There was an uneasy silence as Erik’s gaze bore down on the people opposing him. No one could think of something to say. Finally, in a squeaky timid voice, a woman in the back said, “But violence never solves anything.”
Ted spoke in a booming voice. “Say that to the fucker that tried to rape my wife.” He smiled at Erik.
“Thank you, Erik…” said Susan, rushing forward to hug Erik like Stan had. She was openly weeping and her forehead still sported an ugly bruise a reminder of that morning’s assault. Brin followed her and stood beside Erik with pride.
Several people in the opposition folded arms and simply refused to argue, their minds mind up. Erik could see in their faces they just didn’t care about the facts and circumstances, violence and killing was wrong to them, period. Erik shrugged. They’d find out sooner or later that the world didn’t give a rat’s ass what they thought.
“He’s still got food while some of us are starving!” someone remembered and pointed at Stan.
“Yeah!”
“Where’d he get the food?”
“How much—“
“I haven’t eaten since yesterday—“
“—bet he’s got a whole stockpile…”
“We should—“
“—been almost a week now without fresh groceries…”
The crowd was getting anxious and started to look harder and harder on Stan again. He took a step back instinctively, his eyes darting to the left and right, judging threats. Voices grew angrier.
“How dare he hoard food while we’re starving!”
“Yeah!” more than one voice shouted in reply.
One of the men from the opposition took a step forward towards Stan. The crowd was progressing towards a mob. In a single, simple movement, Erik stifled that progress. He took a step forward towards the man emerging from the group and placed himself squarely in front of Stan. The man paused, as if seeing Erik for the first time and noting the lethal sword on his hip. Erik did not have a chiseled movie star body, but he was solid from his daily iaito practice. His 6'4" frame combined with his Japanese katana and the dark look on his face presented a rather imposing figure.
A few months without power and he's really going to look like a damn Viking if he doesn't get his hair cut and trim that goatee… Ted thought with a smile. The group hushed, like something out of an old Western—the showdown was set.
“Why are you mad at Stan?” asked Erik calmly.
“Because he was greedy and brought those men here! They know where we live now…” the man said, pointing over Erik’s shoulder.
“What consequence did that have for you? Was your wife attacked?”
“I’m not married…”
“Were you attacked?”
“No, but…”
“But?” Erik asked, one eyebrow arched.
“But, he’s got food and I don’t!”
Erik let the angry murmuring die down a bit. “Why is that his problem?”
“Well, because it’s not fair!” the man said angrily. His fists balled at the encouragement of a few others behind him.
“Where’s your written guarantee that says life is fair?” Erik asked. The man looked confused.
“No guarantee?” asked Erik, pressing again. “Okay, where’s the contract you signed that said you were entitled to a fair life? Show me the paper,” The man frowned. “No? Hmmm…” Erik scratched his week’s worth of beard. “Okay, then who told you that life is supposed to be fair?”
“No one! But—“
“Then why do you think it should be? What gives you the idea that life ought to be fair?”
The man was clearly confused…he shook his head. “God dammit, I’m hungry and he’s got food, that’s all I care about!”
“I’ve got food too. So does Ted. So do a lot of us. Are you mad at us too?”
“Hell yes!”
Erik switched tracks to see if his opponent’s mental train would crash into the station. “Why don’t you have any food?”
“I ate it, of course!” replied the middle-aged man with a slight beer gut, glaring now at Erik. He had the sinking suspicion this kid was making a fool of him in front of the others. There were fewer rumbles of support for him now. Most people were just watching. It was like a real life TV show and everyone missed TV greatly in the past three days…
“Why?”
“Because I was hungry, you jackass.”
Erik ignored the insult. “You know you’ll get hungry, don’t you. We all do.” Erik said, turning to look at the others. Heads nodded in agreement.
“Well…” the man considered, looking for a trick. “Yeah, sure.”
“Then you know you’ll eventually need food to eat, right?”
“Of course, that’s why I’m so mad he’s got food and I don’t!”
“Then why didn’t you keep more food around, if you knew you’d need it eventually?”
Silence. Erik relished the gotcha moment.
“Why didn’t you have more than…what, two or three days worth of food? You knew you would need it…?” prompted Erik.
The man, clearly embarrassed, tried a different approach, attempting to throw the wily kid off his case. “Oh yeah? Why do you still have that sword on? Why’d you have it in the first place?” He grinned and looked around for support.
Erik paused before answering. He looked down at the sword on his hip then up at the man in front of him. “So I can protect myself and my wife from people who think like you.” It was no louder than a whisper.
The man took a breath in shock. More than one person gasped with him. “So now you’re saying that I’m no better than that criminal that broke in here and attacked Ted’s wife?”
Brin gave him a dirty look.
“He tried to attack my wife too, thanks for noticing. But more to the point, when you behave like you are now, yes. You’re no different. That man saw that someone else had what he wanted and didn’t have because of his own poor planning and decided to take it without thinking about the consequences.” Erik said, his hand still resting on the pommel of the sword.
