Compass Call: Survival & Awakening (The Gatekeeper Book 3) Read Online Free

lowered himself into his body.
    Despite the troubling news about walking, he considered all he saw and heard before allowing sleep to overtake his conscious mind. Being able to speak to Jenna’s spirit was the highlight, and it seemed to wash away all the worries and troubles he had about the other things he saw. He didn’t know if she would remember their encounter, but he would wait for her to approach him about it. If she did, then he would share his understanding with her. If she didn’t, then he would wait patiently for something to change. Change, he realized, is not such a bad thing after all.

    Paul woke John for his morning shift with a gentle shake, and returned to his post without saying a word. John sat up and rubbed his eyes. He didn’t know if Paul was being quiet out of courtesy, or apathy, but it worked either way. He sensed Paul’s frustration, and reasoned it had everything to do with the change - a change that far exceeded his own. John doubted he’d be acting much differently if he found himself in Paul’s situation, though he knew it would never have come to that. He would have shot Darrel the minute he stepped through the door,and Luanne too for that matter. He wondered if Paul was still upset about the new observation post.
    Since Pete and Bonnie’s arrival, the guest room was no longer suitable as an observation post, especially at night. So John started looking for a new location. He wanted a dedicated, twenty-four hour, OP, and began walking around the house to consider their options. The last thing he wanted to do was remove the plywood from any one of the lower windows, but it looked like that was going to be their only option. John called a meeting with the guys.
    While the three men stood in the entryway, brainstorming their various OP options, Abby happened to walk by. She stopped to listen for a moment, and then quietly asked, “Why don’t you use that window up there, daddy?” as she pointed a long, slender finger at the alcove above their heads.
    John turned to stare where his daughter was pointing, and immediately shook his head. He had totally forgotten about the dead space above the front door. The six-foot square of open floor space was more than enough for two people to sit a watch, which would be a much better mission for it than serving as a final resting place for three artificial plants, and a large, ornate, metal birdcage.
    He smiled and said, “It’s perfect, baby.” And it was, too, for the dead space above the front door was centered on the front of the house, was elevated, and served no other purpose. It was as if it was meant to be an OP. John was surprised he didn’t think of it himself, and he turned to kiss Abby on the forehead.
    After fetching a stepladder from the garage, John climbed up and passed the decorations down. As soon as he stepped onto the ledge he knew it would work. Normally he would have removed his shoes to not scuff the paint, but those days were long gone. The cosmetic cares of the house all but forgotten with the onset of the disaster. John looked up to find more than two feet of head clearance, and then he pulled the blanket aside to look out the window. “We’ve found our new OP. It’s a bit exposed, but I think we can remedy that easy enough,” said John.
    He invited Pete and Paul to join him on the ledge, but Paul hesitated, saying that he’d rather wait till it wasn’t so crowded. John wondered if he was afraid of heights, but didn’t say anything. The last thing Paul needed was more emotional scrutiny. Pete either didn’t hear the comment, or was too engrossed in the alcove to care. He immediately began to appraise the space, and offered his services to reinforce it. He laid out a sandbag fortification plan that included ample observation and ballistic protection, and mentioned something about turning the alcove into a watch-tower, but John barely listened. He was tired, and finished the alcove by cutting a flap in the heavy