Compass Call: Survival & Awakening (The Gatekeeper Book 3) (46 page)

Jeff appreciated Pete’s help, and generosity, and offered his thanks to both men several times. Pete added, “We’ve got more where that came from, so if other people in your group need a weapon, send them over after the meeting and we’ll see what we can do.”

“I’ll do that,” said Jeff, as he slipped the unloaded pistol into the waistband of his pants.

“Has anyone in your group taken point?” asked John.

“Point?” said Jeff, as he fiddled with the shotgun.

“Yeah, lead. You know, commander, president, that sort of thing?” asked John.

“Oh. Nope, we’re just a bunch of guys that want to cooperate and get along,” said Jeff.

John liked the sound of Jeff’s group already. And for the first time since hearing Tony’s speech, he began to think there was hope for the neighborhood, that they might actually survive the disaster. “How many people are in your group?” he asked.

“Oh, we’ve got about ten families, but we’ll get more. There’s a few fence-sitters, those who are waiting for word about Tony. Some like him . . . are afraid of him even, but for the life of me I don’t understand his hold over so many folks in this neighborhood. But I think we can win over more people when we tell them about the food we might have found,” said Jeff.

“You found food?” asked John, surprised and even more excited and hopeful for the neighborhood.

“Yeah,” said Jeff, with a broad smile in response to John’s obvious excitement at the news. “I’m pretty sure about it.”

“Do tell,” said John.

“Well, I work for BNSF, that’s the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe railroad,” said Jeff.

“I’m familiar with the acronym. Go on.”

“Well, I do line maintenance. Anyway, the day before the eruption somebody from the crystal palace calls down and stops all northbound movement,” said Jeff. “We thought it was a maintenance issue, but they told us to clear the tracks and stand by. That was it.”

“That’s interesting,” said John. “Is that sort of thing normal for main lines?”

“Not as long as I’ve been working on them,” replied Jeff, “and that’s more than twenty years now.”

“Do you think they knew about the eruption before it happened?” asked John.

“Don’t know,” said Jeff, “but could be.”

“So there’s a train sitting close by?” asked John.

“Yeah . . . pretty close. You cut right through the chase, don’t you?” said Jeff, “There’s a three engine lash-up, with two helpers, not far from here. I’d say about seventy cars all told. A mix of pigs, stackers, gas cans, wagons and hoppers . . . about five miles from here.”

“Pigs, hoppers?” asked John.

“Oh, sorry. Pigs are the flat cars with trailers lashed to them. Stackers are container cars. There are also a number of grain hoppers, and probably even a few fuel cars,” said Jeff. Jeff could see John’s growing excitement, and it made him smile again.

“If what you’re saying is true,” said John, “then it could mean survival for everyone in the neighborhood . . . for months, maybe years.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” said Jeff, with a sustained smile.

“Who else knows about this?” asked John.

“You mean in the neighborhood?” asked Jeff.

“From the railroad, but yeah, also from the neighborhood,” said John.

“I told a couple of friends in the neighborhood. They’re the ones wanting to form a scavenging party. They believe, like me, that if we have food we can build a real survival community here, one based on cooperation, not fear and intimidation.”

“I agree. Do you think it will work . . . that the train’s still there?” asked John.

“I don’t know. I’m betting they are. Most crews follow the letter of the law. And it’s only been a week. They could still be there. But it would be nice if they abandoned the train all together,” said Jeff.

“I like how you think, Jeff, but it’s also a problem of rightful possession. If the crew’s still there we might have to convince them to leave it with us. I think we should go check it out after the meeting. Do you think you can lead a group of men out there? And if so, I’d like to come along,” finished John.

“I can do that . . . if you drive,” answered Jeff.

“Maybe we can take the motorcycles,” said John.

“I like how you think.”

“I was wondering . . . would you mind if I mentioned the train at the meeting?” asked John.

“Suit yourself,” replied Jeff, “But I don’t know what’s on it, or even if it’s still there. I think maybe we should scout it out first.”

“You’re absolutely right. I’m getting ahead of myself. I’ll just say something about forming a scavenging party. Well,” said John as he stood, “I’d better get back to work. It was a pleasure meeting you, Jeff.”

“The pleasure’s all mine,” said Jeff, as he stood and extended his hand to John. “Thanks for your time. I’ll see you at the meeting.” And with a nod and handshake to Pete, Jeff turned and walked away.

As John watched the man walk away, he considered the strange coincidence that brought Randy and Jeff to his door. He knew it was more than mere chance, meant to happen even, but it was still strange how some things just managed to work themselves out. John never considered the possibility that a fully loaded train could be only a few miles from their neighborhood, just sitting there on the tracks waiting to settle the survival concerns of a hundred hungry people. Despite Jeff’s apprehension to announce news of the train, John knew it would pay off. He already knew it was truth. He didn’t know how he knew, but he just did. And for the first time since planning his departure, he was actually excited for the neighborhood.

John closed his eyes and, as if in a daydream, or perhaps a waking vision, he saw the train. The image filled his mind like a snapshot, but it was clear and filled with all the detail he needed to confirm his
impressions of truth. He saw a stationary train sitting along a set of parallel tracks. There were two men with the train, most likely the conductor and engineer, and they were camping near the engine, living off the supplies they found in one of the cars.

John reached for their names and drew back with Roger and Berry, or maybe Terry.
Yes, Roger and Terry
, thought John. Once he had their names, John was able to see their faces. He wondered how the vision came to him because it was unlike anything he had ever done before. Just thinking about the train allowed him to see it without leaving his body. He swayed on his feet.

Pete gripped John’s arm and asked, “Are you OK?”

John opened his eyes and said, “Yeah. Sorry. I just saw the train. It’s where he said it would be . . . and not very far from here.”

