Joshua and his friends were in Bear Country looking for supplies. They were just passing through. Most of the people in his gang were setting up camp on the edge of town. It’s somewhat weird. You don’t see very many people dressed in western clothes and wearing guns. They were real guns. I asked if they had had much trouble along their way. Joshua smiled and simply said “Not Much”. He changed the subject when I asked if everyone in his gang carried guns.
People come and go in Bear Country all the time, so I wasn’t surprised when I saw someone new. Not surprised but interested. I found that new pair of shoes today and while I was shopping, I ran across a couple of wagons and a team of horses hooked up to each of them. The old west had come to Bear Country. Who would have thought in this day and time that cowboys still roamed the plains or at least Lafayette Blvd? People dress how they feel around here. How you dress is part of your identity, but it is a little odd and strange to see cowboy hats and boots. Curiosity was killing me, so I introduced myself. His name was Joshua. He was tall and he wore a black hat.
I think most of Bear Country is still asleep even though it is almost noon. The festival was a great success. I had a wonderful time. I ate too much and stayed out too late. I watched Bear Country defeat the Dirt Bike Knights in a game of flag football. It was so very funny. Neither team had very athletic players. I think we won by accident. The Dirt Bike Knights have asked for a rematch next weekend. It should be an interesting game.
Sheriff Pete spent a couple of hours in the dunk, your favorite deputy and sheriff booth. Casey was the local fortuneteller. She had a long line of people leading up to her tent. Lisa and her band spent most of the day singing. I think Matt and Jonas spent most of the day making out with their girlfriends or any lonely girl they came across. Mostly Jonas, Matt was only making out with Hemy. The Library Trio had people oohing and aaaahing at their science experiments. It’s actually kind of fun watching a volcano explode. I didn’t see much of Tony or the Runt until the evening hours. They said they had a good time.
When the sun went down the bands began to play slower romantic music. People began to slow dance on the football field. It was interesting to watch. Sometimes the oddest-looking couples hook up. I think I watched people dance for a couple of hours before Tony asked me to dance. It was a nice dance, unexpected. I never really realized how good he smells up close.
Today is the festival. I’m excited. Everyone is excited. People have been awake since dawn. Most people around here usually sleep until at least 10:00. Not today, today it was a race to see who could get to the showers first. I can already smell the food. It smells so good. The bands have already begun to play. I love hearing musicians play. Bear Country has several talented musicians and singers but so do several of the other gangs. I expect to hear a wide variety of music throughout the day. There will be many games to play. There will be several tournaments, just pick your sport and somewhere on Lafayette Blvd. a game will be playing. It’s time to start my day. I love Festival.
I’m having one of those moments of thought when you wonder how you got where you are today. I don’t know the history of everyone that lives in Bear Country. We all have a past that we wish we could have back or one that we wished we could forget. I want mine back. I want the life I had before. I want my parents to help make my decisions. I want to look forward to going to college. There aren’t any colleges anymore. This is a depressing mood. I need to get out of this slump. Ok, what can I do to make myself cheerful? I have an idea. I will go and interrupt the make-out session that Matt and Hemy are having down the hall….and grab Tony and make them play spades with me.
Preparations for the festival continue. The backfield of Bear Country is a live with activity as the different gangs put up their booths. I think that this year’s festival is going to be great especially after everything that has happened recently.
Hemy dropped by today to see Matt and she brought back the fuel that was stolen from us by the Hulk. She said she was trying to return everything that the Hulk and his goons stole from the other gangs. I tried to tell her that she doesn’t need to make amends for what the Hulk did. She said she did.
I invited Central to the festival. There isn’t a reason why they shouldn’t be able to attend. It is a little late to prepare a Central booth, so I told Hemy to make sure everyone who wants to enjoy the festivities comes to the party.
