Chapter 69 Moving in Saturday, March the 30th . Early morning. The sky was turning to grey when the intruders left the three houses. There were indeed eight long arms, shouldered and ready to fire, and two pistols. The rest of the people carried heavy backpacks and carried all kinds of bags in their hands. They progressed slowly on the road to the Water Well. Uncle Jeb was tied, naked and , to a tree, with the words “Dipshit” written in blood on his chest. Next to him was the severed head of the sentinel. His body was nowhere to be seen. Relatives wept and seethed with rage. One man took a folding knife out of his pocket and proceeded to detach Uncle Jeb, when a shot cracked in the distance. The man's chest burst out, covering Jeb's body with blood. People turned around in anger but nobody was to be seen. The group stopped its progression. A woman screamed hysterically, children yelled in panic and gripped the adult's clothes manically. After a while, the group resumed its progression, leaving the corspe to the feet of Uncle Jeb. After a two hours march, they came to the vicinity of the Water Well. In front of them were the Program people, mostly early and middle teenagers, who split in a hurry to leave room for the displaced intruders. The Program people retreated at least twenty yards from the road, looking at the intruders with anxiety, under the cover of the few adults and their shotguns. The intruders showered them with insults and obscene gestures. Some of them wanted to exert revenge, but the group leaders reined them in : they had to save energy, in order to find a place to stay. The Water Well was less than hundred yards away. The mobile turbine had been installed, and a large tub was nearly overflowing with water. Around the place were about a hundred vagrants, in a skeletal state, fixing them with intense looks. The leaders decided to go on : they would not stop here, nor use this foul water. Jim, from the window of his office, fired a shot from the teams' 22LR training rifle, the same rifle he bought at a garage sale. One of the leaders collapsed. There was a lull of a few seconds. The vagrants hesitated, but knives had been unsheathed, movements initiated then aborted ; the intruders were rapidly aiming their rifles at them. All of a sudden all hell broke loose. People tripped over, sand was thrown into the eyes, throats slit open from behind and chests stabbed. Children tried to run away in terror, only to be captured and immobilised by The Program's teenagers. One eight-year old girl fled at lightning speed, but the training rifle cracked again, and she stumbled, a red dot spreading from her thigh. Program boys caught her and dropped her to the ground. It was all over in the matter of a minute. Most adults were dead, the agonising mercilessly killed. All others were bound and handed over to the vagrants, who brought them to the barn.

As agreed, the loot and the meat was going to be counted and redistributed exclusively among the vagrants. Jim, with the help of improvised clerks, would make the inventory and Philip decided who would receive the firearms. It would take less than twenty minutes. Roger hurried the Program people away, towards the south-eastern area, but had to hurry back : in their hunger, the vagrants had begun slaughtering the stripped bodies on the road. Roger ordered the bodies to be brought behind the tool shed. The vagrants complied very slowly : they were accustomed to run their muscles at low speed. It took Roger and the Program teenagers a lot of time before they could rinse the blood from the road. Eventually, they washed themselves, then Roger asked one of the boys to get the rest of the children. The rest of the Program children had been kept in a secluded area half a mile away from the Water Well. Led by Father Francis, they passed the now clean, wet spot where the attack took place less than an hour ago. Diluted blood and blood clots had been washed up hastily on the grass next to the road. The Program people marched on ; they dragged an improvised cart with them, made the day before out of two car wheels and a wood frame. Less than two hours later, they walked by a tree that had a sizeable blood mark on its roots. By that time, the sun was shining bright and it began to be very warm. The fields were looking messy, with wide patches of destroyed plants and a smell of rot in the air. Finally, the three houses came into sight. There was some strange activity there, as the nearly naked Team Members were bringing out destroyed furniture and other broken content. It had all been smeared with excrement. The houses had been thoroughly ransacked. The upper floor had been destroyed and was impracticable. Large holes had been made into the roof, the all doors and remaining windows destroyed. Father Francis saw this as an excellent opportunity to mobilise the children into a constructive project. Without asking, he christened the place Trinity. Children would divide into several large teams tasked with the cleaning of the houses, the research and the transport of new furniture and building materials from the houses by the canal. The smaller team members would start harvesting some green wheat and cook it, while the middle teenagers took the cart and bring back drinking water from the Water Well. Under the care of Catalina, Erich was enduring a high fever under the shade of a tree. In his absence, the adults organised themselves spontaneously. Roger and the Black Team would take care of the disembarkation of the cargo and the assembly of a permanent wind turbine at the Water Well. They would be joined in the late afternoon by the Red and Blue team after their much-needed rest in order to cart the Mobile Turbine back to Trinity. By the evening, there would be enough roasted green wheat for everybody.

