Chapter 45

One of the teen guys asked, “What are you going to do with us?”

Sheila said, “That depends upon you and your responses to our questions.”

One of the older men said, “We do what we want. You’ve got no business here.”

“Is that so?” Nancy asked though she didn’t seem to want an answer.

“Yeah, Bitch.” He responded. “You won’t do anything.”

Nancy said, “Wrong, dumb ass.” She took two steps closer and shot him between the eyes. “Now, who else wants to cop an attitude.” It was quiet. “Okay. It’s good to get beyond that.”

We used zip ties to get everyone under control. I said quietly, “Ladies first. We’ll determine if there are any.” I picked the oldest female who looked late thirties. Cutting the tie that held her feet, I pulled her to her feet and slowly walked her away from the others. Joe was watching the rest with Sarah while Sheila and Nancy went with me.

Once away from the others, Nancy asked, “What’s your name and what’s your story?”

She looked pretty rough either from ill-use or a rough life. She said, “My name is Mary Chase and I’m thirty-five. I was married and living in Conyers with my husband when the aliens came. I am or was a nurse for a doctor’s office. I was taking a day off to work with my husband, Tom, on our house. It was new to us having just bought it and moved in. We saw, from a distance, the Atlanta blast while at the Home Depot. An alien ship landed and started shooting people. Tom shoved me under a big-tired truck next to our car. Before he could do anything else, the aliens got him. I stayed under the truck for an hour or so until after they left and I saw people coming out. It was sad. There were no wounded. You were either dead or they had missed you. After crying, I drove home just for a place to go more than anything else. I didn’t know what to do. My training didn’t prepare me for the situation.

“When I got home, our house was damaged from the aliens. I retrieved what I could and left for my mother’s house. It was undamaged but she wasn’t there. She was a nurse at Rockdale hospital. I went there and it was gone. It was just a big crater. I went back to my mother’s house to stay. My father had been killed in a workplace accident years ago so I was alone. I lived there for a while until Jim captured me while I was out scavenging. He was a nasty man.” She looked at Nancy. “Thank you for killing him.

“The other men weren’t too bad but they are weak. The kids are okay but have experienced a lot more of life than they should. I think all of us need some time in a normal situation to heal.”

“We’ll talk to them later and make a determination. Have a seat. Turn around and I’ll cut you loose.” She turned and Nancy cut her ties. She sat down against a tree.

I went for another candidate. I picked one of the teen girls. Like Mary, she looked rough. I cut the ties on her legs and helped her to her feet. I helped her walk to the spot where we had questioned Mary.

Nancy said, “Tell us who you are and your story.”

The girl responded, “I’m Jade Kim. I’m fifteen and an orphan. The aliens killed my folks when they bombed Atlanta. I was sick and staying home though had started to feel better so Mom went to work that day. I wish she’d stayed. I could hear the explosion and knew it had to be bad. My brother was in school. I checked on him and found the school gone. It was just a small crater. They wouldn’t have had a chance. I rode my ATV back home and lived there quietly for a couple of weeks. I was out on my ATV when I was captured by Arnold who kept his mouth shut when Jim was executed. He forced me and a week later joined with Jim who forced me, too. I want nothing to do with any more men.”

Sheila said, “There are some good men. Riley is my husband and Joe, who is Nancy’s, are two of them. Give life some time.”

I smiled at her and gently turned her around. I cut the tie holding her wrists. “Sit down over there while we question the rest.” She did and I went for the other girl.

I cut the ties at her ankles and helped her to her feet. She stumbled a bit as we went to the back of the Hummer and our questioning spot. As we went by the other girl, Jade, she said, “April, just tell the truth. Everything will be okay.” April nodded.

Nancy said, “April? Tell us your name and about yourself.”

“I’m April Harris and I turned sixteen a week ago. My parents are probably dead. They worked in downtown Atlanta. I understand that it’s gone totally. I was at home sick with a cold. I saw an alien craft land but stayed in the house hidden. I watched them shoot up our animals and then go from there to other fields and could hear more of their shooting. After a while, they returned to their craft and left.

“I went out later to look but all our animals were gone, even my dog. I stayed in the house and ate what was here. I hoped to see my parents but they never came back home. I had to scavenge and got caught by Marvin, an older guy out there. He forced me to have sex with him. A few days later, we met up with the rest of the gang who took their turns, too, even the younger ones. It wasn’t good. I argued that no one should shoot at you guys since it looked like you folks were fixing the power but they did any way. I’m glad now that they did. At least I want to be free of them and can continue to live on my own. I missed people but all the guys like me too much.”

Sheila smiled at her gently. “That’s not allowed. Riley is my husband and Joe is Nancy’s. They don’t fool around nor do we. We will let you live where you want to. If that’s in our area and you are part of our group, we will protect you. There is no obligation other than be a part of the community. We’re learning how to farm and raise what animals that are left as well as maintain many of the things from our prior lives. That’s why Alex was out there trying to repair the power lines.”

She smiled. “I think I would like to live in your area.”

“Riley, get one of the younger contestants.” Sheila directed.

I did as I was told and came back with one of the teen guys. I noticed that April moved closer to Nancy when she saw him. I also noticed that he leered at her. I was now prepared to be unimpressed with anything from him.

Nancy said, “Tell us your name and age. Then, give us your story.”