This was a much larger plantation, a combination cattle and farming operation, so there were almost twice as many slaves and almost four times the guards that had been at Live Oak. The fight had been savage and bloody, and the slaves, of all races and creeds and religions, had taken a number of casualties; but they had killed all the guards.
Joni introduced herself and George, asking, “How many more slave farms did Tony have, and where are they?”
“Four,” the leader of the Perry group said. “But we only have to worry about two of them. At the plantations in Clarksville and up in Graceville, the guards won. They killed all the slaves. Just lined them up and shot them down.” The speaker’s name was Lou,
a middle-aged man, but one who looked as though he had made his living as a stevedore prior to slavery. His chest was huge and his shoulders and arms padded with muscle.
“We’ve got to get to the rest of the plantations as quickly as possible, ” George said. “Some mercenary named Hartline is on his way down here.”
“Sam Hartline!” Lou said, his face paling as he spoke. “Oh, God! That’s a bad one. I remember him from three, four years ago. You’re right. We’ve got to get rolling in a hurry.”
Joni looked at the cheap wrist watch on her wrist. “Can we make it, Lou?”
“I think so, miss. We’re pretty well armed all the way around and radio reports from the other two plantations indicated the revolt was on the side of the slaves. What do you have on your mind, Joni?”
“Linking up with Ben Raines.”
Lou nodded. “I think that’s a good thought, Joni. I was on my way out to the old Tri-States with a bunch of people back in “93 when we were ambushed in Iowa. Forced us to turn back. I always regretted we didn’t make it.”
“How long before your people can move out?” Joni asked.
Lou looked around him. “Give us an hour. You folks can get on Highway 27 and move on south until you reach Cross City. Wait for us there. Once we link up, we’ll move against what’s left of the guards at Chiefland, then head on over to Newberry. Do you know which route Hartline is taking down here?”
“Yes. Interstate 95.”
“All right. Just as soon as we clear Newberry, we’ll
take 41 up to the intersection of Interstate 75 and pour it on. That will take us right up to the ruins of Atlanta. You folks shove off. Weil link up with you in about two hours.”
“You think we have God on our side in this one, Lou?” Joni asked.
“There is no God,” Lou replied bitterly. “I gave up believing in that a long time ago. As far as I can tell, we’ve got only two things left to believe in.”
“Oh?” George looked at the man.
“Ourselves and Ben Raines.”
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Tony grinned at Ann. His grin was anything but nice. “I don’t trust you, baby,” he said. “I think you’re up to something.”
Ann said nothing. She crouched naked in the center of the bed. The knife she had stolen from Lennie was under her pillow, the blade open.
“I don’t know what,” Tony said. “But I’m gettin’ bad vibes from you. So you and me, baby, we’re gonna get it on one more time. Then I’m gonna give you to Sam Hartline.”
This time, Ann could not prevent a hiss of fear and revulsion.
“Yeah.” Tony grinned. “Hartline’s gonna split you wide open. It should be interestin’ listenin’ to you squall.”
There was nothing Ann could say, so she remained silent.
Tony checked his watch. A gold Rolex he had stolen years before. “Hartline ought to be back in two days. So you and me, baby, we’ll get it on tomorrow for the last time.” He grinned, exposing soiled and rotten teeth. “You rest up tonight, baby. “Cause tomorrow, I’m gonna roll you over and take a whack at you from that direction.”
He laughed and walked out the door, carefully locking it behind him.
Ann turned on the bed and looked at Peg and Lilli, “You heard him. I get it tomorrow. I got to do it tomorrow, or it’ll never get done. Ya’ll pack, and keep it light for fast travelin”. Spare shirt, jeans, socks and panties. Any food you might have hidden back. This time tomorrow, we’ll either be free, or dead.”
The girls hurried from the room. Lilli looked back. “Can I take one of the dollies, Ann?”
“Yeah,” Ann said. “You can take one of your dollies.”
“You gonna take one of your dollies, Ann?” Peg asked.