***

It was the smell of fresh bread that pulled Erich from his troubled sleep on this sunny Sunday morning. His entire body was aching and drenched in cold sweat. He was alone in the adult sleeping room, crammed full with improvised sleeping places made of salvaged blankets hastily washed in the canal. Erich rose up with great difficulty and stumbled to the window, now little more than a hole in the wall. The Program People were gathering outside in preparation of the morning mass. Erich found his clothes hastily washed in the canal water, and not really dry. He dressed up slowly, then left the room. The hall was crammed full of salvaged sleeping material as well. According to his calculations, there must have been about eighty people per house, all crammed on the ground floor. Or only sixty, if night rotations had been enforced. A small bell was ringing, announcing the start of the mass. Erich wanted to hurry, but his fragile health soon recalled him to more patience. The sight he had when exiting the house was overwhelming. Over two hundred people were gathered around Father Francis, who had set up an improvised altar. Thin bread had been covered with cloth and a sports champion cup would serve as a chalice. In the background, spotty wheat fields were undulating under a bright sun and a clear blue sky. Erich sat down discretely behind them, only as far as not to feel excluded. Only during the homily did Erich realise that it was Easter Sunday. He thought of the fate of the intruders, especially those who remained alive, awaiting the coming slaughter by famished cannibals. The children would be their Easter lamb. Or would the vagrants release them ? As the mass progressed, it was clear that in all honesty he shouldn't celebrate the communion. But they were so many here who should not communiate either. If they all refrained, it would not be awkward, it would be highly suspicious. And so he knew that everybody would communiate : Jim who shot at an eight-year old girl the day before, Mark who slit the Dipshit's throat once he had brought him to the Vagrants, then Erich who had the plan and gave the orders. Could this meat have saved some lives among the Vagrants ? It was impossible to tell. Couldn't they all have survived if Erich had let the intruders win ? For Erich, it was a certainty : they would have died. The bulk of the food reserves was exhausted when they fed the Vagrants, the few grains that remained, essentially in Father Francis' backpack were used for the bread they were going to eat right now. Apart from the little that remained on the Islands, the last grain of wheat Erich had bought in haste disappeared on this Easter Sunday. There were no reserves left, and from now on, all food would be new. The mass had been well organised and rehearsed ; the children's choir sang so purely they made a deep impression upon everybody. Erich witnessed some people having goosebumps. As the melody gained strength, Erich thought about Lizzie, almost taken by surprise, and started weeping. Father Francis had had the foresight to secure yeast and the last bottles of wine for this mass. The bread was soft and delicious, it had a consistence that most had almost forgotten. For the younger

