Midknight, page 9
Jumping back in surprise, Dale Sanderson spun around and almost fell backwards off the step. A man that he had never seen before appeared out of nowhere and looked like he was ready to catch Dale if he wasn't able to maintain his balance. Where had he come from?
“Sorry, I didn't mean to alarm you.” The dark-haired stranger wore a gray suit over a muscular frame and gave Dale a warm, disarming smile. Dale's hand was placed firmly on the revolver in his coat pocket, but the calming presence of the man before him indicated that he had nothing to fear from him.
“Who are you?” Dale asked.
“Just someone trying to prevent something terrible from taking place.”
Dale didn't know how, but he was sure that this stranger knew what he was about to do. “I don't know what your talk-”
“It's okay, Dale. You've been placed in a terrible predicament. Everything's going to be fine, though. I'm here to prevent you from doing something that you’ll regret for the rest of your life.”
“I don't want to.... but you don't understand.... they have my boys. If I don't-”
“I'm aware of the dilemma that you are in. What if I offered a different alternative? If I asked you to return home and forget what you were instructed to do, would you trust me if I said that I could get Matthew and Brady back to Paradise Flats safely?”
“You could do that? How? I thought about going back myself and busting them out, but there are guards and that one fellow.... he's got some kind of powers or something.”
“You leave that part to me. Do we have a deal, Dale Sanderson? Forget about what you were asked to do and I will get your two sons back to Paradise Flats safely by tomorrow morning.”
“I still don't know how-”
“Do we have a deal?”
Dale hesitated. He didn't like the idea of leaving his boy's fate in the hands of a total stranger.
“Who are you?”
“Just a friend, Dale.”
“You promise that you'll make sure they get back home safely?”
“I promise.”
There was no reason to believe the word of this total stranger, but Dale trusted this man for some reason. He nodded his head in agreement.
“Good.” The stranger extended his hand and Dale reached out and shook it. “Now, go home. Mention this to no one. Tell your wife and brother that everything is taken care of.... that's all they need to know.”
“I will. I'm sorry for what I-”
“It's okay. You're a good man with a good heart who has been put in a cruel situation with no good outcome. Go home to your wife. Things will be better in the morning.”
“What's your name?”
“John D'Angelo.”
“Thank you, John.” Dale said in a low whisper and returned to his wife's car and drove back into Paradise Fats.
Matthew and Brady Sanderson spent most of the night nervously pacing back and forth in Murmur’s ‘guestroom’. There were no windows or any chance of escaping from it other than the door that led out of the room. Brady had tested it a few hours ago and found the door locked. Outside in the hallway, he could hear two distinct voices, undoubtedly those of the men guarding them to make sure that they didn't go anywhere.
The two brothers had barely spoken to each other over the past three hours. Matthew had grown tired of Brady's questions. He was looking for answers that Matthew couldn't provide and he felt that it was best if he just kept his thoughts to himself. Brady's last question of “Do you think they're going to let us live?” was the final straw and Matthew stayed silent and tried to get some sleep. When that was not forthcoming, he tried to figure out some kind of a solution that would get them out of this mess. That was easier said than done as his mind wouldn't stop replaying images of the man called Jenkins being somehow suspended in midair and having his bones snapped like twigs.
How long had they been locked up in here now? There was nothing in the room to give them any indication of what time it was, but Matthew figured that it had to be close to sunrise. He wondered if his father and uncle were going to be able to carry out what they had been asked to do. From the reactions on their faces, Matthew didn't see how they would be able to go through with it. They were both decent men who he believed would never harm an innocent person. He had witnessed them shoot those people who had them cornered in the student lounge, but that was different. They were defending themselves.... fighting for their lives.... and the looks on the faces of the people that were after them indicated to Matthew that they weren't human anymore.
“I say we rush them as soon when they open the door,” Brady stated, “the way I see it, they're going to kill us regardless of whether dad and Uncle Derek follow through on what they were asked to do or not. They're not going to just let us walk away after what we've seen here.”
