Freddy Anderson’s Home: Book 1 (7 page)

Chapter 8
Town Meeting

O
n the overhead screen, I watched as the scene fell into place. I smiled, as I had several ideas on how to improve on this mental copying ability. And their screen was not the best. Still, information flowed across the viewer, setting up the information from Mrs. Crain.

A town meeting was called right after the doctor left the Crain’s bed-and-breakfast. The doctor went straight to the police and spread the news that the mayor’s little game had possibly gotten Freddy killed. She told the police that if Freddy died from a concussion, she would personally call the state police and have the mayor and the boys arrested for premeditated murder.

Posters went up and the word was passed: “Town Meeting Tonight—7:00 p.m.”

Mrs. Crain was very upset when she walked into the town meeting. The old wooden church was packed. People stood and sat wherever they could. Children were sitting up in the rafters and on their fathers’ shoulders to get a good view. The meeting had just started when Mrs. Crain arrived, and already the mayor had humbly stepped down. He and the boys were not feeling so well, once his wife and the boys’ mothers learned what they’d done. In fact, the mayor and the boys were grounded permanently, and all of them were sitting very quietly on the hard wooden benches in the back.

When Mrs. Crain reached the town hall, she went right to the front. Devin Miles, owner of the lumberyard and hardware store, as deputy mayor, had stepped up as acting mayor until they could elect a new one. Devin Miles was a good, kind man. He was in his early forties, but was already showing some signs of age. Tall and extremely well muscled from hard work, he looked more like an old-fashioned blacksmith. His face was clean-shaven, and he had brown eyes that smiled even when he frowned.

When Alice Crain walked in, Devin motioned for quiet and then motioned her forward. He filled her in on what had happened during the day and at the beginning of the meeting. She asked for the floor, so Devin introduced her and stepped back.

Mrs. Crain addressed the entire town. “Friends, I have good news and very bad news. Freddy
 
… Dr. Anderson
 
… looks like he’ll be all right.” That got cheers from everyone and sighs of relief from the boys in the back. Devin motioned for everyone to quiet down. Mrs. Crain continued. “The boy has problems—life-or-death problems—and doesn’t need us compounding the issue. And the general is on his way back here.”

It got deadly quiet. Devin Miles stood up and said, “You’ll need to explain that one. We’ve been working hard to ensure that degenerate stays out. My goodness, Alice, that’s what this is all about.”

“Well, let me tell you what you’ve just done. A little boy, an orphaned boy, all alone in the world, has caught the attention of our wonderful government. It turns out that he’s extremely intelligent, so much so that he can do minor healing using his mind. I burned myself with hot grease today, and he healed it with a touch.”

The whole town started talking at once. Devin stood up and motioned for everyone to be quiet again. When the group calmed down, Alice continued. “He begged me not to tell anyone this, as he has been persecuted for it ever since the government found out about his abilities. I believe he thinks we’ll regard him as a freak—or worse, that we’ll try to kill him like we almost did today.” Most of the group turned to stare at the boys again.

“Just like any of us would, he refused to work for the government and build things that harm others,” Mrs. Crain said. “This child would never harm anyone who wasn’t directly trying to kill him.” Everyone glared at the boys again. “The government thinks he’s a threat to national security. First, because he can do this healing with his mind; second, because he can build and invent things that no one else can; third, because he won’t work for them; and fourth, because they can’t afford for him to fall into the hands of some foreign country.”

Devin said, “Man, that’s a lot to put on a child and an orphan at that.”

Mrs. Crain turned to him and said, “That’s not all.” Turning back to the group, she continued. “He was given this land and a choice—live here or have an ‘accident.’” The entire town was shocked into total silence.

Betty stood up and said, “That sounds like something you get from TV. How can you be sure of this?”

“Let’s look at the facts,” Mrs. Crain replied. “One, the government gave him the land. I saw the grant on his desk in his room. People and government agencies have been trying to get this land for decades and haven’t come close. Now, all of a sudden, it’s his, free and clear and tax-free to boot. Two, it was important enough that the army was thrown out to make room for him. The general would never have let this happen if he had any choice, so it had to come from way up—say, presidential level. Three, the boy was sent here and has to go to an appointment with the admiral tomorrow. He said he has to check in. And four, a different navy WAVE has watched my hotel for three days. It seems they were waiting for Freddy. The only time they left was to follow Freddy through town today.”

One of the boys in the back, the one who had kicked Freddy in the head, stood up and said, “I saw her. She watched us beat up on him, and she did nothing.” He was happy to get some of the townspeople upset with someone other than him.

“Freddy told me he was being watched to ensure his compliance with staying here.”

A marine stood up. “What does this navy WAVE look like?”

“She’s about six feet tall, with blonde hair cut real short,” Alice answered. “She looks like she could uproot a tree with her bare hands, yet it was several days before we even noticed her. She’s very good at not being seen.”

