Running Boys - Complete

Chapter Thirty-One

Ninety-Nine Years Ago

Eden and Victory Struggle

Eden's founders were far fewer than Ramius had envisioned. There was only his own family, consisting of himself, Ana, and RJ; Hook and his clan, comprising his wife and two children; Jonathan and his wife; and Picket and his wife and two children. All of their elders were frightened and unwilling to take such a chance, as it involved going against everything they had ever known.

It was sad, but Ramius and his friends were cast out—essentially banished—and expected to never be heard from again. The only other Victorian to leave with them was Harper, who came alone, hoping to work out something with Megan, and it seemed to be working out just fine.

Besides Megan, there were the rest of the minions: Baggus, his wife, Angie, Lobo, and Mr. Li. Altogether, there were basically seven families, assuming that Megan and Angie had found their men, and Mr. Li was solo. There were also three dogs, all of whom got along just fine and were useful in such a small settlement.

So, they needed at least seven houses. Before launching into construction, Ramius had to head below and get Dream to help him with not only construction methods but also urban planning, assuming the village would grow considerably in the future. This planning concept provided a brilliant insight. He found it quite easy to steal away into the shed below his house and enter the passage to the cave with regularity. Urban plan in hand, he sat down with other founding settlers of his original team, and staked out the choice locations for construction. He then did the same with Harper, Baggus, and Lobo. Angie was angry.

"Why do ya only talk ta da men? Ain't women nuttin' ta ya? Whaddif I dun wanna live wit' Lobo? Megan 'n me should have a place just in case doze guys ain't fer us."

"Fair point, Angie. Plenty of room here. You and Megan can each have a place, if you want.

"Well, maybe youz right," Angie said, suddenly realizing the commercial possibilities of having more real estate.

So as a community, they set about building a standard type of house, the concept and engineering of which came from Ramius, compliments of Dream.

If only we could turn the Drakes loose, Ramius imagined. His plan for his own house was grand. But it had to play out in phases over time. It was designed and built in such a way that each stage of its development was perfect as is, but there was a stepping-stone to a more elaborate dwelling that was always on the horizon, unless he chose to stop. The houses sprung up from the earth after having been partly dug into it, and the appearance of the dwellings blended with the natural surroundings.

Ramius passed along the secrets of cement making and structural considerations that he had learned. No one knew how he had come to know such things. They all just thought he was a genius and accepted him as the de facto leader of their small paradise.

As the little community took shape, Ramius started to think about agriculture. The location of the town itself was not ideal for it. The ideal location was across the lake, which would require them to make quite a journey. Until they could attract more people and establish a farming community on the other side, they would be limited to hunter–gatherer methods of survival. Ramius was soon rewarded, even to his own surprise.

People started coming in small groups of three, four, and five. They were defectors from Victory, escaping debt or other forms of persecution, which was sometimes meted out by Marco himself. This soon created a situation in Marco's eyes.

"Now, people think they can just run away from their problems. That's not right. I want anyone who leaves with unresolved business to come back and face their responsibilities!"