Original Work The Unwelcome Sign

Your doing great, is anyone going to do some more scouting, maybe some nonthreatening kids who could pass unmolested with whats going on..

 

Hmmm... no Zen... rats...
need I ask?

 

i think he went AWOL on us, we better track him down & drag him back!

 

Zengunfighter please don't stop writing I need my fix!! The story is great sofar.

 

I am an avid follower of your story line…waiting for an opportunity to drop a line or two. Lost the site on the computer for a while so it was a bit of a 'vacation' for what passes as reality.

 

I hope all is well for you. We can wait.

 

Based on a post on another forum, @Zengunfighter has been/is at a conference in Chicago (LEO related) and didn't see having a lot of chance to write. It looks like the conference is over and he may or may not have had one other thing to do before he was able to get home and start writing again.

 

So looking foreword to the next chapter…can't wait until we get to the part where rebar is mined from old concrete for forging into implements and weapons that are no longer available…and some news from the mainland.

 

Come on Zed, limber up those fingers but on some music and get those creative juice's flowing.

 

I tried several times to post and couldn't. Let's see if this goes through

 

Ok. Cool. Let me grab the latest up date and paste it here. Be right back.

 

DAY 14, Wednesday
“You just shot Carol in cold blood?” Fiona was clearly aghast.
“That woman got exactly what she asked for”
This last, from Charles. We were gathered in his room so he could be part of the meeting of what I was coming to think of as the core of the community. Besides myself and Sadie, who was quiet and a bit withdrawn this morning, Stan, Sandy, Doc, Denise, Fiona, Daniels and Wilford were all crammed into the room where Charles was still recuperating from his injuries.
I called them all together early this morning so we could discuss what happened and how we would deal with it, before we started the regular day's work. I explained what had happened, starting with Widmore's confession yesterday, Carol's hit on me, moving to the shooting and ending with the discovery of the food hoard.
There was some heated mumbling when I mentioned the hit, and then the two exclamations as I recounted Sadie's shooting Carol. The story got interrupted at that point as Mr. Charles' statement opened up the floor to a debate on the shooting.
I put my arm around Sadie and gave her a squeeze and a kiss on the temple. She whispered to me, “I'm sorry I've caused trouble, but I'm not sorry I killed that bitch.”
“I know” I whispered back, “We'll get through this. You did what you thought was needed and I back you. You know that. We'll deal with this, together.”
The conversation, loud as it was, was polarizing between the people that knew Carol before, who were willing to see Sadie's actions as justified and those that didn't know her, and questioned what seemed to them a sudden shooting. Of those, Fiona was the most vocal.
I let it go for a while, giving them space to work it out for themselves, not wanting to look like I was trying to steer it one way or the other. Finally, things started to settle down, with the group coming to terms with the shooting. Fiona was the last hold out, and it seemed that even she was willing to accept it, if not like it. Jacob might be able to help in that regard, later.
That out of the way, what I saw as the two big issues. What to tell the community, if anything, and what to do with the food.
“I can't believe you gave Johns control over the food. Considering his track record, how can you trust him?”
Denise didn't give me a chance to answer Stan's question. “It was Zed's only move. It was smart on a number of levels.”
Wilford stepped in, “I think Johns was coming around, starting to see through Carol's nonsense. Giving him the food showed Zed wasn't like Carol.”
“Yeah, but it gives him an awful lot of power” Stan again.
Time for me to jump in.
“What if he immediately distributes it to everyone?”
“That flood would devalue our food” I watched as the lights came on as Stan worked it out. “We'd all get a share....”
Daniels finished the thought, “and Johns wouldn't have it anymore, so he couldn't use it to control people”
“It belongs to the people anyway!” from Fiona
“People would be foolish with it.” Doc finally chimed in. “They would just go right through it and be right back where they were.
“Would they? You don't think they'd learned anything in the last two weeks?” Denise asked.
Daniels kept up his train of thought. “If the people have it, Johns can't use it against them. Yes, some of them will probably be stupid, but some won't, and it's not going to last forever, either way. I think it's safer to give it away.”
Wilford perked up at 'safer'. “And all that food in one place is a tempting target. Spread out is safer.”
I looked around as the discussion slowed to a trickle. “So we're agreed that distributing the food is the way to go?”
Fiona spoke when I looked at her. “It's in John's hands, isn't it his choice to make?”
“Well, technically, sure. But I planted this seed and I'm sure he's considering it. I don't know if he really wants to be responsible for it. And we could make it happen, force his hand, if it comes to that.”
“How?”
“Just put the word out among the people, give them the idea, let them know how much food was found and that it really belongs to them. They'll do the rest.”
“You're very manipulative, you know that, right?”
I met Fiona's eye as I crafted my reply. “We're all manipulative to one extent or another. There's nothing wrong with it in and of itself. Like anything else, it's how it's used, to what ends, and with what motivation.”
“So what is your motivation, then?”
“To get Sadie and me through this mess. And as many more of you as I can.”
Fiona looked away from me, to Denise, who added. “I hope the cost isn't more than you're willing to pay.”
“That reckoning will have to wait for another day. Now, what do we have planned for today?”

