Red Rock

Chapter 15: A Lack of Power and Noble Intentions (Part 1)

Chapter 15 A Lack of Power and Noble Intentions

The whole group was gathered beside the front door of the cabin with the exception of Sam and the man with the missing arm. Light was starting to pierce the horizon enough for the tangible objects on the earthly planet to have an eerie dark glow. Andy seemed to regain his stability, shaking off a rough night's sleep at the camp fire. The cabin had too many tenants already to fit any more people, forcing Andy and Garcia to sleep outside.

Daire stared around the group until they fell silent. He could not wait to express his excitement after his lengthy conversation with Jacob. "After last night, Jacob and I have come to a decision regarding our newcomers and future newcomers. They can stay."

A look of relief spread across Andy's and Garcia's face. "Thank you, Daire!" Andy exclaimed.

Daire ignored Andy's appreciation and continued his speech. "We also agreed that things are going to change around here." The group became silent, eager to hear what changes were to be made. "From now on, I will be your leader. And as your leader, there will be only one rule, everyone here listens to me. Once a decision is made on my part, it cannot be inverted unless I invert it. I will let everyone voice their opinion, but I will be the one who makes the decision. So as a group, let us discuss what should be on our priority list."

The group was silent. Daire was considered second in command to Jacob, causing eyes to stir when he said otherwise. "We don't have any more living space in the cabin as you know. I think our first act of business should be building another one," Grace passively suggested.

Daire nodded. "I was thinking the same thing. Another cabin should be built as soon as possible"

"How will we separate the jobs? Building a cabin takes organization," Andy asked.

"We are going to act as our own country, which means we will have a hierarchy of order throughout. All of you will be assigned rolls based on your strengths."

Grace looked confused. "I don't understand."

"Nick's a carpenter. He will be in charge of the construction of the other cabin and will assign a certain number of you to his work force."

"What about everyone else, like hunting and gutting the catch?" Grace further probed to fully understand.

Daire motioned toward Jacob. "He's in charge of that. He will deal with all the roles of existing and new residents to our society." He looked around for more questions. "Alright, perfect."

*

Sam hunched over the dying man, exhausted from a night without sleep and the constant attention of his suffering. "You missed our meeting," Jacob said, towering over her with Daire.

Sam gave a sour look upward at Jacob. "I don't care. I could hear you anyways."

Jacob took a deep breath. "You should leave him, Sam. I'll take care of him"

"No!" Sam spat back with a grimace.

"You look like shit. You should go sleep in the cabin for a bit."

"So what? You can kill him!" Sam erupted.

Jacob nodded. "Yeah."

Streams of tears rolled down Sam's face. "NOOO!" She screeched at the top of her lungs, causing the injured man to wake momentarily before falling back into unconsciousness. "Now look what you did! You woke him up."