Cowbells clanked as the commercial door was thrust opened. Two sets of people hurried into the country store. These customers were the only strangers to pass through all week.

Military dress uniforms with a variety of patches were embossed above both pockets of the men. The women sported simple dresses with a touch of elegance and yet only hinting at the purpose for the formal occasion. The colors of material contrasted, but somehow worked in complementing one another. There was nothing remarkable about the customers, other than the fact that it was obvious they were very far from home.

With all my strength and energy, I edged the bottle of Stomach Aid forward. Pink was everywhere casting a funky shade throughout my glass surroundings. In every instance that I believed I was about to emerge through the thick bottle, the mint flavor would overcome me and I would waver in reverse.

The scar faced soldier passed and I watched as he picked up a carton of cigarettes from the counter near the suspicious store clerk.

There was a toughness in the soldier's gait. Perhaps it was learned after a few years in combat or maybe from his rough life experiences living in a big city trapped in a poor neighborhood. Whatever the reason, he appeared to be someone dangerous.

Between treading through mountains of fluid, I managed an occasional glimpse into the surrounding world. For the entire day I stood facing the street. Three cars had passed in all that time and only one other customer entered the store. He was the paper boy and as he handed the clerk a newspaper, he was tipped with a bite sized candy bar. No words were exchanged, just a routine that both had seemed comfortable with.

As three in the group stood up front waiting, one of the women pulled my bottle and hurried to the counter. Aside from her anxiety, there was a kindness in the color surrounding her.

"Not again?" The other lady quizzed.

"I’m nervous, this whole thing is making me crazy." She replied with a snap.

Both men eyed her with scrutiny, the man without the scar shook his head with disapproval. After paying for the items they headed to the small VW Rabbit parked out front.

"You’d better watch it Natalie!" Scar face warned when they were out of earshot of the store clerk.

"We’re still far enough away that it doesn’t matter, right?" Natalie said waving her hand in dismissal.

"I’ve been on operations before where you run into people that you didn’t believe were connected and you thank the dear Lord that you played it cool the entire time."

"Okay, Barry. I’m sorry. I’ll try to get a grip. Besides, wouldn’t it be natural, under normal circumstances for me to appear a bit nervous?" Natalie asked.

Both men nodded in unison, but I could sense their concern.

As they pulled away, the toothless store clerk spied on them from the front window. Suspicion lines furrowed his brow and a phone receiver was in his hand. Was it curiosity or small town fear?

Dana, the other woman in the group, began chatting about nothing of significance. Everything from nail polish to her morning routine. The man driving, finally interrupted. "Could you please be quiet for ten minutes Dana? We have to keep our thoughts focused on what is about to go down."

Dana nodded as she gazed out into the evening landscape. The car passed several farms before hitting a winding back road surrounded by thick forest.

Between a set of massive boulders, the car edged through a long and twisting driveway. In a U shaped opening cut within the trees, a ramshackle home stood constructed of mismatched planking. The roof leaned as if growing towards the sunrise and the roofing squares were warped in washboard ripples.

An obese hunting dog raised its head from a pillow on the front porch. It released a lazy grunt then returned to its original position.

The couples hurried from the mini car. "It’s show time." The man that was driving announced. Natalie unscrewed the cap of medicine and took a gulp of the liquid. As her hand brushed the glass, I could sense a mixture of fear and paranoia.

We stood on the porch. A scribbled sign reading Marriages $25 was taped to the window. The man who was driving the car grabbed Natalie’s free hand with abruptness. She gazed at him narrowing her eyes. There was something that passed between them in that moment, something that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

"Do you have the paperwork?" He asked her.

"Right here in my purse." She responded.

Natalie slid the bottle of medicine into an outer pocket. I was fortunate the tip of the enclosure was above the leather and I treaded upwards to view my surroundings.

"Well, have it ready then!"

Natalie fumbled within the next compartment of her hand bag. A moment later, she retrieved an envelope and handed it to him in a rough manner. He tore open the rectangle and his hands revealed a slight tremor in the process.

"Okay, we’re ready. Barry, are you ready for this too?"

The other man nodded.

"Dana?"

She nodded.

"We’re ready Logan, just knock on the stupid door all ready." Barry demanded loosing patience.

Logan placed Natalie’s feminine hand to his lips and kissed them for luck. There was something amiss about the entire setup. My almost wedding filtered into mind and even that had more emotion than what was before me.

"No turning back now." Logan mumbled as he began to fist the door.

Heavy footsteps could be heard from the other side. A burly man peered out the door, shook his head then began to open the enclosure.

