“I’m sorry,” said Kory. “I didn’t have a choice if I wanted to keep my wife safe. I often wondered if you’d take my advice. Do you remember what I said?” His remarks were for the rest of the crowd.
“Sure do,” said the old man. “You found my granddaughters where I’d hidden them in a false compartment in the basement, but you didn’t turn them over to those beasts. You told me to come here if I wanted to keep them safe.” Beside him, his wife grabbed his hand. “Wish I hadn’t taken so long.”
Kory turned back to the mayor and the Council. “This family has been through a lot. They’re here because I invited them, thinking this was a place that could last, somewhere where young women would be safe, not constantly on edge and worried about being taken against their will. You know what will happen if we kick them out.” He stared at each of the councillors. “Turning them away isn’t right.”
“Two years ago, you weren’t part of our community and had no right to issue that invitation,” said Cam’s mother. Her eyes narrowed.
Cam shook his head. She didn’t get it and wouldn’t back down. Her tight-lipped expression barely concealed her rage. Two years ago, when Walker and his wife had arrived, she’d been outmaneuvered by Captain Wilson into letting them stay. She had never forgiven them, even though Wilson’s niece and her husband should have been automatically accepted.
Cam had been present for a dozen rants on the topic over the years. Including last week, when he’d been invited for family dinner at the bunker she shared with his three adult brothers. She’d had a couple of drinks and let off steam, complainingabout Captain Wilson, Christopher Winters—the unofficial spokesperson for the refugees, the Walkers, and everything they stood for. She hated them and their friends, with their outsider ideas, corrupting the true survivalist way of life.
Cam leaned back in his seat, his feet planted squarely on the hard floor. Dolores Montgomery wasn’t going down without a fight, but people were angry, and she was being blamed. Rightfully so. She’d tried to close the gates to xTerra for the last two years. This policy change had just been her latest gambit. She’d prefer to hide away and let the chaos outside break around them, leaving them intact and unscathed.
That would never happen. The Slains and their allies wanted xTerra for their male-centered, old-fashioned monarchy headed by John Slains, once a preacher, now practically a king. His patrols kept watch on their borders and the main roads leading here. If his men saw an opportunity, they’d attack. Several members of xTerra’s hunting and scavenging parties had already disappeared.
If war came, xTerra’s citizens would fight for their homes.
As the mayor was about to speak again, the man on her immediate right interrupted. “Asking this family to leave isn’t something the Council agrees with. Enough talk. Dolores, we’d like to vote.” Christopher Winters was another well-respected addition who’d arrived in the early days after the asteroid strike.
Cam had been on watch in the tower by the main gate the day two SUVs and a dirt bike had arrived seconds before the pursuing Slains. The vehicles had contained the Wilson family, and the Winters family, while on the bikes had been the Griffiths. Each family was now represented on the Council and held influential positions. All were respected by the community. They’d proven their worth several times over.
The mayor’s voice shook. “If you think that’s necessary.”
The Council looked to Kat Griffiths to start. “I vote to grant the Clarks full citizenship status and let them stay. Effective immediately.”
Each member agreed. Except the mayor. Six to one.
Dolores Montgomery glared at the family in question before scanning the packed hall. “I say it isn’t safe, but it looks like I’m overruled. The Clarks may stay.” She made a face. The words apparently left an unpleasant taste in her mouth. His poor mother. She leaned back while the Council moved on, assigning a bunker in sector three to the newcomers.
Before the meeting concluded, Christopher Winters said, “I’d like to propose we hold an election one month from today. It’s time to show that this place is still a democracy. I’d like to run for mayor.”
Cam’s mother shook her head. “I don’t think an election is prudent right now. There’s been so much change already.” She’d put off the newcomers’ desire to have an elected mayor for years, grasping at the dregs of her authority. This time, it wouldn’t work.
Behind her, the other councillors seconded and passed the motion to have an election, settling the matter. From what Cam understood, they hadn’t wanted to go around her, but she’d left them no choice. Vita xTerra was about to have its first election. Dolores would lose. Her old-guard ideas didn’t match those who’d lived on the outside. This had played out pretty much how he’d guessed. Cam stood, as did most of the crowd. His brothers crowded around the mayor, perhaps offering their support. Across the room, she shot him a glare, blaming him for this fiasco.
With a nod to Captain Wilson and the Clarks, Cam left.
He hadn’t made it beyond the entry of the gathering hall when his name was called.
“Cameron. Stop. I want a word.” His mother’s voice.
Shit. He exhaled and turned to wait. He wouldn’t like what she was about to say, but she was his mother, and he’d do her the courtesy of listening. He crossed his arms across his chest.
“You caused this,” she said when she reached him. “I can’t believe you’d betray me this way.” She’d never forgive him for not being on her side, though he wasn’t on the Council and hadn’t forced the election. He didn’t take this stance without reason. He was his own man with his own opinions, and besides, right was right.
Cam cocked his head. “I’m sorry you feel that way.” There was no point in explaining his reasoning. She wouldn’t understand. Whenever someone had an opinion that didn’t match hers, they were wrong. That’s how it had always been.
She narrowed her eyes. “You can make it up to me by helping me win this election.”
He shook his head. “It’s not what you want to hear, but maybe it’s time for a change.”
She stepped back, her cheeks pink and an angry set to her jaw. “You’re a traitor, Cameron. I’d exile you if I could. Kick you out of the community. Stay away from me. Stay away from your brothers. From now on, you’re no longer family.” She opened her mouth again, but before she could continue, he walked away.
“You’re dead to me, Cameron,” she yelled as he exited.
He ran a hand through his too-long brown hair and kept walking. Her barbs were because she was angry, but her harsh words still stung. He’d have preferred to keep out of it, but he couldn’t stand by and support injustice.
Still, he didn’t feel like hanging around where they might run into each other every day. Maybe he should head out for a couple of weeks on his own. The weather was still fine fall weather, perfect for camping. He might bring back some venison or scrounge rarer items to add to the community store.
