"Howard, I'm not the infallible leader," Nathan said. "Sure, I've trained and prepared for stuff, but I will let you in on a secret." Nathan looked away. "When this happened, I froze. I knew I needed to leave the store I was at but I kept putting it off. If Amanda hadn't come along, in all reality I would probably still be in that store or dead. Dead more than likely," he added, looking back at Howard.

"Nathan, you can't judge yourself like that. Who's to say you weren't being held up there until it was time to start out," Howard said and Nathan just looked at him, turning that over in his mind.

"Okay, we'll talk more tomorrow. We have about two hours of light left," Nathan said as thunder roared through the sky. "Not much longer till it rains." He looked up and surveyed the dark clouds rolling in from the west.

"Think we should get in that building?" Howard asked.

"Howard, with as much stuff as they'd stuffed in there, we'd be lucky to get half the kids inside," Nathan said.

"We can move the stuff out," Howard offered.

"Howard, it's full of guns and ammo," Nathan said. "I would really like to look at it before we throw it in the mud. We have the tents up," he suggested.

"I want to get my boys something more than a shotgun then," Howard said.

"Oh, we'll be fitting out hardcore," Nathan a.s.sured him. "Keep them busy, I'm going to see just what's in there and what else is around that we can use. Howard nodded at him as he walked to his pack.

There was a pile of M-4s laying on his pack, and his vest and rifle were off to the side. Amanda came over and said, "We found all the ones that shoot fast."

"Good girl. Take them in the tent, okay," he said. He grabbed his pack and vest, throwing them in the tent. Slinging his rifle and tote bag over his shoulder, he headed to the buildings, praying he hadn't missed another body.

He stepped into the main building to find it was wall to wall guns. Stacks of guns were on the floor and against the wall, with hard gun cases stacked everywhere and bunk beds along the wall. Nathan guessed the building was barely a thousand square feet. Then it hit him; it was likely a hunting camp. He started poking around and noticed price tags on everything. Picking up several items, he saw they were from p.a.w.n shops, a local sporting goods store and a surplus store. Standing in the middle of the cabin, Nathan looked around at all the gun cases but was too tired to even think about opening them.

Against one wall Nathan saw a table with hard plastic container boxes stacked in rows. They were longer and wider than ammo boxes. Walking over, Nathan flipped the clamp lock on one and lifted the lid, seeing it held rows of something that gleamed dully in the light. Grabbing one of the plastic items, he pulled it out. His heart stopped as Nathan looked down at his hand.

It was a one-ounce Gold Eagle fifty-dollar-piece in a hard plastic display case. The case was full of them. Laying the coin down, he looked at all of the boxes on the table, now realizing they were coin boxes. He started opening them up and finding more gold coins and one-ounce silver coins; then found another which contained five-ounce gold bars. He quickly closed the boxes he had opened and looked under the table.

He found suitcases, a large canvas satchel bag, and more coin boxes. He pulled out a suitcase, opened it and gasped upon seeing stacks of money. "The b.i.t.c.h was right and I stepped on her for telling me a lie," he said wonderingly. He grabbed the satchel and tugged, but it didn't budge. Pulling hard, he slid the satchel across the floor. He unzipped it and found heaps of gold jewelry stuffed inside.

Noticing a black bag inside, Nathan grabbed it, untied the end and looked inside. It was filled with sparkling diamonds. Closing the bag, he tied it up and threw it in his tote bag. Glancing around the room, he saw some empty spots under some of the beds. Grabbing the coin boxes, he carried them over to the beds and pushed them underneath and all the way to the back. Since he was only able to carry one at a time because the d.a.m.n things were so heavy, it was slow going, but he was done by the time he heard the rain start to fall. Picking up the suitcase with the cash, he slid it under another bed and arranged guns around it until he was satisfied it couldn't be easily seen.

In a panic, he looked around the room for more of a find but only found more weapons and accessories. A knock at the door almost made Nathan pull his gun out. "Nathan, are you in there?" he heard Jasmine call.

He walked over to the door and opened it. "Yeah, I'm here," he said, looking at a soaked Jasmine.

"I'm sorry," she said, stepping in and shaking the water off. She stopped and looked at all the guns. "Holy s.h.i.t," she said, looking around. Spotting the empty table, she asked, "What was there?"

"Nothing, they probably ate there," Nathan said and she looked at him with a you expect me to believe that' look.

"You lie for s.h.i.t," she said.

"You're right, I'm lying. Don't ask me why right now, but it's for our group."

"You can trust us," she said.

"Oh I do, but we have Howard and his family here. I have to be sure before I say anything else," he said.

"What the h.e.l.l can be that important?" she demanded.

"Don't say anything to anybody or you go your own way," Nathan said and reached in his tote bag and pulled out the bag of diamonds. Grabbing Jasmine's hands, he sat the bag in it, opening the top.

