by Bobby Akart
“A lot of those homes up there are trashed and empty,” added Alex. “There isn’t much to scavenge except down along Catfish Lane on the river.”
“The RV park,” interrupted Chase. He chomped on another apple. Madison wondered if he’d ever understand that he needed to curb his appetite. There were a lot of mouths to feed now.
“We’d like to find a boat to make it easier to fish and maybe some small propane tanks for Maria to use when canning,” said Alex. “We learned something else. If the information is correct, it’s horrible.”
“What is it, Allie-Cat?” asked Colton.
Alex took a deep breath and took a long drink of water out of a fresh bottle of Evian she’d found during the day. “They told us that Adamsville was destroyed.”
Stubby sat up in his lawn chair. “Whadya mean by destroyed?”
“The women we spoke with today said the men of Adamsville were slaughtered and, in some cases, their dead bodies were still lying around,” replied Alex. “Also, a lot of the businesses and government buildings had been burned down.”
“Who did it?” asked Stubby.
“Junior and them,” replied Chase. He polished off another apple and was about to reach for a third when Jake picked up the basket and offered them to everyone else who sat around the fire. There were no takers, but Jake placed the basket out of Chase’s reach. Chase glared at his dad and shook his head before continuing. “It must’ve happened recently. The women told us folks from Adamsville were walking up 64 towards Savannah. It makes sense.”
“Why’s that?” asked Madison.
“Like we said, the bridge is surrounded by people,” replied Alex. “I would estimate three or four hundred refugees. They were denied access into Savannah, so they just copped a squat.”
“We heard gunfire on the other side of the bridge,” said Chase. “Apparently Bridge View Estates is firing on the refugees to protect their neighborhood.”
Madison nervously rubbed her hands together as she received this information. She was uncomfortable with Alex interacting with these potentially dangerous people. The Ryman family had seen enough on the trip down from Nashville.
“I think you’ve done enough foraging up that way, don’t you agree, Colton?” asked Madison.
Before Colton could answer, Alex interrupted. “Chase and I came to the same conclusion, which is why we’re only going to make one last trip tomorrow. We saw a couple of small boats near the RV campsites. There may be gasoline and propane tanks. We’re gonna go up to Catfish Lane for that one purpose, and we’ll move on to another area.”
“Plus, there are a couple of farms down there to check out,” added Chase. “We need horses, so hopefully we can hit a home run.”
“Hey, I’m the only one that hits home runs around here.” Stubby laughed. “Except if I’d hit a few more, I might have played pro ball longer.”
Madison stared at Colton, looking for help. Alex did not always respond to Madison’s parenting very well, but she seemed to always follow Colton’s advice. She finally decided to blurt it out. “Colt, maybe you can ride with the kids in the morning. They have a lot on their plate and you could help bring back a load. Right?” Daddy would just be a helping hand.
“Yeah, sure,” replied Colton. “I haven’t burglarized any homes with my daughter in a while. It will be like old times. Plus, I’m a little rusty on my B & E techniques.”
“Very funny, Daddy. You can ride along. If we find a boat, we’ll lead the horses back and you can bring the boat upriver.”
The group grew quiet as Stubby stood to get everyone’s attention. He put his hands in his pockets to warm himself as a brief gust of cool night air rushed over the group.
“I believe we’ve put together a pretty decent defensive perimeter for our three farms,” started Stubby. “It’s designed to address all threats from outsiders. With the growing numbers of refugees amassing at the foot of the bridge and the residents on the north side of the highway turning them towards us, it’s a matter of time before we’ve got a horde of people at our doorstep.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” said Jake. “They may not be armed, but their sheer numbers could overrun us.”
Stubby stoked the fire and tossed on a couple of logs. The moist wood cracked and popped, throwing sparks into the air. The light from the flame illuminated the concern on his face.
“We aren’t going to change our tactics, but I’m beginning to wonder which is the greater threat right now. Is it a few carloads of Junior’s men or hundreds of desperate and hungry refugees?”
