With Spring Comes the Fall (9 page)

Posted by Josh Guess at 
11:02 AM

Do you have any idea how hard it is to steal a fire truck?

Admittedly, since my degree is actually in Fire/Rescue, having firefighting equipment at hand really should have been on my list. But we got to the fire station and back in time to keep the fire from spreading too far back.

The looters have decided to burn us out, since they can't beat us. After we put out the row of homes on fire at the front of the compound, we saw some smoke coming from the next street over. Luckily we had hooked up to the hydrant on the corner and had a full tank, or we might have been in some deep trouble. 

As we rolled up to the next street, we saw that the smoke was actually coming from a dropped molotov cocktail, and that a group of men were running away from it. Our truck was of the pump-and-go variety, so we chased them down and pummeled them with the water cannon on the top. 

So now, prisoners. Not that I am terribly interested in more killing at present; too much blood for me, since all of this started. Maybe this bothers me because people had to die, or maybe it bothers me because it showed me just how many people only lived as civilized beings, with morals and codes of ethics, because society forced them to. 

So now we are faced with the dilemma of what to do with these people. I don't relish wasting my food or water on those that are bent on the death and destruction of what has become my entire world. But I tire of all the bloodshed, if for no other reason than the vast stupidity of it. If the looters had acted like men instead of monsters, we might have no issue with them. You might argue that group hysteria played a part, and while I might agree with you, I still say that a person is a thinking, reasoning creature, and that they always have choice, no matter what others around them may do.

Just ask 
Oskar Schindler
. 

We'll figure out what to do with them sometime soon. My inclination is to send them packing, with the message that any further hostilities toward us or their fellow man will be met with instant and complete obliteration, whatever the cost to us personally. For now, we will bury our dead, mend our injured, and mourn the loss of human decency around us. 

And start to rebuild. And improve. 

Because that urge, too, is powerful within us. Human beings are violent, hateful things, capable of atrocities that defy words. But just as powerfully, we can hope, and love, create and shape--above all of this, we can plan ahead, and set events into motion to define our future. Not at the whim of fate, but as clay in the hands of a master sculptor. 

Where we end up is not as important as how we get there. Our group has made the conscious choice not to live in such a way that others have to suffer that we prosper. There will be no tolerance for the wanton fulfillment of the base urges to take, to kill, to control. 

Sounds a little severe, maybe a bit too dramatic?

Good.

Posted by Josh Guess at 
11:25 AM

Apparently, every single person that lives here is insane.
Since my last post, things have changed a bit. It all started over what to do with our captives. We all sat around and talked about it, opinions varied from outright execution for crimes against (the remainder of) humanity to adopting and rehabilitating the four guys we caught. The discussion evolved into a debate, which quickly broke down into heated argument. Patrick, Jess, Little David and I were all in the middle on it, deciding to act more as moderators than participants. Someone had to keep level to make sure that every aspect of the dilemma was weighed and measured.
The four of us had to try and head things off before tempers got the better of people. Anyone who has ever met me understands why this is funny; my temper is very bad. But things change, and circumstances often force people to become something to fit a need. In our case, that need was keeping the peace. So we convinced everyone to vote on it, hoping to spark a little of the spirit of democracy. Fat chance! There were so many different viewpoints that no single one got more than a few votes. We were stuck.
I pointed out that infighting and quarreling would serve no purpose except to make hard feelings and divide us. I reminded them that proof of this existed, in the frustrating way that our government used to run. I went on a spiel about all of this, and as they got quiet and stone-faced, I kept on talking, afraid to stop lest they start yelling at me.
When I did finally stop, someone suggested that I become our leader. That I make the decisions for us.
This, they all voted for. Really. Not a single dissenter. I tried to tell them that I didn't want to lead. I have no problem teaching people things, helping them become more efficient at tasks. But to actually be in charge of a community? It's a bit outside my experience. But they shot myriad reasons why they thought I was qualified (most of which I thought proved why I was not so, actually). The one that seemed to grab all of them was that I had been on of the few to see the zombie threat for what it was, at once. That I had been open-minded enough to react when it was needed.
Bullshit! Shenanigans! I AM A COMIC BOOK NERD! The fact that I spent an unhealthy amount of my time thinking out this exact scenario because I was obsessed with zombie movies, and comics, etc, is a perfect example of how completely unqualified I am.
But the people were not to be denied. I tried a different tactic--told them that I would do it, but only if I got to make the rules, ratified by a committee of five people that I would choose. Surely, no one would give that kind of power to someone who thinks superman is the greatest culture hero humanity has ever seen. But, they did. The idiots. I hope you are all reading this, and my words make you want to change your votes.
Mom says this tactic won't work. But then, she's on my committee with Jess, Pat, Little David, and my brother Dave.
Which brings me to some news. Well, more news. A lot of new people are here, including my Brother, his wife, and their three kids. There are more than two dozen others, from all over the area, and one couple from upstate New York. All of them strangers, and all of them readers of this blog. They all made it here days ago, but fortunately my posts served as adequate warning to stay away until and unless we beat the looters. I can't blame them for not coming to our defense. Not their fight. Now, it is.
My brother is the person I would have voted for as our leader, but he tells me that he wouldn't have done it. Because no one here saw him fight for the others, or do what I have done to ensure the safety of us all, blah blah blah. It all started out as me protecting my family, and after that, how could I turn people away. I made them work, made them contribute, made them take risks. Doesn't seem to me like I'm all that great, but I give up. If they want me to tell them what to do, I will do that. I will make the rules, and if they don't like them, they can either leave or vote me out.
Because my purpose is to keep us, our little society, from making many of the mistakes that we made before, second only to keeping us all alive. I will be throwing together a short constitution, a basic charter, sometime in the next few days to the next week. I will be talking with my little council about it, see what we come up with.
All joking aside, I really am honored, and while I think that others are better suited, I will do my absolute best for them, whether they like it or not.
What a brave new world.

