The Journal of Madie Beartri

Journal 150

I thought Cain had died long ago. I had no idea he was the leader of the Black Cobras. I could have sworn it was someone else I had seen previously. I stood there in the middle of the floor looking up at the loft. Cain was standing there looking down at me with that giant toothy grin on his face. (That face used to haunt me in my dreams.) The girl who had been tied up with the explosives yesterday stood beside him, all happy and smiling. She had Hess tied to a rope. Leading her like a dog. Cain must have had Hess beaten. She looked like the walking dead.

I was trying to think of something clever to say and at the same time hold the nausea I was feeling in check. The past I had tried to forget had suddenly rushed forward. The hunger, the cold, the abuse, and the awful things he made me do. It was an awful winter. Our resources were few and we were starving to death. I hadn’t eaten in days. Some of the other kids were already walking skeletons. I went out to search for food.

I was so hungry that I would do just about anything for a bite to eat. I ran into Cain. He had an incredible smile. I thought he was an angel sent to save my friends and me. I didn’t realize until it was too late that the smile he enjoyed showing off was hiding the face of evil.

I must have been a nice shade of green because Yates whispered for me to relax, he had things under control. I didn’t see control. Cain demanded Yates and his soldiers toss their weapons out the far window or he would blow up the room.

Journal 149

We have all been awake for more than 24 hours. I have a horrible headache, and I am sure my adrenalin level is probably off the scale. Sneaking up to the warehouse at 3am in the morning and capturing the Black Cobras was actually quite simple. It was too simple when I think about it now. We stormed the warehouse and disarmed the guards with almost no effort at all. I remember thinking “That was so easy. I don’t know what we were worried about.”  We all started jumping up and down and praising ourselves for our accomplishment. The prisoners were all glad to see us. They had been in the warehouse for almost two days without food and water. I hugged and kissed Yates and thanked him for all of his help. I was starting to feel better about getting our community back to the way it was before Bliss and the Black Cobras ruined everything. It didn’t hit me that something was wrong until I heard the doors slam shut. Everyone let out a gasp and then the room went quiet. We were caught off guard. We had walked into a trap. I heard clapping and someone from the loft say, “Well done.”

Journal 148

I have some incredible friends. We held a gang meeting, and everyone agreed handing over Bear Country to the Black Cobras isn’t an option. We will not give up our home without a fight. Without General Yates and his soldiers none of what we are about to do would have been possible.

We have only a short amount of time to prepare. The sooner we make our move the better. We are trying to catch the Black Cobras off guard and unprepared. I am certain the Cobras will be expecting a fight. I wish we had more time. Victor has been a great help. I think he is trying to make amends. Sheriff Pete, a couple of his deputies and a couple of Yates’s soldiers went to gather information about the warehouse where Victor says the prisoners are held. I am keeping my fingers crossed that Victor is correct. As soon as Pete returns, we will be able to make our final plans.

Journal 147

I remember my mom and dad saying that using vulgarity was a waste of time. It served no useful purpose except to prove to others that you have not learned the skills necessary to communicate properly. That maybe so but…as I was standing on the curb reading the demands of the Black Cobras and staring at that poor girl those were the only words that came to mind. I seem to use many dirty words lately.

General Yates sent several of his soldiers into Bear Country to get the Black Cobras and Hess. I objected. I wanted to think things through. Pete and Yates both looked at me as if I was crazy. Pete pointed out the highlights of the note. Time was a critical issue, and we didn’t have any.  One hour, release Cobras and turn over Hess or girl goes boom! Yates asked one of his soldiers to check out the explosives to make sure they were probably real. They looked real enough and they didn’t look as if we could remove them safely. At that point, in time no one was willing to take the chance they weren’t real. The girl was hysterical; she didn’t want to blow up. Time was ticking.

We watched the Black Cobras, Hess and the girl with the explosives walk back down the street. The girl needed help walking. Her legs were so wobbly. I didn’t even ask her name. Hess wasn’t happy about going. She made a fuss. The Cobras insisted she stay tied. I have a feeling I have sent her to her death.

The countdown begins. Only 23 hours left until the Black Cobras expect us to hand over Bear Country.

Journal 146

The Black Cobras threw a glitch at my plans. I hate it when that happens.

When I was in the fourth grade, I tried to cheat on a test. I didn’t need to cheat I was just trying to guarantee that the plaque I worked for all year long ended up as mine. The desks in my school were all old, they had been written on probably by three or four generations of students. I decided I would scratch the answers to Friday’s test on my desk. The person with the highest score on this test would win the plaque my teacher had displayed on the wall all year long. All week I carefully placed the answers on my desk so that they didn’t look too suspicious. The day of the test my teacher in all of her wisdom decided to have all of us switch seats. She had never done that before. All of my hard work and preparations to cheat were ruined in a moment. I ended up on the far side of the room.

I had no idea who she was. I didn’t recognize any of her gang markings. Sheriff Pete and a couple of his deputies stepped out into the street to retrieve the message written on the bright yellow flag. Yates’s soldiers kept cover and made sure no one else snuck up on Bear Country. I didn’t realize the seriousness of the situation until Pete and his deputies suddenly stepped backwards. This girl had explosives attached to her waist. She dropped to her knees and started to plead for our help. We had an hour to release the Black Cobras and turn Hess over or the explosives would detonate. The Black Cobras were holding a dozen prisoners in a local warehouse. If Bear Country didn’t submit to Cobra Rule and turn over all assets within 24 hours all the prisoners would die.

