Uncle Cat reached down and with his scarred wrist still exposed flipped the page.
“Page 23,” he said, “is nothing more than ordinary straw.
“Yet another very simple item that saved my life that night, and many nights thereafter.”
Chapter Thirty
“The next morning we were awoke by the sounds of gunfire. Jack and I both jumped to our feet as the people around us remained on the ground and tried to shake themselves awake. Faint grey light streaked the skies and it was tough to see everything that was going on around us.
“You boys calm down,” an old woman said as she hefted herself to her feet. She had to be in her early sixties with thick grey hair hanging in curls. Her cheeks were plump and red from the cold air. “That’s how they wake us up every morning. Kind of a daily reminder that we’re waking up here with them instead of at home in our beds.
“As if we could forget.”
“She finished climbing to her feet and dusted herself off. “Josephine Moore. Sister Josephine Moore.”
“Ma’am,” I responded, dipping my head down. “This is my brother Jack and I’m Richard, but you can call me Cat.”
“Josephine nodded. “I’m glad to know you but awful sorry we met. They just bring you boys in?”
“Yes ma’am, last night,” Jack said.
“As we talked another blast of gunfire went into the air and the ground began to scurry with activity.
“The first burst is to let folks know it’s time to get up, the second is to let us know it’s time to get moving,” Josephine said.
“People began milling by us, many of them still entrenched in sleep. Their eyes were half open and they stumbled forward without lifting their feet from the ground.
“We stood a moment and watched the people file by and I turned to Josephine and asked, “Who are all you people? Why are you here?”
“As I spoke Reverend Mercer approached and said, “Come now, we can discuss this on the road.”
“We joined the massive throng of people moving along and for a while we marched in silence. Guards walked with us every fifty feet or so and often they would shove or prod along a prisoner they felt wasn’t moving fast enough. Sometimes they did it just for fun.
“A few miles into the journey the guards allowed themselves to fall behind and once they did, Mercer began to speak.
“The first and last hour or so of each day the guards walk beside us,” he said. “During those times the most officers are around and they have to be seen poking us along, pushing us for better time. During the middle of the day, most of the officers ride ahead to scout or meet or do whatever it is they do.
“Once they’re gone the soldiers tend to fall back behind us. So long as we keep up a steady pace, they don’t seem to mind too much.”
“And what are they doing in the rear all that time?” Jack asked.
“Josephine cast a sideways glance at him and said, “Just about everything you can imagine they would. Drinking, gambling, beating prisoners for sport. It starts pretty mild, but the more they drink the more intense it gets.”
“For a few long minutes silence filled the air.
“So who exactly are all you people?” I asked.
“We are here as a part of a missionary group from Park City, Utah,” Mercer said. “Sister Moore and I came out four years ago to bring the word of the Lord to the people of South Korea. There were eleven us then, there are four of us left.”
“Where were you folks located?” Jack asked.
“Spent the first two years traveling from village to village,” Josephine said. “It was tough going, especially for a group as large as ours. Every day was a struggle to find food and shelter and let’s just say the people were less than receptive to our being here.”
“It’s not that they were bad people,” Mercer said, “they were just a product of their environment. Many of them have spent their lives living in fear of one enemy or another. When we came along with our funny language and clothes, they assumed we intended to harm them.”
“We lost five people those first two years to instances of people assuming and reacting,” Josephine said. “Folks would open fire or lay booby traps and we would walk right into it. All we could do was bury our friends, pray for their souls and continue to plug along.”
“Silence again settled in for a second before I asked, “So what happened? I’m assuming it got better or you wouldn’t still be here.”
“As Sister Moore said,” Mercer said, “that was our life for the first two years. After that though, something magical happened. We came across a village due south of Seoul known as Pi-Kon. The people there were so exhausted from living in fear and perpetual uprising that they decided to trust us.
“They let us into their village and their homes and within days the Lord took over. People listened to His teachings, learned from His word and began to live in the way the Bible advocates. We were able to build a church and a school there, permanent homes for our staff to live in.
“The last two years have been good.”
“We waited a moment to see if he would continue the narrative, but when he said nothing I prompted, “So what happened?”
“Mercer tossed his hand out in a sweeping motion. “This happened. We were a peaceful village and hoped we could be left free of this awful conflict. As history has shown though, war touches everything.”
“Josephine snorted. “Destroys might be a better word.”
“Mercer nodded. “Just the same, the war found us. When the North Koreans came we were in church, all of us. We were deep in prayer and they burst through the door and demanded we exit to the streets. No questions were asked, no belongings were gathered. They herded us outside and told us to start walking. Anybody that disobeyed was shot on the spot.”
“How long ago was that?” Jack asked.
“That was two weeks and half a village ago,” Josephine said. “We began as a hundred and fifty. We’re now a dozen or so over fifty.”
“I surveyed the group and said, “How can that be? There must be three or four hundred people here.”
