The Blue Ridge Resistance Read Online Free PDF Page B

for you to realize your children will starve if you don’t take drastic measures?”
    “About a week,” Jason replied. 
    “Right,” Evan responded. “Could you let your wife and boys ache from hunger because feeding them would mean you have to step away from your own values? I doubt you could and neither could I. I just can’t see a desperate family who has been changed by this world, as we all have, as evil just because they steal to eat. But then again, maybe I’m just getting old and soft.”
    As Jason thought about what Evan said, they rounded the corner and saw a figure dart off into the woods. They immediately brought their horses to a stop and looked and listened. They could hear the sound of rustling in the bushes as well as the muffled sound of a crying child. Evan got down from his horse and handed the reigns to Jason. He whispered, “I hope I’m not about to eat my words.” He turned and began to slowly walk up the road.
    As he approached the area where he assumed them to be, the sounds of the crying child became more muffled. “Take your hand off of that poor child’s mouth!” he yelled. “You aren’t hiding from anyone, and nobody is gonna hurt you unless you pull some stupid move.” He could hear the child sniffling and could tell their mouth was no longer being covered. “Let me give you some advice,” he continued to shout loud enough for them to hear him. “The people around here act as one. You hit one of us, and you will be hit by all of us. We’ve seen and done some things that you don’t want us to repeat, trust me on that. The residents here are good people, though. If you are just passing through, do so in broad daylight, out in the open, and you will not be bothered. If you are desperate, especially to feed your children, speak up. Don’t try to steal. If you do, you’ll get caught, and I promise you, none of our family members’ safety is worth risking while we try to determine your intentions. Now, whoever is with that child, I’m going to leave some bread and some jerky folded up in a towel on the side of the road. It’s for the children, so give it to them and them only.” 
    Evan then reached into his pack and pulled out some food that Molly had packed for him to take along. He placed it on the ground, just as he had said. As Evan turned to walk away, he stopped and said, “And if that was you that tried to rob my friends and got your woman killed, you had better look at yourselves as her killer. What kind of a man puts women and children in harm’s way and then runs like a coward? You should truly be ashamed.”
    As Evan began to walk away, he heard a woman’s voice say while fighting back her own tears, “I’m sorry,” followed by sniffling.
    Evan paused and said, “Say a prayer, and ask God for forgiveness. Ask God to show you the way. You’re not going to make it without him on the road you’ve chosen.”
    He then turned and walked back towards Jason, who was in a state of shock of what Evan had just done. When Evan reached him, Jason said, “What in the world is the matter with you? You made yourself an easy target and could have gotten yourself killed!”
    As Evan climbed back onto the horse, a woman crept out of the woods where he had laid the food. She picked it up and started to run back in the woods. Before she slipped away out of sight, she stopped and turned to face him and Jason. She looked weathered and beaten down. They could see the stories of tragedy and loss written into the lines of her face. She silently mouthed the words thank you, and walked back into the woods.
    Evan looked at Jason and said, “Some people need to be killed, and some people don’t. They don’t. Every now and then, we need to realize that we may have the opportunity to be the glimmer of hope for humanity for others who may have already given up. It doesn’t do us much good in the long run to do nothing but protect our children from the world, while doing nothing to