The Young Fighters

CHAPTER 3

Just another Saturday morning for everyone who came awake at eight in the morning to prepare time intended mostly for adults. Tasks varied by age and what they already knew. If they lived on a farm then they'd remain as farmers. If they knew how to cook then they'd be tasked to cook for the children come the designated lunch hour where the youngsters would gather at the local high school and would eat there. If anyone knew how to fix things, then chores in town maintenance was the job for them. Everyone else was assigned something to do.

At first it seemed complicated for the children to live on their own without the aid of trained adults by their side. With given time they learned how to adjust to this world. Restoring order seemed hard enough when the Village Elders came into power. With the authority those three teens had, they needed to use it wisely and in all fairness. Caden, Leah, and Evan made that clear the very moment when the Georgetown council was made. To them it was a feeling that made them think of themselves like the founding fathers all those hundreds of years ago.

Lists of town rules were made and had to be followed. Anyone who refused on doing so was given a punishment that seemed slightly harsh, but with given time revealed to be on the same level as an adult would be given. Georgetown had a police station with a holding cell in it. That was the penalty for anyone who chose to step out of line and go their own way. The captive in the cell was kept locked up from one hour to three days if need be. If they refused the first option then a second punishment was available; expulsion. The Village Elders have yet to kick a soul out of Georgetown, and that's how they wanted to keep it.

A police force was even on standby and consisted of around twenty people, one of them happened to be one of the only drivers in town, Andy Hartford. Andy was the local sheriff who kept the town from total anarchy. So far he was good at keeping law and order along with his staff baring uniforms of all black with some of the equipment that was left behind by the original police. Only thing that was different now was that none of them carried guns. The town had a strict rule about guns; they were to be kept inside the old gun store where the door was locked and sealed tight so no one could bear any firearms.

Disputes did break out about whether or not guns could be owned. The Village Elders thought long and hard and thought that with tools that can shoot projectiles were to become outlawed for everyone's safety. Even when the time that was once hunting season came around, some people asked if the guns out be legalized; that's when the Village Elders came up with a different law: anyone who has a hunter's license can only be issued a gun by an Elder only when he/she is authorized and only he/she. Right now the gun store was closed and would remain that way until the Village Elders declared a time for deer hunting and the meat was needed to feed the town.

Right at this moment, Jackson and Elliot were in the truck driving over to the city center where they'd meet up with Caden and speak to him as of their duties for the day. Georgetown had no town hall, just a simple building wide enough to fit the town together for a council meeting. In the center where a series of long narrow tables that served as the places where the Village Elders sat and made their decisions. Along the walls were pictures, flags, and documents attached to thumbtacks; this is where Jackson and Elliot would pick up their schedules.

Caden kneeled over in the corner by a file cabinet where he'd go over documents before posting them. The teenager seemed tall by most of the residents with a strong voice; mostly by the children. Caden always wore a red tie with his clothing as his way of saying: I'm a Village Elder. The other two of them were recognized well enough to be known by the town as a member of great authority.

Small talk was made between Caden and Jackson while Elliot went over the list of pickup points that had to be made. To his surprise they only needed to make two trips: one down by the Wojcik farm to pick up a few gallons of milk, and the second was to deliver the milk to the school before lunch.