Ichabod

by Mark Goodwin

  Afterwards, Steven said a short prayer, thanking God for his blessings and provision and asking him to bring everyone else home. He then looked up and opened his Bible. “Nana asked me to prepare a Bible study for this morning. I didn’t feel worthy of the task, but after some reading and prayer, I accepted the offer.

  “Paul says in I Corinthians 15, for I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am.

  “Paul is abundantly aware of his shortcomings. And he could have used them to hide behind rather than fulfill his calling and preach the Gospel, but he didn’t. He didn’t find his qualifications to teach in his own righteousness; rather he found it in the grace of God. Some of you, especially Dana, Alisa, and Danny, have known me long enough to see me really mess up. And the rest of you who will hopefully get to know me will also see me drop the ball from time to time. So before I even start, let me ask for your forgiveness if I’ve wronged any of you and ask for mercy if I wrong you in the future.”

  Steven paused for a moment and took a deep breath. “Please bear with me while I get a little more specific. Dana, I’ve been judgmental, dismissive, and downright mean to you over the past week or so. And during the most traumatic period of US history, at a time when you most needed a friend to be gentle, caring, and kind. I’m very sorry. I’m not there yet and I need grace, but I am committed to trying.

  “And it is with my own shortcomings in mind and the regret for having acted in such an obnoxious manner that I composed today’s Bible study. If everyone will please turn to Ephesians 4:32.”

  Danny found the verse in his own Bible and then helped Dana as she struggled to locate the scripture in the Bible Nana had given her.

  “Thanks,” she whispered. Obviously touched by Steven’s public apology, Dana’s eyes were filled with tears.

  Steven read the passage. “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

  “It’s a little tough to ask all of you to adhere to this verse when I’ve fallen so miserably short myself, but like I said, I’m committed to doing better.

  “In the coming days and weeks, times are going to get tough. Some of us are going to be in tight quarters. There’s going to be a lot of tasks that we’re not used to doing. We’re going to be tired, cranky, and edgy. I think it would serve us all well to really dedicate ourselves to living according to this verse. A little kindness, forgiveness, and compassion will go a long way in making the end of the world as we know it a little easier to survive.

  “And then there’ll be times where the other person is absolutely wrong. After all, we are all selfish by nature and prone to hurting others. Expect that to come out of the people around you, especially considering the added stress and close proximity to each other. In those times, even when they don’t deserve forgiveness, remember the second half of today’s verse. Forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

  “I know it’s hard. Some may say it’s downright impossible, but that’s the standard that has been set by our King, and while we’ll never be perfect, with his help, we can grow in grace.”

  Steven bowed his head and said a prayer to dismiss the service. Nana stood to make an announcement before anyone left. “I’m making fresh steaks at the house. We’ve got plenty for everybody. It might be a while before we kill another beef, so come on over and eat.”

  JC walked up to Danny as they left the barn. “You guys already slaughtering your cattle?”

  “We didn’t exactly have a say in the matter.” Danny filled him in on what had happened.

  “Wow. They didn’t waste any time.” JC rubbed his beard.

  Danny continued to tell JC of how he and Rocky were pooling their herds.

  JC nodded. “That’s smart. I’ve got thirty head of cattle myself. My place is diagonally behind the Cooks’ farm. I’d be willing to work with you guys if you want. It would make it easier for everybody by having me and my youngest son, Jack, worked into the security rotation.”

  “That sounds great. I’m sure Rocky would be more than happy to have you on board.”

  “Okay then. We’ll figure out a way to get them all marked or branded over lunch and start work on it tomorrow. I have a feeling we’ll be working together a lot in the future. I doubt cattle rustlers will prove to be the worst we’ll see out of all this.”

  Danny glanced at JC as they walked toward the house. “Sounds like you’ve thought about this.”

