Daria felt a chill go down her spine after Helen asked her question. Oh, crap, she thought as she blushed. "Mom?"

"My car, Daria. Where is it? I looked in the parking lot before we ate and never saw it."

Martin looked from Daria to Helen and back to Daria again. From his expression, he had no idea what Helen was talking about.

"Furthermore, Daria," Helen continued, "I'd like to know how you and Jane ended up in West Virginia. Just where in the world did you two go on Black Saturday?"

Jane walked up then and said, "It's like this, Helen. A band of roving gypsies--"

"Jane!" Daria said quickly and shut her friend up. She swallowed, looked down at her mother's legs and then said, "We went on a road trip, Mom."

"A road trip? Here? Why here? What's here?"

"We went to Morgantown, Mom. We just...ended up here."

Helen frowned and thought for several seconds. "That's a 200-mile trip from Lawndale, Daria."

"I know, Mom."

"O.K. What was in Morgantown that you two just had to see or do?"

Daria cringed and swallowed again. God, if you are merciful, you'll make my death quick. Finally, she said, "Lunch."

"You went to 200 miles to Morgantown, West Virginia, just to have lunch? You didn't tell us where you were going! You didn't even ask permission! WE THOUGHT YOU TWO WERE DEAD!" Helen put her hands over her face and took several deep breaths as she calmed herself down. "O.K., Daria, where's the car?"

Daria looked as if she were about to cry. "It's...it's in the median strip of Interstate 68 somewhere near the Maryland/West Virginia border. I wrecked it when I was temporarily blinded by the Philadelphia bomb."

Helen glared at her daughter and moved up to her quickly.

Daria closed her eyes and braced herself for the slap she was certain was coming. To her surprise, her mother wrapped her up in an embrace and held her tightly. Helen sobbed as she held her.

"Mom?" Daria asked, shocked.

"Don't ever do that to me again, Daria."

Daria felt the tears flow from her eyes as she said, "I'm sorry, Mom."

For more than a minute the two held onto each other. Martin and Jane kept their distance, but stayed close enough to keep a watch.

Finally, Helen calmed down again, wiped her eyes and spoke. "When it's time for us to leave, Daria, how are we going to go? I really don't want to walk." She broke the hug and waited for an answer.

"We have an SUV, Helen," Jane replied. "The man who owned it was dead when we found him."

Helen did some quick mental math and asked, "Does Trent and Pam have something to drive?"

"No," the taller girl said. "They arrived here on foot."

"Seven of us are going to be a tight fit in an SUV, Jane. That's not even counting on any luggage."

"There's eight, Mom," Daria said quickly and wiped her eyes. "Martin's not staying here when we leave."

"There's nine, amiga," Jane added. "Danny wants to go with me, as well."

Helen looked at the two girls in shock, then at Martin.

"Mrs. Morgendorffer," Martin said, "The dual cab F-150 in my garage is mine, free and clear. It can hold up to six people, but four can ride in it comfortably."

Helen looked at her daughter. "Daria?"

"I'm not leaving him behind, Mom," Daria said firmly and crossed her arms over her chest. "I will not abandon Martin."

The older woman looked at her daughter for several seconds and noticed a hardness to her that she hadn't seen before. Then she looked at Daria's beau, sighed and said, "When you come along, I'll expect you to follow some basic rules and guidelines, the same as I would expect from Daria and Jane."

"I was going to ask you to be my guardian, anyway, Mrs. Morgendorffer," he said.

"You're 18, Martin," Helen said. "You don't need a guardian."

Daria moved next to her boyfriend and held onto his left arm with both of her hands. "The church leaders won't accept that fact, Mom," she said. "They consider him a child and are trying to...treat him like one. They've tried the same thing with me."

Helen looked at Daria, then at Martin. "Very well," she said. "I'll be your guardian, at least while we're here. Will you have a problem following any orders I give you?"

"No, ma'am."

"Think about that carefully before you say that, Martin. Protecting Daria is my first priority. That means protecting her even from you."

"I would never hurt Daria!"

"Mom!" Daria cried out.

Helen smiled at both of them. "I never said that you were going to hurt Daria, Martin. But please, think about it awhile before you submit to my authority."

Just then, Col. Armalin walked up. "Mrs. Morgendorffer," he said politely. "I trust that you and your daughter are doing fine?"

"Perfectly, Colonel," she said. "How about yourself?"

Armalin stroked his chin, smiled wryly and said, "I have a slight problem that you can help me with."

