“Karen and Mike, I need backup. Movement near the gas station, at least 2 men. Karen on the overpass, Mike to the left, I am going to the gas station,” David said on the radio.
Two keyed mikes, understood.
David saw two men darting between buildings. They seemed to use the sunrise to blind him in the glare.
“Don’t shoot, it’s Doron and Zeke!” they shouted.
“Karen do NOT shoot, we have to let them tell their side!” David quickly screamed as loud as he could on the radio.
Ominously, Karen didn’t say anything or click her transceiver. It was quiet as David tensed, expecting to hear the shattering sound of Karen’s gunfire.
David knew she would have them sighted from the overpass. He watched with alarm as Karen used the snipers red laser sight to paint Doron and Zeke’s genital areas. Both looked in horror at the red dot on their pants zipper, and raised their hands.
But Karen did not shoot.
103.
Doron was now terrified. Karen ran up, keeping her AR15 aimed at his head. Mike, Chloe, and Liu circled them outside the gas station.
“On your knees and hands up!” Karen commanded. Both instantly complied.
Doron recognized she was looking for any excuse to shoot. K-Bar growled viciously.
“Get Ashley out here,” Karen commanded.
Ashley came out, and savagely kicked both Doron and Zeke.
It became deadly quiet when Karen pulled out her 9mm, flicked off the safety, and started to hand it to Ashley with her left hand.
“No!” said David, running up, and knocking the 9mm out of Karen’s hand into the mud.
Ashley began sobbing, “Why did you leave me?”
Zeke started crying. Doron tried to think of a way out of this crisis. He had seriously misjudged this situation. He could be shot.
“We were stoned. We didn’t know what we were doing,” pled Doron.
“You warned Ashley not to leave,” Chloe spoke to Karen. “I was there. I heard you, Karen.”
“No one forced Ashley to go with them and get stoned,” Chloe continued.
“There are consequences to bad choices,” Chloe said, calmly.
“And Karen, you can’t make Ashley’s bad choices all better,” Chloe said softly.
“You deliberately left Ashley! You knew what would happen!” Karen screamed.
Doron saw Karen step away from David, so he could not grab her AR 15. Karen raised the barrel and aimed directly at Doron’s head and began to move her finger to the trigger.
Doron panicked. He knew from sniper spotting for Karen that she never aimed at anything she did not intend to shoot and kill. It was her prime rule.
Doron knew Karen was going to kill him.
“Karen, you can’t shoot Doron and Zeke for being cowards. Ashley knew what she was getting into,” David said, as he moved in front of Doron.
“The military would shoot them both for desertion!” Karen spat.
“Zeke and Doron are not in the military,” David said softly.
“The military has honor,” David said , staring at Doron.
“And Karen, remember Doron and Zeke did not rape Ashley, it was the gang,” David continued.
Doron noticed David’s voice calmed Karen down from murderously homicidal, to just furious. David was now in front of her barrel aimed at Doron.
Karen immediately dropped her aim, and pointed her AR 15 to the ground, sobbing.
David angrily snatched her AR 15 away, before she changed her mind.
“We are willing to come back and not use drugs,” Doron said . He was sure that would diffuse the situation.
Karen whacked Doron with her elbow. She put her arm around Ashley, sobbing, as they turned back to the gas station.
104.
Chloe stared at the tent ceiling.
“Mike,” Chloe said, “are you awake?”
“Yes, I am now,” said Mike, wearily.
“Have you considered what happened?” Chloe asked, without pausing. Well, I was there, Mike thought, but did not say.
“David and Karen warn them not to run away and do drugs. They run away anyway and get stoned,” Chloe said.
“Ashley is deserted, raped, and beaten,” Chloe said.
“Then Karen, who warned Ashley not to go, attacks Doron and Zeke for abandoning Ashley,” Chloe said.
“David bravely risks his life by stepping in front of Karen’s gun, to stop his wife from killing Doron and Zeke,” Chloe said.
