Paths of Righteousness

by Ryan King

  Joshua slowly let go of David and moved toward Alexandra, who began to smile. They met each other hesitantly, reaching out to touch hands first and then coming in closer. She lifted her hand up to pull away his sock cap, but he stopped her with an embarrassed look.

  David heard a cry from behind him and turned to see the old man who traveled with his father and brother fall to the ground. "Get a medic up here," he shouted and people rushed to help the old man, who was awake but didn't look alert by a long shot.

  Turning back, he saw several clumps of people gathered together. The first coalesced around his father and mother. The group was joined by Harold who must have been nearby. The second group gathered around Joshua and Alexandra, who hugged each other and ignored everything around them.

  She met his eyes from over his brother's shoulder. Her look became meaningful, as if she were trying to convey something to him. MaybeI told you so, orstay away, orhe is the better brother and deserves my love.

  David felt a weight on his heart and stood there in the cold between the two groups.

  Alone.

  Part III

  A Time For All Things

  Chapter 1 - The Broadcast

  Reggie admitted he was nervous. He had conducted hundreds of radio interviews and broadcasts in his long political career, yet this was something different.

  He wished Tim Reynolds were here with him. They made a good team after N-Day, putting out helpful information to calm people's nerves. Those broadcasts seemed so simple and pure. Don't drink water without boiling it. Help others. Relax. Don't eat your neighbor's cat. Basic stuff. Things had gotten complicated since then.

  The transmitter in front of him was nothing like the broadcast booth at WKPO in Murray. Tim was always relaxed and smooth, a natural. He was one of those rare people who loved their jobs and was obviously good at it. Word came to Reggie that Tim was executed for seditious talk in one of the many detainment camps down in Tennessee. There was no doubt those rumors were true and in an odd way was proud of the man. Tim Reynolds died honest to himself, doing what he believed in.

  Will I be that lucky? he wondered

  "Are you ready, sir?" asked a technician.

  Reggie looked at the small radio set in front of him. "Are you sure this is going to work? I mean, will it broadcast to all of the Jackson Purchase and West Tennessee? On this little thing?"

  "That little radio is actually hooked to a fifty-thousand watt transmitter which is hooked to a three hundred foot tower. It was part of the emergency broadcast system. Don't worry about the signal getting out."

  "And everyone is going to suddenly get electricity?" Reggie asked.

  The man nodded. "Not everyone will have their radio on, but many will and we're hoping they'll run and tell their neighbors."

  "Might give some a heart attack."

  "Possibly," the man admitted with a smile. "You ready?"

  Reggie nodded.

  The man spoke into a walkie talkie. "Turn on the power. Let me know when we're full up." The lights in the room seemed to momentarily grow dim and then resume their normal brightness.

  "We're good," said a voice from the walkie talkie. "Full power projecting throughout the grid."

  The technician reached over and pushed a button, which caused music to play on the radio. It wasGod Bless America.

  Reggie felt like crying and clinched his fists to keep them from trembling.How have we come to this?he wondered.We started out with such promise. The JP had worked. It was a haven of light and decency.

  God Bless Americaended and was followed byThe Star Spangled Banner. Reggie actually stood for this and put his hand over his heart. The technician looked at Reggie and grinned. When Reggie did not smile back, the technician stood up straighter and put his one hand over his heart. The music was chosen to get people's attention so that they spread the word that something was up. Additionally, the choice of music might remind people of who they really were. A free people in a democratic society. Instead of what they were allowing themselves to become.

  The music stopped and the technician pointed at Reggie while flipping a switch.

  Reggie pulled the microphone close to his mouth and cleared his throat. "Hello out there. Please do not be alarmed. There is nothing wrong with your radio. I encourage you to invite any others nearby to hear this broadcast."

