"It's a bit more involved, but she covered the high points," Nathan said, looking at Amanda. "I had to take out those that were coming or they may have followed us," he said.

Seeing Nathan stare at her out of the corner of her eye, she said, "I'm not saying anything about you fighting an army."

Nathan stopped and looked down at her with a fake scowl. "I think I'm fixing to hold you down and spit in your ear," he delivered the mock threat, pulling out a can of Skoal.

Seeing the can of snuff, Amanda looked at him with a mad face. "When are you going to quit that nasty stuff?" she screeched.

"When I want to," he said, filling his bottom lip up and putting the can back in his pocket. As he started walking, she caught up and grabbed his hand.

"It's not good for you," she said earnestly.

"I know," he said, nodding and spitting a stream of tobacco on the road.

"And it's gross," she added.

"Yep," Nathan agreed.

"Then why do it?" she asked.

"I want to," he said. "There will not be any more in a few weeks so I will have to quit again," he informed her.

Shaking her head softly, Amanda closed her eyes. "You mean you had quit once already and started again?" she asked.

"Yep. Being trapped over two thousand miles away from home upset my nerves. I'm sorry," he answered, spitting out a stream of tobacco.

Amanda pulled his arm so he would look at her. "If you hadn't been trapped there I would be dead," she said. "I don't want to die," she said with sad eyes.

Seeing the sad face, Nathan stopped and took off her hat, kissing her on the top of her braided head. "I didn't think of it like that. I will do everything I can to make sure you grow old and have kids that pester you," he said, smiling.

She wrapped her arms around him, hugging his waist. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that. I know you wanted to be home and not here with us," she said sobbing.

He lifted her chin up and wiped the tears off her face. "To be honest, I'm glad that I'm here to help you and John," he said. "Even if you are trying to steal my dog," he added.

"I'm not trying to steal him, he loves me," Amanda said indignantly.

Nathan laughed and kissed her head. "Yeah and I can see why. I love you too, little one," he said and started walking again, pulling her along.

"Ah sir, I don't want to be rude, but I'm glad you're here too," John said.

"John, if you call me sir one more time I'm holding you down and spitting in your ear," Nathan warned him.

"Amanda's right, you need to stop that stuff," John said.

"You too?" Nathan said, stopping at the rabbit. "Amanda, get out a zip lock bag." He pulled out his Playtex gloves then grabbed his knife. "Watch," he said and skinned the rabbit in four minutes flat. He threw the skinned bunny into the bag and had John pour water over his gloves so he could wash off the blood.

"That was fast. I went hunting one time with a man in our neighborhood and it took him two hours to skin a deer," John said with awe.

"I raise rabbits so I have practice," Nathan said, drying his gloves and putting them up. He turned to see Amanda still holding the bag at arm's distance, looking in distaste at the skinned bunny.

"You raise rabbits and kill them to eat?" she asked, making a funny face.

"Why else would I raise them?" Nathan asked, taking the bag.

"Ah, because they're cute and fluffy?" she answered.

"Yes they are, but they're tasty and a rabbit will produce a thousand times its body weight a year in offspring. It only takes a few to feed a family. By the way, Ares loves them," he said, putting the bag in her pack.

Looking over her shoulder, she warned him, "That better not leak on my clothes."

"Hey, you sealed it," Nathan said, grabbing her hand and setting off.

The lessons continued until lunch, when they stopped and ate. John looked at Nathan curiously. "Nathan, were you in the military?" he asked as a soft wind rustled the trees, the only sound they could hear except each other.

"No," he replied.

"Where did you learn all this stuff?" John asked.

"My dad was in the military and started it," Nathan said, getting a faraway look. Shaking his head, he came back to the here and now. "Then I started taking cla.s.ses for this. Everything from survival in the desert to scuba diving. I traveled the country and learned where I could. In Maine was one of the best survival cla.s.ses I've ever been to. In Washington State there is a place that has cla.s.ses on combat. I learned a lot when I joined SRT, but they taught me so much more. There's another one in Texas. The point I'm making is the knowledge is out there. You just have to find it," Nathan said.

"Man, I wish I would've known you before this," John said, dreaming about the possibilities. Then a thought hit him. "Nathan, do you know any martial arts?" he asked.

"Yes. Black belt in three forms. I'm studying two more right now."

"Can you teach me?" John asked hopefully.

