by Muga, D. M.
“Holly said it seemed like the Sheriff was on to Richard and was trying to figure out what was going on.” Ben answers.
“Bullshit! What the shit is going on?! The world has gone to hell in a handbasket, and what the hell are we doing? We are locking up innocent people, trusting bad people, not trusting our guts, and not asking for help. This lone wolf shit needs to stop! This tip-toeing snowflake shit needs to stop! That shit does not work!” Steven exclaims.
Eileen watches as Ben is silent. She looks at Alexander and he simply shrugs at her with a he’s right kind of look. She then sees Steven’s attention shift toward the Deputies in the parking lot.
“Enough of this shit! These backwards ass Deputies need to be told how to handle emergency situations, because that’s what we are in and it ain’t going away anytime soon, dammit!” Steven exclaims and strides off toward the group of Sheriff Deputies.
The three of them watch him storm off. “Wow… and I thought I was pissed.” Eileen blurts out.
Ben scratches the back of his head and looks at her. “Yeah, him and Sheriff Patterson didn't always see eye to eye, but they went way back. Back before Uncle Steven was on the search and rescue team with the San Bernardino County Sheriffs.”
“Yeah, that’s super sad about the Sheriff. He seemed like a good guy. And that’s even sadder about Amanda’s husband, Jim... That’s insane!” Eileen states.
“Most certainly a sad turn of events.” Alexander adds.
“For sure. I just feel really bad for that Holly Clark girl. To be having to live like that for the last seven weeks. That’s just horrible.” Ben replies.
“Yeah, and she would have kept on living like that, if she didn’t get pregnant… and you would be dead.” She says to him with her arms across her chest, ready to dig into him.
Ben takes another step back. “Now that’s not fair Eileen… you weren’t there and I couldn’t imagine being in her shoes.”
“Oh yeah, and you two cowboys go off, guns blazing, trying to arrest some maniac killer!” She can feel the blood boiling inside of her, thinking of almost losing Ben.
“Hey! Wait just a minute. We were leaving to go get back up and then he unloaded on us.”
Ben explains and this keeps her quiet for a minute.
Alexander chimes in, “I’m going to let you two talk this out and go check on the others, by the shore.”
Ben nods to Alexander as he walks off, then Ben continues. “I know you are mad that I almost died, again. But honestly, I'm just glad I get to see you again. When I thought this was it, my mind went to you, Eileen. I just wanted to see you again.
“And who cares why she saved our asses. The only thing that matters is that she did. I could not imagine what her life has been like for the last seven weeks. I’m sure she was scared to death, but she still stepped in... Better late than never, right?” He adds.
Eileen is speechless as he looks into her eyes, with his bright blue eyes.
He thought he was going to die, and he was thinking of me?... He was thinking of me.
She smiles and jumps at him, feeling her skin press against his clothed body, and feeling the anger flowing out of her body, replaced with his warm embrace.
He winces and says, “Ow. You do remember I was shot in the chest, right?”
“If you don’t want to get punched in the chest, you better shut up and kiss me.” She says and grins at him.
He leans in and they embrace and their lips meet, there on the shore of the lake in the fading daylight.
After a few moments, she steps back and grabs his hand. “Alright you lucky ass dumb dumb, let’s go closer to the others and take that shirt off… to check out those bruised ribs of yours.”
“Whatever you say, Eileen.” Ben replies.
“Yup, and it better stay that way.” She grins at him and he laughs.
The two walk back toward the rest of the group, now with an added member, Holly Clark.
As they reach the group, she eyes Holly and Holly looks at her.
Be nice, Eileen. She did save Ben… and he’s right. She’s likely been through hell and back. She did save them in the end.
She softens her looks and walks up to the group with her eyes still on Holly.
“Holly, thank you for saving Ben and Todd. I know I'm grateful, and I'm sure that Jamie is too.” She says to her.
“Yeah I am! But I'm sure as hell going to have a talk with my husband about being more careful.” Jamie remarks.
