A/N Looks like I'm getting out of my lack of motivation to continue this story so that's good, now let's hope that it won't happen again so enjoy this next chapter.
It was not until tomorrow that I went out with Stu and the others to search for Mother Abagail again, only we were joined by more people this time and extended the search as the free zone's mood had turned to dread since, even if the powerful dreams we all experienced had shown Mother Abagail in a semi-divine status, most people were still realists of the fact that she was well over a hundred years old and had been out on her own for an entire night, not to mention that the second night of her gone was approaching.
By dusk, everyone went home and I was with Stu and Frannie in the living room while it was raining outside, seeing them looking less than happy as the storm outside eventually cleared up when Glen suddenly burst inside and it made us jump as we quickly looked at him.
"Stu, Fran, Kyle...oh man, am I glad to see you here," Glen gasped out while he was breathing heavily, then Stu and Frannie sat up straight before we looked at each other at the implications of why he was here before returning our attention to him.
"Glen, did someone find her?" I asked carefully before the older man shook his head.
"No, it's good news but it's strange so you...better come to my place," Glen replied hesitantly before we left the house, then we quickly headed to Glen's house on spruce street before I saw an emancipated Irish setter waiting for us while he had nasty scars all over his body as Stu and Frannie looked shocked to see the dog with a hint of recognition in their eyes while Stu kneeled down to scratch the dog.
"I came home from looking for Mother Abagail and he was on the porch, fast asleep...he's really scrawny and had been fighting like hell, but it's Kojak alright," Glen explained while I was surprised that this dog managed to get here all on his own while surviving god knows what out there.
"I'll be...that's a good boy, Kojak," Stu told the dog while he petted him, then I saw Glen looking guilty as he sighed.
"He followed me...that's the kind of thing you read about in star weekly: The Faithful Dog Follows Master Two Thousand Miles...how the hell did he get here?" Gen wondered with a bewildered look before I walked over to kneel down next to Kojak while the dog looked at me.
"Maybe the same way we did," I said as I checked Kojak, grimacing at the nasty injuries he must've suffered from while the others look surprised.
"Kyle, are you saying..." Glen tried to ask and trailed off before I gazed at him calmly.
"Dogs dream too, and I don't believe in coincidences anymore, so it's possible he was guided here by Mother Abagail," I stated before Stu returned his attention to Kojak.
"Is that what happened with you, boy? Did you dream about Mother, too?" Stu questioned, though he wouldn't be able to get an answer as the dog simply cocked his head at me curiously and I knew that he could smell that I wasn't human but didn't feel like he was in danger.
After that, Glen took Kojak into the house while the rest of us went back home to get some sleep for tomorrow, then I woke up the next day and got dressed before heading to the auditorium with Stu and Frannie before I was surprised by the number of people, Garou and human alike, showing up for the meeting as I took my seat in the front with Stu and Frannie until everyone in Boulder was seated and Stu went up to the stage to introduce each member of the ad hoc committee.
Stu began the meeting by introducing each member of the committee and once it was my turn, I stood up and nodded at everyone while they all look surprised by how young I was until I sat back down and Stu started talking about if we could sing the national anthem until everyone mumbled their agreements to that.
We all stood up with our hands on our chests and Frannie started off with the first three syllables until the rest of us joined while I remembered my parents taking me to the Yankee stadium once when I was seven, back when things were still possible and my eyes welled up before tears started running down my cheeks as the song ended with everyone crying and applauding from how beautiful that was.
I knew that I would never be the same again after losing my parents, my friends, Rita, and my home while the things that were before were long gone even if Randall Flagg and the Wyrm are stopped for good, but I didn't lose hope since every single one of us that used to be strangers with many differences has come together to rebuild for a better future for the many generations ahead once we're gone.
The meeting continued once everyone composed themselves and Stu asked that the free zone citizens accept both the constitution and the bill of rights as governing law before someone in the back seconded the motion until we all voted aye in favor of it, then Stu went to the next item on the agenda of nominating and electing a slate of eight representatives for the free zone before he was cut off when Harold suddenly stood up while he was wearing a suit with a tie.
"Mr. Chairman, I wish to have the floor please!" Harold called out and there was nothing but silence as everyone stared at him and I was suspicious of what he had planned until Stu cleared his throat.
"The chair recognizes Harold Lauder," Stu said until Harold nodded.
"Thank you, I request that we move to accept the slate of ad hoc committee members in Toto as the permanent committee," Harold requested confidently.
After that, a moment of stunned silence filled the inside of the building before everyone around me and the other members of the committee seconded the motion while applauding, then I couldn't help but see how clever Harold was being right now since he got to the root of the problem in a way that none of us were able to figure out as Stu cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Let's vote, so those in favor of Harold Lauder's motion that we accept the ad hoc committee just as it stands as the permanent free zone committee, please signify by saying aye," Stu said calmly.
"Aye!" everyone bellowed, sending the barn swallows above us into a frenzy.
