Terranovus

“What’s going on?” I asked Tommy. Our hands were intertwined and we were following Simon and Jack and the group of people I didn’t know deeper into the sewage system. I heard Jack make a joke about feces and the strangers cracked up laughing. They all seemed to know each other quite well.

“A lot has happened whilst you’ve been away,” said Tommy. I turned to him and took in his changed appearance again. He looked like a young man now, not the teenager I used to know. Tommy sighed and explained further. “The day you left I really thought about what you said. I knew I couldn’t let the resistance use me as bait to force you to do their dirty work. So I decided to look for the resistance myself.”

I turned back to the strangers and everything clicked in place.

“You joined them, didn’t you?” I asked.

“It wasn’t easy,” admitted Tommy. “It took a lot of persuasion and hard work to prove I was worth it.”

“But why?” I asked. “Why would you do that if you knew they would hurt you if I failed?” Tommy squeezed my hand and looked down at me sincerely.

“I’m not that type of person to sit back and have no say in my fate, Tilly,” he said. “And anyway, I’m glad I joined them.”

The group in front of us stopped walking and I turned to see the tunnel had ended. A large steel door stood in front of us with a large circular locking wheel. One of the strangers stepped forward and knocked twice, then paused, then knocked three times, then paused, then once again. The wheel turned from the inside and swung outward to reveal a tall dark skinned girl.

“Welcome back mates, how’s it looking up there?”

“Like missiles just hit it,” stated Jack and he stepped through the door and we all followed. The girl watched us pass through and narrowed her eyes at me.

“So this is Tilly?” she said and looked at me up and down.

“Kali,” warned Tommy and he placed his hand on the small of my back.

“She doesn’t impress me much,” she snorted and flicked her long black hair over her shoulder. I stared at her gobsmacked as she slammed the hatch door shut then strutted away after Jack and Simon and the others.

“What’s her problem?” I asked.

“Don’t worry about her,” Tommy said, “let’s hurry, the meeting will start soon.”

“What meeting?” I asked but Tommy didn’t respond. Instead, he guided me forward into a large open underground tavern. The word large was an understatement, it was huge! Perhaps the size of Primus Academy’s cafeteria, the tavern was choc-a-block filled with men, women and children. Everyone was quiet and a sense of mourning could be felt. Most of them sat huddled in groups with backpacks and suitcases by their side. They must have come here before the missiles dropped. Perhaps Philon had warned them in advance.

A large bar with every liquor you could think of sat to the side of the room. A few men and women sat around the countertop drinking their sorrows away, whilst the barman to the side and aimlessly polished an already gleamy glass with a dirty cloth. To the side of the bar was a small stage. A group of musicians sat on chairs clutching their musical instruments in silence, too shocked and saddened to play.

The only sound was a group of children sitting in a circle and playing snap with a deck of cards.

“Come on,” said Tommy and he guided me forward. I stepped around the children and saw ahead men and women covered in soot and running back and forth down a corridor. I peered down at as we passed and saw makeshift hospital beds and humans covered in bandages and blood.

Ahead, I watched Simon and Tommy slipped through a doorway and Tommy and I followed them in. It looked like what used to be an old water control room and at least twenty men and women were crammed inside. In the centre of the room, standing upon a small crate, was a man in his late forties and wearing a long overcoat. Despite his dirty clothing, the man himself was clean and stood strong and able. I looked around the room and saw everyone intently watching him. He was a man who was highly respected and well liked.

He was speaking to the crowd and reiterating the importance of calmness.

“That’s the leader of the resistance,” whispered Tommy. “His name is Jarryd.” I nodded, and a man who stood next to the leader turned and watched Tommy and I standing together.

“What’s she doing here?” he spat over the top of his boss. The man had a large messy beard and was pointing at me with his dirty right index finger. His middle finger was missing. Tommy cleared his throat.

“This is Tilly, Brutus,” explained Tommy coolly. All eyes turned to me and I squirmed uncomfortably.

“I asked what she’s doing here, not who is she,” spat Brutus in retaliation.

