Baby Seals Part 4: Water and Exile

By J.W. Bloomfield

Baby SEALs: Part 4 continues Jeff and Danielles adventures as they and their friends prepare to dig water wells in two African villages. Preparations proceed smoothly, but unexpected events lead to shocking results. Jeff and Danielle have their faith tested and their inner convictions challenged when their earthly physical training comes into conflict with their spiritual growth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 5, 2018
• ISBN: 9781973617853

J.W. Bloomfield

J.W. was raised on a farm in the Texas Panhandle, along with his four siblings. Living eight miles outside a small town gave him a lot of time with his imagination. He wrote his first story when he was seven. J.W. resides in Texas with his wife, cocker spaniel, and horse.

Book preview

Part 1

Chapter 1

Present day

A s Jeff Mitchell and Danielle LeBeau walked out of the sanctuary on the first Sunday of February, they stood a head taller than most of the other young people around them. The fourteen-year-old self-declared twins resembled each other; different mothers, same father - unknown. Both had the same brown hair, although Jeff’s was cut in a short, military style while Danielle had spent the last year letting hers grow, and it was now six inches long. Their lives had been very tough beginning at age seven, and they appeared older than they were. Both were 5’9" tall, solidly built, and muscular; Jeff at 160 pounds, Danielle at 155. They had pleasant enough features, nothing outstanding except for their eyes: Jeff’s were sapphire blue while Danielle’s were emerald green. As they had since they had been shot two Thanksgivings earlier, both were wearing body armor: Kevlar and ceramic plates inserted front and back on their jackets and in the thighs and shins of their cargo pants which were tucked into their customary combat boots.

It had been three months since the thanksgiving journals had spawned the water project, and plans were well underway. The sites in Africa had been chosen: two villages a few miles from each other, both with about 150 inhabitants. 2nd Street Bible Church would be sending a team which would include Robert, Michelle, and Elizabeth Freedman, Jeff and Danielle, Pastor Marcus, and Steve, Amy, and Cindy Jacobs and Rachael. Rachael’s aunt Mallory and her husband, Kyle, plus another couple from their church near Des Moines, Iowa, would be going along as well.

For Rainbow’s family, the water project was not their greatest concern; their unexpected upcoming move was. There was a place to live to consider, school for the two kids, selling their existing home, and the job in the new city. Mason worked from home as a book editor and had no trouble moving when his wife was transferred. Now, though, he had a church home and close friends in his men’s Bible study group that he would miss. Rainbow’s brother, Dylan, was heavily involved in his Sunday School class and had friends he hung out with all the time. There was also a girl he sort of liked; had just worked up the courage to speak to her. Rainbow and her mom were alike, though. They would both miss their friends and the church, but they were excited about living in a new city. High on both their bucket lists was visiting every major city in the world sometime in their lifetimes. Also, Rainbow’s patch was the very first one created by Jeff and Danielle. She would be a rock star among the other young cancer patients in Minneapolis.

Rainbow had told her friends that morning in church that her family would be moving. Elizabeth squeaked, What do you mean move? Rainbow said, They want my mom to move to Minneapolis. She found out yesterday.

Elizabeth immediately said, You can live with us. I’ll even give you Cinnamon. Cinnamon was her beloved horse, and proved the seriousness of her offer, if not the practicality. Rainbow hugged her and said, Thank you! You are so sweet. But we move all the time. I can’t leave my family. What would they do without me? Cindy asked, When do you move? and Rainbow replied, The end of the month. It’s not like we can’t talk to each other. I can video chat just like Lily does. Lily was the fifth and most recent sister, a young girl who would be seven this year and lived in Phoenix. She was the youngest of the sisters. Jeff and Danielle had met her on one of their trips to various children’s cancer centers around the country. Lily was pale, with green eyes much lighter than Danielle’s. Her hair was a brown very similar to Danielle’s and Jeff’s, and after growing for several months, was no longer the short fuzz it had been when they met her. Jeff and Danielle called her the hidden sister, and the other sisters agreed. She was a quiet girl, just like her mom and dad.