Matthew silently agreed with his brother, but there was nothing in the room that they could use as a weapon to defend themselves with. He was just about to suggest hiding behind the door and surprising their captors as they opened it when they heard a noise outside in the hallway. It sounded like a surprised grunt followed by something heavy falling to the floor. They then heard what sounded like a brief struggle before someone crashed hard against the wall. After that there was only silence for close to a minute before the door slowly opened. Both of the brothers had their fists clenched and were prepared to attack whoever came in.
“Matthew? Brady? My name's John. I've been sent here by your father to get you home safely.” A dark-haired man wearing a gray suit eased his way into the room with his hands held up at shoulder height. Neither of the brothers had ever seen him before. Behind the stranger on the floor were the unconscious forms of the men who had been guarding them. “Come with me. There's a vehicle outside that you can use to get back to Paradise Flats.”
He turned and proceeded out of sight down the hallway leaving the two brothers hesitant to follow him.
“I don't know who he is.” Matthew said and shrugged when Brady gave him a questioning look.
“Should we go with him?” Brady whispered. “What if it's a trap?”
The stranger reappeared in the doorway. “I'm afraid that there's not much time to weigh out your options. More of their associates are going to be back here shortly.”
He disappeared again, prompting the two brothers to quickly follow him without any further debate. They hurried down the hallway to the front door with no issues before John stopped them.
“There's a gray truck sitting out front. The keys are in the ignition. Do you know how to get out of the city from here?”
Matthew nodded. “I think so.... I know the city pretty well.”
“Good. Don't stop for anything until you get back to Paradise Flats.”
“What about you? You're coming with us, aren't you?”
“No, I'm going to have to buy you two a little more time. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine.”
Before Matthew and Brady could object, someone started to open the front door. John reached through the opening and pulled a surprised guard into view before slamming his head twice with the door. The man fell to the floor in a heap and didn't move.
“Wait here a moment.” John said before slipping outside leaving Matthew and Brady alone staring wide eyed at one another. Through the partially open door, they witnessed another quick struggle before two more men went down and laid motionless on the sidewalk leading out to the street. “Okay, move now.” John waved at them and pointed to a gray half ton Dodge truck that was sitting out front in the street. “Remember, don't stop for anything.”
Brady bolted to the waiting truck as Matthew hesitated for a moment to make sure that John was going to be okay. The sun was just starting to rise in the east and to his right, Matthew saw two more men emerge from around the corner of the house where John was already moving to intercept them. He glanced quickly at Matthew. “Go.... now!”
His brother had the truck running when Matthew jumped into the passenger side. Brady shifted into gear and looked in the rearview mirror and saw that John was locked in another deadly struggle with the two guards.
“Should we wait for him?”
“He told us to go. From what I’ve seen, I think we have more to worry about than he does.”
Two more guards were slumped unconscious at John's feet on the front lawn when he sensed the presence of someone else. From the shadows emerged a tall thin form in a green suit holding a thick leather-bound book in one hand and two chain leashes in the other hand that held back a pair of large menacing dogs.
“Hello John.”
“Murmur.”
“It's been a long time.”
“Not long enough apparently.”
“Old habits die hard, I suppose.” Murmur was looking past John at the gray pickup truck that was racing away down the street. The two dogs began to growl and strained to break free of the leashes that held them.
Following Murmur’s gaze, John glanced quickly at the gray truck as it sped away and then turned his focus to the threat standing before him. “I know what you're trying to do, Murmur. I'm going to do whatever I can to prevent it.”
“You're only delaying the inevitable, John.” Murmur replied shaking his head, “Beau Sittler is doomed. They all are.”
“Nothing is written in stone yet.”
Murmur shrugged. “Everything is already in motion and moving much quicker than even we anticipated. You can't stop it now. None of you can, John.”
“We’ll see. You know no more about the future than I do.”
“Your precious balance has shifted beyond your control. The end of this world is inevitable. I'm going to offer you a lifeline, John. Come join us. You needn't suffer the same fate as your precious sheep. They would have sealed their own fate even without our assistance.”
“Perhaps. Perhaps not. That is not for you to decide.”
“It's already decided, John. You're just too blind and naive to realize it. Join us while you still can.”
“You know I can't do that.”
“Then you're going to die defending a world that for all intent and purpose is on the verge of collapse.”
“So be it.”
“I tried.” Murmur shook his head and released his hold on the chain leashes.
