Outliers 5A The Lautons

 Brian and Susan Laton

Alan was called to the commons by mike.  Brian and his family had shown up for the evening meal and they did not have enough credits to purchase a meal for all the members of the family. When he was turned away, he got angry and shoved the attendant back so as to get in.  

A squad of security guards were eating at the time and they stepped in until the sheriff’s men could arrive.  

It was the sheriff’s men that discovered that the family had lice.  At this point they were all isolated and the whole place was sanitized.   Once secured, the two officers went to the infirmary to ensure that they were not infected.  Mike sent his men there as well.  

Meanwhile, Alan was looking over the food storage records and yields from different fields.  He was working with their agricultural overseer to ensure that proper crop rotations and seed allocations were progressing.  The colony was short last year and they needed to change some of the fields due to flooding and soil depletion issues. 

Sharon pointed to the two fields on the south slope.  “These two here have good soil, but they are too steep for the tractors.  They must be done by hand again this year.”

“And this one, did the civil guys get that drainage ditch cleared?” Alan asked.

“Yes, but until we get this area here cleared, more debris will flow down Morison creed and jam it up again.” Sharon said.

“Too bad we don’t have any beavers.” Alan mused.

“Beavers?” Sharon asked.

“A woodland creator that takes areas like this and makes a dams to slow the water and then builds a house in the middle of the lake they create.” Alan explained.

“How would that help?” Sharon asked.  Thinking that the water would stop.

“Oh, it would slow down the stream and create a place for the debris to sit.  The beaver would get a home and we would get a filtering system without having to work for it.” Alan said.

“I see.” Sharon looked at her map.  That area was off limits.  It was a mushy mess of water, dead trees, bushes and mud.  

Alan saw that his radio was indicating activity.  More than normal.  He turned it up to hear what was happening, “Alan, this is Mike, come in.” 

“Mike, this is Alan. Over.” 

“I hate to bother you, but we need you at the commons. Over” Mike said.

“For? Over” Alan really didn’t want to go down there tonight.

“Not over open channels. Over” Mike said.

Alan looked at Sharon, “I’ll see if our scouts can find us some beavers.” 

“Okay.” Sharon said not quite sure if Alan was serious or not.  “I can talk to Allison about this if you're too busy, it’s fairly academic at this point.” 

“She’s probably in her office grading papers.” Alan pointed to the front office area of the house.  They were in the living room where they could spread out the maps of all the farming areas of the colony.  Their colony had four hundred and eighty nine acres of farming and twice that in cattle, goats, sheep, horses, hay and grass fields.  All of which required rotations and management or they would be destroyed by the intense agricultural stress they are putting on this land.  It was obvious to everyone that they were going to need to expand soon.  

Alan left his house and walked down the hill towards the commons.  He remembered how this place was when he first saw it, nearly fifty years ago.  A gas and service station, a grange and the grocery store.  That was it.  His friend Mike had moved out here to five acres and needed his help to put in utilities.  That seemed like a lifetime ago.  A time when they were young, stupid and ambitious. Nothing seemed impossible back then.  

Before he knew it Alan was walking into the commons.  The sheriff was there with Mike.  They were talking with the head cook, Gladis.  She was adamant about something and her body language said that she was upset.  

Mike saw Alan and they all stopped until he was closer. “Sorry to pull you away, we need the council to intervene.” 

They all looked at Alan shaking their heads “Yes.” 

“Is this like an emergency or can we put in a petition to the council?” Alan asked.

“Brian and his whole family are in custody.” Mike said.

“Same shit?” Alan asked.

“Yes, but this time Brian shoved one of Gladis’ girls.” The Sheriff said.

Alan looked at Gladis, “Is she okay?”

“The security guys stopped it before it got bad.” Gladis looked at Mike, “If they weren’t here..” She was mad. 

“Got it.” Alan looked at the Sheriff.

“It’s worse.  They all have lice and God only knows what else.  The whole family smells like they haven’t bathed in weeks.”

“And it looks like Susan is pregnant again.” Mike added.

Alan looked at the Sheriff, “Get two med techs over and get them cleaned up and deloused.  Charge Brian and I will get the council together.” he turned to Mike, “Get your hazmap stuff over to the med techs.  One male, one female.  Let’s try to preserve any dignity they have left.”

Mike was upset, “Why?”

“Because dignity is a human right. And we will do our damndest to uphold that.” Alan said.

Mike just nodded his head and left to make the arrangements.  

Alan had to get more information on this family, which meant a trip to the school, Brian’s job and see just how much was fact as opposed to the rumors that he had heard about.  If they were going to exile Brian, how much of his family was to be sent with him? 

As the day progressed the facts of this case should have raised some red flags long before this.  Brian was chronically late for work and usually did only enough to keep from being fired.  If his employer had known what he knew now, he would have never hired him.  A visit to his residence showed a place that barely stood and was filthy from top to bottom.  Alan only looked in, he was sure that the place was infested with all kinds of vermin.  There was evidence of dried feces on the floor in the front room. Around back was a garden full of weeds and skinny chickens.  

