Overthrown The Death of America...Book Five
I thought I was through with this. I guess The Lord has different ideas. As usual if anyone has comments please start a seperate thread.
Overthrown,
The Death of America
Book Five
The Occupation
by Travis O. Dean
Chapter One
"Mom it's getting kind of late. Is Dad home yet?"
Sue wished her fourteen year old son, Sean, hadn't mentioned that. She knew it was late and the sun was getting quite low in the sky. Curfew would begin soon and her husband was still out there somewhere. She had warned him not to go to the disbursement center today. They still had enough to get by for a few days, and after what happened yesterday she didn't like the idea. People leaving the center with what they had been able to get from the government were attacked by a roving gang of thugs and had everything stolen from them. Most were simply beaten half to death. A few of them who had resisted were killed on the spot. Even those who had willingly turned over what they had were beaten or threatened to remind them to hand over everything they had the next time the gang came through. There was no reason for Larry to take such a risk. But his reasoning was his own.
"Honey, those hoods got what they wanted yesterday. So they won't be out there today. Besides, I heard that new deliveries were made last night. You know how it is. The first in line get the most and the best of what they have. Don't you worry. I'll be safe, but even more important I have The Lord watching my back."
He always had to bring God into things. How he could believe such nonsense was beyond her. Still, he was a good husband. Before everything fell apart he had always been a good provider. He had never been abusive to her or Sean. She actually did love him very much, and knew he felt the same about her. He had never given her any reason to doubt that and had proved it on more than one occasion. She honestly believed the man would step in front of a bullet for either her or their son and count himself lucky to have had the privilege.
"Mom?"
"I heard you, Son. I know. It is getting late. But what can I do about it? Your father has the car, so I can't go out looking for him. We just have to wait."
"But Mom, he could be in trouble."
She slapped down the knife she was using to prepare the evening meal.
"Don't you think I know that? But you heard your father. He just had to go and he is certain that God will protect him. I couldn't have stopped him with a hammer."
Sue also knew what her son was thinking, Even though he wouldn't say it. Things were turning ugly. This used to be a nice neighborhood. People knew each other and would lend a helping hand when asked. Now it was as if everyone was afraid of their neighbors, and people barely even spoke to one another any more. She had seen how people she had once considered her friends now eyed her suspiciously whenever she stepped outside. And it wasn't just her. They looked at everyone that way. Of course the number of break-In's and home invasions that had happened recently didn't help matters. The police couldn't do anything to prevent them and the fact they seemed to have even less interest in solving the crimes didn't help at all. Nobody was invited into someones house any more. People were afraid that their neighbors would see what they had and come back later to steal it. At least that's why Sue didn't invite anyone over. And she was convinced that's why nobody
asked her to drop by like they used to do.
As if to confirm her dark thoughts, in the distance she heard what sounded like an explosion. She had no idea what it might mean, and wished that Larry would hurry home. She didn't feel safe without him around. What if those thieves came here? She wouldn't be able to do anything to stop them. What would they do to her son? For that matter what would they do to her? The thought chilled her to the marrow. It was then that Sean spoke again and surprised her.
"Mom? You heard about what happened to the Fraser family, didn't you?"
She'd heard. They had been the most recent victims of a home invasion. It had been brutal. Mr. Fraser was shot as soon as the invaders came through the door. His wife and their two daughters were bound and held in a back room while the thieves ransacked the house. Then one at a time they had been raped and tortured, repeatedly for the rest of the night. By morning, only the older girl was alive. Being traumatized by the abuse, she was of no help to the police. The girl was taken to the hospital, the house was sealed and nothing more had been done about it. That had been only a few days ago.
"Yes, I heard about it. But I'm sure the police will find whoever did that. You don't need to worry about it."
She had lied to Sean. She had little faith that the police would do anything. They were too few and spread much to thin to spend much time working on things like that. They were more concerned with protecting their own families and the disbursement centers.
"What if they don't catch them? What if they come here?"
"Sean I'm sure those people got what they wanted and they would be foolish to do something like that again in this neighborhood. People will be watching for them."
"People may be watching, Mom. But what can they do to stop them? As far as I can tell they pretty much do what they want now a days."
The maturity of his statement caught Sue off guard. She looked at him. He shouldn't be thinking like that at his age. He should be thinking of getting good grades in school, sports and, even though she hated to admit it, girls. He shouldn't have to be concerned about the crime rate.
"Well, I'm sure they won't come here. And if they do, your father knows what to do. he will take care of us."
"Mom, I was thinking about that. He isn't here right now. Shouldn't we get Dad's gun out? Just in case I mean."
"SEAN. You know how I feel about those things. I've asked your father to get rid of it a thousand times. And I don't want you anywhere near the thing. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Good. It's bad enough that he keeps it around. The last thing we need is for you to get your hands on it and maybe shoot yourself or somebody else. So we'll have no more talk about it. "
Sue turned once again to getting the food ready, as Sean left the room. She realized she would need to keep an eye on him for a little while. If he was talking about it, she knew he was thinking about it as well. He just might decide to educate himself with the weapon when no one was looking. And that would lead to disaster. Glancing up through the window in the kitchen she could see the sun beginning to go down below the horizon. In twenty minutes or so it would be all the way down and curfew would begin again. If Larry didn't make it home soon, he would have to seek shelter some place for the entire night. Again the Fraser family came to her mind and a chill once more ran down her back. She was so engrossed with her gloomy thoughts that when a knock came on the front door, she jumped at the sound.
