Exodus Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten
House Arrest

About this time, it was announced that furnace use would be officially limited to after dark only. Anyone using a gas furnace or an electric heater was told to keep them turned off until the sun went down. Most people did that already, but the notice didn't help morale. I know Mr. Brown used to have a system that didn't need outside help. But without his solar panels, his system wasn't one hundred percent self-sufficient anymore; so even he couldn't ignore it. And most other people were on gas or electric, and so winter coats became the indoor fashion statement of the season.

We still met with Bart, but after the protest we did so only at night.

Even at night the streets weren't completely empty, of course. There were a lot more animals these days, we had passed two raccoons and seen several cats that looked like they were stray or feral at a distance. We were getting better at being quiet, which was good, because They were patrolling even at night now and even away from the school. They would walk up and down Main street and all around the town center with flash lights. I noticed that they kept close to the places that they had closed, so I was pretty sure that they were guarding the boxes that they had stashed in places like the Mr. Pickle Diner.

We hid in a globe cedar bush, and waited as one of Them passed by, all of us crammed together in the hollow between the trunk and the outer branches. Then we pulled our way out one by one and continued moving from dark patch to dark patch, shadowed area to shadowed area. There were very few street lights on these days. And I had to wonder how long the battery supplies would last for the flashlights They kept using.

As we crossed the street- wide open if anyone saw us- a flash light beam appeared from behind a building and we ran into the nearest alley as though the coyotes who had eaten Mrs. Giller's cat were behind us. We stumbled to a halt in the darkness of the alley, and froze in unison as we heard the rustling of plastic bags.

My breathing sounded like the rubbing of a metal file as I tried to keep quiet, and we waited to see if we were discovered. Finally a small black head with a white strip poked a head from a pile of garbage bags thrown against the wall of the alley. The skunk started at us for a minute or two, and then went back to its foraging. It didn't even bother to raise its tail and warn us off.

I sighed in relief. We continued on to Bart's hideaway. He greeted us with his usual grin. Coupled with his increasingly hollow cheeks and sunken eyes, the smile made him look like horror movie corpse. He’s thinner, I realized. He's practically starving. The meeting wasn't particularly upbeat after the failed protest by Raven's parents. And it didn't really go well from there.

“So was that whole protest thing your idea,” Raven asked.

“No, that's not how I would have done it. I've rarely trusted people in power to listen to the people beneath them unless forced to do so. Mayor Tailor was a rare exception, and maybe a little too eager to please and go along in the end. No, I was hoping that they would use the audio to build up support and then seize power back. Your parents put a lot of trust in a system that has been pretty effectively co-opted.”

“Raven's dad talked about doing like Gandhi,” Viper said, “How does that work for Gandhi and not for Raven's folks?”

“Gandhi was dealing with people who wanted to look noble and civilized and humane. The British Empire didn't want its reputation tarnished and Gandhi was able to use that against them. He actually tried in South Africa first- it didn't work as well because South Africa had no problem using violence and being seen to use violence. Gandhi had limited success there, but Nelson Mandela had to use force and diplomacy and international support to finally break the racist apartheid state in South Africa. Protests and public shaming- which is basically what protest is- only works if the people you are shaming need support from somebody who may withdraw that support as result of the shaming. Your parents didn't have that, and they didn't realize that. They thought that Mrs. Winter and Mr. Wolf still wanted the approval of the people. But it turns out the Interim Emergency Council is completely happy to feared instead of loved.”

“You look really thin,” Raven said.

“Food stores are tight and it's getting harder to swipe stuff.”

“You're stealing?” Viper asked accusingly.

“I appreciate when you guys are able to bring me stuff, but I didn't have a really big food supply and only some of it was hidden here. Have you seen how tight the food stores are getting around town. Sumpter’s Ridge is getting pretty lawless because if it. I heard that a mob raided the General Store and Gas Station there. On top of that, bigger wild animals are supposedly getting hard to find, but scavengers like coyotes are becoming bolder. I have to limit my rations to make it through.”

“I think you're limiting it too much,” Raven said. “You don't look healthy.”

“None of us do. You kids are doing better than me, but I'm betting that you've lost some weight too haven't you?”

We looked around and I suddenly noticed that in fact we were all thinner, particularly in the face than we had been in the summer. I guess I hadn't noticed before because it happened gradually. Whereas with Bart we saw him sporadically now and could follow it.

“So, my rebel cowboy crusader.” Bart said looking at Owl, “You've been awfully quiet. What's on you mind?”

“How do we manage this? Raven’s parents are in the hospital under house arrest. Not everyone can live off the land like my family can. There are too many people. The Union, They use guns now and armour. And they beat people up now. We can't leave, because the gas has been confiscated and even if we had gas, the avalanche hasn't been cleared. I heard Wolf's dad say that they don't have the heavy equipment necessary to do it. So we're stuck here with people who will hit you if you disagree with them and they get to hand out food. How do we manage?”

