Read Online In the Midst of Tribulation by Mary Griggs - Free Book Online Page B

said, "I remember when Panic Room came out and thought that Jody Foster had nothing on Jay."

"She had this built with the house?"

"Yeah, Jay's a little paranoid. She built this space back when everyone thought Y2K was something to worry about." He laughed as he shook the dimming flashlight back to full strength. "I think she was secretly a little bummed that nothing came of it." He walked over to the wine rack. "Let me grab a bottle."

Piper took the time while he searched to continue her study of the room. Completely self-contained, with water and food, she thought that someone could live down here for months. It was a lot like their host, well supplied but with hidden depth, she mused to herself. "You ever spent any time down here?"

"When we were kids, Mom used to ship us up here for part of the summer. We used to all come down here and tell ghost stories and eat that army surplus food."

"You mean meals ready to eat."

"Whatever." He made a face. "Cheryl and Carol liked the grape kool-aid packs that came with them but I never really cared for anything but the turkey dinner."

"I was partial to the spaghetti and meatballs."

"We only had to do it for one night per stay, so it wasn't so bad."

"Just think of having to live on them."

"Did you?"

"Sure. When we went out in the field, that was our only food."

"Too bad for you." Cody pulled out a couple of different bottles before selecting one. "Here we go." He raised the bottle and examined by flashlight. "Cool, it's from Australia."

"Incredible." Piper was astounded by the enormous amount of planning that had gone into this sanctuary.

Cody led the way upstairs and carefully secured the door and returned the wire to the jar. He put the bottle on the counter and wiped his hands on his pants. "What now?" he asked Jay.

"How about you start collecting dirty clothes and separating the loads?" She smiled fondly as he bounded off. "Ah, to be young again."

"I don't know. I wouldn't do it if I had to live through high school again."

"Amen, sister." Jay handed the corkscrew and bottle to Piper. "Would you do the honors?"

"Of course."

"So," she began. "You used to work with Martha?"

"Yeah, we went to the Academy together."

"Did you like being a cop?"

"Most of the time. I really enjoyed that it was a job that was both a physical and mental challenge."

"What have you been doing since the fall of the empire?"

Piper laughed. "I was a rent-a-cop."

"From all I've heard, that's a pretty dangerous thing to do."

"You're right on that. Defending the few haves against the starving have-nots wasn't really the way I wanted to go."

"What do you bring to the table?"

Piper tilted her head. "Excuse me?"

"Can you hunt, fish, farm?"

"I'm a good hunter. I've never farmed and fishing is boring."

"True but oh, so tasty." She punched down the rising dough and molded it into two loaves before sliding them to side to rise again before their trip into the oven. Jay checked the large pot of water and saw that it was boiling. She tossed in two boxes of pasta. "You ready for a new task?" she asked Piper.

"Whatever you need."

"In the fridge should be a paper bag of mushrooms. Get a couple handfuls and chop them up."

"Done." Piper took the mushrooms to the sink for a quick rub down. "What shall I do with the stems?"

"Put them in the bowl with the ends of the beans. When you go down to the garden tomorrow, you'll see the compost area."

"I can hardly wait," she said dryly.

Carol and Eva stepped into the kitchen. Carol hugged Jay. "It is wonderful to have a hot water for a shower."

"Glad you enjoyed it. I'm proud to offer all the comforts of home."

Eva shook her head. "Better than home or at least what was left after the crazy Christians were done," she said angrily.

"Well, you're safe here now. Make yourself comfortable."

"Do you need us to do anything?"

"Would you set the table? There are plates in the sideboard and utensils in the drawer."

"No problem."

Jay smiled her thanks as she