The Camouflaged Cross: Tales Of Christian Preppers In The End Times (Just Run Book 1)
Page 17
“I think I’ll ask Sean to join them. I’m not convinced that Wallace won’t leave, and we need someone with some military experience or know-how to get David and Kathy back.”
“Assuming Kathy doesn’t stay with Wallace on the outside.”
“Yeah, they might be an item. Kathy might not be around here much longer.”
“Could be.”
“Peter would be better, because of his military experience, but we need to keep him nearby.”
“That’s true. Who knows what his medical issue is. He needs to stay right here.”
Jesse and Mary watched the dancing going on at the car for a few minutes. When Lawson and David arrived at the car, Lawson stood still but wiggled his arms in front of him, matching the beat of the song, in an attempt to dance with the others. This caused more laughter and smiles from everyone else there.
Jesse and Mary smiled at the dancing. “So what do you think Wallace and the others will see out there?” Mary asked Jesse.
“Oh, some hunger, death, desperation, and a lot of cruelty. Let’s face it, what they will see will probably be very ugly. I still can’t believe that column of smoke coming from town.” Jesse gestured to the south. “That is either some kind of slaughter or a forced migration out of town. Or both.”
“We need to make sure Wallace, Kathy and whoever goes with them know how important it is to stay invisible. Not be seen by anyone at all, and if they are noticed, not to talk about our compound up here. And certainly not to be followed back here.”
“Oh yeah, I’ll make sure David tells everyone else in the group that they need to stay invisible, not to get followed home. That kind of thing. That’s key.”
“Are you working on a list of things we need more of? Like more walkie-talkies and flashlights?”
“Oh yeah. Lois also said she will need more pool shock to make bleach. There are a couple other things too.”
The song ended and everyone clapped. Those who were dancing began to sit down. Lawson asked if the car stereo could be turned off and if everyone would be willing to sing the song ‘Amazing Grace.’ Jason turned off the car and everyone stood up and began to sing.
The crowd sang, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a retch like me…”
Mary lowered her voice and asked Jesse, “Speaking of stuff we are getting together up here, have you started to notice a pattern?”
Jesse watched the singing around the car for a few moments without answering. Without looking at Mary, he answered, “A pattern? Oh yeah, I have noticed a pattern, but I wanted to hear your theory first.”
The crowd at the car moved on to the second verse, which was not as well-known. The singing was fainter. They sang, “T’was grace that taught my heart to fear…”
Mary spoke to Jesse, “Well, we were worried about feeding forty people up here, and just three months before everyone came here, you filled up two storage containers with food.”
“And here I was, thinking I was so brilliant, because I was keeping track of what was going on in bankruptcy court. That ‘Prepper’s Wherehouse’ store went belly-up, and I bought their whole inventory for pennies on the dollar. Then I got it all delivered up here.”
“Oh you were brilliant, alright. It just wasn’t you.”
“Thanks.”
“Then we started talking about how we needed some serious guns and ammo, and within hours you get handed a few machine guns and ammunition. So good that some of the guns are military issue.”
“Those M4’s are totally cool. And I never thought I would own a single machine gun, let alone several.”
“We even talked about how we wanted everyone up here to take our situation more seriously, be a little paranoid. Remember that?”
“Yep.”
“And minutes later, we all get shot at. That has a way of convincing people to be concerned of their military situation.”
“That’s putting it mildly.”
“And just today, Wallace starts telling everyone that in so many words we need a drill sergeant, and a few minutes later a real drill sergeant stumbles into our camp, asking if he can stay and offering to help us do whatever we need him to do.”
The crowd singing at the car uphill finished the second verse of Amazing Grace. Lawson asked everyone to sing the final verse. No one knew the words, so it was only David and Lawson who sang this verse alone. They sang, “The world shall soon dissolve like snow, the sun forbear to shine …”
Jesse smiled at Mary. “Getting the food, guns, ammo and drill sergeant here right as we needed them were all amazing coincidences.”
“’Coincidence’ is what non-believers say. You’re kidding, right?”
“Of course I’m kidding,” Jesse said. “None of this was a coincidence. Not a bit of it.”
“Yeah, it seems like whatever we see a need for, within hours or even minutes, it’s delivered here and the need is solved.”
“Yeah, He has our back. I’ve been noticing His help. Whenever the need arises.”
“No kidding. In the past we’ve prayed about how He is all around us, and it always seemed to me a little metaphorical. This time it is literal. I feel like He’s right here, watching over us and making sure that we have what we need to survive.”
“I’ve felt it too.”
The singing at the car came to an end, and Lawson led the group in prayer.
“We’re going to have a very interesting End Times,” Jesse said to Mary.
“Interesting? Maybe. More like a very ‘divine’ End Times,” Mary answered.
Jesse paused, then looked at Mary and smiled. “Yeah, I think you’re right. The word is ‘divine.’ We’re going to have a very divine End Times.”
Jesse and Mary were both right. Within only a few days they would find out exactly how interesting and divine the End Times would be for them and their group.
END OF BOOK ONE
[T]he people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.
-- Daniel 11:32 (NKJV)
Acknowledgments
I wish to thank the following people for their help with the preparation and writing of this book:
Captain Patrick Weeks, Captain USMC 2009 – 2014, and founder of the website officercandidateschool.com, for advice on guns and all military matters.
Mark Goodwin, author of the books The Days of Noah, Book One: Conspiracy, and The Days of Noah, Book Two: Persecution, and owner/manager of the website Prepper Recon for marketing suggestions, giving abundant prepper advice and general encouragement. Prepper Recon also has some great podcasts. Watch for Mr. Goodwin’s soon-to-be-released book, The Days Of Noah, Book Three: Perdition.
David Kobler, for his advice to me on military and prepping matters, and for his very informative YouTube videos on all sorts of prepping issues. David Kobler has co-authored a book with Mark Goodwin entitled Retreat Security. Watch for Mr. Kobler’s up-coming book, co-authored with Mark Goodwin, entitled The Seven-Step Survival Plan.
James Price, of Death Valley Magazine, for some very helpful information about the lives and careers of private military contractors.
Bob Mayne, owner/manager of the website Today’s Survival, for some helpful ideas on prepping found in his forum and in his podcasts. Mr. Mayne’s recent medical issues were the subject of our family’s prayers for many months, and I am happy to report that Mr. Mayne has been diagnosed as cancer-free.
There were some books that I found helpful in the writing of this book: On Killing, by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, Big Boy Rules: America’s Mercenary Fighting In Iraq, by Steve Fainaru, and Civilian Warriors: The Inside Story Of Blackwater And The Unsung Heroes Of The War On Terror, by Erik Prince.
I still find all of the sources listed in the back of my last book, Dirt Cheap Valuable Prepping, to have been helpful. (Please see the Epilogue in that book.) But I wish to highlight the book by Scott Hunt, entitled The Practical Prepper’s Complete Guide To Disaster Preparedness. Scott can be reached at his website,
practicalpreppers.com, where he sells his books, DVD’s and consulting services. His YouTube (under “Engineer 775”) videos are also very informative.
I also wish to thank various church friends for their advice on End Times references in the Bible, and applicable commentary.
As always, I wish to thank my patient wife, who is a great editor and sounding board for new and/or different ideas.
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Check out these other books by Cal Wilson:
http://www.amazon.com/Cal-Wilson/e/B00UVSA67S/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1