Before Holly can respond, Eileen hears footsteps and chatter behind them. She turns to see Steven and Todd walking their way.
“And it looks like we’ll be having that talk in the very near future.” Jamie says as she stands and locks eyes with her husband.
As Todd and Steven reach Eileen and the rest of the group, Jamie speaks directly to Todd. “You and I need to have some words… over there, oh husband of mine.” She finishes as she points off into a direction for them to speak privately.
Todd looks to the rest of the group and then to his wife and sighs. “Alright...”
“Good luck, brother.” Ben says as he chuckles.
Eileen shoots him a look. “Don’t press your luck, genius. Geez, you need practice on when to keep that big mouth shut...”
Ben shuts his mouth and looks the other direction, seeing his Uncle. “So, what’s the word Uncle? Did you straighten them out over there?”
Steven looks at his nephew. “I suppose you could say that...” Steven scratches the back of his head like Ben always does. “You’re looking at the Sheriff of Crestline, nephew.” He adds.
Eileen and the others look at Steven Reilly in disbelief.
Ben’s the first one to speak. “Get the hell out of here! They gave you Sheriff Patterson’s position? How the hell did that happen… and why?”
“Not exactly his position. Much smaller than that. They saw it fit to pull me out of retirement from my volunteer Sheriff position on the search and rescue team and make me the Sheriff of Crestline.” Steven explains.
“What exactly does that mean, Steven?” Eileen asks.
“What it means, is that we are dividing up our resources amongst the mountain towns. Each town will have a head Sheriff and we will all focus on our own areas. With what happened to Sheriff Patterson, we can’t have us being caught with our tail between our legs and just have one leader. Circumstances have changed and we have to think on a much smaller level.” Steven answers.
“So more of a cellular base, instead of hierarchical, then?” Ben asks.
“Exactly like that. We all stay in contact, but in these small towns, they need someone to take care of their own, from their own. The Deputies are each staying in their respective towns and deputizing people that they see fit, since there are no more real Sheriff Academies anymore.” Steven explains.
“I suppose that makes sense, for the time being. Having small communities focus on themselves and coming together when they need to. It actually reminds me of the original colonies.” Alexander replies.
Steven chuckles. “I suppose it does, Alexander. Only this time they are towns. Crestline, Twin Peaks, Skyforest, Lake Arrowhead, Rim Forest, Running Springs, Green Valley Lake, Fawnskin, and what’s left of Big Bear and Minnelusa.
Steven pauses, likely thinking if he forgot any of the towns. “Yup, I believe those are all of them that are up here. There are those mountain towns that are lower, but we haven’t heard much from them in a while. But whoever goes down the mountain to get those chickens can check in on them on their way.”
“What’s this about chickens?” Eileen asks.
“The trip down to Yucaipa… to pick up chickens to raise. But someone else may end up taking my spot on the chicken run, since I'm the new Sheriff of Crestline.” Steven adds.
“Oh yeah, that’s right… the chickens…” Eileen, says, remembering the conversation from earlier.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. You guys figured that all out in the fifteen minutes you guys were chatting
? No freaking way!” Ben replies.
“Not exactly. Todd apparently was coming up with the idea since he had almost got himself killed, along with you. So, I guess over a few hours. He laid out his plan to the others and they all thought it was a good idea. They all felt stretched pretty thin and were concerned with always being so far away from their families. And quite simply, it makes sense to steer away from centralized authority and avoid a power struggle.” Steven explains.
“And… Todd isn’t going to be the Sheriff of Crestline? Why?” Ben asks.
“I asked him the same question. Deputy Todd Bradley said I was better suited for the job, since I reminded him a lot of Sheriff Patterson and how I handled the situation yesterday at the marketplace.” Steven responds.
“I guess that makes sense, especially since he had already lost his brother. He’s looking out for his family and for his brother’s family. And, no offense Uncle… but all you have are us.” Ben replies.
“Benjamin!” Eileen blurts out at him and his unneeded comment.
