Lie Down in Green Pastures (23 page)

I could have done better with a herd of rampaging elephants.

Jeremiah could take no more and came to a sudden stop.He waved all the kids in a semicircle around him and placed Noah in the rear, facing the direction they had come. Before Jeremiah could say anything, Noah turned around.

"Sir, you said to whistle if I saw anything but what if I only heard something?"

"Wha . . ." Jeremiah started to say.

Just then Jeremiah heard some twigs snap a short distance to his left and held his fingers to his lips. He could hear the noises moving away slowly and he figured that it would be better to be walking than crawling. They needed distance and fast. "Everyone stand up quietly. Huddle up."

"What are we going to do?" asked Sarah who was holding Brenda's hand in a vise-like grip.

"We are going to move up the hill farther into the tree line.Each person step into the footprint of the person in front of you."

All the kids nodded their heads that they understood, but they could not hide the growing fear in their eyes. Only Noah, Sarah, and Brenda seemed to be relatively calm.

"Sarah, because you are shorter than the others you walk behind me and tell me when I take steps that are too large."

"Okay," Sarah whispered.

"Noah, walk drag," Jeremiah said to the boy.

"Drag what?"

"Sorry, drag means you follow at the rear. You stop every ten steps and scan the entire hillside from the front of the line all the way back down the hill. Pay special attention to the flanks, sorry, the sides left and right. If you see, hear, or even smell something whistle once. Got it?"

"Got it."

"The rest of you, do not look around. Do not talk, cough, or sneeze. Do not blow your nose or scratch your bug bites. Look only at the footprints in front of you and move quietly like a cat. Okay?"

All the kids looked at each other but they all nodded that they understood. He could tell that he had really scared them with that. "Let's go and remember, quiet like a cat." Jeremiah turned around slowly, slanting away from where he had heard the last twig snap. Jeremiah said a silent prayer for the kids and himself.
Adonai, calm their beating hearts and soothe their fears, and guide my feet to the safest path.

Thirty minutes later they had walked more than half a mile from the camp and could only see a soft glow from the fire that had been the cabin. The walk had been surprisingly quiet and uneventful.

Thank you, thank you,
Jeremiah prayed.

They were moving up toward an overhang near the top of the hill. Jeremiah stopped at the edge of a small clearing and waited for the kids to gather around him.

"I want you all to sit down and rest for a few minutes," Jeremiah said.

Stuart asked "What is happening?" in a shaky voice.

"Shhhh," said Sarah.

"That's okay. I don't know what is going on. Someone didn't want us staying in the cabin tonight. Maybe they needed it for firewood." Jeremiah knew the joke fell flat when not one kid smiled back at him. "Rest and catch your breath while I look around this clearing, and no talking."

Jeremiah waved Sarah and Noah over to him as he moved away from the main group. "Sarah, you watch out for the other kids and keep them quiet. Noah, go back down the trail about ten minutes, then sit and listen. I will whistle when I want you to return to the group."

Both kids nodded and moved offto their duties. Jeremiah waited for the kids to be out of sight and then he moved to his left skirting the clearing. He took deep breaths to steady himself as he assessed the situation.

I never thought that it would happen again. Outnumbered and unarmed in the wilderness.
Jeremiah shook his head to chase the thought from his mind.

He made it all the way around the clearing having heard nothing but the creatures of the night. Whistling once, Jeremiah slowly walked up to the rest of the kids. He had been gone for half an hour. Sarah stood and walked over to him.

"I told them to close their eyes and relax their muscles one at a time. In two minutes they were all asleep," said Sarah.

"Very good thinking."

"Thank you, sir. What are we going to do now?" she asked.

Noah came into view walking very softly. When he reached the other two he held out his hands in a questioning gesture.

"It is going to start raining soon. We need to find shelter," Jeremiah whispered to the two kids. "I saw a small cave on the other side of the clearing that should be large enough for all of us. Did you hear or see anything down the trail?"

"All quiet," Noah reported.

"Good. Let's wake the others and get to the cave before we all get drenched."

With mild amusement, Jeremiah noticed that the kids lined up in the exact same order as before and also stepped in the tracks of the person in front.
Maybe there is hope for them after all,
Jeremiah thought.

A few minutes after they were all in the cave the rain began to fall. "Whew, that was close," said Noah. "What now, sir?"

"I think we should take inventory," Jeremiah said.

Cindy sat straight up in bed, heart racing. She glanced at the clock. It was midnight. She was sweating profusely and shaking. She struggled to figure out what had awakened her.Had it been a nightmare, a sound? She got up and checked her phone and cell phone. No calls. She made the rounds of her house checking the doors and windows. Everything was shut up tight.

She sat back down on her bed, hands still shaking. She had a sick, twisting feeling in her gut and she thought she was going to throw up. She hadn't felt like this since Lisa had been killed.

In a blind panic she picked up the phone and called her mom, waking her for a change.

"What on earth is wrong?" her mom asked.

"Hi, I just had—are you and Dad okay?"

"What? What kind of question is that for the middle of the night?"

"The only one that matters in the middle of the night. Are you both alive, well?"

"Yes."

"Daddy too?"

"Yes, he's right here asleep."

"Are you sure he's asleep?" Cindy asked, her throat constricting.

"Listen for yourself," her mom said.

