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From: Lazlo Zalezac <lzalezac@yahoo.com>
X-ASSTR-Original-Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2003 17:12:37 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: {ASSM} John Carter I 20-22 (mf mmf ffm ff mm sci-fi)
Date: Tue,  7 Oct 2003 09:10:06 -0400
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<1st attachment, "JC20-22.txt" begin>

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. If you are offended by 
sexually explicit material or are under the age of 18, stop reading 
now. This material cannot be reproduced for commercial purposes 
without the consent of the author.

John Carter
By
Lazlo Zalezac 
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezak, 2003


Part 1: Shield, Staff, and Compass
Chapter 20

John looked around at his surroundings slowly realizing that he 
recognized this place. It was where he had met the Goddess for the 
first time. This time, the stream was not in a ravine, but ran 
naturally along side the meadow. The region retained that eerie 
feel to it that threatened to overwhelm the senses. Maybe it was the 
fact that the life force was so close to the surface here that you 
could almost see it pulsing in each living thing.

She was kneeling by the side of the stream, a hand in the water 
feeling the current while fish swam past gently brushing her hand. 
She was nude and just as beautiful today as she had been in the 
past. Looking upon her mesmerized him. Today she looked sad 
rather than sexy or forbidding.

John looked down at himself seeing that was undressed. His cock 
was erect and hurting. He felt exposed, as though all of his 
thoughts were visible to her. He wondered if he was about to be 
raped again. He corrected himself, wondering if he was going to 
make love to the full force of nature again. 

The woman looked up at him with sad eyes. "I'm glad you came to 
my summons."

"What do you ask of me?"

She came to him and embraced him gently. It was the most 
amazing embrace of his life. The comfort conveyed reminded him 
of his mother's hug when he had fallen down as a child and scraped 
his knee.  It was more than that, though. Their was an intimacy to 
it that was like a lover expressing her love. She stated, "I'm so 
sorry John. I had nothing to do with it and couldn't prevent it. I 
have no direct power against pure evil. That is his realm and he has 
no one there."

John thought about her words. He asked, "She's dead, isn't she?"

"Yes, John. She's dead."

John asked, "was there anything that I could have done?"

"No, John. You couldn't have kept her from going. If you had gone 
with her, you would be dead too."

"Thank you," he accepted what she said. There was no reason for 
him to feel guilty. She had given an important gift him.

"You need to return to Austin by four. The other will not live if she 
gets the news while alone at home."

John woke up in a cold sweat. The top of his sleeping bag, where 
he had been lying on it, was soaked. He looked around the 
darkened room and knew what he had to do. Getting up, he went to 
the telephone.  After a long call, he had reservations on the first 
morning flight to Dallas and a connecting flight to Austin. The 
price for the ticket was outrageous. They always were when you 
bought them the day you needed to travel. 

He would have to leave soon to make the flight. He dressed 
thinking about what he needed to do. Fully dressed, he picked up 
his backpack. It had all of his clothes in it. He threw in his 
toothbrush, toothpaste, and brush from the bathroom. His camping 
gear was scattered around the house and he didn't have the time to 
collect it. He threw in the latest draft of his dissertation. He would 
give it to his advisor in the current state, it was the third draft and 
pretty solid. 

Stepping into the night, he locked the door behind him with a dull 
click. There was no moon and consequently the stars were 
unusually bright that night. He walked across the street to Ed's 
house. It was just a dark silhouette against the starry background.  
Kelly's Honda was parked in the driveway. Knowing those two, 
they went to bed early and to sleep late. He hated waking them up, 
but he couldn't afford to wait. He walked up to the door and 
knocked on it. There was no answer. He knocked again. 

He heard someone stumbling around in the house. He thought how 
Ed would react to a stranger showing up in the middle of the night. 
It wasn't likely that he would invite them in for tea. He called out, 
"Ed, it's me. John!"

Ed opened the door and mumbled for him to come in. John stepped 
in and stopped just inside the door. Ed stepped back and John 
realized that he was naked. Then he noticed the pistol in Ed's hand. 
The gun caught his attention much more than Ed's nakedness. Ed 
set the pistol in a drawer of a small table by the door. He mumbled, 
"Sorry, didn't know it was you."

"I'm so sorry to be here this early. I've got to leave town right 
now."

It took a moment for the statement to filter through Ed's sleepy 
mind, but when he had finished processing it he snapped awake, 
"What's the matter?"

John was about to answer when Kelly came out of the bedroom 
naked as well. In his current state of mind, he didn't even think of 
her nudity. However, the image was stored for later appreciation. 
She was wiping the sleep from her eyes, "What's going on here?"

"I've got to leave right now to catch a plane to Dallas and then to 
Austin."

Ed asked again, "What's the matter?"

"Betsy was killed in the middle east." Saying it aloud hurt more 
than he thought it would. He missed her already.

Kelly cried out, "Oh my God!"

The concern on Ed's face was clear. Anyone that knew them both 
would understand how much pain John had to be feeling at the loss 
of Betsy. Ed asked, "What can I do?"

"Take care of the house and see if you can get the rent extended for 
another month. I'll be back to buy it." He handed Ed the keys to the 
house. John looked around numbly and saw Kelly crying. He said, 
"take care of Kelly. She needs some comforting. I better go or I'll 
miss my plane."

Kelly came up to John and hugged him tightly. Her naked body 
pressed against him. He did not notice the nakedness, only the 
caring that motivated the hug. She cried, "Take care of yourself. If 
there's anything we can do, let us know."

"Thanks. I really appreciate it."

Ed nodded, "really, if there's anything we can do let us know. We'll 
take care of it. Call collect if you want."

John turned to the door and opened it. He turned back to Ed, "a 
man can't have a better friend than you, Ed."

The trip back to Austin was horrible. Connections were tight and 
the planes crowded. On the flight to Austin, he sat in a row with 
two other very large men; eight hundred pounds of people in a row 
that shouldn't hold three normal size people. He had the aisle seat 
and spent most of the flight leaning into the aisle. He was tired, 
hungry, and emotionally drained by the time he arrived in Austin. 
It was a little after noon before he landed, but he still had to rent a 
car to drive to the house. He stood in the rental line and ended up 
having to accept a larger car than he wanted because he didn't have 
a reservation. 

It seemed like an eon had passed between leaving Arizona and 
arriving home to Austin. Tired, he knocked on the door rather than 
letting himself in. Mrs. South didn't know he was returning and he 
didn't want to scare her. She peered through the eyehole in the door 
and then swung the door open. Happy to see him, she shouted, 
"John, you're home early!"

John smiled at the warm reception. He stated, "I missed your 
coffee and just had to stop by for a cup."

He entered the house and wearily sat down at the kitchen table. He 
glanced at the clock and saw that it was one o'clock. The news 
would get here in three hours. He wanted to stay between her and 
the telephone, but he was tired. She fixed a pot of coffee fussing 
the entire time about how tired he looked. He laughed it off, "I 
worked too hard on my dissertation."

"Oh, you kids. You need to learn how to pace your life a little 
better."

"I know. Youth is wasted on the young!"

Mrs. South laughed, "but thank god for viagra. It gives us seniors a 
chance to make up for opportunities lost as youths."

John shook his head in amusement. He really liked her attitude 
towards sex and life in general. He asked, "Where's your 
boyfriend?"

"He said that he had to go home, but I think he went to the 
pharmacy to get his prescription refilled. He asked the doctor for a 
month's supply and the doctor asked if four would be enough. Jim 
told him he needed at least sixty. Damn doctor didn't believe him 
so he only got fifteen."

John laughed, "Well, he might be home by half past three. Why 
don't you ask him to come by about that time? Give us a chance to 
talk a bit and then get out for one of those early bird dinners."

Instead of answering, Mrs. South poured him a cup of coffee. He 
cradled the sides of the mug in both of this hands drawing on the 
warmth. He hoped that it would help warm the empty coldness that 
had crept into his heart. He couldn't act as if anything was wrong 
until the news arrived. He took a sip of the coffee and sighed, "You 
make a great cup of coffee."

Mrs. South sat down across the table from him. She looked at the 
tired lines on his face and thought about his past behavior. She 
could sense that something was wrong and knew that John 
wouldn't tell her until he was ready. She nodded, "I'll give him a 
call to come down. After you finish your coffee, why don't you 
take a nap? I promise I'll wake you when he gets here."

John took another sip of coffee and held it in his mouth for a 
moment. He wondered if Betsy's alarm clock was still here. If it 
were, he'd set that just in case Mrs. South, in her desire to be kind, 
decided to allow him to oversleep. He nodded, "Sounds like a good 
plan to me. However, I could use a bite to eat."

"I just happen to have some chocolate cake here. I was gonna let 
Jim eat it off me, but I think I can spare a slice for you."

"Oh you kinky lady! If I have to eat the slice off you, I will."

Mrs. South laughed, "I'd do it, but it would make Jim madder than 
hell!"

"You don't mean to tell me that he's jealous."

"You know better than that. That old reprobate would be mad 
because he didn't get to watch you do it."

John laughed and shook his head. Those two were ones for the 
record book. They had a more active sex life than most married 
couples a third their age. When he thought about it, he realized 
they probably had a more active sex life than he and Betsy had. 
The thought brought a tinge of pain that he struggled to cover.

Mrs. South set a large slice of chocolate cake in front of him. She 
sat down, serious all of a sudden. She stated, "Something like your 
hero urge drove you back here, didn't it?" 

John finished the bite of cake in his mouth and washed it down 
with the coffee before answering. "Nothing is certain yet. I'll know 
more later."

"It must be bad."

"Probably, I'll know more later."

Mrs. South studied him carefully for some clue. She watched as he 
finished the cake and coffee. When he sat back, he looked up at 
her. He suggested, "I'll tell you what I can when I'm certain."

