Lie Down in Green Pastures (29 page)

"Rabbi, he's not breathing!" yelled Noah.

"Shhhh. He has just passed out from the pain. He is going to be fine. You can remove the sticks," Jeremiah whispered.

Jeremiah placed the cream-covered pad on the wound opening, applying mild pressure to push some of the cream into the hole. Next came the adhesive tape strips to hold the pad.

Extending the splints, Jeremiah placed them on the boy's leg. The bandages were then wound firmly down the entire length of the splints.

"Pull Bobby toward you away from this tree. We will then pick him up and return to the road," Jeremiah whispered to Noah.

Noah moved the boy away from the tree. Jeremiah moved around and, placing Bobby's legs together, gently lifted him offthe ground. Noah turned around and started backing up the slope. Five steps, then
boom.
Noah splashed down on his bottom and slid three feet back down. Noah struggled up and started moving again.
Boom!
Down he went again.

"Stay down for a minute. We need to think this out," Jeremiah said to Noah.

"How did you know that the gun was a Barrett?" asked Noah.

"Training. Lots and lots of training. Don't worry about it.The army has excellent training routines. They will teach you how to recognize weapons by their unique signatures. They will also teach you how to tell where the shot came from and how far away it was. They will teach you to recognize the sound of a bullet passing close by you and determine if it was fired in anger or was unintentional. Like I said, we can have a really long discussion after we get home."

"If we get home," moaned Noah.

"The army will teach you how to overcome those kinds of doubts too. If you are willing, they will teach you new ways to eat, sleep, bathe, dress, everything. They will teach you how to stay awake for seventy-two hours and still function at 100 percent. Now, let's figure out how to get up this bank and back to the road."

"Rabbi?" said Noah after a long pause.

"Yes."

"Can I try carrying Bobby on my back?" asked Noah.

"Good idea. I will help you lift Bobby onto your shoulders, then move directly behind you. I will use this spear to anchor each step you take. Lead out with your right foot," Jeremiah whispered.

Noah shifted the paintball gun that had been in the back of his waistband to the front of his waistband. Jeremiah took the opportunity to check both of the guns he was carrying and to reposition them so he'd be ready when it was his turn to carry Bobby.

Once Bobby was loaded on Noah's back and the two men were ready, Noah moved his right foot forward. While it was raised, Jeremiah pushed the spear into the muddy slope below the foot. Noah then placed his foot down partially on the spear. Left foot up, second spear into the mud, foot lowered.The routine was repeated until the men were on the road.

Jeremiah had fallen so many times he was now covered completely in mud. So much mud that if he lay down and closed his eyes he would be invisible. They put Bobby down on the road's shoulder. Jeremiah checked his vital signs. Searching through the first aid kit, Jeremiah located a small bottle of painkillers. Placing the bottle into his pants pocket, he placed the kit back in his backpack.

"Stay here. I'm going to check if we are being followed."

Two thumbs up came from Noah.

Jeremiah made his way back to the fallen tree. Holding his breath and calming his heart, he strained his ears. He was listening for a sound. Any sound. No people following close enough to hear.
The helicopter is on the ground, though. I can still hear the turbine.

"Let's set up our burglar alarm," he said as he returned to stand next to Noah.

"Stay here," Jeremiah whispered to Brenda. "Oh, and watch Bobby. If he stirs, signal."

Once they finished with the alarm, they sat down next to Brenda.

"Should we make a stretcher for Bobby?" asked Noah.

"Not a good idea, at least not right now. The road is just too torn up. We would spend more time dropping him than making progress. Down the mountain, the road may improve and then we can reconsider. For now, we will take turns carrying him. You brought him up the bank, so I will take him next.We will switch every fifteen or twenty minutes."

"I will take a turn too," chimed in Brenda.

"Me too."

"And me."

"I'll take a turn."

"Thanks, everyone," said Jeremiah.

"No problem. After all we must work together. We are a team. Yeah, that's it, a team that has, like, done pretty darn good. I believe we need a new name. How about the 'Rabbi's Rangers'?" asked Brenda, who was getting high fives from those closest to her.

"I know, we need T-shirts," Sarah said, which was followed by a chorus of agreement.

"Let's calm down," said Jeremiah.

The kids started chanting "Rabbi's Rangers, Rabbi's Rangers."

"Thank you, all," said Jeremiah. He raised his right arm with clenched fist and immediately there was silence. "Rangers, move out."

Noah and Brenda helped load Bobby onto Jeremiah's shoulders."Bobby, you awake?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't throw up on me."

"'Kay."

Noah signaled for Sarah to move forward, which she had already started to do. Sarah had instructed the kids closest to her to grab the belt or waistband of the person in front of them. Each kid did so and then whispered to the person following to do the same.

It was now totally dark.
Blacker than black. This is going to be really bad. I hope no one else gets hurt.

Jeremiah couldn't believe what was happening. The line was moving quicker than he had thought possible. He then realized why.
We are moving like a snake, weaving all over the road.
Clever girl, that Sarah.
She was choosing the path of least resistance by moving around the boulders and ruts while avoiding the deepest of the potholes.

Anytime someone fell in the mud, the tug on the belt rippled up and down the line at which point everyone halted. Seconds later another tug signaled to start moving again. Jeremiah was relieved that no one had asked how far they had to go. They would have given up if they knew that the fire road wound up, down, and around the entire north side of the forest preserve.Nine miles. They had to go nine miles. At the pace they were currently moving, Jeremiah calculated that they would arrive close to the washed-out bridge at about three in the morning.

