Chapter 6

In the privacy of his room, Nathan paced. With everyone tied up elsewhere he was able to let the anger he was feeling bubble to the surface. He only wished the room was sound-proofed so that he could vent his frustration verbally. Stupid, he’d been so stupid to try a raid so soon after the devastating protest. He had hoped that the raid would be such a success that the people would focus on what they had gained, pushing their worries from the protest out of their minds. Of course the raid had been disastrous from the word go. It was supposed to be a quick job, in and out, gathering supplies from a warehouse. Security was low and the rewards would be great, theoretically the unit’s food and clothing needs would be taken care of for the next three months. But in his haste, he hadn’t thought through every eventuality and in the end it was a child who brought their downfall. Why a man had brought his family on the raid with him Nathan didn’t know, possibly never would know, judging from the man’s condition when Nathan had seen him last, but he did know that the small girl’s actions had brought the security guards to them and caused the loss of several of his men. Nathan felt some small satisfaction that his side had had the upper hand numbers-wise and that therefore before retreating they had taken down the majority of the guards.

There was no doubt about it in Nathan’s mind that this was going to be a blow for morale. He had to work hard here, working out how to put the right spin on it so that people’s commitment to the unit and its goals, was strengthened instead of being knocked back. As Nathan began mulling over the stock phrases to feed to his people, his calm demeanour returned, he could do this, this wasn’t a problem, it wasn’t even a setback, if he turned the situation the right way it would even become an advantage, a way of boosting people’s dedication he should thank the girl and the security forces, they may have done him a huge favour. “Casualties of war” was probably the best way to play it. Don’t let their sacrifice be in vain. Yes, that was definitely the kind of phrasing to use. Those brave men and women who gave their lives in service to this noble cause. Giving up would be like spitting on their graves. Of course all of this was assuming some of them didn’t make, they had all still been alive when he’d left the scene, but judging from their injuries Nathan was convinced that a large percentage of the wounded would not survive, they had been barely hanging on to the last shreds of life when he’d seen them.

Grabbing a pen Nathan began scratching out a speech to unite his troops. A speech that would twist this into a tragedy caused by the commuters. After all, if they treated them like human beings and allowed them access to enough food and other necessities, then there would have been no need for them to try to steal. No, not steal, he must avoid that word, it had negative connotations. He must make sure that the members of his unit never see any of the unit’s actions as wrong. They weren’t stealing they had been trying to get what should rightfully have been provided to them. Did the commuters wish them to starve? They had been procuring what they needed in order to live, acting peacefully when they had been viciously attacked. Nathan’s confidence was completely restored, his anger had left and he felt renewed and ready for anything now that he had had time to compose himself, time to deal with the catastrophe and move on, turning it into a highpoint instead of a disaster. Now he felt ready to talk to his people, to convince them to see it as he did.

Cassandra couldn’t stop the tears from beginning to flow as her patient gave up on life. His breaths had been becoming gradually weaker and had finally ceased altogether. She had failed him, she gazed at the death around her, it was such a waste.

Why did they listen to him? Why did they follow a man who leads them to their deaths? What hope do they have with Nathan? Why can’t they see that his cause is him? That looking after himself is his point in life. Despair washed over Cassandra as she felt pain for the people who had died today. She tried to compose herself, to stop herself falling further into a state of depression. As she dried her eyes, she noticed someone watching her. A familiar presence was standing in the doorway. It took her a moment to clear the confusion from her mind and recognise him out of context, after all, she’d never actually seen him vertical before. It was him, the writer of the letter, the Outcast from ward 311. In his eyes she saw compassion and understanding. He too had seen too much death, too much suffering, but she knew that wasn’t necessarily going to change his actions. She realised that following Nathan wasn’t a whim, it wasn’t a hobby, something to do until something better came along, it was this man’s lifestyle. She racked her brains to think of his name, she couldn’t just think of him as the writer. She certainly couldn’t call him that to his face. Finally she remembered the name she’d read from his chart.

“It’s Joel isn’t it?” Cassandra gently asked him.

Joel just looked at her, he didn’t confirm or deny her question, though Cassandra became convinced that that was indeed his name. Joel just stood in silence for several moments. Finally he spoke.

“He’s dead.” The statement was spoken quietly, it was more of a statement than a question, although Cassandra caught a hint of questioning in his voice, as if he was hoping that despite the obvious the man lying in front of them was not in fact dead.

