These Different Times (Nick Clark FF)

48.

The next morning, Madison decided that it was time for us to show face within the ranch, which meant that we were going to go to the memorial that they were having for the pilot of the helicopter that went down.

It was awkward to say the least. As we made our way there, everyone was looking at us. Not that I could blame them after the scene Nick had caused.

We all found seats in the small crowd, near the back of the tent and we sat and listened to the stories and such of the people who knew her and when it finally fell silent, Madison stood up.

"Hello. I'm Madison Clark. These are my children, Nick and Alicia. And this is Taylor, Nick's girlfriend. We wanted to offer our condolences for Charlene and for the others you lost. We've lost loved ones too. Travis. Travis, he was our compass and he...we just wanted to say thank you for sheltering us and say thank you for your generosity. We will repay it."

Jake cleared his throat and stood up from his seat, "Thank you. We have all lost. We share that. And grieving is hard but it's important that we process it."

"It's more important to prepare, Jake!"

Both Nick and I turned to look at the man who had spoken up, seeing that he was tall and looked like he wanted to be talking about anything but this.

"I'm sorry," the man continued, "There is a time and a place for mourning and Patty is allowed that. But who brought down the helicopter."

"We aim to find that out, Vernon." Jake tried to interject but he was met with questions from the rest of the crowd.

"When?" Vernon asked, "What's your timeline? Jeremiah, please."

"Nothing's changed, Vernon," the older Otto said, "Make no mistake, we're in a wartime posture here. We tasked Alpha Station to scout the crash site. When we know what we're dealing with, we'll act. If it's some wing nut, we'll act. If it's a larger challenge, we will act."

"Payback, Vernon," Troy spoke up, earning a few cheers, "That's what my father means. Whatever this threat is, large or small, we will make this right."

"Hey, we'll mete out justice when we know what we're dealing with. We can't afford to lose ourselves..."

As Jake continued to talk, I looked between the two brothers. It was becoming quite clear that Jake was the more sensible one. He took the time to think things through whereas Troy preferred to go in all guns blazing.

The end of Jake's speech signaled the end of the meeting and while Alicia and Maddie decided to try and get to know the people here, Nick and I grabbed some food and headed towards the infirmary to see Luciana.

"You go ahead," he murmured, "I'm going to get her some water."

As I entered the medical tent, Luciana was sat up in her bed, pulling at the handcuffs that were attaching her to the bed.

"Hi," I said quietly, giving her a small smile, "You hungry?" 

She stared blankly at me, "We need supplies, Taylor. Water, weapons. We have to be ready to leave."

"They said they're going to take the cuffs off soon. You can walk around and see the place."

"No." 

"Luciana," I mumbled, "Eat."

She leant forward and ate the spoonful of eggs I was holding up for her, "I can't forgive what they did." 

I let out a deep breath and put the spoon down again, "I know."

I looked over my shoulder when Nick arrived, carrying a couple of cups which I'm guessing were filled with water.