A low susurrating hum came from  generators droning continuously throughout the dark corners of the basement level floor of the seventeenth century church left abandoned during the rise of the Sovereign Coalition of Federated Territories. A relic of past belief systems now covered in graffiti and littered with trash, it rested on a hill outside of Alitto City.

For some time during the reconstruction, after the 3rd World War it had been used as a place to house conscript workers. Men and women of the lowest caste who had somehow managed to survive the nuclear winter that lasted twenty plus years in what was once known as The United States of America.

These poor souls barely scraped by, becoming the Fathers and Mothers of a generation of people who would never know freedom.

Several of those past denizens were the ancestors of the large group of teenagers who had gathered there tonight.

They sat around on various pieces of old and broken furniture covered in dust and grime or stood, quietly nervous. Noticably edgy, considering how they were dressed, mostly in  tattered, filthy pieces of clothing mismatched and threadbare.

Their manner of wardrobe choice, not fit for even the most menial of jobs in their world, but they didn't care. They dressed the way they did purposely because they did not care.

They had no plans to submerge into the society that had been chosen for them.

Some of them fidgeted, casting furtive glances at one another, worrying with the frayed edges of clothing or biting the dirty nails of unwashed hands. Some of them worried unbrushed hair, twirling the ratted strands aimlessly as they waited. Or rather hoped.

They waited for darkness to fall and their leader to arrive. She was the reason they had risked everything to be here.

──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────

ˢᵉˣᵘᵃˡ ᵒʳⁱᵉⁿᵗᵃᵗⁱᵒⁿ ʷᵃʳⁿⁱⁿᵍ

"She's not coming."

"Rayde, she'll be here." Audio grumbled. "She had to take a detour to meet Quill and Zoey. That's going to cut into the time by at least an hour," he smirked.

Exton, who sat between Audios legs leaned back and looked up at his lover with raw admiration. "Audio is right. Delta would never bail on us. Not this late in the plan," he smiled.

Audio bent forward and kissed Exton who readily gave him his lips and Audio took full hungry possession of the moment.

Across the room sitting silent, fuming with jealousy, Karter's eyes smoldered hatefully. Barely a month earlier he and Audio were the main squeeze. Together every stolen moment they could eek out. That was because although Karter didn't mind going both ways, he was secretive and quiet about it. Audio was not.

As a result, as soon as someone came along who hung on Audios every word and wasn't the least bit shy about it, Audio had moved on, cutting Karter completely off. Their secret break-up had infuriated him. But Audio didn't seem in the least bothered. He had a partner who adored him openly and flaunted it mercilessly.

A loud bang interrupted Karters silent, emotional meanderings and much to his delight ended the make out session between Audio and Exton instantly.

Everyone in the group stood up on edge. No other sound followed until Delta strode purposely into the basement coming down the metal stairs like a stealthy cat on a hot tin roof.

A collective sigh escaped from more than one of them but was broken by a heated whisper from Wrennie. "Where are Quill and Zoey," she demanded.

Delta brushed by her. She bit her lip in consternation then stopped short with her head down. "I told them they couldn't come."

"What? Delta! Are you kidding?" Wrennie wrung her hands nervously. "You really can't be serious!"

"They're too young Wrennie and you know it! Can you even imagine the heat that is going to come down on us? It's bad enough that Eero doesn't know about all of this. What would happen when Hugh finds out his niece and nephew are missing? He'd have the entire military after us and we'd never make it two miles into this before getting caught. No. It's too risky," Delta said with quiet finality.

"Well what about when they tell Hugh the whole story? What then? You don't think they won't spill the beans?"

Delta shrugged. "It still won't be as bad as it would if they were with us. Now we gotta go. Anyone else with a gripe will have to wait. The CI is already walking the beat on Industry and we still have to cross it to get to the gates."

"Hey wait!" Soren spoke up. "I thought we agreed to the other route Delta! You can't just keep changing things!"

"Soren. We have to change the route. Quill knows exactly where we were going to go and I can't risk them meeting us there."

"Fine," Soren huffed. "But don't underestimate Quill. Remember, she knows all our plans, not just our route out of the city." He kicked up a bloom of dust and gathered his bags.

Delta contemplated what he said but only for a moment, brushing it off as irrational fear. They could do this. A fleeting sorrow gripped her as she thought of the look that Quill had given her when she'd told them. Blatant unbelief and then the look of betrayal. Delta couldn't do a thing about it now. She wouldn't if she could. It was just too risky. The whole group would have to get over it. She had sacrificed Quill's devotion for them, and they better appreciate it.

She shuffled around gathering her own bags. Not too many.

They had to travel light.