Chapter 8

After gulping a time or two, he said, "My mom and I were living in Columbia on the Day. We didn't get sick. My dad and mom divorced when I was a baby and my dad vanished. I didn't know where he was on the Day and still don't. We joined up with some other survivors and eventually were merged into the Triple-A's. Mom is back with the main camp as the main woman for one of the Six.

"She doesn't like him much but it means a better life for both of us. Mom is a good looking woman and someone would be using her in that group as their woman. It's better this way. The Six killed Art and Jim a day after the two of you left. The Six said it was because they were getting soft. I think it was because one or more of the six desired you. Ma'am, you are a very attractive woman. Any man would be honored to have your favor.

"The Six will attack when they find that the raiding party was unsuccessful. Triple-A is kept together by force and the Six cannot let any group challenge them or they lose power. The attack will come tomorrow or the next day. They will be sneakier after hearing from Ted that you wiped us out. There are some powerful weapons available.

"What did you plan to do when there was no more food to be scavenged?" I asked.

"I don't know. I don't think anyone had planned that far ahead. As long as we had plenty of gas and ammo, we could find or take food. I think Art and Jim were beginning to think that through and working with you was their first step in that direction. I'm not sure and they're dead now."

"Jasper, I think you need to stay here for now. We'll be back. Now, you could probably get loose. If you do, we will hunt you down and kill you. Do you understand?" He nodded and Bennie and I walked off to find Poppa Jack.

It took only a few moments. Bennie told him what Jasper had told us. Poppa Jack didn't wait. He got on the radio and began giving instructions and asking the home folk for more reinforcements giving his granddad the information that we had obtained.

Our reinforcements would be here late this afternoon. Poppa Jack also had watchers with radios placed on I-20 and I-85 to guard against problems from those directions. He also looked at some old road maps and sent a pair over to US 41 and another pair to High Falls and US 23. They were all instructed to stay out of sight and report by radio if they saw someone.

We waited. Our reinforcements arrived and Poppa set up ambush points north of our prior points where our shooters would have clear fields of fire. There would be no warnings and no chance for the Triple-A's to do anything but win, run, surrender, or die. I don't know if others realized it, but this was going to be the place and time for a chapter in our future to be decided.

They day went by and our observers on US 41 saw a Humvee coming down and stopping to look. These folks were cautious. We had no information about anything behind them as yet. Poppa Jack said to hold position as long as possible. If they were going to be overrun, destroy the radios. If they were going to pull back, report and destroy the radios. The most important thing was to not let our radios fall into Triple-A hands. We pushed another set of observers out US 41 and another out US 23. Poppa said that he figured he wasn't the only one capable of reading a map.

The Humvee had moved back north. Bennie and I talked to Poppa about going out east and doing an "end around" to ascertain where the main thrust might be coming. He said no because they would come and his main group could shift east or west based upon the observers we had. We knew something we believed the Triple-A's didn't know which was that we did not have to defend this particular area.

We had our forward posts in Griffin and Jackson as Georgia 16 would offer an east-west movement point that crossed the Interstate. Poppa felt that the main thrust had to be directed at that point down one of the three roads. The next morning, we heard from Morris in Griffin, Jerry in Jackson, and Ricky on I-75. There were convoys coming down each road with twenty vehicles in each group.

Morris reported that his group was planting in Griffin and looked to be conducting a search for people or for material. He couldn't be sure. He said that he was well hidden with his partner. In Jackson, Jerry reported the same situation though he saw people carrying things out of stores. Ricky had the most risky position, as there were few buildings at the intersection compared to the two towns. He had decided to plant his post north and east of the intersection where he could look south and see all activity at the intersection. He felt that hiding in the woods was his best hope. Since he and his partner were experienced bow hunters before the Day, they knew how to hide. It looked like the Triple-A's were trying to set bases for their next steps

The next step, which occurred that afternoon, was for a Humvee to head south down each road. After that first vehicle went about three hundred yards, a second followed it with a third each an equal distance behind it. Poppa told everyone to stay out of sight. Then he told the I-75 ambush to take out the lead Humvee when they saw it. The ones on 41 and 23 would be allowed to come forward at this time until they reached High Falls Road. Before the I-75 ambush could take place the Humvee turned around. Our Hwy 41 observer reported the same thing. A moment later, the one in High Falls reported their Humvee had reached the dam and then turned around returning north. This was a limited probe that was timed or was for a set distance.

According to Jasper, the only working radios were a few in some Humvees and some CB's. The Triple-A leaders didn't use radios much at all. Jasper reported that they had used cell phones for a long time. They couldn't do that in Atlanta because Poppa had pulled down every cell tower he could find because that was a too easily handled communications method. He said that an old joke he had heard years ago was that, just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean that they aren't out to get you. There were a few towers in North Atlanta but none south of I-20 in Atlanta. Poppa had really done it to move people to the radios but now it was working for us strategically.

It was after lunch and a few Humvee's had been running back and forth among I-75, Griffin, and Jackson points before any plan looked to coming from the Triple-A's. This time, another set of the Humvees went out from each point headed south. The one going down I-75 was attacked and knocked out. The second and third ones stopped and then headed back north. The Humvee coming down Hwy 41 came to the turn for High Falls Road and retreated. The one on 23 came through High Falls and was attacked when it crossed the bridge with I-75. If their probes were attempting to determine where we were located, they should be figuring between 41 and I-75, which fit what they had been told.

Poppa called a council of war bringing in a group to advise him. Bennie and I were included as was Shirley. I know he trusted Mama Shirley's judgment on any matter. His dad and Ted were also part of the group, too. We went over what had happened and tried to figure out what the Triple-A leaders would decide to do and how to best counter those potential moves.

Ted suggested that we send snipers up 41 and I-75 to harass those two groups during the night. We still had night vision glasses and a number of accurate shooters. Sleeping in the Humvees and trucks would not be comfortable particularly if you thought that getting out where you could be seen might get you shot. Poppa agreed to have a few people assigned to that task. We all recognized that it wouldn't change the tide of any battle but might well help in breaking their will to make war.

The next issue was what roads to cover. We could cover two with sufficient strength to have some confidence that we could handle and stop an incursion. We agreed that splitting three ways would probably not be successful. It took a while to argue out a plan that looked to be as workable as possible based upon our abilities and limitations. We had good shooters and radios. They had armor and numbers with the ability to pick their routes.

We would cover I-75 and US 41 with a smaller team at High Falls dam to fight a delaying action if that became necessary. Bennie and I were assigned to lead the High Falls team. We spread out quickly to our various places and duties. The snipers gathered together first and headed out to take their shots over the evening. Every separate team had radios and contact protocols with safe words just in case.