Simultaneously, all the men turned their heads to stare at the individual.
Like the Cheshire cat, Madeline beamed from ear to ear. 'Oh, you can absolutely bet on it. I wouldn't miss watching this for anything. This will be the crowning achievement on my journey for a new world order. I will lead you all to a triumphant and victorious outcome. Our enemies will be vanquished.'
The entire room stood up and applauded. Inside her head, she heard someone with an old man's voice say one word.
Chapter 21
Several days had passed since Jackson and Bobby joined Heckel's group. Everyone seemed to enjoy their company and they fit in well, helping with the daily chores, hunting and cooking. Bobby especially charmed Vonnie, who practically adopted him. Oh, there was one who was not so accepting, Jerky. She bristled every time Jackson was around.
'She's doing it again,' Sela whispered as she came out of the tent.
'I see her,' I said as I blew on the remaining embers from the previous night's campfire.
'Any thoughts?' Sela said, standing up in front of the tent.
'Hmm, not sure,' I replied as I calmly placed more kindling on the embers. The smoke increased and curled around my head. Flame slowly emerged.
'I make fire,' I declared using my best caveman voice.
'Seriously, Heckel. Her behavior is…'
'I know what you're saying. She's been a trustworthy warning system and guard cat. I'm not sure how to react to it either. Maybe she just doesn't like him or something.'
Sela crossed her arms, rolled her eyes, and sighed heavily. 'Hmm, if that were only the case, but in reality Jerky loves everyone.'
'Except Mr. Steele. Look, I'm thinking we just be a little extra cautious and keep our guard up. Look out there,' I said, waving my arm out across the huge field of tents and tarps. 'There are close to three hundred people camped in that field that we have to trust. It all gets down to trust. Something that over the last couple of decades or so was lost among people. Virtues like loyalty, trust-'
'And faith,' Sela chimed in.
'Yes, faith. Faith and a belief in-'
'Good morning,' Jack said, walking up behind us. 'How are you both this fine morning?'
'Faith in our fellow man,' Sela whispered as she turned around. 'We're great,' she said with a huge smile. 'We were just having a discussion and…um…thinking about stuff.'
'Well, speaking of thinking, everyone's wondering when we are leaving.'
'Sounds like the group is rested and ready to head out. I guess tomorrow would be good,' I said.
'Do you want to meet with everyone? The ABQ folks haven't heard you speak yet,' Jack suggested.
'They haven't missed anything,' I mumbled.
'That's not true. They need to hear confidence and assurance from their leader,' Sela said. 'And don't wince at that word leader.'
I smiled with a slightly reddened face and nodded my head slowly. 'You're right as usual,' I muttered. Jack flashed me a grin.
'Let's get together tonight about seven. You still have that bullhorn?' I asked Jack.
'Yup. I'll have it with me.'
'There it is,' I said.
Jack excused himself to start telling everyone about the evening's meeting. He waved and yelled, 'Have a good day.'
'So is the plan to split once we hit California a good idea? I mean…' Sela asked as she gathered up the breakfast dishes to take to the stream for washing.
'Yes, the council and I thrashed this plan over and over. The ABQ group has some really good thinkers in it as well as a few old-school military types. I feel confident that the plan we've come up with is solid.'
Sela set her dishes down, wrapped her arms around my neck and looked me in the eyes. 'That's the assurance I'm talking about.' The kiss that followed made my head swim.
'Can I order a kiss like that before my speech?' I asked sheepishly.
'I think that can be arranged-that is, if you help me with the dishes.'
'Deal.'
After we finished cleaning up, Sela went to take care of Tempest and Hope. I went into the tent to start packing up some of our clothes.
'Hello, anyone in there?' I heard Jackson ask.
'Yeah, I'll be right out.' After inching my way out of the tent, I quickly looked around to see if Jerky was nearby. But she wasn't in sight and I figured she had gone with Sela.
'Good morning, Jackson. How ya doin'?'
'Never better. I came by to thank you again for letting me join up.'
'No problem. Glad to have you. You've fit in very well.'
I sat down across from him and put a few small branches on the fire to stop it from smoldering so much. 'How's Bobby doing?'
Jackson moved to another log to get away from the smoke. 'I swear smoke has a way of following me.'
I laughed and blew on the logs. The smoke abated and gave way to flames.
'Bobby's ankle seems to be fine now. He's been really enjoying Vonnie and all the affection she gives him. It's nice to see him laugh.'
'Yes, we all need to laugh more.'
After a few minutes of awkward silence, I asked, 'So, Jackson Steele, tell me about yourself.' He laughed and poked the fire.
'Well, there's not much to say,' he answered nonchalantly.
'I like short stories,' I said, trying to lighten the mood and get him to open up. I could tell he was a bit uneasy and reticent to say anything, so I was about to change the subject when he started his story.
'I was just in high school when everything was going south as they say.'
'I was teaching high school at about that same time,' I said, encouraging him.
'Yeah, it was difficult to go to school each day. I mean, there were fights, drugs, killings, not the most conducive environment for learning. Teachers and students slowly stopped going to class. Hell, they were killing each other over a pencil. Right before my senior year, my father and mother were killed in one of those church war shit storms. Remember that crap?'
'Sadly, yes, I do.'
'I think it was about a year after Bloody Super Bowl Sunday that various churches collided in a bloody war,' Jackson recounted. 'The idea of religious tolerance became a thing of the past.
'Unfortunately, our history is peppered with clashes between religions,' I added, putting a larger log on the fire. 'There were the Catholics and the Protestants fighting each other, the Muslims and the Catholics and on and on. Remember all those terrorist attacks linked to the Muslim extremists?'
'Of course, the intolerance started with small verbal attacks from one church to another in our own country. The Mormon war was probably the bloodiest.'
'Yeah, there was a news commentator who coined the expression, 'My God can beat up Your God,'' I added, recalling another of the tragic episodes leading to more of our collapse.
'The day my parents died I was at our church when they were slaughtered. I had gone out to the car to get my mother's purse, where she had her offering envelope. While I was getting it, I saw a large group of attackers barricade all the doors. Men and women threw gasoline on all the sides of the church. They were laughing and praying as they did it. A single match was thrown at the church. I can still hear the explosive sound when the gasoline ignited, and see the door being pounded from people desperate to get out. The screams from the inside
