by Nelson, Kip
“I have to prepare for the worst, Penelope. Because if it comes and we're not ready, we're going to be overrun. We have to be brave and cunning, we have to show them that we're not going to back down.”
“You want to take the fight to them?”
“No, nothing that drastic. The people here are strong, but against an army? We'd need way more time to prepare. When the army comes, we'll meet them and see what they want, but I won't trust them until I can look their leader in the eye.”
“And what are you going to do about the trial? People are beginning to wonder when it's actually going to happen.”
“First, we need to discuss the punishments. Which reminds me, it's time for another council meeting.”
With that, Tillman bowed his head and bid farewell to Penelope. She raised her eyebrows at him and moved in the opposite direction. Tillman felt himself being pulled in a number of different directions. He hadn't spent as much time with Penelope recently as he would have liked since there were too many other things to take care of. Leading the community felt different than being a part of it. He was a little envious of how most of them could walk through the community and focus on the tasks at hand rather than the ethical and moral quandaries that plagued the members of the council.
Then, Tillman laughed at himself. Something told him he never would be satisfied.
The meeting was being held at Jack's house this time. Amber and her parents were out.
“We need to talk about what punishments Khan and Jeff are going to face, if they are found guilty,” Tillman said.
“Surely death is a suitable punishment for murder?” Simon replied.
“And are you going to pull the trigger, Son?” Mr. Fox said quickly. Simon's smug smile faded instantly. Tillman felt a small surge of delight at seeing Simon be put in his place.
“Personally,” Tillman said, “I don't want any kind of capital punishment. I've seen enough death, and Mr. Fox has a good point. I don't think anyone should have to carry the burden of executing people either. It's too much to ask. We should be focusing on life.”
“Exile?” Jack asked.
“I think that will have to be the case in extreme circumstances,” Tillman said, “for those people who cannot or will not integrate.”
“But what about the others? You can't be serious about holding them?” Simon said.
“I don't really see any choice in the matter,” Tillman said.
“So, we basically get to feed them and clothe them and take care of them while they give nothing back?” Simon asked.
“I didn't say that. I'm sure there are tasks we can set them up to do that will benefit the community. But, yes, we keep them here. It seems to have worked for centuries,” Tillman said dryly.
“I don't know how people are going to feel about having criminals so close to us,” Annabelle said. “It's one thing to have them in a jail far away, but these are people we all know. It's not going to be easy for us to see them as lawbreakers.”
Fernando responded, “Hopefully we're talking in a mostly hypothetical sense here. The community is getting more established every day. People should start knowing what will happen when they break the rules. I don't usually like singling out people, but we can use Khan and Jeff to set the example. Once they understand what will happen, they'll be less likely to break the law. Annabelle, everyone knowing each other is a good thing. It means we all can hold each other responsible, and when one person gets out of line, we can confront them together,”
“I've been thinking a lot about this ever since we started devising the rules, and I think we only should use the trial and punishment system as a last resort. If someone does something out of line, we should talk to them first, try to understand why they did it. We are working together, and some people are going to make mistakes, but that doesn't mean they instantly have to pay for them. We should talk to them about it and offer them the chance to make reparations themselves, at least for any petty crimes that occur,” he said.
“That sounds acceptable to me,” Simon said. Tillman was a little surprised to hear Simon agree to anything so quickly for once. “The last thing I want is for the abandoned houses to be clogged up with thieves and criminals, leaving all the hard work to be done by us.”
There were nods all around, and Tillman was relieved that it was settled.
“Okay, at least we have that matter settled. Now then, we have to talk about the military,” Tillman said.
Annabelle replied, “People are confused and a little unsure of what to do. I've spoken with a number of people and they all have different opinions. At the moment, the differences are civil, but I'm afraid if something more definite doesn't happen soon, people will start arguing. I think everyone here is proud of what we have built, but some think we should follow the military's lead if they offer us salvation,” Annabelle said.
Tillman looked toward Jack.
“I concur with Annabelle. I've tried to alleviate people's fears, but at the moment what they fear is the unknown. There's no telling what's out there or how strong they are or what their intentions are,” he said.
“I've been thinking about that, and I'm wondering if it's a good idea for us to send a small group toward the town to scope it out and see what we're dealing with. If we leave at nightfall, we should be able to use the cover of darkness to get close and see the size of their forces. It might be risky, but at least it'll give us more information about what we're dealing with,” Tillman said.
“I think it's a good idea. I can put a team together,” Jack said. Tillman nodded to him.
“The only threat I see,” Jack continued, “is if they have night-vision goggles, but I figure if they do have them, it's only a matter of time before they see us anyway. At some point we're going to have to say hello, we just have to decide if it's going to be on our terms or theirs.”
