The day after: An apocalyptic morning (68 page)

              "I don't like to talk ill of the dead anymore than I like to lay blame," Skip continued. "But those people died of stupidity. They were having a goddamn orgy while on guard duty. They were doing this because they didn't think that anybody was going to really attack us. Many of you out there, despite repeated pleas and threats from me, have done the same thing. That could just as easily have been you out there and don't for an instant try to convince yourself that it couldn't have been. It wasn't just that they were fucking each other, don't try to say that it was just because of that. It was because they weren't paying attention to what they were supposed to be doing."

              "You folks that are regular guard duty draftees thought I was an asshole. You used to call me names, deride me, sabotage my efforts. When I would walk up and try to instruct you on how to keep watch, you wouldn't listen to me, you would flip me off behind my back, you would grab your crotch to show your contempt for me. Well Jeff, Lenny, and Missy used to do those things too. They thought I was an overbearing asshole too. And now look at them. They're still in the room where they died, covered with puke, urine, and shit, and we're unable to move their bodies out because the fumes are still too strong.

              "I have stood on my head to try to get you people to take security seriously, but you have consistently refused to do so. I have begged and pleaded with Jessica to try to improve security arrangements around here, and she has consistently refused to do so. And now that an attack has occurred, an attack that I have been warning everyone about ever since I got here, you want to believe that it is my fault? You listen to Jessica when she tries to pin the blame for it on me?"

              He could sense a softening of their hatred for him now, a certain shame in the tone of their murmurs, in the casting down of their eyes.

              "Three people were shot in my group," Skip said next. "Jessica took a delightful glee in mentioning that a few minutes ago and comparing it with the fact that no one was shot in Mick's group, who was battling twice as many people. Again, she implied that this was my fault somehow, that I wasn't a strong enough leader during the battle. And again, she is distorting the facts and twisting them to suit her need.

              "Those of you that were in my group, why don't you stand up right now."

              There was some tittering but no one stood.

              "Come on," Skip said, making get up gestures, "you ten that stood with me this morning, that helped take out those assholes, that helped flush those other assholes out of the trees, stand up. You have a lot to be proud of and I want the community to see you."

              Gradually, one by one, they stood up, the seven women and three men of squad Adams. They looked nervously towards him, uncomfortable with being singled out.

              "Dale broke and tried to run when the shooting started," Skip said. "That was how he got shot. You ten out there saw this as well as I did. Do any of you disagree with that statement?"

              None of them disagreed with it.

              "Jessica also broke and ran. Now I've heard her telling people that she ran to go get help for poor Dale, who she was so concerned about, but that's not what happened. She panicked and she ran despite my repeated yells to stay down. Does any one of you disagree with that?"

              Again, though Jessica cried out in protest, none of them disputed this.

              "The woman who is supposed to be a leader broke and ran from a fight with four people," Skip said sadly. "The leader of the community did this. So is it any wonder that three other people, as soon as they saw her fleeing, tried to do the same? Not at all. The thing is, Jessica escaped unharmed from this cowardice act of panic. Rick Stanton and Sheri Philo were not so lucky. Rick was shot in the back of the head. He died immediately. Sheri was shot in the back of the leg. She is now upstairs with a broken femur and she may never walk again. Those of you who did what I said and stayed down are all here with us tonight, a little bit older and wiser, but alive and uninjured. Tell me," he asked his ten squad members, "do any of you have any criticisms or problems with the way I directed that battle this morning?"

              None of them did.

              "Does anybody out there, anyone besides Jessica, have a problem with the way I responded to the situation? Does anyone think that they could've done a better job of it?"

              Nothing but shamed silence from the crowd.

              "And yet," he said, "you were all just about to throw me out of town, weren't you? My knowledge and training, my leadership abilities, saved this pathetic town this morning, and you were going to throw me out of here. And for what? Because I sleep with Christine, a sixteen year old girl? Because you find that act immoral? Is that the reason?"

              Some more titters from the crowd as they found themselves back on firmer ground.

              "I will gladly admit to you that I sleep with her," Skip said. " Christine and I are lovers! Christine is now carrying my child in her! It's true and I am not ashamed of it, in fact, I'm proud to say it. Now, I can hear you out there calling her a child and damning me for being in a relationship with her, but that child was an integral part of defending this town this morning. She killed two of the invaders herself and assisted in the final trap that killed the last two of them. She was the one that was able to spot the fact that they had split into two groups and relay that information to me so that I could respond to it. I think that many of you out there are displaying somewhat of a double standard towards Christine and Jack, her brother. You will allow them to stand watch for you and work twice as many shifts as any of you do, you will allow them to carry guns and kill for you, you will entrust them with your lives, but you don't want them to have sexual relations? What right do you have to deny this to them? Christine and Jack are both adults and they have both proven themselves time and time again. They have developed the maturity to make their own decisions and it is not your place to dictate what they can and cannot do with their lives or their bodies."

              He softened his voice a little. "Folks," he said, putting a pleading expression on his face, "I'll go back to the first point that I made. The world is dead. This town is all that we have left. If you want your children to grow up to be adults, if you want your grandchildren to be the ones that build a new world, you'd better get your shit together right here and right now. If you keep obsessing about morals that are no longer applicable and about rules of etiquette that don't Micker any more, and about social conventions that don't have any place any more, then you're all going to die. Because while you're going on and on about who is sleeping with who and about how you don't think you should have to stand guard duty, our food is running out and there are people out there with guns that would be more than willing to come in here and take what they want.

