The Switch by John Sullins Page A

what really happened,
they knew he would tell his story when he was ready.
     
    Within an hour they were in Nashville.
They were seeing very few people but one thing they did see for the first time
were indications of serious civil disorder. From their position on the
interstate they saw burned out building after burned out building. Some of the
buildings were still smoldering and the smell of the fires was strong.
     
    David was riding in the front
of the group and stopped to look at the destruction. Samuel stopped alongside
David and said “God forgive them for they know not what they do”. 
     
    Barbara lowered her head,
“Life as we knew it has changed forever.”
     
    Both families straddled their
bikes and rested as they talked about the burned out city and the potential
danger ahead
     
    David said, “I will ride a
few hundred yards ahead and watch for trouble. Everyone else should stay close
together and be alert. Watch for people on the overpasses. If you see something
suspicious, call out.”
     
     Lynn added, “Let’s get
going. The sooner we get through here the better.” That was the only suggestion
that had to be made. It was becoming more evident every day that chaos was
coming.
     
    John rode in the back of the
group and watched the windows of the buildings closest to the highway for
danger. As he pedaled steadily he thought about the past few incidents. Barbara
being raped, Samuel being beaten up, himself being cut by the unknown woman,
and now the signs of looting and destruction. He knew they were on the last leg
of their trip to the lake in Alabama but the danger seemed to be increasing. By
car he could have been home from Nashville in less than three hours. But on the
bike, it would probably be three days at best before they made it home.
     
    He thought about how he would
be driving along with the cruise control on, maybe listening to Rush Limbaugh
on the radio. His thoughts drifted to Rush’s chances of survival. As best he
could recall, Rush lived in New York or Florida. If Nashville was being
destroyed think about what is happening in New York! John summarized his
thoughts with the idea that he would never hear Rush on the radio again.
     
    They rode past hundreds of
abandoned cars and were near the south edge of Nashville before noon. As they
rode past a large mall on the right side of the highway they could see flames billowing
from the roof. The fire was so big and so hot they could feel the heat of the
mall burning.  It looked as if the mall would be nothing but rubble within the
hour.
     
    Suddenly Sandra began
screaming. She dropped her bike to the ground and ran to her mother.
     
    David called for John, “Grab your
rifle,” and he pointed to a field at the far end of the mall parking lot.
     
    A group of about six young
men were running in their direction with guns in their hands.
     
    John dropped his bike to the
ground and shouldered his rifle. He did not hesitate, he fired four quick shots
directly over the heads of the charging men. Only one of the men stopped his
advance, the others continued to charge and began screaming and waving their
guns in the air.
     
    John again did not hesitate.
He aimed at the closest man and fired. That man dropped to the ground. John
then aimed at a second man and fired again, but he did not fall. David fired
two or three shots with his pistol and another man fell to the ground.    
     
    At the sound of David’s shots
they stopped their advance. The 9 millimeter pistol sounded like a cannon being
discharged compared to John’s .22 rim fire rifle. As the men ran away one of
them stumbled and fell. John aimed at him through the scope and could see blood
covering the front of his shirt. John could see his second shot had not missed.
     
     
     
    But he did not see Samuel
drop his bike to the ground and run his direction until Samuel was running in
his direction and screaming. Samuel ran into John like an offensive lineman
blocking a defensive