The Town of Ruins

Chapter Four

We all silently did our homework until mom came back in the room. This had taken the entire afternoon half of school, except for an hour. Since she could never get through an entire lesson of any of the subjects we were supposed to have in the afternoon, she decided that she would give us tomorrow's algebra, biology, and English lessons. English was just to do three exercises out of the books we were given. Algebra was the same work as today's, but with more complex terms. The biology was just more element squares. I worked on the algebra first, because I knew I would be able to get Millie's help with the English and Lily's with the biology. Within twenty minutes I had finished all twenty eighteen problems. I moved on to the biology, which I finished after another twenty minutes of struggling. I started working on the corrections, and was on the last sentence when the bell rang to go back to the apartments. I stayed and finished my last sentence while everyone else packed up. "Cassie, I've got to grade some extra papers, so I'll be home a little late today." Mom said. "Okay, is it okay if Millie and the gang come over for a study group thing?" I asked her, "Yes, you guys can go up to the cafes for dinner if you like." She answered. I left the room, only to realize that my small group of friends was standing outside of the classroom waiting on me. "Where's the fire?" I said. Simon was the one who answered, "Your dad looks a bit upset you know. I think they're going to send him outside." I looked closer at my friends faces. They all had looks of fear and worry. My dad had, unrealized by me, gone into my mother's classroom and they were now having an emotional discussion. Both with tears on their faces. "They can't send him up there. He isn't even trained. There's got to be a mistake or something, right?" I said, tears of my own in my eyes. I looked at my friends, all of whom had always been there for me no matter what. Like a second family. I felt myself being pulled into a hug, however, I wasn't paying attention to them anymore. All I could think about was my dad going out there, above ground, with the animals and people who don't know we exist. What if they found him? What if they killed him for not living up there in their forced-calm society? There's so many things that could go wrong, and he isn't trained for any of them. He's just a maintenance worker. They can't send him up there. Why did they even want to? All of these questions raced around my mind, and I wasn't paying attention to anything. My father hugged me and said some words I didn't actually hear. I made out the words "I love you" and "It'll be okay" I told him that I loved him too, and then he was off. My mom sent my friends upstairs with a key to the apartment, and told them to bring me to bed while she finished her work. I blacked out, I suppose, because I can't remember anything after that.
When I woke up, I saw Millie and Lily crying in the chair in the corner (Lily was on Millie's lap), Carter was sitting in the desk chair, which he had pulled over to the side of the bed, and Simon was pacing across the room. "Simon, your making a breeze, sit down." I heard myself say. Carter jumped up and kissed me, letting his chair slide back and hit the wall. Carter only stopped kissing me because Millie had pushed him out of the way and flung herself on me. "Please tell me you're okay." She said, sobbing. "I'm fine, Millie. Can I breathe now?" I said with a laugh. They all let out a small chuckle, or rather, a blow of air and a smile. "What happened?" I asked them as Lily and Simon gave me hugs and the boys helped me sit up. "Well, your dad had to go outside to fix the oxygen thing or something like that a few days ago. You fainted and your mom told us to bring you up here. We thought you would wake up after sleeping for the night, but you didn't. You've kinda been asleep for three days. They called off school when your dad didn't come back, no one knows if he's okay, but your mom went into full hysteria and they had to sedate her. She's in the infirmary. Great-grandpa said we're all supposed to go down and see him when you wake up and have eaten and such." Millie said. "You know, you're allowed to call him Nonno, right?" I said. After which, I jumped up and went to my closet. I got out my blue and silver skating dress, and the leggings and flats to match, and went to the bathroom. I started the shower while brushing my teeth. I heard someone banging around in the kitchen, then Simon say, "Screw it, I'll just get her something from the cafes. I'll be back in a bit, you guys want anything?" To which I heard Millie reply, "Yeah, a burrito for me and a salad for Lily." Then Carter, "Just a sandwich." Then back to Simon with, "Someone wanna come with me and help me carry it all?" I assume someone agreed, because as I put my toothbrush up and got into the shower, I heard footsteps and the door closing. I took as little time as possible in the shower. When I got out, got dressed, brushed my hair, and walked out of the bathroom, Millie said it had only been fifteen minutes. I put my hair up in a pony tail, and stuck my flats on just as the boys walked in with the food. They put the boxes down on the kitchen table, and sat down, as I ran in and started handing out the food. I wanted to go down to see Nonno sooner, rather than later, so I just ate my sandwich and went to throw my trash away. Everyone was only halfway done by this time, but as they saw how anxious and upset I was, they put the rest of their food in the fridge and we went down to The Offices.
