Chapter 4

"GET UP, Sergeant! RISE AND SHINE, DAYLIGHT'S WASTING!!" My eyes popped opened when he started kicking the bed. It was five o'clock in the goddamn morning. Sarge was standing there in a clean, crisp set of BDUs glaring at me. I was trying to keep my bleary sleep-crusted eyes open and glaring back.

"What the fuck, its five a.m.! Is there a problem?" I asked him incredulously.

"No problem Sergeant; the military waits on no man, Soldier." He answered me like I was a simpleton.

"Sarge, this isn't the military. Hell, I'm not military anymore and if you go around treating these people like that, we'll have a problem."

"We need to maintain discipline, there's no structure, no chain of command. I can't..." he trailed off and I watched the man figuratively deflate before me. He sat down on the end of my bed, his head in his hands. "Murph, I been in the army for thirty-one years. I don't know how to be any other way. I came here because you are my friend and my best student. I knew you would have your shit together. I have no other family and I would rather be with a friend then some strangers. The military isn't what it used to be; the only sense of brotherhood left is in the teams. So, I went AWOL and abandoned my post. Most of the others were talking of slipping away from base to be with their families as well. Snipes said he was leaving with his wife and asked me if I wanted to go with them. I told him I knew where you were and that suited him just fine as he didn't think they could make it back to Kentucky and family." He sighed and looked up at me.

"I know I won't change overnight, but I'll try to not be so militant. I'll need your help, my friend."

"I will help you all I can Sarge, you know that. You just need to follow your own advice. 'In order to be successful, you must adapt and overcome adversity.' We can't just blow it up if all else fails." I finished laughing. He got up laughing as well and shook my hand.

"Thank you Sergeant. I always like hearing my own advice thrown back at me. At least I know you all learned something from me. Now get yer ass up, we have work to do."

"Hey Bill..." He stopped at the door eyebrows raised. "It's Murph or Sam, not Sergeant." Nodding his understanding, he went out the door.

We were all scared, that much was obvious. This whole thing was just ... unbelievable. Guess we all deal with stress in our own way. Apparently Sarge becomes more rigid and militant. Elizabeth had developed an obsession for cleanliness, which wasn't a bad habit considering the circumstances. The problem was that she was about to gas us out with all the Lysol she was spraying.

I stumbled my way into the bathroom and my morning ablutions. When I went in search of coffee, what greeted me when I made my way to the kitchen was Sarge and Helen arguing about which member, Paul McCartney or John Lennon, was the best Beatle front man. Sarge was arguing that Lennon was a freak that helped the commies and Helen just flatly stated that Paul was a prima donna. I was grumpy for being awoken so abruptly and since 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' was playing on the CD player; I decided to throw a wrench into the argument.

"Actually, George Harrison was the best front man of The Beatles," I said, while casually pouring myself a cup of coffee.

Sarge threw his half-eaten piece of toast at me and Helen popped me on the butt with a dish towel.

After breakfast, Sarge, Lou and I travelled the four blocks to the nearest lumber yard and bought what we needed to wall-in the bedrooms for the Trents and Sarge. There were plenty of outlets in the basement so there was no need to run any electrical wiring.

I left the lumber yard pissed because the owner gouged us on the lumber and I wasn't going across town just for cheaper prices at Lowe's for wood that had more twists and bends than an elephant's dick. There might be a reason we had to go back there, so I didn't speak what was on my mind at the time.

We unloaded the lumber in the hidey hole and gathered Snipes and Helen to take a tour of the bunker and grab the furniture and food. I made sure we were all armed, then loaded up in Topkick with my trailer while Sarge and Snipes loaded in Lizzie's Tahoe.

The most direct route to the bunker would require us to go through the barricade by my shop. I hadn't gone down to recon the situation with the National Guard yet, so I decided to take the back roads out of town. The alternate route would add an extra fifteen minutes to the normal ten minute trip; again I didn't want to raise any curiosity concerning us.

The land that the bunker was on was off a dirt road about three miles from the state highway. The bunker itself was two-thirds of the way back of a twenty acre section. A windbreak surrounded the whole section of land. The land was mostly open grassland with pockets of trees here and there. Trees did cover a corner of the land where a local river bisected it.

