299 Days: The Stronghold by Glen Tate Read Free Book Online

association of weak and indecisive committees that couldn’t agree on having guards, and therefore, inadvertently, letting criminals walk right in. Grant imagined that was exactly what was occurring at his old neighborhood in Olympia, the Cedars.
    The Grange meetings were serious business. Politics—persuading people to do the right thing—could very easily be a matter of life and death. Politics can get whole communities killed just as easy as bullets. In fact, often the bullets kill a community because politics broke down. That was certainly true of the former United States, or “FUSA,” as everyone was starting to call it. People quit doing the right thing, and things broke down. The bullets flew. Pierce Point was a mini version of America. They would either do the right thing out there, which was following the Constitution and being decent to each other, or they would break down and the looters would walk in and slaughter everyone. Politics was serious business.
    People were filing into the meeting; mostly familiar faces, but some new ones. It seemed like more and more people were venturing out of their homes and finding rides to the Grange to see what was going on.
    This was good and a challenge at the same time. It was good that people were viewing the Grange meetings as the place where community decisions were made. It was a challenge because it meant more people with different viewpoints who needed to be persuaded. Not bossed around—that didn’t work—but persuaded. In a larger crowd, there would be more Loyalists. Oh well. That’s the job Grant had been given and he would do his best.
    The first order of business was Mrs. Roth’s funeral. Rich introduced Pastor Pete. They discussed the funeral and picked a date for it, which would be the next day at 10:00 a.m. Without embalming fluid, sooner was better than later. The group agreed to Pastor Pete’s idea for a cemetery. It would be the vacant lot overlooking the water. Grant silently wondered if it would be big enough. He imagined that there would be plenty more people dying soon, but he didn’t want to say that out loud. He suspected others were thinking the same thing, however.
    It was good that the community was working together on a governance issue like a cemetery. This was one of the first tests for the group, and it was going well. The next test that night would be the church services. Would that divide people?
    Pastor Pete asked if the community wanted regular church services. They did. Some asked what kind of church. Pastor Pete described it as non-denominational. “I know that we have people of many, many different denominations out there. There are plenty of things we all agree on. That’s what the services will be about. Anyone can talk to me at any time about this and I will make sure to listen. I want people at church, not to drive them away.”
    Dan described how Pastor Pete would also be the chaplain of the guards and beach patrol. Pastor Pete added that he would be happy to counsel people and would officiate at funerals and—he said with a smile—“hopefully weddings, too.” Many people in the crowd said they weren’t exactly “church people,” but were looking forward to attending on Sunday.
    Rich then motioned for Grant to come up. Rich whispered, “Should we tell them our idea for the jail and judge?”
    Grant whispered back, “Might as well.”
    Rich said to the audience, “OK, we have a proposal for you on a vital community matter. A jail and a judge. We have been very fortunate over the past few days to not have any crime, at least, that has been reported to us. That will change. While people protecting their homes and property is the main defense against crime, the guards and Team will likely be catching people, and the question is what to do with them.”
    “Shoot ‘em!” someone yelled out. Some people laughed.
    Rich didn’t laugh. “That’s not going to work for some things, like small thefts,” Rich said. “I