just sleep. My sense of fear drifts away, which scares me. I see something strange ahead and wonder if this is what happens when you’re about die. A small fuzzy jet is streaming right towards my location just as I give up the fight. I think how unlucky I am to have taken on a Demon and a enemy jet.
My head’s pounding as I come to. I have no idea what time it is, or how long I’ve been unconscious. I’m wondering why I am still alive. My blurry eyes squint as they adjust to the overpowering light. I feel a tiny presence touching my shoulder as I lay on my belly. I slowly turn my head around as my fear returns. I suspect this LD wants to torture me before it kills me. My blurred vision can only make out the detail of one small eye staring directly at mine. I strain my vision and my face to see more clearly. I notice this Demon has an awfully small eye. A tiny powerful punch hits me right between eyes. “No,” my mind yells! I reason this was not a punch; it was a knock. Again, it thumps me in the same spot. Suddenly, my vision magically returns revealing the owner of this mysterious eye.
Flicker’s face pecks my forehead once more, as if to check my conscious reflex, or just maybe to say “hello.” My extreme emotional state “flip flops” from fearing, to feeling fantastic. My whole body shakes under the influence of the tremendous change of emotions. I see his friendly little blue face covered in blood, and then wipe my head to see if it came from me. My hand returns clean, as I use my other arm to slowly lift my body. I don’t have to wonder long where the blood came from. I see lots of blood and a battered eyeball lying on the ground. Just behind it are a couple blue feathers and several bloody footsteps staggering away. I remember now thinking that the approaching jet looked kind of weird. It was blue and awfully small. I thought at the time my eyes were playing tricks due to the jet’s speed and distance; and my state of mind. Again, he pecks me. “Okay,” I tell my little friend, “I’m getting up!” I try and pat his little head and tell
Him, “You sure are amazing.” But, he leaps and flies away
before I can. I head out in Katie’s direction and pray Moses got away alright too.
I make it to the end of the alley and see the old gas station one more block away. I notice the front door is open as it slowly swings and squeaks in the warm morning breeze. This may be a sign Moses made it inside. Everything is remarkably still and quiet at this moment. My urgency slips back to a high state of reconnaissance. The last thing I want now is to alert any more LD. I play it safe and take my time searching and observing the premises before trying to enter it. I wait several minutes to see if there is any movement in the immediate area. My senses affirm it should be safe to move out. I leave the safety of my current position towards my objective inside the station.
The door swings slowly open at the moment I arrive. I dash inside the dusty building as a cloud mysteriously closes the front door behind me. I see a fresh set of footprints through a slight haze leading towards the mechanic’s bay. My concern for the family hastens me, but my vision blocks my approach. The sun is painting swipes of tiny bright golden galaxies that are reflecting off the airborne dust. Each of these stripes of light blinds and muddles my perception. Their contrast is making it hard for my eyes to focus. I salute with respect to the light and proceed with my partially covered eyes honoring my sight towards the darkness.
I shuffle through the trail of leaves covering the bay till I reach the hidden door. Leaning over the top box concealing the door I direct my whisper behind it. “Moses, Katie, it’s me Joey.” I hear the doorknob screech as a thin line of light emerges in the door jam. Through it an eyeball appears. Quickly, the door opens, as Katie tackles me with her hug. “Thank God it’s you. Hurry honey and come in,” she softly commands me. I jump around Katie as she kicks the unwelcome leaves back into the bay. I see Moses at the table
sitting and doing something with his arm. Katie locks the door
and gives me a quick explanation of what happened to Moses
while she tries to hurdle past me towards him. “My baby is hurt and I’m doctoring him up.” I realize now that Moses is applying direct pressure with a towel to a wound on his arm. He turns and gives me a big smile. Katie pulls back the towel slowly as Moses repeats, “Owie.” Katie continues administering “first aid” as the big guy waves his available arm inviting to hurry over.
