“Ben,” Liz said, speaking to herself, “I wish you were here.”
But Liz also knew that Ben was off on a mission that was just as vitally important to their livelihood as what Liz was about to do. Still, she kept wondering how he would have handled all of this and then realized that it didn’t matter. She was traveling down rabbit holes and paths that had no consequence on the present moment, and the here and now was where she needed to concentrate all of her energy and focus.
Liz stood and then marched toward the door. There was no use in wasting time. She had been in high-pressure situations before, and she knew she would be able to handle this moment, no matter how big it seemed to be.
When Liz arrived at the mess hall, the place was already packed. From what she could tell, everyone had shown up, even Marty. The only person not in attendance was Sarah, who had been tasked with watching the children. Besides her sister, Rachel, Liz had no family present, and she started to regret having Sarah volunteer to watch the kids. She could use the support, but she reminded herself that she still had friends in the audience.
Melissa and Tony Kippers were in attendance, Kurt and Susan were here, along with Cole and Nancy. There were people who she considered on her side, and she just needed to convince the new women who arrived that she and her family had everyone’s best interests at heart.
Jane Percy had already arrived, and she was upfront with her husband and brother-in-law, but Liz noted that Gray wasn’t sitting with the family, though he was nearby.
Liz met with Jane at the front, and the two had a brief exchange before the proceedings began.
“I’m glad you showed up,” Jane said. “I was beginning to think that I would win this by default.”
“We don’t have to do this, Jane,” Liz said. “Our arrangement has worked well enough to skip the theatrics.”
“But things aren’t running smoothly,” Jane said. “That’s why we’re having the vote. You said it yourself that people deserve to be heard, or are you backtracking on that?”
Liz realized that this was going to happen no matter what she tried to do. She extended her hand to Jane, and the women shook on it. “Then let’s get this started.” She turned to face the crowd, wanting to get the first word in before Jane had a chance to completely control the narrative, as she had already done.
“Thank you, everyone, for coming,” Liz said. “Today has been a difficult one, so I appreciate you still showing up to voice your concerns.” She gestured to Jane. “Jane Percy and I will be speaking with you tonight on who we believe should have your confidence in leading this place. Each of us will speak our peace, and then you will cast your vote anonymously to show who you would like to lead our group. This will be very informal in regards to rules, no time limit, but I would like to ask for everyone to hold their questions until both Jane and I have had a chance to speak.” She turned to Jane. “I’ll let you go first, Jane.” She took a seat before Jane could reject the offer, and all eyes were on her.
Jane Percy stepped up and cleared her throat. “Thank you, Liz. I appreciate you being open to all of this, and I know the community is thankful for it, too.” She offered a curt nod to Liz and then turned all of her attention to the crowd.
“I don’t think anyone here believes that we would have made it here without the help of the Riker family. They have been more than willing to share resources, and they possessed the knowledge needed for us to pull through the first few weeks after the EMP detonated. But as we move forward, I think it’s important for this community to reflect on the foundation that this country was built on, and that is democracy. Our forefathers fought against the same type of tyranny that’s plaguing our country at this very moment. And we need to band together in order to fight it. And the reason I’m coming to you all is that I believe I have what it takes to guide us through this next difficult stage of rebuilding what we’ve lost.
“My family is no stranger to adversity. Our land was pilfered from us from the wealthy and the corrupt. But we’ve continued to fight throughout the entire process. That’s what I bring to the table.”
Jane paused for a moment and pointed to Liz.
“Now, I want to talk a little bit more about the kind of job Liz and her family have done. As I mentioned before, they led us to this facility, which, I think it’s safe to say, has been a safe haven for all of us. But they’ve also put themselves in a position of power in the process.”
Jane held out her hand. “They are in charge of the food, the weapons, the shelter, security, every piece of vital resources that we need they have one of their own in charge of it.” She shrugged. “Is that right? Should the Riker family have a monopoly on our well-being? I don’t believe they should, and I think there are a lot of you who agree with me. The consolidation of power and resources puts all of us at risk. Even the Riker’s themselves.”
Liz tried not to look out at the crowd while Jane spoke. She didn’t want to know how much they were eating up her words, but she couldn’t help herself as she glanced behind her.
The crowd looked like they were split, with the majority of Jane’s support coming from the battered women who had come with Sarah and Nancy from the clinic. But she wasn’t sure how many of her old friends would go against her.
“I will make everybody this promise now,” Jane said. “If you