A second later Cindy relaxed as she heard her dad's snoring."Thank you, God," she whispered.

Another, terrible thought occurred to her. "Did anything happen to Kyle?"

"No, you worry too much."

"But he was doing that bungee jump . . ."

"You didn't watch it?" her mother demanded, her voice suddenly icy.

"No, I—"

"Cindy, you should support your brother."

Cindy wanted to scream. "Mom, it's not the time! Is he okay?"

"You want me to go wake him up and ask him?"

"He's there?"

"Yes, he came home to visit for the weekend. It wouldn't hurt you to do that occasionally."

"Yes, Mom, please go check on him."

A minute later she could tell her mom was holding up the phone again, her brother's snoring was as just as loud, but still distinguishable from their father's.

"Thanks, Mom," she whispered. "I'll call in a day or two."

She hung up before her mom could ask her any questions.She cradled the phone to her chest. If her family was safe, what else could be making her feel this sick?

Jeremiah.

She dialed his cell, knowing that there was lousy reception at the stadium, but hoping for a miracle. It went straight to his voicemail and she didn't bother leaving a message.

You knew he wouldn't pick up,
she told herself, trying to stem the rising tide of panic that threatened to overwhelm her.
He's fine; there's nothing wrong.
Her stomach twisted harder and she let the phone fall from her hand as she hit the floor on her knees and began to pray.

"Inventory?" Sarah asked Jeremiah.

"Yes. We need to see what we have with us that can be used.Not all of us are in pajamas, so we may have useful items in our pockets."

Everyone not in pajamas began emptying their pockets, placing all the items on Jeremiah's handkerchief. It looked rather meager.

"Let's see. One flashlight, one pocketknife, one half empty pack of cigarettes and matches, one lipstick and one compact, and one of the ten-page camp information booklets."

"What are we going to do with makeup?" one of the boys sneered.

Sarah jumped up ready to pound on the boy, but was restrained by Brenda and Noah.

Before Jeremiah could answer, Noah said, "Well, the mirror in the compact can be used to signal planes or rescuers and the lipstick can easily write on paper. Did you bring a pencil?"

"Everybody calm down," said Jeremiah. "I'm not even going to ask who provided the cigarettes. We all need to get some rest. Boys, please all go to the left side and Sarah and Brenda and I will be on the right."

Noah, Brenda, and two others had been sleeping in their clothes, including jackets, as had Jeremiah. "Boys, give your jackets to those in pajamas," Jeremiah said as he handed his to Sarah.

Jeremiah signaled Noah and Sarah to the mouth of the cave. "We need to keep watch. Sarah, could you take the first shift for two hours and then wake Noah?"

"Yes, sir," Sarah replied.

"Noah, you wake me after your two hours, okay?"

"Yes, sir," said Noah.

"Listen you two, stop calling me sir. Call me Jeremiah or Rabbi, but not sir."

"Yes, si . . . er Rabbi," said Noah.

Jeremiah heard Sarah wake Noah around two in the morning.After Sarah was asleep, Jeremiah got up slowly. He stripped offhis overshirt, leaving his black undershirt on, which blended into the night. He pocketed the knife and flashlight and moved to Noah's side. "I am going to scout around the area. Can you stay awake till I return? It may be more than two hours."

Noah nodded affirmative. Jeremiah patted his shoulder and before Noah could turn his head to acknowledge the gesture, Jeremiah slipped into the darkness. Moving at a speed that only years of training could provide, Jeremiah made it all the way back to the campgrounds. He eased his way into the administration building, checking his progress every few steps.

He wondered why the bomb makers hadn't bothered to take out all the buildings, or at least that one. He checked the phone but it was dead.

He searched around and retrieved three dark blue blankets, a well-stocked first aid kit, and two spools of fishing line plus a package of fishhooks. Using one of the blankets as a sack, he also grabbed several bottles of water, a small pan, and a dozen cans of soup. He raided the cabinet with camp logo sweats and T-shirts and grabbed what he could, using it to wrap the cans so they wouldn't clink together.

He searched quickly for anything else that might be of use and finally picked the lock on one cabinet. Inside he found paintball equipment and he grabbed a pistol and loaded it.

Jeremiah was back at the cave a short two hours after leaving.He was beside Noah before the boy even knew he was there. Startled, Noah asked, "Where did you get all the loot, Rabbi?"

"The campgrounds. Now help me cover up the kids."

"But the cabin was blown to smithereens."

"True, but not the administration building."

They didn't expect anyone to survive the bomb blast.

Sunrise in the mountains was always dramatic and this morning was no exception. The problem was that the cave faced east and the sun's rays entered the cave early. Everyone was awake before 6:30. Several of the kids looked worse for wear and to Jeremiah looked like they could easily go into shock. To prevent that, he got everyone with clothing on to look for some dried twigs and branches while he passed out the clothes he had gathered to those in pajamas. They looked like a group of carnival clowns in baggy sweats and oversized shirts, but at least they were dressed.

"Rabbi, how do we open the cans?" asked Brenda, holding up the soup.

"Here, use the P38," said Jeremiah, taking a small metal device from his wallet.

"What's a P38?" asked Sarah.

"It's really a can opener," said Jeremiah. "The U.S. Army issued them in cases of rations. It is called a P38 because some smart-mouthed GI said it took exactly 38 pushes to open a C-ration can."