by Crist, J. D.
"Mama asked me to let you know that supper is ready and to see if you need any help?"
"Just the man I needed to see," Emily smiled at him. "I need to move these books to the dining room for after dinner, and I think you may be the only one strong enough to help me. What do you say?"
"I'm really strong!" Bobby did not try to hide the excitement in his voice. "I will get them all moved for you!"
"Great, let's go eat first, and then we will move them after." Bobby nodded, and Emily followed him to the dining room, where everyone was waiting. She took her seat and was happy to see that Shawn was still sitting beside her. Hope was fast asleep in her bassinet, and Emily dared not to wake her. As soon as she sat, the table came alive as the food was passed around, and everyone began to eat. Emily ate her fair share and leaned back while everyone else was eating. Suddenly two small pills appeared in front of her. Emily looked over to see Shawn pulling his hand back. He nodded, and she knew that the others had told him that she had forgotten about them before. She picked up the pills and took them with a sip of water. He smiled and then began to help clean up the dishes.
"Mama, I have a very important job, and I'm the only one strong enough to do it," Emily heard from the other end of the table. Looking up, she could see that Bobby was trying to tell his mom that he couldn't help clean up because he had another job to do.
"I'm sorry, Julia, that's my fault. I needed someone strong enough to carry my books in here, and Bobby was the only person I could think of. I hope that's okay?" Emily spoke.
"Oh, of course," Julia smiled at her. "You better run along then and consider yourself lucky." Bobby didn't hesitate and took off running to the study.
"I am sorry, Julia," Emily spoke once Bobby was gone. "I should have asked you first."
"No, I just thought he was trying to get back to the television. It's no problem." Julia seemed genuine, and Emily felt relieved.
Soon the table was clear, and Bobby had stacked all of the books on the table for Emily. He was sitting proudly next to his mom, bragging about how heavy the books were and how no one else could have done it. Emily looked around at all of them and knew that they were eager to hear what she had decided. They would want to know what she had been working on all day. Emily had never done a lot of public speaking before, but at this moment, she felt herself getting what she assumed was stage fright.
"Well, are we going to do this or not?" Derick sneered from the other end of the table.
Chapter 24
Derick's comment had silenced everyone at the table. It was like the man knew how to prey on a person's weakness. Emily felt that somehow, he knew she was afraid of speaking, and he jumped on the opportunity. He continued to sneer at her as everything fell silent, and everyone turned to her. The look on his face reminded her of Chad and how he used to talk down to her. There was no way Derick could have known that his comment that was supposed to show her she was weak actually would remind her of her strength.
"If you guys are ready, I guess we can start," Emily said. "Before all of this happened, I was just a glorified receptionist for a landscaping company. I had a husband who viewed me as worthless and a family I didn't speak to because I didn't want to admit how awful my life was. I had just begun to find my strength when the world went to hell, and I lost everything again. The last time I saw my family, I insisted that they stop and pick up my husbands' lover because she was pregnant, having no clue at the time that I was pregnant myself. I was supposed to be with them, but a bite to the shoulder left me alone. I lived in my neighbor's SUV for months, searching for them with Marley as my only friend." Emily had not planned to give them her life's story, but it seemed to be coming out naturally, so she continued to talk.
"My plan went from finding my family to finding somewhere safe for my child when I learned I was pregnant. I learned to fight zombies, escaped a rape camp, and found this miracle in the running from the rapist a second time. The man who built this place, Robert, knew that he had played a role in making this terrible world. He knew that people were going to need this place and created something amazing. I have looked through his notes and decided it is his vision I will follow on how to run this town." As she spoke, she saw Howard nodding in approval. Emily remembered that he had been reading the books in the library and had probably seen Robert’s notes about the town.
"For this to work, everyone has to choose to be here. In choosing to be here, you agree to work to help not only yourself but everyone inside the wall. I know that we cannot start where Robert had planned, but I know we can work up to it. Everyone will have a job. I have a list of jobs and everyone will be placed in one based on their skill set. Anyone who chooses not to work will be denied access to the provisions. Even those of basic life such as food. The town can not take care of someone who is not willing to take care of themselves." Emily could see that this comment had upset Derick, but she was not about to let him take over. As he opened his mouth to protest, she continued.
"Everyone will be required to take a shift on the wall. They will monitor what is going on outside and warn us of any incoming dangers. It protects all of us, so we all will protect it. Everyone will be paid for their time in credits. Everyone will have the same base credit amounts for doing their assigned jobs, and extra credits will be given to compensate for the extra work. Anyone with children will automatically receive the credits for each child as children will not work. Education will remain important, and all children will be required to attend school and receive an education certificate. I know that we will have to work to get the school running, but we will still provide the best education we can."
