In light of the recent murders and other recent crimes, there will be a meeting at the Amphitheater Friday night to discuss the formation of a government. If you cannot attend in person, please click the “Government Webinar” link on the intranet site to watch the event live.
Jennifer read the poster and then looked at Patton, who had that look on his face. He didn’t look angry. He looked… determined. Knowing Patton as well as she did, this did not bode well. An angry Patton was bad, yes, but a determined Patton was an absolute nightmare to deal with.
“What’s wrong Honey?”
He didn’t answer her and just continued reading the poster, tracing his finger across the words, mumbling them to himself as he read.
“It doesn’t say who’s responsible for this,” he mumbled.
The poster also said that if someone wanted to speak at the meeting they would have to register on the intranet site. Figuring it would be first come first serve, Patton grabbed Jennifer’s elbow and pulled her towards his truck.
“Where are we going? Patton!” she yelled at him, pulling away from his grip.
He ignored her question and kept on walking, almost jogging, to where he was parked. When they got to the truck, he nearly simultaneously jumped in and started it. After loudly revving the engine once, he yanked it into reverse, sped out of his parking spot, and then peeled out towards his house.
An angry Jennifer folded her arms against her chest, staring forward, not saying a word. After reaching the two lane highway that would take him to his house, Patton said, “These people want to start a government. Who the hell do these people think they are?”
Jennifer’s only response was to purse her lips even tighter. She wanted to go home but her car was at his house. Patton continued to mumble. Jennifer finally had enough.
“Those people were murdered in their sleep in the middle of the night, Patton! What if we have kids and that happens to us, huh? What is all this anti-government garbage about anyway? I’m tired of you being so paranoid!”
He looked at her, disbelieving, with pain in his eyes. He calmed himself, but with a wounded tone he said, “Don’t lecture me about having my children killed okay? I know perfectly well how that feels.”
Tears of remorse stung at her eyes and she had to turn away from him. After a few minutes she turned to him again. Traces of pain were still in his eyes, but his face was passive and unreadable. She reached out and grabbed his arm.
“I’m so sorry Patton. I wasn’t thinking.”
He nodded at her apology and grabbed her hand. Relieved to be forgiven, tears poured down her cheeks and she wiped at them with her free hand. They drove on in silence for a few uncomfortable moments but he finally answered her question.
“I may be paranoid but I think I have a reason to be. Even our government, which is supposed to be based on the Constitution, fell apart. If it’s founded on kneejerk reactions instead of real principles then this city is going to fall apart.”
She shook her head at him and smiled. “Patton I love you, but I don’t know where you come up with this stuff.”
He looked over at her. His eyes had a depth that she couldn’t describe.
“Because I’ve seen it happen, Jennifer. And it’s not pretty.”
He turned and watched the road again. They didn’t speak again until they reached his house.
Mark and Patty were hoping to be packed and gone by the time Anna got home. However, just as Mark was stuffing the last of his things into a large backpack, he heard the front door open and the click of Anna’s shoes on the tile at the front door.
“Hello?” Anna yelled through the house. “You guys here?”
They looked at each other, not wanting to respond. There was no way for them to sneak out of the house. They were going to have to confront their friend after all.
“Mark? Patty?” she yelled again, but they still were just standing there, looking like children hiding from a belligerent father. They heard her approach and then the door opened slowly. Anna saw them standing there, obviously preparing to leave. For a moment she was too shocked to say anything.
“Hi,” Patty said awkwardly.
“Hi…” Anna said, pushing the door all the way open, stepping cautiously into the room. “You guys going somewhere?”
They looked at her, then at each other, then at the floor.
“Well?” Anna said, her voice growing angrier.
“Anna…” Mark said, wavering. “We can’t do this.”
He reached out and touched Patty’s shoulder, either to support her or to draw support from her. Anna just stared at them, incredulous.
“Anna, did Charlie order those other guys to kill that family?” Patty asked finally, tired of the pussyfooting.
At first Anna was shocked at the allegation, but she couldn’t hide the fact that she’d had the same suspicions herself. She tried to regain her composure, but it was too late. Patty looked at Mark and motioned for them to go. He grabbed a large, Army duffle bag and slung it over his shoulder.
“That’s what I thought,” she said with disgust in her voice.
Anna reached out to stop him, but they pushed past her.
“Wait! Look…” she said, breathing heavily now. “I don’t know if he did it. He would never tell me that. I really don’t know if it was him. I promise.”
She was pleading with her eyes. She understood their anger if their accusations were true. The events of the summer had been a whirlwind. She and everyone else in the group had been busy trying to push Blue Creek citizens towards pushing for a government. They couldn’t know what everyone was doing.
“And the guy that got pulled out of his car and beat up? And the stores that got trashed and now those people are out of business! What the hell is going on Anna?” Mark said angrily. “This isn’t what I signed up for. We’re supposed to never let a crisis go to waste, not create the crises ourselves!”
“Mark, I swear!”
But he was gone down the hall and Patty was right behind him. Suddenly, Mark whirled around to face her.
“What Anna! You swear what?”
Anna approached him slowly, her palms up.
“I had nothing to do with all that. He never told me about all that other stuff. After it happened I guessed it was him, but I swear I didn’t know. Just don’t go, please!”
Mark looked at Patty, trying to get a sense of what she was thinking. After a moment, Mark turned back to Anna.
“It doesn’t matter if you knew or not, Anna. We’re all a part of the murder of an innocent family. We can’t be a part of it anymore, not if that maniac is going to be involved.”
Anna turned away from him, fighting tears, fighting a rage that had building up inside her for years. Here she was, finally a part of something that had a chance to actually make a difference in the world and her best friends were with her. Now they were leaving.
“I’m sorry, guys,” Anna said, nearly whispering. “I didn’t know. That doesn’t mean you have to leave. We can talk to him.”
“No,” Mark said simply and picked up his bags and made his way out of the house with Patty in tow.
Patty stopped and turned back to look at her best friend with huge tears rolling down her face.
“I’m sorry Anna. I just can’t be a part of this. That man…” Patty said, pointing towards nowhere, “…he’s a maniac!”
Two thoughts crossed Anna’s mind at the same time. First, Anna knew they were right about Charlie. Second, Anna was going to see how far this was going to go. She had crossed the line that apparently her friends were not willing, or able, to cross.