Ann shook her head. “No.”
“Why?”
““Cause I think, after tomorrow, I will have outgrown dolls.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Ben stood alone at the mass grave site. His face wore a grim expression.
“All this,” he muttered. “For what? All these lives, snuffed out. For what?”
But only the silence of the grave greeted him. And graves do not speak.
Gale was surprisingly cheerful when Tina visited her while her father was at the grave site.
“You’re pretty chipper today, Gale,” she said. “What’s up?”
Gale smiled at the young woman; they were about the same age. “Oh, I guess I’m just happy to be getting settled in one place. It’s a nice house, don’t you think?”
“It’s lovely.”
The home she had chosen was on the outskirts of what had been known as Dalton, Georgia. It was not a large home, for Gale knew Ben was probably only days, maybe hours, from taking off on his quest, and she didn’t want too large a house to look after.
“Tell me the rest of it?” Tina prompted, taking the cup of tea Gale fixed for her.
“I’m happy because Ben is happy. Well, as happy as he ever is.”
“Because he’s leaving?”
“Yes, as odd as that sounds.”
“I understand,” Tina said. “Believe me, I do.”
“I knew you would. When are you and Robert going to marry?”
“Probably never,” Tina said matter-of-factly. “You know that marriage has become, is becoming, kind of old hat.”
“One more long-accepted social institution gone,” Gale replied with a smile. “Perhaps it’s time for that.”
Tina shrugged. “Who knows? Dad doesn’t seem to object. Least he’s never said anything about it.”
Gale grinned at her. “How could he?”
Both young women chuckled.
“You going to live here all by yourself, Gale?”
“Yes. I’ll be all right. You and Bob are right down the street. Ike and Nina have settled in a house right behind me. So I’m not afraid.”
Tina finished her tea and rose. She said, “Lots of women would be pitching a fit right about now, Gale. They wouldn’t put up with Dad leaving.”
Gale shook her head. “Ben would never have chosen that type of woman.”
“You’re right. You know him pretty well, don’t you, Gale?”
“Well enough to let him go,” she said with a smile, and the smile was not at all forced.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
How degrading! Emil Hite thought, as he shuffled along, carrying dirty clothes to the women to be washed. One day I’m king of the mountain, the next day I’m a fucking gofer.
“Hurry up with that laundry, you asshole! “one of the women squalled at him.
Just think, Emil pondered the frailties of being a god. One day they are groveling at my feet, the next day, they are shrieking at me like a bunch of fishmongers.
Oh, woe is me! Emil thought.
“Get your stupid ass over here with those dirty clothes!” a woman howled at him. “And be quick about it.”
Emil stumbled on the hem of his robe and the laundry basket flew from his hands, dirty clothes spilling out onto the ground.
Everybody started yelling at him, calling him the most awful of names.
Emil got to his knees and looked upward. “Why me, Blomm?” he said aloud. “Why me?”
One of his captors put a number twelve sized boot on Emil’s ass a
nd that put an end to any questioning of the Great God Blomm.
As Emil hurriedly picked up the dirty clothes, he saw, out of the corner of his eye, the young girl, Lynn, being led into what had once been Emil’s house. She was giggling and simpering and allowing the man to touch her in the most intimate of places.
Lynn had been Emil’s favorite. She gave great head for someone barely in her teens,
Oh, well, Emil philosophized. Easy come, easy go. “Hite!” one very large lady squalled. “Get over here with those clothes, you stupid prick.”
“Yes, Sister Hilary,” Emil said.
“And knock off that ‘Sister” shit, you phony,” Hilary yelled in a voice that made Emil’s head sting.
Bitch had a voice that would crack brass, Emil thought.
“And you better not wear yourself out, either,” Hilary warned. ““Cause tonight it’s my turn with you.”
Jesus! Emil thought. And again, Why me?
Emil fervently wished he was back in Chattanooga, selling used cars.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
“Got a new truck for you, General,” Colonel Gray told Ben. “My Scouts found this one up in Knoxville.”