              "I am a survivor and I can help this town stand if you will listen to me and follow my suggestions. I can't guarantee that I'll bring us through and that we'll all live another year, but I can assure you that I am an asset towards that goal, not a liability. If you don't think that is so, if you don't think that you can live with my choice of sexual partner or partners, then vote me out of here. I'll leave and I'll find someplace else that will appreciate what I've got to offer.

              "That's all I have to say. Take your vote now and send me on my way if that's your wish."

              With that he dismounted the podium. He did not look at Jessica as he passed. He merely walked back to his seat and sat down. Christine and Paula each took one of his hands in theirs.

              "That was an awesome speech," Christine whispered.

              "You never fail to amaze me, Skip," Paula put in.

              Jessica, not quite as confident looking as she had been a few minutes before, mounted the podium once more. "Well I'll certainly give the man credit for being dramatic," she said into the microphone. "But that does not change the central issue that we were talking about. The fact remains that he is a scoundrel that has abused our trust ever since he's been here and that is a menace to our morality. Keep in mind that..."

              "Jessica," Paul said, standing up and walking over to her. "I think that is quite enough."

              "What?" she said, looking at him furiously.

              "Call the vote," he said. "Don't bother trying to rile them up again, I think they're beyond that now and all you're doing is making yourself look like an idiot."

              "How dare you talk to me like that," she said, turning on him, almost forgetting that she was in front of the entire community.

              He didn't answer her; instead, he pushed her to the side, taking her place in front of the microphone. "There's a motion on the floor, people," he said into it. "The motion is whether or not to exile Skip Adams from this town. I hope you'll vote wisely on it. All in favor, say aye."

              "Aye," yelled Jessica, loud and clear. She was the only one. She looked at the crowd in disbelief. "What is that Micker with you people?" she screamed at them so loudly that she didn't need the microphone. "This man is a child molester, a thief, and a sneak. He does not belong here!"

              Nobody said anything, they simply looked at her, their eyes open for perhaps the first time.

              "I would say that that does not constitute a two-thirds majority," Paul said lightly. "There will be no need to poll those that are on guard duty at the moment." He picked up Jessica's gavel. "The motion is defeated." He gave a whack on the podium with it and then tossed it over his shoulder. "Now how about we take care of some real town business for once? While we're making motions up here, I'd like to move that Jessica Blakely be placed on suspension from the town committee until such time that an investigation into the charges of gross negligence can be completed."

              "What?" Jessica yelled, grabbing him by the shirt and turning him towards her. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You can't make a motion like that!"

              "Oh but I can," Paul said, springing shut the trap that Skip, the master trap-layer, had set for her. "Didn't this community just vote upon and approve a resolution that allows them to vote upon and approve resolutions? Didn't you just use that resolution to ask for a vote of exile against Skip?"

              "You can't use that against me!" she said.

              "Actually," he said, "I can. However, like the exile clause, I'll make it a two-thirds majority, just to be sure, okay?"

              She looked at him in horror, feeling her world slipping out from underneath her. She could think of no way to counter what was about to happen.

              "People," Paul said into the microphone. "We have a motion on the table. Do I have a second?"

              The entire room, almost as one, cried out "second".

              "The motion is seconded," Paul said. "All in favor of suspending Jessica Blakely from the town committee pending an investigation of gross negligence, please say aye. Two thirds majority will be required for passing."

              There was no point in doing a count. The ayes were overwhelming.

              "The measure passes," Paul said, looking at her. "Jessica Blakely, you are hereby suspended from the committee until such time as an investigation into your actions is completed."

              "You can't do this," she hissed, glaring at him with a hatred rarely seen.

              "I didn't," he said. "The community did it. But even that isn't completely true. The fact is, you did it to yourself."

              Jessica stormed out of the room a minute later, her face red with anger, her hands clenched tightly into fists. More than a little laughter and more than one derisive comment followed her out. Paul continued to chair the meeting after her departure, utilizing the handy decree that she had had voted in to get a few more things done.

              In the space of twenty minutes he managed to pass every security suggestion that Skip had made since arriving and authorized him to raise "whatever work force is necessary" to initiate it. He also empowered a panel of three people: Mick, Maggie, and Paula, to perform the complete investigation of Jessica's activities in regards to her responsibility for the attack upon the town and to report the results at a future community meeting.

              "People," he told them just before calling an end to the meeting, "five people died today in the attack upon our town. Let's not let their deaths be in vain. As Skip told you a little while ago, we need to start concentrating our energies on survival. We need to stop worrying about fighting with each other over men or work positions and start worrying about how to get more food. We need to stop wasting our time playing these endless little games that we play and bothering ourselves with petty preoccupations and start shoring up our defenses so that no one else dies a needless death here. Let the events of this morning be a wake-up call for us and let's get our shit together, shall we?"

              Paula accompanied Skip and Christine back to the house that they shared, Skip walking between the two women, their arms interlinked. Though they would not be moving in to Paula's house until the following day, all three had agreed that it was important for them to show unity in the decision they had made. From now on they would all sleep under the same roof. They would be a triple.