True North Rising || Ongoing ||

Chapter Ten

The next day a grey pickup truck with a single driver pulls up in front of the house, and honks a couple times. Katlyn goes and wakes the others. Groaning awake they grab the gear they brought with them from the safehouse, and exit the house. Serena is the first to the truck when the driver makes a jokes calling himself, Resistance Taxi Service. They mount up into the truck, some having to ride in the box of it, and return to the Red Zone and New Town. Katlyn sits in the box with Kelly and Maya, the bumpy road and paths take are painful for Kelly, groaning from the discomfort. Katlyn finally having a minute to think process everything that's happened lately.

The last few days I've almost been blown up, arrested, and shot at on two separate occasions, and killed someone. Nothing about my life has been normal recently since meeting Serena. There's no getting out of this now, is there? No, not with blood on my hands now. Guess there's only one thing I can do.

The group arrives at New Town after leaving the truck before it crossed the Zone lines, releasing him to return back to his own Cell, proceeding on foot. Serena and Adam separate from the others while Katlyn and Maya take Kelly to the clinic. While Kelly gets treatment Maya return to the New Town centre seeing the kitchen making preparations for lunch. The two leans into an old couch that was set up in the common area, letting out sighs of relief finally being able to relax a bit.

"You had to say our job was boring eh?" Maya says with a cheeky smile and soft laugh, Katlyn chuckles in return.

"I'm sorry about your friend. He seemed like a nice guy." Katlyn says with a soft tone, Maya's head lowers slightly.

"Johnny was funny. Dark humour was his favourite kind, obviously. He was a great guy." Maya says with a soft laugh, followed by a heavy sigh,

"I'll have to find his daughter later, tell her what happened." She continues, her head lowered slightly.

Katlyn doesn't say anything but is surprised when his daughter is mentioned, surprised that he had a daughter but still joined the resistance. She doesn't want to ask an outright question that could be seen as rude or inappropriate so she decides to ask where his daughter lives, she lives here in New Town. Maya goes on to tell Katlyn that he volunteered to do a week posting in the Safehouse then return.

"If his daughter is here why didn't he stay in New Town? Why take an obviously danger posting?" Katlyn asks, curious what Maya's answer will be.

"Yeah, its dangerous for us out there. Never knowing will a boot will be breaking down the door. But he did it for this." She says gesturing to area around them as people walk by.

Katlyn assumes she is gesturing at New Town, which makes sense but what Maya says next isn't exactly what she expected.

"He did it not just for New Town, and the people here but for everyone in this country. His daughter gets freedom. Real freedom. Not separated by Zones, Districts, or Classes. He wants his daughter to live in a country where you are free to go where you want, when you want. That's what he was fighting for, that's what he died for."  Maya says with a soft voice, eyes filled with emotion.

Katlyn goes silent thinking about what she said, the fact John had a daughter but yet still risked his life for her to have a better life. Life in New Town isn't great but Katlyn can see that they are happy: Children playing together, people talking openly in the pathways, NVR Fighters talking with the people and being respected by the citizens of New Town shaking their hands and thanking them for what they do.

Life here is so much different than back home. The Green Zone definitely has it easier than the other Zones but not every district has it easy. Even in the Green you avoid eye contact with the ATTF and the military, here their soldiers are adored. This is nothing like how the News and the ATTF have portrayed the rebels.