Sorry story - part 3 (a work in progress)

Thanks for your patience guys! Here is the final chapter!


Chapter 9: End of an empire:

<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com<st1laceType w:st="on">County</st1laceType> <st1laceName w:st="on">Administrator</st1laceName></st1lace>. It had been the work of just a few days to locate and employ those in town who were happy to convert the strong arm tactics of bureaucracy into physical threats to commandeer food and fuel.


Every seizure strengthened Hinkley's hand and took resources from his weak willed competition. A month after he arrived he ruled the town. When food there had begun to run out, he planned his revenge on the one man who had the audacity to challenge him in Stagford.


Hinkley watched the sunlight slide down the church tower. The rest of his men would arrive any minute and they would shoot down this hick Sheriff and his Barney Fife accomplices. By the time the sun set today, his kingdom would be double the size it had been yesterday. There were 14 towns and villages in the county. By spring he would have control of every one of them despite this little set back.


Bob’s heart sank. The floor of the valley was still in shadow but at the crest of the ridge he saw something that drained the fight from him. A large military truck with canvas sides topped the rise and began to descend into the valley. Even with the machine gun to hold the men in the house in place, the farm and herd were completely open to attack.

The Big truck ground its way down the pavement toward the bridge where Hinkley’s men would doubtlessly liberate the prisoners in the vehicle at the bridge, then it would be over for Bob and his allies. He began to wonder if he and Bill could get the wounded men out of town before they were caught by Hinkley and his men.



Bob had been so focused on watching the exits from Hinkley’s house that he hadn’t seen Amanda Fleisher and Brenda Carter leading the girls who worked for Carl Durkee and their families out of the village from behind the hardware store and cut cross-lots through the woods and pastures to the farm in the predawn darkness. He hadn’t noticed when Carl Durkee had led the more than two dozen villagers down the hill toward the vehicle parked at the end of the farm lane, but he heard and saw that vehicle pulling away and driving out of the south end of town. He could hardly believe what he saw when the old farmer led the girls and their families right out the farm gate and toward the village.


Now out of sight at the bridge on the north end of town, the truck must have reached the bridge. Bob heard the diesel restart and the truck approach the village limits. Good Lord, it would be a bloodbath. The old man was leading girls and their families who barely knew how to shoot in street fighting against a couple dozen trained men. They would be shot down in minutes and there was nothing that Bob could do about it.


The big truck nosed into the center of the village just as the group of local defenders poured into the street in front of it and pointed more than a dozen rifles at the cab. Amanda and Brenda were at the forefront with Tom Carter and Carl Durkee. The truck slowed to a halt the cab door opened and a very confused pharmacist George Rogers stepped out with his hands held high. The old diesel truck he drove carried a full load of medical supplies assembled from everywhere from manufacturers’ warehouses to veterinarian’s offices. The 2 ton truck’s canvas sides kept the snow off cardboard boxes of bandages, splints, pain relievers, fever reducers, and most important of all antibiotics.


As soon as the defense force realized that George and his truck were no danger to the town, Bill Terry led half the force to the bridge on the north edge of town. Deputy Lawrence and Sheriff Jones with his single working arm volunteered to keep Hinkley and his ten men bottled up in the bullet riddled mansion while Tom Carter led a defense force to the road leading south out of the village just in case the two fleeing sentries or anyone else should approach from that direction. George began to treat the wounded with his newly delivered medical supplies.


Arriving at the bridge on the north side of the village, Bill found that George had merely started the vehicle with its four bound prisoners inside and moved it off the bridge to get his truck by. He had wisely decided not to release the prisoners until he gathered more information as to why they were bound. Bill moved the vehicle back onto the bridge and let the air out of all four tires making it a better road block. He then distributed the defense force on the high ground over looking the bridge. When Hinkley’s force from Sawyerville did arrive several hours later, they were easily turned back when they saw that the bridge was blocked, the stream on both sides was in a deep gully and that defensive positions were held on the high ground overt looking the entire area by several dozen armed defenders. Stagford was a far cry from the unarmed easy pickings that Hinkley’s message had told them it would be.


