Chapter 2: The Stow-Away
Wow, they look just like they do in the show…
Amazing, they were standing just where they had been when the credits rolled on the last episode. Moments ago they had been on her television screen, now here they were in front of her. There was Ellie, Jack, Jay and Amber, Trudy, Salene, May, Ram and even Lex. To say she was star struck was definitely an understatement. There was only one difference between the picture on her TV and the reality of the moment. The looks on their faces were shocked and confused.
"Ahhh…Hi, everyone," Marie murmured a hesitant greeting while pulling herself to her feet.
"Who the hell are you?" Lex asked eloquently.
"Lex, be civil," Amber chastised.
"Civil? We've got a stow-away on board and you want me to be civil?" Lex questioned sarcastically.
"I'm not a stow-away," Marie stammered, "I…I…was trying to get away from the explosion. I found this boat and…jumped."
"What's your name?" Salene questioned.
"Marie, my name's Marie," she answered.
"Marie, what tribe are you with?" Amber asked her.
"Ahhh…," her mind raced. What tribe was she with? "I wasn't really with a tribe. Just looked after myself really."
"Welcome aboard, Marie," Trudy said warmly.
"What do you mean 'welcome aboard'? She's not welcome; she's a stow-away," Lex said stubbornly.
"Well, we can't send her back to the city, she'll die. And we can't through her overboard, she'll drown. So what do you propose we do with her Lex?" Ram said reasonably.
"I say we keep her…this tribe could use some fresh blood," Ebony added.
As the Mallrats continued to talk about her fate as if she wasn't there, a wave crashed over the side of the boat drenching Marie from head to toe and sending her sprawling to the deck once again. She struggled to her knees, pushed the wet hair from her eyes and looked up once more at the group of people standing above her.
"Do you think I could come up there?" she asked.
"I don't think so," Lex said forcefully.
"Lex, stop it!" Trudy came to her rescue, "Come on up, Marie. You need to get dry."
Marie ascended the few steps up to the top deck and turned to look at the city again.
"I just can't believe that we're leaving the city…Even the virus that killed the adults couldn't drive us away. And now we're running like frightened children," Ebony said disbelievingly into the silence.
"We had to Ebony. Mega's virus would've killed us all," Ram replied.
"Well maybe we should've stayed and taken our chances," Ebony mused.
"Suicidal much?" Lex said sarcastically.
Ebony shot him a murderous look, "No, just highly territorial."
Suddenly another loud explosion rocked the empty city and smoke billowed up from into the sky.
"What was that?" Ellie exclaimed.
"Another explosion," Jay answered obviously.
"Must've been the Techno weaponry. The fire from the lab must've set it off." Ram added.
The Mallrats stared hard at the city as if this was the last time they would see it. "Goodbye," Salene murmured quietly. One by one the others followed suit, all saying their farewells to the home they had worked so hard to protect for so long. Marie stood in the background, not wanting to intrude on the emotional moment. At last the city slipped from view, all that was still visible was the smoke from the explosions, hanging in the sky like a bad omen. Marie looked around her, the looks of desolation and uncertainty that greeted her were not encouraging. She was alone in a time and place that was not her own, but the Mallrats were no better off than she. They were all adrift on the open see, sailing uncertainly toward their future.