Authors: James Hunt,Roger Hayden
Terry and Harold stood from their crouched position behind the tree and walked over to Sister Bonnie.
“Walter disregarded my command, and as result, two of our members have perished. We are a family, yes. But if a member of our family lashes out at me, or fails to listen to me, I will not take it lightly.”
Terry looked to Walter’s contorted body lying in the tall grass.
“I want our dead buried, and then I want every able-bodied man and woman to prepare for an assault on New Haven to the likes of which no one has ever seen.”
Slowly the crowd went from shock and awe to approval. A small cheer started, followed by cries of revenge. Sister Bonnie raised her voice to speak over the crowd.
“I am your chosen leader, and it is I that will show you the way. The time for compromise is over. Brothers and sisters of the Seventh Order, it is time to fulfill our destiny and claim the town of New Haven as our own.”
Sister Bonnie pointed directly at Harold. “You will lead, and we will strike hard and will strike fast. We will put an end to the bloodshed of our people here and now. We will take the medicine back that they stole. And if there is one voice of dissent among our own, know that they will face the same fate as Walter. I will not see another command of mine disobeyed from here on out.”
Harold looked to Terry and Terry to Harold. Sister Bonnie continued. “Walter chose a different path, and with that path, there is a price to pay. I would implore that none of you make the same mistake.”
“I’m with you, Sister Bonnie,” Harold said. “We’re with you until the end.”
“Good. We don’t have a moment to spare. I want you to draw plans for an attack. It’s not the option I wanted. It’s not what any of us wanted. But we will honor our destiny and seize New Haven for our own.”
“Who shall I bring?” Harold asked.
“Everyone will be making the journey, men, women, and children alike. But not everyone will fight. Those who are trained in firearms, or any other weapon for that matter, will lead the assault.”
“Sister Bonnie, no, you can’t place yourself in such danger,” a man cried.
“Do not fret,” she answered. “I must see this through to its glorious end. Tell everyone to get packed and ready… We’re going to our new home.”
Chapter Thirteen
Prelude to War
The Sheriff’s group drove three miles down the road before they pulled over to the side and stopped. Dust and debris flew up from the Sheriff’s tires as he careened toward the side railing of the gravel road and slammed on his brakes. Jordan had been riding in the bed of the pickup truck with five other men. He hadn’t moved from the floor since receiving return fire from Sister Bonnie’s group. Both trucks were riddled with bullet holes and badly damaged from the stones that had been hurled at them. The Sheriff’s windshield was shattered into pieces. In his passenger seat, slumped over the dashboard was Alan. As the Sheriff looked at the unrecognizable corpse next to him, he immediately regretted bringing Alan along. He buried his face in his hands and turned off the engine. A cloud of dust engulfed both trucks from all sides.
“Sheriff, what are we going to do?” a woman named Joanne with short hair cried from the back seat.
The Sheriff looked up then pounded the dashboard with his fist. He kicked open his door and stumbled outside, where he was met by other confused members of his group
.
Jordan climbed out of the truck. There was still ringing in his ears. He patted himself thoroughly for wounds, and breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t find any.
“Who’s here? I want a count of who’s here, and who’s missing or dead,” the Sheriff said, pacing around his truck in a lost state.
The driver of the other truck, a black man named Melvin, took the lead and counted everyone who was standing.
“I count fourteen of us, we lost six,” he said.
“Don’t forget about Alan. They got him while we were driving away,” the Sheriff said as he leaned against his truck, holding his side.
“Sheriff, you’ve been hit,” Joanne said.
Everyone looked and could see blood running down the Sheriff’s jeans from a wound he was covering on his side.
“I’ll be fine,” he replied. “So five were left behind who could be dead or dying, but we need to go back and get them.”
The group was quiet and unresponsive. The Sheriff’s plan seemed less than encouraging. Melvin was the first to speak.
“Going back there isn’t going to solve a damn thing right now. They’ll unload on us.”
“There has to be a way,” the Sheriff said.
“Right now, there isn’t,” Melvin continued.
“Dammit, we can’t just leave them there!” the Sheriff said as he punched the side of his truck.
Melvin approached him and spoke with calmness.
“We have to get back to New Haven. There’s a lot to consider right now. Things could get much, much worse and we need to make sure our people are prepared.”
The Sheriff thought for a moment and then looked on in agreement.
“You’re right. I just. I just don’t understand what happened back there. Thirty years with the police department and I’ve never seen anything like it. I need some of you to place Alan in the back of my truck. We’ll go back to town, and let everyone know what’s going on.”
“We got it, Sheriff,” Melvin said with an earnest tone.
Melvin signaled some men to move Alan’s body as everyone else went back to their trucks. The Sheriff climbed into the driver’s seat and closed his door. He looked into the rearview mirror where Joanne sat with two other dazed and shaken men. No one wanted the front seat anymore.
