The Rescue by Everette Morgan Page B

more than six and a half feet tall and probably weighed close to three hundred pounds.  He had a machine gun held in his right hand resting on his hip and it was pointing skyward.
    Using a chain saw and some axes, the group took about twenty minutes to clear the road.  Marcus looked ahead and could see that they would only get to travel about another mile and then they would have to get out and do it again.  Plus, by his estimation, Marcus could also see that this would probably give him an opportunity to see if anything was in that cage. 
     

Chapter 3
    As he watched, they loaded up and traveled on down the road until they reached the next obstruction.  Marcus could tell that this one would probably take a little while longer.  Three or four nice sized trees were blocking the road this time.  The group unloaded and got to work.  Turning the scope to the second truck, for just a second he was relieved.  Taking his eye off the scope he glanced down again. Again Marcus thought that maybe the cage was empty but he hadn’t zoomed in good yet and so far all he could see was what looked like a small lump of clothes or possibly tarps lying inside the cage.  As he kept trying to focus, the leader left the group and went to the second truck.  He banged his fist down the side of the cage.  About the same time, Marcus brought the spotting scope into full zoom and focus.  He was shocked when the lump moved.  Rising up in a sitting position, Marcus could fully see that it was a dirty, disheveled young lady with deep red hair. It was hard to tell from where he was sitting, but Marcus was guessing that she was maybe in her mid teens and she was very striking. 
    Anger swelled up in him.  No question now, he couldn’t just let this go. He wouldn’t let this go.  He would have to do something.  As he was assessing the situation and was in deep thought, the rest of the lump sat up.  It was a small, grungy, little girl probably four or five years old.  The young lady wrapped her arms around the little girl and pulled her close.  Marcus could tell that the small girl was crying. 
    Although he knew the sniper rifle could reach a mile easily, there were still too many obstacles for Marcus to take a shot.  Even if he could take a shot, if he was extremely lucky, he would probably only get two or maybe three before they would find cover and then they would know where he was.  With a radio they might be able to call in others.  Marcus knew he had to decide on a better plan of action.  Using the scope, he scanned the road ahead and estimated that they would reach the next city, which is Chattanooga, before nightfall and would probably camp there for the night.  Marcus quickly figured that he could load up and make it to Chattanooga after midnight sometime or later.  That would still give him time to get the lay of the land and decide what he was going to do before morning.  He needed to get everything done tonight because he figured they would leave as soon as they woke up in the morning and he didn’t want to follow them any further than he had to.
    Gathering up his spotting scope and rifle, Marcus loaded back up and drove back to his compound.  He put his rifle in the MAV and ran inside.  He went downstairs to his secure room and loaded up with more weapons.  He loaded up the Desert Eagle, an AR-15, grabbed some regular grenades, his night vision glasses, and some timer based explosives.  He took these to the MAV and loaded them inside.  He wasn’t sure how long all this would take so he went back inside and added a couple of meals to his backpack.  As he went out the door he initiated the lockdown of the compound…
    “Jocelyn” he snapped.
    Instantly she replied through his earpiece, “Yes, Marcus”.
    “Initiate lockdown: Code Yellow.  Also, upon re-entry, please be prepared for at least an additional two human companions.  Potential threat analysis is unknown.  Allow for entry but maintain internal