S5, E2 | Step Into the Dark to Unveil a Brighter Future

“Aside from a slight hiccup that won’t be dug into at this time, the recovery of Lancaster and its subsequent absorption into the Angelino Republic was a resounding success” Julia proclaims from the podium that’s stationed within an enclosed room, her shadow-superior standing off to her right side with his hands folded.

“The recovery that we have been slowly working toward since the day of the catalyst is now beginning to take shape” the chancellor announces, a convincingly warm smile held upon her cold-to-the-touch face. “Having now recovered the lost half of Los Angeles in its entirety, the reclamation of Lancaster into this union does, in fact, lend credence to that statement” she proceeds, not noticing the slight grin that comes over the corner of Wade’s face, “as your chancellor, I could not be prouder.”

From their places in the seats stationed in the floor that the podium faces, people with cameras, notepads and microphones lift their free hands in an effort of gaining whatever knowledge they’d yet to come by when entering the room. “I don’t have much time for questions, but I suppose it would be rude of me not to at least take a couple” Julia remarks, the conclusion one that doesn’t please the NDF leader, though it’s not one that earns much in the way of a dissatisfied reaction.

“You’ve said that our recovery in the aftermath of the catalyst is ‘taking shape’” a woman stands up to ask, her hand spotted out from the crowd by the republic’s representative, “can you specify what you mean by that?” Whilst some citizens occupy spaces at the front steps of city hall like they had during the former chancellor’s reign to watch on monitors, most of the civilians that call the republic home watch from home or work on their televisions or radios.

“We’re the only society that remains intact within the continental United States” Julia begins, folding her hands atop the podium whilst leaning forward slightly, eyes steady and holding firm upon the reporter. “There were forty-eight states operating with individual local and state-wide governments before the catalyst turned all of that on its head” she continues, trying to keep her response brief, yet well-informative, “the expansion of the Angelino Republic is important to that process.”

“What about Boston?” another voice calls out from the set of reporters, his face eventually catching the attention of the chancellor and those that stand behind her. “I’m sorry, can you elaborate?” Julia retorts, curious to the man’s question just as the NDF leader is, though he appears less stammered than his subordinate does.

“Well, the prevailing rumour is that there’s a settlement on the east coast that’s still been operating since the catalyst hit” the man responds, this information surprising the off-guard chancellor. “Some people that were brought in when the borders expanded said they had initially been planning to head east for Boston around the time the skyscraper went up in flames” the man reiterates, casually standing out from the group of civilians, “if this is the last society, what happened to Boston?”

Parting her lips, Julia stares at the man with confusion before feeling the weight of a man’s shoulder gently brush her off to the side, freeing a space at the forefront of the podium from himself. “Hello, I’m Wade Cordova of the New Democratic Front...” the man introduces himself, addressing the reporter as the chancellor watches on at a loss, “...reports of any activity in Boston have been blown out of proportion. A small camp remained operable but has since gone offline.”

“So what happened to them?” a woman asks from a few seats behind the man whose question had initially provoked the NDF leader’s reply, “and were you in contact with them before they went offline?”

“I won’t speak to matters beyond what I’ve said as they are of little importance to the republic as it stands” Wade responds, looking back to offer the chancellor a brief smile and nod for her troubles, almost as if asking her to play along and cooperate, “your chancellor will be with you later in the day to enter further detail regarding the future of Lancaster as a subsection of the Angelino Republic. Until then, we’d like to thank you for your time.”

His voice having carried the words that now bring about a slight surprise over a nation simply operating to survive, Wade steps away from the rostrum and gently lets his hand rest against the chancellor’s lower back, turning her for the room’s exit and guiding her to quieter corners. “I’m sorry... Boston?” Julia questions aloud, only speaking once she’s comfortable with the distance they’ve travelled from the crowd, “when were you going to tell me that there was a camp in Boston?”

“I wasn’t because it has no bearing on you or this city” Wade retorts, pulling his hand away from the woman’s lower back to let it hang by his side, “I didn’t take you for someone to speak to the public in terms of a bigger picture than just the republic, so I didn’t find it necessary.”

