Cooking every meal on campus became the sole responsibility of Alfred and Leon. The Captain thought it'd be best for the two of them to sleep in the galley. Two cots were set up in the musty pantry amongst large tin cans of green beans and sliced peaches. Cans of peaches followed Leon wherever he went! He hated peaches! In the makeshift bedroom/pantry was Alfred, Leon, the cockroaches and the rats. Alfred wondered if he'd ever escape the rats. Leon wondered if he'd ever get to sleep in a real bed.

"Pssst... Alfred." Leon called his friend in the dark.

"I'm awake son." Alfred had been thanking the Author for his good fortune and asking for his protection over his granddaughters and The Tunnel Children. He knew that the invisible king loved them even more than he did. He had his eye on them no matter how dire the circumstances.

"I need to tell you something and you're not gonna like it." Leon scooted his cot closer to Alfred's. He spoke much too closely. Alfred could feel his hot breath on his face.  "When I was cooking the stew I found something in the meat."

Alfred propped himself up on his elbow. "Was it bugs or rats? You'll have to get used to that." Alfred knew the new regime fed its units anything and everything. However, he had no idea how low they'd sunk.

Leon's whisper sounded low and husky. "It was a kid's finger, a pinky maybe."

Alfred sat up quickly hitting his head on a shelf. Brown dust floated down onto Alfred's snow-white hair. "You certain Leon? Perhaps an inexperienced butcher cut off part of his own finger?"

Leon swallowed hard. "No it looked like a child's finger. I saved it."

"You what?" Alfred hoped he misunderstood his young companion.

Leon lit a match and headed for the freezer. He brought the evidence back to Alfred.

"Look at this. Just how does a child's finger end up in government issued meat?" Leon held the tiny frozen finger too close to Alfred's face.

Alfred studied the finger. Leon was right. It was the size of a toddler's pinky. "How did the stew taste?"

Leon missed the point. "It coulda used more salt... other than that pretty good." He continued rattling on about spices and recipes.

Alfred grew impatient. "No Leon I mean the meat. Did it taste familiar?"

Leon was confused. "Well I haven't eaten much meat lately... but it didn't taste like anything I've ever had before and truthfully it was a bit stringy. I cooked it to death and added lots of powdered garlic to hide its gamey flavor." At that moment Leon realized what he'd fed the troops. "It wasn't just a finger was it?"

Mankind had indeed hit a new low. Alfred wept.

"Hey Al, I've got some good news though..." He opened his knapsack and revealed a hidden copy of The Book. "Look at this!"

As Alfred's eyes fell up the Author's words he hugged his young pal. "You've done Marina proud!"

"Not too shabby huh? And I've got nine total!" Habitually Leon went to fluff his hair and remembered his hair was no longer there. Leon wept. (Oh not really, but he did miss his hair!)

Alfred asked about his first love. "Where is your grandmother?"

"Nana headed back to Woodsburgh. She's hiding out in our secret underground lair. She thought it best if we split up with the copies and said, 'No sense in putting all our eggs in one basket,' whatever that means..."

Alfred thought about explaining the common phrase but knew it would be a waste of time. Instead he gushed, "That woman never ceases to amaze me."

"Whatever happened between you two? Seems like I shoulda been calling you Gramps instead of Al." Leon put The Book in the hidden compartment in his knapsack then using it as a pillow he laid back down.

"It's Alfred."

Alfred thought about the best summer of his teenage life. He and Marina were in love--even spoke of marriage! Marina hoped Alfred would join her on the mission field after they graduated high school. Even back then she had discernment. The spiritual climate was changing quickly. Any churches still up and running were heavily monitored by the government. Secret police would infiltrate the services. If the pastor or anyone in the congregation spoke of a kingdom outside of the United States of America they'd be hauled in for questioning. The questioning soon turned into imprisonment and sometimes torture and death. Citizens believing in other realms or spiritual beings--and especially the second coming of the king--were traitors.

In High School Marina started a secret underground church. She and Alfred were lab partners in Biology class. The chemistry between them was obvious to all. They started eating lunch together. After school they'd hold hands and walk along the docks and talk for hours. When she felt she could trust him fully she divulged her beliefs. He attended her secret gatherings for six months. It was perfect. They were in love and shared something bigger than the both of them. They had no idea the government had been monitoring Marina very closely. She was the leader after all. While still dressed in her cap and gown from graduation, two military officers showed up and informed her she was under arrest for nine counts of treason. They handcuffed the valedictorian in front of her entire graduating class. She spent the next 5 years in a reeducation camp.

As the Military Police hauled Marina off she warned Alfred, " Keep reading the book. It will guide you!" Soon after Marina's arrest The Gathering she started dissolved. Everyone, including Alfred, was scared. He didn't know when, or if, she'd ever come back. At first he wrote her letters but he never got one in return. Alfred was so depressed he began to drinking to dull the pain. His drinking led him to date all sorts of promiscuous women. That summer he closed The Book and his heart.

He couldn't explain all of that to her teenage grandson. Instead he stated, "Marina and I dated a long, long time ago and that's all there is to tell." He longed to divulge how he had blown his chances with his one and only true love. Then he thought, "Is it better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?" Alfred believed so. He secretly prayed the Author would give him a second chance.

"Liar." Leon rolled over on his cot imagining himself calling his pantry-mate Gramps.

Alfred perused through the pages of the priceless book. He read, 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.' In brokenness he asked the Author's forgiveness once again. He promised to never again take his words for granted. What a gift! So many copies of The Book sat untouched for years. Now he had joined the ranks of those willing to give their own lives to preserve its legacy.

The Author smiled at his army. He had rallied his troops: the old, the weak and the children. They had no special training, no strength and no prestige.

They were perfect.

Author's note: Ooh a story blossoming between Marina and Alfred! How do you feel about it?
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