Guidance

A nudge in the right direction leads Bill, Joshua and Rembrandt into an unexpected confrontation.

Chapter 5

-Guidance-

Jim walked barefoot through a world of ash and mud. Rain sheeted from a dark, turbulent sky lit by violent flashes from the jagged bolts of lightning that arched from swirling cloud to swirling cloud. Sometimes a brilliant fork would strike earthward hitting tree or rock and blasting it apart. Where the lightning struck the trees they exploded with bright, angry flame in amber and red. Every once in a while lightning would strike so close that Jim could feel his hair stand on end. The smell of the ozone burned his nose, the noise and flash would leave him staggering and breathless. He walked on through the hell that was once a lush and verdant world. His eyes stung from more than the acrid smoke that filled the air and tears streamed down his cheeks. A sudden flash accompanied by heat and a roar like the fires of hell itself left him senseless. He tried to blink away the spots that blurred his vision. When his vision cleared the world around him had transformed. He walked on soft, green grass among a forest exploding with full spring beauty. He was amazed with what he saw, flowers budding among the grass and leaves the brilliant green of new growth. Bees buzzed from flower to flower and butterflies floated on the breeze. The setting was almost perfect, there was only one thing that could improve the the perfect beauty spread before him. Jim blinked and there she was, she was sitting on a blanket in a sun dress that seemed to be covered with spring flowers. She was beautiful, as beautiful as she had been the day she married him. Her long, dark hair cascaded down her back to break in waves against the blanket on which she lay. She smiled and wiggled her nose at him as he approached, drawing her feet under her and drawing herself into a sitting position.

“Jim love,” She said in her sweet voice that sounded as clear and crisp as a brass bell, “It is good to see you again. Come sit with me and talk for a while.”

“Are you really here?” he asked as he seated himself next to her, “Is this really you, or is this just another dream?”

“Well, I am here,” she said placing a slender hand on his cheek, “and I am not. Just like this is a dream, and in a way it is not. But enough with the confusing existential banter. I missed you and have been allowed these few, brief moments with you so lets not waste them. You have been doing well, the shower is a nice touch. Tell Joshua I agree with Sally, he could sing professionally.”

It felt good to laugh with Laura again. Jim had missed her laugh, it always sent a thrill up his spine whenever he heard it. Tears began flowing, unbidden down his cheeks. The years without her had hurt so bad.

Laura took his face in her hands and gently wiped his tears away with her thumbs, “Oh Jimmy, don't cry. I know how the years have stung. Don't worry, we will be together again soon. Your work is nearly complete. As I said you have been doing a good job, but you really should pray more. I know it doesn't seem like it some times but God does love hearing from his children you know,” Laura's smile outshone the sun and made the butterflies seem drab when compared to her beauty, “Our time is nearly up, but there are two things you need to know before you go. First, God is about to give you a, well... Sort of a nudge in the right direction to help you along. Don't be alarmed, he just needs to... shake things up a bit, so to speak. Second, there is one among you that means you all harm. This one is an empty shell that has been filled with hate and destruction.”

“Is it this Messenger Jeremy has been rambling about in his sleep?” Jim asked.

“Yes, what fills that small body is not of God. It means you all to die. This is out of your hands, you are not to do anything to this Messenger, but you need to find it before it does any more damage. Basically, at the risk of sounding cliché, don't kill The Messenger.”

“So, what do we do when we find this Messenger?”

“There is only one thing you can do dear,” She bent close and kissed him sweetly, just a peck on the lips before whispering in his ear. Laura's final whispered word echoed in his ears as the dream faded away, “Pray.”