 

“So that's it?” Fiona wasn't going to give up. “Sadie kills a woman in her house in the middle of the night and we're just going to 'move on'? Just go on to our daily tasks? What is the rest of community going to think? What are you going to tell them? You think they're going to be OK with this?”
Sadie'd had enough. “Listen, I don't know where you're from, but where I come from, kin comes first. If you threaten our families we don't have committee meetings to discuss what needs to be done. There's nothing to discuss. I married Zed and devoted myself to being his mate for life. Nobody gets to threaten him and then expect me not to do something to protect him. That's not the way it works. Hurt me, fine. Hurt mine, and you just landed yourself in a world of hurt. I won't apologize for what I've done. What was I supposed to do? Wait until Zed had actually gotten hurt and then do something about it? Doesn't that seem just a little backwards to you? Back home we'd call that “closing the barn door after the horse got out”
Sadie had left my side and moved closer to Fiona. Not threatening exactly, but to emphasize her point. “I don't know you, I don't know much about where you're from or your history. It doesn't much matter one way or the other. I admire the way you've cared for Mr. Charles and the two children, and I appreciate that you've stepped up and pitched in to help out, so I'm willing to give you a pass on some of the things going on. But I have to wonder, what would you do if someone directly threatened someone you love with all your heart? I hope you never have to find out, but if you do, I pray that you have the strength to do what's necessary before it's too late.”
Sadie stepped back to me, slipping her arm around my waist, mine around her shoulders.
“And remember what kind of woman Carol was.” Charles was pushing himself more upright in bed, muttering under his breath, unhappy at being so hobbled. “What kind of person uses food as a weapon? Uses it to get what she wants? Food that doesn't even belong to her in the first place?
He looked around and got a number of nods, some thoughtful, some in complete agreement.
“Carol was a threat to all of us, in one way or another. Sadie did what the rest of us should have. I feel kinda bad that it was left to her to handle.”
“So, what do we tell people, when they ask?” Daniels wanted to know.
“The truth. We don't have anything to hide. Just make sure it's the whole story. Most people know what kind of person Carol was. When they find out the truth about the food, well, I don't think we have much to worry about after that.”
Daniels wasn't done. “I guess what I want to know is how do we tell people? Do we have a meeting?”
“I'm not sure how I feel about that. I can go either way. Thoughts?” I opened it up for discussion.
“If you have a meeting, you control the agenda. You can control the information that's presented.” Doc pointed out.
Wilford snorted. “You might control it, or it might control you. I could see where a meeting could get out of hand, and you have all of those people together, it could get ugly. It could go bad wrong real quick.”
“Yeah, I think you're taking a chance with a meeting.” Daniels agreed with Wilford. “Someone else with their own agenda could try to take over the meeting.””
“Who's that going to be?” Doc asked “Carol's gone. Widmore is probably relieved and isn't going to want to make waves.”
“There's always Johns” Stan joined in. “He might step up, especially now that he has been appointed by Zed to be keeper of the food. He might look to consolidate is power, turn people away from Zed and Sadie.”
“I'm not sure I see that happening” I said.
“But are you willing to take the chance? I'm thinking having a meeting is dangerous.”
“It would also give a sense of legitimacy..no that's not the right word..” Denise struggled for a moment. “I guess what I'm saying is that calling a meeting to explain what happened might look like a guilty conscience trying to explain, make excuses for what happened. If what Sadie did was justified, why do you need to have a meeting to discuss it? Am I making sense here?”
Several people were nodding their heads at Denise's words.
“Ok, so no meeting then, is that what you're all saying?” No one voiced disagreement. “I would like to put out the word that we will be burying Carol this morning, so people can pay their last respects if they care to. Let's tell people 10am. Tell the people in your work crews and we'll let the word spread.”
“Wouldn't noon make more sense?” Stan, ever the manager, brought up. “Just have a longer lunch break? Otherwise you are breaking up the morning's work”
“Ok, noon it is. Anything else?”
“Yes. What's happening to my garden while I'm cooped up in here?”
Charles pretended to be mad. Well, I'm sure he was annoyed at being stuck in bed. He didn't strike me as the type that liked to just sit around.
“We were just up there yesterday.” Sadie assured him. “Everything is fine, although I killed a bunch of caterpillars on your cucumbers. And we're going to have to do something to keep the birds off the tomatoes when they get a bit riper.”
“I have some netting for that in the shed. If this quack would let me out of here, I could put them up before my crop becomes bird feed!”
Fiona adjusted his blanket and fluffed his pillow, which seemed to mollify him for the moment.
“How 'bout it, Doc? When can Mr. Charles go back to his house?”
“Well, he could probably go back there tomorrow, if he stays in bed or on the couch. It's easier to keep an eye on him here.” Doc turned his attention to Charles. “How about I keep you here for another couple of days, just to make my and the nurses' lives easier?”
Doc knew how to play a patient. Charles was too much of a gentleman to put anyone out, especially a couple of women.
“Well, I suppose that would be alright. I just can't stand to be laying about when there is so much to do. It don't feel right. You folks are working so hard and I'm just here doing a good imitation of a lump.”
“You earned a rest. You saved my ass, so you have plenty of credit as far as I'm concerned. Do as the Doc says and you'll get out of here earlier. I promise you, there'll be plenty of work for you when you're up again.” He returned my smile
with a grin of his own and my poor attempt at making light of the situation.
I looked at my watch and saw it coming up on 8:00am.
“We probably have people outside waiting to go to work. You all know what we're doing, so let's get to it.”

