When the rains may come (Science Fiction)

19. The Forgotten World (Part 1)

(Author's note: Yep one of those chapters again where it got too long and I had to cut it in half. Hope it doesn't hinder you enjoyment of reading it. Happy reading!)

"Didn't expect to see you, here, doc." Brendan smirked at Clint. Then he looked at Marie and Zack. He waved at them. "Dr. Harris was my senior at Rescue and Relief."

Marie nodded. "Nice to see you. And thanks so much for saving our lives."

Brendan smiled. "Don't mention it." He said. "We were just passing by when we heard the gunshots from inside City Hall. The doors were locked but we knew that the place had been overrun with infected. Pretty much most of sector 23 is overrun."

"Yeah, we kinda experienced that before we even went inside the City Hall." Clint said.

"If you don't mind me asking, what did you guys guys even go in there for?" Brendan said.

Marie looked down, face flushed with embarrassment. Clint noticed her expression and despite everything they'd just experienced, he found himself grinning.

"Mom and Dad had a fight." Zack said. "They were trying to prove who can find a better place to live. They both ended up finding the worst possible places."

Brendan's eyebrows shot up.

"Zack!" Marie smacked him lightly on the head.

Clint belted a nervous laughter, now flustered himself. He looked at Brendan, nodding. "That's actually pretty much what happened." He let out a sigh, leaning back and relaxing in the basket of the firetruck. "What about you? Last I saw you, you were fixing people up at a rescue camp and here you are now, rescuing people even more literally. Like you even got a firetruck." Clint laughed a more genuine laughter. Then he paused. "Wait, don't tell me this is a new job that they offered you?"

It was Brendan's turn to chuckle now. "Of course not! This truck does belong to the sector fire department. We stole it anyway cuz everyone has already deserted fire department. It was Germaine's idea."

"Who is Germaine?" Marie asked.

"It's the lady who is driving the truck." Brendan said.

"No but Brendan, whatever happened at Rescue and Relief after I left?" Clint leaned towards Brendan, probing the younger man with inquisitive eyes. "I thought you'd look for a more permanent job with them."

Brendan's eyes scanned the faces of all three of them. "You guys really don't know what happened?" He said.

"I think it is pretty obvious that we don't." Marie said.

"Well, it seems you don't listen to the radio much then." Brendan turned back to Clint. "A small army of operatives came two months after you left, Dr. Harris. They arrested more than a hundred and fifty people."

Marie's jaw went slack under her gas mask. "Wait, these were people you both cured?"

Brendan nodded. "Yes. People who'd just recently gotten better. About sixty or so operatives came in and took them all away."

"But why?" Marie asked.

"Probably because most of them were rioters." Clint said. "Right?"

Brendan nodded. "The riots were really just half of the reason why so many people got arrested." He said. "Most of them were arrested because they'd associated themselves with the terrorist group Last Hand."

"Hey, I know about the Last Hand! I've heard the guy on the radio call Last Hand a group of rebels." Zack said.

Brendan sighed. "It's a bit more trickier than that, kiddo. Initially, Last Hand just protested peacefully and asked questions, so they were rebels since the state has changed the legal definition of rebels recently. But besides that when Last Hand picked up arms and stormed government property during the riots, they became terrorists." He looked at Clint again. "And that's how they were arrested."