World of Monsters

10. Confronted at Town Hall

     Talking to Diane about most of what was going on felt liberating to Alyssa, as she didn't like the idea of keeping secrets from her. Yet that doesn't mean she told her everything that she knew, because the idea of even more monsters living out there in the open wasn't something she was ready to share with Diane just yet. Her sister was still young and it was enough to know that the undead was real, so Alyssa wanted to give her some time before tossing vampires, werewolves and witches into the mix. The world was dangerous enough, and her sister didn't need to know everything until it was unavoidable. She also got the impression while they were in New Lycan that Gabriel didn't advertise himself as a vampire that much, so Alyssa thought it would be best if he was given the power to decide when Diane learned the truth about him. It was something she would discuss with Gabriel the next time he flew in. It would also be easier for Alyssa to keep her secrets to herself if she didn't have to worry about Diane getting confused and mucking up her story. For someone in her mid-teens, Diane seemed to be handling the news about other cities rather well, and it impressed Alyssa a great deal. She had underestimated her sister, but considering the times they had both grown up in with the undead walking the earth, it was something she should have expected from her.

     Alyssa hadn't heard from the mayor at all that week, as Maxwell had been true to his word. He wasn't going to give her a new list until two weeks had passed and given the haul she brought back, he wasn't going to question the results nor her methods. He had a right to ask about whether or not her gathering would because any conflicts with other towns or colonies, and she didn't take offense to that. The last thing either of them wanted was an armed conflict that could endanger civilians, which made the deal with Gabriel that much better for Alyssa, as they were not stealing the supplies and thus lowering any chance of causing trouble for the town. Things were cool between the two of them, and Alyssa was determined to keep things that way. Despite her feelings about the mayor and her suspicions about her first trip out, Alyssa was willing to work with him but not able to trust him. A test to their pact would come less than two weeks after her first delivery.

     There was something going on in the town square, and so Alyssa went to check out it since Diane was still in school. There were a few trucks and a large gathering of people who were as curious as Alyssa was. As she was walking to the square, she tapped someone else on the shoulder that was also walking in that direction.

     "What's going on?" she asked her.

     "There are supplies from another town!" she replied, "The mayor seems to have made a deal with them to open trade."

     "That's interesting," Alyssa said, as she kept walking.

     Alyssa kept her distance, not getting to close as she wanted to get an idea of where these supplies were coming from first. After standing there for a few minutes, the Major jumped onto a chair to address the people.

     "These people come from another town," he confirmed for them, "And they want to open trade because we have something they have trouble making which is fresh produce. All the hard work we've been doing farming is about to pay off. This trade will make the need to send out people to salvage for supplies less necessary for our survival. According to my friend here, there are other towns we can trade with as well. This could be the beginning of better times!"

     The people in the audience cheered, happy to know that their days of running for food was not going to be the necessity it was the last few years. Some hope was better than nothing, and good relations with other towns was very good news. Alyssa was excited about it as well, as less dependence on her meant that she wouldn't have to go out as often and she wouldn't have to ask too much from Gabriel. Less runs also meant less questions, which meant it would be easier for her secrets to remain that for a lot longer. At least that's what she had hoped for.