Seeing the fires in the Topanga State Park from the 405 got me worried. I asked Melody to give Daphne a call.

       "Daphne, this is Melody. We're on our way back and saw the fires. Are you okay?"

       "I am now, but we're all exhausted."

       "Fire?"

       "Yes, two nights ago."

       "What happened?"

       "We went to bed worried because the windmill went to idle because of the high winds and the solar panels were rattling trying to break loose. Haven’t had winds like that since the hurricane. The smell of smoke in the air grew stronger every hour.

       "My bedroom has those huge windows overlooking the reserve and about 2 am I sensed something that woke me up and it was an orange glow in the east that was surreal. It looked like a fireball and I could feel the heat already. I called Wondah and she sent out the alarm to everyone.

       "By that time, embers were flying over us and we were all scrambling to put them out when they landed in the yards where there was dry grass. Fortunately, our cows and the bull had eaten most of the dry grass.

       "It was worse here, so some of the youngsters from the compound came to my rescue with buckets to put out the embers that were landing everywhere in the backyard using the water from the pool.

       "I was using the garden hose to wet down the walls to keep the fire from coming over them. For a while, the servant quarters by the back gate was threatened but we all pitched in and got that fire out.

       "If our buildings hadn't had tile clay roofs and stucco covered sides, we would have lost several buildings. As it was we only lost a couple of sheds and backyard burned areas that we put out when it was finally over about 8 o'clock in the morning."

       Melody acknowledged. "I feel bad that we weren't there to help out, but I'm glad that you were able to handle it. We are seeing a lot of homes still burning. And many more burned-out."

       Melody and I looked at each other after she hung up.

       I shook my head and said. "If it weren't for those who stayed back, we might be coming home to nothing." It was a sobering thought.

       Thankfully, the closer we got to the port, the less we saw burned-out or burning buildings. Unfortunately, when we passed the airport that we had seen many times going back and forth from the compound to the port, the terminal was burning.

       Damn! I thought, I always wanted to fly.

Thinking about how Derek and I had flown aerial surveys for construction projects and even, once, flew out to visit Gramps because his dad flew small planes. I drove those thoughts from my mind to what we would find at the port. I hoped, nothing new.       

    The first place we stopped was to drop off Morgan and then head down to the fish market to drop off the live animals I had and the frozen meat that the refrigerated truck had to Van and Quoc to distribute to the community.

       They wanted us to stick around for a seafood party, but we had to decline, needing to get back to the compound to see what damage the fire had caused.

       But before we left, we got a call from Morgan.

       "We've got a situation. You remember that heavily tattooed woman we took into our jail? Well, my guys fed the three women with metal utensils. After they ate, that woman took a fork and they didn't notice. In the middle of the night, while the other two were asleep, she apparently held them down with her hand over their mouths and stabbed them in the neck repeatedly, initiating arterial bleeding one at a time.

       "When our guys checked them in the morning there was blood all over the place and all over her. She claimed…

       "I had to kill them; they were from rival gangs. They would have killed me… Given the chance."

       "That's terrible, Morgan. What do you suggest we do?"

       "I want to convene the judicial committee as soon as possible to see what they will want to do with the woman. I don't want her in the jail anymore. I don't want to give the men we have here any ideas."

       "I agree, Morgan. Let me know what the committee recommends."

       The judicial committee met that afternoon and decided to use the woman as an example. After a brief trial with gruesome picture evidence placed before a jury, the defendant was declared guilty of first-degree murder and the judge ordered her execution.     

       The next day all of the prisoners from the jail and the jail on the ship were brought to the rear of the ship. Where a crowd of people from the community had also gathered.

       Morgan had gathered a team of five volunteers for a firing squad all armed with AR-15s. They wore black masks and black long-sleeved hoodies like many criminals did for robberies so that they wouldn't be readily recognized.

       With the woman placed on the rail at the rear of the ship and asked whether she wanted to wear a blindfold or not, she refused. At that point, the judge read the order to execute, and, when given the signal by the sheriff, all five of the firing squad opened up at the same time firing a burst of rounds, literally tearing her apart.

       Just before they opened fire, she realized what was happening and screamed, "Noooo!" As bullets ripped her face off and the scream was halted before ever finished.

       The crowd watching gasped loudly at what they saw. Those detained with a front row seat could see what kind of justice they could expect if they were found to be a murderer. One reason why the justice committee wanted them to go back into the city and tell their gangs what they had seen. Five were released with food and water that very same day.

       The sheriff gave two of the male inmates rubber gloves and asked them to throw the woman's mangled body over the rail. An unceremonious burial at sea where the crabs and fishes were waiting for a meal. The blood would draw sharks. They could be seen in a feeding frenzy a few minutes later for those who saw.

       Two days later, with more volunteers and eight SWAT vehicles we continued our sweep to clear the area of gangs within a 20-mile radius of the port and our compound.

       As quickly as they came, the Santa Anas left and Ray, Derek, and I surveyed the hillsides behind the compound. It was remarkable how most of the wildlife seemed to have escaped and were actually foraging in the burned-out areas finding seeds and shoots that had been exposed by the fire along with dead bugs and worms that were easy to find and eat.

Copyright 2023 © Ronald W. Hull

11/6/23