My Brother Has A Portal In His Bedroom

You're The Most Vulnerable One There

TW: Talk about capital punishments, but it's pretty vague. Also, some talk about death but that all ties in with the capital punishment stuff.

Logan was reluctantly woken up and he looked pissed as he joined their hosts in the front room. Their hosts were a couple, male and female, and they were circled around a radio fearfully. The tinny thing began to speak.

"We have dangerous anti-Prime people in our city," Said the safe, droning, calm voice of the presenter. "They are being sheltered somewhere. If you have any information, report it to your nearest Prime Operative. Please know that a few men will be searching around for them. For your own safety, do not resist."

"I told you, Dot," Hissed the husband. "We're not gonna make it through the searches."

The woman glared at her husband. "Larry, it's Prime or them and I know who I'm siding with. We won't trade them out. It'll be fine."

"If you resist searches, you will be fined and face trial for anti-Prime beliefs."

That made the couple freeze in fear. Anti-Prime was a crime worse than murder.

The voice on the radio almost seemed to smile, as though somehow it's' ghostly speaker had managed to see the sudden horror struck into the hearts of those who lived in this version of America. Thomas and Logan exchanged a glance. "Have a good day, loved citizens. Hail our Prime."

Outside, through the thin walls of the smokey home, you could hear otherr radio listeners whispering back the final sentence. And then there was silence. Then mad panic.

"We're gonna die!" Claimed Larry. "This is gonna be the death of us, Dot! We're gonna die here!"

Dot's' face flushed, whitened, flushed again and flickered in the cycle before finally settling on an ugly purple as she snapped, "Well, don't yell it to everyone! If the neighbours heard, we'd be sent straight to the bees, and I'd rather be hanged in the gallows! Shot in the head! You gotta keep your voice down, Larry, or we're both gonna get it-"

"May I suggest something," Logan said, stepping forwards, making the couple spin to face him. Thomas's' brother smiled and held his hands up, intertwining his fingers calmly as a slight sarcastic tone took his voice. "Maybe arguing loudly about being sent to death isn't the best way to keep your profile down."

The pair stared at him like he had gone mad right before their eyes, until they slowly nodded, the panic being sucked out of them. They bowed their heads, muttering a series of, 'Yeah, alright... Yeah..."

Larry and Dot still, though, pulled each other to the side to talk in hushed whispers, looking over at the fugitives regularly. Thomas was about to step forwards to interrupt them, to try and persuade them not to turn them in when Patton put a hand on his shoulder.

He smiled gently down at him and a sense of security washed over Thomas. "It's not worth it, kiddo," Patton hummed, "In the end, they have to make up their mind. After all, they've got stakes here too and we're fighting a losing battle." A look crossed Patton's' face that Thomas felt like he wasn't meant to see. It was a look of confusion, reluctance, regret, fear and hopelessness. "No matter what we do, Morria always has too many men and too much power..." Then his happy facade broke through and he beamed down at the now slightly scared boy. "But we'll get through, eh? You don't need to worry about us."

Thomas nodded softly and Patton grinned down at him but the man's' expression quickly turned grim and sour when he turned to face Roman, who had been brooding quietly in the shadows of the shacky house.