Will of Man - Part Two

by William Scanlan

Dad realized these men weren’t listening to him and were not going to stop. So he back stepped his way to the house and closed the final unsecured door of the house. He told me to run up and sound the alarm.

  The alarm is a flare gun, and in the case of danger or an emergency, we fire a flare in the air. Anyone who notices the flare must, by community rule, arm themselves and respond as quickly as possible. They gather everyone they can on the way.

  There were only so many flare guns available; so only certain families were given one. The others have bells or horns they can sound, and then those with flares who hear the bells or horns shoot a flare to notify everyone that can see the flare.

  The flares have only been used twice and those were for house fires. They’ve never been used to signal a confrontation with strangers.

  I was worried no one would see the flare since it was daytime. But once I shot it, it went high in the air and let off a big boom. I felt confident the cavalry would soon be storming across the fields.

  The men saw Dad go into the house and they must have heard or saw the flare. But they still kept coming. They were walking slowly, each with a blank stare on their face. They looked like zombies. No reaction to anything.

  They finally reached our front door. I didn’t know what to expect. Were they going to shoot through the door? Were they going to just keep walking and leave us alone? What did they want? Why didn’t they heed Dad’s warning?

  I waited at my post on the second floor of our house. I couldn’t see them since I was guarding the back of the house. But I could faintly hear a weak knock at the front door. I could hear Dad calmly asking them what they wanted and that they needed to leave their weapons at edge of the yard if they wanted to talk.

  The conversation was hard to hear, and I was more focused on looking for anyone trying to sneak up from the back of our house. I could hear Dad repeating himself and telling them to leave their weapons at the edge of the yard.

  The conversation went on for a while when finally I could see locals coming to our rescue. I was impressed with the quick response and how many were coming. They were closing in from all directions. Some were coming down the road. Others were emerging from the woods and out of the corn field. These strangers didn’t stand a chance if they meant to do us any harm.

  I ran down to Dad and whispered to him the house was surrounded with locals. He nodded and motioned for me to go back to my post.

  Dad told the men they were in danger and needed to drop their weapons. He explained that the house was surrounded and they were in danger of being shot if they didn’t drop their weapons.

  The three men noticed the locals and slowly dropped their weapons. Then Dad, thankfully after putting some pants on, stepped outside and grabbed the men’s weapons.

  Once I could see the men up close, I noticed how messed up they were. Their skin was badly sunburned and they had wounds all over their bodies. Their clothes were torn and smelled horrible.

  They explained that they had come from Chicago and had been traveling for days. They said they traveled most the distance on horses until their horses were stolen. Apparently there were five of them, but two were killed sometime during the journey.

  The men said the big cities like Chicago are in chaos. All three men’s eyes showed fear and despair as they described the chaos. They said people are starving and turning to cannibalism. Fighting is everywhere. Bodies litter the streets and the stench of death is everywhere. People don’t drink the water because so many dead bodies have fallen into the water supply. No one is safe to roam around alone and gangs are constantly battling for control.

  They said their family members are all dead and that they have had enough of the big cities. The men said they have been traveling non-stop for days and only ask that we give them some spare food and water.

  One of the travelers’ claims to have relatives up north and that they plan to reconnect with them. The community had a vote right there on our lawn and decided to give the men shelter for the night and some supplies. We have a community shelter in town ran by volunteers for situations like this.

  The men were taken to the shelter and given food with new clothes. They will be taken care of. Because that’s what we do here in Laingsburg – we help those we can.

  Tyler’s Journal Entry: 258

  Date: October 11

  Day: Thursday

  Weather: Cool and cloudy

  Days since the LAST DAY: 1 year, 5 months, 10 days

  It’s been a while since I’ve been into town. Dad’s kept me and Tanner busy in preparation for harvesting. We’ve been cleaning jars, cleaning the cellar, throwing out bad preserves to make room for new ones, gathering wood for the smoke house, etc.

  So today Mom told me and Tanner to ride into town and barter for some more canning jars. We have some extra muskrat traps we never use and Mom thought they’d be good to trade for some supplies. Every Saturday the community has a flea market at the Laingsburg VFW hall. People can go there to trade for supplies and catch up on local gossip and events happening abroad.

  I ran into Kendrick and he began to tell me about the three men that trespassed on our property a couple months back. Apparently they never left like they said they were going to. Apparently they’ve become trouble for some of the local businesses.

  After a couple days in our community shelter, they began hanging out at the local bar. They hooked up with a local single woman and moved into her place. She’s a rough character herself and was kind of known as one of the town drunks. She was always in trouble with the local police and fighting with anyone she didn’t agree with.

  Fights have been more frequent and some minor larceny has occurred. Kendrick says the three men are the main influence and people are getting upset with them.