"You caught us at a bad time, maybe try back next week." He said without a hint of compassion. He tried to smile, but his hardened face protested the work of unused muscles.

"Sir." Logan said with a soft tone. "We need to get married tonight since they’re shipping us out at first light. We’ll pay fifty dollars each to have it over with."

The man stood a moment pondering the situation.

"You have the license and blood work in order?" He asked rubbing his chin.

"Yes, they’re right here." Logan responded.

"Okay. You’ll have to come with us though, we’re about to leave for the weekend. You can ride along and we’ll do it in transit."

The air became thick with fear.

"Along the way to where exactly?" Logan inquired.

"Never you mind that, either you want to get hitched bad enough to go along with it or forget the entire thing!"

The man was about to close the door and Logan placed his foot into the wedge. The man appeared surprised by the soldier's tenacity.

"We’ll come along."

"Well good then!"

As the man opened the door, he said, "By the way, I'm Reverend Trevor Weeks. I run the New Order Ministry in this county." All four nodded, but didn't proceed to introduce themselves.

They followed Trevor through the sparse home. The interior was a match to the condition to the exterior. Every wall had gaping cracks and the kitchen's wallpaper was soiled and peeling in every corner. There was a foul stench in the air like that of gunpowder. The danger of their situation became apparent as they slid through the back door and another man was standing by a conversion van, a semi-automatic rifle aimed towards the ground.

"Put that thing away Leo!" The minister of the New Order commanded.

As doors opened on the van, the men shifted unmarked boxes from the extra seats. By the clank and weight, items small and metallic were concealed inside.

"We don’t have room for these punks Trev." Leo said, his speech understandable but a thick accent confused his national origin.

"Fifty extra bucks." Trevor replied grinning.

Leo nodded his approval. "I guess I’ll make the room."

A moment later everyone was stuffed into the vehicle and Leo began to speed away without caution.

Trevor in a rush filled out his required signatures on the paperwork, eyeing the names with scrutiny.

"You have rings, right?" He asked as the automobile twisted a curve, throwing everyone back and forth like cargo on a freight car.

"That’s correct." Natalie said.

"Well good then." Travis said leering at her.

"Here we go." Travis twisted around in the front seat and attempted to fight the movement of the vehicle. He finally used his legs as a brace, thwarting the velocity.

"I need the money first!" He demanded.

Barry pulled one hundred dollars and handed it to Travis.

"Okay." Travis said kissing the crisp 100 dollar bill. "Here we go."

"Do you Barry, take Dana to be yours?" Barry managed an I do but his voice was so quiet only Dana could hear him.

"Do you Dana take Barry here?" She said her response with sincerity.

Travis then proceeded to join Natalie and Logan. Everything about the ceremony was horrid.

After a brief kiss of unity, the conversion van slid to a stop. Both couples were left in the middle of nowhere. As the vehicle pulled away, the license for the marriage was thrown from the passenger window.

Barry strolled to the heap laying on the side of the road and lifted it into his pocket.

"You handed him the coded money?" Logan asked.

"Of course." Barry responded with a superior ‘all knowing’ tone of voice.

"Good." "I certainly hope the microchip was activated properly." Logan said.

"Now what?" Natalie asked.

"Now we walk." Barry grumbled.

"Where are we anyway?" Dana asked.

"I’m not sure, he used the back roads out of there."

"Night is upon us, we need to trek back to the car or find shelter somewhere." Natalie announced.

Both couples began to hike retracing the path that the van had traveled. Before too long they reached a fork in a gravel road.

"Which way?" Both women asked in unison.

Everyone gazed at each other with fright when they realized they were lost.

At first there was a great debate over which dirt road to choose. In the dim light, the multitude of tire tracks appeared equally fresh.

Dana began complaining about her aching feet.

"Why did you wear such horrendous shoes anyway?" Barry snapped like a real husband complaining.

"I wanted to make it appear as if we were really serious. I wouldn’t wear sensible shoes to be married in." Dana replied.

"We weren’t really married Dana, I have a steady girlfriend remember?" Barry said in a sing song voice.

"I know that... although we must still go through the hassles of an annulment."

"A technicality and a small price to pay for the tag operation. Satellites should be tracking them all the way to the weapons deal." Barry reiterated.

"Minister of the New Order of Military craziness!" Logan said as the rest burst into a nervous laughter.

"Let’s split up." Logan announced after everything calmed.

"No way!" Dana snapped. "We’re safer out here in numbers."

"True, however if we choose the wrong way we’ll have to double back and it'll take twice as long. This way, whoever finds their way back to the car, picks the other two up." Logan said.

