Outcasts

Chapter 24: The Domino Effect

I doubt the tech lab had ever been more alive than when Liam gathered The Outcasts for his 'emergency meeting.' And though I seemed to never leave the lab, he had refused to tell me what his emergency was.

I hardly saw anyone in The Outcasts any more – not even Emmy or Keegan, who I knew I treasured the company of more than anyone. We were still under complete lock down, but Keegan had insisted that – after Isaac had left – anyone who wished to follow was welcome to. He knew his group was falling apart, and he knew there was no point trying to keep it together any more. We were in shambles.

Still, he did his best.

“Can everyone be quiet please...” Liam asked for what seemed like the hundredth time, while the hushed yet irritating muttering continued. He huffed deeply before shouting, “yo! Shut up!”

All sound stopped as Liam pushed himself up from his chair. He had organised the tables in a way not indifferent to the conference room. The room was filled with a lot of faces I recognised, but that I had never seen pull any weight in the group... funny.

“Y'all might wanna hear this,” Liam said, rubbing his hands together like he often did. “I have these security cameras, right. Well, since we've been locked in here I've been trying to hack into them through some of the government files I have – they can see everything, you know. And... Well, let's just say things are not looking bright around here.”

“Skip the vagueness, Liam,” Ariana snapped at him. “What's happening?”

“Basically,” he said, and he turned to the big screen. He pressed a button on the remote he held in his hand and a film appeared on it – security footage.

The footage showed around twelve Republican uniform clad men, all sitting around casually as if they had set up camp. Their guns were stored in a careless pile a few feet from where they sat in a circle, half of a van visible behind them – not unlike the one that Liam and Kian stole the night of the new incident.

“This is two blocks away from here,” Liam said as the entire room sat transfixed watching the screen. “They set up this morning, and I doubt they're leaving any time soon.”

“And they're here for us?” a girl asked naively.

“They gotta be,” Liam said, turning the screen off and bringing the room's attention back to him. “They know they're not getting in here any time soon, so they're most probably waiting for us to come to them.”

“And why would we do that?” Xavier asked coldly.

“Bro, have you not seen this place recently? It's a freaking ghost town. We're gonna have to leave sooner or later, and I'd rather get out now before they start sending more troops in.”

“Wait, you're leaving?” I asked, my heart sinking. I couldn't be left at base without Liam.

“Yeah,” he replied. “And I want you to come with me, Cass. I want anyone who wants to come with me to come with me now. Today.”

I can't leave is all I thought. I couldn't leave Keegan and Emmy here, I just couldn't leave them behind. Who knew what could happen to me out there? Or them at base? I couldn't stand not knowing what was going on in the place I had called home for so long now.

“Hold on a second here,” Keegan said sternly, standing up and walking over to where Liam stood so they were on equal levels. “Yes, it's bad that there are Republicans round the corner. But splitting up into the unknown isn't going to help anything. Liam, please. See sense here.”

“I am seeing sense, Keegan,” Liam said defiantly. “There are other civilisations around here. If we can leave now before things get worse, we might just be all right.”