Chapter 9

We traveled along the road staying to one side of the right-of-way to prevent us from being seen. The first day was quiet but, on the second day, an alien ship flew over our road. We had stopped for lunch under some trees to give us cover. That seemed to have worked. We resumed our trek toward Atlanta.

We weren’t going that far but walking and walking where there was no path to show. The temptation to get a car was there but getting killed using it made that a bad idea. We walked.

Hours later, I heard shots being fired and the three of us went to ground. Rebecca and Leslie crowded close to me. Both looked questioningly. We talked in whispers.

“Ladies, this is not good. Let’s spread a bit and wait a while. If there are enough people, there will be a heat signature that will attract the aliens. We’re not on a schedule.” They nodded and we spread out to some trees further off the roadway.

Twenty minutes later, the aliens overflew us on the way to where we had heard the shots. Two bombs were dropped and the ships left the area. We waited another half hour but everything was quiet.

We headed out again in the same direction which was toward the place where all the activity had been. It took just over fifteen minutes to walk there trying to watch for anything. We came to the edge of the area and stopped.

Ahead, we could see burnt and mangled bodies of men, women, and children. It was terrible. Leslie threw up violently. Rebecca’s face was pale and I didn’t feel so good either. I forced myself to look around. No one was moving. It was truly a scene of death and desolation. I waited while my two ladies got their bodies under control. I looked around some more.

At the opposite edge of the field of carnage, I saw a group of women surrounded by men. All appeared dead but I began to surmise that the women had been what the groups were fighting over. I used my binoculars to check over all the bodies along the far edge. I think those bodies were in better shape than those closer to the center of the bombing. At the edge, I could tell that the dead had been people. Closer to the center, it looked like so much hamburger.

We walked around the edge of the kill zone trying to find any survivors. There were none. We finally reached the other side where the group of women were lying. Their ages ranged from teens to thirties and they were or had been good looking. They were scantily dressed and I saw one who was handcuffed. It became my opinion that they were prisoners. Whether they were being fought over or, if there was an attempt to rescue them, it would never be known now. We moved away still heading for metro Atlanta.

We stopped for the evening in a grouping of trees to give us some cover. There were thorn bushes and heavy undergrowth to protect us from prying eyes on the ground. We had a dry camp without a fire and only ate lightly. We bedded down together with Rebecca on one side and Leslie on the other.

Early in the morning, I woke feeling warm. I realized that both were lying over me. We were all still dressed from the day before. It was becoming light so waking now after an early bedtime wasn’t unreasonable. Both felt me move and woke. We slowly moved to get up.

We ate a cold breakfast and resumed our walking toward Atlanta while watching for trouble.

It was the middle of the morning when an alien ship flew over us as we walked along the tree line. Up ahead, it dropped a bomb on someone or something. Suddenly, a small rocket went up. It hit the ship which exploded. I said, “Get down! They will be back to drop a bigger bomb soon.” We dodged deeper into the trees and found a small gully. We hid in it. Minutes later, we heard another alien ship flying by us.

It didn’t make it to its target before another rocket took it out. I thought to myself that this group was better prepared. I wondered what would happen next. I pulled Rebecca and Leslie down tighter to the ground. “This is getting violent but we don’t have time to get further away and still be under cover.” Rebecca nodded while Leslie just looked scared.

Moments later, we heard a whooshing sound. A huge explosion occurred while our heads were down. I could feel the light coming from the explosion even with my head down and my eyes closed.

It became quiet.

Rebecca moved. “Riley, that was the biggest and I didn’t hear a ship.”

I nodded. “I think it was a missile. The questions I have are, ‘Was it nuclear?’ ‘Was the missile air-to-ground or ground-to-ground? I also wonder if any of the shooters survived.”

Leslie said, “why those questions?”

I replied, “Nuclear could have fallout. If it was ground-to-ground, then the aliens have a land base. If any of the shooters survived, then there might be someone to partner with who is doing something against the aliens.”

“Oh.”

Rebecca asked, “Should we go toward the bombed area?”

“I think so. It’s a risk but that’s our livea now.”

We started walking slowly keeping to cover still. After half an hour, we came to the edge of the blast. It wasn’t hot nor seemed to be “hot.” It appeared that the land was jumbled up and the jumbling became less around the edges. We walked around the edge looking for any persons who might have survived the blast or who, like us, was investigating it.