When we got on the elevator, we were met by Nonno, who said, "Ah, there you are. We'll go down to my office right away." We sat in silence while the elevator carried us lower and lower. We stepped out, and followed Nonno through the winding hallways until we got to his office, which we waited for him to unlock so we could step inside and start talking. "Your dad was only to go out and fix the meters on the oxygen tank. His tracker and microphone were disabled, and we're sending out a search party. I know you want to go, and since your mother is unable to have a say at the moment, I'll let you. The rest of you will need your parents to sign this permission form if you want to go. The party will consist of Marshall and Lisa Roberts, Donnie Morgan, Jacob Foster, and Diana and Justin Jacobson. I and those who work in The Offices will work as a sort of mission control for you." He said as he was handing out papers to the others. The all left me with Nonno to get their parents to sign the consent forms. The silence was heart breaking. "Do you think daddy will be okay, Nonno?" I asked him. "I think your father is a very smart man, and he knows how to survive in the wilderness. He knows what he can and cannot tell people. I know that he should be okay, but I cannot say for a fact that he is. I do think so, however." Nonno replied. I stood and hugged him. We stood there, hugging, until there was a knock at the door, and Nonno asked, "Who's there?" "It's us." Carter said through the door. Nonno walked over and opened the door for them. The came in, and I saw that Lily and Carter had solemn faces. "Lily and I can't go, our moms wouldn't sign the forms." Carter said. "Well you two can stay down here with me, in the control area. As for the rest of you, give me those papers and go up to find something for the outdoors. I suggest something warm, it is winter after all. You should also get some steel toed boots, it always helps to be able to kick a man who's trying to hurt you, no matter if he's down." Nonno said.
With that, Simon, Millie and I went up to the stores. We each looked for something warm and cute, that would also keep us safe. I settled on a pair of light blue, high-waisted skinny jeans with a black shirt that says NASA in white letters. Along with ankle high light brown combat boots, which have buckles so that they don't look like combat boots and have steel toes that you can't see are there, and a jacket that has NASA logos and badges all over it. Millie chose a long sleeved, black shirt and dark blue skinny jeans, with black Timberland boots. Simon picked a long sleeved NASA shirt, black jeans, and a pair of brown Timberland boots. When we were all dressed and ready to go, we went down to Nonno's office. When we walked in, it seemed like the animals in a zoo had been set free. There was people all over screaming about safety and such. "ALL RIGHT, EVERYONE WHO IS NOT GOING ABOVE GROUND NEEDS TO LEAVE THIS ROOM IMMEDIATELY!" Nonno yelled. The three of us stepped aside as people filed out of the office and into the hallway. When everyone was out except those who were going, I was told to shut the door. "Now that things are calm, you all will be going above ground. When you get up there, you will split into two groups. One will go this way, the other that way." He said as he was showing us a map of the area above the non operational sewer drain you had to crawl out of to get outside. When he finished telling us the plan, he said, "Cassie, Millie, Simon, Lisa, and Jacob, you'll be group Alpha. Marshall, Donnie, Diana and Justin, you'll be group Beta. Stick to the plan and the routes. If you see anyone, lay low. Were not trying to start a battle, only to get Tyler back. He might have just fallen over and crushed his battery and knocked himself out with how clumsy he is. If after two hours of searching you don't find him, we'll go to plan B. Cassie and Millie will go around, knocking on doors and asking if anyone has seen their father. Justin will ask people if anyone has seen his brother. The rest of you will come inside, get some rest, and search more tomorrow." To which, Simon said, "What happens if someone tries to take Cassie and Millie or something? Should't they have an adult with them?" Then Millie added, "Aren't families up there only allowed to have one daughter and one son?" Nonno took this into great consideration. After thinking for about five minutes, he said, "Here is the revised plan B. Simon and Cassie will go door to door asking if anyone has seen their father. They will be accompanied by Lisa, who will be playing the mother of the two. Diana will ask if anyone has seen her brother, and Justin will stay with her to ask if anyone has seen his brother-in-law. The rest of you will come back here and get some rest. Now that you know what to do, go into the next room and get fitted with your microphones and trackers while I deal with all of those upset people outside the door." We all walked in a single file line to the next room, passing an entire hallway full of people. Evidently no one was happy with the plan. Over the next hour, we all got microphones, trackers, and even cameras. They gave Simon, Lisa, Diana, Justin, and I a temporary hair color treatment so that we would all be the same hair color as my father. This is because, in the above ground world, you had to marry someone with your hair color, and if your children weren't that same hair color, they would be killed. Once this was done, we went into the biggest room on the level, to find something that, ironically, looked like a NASA mission control station. When everyone was present, Nonno gave the overview of the mission once again. Everyone who was going above ground was fitted with Glock 19's and a set of throwing knives for protection. When it was time to go outside, we all got on the elevator, made our way through the cafes, and up the ladder. When the coast was clear, we left the old houses basement and separated into our groups. Then we started searching for my father.