What is that black hole under Rebeka’s bed? Terri is turning into a real professional artist. Good job gal. I like your ceiling fan and light – you guys are going to have a brand new home to move into. What great ideas you both have. We are in a countdown also….16 days before we come home! Love ya’s and hugs, Nanc

As you would expect, this arm gave him a bit of an advantage. For one, he has a “vise “grip, so he does not need a wrench to tighten bolts. There are also a few ”extras” the company paid for to increase his efficiency. He could do light welds and light cuts ( thin metal and wood mainly). It also contains a built in PDA. Since the “cure,” which fractured one of the solar cells supplying power to his arm, Bruce has used his arm as little as possible.

The Meeting
Lunk and Tia came to a clearing, looking in and being quiet so not to attract any attention incase any slavers where around. they looked in and saw a man sitting in the middle of the field. It looked as though he was playing with something. He also had a small fire going. Small enough to not to give off much smoke and in the 2nd quarter of the day, by the time the smoke cleared the trees it had already dissipated. He was cooking something. They decided to try to avoid any confrontation, and side stepped the clearing. “SNAP”, Tai stepped on a branch. The sound was loud in the quiet clearing. As the man quickly stood up and looked around, his eyes stopped right where they where standing.

“Come on out” the man said.
Slowly walking out Lunk spoke “we don’t want any trouble”. Lunk kept one hand up and the other close to his gun.
“then why are you ready to go for your gun?” the man asked
as he stood there Lunk could get a better look at him. He was older than Lunk, he wore an over coat that could easily hid any weapon he may have if he had any. Lunk paid close attention to make sure he could see both hands of the man.
The man looked beyond Lunk and saw Tia and said “I have a little to eat, its fresh and hot, I don’t mind sharing”
As the man squatted back down in front of the fire, keeping an eye on Lunk and Tia, Lunk said “That would be great, IF you could spare some”

They sat in a half circle, and the man looked over at Lunk and said “ My name is Bruce”
“Lunk”
“Tia”
They shook hands and Lunk looked down at what Bruce was cooking.
“Man, that must be the biggest rat I have ever seen” Lunk said
“Meat is meat” Bruce answered “and when God provides I don’t question”

Lunk slowly approached the house, looking to his left and his right. He walked slowly through the front door which was only held on by the top hinge. “It seems safe enough.. dirty enough… dusty enough..” he said in a low whisper.

As he walked through the house he found the kitchen, but it was the door on the floor that caught his eye. It seemed as though the basement door had extra heavy wood, much heavier than the flooring. He noticed an area rug rolled up partially from what seemed to be high-winds. Reaching down, he grabbed at the door’s handle. Everything was quiet… too quiet… almost eerily quiet. But he had to try, he had to see if there were any supplies. Reaching to his side, he pulled out his weapon with his right hand, his left hand grabbing the handle as quietly as possible. The handle squeaked just slightly and that’s when he heard it. “Grrrrr!!!!!” the low growl startled him so much that he noticed he was holding his breath. “Exhale, Lunk. This isn’t the first time you’ve had to fight. Just get ready, just breathe slowly…” he continued to slightly pull on the handle and the growling became a low guttural exhale “grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr” He held his weapon tighter and in one quick swoop he swung the door open, ready to hit the cursed.

“DOWN BOY! SIT!” he heard the child’s voice scream out. Turning his head to the left and then the right he caught a glimpse of what seemed to be the outline of a child sitting and a dog directly in front of the child. “Hey, mister are you human or monster?” the boy asked in a serious and stern voice. Chuckling to himself, he lowered his weapon and replied, “100% human! What are you doing down here? Is anyone else with you?” There was a sudden pause in the conversation and then he heard the boy’s tone change to one of concern “I don’t know if I’m alone. I don’t know how long we’ve been down here. I don’t…” his voice started to crack. “We?” Lunk asked. “Yes, me and my dog”, he pointed to what Lunk could now see was a dog being held by a leash. The child continued, “I’m Johnny and this is Teddy Bear. My mom named her Angelique but she hated it. So I call her Teddy Bear.” “Teddy! Light!” he commanded, and the dog leapt onto the table behind the boy and pulled aside a small curtain with her teeth. With the sunsets light, Lunk was now able to see that the boy was maybe 8 or 9 years old and the chair he sat in was a wheelchair.

Shaking his head as he hung it down slightly, Lunk asked, “what happened? Why are you the only one here?” Johnny went on to explain that his dad retired from the Navy Seals and then married Johnny’s mom. 2 years later Johnny was born. There were some complications and Johnny’s paralyzed. Johnny’s matter-of-fact description led Lunk to feel like the young child was comfortable with himself and well adjusted. “My dad brought Teddy and me down to the basement when he heard the boom. And then he went to get my mom. I haven’t seen anyone since,” Johnny looked at the ground.

“So, what does Teddy Bear do for you?” Lunk asked, hoping to ease the sorrow he felt in the room. “Awww Teddy! She’s amazing!!!” Johnny exclaimed and he looked over to his beloved friend. “When I was really little my parents got her for me and told me she was trained to help me out. She goes everywhere with me, does everything with me. She was trained to get me food, water, open doors, cabinets, turn faucet handles, everything! We used to take her hunting a lot before the boom, and she would show us where stream water was. She’s my best friend!” Johnny finished with a long stroke down Teddy’s back.

“Fresh water, huh? She might come handy. Johnny… I think I can help you!” Lunk said in a caring voice. “You, help me? Naw! I can help you!” Johnny raised his eyebrows as he looked around the room. Lunk then noticed the mass amounts of food, bottled water, flashlights and batteries. It looked like someone was very well prepared for a disaster such as this.