I jostle through and hurdle over the clutter while hearing the kids play in the corner of the room. I stop for a second and remember the candy. I toss a few pieces to the tots who immediate recognize the delectable contents. I hear, “Thanks Mr. Joey,” as I continue to move over to the table. Moses informs me, “I don’t know what I would have done if you didn’t alert me to the LD? I would have led them right here.” I ask Moses, “How did you get away from that last LD?” I reach back into my sack and toss Katie my “first aid” kit. I tell Katie, “It comes complete with stitching equipment.” She grabs it and goes to work on the big guy. Moses continues by stating, “I didn’t! He caught up with me and tried to kill me. I just beat him to the punch.” I sense Moses had no enjoyment putting it out of its misery. Moses hangs his head down in sorrow more than shame. “It was either that evil creature or me. I thank God he gave me the strength to break its neck.” Moses goes on to tell me how it caught him and tossed him around like a “ragdoll.” He hit the thing many times with all his might, but it just kept coming; like it didn’t feel any pain. “The scariest moment is when it choked me and I saw straight into his empty eyes. He didn’t have any pupils or a soul. I just wrapped my arm around his thin neck and squeezed as hard as I could. He dug his fingers into my arm, but I wasn’t letting go till it was dead.” I watch as Katie sews the pair of eight inch long gouges close. I ask him what he did with the body. Moses states that he stuffed it down the manhole in the street. I think hiding the corpse may have bought us some time. I’m hoping it will be enough time to get
this family back to the “old department store.”
We go on talking about all the activity we saw today. I try to draw some possible conclusion about the airstrikes this morning, while Moses continues to give me additional details about his encounters. He saw some Irreverent fleeing from the direction of the explosions. He hid from those evacuating their hiding spots and watched them search for new places to hide. He wanted to somehow help them, but his main concern was to get back here to his family. We both determine that last night’s defeat has provoked all the evil forces to all out war on Irreverent. We immediately devise a plan to get all of us out of here tonight and back to the safety of the store. The sooner we get there, the better it will be for us all. I check the time and see it’s already getting close to sunset. I ask Moses if they can be ready in one hour as I watch Katie finish applying a dressing on his wound. He tells Katie to bring only a small bag of personal belongings and to dress the kids warmly. I grab the remaining “first aid” supplies and shove it back in my sack. We all eat one last MRE before we head out.
I check my watch and flashlight. It’s exactly 7:00 pm and the batteries still work in my light. Katie gathers the kids as I go over some rules with Moses. “I’ll take the lead with Katie as she follows just behind me. You bring up the rear just in case they sneak up from behind. Make sure none of the kids fall behind Katie too far. In an emergency; you grab one kid and I’ll grab the other. Then, we all run.” Katie finishes attending to the children as I explain to her my command signals. I tell her what each signal means and how we will move to the store. She repeats my hand gestures proving to me she knows them. I look Moses in the eyes and ask, “Are you ready?” The big guy exhales a sigh of worry and says, “We’re all ready.” Katie looks around one last time. It’s more a look of respect at what has been her home the past several years than a “good bye.” I don’t think she’ll actually miss the isolation and cramped quarters, but it was still home to her and her babies. Moses steals the opportunity by asking
if he can lead us in a prayer. I bow my head as Katie joins our
hands. “Lord, I know you’re here.
I saw the miracles you performed last night. I never been much for praying, but I promise I’ll do better. Give us another miracle tonight and keep all of us safe. Oh, and thank you for my new best friend. Amen.” I look at him and graciously nod my approval. Moses tells the kids they’ll need to be “quiet as a mouse.” I open the door as the light goes out.
I hold Katie’s hand and lead her through the path of crumbling leaves. She holds Jordan’s hand, and he holds Hanna’s. Momma warns them to keep a tight hold on each other all the way. She tells Jordan not to let go of his little sister’s hand no matter what happens. She reminds Jordan he’s her big brother and a big boy. I can smell the dark dust clogging my nostrils. The only evidence anyone is behind me in this darkness is the children’s muffled coughs, and Katie’s holding hand. We stop at the front door. I explain to the group to stay here until I motion momma. “When I tell you kids to come, run with your mom. Do you think you two can run fast, but real quiet?” Both of them whisper, “Yes.” “Okay everyone, here I go.”