Jim opened his eyes reluctantly, not wanting the memory of the dream to fade. The dream remained in his mind, sharp and vivid and beautiful. It had felt real, smelled real, it was real. His wife had been just as he remembered her before she had to move to Verdant Acres. Jim sighed heavily and looked toward his chair. He disliked the thing, it was comfortable enough but to Jim it represented a loss of freedom. Jim decided a morning prayer couldn't hurt. His wife, after all, had suggested it. After a few minutes of offering thanks to God for their survival and respectfully requesting that they continued to do so Jim decided it was time to get his old bones moving. He had dreaded this, his broken leg did not hurt at all when he was still but as soon as he moved pain exploded in his knee shooting fiery runners up his hip. He was still preparing himself to deal with the pain when the blanket was brushed aside.

“Hey, good morning,” Joshua rumbled, grinning broadly as he ducked into the blanketed enclosure, “Last night was the last night sleeping on the ground my friend. I had an idea last night. Greg and I are going to use some of the walkway in the upper passageway to make bed frames.”

“Great,” Jim said, wincing as he adjusted himself on his pallet, “It would be good to get off the ground. What are we going to do for mattresses?”

“We have a large amount of baling twine from the maintenance building,” the large man said as he crouched next to his friend, “we are going to weave it in on the frame and cover it with a blanket. That is how we made the stretcher last night. I laid down on it last night just to see how it would feel. It's actually very comfortable.”

“Sounds good,” Jim said.

“Anyway,” Joshua said, getting back to his feet, “do you need any help getting into your chair?”

“Sure,” Jim said taking a better look at his large friend. His eyes were open wider than usual and bloodshot with deep, black bags under them. His hands shook and his eyes kept darting around the enclosure, “Are you alright? You seem restless.”

“I didn't get any sleep last night, had way too much work to do,” Joshua wrung his hands and shifted his weight from one foot to the other, “Well, lets get you into your chair. Its time for breakfast. Can't have you stuck on the floor all day.”

“Well, you certainly seem to be awake,” Jim said eying Joshua warily as he was picked up off the ground and placed gently in his wheelchair. The muscular man barely seemed to notice Jim's weight at all.

“Kelly had some caffeine pills,” Joshua said with a shrug, “She used them when she worked in the hospital to stay awake on long shifts. She said it would be safe for me to take a few since I has so much work to do. Had, sorry meant to say had. Well she said they were safe. I used to take them on long trips but these seem to work a lot better than the ones you buy at the truck stop.”

“Right,” Jim said slowly as he was wheeled out into the main chamber and towards Bill's kitchen. Beside the upper passageway, what had once been the walkway to the parking chamber lay in neat stacks against the wall of the chamber. Joshua walked with a quick stride and the two soon stopped at the table they shared with their other friends. A large stack of steaming pancakes waited for him at the table, with butter melting on top and a bottle of syrup waiting to be poured over them. He greeted the others and watched as Joshua plopped down next to his wife.

“Husband,” Dr. Green said flatly, “How many of those tablets have you taken?”

“Not as many as I usually use in a night,” Joshua said defensively, “Only like eight or nine of them.”

The small woman's eyes bulged in shock, “Eight or nine? Are you crazy? Eight tablets should last you four days. Each one of those has as much caffeine as five cups of coffee, not to mention a large dose of B12. Give me the bottle.” She held out a hand for her husband to place the pill container in.

“I still have a lot of work to do. I...”

“Give,” Dr. Green insisted.
“But...”

“No buts, I said give,” Joshua received a glare that promised some very unpleasant things in his immediate future should he refuse to do as instructed. He reluctantly pulled a medium sized bottle from his pocket and placed it in his wife's waiting hand, “Good, now try to sit still. You are making the table vibrate.”

“Wow,” Jim said trying to come to grips with the amount of caffeine flowing through his friend's veins, “Just how much... Wow!” Bill just sat staring. Joshua did appear to be vibrating, he couldn't seem to keep his hands still as he sat. Sally looked to be in serious danger of falling on the ground as waves of laughter wracked her slender body. When she was able to speak again she looked at the doctor and said, “You might want to watch him with caffeine, he tends to overdo it sometimes.”

“It seems so,” the smaller woman replied.