  They’d be easier to deal with, but they seem to have a following amongst the local “riff-raff” as Kendrick calls them. Riff-raff - meaning the town drunks and trouble makers. Apparently one of the men is a skilled fighter and has a mean streak. He got in a fight with three men at the bar and beat them all up. He’s been known to smack women too who talk back to him.

  Kendrick says the man often goes on rants about the haves and have-nots. He likes to bully people who he thinks has more than him. I guess some of the locals like him because of the way he treats some of the “better off.” It sounds to me like he’s a bully. His name is Tyson.

  Tyler’s Journal Entry: 278

  Date: October 31

  Day: Friday

  Weather: Cool

  Days since the LAST DAY: 1 year, 5 months, 30 days

  Today was Halloween. It started off great. Mom made Tanner and I costumes. Tanner was a zombie baseball player and I was a zombie farmer. Mom made homemade candies, and Dad made his specialty – caramel corn balls.

  Everyone from the community joined in the center of town and waited for the church bells to signal the beginning of Halloween. At six o’clock the bells rang and we set out.

  Mom and Dad decided Tanner and I were old enough to walk the town ourselves. Besides, the two of us joined forces with our friends and made a candy hunting posse. We had a great time.

  People in the community went all out and really showed us kids a great time. I think Halloween is better now than before the LAST DAY. Maybe because people have more time or they just want to bring back the memories of better times. Either way, it was great!

  However, when we returned to meet Mom and Dad at the local park, we found Dad in big trouble. He was surrounded by the three men who earlier in the year trespassed on our property. Apparently they remembered Dad and wanted to harass him for giving them trouble.

  I was scared for Dad. He’s too nice of a guy and avoids trouble when he can. The three men were obviously drunk and looking to give my Dad trouble. They were calling my dad a coward for calling for help that day. Saying a real man would have dealt with them alone.

  They were teasing him, saying there’s no flare gun now. And asking him what he was going to do
with no flare gun to signal for help.

  My mom was scared and was telling the men to leave my dad alone. My Dad told her to go find us and head to Kendrick’s house in town. Dad was standing his ground but looked worried. I think he was more worried about Mom than himself.

  The men were walking in circles around Dad like sharks circling their prey. My Dad just stared at Mom making sure no one touched her. One guy threw an empty beer can at my Dad and hit him in the back of the head. My Dad didn’t take his eyes off Mom.

  Dad kept telling Mom to find us. But Mom wouldn’t leave him and kept yelling at the three men. I ran to Mom and told her we were there and that we could go.

  Dad saw that Mom had us and he began to walk towards us and out of the three men’s circle. The big one named Tyson jumped in front of Dad and pushed him back. That guy was big and mean looking.

  Dad said “I’m leaving now. Find someone else to bother.” But the man wouldn’t let Dad leave. Mom yelled at the man and the man turned to Mom and told her in a very impolite way to shut up.

  I guess Dad had enough (remember, he was a really good boxer in his youth), because when the man turned around, Dad let him have it. Dad always said, “In a street fight, you hit hard and fast and you don’t let up until the other man gives up or can’t fight anymore.”

  And that’s what he did. I knew Dad had some skills back in the day, but he was moving like I’d never seen him move before.

  BAM! BAM! BAM! He hit that guy so fast and hard and so much I thought he killed the guy. The guy would fall down, and every time he’d try to get up, Dad would lay into him again.

  Then the other two grabbed Dad from behind.

  I don’t know if they were trying to pull Dad off or wanted to take their turns, but Dad let them have it too. He grabbed one by the shoulders and pushed him back against the side of a shed and just started swinging away.

  His hands were moving so fast, I could barely see them. When the man tried to swing, Dad would duck and weave then pop back up and start pounding away again. It was amazing!

  By the time Dad was done with the second guy, the third wanted nothing to do with Dad. He held his arms up and backed away as fast as he could.

  Dad had a look of determination. Nothing was stopping was him. He was in a zone. It was actually kind of scary seeing Dad like that.

  The three men left and didn’t say a word to Dad. He stood his ground with his fists up around his chest till they were well enough away.

  Mom didn’t know whether to hug him or stay away. Dad looked insane like he was possessed. But Dad took a deep breath, then blew it out and was back to being calm ole Dad.

  He seemed embarrassed by the whole thing and just wanted to get home. He didn’t say much on the ride back. Mom kept rubbing his back and lecturing us that what Dad did was necessary.

  She seemed proud of him and got a little mushy with him - yuck. I wonder if Dad will talk to me about it. I’m wondering what’s going on in his mind right now. Knowing him, he’s forgotten about it and is thinking about a new gadget we can tinker around with. What a crazy night.

