Exodus Chapter Three

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Chapter Three

The Oncoming Storm

The next day, I was eating chocolate frosted sugar bombs for breakfast the next day when my mom dropped a new bombshell on me.

"You're going to have to walk to your music class, sweetie."

I looked up at Mom in surprise. I play the trombone. I don't know if you have ever played a trombone, or even seen one depending on when you're reading this book, but a trombone is a brass instrument and a really big one. You blow into one end and pump a valve with your arm to change the notes. It's a big and dramatic instrument, although not as big as a tuba, but still would be a pain to get to the music class at the church if I couldn't get a ride in the car.

And so I thought that it would be enough to tell my mom this.

"But I have a trombone to carry. Mildred Sanger told us to get rides if we have big instruments."

"Call her Mrs. Sanger, it's more polite dear."

"She told us to call her Mildred, Mom."

Parents always wanted us kids to call adults Mr. This and Mrs. That, but whenever they called us kids Mr. This or Mrs. That, they never meant it as a good thing. So I didn't really understand why adults told me to call them something that they used on me when I was being chastised.

"I don't care. You are thirteen and she is old enough to be your grandmother. You call her Mrs. Sanger. And furthermore, I don't care what she told you about rides. You are going to have to find your own way there. I am not wasting gas on something as frivolous as band practice."

It took me over half and hour to lug my trombone to the community church. But I hurried in spite of the heavy case. I didn't want to be late for class with Mildred Sanger.

Mildred Sanger was a severe looking lady. She had wrinkles that seemed to strengthen her face and make her look less like a very old lady, and more like a warrior you didn't want to get angry. She wore purple turtleneck sweaters and and black suit pants. She was the only woman in town who never seemed to wear any jewelry, not even earrings.

Mildred Sanger taught Career planning at school and also taught the music classes. She didn't like it when people- especially us kids called her Mrs. Sanger. She insisted that everyone, including the kids, called her Mildred or Mildred Sanger. She had names, she would answer if questioned, titles were unnecessary. Nobody in Safehope Bluff Elementary School asked harder questions than Mildred Sanger. That was because Mildred Sanger's questions never seemed to have right answers, only hard answers.

I wasn't the only kid have to carry the instruments either, I noticed. In fact the only person who arrived by car was Viper with her Bass Clarinet.

I noticed immediately that Viper had her hair in corn rows, and was struck by how long her black hair was when it was braided into tight little rows. Her hair kind of looked wet and heavy in the corn rows, kind of like she was standing under a waterfall.

Viper was the middle child. She had an older brother and and younger brother, poor Viper was sandwiched in the middle. Viper liked to read and draw and make jewelry and think really hard about stuff. Her brothers liked baseball and hockey and paintball, and so Viper played baseball and hockey and paintball when she would rather be reading in the library. Her brothers were both really immature and tended to hang around together. Their names aren't important, and we never talked to them. When we talked about them we didn't call them by name anyways, we just called them the brats.

Viper's mom was the local florist, and her dad was the local investment broker. I'd heard my parents talk about Viper's dad in a not very happy voice. I liked Viper's dad, but I was a boy, and Viper said that mattered. Apparently Viper's dad thought that there was more value in boys than girls.

I didn't really know Viper's mother, she was pretty, and she always had drinks for Viper's friends, but she always disappeared right after providing the drinks.

Viper lived in a big house on the hill, white with tonnes of flowers I didn't recognize. The flowers were big and looked delicate and expensive and made me sneeze.

Viper's parents were good with giving Viper money and bad with giving her respect or attention.

Mildred seemed to realize how many of us had walked, because she gave us a couple minutes to rest before she started us into our current practise. And then she started us up quickly. Practise lasted for about an hour. We spent time on individual parts of songs we were learning and then run through the songs as a whole. As the last notes of the band faded, Mildred smiled.

"It is interesting isn't it? In order to play together as a band you must first learn how to play your own instruments solo. And the music of the band does not consist of everyone playing the same notes, but of each person playing their unique part in time with everyone else."

"It is important that each of you be able to play well enough that I would enjoy listening to your solo as much as I would enjoy listening to the band. Otherwise the band will never make music of any quality."

"The ability to really enjoy music is based upon your ability to think and understand the music. As you learn more about music, you will be able to appreciate the music more. The more you learn about something, the more beautiful it becomes and the better you are able to relate to it. For instance, the forest is a mass of green things until you know the species by sight and name- and then the forest is a whole different world. The same is true with music."