Elizabeth pouted and, looking sadly at Rainbow, said, Now I’m really having trouble thinking of something to be thankful for. Rainbow smiled and said, Now there are more reasons. For every bad thing, there is a thankful thing. I can’t sit here every day, but we can video chat every day if we want. I won’t be here, but I also won’t be getting in trouble, she said, staring pointedly at Jeff and Danielle. Jeff said, Hey, when did we ever get you in trouble? Rainbow rolled her eyes. How many secrets did we keep for you last year? Anna? Remember her? Danielle shrugged and said, Oh, that. Cindy laughed and said, Yeah, that. The previous year Jeff and Danielle had tried to hide Anna in a motel until she turned eighteen so her abusive parents couldn’t find her. It hadn’t turned out quite as they had expected.

As with many Sunday afternoons, the conversations of the morning continued at someone’s home, in this case Rainbow’s. Jeff, Danielle, the other four sisters (Cindy, Elizabeth, and Rainbow in person; Lily by video chat), and Rachael, Jeff’s girlfriend, sat around Rainbow’s bedroom. Cindy perched on the desk chair while Elizabeth and Rainbow sat cross-legged on the bed. Jeff, Danielle, and Rachael sat on the floor with their backs against a wall. Rainbow’s laptop was parked on the desk where the camera could pick up everyone in the room. Lily’s face watched them with interest from the laptop screen.

From the laptop camera, she might not have been able to receive the full effect of Rainbow’s room. Everything was a shade of purple: the walls and ceiling; the curtains on the window; the bedspread, sheets, and pillow covers; even the Venetian blinds behind the curtains. Only the furniture in the room was white, which made a nice contrast. Sometimes Cindy made a point of wearing sunglasses in the room, which Rainbow ignored.

Elizabeth chose this moment to say, Ow! as she rubbed the shoulder where she had received the latest in a series of vaccinations required for the upcoming trip to Africa in September. The slender, eleven-year-old girl could speak faster than anyone else in the group. Her brain was connected straight to her mouth with almost no filters of any kind, and she said what she thought, almost as quickly as she thought it. It was not unusual for her to say, Did I say that out loud? which frequently she had. She was a constant source of amusement to everyone else.

I don’t know why I have to get all these shots. We’re only going to be there two weeks. She peered accusingly at the others in the room. And why am I the only one complaining? Don’t tell me your arms don’t hurt. That would be so unfair. Danielle gazed calmly back and said, We’ve had worse. Elizabeth dropped her eyes and said, Well, yeah, you and Jeff have. But why aren’t Cindy and Rachael complaining. Then she looked up and said, Don’t tell me you have had worse as well! Am I the only one who had a nice childhood? Rachael laughed and pointed at her ankle, saying, Soccer. Cindy just shrugged and said, I don’t mind. We’re going to Africa!"

Rainbow said unsympathetically, Baby. The twelve-year-old was smug and unhappy at the same time. Smug because her arm didn’t hurt as she was not required to receive the vaccinations. Her oncologist had recommended against the trip to Africa, and the girl’s parents supported him. Since the trip for the water project had been half her idea, she was disappointed and unhappy with the decision, but listening to Elizabeth complain about the vaccinations, she was also happy to be avoiding the pain. There had been enough of that in her young life with the cancer treatments that had put her in remission.

Lily chimed in unexpectedly. I wish I could go with you. Everyone in the room turned to look at the laptop where Lily stared back at them, a sad look on her face. Her mom and dad, Preston and Mia, had been firm in stating the six-year-old (I’m almost seven) could not travel to Africa until she was at least ten, much to her disappointment. She wanted to share her faith with other children. She also wanted to see lions and hippos and crocodiles. Danielle said kindly, I’m sure there will be other water projects after this one. There are a lot of wells to dig. You could start now getting your church involved, and when you turn ten, everything will be ready to go. Lily brightened with this possibility to look forward to, although she did add, That’s forever from now. Jeff did not add that the same restrictions that kept Rainbow from going would most likely keep Lily from going as well.