“So, Dr. Green,” Jim said, changing the subject, “I was wondering how you were related to Sam. Is she your cousin or something?”

“Sam?” Kelly asked, with a confused expression, “Why would you think we were related?”

“Green is not a very common name,” Jim said, “I just thought you may be related.”

“I didn't even know her last name was Green,” the small woman looked over to where Samantha sat alone eating mechanically, “She may be a third cousin or something I suppose, she doesn't really look like any of my relatives”

“Well,” Jim said nervously into the awkward silence that followed, “Before Joshua crashes, I should let you all know about the strange dream I had last night. I normally wouldn't bring this sort of thing up, but it seems important. I had a dream about my wife, not surprising I suppose, but she said she had an important message for us. Well two really, and sort of a side note. First, we shouldn't harm our attacker when we find her. Instead we should all pray together and let God do what needs done. Second, she says God intends to 'shake things up a bit'. I don't know whether she meant literally or figuratively, but it is supposed to point us in the right direction. And finally the side note, we need to pray more often.”

“So, what do you think she meant by shaking things up?” Bill asked.

“I have no idea,” Jim said. He was relieved that no one had told him it was just a dream. He was beginning to feel a little foolish about telling them about it. The dream felt important, and it had not faded away like a normal dream would have.

“Joshua, dear,” Dr. Green said, placing a slender hand on her husband's forearm, “I know it is hard for you to sit still right now, but please try to stop shaking the table.”

“When we find out who this Messenger is, are we simply supposed to let her go?” Bill looked like he didn't cherish the idea of allowing a killer to run loose.

“Not exactly,” Jim said, “Laura said we should pray and God would handle the rest.”

“Joshua, please stop shaking,” Dr Green said once more.

“I don't think it's him,” Sally said, pointing to the rain barrels.

Water was beginning to slosh out the top, splattering wetly against the chamber floor. As if on queue the shaking became more intense, accompanied by a deep rumble. Dust floated down from the roof of the cavern. It began to seep in through the large cracks around the makeshift barriers that capped the two passageways intersecting the chamber. The sharp sound of rent stone rang through the chamber and the lights flickered. Dust seemed to explode from a section of wall near the chamber that was used as a restroom, shrouding their world in darkness and choking its occupants.

The shaking and the rumble stopped as suddenly as it had started. In its wake silence reigned, save the sound of smaller stones rolling and bouncing to a rest. The dust began to settle around the surviving knot that seemed to be all that remained of humanity, the upper portion of the chamber remained bathed in darkness.

Joshua and Bill were the first to recover from the shock of what had just occurred. The two did a quick head count as Dr. Green rushed off to see to her three patients in what had become her clinic near the upper passageway. No one was missing and there were only minor injuries, nothing more then a few bumps and scrapes.

As the dust continued to settle it became clear what had caused the cloud to fill the chamber. Around one hundred feet from the latrine a great crack ran up the side of the chamber. On the edge of the crack hung the electrical cables that had once supplied power to the lights for the upper portion of the chamber. They now swung loose, showering the crack with cascades of brilliant blue sparks as the cable bounced against the chamber wall.

“Ah, see? More work to be done,” Joshua said, his bloodshot eyes wide open, “Going to need a screwdriver. Where is the screwdriver? Could have sworn I had it right here a minute ago.”

“It's in your pocket dear,” Dr. Green said with a sigh as her husband stood and began searching for his missing tool.

“Thank you,” Joshua rambled, “Must get back to work, see you later.”

“Wow,” Bill said in amazement, as the large man stumbled off towards a fuse box he had mounted on the wall near the lower passageway, “are you sure he should be working with electricity in his condition? Couldn't we ask one of our farm boys to take care of it?”

“No to both,” Kelly said, sighing heavily, “The caffeine makes him jumpy and jittery, but he is the only one able to work on it right now. He worked all the farm boys to exhaustion last night taking down the walkways in the upper passageway. He can cut power to the broken lines by flipping the circuit breaker so he should be fine. We just need to keep him off the ladder until he has had some rest.”