"Oh?"

He looked at Daria, Jane and Martin. "If you three would excuse us?"

"There should be no problem telling...my kids...what you're going to tell me."

Daria and Martin looked at each other and smiled.

"Very well," the Marine said. "Did you have some sort of problem with Odell Jones?"

"Martin and I did," Daria spoke up. "He railroaded us on sex charges and tried to set me up for...for...something bad."

"I see. So you two were 'John and Jane Doe'?" Without waiting for an answer, he turned back to Helen. "Please, don't threaten anymore people with a pistol in the church, Mrs. Morgendorffer. The preacher was...upset, to say the least."

"He'll get over it." Helen gave the Marine a small smile. "As long as...Mr. Jones...leaves me and mine alone, we'll leave him alone."

oooooooooo

As 10 p.m. arrived, most of the shelter inhabitants were settled for the night. Helen sat in the lunchroom with a cup of coffee and listened to the radio. She had the volume down so that the three or four people watching TV could hear what the CNN news anchor was saying.

Kathy Wilson walked into the lunchroom, saw Helen and approached her. "Hi," she said and held out her right hand. "You're Daria's mother, aren't you? I'm Dr. Kathy Wilson."

Helen took the offered hand, shook it and said, "Helen Morgendorffer. Would you care to join me?" She turned off the radio.

The doctor served herself some coffee from the coffee maker and sat across from Helen. "Thank you. I would have talked to you earlier, but I've been busy today with all the supplies the Marines brought us."

"Daria spoke highly of you," Helen said. "Considering she doesn't do that for anyone very often, that's high praise indeed. Thank you for taking care of her."

Kathy sipped some coffee, smiled and replied, "Hey, it's my calling. I think highly of her and Jane, too, but their sarcasm takes some getting used to."

Helen smiled back. "Sarcasm is what Daria and Jane do best. They tend to see the worst...or the stupidest...in people. That's why seeing her with Martin is somewhat of a surprise."

"He's sarcastic, too, but not at their level." The doctor yawned and leaned back in her chair. "You know, she's the best thing to ever happen to him."

"Oh? What was Martin's mother like? I've not heard much good about her."

Kathy looked at her silently and said, "This is just between the two of us. Martha Peters, in my professional opinion, was totally insane. John, Martin's father, should have had her institutionalized long ago. When she gave in to her madness, she killed two people, nearly killed another and tried to kill Daria, as well."

"I heard about that." Helen shivered. "What about Martin? What is he like? I'm trying to see what Daria sees in him, and understand her attraction."

"He's very intelligent, a loner and somewhat rebellious. He especially loves to hunt and read. His mother wanted him to be a preacher, but he didn't want to be one, and they clashed over that. If my guess is right, he would have run away after he graduated from high school."

"He's a loner?" Helen asked and frowned. "Not the Columbine type, I hope."

"No. His mother...formed a cocoon around him, kept others away. He tried to make friends many times, but those who responded to him were chased away by her. Most people...avoided him, because of her." Kathy sipped her coffee. "It was sad to see him many times in a crowd, but all by himself." She looked down in thought for a couple of seconds, then continued, "Daria and Jane came here for help and suddenly there were two people who didn't look down on him. They didn't treat him like a freak."

"You mean the people here treat him like that?" Helen asked.

"Some of them, yes," Kathy said. "They were afraid of Martha, and in turn, afraid of him. Others joined Martha in saying that he was called to the ministry, but most of them just simply stayed away from him. He's a really good kid, but most people never got close enough to see it. During the raid, he almost died saving Daria's life and their friendship grew. But then, she also saved his life. Before I knew it, they were an item." She looked at Helen and smiled. "I don't think Martin will stay here. He is closer to Daria and Jane than he is to the members of this church. When you folks leave...he'll either follow you or take off on his own."

Helen thought for a few seconds, then asked, "This may sound like a stupid question, but how honorable is he?"

The doctor sipped some more coffee and said, "Martin Peters would die for Daria, Jane and maybe even you. Maybe even my dog, Benji. He may not even realize it, but when he acts to help others, he doesn't think about his own safety. He puts himself in harm's way to help others."

oooooooooo

Martin found himself outside the church. He saw the smoke of his burning home in the distance. Then he looked to see Glen's body on the ground in front of him, as well as that of Melissa Smith. He saw Daria on her knees and started to run towards her.

Martha Peters shot the girl in the head and she fell back against the building; her body slid to the ground, leaving a smear of blood on the bricks.

