Forager (9781771275606) (32 page)

“
Good enough,” said the mayor. “Now get back up there and make
sure there aren’t any more Scavengers sneaking up behind
them.”

“
This trade wouldn’t even be happening if weren’t for Dillon,”
Sawyer said. “I agree that someone needs to keep watch, but…”
Sawyer laid a hand on my shoulder. “He should go with us. Dillon
and their leader are familiar with each other. Things might go
smoother with him along.”

The mayor surprised me by nodding. “Frank, have one of the
hostlers take Dillon’s place at the window.”

Sawyer offered me a hand and pulled me up behind him on Fred.
The strength in his grip assured me he was feeling
better.

“
Let’s go make a trade,” Frank said.

I didn’t know about anyone else, but excitement rippled
through my body. Others were probably nervous, or maybe even
scared, but I knew Rasp needed to make this trade work. I’m not
sure why she told me about her mistake in demanding too large of a
ransom, or the need for compensation, but I was glad she had
shared. We rode out onto the road and waited for the approaching
Scavengers.

After a short wait, they arrived. I had recognized Rasp from
several hundred yards away. Now that they were closer, I also saw
Mike, the man that led me into the Scavengers’ house with the
shotgun, and Marsh, the man who gathered the contents of Sawyer’s
saddlebags. The other three I didn’t know. All six of them carried
sheathed weapons on their horses. I hoped everyone stayed calm and
kept those rifles in their scabbards.

Rasp rode up, handed a paper to the mayor, and said, “This is
a list of what we’ve brought.” She noticed me sitting behind
Sawyer. “Hello, Dillon. It’s good that you’re here.” Then she
backed up her horse so that we were about ten feet
apart.

Sitting there with a stupid grin across my face, I stared at
her. I couldn’t pull my gaze away. Even with the cloud cover, her
eyes shone a dazzling green.

Sawyer nudged me with his elbow. He turned, and in a harsh
whisper told me, “Quit staring!”

Blood rushed to my face, making my cheeks uncomfortably warm.
I quickly looked around at everything but Rasp, and wondered again
if Sawyer had eyes in the back of his head.

As the mayor scanned the list, his brow wrinkled. The list
obviously meant nothing to him. “How does this list compare with
the one Dr. White gave you?”

“
It’s exactly half of the requested medicines, and half the
quantity,” Rasp said. “What have you brought?”

Frank listed what was in the wagons, but the mayor finished
with, “But, since you’ve only brought one-quarter of what we’ve
asked for, I’m not willing to trade our full amount.”

I agreed with him, for once. This trade needed to be fair. We
couldn’t give them an advantage. At the same time, I didn’t want
Rasp cheated. Fortunately, she understood this too.

“
Half of what you’ve brought is acceptable.”’

The mayor nodded and both he and Rasp rode forward and shook
hands. My jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Could
it really be that easy?

Sawyer turned in his saddle again. Pride for me brimmed in his
blue eyes. More blood rushed to my face, and my cheeks must have
been redder than when I’d gotten a bad sunburn last
spring.

All of us pitched in together to unload the medicines from the
Scavengers’ wagon and reload it with exactly half of what we’d
brought. I don’t know if anyone but me noticed how we all worked
side by side. A small, proud smile lifted my lips and I nodded my
head in awe. Who’d have ever thought that Scavengers would be
working alongside townspeople?

We ran into a snag when the Scavengers’ wagon was full. We
owed them more than their wagon could carry.

Frank and the mayor held their heads close together. It
looked like Frank was trying to convince the mayor of something. A
few moments later, the pair walked forward. The mayor gave Frank
an
I’m not
sure this is a good idea
look and said to Rasp, “In the interests of time,
and in an effort to show our good will, I will allow you to borrow
one of our wagons and a team to pull it. On the condition that they
are returned on our next trade.”

Rasp accepted, and the lot of us loaded the second wagon. When
it was done, we shook hands. Frank and Rasp set a date for the next
exchange. With smiles and waves, we said our goodbyes and the
Scavengers headed for home.