“You just saw it . . . just like that?” asked Pete.

“Yeah . . . just like that. One minute I was thinking about what Jeff said, and the next I just saw it,” said John.

“I don’t know what to say, except, awesome. I can see you’re going to be handy to have around,” said Pete.

John looked at his friend and said, “I’d feel better if I could control it though.”

“You and your control issues,” teased Pete. “Can’t you just be happy you can see things that the rest of us can’t?”

“I just hope it doesn’t become a problem for me. It’s a little scary for me, Pete. I didn’t have this gift all my life . . . I’m still adjusting to it . . . learning about it.”

“You’re right. Sorry I poked fun at you. But it is pretty cool. I don’t care what you say. Now when are you going to take me through the rest of my gates?” asked Pete excitedly.

John smiled and said, “You’re right. Maybe we can complete them before the meeting. But first I need to finish up in the shop. If you help me we should have plenty of time to finish your gates.”

“Then let’s get to it!” said Pete, as he slapped his thigh and reached for the door handle.

Pete lowered the last box down the shaft and John unceremoniously stacked it in the shelter. He had long since given up stacking everything neatly. The shelter was nearly full, and order was no longer a factor, at least since they first began to pull out food to make their travel rations. For the sake of time, John decided to abandon neatness and organization altogether, it would take him days to straighten the space, and he didn’t have days at his disposal. With a sigh, he closed the shelter’s heavy steel door, locked it with a padlock, and paused. With the padlock key in hand, John considered what to do with it. Taking it with him just didn’t make sense, so he looked around for a good hiding place. He finally settled on a spot under the gravel below the lowest rung, close to the wall so it wouldn’t be kicked up. Satisfied, John climbed up the ladder, and then closed and locked the top hatch.

While they mixed the concrete in a wheelbarrow, John looked at Pete and asked, “Do you think about Mark? What he’s up to . . . if he’s making it?”

“I’m sure he is. He’s very resourceful for a civilian,” said Pete.

“Do you think he’ll try to make his way up here . . . you know . . . try to join us?”

“You didn’t talk to him after your warning letter?” asked Pete.

“No. I didn’t hear from him.”

Pete was silent as he stirred the concrete mix and said, “She’s ready to pour. If Mark does try to make his way up, he’ll probably stop at my place first. That’s why I left him a message.”

John began to pour the concrete over the hatch, and while Pete scraped the wheelbarrow with the shovel, he asked, “You left him a message?”

“Nothing fancy,” replied Pete. “I spray painted a few words on the inside of my garage door”.

John nodded and asked, “What’d you write?”

“Went to John’s . . . followed by a date-time-group,” replied Pete, as he chopped the concrete to remove air pockets and then spread it about with the shovel. John took a knee, and with a hand trowel he began to smooth the surface of the wet concrete. His goal was to match the floor height exactly because he wanted to completely hide the entrance. He hoped three inches of unreinforced concrete, poured atop a plastic covered piece of half-inch plywood, would do the trick.

“That’s sufficient for Mark,” replied John. “I guess I should do the same here . . . only we don’t know where we’re going . . . or at least Mark won’t know where we’re going. I also don’t want to leave an obvious trail for others to follow. Any ideas on how we can do that?”

“Do you know the name of the closest town where we’re heading?” asked Pete.

“I do, but I was thinking of leaving him Lat-Long coordinates instead,” said John. “Most people don’t know how to read, or even convert latitude and longitude, but I think Mark does. Besides, we only need him to get close,” finished John.

“Well . . . I think you’re forgetting one very important option,” said Pete.

“What’s that?”

Pete chuckled and shook his head while saying, “You’re spiritual gift . . . can’t you just guide him or something?”

John turned and looked at his friend, admiring his common sense approach to problems, and said, “You’re right. I suppose I can. But I still want to leave him a message . . . in case I can’t, for whatever reason, connect with him.”

“Do you think we should wait for him?” asked Pete.

“I considered that, but he’s got a long way to travel, and countless obstacles to overcome . . . and that’s even if he decides to come. I haven’t seen any clue that he’s heading our way. There, that looks pretty good,” said John, as he stood to admire his shiny new concrete surface. “Besides, there’s trouble heading this way, and I don’t want to be here when it comes,” he added, as he dropped the trowel in a bucket.

“You mean like military trouble?” asked Pete.

“That’s part of it. I don’t think all the nuclear activity is done yet either. I think something like that will happen here, or very close to here, so we need to go while we still can.”

“You think a nuke will land here?” asked Pete, surprised and concerned at the same time.

“I don’t know, brother. There was an air force base not far from here . . . Carswell. It was re-purposed in ninety-four, but that might not mean anything to the enemy. Then there’s DFW . . . that’s a major commercial transportation hub. All I’m saying is that we shouldn’t spend a day here longer than we have to. Which is why we need to leave as soon as possible.”

Pete nodded and studied John closely. “I trust you . . . you already know that, but I’m not leaving until you take me through the rest of the gates,” exclaimed Pete.

John chuckled and said, “If you can rinse the wheelbarrow, and wash off the shovel and trowel while I put the shelf back together, I think we have enough time to finish your gates.”

“Excellent!” said Pete, and he left to go rinse off the tools.

John was impressed with Pete’s enthusiasm and eagerness to complete the gates, but he didn’t want to disappoint his friend. John didn’t know what Pete would gain from completing them, but he hoped his friend’s enthusiasm never faltered.

John reassembled the shelf and returned the boxes to their place. He knew, once the concrete dried, that the shelter entrance would be nearly impossible to find. Pete walked in and said, “Not bad for a banker.”

“So now I’m a banker,” said John, incredulously.

“Well, you did play with money,” teased Pete.

“OK, you’ve earned your dig for the day. Let’s go inside and finish the gates before you drive me crazy,” said John.