"Why don’t we let the girls take the inclined path and we’ll take this one." Barry mentioned obviously wanting to leave Dana and her annoying tendencies behind.

"No." Logan said with authority. "You and Dana take the incline and Natalie and I will head in this direction."

Even in the dimness I could see the disappointment in Barry’s expression. "Okay. Everyone has a set of keys, right?"

Everyone answered affirmative.

Both couples tore off in separate directions. Dana’s voice trailed off and footsteps were the only thing audible as Logan and Natalie maintained a decent pace.

Crickets sang in stereo and a distant croak of a frog interrupted the hum.

"You never said why you volunteered for this Nat?" Logan said breaking the unspoken barrier.

"The corporal asked and I thought.. why not." She replied.

"I’m sorry, but it surprises me that you’d do it especially since it means being tied to me if even for a few days."

"I’m over everything about our past."

"Are you now?" Logan questioned with an incredulous tone.

"I am Logan."

"I’m glad. I never intended to hurt you, it just happened, that’s all."

"Was she worth it?" Natalie asked, with grit to her tone.

"At first I thought she was. I mean, heck I wouldn’t have moved in with her had I not believed it was going to work, you know?" Logan said in a direct way. "Two months and five days later I realized what a horrible mistake I had truly made."

"Forgive me for not shedding any tears when you split up."

"Natalie...I’m still surprised you wouldn’t return my calls after..."

"What, you think I sat around waiting for you to come to your senses? No sir. I had my life to live without you in it." Natalie said with forced strength.

".....and now we’re married." Logan said.

"Soon to be divorced...all for the common goal of this operation.'"

Gravel crunched under their weight. Just beyond the next hill a shadow filled tower poked above the trees.

"What’s that?" Natalie asked.

"It looks like a church of some sort."

Both picked up their stride in unison. The moment they cleared the hill, the driveway leading to the country church became visible. A large overgrowth of weeds sprouted everywhere and the entrances were dark.

"Is that place still used you think?" Natalie asked.

"I’m not sure."

"I didn’t notice it during our drive from the farm, did you?"

"No. It leads me to believe that Barry and Dana are on the right trail to get to the car. We might as well hold up here until they return."

"Are you sure Logan?"

"Yeah. If we go any further, they’ll never find us."

"Okay then."

Natalie and Logan hiked to the church entrance. To their surprise the house of God was not locked. The creaking of the solid oak doors echoed as they stepped inside. Floorboards beneath them cracked and swayed to the sudden weight of strangers.

"This place is creepy." Natalie said, her whisper reverberating throughout the vacant church.

"Look at all this open space Nat, you can tell where the church benches once sat."

"It’s musty in here." She said pacing the floor checking the layout.

Logan turned and tried a door. "Hey, over here. It’s a small vestibule. There’s a couple of chairs inside."

Natalie tossed her purse to the floor and perched herself in an overstuffed chair. She kicked off a leather pair of pumps and began to rub her feet.

"Any lights in here?" She asked as a dim bulb clicked on overhead.

Logan then took the chair next to her. Silence was everywhere, it was as if they stepped away from the real world and into a momentary sanctuary.

"I was just thinking Nat, I never apologized for breaking it off with you like I did."

"That’s true." She responded.

"I am sorry. I know we were planning a future together then I ran off with Helen like I did. It had to hurt you, I never stopped to think about how much."

"Hurt me?" Natalie said standing in an abrupt rise. She began to pace, her anger more apparent with every step.

"Hurt me.......it nearly killed me Logan. I loved you with every fiber of my being. A woman couldn’t love a man more than I did you.... I thought I found my soul mate....my one true love to last forever.....except my idea of forever was much different than yours!"

"And now?"

"I can’t stand to be in the same room with you. When I gaze at you it all comes back and I hate that. I despise the pain that I feel....."

"So do you harbor even a grain of love for me now?" Logan asked in a whisper.

"Love you? No mister, I don’t love you...not even a dust speck's worth."

Logan stood and rushed to Natalie who was now sobbing. "I’m sorry." He whispered brushing his lips to her cheek. "You were the one for me. I’m sorry I didn’t see it at the time. Hindsight is always much clearer now, isn’t it?"

Natalie attempted to pull away from Logan, but he held firm. There was a moment of tension that suddenly dissipated like fog that dissolves in the morning sun. They stood there with a partition of history between them.

Both lips became drawn together and the connection sweet. Neither pulled away as the kiss imposed a mutual healing.

"I love you Natalie, I always have."

She nodded returning her lips to his.

They stood there for a moment, until she broke the connection. "We can’t do this! I promised myself I wouldn’t let you get to me again.....not ever." Natalie stormed to the door then headed into the empty expanse of church.