The conversation continued as Elizabeth and Cindy argued over whose arm hurt the most, each one coming up with, and sometimes creating, new descriptive words for the pain. Jeff, Danielle, and Rachael looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Eventually Cindy, Jeff, Danielle, and Rachael left Elizabeth, Rainbow, and Lily to continue their discussion of the water project. Cindy walked back to her home, leaving Danielle and Jeff to walk Rachael home before returning to the McAdams’ home to prepare for church that evening.

Chapter 2

M ike knelt in the aisle of the oldest Walker Hardware Store, examining hammer drills. His last one had exploded in a flurry of sparks, cussing, and flying plastic bits as he installed a rafter in the girls’ building at the children’s ranch. The sparks were from the overheated hammer drill, the cussing was from Mike, and the flying plastic bits were the result of the hammer drill striking the concrete on the first floor. Pastor Marcus stuck his head around the corner of the room that would become the kitchen long enough to yell Language, up to Mike before continuing his walk through. Mike had shaken his head then, and now he was in one of his favorite aisles of one of his favorite stores. Really, he already knew which one he would be purchasing, but the decision making was part of the process.

As he contemplated one brand and set of features over another, Evan walked up with two men trailing behind him. Hello, Mike. This is Justin and his brother, Conner. Mike shook hands with the two men, sizing them up. Both men were in their sixties, white haired and deeply tanned. Justin, the older of the two men, was tall and thin while his brother was short and stout. It would not have been Mike’s first impression that they were brothers except for the noses and eyes. Those were distinctive and had obviously come from the same parent.

After the introductions, Evan said, These men have a pig problem that I think you might have the solution to. Mike gave him a questioning glance but remained silent, waiting for the explanation. Justin said, I don’t know why Evan thinks you can help, but there is a herd of wild pigs on our land that we can’t get rid of. Every evening they parade through a clearing we can see from the house, but it’s over a mile away. If we hide close enough to the clearing that we could shoot them, they don’t cross the clearing. If we put traps in the clearing, they avoid them. We’ve searched high and low, and we can’t find them, but they must wander all over because the dogs go nuts trying to track them. I don’t want to try poison because we could sell the meat, but they’re doing too much damage to just let them be. It started as a herd of ten. Now it’s over twenty. Much longer, and it will double again. Evan seems to think you might can help.

Mike considered the two men. He agreed with Evan that he had a possible solution to their problem. The question was, would they accept it. He said, I have two sniper trained individuals who can make the shots at over two thousand yards. If you want, I can bring them to your place, and we can see what they can do. Justin said, I thought snipers were trained to wait for the target to stand still. Chances are, the pigs will be moving. Mike shrugged. These two don’t seem to care. Do you want me to bring them? Justin and Conner eyed each other. Then Justin shrugged. Why not." He gave Mike the address, and Mike told him he would be there the following weekend, and all three men walked away, Evan glancing back over his shoulder at Mike and winking.

The following weekend, Mike drove his truck into the farmyard in front of the sprawling, two-story house. It was neat and tidy, obviously kept in good repair although it did need to be painted. The home was situated on top of a hill, and below it on all sides extended the farm and ranchland with rows of crops, pastures, and an orchard in the distance. The house sat in the center of two side by side sections, a rectangle two miles long on one side, one mile on the other. To the east there was, not a forest exactly, but dense brush and trees; a perfect habitat for deer, quail, and, apparently, wild pigs. A truck from a local meat packing plant was also parked in front of the house, two men leaning against the side of the truck.

Justin and Conner ambled off the front porch as Mike walked around the front of his truck. Jeff and Danielle had also slid out of the truck and were pulling equipment from the cab: gun cases, mats, sand bags, ammo cases. The two brothers halted in their steps toward the truck. Justin exclaimed, What is this? I thought Evan said he had a solution to our pig problem. We don’t need two kids playing around. Mike glanced over his shoulder at Jeff and Danielle, shrugged, and said, Okay. They began loading the gear back into the truck.