“I had better go help him then,” Bill said, turning to follow the large man. Joshua flipped a switch in the fuse box and the lights on the chamber wall winked out. The lights around the chamber's raised center provided a dim glow, just enough for the two men to work with. The crack looked like some gigantic pick hammer had been smashed into the cavern wall. It started fifty feet up the side of the wall and was ten feet wide at it's base. Rubble and stone filled its bottom from where the roof of the passageway that had run beneath that part of the chamber had collapsed. The chamber floor now sloped downward into the passageway beyond. It would only need a little clearing before they could tell where it led.

Bill helped Joshua lean their ladder against the wall next to the closest light to the new passageway and climbed it before the larger man had a chance to himself. He held out his hand for the screwdriver and was slightly surprised when Joshua handed it to him without any protest. It did not take long for him to figure out how to take the fixture off the chamber wall. He soon figured out how to remove the broken wires and had fastened new ones in their place. By the time he had repeated the procedure on the light on the other side of the crack Joshua had begun to show signs of heavy fatigue. He seemed to have a hard time keeping his eyes open and was slumped over. It looked like he was about to fall over at any moment.

“Come on Josh,” Bill said as he guided the large man toward his pallet, “Lets get you to your pallet.”

“I'm fine,” Joshua yawned, “just need a little more caffeine. I have a lot of work to do.”

“I know,” Bill said with a laugh, “But you look like hell. I'm sure you will feel better after a short nap.”

“OK,” Joshua said, yawning deeply, “A short nap would be alright I guess. Perhaps an hour, no longer.”

Bill guided the man into his blanket tent. Joshua half collapsed onto his pallet. Soon the sound of his deep, resonant stertor echoed off the cavern walls. Bill managed to get the man rolled onto his side and the loud snoring stopped.

He smiled and shook his head as he walked over to the fuse box and flipped the breaker back on. Sally and Jim were looking into the new passageway, an uninterested looking Sam stood not far to the side siting on a stalactite that had fallen from the chamber's roof.

“Hey, Hun,” Bill said to his wife as he walked up to stand beside her, giving her a peck on the cheek, “I guess we know what Jim's wife meant now. I didn't think it would be this literal though.”

“ Yea,” Sally said smiling sweetly at her husband and taking his hand in hers, “I guess something we will need is down this passageway.”

“You have been down there Bill,” Jim said as he looked into the passages dark recesses, “where do you think it leads.”

“It is hard to tell,” Bill said, scratching his head, “These tunnels twist and turn so much it is hard to tell. Josh and I can take a look after he wakes up,” as if to punctuate his words the loud, bass rumblings of Joshua's snoring began to echo throughout the chamber once more, “I think he will be out for a while though. When he finally crashed, he crashed hard. I almost didn't get him to his pallet in time.”

“Well,” Sally sighed resignedly, “when Greg and the other farm boys wake up they can clear the mouth of the passageway for you. Just promise to be careful.”

“I will dear, Joshua and I will be fine,” it was then that Bill noticed Jim. The dust on his face was streaked by the passage of tears and his eyes held a look of deep longing and a sadness that had not been there the day before, “You alright?” he asked putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“I am just missing Laura,” Jim said, “It was good seeing her, even if it was just in a dream.”

“It is understandable,” Bill said, “Hey, why don't you come keep me company while I clean up from breakfast.”

“OK,” Jim said, Sam got up from where she was sitting and took her place behind Jim's chair. Jim gave a shudder as she placed her hands on the handles.

“What was that?” Sally asked with a laugh.

“I'm not sure,” Jim said, “The last few days the feeling that something has been wrong has gotten worse. It's like something horrible is sneaking up on me, I keep wanting to look over my shoulder to see what it is. I guess I'm getting paranoid in my old age.”