"NOOO!" he yelled and Martha turned towards him.

She cocked the pistol, aimed it at him and yelled, "Traitor! Hellspawn!" She fired the weapon at his face and everything went white.

oooooooooo

Martin sat up quickly in his sleeping bag, and took several deep breaths. He covered his face in his hands and shivered.

Helen stirred as he moved and she looked at him through barely opened eyes. Then she saw Daria get up and move over to him.

"Hey," Daria said quietly as she got on her knees beside him. "You O.K.?"

"I had a nightmare," he said. "It was about her."

"Oh."

"She killed you, Daria, then she killed me." He took another deep breath. "It was horrible!"

Daria embraced him, kissed him lightly and said, "It's O.K. It's over, honey, it's over."

Helen paid close attention to their actions, but laid still.

"I need to get up," he said. "Nature's calling."

"Do you need help getting up?" Daria asked.

"Probably."

She helped him to his feet and gave him his walking stick. "Here you go, gimpy," she said and smiled.

"I ought to kick your butt," he said and smiled back.

"You'd have to sleep sometime, Martin. You'd be too easy to get back."

He kissed her. "I don't deserve you."

"I know." She hugged him briefly. "You'll be O.K. if I go ahead and lay back down?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Daria. I love you."

"Love you, too." She smiled as she watched him walk off, then got back into the sleeping bag.

Helen waited until Martin returned. She watched him as he glanced at Daria, then got back into his sleeping bag.

oooooooooo

The next morning, Daria and Helen went to breakfast and sat together, followed by Jane, Pam and the two little girls. "Was Martin O.K, Daria?" Helen asked. "He got up in the middle of the night."

"Bathroom trip and he had a nightmare, Mom. If I can, I try to help him up."

Helen looked at her daughter for several seconds, then said, "It's...strange watching you two together. You act so...so...I don't want to say it."

"Is the word 'intimate'?" Daria asked.

Her mother blushed and looked away.

Daria ate some of her cereal. "I never thought of it that way." Then she suddenly glanced up and asked, "You're still worried that we're...doing it, aren't you?"

"Yes, sweetie, just a little bit. After all I was a teenager once and I do know what happens when teenage hormones rage."

Jane laughed and the two little girls laughed with her.

Daria looked at Pam's daughters and glared at Jane. "Watch it, Lane, or your hormones are going to scream." Then she turned back to her mother. "Mom, my hormones don't rage. They just get ticked off and stop speaking."

"Oh, Daria, how do I love thee?" Jane said aloud. "Let me count the--"

Daria slapped her right hand over her best friend's mouth and looked at Pam. "Did she find some whisky or did she finally go insane?"

"I have no idea," Pam said. "She was giggling on and off when I woke up and hasn't stopped yet." The two girls laughed again and the young mother sighed. "She's getting them worked up as well."

Helen smiled and ate her cereal.

Martin walked up, the walking stick firmly in his left hand. "I want to work at the house today, Daria," he said. "Can you help me?"

"Are you sure that you want to go in the ruins?"

"I know for a fact that there are iron skillets and a safe." He sighed. "Those probably survived the fire. There could be something else. I'd like to at least check."

"O.K.," Daria said. "I'll get you some cereal and we'll go after you eat."

"I want to go, too," Helen said.

Daria winced briefly, turned and smiled at her. "Are you trying to keep us from being alone, Mom?"

"Sweetie, you look stronger and more confident than you did at Lawndale, but Martin is a big, heavy man and you will need help if he gets stuck or hurt."

"Hey, now," Martin spoke up. "I weighed 202 the last time I checked. Most of it muscle."

Daria glanced at him. "Like I told you last night, your muscle is in your mouth."

Suddenly, Jane said, "As much as you two kiss, his lips were bound to bulk up." Then she pounded the table and laughed again. The girls laughed again only to be shushed by their mother.

Daria turned to her best friend and glanced at her through narrowed eyes. "What are you smoking?" she asked, "and why haven't you shared it with the rest of us?"

oooooooooo

Odell Jones sat in his office of the church parsonage and checked the Internet hookup. To his surprise, he got online with no trouble at all.

The parsonage was no longer used as a home, though it had been available to Glen and Jenny Bates as one when he became senior pastor in 1968. Instead, they stayed in their home just down the road and he had the parsonage remodeled to include offices for the deacons, the music minister and the Sunday School superintendent.

