299 Days: The Collapse

Chapter 64 “Why are you hurting us?” (May 7)

The morning after the first neighborhood meeting, Nancy Ringman was going around to each house trying to convince them that they needed to go along with her plan of looking to the police to secure the neighborhood. Nancy, of course, would coordinate all of it. She found many of the people receptive to her no-guns message. But they were questioning whether it really made sense not having an armed guard at the entrance to the Cedars subdivision.

By now, things were starting to get out of hand in Olympia. People were slowly starting to react to everything going on around them. Shelves in the grocery stores were getting bare. People were arguing in the parking lots and in lines. Some had even seen some fights. The lines at gas stations were becoming long and unruly. A rumor was spreading about someone in the neighborhood being shot during an argument at the gas station.

Nancy had one more cul-de-sac of households to talk to before the meeting later that night. It was Grant Matson’s. She was getting tired. She hadn’t slept a full night’s sleep in two days; the excitement of these events kept her awake. She kept having the feeling that finally the good people like her would be in charge. Finally.

Nancy had run out of her anti-depressant, Prozac, when all of this started. “Anti-depressant” was a misleading term, she thought. The Prozac didn’t make her feel less depressed; it helped her get along with people. It curbed what her doctor had politely termed her “aggressive impulses.” Without it, she was mean. Really mean. She didn’t have time to go get a prescription filled right now. There was a crisis and the neighborhood was depending on her for leadership.

Most of the people in the neighborhood were weaklings, Nancy thought. She needed a little extra meanness to lead people. It’s called leadership, she told herself. She’d been mean her whole life and got a lot accomplished that way. People were wimps and needed someone to tell them what to do, she had found.

Nancy’s phone vibrated. It was a text from Brenda, a former co-worker at the State Auditor’s Office. It’s first few letters were “POI!!!” It said that the Governor had created a list called “Persons of Interest” and had a link. The text went on: “Grant Matson is on it!!! He’s POI!” She looked at the link, which loaded very slowly on her phone. She looked at the background on what the POI list was. Fabulous!

Grant Matson was officially a terrorist and a wanted man. Nancy was standing outside his house now. Finally, her government was doing something about people like Grant Matson. Finally, the cavalry had shown up. She was part of the solution to all of this chaos. She would help the effort by going to his house and finding out where he was hiding. She felt a surge of adrenaline. It felt so fabulous. She loved a good fight. Especially against a teabagger like Grant Matson and his obnoxiously pretty doctor wife.

Nancy felt so alive. She confidently walked right up to the Matson’s door and knocked on it. It took a while for someone to answer. She saw Grant’s wife looking through the blinds before she opened it.

“Yes,” Lisa said. “Can I help you?” She vaguely recognized Nancy as someone from the neighborhood.

“Oh, yeah, you can help me,” Nancy said in a very excited voice. Then Nancy yelled, “Where is that terrorist piece of shit husband of yours?”

Lisa was scared. What was this “terrorist” thing? And why was this woman yelling at her? Lisa could tell that Nancy was agitated like some of the people that came into the ER.

“What?” Lisa asked. “And please keep your voice down. My children are here,” she said firmly.

“I don’t give a shit who’s home, except Grant Matson,” Nancy yelled. “You need to tell me where he is. He’s on the POI list and I’m here to find out where he’s hiding.”

“POI list?” Lisa said. “What’s that?”

“The Governor’s ‘Persons of Interest’ list,” Nancy said with a sneer. Grant’s pretty little wife wasn’t nearly as well informed as Nancy was. “It’s a wanted list of terrorists like your right-wing asshole husband. That’s what. So where is he, bitch?”

Lisa couldn’t believe someone was talking to her that way. “What did you just call me?”

“Bitch,” Nancy said, flatly. “Where is Grant Matson?” Nancy paused for effect, “bitch.” She loved this. She had hated Grant Matson for so long, and now she could finally get even.

Lisa turned from being shocked to furious. She tried to slam the door in Nancy’s face, but Nancy had put her foot in the door.