“No,” Sally laughed, “for one thing you are not that old. As for paranoid, everyone has been on edge since you were attacked, more so since the boys were injured. To tell you the truth I would be worried if you weren't on edge. Now come along, Bill needs to clean up and I have a few things I need to work on myself. I am working on setting up a curriculum for an afternoon class schedule and I want to have a bible study for after dinner. Not to mention that the day after tomorrow is Sunday and I have to prepare for that.”

“You're doing service then I take it?” Jim asked, with a the start of a smile making the corners of his lips twitch.

“Of course,” Sally said, “Who better? I was a school teacher and the pastor's daughter after all.”

The morning passed quickly, the three talked as Bill cleaned and Sally studied. Soon after the four left the massive crack, Greg directed a group of young men as they inspected the new passageway and cleared the debris that partially blocked it's entrance. Sam had sat quietly for a time not far away. After seeing that her services would not be required she wandered off. Jim mostly talked about Laura, how they had met. He told Bill about proposing to her next to the nearby lake and talked about their wedding. Jim's smile returned to him as he talked about the good times they had together.

It had taken most of the morning to get the dust out of the kitchen area. It had settled into every possible nook and hard to clean spot in the equipment. The half eaten pancakes from breakfast were added to the contents of the rain barrel that Bill had acquired for food waste that could be turned into mulch. The three laughed and told stories until lunch was ready.

Joshua woke up just as the group was sitting down for the mid day meal. Bill thought he still looked a little tired, but he no longer shook and he was mostly lucid. His wife joined him as he walked toward the inviting smells that wafted from Bills kitchen. She looped her arm around his and patted his hand as she escorted him to their table, and was plain that it was her escorting him. Bill was increasingly in awe of the diminutive woman's ability to dominate the larger man. Her self confidence bent him to her will the way Bill had seen the larger man bend steel tubing. Her self confidence made him malleable the way Joshua's torch did to the metal and the force of her will bent him to her desire. How could anyone be bent that easily so soon after being married? He had seen men last years before bending to their wife's will like that. Bill chuckled to himself at the thought.

“I'm starting to get thirsty,” Sally sighed to herself as she put her books aside and waited for her meal.

Bill knew there was no way he would be bent that easily. He selected Sally's favorite glass from those that sat drying by the sink. As Bill took the glass into the cool chamber he used as a pantry to fill the glass from the jug of sweetened tea he kept there, he wondered how the formidable mountain of a man had allowed himself to be bent so easily. He brushed a kiss across Sally's cheek as he sat the glass in front of her.

“Thank you dear,” she said, smiling sweetly as Bill went back to his work. “Yes,” she thought to herself, “he is well on his way to becoming the perfect husband.”

Cathy had sat with her brother all morning. The fever was not as bad as it had been the night before and he had settled into a restful slumber. She stayed to help clean up after lunch so that Bill and Joshua could explore the new passageway. They put on their harnesses and checked their gear like they had the day before and set out.

“What is that for?” Bill asked as Joshua tucked John's gun into his belt.

“Kelly made me promise to bring it just in case,” Joshua answered defensively.

Soon Bill was crouching next to the large crack that formed the mouth of the new passageway running his flashlight over every inch of the entrance looking for anything that could fall on them as they passed through. He was so focused on his task that his heart jumped into his throat as he felt a cold, wet nose nuzzle against his hand.

“Hello Rembrandt,” Bill said patting the huge dog on its head, pointedly ignoring the chuckle from the large man at his side, “Nice of you to join us.”