She looked down and her eyes got three times their normal size. "Holy f.u.c.king s.h.i.t," she gasped. "I can feel the weight of them," she exclaimed, and her hands started to shake.

"That's what I mean, I figure that's around three pounds," he said.

She closed the bag. "We can't tell anyone."

"Duh, that's what I told you," Nathan reminded her.

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

"We are going to see how trustworthy our new people are before even talking about this. If they are good then we will share it. But either way this will end someday, and this will be for those kids out there," he said.

She nodded. "Okay."

"I want you to go back up there and let me finish looking around," he said.

"You found more, didn't you?" she asked.

"You have no idea," he said with a bewildered look.

"I'll keep them there, but don't take too long," she said before running out the door.

He looked outside and saw the rain was coming down pretty hard. Putting his rifle on the table, Nathan ran over to the shed with all the carts on the outside and grabbed another lawn cart. Wheeling it to the door, he moved some of the coin boxes and the canvas bag of jewelry to the cart. He pulled the cart feeling his muscles strain as he struggled to move it into the woods. Going about fifteen yards in, Nathan found a small gully and laid the boxes and bag down.

Dragging the empty cart back, Nathan filled it up again with more coin boxes. He managed to get all but two in the cart and dragged it back to the ravine. After one more trip, he put the cart back where he'd found it and then grabbed the suitcase. He found a box of trash bags, wrapped the suitcase up and put it with the gold then covered everything with leaves. He eyeballed the site and was satisfied that it was well hidden.

Walking back, he could see the ruts from the cart turning into small rivers. "That thing was heavy," he said out loud. Just guessing, he put the weight at over four hundred pounds each trip.

Upon reentering the building, he grabbed his rifle and then paused. "h.e.l.l, I'm not tired now," he said, putting his rifle back down and going over to the stacks of gun cases. He went through them and stopped at a Savage 110 BA in .338 Lapua. Picking up the sniper rifle, he said, "I know someone who wants a rifle that shoots a long way." He put the rifle back in its case and set it on the table.

Jasmine had run back to the group, still incredulous at the amount of gold and gems she'd seen. She found John and Amanda in the gazebo sitting in chairs, with Ares sprawled out on the floor. As she walked in, she took off her top, stripping down to her t-shirt and immediately getting John's attention. "Where is everyone?" she asked, wiping water off her face.

"They went to sleep when the rain started. We told them we would stay up and keep watch," John said, not blinking. The t-shirt Jasmine was wearing was soaked and transparent.

Jasmine giggled and walked over to him and lifted his face till he was looking at her. "John, do me a favor. When you talk to me, look me in the eye then look down," she said and he started blushing. "Hey, it's okay, but you have to learn to be more subtle about this. You're starting to turn into a hunk and girls are going to pay attention to this," she said and his eyes got big.

"I am?" he asked, delighted.

"Yes, you are. I don't mind, but others will, trust me. When you talk, look them in the face and don't let your head drop with your eyes," she said.

"Okay, I will," he promised.

She turned around and his eyes dropped but his head stayed up. "Amanda, how are you doing with all this?" she asked.

"I'm good," Amanda said, playing on Nathan's tablet.

"How do you think the other kids are going to be with this?" Jasmine asked.

"They'll get through or they won't." Amanda shrugged.

Jasmine shook her head. "That's not nice; we have to help them. They are part of our little group now, our family," she told Amanda as she wrung out her shirt over Ares, waking him up. Ares jerked his head up and looked at her. "That's for scaring the life out of me earlier," she said, and Ares just moaned, plopping back down.

Jasmine walked over to Amanda. "What are you so intent with?" she asked.

"Just memorizing everyone," she said, flipping through pictures.

Nodding her head in approval, Jasmine said, "That's smart."

Laying the tablet down, Amanda looked at her. "Jasmine, I really like you, but I have to tell you something," she informed her.

"I really like you too, Amanda," Jasmine said.

"He's mine and you can't have him," Amanda said. Jasmine leaned back.

"Who?" she asked.

"Duh, Nathan of course," Amanda said. Totally caught off guard, Jasmine just blinked at her. "I see the way you look at him and talk with him. I found him first, he's mine," she told Jasmine in a little commanding voice.

"Yours for what?" Jasmine inquired.

Amanda looked at Jasmine like she was so stupid. "My boyfriend?" she said, rolling her eyes.

"Sweetie, you're thirteen," Jasmine told Amanda; she wasn't sure what emotion she was feeling now.

Amanda rolled her eyes again. "Duh, and you're only nineteen. I'm not stupid. Momma said you can't have a boyfriend till you're seventeen or it's puppies loving," Amanda informed her.