“You didn’t find it necessary to tell me there are other people running communities out there?” Julia challenges, stopping her guided retreat by pausing in the middle of the hallway, prompting the NDF leader to turn back and partake in the discussion. “No, I didn’t since I figured you would’ve already assumed such a thing” Wade answers, a professional tone carried despite his slightly-irritated demeanour, “Jaime already knew not everywhere came down, so I figured you would’ve too.”

“It’s bold of you to assume that Jaime wouldn’t keep things secret” Julia responds, visibly more disturbed than the man she speaks with. “Well, considering she managed to hide out in Lancaster for all this time under your watch- I suppose I shouldn’t have expected such great investigative work out of you, huh?” Wade snipes back, turning away to resume his progression toward greater matters, only for the voice of the chancellor to spark his face’s retreat.

“I’ve already told you about how dangerous Jaime is. I never implied she wasn’t the craftiest bitch as well” Julia doubles down, watching the leader turn back to face her, “but now that she’s running low on connections, it’ll only be a matter of time before we close in on her and take her out of the equation for good.”

Bowing his head, Wade’s face supports a smile that soon remains intact as he approaches the chancellor once more. “The fact that you’re in charge of the second-greatest militaristic force likely on the whole planet and yet, you still consider that one girl to be a threat-” he begins, pausing as the distance between himself and the republic’s foremost woman is almost entirely cut down, continuing only with a whisper-like voice, “-that doesn’t speak well of you.”

“I knocked that woman out of power. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve already more than proven what I’m capable of...” Julia rebukes, lifting her face closer to the leader’s own to reciprocate his imposing demeanour, “...so it’s not so much that it speaks poorly of me, it’s that it speaks highly of her.”

His grin only growing larger, Wade nods to the woman as he pulls his head back, regaining his upright composure before beginning to walk off. “You’re more than likely right, chancellor” he admits, starting to turn around and refocus his attention on the business that lays ahead, “I guess it’s just a good thing that I probably won’t be the first throat she comes at with a knife, isn’t it?”

His warning waged, Wade continues his departure whilst the chancellor remains behind, watching him walk off and disappear around the corner with the rest of his security- her own detail standing by and waiting for her progression. Snarling, Julia’s arched lip soon recedes into a steady frown that the rest of her visage supports, her eyes taking toward a second corridor that she begins journeying down- attending to other matters herself.

= Dire is created by Zachary Serra, all rights to the series belong to Zachary Serra and the entity of Pacer1 from the start of Season 1 onwards =

“Just don’t let it get out of control” Alex reminds, lowering herself to the ground and taking a seat in the dirt, the back of her head against a tree as she watches the flames of a bonfire grow higher. “We’re not looking to start a wildfire, mom” Jaime responds, stripping branches of the various leaves that coat them before handing them off to Kayla, who joins her husband in adding fuel to the fire that serves to keep them warm.

“We’ll keep it contained, Mrs. Morris” Chevy reassures, kneeling beside the hand-dug pit to adjust the bricks that they’ve lined the edges with whilst providing the woman a less-snarky reply. Without saying a word, Kennedy leans her back against a curved rock that sits just beside a bush, a majority of its branches snapped and ripped away in order to feed the flames that burn before her.

“Is this how we’ll have to spend the rest of our lives?” Kennedy wonders aloud, her voice catching the ears of all involved, though her mother’s face is the only one to direct itself toward her. “No, honey” Alex soon replies, Kayla’s face beginning to direct itself toward the young girl as she discards sticks into the fire, “we’ll find a home and stay there. We’re only camping in the woods for tonight.”

“That’s not what I meant” Kennedy responds softly, staring into the orange glow and rising embers as the two women look toward her, patiently waiting for her to continue, “are we going to have to kill people for the rest of our lives?” Her stripping of the branch that she wields being the only noise that permeates the air, Jaime’s work ceases just as Chevy’s does, both of their eyes now joining their peers’ own in glancing back to the young girl.

With widened eyes, Alex looks toward Kayla- who continues to look at the girl who’d broken the silence. Keeping to themselves, Jaime and Chevy redirect their sights toward each other just as they had in looking at Kennedy, a silent discontent carried in the disappointment that’s made clear in their eyes.

“Not unless we have to” Kayla responds, stepping away from the campfire and joining the girl at her rock, reading into the saddened expression that she wears like a harness. “Bad people kill for the sake of it. That’s not what we’re doing or what we did” the woman continues, the child she’d lost during her pregnancy not having taken the woman’s motherly composure and care along with it, “we killed those people because they tried to do bad things to us.”

