CHAPTER NINE
THE AWARD GOES TO…
Before Howard went to bed last night, he put out a request to all of the followers of his blog to set up a picket line at curing tests all over the country and all over the world.
“Now is the time for us to strike. It’s time to let them know that they aren’t wanted here on Earth, that they aren’t needed here on Earth.”
As the sun rose, there were two groups of people at the New York curing tent. There was a line of people waiting for the cure-all. The other line stood in front of the patients preventing them from entering the tent, with Howard leading the way.
Police were called in to disperse the picketers. They refused to budge. They threatened to use tear gas on the picketers. Still, they refused to budge.
Likewise, the same was going on in Miami, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Milwaukee. Also, boycotts were taking place in Moscow, Sao Paulo, Beijing, Sydney, Cairo, Athens, Berlin, and London.
The Qadarians addressed the picket lines. They continued to say that they didn’t instigate the attack on Joseph Maddox. The crowd refused to believe them.
Per Howard’s request, they didn’t physically attack the Qadarians, just set up a line of resistance. In time, the lines were opened up, and those wanting the cure-all could obtain it.
The picketers didn’t leave. They stayed all day long, educating those in need of the cure-all of the intentions of its distributor.
In Washington, Congress confirmed what the President and President-elect had said a few days ago. The radical economic plan the Qadarians offered would never pass the Senate or the House of Representatives.
During the night, Bartholomew was transported to Guantanamo Bay to face further interrogation.
Inside the cube, the twenty-four enjoyed their breakfast and lunch, oblivious to the drama outside. They all took turns holding Adam and Eve.
“Good day all,” Levi said. “I hoped you liked our taste of Qadaris yesterday. Today, we want to know what you consider to be a great achievement in your life.”
“My mom raised me and my three brothers by herself in a two-bedroom trailer in Louisiana,” Neveah said. “I was the first member of our family to go to college.
“My mom had to drop out of school to raise us. Her brothers and sisters didn’t go to college.
“I worked my butt off to get good enough grades to get accepted. And when I got in, I continued to work my butt off to be as successful as I could be.
“To thank her for everything she did for me, I bought her a house.”
“Since I came back from Iraq,” Brody said, “I have been very active with Toys for Tots every Christmas. In fact, I was preparing to play Santa on their float in the Las Vegas Christmas Parade.
“To me, that is more of an accomplishment than my Combat Action Ribbon, my Meritorious Service Medal, my Bronze Star, or my Purple Heart.”
“For months, I had trained to run the New York City Marathon,” Chloe said. “A few weeks ago, I got my chance to run it.
“I had ran marathons before and failed, but this was in my hometown. I couldn’t fail. I wouldn’t fail.
“And I didn’t fail. I struggled around mile seventeen, but I pushed through. Around mile twenty-three, I got my fourth wind.
“When I saw the finish line, I sprinted with every last bit of energy I had left and finished. My husband scooped my up in his arms and carried me to the medical tent just to make sure I was okay.
“Next year, I’m planning on talking him into running it with me.”
“Nine years ago,” Scott said, “one of my students came up to me after class. He mentioned to me that he was trying something in November called NaNoWriMo.
“I asked him, ‘What is NaNoWriMo?’
“‘It stands for National Novel Writing Month,’ he said. ‘It is a challenge to writers to write a fifty thousand word novel in the thirty days of November.’
“I had an idea for a novel for years, but I never had the motivation to write it. He challenged me to try it. I accepted his challenge.
“As a child, I loved watching John Wayne and Clint Eastwood westerns. My dad loved reading books by Louis L’Amour, and he got me hooked on them.
“I looked over those old books for inspiration for mine. I built my idea and outlined my book.
“When November 1 came, I started writing. I had my good days and my bad days. By midnight on December 1, I had more than fifty thousand words.
“By NaNoWriMo 2006, my book was revised and approved for publication. I have tried it every year since. I haven’t finished each year, but that isn’t the point. It’s about getting the creative juices flowing.”
“Every year, the firehouse makes a calendar, with all proceeds going to a different charity,” Michael said. “This year, the charity was the halfway house for battered women. With last year being my first year with the unit, I wasn’t sure if I would be included.
“They actually approached me and asked me if I would pose. I wanted to do it, but, at first, I was offended. They wanted me to be in the November picture.
“I agreed to do it on the condition that it be done tastefully. I didn’t want to wear the savage costume they wanted me to wear at the Thanksgiving table. We adjusted the costume to please all.
“I had a number of women ask me to sign my picture. Apparently, they liked it, too.”
“Not everyone can say they got to meet the President,” Francis said, “but I can.
“When the Vietnam War ended, President Ford invited a number of military personnel to the white House. Among them were the crew of the USS Hanson.
“I wore my dress blues. I got to shake his hand.”
“I stand by my beliefs,” Jessica said. “I refuse to take off my clothes on camera. I refuse to smoke on camera. And I refuse to drink alcohol on camera.
“I know I’m a role model to girls all over the world, and I want to set a positive example. I believe you can do anything you set your mind to, and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t.
“Like, when I made That’s What Friends Are For, I asked if I could sing a remake of the title track that Dionne Warwick made famous. They not only said I could, but they made it a duet with Jesse Youso, the singer who finished third on American Idol back in 2013.
“It reached number one on the Billboard Charts. How is that for being a positive role model?”
“My son struggled with his grades all through school,” Benjamin said. “He was always good in math, but had problems with English and history.
“We had him tested and discovered he was dyslexic. We got him help so that he could overcome this learning deficit.
“When he got his first report card his freshman year, I couldn’t have been prouder of him. He got straight A’s.”
