HOME BUT NOT HOME

Chapter 40 - Trembling in Fear

Chapter 40 – Trembling in Fear

Ace's home, Vertigo Town
Arlington County, VA
Tuesday, May 5, 2076
20:09 EST GMT-5

Aurora came home just now, as she left a little early from Jerry's Mechanics. Best guess, she felt we were at risk. I was very confused. Everyone knows I was responsible for that fight in the coal mines, and they knew I had to fight George Kilmann, and I'm sure even the authorities knew it was me. Why then, hasn't anyone come to our house, to place us under arrest? I was starting to think. What if they're just waiting to crack down hard on us? Should we stay on Earth? Should we move to Mars? Will living on another planet make it any better? From what I've understood, there's no martial law on Mars, Moon, or any of Mars' two moons.

"Aurora, you, okay?" I asked in concern, as I saw she was trembling in fear.

"We shouldn't stay here!" said Aurora. "It's only a matter of time, before they come for us, for you."

"Aurora, as far as I know, this is home. We are home. No one's gonna force us out!" I assured her. "This is our home, and if that means I need to protest for our rights to be reinstated on Earth, I will. Granted we have mutants and evil robots and machines, but this won't stop us from conveying our message to the law and the government."

"Listen, I've already been on edge, before we entered this era. I've always feared losing you in the line of duty, when that meteor was about to hit, when we emerged into the future, and now that I'm with you, given current circumstances, I fear it even worse!" said Aurora.

"Even if we left this planet, I'm not standing for the future generations to suffer their totalitarian rules!" I spoke, hoping to inspire. "I can't say that I'll succeed, but I'd rather face them than to cower."

"It sounds foolish, but if you want to go through with this, I'll support you! Just don't get in trouble." Aurora said in concern.

"Look, I'm not going to face them head on, I'll however try to motivate the citizens to fight on!" I spoke. "And I'll do it peacefully, we don't want violence. We don't want to hurt anyone."

"So, what do you have in mind?" asked Aurora.

"You'll see, I'll ping Wheeler and Ross, to get on Teams tonight, I'll relay my plan to them. In the meantime, you see if you can round up everyone we know. Trust me, it's the only way we can get a message to everyone, and to them!" I calmly instructed Aurora.