“Other villages,” Mercer said. “Errant captured soldiers like you, people they come across on the roadways. They don’t care. Anybody that isn’t North Korean is shuttled along.”
“Sounds just like Hitler in Germany,” I said, shaking my head at the thought.
“Josephine nodded and said, “Odds are that’s the model they’re using. Eradicate the world of everyone else and then you’ve only got yourself to worry about.”
“We spent the rest of the afternoon moving forward, each side asking the others questions about the state of things and how we came to be where we were. For the most part the guards left us alone and the pace remained steady.
“Many of the people with us were much older and by late afternoon were being helped along. Each time somebody would stumble one of us would take them by the arm, speaking words of encouragement as we went.
“The cold remained stiff and bitter and we took turns moving to the outside of the pack to take in more insulation. At first I was reluctant to take my turn, but after several hours in the icy breeze I too was stuffing handfuls of dead leaves into my fatigues.”
My uncle paused for a second and one by one extended his legs forward to stretch them. His knees gave small popping sounds as they reached full extension and were returned to their place on the front steps.
“As the afternoon wore on the sky grew a dimmer shade of gray. The sun never really came out at all, but it was light. You know the sort of day I’m describing.
“We continued to push down the path, each of us with an elder draped across either shoulder. I myself was helping two women that didn’t weigh much more than ninety pounds apiece. As we walked I would by accident lift them from the ground for several feet at a time and I couldn’t help but think that they didn’t have much time left.
“In helping the women along I hadn’t been paying a lot of attention to t
he group as a whole and looked up to find a small group of soldiers had found their way back to us. There were four of them huddled close and they had the nervous mannerisms of somebody that was up to something.
“We hear you boys just got in last night,” one of the men said. He was thin and wiry with a patchy red beard jutting from a well defined jaw bone.
“That’s right,” Jack said, glancing at them and returning his gaze to the front.
“He looked at Jack and then me and motioned towards my face. “That would explain your jaw. Thing hurt as bad as it looks?”
“Truth was it hurt like hell and had I not been plodding through frigid temperatures, it might have been unbearable. “Not too bad,” was all I said though.
“A second man swung a quick glance from side to side. “Listen, we’re fixing to make a run for it here and were wondering if you wanted in.”
“I didn’t say a word, deferring to Jack. He set his jaw and pretended to ponder for a second, but I could tell his mind was already made up.
“No thanks,” Jack said and shifted the man on his right shoulder a little bit.
“Red Beard snapped his stare towards Jack and said, “Why not?” in a hostile whisper.
“Jack shook his head and said, “I don’t have enough information. I don’t know how the guards operate, what kind of weapons they have or even where the hell we are. If a move’s to be made, the time has to be right.”
“The second man looked at Jack and said, “We have all that information! We can do this!”
“Jack shook his head. “No you can’t and you know it. All four of you are thin and ragged from walking. I don’t know how long you’ve been here, but if I had to guess I’d say at least a month. You’ve just been waiting for some nice strong legs and backs to come along in case you need help.”
“A third man, a black man with a bald head said, “What about loyalty soldier? We need you!”
“Jack shook his head. “Right now, these people need us more.”
“Red Beard spat on the ground in Jack’s direction and turned his fiery eyes towards me. “You with him?”
“I am,” I said, and nothing more.
“The group passed a collective angry glance in our direction and the second man said, “For your information, we don’t need you. We’re doing this with or without you; we just thought we’d extend the invitation. Thought we had some brothers in arms back here.”
“I heard Josephine smirk beside me, but nobody said anything. Another moment or two passed before they moved on ahead again. Silence fell over the group and for a hundred yards or so nobody said a word.
“Thank you,” Mercer said.
“Jack nodded. “We did it as much for ourselves as for you folks. Don’t get me wrong, we’re happy to help as much as we can, but those men reek of desperation. Desperation often leads to foolishness.”
“Josephine sighed. “The guards have a system for anybody caught trying to escape. Anybody leaving will be shot, as will two others. They demonstrated once the first day to make sure we all got the point. They won’t hesitate to do it again.”
“I looked up into the afternoon sky and said, “It’s getting on towards evening now. Guards ought to be joining us soon. They won’t try anything this late will they?”
“My guess is they’ve been waiting for this time,” Jack said. “They know they have the shortest amount of time before dark and they know the terrain here is pretty flat. This is the best chance they’ve got.”
“Jack had no more than finished the words when a crashing sound in the weeds to the right stopped the procession in its tracks. Everyone crouched down and tried to see what was going on as a second noise sounded out into the cold air.
“Jack clasped me on the forearm and with eyes motioned out towards the left of the trail. I squinted past him and saw all four men, bounding for the woods.
“What the hell was that racket?” I whispered.
“Probably threw some rocks or something,” Jack said. “Anything to divert attention for awhile.”
“Wouldn’t they have just been better off sneaking out, not alerting anybody at all?”
