I glanced at Kira as I smirked. It was hard to believe they'd chosen to replace me and Richard with a lazy, obnoxious slacker like Jesse.
There were loud murmurings drowned by shouts from my supporters. I stood and raised both arms to secure silence. "I want a show of hands of the adults who supported this move."
Only a few hands shot up; others rose more tentatively. I counted nineteen. Glen Whycoff and Barlow Jones chastised their adult sons, but Able Jones and Allen Whycoff held out and would not raise their hands. Able was angry as he argued against his father's demand. It was the first time I'd ever heard the young man curse. Both young Whycoffs appeared embarrassed by their father's attempts to intimidate them. The younger boy, Adam, finally raised his hand.
"Okay, you control the majority vote. I'll accept what you've done, but it was sneaky." I took a vacant seat in the front row next to Kira. Her anger and contempt for the officers was apparent as she frowned and gritted her teeth.
John spoke to me from where the Leadership Committee sat in a row like birds on a wire, "Then you will comply with the new rules?"
I viewed him harshly and snorted. "Hell no. I most definitely will not comply with the stupidity you people have imposed. My family will be leaving as soon as we locate a new homesite."
John jumped to attention. Surprise was evident in his expression. "That's not necessary if you simply agree to follow the new rules the majority has passed."
"I will never agree to place my family's lives and freedom in jeopardy. As for the heavy weapons, they will remain locked in the armory until we move. They've been there for five years, and another month or two won't make a difference." I scanned all five committee members. "Do you all accept that?"
Morgan and Andrea conferred, but Jesse bellowed, "No I don't. The intent is to remove them now."
I felt Jesse's stance on the weapons issue had more to do with his feelings toward me than the firearms ban.
Martin Sr. said, "I vote to leave them. Tom honors his word, and I believe he'll move them as soon as practical. I'm still not convinced this is the right thing to do. But since the majority agrees, I'll support it." When Morgan spoke, he looked tired and older than I'd noticed before. "Andrea and I agree with Martin. That's three votes; where do you stand, John?"
John nodded agreement then spoke. "I'm sorry these issues have led to this, but the majority want to live in peace. The weapons will remain secured where they are for several months until Tom's family leaves." He looked directly at me. "We will want ammunition left here for the hunting rifles we use." Clearly as an afterthought, he spoke to the whole group, "How many of you intend to follow Tom and his family when they leave?"
As John counted raised hands, I didn't need to turn and confirm our numbers; fifteen adults had said they wanted to escape with my family. John spoke again. "Seventeen all together. I'm sorry to see you leave. If there is no other new business, we'll adjourn the meeting." Several people made noises as they stood to leave.
I stood and faced the assembly. "I'd like to address the group for the last time." Most of the folks who had stood sat again. Jesse put a hand on Kelly's back and nudged her away from the chairs and through the door. "When zombies and rogue humans threatened us, we were a tight group and watched for each other. It was time consuming and difficult, but we did it. We stayed healthy because the dangers demanded it. Since we've had a peaceful existence, many of you have slacked off. You saw no reason to continue guard duties, so that was dropped three years ago. You complained about scheduled work assignments, and they were discontinued two years ago. Several of you accepted responsibilities that you now ignore and depend on someone else doing your work.
"When Doc was alive, he counseled everyone to keep your bodies healthy. Look around at how many of you are twenty to fifty pounds overweight. Only half of us attend the exercise classes held three days a week. You have consciously chosen to be weak and let your health deteriorate.
"Alcohol and tobacco were banned since the group's inception because of the health and emotional hazards that come with them. Recently, your officers chose to weaken the ban by allowing wine to be made. In the future, the ban will be tested again and again until beer, whiskey and tobacco are allowed. Before the zombies attacked, the risk of alcohol addiction and cancer being caused by tobacco was well documented. Think back to that before you vote to weaken your rules again.
"As for the people who are leaving, we believe danger could still exist. Hopefully, the zombies are gone, but I am not so vain as to believe we are the sole humans in this world. In my mind, it's probable there are still dangerous groups of people. They haven't come into contact with us yet, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. I fully understand your craving for peace. I want that, too. There's a saying that originated more than two hundred years ago. It's been modified many times by many people to become 'Trust, but Verify.' I trust that people we meet in the future will be honest, non-violent and trust worthy, but I'll withhold judgment of them until I verify their intentions. The one thing I will never do is give up the right and the means to protect and defend my family.
"In the morning, I'll present a