Journal 145

By noon, we had a reply from the Black Cobras. It wasn’t the reply we hoped to receive. Yates and I had sent a message demanding the Black Cobras stop making Bliss available to the community and that they leave the local area. If our demands were not met and agreed upon General Yates and his soldiers would attack the Black Cobras gang building. General Yates gave a deadline of one day for a reply. We were confident that the Cobras wouldn’t want to tangle with General Yates and his soldiers. We were ready and prepared for retaliation. Yates put his soldiers on high alert, and we spread the word that no one from Bear Country was to leave campus unless necessary. Sheriff Pete sent a couple of deputies out to the Spurs Fort. Pete instructed the deputies to take the long way around and to avoid Black Cobras at all costs. I wanted Joshua and his gang to know what was happening, so that he could take the necessary precautions. The Cobras might decide to attack friends of Bear Country.

The Black Cobras got our attention in an unexpected way. I was a little surprised by their creativity and wit. General Yates mumbled something about the Black Cobras having a formidable leader. This time the Cobras didn’t risk sending one of their own. They had learned from their previous mistake. One of Yates’s soldiers spotted her walking up the center of the street about three blocks away.

Journal 143

It was a long night as expected. Hess is still making a fuss, although she was actually quiet for a couple of hours. Sheriff Pete’s deputies have been taking turns keeping an eye on her just in case she escapes from the restraints holding her to the bed. I dropped by to check on her progress and had to leave shortly afterwards. She has a mouth like a sailor. I tried to be good and not spit profanity back at her, but I failed. I feel sorry for her and it is very difficult to see her this way but I can’t help but think that she should have known better than to try Bliss. I thought she had more common sense than that. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised half the population currently uses Bliss.

I ran into Tony at breakfast. Victor had bad dreams all night long and now refuses to come out of the basement. I’m not surprised if someone had tied me to a post and threatened to light me on fire, I’d probably have bad dreams too. If fact, I do have bad dreams on occasion. My life after the virus has not been easy. I have many bad memories I wish I could forget. We’ll save those stories for another time.

The Library Trio came back with information on how safely to help Hess with her addiction. Time, friendship, and understanding are currently our only options. We’ll see. She is going to beat this, or she won’t. I hope she calms down soon. People are starting to get irritable. Several people have moved to the other side of the building to get away from the screaming and profanity she seems to think is necessary. I even heard a couple people suggest we hand her over to the Black Cobras. They were suffering from lack of sleep, I think.

Journal 142

I thanked Joshua for saving Victor and the Black Cobras from Hess burning them to death. His quick thinking allowed Yates the time to send his soldiers around behind Hess and keep her from lighting the fire. I have no love for the Black Cobras, but I draw the line at burning people at the stake. Those three boys would have died a gruesome death if Joshua hadn’t been passing by.

The rest of the evening at Bear Country was interesting. We tied Hess to a bed to keep her from harming herself or anyone else. Pete has put guards in her room to keep her company. The Library Trio (Marty, Gretchen, and Cecelia) are looking up the proper procedure to detoxify someone safely. I am thinking the only thing we are going to be able to do is to keep her away from Bliss and make sure she drinks water. I don’t know how long she has been using Bliss, but I have a feeling her withdrawal from Bliss is not going to be a quiet happy one. I have a feeling I am not going to get much sleep for the next few days.

Victor received several showers. The first couple of showers he wasn’t using soap. The result was that he still smelled like gasoline. The smallest spark and Victor was going to light up like a Christmas tree. Tony kept sending him back to the showers and told him if he didn’t use soap he wasn’t getting any dinner. I don’t know why boys try to avoid soap.

Journal 141

The crowd continued to increase. The Black Cobras struggled with their restraints that held them to the post. I think everyone was holding his or her breath. Most of Bear Country was present, including Tony. Tony was having a great deal of trouble letting Joshua handle the situation. I was having trouble letting Joshua handle the situation. He was doing well considering the circumstances. It would have been stupid to intervene with the dialog Joshua was establishing with Hess. All the people gathering around were starting to make Hess nervous. She started waving the torch at people and talking about how the Cobras have ruined her life. I was holding my breath hoping Joshua could convince Hess not to torch the Black Cobras, especially not Victor. He made several bad choices, but he didn’t deserve to die burned at the stake.

Yates whispered in my ear that he had an idea. He silently sent a couple of his soldiers around behind Hess. The next few minutes were extremely intense as Joshua tried to get Hess to focus her attention on him. Yates’s soldiers slowly crept up on Hess. The crowd, aware of what was happening said nothing. There were a couple of Blue Monarchs in the crowd. I continued to hold my breath hoping no one would tip Hess off that someone was sneaking up behind her. One soldier grabbed Hess as the other grabbed the torch before it hit the ground igniting the Black Cobras.

After the ordeal ended, I offered to take the now bound Hess back to Bear Country. She was not herself. The Blue Monarchs in the crowd said they had been having difficulties with her. Their numbers had dwindled down to a few because she was out of control. They welcomed having her out of their hands.