedroom.

As he slipped the legal pad into his nightstand drawer he reached for the wooden box and stopped. He asked himself, w
as it all just an illusion?
But when his fingers closed firmly around the small wooden box he lifted it and brought it to his chest. It was real. Everything was real.

John returned to the bathroom and set the box on the counter. Slowly, cautiously, he opened the box and shined the light inside. Polished brass reflected back at him. He still had the compass. He lifted it from the box and examined it with the flashlight. It looked exactly the same as it did when the man gave it to him. John wanted to jump up and down with joy, but he managed to contain himself. As a young man, and sometimes as an adult, John would have a dream where he would end up holding something in his hands, but when he awoke in bed he would be disappointed to find that his hand was empty. This was something different, something new and very special.

He didn’t know if he brought the compass back with him, or if someone else delivered it, like an angel, or maybe even the woman herself. Not that it mattered for John. The fact that he still had the compass, and that it was given to him during a vision, was, by all accounts, seemingly unprecedented.

He heard movement and shined the flashlight into his bedroom. It was Paul checking to see if John was awake for his shift. John whispered, “Thanks Paul.”

Paul, seeing that John was in the bathroom dressed only in his underclothes, immediately turned and left the bedroom. John quickly dressed, and with the compass box in hand, he went straight to the garage and locked it in the gun safe. He wanted to protect it, but more importantly, he wanted to put it away so that he wouldn’t play with it. He knew that if it was sitting out he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off it, which would surely attract attention. Until he better understood what happened, how he managed to return with the compass, he wanted to secure it.

And since he wasn’t entirely ready to explain the compass to anyone, especially if it reflected his curious fascination with it, he decided it was best to lock it up. Besides, he had other things to worry about right now, such as the biker gang, and preparing to leave. He also had to make a packing list, one for each of their three vehicles, which would be no small task given John’s extensive inventory of food and equipment. He knew he wouldn’t be able to take everything he wanted, but the compass was an absolute, something he would carry on his person.

John hated the idea of leaving behind anything that was useful, especially food, but without a big truck or trailer, it would be impossible to take everything of survival value with them. He decided that whatever was left behind, it would go into the shelter, and then he would raze the shop over the shelter to help conceal the entrance.

Paul needed about twenty minutes to find the shelter entrance, which was okay, but he did find it. John had another idea about how to protect the shelter entrance, and that was to cement over the entrance
with concrete. Since the shop’s floor was concrete, Quikrete could be poured and smoothed to make it look just like the floor. He liked that idea, and considered doing both, the concrete over the entrance, and collapse the shop down on top of it. It was the layered protective quality that appealed to John’s sense of purpose.

John closed the safe and returned to the alcove. He didn’t know why he wanted to safeguard the shelter, especially since they were leaving, but it felt like the right thing to do. John climbed the ladder and was surprised to find Marissa sitting watch. “Oh, hi Marissa. I wasn’t expecting to see you up here,” said John.

“I relieved Marcus early. I’m about to start breakfast anyway,” replied Marissa.

“I really appreciate all you do,” said John, as she began to climb down the ladder.

“I know you do, John. You tell me every day,” she said, and smiled at him. “You’re a good man. Any special requests for breakfast?”

“You know I love your tortillas, but only if you already plan on making them,” he said with a grin.

“You got it,” said Marissa, and she dropped down the ladder and went into the kitchen just as Paul came walking down the stairs.

“Did you wake Adam?” John asked when Paul reached the foot of the stairs.

“Yeah. He’s up. He’ll be down in a sec,” replied Paul.

“Anything to report?”

“Not really. I saw the dogs again, but no people.”

“OK, get some sleep. I’ll see you at breakfast.

CHAPTER 8

J
ohn knew it was time to remove the alcove window when the glass was too difficult to see through. A fine layer of ash stuck to the surface, and made everything look cloudy, dingy, and gray. Another reason to remove the window was for shooting, or for that matter if anyone shot at them, the breaking glass would be a hindrance and a danger. He decided to have Pete help him remove the window after breakfast. John noticed the morning sun looked dingy and muted through the window; that it lacked yesterday’s clarity and brilliance. In fact the sun looked more like the moon through the ash coated window.

“That’s odd,” said John.

“What?” asked Adam, as he looked up from reading the small-game trapping book he recovered from Corbin’s house the other day.

“Outside. It looks strange. Ahh . . . I know what’s going on,” said John, as he reached for the ladder and began to climb down.

“What? What’s going on, dad?” asked Adam for the second time, as he moved the curtain flap to look out the window.

“Sit tight. I’ll be right back,” replied John, as he descended the ladder. When he reached the front door he lifted the first of the two door braces and looked through the peephole.

“You’re going out?” Adam hollered from the alcove.

“Please quit yelling. And no, I’m not. I’m just opening the door for a quick look . . . to confirm my suspicions.”

“You know what they say about the cat, don’cha?” warned Adam.

“Very funny,” replied John, as he unlocked the door and cracked it open. He squinted as a shower of tiny crystalline grit blew hard against his face. The ash was returning, but this time horizontally instead of vertically. The north wind was driving it hard, and it reminded John of the many sand and dust storms he endured while serving in the Middle East. This storm was different in color from what he was familiar with, that being gray instead of brown, but it still had the same appearance and feel.