At that point they heard a commotion outside. Tillman and the others rushed out of the house and, to Tillman’s surprise, he saw two people he never had expected to see. Tony and Tanya, Jessica's friend. Tillman had found Tony on the outskirts of town and had helped the man recover after he had been attacked by a wild animal. Tanya had been frightened, waiting at home for a father who may never have returned without Tillman's help. Tony didn't look much better now than he had then. He was limping, his face dusty. Tanya looked the worse for wear as well.
As soon as Jessica saw Tanya, she ran to help them. Jessica held Tanya tightly, while Tillman moved toward Tony. As soon as he was able, Tony let the strength fall from his body and slumped to the ground. Tanya wailed, afraid that her father was dying. From a cursory inspection, Tillman couldn't see any fatal wounds. Tony just seemed to be weak and exhausted. His face was gaunt. Clearly, they hadn't found it easy to keep themselves nourished.
Tanya wept into Jessica's arms. Tillman explained to the people gathered around who these people were and barked at them to bring Tony and Tanya some water and food.
Tony put a bottle of water to Tony's lips and watched the clear liquid trickle along the cracked skin into his mouth. Tony gasped and spluttered, then he coughed. For a moment Tillman was afraid he was going to retch.
“Tony, it's Tillman. Do you remember me? We met briefly,” he said.
Tony nodded, and it seemed to take much of his strength to do so. He then beckoned Tillman to come closer by curling a dirty finger. The man had the stench of someone who hadn't bathed in quite some time. His breath was stale, but his eyes still were bright.
“They're coming...have to get out of here...” he whispered.
Then his eyes closed, and his head lolled to the side. Tanya wailed and crumpled over her father, her young body shaking. Tillman had a blank look on his face, Tony's words echoing around his mind. He looked up at the rest of the council, for he knew in that moment that nothing good would come from the approaching army.
Tony and Tanya had fled their home. Tillman wondered about the other people he had left there. His worst fears were confirmed.
He rose to his feet and he started to tell everyone to get ready, to get back inside and have their weapons at hand.
“This is not a drill. I know these people, and I know they wouldn't be in this state if there wasn't anything to be afraid of. We all know what to do. We prepared to have a fight before. I'm willing to hear these people out, but we must be prepared to defend ourselves. We are strong, we are ready, and we will not let anyone take away what we are building here,” Tillman said defiantly.
A wave of panic swept through the people of the neighborhood as they scurried back to their homes. Jessica helped Tanya up and took her home, while others carried Tony's body. The man's chest was rising and falling, but Tillman could tell he was extremely weak. He wasn't confident of Tony's chances of making it through this.
“I guess we won't need that scout team after all,” Tillman said grimly.
He began marching back to his house to get his gun when he heard something, something like far away thunder. He stopped mid-stride and slowly turned around, only to see ten people in full military garb walking toward them. They wore camouflaged clothes, with body armor and helmets. Masks obscured their faces. They carried weapons, and around their waists were belts holding grenades and other weapons. They walked in tandem, their movements precise and coordinated. They were a truly fearsome sight, and a sense of panic rippled through the people of the community.
There was no time for them to get themselves in a defensive position.
Time had run out.
As they drew closer, Tillman noticed the symbol on their helmets. It was a circle with a fist in the middle. It wasn't a military symbol.
“Who are these men?” Tillman asked under his breath.
“Mercenaries,” Jack said through gritted teeth.
The situation was worse than Tillman had feared. At least he could reason with the military, even if they wanted something that he didn't agree with for the community. Mercenaries had a reputation for being merciless.
Chapter Fourteen
Life had been hectic ever since the sky had fallen and the world had ended. Danger had been all around, and death seemed to be everywhere Tillman looked. But it always had seemed like something Tillman could fight, or at least escape from. As the planes rained down around him and fiery blazes rose up, creating a hellish inferno, Tillman knew he could escape and find a safer place. When angry people confronted him, he knew he had the skills to beat them in a fight. When he had encountered Khan, he had been able to use his wits and his physical skills to drive Khan away. With Jeff, Tillman had persevered with his investigation and found the truth of the matter. Now Jeff was behind bars.
Even the threat of winter could be endured with enough preparation, and the neighborhood was starting to make progress toward that end with the water distribution system and other projects being discussed, as well as harvesting food. But the mercenaries were a different proposition entirely. They weren't ordinary survivors. They had equipment and training that went far beyond what anyone in the neighborhood had, apart from perhaps Jack and Tillman.
Tillman had organized the community for a war once before, when the threat of Khan loomed. Initially, Tillman had been prepared to send people to their deaths for the sake of defending the community, but only because he thought they could win. Khan's group were a band of brutal bullies who wanted nothing more than to be cruel to people they perceived as weaker than themselves. As soon as Tillman showed Khan that they were strong, Khan backed down.
Tillman knew the mercenaries would not do the same. They would not back down so easily. Each one of them looked like a fallen angel, their faceless forms staring at the people of the community. Even just one of them, with the weapons they had, would have been able to slaughter every member of the community. Their grenades were powerful enough to reduce the homes of these people, his people, to ash and rubble. If the mercenaries so chose, they could force the people of the community to live in a wasteland, undoing all the hope and spirit that Tillman had engendered in the people around him.
