Jessie laughed, unable to avoid picturing the scene of her husband and friends dressed up in ancient tribal gear chanting ancient verses and banging old drums. There was a festival held every year on the island where people did just that in order to honor the original inhabitants of the island. Locals and tourists alike flocked to it, everyone caught up in the atmosphere for a weekend before going back to their normal lives the following Monday morning.
“Did Martha say who organized it?” Art continued speaking, his strong hands still massaging Jessie’s shoulders as he spoke. “I imagine they’ve already got quite a few ideas lined up, makes sense not to arrange something like this until you’ve got a rough structure planned out.”
“She said Dennis and Jamie were both involved, I don’t know beyond that.”
“Hm,” Art thought to himself. “I hope Dennis doesn’t end up with too much control. You know what he can be like.”
“Martha won’t let anything like that happen again.”
“We’d best hope not,” Art replied. “Now is the time when we all need to work together, not for personal gain.”
By the time five o’clock rolled around everyone who had an interest in being involved – some roughly two thousand people – had all gathered at the surf shack on the beach and were waiting for the meeting to begin. With little else to do, the area had been filling up for the last hour, some people desperate to get seats at the front while others were just happy to have something to do. There had been no structure on the island since the ship left, everyone treating the following days like an impromptu but uncomfortable holiday, now things were ready to get started again and everyone was keen to be a part of it.
Jessie and Art were seated fairly close to one side of the stage that had been set up on the beach, after having dropped Zayn and Axel off further down the beach. Both of the boys were happy to be out of the house for a bit and seeing some of their friends. Most of them had been able to leave on the ship. Kauai wasn’t exactly a small island; with roughly sixty thousand residents there was little chance of even recognizing everyone left behind. Luckily for them though, Jessie and Art’s closest friends, Mike and Grace were still with them, the four of them awaiting the start of the announcement.
“Hello everyone!” Jamie Bates walked onto the stage, speaking into a microphone that was hooked up to his old and dusty speaker system, the one that normally lay in the corner of the surf shack. “Thanks for coming out, it’s great to see so many of you here.”
A cheer resonated throughout the crowd as Jamie walked to center stage and stuck the microphone into a stand. He was perhaps one of the few people on Kauai who was known to almost everyone. The surf shack was a popular restaurant and bar that spanned the length of the most popular beach in town, catering to locals and tourists from the break of dawn until well after the sun set over the horizon.
He was a friendly man who was more than happy to let a tab roll over to the next day or have large parties bring in a bottle or two when there was something to celebrate. But he always managed to strike the right balance of not being taken advantage of, which meant everyone both liked and respected him.
“It’s no secret what has happened to the world following Trident’s collapse,” he continued, the crowd gradually falling into silence as they listened to his opening statement. “And it’s certainly no secret how that has directly affected us here on Kauai. Many of our friends and fellow islanders may have left us behind, but we are still here and we need to figure out a way to weather this storm, just like we’ve weathered many more before it.”
“This isn’t just some thunderstorm Jamie!” A male voice shouted out from the crowd. “We can’t just batten down the hatches and wait for it to pass. What do you suggest we do?”
A few cheers and rumbles of agreement carried through the audience, cries of hear hear ringing out. Jamie listened on stage and waited for the noise to die down again, biding his time to respond and thinking carefully of the words he chose.
“That’s a valid point,” he nodded, “and I know this is unlike anything we’ve ever faced before. No one person can come up with a solution and I’m not suggesting that I have that solution – if there even is one.” He paused, letting his words sink in and building up to the first key point he needed to make.
“What I suggest is that all of us here tonight take a vote. That we elect a leadership council to get us through this difficult time. Things are going to have to change and we’re going to have to consider what careers and jobs are most important for us as a society to move forward. We’ve all seen the news reports of how things are falling apart over on the mainland. We can’t let that happen to us. This island is precious to each and every one of us and the most important thing is to make sure it not only survives, but thrives through this disaster. If we work together, there is no reason why that can’t happen.”
More noise erupted along the beach, most everyone now cheering. Jessie looked over at Art and their friends and grinned, encouraged by what Jamie was suggesting and hopeful for the first time since she watched the large cruise liner leave the island shores that they would be able to continue their island life. Things would have to change just like Jamie suggested, but she had faith
