The Village
Chapter 2: Tanya
Jane waited until the last sounds had died away before slipping down from her hiding place. She was visibly upset. Losing two friends like this hurt but it hurt her even more that she'd witnessed the conversion. Her training kicked in and she scouted around the area eliminating any traces of what just happened. No one should be able to find the place again so there could be no searches of the surrounding area. This took Jane about half an hour before she was able to turn and head back to base. Just keep calm, she kept telling herself. Just as she was leaving she noticed a small round disk on the ground. Picking it up she realised it was a holodisk. Pushing a button on the side made a hologram appear in the centre. She had no desire to see the propaganda that it would be filled with but maybe intelligence back at base may have a use for it so she pocketed it and headed home.
It took her almost 2 hour to get there and the gate guards were instantly suspicious of her returning alone. She briefly explained and was rushed off to be debriefed by the village leaders.
After an hour the debrief was finished and the assembled members excused. Eric the leader of the village renegades signalled for Jane to hang back whilst the others left.
'Thank you for having the courage to relay your story like you did'
'Thank you sir.'
'We can't risk any more tragedies like this in the future Jane. I was thinking of reducing the patrol size to one person each. There used to be over a thousand people in this village but now we're down to about 200. Almost all of them caught. Thankfully no one has revealed our location yet!'
'Sir no one would willingly tell them and they need a willing convert to preserve memories like that'
'You're quite right. Yet I worry that one day someone would betray us. That's why it was always groups of three on patrol. But we can no longer afford incidents like today. Oh well take a couple of days off to recover ok'
'Yes Sir' Jane turned to walk away but as she moved she felt something move in her pocket. It was the holodisk. She took it out and showed it to Eric.
'Ah another one of those. Stupid things. Ah that reminds me actually. Could you take this to Eve in Intelligence? It would be good if you could deliver the news of her sister's conversion as well. I think a face that knew her well would be better. Don't you?'
'Yes Sir' Agreed Jane though the pit of stomach twisted at the thought of telling Eve the news. Eve was Liz's sister. Intelligent as they come but with an unpredictable attitude. She had worked in Intel since she was 16 and now at 24 she was in charge. Her dark complexion matched that of Liz yet her body did not. She was a short and wide woman and was prone to comfort eating which in a community with limited food supplies was a real issue.
Jane left the Council hall and headed down the street toward the Intel building. It would be dark soon and the generator would be switched off. The village was only small, less than a 1/2 a square mile and was completely fenced in. Almost everyone had a place of their own though as the population was shrinking they were able to spread out more. Part of their success in not being detected was turning off the power at night. The drone planes used by the new colonists only searched for power signatures rather than heat to stop it detecting bears and other woodland creatures.
She pushed the door to Eve's lab open and saw straight ahead packing up for the day. She looked up.
'Oh Hi Jane! How are you?' She said cheerfully.
'Ok I guess.'
'Good Good! What can I help you with?'
Jane decided to go with the Holodisk first
'I found this in the forest today and thought you could have a look' She handed the disk over to Eve
'Ah another one. Thanks I'll see what it can reveal. Is that all?'
Jane hesitated.
'Jane? What is it?'
'Eve, Liz was captured today.'
Eve's face fell in a second and then she hit the table with her fists.
'Damn it! I knew this would happen!'
'Eve. I'm sorry'
'Sorry?! Look, just go! I don't want to see any of you anymore!'
Jane left silently, scared something might get thrown. After a while Eve found that she had calmed down enough to walk home. She gathered her things in a bag and started to leave when she noticed the holodisk. She grabbed it and threw it deep in her bag and went home.