Paul Callum's Story

A couple miles north of Sanctuary, not far from Bonell Bay, Paul and a few others were working on the irrigation project. The son of Sanctuary's mayor was kneeling while he held a piece of metal tubing, pieced together from salvaged metal.. He was wearing a simple white wifebeater, the light gray shirt he'd had on before had already been tossed into the dirt. It wasn't summer, but it still got hot fairly quickly, especially when you were working.

On his head rested a simple black baseball hat, and he also wore a pair of sunglasses, all at an attempt to keep the sun from interfering with his work.

A woman a few years younger than he was, Kate, approached him from behind and knelt beside him. She squinted as she looked at him, "What's the verdict?"

"It's going to have to do, until I can find a better piece. I really don't have anything better." He tossed the piece aside and stood up. Kate did the same.

"Did Ollie decide to show up?" he asked.

"I haven't seen him."

"Shit," he mumbled, "He's a genius, but he's not really reliable, or stable, for that matter." Paul wouldn't admit it, but Ollie's contributions were invaluable. The problem was, like he said, that the man seemed to be lost in his own world, and only sometimes did his world line up with what other people were thinking and doing.

Kate sighed, "You don't have to tell me that. I know."

Paul looked to the woman standing next to him, while nodding, "Yeah, I think everyone does." He smiled at her faintly, before stepping back towards the pieces of the irrigation system in front of him.

"Well, back to work."
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Deacon squinted at the women as they spoke and argued, and then he turned towards another sentry that was approaching, Luke, a much younger man with light brown hair.

"Luke, lead them to Doctor Gutierrez's office when they come in," he said before turning back to the three outside the gate, "I'm opening the gate now." Then, he took the steps down to the ground, unbarred the gate and pulled it open. The younger of the two conscious women moved toward the gate first. When the mother hesitated, Deacon motioned for her to enter as well, and she did.

The daughter looked as if she were about to express her gratitude when Deacon stopped her, "We wouldn't turn you away, especially if you need medical help." And they didn't look like the type to be spies for a group of raiders, That kind of thinking was dangerous, though; anybody could be. But, Deacon had a feeling.

"But, you'll have to meet with the sheriff, or one of his deputies." He paused briefly to look at Luke, then to the conscious daughter, "Luke will take you the doctor. She'll do what she can for your sister."

It wasn't far from the gate to the doctor's office, but it wasn't a very big town.

Doctor Lisa Gutierrez was a Latina woman in her forties with glasses and a kind face. Sitting in her office, she was reading a piece of paper with her hair tied up in a bun. Luke entered her office.

"Doctor," he began, "There are some outsiders who need to see you."

Her eyes adjusted as they moved from the paper to the young sentry, "What happened?"

"I think one of them said she'd been shot."

Gutierrez stood up immediately, looking concerned, but she remained calm, and sighed, "Okay." They then stepped outside, speaking to all present while motioning to the unconscious girl, "Help me with her."

Luke and the others moved to help the doctor carry the girl. Once she was inside, they brought her to the back room where they laid her down on what amounted to a medical examination table. She looked over at the conscious mother and daughter, "I need you to tell me exactly what happened."
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John stood up and rested his hands on his hips as he slipped into thought, for a little too long.

"John?" Yolanda spoke up after a while.

"I can't send Paul. He's been working on the irrigation project, and he's just about the only one who's worked on it every day of its production." He paused for a moment and he sighed, "And if anything were to happen, I don't believe my heart could take having to bury my last son." The death of his two eldest sons, Thomas and Jared, was not a secret amongst the people of Sanctuary. They knew about it, and he knew that they knew it, but he rarely spoke of it. Not to Paul, and not to Yolanda.

"I don't know that I could ask you to go in my place, either," he said, turning back to the woman, "To be quite honest, I think you're the future of this settlement, and probably better suited for my position than anybody else, even myself." At that admission, he chuckled before continuing, "Paul is a smart boy, but I can't see him being in charge of an entire town. Sheriff Finley is a man of action and would grow restless in my position, I think. And Mister Lane, well..." It seemed peculiar, even to himself that he would consider Gary at that position, but he was a shrewd man, that much John knew, "He lacks the kind of morals needed. I'm not sure he would follow my regulations if Finley didn't keep such a close watch on things."

"With that said," he continued, "If anything were to happen, I think the town would be best served it happening to myself than to you. Robert seems to want to speak with me personally, in any case. That also means that you'll be in charge until I get back." John was going under the assumption that he would return; he didn't want to be the one just assuming the worst would happen all the time, but the threat was very real.

"But, I won't be going alone. I'll have to take along some protection, for the trip over to Garland, if nothing else. You know the people of Sanctuary best. Do you have any recommendations?"
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Finley folded his arms over his chest as he looked to Marina briefly with a deliberately neutral look. As sheriff, it was important for him not to take sides and not to let people get to him. His job was to enforce the town's rules, one of which Jack had broken. He couldn't let that slide, no matter how sympathetic he was to what Jack had gone through. If something happened to Dee, his as of yet unborn child, or his mother, well... It would be hard.

"I appreciate your concern for Jack, but I can't. This is a serious offense, if true. He's going to have to come with me, as are you two," he said, turning towards the two men behind him, whose gleeful expressions soon faded, turning into looks of muted shock.

He looked back to Marina, "I'll give him the benefit of letting him sober up before speaking to him, at the very least. You'll have to come with me as well, if that makes you feel any better."

Finley was hoping she wouldn't fight him on this. He knew that both Marina and himself would prefer it if Jack came out with her, more or less willing. Because if the sheriff had to go in there, he might end up having to drag the man out of his house. It made the sheriff look unreasonably harsh, and it would be humiliating for Jack.

Marina tossed him a look that he discerned as a mix of anger and reluctance, but Finley remained stoic.