Mrs. South nodded, "Get some sleep. I promise I'll wake you when 
Jim gets here."

John went into his room. Betsy's alarm clock was on the night table 
where she always kept it. He set it to go off at 3:15. He looked at 
the floor and then at the bed. He didn't have his sleeping bag here, 
so he decided to use the bed. The only time he used a bed was 
when a woman was there to share it. Despite the memories the bed 
raised, he fell asleep as soon as he lay down.

The alarm rang on time. John woke up shaking his head and trying 
to rid himself the nightmares that plagued his sleep. It took him a 
minute to find the alarm clock and even longer to turn it off, but at 
least he was awake. He took a minute to collect his thoughts. He 
got up and headed out of the room. Mrs. South, seated in her 
favorite chair, watched the cable news program on television. 

He joined her. They were silent as the news program unfolded. 
This particular show was about the economy. John watched with 
interest and wondered how Jenny and Jack were doing with their 
business. The thought made him realize that he would need to call 
them tonight. He wondered how he was going to break the news to 
them.

Mr. Jensen arrived right on time. In the time John had been gone, 
Mr. Jensen appeared to grow ten years younger. Maybe all of that 
sex was making him young again. John stood up and shook his 
hand. He stated, "I see you've taken good care of my landlord 
here."

Jim had been over almost everyday since John had left. She had 
taught him things about sex that he had never known. He was still 
having difficulty walking after she had used the dildo on him last 
night. Jim chuckled, "She's taken better care of me."

Mrs. South laughed, "John, can't you tell that he's sad you're back? 
He was getting used to getting a blowjob on entering the house. 
Now he's going to have to wait until we get to the bedroom."

John acted like he was munching on his arm provoking a smile 
from Mrs. South. . John laughed, "Oh, don't worry about me. I 
want to see him eat that chocolate cake later tonight."

Mrs. South started laughing and slapping her knee. Mr. Jensen 
looked puzzled. John made an exaggerated act of licking his lips. 
She finally burst out, "You keep me laughing like that and I'm 
going to wet my pants."

John saw Mr. Jensen's puzzled look. "She told me that she was 
going to serve the chocolate cake on her body and you'd have to 
eat it off her. She threatened to make me do that, but said you'd be 
mad that you didn't get to watch."

"God above, I just love a randy woman with a good sense of fun."

It was almost four and John turned to look at the television. 
International news was going to be covered next. He sat back and 
realized how they were going to learn about it. He turned to Mrs. 
South, "Hey, have we got any of that coffee left?"

"Sure."

John made as if he was going to get up. Mrs. South saw his 
movements and stated, "Now you stay here. I'll get you a cup of 
coffee."

John made a protesting gesture, "Mrs. South, I'm more than 
capable of getting my own coffee."

"No. You stay there and talk with Jim. I'm old fashioned and don't 
think men belong in the kitchen."

John slowly nodded his head, "Okay, Mrs. South."

She went into the kitchen. John was pleased that his ploy had 
worked. He turned to the news program almost ignoring Mr. 
Jensen. His behavior did not escape the attention of the older man. 
He turned to watch the news. His mouth dropped as the first news 
story told about a number of volunteer nurses that were killed by a 
rocket propelled grenade attack in the middle east. He turned to 
John to see John looking at him. John nodded his head confirming 
the old man's fears. 

Mrs. South came back into the room with John's coffee. She saw 
the expressions on their faces and knew that something bad had 
happened. She set the cup down on the nearest table, "What 
happened?"

Mr. Jensen went over to her and put his arm around her. John 
looked over in their direction. He stated, "There was a problem in 
the middle east."

"Not Betsy!"

"I'm pretty sure. I've got to call her parents and find out for sure."

Mrs. South raced over to him and hugged him. She cried, "You 
poor man. I know how much you loved her. You must be crushed."

John thanked the Goddess. His presence here had changed the 
news from being a personal tragedy for Mrs. South to his tragedy. 
She would be strong for him, rather than weak for herself. He 
answered, "I'm so lucky to have you here to help me at this 
difficult time. You are a life saver."

John spent the rest of the afternoon on the telephone. The first 
thing he had done was call Betsy's parents. They had been 
informed only a few minutes before through official sources that it 
was definite that she had been killed in the attack. They had 
decided to have a memorial service in three days time in Austin. 
There would be a private funeral in her hometown once the body 
had been shipped back to the states. They invited him to both 
services and asked if he would give the Eulogy at the memorial 
service.

He then spent the rest of the afternoon calling everyone that knew 
Betsy in the Austin area. The news spread like wildfire. By the 
time that he had reached the last name on the list of people he was 
going to call, they had already known. When he had quit making 
calls, he started receiving calls from the EMS, police, and fire 
department personnel that he knew. All conveyed their sorrow at 
what happened. That evening, when the long distance rates were 
lowest, he called his friends and let them know what had 
happened. 

Mrs. South helped as much as she could. She made sure there was 
always fresh coffee. She cooked a very nice meal for dinner that 
the three of them ate together at the table. At random times, she 
would come up and give him hugs. He knew that at her age, she 
had dealt with the deaths of many friends and relatives. She knew 
exactly what to say and when to say it. He knew this was a hard 
time for her. She thought of Betsy as a granddaughter. 

The next day, Mrs. South and John went shopping for a suit that 
would be appropriate for a funeral service. She was pleased to be 
included in helping him pick out a suit. She enjoyed making sure 
the men in her life were appropriately dressed for major occasions. 
Personally, he was glad that she came along. He would have 
bought the first suit that he came across. She had him try on 
several suits before picking out one of them that would serve 
multiple purposes. She made very good suggestions on ties, belts, 
and shirts. He was surprised when she asked them to tailor the shirt 
to fit him better. He had never heard of doing such a thing.

Before heading home, they stopped by the university so that he 
could drop off his dissertation to his adviser. He told the 
department secretary about Betsy's death and that he would be 
unavailable for the next few days. She had met Betsy several times 
and had liked the young woman. She was pleased to meet Mrs. 
South. They had talked several times on the telephone, but never 
met. It always amazed her that he would choose to live in a room 
rented from an old woman rather than alone in an apartment. She 
knew that living with an old woman must put an awful damper on 
his love life.

Returning home, Mr. Jensen gave him a long list of telephone 
messages. He couldn't believe the number of people that had 
called. There were at least thirty names on the list. He immediately 
saw that Betsy's parents had called and returned that call first. 
They had wanted to know how many people might show up at the 
memorial service. He thought about it for a moment and suggested 
that maybe fifty people or so might attend. Of course, there might 
be more than that depending on how many people from the 
hospital attended. They had their choice of a room for fifty or for 
two hundred. They discussed it and decided on the room for two 
hundred thinking that it would be better to have empty space than 
to require people to stand. He invited her parents to stay at the 
house, but they choose to stay in Betsy's apartment.

The next day he picked up his parents up at the airport. The trip 
from Dallas was just a short flight, but crowded as always. John 
was surprised that they had checked their luggage until he saw how 
much they had brought. They had three suitcases for a three day 
visit. He used one backpack for three months. Maybe he did live 
like a monk.

He had to stop by the suit place and pick up his clothes. The sales 
staff was very friendly and several of them knew John by 
reputation. The woman behind the counter remarked that it was 
nice that he brought his grandmother to help him pick out a suit. 
She tried to flirt with him, but her attentions went unnoticed by 
him. His parents noticed, but didn't say a word.

His parents stayed in the guestroom at the house that night. It was 
the first time in a long time that he had a chance to talk with his 
parents. Everyone talked until late in the night. He didn't know 
how much his parents hoped that he and Betsy would marry. They 
had really loved her like a daughter. John understood how they 
could feel that way. Betsy had that effect on many people. After 
John went to bed, Mrs. South and Mr. Jensen talked to his parents 
for several more hours. His parents began to get the idea that John 
was a minor celebrity in the area. 

The morning of the memorial service finally arrived. John slowly 
got out of bed despite wanting to go back to sleep. There was just 
too much to do. His father came into the room while he was 
dressing. After looking at the scars for a minute, he left the room 
without saying a word. The scars disturbed his father very much, 
but it wasn't the time to bring up the subject.

John had arranged for a wake to be held at the house. Mrs. South 
was actually pleased to be entertaining people, although the 
circumstances were not the best. She had hoped to be arranging a 
bridal shower for Betsy rather than a wake. Making sure that 
everything was settled, they waited for Mr. Jensen's friend to show 
up. He was there to house sit during the memorial service. Mrs. 
South had known friends that had their houses robbed during 
funerals and didn't want that to happen to her home. The result was 
that they left the house a little later than they had intended.

Arriving at the memorial park for the service was an overwhelming 
experience for John. He had expected fifty people, but there were 
many more. As he drove up, he spotted police cars, ambulances, 
and even the fire marshals car. The parking lot was overflowing 
with cars displaying university parking stickers and tags from the 
hospital parking lot. He looked at Mrs. South and his parents, 
"What's going on?"

It was the first time that his father actually understood how many 
people knew his son. His father answered, "They've come to 
support you."

John was touched. The last funeral he had attended was that for his 
brother. He was not in any condition to even notice what was 
happening. His memories of it were just a blur. He had just quit 
drinking, he was feeling guilty, and he hadn't slept. He wondered 
how many important events, times of great stress, became nothing 
but blurred memories without detail. 

He drove around looking for a place to park and then saw a 
number of parking spaces blocked by orange traffic cones. A 
woman officer stood by the cones to move them out of the way 
when the people for whom the spaces were reserved showed up.  
John knew her and when she recognized John, she moved one of 
the cones out of the way.

It took half a minute to park the car. He got out of the car and 
opened the doors for everyone else. His father put a hand on his 
shoulder, "Son, I'll take the ladies and Mr. Jensen into the room. 
You do whatever you need to do."

John replied, "Thanks Dad. I'll make sure that Betsy's parents get a 
place to park."