“You see, David and Karen both protected the very people who had endangered their life when they got stoned while on guard duty,” Chloe said.
“Yes,” said Mike.
“Then Ashley, Zeke and Doron instinctively seek to return to David and Karen,” Chloe marveled.
“Ashley, Doron and Zeke were in the light, they sought the dark, and now they appreciate and seek the light,” Mike summarized.
“Exactly,” said Chloe excitedly.
“Imagine being a teenager with unlimited drugs and alcohol, and no parents to stop you from doing anything,” Chloe said.
“Doron, Ashley, and Zeke had that, yet returned to David and Karen when it all fell apart,” Chloe said.
Chloe had her say, and quickly drifted off to sleep.
Mike, now, could not sleep.
He realized for the first time how different everything would have been if Karen and David had not led the Nuclear War Club.
105.
David told Mike, Chloe, and Liu they would have to decide what action to take against Zeke and Doron. He would not vote because Karen wanted them out, and he would not vote against his wife.
“If we have to choose between them and you, it’s no contest, you win,” Mike told David, as Chloe and Liu nodded.
“No, whatever the group decides, except killing them, and Ashley will accept, will be accepted by me and Karen. We will live with the decision,” David assured Mike.
Mike looked doubtful.
“Really, Karen and I will back your decision, whatever it is,” David said looking each one in the eye.
“What are your thoughts, then?” Mike asked.
David hesitated, collecting his thoughts.
“First, keep in mind Doron did not sign up for combat or military service. He is 17 and his biggest problem right now back in the world would be who he takes to the Prom,” David said. Mike realized David was exactly the same age as Doron, but no one else seemed to get the irony.
“Yes, the military would shoot Doron for desertion—but Doron is too young to be in the military,” David said emphasizing the last words.
“Second, when you get stoned or drunk in a combat zone, some type of cowardice is not just likely- it’s inevitable. Doron, Zeke, and yes, Ashley, knew that, indeed they signed up for that risk when we warned them, and they left,” David said.
“You can’t blame Ashley for her own rape!” Chloe interjected, menacingly.
“No, I don’t,” David replied evenly.
“But didn’t you say there were consequences to bad choices, Chloe?” David asked.
Chloe did not respond. David waited before finishing.
“Third, each one of us has thought about running away in a firefight.”
“I know I have,” David stopped. Mike and Liu were stunned. David always seemed a rock in combat.
“Now if I added some marijuana or alcohol, I would probably have acted on my cowardice,” David said, looking each one in the eye.
“Finally, remember Doron has saved our lives—each of us-more than once. We forget just how smart he is. He is a genius.”
“He never shot a gun until the day, yet within a couple of weeks of self-taught study he is sniper spotting and giving windage tips to Karen- who was born with a rifle,” David said.
They all nodded, and it was quiet.
“He invented the Deathmaster which has saved us multiple times,” David continued.
“Now it may not be heroic, but the fact remains not all of us would be here
except for Doron. And he is going to be even more important in the future as we face starvation, radiation and the Donald Rumsfeld unknown unknowns because he can review written materials and teach himself,” David summarized.
“And you have to be consistent with Doron and Zeke. Remember it was not just Doron, but Zeke also. Zeke is a natural warrior, he may have saved us by wiping out the scouts at the overpass battle. If we lose Zeke or Doron we are endangering ourselves, “David said, walking away.
________
Mike, Chloe, and Liu deliberated about an hour, then decided Zeke and Doron could return, if Ashley approved. Ashley decided Zeke and Doron could stay. Mike told David the verdict about an hour after dark .
“Are you ok with this, Ashley?” David asked. “It’s your call, if you say they are gone that’s it, out,” David explained.
“Yes,” Ashley said, looking at Karen. “I am good with this. We were all messed up, stuff happens. They can both return.”
David looked at her closely, nodded, then he walked away with Karen to the Hiking Store to be alone.
“Now Karen, this is over,” David said.
