Aer

16

'I'm glad you're safe' Aaron smiles.
'There was a lot of them,' Alex says 'I didn't want to attract them to the bunker and I had switched off my radio when I came across them and forgot to switch it back on'.
'Look you're back now and that's all that matters,' Aaron looks at Lily 'Is now a good time to go back out?'.
Lily nods 'It's earlier, horde seems to pass later in the day, so we should be all good to go'.
'Perfect!'.

Lily and Alex make their way through the tunnel. Neither of them talk to each other, Alex isn't sure why Lily is not talking but he knows he isn't talking because he's too lost in thought, perhaps she's the same.

Alex can't stop thinking about Daisy. He knows he acted out and was in the wrong but he couldn't afford to get close to that girl, he had always been in love with her but something didn't feel right, he still loves her but being out in the open without the protection of the bunker, going against rules and leaving behind Conor wasn't an option for him and he'd to think about himself, his own safety and what would happen if he went against Aaron.

Lily pulls herself to her feet 'You going to visit the garage?'.
'Nah,' he says 'the horde is still out there, I'm not risking it again'.
Lily frowns 'I wasn't expecting that'.
'You should've seen the size of the horde'.

'Don't know where it came from,' Lily and Alex walk towards the car.
'Me either,' he says 'Weird how it keeps going to the same place'.
   'Wonder where it keeps going to'.
'I wouldn't like to find out'.
'We might have to someday,' she smiles 'How's the car?'.
'We're almost there,' Alex gets to work.
'Looks awful though,' she laughs 'It's no BMW'.
'Does the job,' he says, tinkering at something, Lily has no clue what he's doing or has any interest.

'Hey,' Conor's voice comes through Lily's radio 'Come on back'.
'We've only come out,' Lily frowns 'What's going on?'.
'No idea' he says 'Aaron wants a meeting'.
'Alright see you there'.

    Conor and Jason sit at one end of the table with Seán sitting alongside them. Alex takes his seat close to Conor and Lily sits up beside Aaron. More kids gather inside the room, nobody knowing what's happening, apart from Aaron. He takes a deep breath and stands up.

'The horde has been proving trouble for all of us,' he says 'I'm not calling this meeting to come up with a plan to attack the horde, I'm calling this meeting to reduce our movement above the ground. Between the new camp and this horde it's too dangerous'.

Lily frowns 'Going out less means less supplies'.
'Our safety is more important,' Aaron says.

'That's a bit cowardly,' Conor adds.
'Oh, what are you saying?' Another girl hisses 'You don't even go above ground'.
'Not my job'.

'We can't survive down here without going above ground,' Alex says, diffusing the tension between the two 'Everything will have to be rationed even more than it already is, kids won't accept that'.

'Look I'm thinking of a group going out once a week,' Aaron says.
'Not enough,' Lily argues 'That's not going to work, we go out more with better-trained people'.

'Well whoever has a problem can leave, sort yourselves out,' he snaps 'I am sick and tired of people going against me, I'm trying my best here, and I've come to this decision. Ye aren't the leaders ye don't get to choose this'.

He storms out of the room, Seán and a few other kids follow him. Jason looks at Conor, who isn't budging, he gets up and follows the rest. Lily, Alex, Conor and three other kids stay in the room.

'We can stay,' Lily speaks up 'but I've seen what happens when things don't start to work out, when kids get hungry and restless'.

A pretty girl, Lauren, speaks up 'I was in one camp at the start, we ran out of food in the first week, we were too scared to leave, kids turned on each other and...some kids were so hungry they didn't care that they were eating their friends'.

'Jesus,' Conor sighs and rubs a hand down his face 'I never planned on leaving this place but I mean how long can we last down here?'.

'Aaron doesn't seem right,' a chubby boy, Cian, says 'like he's about to blow or something'.
'I agree,' Alex says 'I think the stress that comes with being the leader has gone to his head'.

'He does have a lot of pressure on him but he won't listen to any of us,' Lily says 'We can't stand by him forever and follow his rules while watching people suffer'.

'So we're leaving?' A thin, young girl, Aoife, asks.
'I think it might be safer,' Lily says.