“I don’t care what we are or what they did” Kennedy defeatedly confesses, staring at the ground whilst digging the front of her running shoe along the dirt, “I just want to know if we’ll have to keep doing it for the rest of our lives.” Keeping to themselves, Chevy and Jaime half-heartedly tend to the fire whilst keeping their ear on the conversation, Alex doing much the same whilst staring into the lifting flames.

“Why do you ask, Ken?” Kayla questions back, placing her palm against the oak tree that sits beside the young girl in order to lower herself to the ground, “is something bothering you?” Pulling his hand away from the excess sticks, Chevy takes satisfaction in the fire they’d started enough to watch on at the discourse’s continuation, the trust he has for his wife to take care of it allowing him to play the role of spectator.

“I’m just tired of seeing people fight” Kennedy glumly responds, one knee arched higher than the other, its counterpart stretched out along the ground, “I thought it would’ve stopped by now.” Sorrowful, Kayla mimics the position of the woman’s legs in her own, however, switching the order around in the opposite way.

“I hear you” the older woman confesses, their voices loud enough for the rest of the camp to listen into, though none of them interrupt the heartfelt conversation. “We don’t have a home anymore. We’re in the middle of the woods hiding from people that want to kill us, and that means we have to kill them instead, and the cycle never stops” Kennedy carries on, growing more perturbed the longer that she hears herself speak, “and now it just feels like we’re never going to have a home again.”

“That’s not going to be a problem. Don’t you worry about that” Kayla responds, only to watch the young girl’s eyes roll dismissively. “I know you mean well, but I know you’re just as clueless about that as I am” Kennedy reassures, looking into the woman’s face to see an acceptance that comes only with agreeing to the terms that her efforts have proven futile, “I’m not a little girl like I was a few years ago. I know when you’re lying to make me feel better- and this is one of those times.”

“I can’t be lying about that since I don’t know what’s in store for the future, but I am just trying to make you feel better- that’s true” Kayla admits, nodding her head before looking back to her husband, whose knee is still firmly planted within the soft dirt. “We may not all be in a very good position right now, but it’s not like we’re helpless” the woman continues, eventually passing her sight to the deposed chancellor and then to the mother.

“You do remember what was going on the last time we camped out like this, right Ken?” Chevy interjects, finally spotting a moment to introduce his voice to the conversation, “the ground was covered in that acid residue shit and we had no idea what we were doing or where we were going.”

“And we still made it out of that just fine, didn’t we?” Kayla doubles down, looking at the girl seated beside her with a hopeful arch in her eyebrows. “A lot of things were different back then” Kennedy retorts, looking up at her second mother figure with an apathetic frown, “we weren’t being chased by crazy people and soldiers. There wasn’t an entire city that was off limits because it wasn’t safe. We were camping out in these woods because we could- not because we had to.”

“And we won’t have to soon enough” Jaime interrupts, keeping her sister from speaking any further before capturing the focus of all those seated around the fire. “I trusted the wrong person. I fucked up and that’s why we’re in this mess” the woman continues, opting not to mince words, “but the fact of the matter is this... The people that are hunting us want me. If they have me, I’m sure they’d be more than happy to cut bait and let you head off wherever you please.”

“That’s not going to happen” Alex rebukes, a gesture that the woman fails to convince her daughter of. “Of course not... Not yet” Jaime replies, eventually taking her eyes back to Kennedy with a nod after a prolonged pause, “but if push comes to shove- I’m the ticket to your freedom. Whether it happens with me or without me... I’ll be damned if the rest of you don’t get a future because of my mistake.”

“It’s not going to come to that” Chevy retaliates, still defiantly devoted to the woman that he still looks at as if she were chancellor whilst the rest of the world chooses instead to turn their backs toward her. “I’d like to hope not, but let’s be realistic here” Jaime responds, showing where her mind rests and where her optimism lies, “we’re not just running away from some parent with a gripe against me. This is a whole damn community sending everything they’ve got to keep us on edge.”

“I am being realistic. It may be a tall task, but we’re not running away from the most impenetrable force on the face of the planet” Chevy doubles down, stepping off the ground and dusting his knee off. “Come with me” he commands, curling his finger toward the exiled chancellor whilst walking off into the depths of the woodlands, his eyes passing a glance toward his wife as he departs, “we’ll be back in a couple minutes.”

