World in Tatters Ch. 37

My sleep comes in fits and starts. My dreams are a bit disjointed, but they keep a similar theme: memories of my mother. I dream of picnics in the sun, of hunting trips, of nights spent listening to music dancing through the halls.

Suddenly the dreamscape takes solid form. It’s early morning, just before dawn. Rachel, my mom, and I are walking through the woods. I’m carrying my mother’s rifle, the same one I use now. We take our time, quietly pacing through the forest. Mom and I are extra careful. We don’t want to scare away any game by making noise. Rachel, on the other hand, is a natural. She’s always been light on her feet, but this is effortless.

Even as a kid, she was like a little sprite, moving silently through space. She always liked sneaking up on people. Nowadays, she’s more like a spriggan: mischievous and often angry. We pick our spot at the top of a hill, lying down on our bellies to watch the game trail. Mom brought a small sack of dried corn. I didn’t know it at the time, but that was the last bit of hunting bait we’d have access to for a while. After that, every grain of corn went to feeding the people of Atlanta.

We lie there for a while, waiting… watching, feeling the cool morning breeze on our backs. Rachel can’t keep still. She keeps fidgeting, wanting to go run through the woods like we did during our travels.

“Sit still,” I hiss. “You’re scaring everything away.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Shush. Both of you.” Charlotte admonishes. “Look.”

About fifty yards upwind of us, a deer lurks in the trees. Charlotte slowly reaches for the rifle sitting beside me. She levels it against the packed dirt. The world goes completely silent as time slows. I glance over my shoulder to Rachel, making sure she’s watching, but something about the way she’s beaming gives me pause. At the last second, I whip back around shoving the barrel away just as the shot rings out. The deer, a beautiful specimen, bolts off into the brush.

The dream jumbles as my mom and I start arguing. I can’t understand the words being shouted, only the tone. I don’t remember it being this heated. Maybe the dream is distorting the memory, but it feels real somehow.

When the yelling stops, the dream comes back into focus. Mom’s not mad anymore. Rachel talks about the deer the entire hike back into town.

RAP! RAP! RAP!

The loud knocking startles me awake. The morning sunbeams shine right into my eyes from the low window.

RAP! RAP! RAP! The sound thunders through my aching head. Looking around the room, the others are stirring as well.

Rap! Rap!

“Yeah! We’re coming!” I shout back. Under my breath, “Hold your horses.”

I slowly lift myself up from the hard wooden floor, rubbing at a sore spot in my neck. I open the door some to find Richard waiting outside. He bares his kind smile, a look of contentment about him.

“Rise and shine.”

I lean against the door frame squinting my eyes against the pounding in my skull, “Why?”

“Because it’s tomorrow. And there’s work to be done.” He jests. “Besides, I wanted to check in on you guys after you ran off last night.”

I glance back over my shoulder where Rachel set her bed for the night. Rachel’s wide awake now, that silly cat of hers sprawled across her lap. Dropping my voice, “She was a bit shaken, but I think she’ll be okay.”

“I wasn’t just talking about her. How are you doing?”

“Oh. Uh… I’m good.” I lie, “Can’t say it wasn’t weird, but at least I knew about her ahead of time.”

“Well, that’s good.”

“I guess.”

“On a different note, so you’re aware. Some of the council and elders are addressing the city in about an hour. Charlotte is one of the speakers. I’m sure it’d mean a lot to her if you and Rachel were to come.”

“Oh. Okay. Sure, I guess. Just give us a bit to get ready. We’ll, uh…meet you downstairs.” Just before I shut the door, “Hey. Do you think we’ll have a chance to speak to her afterward?”

“I don’t know why not.” He smiles.

“Cool. We’ll be down shortly.”

“What was that about?” Alice yawns.

“Nothing. We just gotta be somewhere soon. Everyone get dressed.”

“Ugh.” Alice groans as she rolls herself off the side of the bed.

It only takes few minutes to get themselves together. Alice is still incredibly groggy when we step outside to meet up with Richard. As we walk through the streets, I can tell that Alice is just about falling asleep on her feet. More than once, I have to nudge her awake just so she doesn’t fall on her face. Her work at the hospital must have really taken a toll.

We arrive at the gathering right at the tail end of one of the speeches. The older dark-skinned gentleman from when I met Jedd. Never caught the man’s name, but he speaks with a compassionate authority. He stands atop a makeshift stage. Looks like they stacked a couple of charred crates to use as a podium. Several other officials have chairs lined up along the back of the platform.

My mother is nowhere in sight.

“…My friends. We live in dangerous times. Our enemies are gathering against us. Our leadership failed you. Failed all of us. It was our job to prevent this type of tragedy. But, I swear to you, we will bring those responsible to justice. Thank you.”

The man steps down from the podium to be replaced by one of the others. The woman…Regina, as I recall.

“I am angry!” She begins, “We are all angry! Elias Drum and his cronies came into our home and did everything they could to destroy it. We—“

Regina is interrupted by a parade of soldiers marching up the stairs onto the platform. Their leader: none other than Charlotte Tucker…my mother. Four of the soldiers drag hooded people to the edge of the stage, on display for the entire city. They force their captives onto their knees and rip the hoods off. There are three men and a woman, all looking worse for wear.

