Chapter 34

Charleston. They were finally here. At their safe haven, their new civilization. The new capital of the United States of America.

…And it was a shopping mall.

An underground shopping mall. It was huge, it was clean, and more importantly, it was untouched by the aliens. Porter explained on the way down the slope to what would have been the unloading area that the mall had been in construction shortly before the aliens destroyed everything above ground. Thankfully, everything underground had survived and now the resistance had converted it into their new headquarters.

Grace felt practically presidential as she and her family followed Porter down the escalator steps to the applause and smiles of dozens of people below. She almost felt like she should wave or something. The groups of people were all sitting around tables in some makeshift cafeteria area and many of them rose to their feet to applaud the Second mass as they made their entrance.

It felt like a dream. Even more so when Grace tried the food. Ham, peppers, broccoli, chopped tomatoes, rice, and freshly made bread. It was all piping hot too. It seemed to melt in her mouth and she even closed her eyes to savour it as she sat with Matt, Anne, and her dad to enjoy the meal, all the flavours lighting up in her mouth at once.

"You better eat your veggies, Matty, or I'm going to eat them!" Grace threatened playfully as she shoved another fork full of carrots into her mouth.

Matt laughed gleefully, obviously content with the spread they had been offered and racing to eat everything before Grace could steal it.

She winked at him before looking at her surroundings again. It was in breathtakingly good condition, which wasn't surprising. It was brand new and never had the chance to open to the public. There was some construction still unfinished, some half-completed paint jobs, but otherwise it was an attractive place. White and shiny. They had obviously decorated as well. You couldn't look anywhere without being greeted by a US flag or civil war painting. It was very fitting and reminded her of her dad's knowledgeable references to the civil war. She was particularly struck by the massive American flag which hung between the escalators, its red and white stripes hanging from ceiling to floor, towering over them as they ate. Very patriotic. It seemed like someone was very eager to remind them of the side they were fighting for

"So far so good," she said to Tom, still chewing her food. "Think we made the right choice?"

"I hope so," he smiled, though there was something behind it, like this was too good to be true and things could still go catastrophically wrong at any moment. She felt that too, but she didn't want to let the doubt ruin this - not yet.

Matt was delighted to see other children run past the table, laughing and playing without a care in the world.

"Look at all these kids! Do you think they have a school here, like we did before, with Uncle Scott?"

Grace felt her chest tighten a little at the mention of Uncle Scott. He would have loved it here. He would have fit right in, especially teaching these kids. Grace noticed Anne's smile fade a little too at the mention of him.

"I'd be surprised if they didn't," Tom told him. He noticed Matt's eager, impatient expression. "Go ahead. Check it out."

Matt's eyes lit up.

"But stay clo-"

Too late. Matt had run off in the other direction like Road Runner, much to Tom's dismay.

"I'll watch him." Grace chuckled. "I'll give you some alone time." She gave Anne and her dad a knowing smile before running off after her little brother.

By the time Grace had caught up with him, Matt was already being shown around his new school by a few of the other kids. It was a combination of large units all side by side. Grace presumed there were separate spaces for younger kids and older kids, which was reinforced by the colourful, child-like drawings in one unit compared to the more grown-up and less illustrative posters in the other unit. It looked like a great set up anyway, with rows of mismatching chairs and desks, lots and lots of books and plenty of colouring supplies. It actually relieved Grace to see there was a safe space for the children to learn and be creative, just like she and Uncle Scott had attempted to provide way back when.

"Grace!" Matt chirped excitedly, calling her over. "Look at all these books! Do you think they have Harry Potter?"

Grace laughed. "I'm sure they do somewhere!" It had been a long time since she had read him something from the Harry Potter series. She had missed those simple nights of snuggling up with him and reading him stories.

"Ask Ms Maddison," one of the boys told him. "She'll be back any minute."

Grace chuckled as she started leafing through some of the books. Funny. Sounded like he said…

"Grace?"

Grace froze, hearing the familiar voice. She turned around slowly. Maddison. Of course.

"Zoe."

There she was, standing in front of her. Though her hair looked a little neater, braided around her head, her clothes a bit more casual, but it was her former best friend alright. Her peach lips lifted into a smile.

"Oh, Grace. I'm so glad you're okay. They said you guys might be coming, but I was so worried you wouldn't be with them. Sorry I wasn't there for your big arrival. I had some things to take care of here. How's your dad, and your other brothers? Are they all here?"

"They're okay…" Grace said, still a little taken aback by Zoe's presence. "We're all here. But Ben is…away right now."

"Away?"

"Long story," sighed Grace. "But what are you doing here, Zo? You're a teacher?"

"Also a long story," Zoe rolled her eyes. "Jeanne's here too. She went to look for her dad."

Grace barely had time to process Zoe's words before she moved onto the next question. "What about your Lost Boys? Diego?"

Zoe swallowed hard and she glanced away for a moment, trying to hide the moisture filling in her eyes. She gently shook her head.

"Oh. I'm sorry, Zo. I know how much you loved them."

