C1 Billy Wild

It was Christmas Eve. Billy Wild pushed his shopping cart down the Post Street hill. He wore a faded black cape he found in a Dumpster to hide his rags. The streets were empty, the apartments

dark, except for a few Christmas trees in the windows.

Billy Wild was familiar with this comfortable district, more than anyone would expect of a middle-aged man with a ratty beard, hunched over a shopping cart, piled with a jumble of unrelated items. The surreal mound was draped with an American flag. The Young Zealots handed them out on the Fourth of July. To refuse might indi- cate a lack of patriotism. Billy accepted the flag with humble appre-

ciation and went on his way.

The Young Zealots were everywhere on the streets now. They

emerged as the youth wing of the Palin Party after Sarah’s second election. They usually walked through the city, handing out small American flags on sticks as well as buttons with photos of Palin, aglow, as always, with the Sarah Smile.

Citizens accepted these gifts from the Young Zealots with the same loony smiles that accompanied all public greetings now.

Throughout her campaign, Palin claimed she could put the Sarah Smile on the face of any American citizen. And she did! Optimism was everywhere. There seemed to be nothing but hope in the air. But about what, nobody knew.

It was more about fear of showing doubt. That reflected a lack of belief. Frowns were unpatriotic. Citizens who appeared unpatri- otic could be called in for questioning. Citizens could disappear.

It all began with the Palin Plan.

The Palin Plan was built on an agenda that would restore America as an economic powerhouse. “As sure as I’m standing here!” Palin exclaimed while sitting at her desk in the Oval Office.

The Palin Plan easily passed, with a call for patriotic fervor, when she bellowed from the Senate podium, “We can’t have these sulky sappy citizens for selfishness screwing everything up for every- body else! I’m an American!”

The senators from both parties rose to their feet. Members of the House joined them from the galleries. Crowds, organized by the Young Zealots, roared beneath the public monitors at every street corner.

In quick succession, the Social Security System was eliminated. Medicare was rebranded as a socialist indulgence and eliminated. National healthcare was abandoned. Social services were abandoned. Unions were outlawed. Pensions were quickly cut to nothing and then disappeared with no explanation. Finally, unemployment bene- fits were deemed a threat to business growth.

“You get what you work for in this country!” President Palin told the press. “Handouts are for sissies!”

After that, people were terrified of appearing unhappy, lest something else be taken away from them.

Then came the internal terrorist attacks. Thousands died. President Palin declared a state of emergency. National security made it necessary to expand the military and triple the budget for Homeland Security.

Billy stopped at the corner of Leavenworth, across the street from the Olympic Club. The Olympic Club was a haven for blueb- loods. A line of limos waited in front.

Fog was pouring down the hill, almost obliterating the build- ings ahead. Even the Olympic Club was shrouded in a soft white mist. He admired its imposing brick façade and the dimly lit state- room windows.

A small statue of a black owl stood on the ledge at the corner of the first floor. Identical black owls sat on a ledge at the corner of all four buildings at the intersection.

Billy made sure to count the owls every day. He counted each one twice and then divided by two. The four were still in place.

Billy was convinced the configuration comprised a code of some kind. If one was ever missing, Billy was certain the world would end. That’s the only thing anybody ever talked about these days anyway. At least the people he came across.

The end of the world was the only thing that could save them from the long, slow holocaust that was taking place. But it had all been lost for Billy long before.

It had all been lost on another Christmas Eve, when he received a pink slip from Chauncey Gibbons.