  Taking a deep breath, he continued on. "My name is Reggie Philips. I was once the Lieutenant Governor of the state of Kentucky. After that I had the distinct pleasure of being the President of the Jackson Purchase. I am now in hiding with a good many other people in the county of New Harvest, which we all used to call Land Between the Lakes. We are in hiding because your current president is trying to destroy us and what we stand for.

  "Ethan Schweitzer is not who he portrays himself to be. He was the right hand man of General Sampson, the former dictator of the West Tennessee Republic. Schweitzer was instrumental in starting that war and even ordered my execution." Reggie swallowed a hitch in his throat. "That execution attempt was not successful but did result in my wife Janice losing her leg."

  Reggie paused to compose himself for several moments. He wondered how all of this was being received. "Schweitzer next coerced President Paul Campbell into doing his bidding by holding his Campbell's son hostage. Eventually Campbell resigned and appointed Schweitzer the president of both the Jackson Purchase and the West Tennessee Republic. A president you did not elect.

  "Schweitzer next arrested General Nathan Taylor, a man whom I personally appointed to stand up our internal state security program. Ethan arrested, branded, and exiled him for daring to suspect that your president was not who he said he was. Nathan Taylor was doing the job of serving you and seeking to protect you and he was punished for it.

  "General Clarence Anderson was a hero and a true friend of mine. He devoted his life to his country and then to this new fledgling nation. General Anderson dared to stand up and question Schweitzer and in return Anderson was arrested on trumped-up charges and executed on public television as a spectacle.

  "Then Schweitzer brought in a vile and vicious man to serve him. The Missouri Alliance was a gang of evil men who enslaved and destroyed those around them. They were such a danger that General Butch Matthews made the unusual decision to send our army out to destroy them, which they did. But what did Schweitzer do? He appointed the head of the Missouri Alliance, a man named Vincent Lacert, as the Chief of Defense and put that butcher in charge of all military forces. This man has done nothing but murder and torture and misuse our citizens since his arrival and all under the encouragement and sanction of President Ethan Schweitzer. A man you didn't elect or choose.

  "And finally," said Reggie, "let me mention Timothy Brazen Walker. There were many different opinions on the man. I met and worked with him and considered him honorable and am proud to have called him a friend. In the end he did everything he could to protect the people under his charge. He defended Paducah with every ounce of his life until the women, children, and defenseless could escape to freedom across to Illinois. Brazen was captured alive. Ethan Schweitzer, your president, personally ordered and witnessed his execution. Brazen was crucified in front of those he had saved. Prisoners of Paducah were forced to watch as that honorable man hung naked from spikes in his forearms and feet and slowly died. He didn't die for himself or his gangs or out of pride. He was tortured and executed and died for you and for me. He did it because he would not give in to Schweitzer or lie down before tyranny. I am humbled and profoundly moved by his example."

  Reggie took a deep breath. "Today our world is rocked yet again. After the bombs fell we found a way to survive as a civilized society. We banded together and decided not to abandon our humanity. We did not forget who and what we were. Today that is on the brink of collapse and all because of one man. Ethan Schweitzer. An evil, vile, selfish man who does not care about you or me or our families. He only cares about maintaining power by any means. Unfortunately those means are available and
could destroy us.

  "He has already found another nuclear weapon and sent it to Kentucky Dam in an effort to destroy the only sustainable means of creating electricity that we know of. If Ethan had been successful, there would not be electricity for generations to come. And what does it say of a man who is willing to use nuclear bombs against those who he is supposed to be serving and looking out for? Especially after all the world has gone through because of nuclear weapons.

  Reggie sighed and collected his thoughts. "The electricity was not turned off to hurt you, my friends and neighbors, despite what you might think or have been told. It was turned off to stop Ethan Schweitzer. To try to diminish his growing power in some way. We want to return the electricity. We all want things the way they were before, but that is impossible while one man seeks to burn the world down. There is no going back with Ethan Schweitzer.

