“Great. We can use them to lift Granny B’s antenna into the air.”
A short while later, Alice got their attention. “Hey! Someone is coming this way.”
They all scurried for cover. Tom saw four adults and a couple of teenaged kids following behind. “I think they’re only out scavenging. Hey! Wait … a … minute. The two men behind the others have guns aimed at the ones in front. Let’s find out who the bad guys are.”
The group walked in front of the barn. Tom heard the two men with the guns talking among themselves. “We don’t have to do this. We can just say we killed them.”
“How long do you think our families would live if Carlos or his henchmen find out we didn’t get rid of these dissenters.”
“We could let them go and then get our families and leave the area. I can’t abide killing innocent people, especially kids.”
Tom nocked the bolt, aimed, and let the bolt fly from the crossbow. It struck the man in the chest and pierced his heart. He dropped his pistol, clutched the end of the bolt, and fell to the ground. The other man dropped his gun and raised his hands. “Don’t shoot. Please don’t kill me.”
“Keep your hands up!” Tom said and then turned to the other people. “James, cut their bindings.”
Tom watched as James cut the ropes used to tie the family’s hands behind their backs. “Why were these men going to kill you?”
The man spoke. “Because I was overheard complaining about how Carlos was living in luxury while the rest of us barely had anything to eat. One of my neighbors turned us in. I should have kept my mouth shut and fled into the hills as my friends did over the last month.”
Tom looked over the man, his wife, and two teenage children. They wore clean clothes and appeared to have bathed recently. “How bad is it in Ashland?”
“Not horrible if you buy into Mendoza being Ashland’s savior and fearless leader who provides for his flock,” the man replied.
Tom shook his head and looked the man in the eye. “What about those who don’t like Mendoza?”
The man said, “I’m Alan Green. This is my wife, Kendra, my son, Joe, and daughter, Billie.”
Tom didn’t fully trust the family. “I’m Tom. Now, how did they treat people who dissented?”
“They don’t exist very long. Mendoza has rewards for his faithful for turning in anyone who makes a negative comment about Mendoza or his policies. I bitched about the extravagant parties at Mendoza’s mansion. The rest of us were forced to work twelve-hour days on just enough food to keep us alive. You see where that got me.”
Tom was warming to Alan and his family. “What should we do with this man who held a gun on you?”
Alan said, “This was supposed to be his test to see if he was loyal. He’d already whispered to me that he would shoot the other bastard and let us go. I don’t know him, so I just don’t know if he would have followed through.”
Tom thought for a minute and motioned for James to bring the captive over to him. “Were you going to kill these people?”
“No! I planned to kill Roy and let them free. Then, I was going to sneak back into town and take my family away from here.”
Alice had been watching and pulled Tom to the side. “I like the family. I don’t know what to think about the other man. He could have already killed the other asshat.”
Tom also felt good about the family and felt like he might be going out on a limb with what he was about to offer. “James, take Roy back to the barn. Alan, would you like to join us? We have a secure location up in the mountains and have food, water, and shelter. You will be expected to work as hard as the rest of us and eat the same food we eat. Our leaders work and eat with us. You will also be expected to fight to keep our little community safe when necessary. We don’t go looking for fights. Our success is based on keeping a low profile and hiding from the rest of the world.”
Alan looked at his wife, and she nodded. “We don’t have anywhere to go, so this sounds good to us. What will you do with him?”
“I don’t want to take a chance on him but don’t want to kill him either. We’ll place a blindfold on him and drop him off along the way home so we can be long gone from here in case he runs to Carlos’s men.”
“Thanks.”
Tom frowned. “A word of warning. You will be held for a month in a secure area, so you won’t know our location. You’re free to leave any time before the end of that month. You will evaluate us as we evaluate you. If you decide to stay, you can never leave. Revealing the location of our compound is punishable by death. Several of the men and their families around you went through this process. Talk with them and the other families who joined us.”
Alan spoke. “We want to join your group.”
“Okay, you will be placed in the back of our truck, blindfolded, and driven around until you don’t have a clue where you’re at. Then you’ll be taken to one of our locations and live for a month before going to your new home.”
Alan asked, “Would it be possible to rescue others who want to escape Mendoza’s tyranny?”
“We’ll see.”
Kendra touched Tom’s arm. “Tom, there’s a red-headed woman who leads a small group of freedom fighters who harass Mendoza’s men and help people escape. She was wounded during their last attack, and we hid