  “I’ve seen the darkest side of humanity and have a pretty good idea how deep the depravity can plummet. Part of what motivated me to bring my family down here from New York was an expectation of the economic collapse. The numbers just didn’t add up. I can’t believe it took so long for the financial system to fall apart. I have to hand it the bankers. They held it together with smoke and mirrors for an incredible amount of time. The financial collapse should have happened years ago. We’d been putting things away for the inevitable monetary disaster for a while.

  “Just from reading up on preparedness for the economic turmoil, I knew what an EMP was and knew the potential devastation. I hoped it would never come to this. But, now it’s here. I guess we’re better prepared than most, but there’s always other things you wished you’d done or bought.”

  Danny nodded. “But if you’ve been prepping for years, you must be in pretty good shape.”

  JC looked around as if he wanted to see who else could hear their conversation. “Better shape than most, I guess. I’ve been talking to the Bible study group that meets at Miss Jennie’s for the past year or so about the risks to the economic system and the need to prepare. At first, they were a little reluctant, but as they saw things happening that I’d told them about, they took a little more interest.

  “Then, Miss Jennie told the group, Rocky, Catfish, and the Reese family, about your dreams. That really kicked them into high gear. I’d say we have about as good a chance of survival as anyone, but we’ll have to work together. Like I said, people can get pretty nasty.”

  Danny followed JC’s eyes toward the road. It was the first time he’d thought about the entire rest of the world in a them-and-us paradigm. “Do you think we need a security force, besides watching the cows?”

  “Yeah, and the sooner the better. But everyone has to understand the need or they won’t be motivated to put the time and effort into training and working the shifts. Unfortunately, everyone recognizes the need after something bad happens. Like your cow for example; now you know someone has to fill the role of watchman. Before, it would have seemed like a waste of time.”

  Danny knew he was right. “Let me know when you’re ready. I’ll train or do whatever needs to be done.”

  “Okay. Let me see where everybody else is at and who else is ready to start training. Even if it’s just you and Jack, we’ll train up. Then you two can help me bring everyone else up to speed when the Boogie Man comes and wakes the rest of them up.”

  A chill shot down Danny’s spine. “Who’s the Boogie Man?”

  “I wish I knew.” JC snorted and looked back out toward the road. “But he’s out there, I guarantee it.”

  Danny, Alisa, and Dana chipped in to help Nana prepare and serve lunch. Afterwards, Danny made a point of getting to know the rest of JC’s family as well as the Reese family.

  CHAPTER 6

  Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.

  Isaiah 35:4

  The days passed and Daniel began to find a rhythm in the day-to-day tasks that had to be done in order to keep the farm operating efficiently.

  The weekly church service in the barn was quickly becoming the hub of community for the families who lived on the surrounding farms.

  Steven had delivered the message every Sunday since they’d arrived. His leg was
healing nicely. He’d been walking without his crutches but was still taking it easy. During his period of impairment, Steven had taken Danny’s shifts watching over the cattle at night. It gave Steven something productive to do while he was on the mend, and it allowed Danny to pull some of Steven’s weight with gardening, fetching water, and cutting firewood. Due to the heavy workload, Danny hadn’t gotten around to training with JC as much as he’d planned.

  March arrived and the seedlings that Danny and the others had started indoors were moved outside. They used a wide array of household items as seed-starting containers. Pudding cups, yogurt containers, and egg cartons were among the most commonly used articles.

  Danny headed out to the garden plot by himself early Thursday morning after breakfast.

  Dana was tending to the chickens and the rabbits as usual. Alisa had gone to toss some hay from the loft down to the cattle and would be meeting up with Danny to help him in the garden. The grass was beginning to grow, but with three herds combined, they wouldn’t leave anything to grow back if their diet wasn’t augmented with a bit of hay. All of the cattle would be moved to Rocky’s in April, and JC’s grazing land would be used to grow hay for the following winter. Letting the grass grow long and tall would make it easier to cut with scythes and maneuver with pitchforks.