John squeezed through the opening and pulled the door shut behind him. Once clear of the patio, he stopped and looked up to gauge the elevation of the ash storm. It was as he had thought, there was less ash blowing above the house than near the surface. He guessed the storm’s height was about twenty-five feet, which was a good thing because it would be a short and less violent storm. As he opened the door to enter the house a gust of wind tore the handle from his grip. The door flew open and collided against the heavy wooden brace with a crash. John just managed to squeeze through and close the door when Pete appeared at the top of the stairs, and Marissa from the kitchen.

Both asked, “Is everything OK?”

“Yeah. The door got away from me. We’re in the middle of a sand . . . well, actually an ashstorm,” said John, as he lowered the barrier back in place. “It looks like what we saw in Iraq, only gray,” finished John, as he wiped his face with a handkerchief.

Pete shrugged and said, “Well, you called it. You said the winds would probably bring the ash back, and you were right. How long do you think it will last?”

“No idea, but as long as it blows it should keep the bikers grounded. Looks like we’ll also be staying in for a while,” said John.

Pete shrugged and said, “I can start my training indoors.”

“Before you do that, can you take a look at my packing list?”

“The one for the trip up north?” asked Pete.

“Yeah. I think I got everything, but I need your opinion. I didn’t include anything of yours, so feel free to make any necessary changes,”
said John, as he turned to look up at Adam, “Toss down my notepad on the clipboard please.” Adam tossed the clipboard down and John caught it with an outstretched hand. “Thanks,” he said, and turned his attention back to Pete, who was now standing at the bottom of the stairs.

“I’m sure I missed something,” said John, as he handed Pete the clipboard.

Pete examined the list, and after a minute of close scrutiny, he returned to the stairs and took a seat. John joined him, anxious to see what Pete would find in terms of a miss. John knew the packing list was thorough, but hardly complete, and studied the list over his friend’s shoulder.

VEHICLE PACKING LIST
: (three vehicles / four passengers per vehicle)


FOOD & WATER – rations to cook (30-days ea.), rations ready to eat (10-days ea.) water (2ea 5-gal can, min), water filter system, water purification supplies, water collection bucket, personal water containers (4 ea.)


SHELTER & CLOTHING – tent, sleeping bags (4 ea.), sleeping pads (4 ea.), tarp (2), roll sheet plastic (1 ea.), outer clothing (4-days), under clothing and socks (7-days), raingear, cold weather gear, shoes (2-pair ea.), eye protection, headgear, gloves


FIRE & COOKING – fire starter kit (matches, lighters, flint and steel, tinder, etc.), propane (1-20lb tank), propane stove, cookware, eating equipment, washing bucket, cooking grill, P38 (Company gear?)


LIGHT & COMMS – flashlights (4ea), headlamps (2ea), chemlights, batteries, lantern, two-way radios (2ea), flares, radio, whistles, signaling mirror, 100-hour candles (6 ea.), signaling equipment, marking equipment, generator (also company?)


FIRST AID & SANITATION – first aid kit, toilet paper, solar shower, soap, sanitizer, personal toiletry kit, N95 masks, insect repellant, vitamins and medications, prescription meds (Abby’s cooler)


STORAGE & TOOLS – Ziploc baggies, waterproof bags, duffle bags (Roof storage?), garbage bags, rope, zip-ties, para-cord, bungee cords, string, twine, wire, axe, shovel, pick-axe, tool-bag, machete, duct-tape, hammer, sledge hammer, bolt-cutters, wood saw, hacksaw, propane torch, crowbar, carpentry supplies


PROTECTION & HUNTING – knives (work & combat/protection), handguns (concealable 2-ea), shotgun (1-ea), long-gun (1-ea), ammo (TBD)(All?), camo-netting, camoclothing, weapon cleaning supplies, weapon repair supplies, archery equipment (?), trapping equipment


RESOURCES & MISC. – maps and navigational aids, reference materials (Scriptures, gardening, hunting, wild edible herbs, medical, building, survival, etc.), fuel (4-ea 5-gal cans), portable solar charger, PM, writing material, important documents, playing cards, children’s books and games, photos
.


“I brought some of this stuff,” said Pete, “but I don’t have all of it. What’s PM,” asked Pete, as he pointed to the bottom of the list.

“Precious Metal,” replied John. “You know, gold and silver.”

“I don’t know how much you have, but you want to split it up in each vehicle?”

“It made sense to me. If we lose a vehicle we’ll still have something to fall back on with the other two,” said John.

“If we lose a vehicle we might as well lose all of them.”

“Why’s that?” asked John.

“Well,” he said, “We won’t have enough room in the other two vehicles to carry them without sacrificing our necessary supplies. If
we lose a single vehicle, it would be better to have everyone walk and use the vehicles as supply wagons,” finished Pete.

“I see your point,” replied John, and he began to realize that the weight of the metal, ammo and water would make walking without a supply vehicle a very grim prospect. “Some of the items won’t be in every vehicle, but we do need to consider placement,” said John as he laid back on the stairs.

He caught Adam staring down at them and said, “Adam, please keep your eyes on the yard. I’m sure we’ll start seeing people arrive for water very soon.” Adam turned in the bench and rested his chin on the firing port. He mumbled, and John said, “Adam, if you have something to say, please say it loud enough so I can hear you,” replied John.

“I said,” replied Adam, as he turned around to look at his dad, “that I can’t see anything through the gray mist.”

“It’s not mist,” said John. “It’s ash. And though I agree that it’s not easy to see through, you still need to keep your eyes open. I’ll send Corbin up in a few minutes.” John turned his attention back to Pete and asked, “Now where were we?”

“He reminds me of you,” said Pete.

“Charming personality? Good looks?” asked John.

“His patience,” replied Pete with a grin.