“Brutus,” warned the leader. I watched Kali who was sitting on top one of the control stations smirk. I didn’t understand why everyone hated me already. I didn’t even know who these people were. The pain of losing Hyun just minutes ago throbbed in my chest and I felt anger rising within me. These were the people who had blackmailed me for weeks.

“I’m here,” I said and found my voice rising, “because of you twats blackmailing me to do your dirty work!” Their judgmental stares turned to looks of shock. The girl had a voice. “I’m here, because you kidnapped me and said you would kill my boyfriend if I did not spy for you.” I glared at them all one by one. “You said, you would kill my boyfriend if I did not deliver to your expectations.” A few of them turned their eyes to the floor ashamed. “I broke into the Army’s Base for you. I shattered those servers like you asked. I flew over here and blew up as many missiles as I could. For you! For you and for everyone outside this room.” Do not cry, I begged myself, do not cry. “And Hyun? He died for you all. He died for each and every one of you! And what have you been doing whilst we’ve been doing all the work?”

The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. I felt Tommy’s gaze on me and could sense his thoughts churning with confusion. It was not only him, I realised, who had changed these past weeks. I was no longer the sweet, carefree and innocent girlfriend he had once known.

Brutus was furious. No one speaks down to him like that. He snarled and stepped forward but Jarryd flung his arm out and stopped him.

“Out of all of us, Tilly,” spoke Jarryd, and he looked at me sincerely, “you have seen and been through the most heartbreak, horror and carnage. You, above all of us, have the greatest right to be here.” A few people around us nodded in agreement. I caught Jack and Simon’s eyes and they gave me a small empathetic smile.

“Thank you,” I said quietly. Jarryd bowed his head in respect then stepped forward and placed his hand on an old interactive tabletop I had not seen. A large hologram of the Sectors appeared with thousands of red dots. Everyone in the room leaned forward.

“Now,” began Jarryd, “our intel tells us missiles dropped on these locations marked red.” Whispers spread throughout the room. There were so many red dots. They almost covered the entire hologram. “Our intel also tells us, Tilly and Hyun successfully destroyed 26% other missiles before they landed. Thank you, Tilly,” said Jarryd and he nodded my way. I wondered if Philon was the intel. “We’re moving survivors to these pockets of untouched lands and extending the habitable sewage areas. Our intel granted us time, which is the reason why most of us are alive today. Let’s not underestimate the wrath and power of the Army. We must anticipate another attack and plan for it.”

I gasped. Another attack? Then I remembered Terranovus’s wasteland. It was not just hit with missiles - it had been annihilated. Panic started to settle in.

“Our intel also stopped the Army from closing down our communication towers. Of course, the missiles destroyed many of the towers but at least the rest of the world is aware of what happened. They do not know why we were bombed but they will know soon. We must spread the word on social media,” firmly said Jarryd. “We must tell everyone the Army is slaughtering residents to make room for their elite.” Jarryd slowly made eye contact with everyone in the room, ensuring we understood his orders. “When the world discovers what has happened, the Army won’t risk attacking us again. It will give us time for us to recruit, and create an Army of our own. Now who’s with me?” roared Jarryd and the room erupted in cheers and shouts of agreement. Tommy clapped my back and I watched Simon and Jack hug each other and cheer with the crowd.

Suddenly the meeting room’s doors banged open and a breathless kid appeared. He was filthy and covered head to toe with white concrete dust. He was breathless and clutching his ribs.

“Soldiers,” he wheezed and started coughing. Someone fetched him some water and he greedily gulped it down.

“What is it kid?” demanded Brutus. The boy looked petrified, of Brutus or of the soldiers or both, I didn’t know.

“Soldiers interrogated Justine,” the boy cried. “I saw them put a knife in her. Jarryd, I’m sorry. They know our location. They’re coming our way and they’ve got orders not to stop until they have her.” The boy’s trembling fingers stretched out and pointed at me.

My heart fell to the pits of my stomach.

