17

It's not long before the clock on the wall ticks past noon, and as if on cue, the room around you starts to get busier than ever. Dina's voice is sounding a little more hoarse after having to answer so many questions with no microphone, but she pushes on, seeming determined to respond to as many people as she can.

Unfortunately, it gets a little harder to hear what she's saying as more and more people file into the room. You try to block it out as best you can, not wanting to miss anything important—though you notice when Maxie and Zoe sit down just a few rows ahead of you. You're not surprised to see them, of course; and in a way, it's encouraging that they, after living in Silvertree much longer than you have, still think it's worth coming to meetings like this. Of course, you don't know how much they, like you, are simply hoping against hope that this one might make a difference.

For the first time in a while, there's a slight pause in the discussion as Dina drinks some water and lets all the newcomers get settled into seats. The buzz of a few hundred murmuring voices starts to press against your ears again, and you're reminded of an engine that's sitting idle, waiting to shift into gear.

It's at that moment the doors behind you open again.

You wouldn't have paid it any mind if not for Dina. At the sound of the doors, she glances up briefly from the conversation she's having with the person beside her—and then she stops. For just a second, as she recognizes who has just walked in, you see her turn very still.

With a look over your shoulder, you see who it is at once. Not just one person—but the whole group of protesters you passed outside, with Rana standing at the front of them all. None of them move towards the chairs; instead, they organize themselves into a line at the back of the hall, standing quietly with their signs held just in front of their chests. You're not sure many other people have seen them, but there's no way the Town Council could possibly miss them from where they're sitting.

Even so, after a couple more minutes, the meeting carries on just as it had before. The protesters don't move from their positions as Dina starts taking more questions, and Dina herself doesn't seem to feel the need to acknowledge them directly before they've said anything themselves.

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