I stick my head slowly out the entrance and look around. I notice it is really dark again. Everything seems to be fine as I dash to the abandoned car at the edge of the station lot. I bend down and observe with my head just above the hood of the car. Everything seems clear and exceptionally quiet. This worries me because any noises we make will really standout tonight. I pray, “God hide us and protect us.” I wave Katie on as I continue looking around over the hood. I hear the tapping of all the little steps approaching me. Now, I hear a set of thumping. I already have my next shelter position picked as Moses whispers, “Okay, we’re all here.” I want to tell him, “Everyone within a mile knows that by your loud footsteps,” but I say, “Good job,” instead. I warn him to try and run a little more quietly though. I dash again making my way to what looks like a mound of trash on the other side of
the street. I determine the pile is just big enough to hide all of
us. I see a shadow about three blocks away cross the street. I debate if we should return to the station and wait a while. But, I reason it is better to keep moving rather than trying to move later tonight with a bunch of sleepy children. The shadow has disappeared for about a minute now. I decide to wave Katie across as I give her the “shhh” sign; which means to be extra quiet. I stare down the street to where the shadow crossed, and then back at Katie. In the dark she looks like a mother goose with her waddling goslings’. They arrive safely, but seem like they’re slightly out of breath. Moses brings up the rear. This time he seems to be more alert to the sound he’s making. I barely notice him this time.
I make it to the corner fence of the alleyway and wave the bunch over. I decide we are spending way too much time in this endeavor. Waiting for them to catch up, and then moving, has become time consuming and dangerously slow. I push my hand down to let Katie know to proceed here and wait. I run to my next location as she rushes to my previous spot. I keep repeating this tactic over and over. We seem to be moving a lot faster. I just worry about those little legs getting too tire. They have to take twice as many steps as I do. I keep pushing them on as hard as I can. We make it halfway down the fourth alley before Katie raises the “stop” hand signal to me. I acknowledge her by repeating the sign back to her. I figure we still have about fifteen alleys and two open fields to cross. I give them a few extra minutes to catch their breaths, and their leg strength. While we wait, I pick three positions ahead that we’ll use in our advancement.
It is getting cold out. I see little steam clouds puff above the already tired bunch. I determine this sitting around in the cold will stiffen and cramp their exhausted muscles. It can also cause excessive shivering, and even hypothermia. It’s not so much the cold that does this; rather it is the large loss of body heat. I make a mental note to limit the amount and duration of the breaks we’ll take from here on
out. I snap my finger to alert Moses that it’s time to get
moving. He nods as I move to the next spot. I low run to a bush and stop. I decide to keep going and wave to them to “keep up.”
I hear the growl of a dog about four houses ahead. I turn and wait for all of them to make it to my last spot. I silently give Moses the “wait there” signal with my hand. This growling sound is something I haven’t heard in a while. I thought everyone has gotten rid of their pets. Lately, all the animals have been acting weird. Even pets have been turning on their owner’s. This started about a year ago. It’s as if they’re no longer fear humans. Even little critters will attack. People just abandon their pets now. I thought all the pets were already killed, eaten, or had run off. I wonder where this one came from. He sounds like he’s going to attack someone. I pray we can get by this crazed creature before he notices us. I move slowly, cautiously, and quietly onward.
I advance to a spot parallel to the growling menace. As soon as I squat he attacks something in the dark back porch area of the adjacent house. I wave the bunch to catch up to me, using this diversion to our advantage. I’m betting the dog will be concentrating on its prey long enough for us to squeeze by unnoticed. I watch the dark figures on the porch wrestle the dog. I’m filled with sorrow as I watch it being shaken and bitten to pieces. Now, I can only see shapes floating throughout the dark of the porch. I believe they are swatches of shredded clothing. I hear a gurgling sound as the growling and barking stop. The bunch arrives as I silently instruct them to move ahead of me to the next location. I decide to stay behind in case it tries to attack any of us from behind. Moses waves to me the “all clear” sign. It’s not a second too soon as I advance. I see the dog’s silhouette stand still on its silent victim. I hurry along as I think whatever he attacked is surely dead now. I pray, “Go with God and rest in peace.”