“Can you let it go, and work with Doron and Zeke?”
“Doron and Zeke were miserable cowards!” Karen said angrily, mashing her athletic shoes into the floor, like she was rubbing out a cigarette. David was silent as they looked at the stars, and said nothing.
“But if Ashley has forgiven them, it’s as far as the east is from the west,” Karen calmly assured David.
106.
What happened to Ashley was tragic, but Doron knew it was not his fault.
First, there was nothing wrong with getting high every day. Their hypocritical, religious inconsistencies enraged him.
Didn’t the God of their Bible create marijuana, a plant that grew wild? So if their God is real, marijuana was created precisely so he could smoke it every day.
Second, Ashley took her chances like everyone else.
“Even David almighty pointed out I did not rape and abuse Ashley,” he imagined himself saying in his defense.
Third, after they abandoned Ashley, didn’t they even try to find her later when they sobered up, and Zeke started crying?
“What more do these people want?” Doron thought.
And Karen, whacked out, psycho-sniper Karen, had almost executed him in cold blood in front of everyone because someone else raped and beat Ashley when he ran away.
No one seemed concerned, or expected any apology from her. That was just the way it was.
“I am really the victim,” he thought.
But he did know it was better to be with David’s group than on his own, so he would quit using drugs and alcohol. It was just a business decision, abstain from drugs for now, for the group security.
Probably best to act sorrowful and repentant, they would like that. Maybe even look for stories in Samuels red Bible where people sin, then repent. He knew he could fake it.
“Just stay with the wagon train through Indian territory,” he thought. That is the smart move.
107.
David had second shift of guard duty. No one trusted Doron or Zeke. He went by Doron’s tent.
“Doron, its David. Do you want to keep me company during guard duty?” he asked. Doron nodded.
They patrolled the perimeter, then sat between two boulders.
“Doron, You had all the marijuana you could smoke in a year, you guys could find food and hide, and you didn’t like the rules here,” David said.
“True,” Doron said. “We had a good stash.”
“Why did you decide to come back?” David asked.
“The moral infrastructure,” Doron instantly replied.
“The what?” David asked.
“Moral infrastructure. The common, universally accepted rules, and moral basis of this group,” said Doron.
“We ran with a couple of other groups for a few days. You could never trust them not to steal, rape, or kill you while you slept,” Doron explained.
“Maybe they would keep watch at night, maybe not,” Doron said after a silence.
David nodded.
“Zeke and I began to reap what we sowed, in your religious speak, ” Doron said.
“While you may suffer from the common delusion of God and religion, I never worry about being killed by any of you at night. I never lost a minute of sleep worrying your wife would get revenge with a full clip at two am, after she said its past. I did fear that in the other gangs we ran with,” Doron said.
“So, it’s trust?” David asked.
“Yes. I benefit from your moral infrastructure even if I do not believe it,” Doron explained.
“But if the Bible is real, why didn’t it warn us about Nuclear War?” Doron pressed.
“Some believe nuclear war was foretold and described by prophets thousands of years ago using things they were familiar with in that day. My Mom and Dad talked about it,” David said.
“Is that so? Have you got the citations?” Doron asked in a sarcastic tone. David decided to treat it as a serious request, Doron was always sarcastic.
“No, but here is the Bible. I think I can find them even without a concordance,” David said.
“What is a concordance?” asked Doron.
“An index of every word in the Bible, cross referencing where it appears. If you can remember some of the words of a verse, a concordance is in essence a manual search engine,” David explained.
“Here are the three I remember. First, Zechariah 14, a plague that rots away your eyes and flesh before you can hit the ground dead. What we have seen of blast victims seems consistent with that description. Second, 2 Peter 3, the earth will melt, it actually uses the term “elements” long before science knew of atomic elements. Three, in Revelation, the last book in the Bible, Chapter 8, foretells a huge mountain on fire thrown into the sea, and a star named Wormwood falling which poisoned all the fresh water,” David said.