I liked music class, but I was always more interested in the cryptic comments that Mildred Sanger liked to throw out. She took a kind of cruel joy in shocking people into thinking about things differently than they were used to doing.

She did this to adults as well as children, and I knew- we all knew- that adults talked about Mildred Sanger strangely. They weren't sure that they liked her or knew what to do with her. And that was always a problem. People in Safehope Bluff liked to know exactly what to do with things. The people here hated uncertainty, and all of us kids knew that the adults of Safehope Bluff could go kind of crazy if they were uncertain about what to do.

I think most adults are like that, but I'm not sure why.

After the music class was finished, we headed to Owl's house. Owl's mom was home at strange times, and she was cool, so if we weren't going to go to school we might as well spend our day at the house with the coolest parent.

We found Owl's mom in the living room of their house, she was browsing through a book on how to hunt Whitetail deer. She looked up as we all filled up her living room.

“Hiding here when you skip classes?” She said with a grin.

“There's no school right now.” Viper said.

Owl's mom grinned, “I know dear, I just like to tease you kids. So what are you going to do with your new found freedom?”

“I don't feel free mom, I feel like something's going very wrong. I just don't know how to explain it.” Owl said.

“Well you aren't wrong little man. There has been some big upsets on the world stage and everyone is shuffling around trying to see what's happening. It's not going to be an issue in this household though, I promise you. We do not depend on the outside world. You and I are able to provide for this household just fine. A deer can provide you with clothing and food and shelter. A bear can give you lamp oil and fat for winter months. The world around us gives us everything we need and you and I are never going to find ourselves without options.”

Russell nodded and grinned, “Well I least now we know where Owl gets it from.”

“That sounds really kind of ominous,” I added, “Do you really think that things are about to get that bad?”

“I don't know. Like everyone else watching the news, I just don't know. But I plan to be ready for worst case scenarios. You have to arm yourselves against the worst case scenario, because when things get bad there may not be anyone to defend you, and people you think of as friends and mentors may betray you, and the world will not care. So I don't know how bad things will get, but I plan to be prepared for the worst that I can imagine.”

"But Mom," Owl asked, "What is going on? I mean, people have been whispering and talking sideways about what is happening- but nobody is telling us straight."

"That's probably because they're trying to protect you from being scared kiddo. It's probably also because so much is happening. trying to nail down what actually is happening is probably beyond most people in this sleepy little town. And everyone who thinks they do have it figured out is generally only looking at one thing. Wolf's father looks at things pretty much exclusively from the point of view of the availability of energy worldwide. While Mr. Bartholomew tends to look at the political crises that are showing up world wide and how they're affecting human rights. It's really hard to say, and if I started listed everything that is happening world wide, you probably would feel like the world was ending. But that doesn't mean that it is ending. Big changes have happened quickly many times in the past. When the Berlin wall came down, the political and economic changes in Europe and the former Soviet Union hit everybody and it shocked the world. People haven't quite nailed down the central cause of all the goings ons this time, and so people are worried. But that's normal. We're prepped kiddo, we can ride this out."

"But, Mom..."

"We're prepped, that's as far as you need to worry. Focus on the local, that's where things will get complicated. The big world out there isn't what we need to be aware of right now. Focus on here. We're prepped for this kiddo."

Wolf whispered to me, "She seem like she's trying to convince us or herself?"

We were all quiet for a moment, and then Raven interjected herself into the silence.

“Well, things always turn out alright if everyone pulls together and does there part.”

Owl's mom nodded, “That's a nice sentiment. Oh, and that reminds me. I talked to your father today, and he said that he would like you to stop at his trailer for a talk.”

“I'm not talking to dad.” Owl said flatly.

“Yes, you are. Your dad has had a rough time, and we couldn't make it work as husband and wife, but he is still your father.”

“Mom, he's just a...”

“I don't ground you often little man, but if you finish that sentence, I will. He is your father, and you will go to see him. He says its important, and he doesn't ask much of you.”

“Yeah, he just tries to bribe me.”

“He is trying to be a good father in spite of his own problems, so give the man credit for trying.”

The rest of us listened quietly at this point, not wanting to get between a parent and a kid in trouble. It's one of the great lessons that we learn as kids, not to interfere when a parent is giving another kid a scolding.

