Fatal | The Second Life I [COMPLETED]

Chapter 16: Riko's Mission

     We walk back inside, and Kjrsten beckons us. We were planning on holding an election sometime after the winter, as she didn't want to lead and others wanted to take a shot. It would happen sometime in March.

     I step inside her room, and the junk in the room was really piling up. There was so much for one person to do, even with only 65 followers. Kjrsten was clearly suffering from this. She looked as if she was getting less and less sleep every day. Entire corners of her room had stacks of paper and other trinkets.

     No wonder she wanted to resign.

     Riko Diaz follows us into the room. He was a 16 year old technology geek. We all liked him, though. He was the person that one would want to be around and laugh with. He was from the Bronx, and had also given us some special insight to that region.

     Inner Manhattan was swamped by Z's, with only the coastal places like ours surviving. The Bronx had become a warzone in the fallout, with rival gangs of the inner city battling it out. Riko hadn't seen any adults in these battles, though. It was all kids and teens. It had reinforced our idea that we were the only ones left, but no one wanted to say the fact we all knew.

     "Hey." Kjrsten says in her familiar accent. Her face turned into a smile. "We have some large news."

     "Let's hear it." Tori says, as I privately laugh at the grammar. She was still a Norwegian.

     Then again, there's no America anymore.

     "Well, Riko found something during the tower clearing." She says. "Big stuff. I'll allow Riko to explain."

     "Alright." The technologist, Riko, says. "So, I, like was trying different radio frequencies. And, um, I found a message."

     The other five in the room smile, but my mouth sat open, gaped. This was huge. Maybe... Maybe it was my old friends.

     'No, don't get your hopes up' I think to myself. I hadn't heard from them since the cell service went out, and I didn't really expect it at this point. Although, I was open to a surprise.

     He then twists the antenna and turns a knob on his radio. A static-filled message fills the room, saying a couple lines.

     "To anyone still out there. We are the Brooklyn Front. Come meet us at the Kings County Supreme Court. Come find us, anyone." I hear. It was on loop, with a gap of 2 seconds in between each loop. I didn't recognize the voice. I was slightly disappointed that it wasn't my friends, but maybe it still could be.

     "Crazy, right?" Riko says.

     "Yeah." Catey says. "So, what now?"

     "This is our biggest discovery." Kjrsten says. "I'm gonna ask you five to visit this 'Brooklyn Front.' You'll leave tomorrow."

     "Sounds fun." I say.

     "I just want to know that you understand this." Kjrsten explains. "This is our biggest chance yet. Please don't mess it up."

     "Deal." Adam says.

     "Great." Kjrsten says. "If you want to join the others in claiming rooms, you may want to go now."

     We walk out of the room with some banter, and me and Tori grab our stuff. This place was starting to get crowded, and we both felt fine with the safety of the museum. We would share a room, just like Adam and Catey were doing.

"So, Which floor?" I ask Tori, with a smile as I put the bag on my shoulder.

"Top?" She suggests.

"Love it." I say. "Let's go."

We walk outside of the building and across the street. Adam And Catey had just walked in, and there were some others moving into there, like Riko. So many people would have so much more space now that we had done this. It would be great.

SPEC had built a reputation over the months as a really tough and badass thing. Anyone that had tried out for the team hadn't made it in after us. Maybe us five would all fail the initiation, because we didn't have to do it. Whatever the initiation was, Kjrsten hadn't said. Whatever was behind that curtain hadn't come out yet.

Tori and I walk inside and begin ascending the stairs, which we both realized would be an absolute pain each day. We both liked the height and the security it could provide. There had been a couple situations at the old building where Z's had gotten into the park and citizens were stuck inside the building while we and the defense department cleared them out. Luckily, no one had died from those incursions. Yet.

Finally, we arrive on the top floor and select a room on the north side. It used to be an exhibit, but now it would be our living quarters. I took everything out of our bag, and we set up the room. It ended up pretty neatly. We had our sleeping bags on one of the tables that was used for merchandise. Other tables were decked out with our supplies and weapons.

"You excited for tomorrow?" I ask Tori as I set my pistol down on a table.

"Yeah!" She says enthusiastically. "But I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about the whole thing."

"Oh?" I say surprisingly. "What about? I mean, this is our biggest chance yet!"

"To die." Tori points out. "We've never gone that far before. We don't know what's on the other side of Manhattan, or hell, Brooklyn at all."

"We're gonna walk the shoreline for as long as we can." I clarify. "It'll be okay, don't worry."

"I hope you're right." She says.

"I know I am." I say. "I wouldn't put you or I in danger. I can't do that. I.. need you."

Tori looks at me with a smile. "It's mutual." She says quietly.

Hearing that response was something that struck me. Finally, someone needed me. I was wanted. Finally, after 3 months, there was something to live for.

Took long enough.