"If you want to learn," Nathan said.

"Me too?" Amanda chimed in.

Nathan laughed, turning his head back and forth and looking at them sitting on each side of him. "If you're serious I'll do it, but at any time I see you're not I'll quit and won't start back up."

"Okay," they said together.

"After we work out in the mornings we will have a cla.s.s," he promised them. John just looked off, dreaming of being super cool. Amanda just wanted to be able to beat the c.r.a.p out of someone. Finished eating, they hit the road and Nathan continued with the lessons, making them pa.s.s the map back and forth to find the places around them. During the afternoon break he showed them a bend in the road.

"If we are separated this is our rally point. If you get lost you know what the area looks like. Go to this area and wait for two days. If no one shows, they're dead," Nathan told them. "Every morning at breakfast we will set up a rally point of the day," he added.

"Why do you keep saying dead?" Amanda asked with a p.i.s.sy voice.

He looked at her and put his arm around her. "It's possible Amanda, and you have to remember that. If you try to act like it's not then you will lose focus and it will happen. I'm sure those bangers never considered the possibility of them dying," Nathan said.

"But we're with you," she pointed out.

"That is an edge, but I'm not Superman. It doesn't take something make believe to kill me. That is why I'm teaching you," Nathan said gravely.

She smiled at him, "It's going to take years for you to teach us what you know. So you can't die till then," she said.

"I'll make a special note in my project book," Nathan said. "Ares is trying to get the bunny in your bag," he told Amanda.

She turned around, seeing Ares pawing at the zipper of her backpack. "Ares, no," she said, and he looked at her like, Well you don't want it, it's in here.' She reached over and petted him then hugged his neck. Picking up his bowl off the ground, she poured out the water then folded it up, putting it in his pack. "Ares, here," she said and he trotted over, still looking at her pack. "You carry yours, I'll carry mine," she said, putting his pack on and buckling it.

With gravel crunching underfoot they continued on. It was around three when the mosquitos swarmed in. Struggling on down the road, after soaking down each other in bug spray, they finally made camp. Setting out the ThermaCELL they started getting a reprieve. Even Ares learned that if he stayed near the little things the biting things left him alone.

Getting out his folding shovel, Nathan showed them how to dig a fire pit and build a fire. The two loved the fire since it seemed to help from being eaten alive. They cleaned up and washed clothes as Nathan pulled out some aluminum foil, placing the bunny meat in it. Using the plants that they had gathered through the day then washed, Nathan cut them up, added them to the meat and sprinkled some spices all over. Then he wrapped the concoction up in the foil; when the fire died down he dug out the coals, laid the foil in and raked coals over it. Then he covered the pit with dirt.

"Why can't we have a fire at night?" John asked.

"It's too easy to spot and smell. Remember, we don't want to be seen," Nathan said.

"How are we going to avoid being seen going through town tomorrow?" Amanda asked.

"Oh, we'll be seen but we'll just blend in," he said. "Or we can take a twenty-one-mile detour," Nathan added.

"No, let's go through the stupid town," she said. "Are we stopping for anything?"

"Not if we can help it," Nathan said.

"What did the President mean about paying your taxes? The banks are closed and n.o.body is working," John asked.

"That's how I think they're going to gain a.s.sets. People won't be able to pay and the government can take their homes. Think of all the areas in Atlanta that have burned down. The government takes over that land and sells it and makes money. Or they don't sell it and make people stay closer together so they can watch us for our wellbeing.' They can get access to your money in the bank, but you can't get it to eat," Nathan answered him.

"That's not fair that they can take your money but you can't get it," John said.

"Welcome to life," Nathan said, lying down. "You never get ahead, because they come and take it and give it to someone else," he added.

"What do you think the Hollywood stars are doing?" Amanda asked.

"Fighting to live just like everyone else I'm sure," he said.

"Why? They're rich," she said if that explained it all.

"Where is their money Amanda?" Nathan asked.

"Oh. I guess I didn't think of that," she said.

Nathan looked at her, "Amanda, only the super-rich and the politicians are the ones not experiencing this like we are," he said.

"You mean there are people richer than Justin?" she asked.

"Amanda, there are people that would consider what he's worth to be pocket change. They are very powerful families that have money in the trillions. Remember the top five percent of the rich pay something like sixty percent of what the nation pulls in for taxes," Nathan said. "Us regular people pay the other forty percent," he added.