At the school he learned that the kids had been absent from school at least once or twice a week and had been sent home many times for lice infestations.  As a matter of fact, these kids were inspected everyday for lice and at least once a week they were bathed at school because they stank.  It was not uncommon for the kids to be given clothing out of the lost and found because their own clothes were dirty.  The term white trash kept coming up in Alan’s mind.  They just didn’t care.  How could they have been here for so long and not have these issues brought before the council?  Well, they are here now and it’s not going to be a pleasant experience for all parties. 

At one point Alan had wished that he had passed off the investigation to someone else as he had the deciding vote on the council.  The council had five voting elders.  He was the chief or head elder and always voted last.  This way if there was a tie, he would break it.  There were many times that he wished it was a silent vote, but that’s not the way it was set up.  The people wanted to know who voted for or against, on each matter.   In cases like this, it was going to be an emotional vote.  

Alan met with the sheriff at his office and filed his statement.  There had to be documentation to present to the council and his first hand statement would be included.  This was just fact finding and not a judgment.  However, it needed to be recorded as first hand knowledge and then presented with the other evidence when this case was brought forward. 

When he was done the sheriff could not help but comment, “Was it really that bad?” 

“It’s not the worst I’ve seen, but it’s a very close second.” Alan said.  

“How do you get like that?” The Sheriff said to no one in particular.  He put the statement in his file and closed the folder. He then looked at Alan, “He toast.” 

“Let’s hope not.  They do have four kids and a decent place, once it’s cleaned up.” Alan recalled the condition he had just witnessed. Then he realized that they should not return home just yet, “Where are they now?”

“Brian was released and I have him in the pen.” He pointed behind him, “Susan and the kids are still being held at the commons.” The Sheriff stopped and looked Alan in the eye, “It’s bad.” 

Alan knew the Sheriff was not kidding and was wishing he had not seen what he had already seen.  

Then the Sheriff added, “We need to bring Lorence in on this.” 

“A special investigator?” Alan said while wondering if this really warranted that level of intrusion.  But there was a lot going on here and a lot at stake.  This would also give him a chance to step back and find the objectivity he needed to do his part in all of this.  “I agree.” 

“I’ll send Tom out to see him.” The Sheriff said, referring to his best friend and retired swat officer.  

“How did it get this far?” Alan asked.

“We’re busy here.  Adjusting to this life.  We’ve been busting our humps to keep it all together and they’ve been doing everything they can to fly under the radar.  It’s not our fault.  This is on them.” 

Alan knew he was right and knew that Brian and Susan were going to have their lives torn apart.  He just hoped that they would change.  That they would see that it’s better for everyone that they clean up and start working hard to make everything they had as good as they could. That the intervention measures that the council will place on them is for their own good.  But again he had seen this before and the results did not work out for the good of all parties.  Alan shook his head.  This had

\ to work.. Out loud he said, “Let's hope for the best.”

“Mike has already made up his mind.” The Sheriff said.

“What’s he done?” Alan asked.

“He’s been calling around to ship the kids off.”  The Sheriff said as he placed the file in his filing cabinet.

“He’s seen this before and he’s a man of action.” Alan said.

“It’s a good move.  Split them up and get them talking.” the Sheriff said.

“What are you trying to say?” Alan picked up on the idea that the sheriff was looking for more trouble.

“I think we are going to be horrified at what we find.” The Sheriff said coldly.

That sent a chill up Alan's spine.  His imagination did not have to go too far to know what the sheriff was talking about. Alan had to stay objective.  Lorance would do the deep dive and present the case to the council.  Brian and Susan were going to need an advocate and the kids were going to have to be fostered for now.  Alan picked up his radio, “Mike this is Alan. Over.”

The radio cracked, “This is Mike.”

“Come pick me up at the sheriff’s office. Over.” Alan said.

“I’m right outside. Over.” Mike said. 

Mike was sitting in his old Ford truck he affectionately called Rust Bucket.

Unlike most, Mike had to be able to move fast.  Which justified his use of his truck.  

“You should have talked to me before making arrangements for the kids.” Alan told him as he climbed in the passenger side of the truck.

“We both know where this is going.” Mike said as he started the truck, “And they make me sick.” 

There was no denying that.  They had both been foster parents and had seen some bad things happen to kids when their parents did not do their jobs and or allowed their kids to be put into situations that were morally reprehensible.  It was just very hard not to go there again.  And this time the system was not stacked against them.  This time they could get the kids out and protect them.  This time they would see that Brian and Susan were held accountable to their actions.  That’s when Alan realized he could not be objective. 

Mike looked at Alan, “You know what we have to do.” 

“Yeah.” was all Alan said with resignation.  

 

If you want to read more about the Remnant Series see the links below.

            Book 1-3: Graham Heights available on Amazon.com

            Book 4: The Grey Abyss available on Amazon.com

            Bood 5: Chaos coming soon to Amazon.com

Book 6: Obsidian Arrows

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R. A. Legg

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