The Days of Elijah, Book One: Apocalypse: A Novel of the Great Tribulation in America

by Goodwin,Mark

  “You’ve done too much. We simply can’t accept any more generosity.” Everett shook his head.

  “But you’ve given me a truck. Such a lavish gift cannot go without an expression of gratitude.”

  Courtney put her hand in the air. “Elijah, that truck didn’t cost us a dime. You’re doing us a favor by getting it out of the driveway.”

  Elijah turned to go out the door. “Stop your squabbling and come. Come see what I’ve brought before you get out of sorts; it’s such a small thing, really. You’ll see there’s no cause for all of your fuss.”

  Everett followed and peeked into the bed of the truck. “Elijah! No! You can’t give us your solar panels!”

  “Hogwash! I insist! You are scurrying up and down the mountain every other day to charge your battery for your ham radio or the small ones for your flashlights and your little radio. It’s a waste of resources, I tell you. Besides, I’m only giving you three panels. I still have three more.”

  Courtney asked, “What about your charge controller and inverter? You’ll need those.”

  Elijah dropped the tailgate and began unloading the panels. “I bought a spare charge controller and a spare inverter. At less than $100 each, it turned out to be a good investment. Those simple slips of paper money have no value now, but these few pieces of equipment allow me to settle my debt for a fine vehicle.”

  Everett reluctantly assisted Elijah with unloading the panels. “Like I said, you don’t owe us a thing for the truck.”

  “You shouldn’t argue with a man of God. Read First Kings and see what becomes of those who do. Now where shall we install these?”

  Courtney said, “The front of the house gets good morning sun most of the year. The shed around back is totally blocked by trees.”

  Elijah looked at the roof. “So it does. But, if the screws should cause a leak in the roof, it might be more of a curse than a blessing. What if we mount the panels on the overhang of the porch? I’ve brought screws with the small rubber washers which are intended to prevent leaks, but if it should leak, you’ll be less affected on the front porch than in the house.”

  “I think we can live with that,” Everett said. “I’ll get the ladder from the shed.”

  Two hours later, the panels were installed, the inverter and charge controller were working and Everett’s batteries were charging.

  “Will you join us for lunch?” Courtney offered.

  “I must be going, but thank you. Any word from your friends in Tennessee?”

  “Acquaintances, which is really stretching it.” Everett slid the couch back in place to conceal the small sheet of plywood where the inverter and charge controllers were mounted just inside the living room window. “We’re supposed to call them shortly to see what they’ve decided to do.”

  “They’ll come,” Courtney said confidently.

  “It would be best for all concerned in the matter.” Elijah nodded.

  “We might wait to see what provisions they bring before we make a run to the cave. If they have a lot of stuff, we could probably take a few items with us. We don’t have much extra space as it is,” Everett said.

  “That would be fine. I’ll see you soon.” Elijah waved as he left.

  “We’ll call Black then get the trench finished up. I want to dig out a pit deep enough to dip a bucket into, and then line it with creek stone so the walls won’t erode and collapse.”

  “You’re not worried that it will become a mosquito pit this summer?” Courtney stuck her hands in her pockets.

  “No, the channel will be constantly bringing fresh water in from the creek above us where the channel branches out and the overflow will constantly be flowing back into the creek below where it rejoins the creek. We will complete the entire project, leaving only the last few inches at the inflow tie-in. Then when all of the rocks are in place, we’ll open it up.”

  “Smart, maybe I will name the canal after you.” She winked as she headed toward the back bedroom.

  Everett followed her in and powered on the ham radio. He keyed the mic. “This is Undertow calling Mr. Black.”

  “Go for Black.”

  “Have you reached a decision?”

  “We have, but there are a couple of things we need to disclose.”

  “Okay.” Everett looked curiously at Courtney.

  “Ms. White has a prosthetic leg. She operates very efficiently. Thanks to her strong will, she is less encumbered by her situation than most able bodied people, but there are some obvious limitations.”