The snarling dogs charged towards John and launched themselves at the Celestial. Their intended target was there one second and then gone the next causing the two large beasts to snap at empty air and stumble to the ground when he disappeared. They anxiously paced about the front lawn searching for any trace of their elusive prey before returning to their master.
“Next time, lads.” Murmur spoke softly. “Next time, he'll be ours.”
Brady Sanderson drove through the streets of Southby knowing that their lives depended on getting out of the city as quickly as possible. Matthew held on for dear life and barked out directions and warnings to his little brother. There were three different times when they had to take a detour because the city streets were impassable with damage and abandoned vehicles. An unruly mob looked to cut them off by running in front of the truck and hurling objects at it, but Brady was able to race past them. Just when it looked like the worst was finally behind them, a lone man stood on top of a car that sat in the middle of the street directly in front of them. He was holding a rifle and had it aimed at Brady.
“Duck!”
Both brothers crouched down low behind the dash anticipating gunfire, only it never came. Brady peeked through the steering wheel to where the shooter had been just standing but didn't see him anymore.
“He's gone!”
Matthew still wasn't convinced and stayed down low. He looked out the passenger window at the car as they drove past it and caught a glimpse of someone with dark hair in a gray suit tossing a rifle aside. He was standing over top of the shooter by the side of the car.
“Hey, that looks like that John.... but there's no way that it could be him.... could it?”
Brady didn't reply and focused on his driving and didn't breathe easy until they were entering the town limits of Paradise Flats three hours later. There was an emotional celebration with their parents upon their return. Dale Sanderson pulled his sons aside and instructed them not to say a word about what happened up in Southby. He was unable to hide his surprise when Matthew told him about the person who had rescued them as he sounded very similar to the man he had encountered at Argyll Estates yesterday.
Some of the neighbors came over to welcome the boys back home. Dale had a backyard barbeque that afternoon to celebrate the occasion and they sat around the fire pit until late into the night. He was saying goodbye to the last of his guests when the headlights of a passing vehicle revealed someone standing across the street. Dale watched him for a moment and then nodded at John and quietly acknowledged him.
“Thank you.”
John then turned and made his way down the street and disappeared from sight.
His actions had been reckless, but John was confident that everything had worked out for the time being. Matthew and Brady Sanderson were safely reunited with their parents and Lauren and Michael Taylor were unharmed. John had made sure that Beau Sittler would be with them for the day when he departed for Southby. Everything was as it should be for now, but Murmur was right. It would only be a matter of time before things spun out of control and John needed to prepare himself for when they did.
He wasn't quite sure how to proceed with Beau Sittler. John had his instructions about what he was supposed to do, but he had issues with killing an innocent man even if he had been possessed by an ancient entity. There was no way to undo what Murmur had done to Beau Sittler and even if he could, John didn't necessarily believe that would solve their problem. For all he knew, Murmur had already taken steps to make sure that his plan was carried out even if Beau was killed.
John had been made the judge, jury and executioner in this matter. The fate of Beau Sittler and what became of him rested in his hands. It was not John's top priority, but now, it was his most pressing. There was too much trouble and turmoil taking place around the world at the moment. He had been ordered to use his best discretion when it came to Beau’s fate. The human had already surprised him once. Maybe there was still hope for him despite what had been done to him.
When Monday morning arrived in Paradise Fats, life did not return to normal as many had hoped it would. There was still no power or communication with the outside world. They were on their own as John D'Angelo said they would be. Many businesses did not reopen as they either required power or their services were declared non-essential at this time. Those that did open dealt only in cash which the banks quickly discovered was a hot commodity. The grocery stores found most of their shelves empty by the end of the day and would be hard pressed to open again unless there were freight trucks that inexplicably showed up to deliver more food.
The police department swore in a dozen new recruits to help combat the rising crime and there was talk of needing even more. There had been a growing number of incursions from individuals outside of Paradise Flats that needed to be addressed. Farms in the area had been robbed and vandalized and some individuals had been bold enough to venture into the town itself to cause trouble.
Patrols had been increased, more checkpoints were set up and makeshift watch towers were constructed in an attempt to keep the criminal element away. Due to a shortage of jail space, anyone caught that was determined to be a threat to the community was cast out of town after their weapons and vehicles were confiscated. It would have been considered cruel and unjust under normal circumstances, but these were far from normal times anymore.
