Chapter 8

[Tennessee]

They made a mistake. They turned into the parking lot and stopped blocking the entrance. Their problem was that I had a clean shot at the driver. I let them get out. They crouched behind the doors and the driver shouted, “Come on out! We know you’re in there! Hands up! No tricks or we shoot!”

I whispered, “Stay put.”

I waited until they got nervous. They thought they heard something from the SUV. The passenger moved out toward it while the driver stayed behind. I silently walked up behind him and whispered, “Very slowly raise your hands and let me have your rifle.” I took his rifle and let it drop. His partner turned around quickly and I said, “Drop it!”

I really didn’t want to shoot anyone to avoid noise and also because a dead man can’t talk. Pam came up behind him and said, “You’re covered and will be dead if you turn. Drop the rifle and raise your hands. Turn to your left and assume the position. You’ve seen TV. Do it!”

He did as she told him and she kicked his feet out and wider. She put her pistol at his butt crack and pushed. He grunted. She said, “It’s cocked. If it goes off, you’ll die in a lot of pain.” She frisked him thoroughly and found a pistol and a knife, which she tossed to one side.

I told my guy to hold still and frisked him. Apparently, one pistol and one knife was a popular armament because those were his, too. I relieved him of the burden of carrying them. Neither of them was wearing a radio. I could see one in the Humvee and left it there. I walked him over to join his partner.

I said, “I am guessing that you two are Memphians. What are your names? Tell me about the Memphians.”

“I am Carl.” The driver said. “His name is Murray. That’s all we have to tell you. We are prisoners of war.”

“Carl, there are two problems with that statement. First, you didn’t tell your ranks and, second, it assumes we acknowledge your war and will abide by its rules. I don’t really care about your ranks so I will hear more about the Memphians.

“Pam, gag and zip tie Murray. If Carl talks, we’ll have to decide about him. If Carl doesn’t talk, I will carve Murray next.” I gagged and zip tied Carl’s hands tightly. I lay him down on the ground and sat on his chest. I cut his pants off while he waved his legs in the air and made noises.

I reached between his legs and grabbed his privates and said conversationally, “Should I cut off one or both to start before determining if he wants to talk.” By now, Carl was naked from the waist down and moaning, as I pulled on him, his body arching him up to relieve the pain and pressure he was feeling. I pulled my knife out and brought it on the underside and sawed lightly. He screamed and fainted. “Now, that’s unfortunate. I’ll stake him out and move to Murray while we wait.”

Murray moaned. Muffled, I heard him say, “I’ll talk. Don’t cut me.” I unfastened and pushed his pants down around his ankles. Then, I removed his gag.

“This is your chance, Murray. Talk!”

He started to turn and I said, “Don’t move. We’re looking at your best side. Just talk!”

“I’m Murray Jenkins. I lived in Memphis before all the sickness started. Everyone around me was dying including my girl. I didn’t even get sick. I roamed around for a while and then met up with a couple of other guys. We got together. I think they were all as lonely as I.

“About four months later, we met a group that looked well fed and organized. It was the Memphians. They were recruiting and the three of us joined up. The Grand Commander is a guy named Joel Ashe but no one sees him much. I work in the Fourth Regiment with Carl under Commander Bill Clark.

“We patrol this area around Bartlett and hold any prisoners we capture. People aren’t allowed to join any more but workers are used to handle our fields. We’ve cleared some land to grow vegetables for food. We aren’t finding many people any more. The last we captured was a couple who are working the fields for us.”

I asked, “How many people are in a regiment?”

“There’s supposed to be six full squads but only four of ours are full with eight men. There’s only four in my squad and we do most of the scouting work.”

Charles and Melissa both perked up when he mentioned the couple recently captured. Pam looked at them and held her finger to her lips for silence.

“Where are the fields and your headquarters?”

He explained that, further into Bartlett, there had been a park which the Memphians had taken over for agriculture and used a hotel beside it for living quarters for the workers. The regiment’s men lived in houses close by. He further explained, with a little prodding, that the workers were guarded twenty-four hours a day. They could be worked to death. They were poorly fed because the leader thought there would always be new workers available for capture. I thanked him and told him that he had saved himself and Carl from a lot of pain. I took him over beside Carl and staked him out after completely removing his pants. I gagged him. I was taught that a man naked from the waist down felt vulnerable and would worry about covering more than fighting.

We moved away from them and Pam and I talked quietly with Charles and Melissa listening. “I would like to look over their setup. I’m not Rambo so there won’t be any one-man rescue plan. However, it has always surprised me what one person could accomplish. If I can, I will get your parents out. However, I will not risk my life or revealing where I’m from to do it.

“Later, when my folk are prepared, we will have to stop these Memphians before they become a threat to us.”

I went back to Murray and said, “You have a radio in your truck. When do you report?”

He replied, “We only report if there is trouble or we see something and need help. We will be missed if we don’t report in by dark. A search party won’t leave until in the morning.”

“How many radios to you have?”

“We have four in our regiment. We search for more as one of our ongoing things to do.”

I went back and said, “He is awfully forthcoming. I don’t trust all his answers particularly these last. We will find a good place to lie up. I am going in tonight and will scout the area thoroughly. I will stay in contact by radio as much as possible. We’ll figure out our next moves after that. We’ll also get set to run if we have to.”

We kept our “friends” staked out though gave them some water and removed their gags for a short while. I had Charles and Melissa keep watch over them. Their instructions were to shoot to kill. If in doubt, shoot, don’t think about it. Dead prisoners, I explained, were okay while dead friends weren’t. Pam and I walked down the road heading toward the center of Bartlett such as it was. We kept off the road and watched and listened for any sights or sounds. When we started to hear sounds, we were well toward the center of town and could see the farming area in the distance.

I told Pam, “We will ride the bikes down to here tonight and then you stay with them and I will go have a look.” She started to say something. “Lovie, you know that’s the smart way. I’m quieter than you by a factor of ten and my plan is to get in and out but find all their weak points for a later attack if it comes to that.”

We started back and she said, “Do you think it will come to that?”

“I hope not but I believe it will. Protection is too far away philosophically and too close geographically for the Memphians to permit us to survive and grow.”

“What you mean, Robby, is that we are a threat to them.”

“Yes, Lovie. Freedom is alluring. On top of that, we have a clever leader who motivates and thinks. George encourages other people to think and he listens to what they have to say.”

We returned to our parking lot hideout and talked to Charles and Melissa. Charles apologized for his shot. He said, “At least, you are nice people and my leg will get better quickly. Watching you take down the Memphians was, um, enlightening.”

Melissa giggled. She said, “I don’t think Carl is over feeling threatened, yet.”

“Carl should worry. It wasn’t a threat but a promise.” Pam chuckled at that. I then continued, “Let’s make some plans for tonight. I want to be ready if we have to leave in a hurry. We’ll strip the signs off the Humvee and put you two in it when we leave. Charles, you’ll go in back and Melissa will ride shotgun. If we have to leave, Pam will drive the Humvee and I will follow in the SUV. We will have the bicycles with us when we move forward. Leave Murray and Carl where they are and as they are. Their friends will find them.