Nancy screamed, “Nice try, bitch. Let me in right now!”

The kids came out of their rooms and were at the top of the stairs, watching the commotion at the front door. Manda wanted to help. She grabbed Cole by the hand and they ran downstairs to help their mom against this crazy lady at the front door.

Lisa and Nancy struggled with the door. Finally Nancy, in a burst of adrenaline strength, pushed the door open and knocked Lisa down.

Thirteen year old autistic Cole lunged at Nancy. She pushed him back and knocked him to the ground hard. Really hard.

Cole hit the ground and cried out, “Why are you hurting us?”

Those words rang out. Why are you hurting us?

That did it for Lisa. Instantly, everything became clear. This was a war. No one hurts my kids, especially my innocent little Cole, she thought. Who was this violent bitch trying to break into her house? Lisa realized that she was in a fight. Not just with Nancy but with all of them. Things were not normal. People like Nancy had gone insane and were trying to hurt her and her family. Nancy hated Grant for some political reasons that were stupid. Instead of thinking “this can’t be happening,” right at that instant, Lisa realized it was happening, and she needed to take care of her family or something unthinkable would happen.

She jumped toward Nancy. Lisa was a runner and in great shape. She could take this fat baby boomer bitch who hurt Cole. She planted her shoulder in Nancy’s chest and knocked her down, then she started punching Nancy. Lisa felt her fists starting to hurt; she was totally out of control. She was fighting for her kids. She was beating the shit out of the crazy woman who was trying to break into their house.

Manda ran upstairs to get her revolver. She had to do something to help. She got the gun case out of her closet and opened the combination lock. She ran down the stairs with the gun in her hand.

By the time Manda got halfway down the stairs, she could see her mom had the crazy woman pinned to the ground and was punching her in the face. Manda thought her mom might kill the woman. Manda just watched, ready to shoot the woman if she got up. She saw Cole lying on the ground crying near the door. Manda grabbed him and took him into the nearby bathroom to keep him safe. Things were happening so fast. Manda went back to the entryway and saw her mom was standing over the woman. Her mom’s hands were bleeding and she was breathing heavy.

Lisa caught her breath and yelled, “Get out of my house, bitch!” She kicked Nancy. “Get out. If you come back, I’ll kick your ass again. Never hurt my son. Never. Get out before I get my gun.”

Nancy got up. She was afraid of getting shot. She ran out of the house. Those Matsons were crazy. Violent. No wonder he was a terrorist on the POI list. Nancy ran down the driveway and across the street to the Spencer’s house. She was yelling for someone to call 911. Sherri Spencer came out to see what was wrong. Nancy was bloodied and bruised, and told Sherri that Lisa Matson had beaten her. Sherri ran over to the Matsons.

Sherri saw Lisa, with blood on her hands, and yelled, “What’s going on? Are you OK?”

Lisa was catching her breath. “Nancy Ringman tried to break into my house. She hurt Cole. She’s crazy. She started hitting me. I fought back. She’s crazy.”

This was too much for Sherri. Her neighbors, two professional women, were fist fighting each other? That made no sense.

Lisa realized that she might have committed a crime. Not really, since it was self defense, but she realized that Nancy would claim that Lisa attacked her with a sword or something nuts like that.

Lisa yelled to Sherri, “Watch out. Nancy is crazy. Go protect your kids. She’s got something wrong with her. Go! Now.” Sherri ran back home.

Lisa heard Cole crying in the bathroom and ran in there to comfort him. “Don’t worry, lil’ guy, the bad lady is gone. She won’t be back.”

Cole looked at her and asked again, “Why are they hurting us?” That struck Lisa. Why are they hurting us? Why? Lisa wondered that herself. Why was a neighbor coming over to scream and fight and try to arrest her husband? Things were not normal.

Lisa knew what she had to do. She went downstairs and found that scrap of paper with the Korean cop’s phone number on it. They needed to get out of here. Things were crazy. There would be more Nancys and probably police now that Grant was on some terrorist list. There was no more “normal.”