Batteryville

Big Boxes

We had breakfast, some kind of oatmeal they cooked over a wood fire on the back deck and when we were getting ready to leave Hal said, "Remember, loose lips sink ships."

I said, "Got it," even though I had no idea what he meant.

"He's right," Andy said.

Sarita handed something to Erin but I couldn't tell what it was and she said, "Good luck. I hope you find him."

We got on our bikes and rode.

The neighbourhood was pleasant enough in the day, people were walking around and it was all clean and well-kept but now I noticed that there was nothing motorized, nothing that used any power.

As we rode past the old school Erin said, "What did he mean by that, loose lips sink ships?" and I said, "I have no idea."

But then I saw, in the middle of the soccer field, what looked like a stage. Then I realized it wasn't a stage.

It was a gallows.

I could tell because there was a guy setting up ropes with nooses from the overhead beam. At least six nooses.

A few minutes later we could see the big box stores and as we got closer we stopped.

There were a lot of people in the parking lot.

I said to Erin, "We need to be careful, they could be spies," and she said, "I know."

"Did Sarita tell you?"

"Yeah, she said that's why they have nothing that's powered, no electricity or motors at all, but what do we care?"

"I didn't really understand it all," I said, "but we should be careful."

"Why?"

"Some of these guys might be sheriffs." I pointed at the people in the parking lot, they had tables set up and looked like a kind of market, some guys behind the tables and others walking around looking at what was laid out but I couldn't tell what kind of things they were from here.

"They aren't dressed like it."

"Andy told me that during the day no one knows who the sheriffs are, that way they can spy on people."

"What for?"

"I don't know," I hadn't really thought about that. "I guess that way if people are getting together to plan something the sheriffs will find out."

"Plan what?"

"I don't know, anything that's against the rules. An uprising?"

"Okay," Erin said. "We'll be careful. We need to find Maurice."

We started riding again and as we got closer to the parking lot I saw that most of the things set out on the tables were tools. Not power tools, of course, just hand tools. Mostly they looked like garden tools or maybe for farming.

The guys behind the tables were mostly older like Andy or even Ed and the guys walking around were mostly younger. The whole place felt weird but I didn't understand why.

Erin said, "There are no women."

That was it. Then I said, "No, look, over there." Near the big garage doors to the old store there were a few people standing around and a couple of them were women but it was hard to tell because they looked exactly like the men.

"Sarita said this place is regressing."

I had no idea what she was talking about.

Erin said to the first people we came to, "Do you know where Maurice is?" and they just shrugged. We asked quite a few people but no one knew anybody named Maurice.