"Natalie!" Logan shouted as his voice echoed away.

A few moments later an engine sputtered from somewhere nearby. "Natalie they’re here!" Logan screamed as he grabbed the purse and hurried through the doorway.

Natalie was crouched before a side window. Even with the full force of night her fear was apparent.

"It’s not Barry and Dana!" She exclaimed.

"It’s not?" Logan said rushing to her side to peer out.

The flicker of tail lights passed the window as two trucks were backing into the drive. The first was the conversion van belonging to Trevor and Leo, the second an oversized pickup truck with a tarp.

"They’ll kill us if they find us here!" Logan whispered, his voice a true indicator of the danger.

There were six men in total, all of which were carrying weapons strapped to their backs.

"Now what?" Natalie asked.

"Carry those shoes, we’ve got to be quiet getting out of here!"

Natalie obliged without question.

Both headed to the opposite side of the building and Logan tried a window. "It’s painted shut!" His voice announced reflecting horror.

Natalie darted from window to window finally locating a window swollen open one inch. Logan swung in and lifted with full strength realizing the window was jammed.

"There’s some stairs up in the corner, we’ve got to get out of sight or we’ll never see tomorrow."

Both hurried up the stairway not being silent in the process. The creaks of protest had ceased just as the doors flew open from below. Natalie and Logan peered from behind the choir bench as lights powered on overhead. It wasn’t until the church became illuminated that oblong cutouts in the hardwood flooring were seen.

The men unlocked the hatches and lifted the panels of wood. They worked in a bucket brigade hauling crates marked ‘C Company Ammunitions.’ It was stolen guns and ammunition, lifted government property, bought and sold from the army base forty miles away.

Natalie and Logan didn’t dare mutter a sound.

"Did you bring the padlock?" Leo asked Trevor on their way out.

"You bet, the buyer will return sometime tomorrow and we’ll finish the trade."

"Is the church secure?" Trevor asked gazing nervously around.

"I did it according to what you asked." Leo responded.

"We can both sleep soundly tonight amigo!"

Both trailed off and several metallic clicks became audible from outside the heavy door. It was obvious that Natalie and Logan were now locked inside.

Tension was thick until the engines trailed away.

"Now what?" Natalie whispered.

"We’ve got to get out of here and notify the head of operations. This went down a lot quicker than they anticipated. I'm surprised it wasn't intercepted since they should have been closely monitored. We can’t allow those guns to fall into the hands of lunatics. They have a plan, a plan to do harm to many!"

Natalie and Logan hurried down the stairway. He rushed to the door, but the escape was bolted solid. Natalie gazed at the windows and her eyes narrowed with fear.

"There’s some sort of trip wire connected to a pad. If we manage to get these open, I don’t know if it’s an alarm or something worse." She said shaking her head.

Logan hurried to her side and studied the layout of the trip wire. "It’s probably booby trapped. We obviously can’t use the windows."

"Is there a basement?" Natalie asked.

"Probably not. Maybe a crawl space though. Let’s see if any of those cutouts were left unlocked."

Both worked as a team prying finally giving up on the last storage hold.

"Let’s hope that Barry and Dana find us before morning. I’m not certain how invisible we can make ourselves in the light of day."

Logan and Natalie returned to the vestibule. They laid on the floor, Logan using his arm as a headrest for Natalie. Although I couldn't see them, I could sense longing between the two.

Natalie managed to dose as Logan lay watching her in the state of slumber. His regret was obvious as he lowered his lips to her cheek and kissed her with tenderness.

Logan whispered, heart filled words, sincere. "I really wish this could be forever Nat."

"You’re not saying what I think you’re saying?" She questioned.

"I suppose I am. I want to stay married to you. It’s what we planned so long ago.....it feels right, now doesn’t it?"

"I don’t know Logan, there’s still a wedge called Helen between us."

"Oh Helen was my biggest mistake. Do you think you can forgive me for that one?"

"I’m not sure. You really hurt me...besides what did she have that was so magnificent to pull you away from our relationship?"

Logan fell silent avoiding the question.

"Come on Logan, I need to know this. If you really want things to work out, you need to be honest."

"I don’t want to cause you further pain Nat, I don’t... I’d rather not go there okay?"

"Then I don’t believe we should try to be a couple, I mean if you’re not willing....."

Logan sighed. "Okay. I was drawn to her, Natalie...she was absolutely gorgeous. She paid such attention to everything about herself. Her nails were always perfect, her hair, never a strand out of place. I don’t know, it must have been a physical thing that drew me in, there wasn’t a whole lot else there. She was about as shallow as a mud puddle."