Rembrandt sat on his haunches, his tail thump thumping against the floor of the chamber as Bill finished his inspection. The three moved into the crack and found that it intersected with another wide tunnel after fifty feet. The passageway sloped steadily downward until it forked off again. A familiar smell drifted from the side passage telling the men where they were. They had come to the spot where they had rested on their return trip the day before. Their footprints were still visible in the silt of the floor. They took the tunnel that led to the massive garden chamber, and found that here too the tunnel had collapsed after a short distance. The collapse had opened another side tunnel that sloped steadily downward until it intersected the main passageway again, not far from where it let out into the garden chamber. The new tunnels shortened the trip drastically. Instead of a three hour hike it had taken only twenty minutes. The chamber itself had undergone a few changes as well. From the low tunnel where the two men had entered the chamber the day before a stream now flowed. Its icy waters flowed along the edge of the chamber to rush through a crack in the side of the chamber fifteen feet from where the two men stood. The old oak tree still stood proudly in the center of the chamber surrounded by the grass that the park's landscapers had planted there.

“Well,” Joshua rumbled, “I guess we were closer to home then we thought.”

“I guess so,” Bill agreed, “I guess we know were to plant our seeds. This place is perfect.”

“Yea,” Joshua said staring up at the glass above, “Sort of reminds me of a terrarium.”

“A what?”

“A terrarium,” Joshua said, “it is sort of an enclosed environment to grow plants in. Didn't you ever make one as a kid?”

“You mean the soda bottle thing?” Bill asked.

“That's the one.”

“Yea, I just didn't know what they were called,” Rembrandt nuzzled Bill's hand again and whimpered, “Yes boy, we will go soon.”

The dog's whimper turned into a low menacing growl. Bill and Joshua looked at Rembrandt in confusion, but the dog was looking beyond them. From the left of where the men stood in the mouth of the passageway a louder growl, answered shorter and sharper. The two men backed away from the mouth of the chamber, deeper into the passageway and the light from the garden chamber was blocked by a massive form on two legs. It dropped to all fours and began lumbering toward them. As he backed up Joshua's foot snagged on a rock in the floor and he fell backwards.

The bear reared once more and muscles on Rembrandt's legs corded as he sprang over Joshua, smashing into the Bear's chest as his teeth sought the beast's throat. With a single swipe of a powerful arm, Rembrandt was batted away like a fly. He gave a high pitched yelp as he hit the wall before sliding down to rest in a heap on the floor. Bill stood transfixed as death stalked towards him once more. He could not breath, he could not move, and he dared not scream. He knew that if he ran, the thing would catch him and he would be ripped apart. He felt surprisingly calm, aside from the racing of his heart. He was about to die, but... OK, he was about to die, there was no but. Why did he feel so calm? The thought was a distant one, he knew it was him thinking it, but not why.

A loud POP reverberated in the tunnel, echoing along its walls. The bear stumbled forward one step then fell in a heap at his feet. Bill looked down at Joshua who sat next to him, John's gun in his hand. It looked like a toy in the huge fist that gripped it. Joshua stared at the bear, he was shaking uncontrollably with tears streaming down his cheeks.

“I...” Joshua began, “I've never killed anything before.”

“It's OK,” Bill said taking the gun out of Joshua's shaking hand, “Congratulations! You just fed us for... How long will something this size feed us for anyway... WOW!”

“Is Rembrandt OK?” Joshua asked in a near whisper. A weak whimper answered him from behind the massive body.

“I would have to say no,” Bill said, “We are going to need a little help to get this thing home I think.”

“Yea,” Joshua replied absently, “What thing?”

“The bear,” Bill said, “we are going to need the meat. Come on, I need you to help me now.”

“Sorry,” Joshua said after taking a moment to collect his thoughts, “What do you need me to do?”

“I need you to go back home and bring your wife, those farm boys you have been working with, some plastic bags, and my good knives,” Bill said, lifting one of the bear's massive paws experimentally and dropping it back to the cavern floor.

“OK,” Joshua said, “What about you?”

“I'll be fine,” Bill said, pulling out his utility knife and turning back to the massive carcass, “I have work to do.”

“I will be back as fast as I can,” Joshua said as he started up the tunnel.

Bill set to work field dressing the bear. Everything about the bear was big. The first thing Bill noticed after managing, with quite a large amount of effort, to turn the bear on its back was that he was a she. Before attempting to cut open the bear he half shaved, half pulled the fur away from the skin where he intended to cut. He then slipped his knife under the bear's skin, the hide proved harder to cut through than he had thought. By the time he had finished cutting Joshua had arrived with the help and supplies he had requested.