"Good. We'll see you inside."

John watched them walk away. He stepped over to the police 
officer, "Hello, Officer McDonald."

"Hi, John. I'm sorry about Betsy."

"Thank you very much. Do you know if her parents have arrived 
yet?"

"We're keeping a parking space for them, but I don't know them."

"It was nice of the funeral parlor to arrange the parking spaces."

"Oh, we volunteered. All of us know you and most of us knew 
Betsy. Very sad day indeed."

John nodded, "I appreciate that. I'll wait here with you. From what 
I understood when I talked to them this morning they should be 
arriving soon."

He had hardly finished talking when he noticed their car. He 
waved to them and gestured for them to drive over to where he 
stood. He turned to the police officer, "That's them."

She removed the cones blocking the parking space and Betsy's 
parents parked the car. He opened the door for her mother. She 
stepped out of the car and stood there for a moment straightening 
her black dress. Her eyes were red from crying. She wore no 
makeup. She grabbed him and hugged him. She cried, "John. Oh 
John. She loved you so much. She wrote us that you had proposed 
and that she was going to accept."

John was pleased to hear that she was going to accept his proposal. 
He wondered if there was a letter in the mail to him. He held her 
mother and answered, "I love her so much. She's always in my 
thoughts."

John and Betsy's parents went to the building where the service 
was being held. There was a huge crowd standing in front of the 
building. John was shocked. Her parents turned to him in surprise. 
"Where did all of these people come from?"

"I don't know," answered John. He recognized everyone there. He 
added, "I know everyone, but I had no idea they were coming."

A man that he didn't know came up to them. He was the priest that 
was performing the service. In John's opinion, he was too young to 
be performing such an important ceremony, but he deferred to her 
parents decision. The priest greeted Betsy's parents and ushered 
them into a waiting room inside the building. Betsy's mother put 
her arm in John's arm so that he went with them. The priest was 
nice and did his best to make them feel comfortable.

It was quiet in the waiting room. John looked around at the dark 
wood furniture and the red carpet. The walls were white and 
covered with plain paintings of generic flowers. Each chair had a 
box of tissues discretely located within reach. It was a sad little 
room, the site of much grieving. Everyone was lost in his or her 
own thoughts. John mentally rehearsed the eulogy. 

The service began after John and the family had been led from the 
waiting room into the hall. They were lead to seats along the front 
of the hall. Before taking his seat, John looked across the hall. He 
saw that all of the seats were filled and some people were standing 
along the back of the room. John looked around at all of the faces. 
He looked at the eulogy in his hand and wondered how he would 
be able to read it in front of so many people. 

The service started with prayers and singing hymns. John was 
unable to judge the quality of the service from a religious 
perspective, but others seemed comforted by the words. Finally, it 
was time for him to give the eulogy. He slowly walked up to the 
podium trying to control his nervousness. Reaching the podium, he 
looked around the room. He took a deep breath and began, "A little 
less than four years ago, I was shot and killed. I was dead for four 
minutes before I was resuscitated by the doctor operating on me. I 
did not want to return to the living, but the Gods and Goddesses 
saw it otherwise. They sent me back to this world."

"I say this so that you will know that I speak from experience 
rather than faith or hope. Being dead is not awful and we should 
not feel sorry for the dead. In fact, for those that have lived a 
loving life, death is glorious. For those of you who believe in 
heaven, let me assure you that it is heavenly.  No words can do 
justice in describing it."

"Do not be sad for Betsy. Yes, she was young. It is true there is 
much of life that she didn't get to experience. She didn't get a 
chance to be a bride, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, and all of 
those other things that a women can experience." 

"However, I must remind you that she is in a much better place 
now. She has no regrets for those things that she didn't get to do. 
She is happy now. Again, I say this from personal experience."

John paused as he looked across the people gathered there. He was 
surprised by the expressions on their faces. The elderly looked 
relieved, the middle aged thoughtful, and the young entranced. He 
continued, "Despite what I know, I am saddened by the loss of 
Betsy. You might wonder why I feel that way considering what 
I've said. It is simple.  I am saddened by the things that we didn't 
get to do together. I know there will be times when something 
happens and I will think to myself that she would love to hear 
about it. The sun will rise and set, but we won't share the 
experience. I will have to live with my regrets for all the things I 
hadn't had a chance to say to her and that saddens me."

"What was there about Betsy that made each day together a 
beautiful day? She was a very pretty woman, but there are many 
pretty women. She was intelligent and witty, but there are many 
people with those same traits. The one thing that separated her 
from the billions of other people on this planet is that she truly 
cared about her fellow humans. As a nurse, she gave of herself to 
her patients. As a person, she took that extra moment of time to 
learn about the people around her. She listened to them, really 
listened. She helped those that were worse off than her. As a 
friend, lover, and daughter she gave of herself totally and without 
reservation."

He had to pause as emotion threatened to overwhelm him. He 
noticed a glass of water at the podium and took a sip from it. He 
continued, "Her giving nature took her into danger. She didn't 
concern herself with the danger. She thought about the people that 
she could help. She thought about people living in tents, eating 
poor quality food, and suffering from disease. Should we have 
stopped her from going? No, for that would have denied that 
quality in her that made her special. We must accept that she 
valued serving humanity far more than she valued her own life. 
This is a noble trait. She was a noble person." 

"For those of us who knew her, we have lost a priceless jewel. For 
those who hadn't met her yet, they have lost a great opportunity. 
Yes, we are all saddened today. We are saddened that such a huge 
gap has been introduced into our lives. The world of the living is a 
lesser place. It became that when she died."

He was at the point where his prepared talk had finished. He had 
not expected so many people to attend and felt that he had to 
address this. He added, "Looking over the crowd gathered here, I 
know she would have been overwhelmed that her life had touched 
so many people. She didn't keep score identifying those she 
helped. I feel her here in this room. I believe that she is pleased 
with the knowledge that so many care so much. There is no greater 
legacy that one can leave."

He returned to his seat and watched the rest of the service. He was 
drained emotionally. When the service was over, her parents and 
he were led outside the hall to greet all those that had attended. It 
was decided that since he knew most of the people here, that he 
would stand first in line so that he could perform introductions. 

The emergency services people were the first to leave. Harry, 
George, Officer Rickert, and others gave their condolences. He 
was amazed to see so many of them there. The Mayor commented 
that he hoped John never ran for political office because no one 
could compete with his ability to make a speech. Her coworkers 
from the hospital filed by, all of them teary-eyed. They all thanked 
him for such a wonderful eulogy. The people from the university 
all exited together. He had not expected any of them to attend.

His mother and father came out. He introduced them to Betsy's 
parents. Her father stated, "You've raised a good son. His eulogy 
was quite moving."

His father laughed, "You just don't know him as well as we. I 
never knew what she saw in him. She was too good for him and we 
told her so."

John shook his head. His father was his father and couldn't come 
out with direct praise. He had to hide it in humor. 

Behind his parents were Jenny and Jack. Jenny hugged him with 
tears in her eyes. She cried, "Oh John, I'm so sorry for you."

"Thank you for coming. You are coming to the house later, right?"

"Of course," replied Jack. 

Jenny turned to Betsy's parents. Unsure how to describe the 
relationship that she had with Betsy, she chose the broadest 
interpretation, "She was my best friend and taught me so much 
about love."

 More people passed by and the faces became blurred. He looked 
up and saw Beth hardly recognizing her. Beth, eyes swollen and 
red from crying, was devastated, "John, I loved her so much. How 
could this happen? I find happiness only to have it wrestled away."

John hugged her wishing he could help her with her grief more. 
"Beth, you know that she loved you too. Please come by the house 
so that we have a chance to talk."

"Of course."

He introduced her to Betsy's parents and turned to see Ed and 
Kelly standing in front of him. He greeted them, "Oh, thank you 
for coming."

Ed shrugged his shoulders, "Hey, I figured you probably needed 
us. I know that Beth needed us."

Kelly added, "She's cried ever since I told her about Betsy. I've 
been staying with her through this difficult time. I'm really worried 
about her."

John nodded, "That's very nice of you. I know you'll take good 
care of her, but she appears to be very fragile at the moment."

Ed nodded, "We will. Kelly's been staying the night in the hotel 
room with her. Beth doesn't want to be left alone."

He introduced Ed and Kelly to Betsy's parents. Turning back, he 
was shocked to see Shirley. Standing next to her was Maria. He 
stated, "My goodness. I really didn't expect you to come."

Shirley wiped her eyes, "She was a very special woman. We only 
had a chance to talk twice, but you wouldn't believe how much she 
helped me. I had to come here for you and her both."

Maria looked away shyly, "I liked you both. I'm so sorry for your 
loss."

He hugged her and kissed her forehead. "Thank you so much for 
coming. I hope you both make it to our house."

John greeted more people that stood in line. Many of them were 
from the neighborhoods where he typically walked. One of the 
surprises was the presence of Virginia Hill in the line. He hugged 
her tightly and then held her at arms length. He smiled, "So nice of 
you to come. You are looking so good. How are things going?"

"They're going fine. We've moved into a new house and things are 
looking much brighter."

"That's good. How are the kids? How's your career?"

"The kids are doing real well. I've put them in private schools. The 
career is going great. My income has almost doubled since our 
talk."

"I'm so happy for you."

It seemed like hours had passed, but the line finally ended. Betsy's 
parents turned to John. The father, with a tremor in his voice, 
stated, "John, I've never seen so many people that had such nice 
things to say about you and Betsy. I've never been prouder of her 
than this day."

Her mother added, "Your eulogy was very nice. I know that you 
aren't a Christian and that the service was very Christian. I hope 
that it didn't upset you."

John looked surprised, "Upset me? Not at all. Please understand I 
respect the Christian beliefs. Betsy was a Christian and the service 
reflected her and her beliefs. I would have questioned any other 
kind of service."