Steven laughs. “It’s alright Eileen. I'm used to his smartass bullshit… even when he doesn’t mean to be a smartass.” He laughs a little more and then adds, “You’re right, nephew. All I have is you all. That’s why as the Sheriff of Crestline, I'm deputizing you, here and now.”
“Wait, what? You can’t do that. I didn’t even ask to be a lawman.” Ben replies.
“Tough shit, nephew. It is what it is. Your community needs you, Deputy Reilly. And think of it more of a militia.” Steven adds.
“I don’t know Steven. Ben has a tendency to get himself into trouble…” Eileen interjects.
“Don’t I know I know it. That’s why you two, along with myself and the other Deputies will be looking out for him and everyone else in our community.” Steven responds.
“What exactly do you mean?” Eileen questions.
“Yes, Steven. What do you mean? Are you inferring…?” Alexander begins to question.
Steven interrupts them both. “Yes, lady and gents. When I said I'm deputizing you, I meant the lot of you. Consider yourselves deputized and to be the three newest Deputies of Crestline. But like I said, it’s much more along the lines of a militia. Defend and keep the peace, and what have you.” Steven explains.
It was now Eileen’s turn to be confused. “Wait, what now?”
“Yes, Deputy Rivera. You heard me right. Hell, you may very well be the top of the class.” Steven says as he grins at her.
“And Deputy Mathis, you are not half bad yourself. If we are lucky, the three of us can keep Ben alive.” Steven says.
“Hey!” Ben responds, acting emotionally hurt.
Steven continues, “And if we are extremely lucky, we all can keep this community together and alive during the months and years to come.” Steven says with a wide smile.
This old man has lost his damn mind. Me? A Deputy of Crestline? Me? Part of a militia? What’s going on? Eileen thinks, trying to take in all of this new information.
What the hell happened to a relaxing day at the lake? She questions herself.
9
Benjamin Reilly
Ben opens his eyes slowly and sits up and looks around the bedroom. He looks to his side and sees that Eileen’s still asleep. Being on the bottom floor, he cannot tell if there’s daylight outside yet or not. So, he grabs his iPhone off of his nightstand next to his PX4 Storm to check the time.
0537 on Monday, July 8th… 3433. It’s been over seven weeks now, and it’s still weird looking at the year. I wonder if that will ever get normal. Ben thinks as he stretches and quietly gets out of bed.
He decides it’s best to let Eileen sleep a little longer. It had been a long day yesterday. After the whole Richard Clark debacle, along with the news of Sheriff Patterson and Jim Bradley, a lot had to be done… and they weren’t even close to being done.
Since his wonderful Uncle had deputized him and his friends, they also had to make sure everything was running smoothly in the small town of Crestline.
Ben recollects on the later events of yesterday afternoon and evening as he quietly gets dressed in the dark bedroom.
I cannot believe, for the life of me, why the hell he thought it best to go off and make us Deputies or the Militia or what the hell ever you want to call it. Seriously, what was he thinking?
Well, you know what he was thinking, Ben. It does make sense. Delegate and distribute power, instead of leaving a power vacuum. Power vacuums often lead to power struggles, which leads to more conflict.
He could have at least asked first, instead of just being like… Ben, you are a Deputy and part of the Militia now. It is what it is and that is what you are. I mean, I would have said yes if he asked… I think…
After the news and formalities were out of the way, the four of them had split up, along with the other Deputies that lived in Crestline. Since the other Deputies went back to their own mountain communities, it was up to them to police the small town of Crestline.
To make matters more difficult for the group, there were only eight Deputies/members of the Crestline Militia at this current moment, and half of them were brand new, including Steven Reilly, Ben Reilly, Alexander Mathis, and Eileen Rivera. Well, his Uncle was out of retirement, so there was that… Three of the other four Ben had met on the night of the MS13 battle, Joseph Gomez, Jose Rodriguez, and Janice Fuller. The last of the eight was Todd Bradley.