 

Zen,
Whew, you were missed... welcome back...

 

Thank goodness you're back! I thought maybe you had decided not to finish it or had lost intrest. You are a very talented writer!! Thanks.. (and keep it up!!!)

 

Welcome back Zen, terrific story! Thanks again for sharing all of your hard work!

 

More great chapters, thank you!
GB

 

Nice…don't get too mired down in creating a workable 'justice' system, tribalism and family do that automatically, it is the tyrant leader (the benevolent dictator) that must be strong and cary the day with small groups surviving against dangerous odds. Studying this subject 50 years ago we (I) came to the conclusion that in order to succeed a group must be racially, religiously, politically, ethically, ethnically and economically stable within itself no matter what those parameters might be for that group…a mixed group of islamics and Christians just won't work because eventually one or the other group must prevail for the stake of stability, even if it means killing off all of the opposition; as history has shown. I'm enjoying the story, just sharing my $.02!

 

Thanks for the update. I am really enjoying this story.

 

Your analysis is spot on... that also goes for capitalists and communists...
as Zen is showing, communists are better off dead... is this a lesson we need to understand in America at large?
(as it appears, we good guys have all had a 'price put on our heads' now... )
In my analysis, I agree with Zen(Zed)'s analysis, we small groups have to learn to trade, or we eventually revert to barbarism.