As we rode back to the house, I caught one more glimpse of
Rasp. I hoped there were girls out there that could compare.
Otherwise, I was destined to be a bachelor.

Dismounting at the house, I was ready to resume my post.
Sawyer looked down at me and said, “You should be proud of
yourself, Dillon. This trade wouldn’t have happened without
you.”

I beamed with pride and blushed again. It wasn’t to last
long.

The mayor rode up and said, “Don’t forget, town square,
midmorning, tomorrow.”

I didn’t need reminding. I don’t know if he said it to bring
me down a notch or if it was just in passing. Whatever the reason,
he’d put his boot on my pride and squashed it.

It rained overnight, leaving the next morning bleak and
overcast, and the air wet and humid. Sunlight was beginning to burn
holes in the dark curtain of clouds as I walked to breakfast,
though.

“
Dillon,” Millie said as I stood in front of her waiting for my
food. “You’ll be okay. Don’t worry about the jolts. You’ll see.”
Her words offered a small bit of comfort to my worried
state.

I sat down next to Charlie Meyer. It was a rare treat to eat
with him. He was usually busy working in the fields. “Hey, Charlie,
looks like the rain gave you a day off,” I said.

“
Ain’t goin out to the fields, wouldn’t anyway. Not today. Got
somethin’ else I gotta take care of,” he said.

“
What’s that?”

“
Never you mind, boy. This is between me and the mayor. See,
there’s things you do, and things ya don’t. I’m just gonna make
sure the mayor don’t.”

I had no idea what he was talking about. “How’s the harvest
going?”

“
Real good, we’ve been lucky that it ain’t rained a’fore now.
Got most of the fields done, another two weeks or so of dry weather
should see it finished.”

After that we talked about small stuff—horses, machines,
homemade batteries, and Millie’s cooking.

I didn’t eat much. Despite the light conversation, jolts were
foremost in my mind. It was good the mayor had scheduled them for
midmorning instead of midday, but even so, I had a couple of hours
to kill. I decided to go home and visit Fred. The mayor wanted her
stabled with the rest of the horses, but Sawyer insisted she stay
with me. I liked having Fred close.

Taking my time, I gave her a thorough grooming. The sun had
burned off all the dark clouds from the night before and made her
coat shine. When I was done, I refilled her water and gave her some
oats.

It was time. I left Fred and trekked down the road. The
rain had plastered green, yellow, red, and orange leaves on the
asphalt. After only a few blocks, I heard the
clomp, clomp
of hooves on the pavement behind
me. Sawyer rode Fred and led Bonnie—the mare Josh had ridden when
we went looking for the Scavengers—toward me. He must have arrived
at my RV only minutes after I’d left.

He rode up next to me. The silver clover on his hat glimmered
in the morning sun. “You don’t have to do this. We can leave now
and you’ll never have to worry about the mayor or his stun baton
again.”

“
Leave?” I asked.

Sawyer’s face lit with a huge smile. “You’re coming with me.
That is, if you’re willing. I want to take you to the governor.
You’ve got the makings of a fine Forager.”

I stood and stared at his beaming face. My first question
should have been about going with him, or about not getting my
jolts. Instead, I asked, “What about the deer? I still want to know
why it’s illegal.”

“
I can tell you that as we ride,” he said.

I stopped in my tracks. Part of me wanted to climb on Bonnie
and gallop away. No jolts, no humiliation, and no penalty for a law
that didn’t make sense. But a bigger part wanted to know, wanted to
hear, from the mayor himself why he’d made that law.

“
Will you wait for me if I take my jolts?”

“
Yes, but why take them? As I said, I’ll explain the
law.”

“
I’m probably being stupid, or stubborn, or both, but I want to
hear it from the mayor. More than that, I want him to explain it to
the whole town.”