Conner said, Wait. Evan seemed to think they could help. Shouldn’t we at least let them try? Mike climbed back in the truck and waited patiently while Conner argued with Justin, arms waving. Jeff and Danielle continued loading their gear. As the twins finished, climbed in the truck, and shut the doors, Justin said, Okay, fine. Mike started the truck, saying, That’s okay. We have other things scheduled for this evening, and prepared to drive away. Justin hurried over to the driver’s side door and said through the open window, Look, I’m sorry. It’s just that we’re frustrated, and they look pretty young to be able to do what you and Evan are expecting them to do. Mike put the truck in park and turned to regard the two young people, giving a wink. What do you think? Jeff and Danielle smiled and nodded, opened the doors, and began unloading the equipment for a second time.

Justin and Conner watched in silence as the two laid their mats on the ground, set up sand bags, placed the ammunition cases beside the mats, and opened the gun cases. The two men whistled with appreciation as Jeff and Danielle rested the barrels of the Barrett .50 caliber rifles on top of the sandbags, inserted one magazine in each rifle, and laid two more magazines nearby. Mike set up his own mat with a spotting scope. Then he added a video camera with a super zoom lens and connected it to a laptop, setting the zoom for a close-up of the entire clearing. With the beginning delay, they finished their preparations just before the time the brothers had said the pigs usually appeared.

Jeff and Danielle settled behind the two rifles, inserted ear pieces, and worked the actions to load a round. Mike said, Test, into his microphone, and the two gave him a thumbs up. Justin spoke. Aren’t those cannons really loud? Shouldn’t they be wearing major hearing protection? Mike shook his head and said, Suppressors, which were in fact pretty obvious on the two barrels.

Conner whispered, Here they come, as though the pigs, over a mile away, could hear him. Perhaps they could, but they didn’t slow down. A huge boar entered the clearing first followed by a few sows and several smaller pigs. Mike watched through the spotting scope, and when it seemed obvious that the entire herd had entered the clearing, he said into the microphone, Commence.

Sighting through their scopes, Jeff and Danielle could see the forms crossing the clearing. Even with the scopes, at this range, the pigs were not large targets. Still, as always seemed to happen, information clicked in their brains, and they knew where to sight for the bullets to reach the moving targets at the right time. They even knew what would happen in the future; for example, that when the boar dropped, the sow closest to it would stop in its tracks. And whether a pig would continue ahead or dart back the way it had come.

For the next several seconds, there was no sound except the loud chink as the rifles fired, the sound of large ejected brass hitting the ground, the shooters changing magazines, and comments from Mike. Justin and Conner watched open-mouthed through binoculars. When the firing stopped, nothing was moving in the clearing.

Mike observed through his spotting scope as the twins fired, amazed, but no longer surprised. He assumed that they were somehow able to compute all the factors in their heads regarding wind drift and elevation drop. However, that didn’t explain how they knew if a target would continue ahead or pivot and dart back the way it had come. Or even how to compensate for varying wind changes. How did they know if a sudden wind gust would push a bullet a bit to the side as it moved from the house to the clearing? He occasionally spoke into his microphone, adding pieces of information that they might miss as they watched the scene through their rifle scopes, although for all he knew, they could see the clearing perfectly well at over a mile through the eye not snugged into the scope.

Jeff and Danielle packed their gear and cleaned up the spent brass while Justin spoke to his meat packing friends, who agreed there were a slew of pigs ready for pickup. When all the gear was loaded back in the pickup, Justin and Conner jumped into their own truck, and Mike followed them along the dirt road, down the slope from the house, to the clearing, with the meat packing truck following on his bumper. Stopping at the edge of the clearing, the two men in the lead truck climbed out and strode ahead, anxious to get a closer look. Mike rolled his eyes, and he, Jeff, and Danielle followed at a slower pace with AR-15’s held ready. Conner looked back at them, then scanned the clearing quickly. You got them all, right? Mike answered, Who knows? Do you want to find out by losing a leg? Justin and Conner stopped and waited for the other three to reach them.

There was no sound or movement in the clearing, and it seemed that Jeff and Danielle had indeed killed the entire herd. After they had examined each one, Justin stood quietly beside Jeff and Danielle and said, I hope I didn’t offend you any when you got here. I was just a little surprised, is all. Jeff said, No problem. Then he stared at Mike and added, We don’t have to bury any of them this time, right? Before Mike could answer, Conner jumped in. Nah. You’ve done everything we could have hoped for and more. We’ll take care of the rest.

