Resistentiam

Chapter 2

'Everyone listen up!"
At these three words from their leader, everyone around Emery quickly silenced themselves, the TV turning off, the chatter quietening down. Dean was stood just outside of his obvious, his face slacken with worry. Emery hadn't noticed it until now, but Dean had visibly aged in the recent weeks. He had barely be seen these past few weeks, the door to his office had remained firmly closed from the early hours of the morning until late at night. Dean had always be a sociable leader, spending time with the children of the group, eating meals with everyone, joining in with group training. But recently he had been distant, his main companions including Maynard and a few select others.

"I don't want to alarm any of you, and I am not telling you this because I wish to frighten you- I am doing so because I promised when I created this group that I would never hide anything that could potentially endanger any of you." The room visibly stilled at this point, the tension rising.
"The resistance group in the south had members taken last week."

At this the room exploded, questions being fired and parents grabbing for their children, the idea of any potential threat causing them to cling to their young. Emery turned to find Ash within the chaotic room, their eyes finally meeting. His eyes held regret as they connected with hers.
"Did you know?" She mouthed silently to him. One look at him she had already knew her answer but she wanted confirmation. Regrettably, he nodded his head, and at this Emery turned away from him. How could he not tell her?

There were three different resistance groups across the country, Emery's group were located in the north of England, with another group in the Midlands and one in the South. Everyone was aware of the other groups but only Dean had contact with them, and even his contact was limited to keep each individual group safe. The leaders of each had agreed that in case of a breach, they shouldn't have too greater knowledge of the others as the wolves may attempt to extract information from them. The less they knew about one another the safer they would all be, the wolves would stop at nothing to gain information they believed any member was hiding, whether it be about their own group or one of the others. Therefore, Dean was aware of their exact locations, and he rarely disclosed information about them to his members.
"ENOUGH!" Dean shouted, and the room once again calmed slightly. "I apologise for not telling you all sooner, however I wanted to gather all of the facts before alarming you all unnecessarily." He paused, clearly upset by the words he needed to say.
"However, it has now been made clear that they have been taken by the wolves. At first their leader wondered whether they may have gotten lost on their hunt for supplies. Alas not. Other members went to look for them and their belongings were found abandoned."
Emery felt sick. Those poor people. Who knows what they were currently experiencing at the hands of the beasts. Her imagination had always been colourful, but the images in her head now went beyond creativity.
Dean's voice raised over the group. "Due to this we will be tightening our protection. We have new rules. The first, training for those over 12 is now mandatory, they will be trained by either myself or Ash. Secondly, we will have to ration our food much more to limit the number of trips we must take to the outside to gather supplies. I have consulted with Veronica and she has been working on a new meal plan which will make best use of our current supplies. And thirdly, now I understand this may be considered an inconvenience but I have deemed it necessary- every individual must have a packed bag ready for evacuation with them at all times." Murmurs followed these announcements, the room alight with worry. Never had the group had rules like this. Dean had always prided himself on making the group seem as ordinary as possible here, to make them appear like a regular, albeit rather large, family. The only rule was who was allowed to leave to collect supplies, other than that life was normal on all accounts. To Emery, this made it all too real. These new rules meant a recognition of the increased threat. There was a chance they could be found, targeted, taken. She scowled at the thought.

Emery remained in her seat once Dean had dismissed everyone, taking in the news. She sank back into the leather sofa, her head falling against the plush cushion. She sighed, running a hand across her face in frustration. She hated feeling threatened, she wanted her family to be safe and the idea that they might not be made her feel uneasy. How must those in the south be feeling right now? Emery shuddered at the thought of someone here being taken. She felt the couch dip next to her and Ash appeared at her side.
"You alright?" Ash's simple words made Emery scoff. "No, how could I be? I hate how powerless we are. I hate that we are at their mercy. God I hate them."
Ash's arm reached around Emery's shoulder, pulling her small frame into him.
"I know, I feel the same. I'm sorry for not telling you but dad made me promise not to." He murmured into her hair, his voice rumbling against her. She sighed, knowing she couldn't blame him.
"I guess you're forgiven." She gave him a small smile in which he returned. Emery leant her head against his chest, his cotton T-shirt rubbing against her cheek. His aftershave filled her nose and she smiled at the familiarity. She couldn't imagine being taken away from those she has lived with her entire life, people who she has never spent a day apart from.
"Are we safe Ash?"
Emery felt him stiffen, before tightening his arms around her.
"Of course we are Em, Dad just wants to be prepared for anything. The leader in the South told Dad that he had been letting more members out recently to experience the outside, something Dad had tried to discourage. They'd be taking risks, going further for supplies, getting greedy. We wouldn't do that. We are safe here."
Despite Ash's reassurance, Emery couldn't shake the feeling that they weren't safe. In fact, Emery had a feeling that they weren't safe at all.

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