“Looks brand new,” Ben remarked, as he walked around the Chevy pickup. No doubt about it, the truck was a nice one. Everything that could be put on a truck was on this one. It was a long wheel base, four-wheel-drive Chevy. The camper top was new and bolted down securely. The cab held enough radio equipment to transmit anywhere in the continental U.s., Ben reckoned. Bucket seats, with new clamps bolted between the seats for Ben’s Thompson. The truck had two gas tanks and two spare tires bolted inside the camper.
“It is new,” Dan said. “Well … the last model made, back in “88. My people found it in a private garage out in the suburbs.”
“Uh-huh,” Ben said. He wondered how many tracking devices Dan had hidden in and on the truck. Several, he concluded.
“We, uh-was the usually eloquent Englishman seemed at a loss for words-“well, we just thought you needed a new vehicle before you, ah, left us, sir.”
“Thank you, Dan,” Ben said quietly. “It is, ah,
common knowledge that I’m taking off soon?”
Dan nodded his head. “Yes, sir.”
“I see. I won’t be nurse-maided, Dan.”
“I know that, sir.”
“But you’ll probably send teams out to try and keep an eye on me, won’t you?” Ben asked with a smile.
“Oh … probably, sir.”
“Good luck, Dan.”
The Englishman smiled. “Thank you, sir.” He patted the hood of the truck. “Enjoy, sir.”
As Dan was walking off, Doctor Chase walked up.
“Hello, you old goat,” Ben greeted him.
“Old goat to you, too, King Raines,” the old doctor fired back. “When are you planning to leave on your idiotic odyssey?”
“Soon.”
“I see. Gale is not going with you, I hope.”
“No. She’s staying.”
“Who are you leaving in charge?”
“Cecil. I’m going to call all the troops together tomorrow sometime and pin general’s stars on Cecil’s shoulders. I suggested I do the same with Ike, but he rather bluntly informed me he never wanted to be any type of fucking officer to begin with.”
Doctor Chase laughed. “That sounds like Ike.”
“While I’m gone, Lamar, I’m going to lay out the route for outposts. I discussed that with you. I’ll be back next year and we’ll start heading westward, setting up forts as we go. I think, Lamar, that is the only way we’ll ever have a chance for any type of civilization.”
“I agree. Well-was he cleared his throat-“you
bastard, I’ll miss you.”
The two men shook hands.
Doctor Chase returned to the overseeing of his new clinic, and Ben walked to the quartermaster’s new area and began drawing supplies.
“Be sure to put an old portable typewriter in with the other gear, Sergeant,” Ben instructed. “And round me up several boxes of white paper. Good bond.”
“Yes, sir.”
As he left, Cecil fell in step with him. “You do plan on keeping in touch, don’t you, Ben?”
“You know I will, Cec. But you’re not going to run into any problems you won’t be able to handle easily.”
I hope, Cecil silently prayed. “I’ve instructed everybody to be in formation at 1200 hours tomorrow, Ben.”
“Good.”
Cecil still did not know what Ben planned to do at the formation. Ike had been sworn to secrecy. “You going to make a speech, Ben?”
“A very short one. I plan to be up in Kentucky by nightfall.”
“Well … see you tomorrow, Ben.”
“Tomorrow, Cecil.”
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Tony Silver stood naked over the girl who whimpered in pain and fear on the bed. Ann was naked. The marks of the belt vividly crisscrossed her flesh. Tony tossed the belt to the floor and slapped her viciously across the face, rocking her head and bloodying her mouth.
“Bitch! I wanna know what the hell you’re up to.”
“Nothing, Tony,” the child cried. “I swear it. Nothing.”
“Then how come I don’t believe you?”
In reply, Ann rolled over on her back and spread her slender legs. She watched Tony’s face change and heard his breathing quicken.
Tony hefted his growing erection and smiled at her. “Come over, here, baby, and kiss this for me.”
