Chapter 22

Sally looked up from her microscope. She smiled upon seeing the slightly dazed expression on Betsy’s face.

“So how was the date Tuesday night?”

“It was great,” Betsy answered.

“So what did you do?”

“We had dinner at the condo,” Betsy said.

She’d had a stack of ten large pizzas delivered to the condo before he had arrived. There were still a few slices left.

“That’s convenient. When did he leave?”

“What’s today?” Betsy asked.

Sally’s eyebrows shot up. “It’s Thursday.”

“He left Thursday,” Betsy said with a grin.

There was no doubt about what Betsy meant.

Curious, Sally asked, “How was it?”

“It was great. I had no idea how great it would be. I like it! I like it a lot. I never wanted to stop doing it.”

“So why did you stop?” Sally asked.

“We’d still be in bed if the realtor hadn’t called to show the condo. She brought over some guy who took one look out the window, and offered to buy it on the spot,” Betsy said.

“So you’re actually going to sell it,” Sally said.

Betsy said, “We’re signing the papers tomorrow. I guess I should start moving the rest of my stuff over to your old place.”

For all intents and purposes, Betsy had moved into Sally’s apartment. All that remained in her condo was the bed, a dining room table, and a sofa. She had decided to have Chuck over to the condo rather than the apartment because the view from the condo window was just so spectacular.

“Aren’t you supposed to sign papers on a boat tomorrow?” Sally asked.

“Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day,” Betsy said.

“Well, Professor Parrish has been looking for you,” Sally said.

“I wonder what he wants,” Betsy said.

“Maybe he’s worried because you weren’t around for two and a half days,” Sally answered.

“I worked all night Monday, so that I wouldn’t fall behind in my work.”

“So are you behind?”

“Just a little. I did expect to be in here bright and early this morning, but things came up and we kind of lost track of the time,” Betsy said.

“What kind of things could possibly come up?” Sally asked with a mischievous grin.

“Well, you know...”

Wide-eyed and acting innocent, Sally said, “I have no idea.”

“Okay. We went at it like bunnies this morning,” Betsy admitted.

“Bunnies? That’s interesting. So you were hopping around and eating carrots?”

Betsy stared at Sally. Sally burst out laughing at the expression on her friend’s face. Betsy realized that she’d been had.

“We had sex. It wasn’t ‘making love.’ It was down and dirty fucking. It was hard. It was raw. It was great!” Betsy said with a smile on her face.

“Oh, my.”

“Yeah.”

“Did you break him?”

“No. I didn’t even come close to breaking him, although there were a few times when he had a hard time breathing.”

“Tell me more.”

“I’d love to, but I’ve got to find Professor Parrish,” Betsy said with an evil grin.

“Don’t leave me hanging like this!”

“Help me move and I’ll tell you the rest,” Betsy said.

“Let me know when to be there,” Sally said.

“I will,” Betsy said.

She had only taken two steps towards the door when her cell phone rang. She fished it out of her pocket and looked at the caller ID. It was the number for a house phone at the Arizona Carter home.

“Hello?”

Bill said, “Hi, Betsy. It’s me.”

“Hi, Bill. What’s up?” Betsy asked.

“I’m flying into Hawaii next week to meet with the state about opening a recycling facility on the Oahu,” Bill said.

“Next week?”

“I’ll be there on Tuesday,” Bill said.

Betsy said, “You’re really moving along on this.”

“I had a delegation from the state come to the Los Angeles facility. They came specifically to ask me to put in a facility. They really want something on the island. They sure were surprised when I mentioned that I already had funding lined up, in case we pursued a facility there,” Bill said.

“I told you it was a big problem here,” Betsy said feeling a little smug.

“You were right. I guess I kind of underestimated the interest the facility would generate there,” Bill said.

Betsy said, “Well, I’m moving out of the condo tonight. I can put you up in my new apartment. It’ll be a little tight, but it’ll be okay.”

“You didn’t keep the condo long,” Bill commented.

“William suggested I sell it,” Betsy said.

“So you sold it.”

“That’s right.”

Bill said, “William’s been real busy lately. He calls, tells us to do something, and then hangs up. I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Don’t worry about it, just do exactly what he says,” Betsy said.