Thankfully, Tony and Tanya had been ushered away. Their appearance had been a grim omen. Tillman now had a sense of why the father and daughter had been in such bad shape. When Tillman had left the town after finding Jessica and Anthony, he'd left it with what seemed like an abundance of supplies. The people who lived in the town had a wide array of stores from which to salvage some food, and plenty of gardens and crops to tend. Tillman had intended to return at some point to talk about trade and alliances, but he'd never imagined that a fate like this would befall them.
Tony barely had made it to the neighborhood. He was exhausted and weak. A fetid stench hung around him like a cloak, and his skin was stretched thin over his skull. He'd lost a dramatic amount of weight in a short space of time, and now Tillman had no doubt as to the cause of his condition. Tony's last wheezing breath before he fell unconscious was a warning for Tillman. The warning hadn't come soon enough.
Tillman didn't know if Tony and Tanya were the last survivors of the town, or if they were simply the only ones able to escape, but their appearance was a foreboding sign of what was to become of the neighborhood.
In his mind's eye, Tillman could see everyone he had come to know and care about looking like Tony and Tanya. Weeping, gaunt, clinging onto a sliver of life. In many ways, life in the community made it easy to forget that the world had ended. People still were living, working toward a common goal. It was a far cry from the destruction and devastation that Tillman had seen in the nascent hours of the apocalypse. People had found companionship here and a place in which they could feel safe. He didn't know how he was going to go about it, but he couldn't let these people take away everything they already had built, or prevent them from building anything better.
Tillman already had been faced with these challenges from people such as Khan and Jeff and Ben. All of them had been dealt with, yet as he looked into the faceless masks of the mercenaries, Tillman felt doubt. It began as a seed in his heart, then bloomed into a thorny bush that scraped its way all through his body.
He felt just like the protagonist of The Rain Seed, a man who was doing everything he could to save the world, but the extinction of humanity seemed inexorable and imminent.
There was a palpable tension in the air as the ten mercenaries stood in formation. Their heads moved, examining the members of the community. Tillman glanced back toward his home, grateful that his family was inside. He only hoped they would be able to escape if the neighborhood came under attack.
It seemed as though an eternity had passed while the mercenaries had been standing there. They were silent sentries, and Tillman had no idea what was going on in their minds.
Tillman glanced between himself and the other council members. Jack seemed about as pleased to see them as Tillman was. Evidently, in the Marines, mercenaries were seen as black sheep. Tillman wondered what these people had done in their previous lives. A life of violence only would teach them that the acceptable behavior was to engage in that violence, and Tillman feared for the safety of everyone in the neighborhood.
There seemed little he could do at that moment, though. The neighborhood had the numbers, but they didn't have the skills or the equipment. Tillman prayed that nobody would take a stray shot. He was sure it only would cause these mercenaries to fire back, and they wouldn't show any remorse.
Tillman knew the only way he could hope to keep everyone safe was to talk with them and try finding some common ground. Tillman had to hope there was some humanity in the hearts of these mercenaries.
But he also remembered what his father had told him. He wasn't alone. The neighborhood was strong because it was together, united. He looked at the rest of the council members and nodded at them. They took his hint, and all stepped forward as one.
“My name is Tillman Torres,” he said, then proceeded to introduce everyone else on the council. “We are a small community, but we are thriving. We have learned to work together, and we are building a place where anyo
ne can feel safe. We would appreciate any help you can give us, of course.”
The mercenaries stared at Tillman blankly. There was nothing to indicate which one of them was in charge, or if they were going to talk at all. Frankly, they seemed like automatons, but Tillman knew that to be impossible.
“We're willing to share resources and trade. We've received word that you are located in town. If there's anything you're lacking, perhaps we could come to some sort of agreement. We're not looking to be hostile.”
As those words left Tillman's mouth, one of the mercenaries turned to the others and nodded. One by one, the mercenaries broke away from formation and began moving through the crowd toward the houses. Only three mercenaries were left. Tillman furrowed his brow, trying to understand what they were trying to accomplish.
“What are you doing?” Simon called out.
Others in the community followed suit. The mercenaries stalked toward the houses, their bulky frames looked formidable against the unarmored people chasing around them. The mercenaries weren't bothered by any of the pleas to stop. They walked through the neighborhood as if they owned the place, and Tillman knew this wasn't going to end well.
“Please, is this all really necessary? If you just talk to us, we're willing to share information. You don't need to come in here and treat us like this,” Tillman said, trying to make them see sense. He didn't want to appear too aggressive for fear they would retaliate. But as he looked around he saw panicked faces. More than one person fled to their homes, possibly to arm themselves.
Everything Tillman had done had been to avoid a fate like this. It seemed as though nothing he did was able to prevent this from happening, and he could see the immediate future, a neighborhood covered in blood.
