Winter's Rising

by Mark Tufo

  “Protect.” Tallow scoffed. “The thing was completely buried.”

  “Exactly. How easy would it have been to burn it to the ground if they had wanted to destroy it?”

  “Oh, right,” he said as he held up a book. “Winter, I’m not getting it.”

  “Okay, I don’t completely understand it either, but I’ve been reading about some particularly brutal dictatorships around the world. How they controlled the people was by controlling information. The less a population knew the easier it was to tell them what to do.”

  “And we know just about nothing,” Tallow said. I could see flares of anger creeping up his neck and crashing against his cheeks in red blotches.

  “I think us not having anything makes it easier as well.”

  “What?” Tallow looked like he was still having a difficult time assimilating all we had talked about. It meant everything we knew about our world was false.

  “We spend most of our days and sometimes nights just looking for enough food to keep from starving; if we somehow get enough in our bellies we then try to stay as warm as we can when the weather turns. If most of our lives are devoted to just surviving, we don’t have enough time or energy to question why it is the way it is.”

  “Dammit, Winter! It sounds so simple when you say it aloud. How come we never figured this out before?” Tallow was now pacing around the cavernous room.

  “Tallow, it’s not our fault for not knowing. Whoever was behind all this has had all of history to work with. I wish we knew who saved this building and for what purpose.”

  “Could they be the ones we are at war with?”

  I shrugged. I didn’t know that answer, although I didn’t believe that was the case. Whoever had the foresight to save what I was to learn was a Library, would have found another way to fight that didn’t involve the deaths of so many.

  “What now?” he asked as he looked over at the rifles.

  “We have to start telling people about this.”

  “Not everyone is going to believe us and you know we can’t bring everyone out here to show them. First off, the Brokers will notice, and there are some that will turn us in just for an extra slice of bread.”

  “We’ll have to start slow, only tell those we truly trust.”

  “Winter,” he said, “I’m looking at the only person I truly trust.”

  Chapter 6

  Revolution

  WHEN THE TWO Brokers didn’t report for their next duty shifts things began heating up in Dystance. That next day they had just thrown the rations outside their hut. A riot had ensued as some took more than their allotment while others struggled to get any. The Brokers thought better of their placement after losing a window. It made an already edgy crew even more nervous to have so many citizens fighting right outside their door, so the next day, seven armed Brokers walked the ration carts out into the middle of the square. The people encircled them, and as the Brokers moved, so did the hungry populace.

  “Back off!” a Broker shouted.

  I was watching from Tallow’s window. I’m not even sure it was possible for those closest to the Brokers to move backwards because of the press of the crowd, but it was easy to tell this wasn’t going to end well. The Brokers were concerned for their own safety; the people could not have cared less about them. They were just in the way. The circle kept shrinking.

  “I’m not going to warn you again!” The Brokers had stopped their forward progress and were now standing with their rifles pointing outwards.

  A rock struck a Broker on the side of the head. Blood flowed down the side of his face as he staggered backwards. That was the spark the flashpoint needed. The Brokers fired into the crowd. Chaos ensued as some tried to scatter while others pushed in closer. Dying by bullet was marginally better than the long drawn out pain of starving to death. The Brokers kept firing until they had opened an avenue of escape and made a break for it, leaving their rock-hit comrade behind. He probably would have lived had he not been trampled to death.

  Neighbor fought neighbor for the smallest share of the food. Older kids pushed the younger ones out of the way, greedily shoving food into their mouths right from the cart, others huddled in under them, grabbing food up from the ground. Blood flowed freely on the street as Dystance citizens trampled over the dead and fallen to get to those carts.

  “This is horrible,” Cedar said, turning away from the window.

  “I think we should leave the town for a while, Tallow.” He was looking over my shoulder. “Four dead Brokers are sure to bring more trouble.”

  “Four?” Cedar asked. “Do you think the other two are dead as well?”

  “She’s just assuming,” Tallow said. I could feel his glare upon my back, if the sensation of heat prickles was any indication.

  Punches were being thrown around, some sending people to the ground with broken jaws and missing teeth. The Meddies would be busy–assuming they even opened their doors after this.

  “This could be our chance, Winter.”

  “Our chance for what?” Cedar asked.

  I looked from her questioning stare to Tallow’s pointed one.

  “There are only eight Brokers left. We get rid of them we can have our town back.”

  I didn’t think it was going to be that easy. The Brokers held power here, but they were more like wardens than Governors. Someone or someones were actually pulling the strings from above. Brody just wasn’t smart enough to pull this off; in all likelihood he was almost as much in the dark as we were, only knowing enough to do his job and survive.

  “They’ll send more Brokers,” I said, not able to take my eyes off the scene below me.

  “Who will if they’re all gone?”

  “What are you talking about? You want to kill the Brokers? How will we get food?” Cedar looked desperate; and who could blame her? Tallow was basically talking about getting rid of her lifeline.

  “Certainly not like that.” Tallow was pointing outside.

