Chapter 7

I woke to light pouring through my window and the smell of coffee in the air. It was one of those early winter days common in Georgia. It was cool but not cold with bright sun. I pulled on some clothes and was walking into the kitchen when I heard Pat say, "Mister Dan, Mark kissed me last night. I have hope that he has learned to care for me." I stopped moving abruptly.

"Pat, that wouldn't be hard to do. I think he has for a while but he controls himself well. You will have to learn that about him. He moves determinedly, but slowly. He doesn't make snap decisions and is careful of other people's emotions. If you really care for him, be patient." She didn't reply to that and I made a noise as I came to and then through the kitchen door. Dad looked up and said, "Good morning, Son."

Pat smiled at me and said, "Good morning, Mark."

I responded, "Good morning." I gave Dad a smile and walked to Pat and gave her a hug keeping my arm around her waist. I gave her one last touch and went to the coffee pot and poured a cup. I looked up and said, "Either of you want a refill?" They both nodded and I refilled their cups before replacing the pot. "Who's turn is it to cook breakfast?"

Pat said, "Mine." She smiled as she went to the pantry. She gathered what she wanted to cook. "I want to go to Dalton today but Mark can't come. Mister Dan, would you come with me?"

"Sure, Pat. I'm sure Mark will be fine and we will have our phones if he or we need the other." After eating, I was washing our dishes while Dad and Pat left in his truck.

Two hours later, he called gasping, "Come to Tanger! Come armed!" I had been out to the barn so was wearing my pistol. I grabbed my rifle and an ammo belt and ran to Pat's Liberty. I drove to Dalton as fast as I could drive. The Liberty is no sports car so the drive wasn't as fast as I wanted it to be. I came in from the east. I went through Dalton though slowed as I neared the outlet mall. I didn't know what happened but I couldn't help Dad or Pat if I were taken out.

I parked off the street and hurried down to the mall area looking around for people and Dad's truck. I saw his truck in the parking lot. I looked around but saw nothing suspicious. I ran to the truck and saw Dad lying against the driver's side front tire. He was bleeding from a head wound and from a shoulder wound. I grabbed the first aid kit from the truck and began to work on him. I had bandaged his shoulder wound which was a "through and through" when he moaned. I was working on his head which was creased and he moaned again.

His eyes opened. "Son, I'm glad you're here. There were four men. They shot me and took Pat."

"Dad, do you know where they went?"

"They headed for the Interstate. I could see and hear their truck. It went north. Son, we have to go after her. I'm pretty sure she shot one over there. Check it out."

"I will but you need to be safe first. Then, we can go after her."

I finished bandaging Dad. I ran for the Liberty and brought it close. Quickly, I got him into it and closed up his truck pocketing the keys. Only then did I run over to where Pat had perhaps shot one. She had and he was dead. I went through his pockets and found a wallet! It had a drivers' license which I took with me. I also grabbed her pistol.

I jumped in the Liberty and headed for Chattanooga. The drivers' license showed an address in Chattanooga. Dad said, "What is that?"

"A drivers' license from the dead guy. Key the address into the GPS. It's our hope for finding her or getting into the right area." I was driving at over a hundred miles an hour pushing the Liberty dangerously hard. Dad got the address into the GPS. It became moot when I saw a pickup truck sideways on the road ahead. We were at the edge of Chattanooga. It had pulled to a rocking, skidding stop. I had the feeling that the three men inside only thought they had picked up a girl. Instead, I think they found her to be more like a rabid wildcat fighting for freedom without regard for her survival. I slowed quickly and pulled behind an old wreck, grabbed my rifle, and jumped out running to the truck.

I saw a man rise up and stopped to aim and shoot. His head exploded and I continued to run forward. I heard a scream cut short but no shot. Dad was out of the Liberty with a pistol so I veered to the right to give him a field of fire. He began to shoot at the truck from behind the old wreck. I closed on the truck. As I got close to it at the back, I ducked low as someone shot at me.

I didn't shoot back. Dad was taking slow shots but he wasn't likely to hit anything with a pistol at that distance. I let my rifle drop and pulled my pistol as I carefully moved to the side of the truck ready to shoot at any head without long, light brown hair. The truck was quiet. I moved toward the front on the passenger side and pulled open a back door. Pat was there with a man on top of her. I pulled her out. She was unconscious and he was dead. I looked up and shot the last "bad" guy when he popped up over the seat to look.

I laid Pat on the ground. She was naked from the waist down and was bleeding from a gash on the side of her head. She moaned.

Dad shouted, "Mark, what's happening? Are you okay?"

"Dad, the bad guys are dead and Pat's alive! I need the first aid kit and a blanket."

Moments later, Dad drove up and brought over a blanket and then the first aid kit. I tucked the blanket around her covering the lower half of her body and giving her some shelter from the cool air. I began to work on her head cleaning the wound and applying a bandage. She became conscious and struggled. I said, "I'm here, my love. Everything is okay. Calm down."

She immediately quieted and her eyes focused on me and lost their wildness. "Mark, I'm safe." She closed her eyes and breathed easily. A moment later she opened her eyes and asked, "Where are we?"

I said, "We're just about to Chattanooga. We caught up with you. All three of your captors are dead. We will head back to the valley when you feel up to it."

"As long as you're beside me, I'm up to it." I picked her up and carried her to the Liberty and laid her gently in the back seat still covered by the blanket. Dad got in and I drove back to Dalton at a more reasonable pace. I pulled up beside Dad's truck and said, "Stay in here and low. I'm going to check out the area for any company."

They waited while I went through the Tanger mall seeing nothing other than the dead body of the guy Pat shot. I pulled his body away from the main area into an alcove where it wouldn't be seen. I knew that either an animal would carry it away or decomposition would take care of it. I had no feelings of sympathy for such a person. I returned to the Liberty and gave Dad and Pat an all clear. Dad got out. Pat said, "Mark, I have a problem." I looked. "I'm almost naked. Not only am I short on jeans and panties but I have no shoes or socks."

"I can see that you would consider that a problem. I can carry you to a clothing store and then we can find shoes and socks."

She grinned at me. "That would work. I really don't mind being carried in your arms at all." I carried her to a standard clothing store and she quickly chose a pair of jeans. She shuffled over the carpet with the blanket around her to a dressing room and put them on. She came out carrying the blanket. "Mark, there will be two more stops then I need to do the shopping that I was going to do earlier."