Against The Sun

Rebellion Is A Good Look

It took several long minutes to recount to Nate everything he had remembered in the dream. Gerard had been hesitant at first, still not entirely sure if he could trust the Juvie Hall, but he had promised his dad that if he ever remembered, he would get the information into rebel hands and he wasn't about to back down on that now. Not when his parents had laid their lives down for that cause. He had no idea how to get in contact with the rebels, and Nate apparently worked with them, so there really wasn't any other choice than to tell him everything. Nate had sat him down on the sofa and listened intently as Gerard explained.

"Your Dad implanted a microchip of stolen files into you arm?" Nate questioned.

Gerard nodded holding out his arm. Nate grasped his elbow and gently ran his fingers over the soft skin there, sending shivers up to Gerard's shoulder and down his spine, and making his stomach flip. Gerard pulled his arm back with a jerk, not knowing why he had reacted like that.

"Sorry," Nate looked at him apologetically before looking back down at the unblemished pale skin of Gerard's arm. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Gerard replied firmly.

Nate ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. This was a lot of new information, and if it was true, he wasn't entirely sure what to do with it.

"Okay... well it's going to take a hot minute to organise a meeting," Nate finally said.

"Meeting?"

"Yeah, we'll have to do it in person," Nate explained. "Can't give too much away over radio, there's always someone listening."

Gerard let out an anxious breath. He didn't want to wait. "I just want this to be done, and to find somewhere safe with Mikey."

"I know," Nate put a hand on his shoulder sadly. "But..."

Looking up at the older boy with worried eyes Gerard wasn't sure if he wanted to hear the rest of that sentence.

Nate sighed. "I'm not going to lie to you. If the information on that chip is as important as I think it is... Important enough to get your parents killed... If BLI finds out the rebels have it then you and Mikey are going to be their number one suspects."

Gerard squeezed his eyes shut tightly. He knew deep down that this was the only possible outcome but he had held onto the hope as long as he could. That tiny little flame of hope that they could live normal lives somewhere was extinguished in a moment. "They'll hunt us down won't they?"

"Do you still want me to organise a meeting?"

Gerard appreciated that Nate was giving him a way out. It was kind, and Gerard hadn't expected to find kindness when he had made the decision to run with Mikey. If he was being honest with himself he was starting to feel bad that he still wasn't entirely trusting of Nate seeing as he had been nothing but honest and patient with them since they had met.

The option of doing nothing, trying to forget he'd ever remembered what his dad had told him, was tempting. The last few days had been so terrifying that the thought of putting himself in a position to be subjected to more of the same was almost too much. But he'd made a promise to do the right thing. He knew that meant getting the information to the rebels. He knew that's what he had to do.