“Yes, I’m terribly sorry, did you know him?” She asked sympathetically.

“Not particularly, I’ve seen him at headquarters. He has a family.” Joel told her.

“Yes, the little girl is in another room. The wife, well, she didn’t make it.” Cassandra found herself revealing more details than was strictly allowed by protocol. She couldn’t hold anything back from Joel, she trusted him, even though she didn’t know him; even though he was potentially a terrorist.

Joel walked across to the door heading in the direction of the man’s daughter, Cassandra made no move to halt his progress, allowing him to find the girl, perhaps he would be of help to her in this time until social services arrived and found her a new family.

The girl had suffered so much, but at least Cassandra was confident that she would be re-homed quickly. The sad state of affairs meant that the child would probably be better off now that she had been orphaned. So many couples struggled to have children, she would probably be placed with a family outside of the city zones, she would get a good education and have a healthy upbringing. Cassandra knew though that nothing would make up for the loss of her parents. She might no longer be an Outcast, but that wouldn’t necessarily make her happy. In fact, many relocated outcast children felt guilt whenever they felt happy in their new homes, as if they were rejecting their parents by enjoying the new lifestyle. Cassandra had seen many unhappy cases where these relocated children had grown into bitter, cynical adults. Many of these turned to crime, perhaps in a subconscious attempt to be returned to their original home. Of course to many people, this reinforced the idea that Outcasts were criminal, but not to Cassandra, she saw the crimes as cries for help. This girl might do better than many, Cassandra reasoned, she was still young, the younger the child at the age of re-housing, the more likely the child is to acclimatise, adapting to the new environment with less feelings for guilt.

Joel paused in the doorway gazing at the small form curled up before him. He didn’t know how to deal with children at the best of times, what was he supposed to say to the girl now? Was she even old enough to understand what was going on? She was silent, Joel assumed she was asleep, after all she’d be screaming the place down for her parents otherwise, surely. He didn’t know much about kids, but he knew they made a noise when they didn’t get what they wanted. He moved towards the tiny body only to see it recoil from him. She wasn’t asleep at all.

”Hello.” He tried to look friendly, so as not to intimidate the girl. She backed further from him, leaving her position on the sofa and wedging herself between it and a large cupboard. This wasn’t going as well as he’d planned. He tried to think of what children liked, he didn’t even have his own clothes, which ruled out checking is pockets for chocolates. Joel was beginning to think that coming in here was a bad idea. He turned to leave and found the woman in white behind him.

“They left her alone.” Cassandra sighed at the carelessness of some of the other staff. She knew they were busy, but to leave such a small child so soon after she had been involved in such a terrifying incident, to abandon her as her parents were dying? Cassandra held her hands out towards the child and began whispering in calming tones. The girl looked unsure, but she didn’t attempt to distance herself any further. Cassandra crouched and then sat on the floor by the child, all the time holding her hands towards her, letting her know that she could get physical comfort if she wanted it, but not pushing it. The child shuffled closer to Cassandra, allowing herself to be lifted into the woman’s lap, she whimpered once and then feel silent. Cassandra rocked her for several minutes until her breathing became more regular and she was evidently asleep.

Cassandra turned to Joel, who’d been watching the situation play out. Joel felt out of place standing above them, he slowly lowered himself to their level.

“Is she going to be okay?” He asked Cassandra, his voice little more than a whisper, to avoid disturbing the child.

“It’s hard to say.” Cassandra answered truthfully. She’s been through a lot, physically she’s unharmed, but she has experienced a serious trauma, losing her mother in front of her eyes, seeing her father so injured, knowing he’s probably gone too, it’s a lot for a small child to deal with. On the other hand, the very young are often resilient, if cared for properly and nurtured well, she could recover from this and grow up as a normal happy child.

“Where will she go?” Joel was pretty sure he knew the answer to this, but he just wanted to check.

“Social services are on their way. If they don’t trace any relatives willing to raise her then she’ll be given to a family, there’s a large waiting list out there of people who are willing to adopt in cases like these, so she’ll be placed in a matter of days.” Cassandra confirmed Joel’s thoughts. Joel nodded, he wasn’t really sure if this was good news or not. The child would be taken from everything she knew, but the child would get what he was campaigning for for them all, she would be free from Exile, she would have a chance at a decent life. He felt sad that it had taken such tragedy for this girl to get what she deserved; he wished she could be leaving exile in the arms of her parents, but that clearly wasn't to be.