Nathan was nervous. They could have gone around the big prison, but people were obviously living there and might help Nathan and his family…or whoever these people were could sneak out behind them after they passed and ambush them. Nathan decided it was better to meet them on his own terms.

He arranged everyone in pairs out of sight. Bethany and the boys had been through this plenty of times before and knew their roles, but the others were new, so Nathan went over everything in great detail. He used a makeshift model on the ground to illustrate individual location and duties.

Following the briefing, Nathan wiggled under one edge of the fence-line and walked up to within thirty yards or so of the wall. He noticed several pairs of eyes watching from above during his long exposed approach, but none of them said anything…only stared. Nathan thought that was probably a good sign. Disciplined men were not normally rash.

Nathan was determined to let them make the first move now that he was in position. He would stay still and quiet until they said or did something. He did not have to wait long.

After about ten minutes, two men appeared at the top of the wall, one huge and menacing-looking, the other older and smaller in comparison. The second man wore an eye patch and was likely in charge. He saw the big man earlier giving directions to the guards before walking away. Big Man now pointed Nathan out to Mister One Eye, who regarded Nathan calmly. He then turned and spoke to the other men and several moved off quickly. One Eye turned back and watched Nathan silently.

Soon four men returned to the top of the wall, spoke together and then spread out. Nathan began to grow uneasy. He thought of taking off his hat in order to give the signal, but there were too many for Joshua to hit and Nathan thought it best to play this scenario cool. The four men reappeared along the length of the wall together and brought up short stubby guns. They were not pointing at Nathan, but high and to his rear.

There was just enough time to recognize they were grenade launchers and that they were aiming towards his family before they fired with four muffled thumps. Nathan spun around to look and could track the projectiles in the air, but they went high and came down only about forty yards to Nathan’s rear, far short of his family’s positions. Not explosions, he noticed, but grey smoke came billowing out.

No, thought Nathan a moment later as his eyes started to water and his nose burn, not grenades…tear gas.

They had effectively isolated him from his support. Nathan realized with a flash that they wanted to take him prisoner without getting shot by his family, whom they had obviously spotted despite Nathan’s efforts to conceal them.

These guys are good, thought Nathan with combined admiration and fear.

He considered making a run for it. They didn’t want to kill him and once he got on the other side of the tear gas, it would cover his escape and work in his favor. Going through the tear gas wouldn’t be pleasant, but he knew it wouldn’t kill him, and he had endured much worse.

He turned to look at the gate to see how much time remained for him to escape. Sure enough, there were two men waiting there looking at him through an open door. One held a riot gun aimed straight at Nathan. He saw the flash from the barrel at the same time he felt a blow to his stomach, like someone hitting him with a baseball bat.

Nathan fell to the ground and looked up at the sky with wisps of tear gas floating overhead. He tried to place his hands over his stomach to stop the bleeding. He must stay conscious to survive.

Stay awake...stay awake...stay awake..., he kept telling himself over and over, as he slipped into blackness.

*******

Nathan slowly realized he could hear voices. He kept his eyes shut and cast his senses around him to determine his environment. He did not think yet about the fact that he should be dead. His training had been too good and complete, he focused on gathering information he needed in order to make decisions.

He knew he was in a chair and he felt his ankles and wrists were bound by metal shackles. The room was small, gauging by how the voices did not echo. There were two of them in the room. They were talking about him he felt, but could not tell exactly what they were saying due to the fact that they whispered. Why would they be whispering?

“Look. He’s awake,” said one.

Nathan mentally prepared himself for the ordeal. He had been through the Army’s Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape School, SERE, and knew how interrogations worked. Giddy up, he thought, opening his eyes and looking at them.

The huge man Nathan had seen outside earlier on the wall walked close to Nathan and looked down at him calmly. “Hello, sir. My name is Officer Jim Meeks, and this is Officer Kevin Jenkins. It is our intention to treat you with respect and courtesy, but that is only possible if you treat us with the same in return.” Meeks’ voice grew firmer. “That means no spitting, profanity, biting, throwing bodily wastes at us, or in any way trying to injure us. You will also follow our instructions without question or delay. This is for your own safety. Do you understand what I have said, Major Nathan Taylor?”

This was a strange way to begin an interrogation and Nathan realized these were prison guards, and they had just given him their standard ‘new convict’ script. “Yes sir, I understand. Might I ask what has happened to me and where I am?’

