Chapter 9

Time moved at a crawl while John waited for his lessons with Izzy.

On Friday when John came home from work, his mother pressed some coins into his hand. “I need you to go into town tomorrow and get a haircut,” she told him. She looked at his face closely, from a couple angles. “Have him shave you, too.” John had never been shaved before in his life.

Lucy told him, “Leave your good shirt and pants where I can find them - I’ll wash them tomorrow.”

“What...?” John asked.

“The sheriff is taking a posse to Venture on Sunday,” his mother answered. “He wanted you. I thought it was a good idea.”

John panicked at the thought that he might miss his appointment with Izzy. “Just for Sunday?” He asked, a bit excitedly.

“It’s a long drive. He expects to come back late Sunday night, but it’s possible the trip could go longer.”

“Why?” John asked.

Lucy answered: “You remember Nancy Oak? Her rapist, Tim Cooper, was spotted in Venture. The sheriff needs a show of force to pick him up and bring him back here for justice.”

“Why me?” John asked. “There are lots of guys who are better fighters.”

His mother smiled at him. “The sheriff said he needed men he could trust to keep cool heads. Men who know how to follow orders, but also think and act for themselves. Men who understand how to put duty ahead of themselves.” She became suddenly emotional and wiped the beginning of a tear from her eye, and then caressed his head. “You have no idea how proud it made me to hear him talk about you like that.”

Lucy was uncharacteristically respectful. “The sheriff said it’s going to be a tense situation. There won’t be any fighting, but a loudmouth could cause a lot of trouble between Appa and Venture. They’re a very powerful town.”

John nodded and then began his chores.

Two trucks left Appa on Sunday morning. The two civilians were Nancy Oak, a girl John’s age with a modest baby bump; and Doc Porter, an old woman and probably the smartest person in town. The sheriff, Pops, was leading the mission. He had deputized John and Henry, as well as two adult men John didn’t know very well. Each of the deputies had a rifle, which meant that only three were being left behind in Appa.

The trip was long and boring. Nancy asked John about his friendship with “that malbred Eddy”. John soothed her fears by telling her that Eddy was as smart and nice a guy as he knew. Nancy was glad for the positive outlook. She was nervous about the life her baby would have. It was a malbred: there were any number of ways it could be congenitally sick. Even if it wasn’t, it would live with a stigma for its whole life. If it was a boy, he would be castrated, guaranteeing that he was always seen as different.

Venture was a town like nothing John had even seen. All of the roads were paved. Most of the buildings were made of brick, and they all had many more windows than any other buildings he’d ever seen. Several small electric trucks ran around carrying people and goods.

Once, years ago, all of the schoolkids had been allowed into Appa’s bunker for a special treat: a showing of a before-bunker recorded play about a boy named Ferris, demonstrating what life was like two centuries before. Venture wasn’t anywhere near as grand or crowded as the city in the play, of course, but it reminded him of it.

Many dozens of Venture citizens were gathered around when the trucks came to a stop. Every one of them seemed to be glaring at them, questioning what business they had taking one of their citizens away.