by Nelson, Kip
“What is your idea?” Tillman said.
“Well, if these people are expanding, there is going to come a point where they’re stretching themselves thin. There’s a finite amount of them, and they don’t seem the type to recruit new members easily. If we wait them out, we can strike when we have the opportunity and overthrow them. But like I said, it’s going to be a long wait, and we’re going to have to do as they say for the time being.”
Jack spoke with hesitation, as though he did not like the sound of the plan either.
“You can do what you want,” Mr. Fox said, “but I will not agree to sit by and let them get away with killing my neighbors and friends. We’re all innocent here. Heck, they walked down and killed unarmed men! And I’m not a fan of Khan in the slightest, but that’s something you just don’t do. These are cold-blooded men and if we let them take liberties, they never are going to stop.”
“I’m inclined to agree. I have my family to think about, and I’m not the only one,” Fernando said.
“We all have loved ones around here, and I wouldn’t want any of them to be treated badly. I thought that when Khan came the best thing we could do was to stand by and let things play out, but I’m not sure that’s the case now. I don’t want to surrender to these men. I don’t want to retreat. There are some fights in life that are worth fighting, and I think this is one of them,” Fernando said. Jack nodded his head.
“No,” Tillman said bluntly. All eyes turned to look at him.
“I’m sorry, Dad, but we can’t put up a fight, not immediately anyway. Everyone around here is broken, and if we take up arms, we’ll just get slaughtered. I know it’s not what any of us wants to hear, but it’s just the truth of the matter. I wish we had enough strength to put up a fight, but these mercenaries know what they’re doing. They’re picking on anyone who they think are weak.”
“What happened to your speech about having had enough of this?” Jack asked.
“I still believe that, but we have to be smart about it. We’re the extreme underdogs here, and if we’re going to rebel, we have to do it cleverly. We can’t just grab guns and begin shooting wildly hoping that we win. Because they’ll be aiming carefully, and we’ll just end up with more dead friends,” Tillman said.
“So, you think Jack’s plan is the right one? That we just should wait this out and hope things don’t get too bad?” Fernando said, challenging Tillman.
“No. That’s going to take too long. But there has to be another way. We just need to be creative. Think of how many wars have been won because the underdog came up with something unexpected. We have to do that now. I want all of you to go back home and talk with others. Try thinking of a plan that could work. We’ll still be working together, fighting together, but with our minds instead of guns.”
Mr. Fox and Jack looked unconvinced, but Tillman had the trust of his father at least. Fernando nodded, and the others soon fell in line. Tillman knew that trust in him wasn’t as steadfast as it once had been, and in truth he didn’t know if this was the right call. He didn’t have any ideas. He was hoping that by opening it up to the rest of the neighborhood someone would have a flash of inspiration.
The mercenaries would return soon, before nightfall. And once they occupied the neighborhood, there would be little Tillman or anyone else could do.
After the meeting, Tillman went to check on Tony and Tanya, but was pulled aside by Penelope. She had been spending time with Ana, helping out with the food. Tillman was seeing less and less of her these days.
“I just wanted to make sure you’re holding up alright,” she said.
“I’m fine,” Tillman said, but even Penelope could tell he was lying.
“Well, I just wanted to let you know that if there’s anything you want to talk about, you can come to me. I know you’ve got a lot on your mind with the council and everything. Just, if you wanted to talk to someone who isn’t a part of that, I’m here for you.”
“Thanks, Penelope. I appreciate it, but if I’m being honest, I don’t know what to talk about. I don’t know where to start.”
“I know what you mean. And it’s like everyone has forgotten about the trial that was planned.”
“Yeah. There’s no point putting dead men on trial.”
“Before we found them I thought Khan and Jeff would have survived down there. A cell in a basement seemed like the safest place to be.”
“I guess nowhere is safe from these people,” Tillman said grimly.
“What do you think would have happened? Do you think we would have exiled them or…?”
“I honestly have no idea how the people would have voted. They all were angry. I think they were more scared of Khan than angry at him, though. And while I don’t like people killing, from what Morelle and Jessica told me they were being threatened by Ben. No matter what happens Khan saved them from him, and I have to be grateful to Khan for that. Jeff, on the other hand, well, I have no idea what was going through his mind. It still amazes me that he and Ben thought they were going to accomplish anything by what they did. They set this community back, and they’ve accomplished nothing from it. The only things they’ve left behind are bad memories.”
“I sometimes wonder what any of us are going to leave behind. I never used to think about death, you know? Like, I knew it was going to happen one day, but because I didn’t have any close family I never had to face it myself. It was always something that happened to other people. I always figured it was going to be a long time before it happened to me. But now, in all this, it’s sometimes the only thing I can think about.”
“I know what you mean.”
“Ana is amazing, though. I was talking to her about it and she’s quite frank. She says that as long as we’ve given everything in our lives we shouldn’t fear death. It’s just the next state of being. And we’ve always known it’s going to happen, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise. It’s not something to be feared; it’s something to remind us that each day should be lived as well as it possibly can be.”