Chapter 27
Noon, November 1
Catfish Lane
Crump
“Did you hear all that gunfire this morning?” asked Chase as he and Alex ambled along the trail that hugged the Tennessee River. The paths had been cut through Pittsburg Landing many years ago by visitors to the Shiloh National Military Park. They agreed to stay off Route 22 when they traveled north toward the bridge to Savannah. Other than their Jeep Wagoneer, the only operable vehicles they’d seen belonged to Junior. Vehicles were not the issue—dangerous packs of refugees were.
“Yeah,” replied Alex. She gave Snowflake a little pressure to encourage her up the bank of Snake Creek. They’d be in an open field now, but elected to hug the tree line in case of an unexpected threat. “At first, I thought I was dreaming about fireworks. It reminded me of when we stayed at Disney World one time. We had driven all day and my parents were exhausted. We went to bed early and then the fireworks at Hollywood Studios got started. It scared me.”
Chase trotted past Alex to lead the way. She’d never taken this trail before and Chase, not wanting to frighten her after the encounter with the copperhead the other day, wanted to come upon any other slithery marauders before Alex. His horse was better trained and he could take a fall better than Alex.
“Let’s get in and get out today, do you agree?” asked Chase.
“Yeah,” replied Alex. “I wish my dad could’ve come with us. He and your dad took off before breakfast this morning to check on something at the south end of the ranch. I mean, it’s no big deal. We know what to do anyway.”
“Let’s avoid most of River Heights,” said Chase. “I do have a package of food to give those women and their kids. That won’t take but a minute though.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Chase,” protested Alex.
“Why’s that?”
“I think we should avoid them altogether,” replied Alex. “Yesterday, they didn’t see which direction we came from. Today, they may notice. If we give them food, they’ll really pay attention to us or pressure us into taking them in.”
Chase shrugged. He didn’t get it. Why wouldn’t Alex want to help these women out?
After a moment, Chase persisted. “We’ll tell them no. What are they gonna do, chase us down?”
“Chase, I saw a woman lying on the asphalt, bleeding all over the place,” replied Alex. “My mom and I decided to do the right thing and help her. It almost got us all killed. You can’t trust anybody, and unfortunately, the people you are trying to help may be the ones who kill you.”
“I get it, Alex. You guys went through a lot and that’s BS. But not everybody we meet is a killer. You gotta trust somebody.”
“No, I don’t. I trust my parents and then you guys. After that, I’m always hyperaware that someone might turn on me. I mean, seriously, Chase, why risk it?”
“Fine,” replied Chase. He gave his horse a little giddyup and led them past the side street that led to the vacant house where the women were holed up. Chase craned his neck to look for signs of movement as they rode past. As they entered Catfish Street and took notice of their surroundings, Chase began to feel uneasy. Something was wrong and he couldn’t put his finger on it. “It’s nothing,” he muttered aloud.
“What?” asked Alex.
“Nothing. It seems really quiet around here.”
“It was quiet down this way yesterday too,” said Ale
x. “Most of the activity was near the bridge.”
Chase stopped his horse and held his fist up. He quickly dismounted and led them to a patch of woods at the start of the RV park. They tied off their horses. A flock of geese flew aimlessly above their heads, flying south along the shoreline. Other than their occasional honk, the air was still and deathly quiet. Chase shrugged it off and they worked their way through the travel trailers.
One by one, they found them to be empty and looted. Clearly, a group had been through the entire RV park, looking for food or anything of value. Fortunately, the refugees were not interested in propane or small boats.
They quickly walked through the rows of RVs and found nine tanks, which Chase gathered at the entrance to the park. He then found an inline pressure gauge and installed it to the cut-off valves. Most standard propane tanks held twenty pounds of fuel. Chase found four that were close to full. These would be a big help to the canning operation.
Next, they searched for boats. There were quite a few, but they were on trailers and attached to vehicles. This part of the river was not allowed boat docks, so people had to use one of the numerous boat launches found up and down Catfish Lane.