Odell liked the office for the privacy that it offered, especially the locked filing cabinet that held his stash of vodka. He drank it sparingly, however, because a drunk deacon was heavily frowned upon.

He tried not to think about how his phone line scam had almost been caught. They think this 'Forever Kristie' did it. Let them think that. I just wonder who she is.

It took him 15 minutes of searching to find Forever Kristie and her blog. The only pictures of her had her head and face shaded out. Odell stared at the body that wore a simple black T-shirt and blue jeans. "Don't know who you are...yet, little girl. But I will."

He clicked on the blog itself and started reading:

"...Odell Jones and Martha Peters got into it during Sunday School today. She accused him of trying to corrupt Martin and he told her that she's an unfit mother. John Peters had to hold her butt back and they all went to the preacher's office over it.

During that meeting, Martin sat by himself. Nobodie wants to go near him. They're afraid of the wicked witch. I like him and he's kinda cute, but Mom and Dad won't even let me talk to him. He looks so lonely..."

Odell snorted in laughter and smiled. Martha Peters was more than unfit. She was a total nut job. It felt good to shoot her. Then he read on:

"...it happened again. I was bent over wiping down a table after the carry-in and Odell Jones looked down my dress again! To make it even worse, it was the loose dress Mom made me wear, so he could see my bra and panties! I caught the old perv licking his lips! Ughhhh!"

The deacon stared in shock at the monitor and searched his memory for the girl. The problem was that over the years, he had looked down many blouses and dresses and he couldn't remember the incident or girl in question.

"...I finally got to talk to Dani again. She quit church suddenly and now I know why. When we came back from King's Island, it was late and everybody slept. She had to share a seat with Odell Jones and he let her use his coat for a cover. Glen and Jenny took turns driving. Dani said that during the night, Odell kept his hand inside her pants and made her touch his...thing. How disgusting. She's afraid of telling..."

Oh, hell. Those Marines have read her blog.

For the next hour, Odell read over the entries in shock. Most of them dealt with the life of a teenage church girl, her crushes, likes and fears. But there were nearly 20 entries dedicated to the deacon and his...misadventures, including the incident involving Martin and Daria. The sad part was that it was all true. He closed his eyes, turned away from the computer and groaned.

Outside, two Marines, one male and the other female, walked on a patrol, their path different than the one used by the church patrols. She fills out her uniform nicely, he thought and shook his head. Get that out of your mind, Odell! You are in trouble and it's all because of a gossipy teen bitch.

Two children ran between the church and the parsonage, apparently playing tag or some other silly game. Then Odell saw someone lurking along the church. He looked closer and shook his head. "That stupid Andrews girl," he muttered. "Must be meeting one of the boys behind the bushes." He briefly smiled at the thought of watching them, but turned away and looked back at the computer.

For several minutes, he stared at the screen in thought. Then he clicked on the refresh button and was surprised to see a new entry. "What the--"

Odell turned around quickly and looked where he had seen the teen girl. She had a laptop computer and he saw her disconnect a cord from the telephone box on the building. As she walked off, he blinked and said, "Renee Andrews is Forever Kristie." He remembered looking down her dress then and clenched his fists. "I'll have to leave before the Marines suspect too much," he muttered. "But you are coming with me, girl."

oooooooooo

Daria, Helen and Martin arrived at the ruined house nearly an hour later. Daria stood on the porch and looked at the remains for a few minutes. Then she glanced at Martin and said, "Your clothes will be filthy before you're through."

"I'm going to change into coveralls in the garage," he said.

"Well, what about your feet? Martin, what if you step on a nail?"

"Daria, I can't put this off forever." He sighed as she stared at him. "I'll take one of the brooms with me. I'll sweep a path as best as I can. Besides, most of the nails in there will be...brittle, if they're even still intact."

Helen touched Daria's right shoulder and the girl looked at her. "Daria, we'll be here to help Martin and he is right. This needs to be done."

"But, Mom..."

"When is your last rabies shot, Daria?"

The teen sighed and looked down. "Tomorrow."

"You're wanting to leave, aren't you?"

Daria nodded.

Helen pulled the girl to her and hugged her. "Let Martin look. That way, if there is something he finds, then he can get it. He's going with us and we'll be here to help him."

Martin looked at them and said, "I'm going to change."

Daria broke Helen's hug and said, "I'll help you." The older woman started to speak, but the teen stared at her and she stepped back and said nothing. "Thank you, Mom. We'll be right back." She moved up to her mother and whispered, "We won't do anything, Mom. I promise."

