The Young Fighters

CHAPTER 6

At seven came the town meeting at the location of Caden's office. The building was packed with people mostly between the ages of ten and seventeen while the youngest with six, and that was Elliot. Everyone was concerned and confused as to why they were there and if it was because of an emergency. Right now Jackson and the Village Elders were in a separate room talking to each other over what they were planning on discussing. Both of them were thankful that no one could hear them, but just to be safe; Caden kept his voice down.

"I'm really glad you called for this meeting," Leah alleged, "but I don't know how long it will be until word of this gets around and the younger ones find out and get scared." As head school teacher, the last thing she needed was to have a class room full of children terrified out of their minds from hearing about violence. Before the Great Disappearance, the brutality of the world was constantly acknowledged by word of television. Now there was no need to hear of hostility due to living in a world where there was no war and no need of fear from the news.

"Word of this will leak out somehow." Evan spoke as he turned to Leah, "Can't you talk to the children and tell them what happened? Just don't make it sound threatening." Evan too seemed scared by what Caden told him earlier. Leah looked at him with worrisome eyes.

"They're still too young to be told about what happened today. I'm not even sure if I can tell them that what happened to the boy was an accident." Leah cared deeply about the future of Georgetown; and telling them that there was a stabbing and possibly even a shooting may make the kids feel so terrified they wouldn't even set foot outside and make their way to school. In the past they'd ask her about the wars that consumed the world, they'd ask her if the bad guys would make their way into their backyard and cause harm. Leah would tell them: No.

"We still have to inform the younger ones about this occurrence so that they know how to handle this kind of situation in the future." Caden gave his honest opinion.

"True; but shouldn't we wait until some of them are a little bit older?" Leah replied, "Telling them now would be like jumping from the kiddy pool into the deep end of the pool after only one brief lesson." She had been there before. When she was little she loved going swimming in water that was up to her shoulders, then that day came when her father took her to regular lessons and the fear of the deep end kicked in.

"I can understand that telling them now can be frightening. But it needs to be done. After all, they do trust you the most." After Caden said so, Leah fell silent along with Evan and Jackson. A crackle on Caden's talkie erupted and he retorted to the call.

"Caden, this is Will. That boy Jackson found earlier is awake right now and he's hysterical; he's saying something about an evil empire." From hearing the ruffled words of Will, Jackson flinched his head towards the talkie and focused on it while it remained grasped in Caden's hand.

"Evil Empire?" Caden paused, "Did he say anything else?"

"He said that he managed to escape from this place. I asked him who cut him, and he told me that some people came looking for him after he and some of his buddies fled this place. The people he was with were killed, he was being stabbed when the attacker's gun fell out of his pocket and the boy got hold of it and shot his attacker." The room couldn't have gotten any quieter that moment. Peace was so intense that a pin could be dropped and it would rupture the ear drums of all that heard such a plunge.

"Is his attacker dead?" Caden inquired,

"He told me that he shot the kid in the center of the chest."

"Kid?" Leah bellowed out with her rising voice. Her eyes opened wide as wide could be.

"I asked him if he knew the age of the kid he shot, he guessed the boy was maybe fifteen. He also managed to give me the name of this person too."

"What about the child?" Caden asked, "Does he have a name?" The one question that Jackson and Elliot wanted to know more than ever was about to be reveled.

"Yes, his name is Michael Anton Davis, age nine, and he comes from Washington City." Everyone in the room looked at each other with question. Washington City was a long walk for any child or beast. By vehicle it would take close to three hours to get there; on foot maybe three days. Jackson had been to Washington City before and so did Leah; everyone else, only few. They knew what it was like, large and enormous. After the Great Disappearance they'd assume that it looks like something from a zombie apocalypse movie minus the living dead. "Caden, I'm bringing him over to the meeting, he says he willing to talk. I'm heading over right now."