“Desperation often leads to foolishness,” Jack echoed.
“We stayed crouched down, the people around us tucked in tight as Korean guards sprinted up from the rear. The sound had caught many by surprise and as they ran by their hats sat at angles on their heads and they fumbled with their weapons.
“It took less than a minute for one of the guards to spot the fleeing men and figure out what had happened. He began shouting in Korean and waving his arms as a group of guards sprinted off after the soldiers.
“The entire procession huddled together and waited, each of us hoping for the best and expecting quite the opposite. A few minutes later, the sound of gunfire split the late afternoon air.
“Tears ran down the faces of women around us as men sighed and shook their heads. I met Jack’s eyes for a moment before looking past him to the soldiers walking back across the field towards the procession.
“This can’t be good,” I whispered and several heads turned to follow my gaze.
“The tears and shaking heads stopped as everyone stared at the ground and prayed for the march to continue. The group of guards walked towards us and once they got close enough began shouting in Korean.
“They shouted for several minutes and when they stopped everyone stood waiting, unsure of what to do. Without warning each of the guards walked forward and grabbed two people and drug them from the group.
“Women screamed and children cried as one by one the men pulled them forward and shot them between the eyes. Eight people, just like that. Four men, two women, two children, all over the stupidity of a group of desperate soldiers.”
My uncle reached down and flipped the page to reveal a thin black glove on the next page.
“Page 23,” my uncle said. “As we walked on the people in line paused to pay their respects. I remember being touched by the act of humanity in such a dire time and I bowed my head and sent up a prayer for them as we went by.
“A few minutes later a woman handed me a black pair of gloves from one of the men. It wasn’t until then that I realized what the people were really doing. They were looting their own dead.”
Uncle Cat paused again and exhaled , his eyes fixed before him. “To this day I cannot decide what the most inhumane action I witnessed that day was. Seeing a group of soldiers put their own desperation ahead of eight innocent people, seeing the North Koreans gun all twelve down, or seeing a group of people claiming to be followers of God looting the fallen.”
Chapter Thirty-One
“We marched on for almost a week, each day a little harder than the one before. Every night the Koreans gave us a small loaf of bread and that was our sustenance for the day. Most of the time the bread was moldy, but we ate it anyway.
“Our only form of water was to eat the snow from the ground around us. As the days passed the snow crystallized more and more and before long we were eating pure ice. The harsh granules chaffed our lips and throats and it wasn’t uncommon for lips or gums to be bleeding.
“A couple of nights we were lucky and came across abandoned school houses or churches and were able to stay there. The cold, hard floors weren’t a vast improvement from the ground outside but having walls to block the wind helped a great deal.
“We’d huddle close and pack the room as tight as we could and by morning we’d almost be warm again. If the soldiers wanted to they could have torched the place and sent a couple of hundred of us up with it, but I think that would have been too easy for them. They knew most of the people would stay inside just to be close to a fire.
“Each day some of the weaker ones from the group would fall behind, never to be seen again. Some would tire of trying and sit down along the trail and wait for the cold or soldiers, whichever came first. As we walked we could hear the occasional gunshot pierce the air, but there was nothing we could do about it.
> “For our part Jack and I continued to help two people at a time. We tried to spread it around as much possible, but there was too much weakness to help everyone.
“As we walked, more and more people joined us. Soldiers, South Koreans, missionaries, even a few Spaniards and Frenchmen. Where they all came from I don’t know, but came they did. By the end of the week our group had swollen to over four hundred.”
The door creaked behind us and my mother poked her head out. She saw us sitting on the front porch and asked, “You two have a nice walk?”
I turned, gave a half smile and nodded my head, but said nothing. My uncle kept his gaze on the lake ahead and said nothing as my mother returned the smile and headed inside.
“On the morning of the sixth day, the soldiers summoned us with their familiar revelry of gunfire. Freezing, starving, and exhausted, we all stumbled to our feet and waited for a call to march that never arrived.
“In its place came a small squatty man with the insignia of a general in the North Korean Army. He wore sunglasses despite it barely being light out and strode with an air of importance that was sickening. He smiled the smug smile of a man in charge and without understanding a word he said I could tell it was dripping with arrogance.
“He addressed the group as a whole, speaking in a tone just above conversational and making everyone strain to hear him. As he spoke he waved his arms from side to side and motioned to and fro.
“A South Korean named Sun-Jin that had been walking with us whispered, “He’s saying that we have reached our destination. It is time to break the group up into Koreans, soldiers and everybody else.”
“Each of us turned our head toward Sun-Jin and I asked, “Where the hell we all going?”
“We are all going to our, what is the word, induction camp,” Sun-Jin said.
“Induction camp?” Josephine asked as her eyes searched across each of our faces.
“I’m not sure if this is the right word I am looking for,” Sun-Jin said. “Place where they will teach us about Communism.”
“Jack and I raised our heads and Mercer said, “You mean indoctrination.”
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