I make it past the present danger. The incident gives the bunch a little more time to rest. I jump past them to the
next position while waving the “wait here” sign as I pass. I
find a protruding section of fence to hide behind. I give them the signal to advance as I “leap frog” ahead to an overturned trash dumpster. I wave to them to keep coming as I continue my rapid pace. I want to get as far away from this area as soon as possible. All the commotion the dog made is sure to have alerted someone. I just don’t want us to find out whom that someone is. I keep us moving fast for another four alleys. The speed we’ve been moving surely deserves a needed rest. I wave the bunch up to my position watching Moses carry both the kids. Katie holds his arm trying to assist him, but she really is just weighing his tired body down. “We got to rest,” the big guy commands. I tell him to take a few minutes as I go and scout the area ahead. “I’ll be back in five minutes. Keep the children warm,” I warn him. I see him sit and open his jacket to tuck everyone inside next to his body. As I dash off, I watch Moses wraps his big arms of protection around them all. I take this picture with me tonight, and will cherish it the rest of my life.
I make it to the end of the next alley and look around the corner. There seems be a crowd of noises several blocks to my right flank. I thought it was too quiet for too long. I am finding out now why. It seems the evil was concentrating on this section of town tonight. I guess there are a few dozen or more LD by the sound of it. I hear yelling back and forth, and about a block apart. It seems to be holding steady to the area over there. I know I need to get all of us five more alleys sections away. If we can make it that far we can stop at my house for a safer rest. I hurry back to the bunch.
I approach to find them all catching some sleep; all except Moses. His worry to protect them keeps his senses heighten. I slow to a walk and give them a minute more nap. I report to Moses my findings, while trying not to wake the rest of them. “I located some big activity a few blocks over.” I see Moses face fill with fear. “Don’t worry, we’ll be alright. We
have someone bigger on our side. We need to move quickly
for the next five blocks. The LD are still far enough away for
them not to be an immediate problem. We should be fine if, that�
�s if, we can keep moving fast enough for that long. My house is five blocks away. Do you think you can handle it that long?” Moses reaches down inside and pulls out an extra amount of determination. His face fills with anger, not at me, but with his own self. He is attempting to force his body to handle the rigor that lay ahead. He nods as he stares into space while replying, “You keep us safe, and I promise we’ll keep up.” I tap his should and tell him, “It’s time buddy. We got to get going.”
I jump to the next position and stare back. Moses is placing the kids in position as he rubs increased circulation into their arms and bodies. I give him a slight whistle to get his attention. He looks at me waiting for my command. I wave at them to advance. As they start to this position, I move to the next. I see little Hanna trip and fall, but daddy gobbles her up before she hits the ground. Each of the children’s legs looks like Sandpipers scurrying across the darken beach. I see momma’s blacken arm sway backwards pulling along her dangling baby Jordan. She looks like a little girl frantically trying to launch a kite on a windless summer day. I pray, “Dear Lord, give us the strength of Sampson this night.” I move out advancing onwards once more.
We make it three blocks before the family is totally worn down. Moses has been carrying both the kids for the last bock and a half, while Katie is billowing tons of steam like an old steam locomotive going uphill. They need a break before all of them breakdown. I wave them to where I am. Moses chugs and jerks, then chugs again. Katie’s legs are wobbling side to side faster than they are frontwards. They finally make it to my location. I stand and hug them while pulling them downward for a rest. I take my jacket off and wrap it around all of them the best I can. I reward them with, “You guys are
doing great.” I remind them, “We’re almost there. It’s just a couple blocks more.” A cold chill suddenly comes over me,
but I try not to shiver. I realize that my warm jacket may be
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