“Where are you hurt?” Dr. Green said as she approached.

“I'm not,” Bill said as he placed the bear's heart, liver, and small intestine into a bag to be carried up the tunnel to their home. The rest went into a separate bag to be added to his compost barrel, “I think Rembrandt is in pretty bad shape though.”

The small woman sniffed, leveling her withering stare at him, “Do I look like a veterinarian to you?”

“No,” Bill said without looking up from his work, “But I figured you wouldn't mind trying at least since the dog did save your husbands life.”

“I see,” She said, “I will see what I can do.” She walked toward were Rembrandt had fallen grumbling to herself. Bill caught the words, “Poor doggy,” and couldn't help but smile. The fierce woman really was not as hard as she pretended to be, just like Joshua was not as naive as he appeared to be. They really were a perfect match after all. After a few minutes Bill heard her say, “Rembrandt is going to be fine. He has a broken leg and some bruised ribs, but nothing life threatening.”

With the help of Greg and the other young men the bear's body was dragged under the oak tree. It took all of their combined strength and four lengths of rope to hang the bear up so it could be skinned and quartered. Bill cut around the joints above the massive paws, cutting the tendons and easily slicing through the cartilage. The paws came off smoothly once the tissues holding them in place where severed. He cut the skin around the neck and peeled it back far enough to put a small stone under it and tie the end of a rope around it. Again the boys pulled, and the hide came away like pulling off a wet-suit. He cut around the massive shoulders and hips, placing the freed appendages into bags to be carried up the tunnel, before removing the round strips of meat from along the lower part of the backbone. Once the ribs were removed, all that was left hanging in the tree was the bear's head and backbone. That too was carried up the tunnel, the spine to be boiled down in Bills stock pot. As the group wearily made its way back up the tunnel, Bill could hear Joshua talking excitedly with Greg about planting and tending crops.

Once back in his kitchen, Bill had the remaining three rain barrels taken into his food storage chamber and filled with icy water, he allowed the meat to soak while he prepared his workspace to process it. He washed his knives and laid them out on the counter. He assembled his meat grinder for grinding the scrap meat into burger. He washed the intestine, running water through it to wash out it's contents.

Bill was so absorbed in his work that he was surprised when he heard Joshua's deep voice behind him, “What are you doing with that?” he asked, indicating the pile of cleaned intestine.

“Sausages,” Bill said with a smile, “big, plump bear sausages, they should be tasty.”

“Sausages,” Joshua asked scowling at the pile of intestines, “made out of bear intestine?”

“I know,” Bill said continuing his work, “It is a little thicker than pig intestine, but I have a good supply of herbs and seasonings. Its going to taste great.”

“Yea, but intestine?” Joshua asked incredulously.

“Have you ever had bratwurst?” Bill asked.

“Yes”

“Ever wonder what the wrapping is made of?”

“Some times,” Joshua replied.

“The wrapper is pig intestine.” Bill said with a laugh as he finished washing the final length of intestine.

“I did not know that,” Joshua said slowly, “I am not sure I wanted to know that, but OK.”

“Come on,” Bil said with a grin, “you know you love it. A nicely browned skin, and that brief moment of resistance before your teeth sink in and the hot spicy juices explode onto your taste buds. I'm telling you, its not possible to truly appreciate a sausage without the intestine. A good sausage is not just a lump of spiced meat, it is an experience.”

“I can honestly say that I have never thought of it that way,” Joshua said, “I don't think most people would.”

“What can I say,” Bill said with a laugh, “I love good food. I love to cook good food, and I love to serve good food.”

“Well,” Joshua said joining his friend's laughter, “I guess we are lucky to have a cook like you then. By the way, Greg wanted me to tell you that if you have to pee, do it in the bucket next to the toilet.”

