The Valley of Dry Bones

by Jerry B. Jenkins

  Again she rose as if to stomp out, glaring at Yuma as if demanding he go with her. Zeke thought he looked embarrassed and frustrated as he gestured for her to sit back down. Just then their granddaughter bounded in with a grin.

  Kineks said, “Oh, Zaltana, not now—”

  But the girl raced past her. “You won’t leave without saying good-bye, will you?”

  “Of course not!” Pastor Bob said, scooping her up.

  “Are you crying?” she said, cupping his face in her hands.

  “Maybe a little bit.”

  “Why?”

  When he struggled for words, Zeke said, “Pastor Bob’s wife is very sick, so they might not be able to come back here again. They’re going to miss all of you.”

  “Miss Jennie’s sick?”

  Pastor Bob nodded.

  “I want to see her.”

  “She wished she could see you too,” he managed. “She told me to tell you good-bye and to keep smiling.”

  “Wait!” she said, squirming free. “Don’t go yet.” And she ran off.

  “What a delightful child,” Pastor Bob said, wiping his face. “You’ve done a wonderful job with her, Yuma and Kineks.”

  Yuma thanked him. Kineks looked away. When again she stood as if to leave, Kaga said solemnly, “This council is still in session.”

  His daughter-in-law slowly sank back down. “What business is still before us?”

  “The business of silence.”

  Kineks folded her arms and sighed.

  After a moment Zeke felt compelled to dispel the awkwardness and said, “Jesus loved children and bid them come to—”

  Kaga glanced at him quickly and put a finger to his own lips, and the Lord impressed upon Zeke, “Even the right word is not fitly spoken at the wrong time.”

  Zaltana returned and strode directly to Pastor Bob, clutching a tiny stick-figure doll with a twine head and burlap dress. “Can you give this to Miss Jennie for me?”

  “Oh, sweetheart, she’ll cherish it!”

  “No, no!” Kineks said. “I made that for you! You will not give it away!”

  Zaltana burst into tears. “I want to!”

  “But it’s your favorite!”

  “That’s why I want Miss Jennie to have it! To remember me!”

  “You take it to bed with you every night!”

  “Now she can!”

  “I made it for you, not for her!”

  Pastor Bob said, “Zaltana, Miss Jennie could never forget you, don’t you worry.”

  “But I want her to have it. Grandmom, you taught me we give to people we love. Isn’t that why you gave it to me, because you love me?”

  “Kineks,” Yuma said, “listen to her. You taught her this. You made her this way.”

  Kineks looked stricken, trapped. “But-but, I—”

  “Is the doll not hers?” Kaga said.

  Kineks closed her eyes and nodded. “It’s hers.”

  “Then let her do with it as she wants.”

  “Is it all right, Grandmom?”

  Kineks opened her eyes and nodded again.

  Zaltana gave the doll to Pastor Bob. He hugged the girl and clearly could not speak.

  Zaltana went to her grandmother and climbed into her lap, and the woman rocked her until Kaga ended the meeting.

  14

  SUSPICION

  BACK AT THE COMPOUND late Monday morning, Zeke and Mahir opened their respective hoods to check water levels as the others headed inside. “See you at one,” Zeke reminded Pastor Bob, who still clutched the tiny primitive doll.

  “Mine was starting to overheat,” he told Mahir. “Yours?”

  “A little. S’pose you saw WatDoc.”

  Zeke shot him a look. “What do you mean? ’Course I saw him. We all saw him.”

  “On the way back, I mean.”

  “What’re you talking about? I saw nothing on the way back. Why didn’t you alert me?”

  Mahir shrugged. “He wasn’t moving, so you wouldn’t have seen dust.”

  Zeke slammed shut the hood of the tanker and faced his old friend. Mahir busied himself with the van engine. “Mahir, we’ve got to talk, man. What were you gonna do, let me lead him back here?”

  “Of course not,” he said, sounding bored. “If he’d have followed us, you’d have seen him or I would have flagged you down like I did on the way.”

  “Mahir! Look at me. Where was this?”

