Tread Fearless: Survival & Awakening (The Gatekeeper Book 4) (19 page)

“Excellent!” barked Green, as he slammed his palm flat on the table with a bang. “I was hoping you’d say that.” He pointed at the man standing closest to him and said, while still looking at Mark, “This is Jason. Give him your list as soon as possible so we can get you the supplies you need. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have another meeting to chair.”

“Why me?” asked Mark, as Green turned to leave.

Green stopped, and then turned around to face Mark. Once again, the big man studied him for a moment before speaking. Mark wished he had Green’s discipline to consider every word before speaking, but the practice was annoyingly time consuming, and just a bit unnerving. Still, Mark waited for the big sheriff to reply. “Are you having second thoughts?” he asked.

“What? Of course not,” replied Mark.

“I have a handful of men who could possibly accomplish the mission with some luck. I have one man who could probably get it done with no luck needed, but he’s required here. That leaves you. I think you can get the job done without any luck whatsoever. Does that answer your question?”

“Sort of,” offered Mark.

“What’s the problem? The way I see it, you’ve got nothing to lose. And you can handle yourself, as you have proved. I knew you could accomplish the mission when you first studied the map. And lastly, you’re heading north anyway. All you have to do is deliver Lauren safely to her uncle. I’d do it myself if I had the time,” finished Green.

“I’m sure you would,”
thought Mark. “No problem. I’ll give my list to your man, here, but I’ll need to talk to Lauren first, to see if she’s up to cycling that forty miles.”

“She should be,” replied Green. “She’s an avid cyclist, and a runner. I don’t think she’ll slow you down any.”

“Can she shoot?” asked Mark.

“Ask her yourself. I’m already late for my meeting at the high school, but I’ll talk to you again before you leave. In the meantime, Jason can handle any further questions you might have. Good day,” snapped Green, and with that he turned and left the area with the second assistant in tow.

“Any questions?” said Jason with a snide tone when Green left the area.

Mark only stared at Jason, having already learned something from Green’s method of verbal restraint and delivery. Still, he was annoyed by the rude attitude and briefly considered laying Jason out. However, he realized that such a reaction would probably play into Jason’s hands, and wouldn’t help him leave the camp with Lauren, so he turned away without saying a word and headed to Lauren’s cubicle.

Mark was surprised to find Lauren gone, and Ed waiting for him in the cubicle. ”Do you know where Lauren went? I need to talk to her about an upcoming mission,” said Mark.

“I didn’t see her, but Sheriff Green said you were done so I came to escort you to your quarters for the night.”

“Quarters?” asked Mark.

“Yeah, you know, where you’ll sleep,” replied Ed.

“No. I know what quarters are. I just don’t need any. I’ve got everything I need on my bike,” replied Mark.

“Suite yourself, but the Sheriff wanted me to show you anyway. So please follow me. I’m not one to disappoint the sheriff,” replied Ed.

Mark shrugged and followed Ed out of the chapel and into an area of offices and classrooms on the south end. After walking down a short
hall, Ed stopped and unlocked a door. He then stood aside and allowed Mark to look into the room.

Mark was expecting a cot, but what he found looked more like a hotel room. The only deficiency was that the bed was bare, but that was fine with Mark because he had a comfortable sleeping bag with his gear. “The Sheriff wants me in this room?”

“I wouldn’t say, ‘wants,’ but rather ‘offers,’” replied Ed.

“Ok, thanks. I’ll take the room. Can I bring my gear in . . . my bike and trailer even?”

Ed handed Mark the room key and said, “He said to make you comfortable, and if that makes you comfortable then I say help yourself.”

“Thanks,” said Mark. “I guess I’ll go get my stuff then.”

“The truck’s parked right outside. I’ll help you bring everything in.”

Once everything was moved into his room, Mark locked the door and set off to find Lauren. He wanted to finish the list and give it to Jason with enough time to collect all the necessary supplies so he could leave early the following morning. Unsure as to whether or not Lauren would come with him, he was confident Sheriff Green would make it happen. Reluctant or not, Lauren would leave the camp with him for Georgetown, but he preferred it to be an amicable departure.

The big question for Mark was what would happen when they reached Phantom FOB. If Lauren had reservations about joining up with General Fogg, then perhaps he could convince her to continue on with him, to wherever life would take him. The thought struck him as uniquely odd and he snorted.

Other than their earlier conversation in the S2’s workspace, Mark had no idea about Lauren’s outlook on the future. She sounded pretty convincing when she argued with Green about wanting to stay, but there was something odd about the way she stormed off. To Mark, it was as if
she was putting up a front, a show even. He didn’t know her well enough to say with certainty, but he felt she was glad to be leaving the hilltop compound. But the only way to determine that was to talk with her.

In the meantime, he’d plan for three times the travel distance, and hope Green would sign-off on the requisition. If he could sell the idea that they would encounter delays along the way, then maybe he could secure enough equipment for her to last much longer. He wasn’t worried about food and water as much as transportation, shelter, and personal protection for Lauren. They could manage along the way with what he had in his kit, just as long as she had a few essential basics.

All this was quickly going through Mark’s mind as he walked to the church’s main parking lot looking for Lauren. He found her standing in a chow line, and fell into place in line several people behind her. Mark watched as she talked to a woman in front of her. Their conversation appeared light and friendly, and he wondered who she was, how close they were, and if she was talking about leaving.