"I'll get it." Sean yelled from another room.
"No you won't. I'll get it. You stay where you are."
She really didn't even consider that this might be someone trying to break in. That happened at night and besides, those people didn't knock. But Sean was still young and might open the door too far or invite someone in. There wasn't any point in allowing others to get a look at what they had. They just might be tempted. She opened the door, slightly and stood in the gap blocking whoever was outside from seeing much of anything. She found Danny, their next door neighbor, standing there. A look of concern on his face.
"Hi Sue. Is Larry here?"
"He's out at the moment. But he should be back soon. I'll tell him you are looking for him." She wasn't exactly cold, but she didn't want to give Danny a better chance at looking into their home. He seemed okay, but these days you never knew.
"I was afraid of that. Sue, look I'm sorry to be the one to say this, but He might not be coming home."
"What are you talking about? Of course he's coming home."
"Look Sue. I was coming back from down town a little while ago. There was some kind of trouble over near the center. I don't know exactly what it was but there was some shooting and something happened to a car over there. It was burning and then it just exploded."
"What does that have to do with Larry?"
"Like I said. I'm not sure. The car was burning and pretty badly messed up by the time I came past it. And I have to tell you I wasn't going too slowly either, There was still a lot of stuff going on, but it looked like it might have been Larry's car."
The words hit Sue like a tone of bricks. It couldn't be true. Larry was always such a careful man. Everyone liked him and he wouldn't do harm to anyone.
"I don't believe you. That couldn't have been Larry. He's just late getting home. You're lying to me."
"Sue, believe me. I wouldn't wish this on anyone for all the world.
"You said it LOOKED like his car. You didn't say it was his car. Tell me exactly what you saw."
"Sue, do you really want to discuss this right here on the front porch? Why don't we step inside so we can talk in private?"
Again something brought Sue up short. Danny had a reputation. There had never been any proof, but people said he thought of himself as something of a Don Juan. He would use any excuse to get what he wanted from a woman. And being their neighbor she had noticed him giving her the eye. More than once. What if this was a trick? but how could it be? At this time of day everyone was home because of curfew. Danny knew that. That meant that he knew if Larry was coming home he would be there soon. Surely he wouldn't try something in a situation like that. Then she thought better of it.
"Sean is home. If you are wrong, I don't see the point in getting him upset over nothing."
She could see the look of disappointment in his eye. Whatever had happened, he had been planning something. He just needed to get into their house to pull it off. Well that wasn't going to happen. Not today.
"Really Sue. Don't you trust me? After all these years of living next door to each other? I wouldn't lie to you. What kind of a man do you think I am. I'm trying to help you." He reached out and gently laid his hand on her shoulder
"Help me?" She answered as she pulled his hand loose from her. "How? By telling me my husband is dead when you don't even know? That's not helping me. Then you try to talk your way into my home, I guess to offer me a shoulder to cry on if I needed it. Danny I think you had better leave."
Again, he looked disappointed but he stepped back from the door and told her.
"I admit it. I could be wrong. If I am, I'm sorry for having said anything. But if I'm not, well you know where to find me if you need me."
And with that he turned and left. Sue closed the door behind him and went back to the kitchen. While she didn't want to show it to Sean, she was completely rattled by what Danny had said. It wasn't like Larry to be this late. She was very concerned.
Sue managed to get the meal on the table, without burning anything. The sky outside was rapidly turning black. There still was no sign of Larry.
"Aren't we going to wait for Dad?" Sean wanted to know.
"Son, sit down. We have to talk."
He did so but didn't even look at the food on his plate.
"Where's Dad?"
"I don't know, Son. Maybe something happened to the car and he had to stay in town tonight. His church is near the center, maybe he is staying with them tonight instead of doing something that might get him arrested."
"Why didn't he call then?"
"You know how bad the telephone service has gotten. He might not be able to call us and let us know he's alright."
"Do think he is okay?"
"I'm sure he's fine. And I know he wouldn't want us to sit around going hungry just worrying about him. Now we will eat our dinner and then play a few hands of cards. Then we'll make an early night of it and I'm sure he will be back in the morning. Alright?"
"Well, okay. But I still think we should wait."
"Sean tomorrow is still a long way away. If he doesn't get back before then you are going to be very hungry. Now, eat your dinner and let's act like your Dad is in bed and asleep already. Tomorrow will be here before you know it and he will come walking through the door like nothing ever happened."
"Yes, Ma'am."
The rest of the meal was eaten with almost nothing said between them. And the attempt at playing card games failed miserably. Neither of them had their mind on the game. Before long Sean announced that he did still have a little studying to do that he wanted to get done before bed. Sue said alright and off he went to his room.