  He straightened and turned. “’Bout a half mile outside the tribe settlement. It’s not like he doesn’t know where they are, Zeke. You know he does business with them.”

  “He doesn’t know we know where they are!”

  Mahir shrugged. “Probably does now, I guess.”

  “You say that like it’s no big deal.”

  “So tell me why it’s a big deal.”

  “I don’t believe this,” Zeke said. “We’re the only people I know who have stood up to the Mongers without getting people killed—and we almost lost Cristelle. I love the tribe, and they’re a lot more savvy than we gave them credit for at first. But who knows if they can stand up to the Mongers? Will he bully them, make them sell him the water we trade them? Some of that we bought from him!”

  “So? You don’t believe in the free enterprise system?”

  “You can’t be that naïve! You think WatDoc has the Nuwuwu’s best interest at heart?”

  “Probably not. Why would he?”

  Zeke shook his head. “Do you, Mahir?”

  “I don’t know anymore.”

  “What are you saying?”

  Mahir shut the hood of the van and wiped his hands. “It just seems like such a waste. We’ve been out here so long, and what have we accomplished?”

  “Come on, man. You’re one of the smartest people I’ve ever known. You know better than to be results-oriented. We do the right thing because it’s the right thing. Whether it works or not is seldom up to us, is it? Is that how it works in science?”

  “You say that, but where has it gotten us, Zeke? You and I worked our tails off on the drought thing for years, and our own government finally just gave up.”

  “Could you blame ’em? What was the option?”

  “There was none! God won this one. But here we are, still shaking our fists in His face. What chance do we have? Everybody else is back in paradise, where they have wells and springs and city systems that give them all the water they want. Meanwhile you and I have to rely on every trick in our bag and come up with a contraption to keep our little band of friends alive. And for what?”

  “Mahir, is that what you really think? That we’re out here fighting God, shaking our fists at Him when He’s made it clear He wants us off this ground He’s cursed?”

  Mahir looked away and shook his head. “I don’t know what else to think.”

  “You’ve always been quiet, but is this why you’ve been so moody lately?”

  “Have I?”

  “Yeah, you have. The way you talked to Elaine this morning?”

  “Zeke! I was just trying to motivate her.”

  “She didn’t deserve that. She’s one of the sweetest, most selfless people I’ve ever met.”

  “That’s a nice sentiment, but sentiment’ll get you killed. When someone draws down on me, I don’t want sweet and selfless, I want cold and ready. So I guess I have been a little moody lately.”

  “When did you forget why we’re here, why we’re keeping our little band fed and hydrated and supplied?”

  “I don’t know. Are we done here, Zeke? I’m hungry and have stuff to do, and I know you do too.”

  Zeke stared at his friend. “We can be done if you want to be, but I worry about you.”

  “Don’t.”

  “Why wouldn’t I? We’ve worked together a long time, and I need you. I can’t imagine carrying on without you, and you’re making noises like you’re not long for this place. We both know you could find work—good, challenging, lucrative work—just about anywhere. Is that what you’re going
to do? Leave me out here by myself?”

  “You’d hardly be alone.”

  “But you are, huh? Planning to go?”

  “Actually no. I have no plans.”

  “But you’re not happy here, so I shouldn’t assume you’ll be here for the long haul.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Why’d you come in the first place?”

  “Seemed like an adventure, I guess.”

  “An adventure. Wow.”

  “Well, why’d you come, Zeke?”

  “I thought it was clear why we all came. I thought Pastor Bob made it plain as day that this was no small decision. If you didn’t see it as a call of God on your life, you shouldn’t have committed to it.”

  “You want the truth?”

  “Of course!”

  “I came because of you.”

  Zeke suddenly felt exhausted. He hung his head and rubbed his eyes. “That is the last thing I wanted to hear. And that is about the dumbest reason you could have told me. But I’ll bite. You said you thought it was an adventure. What did I have to do with it?”

  “I always liked working with you and for you. I liked the way you think, the way you made me think, the way you challenged me and brought out the best in me.”