He was surprised Doron carefully wrote down the citations, then took the Bible.
108.
Later that night the rain stopped. The wind was dead still.
“Zeke, did the Hiking shop have Coleman Lanterns?” asked David.
“Yes, we took a couple. Top of the line, multi fuel, they will run on gasoline,” said Zeke.
“Let’s get about six more and set them up around the end of the street. That would back light anyone coming near. We can’t hide, so we need to be sure they can’t hide either,” said David.
Zeke nodded and they walked to the hiking store.
“I ran away. I left Ashley behind. I am hurting inside, David, I can’t believe I did that.”
David was quiet.
“Why did you come back?” David asked.
“I was looking for Ashley,” Zeke said.
“And Doron came?” asked David.
“Yes, when we sobered up, we started tracking them,” said Zeke.
“That’s good,” said David, proud that Zeke and Doron had tried to recover Ashley.
“Can I tell Karen you went to rescue Ashley?” David asked.
“Sure,” said Zeke. David would tell Karen. She needed to know. Doron may be confident, but he wasn’t so sure this was past for his wife. He remembered some wise person had said the past isn’t over, it’s not even past.
109.
The sun beat down relentlessly, mercilessly, on Liu as she drove through the desert on her motorcycle. The road was so hot it seemed to bake her feet through her boots. Everyone was driving stupid fast, just to get some air flow. She had even taken off her helmet, and tied her hair in a ponytail. Maybe Doron’s suggestion of night travel was smart, she thought.
Liu stopped her motorcycle behind the boulder to use the bathroom, and heard the moaning. She had trouble locating the source, as sound echoed through the canyons. Then she saw a carefully concealed bunker, above the canyon floor. Liu grabbed her AK47, then signaled David with the mirror.
“Contact?” David asked as soon
as he pulled up.
Liu handed David her binoculars, “There,” she said, pointing.
“Zeke and Karen, pull up at the bottom of the canyon,” David broadcast. They immediately came and set up a perimeter.
“There is crying from the concealed bunker,” Liu said.
“Not our problem,” said Zeke. “Could be an ambush.”
“It sounds like a child,” Liu pressed.
“Yes, it is,” said Karen, with absolute certainty, in a commanding tone that alerted Liu that Karen would soon act.
“Liu and I will go check it out,” said Karen, “You two get on both sides of the dugout to provide covering fire if we shoot.”
David started to argue, but Liu and Karen quickly zoomed off. They quickly crossed the dry river bed and sped up the canyon.
Liu stopped behind a boulder, scanned with her binoculars, listened, then gave K-Bar the signal. K-Bar crouched, sniffed, then entered into the bunker, but never barked. Liu entered, turning her rifle to the right as Karen moved to the left.
The putrid stench took Liu’s breath away. Karen and Liu both pulled up their bandana over their nose.
K-Bar sat next to a small girl, huddled against the wall. The little girl patted his head. As Liu’s eyes adjusted to the dim light, she methodically checked each body to be sure they were dead. The girl was the only survivor.
Liu wondered why everyone had died. She was amazed at the quality and quantity of the supplies, cases of bottled water, medical equipment, prescription drugs, weapons, and even a solar powered electrical system. This had been well planned, it was the best bunker she had ever seen. And no one had gunshot wounds.
“What’s your name?” asked Liu, pulling her bandana down.
“Sarah,” the girl rasped.
Liu picked Sarah up, wrapped her in a blanket, and climbed outside. Karen walked out, and signaled to Zeke and David to come up.
Sarah was bleeding, weak, and shaking. Liu involuntarily gasped when she saw her in the sunlight. All her hair had fallen out, even her eyebrows. The skin on her face was stretched taunt over her facial bones. Her eye sockets were recessed, her eyeballs stood out from her face. Her legs were atrophied.
Nuclear War Club: Seven high school students are in detention when Nuclear War explodes.Game on, they are on their own. Page 29