Rise From The Ashes: The Rebirth of San Antonio (Countdown to Armageddon Book 3) (26 page)

     “I made the decision not to do that. Not you. I did. I had that option, but I chose to put a second bullet in his heart instead. So you did not kill him. I know it, you know it, and God knows it. And I’m going to tell everyone when I walk out of here so they know it too.

     “So you’re saying I screwed up?”

     “No. I’m saying that it was a
very tough choice for you to make, and a difficult shot. And that I know you were struggling with it. I know the next time the same circumstance presents itself you’ll struggle again. But again, you’ll do what has to be done.”

     “Even if it means killing another human being?”

     He kissed her on the forehead and rocked her gently back and forth, like a babe in his arms.

     “Did you know that despite their bad reputation, grizzly bears very rarely attack humans?”

     She couldn’t help but chuckle.

     “How in heck did we get on grizzly bears?”

     He ignored the question and went on.

     “Male grizzly bears
almost never attack man. Almost all grizzly attacks are from females. And they almost never attack unless their cubs are in danger. Or the mama grizzly perceives them to be in danger. Did you know that?”

     “So now you’re calling me an old bear.”

     Now it was his turn to smile.

     “If the shoe fits.”

     She feigned a look of shock.

     “What I’m saying is
that a mama grizzly is relatively docile and afraid of humans until someone threatens her loved ones. In a way, you’re the same. I know in my heart and my soul that you will do whatever you need to do to keep anyone from harming your sons. That doesn’t mean you won’t struggle with it. It just means you’ll do what you have to do and then struggle with it afterwards.”

     “Thank you, Tom. I so love you.”

     He smiled.

     “I so love you too. Are you ready to come out of hibernation now, mama grizzly?”

     “Give me a little longer. But tell everybody out there I’m okay.”

     “Okay, sure thing.”

     He turned to leave, but she stopped him.

     “Tom?”

     “Yes, dear.”

     “You’re not a doctor, or a medical examiner. How do you know it wasn’
t my shot that went through his heart instead of yours?”

     “Because the clothing around the lung shot was very bloody. The heart was still pumping after the lung shot. The shot through the heart was just a hole. It tore the heart up so it couldn’t pump anymore.

     “Also, remember that you saw him moving after the first shot. The shot through the heart was the kill shot. He died instantly. From my shot, not yours.”

-49-

     The second day after the shooting was a little easier on Linda. She seemed to accept her new role as a protector of the compound. Tom opened his mouth to the others about the “Mama Grizzly” analogy, and she suddenly acquired a new nickname.

     And Joyce couldn’t swear to it, and would certainly never mention it, but it seemed to her that the incident hardened Linda just a bit.

     Everyone in the compound was on edge. The fortifications went on. Jordan and Zachary emptied out the extra storage shed and dismantled it. They carried the sheets of plywood into the house to help strengthen the walls, and gave the two by four studs to Hannah and Rachel for more booby traps.

     No one talked much, but Tom got the sense they were all praying that the assault was over. That the men who came in the night had suddenly decided it wasn’t worth their effort and had gone elsewhere to conduct their evil deeds.

     Or that they’d suddenly found Jesus after the loss of their friends, and decided to change their ways.

     And indeed, that’s what everyone was hoping for.

     But only the naivety of the youngest in the group really believed it to be.

     Everyone else assumed that nightfall would bring with it another attack.

     So they did what they could to prepare.

     Joyce told the boys to save her one sheet of plywood, and to put it in the
workshop. She emerged an hour later with several pieces of wood, thirty inches long and ten inches wide. She carried them upstairs, to the shooting windows, and used screws to fasten each one at the bottom of the windows.

     No one could figure out what they were for, but no one wanted to ask the question.

     Finally, Sara’s curiosity got the best of her.

     “I had a bad dream last night,” Joyce explained. “I dreamed that the men outside grew so desperate that they threw Molotov cocktails through the windows to burn us out. I dreamed that the house was on fire and we had no way to put it out so we all had to run outside. And they shot us all down as we came out the doors.”

     “And you think this will prevent that?”

     “I think so. If they throw one, the four sheets of plywood will keep it from coming into the house, but it might get stuck on the window sill and set the plywood ablaze. I’ve attached these at an angle just inside the window to prevent that. After they come through the window and
bounce against the plywood, they should hit this and roll out the window again. They’ll still burn at the base of the house, but they won’t catch the brick on fire.”

     “Wow, that’s pretty
ingenious.”

     “Thank you. I can get creative when I’m pissed off. I still have to do the downstairs. Would you like to help?”

     “Sure. Chris will be laying down for a nap in a little while. I’ll help you until he wakes back up again.”

     Tom parked vehicles against all of the compound’s gates, to prevent the raiders from trying to force their way through with battering rams. And from
that moment on, every night all four of the labs would roam freely around the property. Two on the inside of the fence and two on the outside.

     Even old Blue, Tom’s old hunting dog, would be let outside during the daytime when the weather was warm enough. Blue was up in years, although Tom couldn’t remember exactly how old he was.

     “He loves to be outside, and he can bark better than any of them. And if he could speak I think he’d offer to help. So we’ll keep the labs in the house during the day so they can pull night duty. Old Blue can let us know if there’s trouble during the day.”

     The whole group slept fitfully that night. Everyone was sure an attack was coming.

