Chapter 23: The Wrong Path

After the Pandemonium and Hun gangs destroyed a restaurant near the river that ran through the city, Pocahontas' father decided to call in the National Guard led by a close friend of his. The two of them were about to enter City Hall when Pocahontas showed up after following them from school.

"Father, may I have a word with you?" Pocahontas asked politely.

"No now, my daughter," her father frowned. "The Council is waiting for me inside."

As her father turned away, Pocahontas grabbed his hand. "We don't have to fight the gangs."

"What gave you that idea?"

"Why else would you call in the National Guard?"

Sighing, her father said, "Sometimes our paths are chosen for us, whether we like it or not."

"Maybe you should try talking to them first," Pocahontas suggested.

"They don't want to talk," her father insisted.

"But if one of them did want to talk, would you listen?"

"Pocahontas—

"Would you?"

Wearily, her father answered, "Of course I would, but it's not that simple. Now, I really must be going. Ask Kocuom to pick you up in my place. After all, he is your fiancee."

Stroking his daughter's head, the father of Pocahontas walked into the City Hall entrance along with the National Guard representative. This left Pocahontas dumbfounded as she walked away, thinking back to her nineteenth birthday which happened last month. At it, Kocuom presented an engagement ring which forced Pocahontas to say, 'Yes' on the spot though she still wasn't sure about marrying him. Thinking about that moment made her unhappy and she called John Smith, who wanted to meet in her in the park to discuss something important. Nervously, Pocahontas agreed to this and headed for the town's main park which was a couple blocks from City Hall when she ran into Mrs. Willow who insisted on following her.

"Is there something you want to talk to me about?" Pocahontas asked nervously.

"No, but my home is this way," Mrs. Willow explained, pointing towards the park.

"Oh, I see."

"But I did overhear your conversation with your father, and I do know someone who's associated with the Hun Gang."

"Who is it?"

Before Willow could answer, Pocahontas saw John Smith and met him on a bridge that crossed the large lake in the middle of the park. The two embraced while Willow hid behind a tree.

As John suddenly pulled away, Pocahontas tensed up. "John, what's wrong?"

"Pocahontas," John addressed. "I think we should stop seeing each other. Nakoma told me about your engagement to Kocuom."

"I only agreed to it because he put me on the spot," Pocahontas explained. "But I'm not actually in love with him."

"Well, regardless, what we've been doing lately could be problematic if he found out."

"That may be true, but that's not stopped you from dating me until now. There's something else on your mind, isn't there?"

John hesitated. "It's complicated. I'm not sure if you could handle it."

"Then I might as well give your compass back." Pocahontas reached into her blazer pocket and took out the compass she had been holding onto since the walk with John.

"I let you keep that," John said, rejecting her offer.

"But I took it from you without asking. So if you trust me, then why can't I trust you?"

Turning towards the lake, John relaxed his hunched shoulders and began, "The truth is…Senator Ratcliffe hasn't been faring well in the polls lately, and the Midterm elections are coming up. So over the past two years, he's been enlisting all the guys at the Foster home to aid the Huns allowing them to gain enough influence to come here and start butting into the Pandemonium Gang's territory. He hopes the two gangs will eventually destroy one another so he can then step in and take credit for 'eliminating' them."

Letting this all sink in, Pocahontas quietly asked, "And where do you and Thomas fit in?"

"We just stay at the Foster home to cover up the whole thing, with Wiggens keeping an eye on us for Ratcliffe. Though lately, Thomas has been hanging out with some of the guys who were recruited and they've been giving him rifle-shooting lessons in exchange for his silence."

"But he clearly told you."

"Yes, and now do you see why we can't be together?"

Looking past John's form, Pocahontas noticed Willow's form behind the tree. Then as an idea came to her head, she took John's hand in hers. "We should talk to my father. He's a member of the City Council, so he might be able to do something about Ratcliffe."

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea," John rejected. "Earlier today, I tried talking to the guys about confessing Ratcliffe's scheme to the police but they won't do it for fear of being imprisoned along with him."

"Yet if you told my father, he might pardon you and your friends because of your innocence."

"That may happen," Willow abruptly said, appearing from behind the tree. "Or they might get arrested still for being accomplices to this crime Ratcliffe has committed."

"Mrs. Willow!" John realized. "How long have you been listening to us?"

"For some time, actually," Willow confessed. "But what matters most is doing the right thing, no matter what the consequences may be."

Looking down at Pocahontas, who seemed to be on the verge of tears, John nodded. "All right, let's go talk to your father."

Smiling, the two proceeded to kiss one another. Then a sharp cry interrupted them, and Pocahontas was flung aside by a strong hand.

"Kocuom!" Pocahontas exclaimed, watching the tall Native American attempting to punch John who was blocking his punches with his forearms. "Leave him alone!"

As Pocahontas tried to grab Kocuom's shoulders, he pushed her away while Mrs. Willow ran to the nearest telephone booth. Just then, Kocuom pulled out a hidden knife and attempted to stab John with it.

"Stop!" Pocahontas insisted, still trying to pull Kocuom away from John.

A loud bang caused Pocahontas to back away as Kocuom was suddenly flung away from John by a sudden force. Reaching out towards Pocahontas, Kocuom managed to grab her mother's necklace before he fell off the bridge into the lake below. Meanwhile, a young man with chestnut brown hair emerged from some nearby bushes wearing a gray cap and green shirt holding a brand-new looking rifle in his hand.

"Thomas," John recognized.

"You killed him," Pocahontas murmured, turning towards the young man.

"I'm sorry," Thomas apologized, lowering the rifle. "I didn't mean to."

Just then, the sound of police sirens was heard.

"Get out of here!" John ordered Thomas. "Before they see you!"

Without hesitation, Thomas ran away.

"Why did you do that?" Pocahontas cried, trying to go after Thomas but John blocked her. "He killed Kocuom!"

Then as the police showed up, they immediately arrested John despite what Pocahontas told them as they also fished Kocuom's body from the lake.

End of Chapter 23