"Opposed?" Stu asked and there was not a single 'nay' in the building before he pushed onto the next item on the agenda while I narrowed my eyes at Harold as he sat down looking rather proud of himself.
'Well played, Harold Lauder, but how long will you be able to continue this chess game of yours before you reveal your true self?' I thought as the meeting continued.
Hours later, the meeting ended and everyone went home once the sun went down as Stu, Frannie, and I walked home with the headlights on our bicycles helping us see while I was deep in thought about how things were going to be different now but I saw that something was bothering Frannie and Stu also noticed it.
"You okay, Fran?" Stu asked in concern and Frannie sighed.
"No, it's nothing, just...the world's really over, isn't it? Six hundred people singing The Star-Spangled Banner...that's what left so it finally hit me today, I guess. In my diary, I had a section called Things To Remember so the baby would know...all the things he never will, so I should've called them Things That Are Gone," Frannie admitted solemnly while I looked at her sympathetically.
"I know what you mean since it got to everybody so a lot of people will be crying themselves to sleep tonight, but the world hasn't ended just because civilization has since she'll continue on even after humanity's gone," I reassured while Frannie made a face at that.
"I just don't see how you can grieve for a whole country, but I guess you can...what's the one thing you two remember in your lives that's clear as ever?" Frannie asked and I frowned since that was a tough question but one came to mind as I smiled nostalgically.
"I've been recalling a memory of when my parents and I went to the beach in Portland about a year ago and it was one of the happiest moments in my life," I said with a soft smile before Frannie and I looked at Stu, who appeared thoughtful until he gazed at us.
"Well, I've never told anyone about this, but the truth is that I've been thinking about a very strange encounter I experienced a while ago before the plague hit and it happened ten years ago where I was pumping gas at Bill Hapscomb's, working the graveyard shift and this big old Pontiac pulled in one night with the windows down and Hank Williams blasting from the tape player.
I asked the driver what he wanted and he replied that he needed a high test before I said okay to him, but I just stood there and just stared at him because he looked incredibly eerily familiar and I asked him about it, but he just waved it off, and the whole time while I was filling up his car, I just kept thinking about him and his face.
Suddenly, at that moment, I knew where I recognized him from and I damn near pissed myself because the man behind the wheel of that Pontiac was supposed to be dead so he paid me once I was finished filling up his car and confronted him about how he should be dead and he sent me this weird chilly laugh.
He told me not to believe everything I read and talked about how he loved roadhouse music until he finished it off by telling me to take care of myself and that he might see me again one day, but I wished right there and then that I would never see him again because he had the eyes of a man who had been looking into the dark for a long time.
Honestly, I think if I even see Flagg, his eyes might look a little like that," Stu explained uneasily while Frannie and I stared at him in confusion.
"Stu, who are you talking about?" Frannie asked and Stu let out a shaky sigh.
"You remember The Doors? Crazy as it sounds, even though he was supposed to have died in France, I was sure that man was Jim Morrison," Stu clarified and I was surprised to hear that since Jim Morrison has been dead since before my time but, in a world where the supernatural and cosmic horrors exist, it didn't shock me all that much.
"Yeah, my parents and I visited Arnette that day and spent the night over at your place, and I recall seeing you looking shook up about something when you came home the next morning, but you didn't say anything when dad asked you what was wrong and he dropped it after that," I chimed in while Stu frowned at nothing in particular.
"Yeah, your father and I weren't exactly close because of how successful he was and the years rolled by after that encounter with Jim Morrison, but he was alive and might be even now so wouldn't that be a laugh?" Stu wondered as Frannie looked uncomfortable.
"If he is, he's not coming to Boulder," Frannie pointed out and I nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, I expect that he's with the Dark Man out west," I said and we all shivered before Frannie cleared her throat.
"Hey, do you and Kyle see anything funny about my feet, Stu?" Frannie asked to change the subject, causing me to look at her in confusion for the strange question while Stu shook his head.
"Not particularly, so what have your feet got to do with anything?" Stu inquired with a puzzled look.
"After the meeting, when we were all sitting on the grass talking things over and thanking Harold for nominating us, I noticed that he kept looking at my feet so why would Harold be interested in my feet?" Frannie wondered while I tensed up at that, getting a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach as I sighed.
"I don't know, but something is off about Harold and it has me on edge so we should be careful around him," I stated uneasily while Stu nodded.
"Yeah, I know what you mean since I've noticed something about Harold that's making me uneasy, so I'm sure it's probably nothing," Stu assured, only he didn't sound so sure as we headed home and went to get ready for the meeting.
Soon, we held our next meeting to discuss old and new business like sending our scouts to the west without any knowledge of each other in the event Flagg discovered them and had the scouts tortured for information before we started a census committee to keep track of Boulder's growing population and document the people arriving and leaving the town in the event there were those who decided to defect to Flagg.
