Free Sway's Demise by Jess Harpley Page B

around, so there’s no reason to skirt the issue.” He paused, but no one interjected. “There are Priyon in our territory, and a Beacon squad was chased from the training zone back into town earlier today.” The community began to whisper, a low rumble coming over the high ceilinged room.
    He raised his hands to calm them. “We’ve spoken with the squad leader, Xander Blake,” Kolsch motioned and Xander approached the front of the stage, “and he’d like to say a few words about what happened.”
    Xander thanked the mayor, and turned to the crowd. “We were out past Dallas Elementary when we spotted Priyon in the forest. We did not stick around to verify their intentions, but as we walked away, they chased us, unprovoked. To protect ourselves, we were forced to set fire to the median between the roads,” the group erupted at this in shouts of fear.
    “They told us not to harm the trees!”
    “That’s why they attacked you!”
    “What were you thinking?”
    Xander asked for quiet and the screams slowly dissolved into chatter. “We also had to fire on two of them and killed them.”
    They became rowdy again as Xander attempted to continue. A sharp whistle broke out from the crowd, and Sway’s eyes fell on Reese. They silenced, but she couldn’t pay Xander anymore attention. All she could think of was getting over to Reese, getting near him, holding his hand. That would make everything better, more bearable.
    “They retreated at that point, pulling their wounded back into the forest. It’s likely they are still there, waiting.” He finished recounting the events and backed away.
    Kolsch moved to the front. “Now, everyone, we can all agree having eight of our own back home safely is all that matters. They are well into our territory, and they know we will take action to protect ourselves. It was a fault of theirs, not ours. Here’s what’s next.”
    He pulled a sheet of paper from the desk, sighing as another one of the fluorescent bulbs died out. “We’re going to be sending two Beacon teams out, one to Vancouver, and another to Kelowna. They’ll be taking the south way out of town and part at Highway 97C. The Priyon were spotted coming in from the southwest, so if Kelowna is still intact, we can make a small assumption the Priyon are not hostile. If the town is destroyed, we will know they intend to bring war to us all.”
    The community began shouting again, throwing fists of fear and anger.
    “What about Vancouver?” Someone yelled above the rest.
    Kolsch nodded, “Yes, we will be sending another team to Vancouver to negotiate for help, in case the Priyon have come for the reason we fear.” He held up a small radio. “Both teams will be in our last remaining biodiesel trucks with these radios. It should take the Kelowna team about two hours to get there, and the Vancouver team four. We have a great rapport with both of these communities, so they will not see a Beacon team coming in as a threat.”
    “Why haven’t you raised them on the radio?” Another question penetrated the sea of confusion.
    Kolsch pressed his hands downward in attempts to lower the groups levels, which were again getting out of control. “We talked with Vancouver two days ago, but haven’t been in touch today. Kelowna hasn’t responded either. We don’t stay on the radio twenty-four-seven, just like they don’t, so it’s possible we’ve missed them.”
    There was only one question in Sway’s mind, what if they were wrong? What if they killed the Priyon, burned the trees and the grass… what if they started the conflict? She raised her hand, hopping and waving to be noticed over the taller members in front of her.
    Shouts continued, but Kolsch ignored them. “Who is that in the back, there?” He pointed and the crowd parted for him to see her. The volume of the room finally came down, and Kolsch smiled, “Ah, Sarah. Thank you for raising your hand to speak. What did you want to ask?”
    “Which teams are