Surviving For Humanity (Book 4): Tides of Humanity

by Nelson, Kip

  Tillman's muscles ached, and his mind now was crying out for sleep. Every blink was heavy, but he wasn't ready to fall into slumber yet. He called everyone out. They stopped what they were doing and poured from their homes, gathering around Tillman. Greg and Fernando dragged Jeff out as well, and Khan was standing there too.

  “People of the community. I have an announcement. We know who sabotaged the water distribution system,” he said. People turned to look at Khan and were surprised when Jeff was led forward in his stead. Up until now nobody had realized one of their own had been responsible, and the crowd was filled with hushed whispers and frantic murmurs.

  “Jeff and Ben did this for no other reason than to cause chaos. Their egos were bruised, and instead of putting them aside, they decided to go against the spirit of progress and try breaking us apart. These men offer nothing to the community. Yet before we decide the laws and punishments, we're going to hold Jeff here. I know this is a shock to all of you. It was a shock to me. The thought that anyone who lives here willingly could plot against us is something I find difficult to comprehend. Not only that, but he actually threatened the well-being of two people as well, Morelle and Jessica, and in his own words this was only the beginning.”

  “Where's Ben?” a voice called out from the crowd.

  “I killed him. You're welcome,” Khan said, wearing a smug smile.

  It turned out that was entirely the wrong thing to say. The crowd quickly turned on Khan, and Tillman. Only Morelle and Jessica had been there when Khan had killed Ben. The only thing the others saw was that Khan had killed one of their own, even if Ben had been part of some nefarious plan.

  “Then why is Khan not in jail?” another person asked.

  The cries for justice suddenly grew louder. This wasn't what Tillman had had in mind when he called this meeting. He tried calming them down. There were other things he needed to talk to them about, such as the threat of the encroaching military, but they weren't listening. Their fear of Khan still was palpable, and it was clear they weren't going to be satisfied until Khan was made to answer for his crimes.

  Tillman looked across the crowd and met Khan's glance. The brute had crossed his arms across his chest and scowled.

  “I don't need this,” Khan said, and began walking away. People blocked him in, and he growled. Tillman suddenly realized that if he didn't do something soon, there would be a riot on his hands.

  Chapter Twelve

  Tillman raised his hands to try calming everyone.

  “People, please, let us not fall into this chaos,” he cried. He looked toward the other councilmembers to come to his aid. One by one, they stepped forward to stand with him. The people of the neighborhood quietened down.

  “But what are you going to do about Khan? Why are you not punishing him for killing one of our own?” a voice cried out.

  Tillman wanted to tell them because Ben deserved it, but suddenly that didn't seem a good enough reason. Not if he wanted to build this neighborhood on strong values. Without an answer, Tillman offered them nothing but silence, and this only exacerbated their concerns.

  “You said that if he broke the rules again, he would be punished. Surely murder has to be a rule? This is just showing his true colors,” another voice cried out.

  Tillman glanced anxiously at the people beside him, and he looked at Khan, who was seething. He knew what he had to do, and he knew that Khan wouldn't like it. He looked back at the cell he had built and realized it wasn't going to be enough for two men. The result of his efforts seemed pitiful, and totally inadequate. He thought he had been making a cell for just one person. They needed to keep Khan around.

  “Okay,” Tillman said, “believe me, the issue is more complicated than it appears, but everyone will get a chance to hear the truth. I suppose that is the right way to go about things. But please, there are other things we need to discuss.”

  He didn't get to discuss those other things because a woman broke through the crowd, crying for her husband. It was Jeff's wife, Kelly. Her eyes were ringed red with tears and dark bags hung underneath them. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the pitiful sight of her husband sitting in the cell.

  “What the hell is going on?” she yelled. She had a small child in tow. Tillman groaned inwardly. This was the last thing he needed. Kelly marched up to the cell and spoke to Jeff tersely, but Jeff only met her with a morose grin. Then she turned to Tillman. “Why is my husband sitting there?”

  “Because he was the one who destroyed the water distribution system, along with his friend Ben,” Tillman said.

  “Who Khan killed,” Simon said. Tillman glared at him. He didn't need anyone on the council to start inciting a riot.

  “Jeff, how could you?” Kelly asked, choking, putting her hands against the wooden bars.

  “And what were you thinking?” she added, turning toward Tillman, “putting him on display like this? Doesn't he get a trial? Shouldn't we get to decide what happens to the people who wrong us?”

  Tillman breathed in heavily. The last thing this community needed was to be divided when there was the threat of a military invasion, but he knew they never would settle down unless something was done about this first. Tillman pushed his way through the crowd toward Khan. Khan began shaking his head.

  “Khan, I'm placing you under arrest for the murder of Ben Anderson,” he said.

  Khan growled, baring his teeth as Tillman took hold of his arm and led him to the cell.

  “I come here offering you information, saving your family, and this is how you repay me?” Khan asked.

  “This isn't what I want. I know what you did. I'm grateful,” Tillman said.

  “Then tell them that.”

  “This is a democracy.”