If William were to call her and tell her to stand on one foot while touching her nose with the pinky finger of her left hand for an hour, she would do it with no questions asked other than to learn which foot she should stand on. The fact that he was busy, wasn’t a good sign. She had this mental image of a giant doomsday clock rapidly moving towards twelve o’clock.

“You aren’t the first one to give me that advice,” Bill said.

“Just make sure that you follow it,” Betsy said.

“No problem. Anyway, I’ve got to get back to my meeting. I’ll have Mary let Charlie know the exact details of my arrival,” Bill said.

“All right. I’ll see you Tuesday,” Betsy said.

She closed her phone deep in thought. A lot of what Bill said worried her. Things were suddenly moving a little too quickly for her peace of mind. She looked up to see that Sally was looking at her.

Her cell phone rang again. She looked at the caller ID, and answered it. “Hello, William.”

“It’s time to do a Paul Revere,” William said.

“What’s that mean?”

“Tell your friends and family that bad times are coming, and they need to be prepared. Use your imagination in providing details. Odds are, you will be understating what will happen,” William answered.

“When will it happen?” Betsy asked.

“When it happens. I’ll let you know early enough to get everyone to safety.”

William hung up. Betsy closed her cell phone before looking over at Sally. Her friend looked very curious about the two calls.

“Sally.”

“What?”

“If I should call you or send an email, about ‘horsemen on the move,’ I want you to do exactly what I instruct you to do.”

“I don’t understand,” Sally said.

Betsy said, “There are storm clouds gathering on the horizon, and it looks like the storm will be a bad one. I want you to promise me that you’ll do exactly what I say without question.”

“I didn’t hear anything about a storm on the weather report this morning,” Sally said.

Betsy took a step forward and lowered her voice. “Sally, I’m not talking weather. I’m talking about a complete collapse of civilization. William’s been busy, lately, and that isn’t a good sign.”

“What’s William got to do with it?” Sally asked.

Betsy said, “I guess you haven’t figured it out. William sees the future. He’s never wrong about what he says is going to happen. He’s predicting a huge crisis that could destroy the world as we know it. If I call you and tell you that ‘horsemen are on the move,’ it’s because William has raised the alarm. I’ll need you to do exactly what I say so that I can protect you and Steve.”

“Oh come on. No one can see the future,” Sally said.

“William is a servant of the Two-Sided One. He is the one true prophet. That is his service to the Gods and Goddesses,” Betsy said.

For Sally, it was as if a light bulb went on in her head. Suddenly, she realized why it seemed as if William was aware of everything around him.

“That explains a lot,” Sally said.

“I need you to promise me that you’ll do exactly what I say,” Betsy said.

“I promise.”

Betsy said, “Good. Remember. I’ll tell you that ‘the horsemen are on the move.’ You drop everything, and do exactly what I say.”

“You’re scaring me,” Sally said.

“Good. Be scared. I’m terrified!” Betsy said.

“I’ll do what you say,” Sally said.

Betsy said, “I better run now. I’ve got a lot to do.”

Once Betsy was gone, Sally sat at her lab bench staring at the closed door. The idea that Betsy was terrified, sent chills down her spine. She wondered how someone prepared for the total collapse of civilization. Just thinking the phrase, ‘total collapse of civilization’, caused her stomach to churn.

Betsy walked into Henry’s office. He rolled his head over on the back of his recliner, and said, “I’m working on the signal bleed through problems.”

Betsy said, “Henry, I know that you are the laziest man alive.”

“I’d argue with you, but I just don’t have the energy,” Henry said. He frowned when Betsy didn’t even crack a smile. He asked, “What’s the matter?”

“It’s a Druid thing,” Betsy said.

Henry sat up a little straighter. “What’s the problem?”

“One day, not too far in the future, the shit is going to hit the fan. When I tell you that ‘the horsemen are on the move,’ I want you to follow my directions without question. If I say run, you will run. You won’t walk. You won’t have someone else do the running for you. You will get off your ass and you will haul it to where ever I tell you to go.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Henry said knowing that if she said it was a Druid thing that she wasn’t screwing around. His time spent at the Druid college had taught him that one did not take matters of the Gods and Goddesses lightly.

“That’s all,” Betsy said before turning around and leaving.

With his mind racing a thousand miles an hour, Henry stared at the door without really seeing it. After ten minutes, his thoughts crystallized into one main idea. He stood up and walked over to the door. He closed and locked it.

He muttered, “I don’t want anyone to see me doing exercises. I’d hate to hurt my reputation.”

