Nathan Jones - Shortage

With the power out and batteries, lamp oil, and candles hard to come by the Larson household had taken to going to bed early. Which is why even though it was only a bit past midnight, Matt felt like it was the middle of the night when Trev came around to warn him about the tied up bandits in Aspen Hill Canyon due west of town.

Matt supposed thats what midnight was supposed to be, give or take an hour or two, but before the attack hed often been up at that hour even on a school night. He told his sleepy family members, and a sleepy but insistent Sam who still wanted to come along, to go back to bed as he slipped on his boots and grabbed a can of bear spray before heading out the door.

Trev was already long gone, headed back to the canyon so he and his cousin could make themselves scarce before anyone from the town arrived. Matt wasnt super pleased about having this task dumped on him while his friends bailed, but he supposed he understood where they were coming from.

The rest of the town seemed to share his sleeping schedule as he hurried over to Officer Turners apartment above his office in town hall and roused him out of bed. The policeman wasnt too happy about being woken up, especially since it was technically no longer his duty to lead the towns defenses, but once Matt explained the situation he reluctantly belted on his service pistol and grabbed his shotgun and followed Matt out into the night.

After a bit over a half hour of walking they found the camp just where Trev had said it would be, with the three robbers trussed up with zip ties like presents. Matt confirmed that the biggest of the three was one of the men whod robbed them that morning, and on his word and Trevs passed on statement about their intentions Turner cut the ties on their legs and hauled the men to their feet, shining his heavy flashlight in front of him so they could see as he led them down the canyon. Matt paused a moment to kick dirt over the smoldering embers of the fire and then hurried to follow, walking alongside Turner at the back of the group.

Awfully conscientious of the cousins, patrolling the canyon road behind town late at night even after Ferris told everyone protecting us was his job, the policeman mentioned.

Yeah well this Razor guy had them spooked, Matt replied evasively. It was true enough, he was sure, but he wasnt about to tell Turner that his friends had only been in the canyon because they were booking it for the mountains. Not when earlier in the day Turner had been there helping Ferris take their home away from them.

When they got back to town hall with their prisoners in tow they discovered that not everyone was asleep after all. It turned out Matts dad had gone to give Mayor Anderson a heads up about the bandits, and he and Catherine Tillman were waiting outside the towns single pair of holding cells in the town halls basement, which usually ended up being used as drunk tanks for unruly teenagers or one of the towns few alcoholics on a bad night.

I let Ferris know whats going on, or at least as much as I know, Anderson said as they arrived and Turner herded the robbers into the cells.

Good. The policeman slammed the barred doors shut and yawned into his fist. Do me a favor and wait around for him, all right? Im going back to bed.

Catherine gave him a surprised look. Youre not going to stick around to sort things out?

Turner shrugged. According to Ferris its not in my job description anymore. Matt couldnt be sure but he thought the man sounded almost pleased about that. Night, everyone. He made his way out of the room with his shoulders slightly hunched, as if expecting to be called back.

Anderson stared after him, shaking his head. Id gotten the feeling we were piling too much on his shoulders, and he was never too eager about taking on the job to begin with. Still, didnt expect him to just wash his hands of everything the moment someone else showed up to take the responsibility. He sighed and turned to Matt. Oh well. Anyway your dad didnt have much to tell me aside from the basic details. Whats this about?

Matt quickly explained being awakened by Trev and his friends explanation of what had happened, confirming again that the biggest thug had been one of those with Razor that morning. Then he needed to explain the robbery when theyd arrived in town and lost all their things, including Razor assaulting Terry with the bear spray.

Catherine had been looking the three men over thoughtfully as he went over everything he knew, but once he finished she turned to look at him. What were Trev and Lewis doing in Aspen Hill Canyon this late at night? Officer Turner shut down all the patrols, and anyway thats not even their route.

They had a good reason, Matt said stoutly, but left it at that. His friends had already suffered a lot from their secrets getting out, he wasnt about to betray any more about them.

The councilwoman sighed. They left, didnt they? I cant really blame them after being kicked out of their home and having all their things stolen. Matt tried to keep his expression neutral and she waved at him. You dont have to tell me one way or another. The towns going to be worse off without them, though. Such a shame.

Anderson gave her an irritated look. Stolen, Catherine? Ferris was operating under Federal authority.

Her return glare was equally irritated. Are you seriously going to tell me that anything agents of the Federal government do is all right since its them doing it? Wheres the justification for stealing from honest citizens and kicking them out of their homes? Isnt there enough suffering around here?

The Mayors irritation turned to unease. Im not sure how smart it is to be calling the FETF administrator and his people immoral.

Matt was almost disappointed that Catherine backed down a bit at that. Well no, I wouldnt necessarily say Ferris and his soldiers are bad people, although I certainly find the man unpleasant, she said. But bad or not theyre following bad policies, and I think its safe to say under the circumstances that theyre using this crisis as an excuse to exceed the limits of their authority and deprive US citizens of their inalienable rights.

Like what? Anderson demanded.

Well how about the third amendment? the councilwoman responded. Theyre housing troops in my familys store!

The Mayor scratched his cheek. That only applies to times of peace, doesnt it?

Catherine paused, suddenly looking a bit unsure of herself. Well Id say Aspen Hill was pretty peaceful before they arrived, she rallied. Besides, thats not the only thing theyve done. How about this mandatory food for firearms program, or confiscating peoples food?

Well you have to weigh that against the aid FETF brought us, Anderson argued.

An uncomfortable silence settled as Matt stared between the two. It was obvious Catherine wanted to say more and was debating with herself whether to bother. He was almost surprised when she abruptly spoke up. I wonder if you could even say FETF brought aid at all.

What are you talking about? Anderson demanded. They brought an entire truck full of food!

And thirteen more mouths to feed. If they plan to stay for any real amount of time theyll eat more than they brought. And as soon as they arrived they immediately took what little the town had to spare at the storehouse and redistributing it among the refugees, which Id call a major net loss. At this rate well all run out before winter even begins and we can starve to death together.

We should at least look on the bright side. The mouths FETF brought also have guns to protect the town.

The councilwoman shook her head irritably. And how many guns did they take from Aspen Hill residents? We already had a decent patrol and roadblock system going, and they dismantled it and deprived us of our ability to defend ourselves. In exchange for what? Even days after his arrival Ferris still hasnt done anything about the atrocities Ive reported to him that have been going on in the refugee camp, or about the bandits following this thug Razor whove surrounded the town and are attacking and robbing anyone they encounter. In fact, if what they did to the cousins at their shelter holds true then Ferris and his men are just interested in taking what little we have. Soon theyll be going door to door.