by Kip Nelson
Before Grace could tell him not to embarrass himself, Bob had barreled through them and was on his way out of City Hall. They all followed, calling after him, but he had closed his ears to them. Once he was outside he stopped as he saw the people of the settlement had gathered. When they saw Grace and her companions approaching, they knew that something was going to happen. So, they waited patiently. Bob cleared his throat and, undeterred, addressed them.
“These people just have asked me to step down as the leader of this settlement. I told them you never would stand for this. We all know I'm the right man for the job. We all agreed on that when we first got together and decided to make a go of it. Have I ever steered you wrong? There are dangerous people out there, and we need to be prepared to defend ourselves. Tell them they're wrong. Show your support for me!” he said, raising his arm, trying to elicit a response.
He was met with an awkward silence, and in that moment, he knew he had lost them. He turned to Grace with hunched shoulders, and looked every bit the old man he truly was, now sapped of the power and authority he had wielded for so long. In that moment, Grace pitied him, but she rather would sacrifice the pride of an old man than the lives of the people.
To fill the silence, Grace stepped forward. “I didn't want it to happen like this, but yes, I did ask Bob to stand aside. I don't think the way forward is starting a war with the other factions in the city.”
“What is your plan then?” one of Bob's supporters called out.
“The other factions have some powerful weapons, and we're just sitting ducks here.” A few murmurs rippled through the crowd.
“I know you're all tired of being attacked, of feeling as though these people just can come in when they like, and take what they want. That's going to end. We're going to set a trap. Next time there's a raid, we're going to capture them. Then we'll finally be able to talk with them and, hopefully, set up a treaty. They're people, just the same as us, and we have to do what we can to find some common ground and avoid conflict.”
The people before her were buoyed by her words. She was glad to have gotten through to them like this, but in the back of her mind, she still was worried about Mack and Maggie and wished she could send some people out to search for them. She also hoped she had made the right decision, that it was for the best that Bob’s leadership had been usurped. For now, she was the one the community looked to, she was the one responsible for their safety and, suddenly, a knot began twisting in the pit of her stomach.
MACK AND MAGGIE had been stuck in their cell for quite a while. They had been given a bit of food and water, but it was nothing too generous. When Mack tried talking to the child who brought them their food, he was met with a blank look and a stony silence.
“It's no use,” Maggie said. They're too used to this life now. Why would they want to go back to the way things were? They have things pretty good, and I can't say I blame them. I would have killed for something like this when I was a kid.”
“They're scared, Maggie. They'd go with anyone who promises them safety, but that's not what Peter is giving them, not long-term. He's not going to teach them how to search for clean water or grow plants. What are they going to do when their food runs out? Are they going to know how to build a fire, or stitch together new clothes, or treat wounds?” he said passionately.
“I'm just saying maybe he had a point, that's all, about the adults ruining everything.”
“You're only saying that because you're feeling guilty about Tristan,” he said. Maggie glared at him, but didn't say anything in reply, probably because she knew he was right.
They sat in awkward silence, waiting for an opportunity where they could try breaking free. They had no idea where their horse or their guns had been taken, and they knew they would have to be swift if they hoped to make it out of there alive. There were so many children in the warehouse the two of them would be chased after and outnumbered. Mack also wasn't sure if he could hurt children. They were only misguided. They didn't really know what they were doing, and it went against everything Mack knew to inflict pain upon them...He had to hope it wouldn't come to that. He assumed Maggie felt the same way, but, really, he had no idea how she felt. Ever since she had seen Tristan standing by the king, she had been subdued, which was understandable.
“Maggie, if we get a chance to escape, are you going to be able to do it?” he asked. She looked at him and he saw the depths of sadness in her eyes.
“I don't know...now that I've found him, I don't think I can leave him, not again.”
That made things a little more complicated, Mack thought, especially if they couldn't convince Tristan to leave. But first, they had to work out how to escape the cell. Shortly after that conversation, the door opened and they were told that King Peter had requested their presence. They were escorted around to the back of the warehouse, away from the ears of the other subjects, although the king still was flanked by his guards. Tristan's eyes met his mother's, but neither of them spoke.
“I have been thinking about what I am going to do with the two of you. The easy thing is just to kill you and put your heads on spikes to warn away any other adults who try coming here and denying us our paradise. However, I am not an animal, and I am not completely without mercy. We already have lost so many things, and I would not take the life of one of my most trusted guard’s mother. No. Instead, I have a task for you. I want you to go back to wherever you came from, and tell the adults to leave us alone, and to allow us passage through the city so we can broaden our territory. We are the new rule, and you better had get used to it. But if you all leave us alone, then we'll leave you alone as well. That's all we want, to be left alone. It's not so unreasonable, is it?”
