Chapter 5: Saturday, November 17th, 2012 - 1300

The drive that afternoon was nerve wracking. Each hill crest had to be approached with caution so they could scan the road ahead and behind for danger. Each heightening of tension in the truck had wrung whimpers of fear from the young girl. Each time her daughter whimpered in fear it tightened the grim expression on Mary's face.

A broadcast on the two-way had barely warned them in time of a response to the tower of black smoke behind them. Bill had pulled off the road and nosed in behind a stand of grease wood bushes just moments before another truck had roared past in the direction of the burning vehicles. The bad guys didn't even notice the tire tracks leaving the road but that wasn't surprising. Tire tracks could last for years in this country.

"I wish we could see one of these bastards," Mary said at while listening to her daughter's silent sobs and holding her shaking frame against herself protectively. She hadn't released her grip on the pistol Bill had given her. "I really want to shoot some of them."

"I can't say that I blame you," Bill said gently. "But let's wait until we have a little more fire power."

Cherie just nodded and said, "OK."

As soon as the truck disappeared Bill pulled back onto the road and continued on. He reasoned that the bad guys would assume the road south was clear since they came from that direction. If they started looking for someone it would be in another direction.

They talked to break the tension. Bill told Cherie his name, that he was a 56 year old widower, and that his son and son's family was supposed to meet them at a place they had prepared. Bill had learned that Cherie Jackson was a 35 year old single mother. She didn't have a clue where her ex-husband was and her tone indicated she preferred it that way. Mary, Cherie's daughter, was 13 years old and in the 8^th grade.

They sighted the property a little after 4:00 PM and they were all beat. Bill wanted to just drive up to the front door and go inside but he knew that wouldn't be smart. He stopped on a ridge about half a mile east of the property and got out the binoculars. Bill explained to both of them that they needed to make sure no one saw them go to the property. They hadn't heard anything on the two-way for a while so he gave it to Cherie so she could channel surf. If the bad guys were up to something, Bill wanted to know what it was.

Mary had stopped shaking and continued to press against her mom but at least she was looking around now. She hugged the jacket against her, seeming oblivious to the fact the jacket only reached the middle of her hips.

Cherie gave Mary the two-way with instructions to continue scanning for any transmissions. Then she grabbed another set of binoculars that Bill had taken from the bad guys SUV and started scanning the country side too. Bill decided that paranoia was contagious.

Bill scanned the country behind them first and didn't see any dust on the dirt road. That was reassuring but he scanned the rest of the country just as carefully. When he was satisfied they drove past the property to another ridge about a half mile west and searched again. Finally, Bill drove to the property and parked facing one of the storage containers they had buried as an underground garage. Before Bill opened the door he searched again but didn't see anything. Bill quickly opened the door and drove straight in. Normally he would back in but this made it easier to unload the truck bed. After another scan of the surrounding ridges Bill decided it was safe to go inside. He closed the big doors and he replaced the lock. Cherie and Mary were puzzled by the low brown hill that Bill was leading them toward. At least, that is what it looked like to them.

Cherie and Mary were amazed when Bill opened the door flicked on the lights as they walked into the earthship. The rafters were a good 12 feet above them and were hung decoratively with dried peppers, both hot and sweet. A waist high planter made of aluminum cans and stucco ran along the right hand side the length of the earthship. The planter was facing where the windows would be opened during the day. Susan, his daughter in law, had planted between 20 and 30 different plants in the long planter. Tomato plants, spices, corn, squash, potatoes and flowers.

The water in the 2500 gallon catchment pool was supplemented by a well run by a solar panel. A small pump running on the same battery that ran the well sprayed the water in the catchment area so the water wouldn't get stagnant. The lights behind the catchment area were situated to catch the spray in a rainbow of color. The top of the catchment area was arranged like a bar with a tall lip at the back so nothing would accidently fall into the drinking water. Bar stools were arranged around the edge so if a meal or a drink were enjoyed at the pool the spray of water provided a relaxing background both visually and audibly. The living room and dining area were situated around the catchment pool and the kitchen was located against the back wall. The spray of water increased the humidity in the earthship dramatically compared to the bone dry air of the outside. It felt cool and moist inside.

Six doors opened off the common living area and Bill pointed out that four were bed rooms and two were bathrooms. He kept talking, out of nervousness mostly, because the girls weren't talking. He finally ran down and looked at them expectantly.

"It's beautiful," Cherie breathed in a quiet whisper.

"It is like a fairyland," Mary said just as quietly.