Posted by Josh Guess at 
8:32 AM
 

So far, not too much has changed. Not that I really expected it to. You see, the whole idea of leadership in the here and now isn't anything like the media-driven, personality centric carnival it once was. No one here expects me or whoever they eventually vote into my place to live up on the hill, to come down only to hand out judgement or some commandments. This isn't church, nor is it American politics.
Essentially, my job is to act as an arbiter on arguments that can't be resolved by whoever has them. This, of course, rose from our problems about the captives. The women who had once been
their 
captives were mostly for execution. I can understand that, and part of me feels the same way. Others were for some sort of forced imprisonment, using them for labor. But come on, we all know how well that was working in the US before society crumbled. None of us are all that interested in starting up bad habits again. So after the vote, I sat down and talked with the committee about it, and we decided on the middle of the road option: we sent them away, exactly as I said was my inclination. It made both sides of the debate unhappy, so apparently we did something right. As I recall, no one was ever truly happy when politicians made decisions about pretty much anything.
But really, that's about it. My snarky provision that I would be allowed to make rules as I see fit wasn't really taken all that seriously. They know well enough by now, as I would think that anyone around here does, that we try to keep the rules at a minimum. No need to clutter life, which is already harder than most of us could have ever dreamed, with needless strictures that pander to the wants of a few. Instead, we all want the same thing: a basic statement that covers what we stand for, and stand against. That should be clear to all readers by now.
We support those who want to work together to live, and keep humanity going in our little corner of the world. We want to form a real, lasting community of folks that choose to live in a spirit of cooperation. We are against the ideas that the looters seem to stand for; killing for pleasure, out of rage (or for no reason at all), dominating others through whatever means.
Anything else we'll adopt as we need to. But we want to keep it simple.
Other than being the last resort for arguments, I don't have to do anything else to be the "leader". If it helps some of the folks to have someone to blame, then fine.
Some folks have this idea that I'm supposed to have been voted for in some wave of huge support, like everyone just adores me. That's not the case at all. I got unanimous consent mainly because my core group of friends and I were keeping out of the argument. The rest of them declined even the possibility of being voted for. I don't blame them. I declined, but when it became clear that no one else was even remotely interested, I let them. Hopefully it will stay as simple as I have described it.
What really helps out for us is that we have here among us some great survivors. No one could have made it this far if they were dependent on others, or stupid, lacking in creativity or drive. Which has worked out great for us. Folks around the compound don't need me or anyone else to hold their hand. They just want a neutral third party who, apparently, worries themselves to death over their well being to settle disputes when no solution can be reached. Which is why I wanted a committee. None of the people on it are inclined to agree with me just for my sake. They all have distinct, reasoned opinions of their own, which is something I value highly in friends and family.
I am reminded of some of the writings of Robert Heinlein. In 
Time Enough for Love
, he spoke about the importance of keeping societal rules to a minimum in any pioneer situation, which is pretty much where we are. Don't kill unless it's needed, no rape. Basic things. But also no stupid restrictions. Don't meddle in the lives of people. Why try to force anyone to change what they do in their private lives?
People have been talking about Jess, Me, and Elizabeth. A few talking about how scandalous we are, yadda yadda. Let me clear the air, because the whispers behind my back annoy me.
There is nothing going on. Period. Elizabeth planted her kiss on me in a moment of happy victory, but I made it clear to her afterward that I was not interested in what she was offering. While I find her attractive, I don't think her interest in me is genuine. In high school, I was her safe person to come back to when she was out of a relationship, and I have NO desire to move backward in that fashion. I am a different person now, and if she wants to have a familiar face as her comfort blanket, she will have to hope that another old flame shows up. Because she's not staying in our house.
Jess is neutral on this. She has some very open views on relationships and sexuality, but they aren't my views. I try not to be held back by what others think, but for me, right now, I need the stability of my marriage and only that. Maybe I will regret that and change my mind down the road, but for now, I am content.
Hope that clears up the situation as of now. I'm not Barack Obama. I am, at most, the vice principal of a school, able to be overruled on anything by those I trust to keep my choices honest. No power, no prestige. Doing guard duty just like always.
It's nice to have so many people here, by the way. Construction has picked up a lot, and enough houses are reinforced that Jess and I are now blessedly alone in ours, for the first time in a month.
Time for a nap.