Remainers

To Those in the Future, Part 12

Marianne Ackerton sat in a daze. Everything that she'd been told was a shock. That there was a virus infected everyone in the shelter, and that the Ackertons were hiding it from the public... she could scarcely believe it.

John took a sip of his beer before continuing. "As time passed, more and more people started to disappear. It wasn't that big a proportion of the shelter's population, but it was enough that people had to start noticing."

"Things got worse because of Kath. I could never have convinced her to keep secret about the virus even if I tried, but perhaps I should have anyway. The moment people found out, panic and outrage broke out immediately. We tried to calm them down as much as we could, but as expected, there were a lot of people who ended up activating their viruses that day. It led credence to our claim, but it also meant a lot more people were dying."

"Where is Kath now?"

"I don't know. She went underground after revealing the truth. From what I hear, she's supposedly trying to start an uprising, but I don't know exactly how she's planning to do that."

"Is she trying to take control of the shelter from my family?"

"Possibly. I guess she thinks they're not doing a good job protecting people from the virus, and that's not far from the truth. Still, I think she's being reckless. If things get too heated, even she'll end up activating the virus in her brain."

Marianne mulled over everything she had just learned. "Be honest with me," she finally asked. "What do you think should happen from now on?"

John thought for a moment before answering. "To be honest? Right now, the people closest to a cure are the Ackertons. For that reason alone, I'd like them to keep working on finding a cure, if there is one."

"Then, you'd like to work with the Ackertons? Wouldn't that put you at odds with Kath?"

"What can I do? She won't listen to me anymore. And I don't agree with her attempting to take control of the shelter anyway. Still, I don't really want to work with the Ackertons either..." John suddenly stopped and cleared his throat awkwardly. "Sorry about that. I forgot who I was talking to."

"It's okay," Marianne said reassuringly. "I always had an inkling that my family wasn't very well-liked."

"Well, that's the understatement of the year, honestly. The Ackertons are aggressively power-hungry, even in this situation where humanity is possibly on the brink of extinction."

"Still, if you're not planning on helping Kath or the Ackertons, what are you planning on doing?"

John's face hardened. "At this rate, chaos is going to break out in the shelter. Even if nobody gets hurt, if their viruses activate, it won't matter anyway. Stress is continuing to rise up and if it gets any higher, I doubt there are going to be that many people left in the shelter to survive."

"So what are you going to do?"

"To be honest, I was at a loss for a while. But meeting you might just be the miracle I needed."

"Me? What can I do?"

"Talk to your family. Try to get them to de-escalate and talk things out with Kath's group."

"That won't work," Marianne said with an apologetic expression on her face. "I'm not as influential in the family as you might think I am. They barely acknowledge I exist sometimes."

"Even so, there must be someone who will listen to you. It doesn't matter if it's only one person."

Marianne thought for a moment if there was someone in her family that would even take her seriously. Her half-brother Michael was nice to her, but he definitely looked down on her. Her half-sister Rosie often chatted with her, but she doubted she would take any of her requests seriously. The only real option available to her was Derrick. He was a busy man, so she didn't want to bother him too much, but he was probably the best chance she had at getting to the rest of the family.

"I could talk to my brother Derrick. He's always listened to me."

"Derrick Ackerton, huh? He's in charge of most of the shelter's day-to-day operations. If you really can get him to listen to you, that would be great."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to try to talk to Kath one more time. It's a long shot, but if by some chance she actually listens to me, we might actually be able to bring this to a more peaceful resolution."

"She wouldn't hurt you, would she?"

"Probably not?" John scratched his head. "I can't really get a handle on her, but at the very least, I don't think she'd hurt me just for trying to talk."

"Okay," Marianne said apprehensively. "You just need me to talk to Derrick on my end, right?"

John nodded. "Try to get him to meet with Kath. I'd like them to at least try to talk it out."

"I don't know if I'll be able to convince him, but I'll do my best to explain the matter to him."

"Thanks. This could save the shelter once and for all."

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Marianne returned to her villa, doing her best to avoid any patrols on the way back. When she made it home, she plopped right on her bed. It was the first time she had such a thrilling adventure, and she was still a little excited about that.

Still, what she'd heard certainly shocked her. She wondered how Derrick must have felt about it, knowing that everything their family was doing could possibly come to nothing. She thought about how even she was on the verge of death at any point.

At that moment, a sudden surge of fear came over her. Curiosity and amazement had dulled her reaction before, but now that she was alone with her thoughts, the fear began to overtake her. This wasn't good. If she didn't calm down, she could end up activating her virus, and that would be an irreversible mistake.

After some restlessness, Marianne finally fell asleep. Before she knew it, it was morning, and the alarm rang to let her know. Still a little drowsy, she began going about her usual routine of watering the plants before remembering that she had been asked to do something very important.

She quickly pulled out the pager that Derrick had given her to contact him whenever she needed anything. There was no phone system in the shelter, but he gave her this device based on incredibly old technology so she could still contact him whenever she needed. Derrick was often busy with managing the shelter, but if she sent him a message, he'd make time for her if needed.

Until that happened, however, she was free to do as she liked. She spent that time watering her plants and going about her day as usual until Derrick arrived some time in the afternoon.

"Your message was a little too vague, but unfortunately I don't have much time to talk," he explained as he entered her villa. "What is it that you needed from me?"

"It might take a little more than a moment to explain," Marianne answered apologetically. "How much time do you have? If it's not much, we can do this another time."

"I can spare at most fifteen minutes. Do you think you can explain in that time?"

Marianne nodded. "I just finished making some tea. Why don't you have a seat?"