  "So what are we to do, you might ask? I would say do what you can. Spread the word. Protest and rise up. Do not cooperate. Act like free men and women. Refuse to help the current regime. Don't pay your taxes or obey their unlawful orders. If you are a soldier or police officer, look the other way. Side in your hearts with the people and resist when you can. Do everything in your power to undermine the totalitarian government set up by the megalomaniac Schweitzer. Resist and watch and wait until the time and day are right. I can't tell you when that will be, but you will know. When that day comes, you must not hesitate. You must rise up and strike and take back your freedom. Not for yourselves, but for your children and grandchildren. We understand what it is like to live in a free society, but they will not. They will grow up as slaves and not know any better and live cruel, bitter, and sad lives and it will be our fault because we didn't have the courage to act. Do not let this happen. Act when the time is right and when you strike, when you protest, when you take back what is yours, let one name be on your lips. Let one cry rally us and remind us.

  "Brazen," said Reggie slowly, drawing the word out. "The man who set the example, who died so that others might escape. He who wasn't afraid to die and didn't value his life above freedom. Brazen. Brazen. Say it out loud when you can. Say it in whispers. Write in on walls and doors. Repeat it in your heart and remember. The time will come. Make sure you are ready."

  Deflated now, Reggie just felt tired. "I don't know how it's going to end, my friends, or if things will work out. But I do have a pretty good idea how things are going to go if we don't do something. Let us start doing something now. This very day, this very hour. Let us take back what is ours and not allow ourselves or our families to be enslaved. Let us remember that we are Americans, we are a free people, and we will not be trampled upon. May God bless us all and watch over us. Goodbye for now, my friends."

  Reggie waved at the technician who flipped a switch on the radio set. The tech called into the walkie talkie. "We're done. You can shut it all back down to minimal power." Then he focused on Reggie. "That was great."

  Not answering, Reggie sat and stared at the wall forlornly.

  "What's the matter sir? Didn't it go like you wanted?"

  Reggie nodded. "It went pretty much as I wanted."

  "Then why do you look so down?"

  Regarding the man, Reggie said with quivering lips. "Because I just lit a bonfire that will result in the deaths of hundreds if not thousands of people. I just made their lives miserable. I used them."

  "But..." the tech stammered, "isn't it all true? Don't we want them to rise up and fight Schweitzer?"

  "We do," answered Reggie, "but we just stooped to a level I hoped we would not have to go to. We just made this an insurgency. Instead of military against military it will be every person against every person. It will get incredibly bloody and savage before this is all done."

  "But, it's for the right reason, right?"

  Reggie smiled. "I sure hope so, son." Then he rose and tread out of the booth into the cold winter night.

  Chapter 2 - A Time to Die

  Conrad sat alone and still, watching the old man sleep. At every deep pause, he anxiously looked at his grandfather afraid the time had finally come. Conrad found he was terrified of a world without Jack McKraven in it.

  He'd sat at several death beds and seen plenty of men die, nevertheless this was unnerving. Everything seemed wrong. Normally there was the sharp hospital smell and the reassuring beeps of monitors and electrical equipment. Here it was quiet. No one would check on them. There was nothing more to be done.

  Realizing that he hadn't heard Jack take a breath, he glanced up sharply and saw the old man staring back at him.

  "How you doing?" Conrad asked, grasping the old man's hand.

  "Okay, I guess," Jack answered in a whisper and then reached for a nearby water glass.

  Conrad helped him sip some water, and it seemed to bring color into the man's thin face.

  Jack lay back down from the exertion and breathed deeply. "They figure out what's wrong with me?" his voice was slightly stronger.

  "Not sure," said Conrad, "but the doctor here thinks it's cancer."

  Jack didn't respond.

  Conrad squeezed his hand. "Did you hear me? They think you've got cancer."

  "Yes, goddamnit, I heard you," answered Jack. "I ain't deaf or dead yet."

  Shaking his head, Conrad looked away. "Cancer, I just can't believe it. After all of this, you get cancer."

