Free Compass Call: Survival & Awakening (The Gatekeeper Book 3) by Kenneth Cary Page A

us,” said Marissa.
    “I would like to think not,” said John, “but it’s like I said before, desperate people will do desperate things. A charismatic leader might energize a large enough group to pose a significant threat to our safety,” said John.
    “You mean . . . kill us!” said Paul. “I don’t know how much food you have, but how long will it feed that number of people?”
    “Not long enough to make a difference,” replied John, “maybe two weeks tops, and that’s if it’s rationed.”
    “But isn’t keeping that number of people alive for a couple weeks better than letting them all starve to death?” asked Paul.
    John wanted to remind Paul that he was in that same survival boat, a worse one even, just a few days ago. It annoyed John that Paul was willing to offer up his food, when he did nothing to prepare his own family for the disaster. But he quickly calmed himself and asked, “And what would they do after two weeks? What would
we
do when all
our
food is gone?” asked John, in a calm and even tone.
    Marissa must have picked up on John’s displeasure with Paul, because she said, “You’re absolutely right, John. It’s not our place to offer up your families’ food. I see now that we . . . my family, has had an impact on your family’s survival by living here, so please accept our apology. What you did for us, and what you continue to do for us, is more than we deserve given our lack of preparedness.”
    John sighed and said, “When we invited you into our home we abandoned our sole claim on the food we have.” John turned to look at Bonnie and Pete, “The same applies to you guys. I don’t refute Paul’s petition for charity because I’m selfish, I refute it because it’s not my mission to sacrifice myself, or anyone in this house, for the people around us who did nothing to prepare. I concluded, long ago, that their decision to not prepare is far reaching. Their survival was predicated on their disinterestto prepare long before the disaster, and now we’re seeing them enter the consequences phase of their decisions. We’re under no obligation to share what we have, especially if it means we’ll kill ourselves in the process.”
    John paused and took a deep breath. “I know it sounds hard and cruel, but we don’t owe these people anything. This is like Noah when the floods came. If we feed our neighbors, we’ll be just like them in no time at all,” he finished.
    They silently considered John’s words, each of them caught up in the implications of survival, how it applied to them and those around them. As expected, it was Paul who continued to dwell on the target aspect of John’s preparedness. “Of those 180 people, how many of them do you think will actually try to attack us? I mean, probably only half of them are men, so that’s only ninety people,” said Paul.
    “Paul, an organized group of twenty men could take us,” said Pete, “but it would take only one man with a Molotov cocktail to burn us out of this house. There’s really no way to defend this home from a determined enemy attack. And the enemy will be determined when they attack,” replied Pete.
    “I take it the bunker is no longer an option . . . given our numbers,” said Jenna, as she turned to look at John.
    “What bunker?” asked Paul.
    John ignored Paul and directed his response to Jenna, “It’s more a storm shelter than a bunker really. And even if we could fit everyone inside, it would be more dangerous to be trapped in there than in our house.” John held his hands up and said, “It wasn’t designed to support long term occupation. Besides, would you really want to live in it for a week, two weeks, or longer?” asked John.
    “But they don’t know where it is,” said Jenna. “It’s hidden.”
    “The entrance is concealed . . . not hidden. Anyone with mild curiosity can find the door, and it’s only secured with a padlock,” said John. After a short silent pause he added, “I’d