"I plan to follow Roberts rules as closely as possible to start and make adjustments as needed. I can't say what will work for the long term and what will not. Robert did not include bringing people in because he planned to have the town filled before the outbreak. I will make suggestions and work with all of you to figure out the best plan on how to let more people into the town and increase our chances of making this work."
As Emily spoke, she felt her confidence growing, "I know that there are still a lot of specifics that I haven't mentioned, but we all don't want to sit here for the next week while I read them all aloud. I had the books brought in here so that if you want to know anything specific before deciding to stay, I can look at it for you, and we can decide together how to proceed."
"Wow, so that was a whole lot of nothing." Derick blurted out. "You were in there all day. I expected more information, but you have no idea."
"If you would like Derick," Emily sneered at him, "I can read through the list of rules and laws that I wrote down, but I warn you, it's five pages long and will take a while." Emily could have sworn she heard Shawn snort in laughter next to her.
"That was more information than we could have hoped for with giving her less than a day," Sam spoke.
"I looked at the books she had here and planned to reference," Howard spoke next, "Her planning to use them as a starting point and build from there sounds like the best plan to me." Howard took his wife's hand, and she nodded; Emily knew they were both on board with her plan.
"So, who gets the final say in everything?" Derick questioned. "If someone says a rule is unfair or if there is a dispute, who gets the final say?"
"I do," Emily replied without hesitation. She had been ready for this and was delighted that Derick asked it. "I will, as I get to know people better, pick individuals to be part of my council. They will advise me in matters and help provide a perspective that I may not see. While I will still be the one that takes full responsibility for any decisions, I will depend on those I trusts opinions as well."
"So, whatever you say goes?" Derick said with disgust in his voice. "And if we don't agree with that?"
"Then I will open the gate, and you are free to find somewhere else to call home," Emily said with confidence that surprised even her. "I'm not forcing anyone to stay, and you are free to go if you wish."
"And what if
we do just take this place from you. We could throw you and that baby out the gate!" The agitation in Derick's voice was growing. Emily saw out of the corner of her eye that Shawn was about to lose his temper again. She began searching for a way to keep a repeat of this morning from happening. Before either her or Shawn could react, Marley did. He stood from his spot next to the bassinet and had walked to where he could see Derick. His teeth were barred, and a terrifying growl bellowed from his throat. Emily smiled and seized the moment as this seemed to shock Derick into a passive moment.
"I said you do not have to stay if you don't like the rules but understand that my kindness is not a weakness. I will do what I have to keep this place safe for my daughter, and anyone who threatens that will not be shown mercy." Emily watched as Derick visibly swallowed hard and lowered his head. "Marley, I think the message has been received." Marley walked back and sat down next to her; he was willing to listen but not ready to relax just yet.
"Well, how do I sign up," the chipper in Shawn's voice was hard to miss. Emily grabbed the census ledger and held it out. "Simply write your name on the next line." Shawn took the ledger and the pen, flipped to the page, and wrote his name below Hope’s. When he finished, he handed the book to Doc, who began to do the same, and the book started to work its way around the table.
"I'll also need to know what each of you did before and what your skills are so I can figure out how to break up the work around here. We will also pick each family a home of your own based on family size." Emily continued to explain.
"Yeah, because your family size explains why you get the biggest house here," Derick muttered while writing his name in the ledger.
"While it may seem too big for my family, you can see that my house is where people will be welcome to stay until they have a home of their own. It will give me a chance to get to know them better and ensure that they are the kind of people that we want to live here with us." Emily was proud of her comeback and had not thought of that beforehand. Everyone around the table nodded in agreement, and the journal continued to pass.
"I heard you say there was a farm," Jacob spoke. "I grew up on a farm, as did Tera. We could help get it up to par and get things running." Tera nodded beside Jacob in agreement. "The two of us would not be enough in the long term, but we could at least get it started."
"That would be amazing. Buttercup would love to have someone there more often." Emily grabbed the list of jobs and filled in Jacob and Tess under the farm. "I will talk to you guys more about what I've learned there, and there is a farmhouse that you guys can call home."
"Thank you," Tessa and Jacob both replied.
"I taught in a college, and June was a retired grade school teacher," Howard chimed in.
"Retired by age, not choice," June quickly added. "We would be glad to educate the kids, and since there are only two right now, we can also help with chores on the farm until there are more students."
"Perfect," Emily replied as she wrote Howard and June down under education.
"I was going to be graduating high school. I worked at a clothing store part-time," Jessica spoke in a timid voice. "I have no idea how I can be useful."