Ann scooted across the bed and put her small, bare feet on the carpet. Her right hand slipped under the pillow and gripped the handle of the sharp knife. When she looked up at Tony, he was slowly masturbating himself, his eyes closed.
Quickly she moved to him, and faced his hardness, one slender leg on either side of Tony’s hairy legs.
He pushed the head of his penis against her mouth. “Suck it for me, baby,” he said.
Ann gripped the knife with both hands and drove it into Tony’s soft lower belly, just a few inches above his pubic hairline. She savagely jerked the blade upward, for she had driven it in with the sharp edge facing upward.
Tony made a low choking sound and opened his mouth to scream. Ann jerked the knife out and, using all her strength, drove the blade as deep as it would go into the center of his chest. The blade tore into his heart and Tony fell backward onto the carpet, dying soundlessly in his own blood.
Peg and Lilli came into the bedroom. They looked at the sight, no emotion at all registering on their young faces. They were survivors; they had seen far worse than this in their young lives.
“It’s dark out,” Lilli said.
“Get your stuff together,” Ann said as she hurriedly dressed.
The girls raced for their slim bundles. Each girl had packed her favorite dolly inside.
All except Ann. She looked at her small collection of dolls scattered on the floor and shook her head. She looked at the blood on her hands.
“Too late for that,” she muttered.
She picked up Tony’s .38 snub-nosed Chief’s Special and checked it as she had seen him do many times. All five chambers were filled. Ann knew something about guns, although she was far from being an expert shot.
Ann gave the knife to Peg with this warning, “Don’t hesitate to use it.”
Lilli darkened the lights and pulled back the drapes. “Only one guard, and he’s clear down
at the other end. No, wait! He’s walkin’ off down the corridor. He’s around the corner and out of sight. Come on!”
The girls raced down the corridor and within seconds were on the ground level. Ann looked toward Patsy’s room.
“You two wait for me down on the corner. Right over there.” She pointed. “Go on. I got something to do. If I’m not there in fifteen minutes, you two take off. Head north. That’s where Mr. Ben Raines is. Find him. Shove off!”
They ran and were soon out of sight in the dark night. Ann walked silently toward Pat
sy’s room. She stopped once, to pick up a brick from the ground. She knocked softly on the motel room door.
The door opened. Patsy had only a second to register her shock at seeing the young girl before the brick smashed into her face, knocking her backward. She fell to the carpet, her face broken and bleeding. Ann hit her several more times with the brick, hearing and feeling her skull pop. She tossed the brick to the floor.
“Bitch!” she said.
Then she was gone in the night, joining her young friends.
The trio headed north. Toward the Base Camp of Ben Raines.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
“We’re too late,” Captain Jennings told his commanding officer.
Sam stood in the middle of what was left at Live Oak.
“Yes,” Sam agreed. “We’ll drive over to Perry, but I have a hunch we’re going to be too late to do any good over there, as well.”
Had Sam not elected to take the interstate for faster traveling, and chosen the southern route instead, he would have intercepted Lou and his bunch of freed slaves just as they were pulling out from Perry. As it was, the two groups remained miles apart.
When Lou caught up with Joni and George at Cross City, they traveled on to Chiefland, only to find the battle was over. The slaves were victorious.
Now more than two hundred strong, the group traveled to Newberry. There, they assisted in mopping up what was left of Tony’s guards, and without stopping to take a rest, immediately left, heading north on Highway 41. They followed that until it intersected with Interstate 75, and continued north, only stopping for refueling and bathroom breaks.
By the time Sam and his mercenaries finally reached what was left of the plantation at Chiefland,
Joni and George and Lou and the freed slaves were a full seventy-five miles up into Georgia. And rolling northward toward freedom.
Sam told his men to stand down and camp for the night. He walked to his communications van to call in to Tony. When he learned Tony was dead, and the three young girls gone, Sam chuckled. He relayed the story to his officers and noncoms.
Captain Jennings summed it up. “So now we got controlling interest of the only game in town, eh, Sam?”
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