Tread Fearless: Survival & Awakening (The Gatekeeper Book 4) by Kenneth Cary Page A

after hearing Pete’s account of his trip north. Though he thought it was a little unusual they didn’t see more people on the road, he realized he didn’t know the area well enough to compare the before and after disaster patterns. Still, he was fine with the sparse traffic and actually preferred not running into anyone.
    As far as he was concerned, no one could be trusted until they proved themselves, and proof would be very hard to establish in such conditions. He recognized the dilemma of the appearance of his own company, in that they might look formidable to lesser equipped and prepared companies than their own, but striking a good balance between presenting a defensive capability, and being approachable was something he wasn’t used to.
    The army was, for the most part, all about force: having it, presenting it, and using it. So when it came to the company, just how much deterrent to present, without scaring good people away, was something he decided to leave up to Pete. Whether to display or not display guns was his call. Whether to look passive or aggressive, his decision. John trusted him entirely, and knew his friend was more than capable of assessing any situation, and then choosing the best course of action for the company.
    It also helped that Pete maintained constant radio contact with him and Paul. The trip would be very different without radios. Though their cheap commercial radios could be heard by anyone with open reception capabilities, they spoke in code names and phrases, never used real landmarks or terrain features, and maintained a disciplined contact schedule. Thanks to Pete’s skill and determination to reach their distant objective, he had drills for drills.
    The drills included, but weren’t limited to: how to react to vehicles approaching from the front, rear or sides, how to react to natural or man-made obstacles, how to react to a far or near ambush, how to react to traps and baiting, and how to react to a vehicle failure or break-down. In fact, there were so many potential drills that Paul had to make notecards, and study them with Marissa while they drove, to keep up with Pete’s demands.
    Pete was reluctant to accept Paul’s passive acceptance of the drills, and at first he insisted he memorize them. But John reminded Pete that they were accustomed to such drills, while Paul was a new soldier, having only recently experienced armed combat for the first time. As such, Paul lacked the confidence of John and Pete, but not the courage, determination or interest. It just took him a little longer for things to sink in. His brain was accustomed to civilian thinking, and when someone lived a life free of mortal danger, switching to an alert and aware, or a survival mindset, was not an easy thing.
    When Pete radioed back that he found a suitable rest stop, and for Pete, suitable meant off the road and behind concealment, John acknowledged, and a second later Paul did likewise. About five minutes later John spotted Adam. His son appeared from behind excellent concealment, flagged John down with a wave of his arm, and then stepped back into hiding.
    John was impressed with how Pete managed to teach the boys so much in such a short amount of time, but Adam stepped into the disaster with previous training, specifically hunting and game stalking training. He was way ahead of Corbin and Marcus, which was why Pete relied on him more than the other two boys. But John knew they’d be even soon enough, especially with Pete training them.
    John slowed the Suburban and turned left, off the paved two-lane road, and onto an unmarked dirt road between two stands of thick, dark foliage. He pulled in far enough to allow Paul to exit the road completely, and then rolled down his window to wait for Adam’s instructions.
    “Hey Adam,” said John, as his son approached. “You doing OK?”
    “Hey dad. Hi mom,” said Adam.
    Jenna nearly sang her reply, “Hi honey! Are you doing OK? I love you.”
    “Love