"It sucks to be rich only to have that much money taken away," she said, resting her head on her pack.

"Yeah, but it would definitely have its perks," Nathan said, drifting off to sleep and leaving John awake for guard.

Chapter 3.

Day 8 They were all sweating as they packed up camp after breakfast. For an hour and a half they exercised and Nathan started teaching them the fundamentals of martial arts. As Amanda put Ares' pack on him, she really wanted to lie back down and take a nap, but she wasn't going to tell anyone. She could be tough too. Putting on her pack, she watched Nathan dig out the rabbit he'd buried in coals last night. She walked over as he unwrapped it.

When Amanda smelled it her mouth started watering. She watched him pull off a piece and hold it out to her. "Open up," he said and she opened her mouth. He put the piece in her mouth and she chewed it up. It tasted wonderful. She watched Nathan pull off a piece for John. "Tastes good, huh?" Nathan asked, looking down at her.

"Yes it does," she said, smiling.

"This is lunch," he said, wrapping the meat back up and placing it in a bag. Putting on his pack, Nathan started off, leading them out of the woods and to the road. When they reached the road they took their positions on either side of him. "Today we will be leaving this forest and crossing the valley. We are coming up to habitable areas again so keep your eyes open," he told them.

"The map said we are going by a military base. Don't we want to avoid them?" John asked.

Very pleased that John was thinking, Nathan nodded. "Yes we do, but most of the base is closed down. But there is still a large military presence there and a military depot on the other side of town. Remember the story we worked on and stay with it, but don't talk unless I nod at you," Nathan told them.

"This new way is really a ha.s.sle," Amanda said. "We have to act like who we aren't but also who we were," she said, making sense to her.

Nathan just nodded and agreed, not wanting to have a debate with her. He was learning fast that the mind of a teenage girl made its own conclusions and once it was set, it was set in stone. He would just try to chisel a few bits in to make sure she got some right. Not that he didn't like Amanda; he actually adored her. Nathan smiled. If he'd had a daughter he would've wanted her to be like Amanda. Just minus some of the att.i.tude.

They walked along for twenty minutes when John sped up till he was beside Nathan. "Aren't you going to teach?" he asked.

Startled, Nathan jerked slightly when he heard John. He looked at him, "Oh sorry, just lost in thought," he said. "Let's begin." First he tested them on what they had covered so far, then he started on new stuff till they saw ahead where the road turned from gravel to pavement. "Okay, this is it. Keep your eyes open," Nathan said.

As they walked the forest fell away on their left, gradually turning into an open field. Up ahead they saw the state road and could see people pushing carts in either direction. Coming up to the stop sign they looked in both directions to see about thirty people on the one-mile stretch of road right and left. Four people sped by them on bicycles, with one pulling a trailer. They all noticed everyone was armed with at least a rifle across their back.

They crossed the highway, staying on the small blacktop road. "Can we get bikes?" Amanda asked in a low voice.

"I've thought about that myself but I've never carried this much gear on a bike. The most I've ever biked with was fifty pounds. Then you need to realize it's really hard to shoot when you have to steer. If anything, I would want some horses," Nathan said.

"Horses? I know they're awesome, but come on. They can't get us to Idaho," she said.

"Amanda, horses have been transporting men for thousands of years. You can carry a lot of gear, and as long as you have good gra.s.s the horse can live off the land with you," Nathan said.

Liking the sound of that, she asked, "How far could we go a day if we got horses?"

"About thirty-five to forty miles a day if we had pack animals," he answered.

"That's it? We could go more than that on a bike."

"Yeah, I've biked and averaged around forty-five miles a day, but I was dead tired every day. Riding a horse takes a lot out of you but not like riding a bike loaded with fifty pounds of gear. I also had this dog that wanted to chase every deer in the state of Idaho," Nathan said, looking at Ares. Ares was in the lead but didn't turn around, although his ears flickered.

"Ares is too well-trained for that," Amanda snapped, coming to his defense.

Laughing, Nathan said, "He was only a puppy then so I cut him some slack. He did learn a lesson why bucks have antlers. That deer scooped him up and threw him twenty feet." Nathan's body shook with laughter.

"Did you shoot that deer for doing that to him?" she demanded.

He stopped laughing, "No, Ares shouldn't have p.i.s.sed him off. His dad, Apollo, went and had a talk with the deer though," Nathan said.