"Puppy love," Jasmine corrected, wondering what the h.e.l.l she was supposed to say. "So what are you going to say to Nathan?"

"You don't say it," Amanda said, flipping her hand at Jasmine. She couldn't believe Jasmine was this stupid about boyfriends. "You write them a letter and they give it back," Amanda pointed out.

Not able to stand anymore, Jasmine grabbed a chair and pulled it over by Amanda. "You wrote a note asking what?" Jasmine had to know.

Amanda closed her eyes and shook her head. "If he would be my boyfriend when I'm seventeen. Gosh, I told you already." Jasmine replayed their conversation. She didn't remember that. Suddenly Jasmine was filled with the desire to find her mother and apologize for her teen years.

"So you wrote a note asking him to be your boyfriend?" Jasmine asked. "What if he says no?"

"He can't. He saved me and he loves me," Amanda said with a smile.

"Can I see the note?" Jasmine requested. Amanda dug in her tote bag and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Opening it up, Jasmine read: "Nathan, will you be my boyfriend when I turn 17? Check yes or no and give it back." There was a box beside each. Refolding the paper, Jasmine handed it back, smiling. "Amanda, Nathan is a man. He's old enough to be your dad."

"Well he's old enough to be your dad too and you still go after him, but I found him first," Amanda said, letting her know it wasn't open for debate.

Jasmine wracked her brain trying to figure out what to say. "He's a man," was all that she could think of.

"That's just an older boy," Amanda said.

John came over to join the conversation. "Amanda, you can't date a man. Besides, I know Nathan loves you. He loves both of us, but it's not the same," he said. Jasmine wanted to kiss John for the help.

"That just means he already loves me," Amanda said.

Jasmine let her head fall back. "Amanda, it would be like you asking your dad to be your boyfriend."

"He was my dad and you can't do that," Amanda snapped.

"Will you wait to give him the note?" Jasmine asked, not wanting the little girl to get hurt till she could make her understand.

"You might tell him," Amanda said.

Jasmine looked her right in the eyes. "I can promise you, I won't," she said.

"Okay then, I'll wait a little while," Amanda said and smiled.

Leaving the building Nathan strode through the slanting rain to the tents. He saw his three companions sitting in a circle inside the gazebo and headed that way. By the time he reached them, the rain was barely a drizzle. Jasmine was sitting in front of Amanda, and John was at Amanda's side. The tension in the air was so thick he could cut it with a knife.

Putting his hands on his hip and taking a wide stance, Nathan said, "Now whatever you three are having a problem with, get over it. Take off your gear and get on the floor and wrestle it out."

Jasmine and John stood up and looked down at Amanda. "Fine," she said in a sa.s.sy att.i.tude. "Ares, here," she commanded, and Ares ran over to her side as she stroked his back. "Who wrestles me first?" she inquired with a lopsided grin.

"I'm outta here," John said, walking away.

Spinning around, Jasmine stopped in front of Nathan, raising her finger to his face as if to say something then dropped it to her side. Then she took a breath and pointed at him again, then let out the breath, dropping her hand. "You figure this out for yourself," she said, grabbing her wet shirt and walking out.

Nathan watched her go and turned to Amanda. "What the h.e.l.l is going on?" he demanded. Amanda shrugged her shoulders, smiled at him then sat back down with the tablet and began going through the pictures again. "Put the tablet up," he said and she took a breath to start a line of choice words. "Pick your rifle from those that you gathered and get it clean," he said.

Putting up the tablet, Amanda walked over and actually spent ten minutes choosing a rifle. Seeing that it wasn't raining anymore, she went outside to the table. Nathan just shook his head as Ares looked at him before heading outside. "What?" Nathan asked.

Ares snorted and walked past the table, heading to the trailer behind the tractor. "Ares, I told you no!" Amanda snapped and Ares stopped.

"Let him go, Amanda. He's probably found some food he wants," Nathan said. What he really wanted to say was, "Ares wants to run away because you guys are driving us insane and slowing us down."

"He's been wanting to go over there but I wouldn't let him," Amanda said, taking the rifle apart.

"Any reason?" Nathan asked.

Amanda nodded her head. "Well yeah, when you found me Ares made me feel better and it helped the other kids some too," she said. "So I wanted him to stay near us."

"Does he listen to them?" he asked.

"No, and I think he's scarred of Emma," Amanda said as she finished taking the rifle apart.

"That's the little one, right?" he asked and she nodded. "That's impossible," Nathan said.

"Okay, whatever you say," she said in a tone that spoke volumes. Nathan remembered something his mom had said when he was a little boy. Something about "Just wait till you have kids of your own." Nathan bit his tongue and thought happy thoughts. Calmer, he still wanted to unload but now his tongue hurt. He just stared at the back of Amanda's head till he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.