Then, we decided to beef up the burial committee so that all the bodies would be cleared out of Boulder by the time wet season arrived until Nick gave us a bombshell by suggesting that the free zone created a law enforcement agency with Stu in charge and most of us voted aye with Frannie voting nay before the meeting ended later and we began cleaning up while Frannie looked less than pleased.
"Fran, about this marshal thing-" Stu tried to say and was cut off.
"I don't want to talk about it, Stu, since you were elected seven votes to one so congratulations," Frannie scoffed bitterly and I frowned at that.
"Hey, you don't have to like it, but somebody has to keep the peace around here and Nick was right since uncle Stu is the most logical choice to be in charge," I pointed out before Frannie glared at me.
"Screw logic, Kyle, and what about me and the baby? Do you see no logic in us, Stu?" Frannie questioned as she looked at Stu before we went into the kitchen to put away the dishes.
"Frannie...you want him brought into a world where things are safe for him and I want that too, which is why you and the baby are the two main reasons I said okay so everything's going to be fine," Stu reassured as he walked over to her and put the dishes away before holding her gently and I left them alone after that before getting some sleep.
A few days later, the other members of the committee and I got to work with getting our scouts ready for the recon mission while I had been training in the ways of the Garou with Alan teaching me properly before I had gotten a tattoo on my right shoulder showing the mark of the Garou to identify myself as one of them before I was told to hide it at all times around other humans since it would cause them to ask too many questions, then I agreed and went on a drive with Stu to the power station before we met up with Dayna and Susan.
"Hey, we understand that you're off on a little trip, Dayna," Stu greeted and Dayna smirked.
"For sure, and you guys never saw me," Dayna suggested before I nodded.
"Nope, never did so you be careful and make sure you get back to us safely," I stated while Dayna grinned and looked at Stu.
"You take care of Frannie, big fella, and go easy on the marshaling," Dayna told Stu, who nodded.
"That I know how to do," Stu remarked before Dayna looked at Susan.
"Well, shall we Suze?" Dayna asked and Susan nodded before I cleared my throat.
"Dayna, good luck," I said quietly while she turned her attention to me.
"Your uncle and Frannie are lucky to be together, so I'll see you guys on the flip-side," Dayna told us before she and Susan drove away, but for some strange reason, I had a feeling that I would never see her and Judge Farris again as Stu and I continued driving to the power station.
Two days later, Susan returned without Dayna and had found a puppy while taking it to Dick Ellis before the news spread around the free zone and Susan became something of a heroine for rescuing the female Irish setter puppy, taking everyone's minds off of Mother Abagail's disappearance and brightening up everyone's mood as I hoped that they didn't start asking questions about what Susan was doing so far south from Boulder.
After that, it became dusk before it was time to send Tom out now that he had been hypnotized to follow our instructions of heading to Vegas and returning under the cover of the night once the moon is full, then we headed over to Raph's place and saw Tom playing a game of cricket by himself until I cleared my throat to get his attention.
"Tom, it's time to go," I said gently while Tom looked at me with childish confusion in his eyes before they widened.
"Go? Laws no. When it gets dark, Tom goes to bed and M-O-O-N, that spells bed and Tom doesn't like to be out after dark because of the boogies...Tom...Tom...go west, do you mean? It's that time?" Tom asked curiously and Stu nodded.
"Yes Tom, if you can," Stu replied before Tom gasped.
"Travel at night, sleep in the day, and see the elephant...do I really have to do this, Nick?" Tom asked Nick, who nodded slowly and Ralph made a choked muttering sound while I grimaced.
"You'll want to be careful, Tom," Larry said thickly and Tom widened his eyes.
"Careful, laws yes. Tom loves his house, laws yes. Who am I riding with?" Tom asked before Ralph stepped forward.
"Y-You'll be riding with me, Tom," Ralph said hesitantly before he guided Tom over to where his motorcycle was parked and they drove away.
Nick shuffled off to be by himself as Larry, Stu, and I watched Ralph's motorcycle dwindle to a moving headlight in the purple dusk while I felt guilty that we were doing this, even if it's to figure out what Flagg and the Wyrm have planned for the others and me.
"You guys think we'll ever see him again?" Stu wondered and Larry looked ill.
"If we don't, then we'll have to live with this for the rest of our lives...Nick more than anything else," Larry stated while I gazed at Nick to see him staring at nothing with an upset expression and I walked over to give him support before he looked at me with a despondent frown.
"I know, I feel awful about this too and I'm sorry you had to come up with the idea to send Tom out into hostile territory since I know he's your friend," I told him while I patted his shoulder, then Nick sent me a look of gratitude for showing support before I left him alone and we all went our separate ways after that.
A/N Hey guys, looks like things are getting interesting now that the three scouts have been sent out to Vegas for recon so let's hope the plan goes well but, if you had read the novel or seen the miniseries, then you know things are going to get really bad soon so let me know what you think and stay tuned.