The man in front of him was sweat soaked and reeked of body order. Mark was glad the wind wasn’t blowing toward him, and then chided himself for being judgmental about the man’s condition. Mark himself hadn’t showered in several days, and he wondered if he’d be able to take one before he left the compound. Not that it was an absolute necessity and all, it’s just that he didn’t want to smell like a pig when, if, Lauren was ever close to him again.

Having spent his fair share of time in a chow line, Mark simply followed suit. When he reached the first table he grabbed a paper plate, a plastic wrapped utensil pack, napkin, and paper cup. The food was simple and to the point: seasoned ground beef, pinto beans, rice, a piece of yellow flat cake, and an orange. Mark asked one of the serving ladies if there were any more tortillas, and she plopped another plastic-wrapped package on the table before him.

Mark thanked the woman and walked away with his food. As he scanned the parking lot curb for a place to sit, he saw Lauren standing
under the shade of a tree nearby. He realized that she was waiting for him to notice her, and it made him feel even better about his standing with her when she motioned for him to follow her.

Mark followed Lauren at a distance, unsure if she wanted to remain discreet, but also unwilling to present himself as a love-struck school boy by running up to join her. Eventually, she made her way around to the east side of the church building, and in the shade of the setting sun, she sat at a picnic table overlooking the wooded valley below.

Mark joined her, taking a seat across from her, and waited, determined to allow her to say the first words. He still wasn’t sure where her heart was regarding the departure, and he really didn’t want to fight with her about it, so he began to eat his meal in silence.

Lauren burped once and excused herself. Mark did likewise, smiled, and asked, “You have brothers?”

“Two older and one younger,” she replied, and then added with a smile, “I thought you were going to let me eat in peace?”

“Shutting up,” replied Mark with a smile of his own.

“That was all an act, you know . . . with Green.”

“I wasn’t sure,” replied Mark, “but I’m glad. You didn’t seem like the pouty, bratty type to me.”

“You thought I was pouty and bratty?” snapped Lauren.

“What? No! I mean, wait . . . you’re baiting me, aren’t you?” asked Mark.

“A little. How about you? You have any brothers and sisters?”

The conversation continued casually for a while, each getting to know the other a little better before they shifted the discussion into the impending departure. Mark could tell she was nervous, but he soon learned that her nervousness had everything to do with their destination, and not the trip itself.

“You’re right,” she said after Mark called her on it. “I’m not excited about joining up with Ron. In fact I have no desire to be caught up in the army, period, especially now, with all that’s happening around us.”

“I thought you’d feel safer that way, more sure of your future,” replied Mark. “And your uncle’s a general, so you’d probably be treated like royalty or something.”

She snorted at Mark’s comment and said, “Royalty . . . right. And he’s not my biological uncle. When your dad’s a general, you find you have a lot of uncles,” finished Lauren, as she peeled her orange. She pointed to Mark’s and said, “You better eat that. When they’re gone, you won’t see them again for a very long time.”

“Yeah,” sighed Mark. “I’m gonna save it for breakfast,” he said, as he picked it up and examined it more closely. “I was actually surprised to see them being handed out this late in the game. Did you know that many people believe there are no English words that rhyme with orange?”

Lauren snorted again and laughed, “That’s the stupidest thing I ever heard.”

“It’s true,” he said. “Can you name one?”

Lauren grew silent, and then looked at Mark and said, “Okay, smart guy. What words rhyme with orange?”

Mark straightened, and with a smile he said, “Blorenge and sporange.”

“Blorenge and sporange? Seriously? Those are words?” asked Lauren, as she squinted shrewdly at Mark.

With a grin he could barely contain, Mark replied, “Blorenge is the name of a mountain in Wales, and a sporange is a sac where spores are made.”

“What kind of spores?” Lauren asked.

“Does it matter?” asked Mark.

“Only if you’re talking to a dork,” exclaimed Lauren, and she threw a piece of orange rind at Mark.

Mark caught the orange missile in midair and held it close to his chest while saying, “My first gift from the royal princess of the army.”

“Oh, you’ve had it now, mister,” and she began to throw the remaining pieces of orange rind at Mark in rapid succession. He caught all but a few pieces, and made a neat pile on the table. “Are you always that fast, and so anal?”

“Only for you,” he replied, but more solemnly and with innocent intent.

She stared hard at Mark for a moment and said, “You’re serious, aren’t you? About me I mean.”

“I’ll take you wherever you want to go, Lauren. And when we get to where you want to go, well, if you still like me, then you can decide on your next destination, and I’ll take you there, too. Either way, I’m with you to the end.”

“Who said I even like you?”

Mark chuckled and said, “You’re right . . . you don’t like me. You love me.”

Lauren guffawed, and with a smile added, “I do like your confidence, though. So, have you made a list of what I’ll need?”

“Can you shoot?” asked Mark.

“By army standards, but it’s been a while,” she replied.

“Well . . . I can fix that,” said Mark, as he pulled out the packing list. They reviewed it together, and Mark was pleased that Lauren not only accepted his recommendations, but also added a few of her own. After a bit more discussion about the equipment for the trip, Mark asked, “Why did you want Green to believe you didn’t want to go?”

“Part of it was out of respect for him. Without his help early on, I would have been hurt or killed by the mobs that raided Camp Mabry. Another part was that I really don’t want to join up with Ron Fogg and his band of merry men in Georgetown. And lastly, I don’t want anything to do with my dad. I’m not his little girl anymore. He still thinks he can pull my strings like I’m his puppet daughter,” huffed Lauren.