Uprising

by Justin Kemppainen

  ******

  Desmond and Olivia walked back and forth through their crowd of children, passing comfort around with the occasional hush to one making noise. The couple of rooms were packed almost shoulder to shoulder, barely enough for people to sit down.

  Quinton stood at the window, wielding his customary scowl. He had been watching through spaces in the blinds ever since the group had come up, not saying anything.

  Desmond walked over to him. "Do you see anything?"

  "Nope," Quinton replied in his gravelly voice, not looking away from the window.

  Desmond shoved his round glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose. "You've been staring ever since we arrived. You've seen nothing at all?"

  Quinton responded, still not looking at him, "We want 'nothing.' 'Nothing' is good. 'Nothing' means we're safe here." He finally spared a glance towards Desmond. "If I see 'something,' I'll let you know."

  Desmond blinked. "Oh. I see." Quinton offered no further comment or conversation, so Desmond moved over towards Tanya and Eugene, who argued as loudly as anyone could while whispering.

  "…should be paying back the Citizens for all they have done!" Tanya hissed.

  Eugene sighed. "For the last time," he whispered, "our task is here. We don't leave unless everyone here leaves, and that only happens if we are discovered."

  "Coward!" Tanya's eyes flashed with anger. "Just admit that you are too frightened to fight."

  Eugene rolled his eyes. "Yes, fine. I'm frightened. Now shut up."

  Tanya's eyes shot wide open and her hand curled into a fist. Eugene looked past her and said, finally noticing Desmond standing behind her. "Hello, Desmond. How are you?" he said.

  Tanya whirled around, elbowing Eugene in the stomach; he grunted in pain. "What do you want?" she demanded.

  Desmond blinked. "I was just seeing how everyone was doing."

  "Fine," she said hotly. "I always enjoy sitting around while other people do my fighting for me."

  The corners of Desmond's mouth twitched in a slight smile. "Well, I want you to know that everyone here really appreciates you and Eugene looking after us. I don't know what we'd do without you."

  Unaccustomed to gratitude or similar positive emotions, Tanya frowned at the statement. She opened her mouth to make some dismissive remark, but before she could say anything, Eugene cut in.

  "You are welcome, Desmond. Anything we can do to help," he said, massaging his stomach where she had elbowed him.

  Desmond rubbed his chin. "How is everything looking?"

  Tanya scowled. "What kind of question is that? How do you think it looks? We haven't gone anywhere or seen anything since we came up here?"

  Eugene gave her a hard nudge. "What Tanya here means is that we cannot say much about the tactical situation outside," he said. "Sorry, my friend. We are in the dark as much as you are."

  Tanya struck his chest with the back of her hand and hissed at him, "We wouldn't have to be if you weren't such a frightened child."

  Eugene sighed. "Do we have to discuss this every five minutes?"

  "We should not have to be looking after these people! We should be out there, fighting and dying with our comrades!"

  "Look, Tanya…" It was at this point that Desmond realized there would be nothing further to be gained from the conversation, so with a slight and unnoticed bow, he took his leave.

  Olivia, tall and graceful with long off-white hair, leaned up against the wall with her eyes closed. Desmond moved up next to her, leaning in close and kissing her on the forehead.

  She opened her eyes, saw him, and smiled; he filled with warmth at the sight. "Everyone seems to be okay," she said. "Most of the children are sleeping." She gave a soft trickle of laughter, eliciting a smile from Desmond, who knew the sound very well. "Most of the adults too."

  Desmond nodded. "Not much is going on, but if I understand correctly," he added, looking over at Quinton, who hadn't moved from his post, "that's what we'd prefer right now."

  Olivia took a look around the room. "It won't take long before people become impatient, you know. We can't stay here forever."

  "Yes, you're right," he nodded again, "but we may need to for a couple of days if it comes to that. We have enough supplies to last that long."

  He stepped forward and hugged his wife; she folded into his embrace. "Don't worry," he whispered, "everything will be much better soon."