Exodus Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven
The Riots
             
Things never really got normal, but we got used to things. We got used to rationing what we could buy from the grocery store. We got used to wearing winter clothes all the time. We got used to the town streets being dark at night. Nothing ever really become normal, but we got used to things.

But one morning, I heard mother say something that I really wasn’t expecting to hear.

“I need to break out the riot gear today. Stay away from the grocery store. Mr. Greer is going to be emptying the last of the storehouse today. And I expect it will not be a pleasant experience. The Union men are putting out pamphlets later this morning explaining the situation. So I expect we’ll have a mob by noon. Wish me luck.”

“Rose, you take care of yourself. I don’t like any of this.” My dad said.

“None of us do. We’re all just doing the best we can. You stocked us up yesterday when I told you too, yes?” She asked.

“Of course, did you know this was coming?” He looked surprised.

“Of course I did. And I didn’t want my husband at the centre of a riot, so I had you shop the day before.”

I decided to skip breakfast. I left by the backdoor and quickly collected the gang. By the time noon hit we were all sitting on the top of Bald Rock Hill watching everything unfold. My mother and her officers were lined up around the front door in riot gear, and They were scattered throughout looking ominous. Mr. Wolf was there, but I didn’t see Mrs. Winter.

We stayed up on the hill. None of us wanted to get close as we watched the adults, our parents push and shove and scramble at the grocery store for buggies full of lettuce and peaches and bananas. My mother argued with Mrs Finnegan, the librarian. Owl's mother was shouting at Wolf's father who was looming over her scowling. Everyone was yelling and shouting and standing too close staring at each other.

And then Mr. Burns, the Bank Manager, pushed Mrs. Greer, who ran the Gas station. And Mrs. Greer fell to the ground in a heap and didn't move.

And then the world exploded.

Everyone was shoving, and screaming and we watched in horror as adults we trusted hit and pushed each other in anger and panic.

We didn't move. The whole awful battle didn't seem real. But it was real and our parents were down there. We didn't know what to do, but we didn't want to do nothing.

And so we watched, and hoped they were all safe. Finally Raven turned away, “ I can’t watch this, let’s go see Mildred. Maybe she can help.”

It wasn’t much of an answer, but it was something and so we headed over. She let us in without a word. She just looked at our expressions and ushered us into her darkened living room.  Mildred Sanger had said she wanted to be our Obi-Won Kenobi, but some days she really did seem more like Yoda- tricky and confusing before offering advice. Mildred answered questions with questions and left us rethinking everything we thought we had learned.

Mildred stared at us carefully, "And what happened today?"

Viper put up her hand, "The adults were fighting over the last food at the grocery store."

Wolf nodded, "The road is closed, that means no new food is going to get delivered to the grocery store until the road is opened."

Owl put his hand up, "They're scared."

"They're trying to protect us." Raven added.

"And why are they scared?" Mildred asked.

"They don't know when the road will re-open." I added.

"They don't know when new food will come in. They're afraid we're going to starve." Owl added.

"And we are going to starve, if the road doesn't open." Viper concluded.

Mildred snorted, "Only if you keep behaving like domesticated pets. Are familiar with the concept of carrying capacity?"

We all shook our heads except Viper, who said, “It’s like, how many people or things can live in a place, right?”

“Yes exactly. You can measure a place’s carrying capacity for a particular species, like humans or deer or wombats. Or, you can measure it for larger groups, such as large mammals, or predators and so forth. And carrying capacity can change. If a food supply dries up, or a new species shows up, the carrying capacity of an area can change dramatically.”

“Okay, you’re trying to make sneaky sort of point here.” Viper said.

“Indeed I am,” Mildred said, “What do you think that point is?”

“Well, it has to be about the whole food things and us maybe all starving.” Wolf said.

“Obviously,” Viper said, “And it’s about carrying capacity too, or you wouldn’t have brought that up.”

Raven crossed her arms, “It about the supply lines again isn’t it? Professor Tuttle’s spider webs. We were using them to increase the carrying capacity here, and now that we’ve lost those, the carrying capacity has dropped.”

“It’s worse than that, isn’t it?” Owl said, Mildred looked at him with interest, “We aren’t really, or weren’t, really using the carrying capacity of this area much at all. I mean my mom and I do and so do a lot of the band members, but not a lot of us. Most people have been getting all their food and their stuff from the supply lines. And that means they actually use some other place’s carrying capacity. I’m right aren’t I? So the problem isn’t just that the carrying capacity has changed. The problem is that now we have to live on just the carrying capacity here.”

“And you’re a hunter,” Mildred prodded, “What do you know about predators and how many of them there are compared to prey animals such as deer and moose and mountain goats and so on?”

