G Hopf - The Long Road

“I immersed myself in the American dream. I worked hard and played hard. I drank from the hedonistic cup that is America and loved it. I let go of all my inhibitions. Nothing was too much for me, you see; I looked at it this way. If America won the Cold War, then they must be doing something right. I can’t tell you how much I believed that then as a young man. My gluttony knew no end until I woke up one day and looked around me. I had surrounded myself with people, so-called friends, girls, but they weren’t real people, they were shells of people. The excess that is America rotted them out and was rotting me out too. I then found the truth to it all, and that was God.”

He paused, thought for a moment, then continued. “I need to clarify something. My journey to righteousness didn’t come over time, it was thrust on me one day. I still remember that day as if it was yesterday. I got into my car, high on cocaine and alcohol, and drove it right into a group of children on their way to school. I maimed three children. Do you want to know the irony? I walked away with zero injuries. God came to me when I was in prison. He came down from heaven and wrapped his arms around me. He told me that I had a mission to fulfill for him, that I would be his prophet in this world. He needed me to be his instrument who would cleanse the world of all the debauchery and greed.

“When I was released from prison I immediately began working on God’s plan. I found the faithful and started my ministry. Then God sent a new sign, and that was when everything stopped working. I knew then that the beginning of the cleanse needed to happen in earnest. My ministry needed to grow from the few dozen worshiping in a strip mall to a vast movement.”

Gordon listened in disbelief. The man he saw across the table was insane. He could see it in his eyes. Gordon wanted to interject but knew it was best to stay quiet. He knew he needed to watch what he said, because anything might set this guy off. Gordon finally took notice of the room he was in. He kept looking for some type of clue as to where he was. Then he saw a stack of folders on the floor behind the man. On the corner of the top binder he saw “U.S. Army.” This didn’t make sense; was he at Fort Irwin? Were the men he’d seen walking the perimeter these men or men from this group? As Gordon thought about all the scenarios that would have him here, Rahab kept rambling.

“So now all of this brings us here. With you sitting there and me sitting here.” The man pointed at Gordon.

“Who are you?”

“No, the question is who are you?”

“My name is Gordon Van Zandt, and you have my son, Hunter. We were in the desert scavenging, that is all. Your men attacked us.”

“The devil has many agents. His desire is to stop God’s work.”

“Just please let us go,” Gordon begged again.

“How many are in your group?” Rahab asked.

Gordon hesitated before answering. If these were the same men guarding this expansive base, then Rahab had a small army. Letting him know about the others could put them all in jeopardy.

“It’s just us, plus my friend; whom I think you killed.”

The man didn’t say anything; he just stared at Gordon with his dark brown eyes.

“I swear, it’s just us; we were scavenging. We saw the base and thought that maybe we could get something, but we left.”

Still the man said nothing.

“Just let me and my son go. We will never come back here and never tell anyone.” Gordon said this knowing it sounded cliché, but he didn’t know what else to say. He didn’t have much to offer or leverage.

“I don’t believe you. I think there are more in your group. We will find them. As for you, that is it for now.” Rahab stood up and walked toward the door but stopped when Gordon spoke.

“Can I see my son?”

Looking at the other two men before answering, Rahab turned and said, “You’ll see your son very soon. I promise. Now take him back to his cell,” he commanded the men, then left the room.

“What about the others from the other day?” one of the men asked him.

“Ah, yes, prepare them for the ceremony tonight,” Rahab commanded.

Both men acknowledged their leader’s command, then grabbed Gordon and took him away.

40 miles east of Barstow, CA

“You need to eat,” Nelson said, handing Samantha a tuna packet.

Samantha looked at the dark blue packet in Nelson’s hand, then went back to marking grids on an old map of the area. Using a red marker, she shaded the areas they had searched. Unfortunately for her, most of the map was not touched by the red marker.

“Please, Sam, take a bite. You need the energy,” Nelson pleaded.

“Every minute I’m not looking for him is a minute lost.”

“How about I feed you while you mark more search grids for us?”

“You think this is a joke? My son is out there somewhere; so is my husband. Something happened. I don’t know what, but I can’t leave my baby boy out there! He’s alone and scared! He needs me!” Samantha lambasted Nelson.

“I don’t think this a joke, Samantha. Not at all. I just know if you don’t keep your strength up, then you can’t keep going. Then you’re no good to anyone, especially Hunter.”

Samantha had stopped looking at Nelson and was intently making marks on the map. But his last comment caused her to stop what she was doing and put the map down. Grabbing the packet of tuna out of his hand, she exhaled deeply.

“I’m sorry, Nelson, I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

“I know, Samantha, it’s okay. You eat that, and then we’ll head back out to the north to look for him.”

“You know, I’m also worried about Gordon, but he’d understand that I’m prioritizing the search for Hunter.”

“Of course he would,” Nelson said reassuringly.

“Where do you think Gordon is?” Samantha asked, tossing the empty tuna packet on the ground.

“I’m glad you asked. I wanted to talk to you without everyone else giving their opinion on the matter. I think we should send one team to go look for Gordon and Holloway. We know where they went. Plus, I have to say this: What if Hunter was with them?”

Samantha didn’t respond. She sat looking at the map on the ground. The light wind was blowing the edges up and shifting sand grains across the top. She had thought that could be the case but felt that Gordon wouldn’t have allowed it, no matter how much he wanted Hunter to be “a man.” He would never take their son with him.

“I have thought that, but Gordon wouldn’t have allowed it. I know him.”

“What if Gordon didn’t know?”

Shaking her head in amazement, Samantha said, “It’s possible. Oh my God.”

“Let’s send Eric and my dad.”

“Okay.”

Nelson left Samantha to finalize the search grid on the map while he instructed Eric and his father on their task. As he walked, he thought that Gordon had truly fucked up by going out to scavenge. He knew his friend, and knew that if he was still alive, he was cursing his decision with every ounce of his being.

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado

The whispers were the first thing Julia heard. She couldn’t make out who it was, but they were in the other room. She opened her eyes to an unfamiliar place. Looking left and right, she didn’t see anyone. Judging by the room, she was in the base hospital. When she moved her arm she felt a tug. She looked down to see an IV hooked up to her elbow. The events of two days before were clear in her mind up until she’d blacked out.

She ran her hand across her belly and talked to herself. “How are you doing in there, huh?”