An Interview with Alisha Cockran

An Interview with Alisha Cockran (main character)

What was your life like prior to the war?

I had all the luxuries, a big, beautiful house, new cars, a ski house in the mountains of Vermont, a cottage on Cape Cod.

But, those are just things.  What was your life like?

Stressful.  My husband, Richard, owned his own construction company.  I had a job with one of the larger insurance companies in Boston.  We both made very good incomes.  But, we weren’t happy.  We weren’t enjoying life.  Everything was always done in a rush.  Rushing to work, rushing to go skiing, rushing to get back to work.  My life was one big rush.

Do you have children?

Yes, three.  Two girls, Melissa and Jennifer and a boy, Alex.

Tell me how you were so prepared for this war.

My brother, James, and my sister, Karen are devoted followers of the Bible.  They are Born Again Christians.  James tried to forewarn us months before the attacks, but I didn’t believe him.  James made the preparations for all of us.

Why didn’t you believe him?

It just wasn’t in my realm of possibilities.  I didn’t believe that the end times were near.  I wasn’t a follower of the Bible and I didn’t have the strong beliefs that James and Karen had.  Plus, Richard kept telling me that James was insane and to ignore him.  And, I never would have believed that the United States could have suffered such total destruction and devastation.  I never imagined that this could happen to our country.

Do you now have stronger beliefs?

Oh yeah!  I’m still not sure if this was a warning from God or the work of the devil.  But, I do believe that God protected us.  I do believe that God saved us and I do believe that it is now my job to bring people back to Him.

How did James choose the location for your shelter?

My Dad grew up on a farm in New Hampshire.  We summered there as kids and adults and I brought my own kids there.  It’s a very quiet and peaceful place.  It was always a safe haven, a shelter from the loudness of life.  James built the shelter under one of the open fields with the help of a new friend, Peter.  He built an amazing shelter.  It was beautiful.

Can you describe it?

Hmmm.  I think you need to read the book, The Shelter at Papa’s Farm.  There’s a pretty good description in there.

Are you still living in the shelter?

Yes, for now.  We need to build some houses.  There are too many of us to live at the farmhouse.  But, we have no building supplies.  Shipments are starting to arrive from all over the world but they are being used to rebuild the cities.  We have to wait, we have to be patient.  It’s difficult to wait.  We all want to be above ground again.

Was your entire family together when we were attacked?  Were you all in the shelter?

No, my two girls were away at college when we were hit.  We didn’t get them home.  Richard and I argued about that for a long time.  Richard was adamant that nothing was going to happen, that James was a kook and that he wasn’t making the girls come home just because James had this feeling. 

Have you found your girls?

Richard is looking for them now.  I pray he finds them.