Free Neighbors by Jerry D. Young Page A

around later, we should be safe for a long time. Those of you that run… well… you’ll be on your own, open to attacks by any small force.”

“That’s not fair!” cried Sara. “Everyone should help those of us that are going to leave!” She looked around and saw only a few faces that seemed to support her. Most of those looked away when their eyes met hers.

She slumped back in the chair. “I guess we’re staying,” she said softly.

That was enough to kill the idea in any of the others that had been thinking about joining her in an exodus.

“We need to get started on a plan,” Hank said. “And we need a volunteer for a dangerous job. We need someone to go keep an eye on this gang, and warn us when they get ready to make a move on the community here.”

People looked around at one another in dead silence. At least for a few moments. Finally Stan stood up and said, “I’m your man, Hank.” His wife put a hand on his arm to urge him to sit down.

“Got to, Honey. These folks took us in. With all we had, I don’t think we would have survived long without their help.” Stan’s wife nodded and her hands went to her lap, clasped tightly together.

“Okay,” Hank said. “Hang around for a few minutes, those that have ideas for increasing our defenses. The rest of you might as well go home and get some rest. The harvest is going to be done shorthanded; as many of the able bodies will be working on whatever defenses we can come up with.”

Only Elizabeth and Juan, Pete, Bren, Henry, and Stan stayed behind. Stan caught Chap by the back of his jacket when he started to ease out of the room. “I think we may have some more questions for you.”

“You got no right to hold me! There ain’t no laws now!” Chap lunged once, but Stan had a tight hold on him.

“There are still laws. The natural, inalienable rights and laws that good people observe automatically. Now sit down over there and shut up until we ask you something.”

It is a sad sight to see a grown man pout, but that was what the small group saw when Chap sat down.

“We’d better grill Chap before we lose him,” Stan told the group, speaking softly.

“I know. We can’t make him stay,” Hank replied. The group discussed for a moment the information they needed to get from Chap, and then Hank stepped over in front of him.

Chap flinched a bit. “We’re not going to hurt you. And we’re not going to keep you here for the battle to come. We just want some additional information.”

“I don’t know nothin’ more!” protested Chap.

“You probably know more than you think you know,” Pete said. “Like… How many are there in the gang?”

“They’ll kill me if I help you,” whined Chap.

“They’ll kill you if they catch you again anyway, Chap,” Hank said. “They’ll just assume you helped us.”

Chap groaned. “Okay! Okay! You are probably right. And you’ll let me go after I tell you what I know?”

“You have my word,” Hank said. Chap saw the looks on Henry’s and Stan’s faces and shuddered slightly.

“How many in the gang?” prompted Pete.

“There’s about forty when I left. Plus maybe twenty… twenty-five women. All but a couple of them are pretty much just slaves. Aren’t any kids that I saw.”

The number of men was a blow. Hank and the others looked at each other. “There has to be a way,” Pete said. “There’s always a way.”

“Not always,” Chap said. He got a glare from every one of the others and shrank back in his chair.

“What that means…” Hank said, but another glance at Chap and his voice trailed away.

“I ain’t going to tell no one,” Chap protested.

“You aren’t because you aren’t going to know,” Hank said. And then he and the others grilled Chap for almost an hour getting much more information from him than he knew he had, just as Pete had said.

It did not sound good. It would take a daring plan, well executed, and at least some