The Journal of Madie Beartri

Journal 134

We voted and Victor lost.

I felt sorry for Victor. He stood in the center of the room staring at the floor. Not once did he raise his head. I think he knew how the vote was going to play out before we even began. I gave everyone in the room the chance to voice their opinions on why Victor should be allowed to stay in Bear Country. Not one person spoke up to defend him. It was unanimous vote. Victor would have to pack his things and leave.

After the vote, everyone returned to whatever he or she was doing before the meeting. Victor received a few words of encouragement and pats on the back. It was nice that people didn’t just walk out of the room and ignore his feelings. After everyone cleared the room, I asked Tony if he wanted me to escort Victor out of Bear Country. He said “No” he would do it himself. Tony escorted Victor to the basement and let him gather his things. A short while later, with a sack of belongings on his back Victor left Bear Country. I have no idea if he even has a place to stay. I am hoping he doesn’t have to spend too much time on the streets. Life outside of Bear Country can be a scary place. I wish him well.

Journal 133

After bandaging Victor’s wounds, we put him in one of the empty rooms down the hall to recover. I would have sent him down to the basement to his own room, but Tony doesn’t want him there. Victor hasn’t stepped one foot out of that room for more than a day. He is still alive. I checked in on him a couple of times. He has to be hungry. The offerings of food from the garden the agriculture club is raising remained untouched. I think he feels guilty about his actions. He should feel guilty. What he did was wrong. The Black Cobras are our worst enemies since the Hulk was in power.

Sometimes life gets complicated. I hate hard decisions. After I returned from the meeting with Hess, I ran into Tony in the admin hallway. He said Victor had to go. If I hadn’t been thinking the exact same thing I would have thought Tony wanted Victor out of Bear Country to get back at the little Cobra want to be. Tony was making perfect sense. I couldn’t think of one good reason why we should let Victor stay, except for maybe his age.  Bear Country is at war with the Black Cobras and having Victor among us compromises our mission.

We are holding a meeting in an hour to tell Victor he has to leave Bear Country.

Journal 132

You’ll be glad to know that Hess of the Blue Monarchs is alive and well. I guess this is a good thing. I’m not sure anymore.  She no longer dresses in her usual kimonos. Instead, she was dressed in fatigues. She tied her hair up in a ponytail. Her personality has changed too. She lost the “Let’s all live in peace” attitude. I think she has gone over to the dark side of the force.

Hess invited me to another secret meeting. It was the same drill as before including the blindfold to the undisclosed location. Hess scolded all of us for not making more of an effort to get rid of the Black Cobras. Apparently, our laziness, indifference and unsupporting allegiance to the cause have allowed the Cobras to thrive in our community. The Blue Monarchs gave us a new list of tasks to perform against the Cobras, which included capturing as many Black Cobras as possible and delivering them to a holding area. The Blue Monarchs would take care of them from there. Hess said our time of playing nice is over. I tried to talk to Hess after the meeting, but she wasn’t interested in hearing anything I had to say. She looked at me straight in the eye and said, “You have been given your responsibilities.” In a little snippy voice, she adds, “Try to follow through this time.”

Before I could reply, she adds, “If you need anything else talk to one of my admin officers.” Then she walked out of the room. “What the (insert dirty word/s here).” The girl has gone over the edge. I have my doubts about her sanity. She is not the person I knew during the mail war.