Her father looked relieved, "We worried about how you would 
react."

"Sir, you needn't have worried. I loved your daughter very much."

The mother stood there for a moment looking at John. She cleared 
her throat and then stated, "Betsy never told us that you had died."

John laughed, "I'm not surprised. It's not a common topic of 
conversation."

"She worried so much about you getting hurt or killed. Ironic, isn't 
it?" Her father looked down at the ground in embarrassment. There 
was an unstated implication that he should have been the one that 
died. 

John understood that sentiment. "She was a better person that I. 
She loved you both. I shall miss her very much."

John looked around realizing that they were the only ones left. He 
sighed, "We should get going to the house."



Part 1: Shield, Staff, and Compass
Chapter 21

John sat in the chair watching the false dawn break over the 
horizon. He stood and walked into the middle of the yard. Loading 
the lancet, he waited for the wind that would mark true dawn. 
When the morning colors dimmed and the sky turned blue, he put 
the pen to his finger. He felt the first tendrils of the morning wind 
and pushed the button. The sharp pain let him know it worked. 
Squeezing the finger, he forced a drop of blood to form on the end 
of his finger. With a little flick, he threw the drop of blood to the 
ground. He stated aloud, "for the Goddess." The wind stopped as 
the sun broke over the horizon.

He turned to find Beth standing naked on the patio watching him. 
She stated, "You do that every morning."

"Yes, I do." He turned back to face the sunrise waiting for the early 
rays of morning to strike him.

"You won't tell me why."

"It's a blood sacrifice to the Goddess." Beth looked blank. It didn't 
mean anything to her. He added, "That's as much explanation as is 
required."

"You aren't yourself today. You haven't been yourself for a week. 
Why?"

John took a deep breath as the sun finally reached him. His 
morning ritual was over. He replied, "Something bad is going to 
happen. Something real bad."

"What kind of thing?"

"I don't know."

"Where?"

"It's far from here; very far from here."

"When?"

"Not for a while yet. A week from now, maybe two."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"I'll go there and take care of the problem to the best of my 
ability."

Beth stood there watching him. She recognized his mood. He 
would say that he was trying to hear something from far away. 
Usually it only lasted for a short time and then he would leave to 
perform some feat of heroism. This had been going on for a week 
and it worried her. He shook his head, "I'm not getting it. Maybe 
tomorrow I'll know in what direction to go."

He turned and looked at Beth. He nodded in approval. She looked 
better today than she had in ages. He asked, "How are you doing?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "I'm better. I can get through the work 
day now."

"You've been working for six months now. You only missed a 
week."

"I meant without crying."

"Oh. Are you ready to be touched?"

"No," replied Beth. She was terrified of admitting to love again. 
The death of Betsy had broken something deep inside her. John 
didn't know if she would ever heal. He watched her as she stood 
there naked. She had no problems walking around naked and 
staying in the house, but anytime he even went to touch her she 
lost all control. It was difficult living with a naked woman that 
wouldn't let you touch her. The only time she dressed was to go to 
work. He had to order her to go to work. Kelly stated that at work 
Beth was a complete professional. 

He hadn't had sex since Betsy died and felt he was being false to 
Betsy's memory. She would have wanted him to get on with life. It 
was time for a change. He had the feeling that someone was 
coming that could introduce the change. He cleared his throat, "We 
will have company today."

"No, I won't allow it." Beth stated. She could deal with only one 
person at a time. If they had company that meant she would have 
to deal with John and someone else. 

John advanced on her. She stood defiantly with hands on her hips. 
He frowned, "slave, get into the living room and assume kneeling 
position two."

Beth went into the house. He knew without watching that she was 
following his instructions to the letter. She would follow 
instructions exactly as ordered. The only exception was anything 
that involved any kind of emotional attachment, even the most 
minor. She required orders to do everything now. That included 
eating, drinking, and sleeping. He wondered if she thought that by 
being the perfect slave she could bring Betsy back somehow.

He walked around the outside of the house and sat on the front 
porch. He waited for one of two things to happen. Either Ed would 
come over or his unknown visitor would arrive. He hoped Ed 
would come over now that he was between semesters. He needed 
someone with whom he could talk. Beth couldn't hold much of a 
conversation anymore. 

John was in a quandary. Several weeks ago, he defended his 
dissertation and was now Dr. John Carter. Although he wasn't a 
student anymore, he needed to get some work done. He had only 
planned half of the lessons for this coming semester and it was 
starting in three weeks.  Something horrible was going to happen 
in a week or two that would require his attention. Beth needed help 
that he couldn't provide. 

He looked down the street and noticed an RV pass the end of the 
block. He got up and opened the front door. He called in, "Slave, 
make eggs with salsa, toast, bacon, and coffee for three."

"Yes, Master."

He turned and sat back on the porch. He had recognized the RV 
when it passed. It was five minutes later that it turned down his 
street and moved slowly towards his place. He stood up and 
walked to the curb. The driver spotted him and sped up. He waited 
for the driver to exit. "Hello, Lily."

"Hi John."

"I was wondering who was coming."

She laughed, "I wondered where I was going."

He motioned towards the house with his head. "Your patient is in 
there. Her name is Beth, but she'll probably run if you call her that. 
If you want her to stand still, call her slave and tell her to assume 
standing position one."

"Aren't you going in?"

"No. She can't stand having more than one person around at a time. 
She'll run out the back and head to the hills. It'll take us hours to 
find her if she does it."

Lily looked at John for a minute trying to decide what to do. She 
preferred to have more information on the situation that triggered 
the problem. John didn't seem to be too forth coming. She asked, 
"What happened?"

"I met a wonderful girl. Her name was Betsy and I was going to 
marry her. She came here for a visit and Beth came by. I had 
discovered that Beth was a natural submissive by accident and she 
wanted to explore that aspect of herself. Betsy took charge of the 
situation and the three of us ended up having a wonderful time. 
Beth fell deeply in love with Betsy. Betsy left shortly thereafter. 
She was killed in the Middle East. Beth flipped out and hasn't been 
the same since."

Lily nodded her head. She suspected there was more to this story 
than John knew. She was about to go in when Beth called out, 
"Master, breakfast is ready."

He answered, "Slave, fix my plate and take it out to the patio. Then 
return to the kitchen and fix two more plates."

"Yes, Master."

Lily looked at him, "Why did you have to be so explicit?"

John answered, "If I don't tell her to eat, she doesn't. She won't 
sleep without a command."

"Wow."

John nodded, "Yes. I'll go around back and start to eat. I'll order 
her to get the door and let you in. From then on, you're on your 
own. I'll be in the RV after I've finished eating."

"Okay."

John walked around the side of the house to the patio. His plate 
was on the patio. At least he had beaten the ants to it. He called 
out, "Slave, open the front door and let her in. You will follow her 
orders as though they come from me."

John dug into his breakfast only to realize that she had failed to 
bring out his coffee. He was about to order her to bring him a cup 
and remembered that Lily was here. He couldn't interrupt them 
now. He finished the breakfast without coffee. He cleaned the plate 
as well as he could and set it on the chair. 

He opened the door of the RV and sat inside watching his house 
and Ed's house. Undoubtedly everyone in town knew that he had a 
visitor. He wondered which of his neighbors would be over to 
investigate first. He was fortunate that Ed was the first to come out. 
He stepped out of the RV and crossed the street. He waved, "Hi, 
Ed."

"Hello John. How's she doing today?"

"I don't know. She's still strange."

Ed pointed to the RV, "So who's your visitor?"

John smiled, "Lily, she's another servant of the Goddess. She's a 
healer."

Ed looked at John with a funny expression. He pointed to John's 
chest, "You mean she has one of those?"

John nodded. Ed had figured out a lot on his own over the past few 
months. John asked, "You wouldn't happen to have some coffee, 
would you?"

"Sure. Come on over."

It wasn't long before they were sitting in Ed's living room drinking 
coffee. John decided to bring up a topic that hadn't been discussed 
since the day they all went to the university. He asked, "How's 
Kelly taking all of this?"

"Not very well. She's been very upset about Beth."

"Does she still want Beth as a wife?"

Ed looked out the window for a minute thinking about it. Kelly had 
not talked about that subject for several weeks now. Each time she 
saw Beth, some small part of her died. Ed answered, "Well, she 
hasn't talked about it lately. As far as I know, she still wants Beth 
for her wife. I think she feels guilty right now. She's afraid that 
she'll take advantage of Beth's condition."

"I can understand that. I'm terrified that I'm abusing her in some 
fashion."

Ed stated, "Do you know how hard it is when I watch over her 
while you're gone? She's running around naked and all I can think 
of is doing it with her."

"Tell me about it."

Ed laughed, "You must have the worst case of blue balls in the 
world. Why don't you come over here and visit Kelly sometime?"

John shook his head, "I'm not sure that's a good idea right now. 
Speaking of Kelly, any idea who she's identified as a second 
husband?"

Ed blushed for the first time that John had ever seen. It was clear 
that something embarrassed him. He wouldn't look him in the eye, 
"You ask tough questions. I think you'll have to ask her."

John looked puzzled for a moment and then the light went off in 
his head. He was the prospective husband. He stated, "Well, if it is 
the person that I think it is, then you two will have to move very 
slow. Can't really offer until Beth is better."

Ed looked relieved. He really didn't know how to broach the 
subject with John. He couldn't imagine John being interested in 
them, but Kelly thought differently. He answered, "That's our 
thinking."

John nodded, "Wise move. I guess I had better get out to the RV 
and wait for Lily. I have no idea how long this is going to take."

Ed asked, "Do you think that she is going to help?"

"If anyone can, Lily can. I met Lily over four years ago. I didn't 
call her, she came here. She didn't even know I was here until she 
pulled up in front of the house. Something called to her and she 
came."

"Wow."