“I’m making this promise to you now,” the Sheriff said. “We’re not burying any more bodies of our own after today. This is not going to happen again, I’ll see to that.”
Joanne thought the Sheriff desperately optimistic
.
Paul and Julie sat in Tommy’s room while he ate a bowl of chicken noodle soup. Color had come back to his face and he looked ten times healthier than he looked before. Paul had apologized profusely to Tommy’s mother, Reba, and at first, she refused to let him back into their home, medicine hero or not. Eventually she gave in, and Paul felt that it was time to tell Tommy the same.
“I used to love getting sick, missing school, and lying in bed all day,” Tommy said shoveling a spoonful of hot soup into his mouth. “But without power or TV, getting sick is boring.”
“You could always read a book,” Julie said.
“I tried reading. My mom gave me
The Wind and the Willows
, but I kept falling asleep every time.”
Julie laughed. “I think it’s called
The Wind IN the Willows
,” she said.
“Whatever,” Tommy replied.
“Tommy, I’m glad to see that you’re feeling better, and I just wanted to… apologize for my behavior earlier, storming in your room like I did,” Paul said.
Tommy slurped the remainder of his soup from the bowl.
“It’s okay. Yeah, my mom called you a jerk, but I said you were probably okay. Maybe you just had a bad day or something.”
Paul laughed. “I was afraid.”
“Afraid of what?” Tommy asked.
“The unknown, I guess. Someday you might see that you’ll do anything to protect the people you love.”
“Are you guys leaving?” Tommy asked with sadness in his voice.
“Soon, yes,” Paul said.
“Can you take me with you?” Tommy asked.
“I don’t think your mom would be too happy about that,” Paul said.
“We have to find my mom,” Julie said. “We’re on a mission.”
“That we are,” Paul said.
They left Tommy’s soon after, and Paul experienced something unfamiliar: the feeling of goodness. He felt good that they had gotten the medicine to Tommy, and for those quick moments, he was able to suppress the anxiety he felt over Samantha. Tommy insisted that they stay, but Paul knew it was time to get ready. He had the key to the car the Sheriff gave him, and he knew that the group would be back soon with Jordan. Paul still had much preparation to do for their trip. The mood around town was solemn and quiet. Most everyone was in his or her home. The death of Ryan had a terrible effect on morale, plus the townspeople worried for their people out on the road.
“Gosh, it’s quiet around here,” Julie said. “It’s like a different neighborhood or something.”
“We’re leaving tonight, as soon as Jordan gets back,” Paul said. “I want you to get fully packed and ready.”
Though she knew they were leaving soon, Julie still couldn’t believe it.
“So we’re really leaving? I mean, for real this time.”
“Yes, for real this time.”
“We’re going to find mom, right?”
“We will find your mother, yes.”
“How can you be so sure?” Julie said.
Paul stopped walking.
“We’ve been through this before. I can be sure because I have faith in it. When you have faith in something, it keeps you going. You have to believe, like I do, that your mother is okay. If for one moment I didn’t think that she was okay, we would be hiding inside a house like everyone else around here.”
“It sounds like you’re judging them,” Julie said.
“I’m not,” Paul said. “But you have to remember that we’re not one of them. We’re just passing through.”
“Still sounds like you’re judging them. You know, it’s okay to admit that you like the people here.”
It was mid-afternoon when the trucks arrived at the front gate. David, dutifully on watch as always, heard them roaring down the road from a mile away. He moved swiftly to open both gates and allow them entry. The trucks pulled in and parked to the side of the road. David shut the gates and approached them. The closer he got, the more he could see the extensive damage of dents and bullet holes. As everyone climbed out, David noticed they had less people than before. He felt no pride upon thinking he was right to have been worried. Making peace with the Seventh Order had been a foolish endeavor after all.
“What happened?” he asked with a deadly serious tone.
Townspeople looked out from their windows, taking notice of their return. A dozen or so residents walked out into the street to meet the returning group. Jordan climbed out of the back of the Sheriff’s pickup truck and hopped to the ground. David approached him and asked again what had happened.
“It didn’t go very well,” Jordan answered with his face pale and his eyes solemn.
“The Sheriff can probably tell you more, but they weren’t too happy to see us.”
David peaked into the back of the Sheriff’s truck and saw the shape of a body wrapped in a blue tarp.
“How many did we lose?” he asked Jordan, getting right in his face.
“Five, I think. Six maybe. I don’t know it was all such a blur.”
“People, people, rally around me here,” the Sheriff said stepping away from the trucks and signaling a rallying point with his finger in the air. A concerned group of the townspeople gathered around. Everyone was asking questions. The wife of one of the dead men left back at camp clutched onto Melvin as he exited his truck.
“Where’s Jonathan?” she pleaded.