“But why are you offended that I compared you to that animal I killed this morning? Just a minute ago you were talking like he was innocent and I was the criminal…” Erik asked with feigned interest.
Before the man could respond, Ted took over. Susan had joined his side now, a bandage still covering her forehead. “People, hey, let’s settle down for a second.” When he had everyone’s reluctant attention, he spoke again.
“Now look, this here is exactly what we can’t have going on right now. We can’t be fighting with each other. You all know what happened a few days ago. That was only the tip of the iceberg. People, the jailbreak here in town wasn’t and won’t be the only one, I guarantee you. This is a fairly big county, folks. Our city ain’t got the only jail and if they can break out here, they sure as hell will break out other places, like Bradenton or Venice. That’s not even including the city jails here in Sarasota. Remember, I worked for the county!” Seeing he had both groups undivided attention, he continued.
“And they know each other, the convicts. If those two this morning had talked to any others, then more will know where we are. They’ll come here, because of what Erik said—they’ll want to take what we have and damn the consequences.” Ted put a protective arm around his wife and looked more at the women in the crowd than the men.
Erik could see that whether they liked it or not, the women would imagine the worst of what the criminals would do to them…all those convicts locked up without girlfriends or wives…imaginations started to churn.
“But that’s not our only problem! We got gangs of thugs out there—street gangs…” Ted continued.
“Come on, this is Sarasota, not L.A…” someone called.
“That’s right, and our so-called gangs can’t hold water compared to South Central. But they’re out there,” Ted retorted, pointing to the ten foot privacy wall surrounding the complex. “And what do you
think they’re going to do when they realize the cops have all gone home for good? Who’s going to slap ‘em on the wrist and send ‘em to Juvenile Hall—which is closed anyway!” Ted was on a roll and started to get fired up.
“What about kids that are just bored? No cops around, no people, why not break that window. Why not go inside. Why not take what you want? Who’s there to care except maybe an old man or woman who’s retired? Who’s there to stop you—not the cops. It’ll grow from there. I saw it in Iraq, I saw it in other countries; people are the same all over the world when you get right down to it. The only difference is in the mind.”
“How’s that?” asked the man in front of Erik.
“Civilized people choose not to do the things that the others do for fun or boredom. We choose to respect each other, not hurt each other and steal and loot.”
“Yeah, well, words and ideas don’t fill an empty stomach.”
“That’s right, they don’t. But words and ideas bring people together, and when people work together, that’s how you feed the empty stomach,” replied Ted.
Taking his cue, Erik reached into his pocket and pulled out a protein bar, then handed it to the man that so recently appeared to threaten him.
The man stared in wonder at the gesture and looked ashamed as he took it. “Thanks…”
“No problem.” Erik turned to face the crowd. “I agree with Ted. We’ve got to work together, to organize…”
“But it’s not like the Federal Government has been destroyed or anything. Sure, the power’s out, there’s riots in the big cities…but they’re —“ someone argued.
“Helpless at this point,” finished Erik. “We are on our own. At least for the time being. The quicker everyone gets used to that idea, the better for us all.” He paused. ”Why do you think the President suggested today that everyone start their own gardens? Not for the pastoral beauty of it, I assure you. It’s because he’s sending us a message—the country is broke and it’s going to take a while to fix it. You know how long it takes to get a garden going and harvest the crops? We’re talking months here people. Ted’s right, we’re on our own.”
“How do you know that?” someone asked, still refusing to come to grips with reality.
“I listened to my shortwave radio today. News reaches us from Europe and Canada. All they talked about was how things were slipping out of control, how the big cities are called “Occupied Zones” with the rioters in control. In fact, the Government is calling them rebels now. We’re sliding towards a civil war! Yet the Europeans report how the power won’t be back on for months, how the fires out west are destroying whole towns, how every state’s Governor has declared a state of emergency. They’re even recalling our troops and ships overseas to help get things secure here—it’s chaos and it’s not going to get better any time soon…”
“But they’ll send the military to protect us…that’s what they’re there for, isn’t it?” someone asked. The voices of opposition were growing weaker.
Erik shook his head. “I heard this morning…” he cleared his throat. “I heard that there was a nuclear bomb set off in the Middle East yesterday.”
Everyone gasped and started mumbling and talking at once. The horror of nuclear war hadn’t been thought seriously about since the Cold War. And someone dropped a bomb in the Middle East? That place was a powder keg on any given day to begin with! Perhaps just as shocking was the fact that it took two days to get that information to the American people, when just a week ago, it would have taken minutes.
Erik raised his arms to get their attention, talking over the gasps and worried speculation. “I think there’s going to be a big war over there soon. The military is going to be tied up trying to protect the cities and…I just don’t see how they’re going to come to little old Sarasota to save us when they got such big problems in Tampa-St. Pete.” More gasps and cries of disbelief. The sheep were getting nervous.
“I agree, in any event, we’ve got to take care of ourselves until someone does come along. If they never get here, then we’re set. If they do get here, we at least survive till help arrives,” Ted added.