  “That’s not even a remote problem for us.” Everett replied.

  “We also have a dog, who will serve well as an extra set of eyes and ears.”

  A female voice was heard in the background. “And a cat.”

  “And a cat.” Black cleared his throat. “The value he would bring to the team is difficult to quantify.”

  Ms. White spoke again from the background. “The value is simple. It’s a package deal.”

  Courtney took the mic from Everett as she fought to not laugh. “We love animals. Everyone will be welcome here.”

  Everett also restrained his amusement. He took back the mic. “Do you have a time frame in mind?”

  “Given the logistical challenges and, as Mrs. Grey pointed out, the potential that our current location may have been compromised, we intend to make our first sortie tomorrow. Let us know if that’s too soon, but we certainly don’t want to be up against the wire, trying to beat the amnesty period. We can provide more details when we meet you face to face. Do you have an intermediate point where we could meet? I’m sure you understand the risks associated with broadcasting the exact details of your location.”

  “Yes, we could meet you at the gas station, off Interstate 81, Virginia Exit 235, east bound. It’s a fairly remote place. You probably won’t run into many people there.”

  “We’ll see you there, let’s say 2:00 PM.”

  “Okay, we’ll see you then. The verification challenge will be as follows. I’ll approach you and ask how’s the gas mileage of your vehicle. You’ll answer with a color rather than mileage information. Also, we could use any electrical extension cords you might have as well as a satellite conversion box. The older, the better.”

  “Roger that. We look forward to meeting you. Over and out.”

  “Over and out.” Everett turned off the power.

  “We’re getting a cat!” Courtney exclaimed. “I’ve got to get this place cleaned up.”

  Everett nodded. “Help me with the channel and I’ll help you get straightened up.”

  “Deal!” Courtney jumped up and headed to the kitchen.

  Everett put his boots back on and grabbed his jacket.

  Courtney zipped her coat. “Poor girl, I wonder how she lost her leg?”

  “In the military I suspect. He did say she was in charge of training the other women in their group. At any rate, I’m glad we decided to let them stay downstairs. I couldn’t have made her climb the ladder.”

  Everett and Courtney spent the rest of the afternoon completing the two-foot-deep narrow channel to bring water to the house as well as the small reservoir to capture the water for easy collection. Once it was tied into the creek, the water flowed steadily. With a few minor adjustments and a small partial dam, Everett was able to significantly increase the water flow toward the house.

  CHAPTER 5

  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.

  Matthew 24:7-8

  Everett and Courtney pulled into the gas station off of Interstate 81. They saw a green Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency pickup truck filled to capacity.

  Everett pulled up near the truck and got out. He looked at the young single man standing beside the truck. He had on jeans, a plaid shirt, work boots, and a ball cap which was pulled low over very short brown hair. The man had a medium build and a well-kept beard
. “How’s the gas mileage on your truck?”

  The man seemed to ignore Everett as he surveyed the skies and roads in the vicinity. “Purple.”

  Everett slowly approached the man. “Mr. Black.” Everett extended his hand as he walked closer.

  Black held out his hand. “Undertow, nice to put a face to the name.”

  Everett shook his hand. “You can call me Everett. Was . . . Ms. White not able to come?”

  Black waved at Courtney. “Call me Kevin. Is that Mrs. Grey?”

  Everett motioned for her to join them. “It’s Courtney, and we just got married.”

  “Congratulations.”

  Courtney shook his hand when she arrived. “Hi! I’m Courtney. Where’s Sarah?”

  Kevin took one more long look around the area, and then raised his hand, depressing a small mic button on the sleeve of his shirt. “All clear.” He looked up at Courtney. “I’m Kevin. She’ll be along.”

  Everett saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked over at the bushes along the edge of the parking lot. One of the bushes was standing up. “Is that her?”

