'Huh?'
'I asked you a question. You answer it. That’s another thing we got to get straight. The question is do you want to live? Now that would usually be a stupid question, wouldn’t it? But today you lost just about everything you had. You been seein’ people gettin’ crushed and killed and whatnot. There lotsa folk slittin’ their wrists or suckin’ the business end of a thirty-eight and callin’ it a day. What ‘bout you? You want to live?'
Richard considered the question. Ashley…his parents…all gone. His world of ESPN, talk radio, and DVD rentals had sailed away into the category of ‘the good old days, long forgotten, rest in peace.’
A new world had been born. An unpleasant new world.
Yet…something inside kept him from going quietly into the night. Yes, he wanted to live. Desperately. He just could not think of a good reason why.
'I want to live.'
'Good, figured but thought I should ask. That’s the polite thing to do, right? So, okay then, good. Let’s move on. Here’s the deal. It’s not a good one, but it’s the way things are. I won’t go apologizin’ for it 'cause I didn't make up all the rules. So that’s the first thing you need to know: there are rules.'
'Rules?' Dick interrupted. 'Rules for what? What are you talking about? Don’t tell me not to ask questions. Screw you! Who the hell are you?'
The Old Man smiled.
'All right. That’s not bad. You got some fight in you. But you need to save that for your enemies. Oh man, you’ve got a lot of enemies, too. And they are-what do they say these days? — they are bringing it. Shit yeah. Me? I’m on your side. Sort of, I ‘spose. By the time this is all over you sure as hell won’t be callin’ me buddy but right now I’m about the closest thing to a friend you’re gunna have from here on out.
'You see, Trevor, I’m gunna help you to live. That’s what I’m gunna do. Help. But that’s it. It ain’t gunna be fun. It’s gunna be lonely and nothin’ but runnin’ and hidin’ then fightin’ and killin’.'
Rich noted the man had used his middle name but that was not the first question on his mind.
'Me? What do you want with me? I don’t know anything about what you’re saying…' Rich let his head fall into his hands. The tears swelled again.
The Old Man pushed onward.
'Here’s the deal, Trevor. You’ve got a role to play. You got a job to do. It’s all ‘bout savin’ mankind. The weight of the world is a comin’ down and it’s a comin’ down on your shoulders.'
He pulled his dirty and bloody face from his hands. Salty water pooled in his eyes and he gawked at the Old Man incredulously.
'What? Saving mankind? Me? Is this some kind of bad joke? Who the hell are you anyway? Some old fool out in the forest-'
'Now, no, see, that’s not good. I told you, there are rules. I’m not here to be answerin’ your questions. I’m here to help you walk a path. In some ways, you already have walked it. I’m not even here, not really, not the way you think, not right now ‘least,' the Old Man’s eyes drifted away, contemplating something complex. 'Time is just a man made thing, any-who. Time is irrelevant.'
After a moment, his focus returned to Richard.
'Where was we? Oh yeah. Rules. I’ve got ones I got to play by and that’s just the way it is. I can help you, sort of. But you got to do the heavy lifting. It’s a raw deal for you, really it is, but this isn’t about you. It’s about savin' the human race.'
Rich said, 'The whole human race? What? I’m some sort of savior?'
The words sounded uncomfortable to Rich and hilarious to the Old Man.
'Savior? Savior? Oh, now that just takes the cake, now don’t it? He thinks he’s a savior. My-oh-my for a fella who’s already pissed his pants, stinks like a dog that just rolled in shit, and has spent all day runnin' like a scared rabbit from everything that said ‘boo’ you sure got a high horse you’re ridin’. Savior… ha!'
Richard cast his eyes to the ground, embarrassed.
'You’re a link in a chain, Trevor. The chain ain’t no good if a piece gets broke. The chain is only as strong as its weakest link, right? Well you’re a link in a chain. A damn important chain, but just a link.'
'Whatever.' It all seemed a joke or a hallucination. 'This is your game. Whatever.'
'No game! You listen to me ‘cause you and I don’t need to be wastin’ words. I’m gunna push you in the right direction but you got to do the work. And if you do it right maybe- maybe, mind you-your species ain’t gunna go the way of the Dodo bird. You do it wrong and everything is over. All of it. Hit the lights, party’s over. Are we communicating?'
Rich begged to know, 'Are you…are you God?'
After all he had witnessed, run from, and barely escaped that day, it seemed a fair question.
The Old Man’s amusement at the idea nearly matched his amusement at the whole Dick-as-a-savior suggestion.
'God? What do you know ‘bout that? Probably know as much as I do ‘bout that, I ‘spect. Still and all, you need to stop worryin’ ‘bout stuff like that ‘cause it don’t matter none right now. I’ll tell you what matters. Three things matter.'
'Three things?'
'Three things you got to do from now on. It’s your role. It’s your link in the chain, Trevor. First, you got to survive.'
'Survive?'
'That’s right. Survive. I’m gunna help you with that. Keep your pants on. The second thing you got to do is when the time is right you got to fight. Balls-to-the-wall no-holds-barred. I’m talking Ali verse Fraiser, Auburn against ‘Bama. Fight. You hearin’ me?'
Rich nodded absently.
'And the third thing?'
'The third thing…' the Old Man considered his words.'The third thing is the hardest. Like I told ‘ya, this is a bum deal. But it’s the price you pay for being a link on this chain.'
Stone asked again, 'The third thing?'
'Sacrifice. Things ain’t gunna be easy from now on, assumin’ you live long enough to do what you got to do. If you don’t make it then it’s all over. So, you got to survive then you got to fight and you got to sacrifice everything else for the cause. That’s the way it is, Trevor, and it sucks a lot more than you think it’s gunna suck. I can’t see everythin’ and even if I could, I got to play by those rules. But I know the path you’re gunna walk and I know it’s gunna be hard. I’d say I’m sorry but I’m not, ‘cause this ain’t ‘bout you. It’s ‘bout a lot more than you.'
Stone examined his bloodied arms and soaking wet clothes. His body trembled continuously and his legs felt so weak he did not think he could stand. He did not know what he was good at but he knew it was not fighting or survival techniques.
On the other hand, he knew fear. He knew he already missed Ashley and his parents. He knew he could break into hysterical crying at any moment. And he knew that everything the Old Man said sounded so crazy that he might be hallucinating after all.
'I’m not your guy. I can’t do any of that.'
'Hmmm,' said the Old Man as a burst of embers erupted from the fire and drifted away. 'Too bad you feel that way. You see, Trevor, you don’t got a choice in this matter. Down inside of you is sometin’ that’s been there since before your daddy and mommy rolled ‘round in the sheets and made you. Part of it is instinct. And you’ve got an instinct for survival. That’s why you made it this far. But I got some good news for you, too. Those rules really do blow moose wad, but I also got some things for you to help out. I got three gifts for you, Trevor. Three gifts that will give you a fightin’ chance; that will give your whole damn race a fightin’ chance.'
'Three…gifts?'
'The first one is pretty easy. When we’re done here your gunna head through these woods along the trail and it’ll take you to a big ole’ lakeside estate. Strong iron fence around it. The fella whose been livin’ there-a real Mr. Fancy Pants business guy who made a shitload of money-well about two years ago he went and started getting’ the funniest notions,' the Old Man winked.
'He started takin’ his millions and millions of dollars and spendin’ it on all sorts of stuff. All sorts of survival- guy stuff. You’re gunna find shit in that place that would make G. Gordon Liddy pop a hard one. Food, water, medicine stuff, gear for all occasions, a couple of big fuel tanks buried underground to run a couple of big ‘ole