As Justin, Conner, and the two men from the meat packer moved towards the nearest pig, Mike drove back towards his house where Jeff and Danielle could clean and store their weapons. He said, Now we know for sure that you two can hit moving targets at over a mile. I don’t know anyone else that can do it, and I don’t know how the two of you manage. Stuart may be right about the two of you being aliens. Jeff and Danielle smiled proudly. Then Mike’s comment registered, and Jeff said, Wait! What?

Chapter 3

O n the Monday following Jeff and Danielle’s pig excursion, Mason flew to Minneapolis to search for a new house. His wife and children had given him clear instructions on what to look for, which he passed on to the realtor. A good school was not a requirement as he was determined to homeschool the children himself or at least become part of a homeschool co-op. This would be part of the search while he was in the city. Rainbow and Dylan’s current homeschool teacher, Kathy Shepherd, would assist with this since she had many contacts in the homeschool world.

Jeff and Danielle had a plan for the part of the move that involved selling their current home. The Merrill family, whom the twins had met and bought a house for two years earlier when the twins lived near the high school, was interested in moving nearer 2nd Street Bible Church. Jeff and Danielle had turned the house over to Pastor Marcus’ church at the time, Pueblo Community Church, to manage, since a couple of twelve-year-old kids couldn’t practically own a house. The church had since closed, most of the members now attending 2nd Street Bible Church. Ownership had followed Pastor Marcus, although the family was now paying for the house with the intent to buy it. Boyd and Pam had spoken with Pastor Marcus about the house, explaining their desire to move, and he had brought it to Jeff and Danielle’s attention. Their plan was to buy Rainbow’s home for the Merrills and sell the Merrill’s home to someone else. Through Adeela at the bank, of course. It was very convenient to have money and the backing of a foundation. That would take care of the home selling part, but not the missing Rainbow and her family part. Video chatting or not, Jeff and Danielle did not want to give up any of their extended family, and especially not one of the sisters. They could tell how excited Rainbow and her mother were, though, so they avoided saying anything sad or discouraging and focused on helping Mason and Dylan.

As if that drama wasn’t enough for one week, Jeff’s girlfriend, Rachael, found a dog on the street that she wanted to keep. It was an absolutely adorable Jack Russell mix. The coloring and face were classic, the size was about right, but the body was obviously something else. She, Jeff, and Danielle had found it in an alley as they were walking from Danielle’s home to Rachael’s. Scratching and scraping sounds flowing out of the alley drew their attention as the three reached the entrance. Peering into the space, they spotted the small animal tugging at a hamburger wrapper caught between two crates. Rachael dropped to her knees and patted them saying, What a cute dog! Come here, girl! The dog looked up hopefully at the encouraging and friendly voice and trotted over.

The dog was indeed a female, and she sat in front of Rachael a moment before rolling over on her back to have her stomach rubbed, which Rachael proceeded to do. The animal had obviously been on the street for a while. Its short fur was filthy, and her ribs were showing. She had an infected cut on one leg, a healing cut on her nose, and one ear had been chewed by something. Rachael said, Oh, I want her. I don’t know if my parents will let me keep her, but there’s no way they’ll consider it if she looks like this. Jeff said, There’s a vet just around the corner. We’ll drop her there to get checked out. We can get her cleaned up afterwards. Then we’ll take her to your house.