Program members, it was a discovery altogether. Everybody communiated, most without any second thoughts. Father Francis and Erich exchanged looks at a distance, just for the other to know they aware of the issue. Once the mess was over, the subsequent meal was organized just as smoothly. As Erich had anticipated, the crux of the Program was to maintain the very habit of organisation between people. They all feasted on nothing but roasted green wheat. It had enough taste to allow for continuous eating, until they all felt satiated. After weeks at half-rations, this had truly become a necessity. Erich also knew they would require to build up as much muscles as possible. After all, they would have to carry several times their own weight of wheat in the next few days. *** Erich was sitting under a small tree, in order to hide from the already too hot sun. He tried to sleep but couldn't. His eyes half closed, he witnessed as the Program's leadership formed distant groups and chatted in a not so obvious conspirational manner. It was the office, all over again. From time to time, people looked at him at a distance, in the irrational fear that he might have overheard something. Erich observed that Diane and Mark were the two most sought-after persons ; while Mark was in a typical observer position, Diane didn't like the situation. At one moment, she looked towards Erich in exasperation, hoping he would wake up and put some order in this nonsense. Erich knew what this was all about : they were all thirsty for power. And, while power had to be shared for the time being, none of it was going to be given. Although Erich wasn't surprised by this evolution, simply because he foresaw it months in advance, he was saddened. This was going to be an agricultural world, and these worlds are always ruled with an iron fist. He was glad he had an island to go back to, so he could avoid that snake nest of power plays. After a while, he mimicked an awakening and stretched quite ostensibly. Mark approached him timidly. Mark : “Erich, if you're awake now, we would like to discuss some things with you.” Erich cheered : “Yes, of course ! I've been waiting for this.” Philip, Jim, Roger, Father Francis and all the other the team leaders gathered around him. Mackenzie and Father Robert were unheard of at the moment, probably roaming the farms in an attempt to smooth things out. Erich felt as if even Jim couldn't be trusted any more. He would have to play the naïve. There was a short silence, since people didn't know how to start. Erich started : “I think we shouldn't work on this Sunday. The many practical details, we can still them tomorrow. Instead, why not look at the bigger picture ?” Jim had a tense smile : “You always see the bigger picture, Erich. That's good.” Erich replied : “Well, now that we got here, everything changed. After all, this was the final step of

our planning; we didn't really plan anything beyond.” They all agreed. Erich went on : “Many important questions still remain open, first of all : what is Houma going to do ? A lot depends on that.” Philip asked : “What do you think will be the big picture ?” Erich : “Most of the people we brought here, ourselves included, are going to become farmers. No matter what we do, there is going to be conflict about land, contributions, I mean taxes, of course, and who is going to be the boss.” There was a slight feeling of unease within the group as soon as these last words were pronounced. Erich was bluntly describing what was happening already. Erich : “The one person who can give us an edge is Henry. With his team, they could manufacture enough farm equipment for everybody. I think we should set up such a company, and he would be the boss of it.” Philip : “Except none of his companies ever worked out.” Erich : “They might just work now, because there is a need for this and there is no alternative. And if Henry isn't calling the shots you can be sure he will leave. Henry is the most important person for everybody right now.” The audience remained silent ; Erich felt this silence to be ominous. Erich went on : “As for myself, I'll help with the harvest, then I'll gather my share of crops as well as some building materials from the houses over there, and get back on Three Acorns.” The audience seemed relieved by this statement. Erich concluded : “And by the way, one should find a pontoon boat to drive those two horses around, and somebody should get in touch with Connolly again.” Philip took a deep breath and said : “Erich, there is a guy named Jonesy, back at the Water Well. He intends to use the surviving girls from Jeb's family as prostitutes. What do you think we should do about it ?” It too obviously a test for Erich to pretend otherwise. Erich answered without hesitation : “As you said, I always look at the bigger picture. I think we should stop Jonesy from doing this, set the girls free and let them join other farms, because not only will we need their workforce now, but we'll benefit from their genes in the future. The less families we keep alive, the more inbred we will be. But, as a side note, one should ask Jonesy if he would consider becoming a trader between the farms and Houma city. After all, we will need more things than food, soap for instance is also vital.” Philip nodded. It was increasingly obvious that he was the one calling the shots, for now. Erich said bitterly : “But of course, you don't want people running freely around that could harbour some resentment, and could turn out to be dangerous.” Erich looked straight into Father Francis' eyes : “So you want them dead.” Philip weathered the unease better than the others and declared : “Erich, you mean well and are completely devoted to our cause, but sometimes your decisions put us in difficult situations. You shouldn't have included those vagrants into the deal.”