  “I won't stand for this, Tillman. If you people push me, I will retaliate, and I won't leave anything standing. I'll wipe the smug grins off your faces. That's even if I get the chance. There might be nothing left after the military comes here. I notice you haven't told them about that yet.”

  “I'm getting around to it,” Tillman said under his breath.

  He and Khan reached the cell. It was clear it wasn't going to be big enough for both Khan and Jeff. Tillman hung his head. Building a cell had seemed so important at the time, yet now it seemed wholly inadequate, and it only made him think that he too was inadequate to battle against the forces that pushed him down. For a moment he felt as though relentless rain was pressing down on him, grinding him into nothingness. But then he remembered what Fernando had told him. He wasn't alone. He turned to the council and before he could speak Jack offered a thought that they could use one of the empty houses.

  “Let's go,” Tillman said. They moved Jeff and Khan into the house, leaving the cell standing alone.

  Before the crowd departed they called out about Ben. Unlike Jeff, Ben didn't have any family to speak of, but he did have some friends. They all thought it wrong for Ben's body to be left in the forest, waiting for wild animals to feast on the carcass.

  “He might have done something stupid, but he's still worthy of a respectful burial,” they said.

  Tillman wasn't about to fight them on this. He allowed them to go and collect his body, and for those who were close to him, to bury his body and hold a service. There wasn't a priest in the neighborhood, so they just would have to make do with what they had.

  “I want to see my husband, properly, not with all these people around,” Kelly said.

  Tillman nodded and led her to the house where Khan and Jeff were going to be held. Both men were silent. Khan was implacable, while Jeff looked defeated. While Khan sat with a straight back and a steely resolve in his eyes, Jeff was slumped forward, and he looked as though he had aged ten years in a single night.

  The rest of the council waited for Tillman. Jack told him they needed to talk about what had happened.

  A guard had volunteered to watch over the prisoners, and that was about as much privacy as Tillman could allow Kelly.

&n
bsp; “What are you doing, Jeff? Why did you do this? I should have known you were planning something,” Kelly said.

  “I just wanted to make them see. You told me I always was meant for more, but none of them ever could see that. I just wanted to prove to everyone that they needed me.”

  “And look where it's gotten you, where it got Ben! God, Jeff, you know this is it, don't you? You know how important that water was to this place. What was going through your mind? How was destroying that better for the community?”

  “Because it would have gotten rid of him,” Jeff said darkly, looking straight at Tillman.

  “If that plan failed, people would lose faith in him and they'd look to other people, people like me. Tillman doesn't have any right to be here. He's taken control from the moment he arrived here, and people just were too shocked to put up any fight. He's been making all our decisions for us, and everyone has just gone along with it because he's good with words. Well, I've had enough. We don't need any strangers coming here telling us what to do. All we need is each other. I mean, come on! He's made friends with this monster. How can we trust Tillman?” Jeff said, impassioned.

  “Believe me, Tillman is no friend of mine,” Khan said, each word carrying with it a deadly threat.

  “I think that's enough for today, Kelly. We always can arrange another visit later,” Tillman said, tugging at Kelly's arm. She was on the verge of tears as she left her husband, and as soon as she was away from Jeff's view she left the house without saying a word.

  “What a shame for a lady like that to have to see her man in such a plight. Still, hopefully, she'll see sense. Jeff has hurt a lot of people with his actions, I wonder if he ever thought that he would be hurting his wife too,” Mr. Fox said.

  He cleared his throat after speaking and wore his usual smile. Tillman wondered how he could smile in these desperate times. They all were gathered in the living room of this house. It was strange to be in one that was abandoned. There were pictures of the family who had lived here still dotted around. Nobody knew what had become of them, and it was unlikely that the mystery ever would be solved.

  “You'd better not try telling us that you want to let Khan go,” Simon said.

  “He saved my sister and my niece!” Tillman yelled.

  “By killing Ben! What happened to the rules, Tillman? The ones you came up with. The last time I checked, no killing was at the top of that list. But it's nice to know that it only means no killing, unless Tillman decides it's justified. You and I have had our differences, Tillman, but I'm willing to put them aside to work together with you on this. But I can't let this stand. You can't just let Khan get away with this because he saved your family. The rules are the rules, and we all have agreed to follow them. If we make exceptions, then we're never going to enforce them. Both men have to be put on trial. That's it,” Simon said. Then he folded his arms across his chest as if his word was final.

  “We’re going to have a mighty hard time finding impartial people to serve on the jury,” Mr. Fox said, chuckling to himself. “But I agree with Simon here. Now, I don't necessarily disagree with what Khan did, but we have to be consistent. If we are going to live in this society, we're going to have to make people answer for their crimes. Now, if people see things the way they ought to be seen, there should be no problem.”

  Tillman was loathe to point out the flaw in that logic. Throughout the entirety of human history innocent men had been sent to their doom by people who couldn't see things clearly.

  “The way I see it, we have bigger problems. We need to focus on the military coming, and how we're going to deal with it,” Tillman said.

