The Hanging Tree

Chapter 4: The Rebels

It seemed a short time later that my mother came into my room and shook me awake. "Gizmo! Wake up, you're going to be late!" She said frantically.

I leapt to my feet and glanced at my clock with blurry eyes. 6:40 a.m. I had exactly five minutes to get to work, or risk getting fired. I looked down and found that I was still dressed from last night's venture, which was a relief. I quickly ran to the front door and pull on my heavy, government issued boots. I tie them sloppily and make a mad dash out the door. I am sprinting as fast as I can and within two minutes I am opening the door to the factory.

I discover that I clocked in with 7 seconds to spare and give a great sigh of relief. Today I was assigned the most tedious job, oats, perhaps because I was nearly late. I can't bring myself to be irritated at the assignment though because I was so close to being jobless.

After the usual three hours, I hear the familiar lunch bell and, sweating buckets, eagerly make my way to the changing rooms. I'm puzzled for a moment when I open my locker and find it empty, but then I remember that I left in such a hurry this morning that I had forgotten to grab my lunch bag. Great... This is going to be a very hungry 13 hours... I take my time in the bathroom, taking care to splash cool water on my face. I want as little time as possible to be spent on just sitting and thinking of how hungry I am. But, despite my efforts, I have 7 minutes left of my break.

I take a seat at a table that is across from where Planter is sitting and, again, being unusually sociable. The guys weren't exactly gathered around him but you could definitely tell that Planter was the center of attention. He was speaking in harsh whispers. I leaned in a little to see if I could catch a word or two. "...then we're going to..." He said, before lowering his voice so much that even the guys sitting closest to him had to move in just to hear.

I sat back thinking. What could he be talking about? Then it hit me... Surely he couldn't be... He wouldn't... Was he? Was Planter rallying these men to make a stand against the government, as he has suggested only yesterday? He must have been planning this for a long time before he mentioned anything because it seemed very detailed and well thought out. I tried to block out his voice so, if anything did happen, I couldn't be called an accessory, but it was hard and I had to admit that I was a little curious about it.

When break was finally over I went back to the oats; though I made sure to pass by Harvester on the way. As I walked by I whispered just loud enough for her to hear, "Worse... Much worse." Having just come from lunch and last night's conversation still fresh in our minds she will have known what I was talking about. I chanced a glance back at her and saw that she was once again very pale.

I spent five more hours on the oats before I had to go back to the assignment desk. The man told me to go to the potatoes; much better than oats in my opinion. The rest of my shift passed very slowly. I thought I was going to pass out from hunger by the time I dragged myself through my front door.
That week was a big one for the factory, Planter was drawing in a bigger crowd every day and, in the last couple of day, security had to be called in every few hours because of workers making trouble. The first of the two days I had to go to the education center where I met Harvester in the hallway and we made plans to meet up the next night.

When I got home that night I walked in to find that my father was telling the story of his work week over the dinner they had apparently started without me. "You wouldn't believe it," He started, "There have been 5 men arrested just in the last 2 days because they are trying to make trouble."
"I heard about that," my mother said, "I also heard that one guy was executed because he was attempting to rally people for their so-called 'rebellion'."

I felt the blood drain from my face at this news. It was true that Planter was rallying people in the changing rooms, but no one had been executed yet. That made it seem more real. More immediate. "Some guys have been talking about a rebellion at the factory as well..." I said, sitting down.
"Well, I sincerely hope it doesn't come to that, it's the last thing we need... More trouble," said my mother.

We may not need it, but it's coming. I can feel it in my bones. Change is coming, and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it.