  “You can’t be too careful these days.” Kevin lowered his sunglasses to look over toward the bushes.

  Courtney looked at Everett with her arms crossed and smiled.

  Everett smiled back. He knew she was thinking the same thing he was. These two would be a great addition. No one could ever replace Ken and Lisa, but they’d be reunited soon enough. And Everett was in no particular hurry for the reunion. In the meantime, he’d make the most of life here with Courtney, Elijah and their new acquaintances.

  Sarah approached and took the hat and face net off of her ghillie suit. She held her rifle, which was also heavily camouflaged, low with one hand. She extended the other to Courtney first. “Hi, I’m Sarah.”

  “It’s a pleasure. I’m Courtney.”

  “I’m Everett. Nice to meet you.” Even through the olive drab face paint smeared across her face, he could see that she was an attractive young woman. He made a conscious effort to remember when she’d walked up. He hadn’t noticed that her stride seemed affected by the prosthetic leg. Given, he’d been trying to process the bush standing up and walking, so it wasn’t the first thing on his mind, but he was sure he’d have noticed.

  Sarah whistled and a less-than-well-manicured dog came running up. The creature looked like it had lived a rough life.

  Courtney stepped back behind Everett. “Aww, what a . . . good dog.”

  Sarah bent down to pet him. “He’s beautiful on the inside. You couldn’t ask for a more loyal companion.”

  Everett forced himself to pet the homely animal. “What’s his name?”

  “Danger.” Kevin said quickly.

  Sarah continued to pet the dog as she shot Kevin a coarse look. “Cupcake, his name is Cupcake.”

  “And where’s the cat?” Courtney looked toward the truck.

  “Sox. He’s in the cat carrier in the back seat. He’s a little mad right now,” Kevin said.

  Sarah rolled her eyes. “He’s mad because it’s a raccoon trap, not a cat carrier.”

  “If you put water in a milk jug, it’s a water jug.” Kevin walked back to the driver’s side of the truck. “We can follow you when you’re ready.”

  “Let’s roll out.” Everett walked to the truck, started the engine and led the quick forty-five-minute drive back to the cabin.

  When they arrived, Everett unlocked the door to the cabin then helped Kevin carry in some of their personal belongings. “Nice truck.”

  Kevin followed Everett up the steps. “Thanks. The government agency insignia helps deter would be highway bandits.”

  “Yeah, there’s a lot of that going on,” Everett replied. “Did you work for Tennessee Wildlife?”

  “No, the sheriff’s department. Sarah had some friends she used to shoot and go fishing with who worked at Wildlife.”

  “Seems like a sheriff’s vehicle would be an even better deterrent.”

  “I’m sure it would be, but everyone who worked with the Sevier County Sheriff’s Department is wanted for questioning about an incident where a Global Republic census station was assaulted, and a subsequent insurrection. The former sheriff, Jim Taylor, was one of the people in our group who was captured during the insurrection.”

  “And let me guess, you weren’t far from an ammo dump explosion in Nashville when the insurrection was happening in Sevierville.” Everett had been involved in passing the intelligence for most of the activities carried out by Kevin and his former team members, but he had never known any of their names. It felt good to be able to get a little more of the backstory on the resistance members involved.

  “I don’t kiss and tell.” Kevin didn’t look offended by the question, but he didn’t seem quite ready to lay all of his cards on the table.

  Once inside, Courtney gave an abbreviated tour of the house as they walked through. “Your room is in the back.”

  Everett placed the bags he’d been carrying in the floor of the back bedroom. “Unfortunately, your bedroom is also the comms room. We’re a little tight on space.”

  Kevin looked around. “Where do you guys sleep?”

  “In the loft. There’s a ladder over by the kitchen.” Courtney looked back toward the kitchen.

  Sarah ran her hand across the top of the bed. “It’s a nice place. You guys keep it really clean.”

  “Thanks, we try.” Courtney smiled.