Erich looked straight at mark: “If I recall correctly, we only spent one French cartridge for the whole affair. Any other way would have cost lives.” Mark blushed in rage and nodded : he was siding with the others in spite of Erich having in effect saved his life. Soldiers die in combat, and what a combat it would have been if it weren't for Erich's trick. Philip was taken aback, but still soldiered on : “You have a way to see things... Well, perhaps we will have to spend much more to hold these vagrants in check now.” Erich : “Nonsense. We provided them with food when they were about to starve. There are a good number of them who owe us one.” Philip : “They might owe you more than they owe any other of us, Erich.” Erich : “You know, when I tricked Jeb's family into this trap, I broke my word, for the first time since this whole crisis started. My word is not worth anything now. This is good for you, because when you'll break yours sooner or later, I would take the blame on me.” Philip : “Is this really that important ?” Erich : “It is the very essence of society. You think you'll have to force the others into submission, and you're probably right, because this is going to be a rural society. But you'll never stop doing this, and it will not get you any further than mere survival. To go beyond, we need trade with Houma and Henry's machines, and this means contracts and long-term investment. For this one needs to trust the business partners. Henry is the only trustworthy person with some authority right now, no offence Father Francis, and your only chance of building something like a normal society again.” Erich's words sank deep within the audience's souls. It was as if he had all told them they would go to Hell, and he was probably right. Philip had a sad smile : “Erich, perhaps you shouldn't see that in such a way.” Erich had a genuine smile : “Does anybody remember a movie from the Sixties, named Cast a Giant Shadow ? Seems you don't. Well, in the movie, the Israelis just declared their independence, and they hire an expert from the US Army. They call him Aluf Stone, Aluf stands for General. And when the war is won, Aluf Stone is unfortunately killed by a sentinel.” Erich's audience was geniunely shocked by what he was alleging. Erich concluded : “Up to the last few days, we worked together because we had no other choice. It was all about surviving, and in the end it was also a form of selfishness. I don't heard any qualms about how we killed this whole family here. Now, choices are plentiful, possibilities endless.” Philip sincerely defended himself : “Erich, we don't want to kill you, what is this now ?” Jim jumped in : “Erich, you and I are not from around here. These guys want to run things here, because they believe if they don't some others will.” Erich replied to Jim: “The place they're from doesn't exist any more, but this isn't the point. Believe me, I know when my time has come to go. Just remember, guys, that I was just as impoverished as you were before this whole crisis started. Never forget we were all losers in the former world. Now some think they'll make the rules around here, but remember that those who fucked all of us are still around.” He punctuated his phrase by pointing up, in the general direction of the Cantaloupe.

His conclusion was less ominous as it was humbling. The nascent self-confidence of the leaders was crushed. Erich thought to himself : maybe this would be enough to save my life. Naturally, he was also thinking about Kathryn and the baby, but if he was going to be killed nothing would stand between them and harm or enslavement. After all, just like with the surviving girls of Jeb's family, no witness should remain alive to tell the story. *** The meeting evaporated into thin air. The essence of the Program was gone now, and only another emergency would briefly call it back, but as a mere travesty of what it used to be. Erich was left alone, still in the shadow of that little tree. He couldn't help but feel bitter. Jim came back to him. It was obvious that it was Jim the friend, not Jim the Program Leader. Jim asked : “Sucks, huh ?” Erich : “Yeah well, you can't expect our small improvised society to hold when our real society was fucked up for so long and finally folded.” Jim : “Yeah, but still, it existed, for a while.” Erich remained silent for a while and declared, as a memento for himself : “I'm glad it worked out. When I think back at The Edge Of Space, or those lunatics at Emerett, well these groups never could have survived.” Jim : “That's because it wasn't about giving orders. You told us where we could go, and we went there, simply because you were right.” Erich : “I was lucky.” Jim : “Nah... You were sincere. It was all very vague, nobody could have foreseen all of it. This way, we knew we would have to adapt rapidly, and boy did we have to adapt !” Erich nodded respectfully. It was the best compliment he received in his life. They both remained silent for a while. Around them, children were running around and playing in the late afternoon's heat. Erich asked : “Jim, I wonder... Do you think your money was well invested ?” Jim scoffed : “Well let's see... With it, we built huge levees around an island, helped to create a company, saved entire families from bankruptcy, formed a group around us that protected us from, well, literally hundreds of badasses...” Erich : “... and hunger...” Jim : “...yeah, and hunger, and now we're sitting with a full belly and children are playing around us. So, yeah, I mean, given the circumstances, it was okay. Okay-ish.” Erich enjoyed the humour like it was a rare nectar ; for Jim as for himself, it was as if the heavy yoke of the whole situation was sliding off their shoulders. Erich : “We should have invested in a bunker instead.” Jim : “Yeah, and then the Saviour's Soldiers would have come by our door and told us (he mimicked a heavily armed grunt) : you wanna talk about Jesus, bitches ?”

