Sondra nodded and then she closed her eyes.
20| Comparisons
After Sondra's vision, the group of survivors were anxious and deeply concerned. They wondered if what Sondra had seen was true and hoped that it wasn't. Slowly, the conversation among the others began again as they tried to think of other matters. Except for Phillip, everyone else was congenial and polite. Each of them genuinely hoped to be an asset to the group, its leader, and their new lives.
"It sounds like they couldn't get rid of us fast enough," Jesse grunted and then added, "Leaving us behind was bad enough, but bombing us… bombing the entire world. I suppose they wanted us to die quickly."
"Besides, Joshua, what do those stone tablets have to do with us?" Sam asked, directing the question back to an earlier part of the conversation that had bounced from one person to the next.
To Salazar, it had already become apparent that Sam didn't accept anything without checking its validity. Sam was a 'thinker' and he wouldn't allow any assumptions or theories without asking plenty of questions. Sam would only follow someone he trusted… and Salazar immediately liked and respected him.
"Well," Joshua slowly replied, "if what Salazar says is true, if the elitist truly have fled the earth and left us here to die…," he began before Phillip once again rudely interrupted him.
"How do we know that what our new leader says is true? Did any of you see the launch? We only have the word of this juvenile and his doting mother to go on," Phillip caustically declared.
"Are you sure you don't want to toss anyone outside?" Jesse directed the question to Salazar and then grinned as he added, "I'll volunteer for that task."
Salazar was certain that Jesse could easily accomplish the job; nevertheless, he only chuckled and shook his head in response. He wasn't concerned about or intimidated by Phillip's jibes. He relied on the things Henry had said and trusted that each one present was here for a specific purpose.
Regardless, Jesse knew a challenge when he saw one.
Jesse wasn't anyone's fool. He understood that Phillip tried to undermine their young leader in the most cowardly way he could. Phillip verbally assaulted the others while questioning Salazar's authority and ability to lead. Like a nail hammered into mortar, Philip chinked away at the glue that held the bricks together, hoping to make Salazar crumble.
Jesse was convinced that Phillip's verbal attacks were designed to test Salazar's leadership ability. It was obvious to the former police officer that Phillip hoped to apply the necessary pressure that would cause Salazar to make a glaring mistake.
Jesse silently scoffed at that idea. He trusted that Salazar would not fall for such an underhanded scheme.
Salazar dismissed Phillip from mind and looked at Joshua again, "Please continue, Joshua. I, for one, am very interested in your theory."
"Well, it could be that they plan to wait a couple hundred years and then return just as Sondra saw in her vision," Joshua haltingly explained. "I mean, think about it… their exodus was planned and was a long time in the making. Surely, they didn't leave without a way to return. Perhaps, if they wait a couple of centuries, they would be getting a fresh start on Earth… I suppose it would be their descendants to come back. Regardless, you know they had to have a plan. If the spaceships took them to Mars or Jupiter where they have already been terraforming for nearly a century, they are too greedy to let this planet out of their grasp."
"That's true," Sam added. "If the planet is left alone for a long time, like any other living organism, it might recover from all the abuse and damage. It might have time to heal, to become somewhat reborn."
"It might become valuable to them again," Freddy advised.
"Then, they could follow those guidelines and make sure that they are never broken again," Joshua continued. "My grandfather always believed that the monument was put up by one of those inner circles that ran everything. I can't remember their names, but he suspected it was put there as warnings to let the rest of us know that our days were numbered and we were doomed." He hesitated again before adding, "I mean that could have been their logic. Not that anyone could know for sure what was in their evil, selfish minds."
"You think the assholes that raped and pillaged the earth really care about some guidelines found in the southern sector?" Tom stated in a calm, steely voice. "The 'powers that be' considered the south in the same way they considered Winterhaven… the dregs of society. The South has always been labeled as a bunch of inbred rednecks. Why would anyone put a warning there? I bet that was the first place they bombed. I bet even the monuments are only dust by now."
"You feel pretty strongly about that assessment, Tom," Salazar commented. "Do you have a reason for your convictions?"
"I do, although you might not put much stock in it," Tom grumbled.
"Even so, I'd like to hear it," Salazar encouraged.
"So would I," Sam agreed as the others nodded their heads.
Tom had said very little so far and everyone sitting in the circle wanted to hear more of what he thought. Each one gazed at Tom with open curiosity.
"All right," Tom began, "My mother died a few months back and I was the one to go through her personal belongings. She had a shoebox full of letters from a relative in Europe that dated back nearly fifty years. This relative was a journalist back when that meant something. I read the letters before all this started and from her accounts, everything we experienced here in August City in the Eastern Sector was identical to the things that every citizen in every country experienced all around the world…"
"The more you talk the more nuts you sound too," Phillip interrupted and then sniggered, "I guess you came to the right place, a den full of loonies."
As soon as Salazar's eyes glanced at Phillip, he sat up straight and zipped his lips. Salazar considered that Phillip was like an unruly child that needed constant reminders to sit still. He hated to think that he would have to watch Phillip like a hawk for the next ten or fifteen years… if they managed to survive that long.