Sue sat in the living room trying to read, but after she realized she was reading the same page for about the eighth time, she gave it up. Looking at the clock she realized the it was almost nine, and Sean needed to go to bed. Quietly she moved down the hallway to his door and listened briefly to see if she could hear him. She could tell by the lack of light from under the door that the lights were out, and if he was already asleep she didn't want to wake him. She did hear something. It sounded like Sean was talking to himself. Gently she opened the door.
"Sweetheart. Are you alright?"
"Yeah. I'm fine Mom."
"I thought I hear you talking to yourself. What's going on? Is there anything I can help you with?"
"No. Really Mom, I'm okay."
"Who were you talking too?"
"I wasn't talking to anyone."
"Son I heard you."
The boy sighed and answered. "I was kind of praying."
"Praying! Son tell me you don't really believe in all that silly nonsense that your father does."
"Mom, I don't know what I believe. I just figured it couldn't hurt. I mean if Dad is right and there really is a God, then He can help Dad come home. If not, then it doesn't really matter anyway. Does it?"
She smiled at his question. "No. I guess it doesn't hurt. Just try not to put too much faith in something that isn't there."
"I won't. Good night, Mom."
"Good night sweetheart."
With those words she closed the door and returned to the living room. One thing she knew for certain. When Larry came home in the morning, the two of them were going to have a serious talk about this. She would not have him impressing his superstitious beliefs on their son. It was fine if he wanted to believe like that, but her son was going to be raised believing in science just as she did. Not stories written by ignorant sheep herders from centuries ago.
Sue continued to try to find something to occupy her time, until much later that evening. There was little point in going to bed. She knew she would be unable to sleep. Before she realized how late it had gotten, the clock showed it was a little after eleven. Sue had run through every excuse that she could imagine for Larry to not have come home. Yet every time she did she could still hear Danny telling her of the burning car. What if it had been Larry? What was she going to do? How could she provide for the two of them?
"You know where to find me if you need me."
Danny's words ran through her mind. What about him? What if all the stories were just that, stories? If they didn't have a shred of truth to them she may have misjudged him. That wouldn't be fair to him. Maybe he was just trying to be helpful. After all they had lived next to him for years and he had never tried anything with her. Yes, he gave her that look, but then so did other men. While she wasn't conceited about it, she knew that she was better than average looking. Many men felt it only reasonable to give her a second look. What if Danny were only doing the same thing, only more often because they lived next to each other.?
Sue made up her mind and quietly checked her son to be sure he was sleeping and then silently let herself out the front door. She knew it was illegal to be out at night, but she was only going next door and was hardly likely to be caught doing that. As she walked across the yard she saw the lights were still on in Danny's house. She stepped up onto the front porch and almost timidly knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" Danny's challenge filled voice came from inside.
"Danny, it's me. Sue from next door."
"Sue? Just a minute." She heard him moving around inside and soon the lights behind the door went out. Once it was dark there Danny opened the door. "what can I do for you?"
"I just wanted to apologise for the way I behaved earlier. It was rude of me. But can you tell me why you turned the lights out to answer the door. The seems a little strange."
"Not at all. With the lights on it's easy to see when someone opens the door at night. With them out it isn't so obvious. Please, come in and we can talk in the light where we can see each other."
"Thank you."
Sue stepped inside and when the lights came back on she could see that Danny's house was about what she had expected. Clean but cluttered and unkempt. Typical of a man living alone.
"I can't stay long. I don't want Sean to wake up and find me missing. He's already upset that Larry didn't come back from the center today."
"That's alright. I understand. I mean it's not like I was giving the best news in the world. I'm just one of those people that thinks knowing something is better than knowing nothing. I'm sorry if I've made you worry over nothing."
"I suppose you're right. At least this way I can prepare myself if Larry doesn't come home tomorrow. That will be a help in dealing with Sean."
"You know that I'm fond of the two of you. You've been great neighbors. If there is anyway I can help with him either, you just let me know. Alright?"
"That's a comfort. I just hope I won't need to get you involved with something like that."
Danny again laid his hand on her shoulder. "Just remember what I said, because I mean it. I'm here if you need me. I'm here for Sean as well."
"Thank you. You are too kind." Sue moved foreward and briefly hugged Danny. For a moment, it felt like his hug in return was a bit more than it should have been, but when she pulled back he released her willingly.
"Would you care for a cup of coffee or something?"
"No. Thank, you but I really need to get back home before Sean knows I'm missing. Again let me apologise for my behavior."
"Don't worry about it. There is nothing to apologise for."
"I'd better leave."
Let me turn out the lights first. We wouldn't want a passing cop car to take you down town."
The lights went out and Danny returned to her.
"Let me help you. Wouldn't want you to trip over something in the dark."
His arm went around her waist. It seemed to her that he held her a little closer and tighter than was necessary, but she accepted the help without comment. She stepped outside and was on her way back home feeling somewhat better. If something had happened to Larry at least she had someone to help her get her feet back under her.
For his part, Danny stood in the doorway, watching her go. The smile on his face was unseen by Sue, but clearly showed he was enjoying what he was looking at.
Have you ever noticed how 'good enough' usually isn't?
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
The guard dies, but NEVER surrenders. (See my avatar)
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