Curtain Fall: Second Edition, Disaster, Preparedness, Survival, Awakening (The Gatekeeper Book 1) by Kenneth Cary Read Free Book Online Page A

expert on preparedness. He was just an average guy, with an average voice, and an average mind. He had no rocks big enough to throw and attract anyone’s attention. He had no metaphorical windows to break, or whistles to blow. He was on his own – at least until he understood what was really bothering him about the Caldera.
    John looked at Tony and said, “It’s my mom . . . she’s in the hospital . . . very sick.”
    “I’m sorry to hear that,” said Tony, and he began to shift his weight from left to right, as if he had to pee. He was obviously uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation. John thought, “ Why’d you ask if you weren’t prepared for my response?” Instead of saying what he was thinking, John took a deep breath and forced a smile. “It’s okay, Tony,” said John. He was happy to see his answer pleased the others, and they immediately turned away and left the conference room.
    Tony was staring at John, obviously unsure about what to say. John saved him the trouble by saying, “I better go catch up with Rebecca. I’ll come find you when I’m done,” and he excused himself and headed to Rebecca’s office.

T he meeting with Rebecca went better than John could have expected. He stuck to the same story he gave Tony, the one about his mother being sick in the hospital, and offered little in terms of embellishment. He didn’t like lying, regardless of how trivial or necessary it seemed at the moment, but he was certain that he would have to expand on his story if he was going to ask for some time off.
    He knew better than to offer details too early into the story, and he definitely didn’t want to fall into any traps and have to justify his lie with even more lies later, so he kept his story straight and to the point. John knew that the only thing worse than lying was being caught in a lie, but he also knew he couldn’t tell Rebecca the truth, that he was worried the world might be coming to an end, and he needed a few days off to prepare.
    John felt justified in asking for time off because it had been more than eight months since he was away from the office on a work day. He deserved a break, but he hated going about it in this fashion.
    During the meeting, he decided to make a few more preparations, and the only way he could accomplish that was to take a couple days off. His survival readiness was good, but not where he wanted it to be if the world was about to change. John figured he’d need about two days. Besides, it was about all he could afford and not fall too far behind on his accounts, even with Tony’s assistance.
    Tony was solid, a reliable stand-in, but he didn’t possess John’s skills in predictive analysis, nor did he possess the level of client trust that John enjoyed. Like his clients, the lead partner also trusted John,so he knew better than to risk being away from his desk for more than a few days.
    But John felt so strongly about the potential threat posed by the Yellowstone Caldera that he actually considered quitting if Rebecca didn’t agree to give him the time off. Fortunately, it didn’t come to that.
    The reality that the Caldera was becoming an obsession seemed to bother him as much as the lie. He didn’t understand the desperation he felt, how it was gnawing away on his mind like some alien creature, or a bomb ticking away, ready to explode in his head at any moment.
    Thankfully, Rebecca wrapped up the small talk by scanning her computer monitor. She turned and was about to excuse herself back to work when John said, “Thanks Rebecca . . . for the time off and all. I know its short notice, but it’s really important to me.”
    Rebecca stood and, with her left hand balancing her body over her desk, leaned forward and offered her right hand to John. “No problem,” she said, looking him square in the eyes. “In fact, if you need more time off just . . . give me a call.”
    John accepted her handshake. They gripped firmly, pumped lightly two times,