Chapter Sixteen

The bell woke me up. There was a knock on the door. Then our unit bell rang again. I sat up in bed. I wonder how long have I slept. Zayne was still sleeping, snoring very softly. Dad was already at the door. Mom came out of the bathroom to see. Mr Pierce entered, followed by his wife and Orion. I jumped out of bed to go and talk with him. My parents invited them to sit at the sofa while they converse. Dad and Mr Pierce bro-hugged. Well I don't do that with Orion. From the distance we waved and then we sat down on the carpet in the bedroom to talk.

'How are you Zac?' Orion asked.

'I'm fine! You?'

'Great!'

'Norman's not here yet'

'Yeah, my family barely made it out as well. Thanks to your dad for the early warning'

I glanced at my dad who was happily chatting with Mr Pierce. Mom was speaking to Mrs Pierce. And it looked like all of them were sharing what happened the past hours.

'Hey, you should check out the tv, they don't have cool channels like back in Warhem but they got a game console we can connect and play!' Orion told me excitedly.

'We have no console'

'What? No! It's in the closet room in one of the drawers. You'll have to bring it out'

Ooh, a game console, life here is getting better. I don't care how simple as long as it's fun.

Just then, the bell rang. And a knock on the door. Dad went to answer it. A man I don't recognise entered our bay. He was wearing a dark blue jumpsuit. Which means he's an official. But he dressed more professionally. He has a shiny badge on. Nova and another unfamiliar woman entered the bay.

'Good evening Mr Adams' the first man said. 'Mr Pierce, I see you're here as well'

'Good evening sir...' dad replied. I could tell, he too not sure who he's talking to.

'I'm sorry to disrupt the union but there are important matters I need to discuss with you. Firstly, I'm the chief of this underbuild. I'm entrusted to look after the welfare of Warhem base'

'Oh sir, no worries at all. I'm honoured for the visit and hospitality'

'Anyone who supports this cause is welcome here at any time. The name's Brandon Williams'

'Nice to meet you Chief Brandon' dad replied, shaking his hand.

'Oh, you don't have to call me with that title. I'm just doing my job. My brother started this cause and I'm just helping out. Now I have very important matters to discuss and the first is very crucial. Nova checked your bags earlier and found a tabloid in one of the bags'

I flinched at that. He's talking about my tabloid. Was I wrong to bring my tabloid along? The guilt is growing again. My parents were definitely surprised. I saw mom looking at me for answers.

'I'm sure Nova has asked if you brought tabloids with you and you said no'

Okay, my guilt is conquering me. Apparently, my parents had discussed this with Nova earlier. No wonder they're extremely confused.

'It was my tablet sir' I said. Chief Brandon turned to look at me. He's actually quite old. His hair has a few white strands and his beard is total white. He has no beauty marks or any scratches on the face. If it weren't for his white hair, he could be mistaken to be an adult just in his thirties. I wonder if his brother if he's older, he'll definitely look older.

'I know it's yours son. Because we checked' the chief replied. Okay, this man has got wisdom in his speech. 'I'm just delivering the news to your parents and generally to anyone hearing just as a reminder. A reminder to check everything before confirming'

'We're terribly sorry sir' dad said.

'Now now, I'm not mad. Don't be mad on the boy. I'm just worried that's all' Chief Brandon said. Then he focused on me. 'The reason we cannot have any tabloid in any of our bases is because each has a tracker in them. The government can track where you are and the next thing you'll know, doom'

Oh no! I did a terrible mistake! I'm gonna die after all. I was hoping I'm finally free but I destroyed my own hope.

'Luckily we destroyed the tabloid immediately. But I can't assure if the government is not already on us'

'It's my fault too. I forgot to remind my boys to not bring the tabloid. No wonder the techbots could track us down easily'

'We have security and an emergency exit but at the moment, do not worry. Our base radar still have not detect any threat yet. You can carry on with your chores while we carry on with ours. If anything happens, the whole underbuild will be informed. About the other matters, I'll get back to you soon.'

They politely left the bay. Dad turned to look at me. But his expression was not mad. He seemed grateful. The chief was right. It's no use worrying. It won't shape the future. At this crucial time we need hope. We will always need hope.