The marine nodded. “I know her. I’ve seen her on the base, and everyone is saying that her team is doing a babysitting job now.”

“So she’s watching him. So what?” asked a girl in the back.

The marine answered, “This is a team of the navy’s best SEALs—they’re specialists. They don’t talk to the rest of us. We think they were responsible for the notes attached to the marine commandant’s pillow said that read, ‘You’re dead.’ We could never prove it, but once a week, the note showed up, even with live guards and our best Green Berets trying to catch them. They go to bars just to get exercise by beating up on the marines and the army. We know they’re the ones responsible for stealing the general’s clothes on his last outing, but we can’t prove it. No one can; they’re just too good. When we see them coming, we walk on the other side of the street out of complete fear.”

Devin stood up. “Do you know what their specialty is?”

“Yes sir, I do. Although there’s no proof, of course, I heard our captain say that they’re assassins and to keep the men away from them. If these SEALs are watching the boy, then he’s extremely important. If their orders are to keep him here or kill him, then he has no choice. He stays here, or he’s as good as dead.”

It took ten minutes to calm down the town. Devin finally gave the floor back to Alice.

“This is an awful lot to be placed on a child’s head,” she said, “and what did we do to help the poor boy? We practically threw him out of every store in town and then tried to kill him! But now for the bad news.”

Devin whispered, “That wasn’t that bad news?”

“The boy came here with a plan. He was going to stay away from the government as much as possible and get all his supplies and help from this town. We said no, so he’s going to implement what he calls Plan B tomorrow. He says that Plan B will be much easier for him, and it will cost him nothing. I bet he’s wondering why he didn’t do it in the first place.”

“I hate to ask,” Devin interrupted, “but do you have any idea what Plan B is?”

“Sure, I do. He trusts me and told me all about Plan B. You see, the nice general has offered to get him anything he wants if he’ll grant the general ten square miles of land right next to our town. Seems the general wants to build a compound to house his ‘most undesirables’—all two hundred of them. To top that off, you almost killed Freddy today, and the land reverts back to the government’s use if he dies. You nearly gave the land to the general, and now Dr. Anderson is going to make the only choice left to him and give it to the general for you.”

It took a moment for the shock to wear off, and then a voice could be heard saying quite loudly, “David McConnelly, it’s the couch for you tonight.” That broke the tension and the whole group laughed.

Alice sat down, and Devin stood up. “People, calm down, please. It’s very clear that we really messed this one up badly. As my mom always said, ‘Hurting people never does a person good,’ so how can we fix this situation?” He looked back at Alice and asked, “Or can we?”

“The boy’s the nicest, kindest boy I’ve ever met,” Alice answered. “I think we can change his mind, but it’s going to take some planning, and it has to be done tonight. Tomorrow, he sees the admiral. I’m sure that Betty, Nancy, and I can talk him into not calling the general right away, but we need to get him to think about giving us a chance before he leaves for the base.”

The meeting went on from there.

“Hold!”

Everything went black.

“Yes, master,” the Green said as he flinched.

“The mayor made a bad mistake. Why is he still alive?”

“Master, I do not think the humans kill as indiscriminately as the Grays do.”

“Be very careful where you’re going with this, Green.”

“Yes, master. We have found that the humans allow for mistakes, both in their lives and in their planning. Thus, they learn from their mistakes and try not to make the same one again. Have you not noticed that the fighting is becoming harder with every battle?”

“Yes.”

“They try something. If it does not work, they try something else, but they never give up. They don’t kill the one with the bad experience. They learn from him and try again. They will continue to try until they find something that works, and use it until we develop a defense, and then try something else. With this type of planning, they could win this war eventually, if they are not totally destroyed. Humans are very stubborn. They would make a great ally.”

“Yes, tricky race to fight against, as we are finding out the hard way. But that does not get us any closer to finding out why and how they destroyed our mother ship. Continue.”

Chapter 9
Change of Minds

B
ack at the house, we had just finished cleaning up the kitchen and settled down to watch TV. Becky was still watching me, and it was making me a little nervous. Her emotions were very strong. She was falling in love with me. It didn’t help that she was very pretty, really sweet, and slightly empathic. I felt flattered and happy that someone cared about me, and her emotions were affecting me, so I admit that I was a little taken by her too. I smiled at her and sat down. She sat next to me. We talked a lot, and I learned that she was very smart for her age. I let her know that I liked her being intelligent, and we talked about her studies and math and stuff for over an hour before her mother came in.

Mrs. Crain had brought Nancy and Nancy’s mom with her. “Freddy, you know my niece Nancy?”

“Yes.” I smiled and put my hand out. “Hello again. This must be your mother. I have you to thank for the kindness today, don’t I?”

“It was nothing, Dr. Anderson. My pleasure.”

“Please call me Freddy.”

“Thank you, Freddy, and you can call me Betty.”