More heads nodded agreement than there were scowls and frowns of disagreement. The tide was slowly turning. “Ted’s right,” Erik continued, pressing home his advantage. “If we spend time and energy fighting amongst ourselves, when something really bad happens, like ten or twenty convicts, armed, come over our walls—we’ll all be as good as dead.”
“But Ted has a gun and you’ve got that sword—“
“And how many armed men do you think Ted and I can take out while the rest of you hide? Are you kidding me? No way!” barked Ted incredulously.
What the hell is wrong with these people? thought Erik.
“If that happens, then they’ll have everything and we’ll have nothing. People, there’s an unlimited number of threats out there…fighting with each other only makes them that much more dangerous. Think of your families, at least!”
“But…he still knew about food and didn’t tell anyone…”
“And why should he? Look at the reaction you people gave him—his neighbors and friends! You were ready to lynch him! And for what—for trying to save his family? Can you blame him? Any of you?” Erik asked, daring someone to ‘cast the first stone’. No one bit the bait so he continued. “Benjamin Franklin once said back during the Revolution, ‘We must all hang together, or most assuredly we will all hang separately,’. I think that statement sums up our situation perfectly.”
The groups thought about that old proverb for a second. More than one face looked up, a light having gone on inside a head, an idea realized, revelation occurred.
“He’s right…” said the man to whom Erik had given the protein bar. Then, louder, for the benefit of the group, “He’s right.” The man shook his head and sighed. “I’m sorry, Erik…Stan…really, I am. I just…I don’t know what came over me.”
Erik shook the man’s hand. “It’s okay…no one has been in a situation quite like this before, so how are we supposed to know how to react?”
The man grinned as he released Erik’s hand. “You sure knew how to react…”
“Yeah, how’d you know?” someone else asked.
“Because I read a lot of history books. This, I think, is going to be a Dark Age of sorts for America. At least for a little while. Maybe for the world. Because where we go, the world has no choice but to follow. The world economy is too tied together and two dependant on us being a powerhouse consumer nation. I don’t know who caused it or why, and frankly I don’t care. I’ve read what happens in dark ages, when people are forced into survival modes. It ain’t pretty folks. But there is hope—the ones who organize, they’re the ones who survive and thrive. Happens every time.”
After a few minutes of whispered conversation and agreement among the residents, someone finally spoke up.
“So what do we do?”
Erik closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened his eyes, Ted had a similar look on his face. Finally…they’re finally ready.
“What do your history books say to do?”
Erik smiled. “History books don’t tell you what to do, they tell you what others did.” A few people smiled back. “We need to organize, so we should look to the past and see how others did it. The greatest organizers of all time were the Romans.”
A few questioning glances: Did he say Romans?
“They thrived for a thousand years, fighting off all kinds of enemies, both foreign and domestic. Their culture spread throughout most of the known world and they did it all without computers, electricity and cars. They had running water, spas, arched bridges, and elevators just to name a few things...and they were masters of warfare and defense. But above all, the Romans have gone down in history as one of the greatest organized societies ever. Most of our society is…or was…based on theirs, two thousand years after their demise.”
“Okay…so, what do we do?” the question was repeated.
; Thunder rumbled in the distance. The storm was coming back for round two. Most people looked up, expecting lighting or rain to pour from the heavens. When nothing happened, their attention focused back on Erik, who was requested to stand on the stage so everyone could hear. The breeze began as a gentle caress. Erik resolved to speak fast before the storm broke. The smell of ozone was just on the edge of detection now. It wouldn’t be long, he figured.
“We have things that need to get taken care of quickly. First is food and water. Without it, we die. Second, we have to make this apartment complex like a fort—we have to have defenses or we die when the next attack comes.” Erik ticked the points off on his fingers, though in the poor illumination provided by the tiki-torches, most people couldn’t see the gesture.
“If it comes!” some die-hard peace freak shouted.
“Would you rather be prepared next time or not?” Erik asked sharply. “Because I am damn well determined to survive this, to live. I intend to see my parents and my little sister again. I intend to see Brin’s family again. I want to have children and give them a world worth having. I’m sure as hell not going to pretend everything is better and beg for my life when someone comes to take what I have,” Erik said with an edge on his voice. It cut through the crowd, shocking some of the more naïve ones. Erik took a breath, looking at the man whom he had given the protein bar. The man nodded sheepishly. He’d learned his lesson. He’d spread the word too.
“On top of that, we’ve got to organize politically-like.”
“Politics!” someone said in disgust.
“Yes. How will anything get done if everyone does what they think best? That’s called anarchy. It might be best for them, but not for the community, and you have to admit if the community is improved everyone is improved. That means we have to work together, we have to compromise, we have to cooperate.”
“So, you think you’re some kind of Julius Caesar, huh?” asked Henry Grimes smiling at his own wit. “Think you’ll just take over, is that it? You think we’re going to let some kid just run this place?”
Alea Jacta Est: A Novel of the Fall of America (Future History of America Book 1) Page 25
