Chapter 29: Mayor Max
Max created a cleanup crew, and in a few weeks all the bodies and remains of destruction were removed and everything looked like it once had before. Except for the wall. It was removed. Max immediately destroyed it when they returned from freeing the prisoners. George had begged him to keep it up, but Max insisted he wanted the town to be as open as possible.
After time had passed and the town was back to normal Max held a memorial service for all of those who died in the battle. Everyone in the town came to the memorial, even those who had not once lived there. Max read off the names of every man and woman who were killed in the battles against the Red Death, and he decided to read Clay’s name last. As he said Clay's name, his body shook and tears started to flow from his eyes. He managed to say, “Clay was a great soldier and an even better person. I met Clay just a month or two ago, and I have never in my life cared more about a human being. When I first saw Clay he was just a boy shooting at a target range, he reminded me of myself in some sort of way. After a couple of days of training Clay earned the position of being in charge of group A, because of his battle tactics, leadership, and excellent aim. Need I remind you the boy was only twelve years old, but he had more courage in the palm of his hand than all of us. He saved our town the very first night the Red Death attacked us, and I wish it would have been me who died and not him." Max wiped his tears and told everyone to be back tomorrow for their new job applications.
After the speech Rock, Katherine, and George all came to Max's side. "We know it won't be easy to ever forget about Clay. But you need to know that you did the right thing, he would be proud of you Max," Rock assured him. Katherine gave him a long hug, and George stood with tears in his eyes. "I cared a lot about that boy too, Max, he was more of a man then I could ever be." "It's alright George, you're a hell of a man. I'm glad I've always had you by my side, you believed in me when I didn't believe in myself."
They all shook each other's hands, hugged each other and went back home. Max told Katherine he wanted some alone time tonight and she understood. Max went back to his parent’s house where they greeted him and offered him some dinner. But Max told them he just wanted to go up to his room. "We understand Max, what you’ve accomplished is beyond what we could ever have imagined. And your eulogy for everyone who died, and especially for Clay, was amazing today. We love you," his mother told him and he thanked her for everything and slowly crept up to his room.
Max went behind his bed and removed the second floorboard. He saw the glass bottle with a little piece of paper inside of it, but the words had changed. It now read, “You have fulfilled your purpose Max, you have saved the people." Max was pleased, but confused, too. He had saved the people, but now what was his purpose supposed to be? He whispered to himself, “What now? What should I do now? The Red Death is defeated, the people now have freedom, and all of those prisoners were saved."
Max looked at the paper again and now it was blank. He started to become filled with anger and yelled out, “What's my purpose now?" Words then began appearing on the paper, “It is now your turn to find out Max, just like everyone else." The paper vanished and Max sat still in his room. He was puzzled by all of this, but now he wasn’t angry, instead he was relieved.
Tomorrow he would give everyone their new jobs and start school again for the younger kids. He started to brainstorm ideas for new laws, and would have the people vote on which ones they wanted. Max lay in his bed trying to calm down. "You did it Max, now your future rests in your own hands." Max shook around his pillow finding the right place to put it under his head, and then he went to sleep.
He got up early the next morning and went downstairs where he found his mother, who had already started to make breakfast. "Mom, can I get some paper and a pen?" "Sure Max, go right over to the drawer, there should be some in there." Max strutted over there and saw the picture of his sister Betty and him hugging one another. He smiled, but didn't let his mom see he was looking at it. He grabbed the pen and paper and started writing quickly. He wrote down over fifty laws and before he knew it, he had to be over to the Town Hall. He ran out the door with some toast in his hand eating as he ran.
He got over there quickly and saw George and Rock already there before him. "I wrote down some new laws guys if you want to check these out." He handed them both the papers and they scanned every law. "These look pretty good Max, when did you have the time to come up with all of these?" George asked him. "This very morning, I wrote every single thing." They waited for everybody to file into the Town Hall and take their seat. After everyone sat down Max shushed them down and spoke.
"Good morning to everyone, I hope you all slept well. But now to the real topic at hand, I wrote down fifty laws this morning all about the rules and guidelines for the town. All of the old laws will be changed and these will be put in place immediately. Still, I want all of the citizens to vote and see if you all feel these laws are fair."
Rock and George then passed out ballots and pencils to everyone. "How did you make these?" Max whispered to them.
"Let's just say Rock and I have a little secret." George replied laughing. Max didn't bug them about it and in just about ten minutes everyone had filled out their ballots. They counted every vote, and every single person agreed with Max regarding the new laws.
"Well as it turns out, not one person disagreed with any of the new laws. I did try to make them fair, and good for the people. As you can see from the ballots every person will be given money. You get money by working, the harder you work, the more you can get. And money means you can buy what you want." Max went on explaining to the people all about work and different schedules. He also talked about the new school system and that if you wanted a job you had to go to school first. Finally, Max stated that everyone will start with an equal playing field, but if you want to be the best and make the most money you have to work the hardest.
This is the story of Mayor Max who changed the town, the one who saved everyone from destruction. He wrote this book over one hundred years ago and made all of the new laws and plans that are still in place today. Max and Katherine were eventually married and had three kids. They were all very successful and helped their father, and continued to run the town when he had passed. Rock and George lived very fulfilling lives. They were in charge of the police force, and helped Max with the government. After several years of rebuilding, new towns spread out across the world, and they, too, were governed by the same laws. Max lived for over a hundred years and was loved by everyone. The book he wrote is about the lessons he learned and the friends he made along the way. The real reason he wrote everything down was so people could realize that even the best don't always know their purpose, and it’s their journey to find it.
The End
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About the author:
Oliver Zettas is an eighteen year old high school senior in Denver, Colorado. He was inspired to write this book while in Houston, Texas. He enjoys many athletic activities, and is currently playing varsity basketball. This is his first published book, but will not be his last.
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