The walk back to Bear Country with Jonas yesterday was so sad. He limped all the way back home. Lisa and I cleaned his wounds and made him something to eat. He didn't eat much. I'm not sure if it's because of his injuries or because of his mental anguish. I'm sure he was feeling. That fight was so incredibly real. I was expecting something less violent, but still attention-getting. The boys gave it their all, and they indeed did catch the attention of the central goons. I checked in on Jonas a couple times before going to bed last night. He insisted he didn't need anything. I haven't seen him yet this morning. I should probably stop by his room and make sure he's able to get out of bed. This whole thing is incredibly sad.

Madie

It's been a stressful day. Matt and Jonas fought at the plaza. It was a planned fight. I knew it was going to occur, but it was awful to watch. I'm uncertain which brother was injured the most. Both of my friends had bloody lips, cuts, and bruises. A couple of vendors are going to have to rebuild. Matt and Jonas crashed through their kiosks. It didn't take long for a crowd to develop. People began to cheer for one brother or the other. As the fight grew in intensity, a couple of the central goons arrived. They just stood back and watched. The fight ended as Matt pinned Jonas to the pavement. Some words were exchanged that I would rather not repeat. Then Matt released Jonas and stood up. Jonas struggled to his feet. He yelled at his brother that they were no longer brothers. I wanted to cry. After the show, the crowd dispersed as quickly as it had formed, except for the central goons. They were interested in Matt. I wasn't close enough to hear the conversation, but Matt left with the enemy.

Madie.

I think Tony has forgiven me. He stopped by my room in the Admin Hall yesterday. He asked if he could help with the Central Recon Mission. I guess this is his way of saying he's sorry for being mad at me. Last night, me, Tony, Matt, and Jonas went to the Central Campus to sneak around and gather information. The central campus is huge compared to bear country. It's incredible. As we snuck around, we saw only a handful of guards walking around the main building, the gym, and the field house. The rest of the school looked abandoned and not used. We scouted for a convenient place we could use to get intel in and out of the school. The STEM building was quiet, so we looked in a few of the broken windows, saw no lights, No people, no goons. We stumbled upon an unlocked door and decided to enter the building very cautiously. All the classrooms were trashed and empty. After wandering around, we decided the STEM building would be an excellent place to leave and retrieve messages. We left quietly. It was a successful mission. The next step is to actually get someone into the Central Bobcats.

Madie

Today I met with the leaders of our allies to discuss Xavier Boulder and his army of goons. I love community meetings. No, actually I don't, but sometimes they are a necessity. I am not a very good diplomat. I have trouble hiding my emotions. I always turn a bright shade of red when I get flustered. The thing I hate the most is that these meetings always end up loud and chaotic. Getting everyone to agree is always a challenge but I think we have a workable plan. We need to get a spy inside the central campus. I went to see Tony after the meeting. He is still angry with me. At first Tony pretended to be working on something and ignored me. I said I was sorry and that If I could bring back the runt, I would. Tony stopped what he was doing and threw a wrench across the room. He said I wasn't a very good friend. A friend is someone you can count on when things get tough. Perhaps he was right. I should have kept a closer eye on the little guy, but honestly, I can't be everywhere at once. I have a great deal of responsibility.

Madie

The Central Bobcats continue to cause trouble. I went to the plaza today with Matt and Jonas. Xavier's goons were causing trouble, stealing and taking things that didn't belong to them. The streets are filled with frustration and worry. People are missing. No proof, but the word is that the Central Bobcats are behind the disappearances. I knew Central was recruiting large males of substantial build, And fighting abilities, but the missing are young people. I took Matt and Jonas and collected a few community leaders and we went over to the Central Campus. We knocked on the front doors and asked to speak to their leader, Xavier Boulder. His goons wouldn't let us through the front doors. Apparently, the Boulder was busy with Central Bobcat business and couldn't be disturbed. We left a message. This whole thing with Central is getting on my nerves.

Madie

Journal Entry 15

Tony is still avoiding me. He won't look at me. He won't talk to me. He won't enter a room that I am in. I wish I knew what to say. I have tried to apologize. I have never seen him this angry with anyone before. I don't know what to do. This cold shoulder he is giving me is breaking my heart. I keep hoping the runt will walk through the front doors of bear country.

Madie

I woke up early this morning. I didn't sleep very well last night. I kept thinking about what Tony said to me yesterday. By the way, he is now avoiding me. I tried to talk to him this morning, but he wasn't interested in anything I had to say. To get my mind off things, I went to the plaza to see if I could find another pair of shoes. No shoes. But I did run into a kid with a very well-trained dog. They were doing some amazing tricks and entertaining the crowd. I can feel trouble in the air. The Central Bobcats continue to make life difficult. I heard they were recruiting goons. I need to organize a meeting with the town leaders to see if we can do something about Central. Unfortunately, people are getting more and more afraid. I have a feeling this is going to involve the whole town soon.

Madie

I feel so bad. No one told Tony that Runt was missing. I was updating the bulletin board in the admin hall when Tony asked me where the Runt was. I just stood there and stared at him. I finally told him that I was sorry the Runt had been missing for days. I tried to explain to Tony why we think the Runt left. That he left to find medicine and that Jonas and Matt went looking for him.

Tony was so angry that he yelled at me for being irresponsible. He said that I should have been more reliable and that it’s my fault if the Runt is dead. I don’t blame him for yelling at me. We should have told Tony that the Runt was missing sooner. The Runt was not my primary responsibility. He just appeared on our doorstep one day, dirty and hungry. Tony became his friend. Tony is the one who took care of him. This is going to sound stupid, but I honestly didn’t realize that I should have been taking care of the Runts’ needs while Tony was ill. I just assumed that everyone took care of everyone. I have a tremendous amount of responsibility around here. I try to make sure that life around Bear Country runs smoothly. Most of the time it does.

Madie

Journal Entry 11

The Journal Club has finished with the flyers for the up-and-coming festival. Evan and J.T. have done a wonderful job again. It amazes me how creative they can be. They will be distributing the flyers around town today. The festival is the one time of year when everyone gets together and has a good time. We forget about our sorrows and pain and enjoy ourselves. I am a little worried about the Central Bobcats. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they don't cause any trouble. Sheriff Pete is working on obtaining people for security. It's going to be a challenge for him. He's asking for help from everyone around the community.

I heard Lisa practicing her guitar this morning. She has such a beautiful voice. She usually tries to sing happy songs, but sometimes you can hear a little sadness in her voice. She keeps the sad songs to herself. No one bothers her when she goes to the roof to sing and play. I'm not sure if she knows that we can still hear her up there. It's her place of solitude, so we leave her alone.

Madie

Journal Entry 10

It rained all night long. I love the rain. I seem to sleep well when it rains. It's going to be a busy day. I promised Casey I would watch the baby a little while so that she could take care of herself. She is the cutest baby. I hope Casey gets to enjoy her for a long time. I'm not so sure I would want to take on the responsibility of having a baby. There are so many things to worry about. Babies don't seem to do as well as they used to. No medicine. There are limited things you can do when they get ill. No one talks about the things that can go wrong. I wonder if Casey worries about the baby getting ill. I would worry. I saw Tony up walking around a little while ago. He was heading towards the showers. It's a good thing because he was starting to smell really bad. If he had been severely ill for much longer it was going to be a challenge to get people to sit with him.

Madie