“Well, we aren't out of resources yet,” Bart said, “There are still good people left on the council. Have faith in those good people. We need to get through the winter so that when spring arrives we can reassert some level of normal. Once Spring helps us clear the road, they won't have the same ability to force cooperation and compliance. We just need the people on the council with half a brain to delay and distract Mrs. Winter and her attack dog.”

We left Bart not feeling particularly hopeful. As we crept along the back alleys heading back towards a place where we could go our separate ways we talked about what he said.

“You know, there aren't really a lot of council members left.” I said.

“What do you mean?” Viper asked.

“Well the council was Raven's Dad, Mrs. Winter, Mr. Wolf, Mayor Tailor, my Mom, and then Mr. Greer  and Mr. Blackwell. Mr. Blackwell is already cooperating pretty heavily with Mrs. Winter, so I guess Mr. Greer is only person left.”

“So Bart was lying to us?” Viper asked.

“More like exaggerating to make us feel better.” Wolf said.

Owl put a hand up and we stopped. “Well we can stop feeling better.”

Owl pointed and I saw a red Mini Van marked with a painted white stencilled logo that said 'IEC' on the side. The Mini Van was parked in front of Mr. Greer's house. We found cover in the shrubs in a nearby front yard and waited. A few minutes later, three of Them came out of the house leading a shorter rounder man who walked with a white cloth bag over his head and his hands bound behind him with zap straps.

“And that would be Mr. Greer.” Wolf whispered.

“Why bother trying? We can’t all live like I want to. We can’t all live the way things are now. And the way things are going scares the crap out of me.” Owl said quietly. None of answered him. How could we? It was dark, so I couldn't get a good look at Owl's expression, but his posture was starting to look pretty defeated. Viper crept up and placed an arm around his shoulder and then leaned in to him.

Wolf tapped me on the shoulder and indicated Owl and Viper and gave a cautious thumbs up. I held my hand out flat and waggled to indicate 'maybe, maybe not'. Wolf nodded in agreement. Raven saw us and put a finger to our lips, as though shushing us.

The next day, there was a notice up at town hall listing the members of the Interim Emergency Council. Mrs. Winter, my mother, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Blackwell, and Professor Tuttle were the only names on the list. Professor Tuttle hand't been on the council before. I couldn't tell if he'd be able to help or not though.  Owl wasn't impressed by the new council. He seemed to have slipped into a funk. I was used to Owl having the most fire in the group and so this was disconcerting. We went to see Mildred, and I have to admit that I really hoped she could kick him back into gear.

As usual, Mildred didn't have the tea ready right away. Instead she sat us down and looked us over, finally settling on Owl.

“What's wrong?

“Everything,” Owl said, “ Have you been paying attention lately?”

“Manners,” Mildred said, “We all have. What did I say about the need to change the game if the game is unwinnable?”

Owl shook his head and muttered an apology, but he didn't say anything else. Mildred waited quietly, and finally Viper spoke.

“Okay, fine. We need to change the game, but how do we do that? Raven's parents tried to change the game, and now their in the hospital. Bart tried to change the game and he's in hiding. He's a criminal for having a different opinion! Everyone who tries to change the game has been knocked down! And everything is getting so bad now. I keep hearing people say that the pets that are taken are being turned into the town’s rations. Food hoarding is illegal, which means keeping more than a week's food is a crime now. There is no way to change the game at this point. Owl's got a point, everything is wrong.”

“The people you mention didn't try to change the game. They tried to win it. There is a difference in what I am suggesting.”

“It's probably better if we just give up.” Owl said quietly.

“You can give up if you like. But the people who do make it through this crisis aren’t likely to be the ones who give up. The odds may not be pleasant. But people made it through bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, through the Holocaust, through Stalin’s Gulags, through the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror, through the Napalm and Agent Orange of the VIetnam War, through the Irish Potato famine. You should keep going. Not because the chances are good, but precisely because the odds are not in your favor. If the odds were in your favor, then you could afford to give up and still have a chance of surviving. In a situation like this, survival takes perserverence in the face of mounting odds. That is precisely what makes you a warrior.”

“So the fact that it’s hopeless is way I can’t quit.”

“Only if you want to survive. And you still might not.”

“We don’t know that Mayor Tailor and Russell and their family are dead.”

“No, we don’t. Does that make you feel better?”

“Not really.”

“Things live and things die. How many things live in a particular area depends upon space and food availability. A place can support more life than normal if food is brought in from elsewhere. Which is way hamsters can live in hamster cages, because you bring food in from elsewhere. Once food in no longer being imported, the population will correct until it is equal to or lower than the amount the area can normally support.”

“That's a cheerful thought.”

“No it's reality- and everyone bends to reality eventually.”