Troy is now literally shaking, "DO NOT ENTER THAT ROOM!" he shouts, his fists pounding the Perspex that protects them from the chaos outside.
The chaos outside has actually calmed a little as people realise the catastrophic consequences of approaching the red margin.
In fact, all the chaos is contained within the Perspex pod as Kelly and Troy holler at Tyler, who currently has his hand on the door handle.
Kelly emits an ear-piercing screech – "TYLERRRRRRRRRRR!"
It works, Tyler halts and turns, "Jeez, turn down the volume lady, you nearly bust my eardrums."
Kade turns to me and asks the question I'm thinking, "If what's in that room's so important to our enemy, why didn't they make sure it's locked?"
I don't have the answer, so I shrug my shoulders and continue observing the situation.
Tyler's hand presses down on the handle, but before he pushes the door open, he turns to Kelly and Troy, "You guys really need to chill, it's only a freaking game, it's not life and death," he says, opening the door and entering.
The door slams shut behind him; but not before all eyes strained to get a glimpse inside. The only thing the momentary glimpse revealed was a mundane Starbucks storeroom – nothing untoward.
Yet Kelly and Troy are hugging each other so hard that it looks like this could be their last hug.
I look towards the storeroom door, and on hearing nothing suspicious after Tyler's entrance, I approach the the hugging couple, "Kelly, Troy, what's in that room that is causing you both to react with these extreme emotions?" I ask, with empathy. As even though they've betrayed us, I feel for them, especially as Kelly's pregnant.
Kade is by my side, his hand around my waist – it's a gesture of unity, showing Kelly and Troy that we are strong: unbreakable. He pulls me into him and talks to his sister, "Kelly, I'm your brother, we've been through so much together." His voice catches with emotion and he gulps before continuing, "And you know something, I was so psyched about becoming an uncle, to be Godfather to my little niece or nephew. Things should be so different than this, we should be pulling together, not torn apart by what we know lies beneath us." Emotion catches him again and he shakes his head as his tears fall.
His head finds the nape of my neck, his favourite place to weep.
This is the Kade I love, the guy who is not afraid to express his emotions and cry openly. I hold him and speak to Kelly, "We're your family, we want to experience your journey to motherhood together; to support you both as new parents." I squeeze Kade tighter as I feel my own tears begin to prick, "The truth is Kelly, I'll never experience real motherhood, I'll never feel the first kicks and wiggles inside me; I'd dearly love to experience all that with you." I manage to hold my tears, "Please don't side with the bad guys – we've beat them so many times before, we can triumph again." I look at them both and implore, "Guys, do you really want to raise your child in a world ruled by them." I point behind me, "Look at what they're already doing, segregating people for no other reason than how they were born – the way God made them – what if your child is: lesbian, gay, transgender, a person that doesn't fit their mould?"
I stop when I become aware of raised voices behind me. One of the guys who has been segregated speaks up, "What's going on here, is this some kind of sick game?" he asks, his anger rising.
Kade raises his head from my neck, wipes his eyes and says, "This is no game, buddy – it's a real long story, we'll do our best to tell you it all in time. But now we have to concentrate on staying alive, which means listening to Tan and I – and right now I'd ask you all to search for a little calm and patience."
The guy looks around at the other people in his group and it's one of the lesbian ladies that speaks up, "We've seen some really heavy shit going on out there, and in here. We need to listen to these guys and sit tight," she says. The others nod in agreement and when a semblance of calm descends, Kade returns to Kelly – "Come on Kel, tell me what that room will reveal?" he asks, pointing back towards the storeroom.
Kelly shakes her head, "Please Kade, I can't."
Troy remains remarkably quiet, given his previous rage.
On noticing this, Kade moves forward, "Kel, you can tell me anything, you know that – what will that room reveal that has you so fearful?"
Kelly shakes her head again, "I cannot – if it's revealed, the truth will be found," she says, lowering her head as if she wants to hide from us.
He turns his attention to Troy, "You've gone quiet, why?"
Troy puts his hand on Kelly's shoulder and the two of them turn their backs on us as Troy says, "We do not wish to see what's revealed, for in that room hides the truth," he says.
Kade's lips brush my ear as he whispers, "They're being cryptic, trying to tell us something," he says.
I'm about to answer, but Tyler's voice emanates from the storeroom, "Hey, what's going on in here, I can't find no clothes, no nothing, except a whole bunch of..."
...A loud bang, a gunshot cuts him off.
Kade grabs me, "Dive down folks, protect yourselves, there's an active shooter in there," he shouts, as we both dive for cover under a table.
......
Five or so minutes pass without any further gunshots. Eventually Kade calls out, "Tyler, you okay, are you shot?"
There's a pause – then Tyler's voice, "No, I accidently burst one of these things, this room's full of them."
When we hear the door swing open Kade and I jump up from under the table – we both glance at each other to try and make sense of what we see.
Blue balloons float from out of the storeroom, billowing upwards until they cover the entire ceiling of the Starbucks.
Kade looks up at them and when he looks back at me, I see realization in his eyes, "It's a Boy – do you think Kelly and Troy were inviting me here for their 'Gender-Reveal' Party?" he asks.
We both look out the window – Kelly and Troy have vanished from the Perspex pod.
I nod an affirmative 'yes' to Kade's question and repeat Troy's words, "We don't want to see what's revealed, for in that room hides the truth."
Instinctively we both make a dash towards the storeroom as Kade commands – "Remain on the floor – this danger is far from over!"
