This Would Be Paradise (Book 3)

Chapter 13

The rest of the days was like trying to herd cats. It was impossible to find everyone as they had taken off exploring Hargrove before we could gather them. Henry and the other elected council people were currently coming up with options on how to deal with Wyatt and the other two. When I had first gotten dressed and joined everyone, Henry had made a point to come up to me.

"I just wanted to say how sorry I am that you had to go through what you did," Henry said solemnly.

It was nice of him to say, but really he had no idea of what happened. He was only judging based on our injuries. Not all injuries were visible.

"Thanks," I said. "But speaking of that, what do you guys intend to do with Wyatt?"

"Not sure yet, but we'll come up with some ideas and let everyone have a vote later." He briefly laid a hand on my back and smiled, then took off back to the condo where their meeting was being held.

I had a sinking feeling that they would all be exiled like Byron. One person didn't stand a chance out there by themselves, but if all three got to leave together, they would more likely survive-which would defeat the purpose of the punishment.

Trying to ignore my unease, I continued walking to the clubhouse for breakfast. Maybe some of the newcomers ended up there.

Indeed, most were inside eating. Rose stopped me as I was leaving the buffet line.

"That guy Roy okay?" She asked.

"I don't know. He just found out his missing wife is dead, so no. But I don't think he would do anything stupid. He's still got one daughter to care for."

"Bailey, this place is great," Leo said as he approached us.

"Now it is," I said.

"What're we expected to do here?" Rose asked.

"Well if everyone hadn't taken off this morning, we would have explained. Everyone will either pick a job or be given one-eventually."

"I saw some small gardens, I'd like to volunteer for that," Rose said.

I held up my hand. "I'm not the one to talk to about that." I put down my hand slowly. "Actually, I'm not sure who decides that now that Wyatt is out. Probably the council?"

"Some help you are." Rose smirked.

"Hey, I'm sure I could put in a word and have you cleaning up after the farm animals if you'd like."

Rose's smirk faltered. "Really funny."

I waggled my eyebrows and headed towards the table John was at. He was currently trying to slowly mouth something to George while Chloe and Amanda watched curiously. When I approached the table, George turned to give me a smile and wave.

"Hey George, how are you liking it here?" I asked slowly.

He took a bite of his breakfast and gave me a thumbs up.

"I was tryin' to explain the job situation to George," John said. "I also tried explainin' it to that guy Lucas, but he just brushed me off and left the clubhouse with his food."

"Yeah, he's not the friendliest person I've ever met," I said as I took a seat and faced Amanda. "Has your dad come in for breakfast yet?"

She gave me a puzzled look. "Yeah, he's right there." She pointed to the long food line. Sure enough, Roy was waiting in line. He must have come in after me. I sagged against the back of my chair. Thank God he didn't do anything stupid. Now John gave me a strange look, which I waved off.

We finished eating and sent the girls off to their little school lessons. John started rallying up the newcomers and telling them to meet at the front gate when they were finished. I guessed he would be giving the orientation.

It took a good hour, but everyone eventually sauntered over to the front gate, except for Lucas. That wasn't a surprise. I would have to hunt him down later.

John got right into it. "All right everyone. By now you've had some time to see a little bit of Hargrove and as you're probably already aware, most people have a job. What I want you to do is to spend the day lookin' around even more and see if there's a job you'd be interested in. Once you come up with a few ideas, we can run 'em by the council."

There were murmurs, especially from Brittany who insisted that her and Leo get the same job. Leo didn't look pleased with her declaration.

"What if we already know what we wanna do?" Rose said, cocking out a hip.

"Then I say still take the day," John said firmly.

Rose stared him down, but eventually gave in. The newcomers dispersed to follow John's orders. He walked up to me.

"That Rose lady is sure ... somethin'," he said absently.

"Nope."

John titled his head to the side. "What?"

I shook my head. "Never mind." I was being petty. "How long do you think the council will take?"

"They've turned into a bunch of indecisive bureaucrats, so the rest of the day," John groused. "We've gone from one guy making quick, but bad decisions, to a bunch of random people takin' forever to come up with good solutions."

"The price you pay for democracy, I guess. Speed," I said.

It turns out John was right. They council had spent the entire day debating on the outcomes to vote for. The vote was held in the clubhouse during supper so ensure people got a vote. They even let the newcomers have a vote. When it was all said and done, the majority again voted for exile. More than a few huffs were given when the announcement was made.

The decision was to send them out, one by one, starting in the morning. They were to not be given any food or water, though. Rose came up to me with a scowl on her face.

"What if they come back with weapons and such?"

I didn't like the outcome either. How had they spent an entire day debating this? Too many people trying to get their opinion in and heard.

"I don't know, Rose," I sighed. "I don't like it either, but it's what they majority agreed on."

"They should just shoot 'em in the head."

"You gunna volunteer for executioner?" I said.

"You seem like you'd be a good fit." I froze at her words.

"Fuck you," I snarled and walked away from her.

Is that how she saw me? I only did what I had to in the hospital to escape. Except for going back for Amelia. That had been personal, but I was never given the chance to kill her as she had taken her own life. I had only killed when it had been necessary. Or was that just something I told myself to make me feel better about it? What about the guard I had stabbed repeatedly? Or the one I had killed while he begged for me to not shoot him?

I had wanted to kill Byron, but John had stopped me. If John hadn't been there, I probably would have killed the murdering asshole. In the end, would Byron and I be that different? He killed for his own sick enjoyment.

Did I enjoy it?

The fact that I had to ask myself that, sent a shiver up my spine.

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A/N: I've been having a rough go of it lately (don't worry, I won't go into personal details making us all uncomfortable), so please don't take this personal (unless you are the one I'm talking about, then by all means, please take it personal): if you are going to complain about the length of the chapters, wait between updates, etc. I am going to give you a point form version of the first part of this book. Don't like, don't read or buy the dang book on Amazon. I don't have to post anything. There, I feel slightly better.

As for the majority of you, thank you for reading and being understanding. You are the reason I am posting :)