Rachael picked the dog up, and it settled happily in her arms. She continued to talk to it as they walked the half block to the clinic and stepped through the door. The receptionist, whose name tag said Katie, stared at the dog and said, Oh, where did you find it? Poor thing. Rachael said, In the alley around the corner. I want to keep her, but I can’t take her home looking like this. I need you to check her out, treat anything that’s wrong, and clean her up, if you can. Danielle added, And check her for a chip. If she doesn’t have one, she’ll need one. If she hasn’t been spayed, she’ll need that. Glancing at Jeff and Rachael, she asked, Anything else? Rachael turned to the receptionist and asked, Have we forgotten anything? The receptionist laughed with embarrassment and said, Um, just paying for all that? Jeff gave her his credit card and said, Just put everything on that. Katie took the card and asked, What’s her name? Rachael thought, and then said, Brandy. Katie typed that in along with Rachel’s contact information. Then she frowned and said, I’ll have to get an adult’s signature to do all this. Rachael looked calmly at Jeff and asked, What do I do? Jeff asked Danielle, Who’s the closest? Adeela? Danielle thought a moment, and then said, Probably. Jeff pulled out his phone and dialed. Adeela? Hi. It’s Jeff. Do you have ten minutes? We need a signature at the vet clinic on 6th Street a couple of blocks east of you. Do you have time to come over? Rachael found a dog, and we want to get it treated. Thanks. He nodded to the others and said, She’s on her way."

A few minutes later, Adeela’s car parked in front of the clinic, and she walked in. Stopping in front of Rachael, who still held the dog in her arms, she said, What a cute dog. It does need some cleaning up, doesn’t it? What do I need to sign? Katie handed her the form; Adeela glanced at it, and signed. Saying goodbye, she walked back to her car and drove away. Katie stared after her and said, Was that your mom? Jeff said, No, she’s a friend that works at the bank. Katie gave a long, Okay," and then came around to lead them to an examining room.

As they waited for the vet, they overheard a conversation between Katie and a woman who appeared to be her mother. From what they could hear, it sounded as though the family, if not the clinic, was in financial difficulty, and the reason was the parents’ school loans. From the conversation, the three young people guessed that the father and mother were the vets at the clinic. Katie wanted to go to college to get her vet degree, but they couldn’t afford the tuition, and she was having difficulty finding scholarships. The situation was frustrating for them. She wanted to be a vet like her parents and work with them at the clinic, they both wanted her to be a vet, but they did not want her stuck with debt identical to theirs.

Rachael looked at Jeff and Danielle and said, You could fix this, couldn’t you? Or help with it? Jeff smiled at her and said, We’ll see. We might not like the vet, you know? A few moments later, Dr. Kevin Donovan entered the examination room. All three immediately liked him. He was a large man with dark hair, a mustache, friendly eyes, and an attitude that inspired confidence. You just knew that whatever problem your pet had, he would fix it if it could be fixed.

What do we have here? Rachael explained, We found her in the alley, and I want to keep her. She needs to look better, though, before I take her home to show my parents, and she has some injuries that need attention. And I need her checked out to see if she has been spayed or needs anything else that we can’t see. Dr. Donovan ran skilled fingers over the animal, checking her teeth and ears and examining the various cuts and scrapes. Through it all Brandy sat with good-natured friendliness, never growling or offering to bite. When he carried her in the back for some of the tests, the dog went happily, seeming to know she was with people who liked her.

Rachael asked, What do I do if my parents won’t let me keep her? Danielle said, She’ll stay with us or Cindy, and you’ll see her every day anyway. Sooner or later, your parents will come around. The Shepherds will probably let her come to school, too, so you can see her there. Rachael said, What can you do for the family here? Jeff answered, We’ll check into their background first, but I would say pay off their loans and have them pay us back at $100 a month or give them retroactive scholarships or something. Then a scholarship for Katie. We’ll see. Rachael gave him a hug.

Dr. Donovan returned with Brandy who was looking better but really needed a bath and grooming. He said, She has some worms we’ll need to get rid of. I’ll give you some antibiotics for the infected cut. She has been spayed. She doesn’t have a chip. Do you want me to put one in? Rachael said, Yes, please. I don’t want to lose her. He nodded and carried Brandy to the back again. Danielle said, You’re going to need pet supplies. I assume you don’t have anything. Rachael said, I know. Boy, I wish I had a driver’s license. I’ll call Makenna. She likes dogs. Maybe she’ll help me with mom and dad, too.

Pulling out her phone, she called her sister, who surprisingly said, Sure, why not, to picking them all up and taking them to buy pet supplies.