Zoe swiped at her eyes and forced a smile, coming over to Grace and grabbing her arms. "It's okay. It's just so wonderful you're here. I'm sorry about how we left things before. I've missed you."

She squeezed Grace so tightly, Grace thought she might have left bruising. It seemed like she really needed a friend. It made Grace wonder what happened to the Lost Boys.

"Shall we talk?" Grace offered.

"I have class." They looked over as some kids started to filter back into the classroom. They looked anywhere between six years old to about eleven. "But definitely soon." She looked down towards Matt who had been listening curiously and she ruffled his hair. "Does your little bro want to join us for class? We're doing times-tables today."

"No thanks!" Matt quickly rejected the offer, wrinkling his little nose.

Grace raised an eyebrow at Zoe. "Really, math?"

Zoe laughed. "We're also writing book reviews. Do you have a favourite?"

The boy almost gasped. "Do you have any Harry Potter books?"

"Uh, try all of them," Zoe replied humorously.

"I'm in!" Matt grinned.

Zoe could sense Grace's hesitation. "He'll be fine. I promise. He's safe here."

She could see a lot in Zoe's gaze: regret for her past actions, hope that Grace would trust her again, fear that she wouldn't. Grace bit the inside of her cheek. She could still hear Matt's cries as he was chained to that table, the harness creature making its way towards his spine. She shuddered. He'd been there because of Zoe, she knew better and she let Diego take Matt on their failed rescue mission.

But looking at Zoe's face…she's always found it hard to say 'no' to her. So she left Matt to be taught by Zoe - as bizarre as that statement was. She'd never pictured her friend as an educator. Zoe had always hated school growing up. She would spend her time texting or flirting or trying to wind the teachers up. Sometimes she'd skip school completely. It was a wonder she wasn't expelled. When she really thought about it, though, being with the kids probably filled some kind of void for Zoe now the Lost Boys were gone.

Grace couldn't help wondering what had happened after they parted ways. Those poor young boys. Zoe and Jeanne must have been in bits. Still, she was relieved to see her former best friend safe and well, despite their awkward departure. She was sure she could trust Zoe to look after Matt for a few hours if all the parents here trusted her with their children - what trouble could she get into here?

She walked back down the bright hallways towards the cafeteria area when she heard yelling. She soon spotted a gathering of Second Mass members, facing off with a few Charleston soldiers. Anne and her dad were in the middle of it, with Hal leading Weaver towards the centre of the stand-off.

"What's going on?" Grace asked, joining Casey on the outside of the huddle, little Etta in her car seat by Casey's feet.

"Housing assignments. They're splitting us up," Casey raged. "I don't want Etta to be around strangers. She needs to be around familiar faces. People we trust."

Grace saw where she was coming from and fully agreed. She didn't want to be around strangers either, no matter how safe it was. She didn't want to be separated from her family.

"Not only that, they want our guns too," Crazy Lee spat angrily.

"What?"

Grace was suddenly aware that she left her rifle with Tom and Anne. That was probably long gone. But she still had her pistol and her knife. To be left with nothing? She'd be vulnerable- naked - without them. They were her safety blanket. Surely Weaver had to draw the line at this.

But he was uncharacteristically quiet whilst Tom and one of the sergeants engaged in a screaming match.

"This is not a damn resort! You will go where you are told!"

"You better back off!"

"At ease!" an authoritative voice interrupted as the owner pushed through the crowd. Colonel Porter to the rescue. "At ease, Sergeant Clemons."

The Sergeant immediately backed off whilst Tom gave him the stink eye.

"Jim, these people have had each other's backs for months," Tom began to explain.

"I understand that. And you've got to understand this isn't punitive," replied Porter. "Down here, we store all the weapons in a central area, and then we issue them according to mission. We're just salting your people in where they belong." He gave a trusting look towards Weaver. "Now, that said, Dan, you tell me 'no way,' I'll back your position."

Grace was sure their captain would have something to say on the matter. He'd been their leader for almost a year. They'd seen the horrors of this war together, he knew how important it was for his fighters to be able to protect themselves. It didn't seem right to surrender all of their supplies and weaponry just like that.

He paused for a long moment, looking around at everyone, thinking whilst the rumblings of anger began to rise again.

"Hold on!" he shouted, as the crowd around him immediately quietened. "I may not like it, but the Colonel is making sense. We're here now. We're in Charleston."

Another awkward pause.

"Captain Weaver's right," Tom agreed. "We need to start thinking beyond the Second Mass now."

His sentiment was met by worried glances and outbursts of disbelief, but ultimately, nobody tried to argue. Tom handed his rifle to Porter.

"Good. Carry on, Sergeant Clemons."

"Yes, sir." The sergeant continued collecting their weapons while the second mass fighters dismally surrendered their guns onto the tables in front of them.

Grace put a hand on her holstered gun, hesitant to let it go. She hated this. But it wasn't hers anymore. It wasn't the Second Mass'. It belonged to Charleston now.

They all did.