Today we gathered to celebrate life. We welcomed a new member to our gang. It is a tradition in Bear Country to hold a naming ceremony when a new member finds their way here because of a birth or because of a desire to join this community. Casey, a member in good standing in Bear Country presented her daughter to our gang. Casey named her baby girl Aleece in honor of her own mother. I hope the baby’s life is long and happy.
We had a little drama during the ceremony. I was giving Aleece my blessing when I heard Casey suddenly blurting out the name Xavier. My back was to the door, I swung around to see why people were making a fuss. I don’t know how he safely arrived in Bear Country without notice. He was dressed differently but he was standing right there. Sheriff Pete and his deputies surrounded him quickly with weapons drawn. He didn’t put up a fight. In fact, he just raised his hands in the air.
Casey apologized to everyone present. She said she had to invite him. The Hulk (Xavier) asked to step closer to his daughter. He kissed her on the forehead.
The Hulk looked at me and said he was alone. I scolded Casey and then demanded the Hulk leave. He wasn’t welcome in Bear country. Xavier (the Hulk) kissed his daughter one more time than Pete and his deputies escorted him out.
The ceremony continued with the rest of the blessings. Lisa sang, the Library Trio read poetry, and we partied. Life in Bear Country was happy again.
The gang leaders and a majority of the town gathered along the streets. Everyone cheered as Sheriff Pete and his deputies escorted the former Central leader out of town. It was a long walk to the edge of town. The Hulk and his goons whined the whole way. It was “The ropes on my wrist are too tight.”” I need a drink of water.” Then they started to get nasty by making threats. Tony and the other deputies were getting irritated. You could see in their eyes that they wanted to bop each one of them around the head, neck, and shoulders with a good strong club. I was impressed with their restraint.
At the edge of town, Sheriff Pete and his deputies released the Hulk’s restraints. Hemy asked to speak to the Hulk alone. She wanted to say something important to her former gang leader. I didn’t hear what Hemy, and the Hulk discussed. Their little meeting lasted only a moment and then the Hulk and his goons continued down the road.
The walk back was quieter. I hope we did the right thing. I think we did.
The gang leaders gathered one more time this time to decide the fate of the Hulk and his goons. The gang leaders decided that the jail was not a good place. The inmates would need to be taken care of on a daily basis. No one wanted the responsibility to watch after them. We will escort the Hulk and his goons to the edge of town and demand they never return. Short of execution, this is the best solution. We can only hope that they change their ways and don’t victimize anyone else.
Time stopped for a moment as the Hulk, and I stared at each other. I’m not sure where the fight began in the gym or who exactly started the chaos but suddenly weapons were clashing and people yelling battle cries. Matt did an excellent job of organizing the resistance from the inside. The uprising against the Hulk was impressive. The fight actually didn’t last that long. I don’t know what I was expecting but things ended with the Hulk and all of his goons captured or dead. People don’t look scary when tied on ropes. The ropes don’t always help their personalities. The Hulk didn’t accept defeat very honorably. No one died on our side. Our injuries were minor. We jailed The Hulk and his remaining goons temporarily. The gang leaders will decide what to do with them later.
Tony released all the slaves from their cages including the Runt. It was a tearful reunion. Tony made sure that everyone held captive returned home to his or her gang. For someone who is mostly a loner and has a tough exterior Tony is very paternal.
I delivered the note to Hemy from Casey. I told her it was a message for someone named Xavier and that it was important that he got the note. She acted a little surprised as if I had mentioned a ghost. “I’ll give it to him,” she said. The whole thing was a little odd. Hemy was to be the new leader of the Central Bobcats. Although she said, there would be an election to make the whole thing legitimate. I wished her luck and offered our assistance if she needed any help getting things back to normal. She said life was going to be a little bit of a challenge but that she thought the people living at Central could handle it. The gangs all dispersed and went home. I said my goodbyes and left Hemy and Matt. He said he was going to hang around to help clean up. I personally think he has a crush on the new Central Gang leader.