Joab's Pagiel | Part 8

Joab had memories of his early days as a member of the united front, however, they were all... Sources of pride. He never really wanted to die, and they were also sources of fear, but a strong source of legitimate pride.

He remembered when the wall was first built:

Wood was faster than stone.

Wood was cheaper.

Wood was a mistake.

The wall went up in weeks—tall, uneven, reinforced where they could manage it. It circled the town like a wound stitched in a hurry.

Joab ran its length twice a day, testing weak points, listening.

“You should’ve used concrete,” Thomason said again, standing beside Adiel.

“We didn’t have time,” Adiel replied.

“You never have time when you make the wrong choice.”

Gunfire came at night.

Not every night. Just often enough.

Once, someone screamed from the top of the wall. Then it went quiet.

No body was found.

They sealed the breach anyway.

Present Day.

Joab still wonders to this day who that screamer was.

Today, he'd find out.

He went and started slowly walking around, he never wanted to leave the town. He just walked around the wall and looked down but never thought to look up.

Once he heard a banging on the wall from the other side. He looked up and saw no one, then the voice said, "There's a man here. He looks amish. He fell from the top of the wall." Joab was confused, that man is clearly dead if he did. Plus, the shots came from outside the wall, so there's no way that man could have ever landed outside the community unless the shots came from inside. That's not possible unless a Klu Klux Klan member climbed the wall.

Either way, it made no sense. The Klan member would be dead from the fall. The wall is too tall. He doesn't even know why he was up there, anyway. "No one was supposed to be atop the wall in the first place!" Shouted Joab.

Jameson, the voice from the otherside, replied "He claims he fell." Joab then realized something, "It has to be one of their members because God protects our group from death.. Usually..."

Joab, however, didn't think you couldn't die on the job, so he walked to the carriages, took a random horse and rode it to the gates on the back of the wall.

Joab left the town and closed then locked the doors behind him with a key that was given to him by the united front and tossed it to Thomason who was overseeing the concreting of the outside of the fortress.

Some areas of the wall were still unfinished. Still wooden. The doors were a point of contention because you can't just rub concrete on an exit, so Thomason decided to reinforce them with metal, instead of concrete which when wet could lock in the residents, leaving them dangerously stuck inside.

Thomason shouted, "You reckless boy! had your key landed in the concrete, no one would be able to find it and if we did, we'd have to clean it thoroughly! Or else it wouldn't be usable!" As God tried to tell him to "Calm down, Thomason. You caught it, it's fine." So Thomason said, "Yes, now it's fine, he's too reckless to see it could have gone wrong!" So, as Thomason is right, Joab says, "I apologize. I'll think more."

Thomason says, "Thank you & you're welcome for me teaching you," as Thomason took off his own hat and started fidgeting with it, tipping it on his hands. Joab replies, "Thank You for your wisdom." Joab always knew him as the sometimes more sensible one, but also sometimes a less sensible one when stressed & panicked.

Thomason focused on the concreting, noticing a man about to put concrete on the door and shouted, "You idiot! No! You do not put concrete where you  exit!" He's so infuriated by the stupidity, and Joab just replied, "Yeah, that's a bad idea." Laughing, but Thomason ignores it and convinces the man sternly via yelling to "Stop putting concrete on the door or you'll trap us in here!"

Joab looked at the guy and said "You from here?" The construction worker shook his head. Joab then proceeded to the front door of the wall away from the back door.

Once Joab got there, he... Didn't like what he saw. It was just one man dressed like... A Klan's men. Joab backed up knowing no one would be dumb enough to try to sneak in wearing Klan's garbs without intending to shoot as soon as the doors were open. Joab was dumb enough not to bring his gun.

So, he turned his horse right around and alerted the united front who rushed to the klan's member who was skedaddling away from the area.

Joab's ex-teammates immediately apprehended him and removed his cloak, they looked at him and saw he was young. One Jew, Tommy, shouted "I need someone with a phone to phone the police." The construction workers heard, and came and took photos of him to give as evidence to the police, and then filmed him for typically a brief 13 seconds and then called 911.

Jameson had started crying & panicking, yelling that he wasn't trying to hurt anyone, shouting "I was trying to see my girlfriend to see if she could join the Klan! She's Greek, but has the skin of a black woman!"

The United Front members were perplexed and Tommy asked, "So you went for an Amish... Wait... You mean... Jonas! I think he means your pregnant daughter!" Aya had told her parents just before Jonas, a medium brown Greek, went to work in the united front. It's actually funded by a rich Jewish guy named Clyde Dai.

Jonas walked over and saw him, pointed a gun in his face and said, "Don't move. The police are coming," in a deadpan voice, rolling his eyes with contempt. Tommy says, "He was trying to recruit his Greek girlfriend from here. I know it may not be your kid, but it might be. He looks like a boy I saw with her."

Jonas asks, "And you didn't tell me she was with someone?" Tommy replied, "I don't have to, anymore, now do I? You already know she's pregnant."

Jameson freaked out, yelling "What you mean pregnant?! Is she pregnant?! Is there another Greek girl?! What's her name?!" Jonas replied, "I don't know." He isn't telling a klan member his child's name.That would be too dangerous. The boy kept protesting for her name. Jonas said, "I don't think you're ready to know, are you?"

Jonas just said, "There are only two Greeks here... Wait.... Those are my wife and child..." Both of them realized it, but Jonas refused to believe that his daughter would bang a Klan's men. It's not a value or moral thing, it's more like it'd be stupid! "Did you tell her you were from the KLAN?!" Jameson shook his head, shouting "Don't Blame her! I lied about it! I'm 19!"

The police picked up Jameson, who was crying as he said, "Please, give my momma my baby! Let her visit me in jail!" Jonas shouted "You know she's not gonna visit you in prison! Get real!"

Joab was in blind shock. "Aya banged a Klan's men?" He thought, then whispered, "I gotta tell her in private, but she gotta at least tell people she didn't know."

To be continued...