“They believe they are right and they alone can deal with what is wrong. ”
Travis rubbed his chin, deep in though
t. “I think we should have full disclosure and let everyone know what the real dangers of this world are. This hotel already has us in a different mindset from when we were roughing it. Rose told me people aren't showing up for duty like they were when we were in the construction site. Yeah, we're safer when it comes to the zombies, but we still have food, water, energy, and sanitation concerns. We don't even have a doctor on hand.
People need to understand we are still at risk. ”
“Don't forget the bandits,” Nerit added. Her voice was tinged with pain.
“Or winter approaching. ” Peggy sighed.
“We just don't need them riled up. You know how people get when they feel the city officials or the authorities can't do their job. ” Manny rubbed his broad forehead to wipe away beads of sweat.
“Don't matter,” Ed said. “They're gonna be unhappy anyway if you don't tell them. Sorry, Mr. Mayor, but the old ways are bullshit now.
This ain't about reelections no more, but 'bout keeping alive. ”
“Everyone who voted to eject those two men deserve to know what happened to them. ” Travis' tone was firm.
“Why? They shouldn't feel guilty for doing the right thing,” Juan said sharply.
“People's actions-and votes- have consequences. We all need to be aware of this. ” Travis stood and looked around the room. “As far as we know, we are the biggest and best off of the survivors in this area.
Hell, maybe the whole state. ”
“Or country,” Jenni sighed.
“Maybe the world,” Nerit added.
“So we need to have our shit together. People have got to realize that every damn choice we make has consequences that not only affects our lives, but the lives of everyone around us. ” Travis sighed deeply. “We need to let everyone know what happened. We need them to understand the situation with the Vigilante. And they need to understand that just because we are now in this amazing hotel, we are not necessarily safe. Call a fort meeting and lay it out, Manny. ”
“The political fallout from this-” Manny started to say.
“Fuck politics, Manny. ” Travis hated how harsh his voice sounded, but he knew he was right.
Manny put his head down, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.
“It's what I know. ” Manny looked up at them, his eyes stricken. “I don't know how to do anything but be who I was before all this happened. ”
“This world is messed up,” Jenni grumbled.
“Voting those assholes out was the right thing to do,” Juan declared firmly. “The Vigilante killed them, not the rest of us. Not the ones who voted. ”
“We all knew they would probably die out there. ” Nerit shrugged.
“We made the choice. ”
“God help us do the right thing. From now on this is the kinda shit we gotta take deadly serious. ” Bill flipped his notebook shut. “If this is our new brand of justice, then we all better be damn sure we can live with it. ”
“Agreed. ” Travis folded his arms across his chest.
“We're getting close to mob rule,” Manny said in a soft voice.
“People need leaders. Order. Law. ”
“If we-the people in this room-try to dictate to everyone out there how it should be, we're gonna fail. Yeah, we need officials of some sort to handle every day administration, the planning of the fort defenses, things like that, but the big issues need to be in the hands of the people. ” Travis faced the silent people in the room. “We have to do this together or we'll fail. ”
2. Turned Upside