"Well, we need someone to run the stores in town. They will need to keep track of the credits and make sure everyone pays for what they get and refill the shelves. They will also be in charge of keeping track of what supplies we have and what supplies we are running low on. It's a lot of responsibility, but I think you can handle it. When we get more people, you would probably move up and be in charge of overseeing all of the stores. Is that something you think you would want to do?"
"Wow, yeah!" Jessica seemed thrilled with the idea, and Emily promptly wrote it down.
"There are apartments above the shops. We can take a look at those and pick one out for you."
"I worked in construction mostly," Derick spoke in a husky voice. "But as everything here is built, I guess I'm out of work for now."
"There are a lot of unfinished buildings on half the town, and there are the remains of the ones who died here. I stacked them up over by the construction area but didn't know how to work the equipment to take care of them. There is plenty of work for someone with construction experience." Emily wrote Derick's name under construction.
"And which lovely house will be mine?" Derick asked with a smile on his face.
"Well, as you are single, it will be an apartment. I think we will use the left side of main street apartments for women and the right side for men." Emily saw the relief on Jessica's face as she said this.
"So, you are telling me that the great Robert said that anyone single had to live in the apartments?" Derick said with his stink face.
"Actually, yes. Would you like for me to show you?" Emily replied, and Derick waved his hand, signaling he didn't.
"I was a paralegal, but I don't see much use for those skills here," Sarah spoke up. "But I used to love to work with computers and electronics in my free time."
"We need to set up some system to communicate with those outside the wall to find more people who we could bring in. Perhaps you could be in charge of our communications system?" This is one of the things Emily had added to the list that Robert did not have.
"Hmm, I would have to look through what we have, but I think I could handle it." Sarah then looked at Derick and added, "And I have no problem with an apartment."
Emily wrote down Sarah's name under communications and looked back at everyone.
"I was a stay-at-home mom," Julia stated, "But I loved to bake bread and different things."
"We do have a small bakery, and I'm sure with all the work to be done, everyone would struggle to find time to bake their goods." Emily could tell that Julia was worried, but this suggestion seemed to excite her.
"I can do it, thank you," Julia replied as Emily wrote down her name under bakery.
"I worked mall security," Sam stated as he stared at the table. Emily could tell that he was already embarrassed to say it out loud.
"Well, now our malls will be safe," blurted out Derick while laughing.
"I think we will all be a little safer," Emily quickly replied. "Law enforcement is something that we need. I think you would make a great police officer." Emily could see the joy on Sam's face. "Where there are so few of us right now, we may need you to help in different areas as I don't expect a whole lot of trouble if that's okay with you?" Emily finished as she was already writing his name down under police.
"Yes, of course, thank you." Sam sounded thrilled at the new job title.
"That just leaves Shawn," Emily turned to look at Shawn, who was glancing around the table.
"Just write down a criminal and lock him up," Derick laughed again.
"Maybe I could talk to you about that one on one?" Shawn leaned in and said to Emily.
"Yeah, that's no problem." She then turned back to everyone. Everyone not in an apartment, I'll go over the housing list and come up with some options for each of you, and tomorrow morning you will all get to pick your new homes." Emily watched as everyone smiled and began to talk about how excited they were. Shawn stood and began to walk out of the room. Emily caught Julia's attention and pointed at Hope. Julia understood and nodded a yes to her. Emily mouthed thank you and followed Shawn out of the room. Shawn walked in silence as Emily followed to the study, and he shut the door behind them.
"Should I be scared," Emily joked as she faced him.
"No, nothing like that. All of them already know about my past, but if Derick had made another comment, I'm not sure if I could have controlled my temper." Shawn replied.
"Understandable," Emily replied. "So, what's the story?"
"At eighteen, I joined the Marines, served for six years, and then decided I was ready for civilian life." Emily felt confused about how Derick could have called a marine a criminal. "Civilian life did not come as easy as I thought, though, and I fell on my ass pretty hard. I joined up with a crew that had served like me. I've been running with them for th
e past six years." Shawn stopped talking, but Emily knew there was something that he wasn't saying.
"So, what did you do for a job?" she asked.
"On paper, I was a mechanic, but in truth, I only worked in the garage a few hours a week." Emily's mind thought back to all of the outlaw bikers she had seen on television. It was hard for her to imagine Shawn being a drug runner or selling guns. "You have to understand that this group of guys was the only ones who accepted me when I came back. They were my family, my brothers. Just like any family, we had our issues, and part of those issues was not everything we did was legal." The criminal comment suddenly made more sense to Emily. "I wasn't a serial killer or anything like that. Yes, I have killed people but just like when I was in the marines, only if I had to save myself or one of my brothers."