The office windows of the town office became the community bulletin board to find out what was going on. Various committees were set up to make sure that as many of the residents in the community were taken care of as possible. Schools were reopened for those parents that still wanted their children to attend. There was a nervous energy that hung over the town as everyone tried to adapt to this new normal. No one knew how long it would last or what the future would bring. The here and now was what everyone tried to focus on to make the best of a bad situation.
There were those who were unwilling to adapt to the changes, but for the most part, the majority of the people in Paradise Flats had pulled together. Beau was more than willing to do his part and was happy to be back in the school again. Most of the students were still attending classes and Beau found it a welcome distraction from the constant stress and worry over what lurked on the horizon. He noticed that many of the residents in town felt the same way as they gave more of their time and chipped in any way they could to help the community.
Things were by no means perfect in Paradise Flats, but they were better off than many of the other surrounding communities from the sounds of things. Beau had heard about the rescue of Matthew and Brady even though Dale Sanderson tried to keep it quiet. Gossip tended to spread fast in town even without cell phones and social media. It didn't seem possible that a city the size of Southby could collapse as quickly as it did, but according to the Sanderson's, there wasn't much left of it anymore. If that was the case according to John D'Angelo, it wouldn't be long before those responsible for Southby’s destruction would be on Paradise Flats’ doorstep.
The community was fortunate to have him in their midst. John D'Angelo seemed to be everywhere at once, helping and assisting, planning and strategizing. If not for him, Paradise Flats may have been already engulfed in the chaos and confusion that was taking place elsewhere. Beau wondered if it was good fortune or divine timing that landed John D’Angelo here when everything went sideways.
Despite John’s reassuring presence, Beau found himself struggling and began to worry that he was starting to lose his mind. Since the events that had taken place in Southby, Beau did his best to put on a brave front and act as normal as he possibly could. Inside however, he found himself troubled and tormented. His mind was consumed by dark thoughts.... almost like they weren't his, but someone else's and his dreams were haunted, broken fragments of places that he was sure that he had never been to. He tried to reassure himself that the emotional strain of what happened to him in the city was why he was feeling like this.
“Sorry, I didn't mean to alarm you.” The dark-haired stranger wore a gray suit over a muscular frame and gave Dale a warm, disarming smile. Dale's hand was placed firmly on the revolver in his coat pocket, but the calming presence of the man before him indicated that he had nothing to fear from him.
“Who are you?” Dale asked.
“Just someone trying to prevent something terrible from taking place.”
Dale didn't know how, but he was sure that this stranger knew what he was about to do. “I don't know what your talk-”
“It's okay, Dale. You've been placed in a terrible predicament. Everything's going to be fine, though. I'm here to prevent you from doing something that you’ll regret for the rest of your life.”
“I don't want to.... but you don't understand.... they have my boys. If I don't-”
“I'm aware of the dilemma that you are in. What if I offered a different alternative? If I asked you to return home and forget what you were instructed to do, would you trust me if I said that I could get Matthew and Brady back to Paradise Flats safely?”
“You could do that? How? I thought about going back myself and busting them out, but there are guards and that one fellow.... he's got some kind of powers or something.”
“You leave that part to me. Do we have a deal, Dale Sanderson? Forget about what you were asked to do and I will get your two sons back to Paradise Flats safely by tomorrow morning.”
“I still don't know how-”
“Do we have a deal?”
Dale hesitated. He didn't like the idea of leaving his boy's fate in the hands of a total stranger.
“Who are you?”
“Just a friend, Dale.”
“You promise that you'll make sure they get back home safely?”
“I promise.”
There was no reason to believe the word of this total stranger, but Dale trusted this man for some reason. He nodded his head in agreement.
“Good.” The stranger extended his hand and Dale reached out and shook it. “Now, go home. Mention this to no one. Tell your wife and brother that everything is taken care of.... that's all they need to know.”
“I will. I'm sorry for what I-”
“It's okay. You're a good man with a good heart who has been put in a cruel situation with no good outcome. Go home to your wife. Things will be better in the morning.”
“What's your name?”
“John D'Angelo.”