  Danny sighed as he looked out toward the road. He diligently dug a hole and planted another one of the small tomato plants. He hoped against hope that he’d see Nick and Cami walking down the gravel path to the house.

  He mumbled to himself, “Today’s the fourteenth. It’s been one month exactly, since the EMP. Every day that passes reduces the chance that I’ll ever see my sister again.” The worry of whether Cami was alive or dead ate at Danny’s soul. It had grown from a slight feeling of uneasiness when he’d arrived at Nana’s three weeks earlier to a nagging sense of dread that hung over him like a cloud of darkness.

  Danny looked up. His eyes scanned the clouds as if he were looking for God. Despite reading his Bible and praying every day, he simply didn’t feel like God was around. “I know I should have faith, but the reality is that she may never make it back. Lord, if you’re listening, please bring my sister home.”

  Danny continued to plant seedling after seedling. He was glad he had something to keep his hands and his mind occupied. Otherwise, the unknown may have driven him mad. Once all of the tomato plants were in the ground, Danny stood to brush the dirt off his jeans. He looked across the field between the barn and himself, but didn’t see Alisa. “She’s probably in the house yakking with Nana and Dana. I’ll get the green bean seeds and get her to help me with those.”

  Normally, Nana would hold back half of her seeds in case any particular crop had a bad year. This time, they were using three-quarters of all the seeds so they could build up a larger seed bank for the coming years and be sure to have enough canned vegetables to get them through the winter.

  They were very fortunate to be in a part of the country that had a robust growing season. With Nana’s experience, they’d have fresh seasonal vegetables of some sort from late March until early December. Even now, the mixed field greens were coming in; however, they’d give them another week so the leaves could fully mature.

  Danny arrived at the house and kicked the dirt off his shoes before walking into the closed-in back porch. “Hey, Nana. Is Alisa in the house?”

  “I thought she was out in the garden with you.” Nana was starting lunch already.

  Danny shrugged. “She was supposed to be.”

  Dana came into the kitchen. “Do you guys need some help in the garden? I’m finished cleaning out the coops and feeding the chickens and rabbits.”

  “You haven’t seen Alisa?” Danny asked.

  “Not since breakfast. She’s not in the garden?” Dana looked more curious than concerned.

  “She might’ve fallen! You best get on down to the barn.” Nana’s voice was imperative.

  Danny turned around and briskly began walking toward the barn.

  “I’ll come with you.” Dana followed close behind.

  He reached the barn and found the door hanging open. “Alisa!”

  “Alisa, hey, are you all right?” Dana walked in and began looking around.

  “Alisa, where are you?” Danny walked to the ladder, which led to the loft. He found a piece of paper stuck to one of the rungs with a steak knife. “Oh no!”

  Dana walked over. “What’s that?”

  Danny pulled the knife and unfolded the paper. His heart sank to his stomach. “Ransom note.”

  “Ahhgh! No!” Dana screamed and covered her mouth.

  Danny’s voice cracked, and his mouth went dry as he began reading. “If you want to see the girl alive, we need food, and lots of it.”

  His knees shook, and his head began to swim. He knew he was going to pass out if he didn’t get a hold of himself. He sat down on the dirt floor of the barn and let the note lie at his side while he focused on his breathing.

  Dana was crying. “What else, Danny? What else does it say?”

  He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His hands were shaking so badly the paper rattled as he tried to read. “We will be back tonight. Make sure there is no one guarding the cattle. Load dry goods and ammunition on the backs of two cows and have rope tied around their necks. If you do it right, we’ll bring the girl back tonight. Don’t be stingy! We want coffee, flour, sugar, canned goods, and shotgun ammo.”

  Despair overtook Danny, and he let his hand fall to the ground as he stared at the ladder.

  Dana sniffed in between sobs. “Danny, what are we going to do?”

  “Exactly what they want. We’ll give them everything we have if that’s what it takes to get her back.”

