“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do.”
The night air was getting colder. A thick, roiling fog formed in the bowl where the rear field was constructed, making it difficult for the two guards to see anything. The elements were equally bad for the guards and for Patton. Shuttling prisoners out of the building, across a field, up an embankment, and up the mountain would be difficult in optimum conditions. These were not optimum conditions. Patton headed to the office he’d originally entered through, followed by twenty-one prisoners—eleven men and ten women. He was going to leave about a dozen behind, but it was their choice, not his.
After an internal debate, Patton removed his non-lethal ammunition from his rifle and slapped in a magazine loaded with real bullets. The guards, if alerted to their escape, would no doubt shoot to kill. He needed the firepower to fight back and to protect his new charges. According to the plan, Patton waited for the two guards to walk by. After counting to “ten alligator,” Patton opened the door and sprinted towards the base of the rise. He slung his rifle over his shoulder and bounded up the hill, his arms and legs churning, propelling him up the obstacle. He reached the top and pulled himself up, breathing heavily. He wouldn’t have time to gather himself before he had to commence the second step of his plan.
Patton reached to his belt and unclipped a flashlight. The light had a red cover, which made it more difficult to see. Patton strained to spot the two guards. Satisfied they were too far away to see or hear anything, Patton clicked the light on and off three times. He saw the door open and ten people pour out. It was riskier to bring them out half at a time, but it would be easier to keep them all covered if the guards were to open fire.
The group of ten made its way towards his position. A woman slipped and two men grabbed her by her arms, helping her to her feet and practically dragged her towards the hill. Patton unslung his rifle and sighted in the guards, who were all the way across the field from his position. He was tempted to signal for the other group to exit the building, but it was too risky. One of the men reached the top and he heaved himself to a flat area, fighting for air. Another man reached and then another. The first female reached the top. As two more men and another woman reached the top, a shot rang out, muffled by the thick air. Trying to figure out what had happened, Patton scoped the ground below him. One of the escapees was down on the ground, either dead or badly wounded.
At first he thought the guards had seen them and opened fire, but when another shot was fired, Patton saw that the fire was coming from the main prison building. Another escapee went down, but before the sniper could get off a third shot, Patton scoped him in and shot them center mass. He then scanned over to see where the patrol guards were. They must have been startled by the shots because they were now both sprinting towards him. Patton took aim and knocked one down with a shot to the leg. He missed the other with his second shot, but pegged him in the shoulder with a third bullet.
He scanned over to the left again, making sure that no one else was tracking him. Patton didn’t see anyone or hear anymore gunshots so he pulled his flashlight and signaled for the second group. When he looked down to see the first group’s progress, he was startled to see that a few of them were huddling around a downed escapee.
“Leave them for the prison doctors!” he yelled at them. “Come on, we have to get out of here!”
Startled by his voice, the small group looked up at him. He motioned for them to come to him and they finally started moving again. As the second group started catching up to the first, another shot rang out. Another escapee went down, screaming and holding his leg. Having been warned by Patton to keep moving, no one stopped to help the man. Patton felt horrible about that but there was nothing he could do. He had to get the rest of them to freedom.
The second group made their way up the hill and Patton started scanning the grounds for the new shooter. Luckily, the second sniper missed with their second shot and Patton was able to spot his position. He aimed and fired. He saw a spray of blood and was satisfied he’d put the shooter out of action.
Patton gathered what prisoners remained then and led them up the mountain, away from the prison. Three escapees were down, as were four guards. He knew that he’d just upped the ante, but he wasn’t concerned about that right now. He was more worried about his wife’s safety. The only things that would keep her alive were the fact that she was bait and Asher could use her for propaganda purposes. For now, he couldn’t let that bother him. He needed to focus and get these people to a safer place.
CHAPTER 29
Of the twenty-one who attempted to escape, only eighteen made it up the hill. After hiking them away from the prison, Patton huddled them together around a small fire. Normally he wouldn’t use fire, but the morning air was cold and he had to get these people comfortable. As he scanned their faces, Patton could see fear in many and regret in others. While they were now free, many regretted leaving the relative comfort and safety of the prison. There they were fed, housed, and clothed. Here though, out in the wild, exposed to the elements, their safety was far from assured. Before taking his rabble too far from civilization, Patton gave them one last chance to reconsider and return to the prison. There was some discussion and debate, but in the end, no one wanted to go back. They had no idea what Patton had planned for them, but they figured it was better than what David Asher had planned.
They pooled and inventoried all of their food and supplies. Most of them were poorly dressed for these conditions. Only a few of them grabbed coats and their prison-issued shoes were a generic leather loafer, far less than what they would need to transverse this rough terrain. They had very little food and camping gear, something they would need for their journey that God-only-knew how long was going to be.
Patton was suddenly nervous and filled with regret. He scolded himself for how impetuous his move had been. Now he was responsible for the safe transit of eighteen people—not only that, he had no idea where to take them. The only thing he knew at this point was that he was going to have to get back to his camp and gather everything that was of use. Then, perhaps after a day of rest, they would strike out and make their way over the eastern hills towards the town of Portage, Utah, which was nestled against the other side of the mountain. Their internal problems were many, but their external problems were probably worse. David Asher was going to come after them with everything he had. It was going to take all of Patton’s skills to get them to safety.
Patton finally got them moving, and after only a few short breaks, they were able to make it to his camp just before dusk. Patton had his two man tent and a large tarp that he turned into a makeshift shelter. Many were just glad to be out of the elements, but some of the others were already complaining. Patton didn’t have the heart to tell them that this leg of their journey was going to be the easiest. They would have about eight hours to rest up, eat, and drink water and then they were going to be moving out again—some time before dawn.
As Patton began to drift off into a wary sleep of his own, he could hear the snores from some and whispered conversations from a few others. He’d given each of them an MRE, which are loaded with extra calories, and cooked a large pot of oatmeal for the group. He set his alarm for four in the morning. He would wake them, feed them, and then they were going to start on their journey.