Erich : “Oh yeah, and then we switch the radio and hear those stupid voices.” Jim, imitating the radio woman's nosy voice : “Oh my God, I just said Gary died, like, for the thousandth time !” Erich answered with the radio man's bass voice : “Yeah baby, this time Gary is going to be dead for a long time !” Laughter erupted from all around them : children had been listening, intrigued by the two men's happy tone of voice. More were coming. Jim and Erich stopped, surprised and embarrassed. The children called out : “More ! More !” Jim improvised. He took a stupid, He-man wanabee voice : “Hey Tiphany, We have to fill up the Humvee again !” Erich followed, impersonating a posh woman by his side : “Daaaymn Bobby! Where are going to find gasoline in this apocalypse !” Jim : “Hey, what about Joyeux-Tiburon ? Those french guys are going to surrender as soon as they see my nickel-plated machine gun !” Erich took a heavy German accent, in fact impersonating Schwarzenegger, and made funny faces : “Yeahhh, Velkom to my citeh, I am the German !” The children were bent in two from laughter. Some called : “Do it again ! Do it again !” Erich complied. He put his jaw forward and shouted : “I am der German ! I spank bad children ! Are you bad children ?” The children replied : “Noo !” Erich : “Ach so ? But I am shuRR there are bad children here !” Jim, impersonating a caricature of himself, acting all scrawny : “Look, that one, he took a long hot shower once !” Erich rolled his eyes in a mock fury : “Vhatt ! One minute shower ! Criminal !” Jim : “This one didn't like his seaweed !” Erich : “Seaweed good ! Stronk food !” Some children laughed so hard they couldn't catch breath. Some of them hadn't really laughed for weeks. Soon, everybody around the place had gathered around them. Erich and Jim kept imitating themselves, winning time, short of ideas to continue. Jim : “The German, look ! Light signals !” Erich : “Was ? Vhat they say ?” Jim : “They say Ms. Johnston is now going out with Mr. Jones !” Erich : “Qvvick ! Dianah ! You must update the map ! Strategy !” Jim, impersonating an naïve and panicked Diana, howled : “Oh no ! Ms Johnston !” Diana looked at Jim with an wry smile. Jim, still impersonating Diana : “She said she would date Mr. Brown ! Who can you trust these days ! Roger ! We have a situation !” Erich, impersonating Roger : “Oh my God ! Ms Johnston ! Tell Henry we need a new machine !” Jim, impersonating Henry, took a very tired face : “Uhhhhhh guys.... I could need some sleep right now...” Erich : “Nein ! Ms. Johnston gross problem !” Jim : “Uhhhh.... Okayyyy.... Like.... I could make a machine...” Erich : “Vonderful ! Vhat machine ?”

Jim : “A fart machine !” Jim made some mechanical farting sounds. The Red Team was laughing just as loudly as the smallest children. Erich, impersonating a woman : “Mr. Jones ! What are these sounds !” Jim, impersonating a young man : “Hey hey, Ma'am, this ain't me... It's them boys !” Erich : “What boys, Mr. Jones ?” Jim : “Those boys out there on the boats ! They fart all night long !” The girls laughed at the boys, the boys shouted back : “It's not true ! Not true ! The girls are worse !” Erich : “Then Vee must make machine farting like girls !” Jim made minute, stealthy mechanical blowing noises. Jim made a catastrophed face : “Arg ! They are silent but deadly !” It was the boys' turn to laugh at the girls. Erich made ventilating gestures with his hands : “Seaweed very stronk ! Very stronk !” Jim and Erich improvised for some more minutes until they stopped from exhaustion. The audience cheered, to which Jim and Erich, still sitting, bowed gratefully. People around them went back to their playing or chores. Jim was due for his chores as well, but remained seated for a while, breathing deeply, a large smile on his face. He finally said : “Yeah... yeah, it was worth it.”