“You won't be able to handle being alone. You think this is all fun and games, but you've had it easy so far. Wait until your people get wounded or die, or all the food runs out and you have to try growing your own. It's not going to grow itself. You're in over your head. You've got it all wrong. We're not the ones who ruined the Earth. We tried making it better, for you. That's the cycle. You're still just kids. Trust me. Things are going to look a lot different when you grow into men and women,” Mack said, but his words fell on deaf ears. Peter's face was one of rage as he stepped up to Mack and whacked the older man across the mouth with the back of his hand, making blood fly and splatter across the floor.
“The cycle you speak of is broken, and I'm better than a man. I'm a king,” he said, and with that gestured for them to be taken away again.
As the king left with his usual swagger, Maggie's eyes met Tristan's, and within that brief glance they communicated more than they would have with a thousand words. Mack, who tasted the blood swimming in his mouth, started re-evaluating his stance on attacking the Lost Children. There was one in particular who he thought was crying out for a spanking.
CHAPTER TWENTY
ONCE GRACE and the others had taken control of the community, they set about implementing their plan. There was much confusion and anxiety among the people, many of whom were afraid of being a part of such dramatic upheaval. Grace had to make it clear to them that it was for the best, and that she was going to see them through to safety. She wasn't entirely convinced of that herself, but it was too late to back out now. She had made her decision and had to run with it. It was a strange feeling, to be thought of as the leader, since she had spent so much time in the shadows, letting Mack take control. She hoped he would be proud of her and would support the decisions she made, whenever he came back...if he came back.
She went back into Bob's office, which was now her office, and put together a record of when the raids took place. From this they were able to see a pattern and could predict when the next one was going to take place, which happened to be on that particular night. For the rest of the day, they set a trap. They would allow the raiders to come in, but would be lying in wait. As soon as they were about to leave, a few people would leap upon the last raider, and the others would be driven away wit
h gunfire and yelling. Then they would have a prisoner to use to force negotiations.
Given the state of the city, Grace didn't feel comfortable sending out anyone to extend the olive branch, although Will was eager as he said he knew the safest way to move around the city. For now, this seemed the only way to begin communications with the other factions. In the meantime, if the raiding continued, and they were forced to take on a prisoner, as soon as the negotiated terms were kept by the raiding faction, she would release the prisoner back to their home. In this way, she hoped to build a good relationship with the other factions and cease the raids. As she lay in wait in the supply building, her heart was thumping in her chest, but she tried remembering what Hank had told her about having faith in herself. She also took heart from the fact that nobody had challenged her plan. Luis, Saul, Freddie, and Hank all were forthright with their opinions, especially Saul. She knew they would not have allowed her to go through with her plan if they thought it was doomed to fail.
They lay in wait for what seemed like hours. There was a point where Grace thought they had misinterpreted the pattern, but then they heard a scratching at the door and a few people skulked in.
“Easy pickings, just like always. You know, I would have thought they'd start putting up more of a fight. Might have to start coming here more regularly,” one of them said, and the others laughed.
Grace smiled slyly to herself, pleased at outsmarting them. It was painful to see the raiders take the supplies they had worked hard for, but at least, this time, the community would get something out of it. After they had filled their bags the raiders left. As soon as all but one were out the door, Grace yelled and flung herself forward, signaling everyone else. Those in the building subdued the last raider and slammed the door, locking it from the inside. Outside, after hearing Grace's yell, everyone opened fire. The raiders ran until they had retreated back to the safety of their own territory.
Grace pushed herself up and shook the hair away from her face, then looked down at the raider. It was a woman, slightly older than Grace. She had long blonde hair and a scar across her cheek. Her clothes were tattered, but functional, and ill-fitting, suggesting she had taken them from someone else.
“My name is Grace,” she said, remembering how Mack always used to handle these situations, “and I want you to know that we don't mean you any harm. We just wanted to talk to you, to try opening the lines of communication between our two communities. You'll be released after we've had our talk, and you can keep the supplies you've taken as a show of goodwill from us. But first, we want to know where you're from, how many of you there are, and why you chose to steal from us instead of simply talking to us and asking us for help?”
The prisoner struggled against her captors, and Grace signaled that they could release their grip on her. She dragged a hand across her lips, twisted her neck from side to side, and rolled her shoulders. Then she then looked directly into Grace's eyes.
“Because it's the easy way. Why talk when we can just take? You don't know what you've done here. We're not interested in talking, and there are more of us than you can handle. You've been lucky so far that we've only been taking your supplies. We easily could have slaughtered all of you, but now you'll see what we can do. You should have stood by and let us get on with our business, because we don't take kindly to threats. We're going to come back with full fury next time, and you're going to be sorry for this. You just declared war on us,” she said with an angry sneer.
Grace had the others take her away as she leaned against the wall. She just had caused the very thing she had wanted to avoid. She cursed herself for being so blind. She wished Mack would come back soon so he could tell her what to do because she was now at a loss. Grace didn't know how she was going to break the news to the rest of the community.
MACK AND MAGGIE were whiling away the time in their cell when suddenly Maggie spoke up.
