Remainers

To Those in the Future, Part 15

John and Marianne stared anxiously into the room where Kath and Derrick were having a discussion. They initially tried to start the conversation themselves, but were quickly deemed unnecessary and thrown out. And so, they watched worriedly from the other room like anxious parents supervising a blind date.

The building they were in was a massive dorm building that had been left unused due to the decrease in the shelter's population. The population had been going down because of the disappearances, of course, but now that the guards busied themselves with simply patrolling the Ackerton villa, those had stopped. Instead, people that fell prey to the virus were now packed in the infirmary, if they were not cared for by friends and family. That left many of the more populated areas in the shelter abandoned, and while John felt that sitting in such a place felt incredibly eerie, it did make for an incredibly convenient meeting place.

While he was ruminating on thoughts like these, Kath and Derrick finally began talking. "I sure was surprised, you know. A member of the Ackerton family actually deigning to listen to a member of the lower class. I almost thought I was hearing things!"

"Now's no time for jokes," Derrick grumbled. "To be honest, I don't have as much time as you do. The sooner we get this settled, the better."

"Then let's get to business already. I don't mind putting a stop to this rebellion, so long as we get one thing."

"One thing? What is it?"

"I want the Ackerton family to end their little 'reign' over this shelter. From now on, they should be citizens of equal status to the rest of us."

"Don't tell me that's what this rebellion is all about!"

"You got a problem? There's no doubt that the way you've been handling things was awful. You can't be surprised that people have an issue with the way you've been doing things."

Derrick sighed. "So you want us to 'abdicate', huh? Well, I wouldn't be against it, but my rest of my family is a different question. My father in particular would disown me the moment the words came out of my mouth."

"Well, that's no good. We're already starting to hit a roadblock here, aren't we?"

"Now, now, don't call it a wash so easily. I can't do anything about the Ackertons, but I can pull some strings and get you into the meetings, give you a chance to voice your complaints. It's not ideal, but it's something."

Kath shook her head in response. "What do you think it'll look like to my comrades if I suddenly started openly collaborating with the enemy? I'd be a traitor. There're a few of them who'd fly off the handle just from learning I was here talking with you."

Derrick grumbled. "What shall we do, then? There's not much else I can offer you."

Kath thought about things a little more. "For now, the most important thing is sincerity. I can speak for everyone who's joined the resistance in that our dissatisfaction with the Ackertons is what drives us. Do you understand that?"

"I do. But you also have to understand that we don't have a lot of resources ourselves. We didn't want to handle things the way we did, but considering what we knew, it was all we could do to keep things from spiraling out of control."

"Then I want to see your sincerity. Apologize to the people of the shelter for your poor handling of the situation. If you can do that, I'll do my part to keep the resistance from doing anything crazy."

"That's not very much," Derrick remarked wryly.

"Well, it's not as if either of us has much to offer."

Derrick nodded. "You're right. Fine. Getting an apology from my father is tougher than climbing Mount Everest, but it's a sight easier than trying to get him to give up his status as the shelter's head. Don't hold your breath, though."

"No problem. In the meanwhile, I'll tell my comrades to cool things down. They know what's at stake, so I doubt any of them will try to rile things up."

"I'll take anything, I suppose," Derrick replied. "Geez, I'm getting nervous even thinking of having to talk to my father."

"Don't get too stressed or you'll activate your virus," Kath said wryly.

"That's not a very funny joke," Derrick snarked back.

From afar, John and Marianne breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, things seemed to have worked out for now," John remarked. "But who knows about the future? Seems like things can't stop being complicated."

"Even so, this is good news, right? Now we don't have to worry about a fight breaking out."

"You think so?" John seemed unconvinced. "Well, all I can do is hope you're right."

After a few more discussions over minor concerns, Kath and Derrick ended their conversation. With that over, John escorted Derrick and Marianne back to the plaza, just in case any resistance members were still lurking around.

"I've got to say, I'm impressed," Derrick remarked again. "I didn't think you had it in you to do this much on your own."

"It's all just circumstance, really," Marianne said with a blush. "If I hadn't seen John by chance, I probably would never have ventured out to begin with."

"But you still had the initiative to seek him out. That still speaks volumes about your character to me." Derrick's expression darkened. "I always worried, you know. Worried that I was protecting you too much."

"You shouldn't be worried about that!" Marianne said passionately. "I know it was hard to live as a son of the Ackertons, and you just wanted to keep me out of their influence."

"I see." Derrick smirked. "I guess everyone grows up in time."

John chuckled, despite himself. "What's that for?" Derrick asked with a wry smile on his face.

"Oh, nothing," John replied apologetically. "I guess I just realized that even the Ackertons can have family problems."

"That's not the half of it. The Ackertons have always been a mess of infighting and backstabbing. The apocalyptic situation we find ourselves in has banded us together out of necessity, but otherwise, we'd all be eating ourselves alive for even a morsel of power."

"Sounds rough. Are you going to be able to keep your promise to Kath, then? I mean, I don't know your father all that well, but he honestly seems like the kind of guy that would rather die before making an apology he didn't mean."

"It'll be fine. I've been managing that man for years, after all. Besides..."

"Besides what?"

"If there's one thing that the Ackerton siblings have in common, it's that we all hate Paul Ackerton with a vengeance."