Owl suddenly looked very worried, “There has to be a lot lot lot more prey than predators. I don’t know the real numbers but like say, and I’m guessing totally here, one mountain lion for every hundred deer or something like that. I don’t know the real numbers but it's a big number difference.”

“Couldn’t we grow food to use the local carrying capacity?”

“We could if it wasn’t winter.”

We didn't leave Mildred's house feeling very good that day.

“The adults are all grasping at straws aren’t they?” Viper said, “Even Mr. Wolf with the guns and no hoarding food thing. Doesn’t it kind of seem like everybody is waving their arms in the air and throwing whatever they have, because they don’t know what’s going to work?”

“I hadn’t thought about that.” Raven said, “But I feel like I’m seeing everyone for the first time, like I don’t know them at all. People I trusted are getting into fist fights and people I listened to are telling us things that creep me out.”

“They want the picket fence.” Viper said abruptly, “And they don’t know what they’ll do without it. They only know how to do things within that model. They’re like me, not like Owl. They want their white picket fence and they don’t know how to manage without it. And so they’re doing everything they can, no matter how weird or scary, to keep it. And it doesn’t matter if nothing about the picket fence way is working anymore- because they don’t know how to live without it. And neither do I.”

“I do.” Owl said confidently.

“But it doesn’t matter if we don’t know how either. Then even if you go to the promised land, we can’t go with you. You can’t live for us. Mildred keeps telling us to create a new way or learn a new way. I can’t even see that new way, and neither can any of the adults.”

“That doesn’t leave me with loads more confidence.” I said.

We kept running through town, and I slowly noticed that there were a lot of people on the streets. And then I noticed that they were all going in the same direction. Towards Town Hall.

I saw our vice principal Mr. Nottingham and stopped him.

“Sir, what’s going on?” I asked, as the others pulled up to wait for me.

“Flyers went around this morning. Grocery store was closed, all dried up. And some big announcement at the Town Hall.”

I looked at the group.

“Maybe My dad will be there.” Raven said, “He didn’t say anything about an announcement. This is probably news to him as well.”

“Well, then let’s find out what’s happening and then if your dad isn’t there, we can go looking for him.”

The streets around Town Hall were packed, and Mrs. Winter, Mr. Wolf and my mother were all standing up at a podium that had been placed on the front steps- press conference style. MR. Wolf was already speaking when we got close enough to hear him.

“There is simply no way to feed the citizens of Safehope Bluff during this crisis and also feed all the non-essential domestic animals living in our town. Effective immediately, only working animals are permitted within town limits, and all non-essential domestic animals are to be euthanized." Mr. Wolf said.

Mr. Wolf then stepped aside, and Mrs. Winter stepped to the podium and addressed the crowd in the ensuring disbelieving hush.

"This is obviously not how we would like to do things. We all treasure our pets and animals. But a lack of preparation prior to this crisis by previous administrations has left us with little options. I would not ask you to choose between your pets and children, or your pets and your elders. The choice is simple, if heartbreaking. Humans are more valuable than animals. And so, as we find there is not room for both, we must make sacrifices."

A murmur swept through the crowd. Mr. Wolf stepped back to the podium.

"Everyone shall report to Interim Emergency Council offices to turn over your animals. If you believe that an animal in your care qualifies as a working animal, bring the animal for assessment."

Owl whispered, “Let’s get moving, before somebody notices Frisk.”

"We need to hide Frisk." Owl said as we hustled away from the crowd, "There's no way he'd be considered an essential working animal. Mrs. Winter hates my guts, she'd just have him turned into dog food and served to the people who don't have any other food left."

"We don't know for sure that's what happens."

"I'm not risking it. If they ask. We tell them that I shot Frisk myself and gave him a proper burial. We'll bury a cardboard box full of garbage or whatever and put a grave up for him."

"Then we just need to hide him." Viper said.

"And feed him. They don't give out enough food to full us up, let alone feed Frisk too." Raven noted.

“We hide him at my family hunting cabin.” Owl said.

“We’re going to have to strip down and make do with less if we want to feed Frisk.” Viper said.

"Bruce Lee always said that we should get rid of everything that isn't essential. He said adding more isn't the answer, but getting down to the stuff you can't do without." Raven said carefully.

"I can hunt. I'll feed Frisk myself."

Frisk seemed to have a sense that we were talking about him. The Airdale terrier whined a little. Then, once everyone was looking at him, he wagged his tail and nuzzled Owl's leg.

Wolf put his hand on Owl's shoulder, "We'll all feed feed Frisk Bud. Nobody here is going to let that dog down."

