Haven’s Reach: The Crackdown
The Council struck back swiftly. Patrols doubled. Doors were kicked open in the night. Families disappeared. Loudspeakers blared warnings: “Dissent is death.” The island, once noisy with trade and chatter, fell into a haunted hush.
Harper was taken in for questioning. They asked her about the singers, about the Quiet Ones, about Eli. She said nothing. For hours, they kept her in a windowless cell. When they finally released her, a slip of paper was shoved into her pocket: “The tide rises at midnight. Meet us by the eastern cliffs.”
At the cliffs, Harper found the Quiet Ones gathered. Torches flickered against determined faces.
“The Council has shown us who they are.”
One whispered.
“Now we must show them who we are.”
It was no longer about survival—it was about reclaiming Haven’s Reach.
By Benjamin GroffMedia© | benandsteve.com | ©2025
benandsteve.com 
This chapter urges me to know what the Quiet Ones will do to reclaim Haven’s Reach. Beautiful chapter again, Benjamin.
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Hazel, it’s taken me a bit to respond — you know how it goes with my news pages, the obituary section (and now an International Obituary Listing, which I’ll be talking more about soon), and all the other daily callings that keep me busy. So, I may not reply as swiftly as I’d like, but I truly appreciate your thoughtful comments on this story series.
The series reflects many of the challenges we see in our world today — how people are forced to confront difficult circumstances. I chose an island setting intentionally, to make it feel both universal and adaptable to any person or nation. The themes it explores are real issues faced by so many across the globe. My hope was to show that even the smallest efforts — when two or more people begin to agree, organize, and act — can spark a sense of hope in others, no matter how slow, quiet, or brief those beginnings may be.
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