Marysvale (21 page)

Hannah inhaled sharply. “That must be
him.”

Even Jane couldn’t argue the
coincidences.

“
Sarah will be so excited to
find out,” said Hannah excitedly. “Imagine, after all this time
finding out the person you love, and thought was dead, is really
alive. How wonderful! Perhaps we should turn back.”

“
No,” I said, reminding her
of the Brean. It caused her to take pause, but not for
long.

“
Still,” she said, not
entirely willing to give up the idea. “She should know.”

“
She’ll know soon enough.
I’m not planning on staying in Marysvale long.”

This seemed to placate her
some.

Jane, however, was troubled. “Is it
really wonderful news?”

“
What do you mean?” asked
Hannah. “I think it is.”

“
How did he survive? There
was only one survivor, and he swears all the others were
killed.”

“
Maybe he’s confused and
just thought he was dead,” suggested Hannah.

“
Perhaps, but then why
didn’t James come back? Think of all the questions. Do you think
she will be happy or pained when she finds out that he’s alive and
well, not even that far from here, yet never returned with the help
he supposedly went to get in the first place?”

“
Well…” began Hannah. But
failing to come up with an appropriate response, she fell
silent.

Turning to me, Jane asked, “What do you
think, John?”

I considered my response for a moment.
I liked Mr. Shepherd, but there were many things I didn’t know
about him. He was always a bit mysterious.

I replied slowly, “I am curious as to
why he stayed away. Tell me about the sole survivor. Would he have
lied?”

“
I don’t believe so,”
replied Jane. “I don’t know why he would. He barely escaped with
his own life, and has the scars to prove it. Besides, he and James
were friends.”

“
Hmm, I suppose why he
didn’t come back will have to remain a mystery, for the time
being,” I said.

Then, returning to the original
subject, I asked, “What was the other plan for the
town?”

“
The opposing plan was
presented by a man, if you can call him a man, named Merrick
Wright,” replied Jane contemptuously.

Hannah spat at the sound of his
name.

“
I take it you two don’t
like him much.”

“
Weren’t we obvious enough?”
replied Hannah haughtily.

I smiled. “I believe you were. Tell me
about him and his plan.”

Jane continued, “At the time, he was
trying to unseat the current governor and wasn’t having much
success. When our family and friends were slaughtered by the
beasts, he saw his opportunity and took advantage of our situation.
He urged restraint, and argued that the leadership first needed to
ensure the safety of the townsfolk, and those still living in the
country around Marysvale.”

“
What did the current
governor think?”

“
He supported Angus. They
argued that only by killing or driving the beasts out would we be
safe and that any delay would jeopardize the protection of the
community.

“
Wright and his supporters
responded by saying, since we didn’t know what we were up against,
nothing should be decided rashly. By bringing everyone into town,
they would have time to debate and evaluate what needed to be done.
Then, if necessary, they could build a sufficient force to deal
with the problem.”

“
That doesn’t seem
unreasonable,” I said.

“
Doesn’t seem unreasonable?”
screeched Hannah incredulously. “I can’t believe you’re taking his
side!”

She looked as though she was going to
leap over and strangle me for saying so. Cautiously, I widened the
gap between our horses.

Jane, on the other hand, was a little
wiser. “Easy on him, Hannah; he doesn’t know the whole story
yet.”

“
Yes, easy on him, Hannah,”
I repeated.

Jane continued before Hannah could
mount a counterattack.

“
You’re basing that decision
on what you know now of the Brean. Most folks at the time thought
the idea laughable. After all, would you do such a thing if a pack
of wolves attacked?”

She didn’t wait for a reply.

“
They simply thought they
were dealing with normal animals. After all, they had seen them on
occasion before and there hadn’t been a problem.”

“
A valid point,” I conceded.
“So why did they even listen to him?”

“
He wasn’t without his
supporters; and such an event naturally sparked much gossip and a
large debate throughout the town on all sides. The governor wanted
to include everyone. So, it was allowed to go on. The only thing it
accomplished was giving Mr. Wright time to lengthen the process and
win converts.”

“
Unfortunately,” piped in
Hannah, “lots of his support was bought from others who were like
him—only not as wealthy, but equally hungry for power.”

Jane nodded. “He secretly promised
payoffs and positions of leadership for those who were loyal to
him. But that wasn’t discovered until much later. It was Sarah who
found out, or at least had the courage to publicly make the
allegations, which many were beginning to believe.”

That piqued my curiosity. “Is that why
Sarah was driven out of town?”

“
Partly.”

“
What was the other part?” I
asked.

“
I think we are getting
ahead of ourselves.”

“
Very well, what happened
next? What changed the town’s mind?”

“
Ultimately, Angus was able
to convince the governor that less debate and more action was
required, and he finally began the push toward an aggressive
defense. However, the whole process, from after the slaughter to
that point, had taken several weeks. During which time, Wright
successfully contended that the governor wasn’t fit for leadership,
as he was incapable of making a decision during a crisis. He was
right; and everyone on both sides knew it. The debate grew out of
control; and the governor’s reputation was significantly
damaged.”

“
Is that why he lost his
leadership?”

“
He would’ve lost sure
enough. Even so, Mr. Wright faced an uphill struggle. The majority
still agreed with Mr. Shepherd.

