Darkness upon the Land
Chapter 25

When Henry barked a few times before slipping off to hide that Monday afternoon, Alexia wasn’t surprised to see it was Father Nick. What did surprise her was the fact the priest was by himself as he wheeled his bicycle into the yard. She walked out to meet him, and Reuben was right behind her with the rifle habitually slung over his shoulder.

Father Nick smiled as he waved to them, and when they approached he commented as he nodded toward the road, “That had to be the shortest joy ride in history.”

“Mais, sa c’est – oh, sorry Father.” She shrugged. “We’ve been speaking in Cajun a lot lately.”

“No, I’m sorry my Cajun’s rusty.” He nodded at Reuben before returning his attention to her. “So how’s your mother doing?”

“Awake and itching to get out of bed. She’ll be real happy to see you.”

He beamed. “That’s wonderful news.”

“Where’s Deacon Bernard?” Reuben asked.

“Dear Bernard can’t follow me everywhere.” He set up the kickstand on his bike as he took the bag off the handlebars, and then began strolling toward the house. “I need his help to pick up my slack back in town.”

“You sure that’s a good idea?” She frowned as the two of them accompanied him.

“I don’t think there’s too much to worry about. Things are quieter south of town, and I make it a point to wear the collar everywhere I go. So far people are still willing to give me the benefit of the doubt.”

“So how is the news in town?” Reuben asked.

The priest hesitated for a second. “I wouldn’t go anywhere if I were you. There was a town hall meeting Saturday evening you all need to know about. I’m sure Liana would be very interested in hearing about it.”

She was pretty sure Mѐre would be awake, but checked on the woman before the men entered the room. Her mother was delighted to see Father Nick, and she beamed as much as he did while they exchanged greetings and chatted about her health, which she claimed was better than it really was. Reuben brought in a third chair, which he set on the other side of her bed.

“It is such a blessing to see you on the mend,” the priest commented as he sat leaning toward her mother. “Those seem to be coming fewer and farther between these days.”

“I can well imagine.” Mѐre still smiled at him although her brow furrowed slightly. “Reuben said you advised him to stay out of town until you could come back with the latest on the news.”

“Ah, yes, there was a town meeting this past Saturday.” His smirk was partially a grimace. “Tensions are starting to run even higher. But I should start at the beginning.

“Notices were posted on Friday there would be a public meeting approximately six o’clock Saturday evening. Well, sundown is around a quarter after seven, now, and that’s when curfew begins. A lot of us figured that was a sure sign this meeting was meant for giving out information and not an open forum for discussion. Sure enough, the mayor and five members of the city council sat at the front of the hall while armed guards stood all around, and we were lectured how they were acting for our own good.

“Gang activity is bad to the north, and while they’ve been able to hold back the few small groups that have tried to push in so far, the council says a bigger wave is sure to come. The best way to protect the citizens of Esperanza is to make it mandatory for all households to turn over whatever food and firearms are left, as well as any goods people simply want, such as alcohol and tobacco. That way the council with their police force can keep the gangs at bay, or at least keep the invaders from breaking into homes if they realize the commodities they’re after aren’t in the homes.”

“Brilliant,” Reuben muttered. “Trade your necessities of life for an ill-conceived promise.”

Father Nick glanced at him. “Needless to say, there were several people who didn’t like that proclamation. Disarming themselves would only invite the invaders to come and kill them and burn down their homes. The council tried to claim that wouldn’t happen because the police force would be protecting them. Somebody asked what kind of military training this new police force had that would guarantee they could hold back a big wave of gangs that’s had the time to accumulate more weapons and ammunition from the other places they’d plundered. The council shot back that as long as their force was generously supplied with the goods they would need they’d be able to hold back any marauders.

“In the course of the arguing the council’s current shortcomings were brought up. People have started running out of food, even the ones who didn’t voluntarily give it up. But when the volunteers report to receive their daily ration they get barely enough to feed one person and here they are trying to feed the whole family. And there’s been some outbreaks of salmonella and other nasty diseases around town, but when people come in to get something to treat it they get a run around that’s not too terribly different from what you went through, Reuben.”

Alexia frowned. “I’m half surprised we haven’t seen anybody else try to come down our way looking for that kind of stuff.”

“Then here’s the part you’ll really replace interesting.” He looked straight at her before returning his attention to Mѐre. “Word is out to leave the outlying farmers alone. A deal has been struck with these farmers that they would help provide some commodities in exchange for protection by the council.”

Mѐre practically growled, “Boy, that sounds familiar.”

“Oh?” His brow raised. “So you were approached as well?”

“None other than Marcelle Bellamy and a couple of men were out here last week making me that offer. In exchange for protection they wanted me to agree I would help provide the council and the council only with any goods so they could fairly distribute them.”

“I suppose their plan was to have a couple of fellas camp out here to keep guard?”