"So was she prettier than me?" Natalie asked her voice revealing a mixture of jealousy and hurt.

"No, not prettier than you, just different from you."

"Who ended it Logan?"

"I did. Everything that I found desirable about her began to drive me crazy. The woman couldn’t pass a mirror without overflowing with conceit. She was so self absorbed, she wasn’t capable of loving anyone else. I found myself waiting on her hand and foot. She expected gifts all the time. Not inexpensive things either... I couldn’t afford to stay with such a person. That entire relationship was in poor judgment."

Natalie remained silent as she considered what Logan had said.

"Helen was never my friend. A person should never promise themselves to someone they have not formed a friendship with. The connection needs to be there on every level, not just a physical one... I realize that now."

"When you and I split up.." Logan said in conclusion. "the thing I regretted most was loosing my best friend... I mean that honey... it’s the honest to God’s truth!"

Natalie swung up from the floor and sat upright. "The thing that bothers me is the knowledge that you allowed someone to come between us in the first place. I don’t believe I want to spend the remainder of my life worrying about the next ‘Helen’ out there."

"It won’t happen!" Logan said his voice filled with aggravation.

"That’s right, it won’t because I won’t allow it to...you had your chance sir."

"Natalie, you’re not being reasonable here. If you weren’t so darned pigheaded you’d realize what a mistake you’re making."

"I don’t think so Logan. From where I sit, forgiveness is in another galaxy."

"Okay!" Logan said jolting up to his feet. He hurried through the doorway and slammed the door on his way into the church.

Night progressed and when the full moon reached the highest point in the sky, a hint of an engine rattle became audible Logan yelled from the church. "Thank God, it’s Barry."

Natalie pulled me along with her purse into the next room. Logan found the light switches and the overhead fixtures sparked alive. Logan began to wave out the windows as Barry pulled into the twisting driveway.

A moment later he began fiddling with the oak doors. "Only you Logan could manage to get locked inside a church with a padlock thicker than your skull."

"The window’s have trip wire of some sort otherwise we’d have broken out of here."

"That’s okay, reinforcements are here!" Barry said with cockiness.

"We’ve got to get back to the base. The weapon’s are here Barry! Leo and Trevor returned with some goons. They placed them in storage cutouts in the floor. We can’t allow this go down."

"I think I've got the door Logan, hold on!"

A moment later, the oak door slid open but to the surprise of everyone, Barry was holding an assault rifle and he pointed it directly at Logan.

"Barry?" Logan questioned as Natalie froze with obvious shock.

"Of all places for you to hold up in! You saw too much... I’m sorry, it’s nothing personal."

"You were in on this the whole time?" Natalie questioned.

"Sure. The military certainly doesn’t pay enough for us to live on. There’s more to life than managing three meals a day and base housing!"

"I can’t believe it." Logan said. "I can’t believe you’d betray your country like this."

Barry responded through clenched teeth. "Everyone has a price Logan, except of course you and your girl scout here."

"Where’s Dana?" Natalie asked, as her eyes focused on the crimson blotches on the sleeve of his uniform.

"I put my beloved to bed." Barry managed. "What a relief too, I never met anyone that jabbered on constantly."

"Let’s step outside." Barry said as Natalie and Logan complied.

Barry forced them along side the concealed portion of the building by using the gun barrel to shove them along.

"This will only hurt a moment, I assure you." Barry managed taking aim.

"Wait a minute." Logan said, preventing the initial shot.

"Natalie, I love you. This is our last chance here, please forgive me." Logan’s voice cracked with emotion.

Natalie shrugged her shoulders. "I have no choice but to forgive you Logan. I wish there was some way that we could survive this and have the rest of our lives together. You were right, I am pigheaded... I love you and I always will."

With that, I catapulted from the bottle intercepting bullets as they sprayed in all directions. I had never been great at playing catch as a child, but in this instance my accuracy was 100 percent.

After Barry unloaded his clip, he stood with an expression of shock. "I don’t understand."

Logan rushed in and forced him to the ground. "If only I had a pair of handcuffs." He said as a pair of metallic bracelets appeared within my grip. I handed him the modern day shackles from behind as he clicked them into place around Barry's wrists.

"You came prepared Natalie!" Logan said as Natalie stood gazing at me with shock.

"I didn’t hand those to you Logan." She whispered.

Logan turned to her with surprise. "Well who did then?"

"The name is Jeanne, Jeanne Wishgiven and consider your request granted my friends." I announced before leaping from the darkness and through a slit in dimension. It spread apart, a gap in thick draperies similar that of a theater stage. In an instant I was suctioned through, leaving the wish given behind.