Page 3 of Rescued Duty

“Long day?” Naya approached Basuto.

“More like long night too. And it’s only eleven in the morning.” Basuto rubbed his jaw.

“The twins?” Naya asked.

“They don’t quite understand what it means to sleep past five.”

Naya grimaced. “Ouch. And Sasha?”

“She’s a champ. Two more months until the due date.”

Naya grinned. “She’s a tough one.” The few times Naya saw her in the grocery store, the woman knew how to keep order with those kids.

Basuto chuckled. “At least it’s peaceful protesting so far today. There’re no other civilians we have to keep an eye on over there either.” He pointed to the playground, which was void of any children. The cooler temperatures were keeping spring fever at bay for a little while longer.

“Hopefully this will make your shift more manageable.” She handed him a muffin.

Basuto’s eyes widened and he tore open the wrapper. “This is fantastic,” he mumbled in between bites.

Naya laughed. “May I?” She pointed to the bridge. She wanted to get firsthand viewpoints from the protestors. One thing she’d learned over the years—there were always two sides to a story.

“Have at it.” Basuto extended his arm. “You know I wouldn’t want your job any day.”

“It’s not so bad. At least I don’t have to stand in one place.”

He smiled. “True that.”

After stopping to hand out the other muffins to the officers, Naya pulled out her pen and paper and made her way up the incline onto the bridge. She went over to a cluster of women among the crowd. “Hi, my name is Naya Michél, and I’m a reporter with the Last Chance Tribune. Can I ask you some questions?”

“Sure, girl. The name’s Sylvia.” A young woman with a bleach-blonde pixie cut extended her hand, and they shook.

“I’m Veronica.” A middle-aged woman with long jet-black hair gave a wave. A sleeve of tattoos covered her forearm. One saidLove our people and earth.

“What exactly have you been protesting out here?” Naya shook Veronica’s hand.

Sylvia pushed hair back from her face. “We’ve been out here taking a stand for the health of our community and families. Everyone has the right to clean water. Not only the creatures who live in it but the people who drink that water.”

Naya hit the record button to capture the whole conversation in case she wasn’t able to jot down everything either of the women mentioned. Whether she agreed with the woman or not, she needed to be careful not to weave her personal opinions into the mix of information. Everyone had passions. Often from experiences that fueled their drive for a cause. She just needed to learn what that drive was motivated by. A true desire to better the community, or a personal benefit?

“What prompted you all to start coming out here to take a stand?” Naya jotted down the notes.

Veronica stepped forward and shoved her hands in her pockets. “My aunt is in the hospital with ulcerative colitis and they’re doing a biopsy on a lump in her thyroid. Her blood work came back with high levels of heavy metals. She’s just one ofmany who grew up in Last Chance County and are now suffering from long term exposure to chemicals. Of course, people began to ask questions.” She huffed. “Everyone deserves a high-quality life. The only way to do that is to take care of our earth. That’s when this group,Save Our Land and Make a Stand, began to establish action steps.”

Sylvia nodded. “If people are sick, the wildlife in our freshwater is suffering too. Someone needs to be held accountable for the lack of water quality measures.”

“Do you all have regular meetings?” If Naya conversed with the other group members in a less high-stakes environment, she could get their perspectives too.

“Oh yeah. The second and fourth Tuesday of the month at six thirty in the evening. We meet in Room 4 at the community center. But anyways…” Sylvia shook her head like Naya had discussed a less important issue. “Another report showed high levels of contaminants in the fish in our lakes. That’s when we knew this was a bigger issue.”

“Who are you hoping will notice these protests? Where do you want to see a change?” Naya flipped the page of her notebook and held her pen ready.

“Ethos Fire Solutions on the west side of town. Rumor has it those people have been dumping their toxic waste into the stream that feeds into the river. Polluting everything in its path from the soil to the water. Isn’t that right, Sylvia?”

“You nailed it.” Sylvia pumped her fist in the air.

“We even have a group down at the entrance to the plant now protesting. Because what do we want?” Veronica cupped her hands around her mouth.

“Take a stand.” People began to shout. “Save our land!”

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