Unsure of what the man’s reasoning is, Jaime chooses to provide him the blind faith that- had she never refused it to him- may have kept her in the seat of chancellor up to this very day. “We’ll be back” she says, splitting off to join the man in his destination-less voyage without much of a clue over what's to be shared between them.

|

“Greetings and salutations!” Julia remarks with a chipper tone, placing the palms of her hands to each side of the chair that she occupies, using them to push herself to both feet and provide pleasantries to her guests. “Hello” a woman responds, wearing a grey t-shirt and a pair of black jeans with scuffed knees, the attitude she presents being neither affable, nor rude.

“What can I do for you?” the doctor-turned-dictator questions aloud, taking notice of the haste displayed in the speech of the woman that steps before her and trying to remain hospitable. “It’d be nice if you could explain why some of the peacekeepers are getting less hours than they have been for the last year and some change” the casually-dressed spokeswoman proclaims, joined by three additional members of the protest group, all of whom stand back and allow the discussion to carry on.

 “Well that’s an easy one- we don’t need as many of you” Julia answers honestly, the remark one that initially surprises the group’s spokeswoman, “not as many people are getting hurt and going out to get tests and treatment. When you don’t have as many patients, you don’t need as many volunteers.”

“Well where does that leave those of us that depend on being paid volunteers to make a living?” the spokeswoman questions back, watching the chancellor look off into the distance for a brief second before shrugging. “I don’t know. Get another job, I suppose?” Julia replies, staring into the face of the woman that now appears offended, slighted by the retort paid to her.

“Get another job? We help you get into this position and your way of helping us is to suggest that we get a better job?” the woman rebukes, eyebrows raised and head tilted to the side. “That’s what everyone else does. If they can work for someone that’ll pay them more, they go work for that person” Julia doubles down, reassuring the woman that her conclusion was meant as intended, “if you find someone that’ll give you better hours and more work, you go work for that person.”

“You think it’s that easy for people like us?” the peacekeeper replies, watching the extended palm of the chancellor’s hand lift to prevent her from continuing to speak. “Margot. That’s your name, right? It’s Margot?” Julia questions, lowering herself into the chancellor’s seat before kicking one leg over the other, “Margot, you’re not black and this isn’t segregationist America, alright? You’re not kept from walking into diners and using bathrooms just because of the way you look.”

“Ever since you let it slip that you had peacekeepers volunteering for you, it’s become close to a game of ‘hide the truth’ for all of us” Margot retorts, speaking as if the conclusion the chancellor had made was wrong. “Whenever we apply to work somewhere else or get involved in stuff, we either have to leave out working for you or deal with the side-eyes everyone else gives us” the woman confesses, “you may have told everyone to play nice with each other, but their hate for us hasn’t changed.”

“Well, how else do you expect them to react when you smear the capitol in pig blood, hijack our radio transmissions and foster a guy who burns a good chunk of their food supply?” Julia questions back, able to spot a woman step ahead of her peers just a short distance away, “don’t sit here and act like you haven’t given them a reason to think less of you. All of the trouble that’s come over the last year and a half was started by you. It may be reprehensible, but you’ve made the mess yourselves.”

“You know damn well we had nothing to do with the capitol or the radio waves. And you know Ryan was acting of his own volition” Carly declares, her finger pointing into the face of the smirking chancellor. “Oh, and if it isn’t Chevy’s little henchwoman” Julia says, rolling her eyes and leaning further into her chair, “fall back in line with the others and keep your mouth shut. You’re lucky you weren’t excommunicated like he was.”

“You owe us for helping you push Jaime out of power” Margot doubles down, taking even greater offence to the laugh that spews from the parted lips of the chancellor. “Oh please. I’ve already refused to punish you for any discretions and have outlawed any employer from refusing hire on the basis of group affiliation” Julia responds, gesturing the group the way they’d come, “I’ve given you all the tools to keep your heads down and earn a living. You can choose to take it or not.”