  I felt dizzy, like I was being swept up in a whirlwind I had walked right into but was not prepared for. Things were happening too fast. Was it just a week ago I’d been looking for a rabbit and got my foot stuck in the mud? How did all this come from that simple accident? Now Tallow wanted to overturn the entire world. All we had ever known had been thrown into question by the book room. Was I happier not knowing, I wondered? One of those books I had been looking through had said, “Ignorance is Bliss.” Maybe that isn’t exactly true in our case but it sure was easier. Knowledge is a heavy burden and it seemed it must be shared by everyone to make it manageable. “Cedar.” I stepped away from the window to sit on Tallow’s bed. I pulled her hand until she sat down next to me. “I need to tell you a few things.”

  Cedar’s range of emotions went from amazement to disbelief to anger. Not at me, but rather those who had put us in this position.

  “Winter, I know what Tallow thinks, but do you believe getting rid of the Brokers will solve our problems?”

  I looked over to Tallow. “I’m sorry,” I told him. “But I do not. If this structure falls, there will be confusion among the people here. Not everyone will believe what we tell them; probably most won’t. We have been looking out for ourselves for so long that many will die because they are too sick or too young to fend for themselves as the few of us who want change try to get them fed. Then chaos will kill more than a few as some will try to assert their rule over others–it seems that is the nature of Man.”

  “Maybe we should have a woman run this town,” Cedar said.

  Tallow couldn’t keep from laughing.

  “That’s not a bad idea, Cedar. Seems like all of those wars were started by men.” I said and that quieted him quickly. “Don’t know if it matters who we put in charge though, once the Overseers find out that we’ve wrested control they’ll just send more Brokers in to reestablish their rule.”

  “We have guns now, Winter,” Tallow argued.

  “And what will they have, Tal? You said it yours
elf that the guns we have now are nothing compared to some of the ones in that book. What if they show up with that tank thing?”

  “I’d rather be free for a week than enslaved my entire life.” He fought on.

  “Can you speak for everyone else? Because once we start this nobody in this town is going to be safe; in fact, the peaceful ones will probably get hurt first.”

  “They’ll do it because it’s the right thing to do,” Tallow argued.

  “Because you say so? Seems to me that’s how this whole thing started. People with power imposing their will on those without it.” I was now standing, near to shouting, which made no sense because Tallow and I were basically on the same side. Why then was I arguing so vehemently against him? And then in an instant I knew why. “Listen, Tallow. You and I both know what’s happening here isn’t right but not everyone will agree. We need to see what everyone else thinks.”

  “Like a poll?”

  “Yes…but this is not a simple choice about rations. We need to educate the community to the point we’re sure they understand what we are asking them to decide on. We are talking about bringing about radical change; a revolution.”

  “We will run into the same problem as we did when we were thinking about bringing people to the book building.” Tallow said.

  “Book building?” Cedar asked, clearly confused.

  “Someone will tell the Brokers long before we’re able to launch anything.”

  “That’s a chance we’re going to have to take, Tallow.”

  ALL BUT ONE BROKER had made it back to their barracks relatively unscathed. The melee had stopped once the food was gone, there was no reason after that to expend the energy. The Meddies waited until the violence subsided and the streets had cleared before picking up the wounded and incinerating the dead.

  We held a meeting two days later; it was an open invitation to the entire town. I don’t think more than a third showed up. And half of those had come only because they thought there might be some food. The situation here was getting explosive. The Brokers were reluctant to come out; food was nearly non-existent and what little the people did have was guarded with deadly force. A young boy was killed over an old potato he had found in a discarded sack.

  Tallow and I laid everything out much like we did with Cedar, although we conveniently left out the part where we were directly involved in the killing of three Brokers. That, we could never disclose to anyone. We’d had no choice, but that would mean little to those who would think we were actually responsible for their increased suffering. When we finally took a tally of who was in, it was almost unanimous. I don’t know how many would be in for the long-haul, but many thought that the Brokers were hoarding food and we could get it.

  Tallow and I went back to the book building that night to grab the guns. The raid on the barracks was to take place the following night. We sat with our feet dangling in the hole, looking up at the sky.

  “Tallow, maybe we should try to get them to surrender.”

  “We’ve been through this, Winter. Our only chance is surprise. It’s still only three guns against eight trained guards, and they’re inside.”

  “Do you think that’s even possible anymore? Surprise, I mean.”

  “I hope so.”

  “What if we display an overwhelming abundance of power?”

  “Oh and how are we going to pull that off? Show them your muscles? That ought to scare them.”

  “How about this?” I began drawing a crude plan in the dirt to show him what I was thinking.

  He looked, then leaned back, then leaned back some more. Finally he spoke. “That might work.”

  That entire day I supervised the manufacture of our “arsenal.” In the sun it was pathetic looking, but in the absence of light it was going to look spectacular. It was well past midnight when we made our way to the Brokers’ hut. Tallow was right, somebody had tipped them off that we were coming. Two of the Brokers stood on the porch with their weapons drawn, I could see others in the windows of their building. Knowing there was a very real chance that somebody would rat us out, I had made sure that everyone who was in on today’s activities had not had an opportunity to be alone.

