On the hill, Jacob waited and watched. In the moonlight, he saw the gray shape of the truck come to a halt at the junction of the bikers’ road. When he saw the vague shapes emerge, he knew that Mike had convinced the soldiers to approach the bikers’ camp on foot. Jacob silently crept up to the RV and unhooked the chain. He entered quietly, trying not to awaken the children all at once. He shook the smallest boy. The boy woke and when he saw Jacob, he emitted a small cry of distress. Jacob held a finger to his lips.
“I’m a friend,” Jacob whispered. “I’m taking you away from this place. You’re safe.”
Silently, the boy shrank away from the strange teenager, an unhappy look on his face.
“Be quiet, and wake the others,” Jacob whispered. “The United States Army is coming for you. You know who they are, don’t you?”
The boy nodded.
“They’re taking you to a safe place. There’s lots of food there, and no one gets hurt.”
The apprehension on the little boy’s face was changing to one of hope.
Jacob glanced around the recreational vehicle and counted ten kids. They’re all here. He had the young boy wake the oldest girl and explain what was happening. At first, she was afraid of Jacob, even as Jacob tried to assure her that he had come to help them. In a low whisper, he told her that he was taking the kids away from the bad men. She bit her lower lip as she tried to decide whether or not to trust him, and then she nodded. Together, they woke the rest of the kids. Not all of them were happy to see Jacob.
“You’re not going to hurt us, are you?” a little boy asked, fear in his face.
“No, I’m not going to hurt you,” Jacob said. “If you stay quiet until we get to the road, I promise that you will get a nice surprise.”
He led the children out of the RV and quietly down the dirt track. Part of the way down, Erin silently joined them from the shadows, the sleepy kids barely noticing her. Jacob faded into the night, while Erin led the children to the paved road. There they waited, as Erin explained to the oldest girls what was happening. Shortly, they heard the grunting of marching men coming up the road. Some of the frightened children began to weep.
“We’re over here,” Erin called to the soldiers.
“Halt,” she heard, and then a soldier came forward.
“Listen to me. I am an American soldier,” a man with silver bars on his shoulders told the children in a quiet voice. “I’m here to rescue you.” The weeping children calmed down at this announcement.
“Are there any more kids up there?” the Lieutenant asked. The silver bars on his shoulders gleamed in the bright moonlight.
Erin shook her head. “I don’t think so,” she said.
The two oldest girls looked at each other. “No, we’re all here,” one said. “We were in the dugout earlier, but they took us back to the RV when they finished with us.”
Embarrassed, she hung her head. Hearing this, Erin felt her face flush with anger. She looked at the grim faced lieutenant.
“I hope you kill all those bastards,” she stated fiercely.
Kennedy had some of the soldiers lead the children down the road, while he and the rest started up the track. Just as the soldiers arrived in the vicinity of the dugout, they heard a shot. The soldiers ducked for cover.
A man came out of the dugout cursing loudly and carrying a rifle.
“Who was that?” he yelled. “If one of you rats stole a gun, I’m gonna beat the shit out of you.”
Lieutenant Kennedy yelled back. “You are surrounded by the United States Army. I order you to put down your weapon and surrender.”
Cursing, the man fired a shot in the direction of Kennedy’s voice and then he fled back to the dugout. Kennedy called again for their surrender. He was answered by several more shots from the dugout. Kennedy ordered a volley to be fired, and the soldiers shot a withering hail of bullets into the dugout. The men in the dugout fired again, and there was another exchange of bullets. Then the firing from the dugout ceased, and the soldiers heard only groans, and finally there was silence in the dugout. At dawn, the soldiers cautiously approached the dugout and found six bodies. A lucky shot had grazed one of the soldiers; it was a serious but not life threatening wound.
Well below the dugout, in the safety of the trees, Jacob wondered if the Chief would be mad at him. Jacob had carried a handgun as part of Mike’s plan, but firing into the dugout as the soldiers arrived had not been part of the plan. Maybe I won’t tell the Chief, he thought.
By then, the children had arrived safely back at the Army post. Major Collins felt very satisfied when he heard Lieutenant Kennedy’s report. They had rescued eleven children. Counting Mike and Nathan, he knew that he now had thirteen more mouths to feed. But we can do it. They were US Army, after all, even if most of them were engineers.
The post medic examined the children, and she pronounced them relatively healthy, at least physically. Most were malnourished, and all of them were suffering from vermin on their bodies and in their hair. Almost all had been repeatedly molested. Emotionally, they were in bad shape, and it would take them a long time to recover from their trauma. But they were alive, which was more than could be said for the three small skeletons that had been found and buried, along with the adult remains. The major was tempted to leave the thugs to the vultures, but he ordered the bikers to be buried, also.
After only a day, some of the children were noticeably more cheerful. These children are survivors, the Major thought. The two boys who had been the first to find the post had found a baseball. They were playing catch, not far from the edge of the knoll. One of the older girls, the only one who had adamantly refused to be examined by the doctor, was actually sunbathing on the same side of the post, but she was closer to the wall. The major pondered what compromises she had made, so that she could survive.
Mike was enjoying playing catch, but the game had a secondary purpose. He threw the ball past Nathan. Nathan had to run into the bushes by the small oak tree to retrieve the ball. There, he waited. A sharp eyed Ranger standing on the palisade parapet saw Nathan go into the bushes. When he didn’t return in a few minutes, the Ranger yelled at Mike to find his friend, and to get him back in sight. Just then, Nathan emerged from the bushes. He and Mike walked back to the fort.
“You kids stay where I can see you,” the soldier told them sternly.
“I had to pee,” Nathan explained. I can’t pee in front of people. And there’s a girl here.” He pointed to Erin, lying on the grass.
The young soldier looked over at Erin. There certainly is a girl here, he thought. And she’s a real looker with a great rack. He felt a twinge of guilt. She was probably abused.
The following afternoon, the kids were back. The boys were throwing the ball. The same boy went frequently into the bushes to pee. He was only gone for a minute or two, so the Ranger did not yell at him. The Ranger wondered if the boy might have a urinary problem from his experiences at the bikers’ camp. Poor kid. Probably caught some kind of disease from those assholes. The girl was sunbathing, today. But this time, she had taken off her shirt. Her wonderful breasts were covered only by her bra. The Ranger kept sneaking guilty peeks at her.
Later that day, Mike was interviewed by Major Collins. He was assured by the Major that he was not in trouble, and that all of the kids were being interviewed, so that a brief account of the crimes committed by the men could be recorded. The Major did not ask for graphic details. The Major smiled later when he thought about the interview. The boy was extremely curious. He had asked more questions than the Major did.