After giving a quick tour around the place, Snipes and Sarge hopped on two of the four-wheelers to explore on their own. Helen came with me as I checked the few remaining cattle. We were engaging in some general chit chat; mostly I was getting grilled about Sarge. I teased her a little, but I was honest in my assessment of the man. I was telling her a little more in depth about the bunker when she abruptly stopped.

"Sam, why didn't we come out here to stay safe? Surely we could hide out here better than in town?"

"The main reason we aren't out here is to have a fallback position. My shop in town is a stronghold, nothing more. This is our sanctuary," I replied.

"Again, why aren't we out here?" she asked, exasperated.

"I'd like to know the answer to that too, Sergeant." Surprised, I turned to face Snipes and Sarge. I paused. I knew the reason I wanted to stay in town, but thinking about it now didn't sound so magnanimous. I had more people than just myself to look out for. I told myself I should just let the rest come out to the bunker and I would stay in town by myself.

"Maybe you all should come out here ... I will stay in town by myself."

"Why?" Snipes asked.

"Because it's my home," I lied.

"Bullshit! I trained you better than that. Your fort is a great location, do not get me wrong, but this is much better. There is another reason why you want to stay in town. We have a right to know what it is." I knew Sarge was right. I felt so very ashamed that I hadn't given a better reason for wanting to remain in town.

"I want to stay in town so that I can be position to help. I know I have contradicted myself this whole time. I kept saying how we can lock down and stay safe, yet I want to remain close to help someone if I can. It's a selfish reason and I am ashamed of it now. I want you all to pack up and come out here. I put you all at risk by remaining there."

Three sets of eyes were scrutinizing me. There was nothing left I needed to say. Snipes broke the silence when he said, "I think we need to have a meeting when we get back so you can explain yourself."

We went ahead and gathered the beds, furniture, and food from Helen's house. No matter where they were they would be needed. My thoughts weighed heavy on me while we were packing things at Helen's. I knew my own mind. I knew if I sat it out at the bunker safe and sound, survivor's guilt would drive me insane. "Leave no man behind" is a motto known throughout the military and beyond. Not everyone could be saved, that's a given. I would give myself the chance though to save those that really needed saving. Maybe they were delusions of grandeur, or I might just get myself killed, but my conscious would be clear.

We made it back in time for a quick lunch and as we were eating I disclosed my feelings and thoughts to the others. No one was openly hostile, just thoughtful. I excused myself to let them talk and to take my mind off of the others' discussion; I busied myself by starting on the new walls in the basement.

The first wall was in place and I was hammering together another when my sister came down to get me. I stood up as she walked over to me; I was trying to read her expression when she just wrapped me in her arms. "You should have told me Sam. You should have told us all. I agree that we need to help people if we can, but I will not allow you to jeopardize Belle by your actions," she said, looking into my matching green eyes.

"I got your back, bro. If it gets too serious though, we are going to the bunker." She emphasized her point by lightly punching me in the stomach. "Don't make me regret this," she said.

"First sign of real trouble we are all gone, I promise," I replied, kissing her chocolate locks since she was ten inches shorter than my 6'3" frame. She pulled me upstairs to confront the others.

The rest of the group were all congregated in the man cave/lounge quietly talking. Lizzie went over and sat by Hank, pulling Belle into her lap. The Backwaters' were sitting together on the love seat with Victoria while Snipes was standing behind her. Lou gave me a little wink when I looked his way and I knew I had another ally.

Just for something to do to settle my nerves a little bit, I walked behind the bar and grabbed a bottle of iced tea. After taking a long pull, I turned to face the group. "I'm not interested in any personal attacks of my decisions, so if any of you are leaving, we need to get you provisioned and out to safety. I'm sorry if any of you feel misled, but I feel too strongly about this to change my mind."

"Whoa there, Hoss," Hank said, holding his hands up. "We aren't going anywhere; we've all decided to stay as well. The only consideration we want is to be more involved in the decisions made around here. We aren't cattle to just follow blindly; we want to help as well." I know I sputtered a bit not being able to think of something to say, and looked at each person.

"We are with you brother, always," came from Lou.

"You lead, we follow," Snipes said, while his wife nodded.