The Aftermath

S1E2: Accusations

       Pain and confusion was all that Jess and Chris could feel after Tamara walked out into the unknown. However, Chris keeps thinking to himself if Tamara is really gone.
       How come Tamara didn't struggle to breathe? Why would the military lie to the community about the radiation levels depleting? Nothing added up, and the tensions between the community and the military have drastically increased.
       Chris was forced out of his thoughts when he notices Hayden being beaten and kicked around by the military.
       "This death is on your hands. You're off our unit," the lieutenant says. He goes in for another kick, and another, and another, and another.
       "I-It-it's n-not my fault," Hayden struggles to say the words as he's bleeding from his mouth
       "That's enough!" Chris yells in order to protect Hayden from another beating.
       "Tamara wasn't even struggling to breathe! What are you hiding from us!" Chris yelled.
       "That's enough lieutenant; let the private be I'll deal with him later," the Admiral says as he walked in confidently.
       "I'm sorry what the lieutenant did to your friend. He can be very...rash," the Admiral said while chuckling.
       In the bunker, the Admiral took the leadership role and created this system that seems like a regular society. Chris however, never trusted the Admiral and has always found him to be suspicious. Chris looks at him, and he thinks of him as manipulative and corrupt.
        Back at school, the class feels isolated as an awkward silence fills the room. Both Chris and Jess could feel the eyes superglued on them throughout the entire day.
       Everyone is clearly shaken, and they're starting to question the military's true intentions along with the Admiral.
       "Hey Chris," someone called out to him. 
       Chris slowly turns his head clearly lost in thought, and he sees Sarah's face looking at him worriedly. Sarah is another one of Chris's friends who's very supportive towards everyone.
       She volunteers to help serve people food and water after school. Chris and the others helped her through her parents' death which has resulted in all of his friends having a tight bond.
       "How are you holding up after...Tamara," Sarah whispers to Chris in a concerned matter.
       "Listen...I know this is going to sound crazy, but I think the military is lying to us. I didn't hear Tamara struggle at all when she walked outside. It's almost like their lying about the radiation levels," Chris says. "Chris...I think you may be in denial," Sarah says rather timidly.
       "I'm not in denial!" Chris yells while slamming the desk. All heads turn to him as he runs out of the classroom with a massive headache.
       As Chris leaves the classroom, he heads over to the infirmary to see Hayden. On the way to the infirmary, he bumps into Jill and Paige who are also apart of his friend group.
       Jill is very close to Ricky since she's the one who helped him the most through his parents's death and vice versa. Paige is Sarah's best friend who is always cheering up the group to try and make them forget about their past hardships.
       "Yo bro you good? You look like you were forced to watch all of One Piece," Paige said to him jokingly.
       "Y-yeah I'm fine. It's just a headache," Chris said hesitantly.
       "You should go to the infirmary. Ricky's also in there, I was on my way to ask him something anyways," Jill said.
       "Yeah sure I'll come along. I have to check up on Hayden since he got hurt pretty badly at the airlock," Chris said.
       They entered the infirmary and see Hayden resting on a bench covered in black and blue bruises and cuts. Ricky and Ryan are there with him to support him during this time of pain. The air feels tense as Ricky and Ryan lay eyes on Chris.
       "Uh...hey Chris how ya feeling?" Ryan says to his best friend worriedly. Chris takes a moment to think about what to do with his current suspicions of the military.
       "I've been better Ryan. I know that the Admiral is lying about something which is why I'm going out there," Chris says feeling determined.
       "Chris don't be stupid! We can't lose you too," Ricky said angrily.
       "Oh come on! The Admiral is clearly hiding something. So are you coming with me or not," Chris said. Suddenly, Hayden struggles to get up as he is awoken by all the commotion.
        "Chris is right. They're clearly hiding something about the blast. I'll go with you," Hayden reveals.
       Everyone is shocked that Hayden agreed to go with Chris since they see it to be a death mission.
       "I'm coming too".
       Everyone turns their heads to see a familiar face; they see Jess and Sasha with their supplies already packed for the outside world. Nothing can break the silence in the infirmary as they all rethink their decision to possibly risk their lives to escape the bunker.
       "Let's go home...we'll discuss this tomorrow," Jill said.
       "Agreed," said Ricky as they locked eyes with each other for a moment.
       On the walk home, they all parted ways and entered their assigned houses. Chris wanted to inform his sister of why he was at the airlock in the first place and his theories on the military being corrupt.
       However, it can be hard to listen to a different viewpoint than what the military has been telling us for our whole lives. Without wasting anymore time, he unlocks the door and walks in the house.
As soon as Chris walks in the house, his two sisters come to him with affectionate looks in their eyes as they comforted him after hearing the news.
      "I'm so sorry Chris", Rosie said whilst hugging him.
       "The military should've done more to prevent her from leaving in the first place. They're so useless!" Jeannie yelled while tearing up.
       "The Admiral is hiding something...I know he is. I didn't hear Tamara gasp for air when she stepped out of the airlock".
       A long awkward pause was all that could be heard in the house after Chris's claims were revealed to his siblings.
"Either we enact change within the bunker, or we leave the bunker all together," 
Chris looked at his sisters to prepare for a negative reaction, but oddly enough, they didn't go against his thought.
       "I'll follow you anywhere," said Jeannie as they embraced in one final hug.
       Rosie still hasn't responded to Chris's decision, but he knows that Rosie will always be there for him. A single tear streaks down Rosie's eye after the conversation that has left her in shock.
Next, Rosie's husband Zach walks in and listens to the conversation. "It's getting late guys we should really get to bed. We will discuss this in the morning." Zach shares the same expression as Rosie which is just pure sadness and possibly guilt.
Zach is Chris's brother-in-law who has a very optimistic outlook on life. He truly cares about everyone, but he has a hard time expressing himself. He's married to Rosie and helps her bake and take care of rations at her job in the morning. He is a pure soul who would die for the people he cares about.
Chris walks off to his messy bedroom in order to get some rest and think about the possibilities of each option. All he wants to do is protect the people that he cares about.
       "Alright I've decided...we will leave tomorrow night," Chris says to himself. He turns over, turns out the light and slowly drifts off to sleep finally making up his mind.