Глава 9

Do you know them?

I... yes, I... knew them.

But I don't think they'd want to see me here.

Could you look after them? I'll head for the clinic and see if I can find some supplies.

Jane, look! Someone's here!

Out of the way!

Sir, are you here to help us?

Out of the way means out of the way.

Wait, are you... Ronan?

Go block-by-block, and make sure you're thorough! There's a lot of alleys around here, and she could be hiding anywhere! Got it?

What are you doing, Ronan? It's us! Your neighbors! You put on new clothes and suddenly you don't know us?

I have... an important mission. Piss off, or don't say I didn't warn you!

Craig's hurt. Please, help him. He's helped you out so much...

What are you talking about?!

*Whimpers*... I...

(The wounds on her back are serious...)

(And her kid, Craig... he's had a bad wound to his head too.)

(I need to stop their bleeding, but I know they don't look kindly on me...)

You've searched this whole place?

Are you positive no one here matches her description?

(Are they looking for somebody?)

Ugh. No... no. All these people shoving in here, it's a mess. What do we say to the higher-ups if more of them sneak in once we turn and leave?

(Are they... looking for the woman Outcast saved?)

(Does that mean she's in danger...?)

(I need to go.)

Oi, you lot. Get up, and leave at once!

Sir, we have far too many wounded here. None of them can move...

I give no shit you can't move. Get up and go!

I want all these Oripathics out of this district! Keep an eye out in case they pop. Even the Originium shards outside aren't as dangerous as this lot!

Let's take a fine example. This boy with the bloody face—

*Whimpers*... M—Ma...

Craig, Craig! No, please don't take him! I beg you!

You! You're not just abandoning them, you're going to kill them?!

What's your bloody problem?! We're Tarans, all of us! What's wrong with a sacrifice for Tara's great cause?!

Ronan, that's what you said last time, and that's when we lost Saoirse!

(Saoirse...?!)

(It's him... He's the one who betrayed Saoirse...)

(And then they took her and... they...)

(He traded Saoirse's life for that uniform!)

She deserved it! She betrayed—our—trust!

That's what you get for failing to understand our great Leader's struggle! And if you don't cooperate, you're next!

Enough.

Jane? I... I thought you'd left?

And who do you think you are? Wait, I've seen you before... You're not Taran, are you?

Please, stop.

You talk like it sounds so light. Who are you to decide who should sacrifice for anything?

What's that you're holding... A banner?!

You... You're a Victorian soldier!

Am I...?

No, not anymore.

But. If you insist on trampling the lives of the innocent, then I am your enemy.

Innocent...? Do you know what they've done? You call them innocent?

This child, and everyone here... None of them's got clean hands.

Then... what about you?

You traded your own people for your position, and now you turn around to oppress them... Who will judge you?

And who are you standing up all cocksure for? Come on, get her out of here! And round up all the Infected mingling with the Victorian deserter! It's time we clean them up!

Please, help us! Help...

That's far enough.

What are you trying here? Bugger off already!

Look at you carrying that tatty banner wherever you go. You don't have what it takes to be a real soldier, do you?

Whether that's so, or whether it's not, I will not let you continue doing evil here.

Oh, can you not even cop on? What do they have to do with you? You're going to let them fiddle you like this? Thick as a brick up there, you are!

I...

...*Sobs*...

True, I can't speak Taran.

I can't cross my heart and claim I've experienced the life you all have.

I don't have Oripathy, either.

But...

For the past two years, every day, I've walked the same streets as you.

I've heard your tears. More than that, I've seen your smiles.

I know deep down that we are all the same people, living our lives.

As long as we're human, we will make mistakes. Those who do—should be stopped, and judged. They should be tormented by their own hearts—

But. It's not for some ungrateful brute to decide their fates.

You... You're going to protect us? You don't hate us?

*Exhale*... I'd be lying... if I said 'not at all.'

I'll stop pretending... there's no bitterness between us. What Craig did was wrong, too, and I've no intention of shielding any guilt.

But a friend has taught me—the evil I see before me has to be stopped.

This has nothing to do with which side I'm on. I'm doing what's right.

Th—Thank you...

...Ah...

Calm down, Craig. You don't need to tug so hard.

It doesn't matter if I was ever a good soldier. I've been ready to fight from the moment I deserted.

But your wounds...

(Rip—)

The banner's the cleanest thing I have on me, and there's a better use for it right now.

Jane gently wraps the torn piece of the banner around the wounded child's forehead.

*Sobs*... I—I'm sorry... M... Miss...

Don't worry for now, Craig. You get some rest.

As for you, soldier, it's time you leave—

And before you do, you'll need to pay for what you did to Saoirse.

What, and you'll make me, all by yourself?

If I have to.

...We're with you too.

One by one, the wounded men with less serious injuries step out of their hiding spots and stand behind Jane, the girl with her banner held up high.

What... What are you all doing?!

Are you going to resist Dublinn?! O'Brien, you should be helping me get her! Don't forget how Damian died!

No, Ronan. I haven't forgotten about Damian, but on the other hand... I haven't forgotten about Saoirse either.

We've done a lot of bad... I'm not blind. Now that it's come to this, I can tell who's really been trying to help us all along.

She's not even Taran!

Do you see the looks in their eyes?