By the end of the day Hinkley and his surviving men had surrendered and been taken into custody by Sheriff Jones. Back on his farm Carl Durkee realized that strength in numbers comes from the bond of friendship and a willingness to help one another. In exchange for their help saving the farm Carl returned the arms and ammunition to the people of the village and began a policy of swapping the farm products directly for work. He had nearly lost the farm trying to save it alone, but realized now that the help of others was the key to making it through the hard times to come. Carl, Bob, and the other residents of both Stagford and Haven would all be better prepared to face what the future held, because now none of them would have to face the dangers on their own.

 

Cool deal. There is one unanwsered question left with the story though. Most of the bad guys were taken prisoner rather than shot. Now what happens to them? Are they tried and hanged/executed for their attempt, banished so they can go of and regroup and return later to try again, or jailed? If they are jailed, how dose that work? There isnt much in the way of a functioning gov to pay guards and feed and house the prisoners so do the people donate food to them just to be nice, is feed for them and the guards traded for work preformed by them as a chain gang, do they become the 'sanitation crew' and the people pay food for that public service? I know thats one thing I figure would become a moral delima for many in a post SHTF world. If able to take prisoners, particularly say they are unarmed thieves or surrender as soon as the shooting starts then do you take them prisoner and if so how do you deal with them and keep them from dragging you to starvation as their slave to feed them or do you slaughter unarmed people who are trying to surrender. Shoot them is the easy anwser but other anwsers may be possible if the people are willing to do so.

 

I thought about writing another couple paragraphs along the lines of that the pharmacist had made contact with the real relief effort working its way from the coast inland. Hinkley and his henchmen were held in custody until they could be turned over to the real authorities where they were tried as looters and sentenced to decades of heavy labor rebuilding the lost infrastructure of the state."

But somehow bringing the governemnt to the rescue even in this form just didn't seem right.

The loose end I didn't tie up (in my own mind) was the fate of Zack Frye - the single guy from haven who moved to Stagford and sided with Hinkley. Should he have been one of the unnamed henchmen killed? Should I note that he was among the prisoners? Should I note that he was spending the night with Selma Hyatt the tavern owner and so escaped anything other than the disdain of his fellow townsmen? Shoudl I split Bill Terry's undercover role and have Frye working with the Sheriff too?

Any suggestions?

 

He could have been a double agent 'infiltrating' Hinkleys group to report back to Tery and thus helping to have provided the intel they had.

I know prisoners and how to deal with them was one of the more difficult things I tried to deal with in my story. Main character didnt shoot unarmed thieves and had to figure out what to do with them and how to handle them. So have been curious to
see how others deal with the idea if it isnt 'all crimes have one punishment' (death on the spot) solution.

 

Thanks Mike-this is great-the only enjoyable reading I have had lately-keep it going!

 

Glad you liked it, but I think I need to take a break from writing. I'll actually have to work at work for awhile

 

Part 4 is in the works and will be available when I publish this story as a novel. Let me know if anyone is interested in an improved and expanded version in hard copy

Mike

 

Great Read....We need more.

 

Thank you
I would welcome any suggestions for improvement, especially if you noticed any errors or inconsistencies. thnx

 

I am on the edge of my seat is there more to follow

 

I've read part 3 and i'm hooked

 

Thanks guys. I have a draft of part 4 and have had noted author Jerry D. Young edit it for me. I haven't got it in print yet, but I am planning to do so early in 2011!

Anybody here do cover art?

 

I look forward to seeing part 4 sooner than later.
Thank you for your efforts.
Sis

 

I liked it, but I think you need to take a break too...hope to see more from you. thanks

Read more: http://www.survivalmonkey.com/forum...ory-part-3-work-progress-2.html#ixzz1YkPJytEC