Journal 131

I was discussing the Black Cobra issues with Matt and Hemy when Tony came through the front doors of Bear Country. He didn’t look as if he had been in a battle, so I assumed he hadn’t located Victor. I was getting ready to ask Tony if he had enjoyed his walk when Matt spoke up and asked if Runt (Victor) was roadkill.  Tony thought for a moment before answering. He said he had initially run out to catch Victor and bring him back to Bear Country but after walking around town for a couple of hours he decided it wasn’t worth the effort.  If Victor wanted to be a Black Cobras, he could accept the consequences. I was getting ready to agree when in stumbled Victor through the front doors. He looked awful. He was bleeding and bruised. My first thought was that a gang that didn’t agree with the Cobra’s way of thinking caught him.  The four of us, Matt, Hemy, Tony and I stood there staring at him. Do we help? Do we pretend he isn’t there? Do we kick him back to the curb? Victor was practically in tears. I hate it when people cry. He stretched out a bleeding arm and asked for help. I turned to look at Tony and ask him to help me get Runt upstairs. Tony shook his head “no” and walked away toward the basement. I turned to Matt and asked for his help. Victor is a little twit and probably not worth the effort (definitely not worth the effort) but at that moment I couldn’t kick him out of Bear Country. Matt and Hemy helped me get Victor upstairs.

Hemy helped me clean out and bandage Victor’s wounds. I know it’s mean but we weren’t trying to be gentle.  I caused as much discomfort as possible. Call it pay back for Victor’s treacherous deeds. Victor sat through the whole thing trying not to cry or say ouch!

Victor thought he was joining an elite group of the Black Cobras. He spent the last week performing task to prove he was worthy. It was just a Cobra game. After helping the Cobras steal our food, the Cobras told Victor he was too young to join their elite group. Victor received his injuries after he realized the Cobras tricked him. He attacked one of the older boys out of retaliation.

Journal 130

Today was not a good day to go to town. I woke up early and went to town to see if I could barter for candles. I found the candles but while I was away in town trying to avoid Black Cobras in the street, Bear Country had guests. Marty, Gretchen, and Cecelia said they were leaving the media center when Victor arrived with a dozen of his Black Cobra Friends. Victor led them straight to our food stores.

The Library Trio attempted to stop the Cobras from taking our food. Victor and his friends took practically everything that was in the kitchen. The Runt needs to pray I don’t run into him when he is alone.

Tony has actually left the basement. I just wish I knew where he was at this moment. Tony spent the day in town putting up posters protesting against the Black Cobras. When he returned to Bear Country, he went straight to the kitchen for something to eat. Tony was a little upset when he discovered everything was gone. He was more upset when I told him who took our food. I hope Victor is wearing his fast shoes.

Sheriff Pete and Jonas have been gone for several days. I am keeping my fingers crossed they have already arrived at their destination.

Journal 129

My stay out at the Spurs Fort was very peaceful and relaxing. I even slept well in the bunkhouse. Joshua woke me up around 7 am with pancakes and a cup of coffee. It was so very sweet. I left for home after breakfast. Joshua tried to get me to stay and he made the offer again for Bear Country to merge with the Spurs.  I declined but I was tempted to say yes. I can’t make that kind of decision on my own. Everyone in Bear Country would have to agree for that to happen.

Joshua offered to walk me home. It was a nice thought but I really wanted to be alone at that particular moment. The walk home was quiet for the most part. I really should try to avoid the center of town. It’s hard to avoid the Black Cobras there.  I ran into Victor and a couple of his friends. I would have taken another route if I had known I was going to step into his path. It wasn’t a bad encounter, a little teasing but nothing I couldn’t handle.  I think Victor was trying to impress his new friends.  I tried to be calm and not combative. I asked Victor if he has plans to return to Bear Country any time soon. He didn’t answer. He just walked away.

Journal 128

I couldn’t spend one more moment cooped up inside Bear Country. I wasn’t in the mood to tear down Black Cobra posters or throw manure at unsuspecting Cobras from the rooftops. No one wanted to go to town anyway. Tony locked himself in the basement. He won’t talk to me or let me in. It sounds like he is building something in there. I could hear banging and clanging coming from inside the room as I stood outside the door.

Out of desperation for companionship, I walked out to the Spurs Fort to spend the day with Joshua. I kept my fingers crossed the whole walk there and I prayed he wasn’t too busy to spend a little time with me. I needed someone to talk to me.

