Resurrected Soldiers: The Tyrus Chronicle - Book Three by Joshua P. Simon

thinking. “He’s an idiot, you know.”
    Ava swore silently. Now I’m going to have to explain what I mean by that.
    She waited for Damaris to make a comment reassuring her that Tyrus was not an idiot, but instead the woman said, “I’m sure you have good reasons for thinking so.”
    That took Ava back. As did the silence that followed.
    She’s giving me the opportunity to explain myself if I want to talk, or to let the comment go if I don’t.
    Ava chose the latter without any protest from Damaris.
    I like this woman more and more.
    They walked through the courtyard, toward the old barracks.
    “Is your Pa ready to stop giving Rezub so much leeway?” Ava asked.
    “He’s just trying to be fair to everyone,” she said quickly in defense.
    Ava sighed. Another thing Tyrus had asked of her was to help Sivan lead the group in his absence. That hadn’t been going very well either.
    Is anything?
    “He’s ex-military. He should know that being fair is a great idea, but rarely works. He needs to firmly take charge and do what’s right, not what will make everyone happy. Nothing wrong with giving everyone a chance to speak, but giving others a chance to speak doesn’t mean we have to entertain what they say. Do what’s right, not popular.”
    “You sound like you got it figured out.”
    “Not much to figure out. You watched Tyrus. That’s how he led and it worked. Why change?”
    She shrugged. “You could always take control outright.”
    “No one wants me completely in charge. Better I just support your father.”
    “You mean you don’t want to lead.”
    There was a hint of an accusation in Damaris’s tone that took Ava by surprise. Yet, she couldn’t argue because it was true.
    “No, I don’t. Leading small squads with a given objective is one thing, a large group with everything on my shoulders is another. That’s Tyrus’s thing.”
    “Only Tyrus isn’t here. . . .” She paused. “And I think you’re right. Father needs to stop trying to make everyone happy. He’s losing control of the group to Rezub because he has too kind of a heart.”
    She chuckled. “So you’re saying that I don’t have a kind heart?”
    “No.” She blushed. “It’s just . . . I don’t know.”
    Curse you Balak for taking my brother away.
    She entered the barracks quickly. They were the last to arrive at the meeting. Everyone else, more than sixty men and women, sat or stood in a half circle facing the small fire burning in a wood stove at the back wall. Heads turned as they entered. Expressions on those faces ran the gamut—some blank and indifferent, some angry from waiting, and a few surprisingly happy.
    Happy to see me, or just happy the meeting can finally begin?
    Sivan stood near the wood stove, facing the group. He and Ava exchanged respectful nods. It looked as though something ate at him.
    Maybe taking over command would be doing him a favor. Though no favor for me.
    “I think we’re ready,” said Sivan.
    Rezub, the former mayor of Denu Creek, was not a physically imposing man, skinny and at most five and a half feet. However, he still held sway over the group thanks to his old position. He spoke with that knowledge. “Can we make this the last of these meetings? We already know what the majority believes. We should—”
    The impatience in his voice was obvious and deliberate, no doubt representing a majority who disliked the minority hampering their ability to move forward with a set course of action.
    Sivan met the mayor’s eyes. “Be quiet, Rezub. They are wrong.”
    The declaration took Ava back. Most of the group wanted to stay at the outpost since it contained a working well of fresh water. They believed it best to cultivate the overgrown garden while catching and raising the wild rabbits for food. This opinion was fueled by the desire to stay off the road. Months of hard travel full of a wealth of trials and tribulations left many afraid to start the process over, scared of what hell they might