December 12, 2007
William Willis

In the Timmons household, the blankets had been put over the windows. Mike, his wife Sarah, and their 15 year old son were sitting around the table, talking quietly so as to not wake the 10 and 12 year old son and daughter sleeping in the next room, making sure that all was in readiness. The lantern was turned down to give only a minimum of light. No sense in letting people know that the Timmons' had things that they might want.

"Mike, are you sure we have to do this?" Sarah asked once again. "This is such a nice neighborhood. The children like it, and we have friends here. Do we really have to leave?"

"I"m afraid so. Things are getting out of control. You should have heard a couple of guys at work today. They were planning on how they were going to split up the reward food they were getting for a tip they turned in. And they don't even know how much, if any, that they are going to get. Do you remember a couple of months ago when I had to pull my shotgun, on two different occasions, to keep someone from breaking in to steal our food?"

She nodded silently.

"Things haven't gotten better since then. I honestly believe the only reason we haven't had a third visit is because nobody is sure if I turned in our weapons or not when they said to turn them in. It is only a matter of time, and I think a short time, before someone tries again. THEN what do we do? If I shoot, everyone will know we're armed, and the authorities will be coming to visit. If I don't shoot, we lose whatever they can carry away, and who knows what will happen to us."

"Mom, Dad's right. Some of my friends have been asking why I'm not as thin as they are. I've been able to come up with excuses so far, but it is getting harder to do every day. On top of that, I noticed two of them pointing at me and talking to each other kind of secretly. I think they are going to turn us in for food hoarding."

"Thank you for telling me that, Tommy. I've been wondering how anyone would know about our back yard garden, since the fence is 8 feet tall. What you said might explain how someone knew to raid our garden. I know. You're both right. It is just this is our home. I hate the thought that we will be forced to leave."

Mike answered.

"I know, me too. Is everything packed in the 4X4? Gas tanks topped off from our stash?"

"Yes Dear. Tommy and I got all of that done while you were at work today. Are you sure we can get out of town without being noticed? What about the guns? If we get caught with them..." her voice trailed off. The penalty of death for having a firearm was well know to everyone in the country. It was also well know that the sentence was carried out on the spot. No exceptions, and no appeal.

"I'm as sure as I can be. I know all the back roads to my hunting cabin. We don't have to spend any time on major roads, and we should be able to avoid roadblocks, God willing. It is only 60 miles. It shouldn't take more than an hour and a half to get there. If we leave in the early morning, most everyone will still be asleep, and the guys on patrol from the police and army won't be at their sharpest. Besides, nobody goes out at night any more. The headlights they are used to seeing are from their own vehicles. We should be able to sneak through."

Turning to his son, Mike said,

"I want you to get some sleep son. I'll wake you in a few hours, and grab a little shuteye myself. Then we get the younger ones, and pull out. Sarah, make sure you keep them quiet. Last thing we need is to have someone call and report we are acting strangely at the last minute. Now, a few last things that I want the two of you to listen to carefully."

Mentally Mike did something he hadn't done in years. He went back to his infantry training.

"First, Tommy, you are riding with your mother. Keep the shotgun out of sight, but close enough to use if you have to do so. Understand me son, you DO NOT fire, unless, or until I do. The only exceptions to that is if we get stopped. If anyone tries to get into the S.U.V., or pull someone out, you DO NOT give them a warning. DO NOT give them a chance. DO NOT threaten them. You just shoot them. Remember, they are professionals. Given any excuse, or reason THEY WILL kill you without a second thought. Then they will kill everyone else in the vehicle."

To his credit, Tommy took it in stride. It took half a second for the statement to sink in, and he answered.

"I understand."

"Sarah, if Tommy has to shoot, DO NOT wait for instructions. You hammer the gas and run. You don't stop until you get to the cabin. Understand?"

"Yes." was her only word.

Quietly, mother and son went to bed, as the father pulled his pistol from it's holster, checking it one more time, before putting it back and arranging the belt into a more comfortable position. It was going to be a long night.