We did, like Owl had suggested and hid Frisk up in his family's hunting cabin. Owl's mom had already hidden as much of their food stores as she could get away with hiding when hoarding was made illegal. She had been forced to turn over the rest when They came around with their newly approved guns- mostly hunting rifles to collect all remaining food for the so-called public good. Everyone got a weekly ration these days, but it frequently wasn't much, and it was hard not to notice that anyone wearing a reflective vest got significantly more than the rest of the population. And people didn't like it. The weekly food dispensing occured at the Community Center and as the weeks went by, it got rowdier and angrier as people got hungrier and hungrier and watched their rations get smaller while the union seemed to keep their weekly rations unchanged.

Fights with Them became common in the ration line up. And people who fought frequently had rations slashed as punishment. It all came to head after a particularly nasty fight in which Mr. Greer and Mr. Brown had managed to corner Lion's father away from the other volunteers and gave the man a pretty solid beating for saying that the union men were worth more than other people. The next week at the ration dispensing, They showed up and I realized that the game had changed again. They had been given something new this time. Instead of just sunglasses, They now had police riot helmets that hid their faces pretty much entirely. This did not bode well in my mind.

The new outfits didn't help anyone's mood. And the crowd was actually louder and rowdier right from the start. If They had intended the new look to scare people into submission, it wasn't working so far. I was standing with my parents a little way back in the line, when I heard Ow's mother raise her voice.

“Now you listen to me. That is not enough food, not enough calories for an adult and a growing teenager to live on for a whole week.”

I listened but couldn't make out what the person she was talking to said. But I could hear her response.

“The reason you have as much food to dispense as you do is because you stole it from me young man. I didn't need you help. I had my back up plans. Apparently your plan was steal from your neighbour!”

The crowd parted as They moved forward, small groups pushing through the crowd to Owl's mother. I could see her arguing with a younger man I didn't know by name. Owl's mom turned around to look at the approaching men in helmets and put her hands on her hips.

“I can not believe that this is the town I moved to. Thieves and bullies and thugs,” She said. That got a murmur of agreement from the crowd, “I think the only reason these big boys get as much food as they do, is so they stay loyal and keep healthy enough to feel they can beat us up!”

That comment got a collective shout of agreement from the crowd. I couldn't see the faces of Them behind the new helmets, but their body posture was getting increasingly nervous. One of Them near Owl's mother shuffled his feet a little like a boxer, and then raised his right hand in front of his face in what looked like a thumbs up. I couldn't tell who he was giving the thumbs up to, but then he brought the hand back down to hold his pistol. And then my blood ran cold.

“I don't care how much food they get, and whether they are carrying guns or nightsticks or whatever. They are not worth more than the rest of us.”

The crowd was cheering Owl's mother again, when I heard the sharp explosion of a gun and suddenly Owl's mother wasn't talking anymore. Nobody was talking anymore. Slowly I watched as Owl's mother crumpled like a fallen toy to the ground. Her head hit the ground and the ground exploded red beneath her face as she lay still twisted in impossible angles.

The crowd stepped away from the body, and I could see a man in the black vest and sunglasses that They was holding a pistol in his hand.

Owl knelt beside his mother's body and put a hand to her forehead. Nobody stopped him. His hand came back red. Nobody breathed.

"She's not breathing." Owl said softly.

He didn't shudder or shake and it took me a second to realize that he was crying.

"You. You killed her. Congratulations hero. Enjoy the parade." Owl didn't look up. He remained kneeling in front of his mother's body, quietly crying.

I looked at the gunman, but they all looked alike with the police helmets on. I'm sure that was the idea. But then I noticed that the gunman who had fired the shot, had a 'Hello Kitty' sticker pressed onto the right shoulder pad on his uniform. The weird contrast between the white innocent cartoon kitten with the pink bow and the anonymous black Them stuck in my head, and I stared at the sticker in bewilderment.

The gunman began backing away, eventually disappeared into the mass of Them as the crowd of people from Safehope Bluff looked at Them with angry eyes. We knelt besides Owl as the people began to press past us, slowly advancing on Them.

Owl held out his hand, "All of our hands are red. Really. We can't escape it. Everyone did this. We can't pretend. We all killed my Mom. We all walked ourselves here. And we can't walk back."

I could see the collar of Owl's shirt was wet with tears, and he was still crying.

Wolf put a hand on Owl's shoulder, "Then we walk forward, red hands and all."

We could hear people yelling, but the rush of adults around us made seeing what was happening impossible. I didn't hear any gunshots, which made me feel a little better. We didn't move, afraid that
Owl and his Mother's body would trampled.

Eventually the crowd moved wherever they were moving and we were alone on the empty street with the wind and the litter.

"What do we do now?" Viper asked.

"We bury her. Together we can carry her, like pallbearers." Raven said firmly.

We nodded to each other. And slowly began to lift Owl's mother.