A/N: Well after a long break I am back and ready to start working again. I don't know exactly how long it will be in between chapters because I am back at school and when I actually do sit down to study it will take me awhile and I don't always feel the inspiration to write. Today it was raining outside and my mind finally started to work again at least in the story writing department. lol
Disclaimer: I own all of the characters in this story and the basic plot. Anything that comes from the Bible is God's and I am not gonna take any credit whatsoever for that. This story is taking longer than I thought to get to the bulk of the story. I didn't mean for the background chapters to last this long but it looks like that is the way it is going. So for at least the next two chapters (this one and the next one) we will still be focused on what is going on before they go underground. So without further ado (you probably didn't come here to listen to me go on and on anyway) this is chapter 4 of The Underground. R&R
"I am not going to give up my life just because some old man says that the world is coming to an end," Brian Fairchild exclaimed in reply to his wife's pleas.
"It isn't just some "old man", Brian. He is your uncle and that has to count for something,"
Gwen Fairchild was at her wits end. Joseph Wheeling had called the house only moments ago to let her know that Operation: Underground was being initiated. Before she had time to think her husband had walked into the kitchen where she was sitting. By the wearied look on his face she could tell that he had had a hard day and she had known better than to even mention his uncle's name. But desperate times call for desperate measures and this was definitely one of those times. The lives of the ones she loved the most, were in jeopardy and she was not about to sit idly by and watch them get hurt.
As Gwen had predicted, her confrontation did not go well. The tone of the conversation had turned from harsh tones to an outright verbal battle between the couple.
"I do not want to put my family in a position where they will waste their lives worrying about some crazy law. No one is going to let Jacques get away with this."
"Are you blind?" Gwen screamed then, remembering that her two year old twins were asleep in the next room, changed the tone of her voice to a whisper. "No one has dared to contest any of Jacques laws. He doesn't even have a say in them anyway. Don't you see that the government is taking control? Where would you rather have your children grow up: in a place where we can teach them about God and the truth or in a re-education camp where they will learn nothing but lies and grow up to fight against what we believe?" At this point Gwen was in tears. She felt so strongly about this and seeing her husband reject what she believed in was more painful than the matter at hand. She briefly collected her thoughts and offered one final plea. "Listen, all I am asking you to do is to go to this meeting tonight and give your uncle a chance. If you still don't want to go after that then I will stand behind you."
Brian was a little stubborn at times but he wasn't stupid enough to argue with his wife especially considering she was right. It wasn't so much that he wanted to oppose his uncle. In fact, up until a few months earlier he had been helping Geoffrey devise the final touches to his plan. The reality of it all was that he was scared. Up until this point his life had been fairly certain. Sure there had been times when he felt like everything was crashing in but he had something that was more powerful than any problem he would ever face. That was what had kept him going each day but now he had let that trust slowly weaken until he no longer felt the peace and comfort that had brought him through so many times. He didn't want his children to see him like this so he tried to be strong but he was now at an impasse.
"Ok, I will go but I am not making any promises. If you want to take the kids and move in to the compound I won't stop you. There are just some things that I need to work out before I can do this." He ran his fingers through his short curly blonde hair and stared at the linoleum floor waiting for a response. Gwen remained silent but wrapped her husband up in a big bear hug. She knew that it was hard for him. She had seen it in his eyes. What seemed like the logical thing to her was a test of his ability to protect the ones he loved.
"Thank you," she whispered into his ear. "I love you." She said a silent prayer of protection for her husband, gave him a kiss on the cheek, then headed upstairs to prepare to leave.
After searching almost every room on the second floor, Nika had finally found her father and Lydia and now they were all seated in the family room. Alaina tried to keep a cheerful demeanor for the sake of her girls. This was a critical time for all of them but she wanted to make the transition a little easier on them. They would most likely be spending the rest of their lives as fugitives and if the need arose they might also have to fight for their beliefs. She tried not to dwell on the specifics because they were too painful to think about. Right now her main priority was getting her girls to safety before it was too late.
"Mom, why are we having a family meeting?" asked Lyddy. Four little eyes were focused on their mother as she began to explain.
"Something really bad is happening and we have to go hide for a little while," Alaina began. "Your cousins are going to be there and Uncle Joe. It will be like we are camping out."
"But, I don't want to leave mommy," Nika cuddled up closer to her mother and Lydia climbed into her daddy's lap.
"Pretend we are going on a secret mission." Luke added trying to calm his daughter's fears. "No one else can know about this except the people who are playing too."
"Really!" questioned Lyddy. The thought of going on a secret mission had piqued her interest. Nika was even looking a little more excited and less unhappy. "When do we get to go?"
"Tonight, after it gets dark. We can't let anyone see where we are going. We only take a couple things with us though. You can each take one backpack full of things because there are going to be a lot of people there."
Before the girls could reply a knock on the front door grabbed Alaina's attention and she got up to see who it was. Standing at the door was Gwen with a child on holding each hand and another one standing beside them holding a suitcase and a diaper bag. "Lainey, I am so glad to see you!" She momentarily left go of two tiny hands and embraced her best friend. "I know we are early but I needed someone to talk to."
Alaina smiled and welcomed her friend into the house. In a time when everything was spinning out of control a friendly conversation was just what she needed to unwind.