Helen blushed and nodded.

Inside the garage, Daria leaned against the truck and watched as Martin removed his shirt, then his right shoe. When he loosened his belt, he looked at her and asked, "Do you have to stare?"

She smiled at him. "Uh, huh. I'm enjoying myself."

Martin stood up and turned around.

Daria moved in front of him and said, "Don't turn around on me, boy. Just go ahead and strip."

He blushed and took a deep breath. "Uh, Daria?"

"Just pull them down slowly, Martin. Let me...savor the moment." She laughed.

He blinked and said, "O.K." He pulled the pants down slowly and looked away as she looked him over.

"Well, Martin, I see that you're 'very ready' again. Do you need a couple minutes alone to take care of that?"

"No!"

"Or...do you need help?"

Martin stared at his girlfriend in shock. "Daria?"

"If so, we need to be quick about it." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, what do you say?"

"I'd like to...I really would...actually, I'd love it...but not with your mother just outside. It's something we can do another time, when we're alone."

Daria smiled for a couple of seconds, moved up to him and kissed him briefly. "Congratulations, honey," she said quietly. "You just passed another test."

Martin looked at her and asked, "How many tests am I going to go through?"

She kissed him again and clamped her left hand on his butt. "I can't tell you that. These are pop quizzes, you know." She looked him over slowly and said, "Speaking of things that 'pop'...I look forward to it. 'After' we leave the Carthage area. Now get your coveralls on and let's get this done, handsome."

oooooooooo

Later, Jane found Pam in the church hallway after she had worked on cleaning the sanctuary. "Come on, Pam," she said. "Let's gang up on Trent - get him to admit to whatever happened between him and Helen."

"Jane, wait!" Pam said quickly. "I think we should just drop it."

"What? Aren't you just the least bit curious? Don't you want to know what happened?"

"No, I don't."

Jane stared at Pam in shock. "I don't understand."

Pam pulled the teen girl towards the sleeping areas. "Come and take a look," she said. There Trent sat with Vickie and Amber as he read them a children's story. "We've only been together a month and he's already more of a father to my girls than their real Dad ever was."

"You never talk about your ex," Jane pointed out.

"What's to talk about? He...didn't want the girls and blamed me when they were born girls." She looked down. "He'd hit them for the least little thing. Amber accidentally broke a beer bottle once and he whaled into her...in front of my family."

"What happened?"

Pam smiled. "My brothers put him in the hospital. After he got out, he got a six-month jail sentence for battery and I divorced him." She sighed. "I haven't seen him in more than a year."

"Did he...beat you?" Jane asked.

"No. He loved me, but he couldn't stand the girls." She shook her head and looked back at Trent and the girls. "They love Trent. He plays with them, reads to them and sings to them."

"Have you heard him sing?" Jane's expression was one of shock. "That could warp your girls for life!"

Pam smiled at the teen. "He sings really good, I'll have you know. The girls love it. He makes them feel safe, wanted and loved. He makes me feel safe, wanted and loved. I don't want to lose it. I don't even want to risk it." She closed her eyes. "On Black Saturday, I was on the verge of panic. My girls were bawling from the explosions. I was trying to get back home and the car broke down." She took a couple of deep breaths. "A man tried...tried to get me out of the car. He said that he'd help me if I...if I..." She shuddered. "...in front of the girls. When I refused, he broke out the driver's window. The girls and I were in a panic. Trent showed up, shot the stupid son of a bitch and calmed us down. Then he took us with him to Taylorsville. Has he always been so...laid back?"

"As long as I can remember," Jane said. "But Pam, what if he did...boink Helen?"

The woman shook her head. "I don't care. I don't want to know. Trent and I had separate lives before we met each other. If he and Helen did do that...well, it's not the same kind of relationship he had with Monique. He still gets choked up over her death."

"He won't talk about her with me. I've tried to get him to, but he refuses."

"Neither can I," Pam admitted. "All I know is that theirs was an on-again, off-again relationship...and that she died. But what I know for certain is this. One day, he'll be ready to talk about Monique and what happened. When he is, I'll be there for him, and I'm not going to chase him away over Helen."

Jane crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. "It's going to drive me nuts."

"Does Daria know about this?"

"No. She and Martin were...busy themselves when Helen arrived."

Pam nodded. "Then let it die. Don't tell Daria or Martin. Telling her especially would only cause unnecessary trouble. Let it die."