Their faces are covered with blood and bruises as though they’ve been beaten, and recently. Utterly shocked, Regina yields the stage to my mother. The crowd murmurs its surprise, trying to figure out who these prisoners might be.

“Isn’t that…” Alice stammers. She looks up at me, a swirl of confusion in her eyes.

“Our mom? Yeah.”

“I thought you said she died.” It’s not an accusation, but shock. She looks around at each of us. Rachel and Jason avoid her gaze. Rachel’s sleepless night clearly hasn’t helped her come to terms yet. “What… What’s… How?”

“I just found out a couple days ago. I told Jason the next day.” I glance to Rachel, who is shifting uncomfortably. “Rachel found out the hard way last night. Sorry. I should have told you, but I wanted to make sure it was true first.”

“Oh. I see. It’s alright. I uh…”

“Two days ago, we were attacked!” My mother addresses the crowd. When she speaks, the crowd falls into dead silence. “On this very spot, terrorists under the orders of Elias Drum and the new Atlanta Alliance set a tenement ablaze. This act resulted in the deaths of seventeen residents and injuries to dozens more. But they did not stop there. They were able to set several more fires across this city.”

The crowd murmurs again, feelings bubbling to the surface.

“This morning, just before dawn, my team were able to capture four of these infiltrators.” Gesturing broadly at her prisoners. “These four were apprehended trying to flee the city.”

That’s odd.

The chattering escalates at the news. A mixture of curiosity, apprehension, and excitement spread out from the stage. I lean over to Richard, “I thought the perps fled the same night.”

“So did I.” Richard’s brow furrows, “This is the first I’ve heard about this.”

“Then who are they?”

“I don’t know. But something doesn’t feel right.”

“Today!” My mother shouts over the crowd. “We get justice for our friends. For our loved ones. For all those ki—”

One of the prisoners whips his body around wrenching at his binds. “Why don’t you tell them the tr—” Without warning, one of the soldiers slams the butt of his rifle into the man’s nose, sending him sprawling to the ground in front of the stage. Two of the other soldiers jump down beside him, pulling the man up to his feet.

In the scuffle, the prisoner slips the rope at his wrists. He rams into the soldier at his left, grabbing at the man’s knife. He pulls it free from the sheath, swinging it wildly to put distance around him. The front lines of the crowd push back, trying desperately to get clear.

Suddenly, a shot rings out. The entire mob drops to the ground in terror. Several try to scatter. When the dust settles, the soldiers in front of the stage drag the prisoner’s lifeless body out of sight.

Stunned by the sudden violence, I look up to the podium to see Charlotte, stone faced, holstering her pistol at her side. She gestures to her men, sending the other captives away, but she stays at the podium, looming over the shaken crowd.

“Men like that,” She begins again, “Men willing to kill for Elias Drum. They want to destroy us. They want you dead. They want anyone not loyal to Drum to be wiped out. But I can’t fight them alone. Our forces are dwindling. As much as I hate to admit it, we are losing this conflict. If we succumb, things will only get worse. We all know what kind of regime Elias Drum runs inside the walls of Atlanta. If he is allowed to continue his reign of terror, he and his cronies won’t let any person here live. Drum knows no mercy.

“Therefore. I am asking all of you to sign up. Contribute to our cause. Every person here has something to give. Whether it be volunteering time, giving recourses, or volunteering to fight alongside us. We have weapons. We need soldiers.” Charlotte nods to Regina beside her. “Come see Regina to sign up. Tomorrow morning, the militia marches on to Atlanta. Soon we will cut the head off the snake. Thank you all.”

With her final word, Charlotte steps down from the stage. Much of the crowd begins to disperse. However, a line begins to form in front of Regina. Men, women and teenagers alike queue to register. I’ll be honest, it’s disconcerting to see so many people willing to sacrifice themselves for this cause. How could it come to this?

“Come on.” I feel Richard grab my arm pulling me through the crowd. I look back to see Alice and the others following close behind. We follow my mother and her contingent around the building behind the stage, prisoners still in tow. Charlotte breaks off from her party, continuing on toward their encampment. We pass the soldiers while rushing to catch up with her.

“Hey, mom! Mom, hold up!” I shout ahead of us. Charlotte stops in her tracks, turning around to face us. “Hey, I, uh, brought some people to see you.”

I step aside to reveal Alice and Rachel behind me. A light smile cracks across Charlotte’s face. Rachel still seems apprehensive, keeping her eyes fixed on Charlotte’s feet. Alice, on the other hand, can’t look away from her face, confusion evident in her features.

“So…You’re not dead?” Alice blurts out, her natural state of sarcasm coming through.

“The rumors have been exaggerated.”

“Good to hear.” Alice chirps. She walks right over to my mother, sharing a brief hug before separating again. My mother reciprocates, if stiffly.

“Hello, Rachel.” Charlotte turns her attention to the uncharacteristically timid teenager at my side.

“Hi…”

“It’s good to see you. I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to speak last night.”

“Yeah. Sorry.”

“It’s alright. I know all of this is a bit of a shock. And you’ve been through a lot.”

Rachel barely looks up, flashing a stiff smile. “Can…Can we change the subject.” She croaks.

“Oh! Of course.” I interject. “Yeah, mom, there was something I was hoping to talk to you about.”