  “Okay. Should we go tell Nana?”

  Danny took another deep breath and let it out slowly. “Yeah.”

  As they walked back to the house, Danny’s panic began to morph into worry. What if they were treating her badly? What if they killed her? Then the worry became anger. He thought about who could have done such a thing to the person he loved more than anyone else in the world. Then the anger melted back into panic, then sorrow. His mind and his heart were torn to pieces. This was more than he could bear.

  Dana went in first. “Nana, someone took Alisa!”

  “What?” She turned the stove off and looked at the note Danny handed to her.

  “Lord Jesus! Please, protect that little girl, Lord, help!” Nana covered her mouth as she read the paper. “Daniel, you run and get JC. Make sure he knows it’s you comin’ or he’s liable to shoot you. Show him this.” She handed the paper back to Danny.

  He crumpled it and stuffed it into his pants pocket as he ran out the door.

  “I’ll come too.” Dana followed Danny again.

  The two of them ran full speed down the hill to the bridge that crossed the creek. They moved quickly back through the woods and over the fence that separated Nana’s farm from Rocky Cooper’s place. JC’s farm was diagonally behind Rocky’s so they had to maintain the pace across the Coopers’ farm and all the way across JC’s property. It took nearly fifteen minutes to reach JC’s house.

  Jack was walking around the yard with an AR-15 when they arrived. “Hey, Danny. What’s up?”

  “Where’s your dad? Someone grabbed Alisa!” Danny fought to catch his breath.

  “Dad!” Jack called out and began walking to the house.

  Dana was also winded. “What was Jack doing in the yard with a gun?’’

  “Standing guard. JC said he wasn’t going to wait for something bad to happen before he stepped up his security. I guess I should have done the same thing.”

  JC came running out of the house, buckling his gun belt and fastening the leg rig around his thigh. “What happened?”

  Danny gave him a quick analysis of the situation.

  “Got the note with you?” JC didn’t look the least bit shaken. It was almost as if he’d expected such news.

  Danny pull
ed the wadded note from his pocket.

  JC took the glasses from his shirt pocket and began reading. “See what I mean about the Boogie Man?”

  “You were right. We should have been more proactive.” Danny hated that he could have prevented this situation.

  JC looked up over the top of his glasses at Danny. He seemed to know the pain Danny was in. “I didn’t mean it like that. I used to see this stuff all the time.” He continued reading the note. “If you’re not familiar with it, it’s hard to believe people can be this nasty.”

  Danny waited for him to finish reading. “What do you think?”

  “I think she got kidnapped.” He handed the note back to Danny.

  “What are they going to do? Will they give her back if we give them what they want?”

  JC looked toward the base of the tree in front of him. “I don’t know, Danny. Maybe they will, maybe they won’t. You pretty much have to go along with them. It’s the only shot you have.”

  “Can you help me?”

  JC looked over at Jack. “Keep an eye on things here. Tell Melissa and Annie to stay in the house. I’m gonna take a walk over to Miss Jennie’s.”

  “10-4.” Jack seemed to understand the gravity of the situation.

  JC quickly led the way. “Tell me everything that happened today. Start with, you got up, ate breakfast, whatever. Tell me every detail that you can think of.”

  Danny did so. He told JC all the details that he could remember about the day.

  They soon arrived at the barn where Danny showed JC the spot where he’d found the note and the knife.

  JC looked around. “And it was becoming a habit? Alisa coming down here to feed the cows by herself?”

  “Yeah, we have so many chores. Everyone has to be doing something different.” Danny waited for JC to speak.

  JC took his time looking around the barn, observing the distance to the house, to the road, to the tree line. “I’d say these guys are ex-military. They’ve probably had the farm under observation for a while. They seem to know what types of supplies you have. They knew when the cattle were being guarded, when they weren’t, when Alisa would be alone. They watched your patterns and exploited them.”