Outliers 8B Calvin
Alan was enjoying a warm fall morning when his radio clicked twice. He clicked it once and waited. This was a signal from Mike that he wanted to talk but didn’t know if Alan was up yet. Alan’s single click indicated that he was there.
“Calvin is back.” Came over the radio.
Alan rolled his eyes, “Where?”
There was a long pause. “Down on the old GK highway.”
“What’s he doing there?”
“Yelling.”
“At the harvesters?”
“Yeah.”
“If he gets in the way of the wagons coming up the hill, arrest him.” Alan stated.
“Can’t I just kick him down the hill.” Mike asked.
Alan took a sip of his tea and thought about it, then spoke into the radio, “Mike just tell the trucks and wagons to push right on by him. Don’t give him anything.” Alan was thinking of his psychology training. He was not going to give any type of response that might reinforce this guy’s behavior. He was hoping that that would discourage him from trying to cajole a handout from those that work hard for every scrap they get.
There was two clicks again which meant that he got the message. Mike was a good soldier, but it was more than that. They had been friends for more than forty years now and they trusted each other.
Later that day, Alan had gone down to the commons to meet James Walk. The harvest was lighter than they liked and that meant rationing. A word no one likes. James would give us the ballpark numbers of items canned, pickled and preserved that would be placed into the common stores and then what might be left for those to purchase. This is where things got dicy. You had to restrict the amount that someone could purchase. And you had to regulate what they bartered for. Contracts had to be made and everything recorded so that disputes could be avoided. This involved all of the farmers, the head of the guilds and of course the head of all the households as they were called. Guilds were made up of tradesmen and women. The Households were the manufacturers. This was a trying time of the year. Everyone was vying for more that was available. Arguments always broke out.
Alan and the council had to deal with the arguments and moderate the sales. Susan was excluded as schools were starting up just as harvest was winding down. Hernandez was always biased toward the laborers that worked the fields and Kan hated the pettiness of it all. So, that left the lion share of the work to Alan and Lorance. Alan leaned towards making everyone equally unsatisfied while Lorance wanted everyone to be happy which never happened. But he tried. The only good thing that came from this time of year is that once all the arguing and dividing was over, they all got together for the harvest celebration.
However, Calvin was still yelling three days later and then again the following week. He was also getting closer to the East gate. Which meant that wagons and trucks were bunching up and he could get a bigger audience. He still did not interfere with the vehicles, but his rantings were getting on everyone's nerves.
Finally Mike had to give him an ultimatum. “Get lost or they were going to ship him off to the peninsula.” This only worked for a week or so. Calvin knew winter was coming and he didn’t have enough to make it through. And the surrounding area no longer had stuff he could scrounge to make it till spring. No, he needed the fruit of other people’s labor to do that.
By week three of the harvest he was waving flags and yelling. This was spooking the horses and that’s when one of Mike’s men confronted him and then when Calvin didn’t back down, the security guy punched him. Calvin just sat there ranting about a curse on the soldier and at that the man was destined for the place of sorrows and the gnashing of teeth. However, he refused to leave his position. Mike was finally called and Calvin was hauled into the holding cell. Here, he was given the opportunity to clean up and a meal. Just what Alan didn’t want to happen. But what choice did they have? If he spooked even one horse the loss would be deep.
Now the question was, what to do with him. Mike of course wanted to make good on his threat and ship him off with the fishermen. They, in turn, would drop him off somewhere on the other side. If he survived, it would take him a year to get back here. If he didn’t, well, problem solved.
Lorance was opposed to this as the man had not actually done anything to them, yet. Alan, Kan and Lopeze wanted him gone, just not as extreme as the peninsula. And with all that was going on, this was not a good time for this distraction. However, here he was and he was not quiet about it. The council met one night and the compromise was this. They would drop him off in Everrett. There was still items to scrounge and very few people as most headed South down the I-5 corridor to escape the cold. Calvin could survive and he would be out of their area. This sounded good. So a message was sent to Fort Lance and arrangements made to put him on the next vessel heading North.
All was quiet for two years then from the North a voice was crying out of the wilderness. It was Calvin. He was now on the North boarder of the “No Man’s Land” yelling across. It would be only a matter of time for him to work his way East to the Orting farm lands and start his protest all over again.
This time however, it was Summer and the first harvest was done and the second was months away. Mike of course wanted to hunt him down and end this. Alan admired the perseverance of the man. But Calvin was a bad penny and his insistence on living off the labors of others was not going to be tolerated. Almost everyone here worked more than one job. Teachers were field hands in the summer. All of the laborers worked with different trades. Even the kids do chores and work both at home, at school and in the fields. No one was exempt. The old watched the very young and we even had a few with handicaps, they still worked. Bill, who lost a leg while serving as a security officer, was one of our best butchers. Everyone had home gardens, livestock or something that they applied their efforts to and could barter with. Everyone worked, hard and benefited from their labors. That was part of the code that drove this place and why it had survived. So that wasn’t going to change.
Mike road out with the “tank” because it had a loud speaker on it. He was going to confront Calvin.
“Calvin!” Mike spoke into the microphone. The sound echoed off the trees on the far side of the “No Man’s Land”, but there was no answer.
“Calvin you either answer me or I will let the sharpshooters have a crack at you.” Mike threatened.
“You are a den of vipers!” Calvin yelled, but they could barely hear him.
“Then why do you keep coming back?” Mike asked.
“You need the word.” Calvin said.
“You are nothing more than a scrounge looking for a hand out. Your words are not His.” Mike said. Then added “You’re a lazy man and I know that you think otherwise, but I’m sure that, at the day of judgment, Christ himself will say that he does not know you.”
“Blasphemy!” they heard from the woods.
“Well we are going to find out. If you persist we are going to send you to Him.” Mike threatened again. “Go away and don’t come back.” Mike said when Calvin didn’t respond.
That was it for almost a month, then again on the road from the orting valley up to Graham. A road known as the GK highway which stood for Graham Kapousand Highway. Calvin was yelling at the farmer. Guards were sent to keep him from picking any of the harvest when the workers left at the end of the day. Two nights later he snuck into a field and was picking squash and cucumbers that weren’t even ripe yet. The guards yelled at him and he ran down the hill. No telling how much he got, but he was gone for now. The harvest went on without incident to its completion.
There was no yelling and the farmers were sure he didn’t take much. So no one was sure what happened.
Mike wanted to send a team down the hill, but there was still way to much work to do in Graham, so the matter was dropped. Calvin would have to wait or he would show up somewhere else. Mike secretly hoped that while running down the hill, Calvin broke something and was dying or dead somewhere in the bushes. Either way the matter seemed to fade away with the business of the harvest season.
If you want to read more about the Remnant Series see the links below.
Bood 5: Chaos coming soon to Amazon.com
Book 6: Obsidian Arrows
You can Leave a comment. Or follow us on Facebook. Or hit the subscribe button to get updates on new chapters or books.Thank-you
R. A. Legg
R. A. Legg
Comments
Post a Comment