He appraised me with a hard stare. “You don’t have to do this
to impress me. You’ve already done that.”

“
This is for me. I need to stand up to the mayor, the same way
I stood up to Josh.”

He looked down on me with what I thought was pride. “You’ll
make an excellent Forager, Dillon.” He pointed in the direction of
the town square. “If you’re sure.”

The closer I got to the square, the harder each step came.
Having Sawyer behind me helped.

This wasn’t the same as facing Josh. Here, there was no chance
to defend myself. No way to fight back. All I could do was stand
there, take the jolts, and hope I’d get my answers.

A block from the platform, I saw the crowd encircling it. That
was a first. Usually everyone stood in front. Moving closer, I saw
the mayor, Kurt, and Eric—our original Head Bull, now returned to
duty—standing on the stage waiting for me. Eric was mostly
recovered from the battle with the Scavengers, although his left
arm was still in a sling.

The crowd chanted, but I was too far away to make out the
words. A dozen steps closer and I heard “No” mixed in with
something else. Five more paces and I made out the word
“Jolts”.

No jolts
. What did that mean? Was everyone saying I shouldn’t be
punished? Or was it something else. Had the stun baton been broken?
Were they chanting their disapproval?

There was only one way to find out. I continued my slow walk
forward. Someone in the crowd yell out, “There he is!”

As one, the crowd turned and faced me. I stopped walking. Was
I about to be mobbed? Bravery was a good thing, but I was new to
it. Even if I hadn’t been, facing four or five hundred people was
more than a little intimidating.

The mayor called over the rumbling of the crowd, “Come on,
Dillon. Let’s get this over with.”

I didn’t see any other choice. I started walking again. The
crowd began to chant, “Dil-lon! Dil-lon!” With each repetition they
got louder and louder. They appeared excited, not angry. It gave me
hope that I wasn’t about to be trampled.

At the outer edge of the circle, two men stood
shoulder-to-shoulder, blocking my way forward. “Excuse me,” I said.
“I’m supposed to be up there.” I pointed at the raised
platform.

Neither man said a word, nor did they move.

I walked a few steps to my left. Again the people in front of
me wouldn’t let me pass.

I tried again, this time to the right, with the same
result.

Backing up from the crowd far enough to catch the mayor’s eye,
I yelled, “I can’t get through!”

The crowd was too loud for him to hear me. He didn’t need to,
though. For whatever reason, the townsfolk were supporting me.
Amazingly, they didn’t want me jolted.

A gun went off. I looked to the platform to see Eric pointing
a revolver straight into the air. The crowd quieted
immediately.

“
Thank you, Eric,” the mayor said. “Now, I need Dillon up here
so that we can get on with this. Those of you in front of the
stairs please move aside and let him through.”

“
No! We won’t be moved!” a voice shouted from the bottom of the
wooden steps. I’d heard that voice many times in my life, but never
raised in anger. “He will not be punished as long as I stand here!”
It was Millie. “He found me the stockpot that let me cook meals
you’ve all enjoyed,” she continued. “For that alone he should be
rewarded, not punished.”

“
Ain’t no way I’m movin’. That boy saved us all by finding that
alt’nator. I won’t see ’im punished for it.” Was that Charlie? It
sure sounded like him.

Then it was the doctor’s turn. “You know this isn’t right,
mayor. He found the medicine that cured the Forager, and he set up
the trade that allowed us to get more. The boy’s a hero. I won’t
stand by and watch him get jolted, either.”

“
He saved your daughter from the Scavengers!” I couldn’t tell
who said it, but everyone in the crowd was nodding their heads in
agreement.

I felt a little guilty about that. It wasn’t true, but I
doubted the mayor would reveal Chane’s part, especially with this
crowd turning against him.

I couldn’t believe all of these people were standing up for
me—my neighbors, my coworkers, my friends. A warm rush of gratitude
washed through me. Whether or not I ended up getting jolted today
didn’t matter anymore. These people, most of the town, were here to
support me.