“Certainly,” replied Meeks, “you are in Hancock State Prison. You approached and we saw the rest of your crew in the woods with guns. Normally, we would have simply ignored you, or driven you off with tear gas, but the boss was curious, so here you are.”

“But I was shot,” said Nathan sucking in his stomach and feeling an immediate wave of pain wash over him.

“Yes, with a rubber slug,” said Jenkins. “Hurts like hell, but doesn’t penetrate clothing or skin. I aimed for the solar plexus in order to knock you out. You’ll be sore for a week, but no real damage. The Doc already checked you over and said you were good to go.”

Nathan grimaced and nodded. He had been totally outwitted. It was sure to happen at some point. He noticed the water bottle on the table. “May I have a drink of that please? I’m pretty thirsty.”

“You may,” said Meeks. “I’ll even unshackle one of your hands so you can do it yourself, as long as you promise not to try anything stupid. I don’t want to have to pepper spray you in this small room.”

Nathan smiled again. “I'll mind my manners and keep my elbows off the table, I promise”

"Good enough," said Meeks and pulled a ring of keys from his belt to unlock him. Nathan noticed that Jenkins pulled his pepper spray from his belt and moved over to the other corner of the room so he could have a clear view of Nathan while Meeks uncuffed him.

“What happened to my family?” asked Nathan.

“The boss will be in here in a minute to talk to you about that and any other questions you have,” replied Meeks. “I’m here to welcome you and make sure you understand the rules. Also, I will take it very personally if you disrespect Warden Buchannan.” Meeks looked at Nathan sternly. “Do we understand each other, Major Taylor?”

“Yes sir. We do,” replied Nathan as he slowly drank the cool water, letting it clear the foul taste out of his mouth. He noticed for the first time that he was dressed in hospital scrubs and not his normal clothes.

Meeks nodded and walked over to the door where he knocked three times. The door opened partially, and Meeks told another man that they were ready and the door closed again. Meeks placed a chair across the table from Nathan and then went to stand behind Nathan. Jenkins remained across the room looking at Nathan. Neither spoke further.

A few moments later the door opened again and the one-eyed older man from the wall entered. “Good afternoon, Major Taylor. My name is Harold Buchannan, and I now run the prison here.” He sat across from Nathan and laced his fingers in front of him. Both stared at each other without saying anything. Harold obviously expected Nathan to break the silence.

Nathan decided to indulge him since he had questions, but thought he would throw a curve ball, “What happened to your eye?”

Harold unconsciously reached up and rubbed the patch and then smiled at Nathan. “That’s a long story and nothing to do with us here and now.”

“Am I now a prisoner here?” asked Nathan.

“Only for the moment, and we promise to treat you well,” said Harold. “We’re not really a prison anymore.”

“What are you, then?” asked Nathan.

Harold’s look became a little less businesslike and slightly melancholy. “Just a group of people trying to survive, you might say.”

“I understand where you’re coming from,” replied Nathan trying to make a human connection as he had been taught. “That’s exactly what my family and I are trying to do.”

“Is that your family out there?” asked Harold.

Nathan decided not to lie. “Some are my natural family, some I’ve adopted. They’re all I’ve got now. So yes, they’re my family.

“I see,” nodded Harold. “Why did you walk up to the prison?”

Nathan thought carefully before answering. “We’ve been on the road for a long time and we try to stop at every house or building we see. Sometimes they’re abandoned and there’s food. Sometimes people are still there and will give us shelter or trade for supplies.”

“Sounds dangerous,” said Harold.

“It can be,” replied Nathan.

Harold contemplated that for a moment and then turned, holding out his hand to Jenkins, who reached down onto the floor and handed Harold a manila envelope. Harold dumped out the contents, which proved to be what Nathan had been carrying in his pockets.

Harold sifted through the items and lifted up Nathan’s military identification card, “Says here that you are a Major in the U.S. Army.”

“I was a Major in the U.S. Army,” said Nathan. “Things changed after that day, I guess.”

“What did you do in the Army?” asked Harold.

Nathan again decided not to lie. This man was trying to get to something, but Nathan did not sense any malice. “Lots of things. I enlisted as a paratrooper, then went Special Forces for several years. I got married and the life didn’t really agree with having a family, so I went to night college and then Officer Candidate School. I was commissioned an intelligence officer. For the past five years, I’ve been in counterintelligence, mainly focusing on security, terrorism, and counter-espionage.”

