Dystopia Chapter 31: Welcome to the Well

The note and the recent threat at the gate are still at the forefront of my thoughts. I need a distraction. Time to pull Scout Team 3 together to venture outside. We need to step up, otherwise Well members will, or could, actively protest. My recent ill-advised adventure at the Barrio resulted in success despite my actions. Addison, the team is always a step ahead of me. Saving me. The value of the Scout Teams questioned.

Time to meet with the team, which now often included Diana. I am sure her father is waiting for her return. She has proven to be invaluable.

“Good morning, team. I have an old plan with a few modifications.”

“Finally,” Frank stated.

“The floor is yours,” added Brett.

“It has been quiet for the last several weeks. We know the problems are worse: the Well, is running dry. Scout teams struggling to find additional supplies. Almost always returning empty-handed. We need a revenue source. A reliable flow of products. The community members are restless, angry, and often heard complaining behind the committee’s back. A revolt would accomplish nothing. Meanwhile, the line at the gate thinking all is well inside what we now call home. Agitators rattling the fence separating us from them, offering minimal protection, needing to be reinforced, if only we had the materials to do so.”

The long pause is telling. I know what the team is thinking. I can read body language.

“This smoky, unpredictable weather is putting everyone in danger, and it’s hitting some people harder than others.” Diana nodded.

“This we know! So get to the plan already,” Addison chides.

We still possess a sell-able product. We have cooks capable of cooking tasty meals, and we have a dining hall to serve as a ‘restaurant’ and space to set up a game room, like games of chance perhaps, a poker room? There are some musicians capable of entertaining. Actors? A play? A dramatic reading? Something to take one’s mind off the outside world. At least for a few hours.

“This all feels familiar!” Cord said.

“Do you remember what happened the last time?” Addison said.

“Yes…”

“Tell me more,” Diana encouraged.

“The last time the committee and Ms. Bishop took the lead, credit. This time we oversee the operations. Simplify the process.”

“Explain,” Joshua said.

“Frank with Mr. Maddox will meet the ‘guest’ at the front gate and, like before, charged. After collecting the fee, they will secure their weapons, and Brett will escort the guest to the dining area, provide food and a beverage, then escorted back to the gate and sent packing. Their, ‘the guest’s’ transportation will remain at the gate.”

“What could go wrong?”

“We control the situation.”

“And the charge?” Frank asked.

“Like before,” I said. “Supplies of any kind, gold or silver rounds.”

“What about medical care?” Diana asked.

“I don’t know,”

“Maybe we could offer limited medical attention. Maybe part of the charge would be medical supplies,” Diana asked.

Conversation ensued until Addison summarized…

“At the gate, you. You decide who and the cost. Joshua will transport the ‘guest’ to the dining hall and back. Frank, you will meet and greet, and chat with the ‘guest’. Diana and Brett will evaluate medical needs and provide, if possible, in a nearby room.”

We could all see what Frank was thinking.

“What about you and Cord?”

“We will float about and intervene as needed.” Addison concluded.

Was this a well-conceived plan? No. Were there unresolved concerns? Yes.

Addison stood, “I’ll present this to the committee, Jesse, you talk with Ms. Bishop.”

The committee agreed. The details ironed out, modifications made, and our Scout Team, to start, assigned to provide security. Trial run set to begin in a couple of weeks. We prep and practice, considering what could go wrong.

Diana elaborated that we still have to use herbs and similar remedies as we revisit outdated treatments. Our cupboards are bare. We can often offer only a placebo and send them on their way.

Tentative agreement, anyone with medical supplies, meds, guaranteed entrance. A fact we will ask about at the gate.

Once folks get a peek inside, these “outsiders” always seek to be admitted to the community permanently. How to decide who to admit? Do they have capital with which to negotiate? Most requests denied. Community capped at two hundred. This is how the world works. Unfair, whatever.

The issue, “But what about relatives, my brother, my sister, or others? You gotta…,” Nope, not really a bummer to be you.

More wanting in requires more security, protocols put in place, higher walls, and danger. Fortunately, that is not my problem. I have my own. The note. The threat. A reward on my head, dead or alive. But who? Frank and Diana are becoming a thing. Scout Teams dysfunctional. Whispers, ‘anti-government’ groups, fabricated stories, plotters, bounties, miserable weather, and gangs abound. Could it possibly get worse?

It always does.

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