Tillman smirked. “I remember her saying something similar to me when I was younger. She’s always been consistent. I’m not sure I’ve lived up to that, though.”
“Me neither. There were always so many things that I put off until another day. It was always easier than actually doing them. Now suddenly there’s no chance for any of it.”
“I guess if people told us the world was going to end and we were going to be held hostage at gunpoint by a bunch of mercenaries, we might have done things a little differently,” Tillman said. He intended it to be a joke, but somehow there was no humor in his voice.
Then he tilted his head and looked at Penelope more carefully. There was something about her that was different, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. She noticed him looking at her in that way and tilted her head to look at him. Then she laughed. When she asked Tillman why he was looking at her in that way, he explained that she looked different. Penelope raised her eyebrows, surprised that for someone as observant as Tillman he couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
“It’s my hair. The dye is running out,” she said. Tillman felt stupid for being so oblivious. The vibrant orange in Penelope’s hair was fading, giving way to the deep brown that spread from her roots. “It’s taken some getting used to. Whenever I see myself in the mirror I do a double-take.”
The change in Penelope’s appearance was startling now that he knew what had happened. From certain angles she almost looked like a different person. It was amazing how someone could change their appearance ever so slightly, and yet make themselves unrecognizable.
He went up to see Tanya and Tony, who still were in Jessica’s bedroom with Jessica and Anthony. All the while, an idea was beginning to form in Tillman’s mind. Anthony looked up at Tillman when he entered. Tony was on the bed, sleeping, while Tanya and Jessica were on the other side of the room, sitting at Jessica’s makeup table. The two girls were giggling, and they turned to face Tillman. They had p
ut pale makeup on their faces to look like ghouls and had ringed their eyes with black eyeliner. Tillman jumped a little, startled by their appearance. This only made the girls laugh even more.
“I’m glad to see you two are in better spirits,” Tillman said.
“We just realized we’d probably never get to do anything like this again,” Jessica explained. She looked immediately chastened. “I’m sorry. It’s probably not appropriate given what’s going on.”
“No, you’re alright. Carry on. We have to try finding joy wherever we can, and it’s getting to be in short supply nowadays.”
“We figure we might as well make the most of it, since at some point we’re going to run out of makeup. I don’t suppose you want any?” she offered.
Tillman declined, and went to check on Tony, who was sleeping soundly. He smiled at Anthony as the two girls continued talking and reminisced about how they used to dress up for Halloween. As soon as they broached the subject an idea flashed in Tillman’s mind. A smile spread over his face.
“Is everything alright, Tillman?” Anthony asked. The question prompted Jessica and Tanya to look at Tillman.
“Oh yes, everything is just fine,” Tillman said, for he thought he had a way to fight back against the mercenaries. There were indeed other weapons to use, and he thought perhaps he just had found a potent one. It was risky, though, and would take a lot of planning, and he would have to work fast.
However, time was not his ally in this instance. As the day drew on, a group of the mercenaries came to the neighborhood and declared they were going to oversee the assimilation of the neighborhood into their growing empire. They would remain to ensure people were behaving themselves. They put forward a strict curfew and began confiscating weapons. People grumbled at this and tried arguing, but they all looked to Tillman, who told them not to fight against this. They weren’t going to win this war with weapons anyway. They were going to win it with cunning.
Chapter Eighteen
Tillman was calmer than usual. He was sitting in his home after eating dinner. Conversation around the table was muted. Jessica was trying to keep everyone’s spirits up, but they were concerned with what was happening outside. The mercenaries already had been through the house and taken the weapons. Tillman had managed to persuade them not to go upstairs. He didn’t want them punishing Tony for running away.
“You’ve been quiet tonight, Son,” Fernando said.
“I’ve just been thinking about something. It’s a long shot, but I think I might have a way to get the mercenaries to leave,” Tillman declared.
“Don’t you think you should share something like that with us?” Greg said.
“I was getting to that. I just wanted to make sure I had it planned out in my mind first,” Tillman said as everyone looked at him expectantly. “We’re going to scare them off.”
“Scare them off?” Morelle asked.
“I don’t know what you expect us to scare them off with. We don’t have any weapons,” Greg said.
“We’re not going to use weapons. I got the idea thanks to Penelope, Jessica, and Tanya. We’re going to use the magic of makeup to scare them off,” Tillman explained. None of them understood.
“Uncle Tillman, does this have to do with when I mentioned Halloween?” Jessica said.
“Somehow I don’t think they’re going to be scared if we dress up as monsters. They’ll be more likely to shoot,” Greg scoffed.
“Not monsters exactly, no, but there are some things these mercenaries are going to be afraid of,” Tillman said.
“And what exactly are those?” Fernando asked.
A smile twitched on Tillman’s face.
“We’re going to give ourselves a disease,” he said proudly. Then he checked the time and declared he had to spread word around the community.
“You can’t go out there now,” Ana whispered, her eyes darting about with fear.
“Mom, I have to go tell the others. We have to work as a group here. Otherwise, this isn’t going to succeed. I’ll be alright. I promise,” he said. Ana’s fears seemed to be quelled. The others looked at Tillman as though he was mad.