“What is wrong with the toilet?” Bill asked.

“Nothing,” Joshua said with a shrug of his massive shoulders, “we need it for the bear skin.”

“You're joking right?” Bill said taken aback.

“Nope,” Joshua said.

”And you were squeamish about the intestines?” Bill shook his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose, “I'm afraid to ask exactly what the urine is for.”

“That's probably a good thing,” Joshua said, “I asked, and I really wish I hadn't.”

“Why?” Bill asked, “Intestine really isn't that bad.”

“No,” Joshua said, “not that, I meant the urine. I may never look at leather the same way again. Anyway, I came to ask you how much room you have in that pantry chamber of yours.”

“Sadly, quite a bit. Why?” Bill asked.

“Are there any holes in the walls or floor that air can get through?”

“Not that I know of,” Bill said, beginning to feel confused.

“Good,” Joshua said rubbing his massive hands together, “The semi is out of fuel and we need to bring the food down.”

“Can't you plug the refrigerator thing into the electrical system again?” Bill asked, “If you bring it down here how are we going to keep it refrigerated? This chamber stays cold, but not that cold.”

“Well,” Joshua said clapping Bill on the shoulder, “we can't plug the refrigeration unit into the power grid because the wires leading to the parking chamber were too badly damaged in the collapse. Besides that, we used a good share of what remained to fix the lights in this chamber after this morning. We are going to set the refrigeration unit up down here.”

“OK,” Bill said, “can you wait until I have this meat taken care of. I don't like leaving meat unprocessed it starts to go bad.”

“Well, actually we were going to start hauling the food down now,” Joshua said running a hand over his head, “There is no way what fuel is left will last the night. Really all we need from you is your permission.”

“So you don't want me to help,” Bill asked.

“It is not that we don't want it,” Joshua said to his friend, “We just don't need it right now. I know you have to take care of the meat. In fact Greg said he was going to help you with it since Jeremy is sick. That way Cathy can stay with him.”

“Sounds good,” Bill said, “Hey, thanks, by the way.”

“For what?” Joshua asked.

“Shooting this stupid bear for one thing,” Bill said, “Other than that I'm just glad to have you for a friend.”

“No problem,” Joshua said clapping Bill on the shoulder again, “You have been a good friend too.”

It took most of the afternoon to process the massive bear. With the help of Greg, the three barrel's ursine contents were cut into steaks and roasts. The cut meat was placed on his cooling rack to be placed in the freezer once it was finished. Smaller scraps were set aside in one of his big bowls to be ground into sausage. The fat was placed in another bowl to be rendered later. By the time he was finished Joshua had started welding the metal he had salvaged from his semi's trailer. He had reassembled the rear portion of the trailer, including its doors, covering the mouth of the food storage cavern.

As he cleaned his tools and prepared the ingredients for the sausage Bill heard the refrigeration unit humming. He took a moment to marvel at Joshua's work. The completed contraption had to be the biggest walk-in freezer he had ever seen. Joshua helped Bill and Greg wheel the cooling rack into the freezer, lifting it over the threshold. Greg turned the crank on the meat grinder as Bill fed the meat scraps, heart, and liver through. Bill seasoned and salted the ground meat, then fed it through the grinder again, into the bear intestine. He twisted the intestine every eight inches as he forced the spiced meat into it's lining.

The long strings of sausages were hung in the freezer, to be cooked when needed. He cut a few of the larger scraps that were not used in the sausage into stew meat. He browned the meat and added some of the canned tomatoes and canned beans that he had been saving for a quick meal and spiced it with seasonings and a can of hot peppers he had found. He hated cooking like this, but it had been a long day, and butchering the bear had taken a lot of work.

Bill sat down to eat with his friends as usual. This was how he preferred to spend his time, in the company of good friends. He did not have the power to protect them, but that was really not his calling in this new world. No, he could not protect them, but he could make sure they didn't go hungry.