“In Denver, we understand how important community is,” Dennis said. “As the Bible says, ‘Love thy neighbor’.
“That is why a few years ago, we decided to donate half of our offering from the third Sunday of every month to the Denver Soup Kitchen to feed the needy.
“To date, we have contributed over thirty-one thousand dollars. To us, that is a major accomplishment.”
“My mother died from breast cancer five years ago,” Robin said. “I had to watch her suffer through months of chemotherapy. She wasted away to nothing. And I was helpless.
“Shortly after her death, I joined the Milwaukee chapter of the American Cancer society. I organized Relay for Life walks to raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness.
“Someday, we will find a cure for this epidemic. Until that day, I will do whatever it takes to enlighten people of this killer and raise money to find a cure.”
Too bad she couldn’t contact the outside world. She would know her job was done. Levi chose not to tell her about the cure-all.
“I was part of my high school’s first ever state championship,” Travis said. “We worked so hard to get there.
“Our first playoff win was against the number one seed in our region. It to
ok everything we had to beat them and every second on the clock, but we moved on to the next round.
“A few more wins later, we were regional champions. After a few more hard-fought games, we were Oregon state champions in football.”
“I originally opened my daycare center as a means for mothers who couldn’t afford daycare could drop off their kids and make a living,” Luisa said. “I know just how tough it is.
“My mom had to work to put food on the table for us. She couldn’t afford to drop us off at a daycare center. Her only option was relatives.
“I knew this daycare center would benefit not only the parents so they can earn enough to keep their family safe, but also the kids. They would have a safe place to play and to learn.
“If the parents could afford to pay, they did. If they couldn’t, I still would take their kids. No one was turned away.
“Last summer, the Houston Chamber of Commerce came and gave me an award for my selfless service to the community.”
“In my years on the force,” Wyatt said, “I have been involved in a number of arrests. Some were simple; others not so much.
“But I have only received one commendation. My partner and I were called in to handle a bank robbery and hostage situation. We were the first at the scene.
“Our main concern was the safety of the hostages. We worked with a negotiator to get them to release at least one, as an act of good faith.
“Meanwhile, we had someone looking over the plans for the bank, trying to find a way inside that the robbers didn’t know about. It wasn’t pretty, but there was a way in via an opening in the floor. It meant sludging through the sewers of Chicago.
“It had to be done. The robbers were becoming more hostile. My partner and I descended into the sewer. They talked us to the entrance.
“We came up through a panel in the women’s restroom. Our goal wasn’t to kill the robbers because there was a risk of hitting a hostage. All we had to do was to get everyone outside where the additional forces would apprehend them.
“We rolled in a couple of smoke canisters. As the room filled with smoke, we put air masks on. We helped guide the hostages to the main door.
“My partner accidentally guided a robber and was shot in the leg. The other robbers started shooting. Fortunately, we had already gotten most of the hostages out.
“I fired in the direction of the shooting. This was the first time in my life that I had killed another human being, but I had to. It was either him or me.
“I walked out unscathed. My partner was okay. After a few weeks of recovery, he returned to the force.”
“My sophomore year, I saw limited playing time on my high school basketball team,” Marc said. “I knew to play more, I had to do more. I had to work hard to make myself better.
“At the tryouts, coach was impressed at my audition. We had lost a couple of starters to graduation. And I was able to win one of those starting positions.
“I wasn’t the leading scorer on the team, nor the leading rebounder. I didn’t lead the team in steals or assists, but I was a contributor in most of our games.
“In a vote by my coach and teammates, they voted me the Most Improved Player. This meant a lot to me. This meant that all of my hard work to get better paid off.
“I continued improving my game and would probably have won Most Valuable Player my senior year if I hadn’t gotten hurt.”
“After Jack bought my painting,” Barbara said, “my work got better and better. I sold a few more paintings.
“I also entered more into competitions. I took home some fourth places, some third places, and even second, but I never took home the blue ribbon.
“Jack never gave up on me. He knew I had that one magical painting in me.
“For him, I dug deep within myself and found that painting. I entered it in the biggest art competition of the year in Columbus. And I finally took home that first place award. My one big trophy on a mantle of small ones.
“I refused to sell that piece. That was one of the few things Jack let me take when he kicked me out. Actually, I was taking that whether he let me or not.
“After that, I no longer painted for awards and prizes. I painted for the sheer fun of it. I sold a few more, but there was no more stress.”
That night, the Qadarians treated the twenty-four to a pot roast dinner. It was served with mashed potatoes, broccoli and buttered noodles.
After dinner, Michael walked Twyla and the twins back to her bed. The two of them have gotten much friendlier since the birth. At the bed, the two shared their first kiss.
Some of the others stayed and played games. Others went to bed early. Benjamin and Tracy were sharing a bed once again for the first time since their confessions.
In Guantanamo Bay, Bartholomew was being tortured by the guards. They demanded that he say why he attacked Joseph. He continued to give the same response, that his fellow Qadarian was attacked first. They refused to believe him.
Before he left New York, Howard issued an ultimatum. He demanded that Bartholomew be publicly executed, to show the Qadarians that we wouldn’t be pushed around. If Bartholomew lived to see another sunrise, things would be worse tomorrow.
As he got home, he checked his blog. It had reached over a million followers. He made a post to the blog.
“Today went great. Phase One showed them that we don’t want them here. But justice hasn’t been served, for Bartholomew lives.
“If he still lives in the morning, we must take our actions to the next level. If they won’t leave by choice, we must force them to leave. Tomorrow, either we win, or we go to war.”