The Company by Chuck Graham

Author:Chuck Graham [Graham, Chuck]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: WinePress Publishing
Published: 2012-11-27T06:00:00+00:00

For the next two hours, Ellington described in detail how even before Last Day, the world had already become a dark place. The fertile soil of the valley proved well suited for raising a variety of crops. The air had been fresh and the water clean. The hills were deep green in the summer and snow-covered wonderlands in the winter. Spring brought beautiful flowers, and autumn displayed gold and red across the landscape. And the sky always seemed the most striking blue. But all this still did not satisfy the people of the Glen.

Pride and greed ran their course like a wild pandemic. Everyone wanted what the other had, or better. No one shared, but hoarded as much as they could whether they needed it or not. Wealth became a much-sought-after goal, then developed into an entitled expectation, and finally, a claimed right.

The people clamored for more and worked increasingly longer hours to achieve their success. But they failed to notice that the right they claimed was nothing but a carrot held by those in authority. Debt rose, families dissolved, and desperation grew until the only thing that mattered . . . was themselves.

Ellington painted a bleak picture. Never had Sam heard what his old friend so carefully described. He listened intently to details his schoolbooks had conveniently omitted. Teachers, politicians, village leaders, and even the media had used the curriculum to portray a very different history . . . one that Sam now understood was of their own choosing.

Ellington moved on to Last Day and in great detail told of the terror that had gripped the Brigons. He recounted the many days they struggled to stay alive, never knowing what had happened or why. Then he described the day Karis arrived, the work of the Yonders, and how light returned to Brigos Glen. Most of this, Sam already knew, but there was a passion in Ellington’s voice that made everything come alive. The loneliness of the fires, the startling Voice, the months of hard work, the glow from the very first tower—Sam could see it all.

“Now, as for the Senior Managers,” Ellington said, “the main thing for you to remember is this—not one can be trusted to tell you what you need to know.”

“You think they’re going to lie? Why would they do that?”

“Not necessarily lie, but we all see things a certain way. Even me. A man once told me that a single eyewitness testimony was bad enough because there was only one point of view, but several were even worse because there were so many.”

“Meaning?” Sam said, looking rather puzzled.

“Meaning we often see things the way we want them to be, not the way they really are.”

“Okay,” Sam replied. “I get that. I’ll be careful. Now, what can you tell me about Williams? He’s next, so if you know anything that might help, I’m all ears.”

Ellington thought for a moment.

“Guy Williams . . . he comes off as though he knows a lot, super smart, but it’s more of a mask.

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