  “Well, I appreciate that, and I felt the same way about you. But you have to know that’s not enough, not for something like this. It’s too hard. We’re never going to see enough success, enough results. We didn’t even at the waterworks! How could you think this would be any better? If we’re not doing this for a higher purpose, if we’re not doing it for God, because He wants us to, because He’s called us to it, it’s never going to work, right?”

  “I guess.”

  “You guess? What are you going to do about it, Mahir?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know yet.”

  Zeke sighed. “You’d better figure it out soon, don’t you think? For the sake of everybody else here?”

  Knowing what was coming, Zeke felt the better part of wisdom was to let Pastor Bob start the one o’clock elder meeting the usual way, leading it and opening in prayer. He thanked God for the time the team had spent with the Nuwuwu and prayed for Raoul and Danley’s safety on their supply run. He also prayed for Doc as he cared for Jennie and Cristelle and asked the Lord to give the three of them wisdom as they sought his replacement as an elder.

  When he finished, he pulled a crisply folded sheet from his pocket and spread it open before him. “Now then, Zeke,” he said, “I’d like you to account for everyone on this roster, which I have listed in alphabetical order—aren’t you going to miss me when I’m gone? Then we can chat through the likely candidates for my replacement and see how the Lord leads.”

  Zeke gave Doc a knowing look, and Doc cleared his throat.

  “What?” Pastor Bob said.

  “No, that’s all right,” Zeke said. “I can do that. Let’s see. Katashi Aki is on lookout duty outside. Rev. Robert Gill is present and accounted for. Genevieve Gill is resting in her quarters, and I did check in on her on my way here and I must say, Pastor, like Katashi, I was alarmed at the difference I saw in her even since yesterday at this time.”

  “Yes, I mentioned that I attribute that to a difficult night’s sleep. I think she’s very anxious about leaving you all.”

  Zeke and Doc locked eyes again, but Zeke carried on. “Weak as she was, she seemed quite taken with little Zaltana’s gift.”

  “Yes,” Pastor Bob said. “So precious.”

  “Continuing, Raoul Gutierrez is on the road. Benita Gutierrez is teaching. Elaine Meeks, food prep. Danley Muscadin, on the road with Raoul. Cristelle Muscadin in the infirmary—”

  “Update on her condition, Doc?” Pastor Bob said.

  “I’m having trouble ameliorating her pain, to put it plainly. I’ve increased the dosage and more meds are coming.”

  “Mahir Sy, aquaponics lab. Zeke Thorppe, yours truly. Alexis Thorppe is sitting with Jennie. Alexandra Thorppe, that’s Sasha, she’s in class. Adam Xavier is right here. Gabrielle Xavier is monitoring Cristelle. Caleb and Kayla Xavier are in class.”

  “Thank you, Zeke. Now from among that list, you’ll notice that I have put check marks beside the names of four men who are of age and who would be eligible to serve as elder. They are—”

  “Excuse me, Pastor,” Zeke said. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I wonder if Doc and I may discuss an important matter with you. I wouldn’t ask if we both didn’t feel it was crucial.”

  “Please,” Doc said. “Trust him on this.”

  “Certainly,” Pastor Bob said. “I yield the floor.”

  “Doc has something very important he needs to tell you,” Zeke said, putting a hand on the pastor’s shoulder.

  Doc put his hand on Bob’s other shoulder, causing the pastor to say, “Oh, my.”

  “Pastor,” the doctor began, “it’s only because of my deep love for both you and Jennie that I waited until now to tell you this. But you need to know, and I need to be straightforward.”

  Zeke felt Pastor Bob shudder.

  “Jennie’s cancer is much more advanced than I indicated, and I can’t in good conscience recommend that she travel Wednesday ev—”

  “I know it’s terminal, Doc. You told us—”

  Doc held up a hand. “If you’ll recall, Jennie asked if she would have time to see the kids and grandchildren, and I asked her how soon she could do that.”

  “You said six months.”

  “I’m not trying to split hairs here, Pastor, but she asked if she had six months and I said she might not want to wait that long.”