“Thank you, John.” Dale said in a low whisper and returned to his wife's car and drove back into Paradise Fats.
Matthew and Brady Sanderson spent most of the night nervously pacing back and forth in Murmur’s ‘guestroom’. There were no windows or any chance of escaping from it other than the door that led out of the room. Brady had tested it a few hours ago and found the door locked. Outside in the hallway, he could hear two distinct voices, undoubtedly those of the men guarding them to make sure that they didn't go anywhere.
The two brothers had barely spoken to each other over the past three hours. Matthew had grown tired of Brady's questions. He was looking for answers that Matthew couldn't provide and he felt that it was best if he just kept his thoughts to himself. Brady's last question of “Do you think they're going to let us live?” was the final straw and Matthew stayed silent and tried to get some sleep. When that was not forthcoming, he tried to figure out some kind of a solution that would get them out of this mess. That was easier said than done as his mind wouldn't stop replaying images of the man called Jenkins being somehow suspended in midair and having his bones snapped like twigs.
How long had they been locked up in here now? There was nothing in the room to give them any indication of what time it was, but Matthew figured that it had to be close to sunrise. He wondered if his father and uncle were going to be able to carry out what they had been asked to do. From the reactions on their faces, Matthew didn't see how they would be able to go through with it. They were both decent men who he believed would never harm an innocent person. He had witnessed them shoot those people who had them cornered in the student lounge, but that was different. They were defending themselves.... fighting for their lives.... and the looks on the faces of the people that were after them indicated to Matthew that they weren't human anymore.
“I say we rush them as soon when they open the door,” Brady stated, “the way I see it, they're going to kill us regardless of whether dad and Uncle Derek follow through on what they were asked to do or not. They're not going to just let us walk away after what we've seen here.”
Matthew silently agreed with his brother, but there was nothing in the room that they could use as a weapon to defend themselves with. He was just about to suggest hiding behind the door and surprising their captors as they opened it when they heard a noise outside in the hallway. It sounded like a surprised grunt followed by something heavy falling to the floor. They then heard what sounded like a brief struggle before someone crashed hard against the wall. After that there was only silence for close to a minute before the door slowly opened. Both of the brothers had their fists clenched and were prepared to attack whoever came in.
“Matthew? Brady? My name's John. I've been sent here by your father to get you home safely.” A dark-haired man wearing a gray suit eased his way into the room with his hands held up at shoulder height. Neither of the brothers had ever seen him before. Behind the stranger on the floor were the unconscious forms of the men who had been guarding them. “Come with me. There's a vehicle outside that you can use to get back to Paradise Flats.”
He turned and proceeded out of sight down the hallway leaving the two brothers hesitant to follow him.
“I don't know who he is.” Matthew said and shrugged when Brady gave him a questioning look.
“Should we go with him?” Brady whispered. “What if it's a trap?”
The stranger reappeared in the doorway. “I'm afraid that there's not much time to weigh out your options. More of their associates are going to be back here shortly.”
He disappeared again, prompting the two brothers to quickly follow him without any further debate. They hurried down the hallway to the front door with no issues before John stopped them.
“There's a gray truck sitting out front. The keys are in the ignition. Do you know how to get out of the city from here?”
Matthew nodded. “I think so.... I know the city pretty well.”
“Good. Don't stop for anything until you get back to Paradise Flats.”
“What about you? You're coming with us, aren't you?”
“No, I'm going to have to buy you two a little more time. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine.”
Before Matthew and Brady could object, someone started to open the front door. John reached through the opening and pulled a surprised guard into view before slamming his head twice with the door. The man fell to the floor in a heap and didn't move.
“Wait here a moment.” John said before slipping outside leaving Matthew and Brady alone staring wide eyed at one another. Through the partially open door, they witnessed another quick struggle before two more men went down and laid motionless on the sidewalk leading out to the street. “Okay, move now.” John waved at them and pointed to a gray half ton Dodge truck that was sitting out front in the street. “Remember, don't stop for anything.”
Brady bolted to the waiting truck as Matthew hesitated for a moment to make sure that John was going to be okay. The sun was just starting to rise in the east and to his right, Matthew saw two more men emerge from around the corner of the house where John was already moving to intercept them. He glanced quickly at Matthew. “Go.... now!”