“We’re not members of society- we’re stains to it” Carly responds, watching the chancellor place her fingers to her lips and fire off a resounding whistle. “Then acclimate with the rest of it and contribute to society like everyone else. Work, go home, eat and take a shit. Then put your head on the pillow and do it all over again tomorrow” Julia responds, watching her security detail enter the room to show her guests out, “you’re just the same as everyone else. Go work your way up the ladder.”

|

“Chevy, we’ve been walking for- like- ten minutes” Jaime explains, not complaining about the distance, but curious over the need for such vast amounts of it. “I don’t want anyone back there- Kayla included- hearing what I’m about to say” Chevy retorts, continuing to venture into the unknown as the sky begins to settle into its darkened state.

“Needing to lead me into the middle of nowhere to say something you’d rather your wife didn’t hear?” Jaime repeats, coming to a stop at the same moment that the man himself does, “I love you like a brother, Chevy- but not in the Alabama way.”

“Alright, as much as I appreciate your sarcasm and light-hearted banter, I’d prefer it if you took this seriously” Chevy responds, wrapping his hand around a thin tree trunk for support as he stands near a patch of rocks. “Then just come out with it already” Jaime requests, shaking her head and crossing her arms as their only light source proves to be a flashlight they’d snatched from the armoured vehicle they’ve already walked more than two miles away from.

“Alright, fine. I want to bring you to the peacekeepers” Chevy replies, watching the eyes of the former chancellor widen almost immediately. “You better be about to say ‘syke’ right now, dude” Jaime rebukes, watching the man’s free hand extend its palm toward her.

“I heard what you said last night about falling asleep dreaming of getting revenge against Wade and Julia. I wasn’t going to say anything in front of Kayla and Ken, but I want to help you get that” Chevy explains, watching his friend’s eyes roll disparagingly. “Before he died, Clark would routinely warn the others that their mission shouldn’t be to kill you because they’d only hate whoever replaced you all the same” the man proceeds, “from what Jasmine was telling us, he might’ve been right.”

“Geez, thanks for that outstanding report card” Jaime sarcastically quips, again watching the disheartened expression emerge upon the man’s visage. “My point is that it doesn’t seem like Julia is giving them anything more than what you were. And since there’d be very little republic left after you took out your mercy on the two of them, I don’t think the group would mind helping you turn the city to ash.”

“Why are you only just telling me this now?” Jaime retorts, vehemently shaking her head with uncertainty as she stares off into the distance, “and even for that matter, what makes you think they’d be willing to work with me at all?”

“Because there needed to be some time to pass for them to get used to the way Julia ran things. If they had the chance to see how she ruled for themselves, I figured it’d better your chances of convincing them to join you” Chevy explains, watching the woman’s reluctance to believe in such a stance take shape, “besides, I’m pretty sure I’ve made myself likeable enough for them to at least hear you out. If that doesn’t work, then at least my wife and your family wouldn’t have to see that outcome.”

“Wait, you wanna head off there now!?” Jaime questions aloud, quickly watching the refusal of such a notion grasp Chevy like a pair of firm hands around an uncontrollable mess. “No, of course not! But when we get the others settled into somewhere safe, we can sneak off and claim that we’re looking for stuff to hold ourselves over” the man explains, staring into the millions of stars that shine faintly within the night’s sky, “we’ll make for the republic, slip in and try not to get caught.”

“It’s rather bold of you to assume that we’ll be able to pierce through such an impenetrable fortress such as that one” Jaime says, speaking with sarcasm in spite of the real gravity behind the task they appear to agree to. “We managed to hide out in Lancaster for almost a year before they started sniffing around to the right track” Chevy reassures, a grin coming over his face out of a place of hope for the first time in all too long, “I’m pretty sure we can handle ourselves.”

Pleased, Jaime nods along with the conclusion and shares the smile that her friend holds onto firmly, peering in the distance that still remains uncovered between the man and herself. “So...” the woman quips, slipping one hand into her pocket whilst her other remains hanging by her side, the brow over her left eye raising, “...where to next?”

With a half-chuckle, Chevy bows his head and lets free a deep sigh, able to recall the first time such a question was asked and the result it was met with. Looking back upward, the man sets his eyes onto the visibly chipper former leader of a republic that appears not to be what she’d last known it to be, the disheartening reality of what’s left in its wake unable to keep her from at least enjoying the moment she gets to spend with her friend as his lips part to reply.

“North.”

== Dire ==