“Where is he?” Her voice grew more hysterical by the second.
“Their people were angry with us, and they started throwing rocks, and then shots were fired. Jonathan didn’t make it.”
“No, no, no, no. This can’t be happening. No, I don’t believe you!” she screamed out.
She buried her face in Melvin’s work jacket and cried in long and painful bursts. Melvin put his arm around her and rubbed her back.
“I’m sorry, Linda. I really am.”
The Sheriff hobbled onto a pair of steps near the New Haven Park, to address the townspeople. He held a bloodied cloth to his side, and breathed heavily and with great discomfort. Margie had left her house upon hearing all the commotion. She ran over to meet the group and took instant notice of the Sheriff’s condition.
“My God, he’s been hit!” she shouted, pushing her way through everyone.
“Hold on, just one moment. I’ll be fine. I was just grazed, that’s all.”
“It doesn’t look grazed,” Margie replied. “That looks like an open wound.”
“We’ll deal with all of that in a moment. For now, I need to let everyone know what’s going on.”
For Jordan, it was good to see Margie, and at that moment, it struck him how lucky he was to have survived. He looked around curiously for signs of Paul and Julie. They were nowhere to be found. Several people cried as more townspeople left their homes to join the group and find out what had happened. Fortunately, no one then had discovered Alan’s body in the back of the truck. Melvin tried to ensure this by standing carefully by to keep people from looking. He continued to hold Linda in his arms as she cried for her dead husband. Margie placed her arm around the Sheriff to assist him up. She demanded that they get him to a bed, and treat him, but he refused.
“Just let me say my thing. Don’t worry, I got this,” he said.
“Let someone else speak, you’re badly injured,” she said.
“Margie, please,” he responded.
He pushed himself slightly away from her and patted her shoulder.
“People of New Haven, we faced an unfortunate outcome with the Seventh Order. They claim that it was us who attacked them, and that we murdered two of their people without cause or reason.”
“What the fuck?” David shouted out. “They’re liars.”
“They attacked us,” Rob and Carlie said, as they arrived to join the meeting.
The Sheriff waved his hand in the air, dismissing the comments.
“It doesn’t matter anymore. There is absolutely no chance of peace between our two communities. The situation turned badly, rocks were thrown at us, and I believe one of our people fired at them, then a deadly firefight ensued. Sister Bonnie made demands of us that could not have been met. She said their people want New Haven, and that they plan to take it by force. I say this not to scare any of you, but it is the truth. We have lost five more of our people and I refuse to lose a single one more. At this point, we must be prepared a defend ourselves.”
“We’re not soldiers,” a man called out.
“Hell, I’m a schoolteacher,” another man shouted.
Confusion and outcry moved throughout the small crowd. Rob approached the front and stood near the Sheriff.
“Those of you who can help defend the city, we need you. Those who can’t, take the children into the bunkers and lay low.”
The people seemed to be even in more disagreement with Rob’s idea.
“Those bunkers aren’t even finished yet!” a man cried out. “We could suffocate in there,” a woman added.
“All of you better think of something, because when that cult gets here, they’re not going to stop until each and every one of you are dead,” Rob said, pointing at the crowd.
The townspeople quieted. The tension and anxiety they felt had been amplified. The Sheriff leaned to Rob and said in a low voice.
“You’re not helping with remarks like that. I’ll take it from here.”
Rob reluctantly stepped down and went back into the crowd.
“I think what Rob is trying to say is that we must take these people seriously. They will most likely come armed. They will try to get over the gates. On the other hand, heck, they might not even come here at all. We just have to be prepared and ready.”
“They’re coming here. I know it,” Rob said to Carlie. “I give it a day or two.”
The Sheriff instructed the townspeople to construct sturdier walls around the community.
“Every single entrance point into New Haven must be secured. We only have so much time so let’s get moving—” before he could finish, the Sheriff fell over and collapsed on the ground to the shocked gasps of the crowd.
Margie ran to him and helped him back up.
“We need to get him to a bed immediately,” she cried.
Rob, Carlie, and three other men ran to his aid and helped carry him back to his house. Margie stopped and looked down. The Sheriff’s blood had stained the lower part of her white dress. She wondered how much blood he may already have lost.
“Margie!” Jordan called out.
She looked into the crowd and saw him moving his way toward her.
“Jordan!” she cried.
Jordan ran to her and they threw their arms around each other in a joyful embrace.
“Thank God you’re okay. I feared the worst when the Sheriff said five didn’t make it.”
Jordan squeezed her closer to him.
“I’m not going to let that happen. We’re all going to make it through this. I promise.”
A tear streamed down Margie’s cheek.
“I just don’t know anymore. I’m so sick of the loss of life around us.”
She held tightly onto Jordan as he moved his hand gently across her back.
“Margie, we need to get out of here. We need to leave New Haven,” he said.