Redemption

With the lawman’s passing through the door, first the mayor, then the councilmen followed him out in a hurried file. Then, before anyone could say anything, David and the alien started out in pursuit. Once outside, Fall could see a crowd of near a hundred people walking angrily towards the school.

“Stop here,” Click said as Steve directed his four deputies to form a line across the road in front of the approaching horde. In doing so, Fall realized that several in the mass were carrying guns.

“That’s far enough!” The mayor shouted. In response, the crowd began to yell and roar in protest. They continued to do so until the sheriff and his men drew their side arms.

“Drop your weapons at once! This is an illegal assembly!” Atkins demanded.

“We have the right to assemble!” A male voice argued from within the throng.

“To peacefully assemble-Yes!” The mayor agreed, “But not as an armed and disorganized mob!”

“We want that thing that hurt Charlie!” A woman screeched.

“Charlie? You mean Charlie Price-the man that I am about to arrest on charges of assault and attempted kidnapping?” Sheriff Atkins demanded in a humorous scoff.

“Kidnapping? Are you crazy?” A man retorted furiously from the fore of the mob, “That thing attacked him!”

“I have had enough of this,” the alien decided. With that, it left him to fly some twenty feet above the line of deputies and between it and the mob.

“There it is!” A voice in the crowd declared. Even as shotguns and pistols were being readied and trained at the small alien, its body began to produce a blinding light, as well as an ear-piercing whine. So debilitating was this, that the entire mass dropped their weapons, and grabbed their ears, wilting and crumpling as if under a massive weight. Seeing this, the line of deputies looked around uncertainly as they heard nothing, only seeing the crowd under the glow of a bright light.

As Grandpa, Cathy and Miss Thatcher joined him, David noticed that the illusion had faded slightly. Then the light stopped and the ball darted down to hover by his head.

“Think hard, David,” Click’s voice said in his mind, “That took a bit out of me.” In response, the boy closed his eyes and began to mentally perform the hardest math problems that he knew.

“David! Are you alright?” The blond asked, her voice full of alarm.

“He’s fine, he is just helping me to regain some energy,” the illusion replied.

“Are you alright?” Grandpa demanded.

“I’m fine,” the entity assured him, “I just want to be ready should that not prove sufficient to dissuade them.” It was then that the beginning of the crowd’s recovery was marked by the sheriff’s shouted orders.

“Leave your weapons on the ground!” He commanded tersely, “You can stand, but I had better not see anyone pick up a gun!”

“How did you do that?” One of the councilmen demanded of the image in slight amazement.

“Through extremely high sound waves,” she replied distractedly as she started toward the line of deputies.

“Where are you going?” Atkins asked as the illusion passed him.

“To reason with them.”

“Well, just be care-,” he began. Then, considering the situation he shook his head, “Never mind.”

“Thanks, dear!” Click’s voice chimed happily in David’s mind as the sphere zipped forward through the line of deputies to hover over its illusion. With its doing so, an awestruck silence fell over the crowd.

“I understand that there is a matter that you wish to discuss with me,” the image announced.

“That’s her!” A man accused from the crowd, “That’s the one!”

“I am also the one who nearly left you all permanently deaf, just now,” the alien countered, “So, for all of your sake, let’s try to keep this civil.” In response, the crowd began to roar as many tried to ask questions at once.

“Who are you?” A woman’s shouted voice demanded.

“Are you a witch?” A man accused.

“Why did you attack Charlie?” Another man’s voice hissed.

“What are you?” A man yelled.

“Alright,” the image adjusted, “Let’s get something straight: I came here to answer your questions and concerns. However, I will not have a thousand questions shouted at me at once. So, one at a time!”

“Who are you?” The woman’s voice repeated.

“You could not say my real name if you wanted to,” she explained frankly, “My friends call me ‘Click,’ because that is as close as you humans can come to it.”

“What are you?” A fellow demanded.

“No one knows,” she shrugged frankly. Then in an afterthought she allowed, “I believe that you are actually wondering if I am good or evil. Well, so long as you leave me and my friends to our own, I am good-in fact, you would never even know of me. On the other hand, if you are an idiot like Greesome was, or foolish like Price was, I will not hesitate to let you know.

“Charlie has to have surgery on his hands because of you-Witch!” A man snarled in a voice seeping with hate.

“He also grabbed me and tried to hold me against my will,” she countered indifferently, “In such, I have as much of a right to be free as any of you do!”

“Then, why did you attack Gree?” A man shouted, “He wasn’t doing anything to you-I know, because I was there!”

“Then you also know of what he said about my dear little friend, Cathy Planchet,” She counter-accused, “As well as the fact that the sheriff was near losing his temper and killing the man, himself, over what he said. In which case, I would ask what interest that you have in knowing such a braying ass.”

“What did he say?” A woman’s voice asked uncertainly, echoed by several others.

“That is irrelevant,” she denied, slightly shaking her head, “However, what is entirely relevant is that civilized, mature, Christian adults do not say certain things to children. He, on the contrary, did.” Allowing a slight rumble of murmurs to sweep through the mob, she added, “As well, he indicated an intention to burn down the school with the children in it!”

“He what?” A woman’s voice shrieked in disbelief.

“No, he didn’t!” A man’s voice dismissed in a scoff.

“Yes! He did!” Mabel roared from behind the deputies. Then, before any could stop her, she passed through the line of four at a stomping charge, “I know, because I was there!”

“Oh my god!” A woman exclaimed in a horrified tone.

“That’s it! I’m done!” A man’s voice dismissed.

“What proof do you have?” Another fellow’s voice demanded.

“I have my deputies out taking the testimony of other witnesses,” Sheriff Atkins replied, stepping up to stand next to the illusion, “When I get the proof, I will arrest Greesome.” Pausing, he took another step forward, his face holding a hard cast to it, “No one will threaten children in my county!”

“Then what about that thing next to you?” A man scoffed challengingly. Hearing this, Thatcher took a step forward.

“This person has shown that she is not a threat to any child! In fact, she actually saved a child’s life!” With that, she launched into her version of the rabid dog’s attack, pointing to various spots of importance on the ground as she recalled the events. Finally, she explained, “So, we all thought that David had saved Cathy! But, he was only keeping quiet to protect his friend! The truth was that this wonderful being was responsible for her salvation!”

“A rabid dog!” A man echoed in horror.

“And you say that the Greesome boy pushed her down?” A man challenged uncertainly.

“I and many of the class saw it happened,” the teacher confirmed.

“As well, I have sworn testimony stating as much,” Atkins added. In the wake of these words, a soft murmuring began to rumble through the mob, growing as new voices were added and arguments broke out. After a minute or two, several men stepped forward from the mass.

“We are sorry about all of this, Sheriff,” one of the men called, “If you don’t mind, we are just going to get our guns and go home.”

“When you pick them up, keep them pointed at the ground,” The lawman instructed, “with your hand away from the triggers. Unload them, and then you are free to go.”

“There is another crowd coming,” Click announced softly, her image peering toward the trees in the distance.

“Are they armed?” Steve asked.

“No. Believe it or not, they are singing hymns!”