Free An Undeclared War (Countdown to Armageddon Book 4) by Darrell Maloney Page A

Sara all grabbed hold as well, although they were limited help. It was just something they had to do. It seemed to be an essential part of saying goodbye.
         Tom had cut four sections of rope, each piece t wenty five feet long.
         He made a loop on each end of each piece of rope, and looped the ropes around stakes he and Jordan hammered into the ground.
         The four ropes, stretched across the grave, made a cradle that would hold the casket.
         For the first time since they’d moved into the compound, the house was completely empty of life. Never before had they left the security station unmanned, even when everyone else was outside planting crops or doing other chores.
         For a few brief minutes, they relied on the four men at Tom’s ranch to provide security from whatever or whoever out there might still do them harm.
         They gently placed the casket on the rope cradle, then stepped back. Tom asked them to bow their heads and said a short prayer.
         Linda said, “I’ll take the security desk. Somebody has to do it, and I said my goodbyes while we were doing her hair.”
         She didn’t get any arguments. It was nice of her to step up to the plate and bow out. Everyone loved Joyce, and no one wanted to miss the service.
         Linda opened the gate to let the men in, then stepped well away from them as they entered and took their place on the west side of the grave.
         Linda locked the gate behind them and then took her own place at the security console.
         She noticed for the first time that Jordan had turned one of the security cameras toward the grave, so that whoever had to pull security could see the ceremony.
         Linda smiled and spoke out loud to Jordan, even though he’d never hear her words..
         “What a sweet son you are. Thank you, dear.”
         Sara, for her part, held down the microphone on her radio during the brief service so that Joyce could hear it as well.
         The compound’s residents took places on th e east side of the grave, separated from the visitors by twenty feet or so. John looked longingly at Hannah, desperate to feel her touch, hold her, tell her he loved her. Knowing he couldn’t made an already dreadful moment even more so.
         Scott spoke first, with an appeal to God. He raised his face toward the sky and said, “Lord, please take this good woman under your wing and protect her. She didn’t deserve this, any of it. But she’s in your care now, and I trust you’ll do right by her. Please tell her how much I love her. How much we all love her. And how much we look forward to seeing her again someday.”
         Sara led the group in two hymns, Amazing Grace and Shall We Gather at the River. She looked through an old hymnal Joyce had on her bookcase, and found those two pages dog-eared.
         “These must be her favorites,” she told Linda. So she printed copies for everyone.
         Tom said a closing prayer, and it was time to lower Joyce into her final resting place. The four visitors on the west side of the grave each took a rope and unhooked it from the stakes.
         On the ea st side, Tom and Jordan took the ropes on the ends. Hannah and Zachary took the ropes in the middle.
         Slowly and deliberately, they walked toward the grave, the casket slowly lowering with each step.
         By the time they made it to the grave, Joyce was resting at the bottom, and the eight of them tossed the ropes into the hole atop the casket.
         They were a mere five feet apart now. It would be the closest John and Hannah would be to each other for several more months, and it broke their hearts.
         But their hearts weren’t breaking as bad as Scott’s.
         “Do you mind if I have some time alone with her?”
         Tom said, “Take all the time you need, my friend.”
         All the others walked away, careful to keep a safe distance between the