His brother had the truck running when Matthew jumped into the passenger side. Brady shifted into gear and looked in the rearview mirror and saw that John was locked in another deadly struggle with the two guards.
“Should we wait for him?”
“He told us to go. From what I’ve seen, I think we have more to worry about than he does.”
Two more guards were slumped unconscious at John's feet on the front lawn when he sensed the presence of someone else. From the shadows emerged a tall thin form in a green suit holding a thick leather-bound book in one hand and two chain leashes in the other hand that held back a pair of large menacing dogs.
“Hello John.”
“Murmur.”
“It's been a long time.”
“Not long enough apparently.”
“Old habits die hard, I suppose.” Murmur was looking past John at the gray pickup truck that was racing away down the street. The two dogs began to growl and strained to break free of the leashes that held them.
Following Murmur’s gaze, John glanced quickly at the gray truck as it sped away and then turned his focus to the threat standing before him. “I know what you're trying to do, Murmur. I'm going to do whatever I can to prevent it.”
“You're only delaying the inevitable, John.” Murmur replied shaking his head, “Beau Sittler is doomed. They all are.”
“Nothing is written in stone yet.”
Murmur shrugged. “Everything is already in motion and moving much quicker than even we anticipated. You can't stop it now. None of you can, John.”
“We’ll see. You know no more about the future than I do.”
“Your precious balance has shifted beyond your control. The end of this world is inevitable. I'm going to offer you a lifeline, John. Come join us. You needn't suffer the same fate as your precious sheep. They would have sealed their own fate even without our assistance.”
“Perhaps. Perhaps not. That is not for you to decide.”
“It's already decided, John. You're just too blind and naive to realize it. Join us while you still can.”
“You know I can't do that.”
“Then you're going to die defending a world that for all intent and purpose is on the verge of collapse.”
“So be it.”
“I tried.” Murmur shook his head and released his hold on the chain leashes.
The snarling dogs charged towards John and launched themselves at the Celestial. Their intended target was there one second and then gone the next causing the two large beasts to snap at empty air and stumble to the ground when he disappeared. They anxiously paced about the front lawn searching for any trace of their elusive prey before returning to their master.
“Next time, lads.” Murmur spoke softly. “Next time, he'll be ours.”
Brady Sanderson drove through the streets of Southby knowing that their lives depended on getting out of the city as quickly as possible. Matthew held on for dear life and barked out directions and warnings to his little brother. There were three different times when they had to take a detour because the city streets were impassable with damage and abandoned vehicles. An unruly mob looked to cut them off by running in front of the truck and hurling objects at it, but Brady was able to race past them. Just when it looked like the worst was finally behind them, a lone man stood on top of a car that sat in the middle of the street directly in front of them. He was holding a rifle and had it aimed at Brady.
“Duck!”
Both brothers crouched down low behind the dash anticipating gunfire, only it never came. Brady peeked through the steering wheel to where the shooter had been just standing but didn't see him anymore.
“He's gone!”
Matthew still wasn't convinced and stayed down low. He looked out the passenger window at the car as they drove past it and caught a glimpse of someone with dark hair in a gray suit tossing a rifle aside. He was standing over top of the shooter by the side of the car.
“Hey, that looks like that John.... but there's no way that it could be him.... could it?”
Brady didn't reply and focused on his driving and didn't breathe easy until they were entering the town limits of Paradise Flats three hours later. There was an emotional celebration with their parents upon their return. Dale Sanderson pulled his sons aside and instructed them not to say a word about what happened up in Southby. He was unable to hide his surprise when Matthew told him about the person who had rescued them as he sounded very similar to the man he had encountered at Argyll Estates yesterday.
Some of the neighbors came over to welcome the boys back home. Dale had a backyard barbeque that afternoon to celebrate the occasion and they sat around the fire pit until late into the night. He was saying goodbye to the last of his guests when the headlights of a passing vehicle revealed someone standing across the street. Dale watched him for a moment and then nodded at John and quietly acknowledged him.
“Thank you.”
John then turned and made his way down the street and disappeared from sight.
