Cole jumped back, clutching his chest. “What the hell?”
Root and Zach stared at each other. Nobody spoke until the unfamiliar face on the monitor walked off-screen.
“Who… what…” Zach couldn’t spit anything out.
Root moved in closer. “Do you think that’s them?”
“Them?” Cole asked
“Outsiders,” Root replied.
“As in, people from the outside?” Zach clarified.
Root nodded. “I’ve heard rumors, and I was thinking about it on the way up here-”
“Wait,” Cole interrupted. “You’ve heard rumors about people from the outside?”
“Oh yeah,” Root said. “Lots of things over the years.”
“You ever hear rumors?” Cole asked Zach, who just shook his head.
Root shrugged. “Maybe it’s something shovelers don’t hear.”
It was possible, Cole thought. Shovelers were outsiders in most circles, so typically just interacted among themselves. There were rumors about the outside, of course, but nothing as major as people living out there. Cole didn’t even think that was possible.
“On the way up here I got to thinking about all the weird stuff that’s been happening and trying to connect the dots, you know? Best I can figure is the people on the outside decided to attack, which led to the lockdowns you told me about.”
Cole listened, hanging off every word. His mind raced as he imagined the possibilities.
“That’s why they had to move you all, and why the leaders were talking about it. I still can’t figure why everyone abandoned town hall, or hell, even the top room.” He straightened his back and showcased the empty room around them, monitors still blinking and rotating.
“So… maybe we try and track everyone down first? They couldn’t have gone far, right?” Cole chuckled, but nobody else thought it was funny.”
“You serious, Cole? You probably killed multiple enforcers, helped a man escape from prison, broke into the top room, and you think everyone’s going to just welcome us back?” Zach huffed.
“Did you tell him what they do to people they don’t like?” Root asked Cole, a smile widening across his face. Cole dropped his gaze to the floor and shook his head. Root turned to Zach. “They throw them in the machine. For fuel.”
Zach’s face twisted into a knot. “Gross, man. I thought it was-”
“Whatever you thought is wrong, can’t you see that now.” Root gestured all around again and Zach stopped talking. Their whole world had been flipped upside down. Cole didn’t even know what was real anymore.
“What are we supposed to do? Wait for whoever was on the screen to overtake everything and probably do the same to us?”
Root’s eyes lit up. “What if we go to them?”
Zach pointed at the screen that once displayed a stranger’s face. “Those guys?”
“Absolutely,” Root doubled down on the idea. “We get in with them. We have the same goals, right? Toppled whatever this place is.”
“How do we know that’s what they want?” Cole asked.
Root hesitated. “I’m assuming a little bit here.”
“Big assumption, don’t you think?”
“Do you have a better idea? We’re screwed either way. At least we have a chance with these people.”
Cole hated both options and started replaying the day in his head, wondering how he ended up here. He could have done so many things differently, but he didn’t. He got lost in the vision Root sucked him into. He got distracted by the machine countdowns that didn’t mean anything. He didn’t even know what he wanted anymore. He shook his head, hoping to clear his mind and start from a blank slate. He took a deep breath.
“You’re right,” he said, looking at Root before turning his attention to Zach. “Do you remember when we watched your part hit 0? And do you remember what we talked about after that? If we don’t need to feed the machine, what are we doing? After everything that’s happened, I still feel that way. Knowing what we know, we can’t just sit on our hands. We have to help everyone find a purpose, a meaning for life. Whether that’s here with new rules, or out there,” he pointed at the screen. “We have to do something.”
Zach never broke eye contact, but his head started to slowly nod. Root did the same before grabbing both men by their shoulders and pulling them in close.
“Let’s find the future. Together.”