  "Son," Jack said with a smile, "we're all gonna get something in the end. Doesn't matter what it is that does you in. Might as well be cancer as anything else."

  Conrad didn't say anything, just kept his head down.

  "You're taking this pretty hard," said Jack. "You may find this difficult to believe, but I'm actually well advanced in years."

  Chuckling, Conrad looked back at Jack. "I know. It just caught me by surprise is all. Never really thought of you not being here."

  "You'll be fine. Take care of your wife and kids. Family is important, especially now."

  Conrad's face tightened as fought for control. "I don't know where I would have been without you. You were a father to me when mine wasn't around."

  "Don't be too hard on him," said Jack. "He did his best."

  "He was a drunk and brute," answered Conrad savagely. "Even now you still defend him. I'm tired of hearing how he did his best."

  Jack sighed, laid his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes.

  "I'm sorry, grandpa. Didn't mean to go down that road again, especially now. Let's change the subject."

  "No," Jack struggled to sit up straighter. "Do you know why I defend your father even after all these years?"

  "I imagine it's because he was your son and you loved him, despite all his flaws."

  Jack smiled. "I did and that's true, but that's not the whole story. The way your daddy was with you growing up was the way I was with him."

  "I doubt that very much," said Conrad angrily.

  "I know what I'm talking about," said Jack. "There was a time when I was a drunk and a brute myself. Your grandmother left me several times. Might have even been for the best if she stayed away, but she didn't believe in divorce so she came back. Saint of a woman."

  Conrad was looking at Jack like he was crazy. "Grandy? Leave you? Are you okay? They gave you some drugs for the pain, maybe that's messing some things up in your head."

  "No," said Jack flatly. "It was a long time ago and I'm not that man anymore, thank the heavens. My father was a drunk brute and I was a drunk brute and your father was a drunk brute to you. It's a vicious cycle handed down from one generation to another." Jack smiled at Conrad. "Except for you."

  "Because you raised me," said Conrad, "when my own father ran off."

  "That I did. Credit your grandmother, may she rest in peace, for that. She gave me an ultimatum one night that I couldn't really overcome."

  "An ultimatum?"

  "Yes," Jack smiled. "Although she was against divorce, she wouldn't flinch from murder."

  "What are you talking about?"

  "O
ne night, many years after you were born, I came home drunk and Sue said something I didn't like and I laid into her and then passed out," Jack reached up and rubbed his neck absently. "The next think I know she's shaking me awake. Has her good butcher knife to my throat, all nice and freshly sharpened. She tells me she loves me, but has decided that she'll have to kill me."

  "No!" said Conrad.

  Jack nodded. "Said she was worried about my immortal soul. For my own good she said. Before I could sin anymore or do anything really bad, she was going to kill me and give me a fighting chance at getting into heaven."

  "Was she serious?"

  "Oh, deathly, son," answered Jack. "You're grandmother was a godly woman all the way through, and she was very serious."

  "Why didn't she do it?" asked Conrad. "Lose her nerve?"

  "No," answered Conrad. "She gave me that ultimatum. Said the only way she wouldn't do it was if I stopped drinking, then she warned if I ever took another drink she would kill me in the night. No warning."

  "So you just stopped?"

  "Yes. Cold turkey. Didn't have a drink from that day until the one she died." Jack's face showed pain. "On that day I was determined to get rip roaring drunk, go back to my old ways."

  "But you didn't."

  "I couldn't," answered Jack. "Somewhere in all those years I changed. Deep inside. Even though my body wanted the alcohol, it disgusted me and made me remember all the bad things I had done to her. And to your father."

  Conrad sat back. "I appreciate you telling me all of this, but none of that lets my father off the hook. Everyone has bad things happen to them. We make our own decisions."

  "You're right, but if I'd been a better father to your daddy, things might have turned out better all around."

  "He couldn't have been a better farther than you," answered Conrad.