“Sound the evacuation alarms!” screamed Jarryd and within seconds old school bells rang throughout the tavern. “Go! Go! Go! You know where the bunkers are!” Everyone immediately snapped into action and ran out of the meeting room. Tommy dragged me with the crowd but I dug my heels into the ground and pulled away from his grasp.

“Tommy-” I started.

“No, Tilly,” said Tommy and he glared at me intensely. Hundreds of bodies rushed past us in a panic. “Don’t you even think about it. I just got you back, you’re not leaving the Sectors again.”

“Like hell, she isn’t,” said a voice to our right and I turned to see Brutus marching towards us. Tommy shoved me behind him.

“Don’t you come near her,” warned Tommy. Brutus laughed and stepped forward into Tommy’s face.

“Or what? You’ll cry like the first time you came crawling down here?”

“Shut up!” spat Tommy and he shoved Brutus backwards. Brutus went to lunge back in retaliation but Jarryd jumped forward out of nowhere and placed himself between the two men.

“Stop it!” he demanded and glowered at the two men. The tavern was emptying quickly and I watched Simon and Jack stand nearby with their backpacks on their shoulders. I wish Hyun could have met them. With my mind made up, I stepped around Tommy and turned to Jarryd.

“I’m going to give myself up. Anything to bid you and everyone down here more time.”

“Tilly-” argued Tommy.

“No!” I firmly told him. “My life is not worth more than a hundred others.” Determined, I turned back to Jarryd and Brutus. “Now which way to the exit?”

It was Kali who agreed to show us the way. Tommy insisted we didn’t need a shepherd but I didn’t trust him to lead me the right way. He followed me at my heels and listed a hundred and one reasons why I shouldn’t give myself up.

“You’ll be killed,” he told me for the fifth time.

I ignored him and turned to Kali her strutted ahead of us.

“How much longer?” I asked.

“’Bout five mins,” she replied bored. Tommy spun me around and gripped my forearms tightly.

“Tilly, you aren’t listening to me, I love you. I’m crazy about you. You are all I’ve ever been able to think about since you left,” he said desperately. I looked up at him sadly and gently stroke his check. It was rough. He hadn’t shaved for a few days.

“I love you too, Tommy,” I told him, and pushed back my emotions, “but I love the Sectors too. I need to do this for them.” I spun around and walking away as fear, confusion and heartbreak tore my insides in shreds. I hated the Army. I absolutely detested them. Kali watched me storm past her.

“You know you could technically not give yourself up, right?” spoke Kali. I stopped and her eyes flickered to Tommy and I and back again.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well,” she said, and started to admire her fingernails and dig out dirt from beneath them, “you know you could just, I guess, pretend to give yourself up?”

“What do you mean?” I said angrily. Kali sighed and rolled her eyes.

“The resistance’s bunkers are well hidden. If you just pretended to give yourself up to bid us time to get everyone safe, then run like your life depended on it ... all could end well,” she said. Ideas and possibilities started to whirl through my mind.

“Just like fat Old Nick!” shouted Jack and he stepped out from behind a large sewage pipe. A big grin was spread across his face. Simon stepped forward into sight too, looking a little sheepish.

“Sorry we followed you,” Simon mumbled and I rolled my eyes. Simon had never been a good liar. Jack pulled out the plastic gun he had bought at the markets that day and cocked it. His eyes glinted with mischief.

“Come on Tilly, what’s the worse that can happen? Let me at ’em. I haven’t shot a Toff in weeks,” he begged. I suppressed a smile and turned back to Kali.

“You sure we can pull this off?” I asked her. She shrugged her shoulders.

“Sure,” she said. I bit down on my lip and glanced back at Tommy. He looked so broken and torn and was staring at me intently.

“What do you think?” I asked him. “Up for some déjà vu?”

“Anything to keep you by my side,” he said and stepped forward and kissed me. His hands rose to cup my checks and he deepened the kiss. Butterflies danced in my stomach and I leaned in further and kissed him back.

“Ew, gross!” shouted Jack and he made vomiting noises.