Hey everyone! So, so, so sorry that this took me so long, but I've been really distracted with the holidays and midterms and finals and whatnot, and I know that's a crappy excuse, but it's true. This one's a bit of a filler chapter, which is lame, especially since it's short, but I promise I've got big plans for Defect! Hopefully I'll update soon, but it kinda depends on school. :)
"What's that?" Sofia asked, turning to me. Everyone else followed her gaze, and for a moment, everything was completely silent, the only motion from the dust still settling as they waited for my answer.
"I... I don't know. I've never seen that before--I didn't even know it was there."
"Yeah, right," Jax said, snorting.
"Look, whether or not you believe me I've only been in here once. And with the way that that ended, I didn't really feel the urge to wander around and break down the walls," I said, my voice as sharp and cold as my gaze. She backed off after a minute, and I moved further down the stairs, coughing from the debris still hanging in the air from the collapsed concrete. I was about to reach in and touch the plain-looking cylinder, about the length of my hand, when Aretha spoke.
"I think I do know what that is. And if I'm right... you want to be very careful about whatever you do next."
***
After her vague, ominous words, we decided not to mess with the unknown and ended up leaving the shed in favor of the comfortable (albeit slightly musty) couch in the decaying living room.
"Alright," Alex said, sitting on some of the mothballs that covered everything. "Explain what the strange object that was hidden behind a wall of concrete in an underground base is, because call me crazy, but I had assumed that it would have been plenty to have it in your parents' insane weapons stockpile thingy."
"Yeah, it does seem like overkill for whatever that thing is," I mused, too lost in thought to notice the strange look he gave me.
"I don't know the specifics, but I do know that one time, I overheard an argument... between my parents and yours," Aretha said, her eyes meeting mine.
"What was it about?" I asked softly.
"I didn't hear enough to have any solid context, but it was something about how it was too dangerous to have a powerful weapon so close to where we lived. Violet's parents started saying it was hidden too well for the Evos to ever find it, but mine didn't agree. They said that even if it was concealed in the bunker, they shouldn't keep it so close because the consequences if something went wrong would be deadly to everyone."
"Why was it so important?" Jax asked, her brow furrowed as she tried to puzzle out what could be so risky about a small metal cylinder.
"They said..." she hesitated, a mixture of fear and awe playing out in her eyes, "They said it was the key to stopping the Evos once and for all."
Obviously, after that little bombshell, there was complete chaos. Everyone was shouting over each other, trying to call out their theories, until finally, Jax screamed over us all.
"SHUT UP!" There was a moment of stunned silence. "Now, we are going to have a calm, orderly discussion, each person taking turns speaking, and then we will decide what to do. First of all, what do we know right now?"
Alex timidly raised his hand, and I found myself choking back a laugh. "That the key to saving the human race is buried under Violet's backyard?"
"Yes, and what else?"
"That at some point, we need to find a way to contact Maddie and give her all the information we have," I offered.
Jax's mouth thinned, but she nodded in agreement.
"Also, we should sit down and go over all the information we have on the thingy in the bunker, and Violet, I think we'll need to get ahold of the Moineau Initiative. I saw that you grabbed some papers on your way out--will they help us?"
"With any luck, yes. It's where I wrote down everything I had figured out."
"Alright, so it sounds like we know what to do," Sofia said from her perch on the arm of the couch.
"Yeah," Jax agreed, her nose wrinkled. "Paperwork."
Thanks for reading! Don't forget to comment, vote, and follow!