They were within view of the bridge into Savannah and Alex cautioned Chase against getting too close. “We’re pretty much out in the open here, Chase. If Junior’s men have a good set of binoculars, they’ll see us. They’ve got a clear, unobstructed view from the entrance to the bridge.”
“Okay, let’s check this last boat launch,” said Chase. He picked up the pace and Alex had to jog in order to catch up.
“Whadya see?” she asked.
“Check it out. See that S10 pickup. It’s parked on the incline with the boat on the trailer.”
Chase ran ahead and reached the rig first. A twelve-foot aluminum-hull boat with a small fifteen-horsepower outboard motor sat on a single-axle trailer. He wasn’t sure, but he thought the electronics were minimal on a motorboat like this.
He fetched a bucket of water from the lake and placed the propeller inside it. He pulled the cord on the motor, hoping it would crank. On the third attempt, it fired up with a high-pitched whine. After less than a minute, Chase cut it off and gave Alex a high five.
“This is awesome!” he exclaimed. “Now we can do a lot of fishin’ and even go to the other side of the river.”
“How are we gonna get it in the water?” asked Alex.
“Easy,” he replied. “I’ll let off the emergency brake, throw the pickup into neutral, and ease it into the water. We’ll be good to go!”
“Now?” asked Alex. “Maybe we should bring our dads to do this? I mean, there’s a lot to handle and the motor makes a lot of noise. What if someone—”
“Shhhh,” interrupted Chase. “Listen.”
The sound of a vehicle on the highway startled them and they both dropped to the ground. The roar of the engine was getting louder. How did they get here so fast?
VVVRRROOOOMMMM!
The motor roared on the 1968 Chevelle as it tore down Catfish Lane just beyond where Chase and Alex hid behind the S10 pickup.
“We’ve gotta hide!” exclaimed Chase.
“What about the horses?” asked Alex.
“They’ll be fine. If they try to steal them, they’ve gotta ride past us to get out. We’ll take them back.”
Without hesitating, Chase darted out into the open and crossed the field toward one of the lakefront stilt homes that doubled as a bait shop. He turned for a moment to look for Alex, who waited by the truck.
Just as she started to run for the house, the Chevelle slammed on the brakes, throwing it into a skid. Alex stopped to return for her rifle, which she’d left leaning against the fender of the pickup.
“Alex, come on!” yelled Chase.
She froze.
The roar of the Chevelle pouncing on Alex like a lion made him sick to his stomach. He locked eyes with Alex and the realization came over them both. She had no way out.
Chapter 28
3:00 p.m., November 1
Shiloh Ranch
Her eyes plead for help, but Alex mouthed the word, Go. Chase steadied his rifle and thought about picking them off. There were only two men, but the car skidded to a stop between Alex and Chase’s hiding spot under the house. He could kill the driver, but the other man easily tackled Alex as she tried to run towards her gun. Chase’s mind raced and there were no good options. Anything he tried, whether disabling the car or attracting their attention toward him, could get Alex killed.
The men wasted no time attempting to tie Alex’s hands behind her with zip tie cuffs. She wriggled loose once before being slammed to the ground, causing her to yell out in pain. Chase looked under the Chevelle and could see that Alex was putting up a fight. Once again, he considered rushing the car and shooting the men while they were distracted with Alex.
He rose to his feet and began to bolt past some overgrown shrubs when he dropped to the dirt once again. The men wrangled Alex into the cuffs and hoisted her off the ground.
Alex was covered in grass and dirt and appeared to be in pain as they forced her into the backseat. She looked out the window one last time as the Chevelle roared to life and lunged toward the bridge, throwing dirt and grassy sod into the air.
The Chevelle hit Highway 64, screeching the tires, and roared across the bridge. Then it became completely silent. The entire abduction took less than three minutes.
Chase began to cry, something he hadn’t done since his dad’s tongue-lashings when Chase mouthed off as a kid. Jake never struck him, but when a man the size of Jake Allen towered over a young child and screamed, it felt like Godzilla roaring in the young boy’s face.