“You may as well do it now, since you aren't going to school right now.”

And that was it. Owl clearly didn't like this new development, but just as clearly knew he couldn't get out of it. Owl and his mom got along really well, she didn't make parental orders very often. But that also meant that he couldn't disobey her, when she did choose to give the kinds of orders that other parents did.

And so we headed out to the trailer park where Owl's father lived.

Owl's dad was sitting in a beat up plastic lawn chair with a can of beer in his hand when we arrived. He looked up, as we approached.

"I wasn't sure you'd come and see me," He said, taking a sip from his beer.

"Mom told me to. She said it was important to you." Owl kept his face neutral.

"I know you don't like me. But you're my son and I love you. I love your mom too, we just, she just does't know how to live with me anymore. I don't blame her. I don't how to live with me."

He tipped the can back and chugged the last of the beer. I looked around at the yard, filled with plastic flamingoes and garden gnomes, and meandering rows of vegetables. Owl's dad seemed to grow some of his own food. That didn't match the useless father that Owl described. The rows weren't straight, but the plants looked healthy. I looked up, something was off. Then I realized nobody had said anything in over a minute. Finally Owl broke the silence.

"What do you want dad?"

"I want to warn you, boy. Bad things are coming, and you best be prepared for it."

"Dad, everyone is trying to warn me about what they think is coming. What can you say that is better than everyone else that's been warning me?"

His dad was quiet for a long time after that. I felt sorry for him. I could tell he was drunk, although I couldn't tell how drunk. But he seemed sad, like he'd given up. In fact, the more I looked at Owl's dad, the more he seemed like somebody who simply couldn't carry the load he had been given anymore.

"I don't have the learning, or the fancy words of the other people you probably have been listening to, but I got one thing that they don't have. I know what to do."

"And what's that Dad? Get drunk?"

Owl's dad hung his head and shook it.

"If I'm around at the end of the end, of this I mean, then I won't ever need to drink again. But no, I'm not going to say that you get drunk. I'm going to tell you to get out. take your mom and go, right now, while it's still easy like. You stay around to the end of this and they'll be only bad choices to pick from."

"How do you know that Dad?"

"You never met your Great grandfather, my Granddad. But he was alive when we all got put in our places. He talked to me about what it looked like to watch a people die. The first thing that told you a people were dying was when they lost their way of making a living. With us, it was taken away. But what's happening now, is that we're losing it, cause we used it up and didn't set up another way. But either way, as soon a people can't make a real living, food and shelter and that sort of thing, they die. It may take a while, but that's what kills a people."

"You don't think governments can recover from the crisis the other adults are talking about?"

"I don't. This happened to us three generations ago. And now it's happening to the people who did it to us. I think it's kind of funny, except that the woman I love and my only kid are in the line of fire."

"I'm fine dad. So is Mom."

"She's a fighter, boy, don't you forget that. Keep your head low, and keep her head low too- because she won't do it on her own. A person can get nasty when their people dies. You remember that, people will lash out. They get scared. They get mean. They get desperate. You watch you mom, she won't watch out for herself."

"Fine Dad, I will. Is there anything else?"

“No kid, there isn't anything else. That's it. That's the only thing. Don't forget it, and don't wait. Basically, run. Run now.”

“Fine dad.”

And then we left. After we were out of sight, Wolf asked Owl a question.

"Owl, do you know what made your dad start drinking?"

"I don't really know. I mean, I know when it happened. He came home one day and he was really drunk. I'd never seen Dad drink at all. He used to lecture me on the dangers on drinking when I was little. And one day he came home absolutely sloppy drunk. And I asked him what he was doing. And he said that nothing mattered and he couldn't win and he couldn't walk the way he was supposed to walk and so he might as well hide away because otherwise the world would eat him up but it would probably eat him up anyway."

"Wow."

"And then he crashed on the couch, because Mom wouldn't let him sleep in their bed, and watched Television until I had to go to school. I know because he was still awake and still drinking when I got up."

"And he didn't say more than that?"

"He told me that he was beaten. He told me that I shouldn't drink, because I still had a chance at making it somewhere."

"What did he mean by that? Did he lose his job or something?"