Harold looked satisfied. He sifted through a few other items before holding up Nathan’s driver’s license. “Says here you’re from Mayfield, Kentucky. That’s in the JP, isn’t it?”

“In the what?” asked Nathan, unsure if he had heard correct.

“The JP. The Jackson Purchase.” Harold looked much tenser suddenly.

That's what he's getting at. It's important to him, thought Nathan. “I guess so,” said Nathan. “No one really calls it that. I believe it has some sort of historical connotation from the 1800’s.”

“Well, that’s what they’re calling it now,” said Harold.

“Who is calling what now?” asked Nathan with growing confusion.

Harold looked a bit frustrated. “Where exactly are you and your family headed, Major Taylor?”

“We’re headed home, to be with family,” said Nathan.

“And home is in the JP,” Harold said this with a knowing tone, as if it explained everything.

Nathan was getting a little annoyed. “Listen, I’m getting the feeling this JP is important to you for some reason, but I’m just trying to get home to be with my family. I haven’t been able to talk to them since everything went to hell. I’m pretty worried.”

Harold looked at him with growing amazement and then glanced at Meeks behind Nathan. Nathan turned just in time to see Meeks shrug his shoulders.

“You really don’t know, do you?” asked Harold.

“Know what?” said Nathan in chipped tones.

Harold sat back in his chair and rubbed his face with his hands before looking back at Nathan. “That the JP is the only place in this whole damn world that is still sane. That they have electricity for goodness sake! They have government and law and rules and heaven forbid taxes!”

Harold said this in a rush and now stopped to stare at Nathan. “It’s the place to be if you want to survive in any normal, civilized sense. The only problem is they are very selective in who they let in.”

“Selective? How?” asked Nathan.

“Only people who are from the JP before N-Day can get into the JP. And you are from Mayfield which my map tells me is inside the JP,” Harold said this while holding up the driver’s license.

“But none of you guys are, am I right?” Nathan asked, but they just looked at each other expressionlessly. “And you think if I take you there, you might be able to get in if you are with me. Is that right?”

Harold’s jaw looked set. “Yes. That’s about right.”

Nathan sat back in his chair. “And just how do you even know this is true? Word of mouth isn’t necessarily reliable, you know. We’ve heard a lot of crazy stories on the road.”

“It isn’t word of mouth. We’re getting it directly from the JP by their regular radio broadcasts,” explained Harold.

Nathan was struck silent. Radio. That means electricity. That really could mean civilization and stability. There might still be someplace in the world that was somewhat normal and where you could live without someone trying to cut your throat every time you close your eyes to go to sleep. Could it be true?

“Will you take us?” asked Harold plainly.

“Do I have a choice?” asked Nathan. “You’ll just keep me here until I say 'yes'.”

“No,” said Harold with a sigh. “We can’t force you. Wouldn’t work. We need you to be our committed and sincere advocate to the JP. I suspect if we take you there by force, it could be a problem the minute we need you to speak on our behalf.”

“So you’ll let me and my family go regardless?” asked Nathan.

“Yes,” Harold answered after a pause. “But consider something. I bet it has been hard for you coming all this distance. It’s a dangerous world out there. I have almost thirty trained and armed men in addition to their families. Might be a safer way to travel.”

Nathan thought for a moment. “I’ll tell you what. I don’t like making decisions under duress. You release me, let me go back to my group to talk it over, and if we come back, the answer is ‘yes.’ If we don’t, the answer is ‘no’.”

“The hell we will!” said Meeks as he suddenly lay heavy hands on Nathan’s shoulders.

“Now we see the real deal, huh? Everything you’ve said is bullshit,” growled Nathan giving Meeks a killing stare. The big man returned it and Nathan jerking away from the hands on him. Months of stress, fear, and pain burst out of him. “Get you damn hands off me, I’m not one of your convicts! Look at yourselves! You’re so used to dealing with prisoners you don’t know how to act with normal people!”

Harold held up a palm to Meeks. “Easy there. I meant what I said. We need Major Taylor here to do this because he wants to do it. No other way works.” Harold paused again, sizing Nathan up. “I don’t really know what else to say other than I hope you’ll consider. For the sake of my people, and yours…do this.” Harold nodded at Nathan and then stood up and left. As he passed out the door, he said over his shoulder to the men, “Let him go.”

The two guards looked at each other and then Meeks started unlocking the shackles, cursing under his breath.

Nathan stood slowly and painfully, looking at the two guards. “Just out of curiosity, when is the next scheduled JP radio broadcast?”