John returned to the RV. Days passed while John watched his own 
house. He could see activity over there and knew they were both 
alive, but he had no idea what was going on inside. He ate all of 
his meals in town. He slept on the bed in the RV. 

Then, in the middle of the night a hand touching his shoulder woke 
him. He looked up and saw Lily. She looked tired, but she smiled 
down at him. "You might want to go in the house with me. She's 
up."

John slowly climbed out of the bed. He felt dirty. The shower in 
the RV was very small and it was difficult to wash effectively. He 
had worn the same clothes now for almost a week. He followed her 
out of the RV and into the house. Beth was sitting on one of the 
patio chairs that had been brought into the living room. She smiled 
up at John when he entered the room. "Hello John."

"Hello Beth." John examined her closely. She was clothed and her 
hair was combed. Her eyes sparkled again. Her smile was genuine. 
He added, "You're looking good."

"Thanks," replied Beth. She looked over at Lily for a minute and 
then stated, "I guess I've been a pain in the ass."

"I would prefer to say that you weren't yourself for a while."

Beth sat there for a while as though searching for something to say. 
She took a deep breath, "I was waiting for her to return."

"I know. We all knew."

"I want to thank you for not taking advantage of me. I remember 
everything you did. Most importantly, I remember the things that 
you didn't do. It must have been hell living here with me naked all 
of the time."

"Just remember that we love you."

"We?"

"Yes, we."

"Who are the others?"

"Ed and Kelly."

"I hardly know them. I know they took turns watching me when 
you were gone. Kelly took me to work in the morning and brought 
me home at night. I don't think they love me though."

John smiled, "next time you see them, watch them closely. They 
both love you very much, more than you can imagine."

Beth frowned, "They only saw me at my worst."

Lily interrupted, "Beth, you might want to talk to them tomorrow."

John added, "I think that would be a very good idea."

They talked for a little longer about different topics, all of them 
trivial and non-threatening. Finally, John suggested that every one 
get to bed. He offered the ladies the bed in the bedroom. He would 
sleep on his sleeping bag after taking a well-deserved shower. 

When he had finished his shower, he walked past the open 
bedroom door. The lights were out, but he could see both women 
wave goodnight to him. His sleeping bag was in the dining room. 
Settling onto it, he had the best nights sleep since Betsy died.

It was well after sunrise that he woke. It took a second for him to 
realize where he was. Looking around, the first thing he noticed 
was the two women sitting in lawn chairs watching him. He had 
not put on any clothes after his shower. He stood up and stretched. 
"Good morning, ladies."

Beth smiled, "Good morning, John."

Lily frowned as her eyes took in all of the scars that covered his 
body. His medallion hung around his neck. The sight of it made 
her check hers with a quick touch to her chest. She stated, "I think 
your service is much rougher than mine."

"No. I've just been stupid about mine."

"I'd have had to treat my patients in a burning building in the 
middle of a shootout to end up looking like that."

John laughed, "Been there, done that, and I've got the scars to 
prove it."

Beth came over to him. She proceeded to point out each scar and 
tell the story behind it. Lily watched with a wide-eyed expression 
of disbelief. John wondered if she had memorized his medical 
history. When she finished, she turned to Lily. "Betsy used to 
consider them his medals of valor or his badges of courage."

Lily nodded, "I can understand why. You've really had it tough, 
John."

John shrugged, "I take it like it comes."

Beth kissed him on the cheek. She cooed, "I'm all yours if you 
want me."

John nodded, "I want you. Don't ever worry about that."

Beth asked, "Now?"

"Not yet. I want us to take our time." John shook his head. He 
looked over at Lily and then back at Beth. He stated, "I have to go 
today. Something big is going to happen west of here. I've known 
something was going to happen for two weeks now, I just didn't 
know where I needed to go."

Lily looked up at him in shock, "You've felt it too. It's been driving 
me crazy."

Beth interrupted, "You've told me several times that something big 
was going to happen. Do you know when?"

John nodded, "Yes, in two days."

Lily wondered how he knew, but decided this wasn't the time to 
follow up on that. She recognized the seriousness of the situation. 
She stated, "When I came through Colorado I stopped at the town 
where we met. I ran into Jed Hart. He's the guy that runs the 
camping supply store."

John's eyes flicked over to his walking stick. He stated, "I 
remember him well."

Lily continued, "He was packing up a bunch of stuff. Complained 
that something was happening and he needed to be ready."

John whistled, "Three of us going there? Wow, this must be big."

Beth was sitting there listening to what they were saying. Lily had 
ordered her to take a two-week leave of absence from work. She 
had spent a week of that time with Lily and still had a week left.. 
She shrugged, "I'm going."

John looked up in surprise. "What?"

"I'm going with you guys."

Lily frowned, "Are you sure?"

Beth stated, "I'm a trained doctor. If there is something this big, 
they are going to need trained doctors."

John nodded, "Okay. If you are sure that you are up to it."

Beth stated, "Yes, I'm up to it."

Lily was still thinking about Jed. She suggested, "Can you go to 
the pharmacy and get some first aid supplies?"

Beth looked outside for a minute. She decided it was time to prove 
to herself that she had taken control of her life, "Yes, I'll head 
down there right now."

"Good."

John stated, "I'll get dressed and packed. While you're at the 
pharmacy, I'll fix some breakfast."

Lily listened carefully. She added, "I think we had better take two 
cars. There's no telling if we'll be drawn to the same area."

"You're right."

John nodded, "Let's get to it."

The three separated and started on their individual tasks. John 
dressed and went outside to give his blood sacrifice. Lily went to 
the RV and started to straighten it up. Beth headed down the street 
to get first aid supplies. 

There was a knock on the door and John went to answer it. Ed 
stated, "I saw Beth heading down the street. Is everything okay?"

"Yes, we are getting ready to head west. Something big is going to 
happen."

Ed looked down the street. "So what's Beth doing?"

"She's gone to get some first aide supplies. She's coming with me."

Ed thought about it for half a second and then volunteered. "Can I 
help?"

John paused to consider his answer and realized that it was really 
Ed's decision to make. "Would you like to come with us?"

Ed smiled, "You bet. I'll call Kelly. She'll want to come too."

John nodded, "Okay. I can't promise that you'll be safe. We could 
be walking into a riot for all I know."

Ed shrugged, "I'm not asking to be coddled."

John smiled, "Then you better get packed."

"I'll be right back." Ed turned and raced across the street. 

John finished packing up his backpack. He took his walking stick 
apart and packed it in the backpack. He moved into the kitchen and 
started to prepare breakfast. He did a mental count and realized he 
was cooking for five. Checking the refrigerator, he saw that he 
only had six eggs. He guessed that it was pancakes, sausage, eggs, 
and coffee. 

John had just finished laying out plates with the food when Ed, 
Kelly, and Beth returned. He asked Beth to get Lily. They were all 
silent as they ate breakfast. Kelly kept looking over her plate at 
Beth with a happy little smile on her face. She was ecstatic to see 
the doctor acting like herself. Ed was happy to see Kelly happy 
again. 

John and Ed washed and dried the dishes. Each man was lost in his 
own thoughts; John wondering about what they faced and Ed 
wondering about Kelly and Beth. The women were busy dividing 
the first aid supplies into two sets; one complete set for them and a 
small set for Lily.  John kept feeling the urge to leave grow. 
Finally, he could stand it no longer. He gathered everyone, "We 
have to go now."

John and Ed sat in the front with John driving. Beth and Kelly sat 
in the back with Kelly holding Beth's hand. They pulled out of the 
driveway followed by Lily. John drove without a map. He took the 
roads that demanded his attention. He actually had no clue where 
he was heading so he couldn't plot a course. When they stopped for 
gasoline, Lily joined them and told him that she was being pulled 
in a different direction. The caravan split at a highway near the 
western end of Arizona.

They drove until they were outside of Los Angeles. It was getting 
dark and every one was getting tired. John pulled into a hotel and 
shut the engine off. He sat back and relaxed. The tension that had 
been driving him all day had finally dissipated. He turned to Ed, 
"What do you guys want to do about sleeping arrangements?"

Ed looked in the back at Kelly to see what she had to say. She 
shrugged her shoulders like she didn't care. John added, "I really 
don't want us to get spread out. I'd like to know that when things 
go south, that we are together."

Ed nodded, "We either share a room or get connecting rooms."

Beth spoke up, "Let's share a room. I'm so tired I don't care."

"Okay." John got out of the car and went into the hotel. He got a 
room with two double beds. The room was located in the back of 
the hotel and on the first floor. They grabbed their suitcases and 
filed into the room. Kelly looked around at the tired people, "I hate 
to say this, but I'm hungry."

"Same here."

John suggested, "There's a chain restaurant across the parking lot. 
Let's go there and grab something. I'm exhausted and just want to 
get back here and sleep."

After dinner, every one returned to the hotel. John took a very 
quick shower and walked out of the bathroom naked. He didn't 
even notice the looks from the others in the room. There wasn't an 
out of the way spot for him to use his sleeping bag. Lying down on 
one of the beds, he fell asleep. 

He woke to a sucking sensation on his cock. He looked down to 
see Beth's head bobbing up and down on his cock. Her tongue was 
active in licking the head of his cock. Because of the continuous 
excitement of watching her naked and the long dry spell without 
sexual release, he erupted very quickly. She swallowed his cum. 
He was recovering when Beth moved up to lie beside him. She 
smiled, "I couldn't wait."

"That's okay," answered John. He put an arm around her as he 
rolled to his side in a spooning position. He looked at the other bed 
to see Ed and Kelly smiling over at him. He smiled, "Okay you 
guys, it's your turn."

Ed laughed, "sorry, you're too late. You missed last night and this 
morning."

John glanced down at Beth, "No wonder you couldn't wait."

Beth blushed, "Who said that I waited until now?"

"Oh."