"I was never sure what exactly Dad did for a living, so I couldn't say. I hate it. I know what people say, that's he's the town's drunk Indian, that he's a loser. I hate it. I hate that he gave up, whatever made him, I don't care- I just hate it. There are a lot of people in Safehope who drink too much. Most of the people in Dad's trailer park start drinking before noon, and most of them are white. Raven's dad does a good job keeping alcohol abuse down in the band, so I hate when people make drunk Indian jokes. Dad isn't drinking because he's an Indian, he's drinking because he isn't strong enough, and that can happen to all kinds of people."

“I hear you.” Wolf said, “When mom died, dad got really drunk for a bunch of days. I stayed over at Rabbit's house for a about a week. After that he pulled himself together and it was like it never happened, the drinking or mom dying. Dad wasn't the same after that, all the fun died with mom.”

“At least your dad stopped drinking.”

“At least your dad still cares.”

There was one newspaper in Safehope Bluff and one rag. The newspaper was the Safehope News- or just the News. The News was delivered to doorsteps once a week on Mondays. The rag was The Bluff Buyer's Guide- or just the Bluff. The Bluff was delivered with the newspaper, and also was available free at most stores during the rest of the week.

The News talked about local politics and little league. The Bluff mostly had deals at local stores and coupons and the like, but it also contained the Bartholomew's Bluff, a weekly article from David Bartholomew- the guy who put The Bluff together- about how he saw the world this week. The Bluff was always funny and always shocking and everybody read it, even if only so that they could complain about it.

We were all reading the newest edition of the Bluff spread out on the grass with us laying our bellies semi circle around it. Owl was idly flipping his knife from forehand to backhand grip.

Who's Got Your Back?
By David Bartholomew

“So Gas prices has gone up... Again. And everyone is complaining, and we all know why. But more importantly what are you planning to do when you can't afford to drive? I don't fancy using a tricycle to do my deliveries and gas prices go up when there's less gas, so some of you guys need to start riding bicycles!”

“I'll make a deal- anyone who switches from car to bicycle will get a free bell for their bicycle from me! That way I'll be able to hear you nerds coming when the apocalypse hits and gangs of bicycle mobs start rampaging through the streets with their bells jingling.”

“If we aren't careful, the world won't end, it will just run out of gas! And I like my gas, so you lot better do something.”

“After all, why should I have to change? You mooks can do the work!”

"What's he talking about?"

"I don't know. Think we can get bells for our bikes?"

And so with a little discussion, we decided that we should try to get the free bike bells. Not because any of us wanted the bells particularly, but because it was free and free sounded good- and it was something to brag about getting from an adult.

We arrived at the decrepit old storefront Bartholomew used to publish his paper on our bikes as proof that we met his qualifications. The sign on the door said open, although there were no lights on inside the building that we could see.

The six of us sat on our bikes looking at the building in bewilderment.

“So, do any of you geniuses know how we get in?” Viper asked, looking dubiously at the closed door and the dark storefront.

Raven looked up and down at the door, “Well the sign says: open. So I assume that the door is open.”

“It doesn't look open,” Viper said.

Russell shook his head, “You guys realize that talking about this without checking the door, is kind of silly?”

Owl grinned, and walked to the door and pushed gently. The door swung open.

“Behold, the essence of science!” Russell said, grinning, “Testing things instead of talking about it.”

I laughed, Russell was always doing stuff like that. I think he was trying to hide something behind the jokes, but I wasn't sure.

We filed into the darkened room. The storefront looked like it was a storage room, rather than a place of business. Boxes of paper and printer toner and other office supplies were piled around the room. The boxes looked recent, but everything else had dust on it.

“It still doesn't look open.” Viper said.

“There.” I said, pointing at a sign by the stairs.

The sign read: If you need to bother me, come upstairs. If you want to steal from me, smile for the security cameras.

We looked at each other.

Wolf shrugged, “Upstairs then?”

Viper shivered, “Security cameras?”

Owl nodded, “Upstairs then.”

And so we headed up the stairs. And found ourselves in a smaller room piled just as high with boxes of paper and office supplies, but also with a work desk.

On the work desk was a computer and behind the computer was a man. I dressed exactly like every hippie I had ever seen in movies and newspapers. His blonde hair was tied back in big thick dreadlocks. He wore a tie dyed tee-shirt and had on jeans and sandals but no socks or shoes. Keep in mind that this was October and really too cold for sandals.

His eyes were sharp though, and that made me cautious. He was typing away when we walked in, but looked up and grinned once we were all in front of him.

"So what brings you young dreamers and rebel crusaders to my door?" Bartholomew asked with a grin.