  Kevin looked in the closet. “Do you have any additional storage?”

  Everett led the way out of the bedroom. “There’s a small shed in the back, but that’s it.”

  “Hmm.” Kevin paused. “We have a ton of supplies that we’d like to bring out. How would you feel about building a storeroom on the back of the cabin?”

  Everett tried not to show his annoyance. This guy had been in the house less than five minutes, and already he was making changes. As he mulled it over in his head, he understood that some changes would have to be made. After all, he’d asked Kevin and Sarah to uproot their entire life to move up here. “Let’s take a walk outside and see what we have to work with.”

  The girls followed. Courtney looked at Sarah. “Was the place where you were staying, a big house?”

  “Too big,” Sarah replied. “It was fine when it was full of people, but after they disappeared, the giant empty house was a constant reminder of that day.”

  Everett walked the length of the backyard. “We were planning to put a garden in this section over here. It gets the most sunlight. I suppose we could run a storeroom back this way, toward the woods. But, I don’t know where we’d get construction supplies.”

  Kevin examined the proposed building site. “I can salvage materials from the house where we’re at now. It has a metal roof, which I can tear off. Then I’d just need enough wood to frame out the storeroom. I can use the metal sheets from the roof for the walls of the storeroom, as well as the roof. Since it would be in the shade, it would never get too hot.”

  “Do you mind if we let Sox out? He’s had a long ride in the raccoon trap,” Sarah said.

  “It’s a cat trap, I mean . . . cat carrier.” Kevin tried to recover from his misspoken words, but it was too late.

  “See!” Sarah pointed at him. “You just admitted it. It’s a trap, not a carrier.”

  Courtney led the way back toward the truck. “Well, let’s set him free.”

  “Can we let him run around in the house a while to get used to it? I’m afraid if we let him loose outside that he’ll run off into the woods.” Sarah took the trap out of the back seat.

  “Sure. I’ll get him something to eat.” Courtney walked by Sarah.

  Everett and Ken took another load of their personal belongings into the cabin. As they walked, Everett said, “There’s an old hermit a little further up the mountain that we’re friends with. He knows of a cave entrance not too far from here. It might be an alternative to building a storehouse. I don’t know how we’d secure any sup
plies stored there, but it’s climate controlled, around 55 degrees all year round.”

  “Have you been there?” Kevin asked.

  “No, but all the caves in this region run about the same constant temperature.”

  “We might need to do both.”

  Everett was curious. “Oh? How much stuff do you have?”

  “Some members of our group saw everything falling apart as early as last September. They started stocking up for a prolonged period of resource scarcity. One of the members owned a restaurant and they literally ordered pallets of food through her supplier before everything fell apart. The group had well over a year’s worth of food for everyone. Not a lot of fancy stuff, but enough to keep them alive until they could start producing their own food.” Kevin set his luggage on the floor of the bedroom when they arrived.

  “And how many people were in your group?” Everett asked.

  Kevin looked at the ceiling, as if he were running a calculation in his head. “We lost a guy in the raid then another family came in. But there were about fifteen of us when the supplies were bought. And like I said, it was well over a year’s worth of food each.”

  “And that was six months ago, so your group had roughly six months of supplies left?”

  Kevin shook his head. “No, we still had a year’s worth when they disappeared.”

  Everett did the math, but didn’t want to look greedy.

  “So a year’s worth for fifteen would be three years’ worth for five, including the old man up the road.” Kevin said it for him.

  Everett ran his hand over his head. “We have a year’s worth of supplies for four people. We were very well stocked for ourselves and the couple that disappeared, not including the game we’ve been able to kill and preserve. The old man has been self-sufficient for a long time. He produces more than he can eat and gives us food regularly. Between what he gives us and the game we’ve shot, our stockpile is lasting a lot longer than originally planned. And the old man thinks he’ll be leaving soon; some mission he thinks God is going to give him.”