Wow. Okay, some quick notes. One, I changed my pen name, if you haven't
noticed, but that was simply because I didn't like my old one. Two, you'll
also notice that I changed the chapter titles because I really didn't like
them. I apologize if that's really confusing. And three, sorry it's been
awhile since I updated. Things have been crazy around here and I had to
work out some plot holes. Anyway, I finally forced myself to sit down and
write this part of the story. Just a short little thing. Enjoy.
******
Daniel O'Connell had come to the conclusion that life could never be simple and that one aspect of his world had to be in turmoil. Last year it had been his personal life; all his problems with Kathleen and his mother's death. These things had left him feeling tired and in a stupor where he believed he had hit rock bottom. But when Kathleen had said yes to his proposal, he was finally able to see clearly again, and things were not so bad. So Daniel had assumed 1896 would be much better than 1895, and at the dawn of the new year it was. Daniel was happily married, they were expecting their first child, and going home meant warmth and comfort and happiness. Soon, however, life took an unexpected twist that once again left Daniel questioning why things were so complicated.
It began at dinner one dreary March night. He and Kathleen had been enjoying the peace of being safe and chatting about nothing important when there was a violent knock on the door. Exchanging bewildered glances, Daniel went to answer the door and found a friend of his from work standing outside looking around nervously.
"Timothy? What are you doing here at this time of night?" asked Daniel.
"Well - er - that is to say -" Timothy began.
"Don't be rude Danny," Kathleen said from the table. "Invite him in."
Timothy looked startled. "No, I can't come in. There isn't time. Daniel and I have to go somewhere."
"Where?" asked Daniel, his tone taking a slight harsh tone.
Timothy lowered his voice to a whisper. "A meeting Daniel. Just been called. Andrew's dead."
Daniel stared at Timothy in shock. "Dead?" he asked in a strangled voice.
"Yes," Timothy shook his head fervently. "Murdered."
Daniel glanced back at Kathleen who was giving him a strange look. "What's wrong Danny?" she asked.
"Nothing," Daniel lied. "I have to go out for awhile. I'll be back later. Don't wait up." He walked over to her and kissed her quickly. Then, smiling at her in what he hoped was a reassuring manner, he turned, grabbed his coat, and left.
Daniel and Timothy said nothing until they were out on the street, partly because Daniel was still recovering from the news and partly because Timothy was out of breath from practically jogging to keep up with Daniel's long stride.
"Where are we going?" asked Daniel finally.
"McGinty's place. His wife's visiting her sister, so no one will be around."
"Do you know who murdered Andrew?"
"You know as well as I do who murdered him," Timothy said angrily. "Pierson thinks we'll disband simply because he's rid us of our leader. He's in for a shock; we won't break up!"
Daniel shook his head. "Have you talked to everyone already? How do you know they all won't want out of this? No one's going to be eager to lead the group after this mess."
"But, it's important. They won't give up their rights so easily. Don't you think?"
"I haven't a clue. I guess we'll find out."
As they rounded another corner, Daniel and Timothy finally came to their destination. Daniel seemed almost unhappy to see it as he bounded up the stairs, while Timothy, on the other hand, seemed relieved. That, however, could be attributed to the fact that he was now quite out of breath from attempting to keep up with Daniel and the idea of resting was quite a happy prospect.
Knocking on the door, the two men were quickly greeted by a grave looking man. "O'Connell, Dower," he said quietly, "come in."
Entering the room, Daniel realized they were probably the last two arrive. At least two-dozen other men were sitting around the room looking edgy and nervous; as though Andrew's murderer was going to jump out from somewhere and get them too.
"Let's begin," the man from the door said. "I assume you all know why we're here."
An affirmative murmur ran throughout the group.
"Well then, does anyone have any suggestions about what to do?"
"What do you mean?" one man called out. "What can we possibly do? I'm not eager to be killed. Andrew was a warning, and a powerful warning at that!"
Several people agreed heartily. "I say we just drop this entire idea," the man continued.
"No!" Timothy yelled above the murmurs of the other people. "What about our rights? We deserve to make a decent wage; one we can actually live off of! If we drop the union now we'll never be able to organize again. We can't give in to this intimidation!"
