Free Pedestals of Ash by Joe Nobody

overwhelmed them. Nick and his son had decided to stay and help those people rebuild.
    Terri shook her finger at Nick and playfully scolded him. “You and Bishop seem to have a way about you. Both of you seem to have this bad habit of pissing people off. Bishop is lucky I happen to like the a lpha male type – not everyone does.”
    Nick laughed hard at Te rri’s remark. “So, speaking of M ister Bishop, where would that old dog have wandered off to? You didn’t finally get enough of that cornball humor and do him in , did ya?”
    Ter ri giggled and shook her head . “No, I did not ‘ do him in, ’ although his jokes sometimes make me want to sma ck him a bit .” It took Terri about 10 minutes to explain that Bishop was on a mission for his old boss , who had literally just dropped in from the sky. Wh en Terri got to the part about t he Independents and the President of th e United States, Nick’s eyes grew wide with disbelief.
    “Terri, you let hi m go do that by himself? Oh my G od , girl! Does he really think he can make it all the way to Fort Bliss and convince the p resident to negotiate with this new group? Wow! I thought I lead an exciting life.”
    Terri went on to explain that t he Colonel, Bisho p’s old boss and friend of the p resident, believed there would be civil war between m ilitary units loyal to the p reside nt and those having sided with t he Independents. The Colonel was worried any conflict would go nuclear and perhaps destroy what was left of the country.
    Nick took a bit to digest all of this information. He finally looked up and nodded, “I understand now. After thinking about it, I don’t blame this Colonel guy. I’ve never met a bette r man for the job than Bishop. Still, y ou have to be worried sick about him. Has there been any word?”
    Terri explained what little she knew aft er t he Colonel’s grandson had returned with the medical equ ipment. It wasn’t much information, but the last time anyone saw Bishop, he was headed off into the desert north of Alpha. Terri tried to cheer herself up, “You know Bishop - he’s like a cat with all those lives. He knows the desert , and I’m sure he’ll be just fine.”

    Deacon Brown r ealized the survivors of the morning’s skirmish were more important at the moment than her grieving over the loss of her son. Promising herself she would take the time to properly mourn his death later, she set about earning her reputation as a strong leader. She moved around the perimeter of the church, calmly issuing commands, reassuring the frightened , and generally taking control of the chaos that followed in the aftermath of the attack. The hardest part was cons oling the heartsick family members who had just lost loved ones. Diana knew all of them well, and she counted most as friends. None of these people had signed up to fight a war or do battle. Many were near or at r etirement and until recently had planne d to finish out their days in the quiet, peaceful life a small western community affords .  
    Even though the congregation had held its ground, they had taken quite a few casualties. It would take days just to dig enough graves to bury everyone they had lost. Out of the 50 able- bodied men defending the compound, there were now 21 dead or badly wounded. The fight had expended over half of their remaining ammunition , and by the end of the day , their limited medical supplies would be exhausted.
    Even though Dian a worked tirelessly , t rying to recover and regroup , the grim reality of the situation could not be ignored. It b ecame more and more obvious the church followers wouldn’t be able to hold out if attacked again. After making sure she had done everything possible in the parking lot , both to console and secure , she retired to her office and sat at her desk pondering the future. The sheer number of sick and wounded made evacuation practically impossible. Even if they did have the gasoline and transportati on available to vacate