  “Now hang on a minute,” Simon said, unfolding his arms and pointing a finger at Tillman, “you can't just brush this away. This needs dealing with, now, and you know I'm not the only one who feels that way. People out there aren't going to be productive or think straight while this goes undecided. We're the council. We were the ones chosen to lead and sort out these problems. So, let's sort them out. Are these men going to get a trial or not?”

  Tillman sighed in defeat. “Okay then, let's go round the room.”

  Simon was first and adamant that both men should get a trial. Mr. Fox was next, and agreed, although he was more sympathetic toward Khan. Tillman wanted someone else to agree with him just to make sure he wasn't going crazy, and because he was aware of Khan's threat. He figured Jack was his greatest hope for that. The man had been in the army. He knew that sometimes soldiers had to kill to save civilians. Surely, he would understand Khan's actions?

  “I feel the same way, Tillman. I get why Khan did what he did, and I might well have done the same in his place if there was no other choice, but the fact is that we have to answer for our mistakes. Khan knew the deal when he left here. You got up in front of those people and told them that if Khan made another mistake, he would be brought up and held to account by us. You can't let him go now, not because you think he did the right thing, not because you're afraid of what he might do, and not because you're worried about the military coming. The law has to be above all that. It has to be stronger than that. Because without it, we'll have nothing, and everything you've been trying to accomplish here will just be built on sand.”

  After that eloquent speech the decision was unanimous in favor of a trial for both men.

  “Tillman, before you get too upset, think about this. Do you think it was really necessary for Khan to kill Ben, or could he have done something else? Something less lethal? Ben was a strong man, but I don't think he would have been able to put up a fight against Khan. I think that's just something for you to think about. That's why people want this trial. Not because they don't think Khan shouldn't have rescued Morelle and Jessica, it's the way he went about it,” Annabelle said.

  Tillman finally saw their point and realized he had been so caught up in his own anger that he had failed to see the forest for the trees. This world did not have to be a lawless one.

  Tillman and the rest of the council made their way outside to the baying crowd. They still were gathered together, talking about the business of the day. The only ones who were not present were the ones who had gone to collect Ben's body. It only had been a few hours since Ben had died, so Tillman hoped the ravenous wild beasts hadn't mutilated the corpse.

  Tillman announced that both men would undergo a trial and that the laws would be upheld for everyone, including Khan, even though he had saved Morelle and Jessica. Some of them were wondering why Khan even was lurking around the neighborhood anyway, sure that he was up to no good. That's when Tillman told them about the impending military invasion.

  Their faces displayed expressions mixed with hope and fear. They all had become used to living this way, seeing how their lives would turn out for the foreseeable future. The idea of another group coming to disrupt that put them all on edge.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The community was more divided than ever. Shortly after Tillman had told them all about the military presence in the town nearby people had had differing opinions. Some of them wondered if the neighborhood was going to surrender to them, others wondered if this was going to mean another fight.

  Tillman didn't have an answer for them. He retreated and let Jack handle all their questions, since Jack was a military man. Tillman wasn't sure what to think.

  A couple of days passed, and the waiting was unbearable. Tillman spent much of his time staring toward the town.

  “Why don't you go speak to them?” Penelope asked, walking up to him and Major. Tillman smiled as she approached.

  “I guess because I don't know what to expect. If there's one thing I hate, it's the unknown. Before competitions I used to research everything. The game, the venue, my competitors. I wasn't prepared to leave anything to chance. But I don't know how to research this. I suppose I could try skulking near them, but I don't know what equipment they have, and if they are a neutral force, I don't want them to think we're the enemy.”

  “You think the
re's a chance that they could attack us?”

  “I have no idea anymore. I think I'd just prefer that we were left alone. At least people still are working,” he said, looking around at the bustling bodies of people who were carrying on with their duties. Ben's body had been buried the previous day and a number of people had attended the service, including Kelly Holden. Tillman hadn't let Jeff out of his cell for the service.

  “We're getting things done,” Penelope said. “You know, Tillman, you can't take everything on your shoulders all of the time. There are other capable people around. They can go scout out the area if need be.”

  “I know. I think I'll send someone out soon. I can't stop thinking about the people in that town, though. When I walked through those streets as I was searching for Anthony and Jessica it was like a ghost town. This used to be my home, you know? I remember it being welcoming and wholesome, but it felt like an entirely different place. People were hiding in their houses, peering out of their windows. They all were scared, huddled together. There was only one man who wasn't. He tried to tell me that even though the world had changed, we hadn't, and it was important to stay true to the way we wanted to live life.”

  “Sounds like a wise man,” Penelope said.

  “Yeah, he was. Then Khan killed him,” Tillman replied, hanging his head. “I look around here and I don't want these people to die. Too many good people have died already.”

  “Maybe they won't. Maybe these soldiers are good people and they only want to help survivors. They might bring supplies and resources that we can use. They might help us connect with other communities that have joined together. This could be everything we've been waiting for,” Penelope said. Her eyes gleamed with excitement. Tillman remembered a time long ago when he had been that optimistic. He wished he could be the same now, but there was a pit in his heart that only saw the worst outcome.