"We're not rebel crusaders." Raven said flatly.

"Speak for yourself," Owl said grinning widely, "I can be a rebel crusader that sounds awesome.

"Can I be nerdy crusader?" Russell asked.

"I think I'd rather be a rebel crusader." I said.

"He asked us a question you know." Viper said.

"What?" Owl asked.

Bartholomew grinned, "I asked what brought you here, my young friends."

"Oh, your article in the paper. We ride our bikes everywhere. Can we have bells?"

"Ahh."

“The point of the article was to push people to do something different. I have a feeling that you guys always ride your bikes. Or are you just the youngest looking sixteen year old in the town?”

“The adults aren't going to ride bikes. So if you have the bells, you may as well give them to people who do ride bikes.” Owl answered.

Bartholomew grinned again, and I wondered about his dental hygiene.

“Sorry, not good enough. I need to know what you are doing to make the world a better place before I am going to give you anything resembling a bell.”

“What do you mean?” Raven asked. Raven was always concerned about making things better. It's why everyone liked her.

“If you follow world events as closely as I do, you will realize that things have been going very badly for everything that lives on this planet, including us, for close to fifty years now- probably longer. We don't generally see it here because we're the princes and princesses of the world here in North America, and so we'll be the last to feel it. But it's still there moving and big, monstrous and inevitable.”

“What's inevitable mean?” Wolf asked.

“It means you can't stop it.” Russell said, before Bartholomew could answer.

Wolf glowered at Russell, clearly wishing Bartholomew not Russell had corrected his ignorance. Russell didn't flinch from Wolf's gaze like most kids would, which impressed me.

"I was put on this earth to make people like Owl and Wolf look good. I perform a great service, without me, how would we know that guys like you are freaking awesome? You guys owe me and you don't even know it. So if I know a few more words than you do, don't sweat it."

Wolf nodded, but I knew that Wolf really loved reading. The reason Russell had gotten under Wolf's skin was because, as tough as Wolf was, he valued thinking and being smart way more than being tough. Most people just didn't see it.

I saw it, that's why we were friends.

Bartholomew tapped the table, and brought us back to reality.

"No boys and girls. I think that if you want to get your hands on some bells, I'm going to need something more than that."

"Like what?"

"The world is in turmoil, but so is the town. The principal has closed school out of the blue. There was no warning on this before it happened. The Pulp and Paper Union is everywhere, putting up flyers and talking to shop owners, but none of them will talk about what was said. Chief Rose is edgy all of a sudden. I actually got a lecture on whether or not my last article was 'appropriate'."

I shuffled my feet nervously. I hated it when people talked about my Mom when she was doing police stuff, there was always this weird tone to their voice when they did.

"The world is boiling, and this town is about to boil over too. And I need more information if I'm going to tell the truth about what's happening. So what did they say about why they closed the school?"

"They said that there was renovation that they needed to do. Things that they couldn't leave until the summer."

"Did you see anything that looked like equipment for renovations?"

We looked back and forth at each other, gauging whether to trust Bartholomew with the secret Owl had discovered.

"No," Owl finally answered, "They didn't like when we asked about that either"

"Hmmmm," Bartholomew hummed in answer.

"Why do you need to tell the truth?" Viper asked

"When they take the truth away, people in power can do anything. Nothing is more important than the truth. Truth is sacred power that we all have a duty to defend. So what I need from you is information, an ear to the ground.”

We were silent for a moment. Owl, Wolf and I hadn't told the other people about what Wolf's Dad had said he wanted us to do. But this sounded exactly like that. I looked at Wolf, and then we both looked at Owl. An understanding passed between us and Wolf nodded. It was his dad, he should say it.

"You sound like my Dad. Why are adults all asking us to spy for them?"

Bartholomew grinned again, cavities winking at us.

"So the big bad union man wants kids to keep an ear to the ground too does he? Something is most definitely going on. I knew it. But what? I'll tell you what. I want you guys to be double agents, not just spies but double agents."

"What's a double agent?"

"A double agent is somebody who pretends to work for one team while actually working for another."

"Why should we trust you over our parents?" I asked.

"You shouldn't. In fact. You know what? I'll tell you what. You can have the bells as freebie. You told me about the Union Man's spy attempts, so I'm going to be generous and consider that payment for the bells."

Viper shook her head, "You're about to try and make us do something, or offer us some bad deal," She said.

