Chapter 61: In Search of Hope
The train crash disaster had a profound impact on Adoy. There were many Adoy residents on that train. The Adoy House of Divine Knowledge held a vigil for those who lost their lives.
Jacob had returned from the fishing trip. He was unaware of what had happened until he returned. The news hit him very hard. The Bramley family was placed under even more stress as they were unable to contact Darius. They feared the worst when news broke about the fire in Jeed and the death of Mikayla, who was revealed by the media to be the culprit for the fire.
Jacob, Janice, and Darlene still found the strength to attend the vigil. The Head Theologist gave a speech in remembrance of the sixty-two Adoy residents who died in the crash. The Adoy residents lit sixty-two candles. The candles were placed in the centre of the town square. Janice lit the candle in memory of Demarcus.
After the candles were lit, the Adoy residents formed circles around the candles. They began singing. Even those not at the vigil stepped out on their balconies to sing. Denise was allowed on the rooftop of the rehabilitation centre. Her councillor and an enforcer accompanied her. The three of them joined in the singing.
David and Hamlet were at the edge of the Adoy Agriculture Zone. David joined in the singing, and Hamlet howled. Even the enforcers monitoring the event joined hands and started singing as well. The entire region echoed with the song. The region was united in its grief.
After the vigil, an enforcer approached Jacob and Janice. ‘Hello, I’m Rednik. I’m the new Commander of the Enforcers,’ he said. ‘I met your son, Demarcus, almost three years ago. It was when your other son Darius fell from the wall.’
‘Nice to meet you, Rednik,’ said Janice.
‘I’m so sorry for the way my department has treated your family,’ said Rednik. ‘We are here to protect and serve the community, not terrorise it.’
‘Maybe tonight can be a turning point for all of us,’ said Janice as she gently smiled. ‘No more pain, no more anger, and no more hate.’
‘Thank you for the opportunity,’ said Rednik.
The candidates for the upcoming election were taking the opportunity to mingle with the community. Despite the recent events, it appeared the Adoy residents were more comfortable with the incumbent representatives than the other candidates. The tone of the evening better suited their politics.
The next day, Janice decided she needed to visit Denise. Denise was in her cell playing video games. The guard knocked on her door to inform her that she had a visitor. Denise quickly saved and then turned off the game. Then she sat at her table.
The guard came in with a tray of cakes and pastries, as well as two glasses of juice. Janice entered soon afterwards.
‘Hey Janice, it’s good to see you again,’ said Denise.
‘It’s good to see you too,’ said Janice. ‘I assume you know about the train crash.’
‘I was told by my counsellor,’ said Denise.
‘Demarcus was on that train,’ said Janice as her eyes watered a little.
‘I’m so sorry. That is terrible,’ responded Denise.
‘We’ve had a lot of tragedies in our region this year,’ said Janice. Denise nodded. ‘I’ve been angry with you for a long time,’ said Janice. ‘It’s no good. We can’t hang on to the past. We need to move on.’ Denise nodded again. ‘You need to have a life,’ said Janice. ‘I started a petition to have your assessment pushed forward.’
‘Oh wow, that’s an amazing thing for you to do for me,’ said Denise.
‘I’ve visited you several times now,’ said Janice. ‘You’re not bad. You just made some mistakes. Everyone deserves a second chance. Especially someone as young as you.’
‘Thank you,’ replied Denise.
‘I have some other news that is not so good,’ said Janice. ‘Darius is missing.’
‘Did he run away?’ asked Denise.
‘No,’ replied Janice, ‘he went to Jeed for rehabilitation.’
‘What happened in Jeed?’ asked Denise.
‘There was a bad fire. It was set by the specialist taking care of Darius,’ replied Janice.
‘Why not go to Jeed and look for him?’ asked Denise.
‘They locked down the region,’ replied Janice.
‘When was the last time Darius contacted you?’ asked Denise.
‘Over a week ago,’ replied Janice. ‘He said he was happy and was going to stay in Jeed.’
‘When was the fire?’ asked Denise.
‘It was yesterday,’ replied Janice.
Denise paused for a moment. Janice looked at her. ‘What are you thinking?’ asked Janice.
‘I’m thinking something else is going on here,’ replied Denise. ‘Darius would have made contact with you once he heard about the train crash.’
‘Darius has not been himself recently,’ said Janice.
‘Doesn’t matter. Darius loved his brother,’ said Denise. ‘I’m thinking the specialist has something to do with his disappearance.’
‘She died in the fire,’ said Janice.
‘Then we don’t have much time,’ said Denise.
After visiting Denise, Janice called the Ripe Company, Adoy representatives, and Jeed representatives. Jacob helped by searching online. Neither could obtain any information about Darius.
‘Still nothing,’ said Jacob.
‘I’m not giving up,’ said Janice.
‘What more can we do?’ said Jacob. ‘We can’t travel there because it’s locked down.’
‘We have one other possibility,’ replied Janice.
Janice and Jacob went to the Enforcer Department. They reached the front desk.
‘I would like to speak with Commander Rednik,’ asked Janice.
‘Do you have an appointment?’ asked the enforcer at the desk.
‘No,’ said Janice, ‘this is urgent.’
Rednik saw Janice at the desk. He rushed over to her. ‘Can I help you?’ he asked.
‘Yes, definitely,’ replied Janice.
Rednik escorted Janice to his office. Janice explained her problem to him. Rednik promised he would do whatever he could, but he explained to her the problems of dealing with enforcers from other regions.
Janice asked if he would visit Jeed in person. At first, Rednik hesitated. Eventually, he agreed he would go in person if he could not get the enforcers in Jeed to cooperate through calls. Janice felt a little comforted by his commitment to do something. She went home to explain to Jacob what she had achieved so far.
Once Janice had left, Rednik called the Head Enforcer of Jeed. Unfortunately, the enforcers he reached at the other end refused to put him through to the Head Enforcer or even the Commander.
Rednik decided an in-person visit was necessary. Rednik checked the train schedule. Unfortunately, the line from the east side of Jeed was still closed for repair. However, he could access Jeed from the west side if he took the mountain route and then changed trains in the Tarrus Region. He knew that before he could leave, he would need permission from his Head Enforcer.
The next day, Rednik went to see the Head Enforcer to explain his desire to visit Jeed. He explained to the Head Enforcer that he desired to help in Jeed. He believed his experience with the recent events in Adoy would be of great help to them.
Initially, the Head Enforcer was not too enthusiastic about the suggestion. However, upon further reflection, he believed that if the Adoy enforcers helped out, it could get him back on the path to promotion again.
The Head Enforcer called the Jeed Head Enforcer. He did not have a problem contacting him. They discussed the problems in both Jeed and Adoy. After a brief call, the Head Enforcer authorised Rednik to go to Jeed. He was to leave the next day.
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