“You can’t really believe this is going to work?” Greg said.
“Of course it will. All we have to do is make them think we’re sick from something deadly and contagious, and they won’t want to stick around. Guns can’t protect them from an airborne disease. We’ll have to make it convincing, but I have every confidence that this will drive them away.”
Tillman was buoyed by his solution to the problem. Now he had a weapon to use against the mercenaries, and they had no idea it was coming. The first stage was getting word to the rest of the neighborhood. The curfew was in effect from eight p.m. to eight a.m. It was needlessly restrictive, and only made Tillman want to drive them out even sooner. Jack’s plan of rebellion was something Tillman wanted to bring to fruition, but more swiftly than Jack had anticipated.
Tillman left the kitchen and went up to his bedroom, looking out upon the neighborhood. There were three mercenaries watching over the area, each of them moving around a perimeter. Tillman watched them for a long time until he had discerned the pattern. It was something he had done time and time again in various video games over the years, but the adrenaline rush of doing it in real life was something quite different. He trembled as he carefully opened the window and climbed out onto the roof outside his window, then shimmied down a drainpipe before landing softly on the ground. Instantly, he pressed his back up against the wall to make sure he hadn’t been seen.
So far, nobody had raised the alarm.
Although everyone had been forced to go inside, they had not been forced to sleep. So the glow from candles was visible in every occupied house. Tillman kept to the shadows and was thankful the Moon wasn’t as bright as it had been. The mercenaries carried lanterns with them. Tillman had nothing.
The rigid nature of the mercenaries was playing to Tillman’s advantage. They moved as regularly and precisely as automatons. So, Tillman could time his movements to avoid theirs. He sprinted when he needed to, and skulked when necessary until he reached the back door of his closest neighbor. He went inside and told them the plan. He repeated this, house by house, until he had seen everyone. With every moment he spent outside the chances of him being captured increased, but Tillman wasn’t going to stop until he had seen as many people as possible. As long as he had enough people to feign an outbreak he would be able to pull off a convincing act.
Some of his neighbors didn’t have any makeup, but those who did bought into his plan fully. They saw how cruel and ruthless the mercenaries were being, but what’s more, they trusted Tillman. His relationship with the neighborhood hadn’t always been smooth, but after what happened with Ben and Jeff, and then seeing a number of their friends killed mercilessly, they all were ready to trust Tillman. He was the one who had risen up and taken charge when they needed it the most. He was the one who had the bright idea to get them out of this. They were a hell of a lot more confident about pulling this off than they were about succeeding in a gunfight.
They all had questions, however. So, Tillman explained it them.
“We know the mercenaries only have a limited number of men. So, any danger to their group is going to be serious. They’ve taken control of the town, our neighborhood, and possibly some other areas. If they get sick, their control is going to wane, and it’s going to be easier for people to fight against them. They’re going to have made a lot of enemies by treating people the way they’ve been treating them. So, it’s no surprise that they’ll want to avoid getting sick. We make ourselves up to look like we’re ill, we tell them we’re the victim of some disease, and that we haven’t got a cure for it yet. We tell them it’s airborne, so they can’t just kill the carriers and hope to end it. I can’t imagine there’s any way they’ll want to stick around after that.”
Some of them questioned what would happen to the people who weren’t wearing makeup.
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��That’s actually going to make it more convincing. After all, not everyone is going to fall prey to the disease at the same rate. Some people are going to be immune; others will have to look like they’re succumbing more easily.”
He spoke quickly and moved even more quickly. He slipped between the shadows of the houses, knowing that if he got caught he surely would die. He thought about what he and Penelope had spoken about earlier. Tillman had been thinking about death more and more since the world had ended, but his desire to live was stronger than ever because he had more to live for now.
After visiting his neighbors Tillman made his way back to his home, taking a chance to rush up the porch and enter through the front door. Just as he did so, he noticed one of the mercenaries was coming around, and at the last moment Tillman closed the door behind him. He clasped his hands together in victory and smiled widely. The scales were going to tip toward his favor again, and the mercenaries would find themselves outmatched.
By the time he got to bed he sank into the mattress and surrendered to his exhaustion.
Tillman made sure he awoke early, along with the others. Dawn was breaking. It still would be another couple of hours before they were allowed to leave their homes. There was plenty for them to do until then, though.
Penelope and Jessica were up with him. They both had bags under their eyes and looked pale.
“It wasn’t hard to stay awake,” Penelope said.
“You really think this will work?” Jessica asked.
“I hope it will. A sleepless night will make it seem more natural. Do you think you have enough makeup?” Tillman said.
“Not for everyone, but I can do a good job,” Jessica replied. Penelope and Tillman sat down, then Morelle and Greg joined them. Greg rubbed his hands with glee as he sat down beside Tillman.
“I always like a bit of acting, and I used to love Halloween. So, how do you want us to act, Tillman?” he asked.
“Just groan, limp, look weak and tired. Imagine that you’re losing all the strength in your body, and that it’s taking everything you have just to keep standing,” Tillman said.