“Precisely. And there’d be some kind of rotation of the guard so that supplies the council needed could be delivered to town.”

Father Nick nodded. “Well, at the meeting it was pointed out some people who didn’t obey that mandate have wound up dead or wounded.” His attention shifted to Reuben. “Or mysteriously vanished. The council insisted their posted guards used only necessary force, but that any citizens who had taken the law into their own hands would be dealt with accordingly. They just had to be a second priority right now to defending Esperanza from marauding gangs.”

He managed to see humor in the situation. “Are they gonna hang up a wanted poster for me?”

“That’s ridiculous.” Alexia had to keep her irritation controlled. “Those three men may have been in cahoots with the council, but they shouldn’t have attacked Mѐre.”

The priest’s expression was slightly baffled as he returned her gaze. “Three?”

“Three,” Mѐre stated calmly. She then updated him on everything she’d told Alexia and Reuben about the attack.

He leaned back in his chair and regarded her with rapt and thoughtful attention as he listened. She hated listening to the story again, but paid as much attention as Father in case her mom might say something that would spark recognition for anyone.

“Quite frankly,” Mѐre concluded, “that stranger just wasn’t the type you’d replace hanging out with the Carvels. He’s much smoother and more sophisticated than that lot.”

“He seems to be our smoking gun,” Father Nick murmured pensively, and then he smiled apologetically at her. “Sorry. Bad choice of words.”

Her smile was almost charming. “Sticks and stones.”

“I’d venture to say Reuben’s presence has helped to keep them at bay.” He nodded toward the young man. “But the revelation of this third person who called himself Brent Rayburn is a little troublesome. Not only would he have arranged for the Carvels to get the jump on you, the fact he didn’t stick around makes me suspect he’s got a lot of self-interests regarding your place.”

Alexia felt her breath grow thin. “You think he’ll come back now?”

“Not in a direct way. But it wouldn’t surprise me a bit if his plan the whole time was to siphon off the supplies that were meant for the council. I’d bet real money he sent the Carvels to deliver the first installment to town while he secretly took off with his own stash. That would explain why there was nobody here when you two arrived.”

“And why it was only Jake and Hooter who showed back up,” Reuben muttered.

“But how come he never came back?” She had that desperate hope again that they were wrong. “He’d siphon off more supplies if he stayed for the long haul.”

Mѐre spoke as though she’d just stepped on a slug. “He probably got wind of Reuben and knew better than to take him on. That Brent Rayburn is a conniving, greased up, slick as snot bottom-feeder, and I guarantee he’ll stay out of a fair fight.”

Father Nick cast a sideways glance at her. “I’ve got a feeling you don’t like him.”

“If you tell me to pray for that perp, I’ll belt you.”

“For everything there is a season, and this obviously isn’t it.” He glanced back to Alexia and Reuben. “Besides pushing a truck loaded with firewood into your driveway, what else are you doing to prepare for another attack?”

“There’s more than firewood in that truck.” He proceeded to explain all their plans for both defending the home and retreating into the swamp.

“If it comes to flight, I strongly encourage you to circle around into Esperanza.” The priest nodded. “We can replace a way to give you shelter. And as far as stocking up your arsenal, if you add laundry detergent or Styrofoam to gasoline, that causes it to thicken and stick better to what it’s burning.”

She was pretty sure her baffled expression matched Reuben’s and Mѐre’s as they all stared at him.

“What?” He regarded them with total aplomb. “Don’t you think priests can have hobbies?”

“Next time you light the incense, I’m taking cover,” Reuben replied.

He smirked. “Actually, I remember that from the prepper era back in the teens when more people were bracing for economic collapse or pandemic or whatever. I’ve been dredging up a lot of memories and talking to some people. If you’re interested, I might be able to give you a few ideas and pointers.”

“Oh, we’re interested.” Reuben spoke for all of them.

Mѐre smiled at the priest. “I know you probably can’t stay for supper, but please be sure you have something to eat before you leave. And take a little with you.”

“That’s very kind of you, but I’d better pass.”

Her expression shifted to that determination Alexia knew well. “I distinctly remember you said that people are starting to run out of food. And it’s not that I’ve been staring, but I do believe you look just a little thinner than the last time I saw you. And you didn’t have much to spare to begin with.”

He regarded her mother casually. “It’s just all the exercise I’ve been getting. People usually offer me something to eat when I arrive at their homes.”

“Uh-huh. And how many of them have you politely turned down like you did just now with me?”

Father Nick returned her gaze before he broke into an almost sheepish grin. “All right, you busted me.”

“If I’m going to be attacked and live under threat of attack because I’m probably the most self-sustained person in this general vicinity, then by golly you can have something to eat while you’re over here helping us out.”

“You win, Liana.” He placed a hand on her mattress. “Now settle down before you hurt yourself.”

Mѐre resumed smiling. “I knew you’d listen to reason.”