They lay in bed for several more minutes. The urge to go started 
growing in John. He stated, "We need to get ready to go."

The others groaned, but they all got up. Four naked adults moved 
around the room taking care of their morning business. There was 
lots of good-natured touching as they got in each other's way. It 
wasn't long before they were ready to leave. John went around to 
the front office to pay for the room while the others loaded the car 
with their luggage. Ed drove the car to the parking lot of the 
restaurant to wait for John to join them. They went in as a group. 

Hours later, John was driving in the inner city of Los Angeles. He 
drove as though looking for something. They were in a part of the 
town that was extremely rough. Gangs, drug dealers, and 
prostitutes walked the streets. Every other store was a pawnshop, 
bar or liquor store. Iron bars covered every window. There were 
very few police in the area. Both Beth and Kelly looked scared. Ed 
was uncomfortable and wondered into what kind of situation they 
had gotten themselves.

John stopped the car in front of a seedy looking hotel; a single 
story building that had been built in the fifties. Clearly, it had gone 
without a single repair since then. John pulled into the parking lot. 
When he got out to go into the office, Kelly leaned forward and 
locked his door. The people in that place scared her. He came back 
in a couple of minutes with a smile on his face. They had charged 
him for the room by the hour. He had negotiated the price down to 
two dollars an hour, rather than the five that was requested.

They opened the door to the room he had rented. Inside the room, a 
horrible smell hung in the air. The furniture was ripped and the bed 
was worn. There were no towels in the bathroom. The lock on the 
door didn't work properly. The ripped and torn curtains were hung 
crooked. Beth looked around, "We can't stay here."

John knelt down and opened his backpack. He removed his 
walking stick and assembled it. When he had finished, he looked 
around at the faces of the others. He sighed, "This is where we 
have to stay. It is the only safe place in ten miles.

Kelly nearly screamed, "Safe? We're surrounded by thugs. They're 
going to kill us in our sleep."

Beth echoed Kelly's sentiments. Ed adopted a wait and see attitude, 
but he wasn't happy with the choice of hotel. The conversation 
carried on around John. While they were talking, he took his 
hunting knife and cut the legs off a pair of jeans. He removed his 
pants and put on the cutoffs. He removed his shirt. He waited until 
everyone calmed down before stating, "I'll be right back. I promise 
you that we won't be disturbed."

He went outside and looked around. A couple of people were 
hanging around the open doors of several rooms. He started 
walking along the walkway in front of the rooms. He could smell 
the sticky sweet smell of marijuana billowing from open doors. A 
smallish Hispanic man, steel hard body covered with tattoos, 
stepped in his path. John nodded, "greetings."

"What you want here?" asked the man. His stance was aggressive. 
There was a dull look of meanness in his eyes. 

"It's what I don't want that is important."

The man stepped back and looked over John. His eyes took in all 
of the scars. He recognized bullet and knife wounds from long 
experience in dangerous streets. He glanced over at the walking 
stick recognizing it only as a weapon.  He decided this wasn't a 
guy to be taken lightly. "What is it that you don't want?"

"I don't want to be disturbed."

"And if you are?"

John looked in the man's eyes and smiled. He stated, "We're in the 
room on the corner. Pass the word."

The man stared at John for a long moment. He nodded, "Okay. No 
one will bother you."

John started to turn and then turned back. He stated, "I may have 
need of your services tomorrow."

The eyes narrowed, "What services?"

"You'll see tomorrow," John turned and walked back to his room. 
He shut the door without ever looking back. 

Inside the room, everyone crowded around him as though seeking 
the safety that he seemed to provide. He stated, "We won't be 
bothered. Now lets get this place cleaned up. We'll move a chair to 
the door and hook it under the door handle. Flip the bed up so that 
it covers the window. I have the sleeping bag here and we'll open it 
up and sleep on it."

"All four of us?"

"Yeah. It'll be fun."

Part 1: Shield, Staff, and Compass
Chapter 22

Kelly dreamt that she was riding in a small fishing boat in the 
middle of a massive storm. The boat was purple. The waves were 
pink and they seemed to reach the sky. Her stomach tightened as 
seasickness threatened to overtake her. She was trying to find a life 
preserver that fit her, but her breasts were so huge that all of them 
were too small. Throughout, the boat seemed to rock in every 
direction.

She was shaken awake by Ed. He was shouting, "Get up Kelly."

She sat up thinking she must still be dreaming. The floor was 
moving and then it hit her. She screamed, "Earthquake!"

Beth and John were seated on the floor getting calmly dressed. 
They seemed to be in no hurry. Ed saw that Kelly was awake and 
handed her some clothes. She accepted them and started dressing. 
She was rushing and tripping over herself as she struggled to stand 
on the moving floor and pull on her jeans. 

Ed looked around at the room and laughed, "John, you're right. 
This is the safest place to be. I bet this place has survived a 
hundred earthquakes."

John shot a serious look at Ed, "Exactly."

"What now?"

"There are people that need our help."

It didn't take long for them to get ready. The floor finally stopped 
moving. John went to the front door and opened it. The four of 
them walked out. They were greeted by the sounds of sirens and 
the screams of panicked people. John looked down the walkway 
and saw addicts streaming out of the rooms. Another couple that 
had rented a room for a morning tryst had run out naked and 
screaming.

John motioned to the man he had talked to yesterday. The guy 
came running over with a freaked out look on his face. John turned 
to him, "I can use your services now. Collect all of the pain killers, 
amphetamines, and sedatives that you can find."

He turned to Beth and Kelly. "We need the first aid supplies."

He turned to Ed and pointed to the street. "Can you look up and 
down the street to identify where the problems are the worst?"

As everyone went to perform his or her individual tasks, John 
stood there and watched. He knew that this was going to be big, 
but as he looked around, he realized that he hadn't known how big. 
Bridges had collapsed, buildings had fallen, and fires were burning 
some of the smaller structures. People wandered around in states of 
shock. A large number of them had minor injuries. He quickly 
loaded their stuff into the back of his jeep.

The first one to return was the Hispanic. John turned to him, "I'm 
John Carter."

The guy looked at him in surprise, "I'm Juan."

 John laughed, "John and Juan! What are the odds?"

Juan nodded. "So what do you want all of this stuff for?"

John stated, "You see those two women there?"

"Yes."

"They are the most important people in the world to me. One is a 
doctor and the other is a nurse. They are coming with Ed and me, 
but they will stay in the street treating people that we pull out of 
the buildings. I want you to stay with them and protect them. When 
they need medicine, provide what you can."

Juan looked around for a moment, then replied, "Yeah, man. 
Sounds good to me."

John nodded, "Good. They're back. Let's go."

Ed pointed down the street, "There are a bunch of apartments 
down that way. I suggest that we go that way."

As they passed each building, John and Ed checked them out for 
possible victims. At the door of a lawnmower repair shop, they 
heard a moan from inside. The door was locked, but John broke it 
down. Inside, an overweight man was trapped under a shelf that 
had fallen. Ed and John knelt down and removed the engines from 
the shelf until it was light enough to lift off the man.  They lifted 
the shelf off him and he slowly stood up. He couldn't stand without 
support. Ed helped the guy out the door and set him down on the 
ground away from the shop. Beth came over and performed a 
quick inspection. She turned to Juan, "I need a pain killer."

Juan handed over a pill to Kelly. Kelly looked at the pill and 
exclaimed, "Damn, we don't have any water."

The man on the ground stated, "I have a large thermos in the shop 
and bottled water. Take it."

John had just come out of the building. He went back inside. After 
searching for a few minutes, he found the thermos. It contained 
black coffee. He poured a cup and drank it down quickly. He then 
poured the rest out. He filled the thermos with water from the 
water cooler. He was about to leave when he noticed a stack of 
paper cups. He grabbed those as well. Exiting the building, he 
handed the stuff to Kelly. Juan took it out of her hands and stated, 
"Kelly, I will carry this for you."

Kelly smiled at him, "Thank you, Juan."

In a short time, the man had been medicated. Beth wrote out a note 
that stated his vital signs, her diagnosis, the medication that had 
been given him, and the time at which she had been there. She 
signed the note with the phrase, 'John Carter Rescue Squad.' Then 
she gave the note to the man and told him to give it to the EMS 
personnel when they arrived.

While the women were busy with the guy from the lawn mower 
repair shop, Ed and John went to the next building. There was no 
one there. They went to the next building. There were several 
people inside. They had been outside, but had returned into the 
building to check out the damage. John and Ed went inside and 
told everyone to get out of the building because they could expect 
aftershocks. The women caught up with them and checked out the 
people. She sent them down to the other guy to keep him company 
until an ambulance showed.

Ed and John went to the next house just as another tremor hit. They 
could hear screams from inside the house. The movements were 
too violent to move, so they just lay down until they stopped. Once 
the tremors stopped, John looked up at the house and saw smoke. 
He shouted, "Ed, stay out here. When I find someone, I'll come to a 
window, and call out for you. I'll lower them to you and you set 
them on the ground out of harms way."

Ed replied, "Anything you say boss."

John ran in the building. It was already filling with smoke, but he 
was well away from the flames. They were localized to the kitchen 
so far. He came across a middle-aged woman unconscious in the 
living room. He pulled her to the front door. He yelled to Ed, 
"Come get her."

Ed came in and pulled her out of the house. John went deeper into 
the building. There was a bedroom along the hall and two kids 
were inside. He broke out the window and yelled out, "Ed!"

Ed came charging around the corner. John lowered the first kid to 
Ed and turned around to get the other. He then lowered the next kid 
to Ed. He shouted, "There's still screams coming from the second 
floor."