"Intimidation? We're talking about murder! That's nothing to take lightly Tim! I say we just disband the union and go back to working at Pierson's at his standards."
"Don't you remember why we began this union?" Timothy demanded. "That we couldn't afford doctors when our children were sick. That some of us were evicted from our homes because we were too poor to pay the rent. We were finally starting to make some leeway and you want to give up now?"
"Timothy's right," Daniel spoke up. "Pierson only took such drastic measures because he knows we're going to strike soon. That is, unless he meets our demands. And if we give in to what he's doing now we'll never get anything we want. And remember, we're not doing it for us; we're doing it for our families and our children. If we don't make progress in our lives, things will never improve for future generations. We can't give up on the union."
The other men looked around. The very outspoken one glared at Daniel. "Well O'Connell, do you want to be the one to risk his life for this cause? If you're so set on continuing the union, I suppose you'll be up to leading it."
"Of course he'd want to," Timothy said with a hint of gloating in his voice. "Daniel'd do anything for the union. And he's not afraid of Pierson, which is more than I can say for some people!"
"Is that true Daniel?" the man from the door asked. "Would you lead?" The group turned toward him anxiously.
Daniel sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Well," he said, "I suppose it depends. If all of you plan to remain in the union, I think I'd be up to it. But if you're going to abandon everything we've worked for at the first sign of trouble, then no, I'm not risking everything for it."
There was a pregnant pause before Timothy spoke up, "Well then, who's going to stick with it? Who'll stay devoted to the union?"
After a moment, one man hesitantly put his hand in the air. Timothy grinned and followed suit, as did the man at the door. And, as though something was drawing their hands into the air magnetically, the rest of the group slowly raised their hands too. The only exceptions were the man who had protested from the start and a companion of his.
"Well then Daniel," the man from the door said, "will you do it?"
Daniel looked around the room, studying the eager, expectant faces. "All right," he agreed, "I'll do it."
Timothy leapt up and shook his hand and many of the men patted him on the back congratulating him. But despite the good intentions of the cause and the help he was giving to all these men, Daniel felt a nagging fear tugging at the back of his brain. He was afraid, already, that this wouldn't end well.
******
Yeah, I know this part was short and seems random compared to the rest of the story, but trust me, it's leading somewhere. I hope I can update again soon, but don't expect anything; band camp starts Monday. I'll try though. Thanks for reading.
******
Daniel O'Connell had come to the conclusion that life could never be simple and that one aspect of his world had to be in turmoil. Last year it had been his personal life; all his problems with Kathleen and his mother's death. These things had left him feeling tired and in a stupor where he believed he had hit rock bottom. But when Kathleen had said yes to his proposal, he was finally able to see clearly again, and things were not so bad. So Daniel had assumed 1896 would be much better than 1895, and at the dawn of the new year it was. Daniel was happily married, they were expecting their first child, and going home meant warmth and comfort and happiness. Soon, however, life took an unexpected twist that once again left Daniel questioning why things were so complicated.
It began at dinner one dreary March night. He and Kathleen had been enjoying the peace of being safe and chatting about nothing important when there was a violent knock on the door. Exchanging bewildered glances, Daniel went to answer the door and found a friend of his from work standing outside looking around nervously.
"Timothy? What are you doing here at this time of night?" asked Daniel.
"Well - er - that is to say -" Timothy began.
"Don't be rude Danny," Kathleen said from the table. "Invite him in."
Timothy looked startled. "No, I can't come in. There isn't time. Daniel and I have to go somewhere."
"Where?" asked Daniel, his tone taking a slight harsh tone.
Timothy lowered his voice to a whisper. "A meeting Daniel. Just been called. Andrew's dead."
Daniel stared at Timothy in shock. "Dead?" he asked in a strangled voice.
"Yes," Timothy shook his head fervently. "Murdered."
Daniel glanced back at Kathleen who was giving him a strange look. "What's wrong Danny?" she asked.
"Nothing," Daniel lied. "I have to go out for awhile. I'll be back later. Don't wait up." He walked over to her and kissed her quickly. Then, smiling at her in what he hoped was a reassuring manner, he turned, grabbed his coat, and left.
Daniel and Timothy said nothing until they were out on the street, partly because Daniel was still recovering from the news and partly because Timothy was out of breath from practically jogging to keep up with Daniel's long stride.