Joshua was busy but he let me help with whatever task he was working on. I worked hard most of the day. I’m going to be sore in the morning. I can already feel my muscles protesting about the day’s unexpected workout. I usually try to avoid physical labor but today it felt good. Sleeping tonight shouldn’t be a problem. Joshua is letting me sleep in one of the newly built bunkhouses and he promised me a grand breakfast in the morning.

Journal 127

I’ve been sitting at my desk, staring out the window. It’s a beautiful sunny day outside but you couldn’t tell it by the mood inside of Bear Country. The mood in here is extremely depressing. Almost no one is venturing out of his or her rooms. The people I have seen are walking around without saying much of anything to anyone. The younger children are usually running up and down the halls. I haven’t seen any of them today.

Tony has locked himself inside the basement. He won’t let me in. I asked Tony if he wanted to join me for breakfast. I volunteered to make pancakes or anything he wanted to eat. He turned me down. I went back at lunch to see if he wanted to go to the arcade. He said no again and asked me to go away. I walked away but only after making a couple more attempts at gaining entrance.

Hemy and the Central Bobcats are attempting to make themselves at home inside Bear Country. They have taken up residence in the empty classrooms in the west wing of the school. They mostly keep to themselves. I think they are still recovering from having to leave their home. Hemy is handling things much better than I would. I would be a crazy woman if I had to give up my home. Matt is doing his best to make the transition as easy as possible and he has finally moved out of his room in the admin hallway. I was beginning to think he was never going to give up that room. Today he moved all of his stuff in with Hemy in the west wing.

Journal 126

It was an early morning for Tony and me. I think we left Bear Country around 4 am. There are less people up at that hour. It makes sabotaging the Black Cobras easier. Not necessarily safer but easier. Tony and I were making considerable progress when we unexpectedly came across a group of Black Cobras tormenting a couple of Blue Monarchs. Tony and I were just getting ready to intervene and stop the madness when we noticed one of the Cobras was Victor. The two of us dove behind a couple of burning barrels. I had to stop Tony from jumping out at Victor and ringing his scrawny little neck.

The Cobras are the scum of the earth. They beat people up for fun. This is not something new. Tony was pissed. He said a few words I rather not repeat. I don’t think he was pissed because the Black Cobras were beating up Blue Monarchs. I think Tony was pissed because Victor was one of them. I was pissed Victor was one of them. It is sad to say but I wish we had not taken in the little runt. We gave him food and shelter. He would have starved to death if it had not been for Tony.

We couldn’t intervene and save the Blue Monarchs from their tormentors. Victor would have recognized us and led the Black Cobras back to Bear Country. It was difficult but we chose to sneak away and let the Blue Monarchs attempt to escape from the Cobras on their own.

Tony didn’t say anything all the way back home but I could tell he was angry and disappointed. I feel bad for him. I don’t know what to say to make things better.

Journal 125

I said goodbye to Aleece, Casey and Alexander this morning. It was hard not to cry when they left. I am keeping my fingers crossed that their journey is a safe one. Casey said she would send a letter as soon as they are settled. Alexander promised to keep them safe. I wish they didn’t have to leave but I understand the need to keep Aleece safe and out of harm’s way. I will miss Aleece very much. For a while, she was mine and in that, short time I grew very attached.

The violence in town continues to escalate. I tried to go to town to pick up some needed supplies and barely escaped trouble. I ducked behind a corner as the Cobras chase some little kid down the street. I thought of intervening but my arm is still recovering from the blow I received at the rally. I have to pick my battles and that particular battle didn’t look very favorable. The Black Cobras are everywhere and many of them have terrible attitudes. Many Black Cobras walk around as if they are God. Not showing the proper respect can result in broken bones or worse. Keeping a low profile is essential these days.

Our attacks against the Black Cobras continue although out of plain site. Random fires have been springing up all over town against Cobra assets. Retaliation from the Black Cobras has been cruel and gruesome. I am not sure if our efforts are making any difference at all. I have been trying to get a message to Hess of the Blue Monarchs. I can’t find her. She is keeping a low profile or she has left town. Today, I am not sure which.