  Tyler’s Journal Entry: 287

  Date: November 09

  Day: Tuesday

  Weather: Cold

  Days since the LAST DAY: 1 year, 4 months, 8 days

  The three men that attacked Dad did it again. This time they beat up the bartender at the local bar. I guess they hadn’t been paying for their drinks and had been running a tab. The bartender refused to serve them anymore and they decided to help themselves to the liquor.

  The bartender told them “no” and ask them to leave. The men turned on her and smacked her around pretty bad. People in the bar tried to help, but there were only a couple old guys there. They were also beat up.

  We don’t have a sheriff or any police. The community is the police and we run to each other’s rescue when needed. However the bartender was unable to call for help and as a result was hurt really bad.

  A town meeting was held the next day to discuss how to handle the three men. They needed consequences for what they did. Everyone agreed they needed to be expelled from the area after they received their punishment.

  The community decided to jail them for a significant time and then release them a month apart. They decided to release them and banish them a month apart so they couldn’t regroup and cause more trouble.

  The man named Tyson would be the last to leave since he’s been causing the most trouble.

  Some people wanted to shoot them on the spot. But most everyone agreed we’d stay civil and punishment them humanely.

  The men were found and had to be taken by force. There was no shooting or anything, but it took ten men to take them down and tie them up. They were paraded through town on their way to the local jail. People were outraged and angry at the three men.

  Some people were throwing garbage and horse poop at them. By the time they reached the jail house, they were filthy and needed to be scrubbed down.

  That night at the jail house, four men with masks covering their faces stormed in and killed the three men. The volunteer guard was pushed to a corner and never harmed. But the three men were all shot dead.

  Many think it was the family of the bartender, but no one really knows or is saying. I guess justice is different now. I asked Mom what she thought about what happened to the men. She says they were bad men, but doesn’t agree they should have been killed.

  Dad thinks there will be a town meeting and concerns will be spoken and heard. But he thinks, in the long run, nothing will be done about the killings.

  Their bodies are being buried in an undisclosed area.

  Tyler’s Journal Entry: 317

  Date: December 19

  Day: Tuesday

  Weather: Winter Storm

  Days since the LAST DAY: 1 year, 5 months, 18 days

  Winter is hitting us hard. Fortunately Dad has been stock piling wood all year and has stacked it close to the house. The storm is hitting from all directions, but our potbelly stoves are keeping the house cozy warm. We have a potbelly stove for each floor. Preparing for the worse has become a way of life and if you’re not prepared, you’re in trouble.

  Dad brought up the Christmas tree (fake tree) from the basement last week and every day we add a little more to it. Mom still has our decorations and has done a great job decorating the house. Presents will be moderate this year, but just being together and all of us healthy is what’s important.

  Mom keeps reminding me that last year during Christmas I was still in a coma. She gets teary eyed sometimes and gives me big hugs. I often wonder what happened to that guy who hurt me. I’m not sure if I forgive him. I only wanted to help him and he nearly killed me for it. Was he evil or just crazy?

  Tanner, Dad, and I are working hard to keep up with the snow. It’s reached the bottom of our first floor windows and hasn’t let up. We keep shoveling around the doors and the path leading to and from the woodpile. Dad said to not worry about the chicken coup and livestock barn. We’ll deal with them later. Dad walked out a couple times to check on the livestock and nearly got lost on his way back. The snow is coming down so hard that visibility is nearly zero.

  After a while, Dad said to just focus on the short path to the wood pile. He said warmth will be our priority until the storm ends. After the storm, we’ll worry about the other stuff.

  With the storm raging on, my family has been spending a lot of time inside the house. We spend our time playing board games and goofing around. Everyone seems to be in a good mood. I think we are getting use to life after the LAST DAY.

  Our supplies are stocked and we have plenty to get us through. The livestock is producing well. There is peace in the community. Things are going well. I hope it stays this way.

  Summer used to be my favorite time, but winter has become the relaxing period. We aren’t planting or working in the fields. The canning, smoking, and preserving is all done. The wood is all cut and stacked. We don’t worry about strangers roam
ing into town as much. We just spend our time being together, playing, hunting occasionally, and just being happy.

  I love the winter time. It’s the new summer vacation we used to enjoy when we went to school before the LAST DAY.

  Tyler’s Journal Entry: 287

  Date: January 23

  Day: Monday

  Weather: Surprisingly Warm

  Days since the LAST DAY: 1 year, 6 months, 22 days

  Today Dad and I had a scare. We had hiked the four miles to Lake Victoria to do some ice fishing. Dad has a friend on the lake that lets us use his ice shanty. An ice shanty is basically a small shed fisherman put on the lake. Inside the shanty is a hole in the floor that is over a hole cut in the ice.

  The weather has been unusually warm for this part of the year and much of the ice is melting. Dad and I both wear our triathlon wetsuits under our clothes to keep us warm. Not only do the wetsuits keep us warm, they also help us float if ever we fall through the ice.