"Why do you think what I'm about to say will be a bad deal?" He asked.

"Because you're giving us something free that you wanted us to work for a second ago. This like when the drug dealer offers you something for free in the movies to get you addicted first."

Bartholomew's grin vanished for a moment, and then reappeared.

"I can live with that. The truth is addictive. Once you get a taste, you'll hate it when you can't have it all the time. "

"You're totally crazy aren't you? That's okay, you can be a drug dealer this time. Cigarettes always look cool in the movies. Everything cool adults do these days is poisonous anyway." Owl said.

"Not poisonous, not the drug I deal. I deal in the truth, Cowboy. And the truth isn't poisonous. It's explosive. I am rebel crusader. And you know what? I'll tell you what. You should join me and my Secret Tribe. That's what I'm offering: membership in an elite club and a chance to be part of the good guys in the fight against tyranny!"

Raven put her hands on her hips,"Tyranny? Are nuts? There's no tyranny here. Everybody knows everyone by name in a town this small."

"We know each other's names, but do we know what beneath that? What's under the skin, in the heart and mind?"

"So who's in your secret tribe, and what it is anyway?"

"Well, I can't tell you who they are unless you're part of us. That would give up their secrecy. You guys understand the importance of honouring a secret don't you?"

We looked back and forth at each other, and nodded. Then Wolf spoke up.

"Okay, that makes sense. But how can we trust you then?"

"Don't trust anybody. Your closest friends are often the quickest to turn against you. Just ask Julius Caesar. You can't trust anybody. You definitely can't trust me. I certainly don't trust a bunch of kids like you. But you might be useful to me. And I might be useful to you."

"How?"

"You're here asking questions."

"No, we're here for bells for our bikes."

"You really think so? In any event. You want to know. I can tell, even if you can't. And I have good information to trade with you. But I'm not going to give it out for free. Like Miss Cornrows said, I'm only going to give you enough for free to get you hooked. After that, I need to you pay me. And I like to be paid in secrets."

"Fine, we're in. Now give, who's your tribe?"

"Well, you are now. And I am. And then two of your teachers: Mildred Sanger and Ari Tuttle. And then four of your parents: the mayor and his wife, and the old band chief and his wife."

"My parents are on your team?" Raven asked.

"On my tribe," Bartholomew corrected, "We keep each other informed. We're useful to each other."

“Now, tell me more about the school closing.”

I didn’t trust him, he told us not to after all. And didn’t want to tip anything that might lead back to us. So I tried to start off with something that might seem good to Bartholomew, but that a lot of kids at school might know.

“Wolf’s dad was there when they shut down the school. And Professor Tuttle gave us a lecture on how dependent we are on stuff coming from far away.”

Bartholomew looked interested, “Ari talked about supply supply lines? He didn’t tell me he was going to do that.”

“Well he did it. Maybe your super secret tribe thing isn’t worth very much.” Viper said.

“And maybe it just paid off big time.” Bartholomew answered.

There wasn't much to talk about after that. We took our bike bells and left. We hung out a little more that, but nothing else weird happened that day. Everything had become eerie with none of us kids going to school. Adults didn’t like having us around under foot. They seemed to resent having to drive us anywhere- when they did drive us, which happened less and less. They seemed uncomfortable looking at us. But there we were, in their way, all around them. They had to go to work and keep doing what adults did, and we had to keep ourselves busy. This also seemed to make adults nervous and Russell’s dad had set up a big barbeque at the community park, which my mom said was to lighten the mood. I thought it felt like a distraction.

My family biked to the park, and Mom had given me a look that meant I shouldn’t comment on this fact. So I didn’t. But I thought about it intently.

When we finally got to the park, I went looking the others and found them pretty quick. Russell was stuck hanging around with his dad and playing nice while his Dad manned one of the barbeques. Russell occasionally helped by handing out hot dog buns and paper napkins. The whole idea of a barbeque in the park in October seemed weird.

Wolf and Owl were leaning against the swing set while younger kids actually used them. Raven was helping her parents set up plastic table clothes on the picnic tables, clamping them down in the cold late autumn wind with metal clasps. Viper was stuck playing a game of catch with her dad, her brothers and a weather beaten football.

I zeroed in on Wolf and Owl, and Raven noticed and quickly hurried over once the tables were set.

“Did anyone drive here?” I asked.

The others looked at me and shook their heads.