Betty was a short woman who looked just like I pictured a cook would look—short and round with permanently rosy cheeks from standing over a hot stove all day. Her head was covered in permed, short brown curls. She had a nice, easy-to-give smile and a pleasant, motherly voice with a big-city accent. She sounded like she came from New York.

I hadn’t realized it until Mrs. Crain and Betty looked at my left hand and smiled—I was holding Becky’s hand. I looked at Mrs. Crain and said, “Becky and I have been talking about her studies. She’s very intelligent and has some great ideas.”

Mrs. Crain smiled and patted Becky’s head. “Yes, she is intelligent. Freddy, if it’s all right, we need to talk with you.”

I looked at Becky, and she smiled and nodded her head. We all sat down at the kitchen table. Mrs. Crain indicated that Becky should sit directly across from me, but I focused my attention away from Becky. I had an idea what this was going to be about, and I did not need to mess it up because I had a case of puppy love.

Mrs. Crain said, “Freddy, I was just at a town meeting.”

I visibly stiffened. They all saw this, and Nancy placed a hand on my shoulder, saying, “It’s all right, dear.”

Mrs. Crain continued. “The mayor, who ordered your beating and also ordered the rest of the town to shun you, has been dismissed and is being punished, along with the four boys who attacked you.”

“Punished?”

“Yes, Freddy, the rest of the town is very sad about what this man did. The town is willing to fully support you in any way you need.”

I looked at her and settled back in the chair. “What made them change their minds? Please don’t tell me it was this guy’s fault entirely. I now know how stubborn the town can be. These people will do what they want. What really caused them to change their minds so quickly?”

Betty looked hard at me and said, “Okay, here’s the deal. First, you’re right about us not putting up with much, but we were fooled for a little while, and the old mayor was a smooth talker.”

“He didn’t fool you,” I said.

Nancy touched my arm. “Mom doesn’t take orders from anyone. She would rather spit at a rattlesnake.”

I smiled.

Betty continued. “When the town saw what had happened, the support for that fool died right there. He resigned, and the deputy mayor took charge. The new mayor and the town were about to decide what to do next when Alice showed up and told us everything.”

“Everything?”

“Yes, sweetheart. We know you can do some minor healing. We think it’s great.”

“Really?” I purposefully started crying, and Becky came around to hold my hand. I don’t know why, but that actually helped. It must have showed, as her mom encouraged her to continue.

“Sweetheart, half the people in the town are from families that use old-style remedies for healing,” Alice explained. “Almost every family here had a granddaddy or great-grandmother who could heal or move small objects or something. You should have heard the tales that went around the room. Everyone is thinking you’re some long-lost relative come back to us, and we don’t treat our own that way. I know it’s a little late, but the town is yours.”

“That’s not all that changed their minds, is it?” I felt it coming, and I had to prepare my body for it. I hated using Becky this way, but she was the best choice.

Betty looked at Alice, saying, “You said he was smart.” She looked back at me and said, “When they found out that the general had contacted you and that you were going to give him some of your land, the town nearly freaked out.”

“I don’t understand
 …
why would they care? I would think that the revenue would be good for the town.”

Betty frowned. “You don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?”

“The general hates us,” Betty said simply. “The two hundred men he wants to send over here are people who would tear this town apart and hurt everyone in it, just for fun. They are a bunch of misfits and troublemakers who would destroy everyone and everything in this town.”

As she spoke, I slowly increased my look of shock. I looked at Becky and saw that she was crying. “These people
 …
would they harm Becky?” I asked Betty.

She said, “Yes, they would and everyone else at this table.”

I said, “I wouldn’t allow that to happen. I can’t do something that would harm her—I mean, the town. I won’t do it.”

“That’s good news, dear,” Mrs. Crain said, “but I think too much has happened to you today. It’s time for bed. Girls, you too.”

With that, Mrs. Crain took me upstairs and placed me in bed. I then heard her tell Carroll to watch the kids. She had to let the town know.

When they left, I listened to their minds just a little. “That boy has a crush on your daughter, Alice.”

“Yes, I see that.”

“I think your Becky helped make a hard job a lot easier.”

“I don’t think it was just Becky. That boy would never knowingly do anything to harm someone. It’s just as we thought; we only needed to make him aware of what he was doing.” Then she added, “Of course, his liking my Becky didn’t hurt matters any.”

After that, I fell asleep.

The big Gray said, “I don’t understand.”

Everything went black.

“Master?”

“I don’t understand what ‘it’s the couch for you tonight’ means.”

“Master, there are a lot of things that we don’t understand about these creatures, but I believe it is a mating ritual of some sort.”

“But the man was being punished!”

“Perhaps mating is a punishment in this species. Look at the Conacor—the eggs are planted within the male and when they hatch, he is eaten alive. Perhaps it is the same with these creatures.”

“Perhaps. Continue.”