B06-32, Part 4 (
Synopsis[]
The man threatens them to give Minerva's pen, later the children also explore the shelter.
Plot[]
The unnamed man has captured Emma with a gun to her head, and tells them to give Minerva's pen or they will all die here. Ray holds the pen but debates what to do if he gives the pen, as the man tells him to give it and that he is tired of their faces.
They cannot leave because they are in the middle of a deserted wasteland. He wonders how cold it can get outside, and if their pursuers can find them, they cannot make fires either because it would expose their location. He knows that they would not be able to do much or go anywhere, and would just wander around with no plan, for those reasons, Ray believes it is too dangerous for them to go back outside.
Leaving the shelter would also mean ditching their search for Minerva and that is even more important because the pen is their only lead to Minerva. Ray is about to make a move, but Emma punches the man in the groin, to the surprise and shock of the orphans; and he releases her because of the pain.
She tells everyone to get out of the room, saying that she thought he was going to choke him. Ray and Gilda criticise her recklessness, as he could have pulled the trigger on her when she attacked him. But Emma simply responds "But he didn't!", and that he was just bluffing and want to chase them out rather than kill them. A bullet then narrowly grazes Emma's cheek before hitting the wall, and the man denies bluffing, but Emma retorts that he missed again.
Emma works out that he does not want them around, but does not want to kill either, so that is why he is trying to make them leave. Nat agrees with this, saying that if it was all the same, he would have shot them all on the spot, and by kicking them out, he is risking that they "make a ruckus" and lead the demons here. The man vehemently denies it again, saying he just does not want to deal with fifteen corpses in his home. He says that he does not care about them and threatens to kill them if they do not leave the shelter.
Emma refuses, saying that they cannot afford to leave and they will do not want to give up on the pen, either. Then she declares that her family is not dead weight, no matter what he thinks of death or weighting down, comrades, hope and caring are all important. The man tries to shoot them but her speech gives him flashbacks of him and Glory Bell escapees and their hopeful attitude, it makes him want to "vomit". He then clutches his head, falls and starts to mutter nonsense, and says "Stop...that's not it...that's not it...It's wrong...John...", and then shouts "You shut the hell up, Lucas!!", before starting to hyperventilate.
Ray and Emma watch in shock and confusion as the man says "They're...really...awful." before collapsing on the table, unconscious. Emma checks him, saying that he is unconscious, and Don asks what was wrong with him all of a sudden. Gilda does not know and Nat asks who Lucas is. The children wonder if he will be alright and what must have happened to him thirteen years ago, and who "they" are.
Ray says that while the man is out of the game, they should explore the shelter to gather information, to find leads about Minerva and information about the outside world, since this was a shelter set up by him, starting with the archives. This was because the man had said that there were lots of materials and information about the world in this shelter. Ray says that he and Emma will try and find the archive room, and Don and Nat to keep watch of the man, while everyone else looks for rooms where everyone can rest.
Yvette looks into one of the rooms, and asks Anna to take a look, wondering what it is. Anna gasps, it looks like a normal room with mattresses, but some materials are chucked everywhere, there are names on the walls, scratch marks and "HELP" written all over the bottom of the wall, several times. The most distinct thing on the wall, however, is a marking that spells the word "Poachers", and Anna wonders what that could mean.
Characters[]
Research Elements[]
In this chapter we have the following Research Elements:
Trivia[]
- The man is laying in a broken teacup, which is the same one he was seen with last chapter.
- The room revealed at the shows the names of all the escapees, which include John and Lucas.