Professor Parrish looked up when Betsy knocked on his office door.

“Come in.”

“Thanks,” Betsy said.

“Where have you been?”

“I spent a little time with my boyfriend,” Betsy answered.

“You need to take your studies a little more seriously than that,” he said.

“I’m not really behind. I worked all night Sunday night, all day Monday, and most of Monday night,” Betsy said.

“I didn’t realize that,” Professor Parrish said.

“I guess I should have let you know,” Betsy said.

Professor Parrish said, “Please do that next time.”

Betsy looked down at the floor studying the carpet for a moment while trying to figure out how to let her professor know that troubles were coming.

“You know that I serve the Two-Sided One, right?”

“Yes.”

“If I send you a message that ‘the horsemen are on the move,’ I need you to gather your family and friends and hunker down somewhere safe,” Betsy said.

“Horsemen? You mean like the four horsemen of the apocalypse?” he asked thinking she was joking.

“Exactly,” Betsy said.

“You aren’t serious,” Professor Parrish asked starting to get worried.

“I’m deadly serious.”

“You’re telling me this as a servant of the Two-Sided One.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll do it.”

“Good. You wouldn’t happen to own a gun, would you?”

“No.”

“You might want to pick up a couple,” Betsy said.

“When are the horsemen likely to ride?”

“I’m not exactly sure, but I’m confident it will be within a year,” Betsy answered before turning and leaving the office.

Betsy headed towards the Bloated Shark. She looked down at her cell phone examining all of the features it provided. It was pretty obvious that it didn’t provide the features she needed. She wanted to create a number of messages so that they could all be sent out on a moment’s notice.

She frowned, “I’m going to have to upgrade.”

She dialed a number. When Charlie answered, Betsy said, “Charlie, I want you to order five modular offices to be set up next to the house.”

“You know we can’t do that. We’re going to have all kinds of problems getting permits for them,” Charlie said.

Shocking Charlie, Betsy said, “I don’t care if you have to bribe everyone in town. Get it done. I want them in place by the end of the month.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Charlie said.

She was thinking that she’d look into it, and then let Betsy know what problems there were. She felt that she could moderate Betsy’s enthusiasm a bit.

Betsy said, “Tell Gary that it’s time to stockpile munitions and weapons.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Charlie said.

With that last little order, Charlie realized that Betsy’s enthusiasm wasn’t going to be moderated. Betsy was preparing for war. That, at least, was something that Charlie understood all too well. You didn’t let things like petty bureaucrats get in the way of preparing for a battle.

“Tell Stacy to get on a plane, and find five more hotels just like the ones I’ve already bought,” Betsy said.

“Five more?”

“Yes,” Betsy answered. “See if we can get it done for under a million. I’m selling the condominium tomorrow and I’ll have the cash on hand for them.”

Charlie said, “Speaking of that, I will be there tomorrow at the bank.”

“Good. You’ll be able to tell me what kind of progress you’ve made,” Betsy said.

“Is there anything else?”

“Have Wheels get a couple more cars ready,” Betsy said.

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Charlie was really beginning to get worried.

“Tell Alice I’d like a years worth of canned food, for forty people, set aside,” Betsy said.

“What kind of food?”

“Vegetables, fruits, and soups,” Betsy answered. “We’ll need some freezers for storing meat. I guess we’ll need flour and stuff like that too.”

“You’re basically telling me to get ready for war.”

“Exactly,” Betsy said.

“I know exactly the person to call for all of that. He’s in logistics,” Charlie said.

“Excellent,” Betsy said.

She disconnect the call and dialed another number. Detective Roberts answered after the second ring.

“What do you want?”

Betsy said, “Meet me at the Bloated Shark in an hour. Come alone.”

“Why?”

“Don’t ask,” Betsy said.

“Shit,” Detective Roberts swore.

Betsy disconnected the call.

Now that she was off campus, she kicked her pace up into a nice easy run. It only took her ten minutes to reach the Bloated Shark. She paused to look at the boat. She wondered for a minute if the university was going to weather the coming economic storm long enough for her to earn a degree.

She went searching for Captain Jack. She found him below deck examining the lift mechanism for the submersible. He didn’t look too happy.

“Captain Jack.”

“Hello, Betsy.”

“I’ve got to talk to you, privately,” Betsy said.