"Her letters verified that there were corrupt governments and politicians lining their own pockets to do the bidding of the rich all around the world," Tom continued as if Phillip didn't exist. "There were rebellions that were squashed before they got started. There were acceptable citizens and those considered unacceptable. The unacceptable ones were pushed into communities like Winterhaven to be forgotten. Everyone all over the world has suffered just as we have here. The only difference is that they also hated us."
"Why would they hate us?" Joshua asked.
"Because we were supposed to be the shining example," Tom declared. "We had all the answers. We shouted, 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, etcetera,' however, we were the ones who set the earth on her course of greed and corruption. We taught other countries how to do the same thing to their citizens. We were cowboys thinking we could get away with anything and everything. Those in power made sure of it. We made war on other countries to manipulate their leaders, to put those in power that we could control. By our greedy actions, we let the entire world down and there is no doubt in my mind that all the world leaders everywhere also fled their countries at the same time that you witnessed those spacecraft launch. They planned it that way."
The room erupted in chatter with everyone talking at once.
21| Fairness
"Now, hold on," Jesse interrupted. "We didn't just come up with this stuff on our own. We learned it from our forefathers."
"In all fairness," Miki interjected, "Jesse is correct. We are all, every one of us, originally from other countries. This country, the United Sectors, was founded by those who came here to escape tyranny and abuses from all over the world."
"That's just it," Tom proclaimed, "We didn't escape anything. We brought it with us and expanded on it. We just got better and better at doing the very manipulation tactics we had hoped to escape."
"Well, someone taught them to do it," Tereese chipped in.
"The sins of the fathers," Miki quietly acknowledged.
"Maybe, Joshua is right," Tom admitted. "Maybe they will return one day and reclaim this planet although I seriously doubt they will follow any rules or guidelines. It's just not in their nature."
"I agree with Tom." Jesse announced. "Their compulsive greed is too ingrained. Besides, rich people breed with other rich people. They keep themselves separate for a reason and they keep their bloodline, their DNA, pure so those nasty traits will always be a part of whom they are and who their descendants will become. They would never be able to make those changes… not even in twenty lifetimes."
"You know this because you have had personal contact with rich people?" Tereese scoffed. "Sure you did!"
"Actually, I did," Jesse gently defended. "As a Cop, I was assigned as a Personal Protection Officer to several of the rich and famous who visited August City. I'm really good with weapons and I was posted as bodyguard to some of the richest, most decadent snobs that God ever wallowed a gut in!"
"Whoof!" Tereese loudly hooted, "Excuse me for thinking you were just a good ole boy who happened in off the street without a clue."
"You're excused," Jesse softly replied. He was accustomed to people treating him like muscle. He had been laughed at for being 'more brawn than brain' on many other occasions. He didn't like it, however, he was used to being judged on appearance and could ignore her sassy comments.
"Get a room, you two," Jon chuckled as he noticed the sparks flying between Jesse and Tereese.
"Maybe they desire to use it as an outpost," Sam suggested trying to steer the conversation back to the topic at hand. "I agree with Jesse. They are too greedy to let go of anything to which they believe they own and have a right."
"Oh my god!" Sondra moaned in her sleep. "It just gets worse and worse." Her distress caught Salazar's attention and he watched as Miki patted Sondra's arm and continued to bath her face without waking the distraught young woman.
"I am reminded of an old tribal saying," Sam added, "A frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives and yet, that is exactly what has happened to this great earth. We were supposed to protect her, to be her caretakers; instead, she has been drunk dry and those who drank her have fled into the night."
"Let's be brutally honest," Joshua added, "I think at some point in our past we have all, at one time or another, killed off the other races and raped this millions-of-years-old planet. Such action is usually designated as a 'cleansing' and it's a nice word for a terrible act to get rid of anyone who is different. However, from what my grandfather said, each race perpetually tries to annihilate the others. It just never stops. Then, each group that ends up on top 'drinks up the pond' as Sam pointed out. The cycle repeats itself again and again as each race takes control and kills off the others. It is a never-ending story."
"I can acknowledge that we are all to blame," Salazar softly conceded. "We have all, at one time or another, played the abused or the abuser, the victim or the victor."
"Circles of life," Sam observed.
"Bitter cycles," Tereese snorted.
"We are a destructive species for sure, however, we must do better now," Salazar added. "We must not let the greed of our ancestors grow in us. It is time for something new."
"We certainly have a chance to start over," Sam commented, "let's just hope we have learned enough to do it better this time."
"Perhaps this will be a new and different world," Salazar planted a seed. "It could happen if we put all people and their needs first rather than just a few."
The others remained silent as they contemplated what that would look like. The seed took root and began to grow.
"As far as the current situation we face," Salazar continued, "each of you has valid points about our past; however, I don't think they are done with us yet. What we have seen and heard so far has been an aerial attack. If that was all they had planned for us, there would not have been any reason for them to flee. I suspect there is more to come and it will be much worse than what we have already seen."