Sarah, on her own initiative, called a halt after an hour of walking. She whispered, "Five-minute break," which was passed back up the line. Jeremiah had been carrying Bobby the entire time. Brenda and Noah quickly lowered Bobby to the ground. Jeremiah turned to check on the boy only to find he was awake. His face looked calm but Jeremiah knew the boy was in pain. Reaching into his pocket for the painkillers, he removed two pills. Noah had retrieved one of the water bottles from the backpack. Jeremiah offered the pills and water to Bobby.

"I don't need those," Bobby said weakly.

"Take them. We still have a long way to go and besides, it is always smart to take the pills before the pain gets to be too much."

"My mom's a nurse and she says that all the time," said Bobby, taking the pills and water from Jeremiah.

During the rest break, Jeremiah walked up the line of kids.Virtually everyone was covered in mud. All the faces showed concern. However, none of them showed any panic.

"You guys are doing great. We will be out of here soon.Keep helping each other like you have been doing," whispered Jeremiah.

Some of the kids flashed thumbs up and others responded with "Rabbi's Rangers."

"Sarah, you are doing a terrific job. We are moving faster than I expected," Jeremiah whispered.

"Thanks. I learned to use my complete eyesight capabilities in Drivers Ed."

"Drivers Ed?" asked Jeremiah.

"You know, don't stare in one direction, which strains and tires your eyes. Keep your eyes moving. Don't ignore your peripheral vision, and so forth."

"Well, it appears to be working. Are you ready for someone else to take a turn leading?"

"No, I like it up here, and besides I have only fallen in the mud twice. Did you see the others?" asked Sarah.

"Yes."

"If their eyes were closed, they would be invisible. Plus they have put on twenty pounds of mud weight. What a mess."

"I know what you mean."

Before heading back to the end of the line, Jeremiah showed Sarah a couple new belt tug signals.

"Stop every thirty minutes from now on. We need to switch the person who is carrying Bobby," said Jeremiah before leaving Sarah to her task.

As he moved along the line, Jeremiah made sure that all the kids knew about the new signals and to pass them along accurately. Bobby was loaded onto Brenda's shoulders. Without any signal, the line was up and starting to move.

"Noah, stay extra close to Brenda in case she starts to fall," Jeremiah whispered. "I'm going to backtrack and check for a tail."

Thumbs up from Noah and the line was moving. Jeremiah moved back up the road a few hundred feet so that he could Th not hear the kids. He squatted in the center of the road sweeping his eyes and ears trying to pick up any hint of activity.Nothing. Jeremiah returned to the kids.

Twenty minutes later, the line halted. Bobby was moved to the next person.

"Are you ready?" Jeremiah asked Tim.

"Yes, sir . . . er . . . Rabbi," came the reply.

Thirty minutes moving, five minutes halted. No tails detected. Bobby switched to a different person.

This is going better than I could have ever imagined. The pattern had been repeated six times so far. Approximately one mile to go.
Unbelievable. One hill left before the downward slope to the bridge.

Bobby was now loaded on Noah. This would be his third time.

Suddenly Jeremiah saw a flash of light. They were being followed.He was certain their tracks had been obliterated by the heavy rain that, unfortunately, was starting to let up.

These people are pros. They figured out that we had to take the road, that we had no choice.

Jeremiah gave three quick tugs on Brenda's belt. Within seconds, the line was moving much faster. The light was falling behind and then disappeared. Jeremiah could hear more and more kids hitting the mud. No sounds or outcries, though.

Jeremiah could just make out the crest of the hill in front of them. Five minutes later the rain stopped. There was a warm glow in the sky ahead.

It's too early for the dawn. City lights. Must be the city lights. It can't be; the city is too far away.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The helicopter was coming.

It was the middle of the night and Cindy still couldn't fall asleep. The police had refused to send more people up the mountain after Paul to rescue Jeremiah and the kids. She had never figured out where Mark was, but she had talked endlessly to the two officers who escorted her home to no avail.

She was praying, trying to think of every possible scenario, trying to believe the best.

She was failing miserably. The main road wouldn't be passable for another day at least and she knew that there were downed trees on the fire road that were blocking emergency vehicles. If Jeremiah and the kids were in trouble there was no guarantee that they were still anywhere in the vicinity of the camp and Paul was trying to make it in based on only his knowledge of the campsite itself.

They're going to need more help,
she thought as she paced.

You can do this,
a voice seemed to whisper in her ear.
You have the tools, you have the knowledge, and you have the map.

She stopped still in her tracks, her mind racing. Then she grabbed her keys and headed out the door where her eyes fell on the green Hummer parked at the curb in front of her house.Slowly she approached it. It was an H1, the closest civilian equivalent to the military vehicle.

She held her breath as she put her fingers on the door handle and turned. It moved and the door swung open. There, in the ignition where he had left them were Diamond's keys. She opened the glove compartment and found a satellite phone.Her heart began to pound and her palms were sweating.

Mark had said he would be sending officers to collect the car, but it must have slipped his mind.

What are you thinking, Cindy?
she asked herself. Every fiber of her being screamed for her to stop, but in her mind she could see Jeremiah clearly and Brenda and the other kids and their terrified faces. She started the car, closed her eyes, said a brief prayer, and stepped on the gas.

Five minutes later she was parking at the church. She took the keys with her, half afraid that someone else might make off with the Hummer while she was inside. She unlocked the main gate and ran inside where she unlocked the office. Within five minutes she was on her way back out to the vehicle with a big box containing a first aid kit, flashlight, a couple of blankets, bottled water, and protein bars. Carefully folded in her pocket was the map of the entire property that they kept on file.

She stowed the gear in the back and then hit the road. As she took the onramp onto the freeway it took all of her willpower to drive the speed limit with so many lives on the line, but she knew she couldn't afford being pulled over, especially in a car that she had technically stolen. Whatever minutes she might save by speeding could be more than lost by such an encounter.