Chapter 258
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When Eve returned home Thursday night Julia hugged her.
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Julia: I heard people were killed. I'm glad yoo're okay.
Eve: I'm glad you're okay too.
Julia: Did you see the shootout?
Eve: Not really. The film crew asked everyone to take cover. I did, and started praying until it was over. I was actually relieved when Zoey Allen survived. I don't like her, but I know her.
Julia: It is difficult when someone you know dies like that.
Eve: Yeah, I feel a little selfish for surviving.
Julia: We all have to be a little selfish right now. The Arks need doctors, farmers, technicians right?
Eve: I supposse.
Julia: And everyone of those people who get in will be there, because other people were excluded. They need to be there for humanity to survive. What's the alternative, noone going into the Arks, the end of the human race?
Eve: And they'll be the ones passing their genes unto future generations.
Julia: Yup. The genes of selfish people will survive for a long time.
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What little Eve had seen of the gunfight's aftermath was incredibly bloody. She'd never seen the actual gunfight, just heard rumors later. The most popular rumors said that the radicals had made themselves into cowboys and cowgirls, made this an old fashioned showdown. This made about as much sense as anything else these days. Rumors also circulated about the situation in Japan. The whalers that stole the oil had reached an agreement with their government. The lower level whalers were admitted to their Arks. Their leaders however, committed ritual suicide, seppuku, like old samurai warriors. Their logic seemed to be the same as the American "cowboys." They were going to die, it was only a question of how. So they decided to die in a manner be-fitting their heritage. At least that's how it seemed to be.
During the month of August Eve continued to bring contraband to Jenkins' church. Food, medicine, toys for the children, even videogames. With her tattoo, she was still able to buy and sell. Stuck inside all day, they needed some fun. Somehow Jenkins had smuggled a television into this place. Not much to watch, there were no new series, mostly re-runs of Buffy and the Twilight Zone. There were some books, boardgames. Sometimes Eve would even stay to play a game of monopoly or chess with these refugees. Some talked about escaping the sector. But the penalty for escape was death. Even if they got out, where would they go, how could they survive? As scary as this place was, they were still dependant on the sector for food and medical care. With the countdown getting lower, the likelihood of survival decreased.