Luckily for the small group that was trying to keep the peace and order in the small mountain town, it was a small mountain town. With the population starting at just over 9,000 people in Crestline prior to the Blue Hole Radius, it was estimated that there were still close to 7,000 people left in the small mountain community.
Some people had left to find families and friends. Some people had died in the first few days for various reasons. Some had died since then, whether due to illness, crime, or pure accident. Accidents were certainly on the rise with the lack of warning signs and other labels telling people that dangerous things are dangerous. Gone were the days of public safety reminders and warning labels on just about everything. No, these were the days people either learned quickly or they were maimed or even dead.
Nonetheless, 7,000 people is a huge amount of people to cover for a small group of eight. Ben’s Uncle had assured the group that their numbers would grow and that’s why he was looking at making it more of a militia with some that are full-time members, the Deputized ones, and the others being called upon when and if they are needed, everyone else in the militia.
Ben chuckles to himself as he walks up the stairs to make himself a cup of coffee.
I cannot believe they made Uncle the frigging Sheriff. That’s insane. What is more insane is that the other three of us are now Deputies. Like we didn’t have enough to worry about.
On the bright side, it took the heat off of me from Eileen… with the whole getting shot thing and almost dying, again.
“What are we giggling about, nephew?” Steven says to him, as he walks into the kitchen.
Ben smiles at his Uncle. “Just thinking how crazy you are for dragging us into this whole law enforcement and militia situation.”
“Yeah! Crazy smart, you mean!” Uncle Steven replies. “You saw how they were handling things, and I'm pretty damn sure you know that there would have been some major power struggles if we didn't divide the power. Someone had to step up… why not us?”
Ben shakes his head as he grabs his cup of coffee. “I suppose you have a point, Uncle.”
“You’re damn right, I do!” Uncle Steven responds. “And don’t you stress too much about our numbers. I’m going to fix that today.”
“How so?” Ben asks.
“Well, yesterday was just about spreading the word and making sure no one was resorting to anarchy again. Today we have that meeting at the Lake Drive Marketplace, in a few hours. That’s where we’ll increase our numbers.” Uncle Steven explains.
“So, now we are conscripting people? Not sure how t
hey are going to feel about being drafted into our militia, Uncle.” Ben replies.
He laughs at him. “Draft? Yeah, like that would fly. Nope… we are taking volunteers, and I'm sure we will get plenty. People feel like they don’t have control and a say-so in what is going on in this new world. If we give them purpose and opportunity, we’ll get volunteers.”
“You sure about that Uncle? These people you speak of have done some pretty terrible things since the Blue Hole Radius. Need I remind you that we have stockades now and have had several executions for some seriously heinous crimes.” Ben responds.
Alexander walks into the room from outside of the cabin. “Good morning, gentleman. Do we still have hot coffee left?”
Ben looks to his friend Alexander. “We sure do.”
Ben grabs his mug from his hand and fills it up with coffee, handing it back to Alexander.
“Thank you, Ben.” Alexander replies.
“No worries.” Ben responds.
His Uncle looks to Alexander. “Good morning, again. Alexander, Ben, here… thinks that people won’t volunteer for our little militia and help support our community.”
Alexander looks to Ben, as he sips his coffee.
Uncle Steven looks back to him. “What you don’t seem to realize is that those are effective punishments and are working. We just need to make sure that we are fair and don’t get power hungry, is all. I believe it was Lincoln that said something along the lines of… Nearly all men can stand adversity. But if you want to test a man’s character, give him power… And it’s best that folks like us do it, instead of the people that really want the power. Hell, I didn’t ask for this and neither did you.”
Ben chuckles. “Well, you got that part about right.”
Uncle Steven continues. “And what you don’t seem to remember is that this community is filled with Americans, nephew. They want the stability that they had a few months ago. They want structure and they have seen how quickly the world can turn into chaos. I have no doubt that we will have a strong force to protect us, when the time comes. What is more, we will have a select few out of that militia that are just enough and dedicated enough to help us police our own.”