“If we find a way out of here, I will leave,” she began, “but only to get more people to come back here. You're right. We can't leave them like this. We have a responsibility to look after them. When winter sets in it's going to be so cold here, and if they can't take care of themselves they're all going to die from pneumonia. It'll be difficult to leave Tristan again, but I won't be doing him any good if he's left here,” she said. Mack was glad for her decision.
With that settled the only thing to do was find a way out, which was proving difficult. The Lost Children weren't organized, so there was no pattern to when Mack and Maggie got fed, or when they were checked on. Given the nature of the warehouse, it also was going to be difficult to sneak away without anyone seeing them.
At one point, they heard a scuffling sound, and then the door opened. Maggie almost screamed when she saw it was Tristan, but she managed to stifle it just in time. Mack nodded to the boy, who was about fourteen. Tristan looked worriedly over his shoulder.
“I don't have long, I just wanted to see you and speak properly,” he said.
“Oh Tristan, I've missed you so much. I'm sorry it took me this long to find you. There are just...there are so many things I want to tell you...”
“I know. There are things I want to say, too, but we don't have time. I'm sorry for all this, but the best thing you can do is just go along with whatever Peter wants.”
Maggie glanced at Mack. “We can't do that. You must realize that what we say makes sense, right?” she said, noticing the conflicted look on her boy's face. He looked more like a man now than a boy, she thought. She lamented how he was forced to grow up too quickly in this world, and how she had missed out on so much of it.
“Look, we're going to find a way out of here. When we do, you should come with us. We're from a safe community. We can talk, properly, and we can help anyone else who needs it as well.”
“I'm sorry, Mom, but I'm loyal to Peter. You don't understand the things he's done for us. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him. We all owe him,” he said, and wished she could have embraced him or taken his hand. It was clear he was doubting himself, even as he said it, but evidently, Peter had persuaded them that they needed his guidance and his leadership.
“You should give him a chance. Really. It's not as bad as you think it is. We're all safe here, and we're all happy. After everything that happened, we were lost. We saw our parents die and we had to watch the city around us collapse. This is a safe place, just do as Peter says. I just wanted to come here and tell you that I'm fine, but I must go now. I'm not supposed to talk to you...”
Once again, he looked over his shoulder and Maggie was desperate for him to stay. She reached out to him, and looked at him with desperation in her eyes.
“Tristan, I love you,” she said, but it was met with a confused look. He smiled a boyish smile at her and then turned away.
“I really have to go,” he repeated and, just like that, he was running across the warehouse.
Maggie sank against the side of the cell, holding her head in her hands. Mack didn't say anything. He only placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it slightly, unable to imagine the anguish that Maggie was going through.
AS TRISTAN RACED to the meeting, he wished he had told his mom he loved her as well. He felt stupid for not saying it. There had been many nights when he had been angry about how she had left him, but seeing her again...it washed all that away. All he wanted was to be near her again. All this time he thought she had been dead. Only now did he realize how much he truly had missed her. Red-faced and panting, he reached the meeting just as it was about to start. He took his place beside Peter, who eyed him suspiciously, but didn't ask where he had been, since the adults were strictly off limits, especially to him. The other Lost Children had been assembled and were sitting before Peter, awaiting his words. The king sat in his throne.
“I have called this meeting because we have a situation. I have tried being merciful with the adults. I asked them to go back to their community and tell the adults to leave us alone, but they refused. We cannot keep t
hem here forever, and if we let them leave they only will come back with more people. We must get a message out to the other adults, to make sure they take us seriously. So, we are going to execute these two, cut them up, and send a piece of them to every other faction in this city. Soon, everyone will know we mean business!” he said gleefully.
Then his subjects applauded him for his grand idea. The smile fell from Tristan's face as he thought of his mother and her friend. Conflict brewed in his heart, and his head throbbed. He had a choice to make, but would he stay loyal to his king or his mother?
WHILE TRISTAN WAS WRESTLING with that moral dilemma, Maggie and Mack still were sitting helpless in their cell. After the brief conversation with Mack, Maggie's face was drawn and she looked pale. Mack was worried about her. They sat in silence for a while as Mack didn't think anything he could say would help. While they sat there he tried thinking of a way out of their situation, until finally Maggie spoke in a haggard voice.
“I can't believe he's happy here,” she said. “All this time I thought he'd either be dead or struggling to survive, but instead they've really made a go of it. Are we wrong, Mack? What if Tristan is right? What if he doesn't need me anymore? He's done so much without me. Maybe it's me who needs him...”
“I'm sure he still does need you, Maggie. They're just reveling in the freedom right now but, soon enough, they'll realize how tough it is. When the supplies start running out, when they're cold, that's when they'll realize they can't take it.”
“But how can we wait that long? I just want my son back.”
“I think it may be sooner than you realize. I get the sense that Peter is more intelligent than most teenagers, and he knows they can't stay here forever. That's why he wants to get the other factions to let them travel around the city. Right now they're hemmed in, and they won't be able to expand to hunt for food without the permission of the other factions. That's why he hasn't killed us yet,” but little did Mack know that Peter was planning their executions as they spoke.