"Where are we going?" asked Daniel finally.
"McGinty's place. His wife's visiting her sister, so no one will be around."
"Do you know who murdered Andrew?"
"You know as well as I do who murdered him," Timothy said angrily. "Pierson thinks we'll disband simply because he's rid us of our leader. He's in for a shock; we won't break up!"
Daniel shook his head. "Have you talked to everyone already? How do you know they all won't want out of this? No one's going to be eager to lead the group after this mess."
"But, it's important. They won't give up their rights so easily. Don't you think?"
"I haven't a clue. I guess we'll find out."
As they rounded another corner, Daniel and Timothy finally came to their destination. Daniel seemed almost unhappy to see it as he bounded up the stairs, while Timothy, on the other hand, seemed relieved. That, however, could be attributed to the fact that he was now quite out of breath from attempting to keep up with Daniel and the idea of resting was quite a happy prospect.
Knocking on the door, the two men were quickly greeted by a grave looking man. "O'Connell, Dower," he said quietly, "come in."
Entering the room, Daniel realized they were probably the last two arrive. At least two-dozen other men were sitting around the room looking edgy and nervous; as though Andrew's murderer was going to jump out from somewhere and get them too.
"Let's begin," the man from the door said. "I assume you all know why we're here."
An affirmative murmur ran throughout the group.
"Well then, does anyone have any suggestions about what to do?"
"What do you mean?" one man called out. "What can we possibly do? I'm not eager to be killed. Andrew was a warning, and a powerful warning at that!"
Several people agreed heartily. "I say we just drop this entire idea," the man continued.
"No!" Timothy yelled above the murmurs of the other people. "What about our rights? We deserve to make a decent wage; one we can actually live off of! If we drop the union now we'll never be able to organize again. We can't give in to this intimidation!"
"Intimidation? We're talking about murder! That's nothing to take lightly Tim! I say we just disband the union and go back to working at Pierson's at his standards."
"Don't you remember why we began this union?" Timothy demanded. "That we couldn't afford doctors when our children were sick. That some of us were evicted from our homes because we were too poor to pay the rent. We were finally starting to make some leeway and you want to give up now?"
"Timothy's right," Daniel spoke up. "Pierson only took such drastic measures because he knows we're going to strike soon. That is, unless he meets our demands. And if we give in to what he's doing now we'll never get anything we want. And remember, we're not doing it for us; we're doing it for our families and our children. If we don't make progress in our lives, things will never improve for future generations. We can't give up on the union."
The other men looked around. The very outspoken one glared at Daniel. "Well O'Connell, do you want to be the one to risk his life for this cause? If you're so set on continuing the union, I suppose you'll be up to leading it."
"Of course he'd want to," Timothy said with a hint of gloating in his voice. "Daniel'd do anything for the union. And he's not afraid of Pierson, which is more than I can say for some people!"
"Is that true Daniel?" the man from the door asked. "Would you lead?" The group turned toward him anxiously.
Daniel sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Well," he said, "I suppose it depends. If all of you plan to remain in the union, I think I'd be up to it. But if you're going to abandon everything we've worked for at the first sign of trouble, then no, I'm not risking everything for it."
There was a pregnant pause before Timothy spoke up, "Well then, who's going to stick with it? Who'll stay devoted to the union?"
After a moment, one man hesitantly put his hand in the air. Timothy grinned and followed suit, as did the man at the door. And, as though something was drawing their hands into the air magnetically, the rest of the group slowly raised their hands too. The only exceptions were the man who had protested from the start and a companion of his.
"Well then Daniel," the man from the door said, "will you do it?"
Daniel looked around the room, studying the eager, expectant faces. "All right," he agreed, "I'll do it."
Timothy leapt up and shook his hand and many of the men patted him on the back congratulating him. But despite the good intentions of the cause and the help he was giving to all these men, Daniel felt a nagging fear tugging at the back of his brain. He was afraid, already, that this wouldn't end well.
******
Yeah, I know this part was short and seems random compared to the rest of the story, but trust me, it's leading somewhere. I hope I can update again soon, but don't expect anything; band camp starts Monday. I'll try though. Thanks for reading.