John disappeared into the bowels of the house. It took him a 
minute to find the stairs. The smoke was getting thick. It was 
beginning to obscure his vision. He turned on the light of his 
walking stick. Climbing upstairs, the smoke got even thicker. He 
heard cries in one of the rooms. He entered it and closed the door 
behind him. There were three kids in this room. He went to the 
window and looked out. The window opened onto the roof of the 
attached garage. He broke out the window and helped the kids onto 
the roof. He shouted, "Ed, over here!"

Ed came around the corner and looked up. He shouted, "Lower 
them as much as you can and then let go. I'll catch them."

The three kids were quickly lowered to the ground. John shouted, 
"Are there more people in here?"

Ed asked one of the kids how many kids were in the house. He was 
told there were seven. He shouted up to John, "I think there are two 
more."

John ran to the window he had knocked out and climbed back into 
the house. He checked under the bed in the room and the closets. 
He went out the door and dashed across the hall to the next room. 
It was empty. There was one more room on this level. He dashed 
into it finding one little girl scared to death. He asked if there was 
anyone else in the room. She pointed under the bed. He looked 
under the bed and spotted the other child. He pulled him out from 
under the bed. He ran to the window and looked out. It was a full 
two-story drop. He picked up the kids and headed to the first 
bedroom. Flames were licking their way up the stairs. They went 
through the broken window. He shouted, "Ed."

Ed was where he had been standing. He shouted, "I'm here. Have 
you got them?"

"Yeah," replied John. He lowered the kids to Ed. Once Ed had put 
the last kid on the ground, John handed his walking stick to Ed. He 
swung off the roof and dropped to the ground. Taking his walking 
stick back, they led the kids around to the front of the building. 

Beth looked up from her patient. "She's concussed. There's nothing 
I can really do here. I've wrapped the head wound and written a 
note explaining her condition. I also wrote a second note for her in 
case she wakes."

"Ok." John headed to the next building while Juan explained to the 
kids that they needed to stay with their mother. 

They had finally reached the apartments. It was a two-story 
building. Half of the rooms on the top floor had collapsed into the 
first floor. John looked at Ed and stated, "This is going to get 
messy."

"No doubt about that in my mind."

While John and Ed broke into apartments and pulled injured 
people out of the building, Beth and Kelly were busy taking care of 
the injured. Juan dispensed the medicine as requested and made 
sure that no one threatened the two women. He had watched John 
race into the burning building and it had amazed him. He watched 
now as both men darted in to and out of buildings. In some cases, 
the buildings collapsed as soon as they left them.

They ran out of water very quickly. He handed the pills to the 
Kelly and told her that he would return. Kelly looked at the bag of 
pills and couldn't make out which was which. It was about ten 
minutes later that he returned with a wagon loaded with several 
cases of bottled water. Kelly looked up at him, "Where did you get 
that?"

Juan shook his head, "Can you believe the 7-11 is still open? I told 
him that it was an emergency, but the bastard took every dollar I 
had."

Kelly answered, "Don't worry. We'll make it up."

Juan, "Hey, no need to do that. I'm not doing much to help. You 
gals are doing all the work."

Beth listened while she patched up another victim. She stated, 
"The drugs are helping tremendously. These people are in pain. I 
don't know what we would do without you."

Juan watched John and Ed dash into another room. He stated, "Can 
you believe how brave those two are?"

"If we didn't need you here so much, you'd be right there with 
them."

"No way. I'd be back at the hotel getting high right now."

Kelly smiled, "But you aren't, are you?"

"No, I'm not."

The conversation was interrupted by a shout from John, "We've got 
a bleeder!"

Beth jumped up and ran over to them. They were staggering as 
they tried to carry the woman and keep pressure on the wound. 
Running, she shouted, "Bring the supplies."

Juan had already grabbed the supplies and was right behind her. 
Kelly grabbed a couple of bottles of water. As soon as Beth 
reached John, they set the person down. An artery was squirting 
blood despite the pressure that John was applying to it. Beth took 
charge, "Juan, put your hand here and press as hard as you can."

Juan did what he was asked. She ripped clothes off around the cut 
and frowned. She stated to Kelly, "I need a needle with suture. 
There's some in the bag."

Kelly quickly satisfied her request and handed the needle to Beth. 
Beth started patching up the arm the best that she could. The three 
of them bent over the patient working feverishly. Beth would give 
instructions to Juan and he would do his best to follow them. 

John ran back to the building and joined Ed in extricating another 
person from under some debris. It took them some time, but they 
finally got the person out. Both were sweating. They were 
exhausted from the heavy lifting. Weakly, they carried him to the 
sidewalk and told him that a doctor and nurse would be there soon.

Summoning what little energy they had left, they broke into the 
next apartment. Part of the ceiling had crashed down in front of a 
bathroom door. The door was open and a very overweight woman 
was shouting to them to get her out of there. She was holding a 
towel in front of her, but it barely covered her. Ed went into the 
bedroom and found some clothes. He returned and threw the 
clothes to the woman. Dressing seemed to calm her down 
tremendously. The two men studied the ceiling as it covered the 
door. They couldn't see a way of removing it without causing the 
whole ceiling to collapse. 

John asked the woman to describe the bathroom to him. She 
described the layout. The wall that was accessible from the 
apartment was blocked by a sink and toilet. Even if they broke 
through the wall, the woman wouldn't be able to get out. The other 
side of the room was shared with the apartment on the other side of 
the building. John told Ed to stay there and talk to the lady. 

He went to the other side of the apartment complex and broke into 
the apartment behind the one with the trapped woman. As soon as 
the door flew open, he realized the hopelessness of his task. The 
ceiling had collapsed in this apartment. He looked, but the only 
person he could find in the apartment was dead. He ran around the 
building and rejoined Ed. John stated, "We are going to have to get 
some lumber and push the ceiling up and out of the way."

They went out and searched through the rubble to find some 
appropriate boards. It took them some time, but they finally 
managed to find four 2 by 4's of the same length. They went back 
to the apartment and braced the ceiling with two of the pieces of 
wood. Then they applied the other two to push up the ceiling about 
an inch. They removed the first two leaving the others as the 
support. Inch by inch they raised the ceiling to where it was finally 
thirty inches off the floor. Bracing it with all four boards, they 
stepped back. John told the lady to lie down under the ceiling. He 
and Ed grabbed an arm each and pulled her out.  

She followed John and Ed out to the street. The men collapsed. 
Juan came up to them with a pair of cokes. He was covered in 
dried blood and looked almost as bad as some of the victims that 
they had pulled out of the building. He stated, "Here, drink these. 
The doctor said that you needed water and sugar. This has both. I 
offered to get you some stimulants, but she said that might 
interfere with you later on today."

The men drank the cokes and took the time to recover their energy. 
They had visited almost three-quarters of the apartments on one 
side of the building. Juan stood next to them, "You guys are 
working hard."

"Thanks Juan. How are things going over there?"

Juan looked at the ladies, "An ambulance has come by several 
times and taken away some of the worse cases. That doctor is 
amazing. The nurse seems to be able to read her mind and hands 
her stuff before she even asks for it."

Ed nodded, "Looks like you've been busy."

Juan looked down at himself. The blood was dried, but he expected 
to be covered again shortly. For the first time in a long time, he felt 
proud of something that he had done. He looked up, "The ladies 
are doing most of the work. I'm just helping out where I can."

John laughed, "That's what we're all doing."

John and Ed stood up and headed into the next apartment. Juan 
went back to join the ladies. They were busy checking out the 
overweight lady that had just been rescued. She was in fine shape 
and suggested that they make some sandwiches in her kitchen. 
Juan volunteered to make the sandwiches and allow the two 
women a chance to rest. They had been working non-stop since the 
earthquake hit. The overweight woman decided to help Juan. The 
woman and Juan went into the apartment. It didn't take them long 
to assemble a half dozen sandwiches. She found a bag of potato 
chips and a six pack of cold cokes. 

 Ed and John had entered the rest of the apartments along that side 
of the building; this included the upstairs. Most of the apartments 
were empty. In a few, they found people that were uninjured.  
They found two people that had been hit by flying debris and had 
minor cuts and abrasions. They told people to wait away from the 
buildings since there was still a chance for aftershocks.

John and Ed went over to where Beth was working. They took one 
bottle of water and washed their hands. Without anything clean to 
dry them on, they just shook their hands until they were almost 
dry. It reminded John of the hot air dryers in some bathrooms. He 
remembered the instructions: Wring hands vigorously in hot air 
and then dry hands on pants. The problem was that his pants were 
filthy. When Beth finished washing her hands, they all sat down 
and ate. John stated, "I don't think I've ever tasted a sandwich this 
good."

Ed concurred, "This really hits the spot."

Beth and Kelly murmured their agreement around their 
sandwiches. They were starving. Juan watched them eating and 
started on his sandwich. There was no conversation while eating. 
When they finished, Juan stated, "You guys know that you've 
saved about fifty people already?"

John stated, "We have the other side of the apartment complex to 
get through yet. Then there are the buildings on down the way. 
We'll probably get another hundred or so by the time it gets dark."

"You guys are amazing. Dr. Hayes, I've never seen anything as 
incredible as what you've done here."

Beth smiled, "You really know your drugs."

"Hey, it's my business."

Kelly stated, "You might find some other way to use that 
knowledge."

Juan bristled, "Don't go getting all moral on me."

Kelly shook her head. "I'm not getting all moral on you. You 
jumped right in and helped save a couple of lives. You have a rare 
gift. Not many folks can take dealing with blood and stuff. Most of 
them end up puking their guts out or they end up on the floor in a 
dead faint. Not you."

John interrupted, "You might think we are hero's because we go 
running into a mess like this. We're not. We will do this for a day. 
Those two ladies are the real things. They save lives every day."

Ed nodded, "We won't say that you will be a better person if you 
learn how to do the things they do. I will say that the world will be 
a better place."

Beth added, "A lot of doctors are complete assholes. However, day 
in and day out they save lives."

Juan grimaced, "Hey, you're talking like I can be a doctor or 
something. I'm a high school drop out."

