Chapter 13

A few minutes later, Heather walked up to Dad. She looked tired. She said, "Dan, that was tough. Miss Mabel thinks she will survive. She was healthy before she was shot. If she recovers, her convalescence will be slow. I need to talk to you, Mark, and Pat. I would like her to live with us while she recovers. It would be her and her husband. They seem to be good people."

I smiled and shrugged. Dad nodded. Charles said, "That would be good of you. It looks like our prisoners may have a chance at life. Mark, Dan, how do you want to handle this?"

Dad said quickly. "The two of you should make the decision. I will watch the others as you weed the sheep from the goats." Charles and I looked at each other and nodded.

I said, "Which one of you wants to be first?"

One of them said, "To die or to talk?" He was the one who had bowed his head.

I replied, "You can always die. This will be your chance to talk."

He said, "I'll go."

I said, "Fine. Follow us." We walked him away a good hundred feet behind some old vehicles. I leaned against a car and said, "Why should you go on living?"

He said, "My name is Jim Andrews. In Chattanooga, you join a gang or die. Ben was our leader but we weren't big enough and were moving down here to try to survive away from the bigger gangs. There were just ten of us and six women.

"The women are hidden away from the mall. Someone will need to release them or they will eventually starve. One of them is my wife from before the Day. Charlotte and I were hoping this change would get us away from the violence. That hasn't worked out well.

"Help my wife. She has done nothing wrong except be loyal to her husband who isn't too smart."

Charles said, "Where exactly are they? Are there any guards?"

"No guards." He then gave specific instructions as to their location.

I said, "We're taking you back to sit down. Don't talk to your fellow prisoners."

After selecting another candidate, I took him back to Charles. As it happened, this was "Mister Rights."

Charles said, "We're trying to decide if there is a reason not to shoot you. Who are you and why should we let you live?"

"I want a lawyer. You have to give me a lawyer. You aren't the police so I don't have to tell you anything."

I responded, "You don't get it. A lawyer won't accomplish a thing. You guys started a fight and lost. Charles and I are the judge, jury, and, if we decide it, your executioners. This is your chance, use it intelligently. You haven't thus far."

"You can't do this to me. You are violating my rights." I could see that Charles was not happy to listen to this fool. I pulled my pistol from its holster and aimed it at his head. He was still carrying on about his rights and our lack of authority. I squeezed the trigger and put the bullet between his eyes. He fell in mid-word, dead.

I looked at him. "You're right, asshole. Dead right."

Charles said, "Thank you for resolving the issue. I suspect that he was one of the leaders and hoped to get off on a technicality. That doesn't work any more. I'll get the next one from your father." He went to Dad and brought back candidate number three. He settled against a car and said, "This is your chance to talk. Use it wisely."

He saw the dead man on the ground. His face went pale. "Don't shoot me. I didn't do anything. They made me come with them and carry a rifle. I wasn't part of..."

Charles shot him. He fell dead at our feet. "Fortunately, there are only two more left. I hope we have better luck with them."

I smiled grimly, "I think they need to have better luck with us. I had hoped to have a better conversation after hearing from the first one. I'll get another."

I went to Dad and took the nearest as candidate number four. We got back to our spot. I said, "You might be thinking more about why we shouldn't kill you than whining about rights or innocence. Who are you?"

He took a big gulp. "I'm Eddie Moss. I was going along with them. Joe was our leader." He pointed at "Rights." He continued. "Joe wanted to raid. I am guilty because I went along. I don't know how we were going to keep living. We had some women. They should be rescued. One of them was Jim's wife though Joe made her be shared with the rest of us. I worked in a factory before the Day. Joe gave us guns and food. We had to fight in Chattanooga and weren't a big enough gang. We were pushed out.

"We didn't plan to ambush your group." He looked at Charles. "We were, I thought, going to take a different method in dealing with people. I made the first shot by accident. I'm not very good with guns. Once the shooting started, it was out of control.

"I'm sorry for what happened. If I have to die, too, then it's not like I don't deserve it."

I said, "We'll see. Where are the women? Who is guarding them?"

He told us the same thing as the first guy. He also said that there were no guards. Charles took him back and brought the fifth man back. Charles said, "This is your chance. Tell us who you are and why we shouldn't kill you."

He said, "I am Steve Marshal. We really didn't intend to ambush you but were more ready to shoot than not. One of our guys took the first shot and then it was just a firefight. I'm sorry for the young lady who was shot. We don't have any real skills. I would like to learn how to farm if I stay alive. One of the women in our group might stay with me if she isn't forced into being shared. It hasn't been a pleasant life and no one will miss me but maybe her. If you let me live, please help me learn to survive without being a scavenger."

I nodded. We led him back to the other two. I said, "So far, you three are survivors. You must be on good behavior to keep living. We are going to get your women. Stay here and don't try anything. It would be tough to die this close to a chance to live."

Charles and I gathered his daughter, Karen, and Pat along with the husband of the shot woman. His name is Ted Long while her name is Melissa. The five of us left in my monster and, following the instructions we were given found the women locked in a room in a house close to the mall. The conditions weren't good. One woman, who looked tired asked, "What about the men? Where is Jim?"

Pat looked at me. I said, "There were three survivors so far. Jim is one of them."

Another woman was even more worn looking than any of the others. At one time, she was a beauty. Cleaned up, she might again. She said, "Did Steve make it? What are you going to do to us?"