"We should all try to get some rest," Miki encouraged. "We will need our strength and fortitude when the air raid is over."
"One last thing," Salazar began before the others could move away to find a place to stretch out. He had everyone's attention and they curiously looked to him to continue. "Has anyone besides Sam and Sondra noticed any changes?"
"What do you mean?" Tom asked.
"Sam admitted that his sense of smell has increased," Salazar advised. "I have noticed that my natural instincts are enhanced. From what happened to Sondra, she was also very intuitive and now she has visions of the future…,"
"This is bullshit!" Phillip lambasted. "Utter bullshit. Are you all crazy? Are you sure you want to follow someone like him? Just wait until the government finds out about his intuition and Sondra's visions… The officials will cart both of them away and put them in some hole where they belong. Besides, he's only a child and full of mumbo-jumbo and crazy talk! How can you trust him?" All eyes briefly turned to look at Phillip and just as quickly the people dismissed him from their thoughts.
"It can enhance negative and positive traits, right?" Jesse asked with a chuckle. "It seems like Phillip's contemptable personality has also increased."
"There isn't any authority left to cart anyone away, Phillip," Miki countered.
"Yeah," Tereese asserted, "It looks like you are stuck with the crazies of this community, Phillip, because I can tell you right now, I would rather be among those that you consider insane than to be associated with such a bigoted asshole like you!"
"Anyone else notice anything different about themselves?" Salazar ignored all the clutter and brought the topic back to where it should be. He closely looked at the new faces, hoping for more insight into their particular gifts.
"I have been unusually distracted," Tom admitted.
"Me too," William added.
"All I can think about is how to establish services in this underground tunnel. I mean, we haven't even seen the cavern you mentioned and yet I know we'll need running water, electricity, and some conveniences. My engineer brain is spinning with ways to make the place inhabitable," Tom acknowledged.
"So is mine," William agreed.
"Is that what you mean?" Tom and William asked in unison.
"It very well could affect each of you that way," Salazar agreed.
"I feel more depressed than usual," Joanne admitted.
"That could be attributed to the circumstances rather than the enhancement that Salazar has mentioned," Sam soothed. "I don't pick up any sense that you are ill or in danger."
"And you would be able to sense that?" Freddy asked.
"I believe I would," Sam asserted. "I can tell that Phillip is suffering from severe anxiety. I can hear his heart race from across the room. He isn't always a complete asshole. He doesn't have a filter like the rest of us. Whatever he thinks pops right out of his mouth, sometimes to his own detriment and regret. In truth, Phillip is a frightened man with no other outlet than sarcasm and anger right now. For the time being, we might consider excusing his behavior."
"You bastard! Keep your filthy heathen mouth shut about me. You know nothing about me!" Phillip yelled.
His outburst was mere bravado.
Phillip knew by now that no one in the crowd liked him and he wanted to attack or lash out at someone or something. Instead, his fear of Salazar kept him from doing so. His envy of the youthful leader also prompted him to turn away from the group to sulk.
Although Salazar knew there was a lesson to be learned with Phillip, at this point, no one else paid any attention to anything the man said. As far as the others were concerned, he might have come in with the group; however, by his own rude and hostile actions, he was no longer part of it.
Salazar had hoped to hear his grandfather weigh-in on the subject of Phillip; however, Henry was silent for the time being because he was busy visiting with Sondra in her dream state.
22| D
reams
While those around her talked about what the future might hold for them, Sondra slept and drifted in unconsciousness. Her dream felt menacing as she stood on a steep, mountain precipice which overlooked a vast, pitch-black emptiness.
She couldn't see anything and the inkiness terrified her.
A particularly strong gust of wind swept at her, both pushing and pulling her with its fierce, icy current. She feared it would shove her over the edge and into that bottomless nothing. She feared she would be lost in that emptiness for all time. In a panic, Sondra grabbed for anything nearby, hoping to hold on, hoping not to tumble off the cliff. She was shocked to find a strong body beside her.
"Where are we?" Sondra cried out as she clutched onto a firm arm. The penetrating wind whipped her voice away as if she had not spoken at all, but somehow the stranger heard her.
"It will be all right," he soothed as he steadied her. He stood like a rock beside Sondra as they each gazed into the black vastness of space. The only difference was that he was calm and unconcerned, unruffled by their precarious situation while she quaked in fear.
"How are you so calm? It's so scary," her voice was high-pitched, almost squeaky as her vocal chords tensed and she shivered with terror and the effects of the frigid air.
"You are safe. This is only a vision, a magical vision. Nothing to be worried about at all," the man calmly encouraged.
"A vision inside a dream? Who are you?" Sondra asked as she looked at the tall stranger standing beside her. He looked to be about fifty years old, and for an old guy, he was what her mother would have called 'sexy-ugly' which sometimes meant 'ruggedly handsome.' She had never been any good at guessing a person's age or their intentions. She wondered why he was there with her and what he wanted. "And, even more importantly… why are you sharing this vision or experience with me?"
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