  “That made us think—”

  “I know, and I apologize if I left the impression she had more time than she did, but in my judgment you had both taken in as much as you could handle. You immediately decided that you would announce your resignation the following Sunday—yesterday—which I thought was wise. But Pastor, I need to tell you now, and you need to hear me, I double-checked my analysis of the workups I did on her a week ago today. Not only does her deterioration just within the last twenty-four hours not surprise me, I’m a little surprised it didn’t happen sooner.”

  “So if she wants to see the kids and the gr—”

  “Bob, she can’t travel.”

  “Oh! How much time does—”

  “We need to make her comfortable.”

  “You’re saying it’s a day-to-day situation.”

  “That’s what I’m saying. I’m sorry.”

  Pastor Bob rested his head in his hands. When Doc inhaled as if to continue, Zeke signaled for him to wait. They just sat with their hands on his shoulders.

  After several minutes, the pastor said quietly, “Would you gentlemen mind terribly if we moved the rest of this meeting to my place so I could be with Jennie?”

  “Oh, Bob,” Zeke said, “this meeting can be over. There’s nothing pressing here, nothing as important as your being with her.”

  “No, really. She’s sleeping, and I need to occupy myself. I’m serious. I feel strongly that I want to help you get this thing done, but of course I also want to be with her.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Positive. Really.”

  “Let me peek in on Gabi and my patient at the infirmary,” Doc said, “and I can pick up some meds for Jennie too.”

  When they stopped, however, Zeke was surprised to hear Doc say, “What are you doing here? Where’s my wife?”

  “She came and got me,” Mahir said.

  “She left the patient?” Doc said.

  “Just for a minute. Asked me to trade places with her. Said she was getting light-headed from the alcohol smell or something. I don’t mind. I was done in the lab anyway.”

  “Mahir, listen,” Zeke said, “don’t you have more important things you could be doing?”

  “Always. The fuel conversion regul—”

  “I don’t need to know. I’ll send Alexis to replace you in a few minutes so you can get back to that.”


  “Whatever you want.”

  When the men moved on, it was obvious Doc was simmering. “Alcohol smell?” he said. “Gabi’s been in hospitals all our married life. Never heard her complain once. And she knows better than to leave Cristelle even for a second. She could have let me know. Give me a minute to find out what this is all about.”

  He went off toward his quarters while Zeke and the pastor headed toward the Gills’ room. When they tiptoed in, Alexis whispered, “She’s finally asleep. She’s so weak, but she wanted to show me what she got from Zaltana and tell me all about her last message and then the trip.”

  Jennie lay on the couch on the far side of the room, the tiny toy still clutched in her hand, the IV drip running from a pole behind her.

  “Message?” Zeke said, following Pastor Bob to the kitchen and settling in at the table.

  Bob nodded. “You know how shy she is about speaking. Well, she asked if she could talk to everybody before we pulled out Wednesday night. I told her I was sure everyone would love that.”

  “Of course we would,” Alexis said. “She might not want me telling you this, but she told me that if the trip was tonight, she wasn’t sure she’d be up to going. She said she didn’t even feel like sitting up. But I’m sure when the time comes and she starts looking forward to seeing the—”

  “We’re not going,” Pastor Bob whispered.

  “What?” Alexis mouthed.

  He beckoned her with a nod and she moved to the kitchen. Within seconds she was in tears.

  Doc arrived with a small vial of meds, a bottle of water, and a bag of saline solution for Jennie’s IV. “Rest is best,” he said quickly, but it was obvious he was distracted and more than exercised. Zeke noticed his eyes darted as he spoke and he treated Alexis like a lackie, dumping the stuff into her hands and speaking in a quick monotone. “Hydration is next, so if she rouses, get some water in her too. Discomfort, here’s pain meds—but that’s it till the guys get back from Arizona. Zeke, we’ve got to go. Gabi says Mahir taking over for her wasn’t her idea at all. It was his.”

  Zeke shot up from his chair. “You’re saying he lied?”