His actions had been reckless, but John was confident that everything had worked out for the time being. Matthew and Brady Sanderson were safely reunited with their parents and Lauren and Michael Taylor were unharmed. John had made sure that Beau Sittler would be with them for the day when he departed for Southby. Everything was as it should be for now, but Murmur was right. It would only be a matter of time before things spun out of control and John needed to prepare himself for when they did.
He wasn't quite sure how to proceed with Beau Sittler. John had his instructions about what he was supposed to do, but he had issues with killing an innocent man even if he had been possessed by an ancient entity. There was no way to undo what Murmur had done to Beau Sittler and even if he could, John didn't necessarily believe that would solve their problem. For all he knew, Murmur had already taken steps to make sure that his plan was carried out even if Beau was killed.
John had been made the judge, jury and executioner in this matter. The fate of Beau Sittler and what became of him rested in his hands. It was not John's top priority, but now, it was his most pressing. There was too much trouble and turmoil taking place around the world at the moment. He had been ordered to use his best discretion when it came to Beau’s fate. The human had already surprised him once. Maybe there was still hope for him despite what had been done to him.
When Monday morning arrived in Paradise Fats, life did not return to normal as many had hoped it would. There was still no power or communication with the outside world. They were on their own as John D'Angelo said they would be. Many businesses did not reopen as they either required power or their services were declared non-essential at this time. Those that did open dealt only in cash which the banks quickly discovered was a hot commodity. The grocery stores found most of their shelves empty by the end of the day and would be hard pressed to open again unless there were freight trucks that inexplicably showed up to deliver more food.
The police department swore in a dozen new recruits to help combat the rising crime and there was talk of needing even more. There had been a growing number of incursions from individuals outside of Paradise Flats that needed to be addressed. Farms in the area had been robbed and vandalized and some individuals had been bold enough to venture into the town itself to cause trouble.
Patrols had been increased, more checkpoints were set up and makeshift watch towers were constructed in an attempt to keep the criminal element away. Due to a shortage of jail space, anyone caught that was determined to be a threat to the community was cast out of town after their weapons and vehicles were confiscated. It would have been considered cruel and unjust under normal circumstances, but these were far from normal times anymore.
The office windows of the town office became the community bulletin board to find out what was going on. Various committees were set up to make sure that as many of the residents in the community were taken care of as possible. Schools were reopened for those parents that still wanted their children to attend. There was a nervous energy that hung over the town as everyone tried to adapt to this new normal. No one knew how long it would last or what the future would bring. The here and now was what everyone tried to focus on to make the best of a bad situation.
There were those who were unwilling to adapt to the changes, but for the most part, the majority of the people in Paradise Flats had pulled together. Beau was more than willing to do his part and was happy to be back in the school again. Most of the students were still attending classes and Beau found it a welcome distraction from the constant stress and worry over what lurked on the horizon. He noticed that many of the residents in town felt the same way as they gave more of their time and chipped in any way they could to help the community.
Things were by no means perfect in Paradise Flats, but they were better off than many of the other surrounding communities from the sounds of things. Beau had heard about the rescue of Matthew and Brady even though Dale Sanderson tried to keep it quiet. Gossip tended to spread fast in town even without cell phones and social media. It didn't seem possible that a city the size of Southby could collapse as quickly as it did, but according to the Sanderson's, there wasn't much left of it anymore. If that was the case according to John D'Angelo, it wouldn't be long before those responsible for Southby’s destruction would be on Paradise Flats’ doorstep.
The community was fortunate to have him in their midst. John D'Angelo seemed to be everywhere at once, helping and assisting, planning and strategizing. If not for him, Paradise Flats may have been already engulfed in the chaos and confusion that was taking place elsewhere. Beau wondered if it was good fortune or divine timing that landed John D’Angelo here when everything went sideways.
Despite John’s reassuring presence, Beau found himself struggling and began to worry that he was starting to lose his mind. Since the events that had taken place in Southby, Beau did his best to put on a brave front and act as normal as he possibly could. Inside however, he found himself troubled and tormented. His mind was consumed by dark thoughts.... almost like they weren't his, but someone else's and his dreams were haunted, broken fragments of places that he was sure that he had never been to. He tried to reassure himself that the emotional strain of what happened to him in the city was why he was feeling like this.