  “Go home!” Brody yelled from one of the windows. It was impossible to pick out which one.

  “We came for the food!” I think it was Aeron who had shouted that. He was one of Tallow’s best friends and had been among the most vocal in favor of overthrowing the Brokers.

  “Get out of here now or we’ll be forced to fire on you,” Brody said.

  “Again?” I asked.

  “Princess, is that you?” Brody asked. The name grated my nerves, or maybe it was the condescending tone in which he delivered it. “I called off the dogs last time; maybe put a leash on Lericho that I shouldn’t have. No reprieve for you this time, Princess. My Brokers will kill you and all of your little friends out there; probably carve them up into little bite-sized chunks for the wild dog packs. I won’t be able to stop them, not this time.”

  “We don’t want you here anymore,” I told him. “If you surrender right now, you can leave in one piece.”

  He started laughing wholeheartedly, followed by a fair number of his men. But from the men it was more of a chattering, nervous laughter only vocalized to be in-line with their boss.

  “Don’t you know nothing, little girl? Might makes right, and right now we hold all the might.” Lericho shouted. A shot rang out as if to prove his point.

  “Are you so sure about that?” I asked.

  “What the hell does that mean?” I thought I could detect the slightest tremor in his voice, or it could have been wishful thinking on my part. “Light the torches!” I yelled, looking behind me. They’d been instructed to hold their flames high and to keep moving, never letting the Brokers focus on any one individual for too long. When they were ready, I had Tallow fire off a shot and the hundred or so Revolutionaries yelled at the top of their lungs while they waved their “weapons” back and forth.

  “Who has the might now, Lericho?” I asked when everything quieted back down.

  “That’s impossible. There’s not even that many guns in the entire region.” Brody answered.

  “Are you confident enough with that assumption to risk your life and that of your men?”

  “How can I be certain you won’t kill us anyway?”

  This was good–I had him thinking of surrender.

  “Simple. I’m not Lericho,” I told him.

  “And where are we supposed to go?”

  “Anywhere but here is a start.”

  “Stupid girl. We’re as tied to this place as you are.”

  “What?” I was completely shocked.

  “We can’t get by the Pickets, either. It looks like you’ll be stuck with us until the Overseers come back and restore order. Then I’m sure Lericho is going to cut you up.”

  “Is he telling the truth?” I asked Tallow. He merely shrugged his shoulders. I couldn’t imagine why they’d want to stay here once we knocked them off their perch, unless it was just to make good on their threat…or that they really could not leave. I was feeling like we’d had a good idea but now it was spiraling away from our grip. Had we moved too soon without thinking out all the consequences?

  “Drop your weapons, Brody, and come out. We’ll deal with the Overseers when they come,” I shouted.

  “Stupid little Princess, you have no idea what you’ve started here,” he said, somewhere between an outright laugh and shouted-out anger.

  We could hear some excited debate coming from the Brokers’ hut. I would imagine some weren’t so keen on giving up their rifles.

  “We’re coming out, Princess. I expect you to hold up your end of the agreement!”

  I let go a heavy sigh of relief. No more bloodshed sat fine with me.

  “What are we going to do with them?” Tallow asked. “We can’t just let them walk around.”

  “What do you propose we do, Tallow?” I was feeling irritated that w
e hadn’t discussed this prior to the attack.

  “Kill them. It’s the only thing we can do.”

  “They’re giving themselves up willingly; we can’t just shoot them.”

  Tallow didn’t look to be of the same mind.

  “Princess, I haven’t heard you say it.”

  How had I become the leader? This was Tallow’s idea…wasn’t it? “Fine, fine, we promise you safe harbor.”

  Tallow turned away, disgusted. I hated to see that look on his face. Was he disappointed in me because I wasn’t willing to murder eight men?

  Brody, in typical Brody fashion, sent his men out first to see if they were to become bullet catchers.

  “Now you, Brody.”

  “Be there in a minute!”

  “What’s he doing?” Tallow asked.

  There was some glimmering through the window. “Damn!” I started running toward the hut. “On the ground, all of you!” I shouted at the confused Brokers.

  Tallow was right behind me. “What’s going on?”

  “Fire,” I told him.

  Brody, who was exiting quickly, met us at the door to the hut. Flames licked up the side of the hut.

  “Oops,” Brody said.

  “Stupid. We don’t eat you don’t eat!” I grabbed his shoulder and pulled him out of the door. I’m not sure if he had thought of that but by his reaction I’m going to say no. I attempted to go in to see if I could put it out, but the heat pushed me back. We were going to lose whatever food stores and, maybe more importantly, any weapons that were in there. I wished I’d had the courage to just shoot him and his little smirk. I bowed my head.

  “What’s the matter, Princess? Everything not going the way you planned?”

  Tallow thrust the butt of the gun into Brody’s mid-section, the man folded over, his hands wrapping around the strike point.

  Brody laughed, a hoarse sound escaping from his winded lungs. “What are the people going to think of you in a day or two when they haven’t eaten? They’ll be begging for us to be back.”