     But by daybreak they’d pretty much convinced themselves the siege was over.

     “Looks like God has answered our prayers,” Sara
said.

     Tom swallowed a mouthful
of pancakes and said, “Let’s hope so. But let’s not let our guard down just yet.”

     Hannah had
insisted on making breakfast for all of them.

     “It’s my grandmother’s recipe. The fluffiest pancakes you ever had, with thin sliced strawberries in the batter. These pancakes will be so light and fluffy, they’ll float off your plate if you
don’t watch them close. They’ll go right up to the ceiling, and you’ll have to get a ladder to get them down.”

     Rachel rolled her eyes and asked Hannah, “Exaggerate much, Mom?”

     “Nope.” She giggled. “Well, maybe just a little.”

    
Jordan called from the security console.

     “Mom, it’s
almost eight o’clock. Are you okay to relieve me? I can pull your shift too if you want me to.”

     “That’s sweet of you, dear. But I’m much better today. I know I was a mess yesterday, but it’s behind me now. Let me
finish my breakfast and I’ll be right there.”

    
Jordan watched the monitors closely. There was absolutely nothing going on outside that he could see. He knew it was too early to declare victory, but he was breathing easier now. It looked like the marauders had decided they’d had enough.

     In
San Antonio, the band of four brothers were waking up from a night of cards and whisky. It was becoming a routine thing with them on Friday nights. None of them had to work on Saturday and it was the only chance they had each week to cut back, have some fun, and unwind.

     That would have been good enough, but the chance to sleep late on Saturday mornings was the icing on the cake.

     John stumbled into the dining room, slightly hung over from the row of five shots Scott had dared him to down one after another the night before.

     “What? No coffee? What kind of people are you, to not make coffee when you get up? You heathens!”

     “Well, listen to King John, over there. I’m so sorry we’ve fallen down on the job, your highness. We’ll try to do better in the future, if you wouldn’t mind kissing my big ole butt.”

     “You had one thing… just one thing,” John nagged. “All you had to do was make coffee when you got up. And could the three of you handle that? Noooooooo…”

     “Oh, shut up, you big baby. You know we prefer your coffee. And you brag about how much better yours is than ours. So why are you gonna whine when we finally concede that yours is better and wait for it? Nobody wants to drink sewer water when grade A coffee is right around the corner.”

     “Damn right!”

     John put a new filter in the Mr. Coffee and filled it with his top secret blend of coffees. The truth was, everybody in the house knew his recipe. It was just two scoops of Folgers dark roast and a scoop of Hill Brothers hazelnut. Any of them could have made the same recipe, but they liked having John do it for them. Like most men, they only did things when they had to.

     “Can one of you at least go crank up the generator?”

     Robbie made a big show of crawling off the couch and slowly making his way to the garage. He had a sensitive brain, he liked to say. That’s why he always had the worst hangover of the bunch.

     “Hurry up, Robbie. You
look like my Grandma.”

     “Your Grandma would be lucky to be as good looking as I am. And if she was, you wouldn’t be quite as ugly as you are today.”

     It was a pretty good comeback for a man whose head was pounding like a bass drum.

     “You know, John, when Hannah comes back home you’re gonna miss all that I do for you. You’ll be begging me to come back, I swear.”

     “Shoot. I know better than that. You won’t leave until I get Randy and Scott over here to help me shove you out the door.”

     Randy said, “Hey Robbie, you still want to get a place together when Hannah comes back and we have to move out?”

     “Yeah, sure. But don’t be thinking I’m gonna put out for you just because these guys aren’t around.”

   
“Trust me, you’re not my type.

     “It would be nice, though, if you wore a skirt and high heels occasionally, just so I can remember what a woman looks like.”

     “Uh, no. Not happening. You can just do what I do. Come over and visit John and Hannah. Hannah’s gorgeous. John thinks I come over to visit him because we’re friends. The truth is I just come over to check out Hannah ‘cause she’s hot.”

     John yelled from the kitchen, “I heard that!”

     “Well, thank God for that. Now I don’t have to keep it a secret anymore. Hey, Scott, since the generator’s running anyway, why don’t you see if you can raise your people up north? Ask Hannah if she wants to leave John and run away with me instead.”

     John laughed.

     “Sorry, Robbie. My Hannah prefers men.”

     Scott laughed out loud, then regretted it when it made his head hurt.

     “Oh, my God,” he said, but never finished the sentence.

     Robbie asked, “What?”

     “You suggested calling on the radio while the generator was running. I think that’s the best idea you’ve ever had.”

     “Don’t compliment him, Scott. He might get the idea he can do this thinking thing on a regular basis. That would be bad for all of us.”

     Scott sat down in front of the ham radio and turned it on.

     “Joyce… Linda… whoever’s on duty, this is Scott. Come in.”

     “Hi, Scott. This is Linda. How’s stuff and things there?”

     “Stu
ff is okay. Things are a bit under the weather. How about on your end?”

     “Everybody’s well here. Who do you want to talk to first?”

     “How about Zachary? Our conversation got cut short last time when our generator cut out.”

     “Okay, he’s right here.”

     “Hi, Dad. How are you?”

     “I’m fine, son. How’s the reading coming?”

     “Oh, man… I get so tired of reading about biology.”

     “I know, son. But since we have the books anyway you might as well make use of them. An education is something that’ll always come in handy.”