“Isn’t this what Bartholomew was talking about?” Owl said.

“It is I think, but I still don’t know why.” Raven added.

“I asked my Mom when she wouldn’t drive me to band practise. She got angry at me. It was weird.” I said.

“My dad just said to keep my eyes open, when I asked him.” Wolf said.

“My mom said that money is getting tight, but that didn’t sound right.” Owl said.

“Maybe she didn’t mean your money.” Raven said.

“What do you mean?” Owl asked.

“Well, the grown ups are all talking about something big. You remember what Owls' mom said before. Like, between countries big. And maybe the big thing is money. Maybe a country is going broke, or maybe they all are.”

“Don’t the countries make their own money?” Wolf asked.

“We have a national debt don’t we?” I asked, “So doesn’t that mean we owe other countries money? Do we have to pay them back with their money maybe?”

“Either way, our parents are trying not to worry us. Which means we should be worried.” Owl said firmly.

“Viper’s parents drove here.” Raven said abruptly. We looked at Raven and waited for her to continue.

“I got here pretty early, you know my Mom and Dad. Viper was already here with her family, and they had brought their minivan. They were already playing catch. They haven’t stopped since they arrived.”

I turned and watched Viper go through the motions, clearly not getting as much enjoyment out of the game as her brothers were. We generally called her brothers the Brats. They were Brats, so we called them that. The Brats wanted, and they got what they wanted. Viper had to wait, the Brats got what they wanted on a silver platter.

Viper’s mom was talking with the other yuppie moms, the ones with too much make up, and clothes that cost more than a new video game system.

“Think we can get Viper out of there?” Owl asked.

“We ought to try.” Raven said, always siding with her friend.

So we jogged over to the field. Viper stepped out of the circle as we approached and called to her Dad, “I’m going to hang with my friends now Dad.”

Her Dad looked surprised and answered, “This is family time. Where’s your team spirit?”

“Yeah,” One of the Brats added, “It’s more fun with more people.”

“There you see,” Her Dad said, “You can play with your friends tomorrow. Tonight is family time.”

I looked and Wolf and he shook his head. Owl had his crazy plan look squarely on his face when I turned to look at him though, so I knew this wasn’t over.

“You drove today,” Owl said to Viper’s Dad.

He nodded, “Of course I drove. Not going to try and march four kids out here on foot.”

“They said it was too far to walk,” Viper added, pointing at the Brats.

“Well, it is too far to walk. That’s why have a minivan.” Her Dad continued.

Owl jumped back in, “But I don’t think anybody else did except you and Mayor Tailor’s family, and they were bringing the barbeques. And we can’t figure out why.”

Viper’s face went rigid, and I kicked Owl in the shoe to try and warn him that this was probably a no go discussion with her parents too, but Owl was too intent to notice by this point.

“I mean, I got a bell on bike from Bartholomew for riding my bike instead of driving, like he said in his article. Everyone else seems to want get a bike bell too I figure, or else why would everyone suddenly not be driving unless they have too?”

I had never seen Viper’s Dad angry. It was weird to watch, because he was clearly determined to make it look as though he were still happy.

“I don’t nee a bike or a bell. I live in the first world, in one of the wealthiest nations on Earth. There is nothing wrong with me driving my kids to the park. I have no idea why everyone else is walking and biking, but there is nothing wrong.”

But he had raised his voice as he spoke, and now everyone was watching us.

“Then why doesn’t anyone want to talk about it?”

“Because there is nothing to talk about. The town is having a barbeque and some people didn’t drive. It’s a small town, why would you even need to drive?”

“Because it’s apparently too far for your kids to walk.” Owl countered.

Viper’s Dad sputtered for a moment and then his happy face cracked, “I did not spend gasoline to do something nice for my children to be lectured about it by the wild child son of the town drunk!”

Owl turned into a ball of rage and both Wolf and I caught it quick enough to grab Owl before hit Viper’s Dad, but he tried. He didn’t stop trying after we grabbed him.

“My dad loves me you jerk! That’s more than some Dads in this town!” Owl raged as I heard shocked murmurs from the gathering crowd.

I wanted to turn invisible. This was the opposite of being spies, everyone could tell what we were arguing about.

And then I saw my mother stalking over in fury.

“Rabbit! I told you that we were not discussing that!”

“Mom, I wasn’t saying anything.”

“No excuses young man! I told you to drop that!”