Ed stood up and stated, "I'm just an old cowboy who's spent most 
of his life on a horse chasing the dumbest animals in the world 
around. Four months ago, I started college. Just think about it, 
okay?"

Juan stared at Ed. He couldn't decide if he should be angry or not. 
He shrugged, "I'll see."

John and Ed headed around to the other side of the building. The 
damage on that side was much worse than had been the case for 
the street side of the buildings. The other three followed behind 
them; Juan pulling the wagon with their supplies loaded in it. 

 John and Ed went through six apartments and couldn't find 
anyone. The ceiling had completely collapsed. They hoped the 
people who lived there had been elsewhere when it fell.  It wasn't 
until they went into the seventh apartment that they found someone 
alive, but in serious shape. John came out and waved Beth over. 
Beth walked over to find out what he wanted. John was silent for a 
minute and then stated, "We found one alive but in very bad 
condition. As far as I can tell, the only way for us to get him out is 
to amputate his legs."

Beth swore, "Damn. That's beyond what we can do here. We don't 
have a saw and I wouldn't want to do it with a knife."

John shrugged, "You want to come in and check on him?"

Beth nodded, "Might as well."

They went into the room. Beth examined the man and talked to 
him. After several minutes, she turned to John. "Get Juan."

John went out and called for Juan. Juan came running and went 
into the room at a gesture from John. He was in there for a few 
minutes. John waited outside as he considered what would be 
involved in a field amputation. Beth and Juan came out together. 
Beth stated, "Do you want my opinion?"

"Yes."

"Leave him there. Get someone to flag down an EMS vehicle. 
They can take a saw to the building and extract his legs. They 
might be able to save them."

John nodded, "How about the bleeding?"

"I put a tourniquet on it. Juan gave him some pain pills and water. 
His condition is not life threatening yet."

John nodded, "Good. I wasn't looking forward to an amputation. 
Can Juan or Kelly make the arrangements for someone to flag 
down an EMS vehicle?"

"Sure. Now you two need to get back to work." She also 
considered getting another person to sit here with the man and 
monitor his condition.

John and Ed entered more apartments. They encountered more 
dead people and a few living. The destruction on this side of the 
building had been nearly total. In one apartment, the damage was 
relatively minor. However, there was a pile of debris on the lone 
occupant, a young woman in her mid-twenties. With considerable 
effort, they cleared the debris off her. She was unconscious for no 
apparent reason. Ed stuck his head out of the door, "Beth! We need 
you here."

Beth came into the room and checked out the young woman. She 
noticed the telltale signs of repeated injections. She smelled the 
breath of the young woman and knew the problem. She looked up, 
"Go into the kitchen and see if there is any insulin in the 
refrigerator."

John dashed into the kitchen. He came back waving a vial, "Found 
it."

"Did you find a syringe?"

John dashed back into the kitchen and looked around. He came 
back shaking his head. He handed her the vial and then headed 
towards the bathroom. He searched and still couldn't find one. He 
heard Beth call out, "I found one."

John returned to her side. He waited for her to perform the 
injection. When she had completed it, he picked the woman up and 
carried her out of the apartment. He set her on the ground. The 
ground chose that moment to tremble. It was a very minor 
aftershock, but one that caused precarious balanced debris to fall 
within the building. Beth came over and stated, "I'm going to have 
to watch over her for a while. She's in a coma."

"Okay."

John headed down the walkway along the apartments. He passed 
all of the doors that were open. Ed had continued searching 
apartments while he had been left behind. When he hit the door 
that was closed, he went back to the apartment right before it. 
Inside he found Ed, kneeling on the floor and with a hand over his 
eyes. John could see the tension in his body. "Hey, are you okay?"

There was an old man lying on the floor. Since the apartment was 
undamaged, it was likely that he had a heart attack. Ed shook his 
head, "I've never seen so many dead people in my whole life."

John put a hand on Ed's shoulder. He stated, "What you are feeling 
is perfectly natural. I'm feeling pretty awful myself."

Ed shrugged his shoulders, "It isn't stopping you."

John looked away, "My greatest fear is that it will stop me one 
day."

Ed turned around in surprise, "Really?"

"Yes, really. The only thing that keeps me going is knowing that 
there are living people that need me."

Ed took a breath. He thought about the fact there were living 
people that needed him. As much as he hated seeing another dead 
person, he would hate for a person to die because he couldn't take 
it. He stood up. "Let's get back to work. There's living people out 
there that need us."

John smiled, "You're a strong man, Ed. I'm proud to call you 
friend."

The two men went from apartment to apartment until there were no 
apartments left. They went on down the street. They searched 
buildings as they encountered them. They went through every 
room in each building. As they went, they pulled people out of the 
buildings in all states of health. Some were critically injured. 
Others were completely healthy. Most were in between.

By the time the sun set, they had covered nine streets. They found 
themselves at a bridge that had collapsed. John noticed a crawl 
space and climbed into the rubble. The light on his walking stick 
led the way. He met a man who was working his way out. The man 
played his flashlight over John for a second and then aimed it 
away. "There's a little girl back there."

John replied, "Do you want me to keep her company until you 
return?"

"I'm not coming back."

"Why?"

"She's dying and there's nothing we can do to help her."

John's first reaction was to berate the man for not staying with the 
little girl and comforting her. Then he looked at the man more 
closely and saw that haunted look on his face. He had been pushed 
too far already. He nodded, "I understand. I'll go to her and talk 
with her until she dies."

The man had tears in his eyes. "I've seen too much of that today."

John put his hand on the man's shoulder, "Friend, go and help more 
people. Many confused people need help too. You needn't deal 
with the dead or dying anymore. Let me shoulder this burden for 
you."

The man hung his head and cried, "Thank you."

John went the way from which the man had come. After twenty 
feet, he came to a crushed car. In the car was a frightened little girl 
that looked at him. She seemed relieved for the darkness to have 
been banished for the time being. He inched his way over and saw 
her situation. He knew it was hopeless. The bridge had collapsed 
the car on the lower half of her body. There was nothing left below 
the waist. The only reason she wasn't bleeding to death quicker 
was that everything was crushed flat. He looked at the little girl, 
"Hello. I'm John Carter. Who are you?"

"I'm Cindy."

"How do you feel Cindy?"

"I don't hurt. Everything is numb."

John smiled, "I didn't mean it that way. I meant how are you 
feeling?"

"I'm scared."

John nodded. He asked, "What are you afraid of?"

"Dying."

John took her hand in his and held it. "That's nothing to be afraid 
of. I died once for almost four minutes."

"Really?" she asked. Her eyes were as big as saucers.

"Yes, really."

"What was it like?"

John's voice was gentle, "Cindy, close your eyes and I'll tell you all 
about it."

Cindy closed her eyes and John started describing his experience. 
He talked for a long time about what he felt and how it seemed to 
him. When he finished, Cindy was smiling at him. He stated, "Are 
you still afraid?"

"No."

In a very calm voice, John told her, "You can slip away now."

Cindy looked up at him, "Thank you."

John nodded, "Thank you, Cindy."

She passed away even as John thanked her. John closed her eyes. 
He sat there for a moment, then smiled upwards and waved. He 
knew that she could see him. He waited a little while longer before 
he crept out of the collapsed bridge returning the way that he came. 

When he came out, he was shocked at the throng of people around 
the bridge. There were bright lights shining on him and people 
moving towards him with microphones. Amongst the cacophony 
of sound, he was able to make out one question, "Are you John 
Carter?"

He answered, "Yes, I'm John Carter."

The press descended upon him. He handled the questions the best 
that he could. He had not realized that Beth had included a note 
identifying their group as the rescuers with people she had treated. 
He attempted to make sure that they understood that he was only 
the figurehead of a very brave group of people. However, they had 
already talked to Beth, Kelly, Ed, and Juan. They had also talked to 
a dozen people who had joined them as they had worked. Some 
people had run errands to get supplies as needed. Others had 
walked up and down the line checking on injured people. Still 
others had flagged down ambulances and made sure they had 
picked up the most critical people first. 

A police officer, just as tired as them, finally gathered the rescuers 
and helped them get away from the press. Tired and hungry, they 
were deposited at a shelter where they could get a hot meal. Finally 
able to sit quietly and not feel rushed, they ate their meal in 
silence. It had been a long hard day. John looked around the table. 
Beth was nearly asleep. Her clothes were covered with blood and 
torn in places. Kelly was looking numbly off into the distance. 
Juan sat there shaking his head. His clothes were covered in blood. 
He had a few cuts on his hands. He had a black eye that he had 
received while holding a patient down. Ed looked the worst. He 
had cuts, scrapes, and bruises on his arms and face. His clothes 
were ripped. 

As each finished their meal, they stood up and walked over to the 
beds. John was left alone at the table. He decided to go to the 
restroom before getting in bed. As he walked over there, he 
encountered the man that had been in the bridge. The man put his 
hand on John's shoulder, "I saw what you did for the girl. It was 
the most moving thing I've ever seen."

John stated, "Thank you for letting me be the one to do it."

The man reached down and grabbed the chain on the medallion. As 
he pulled the medallion out, the chain snapped. John stared in 
horror at the medallion. He looked up at the man, "That can't be 
fixed."

The man smiled, "Yes it can. Just go to the place where you got it."

"That's not possible. You don't know where I got it."

"If I remember correctly, it was in a park on Midsummer's Day 
around noon. She gave it to you."

John stared at the man in shock, "What?"

The man set the medallion in John's open hand. Closing John's 
hand around the medallion, he stated, "Be there at noon on 
Midsummer's day."

John looked down at the fist that now held the medallion and then 
looked up. The man was no longer there. Numbly, he went into the 
bathroom and then back to the bed. It took him a long time to fall 
asleep. The medallion was warm in his pants pocket.
<1st attachment end>


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