No, Chase cried now because he was scared for Alex. He felt responsible and helpless. His emotions brought him to his knees.
“What have I done?” he moaned aloud. The tears poured out of his eyes. Then he vomited, repeatedly.
After a few minutes, Chase got it together and grabbed Alex’s rifle. In the melee, the thugs hadn’t seen it against the truck. He quickly considered using the boat to get back to Shiloh Ranch. Alex was right, it was noisy and it would probably grab the attention of Junior’s men. Plus, he was unsure of its reliability and fuel levels. Now was not the time to take a chance getting stuck in the middle of the Tennessee River. Nor should he get caught. Then nobody would know what happened to them.
He took off for the horses, running as fast as he could. He made sure Snowflake was tied off and he laid some apples on the ground for her that he’d planned on giving the women hiding in the abandoned house.
“We’ll come back for you, girl, but first we have to rescue Alex,” said Chase quietly, attempting to calm the horse, which sensed the excitement. He gave her another rub of the muzzle and scruff behind the ears.
Chase flew like the wind along the river and through the Wyatt farm. Tristan attempted to flag him down, but Chase didn’t stop.
“They captured Alex! Junior’s men have Alex!”
“I’ll tell my parents!” Tristan shouted back.
Chase approached the boundary fence between the two farms and waved his arms at one of the ranch hands.
“Open the gate! Open the gate!”
One of the young Mennonite boys quickly obliged and Chase raced through, his stallion’s nose high in the wind. Rider and horse continued the final stretch to the main house, where Stubby was giving instructions to Javy and two of the new guys.
“Stubby! Stubby!” yelled Chase before he dismounted. He pulled back on the reins, bringing his stallion to a halt. Chase jumped off too soon and tumbled several times through the dirt.
“Chase, what is it, son?” yelled Jake, who came running from the house.
Chase lifted himself off the ground and bent over, attempting to catch his breath. He took a deep breath and replied as Jake and Stubby helped him stand upright. “They’ve got Alex. We got ambushed at the RV park and two men grabbed Alex and took her to Savannah.”
“Wh
at?” asked Madison. She’d walked over to Chase from the pavilion, where they’d been canning apples.
Madison stood alone, wiping her hands on an apron. She frantically looked around. Tears were flowing down her face and Jake moved to comfort her.
“Madison, we’ll get her—”
“Where’s my daughter?” screamed Madison, continuing to look in all directions. “Alex! Alex! Noooooooo!”
She collapsed to the ground and buried her face in her apron. Her crying wails brought tears to virtually everyone as Madison begged God to help her and Alex.
A horse came from around the barn. Madison immediately looked up, eyes full of hope that it was Alex.
It was Colton. He ran to her side. “What’s happened? Where’s Alex?”
Chase quickly ran through the events. When he was finished, Madison began to berate him.
“Why did you let them take her? You should’ve done something!” She was angry and let her emotions overflow.
“Mrs. Ryman, I thought about it, but I couldn’t take them both out and Alex would’ve been hurt.”
“Whadya think is gonna happen to her now? It’s probably already happening!” Madison was shouting in between sobs.
“I’m so sorry,” said Chase as he hung his head.
“Son, what were you doing so close to the bridge?”
“We found a boat, Dad. It ran too. I fired up the outboard just to make sure. I swear it ran less than a minute.”
“That’s probably all it took,” muttered Stubby.
Madison pushed Colton away. “Why didn’t you go with them? What was so important that you couldn’t be there to protect your daughter?”
“Maddie, I’m so sorry. They’ve done this so many times. I just thought it was a routine—”
Madison tore off her apron and threw it to the ground. “You take all of this in stride. Just another bump in the road. No big deal. The world has gone to hell! People are killing each other over a pair of shoes or a bushel of apples. And now our daughter is in the hands of rapists and murderers. Do you hear me? Our daughter, Alex, is probably gonna die!”