Coming in from another angle, I saw Wolf’s Dad.

“What are doing being insubordinate to your elders?” He demanded of Wolf.

Wolf didn’t look at him “Sorry sir. No excuse.”

“No excuse indeed. So a shiny new bike bell? I think you haven’t earned the right to use that yet. And I think perhaps you ought to earn back the right to use your bicycle too.”

Wolf nodded, “Yes sir.”

My Mom and Wolf’s Dad didn’t see eye to eye on much, but as soon as she heard Wolf’s punishment, she nodded.

“That’s a good idea, no using your bike until I say otherwise. I will walk it home for you. You can walk home from the park.”

“That’s precisely right!” Viper’s Dad added, “No bike or bell until I say otherwise.”

“What did I do?” Viper cried in a wounded voice.

“You should always side with your family, and until you learn that young lady, you walk.”

Viper glared at Owl.

“And I don’t want you talking with that Bartholomew either,” My mother added, “I don’t like him. It’s only a matter of time before I have to shut him down for doing something inappropriate.”

Owl’s mother and Raven’s folks stepped out from the crowd to collect their kids. My Mom stopped Owl’s with a hand on the other woman’s shoulder.

“Don’t you think an apology is in order?” My Mom asked, looking pointedly at Owl.

Owl’s mom considered first Owl and then Viper’s Dad and then nodded, “I would agree Rose, but as I doubt he’ll apologize to a twelve year old boy, I don’t see any point in staying around and holding my breath for it.” And then she reached up, removed my mom’s hand from her shoulder and walked Owl through the crowd. My mom didn't say anything. Viper's Dad sputtered a bunch but didn't actually manage any words.

The barbeque continued on for another hour or so, but everything was even more awkward now. I basically had to stand beside one of my parents the whole time. I wasn’t allowed out of their sight until the end of the whole thing, when they pedalled away, my father guiding my bike with his left hand.

As everyone cleared out, eventually it was only myself, Owl, Wolf, Viper and Raven. Owl and Viper were arguing.

“Great idea, Jerk! Now I have to walk home too! Brilliant idea, just confront my dad with the big thing nobody wants to talk about!”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.” Owl said, keeping his hands up between him and Viper, who looked ready to slug him.

“He did it, it was dumb, but now we know what everyone is concerned about.” I said.

“It was dumb alright,” Viper added.

In the pause that followed, while Owl was figuring out what to say and Viper was deciding if she wanted to keep being angry, Frisk let out a low ‘wuff’ and began sniffing along the road.

Owl turned, interested.

“What is it boy?”

Frisk began moving down the road a brisk trot and Owl followed him. Viper looked upset at being suddenly ignored. The rest of us, looked at each other- shrugged- and followed Owl.

As we followed, I noticed that it looked as though Frisk was following a leak on the road. Looking up, I suddenly saw Viper’s family minivan stopped on the side of the road. Owl saw it too and called Frisk back.

Viper’s dad was outside the vehicle, with the hood up and the gas cap off. We caught up with Owl, who was now crouched amongst the bushes in the ditch.

“So what happened?” Wolf asked.

“I’ll find out,” Owl said, and began to stalk towards the minivan.

“He’s gonna get us all in trouble again,” Viper said.

“He can sneak up on deer,” I said, “He can sneak up on a minivan.”

We waited in silence while Owl moved closer. We waited while he listened to Viper’s parents arguing. And we waited as he wormed his way back us.

“Well?” Raven asked.

“They’re out of gas,” Owl answered, “Somebody stole their gas while their were at the barbeque.”

I was kind of glad when bad things happened to the brats and I didn't really feel bad for Viper's parents after how they'd been at the barbeque, but I could tell it was bothering Viper.

As we walked I noticed that something was strange about the streets. Safehope Bluff kept its streets and sidewalks carefully manicured like a movie set. Everything had always looked just so, for as long as I could remember, but as we were walking I noticed that dandelions and grasses and weeds were pushing through the seems in the concrete and the asphalt.

Green was creeping into the grey and black neat lines that connected the towns. I could not remember this ever being allowed to occur previously. It was startling. How long had the streets been neglected like this? How long had things been building before things became visible? And how much else had we missed?

My thoughts got very nervous at this, which was strange, because so many adults had been telling us that things were going wrong, but what really convinced my that things actually were going wrong, was the grass pushing through seems in the sidewalk.

Such a small thing, but it said so much.