ROT

Chapter 6

       Schenck was two years older than me, but had the maturity of a child. She was nine when the Blasts took place, and joined ROT around the same time I had finally been emotionally accepted into the Resistance group. As far as ranks went she was of a higher standing, so could technically order me around if she wanted to. But though the Propaganda Sector and the Armed Sector mingled and overlapped duties and jobs from time to time, so their leadership did as well, she knew I respected who I respected and no one else. She knew I had a certain fondness for the Armed branch, so didn't boss me around too much. If she wanted something big done by me, she used Bauer to break the news. Which was what was starting to happen now.

       We were all crammed into Bauer's office to keep everything confidential: me, Ria, Danica, Steve, and of course Bauer that had a well-concealed sour look on his face. In the shadows produced by the blind spots of the hand-cranked flashlights, he seemed older and more worn than ever before. I hated to break the news to him, but luckily I didn't have to. Ria stepped up to the plate.

       She explained everything in elaborate detail, accentuating my paranoia and overall bad mood, but I just let her go with it: my interruptions wouldn't help anything. Bauer sat at his desk in silence, and didn't say anything until she was completely done.

       "You're sure of this, that it was the NDM? You're sure that they're gone and that there was a leak?" He questioned, voice low despite himself.

       "Yes, we're sure," I cut in. "All of this can't be a coincidence, and who else would it be besides them? None of the gangs around these parts have any reason to do something this drastic."

       He nodded, soaking in my thoughts on the matter before beginning to settle into his own. Contemplation crossed over his features, a look of serious thinking that I didn't want to disturb. It was time for all of us to leave him be and let him do what he did best: thinking things out. He was always good at that sort of thing, whether it was understanding the enemy or a certain situation, or understanding the actions and words of our own members. He usually wasn't biased and liked to run through every possibility, which labeled him somewhat of a devil's advocate, but it was all for the best in the end.

       "We'll contact you once we know anything further," Steve spoke up to us three, giving us our leave.

       We shuffled out the door pathetically, making our way to the main tunnels of ROT.

       Hand-cranked flashlights hung from the ceiling like a small army of fireflies, supplying the light for our underground fortress. They were collected throughout the sixteen years since the Blasts happened, and while we would have preferred torches or fire because it was easier to supply, the smoke wouldn't go over too well in the tunnels we called home. We normally didn't keep this many on or have many civilians here in the first place, but when the NDM made their rounds to supply their anti-radiation drug everyone flocked here because they didn't want to be found out. If someone wasn't taking the drug they would be forced to, and this was the one place where they wouldn't be made to be one of the NDM's slaves.

       My boots crunched against bits of stone and gravel that were supplied by the tunnel walls crumbling in some parts, the only sound until someone decided to speak. Ria.

       "I'm sorry, Casie. I should have believed you." The Mexican's face which was always so stern and uptight was now softer in the despair of her realization. "It's because of me that they're gone."

       I spared a glance in her direction, a frown tugging at my lips against my will. Because of her?

       "Though I won't completely disagree with you" -If I said that I didn't, it would be a flat out lie and she would know it- "you're not the only reason why they're not here right now."