“
The turning point happened
a few days later, when a party of thirty-two men set out to deal
with the beasts. As expected, they were able to kill a few solitary
ones relatively quickly. However, what they weren’t expecting was a
coordinated response. During the night, they were attacked by
numerous Brean. It’s unclear how many there were, but by all
accounts, the men were surrounded. Before they even knew what was
happening and could organize, a dozen men and most all of their
horses were slaughtered. They retreated back to Marysvale; but with
the loss of their mounts, it was slow and treacherous. Another ten
men were killed before they reached the safety of the town. The
assaults from the Brean were always at night.”

“
When it was difficult to
see, and aim,” I added.

Jane nodded. “The men also told tales
of how ineffective their muskets were. They would shoot a monster,
and it would keep charging. It took multiple hits to bring one
down.”

“
I can relate,” I said
dryly, remembering my own experience and how amazed I’d been that
the monster could live, let alone move, after a direct shot from my
musket at close range. How futile it must have felt to even hit one
at night; then if they did, find out how little damage it had
actually done. It was a miracle any of them survived.

“
Were both Shepherds in the
group?”

She nodded. “The governor was also with
the group, trying to reclaim some of his reputation. He was killed
the first night.”

Jane continued, “The loss of the men
devastated the community; but it wasn’t the worst part. On the same
day they made it back to town, another outlying settlement was
slaughtered, again including women and children. By that time, the
people clamored for protection and Mr. Wright was in a position to
deliver it.”

“
He looks to have been the
only one who understood the situation,” I said.

“
And so it would appear, at
first. He was quickly chosen as the new governor. The remaining
families who lived outside the city were moved in. Homes were
built. Walls and towers were constructed around the town and
adjacent farms. The people felt safe.”

“
And the
monsters?”

“
Unchecked. They flourished
and their numbers grew.”

“
Good heavens! Did they even
try to stop them?”

Jane shook her head.

“
Why?” I asked
incredulously.

“
There were a few excuses.
One, they were worried about securing the town first, and building
a wall was the priority. Another, they didn’t know what they were
up against—the Brean weren’t the creatures they thought they were.
Then, there came the most powerful persuasion of all….Do you
remember our conversation about Cain?”

Comprehension dawned, at least partly,
and I quoted, “
Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance
shall be taken on him sevenfold
….That’s why they never did
anything, isn’t it?”

She nodded. “Our losses were at least
sevenfold theirs. That theory, along with those scriptures, were
circulated around the town. Preachers even gave sermons on the
subject. With the loss of life already suffered, and this new idea
of Cain, it was impossible to argue the use of force. Supporters of
the Cain theory maintained that the first group of settlers must
have killed one and that’s why they were attacked.”

“
Did they?”

“
Of course not!” she
exclaimed. “You don’t believe the Cain theory now, do
you?”

“
Not in the
slightest.”

She looked relieved.

I continued, “First of all, if you take
the Bible literally, it only refers to the sevenfold punishment in
relation to Cain, not to any of his offspring. And still following
the Bible, God loves his people and has helped protect them as long
as they were righteous. I don’t think that’s changed. That being
said, however, if the townsfolk chose to follow Lord Wright, I
don’t see what the problem is.”

“
Ah, now we’re getting to
that,” said Jane. “At first the people got exactly what they
wanted. They could sleep well; guards protected them at night and
while they worked in the fields. However, with the new security
measures, and the sudden population increase from the refugees,
changes had to be made. The homeless had to be cared for, given
places to live, food to eat, and clothing to wear. Mr. Wright
quickly put
his
people in command of these programs, from
building projects to growing and distributing food. He also took
charge of establishing the town guards. People were urged to give
service when needed, and they were glad to do so; after all, the
newcomers were in need, and it was the Christian thing to do. But
when there wasn’t enough labor to build the walls, they were forced
to work. Citizens were told all these changes were only temporary.
Once secure, they could go back to their lives as
normal.”

“
Taking over the government
wasn’t enough for Wright; he turned his eyes on the church. He even
got some of his followers to be ministers,” said Hannah, becoming
animated.

“
How did he manage that?” I
asked.

“
Another long story,” said
Jane. “But in short, they were appointed to lower callings in the
church, and then, over time, they slowly moved up.”

“
Except it wasn’t that
slow!” exclaimed Hannah. “An accident here…an illness
there…”

“
As I was saying,” said Jane
with an edge to her voice, hoping it would keep Hannah from
interrupting. “In the ruse of being safe and protected, we slowly
gave our freedoms away. Weapons were asked for to arm the guards,
and the people gladly handed them over. On the surface it was a
great time: everyone shared equally in the work and of their
substance, all for the greater good…”

“
And to support those
‘guards’ and ‘administrators’ of the programs—all of Mr. Wright’s
most loyal supporters,” interjected Hannah. “They lived like
kings!”

“
Do
you
want to
finish the story?” asked Jane irritably.

It was the wrong approach.

“
Oh yes,” said Hannah, who
instantly began to babble so fast it was hard to keep
up.

Jane nudged her hard in the ribs and
said, “Well you can’t! If you have something to say, wait until
I’ve finished my thought.”

With a haughty sigh, Hannah said, “Very
well,” and fell silent. So did Jane, as she tried to remember where
she’d left off.

“
On the surface, it was a
great time,” I reminded her.

“
Oh, thank you. Yes, well,
Mr. Wright quietly positioned himself in a place where he could
seize total control over the people and establish himself as a
king. Some could see what was happening, Mr. Shepherd being
one.”