“Got ya.” Jenny spotted a few who appeared worried, out of place like black and white figures drowning in a sea of color and jubilance. She understood what Grant meant but doubted those people’s ability to fire up the crowd. No energy existed in them. They barely stood on their own two feet, disconnected, not participating with the others. Jenny could only assume they wished to be alone in their tents to mourn Danny and Griffin, to consider the future of the Depot. At least they get it. They understand loss and that none of this is ever completely over. Everyone else, though… “How many you think know about Danny and Griffin?”
“Gotta be all of them. No way that news didn’t spread ‘round here like wildfire. People can’t keep they damn mouths shut.”
“True… I guess everyone being so happy threw me off. I figured maybe they didn’t know. Just seems kind of wrong.”
“You ain’t bein’ fair to them if that’s what you’re thinkin’.” Grant took on his familiar fatherly tone. “Think about it, girlie. Through all that shit you just went through with Danny and Griffin, with finding us, with finding Xavier, with the battle, all that, you think of Danny the whole time? Or you focus on other stuff too?”
“Other stuff too, but—”
“Yeah, other stuff too. The ‘too’ is important. All of them feel that loss.” He began pointing his finger at the crowd. “All of them knew Danny, knew Griffin. Hell, some of them may have loved them just like you did. So, for you to think they don’t care is wrong. You want them on your side, you better get that outta your head.
“Remember, we just won a battle with no deaths, no injuries. They’re pumped up. Most of them tryin’ to think happy thoughts, tryin’ to block out the bad. You gotta remember people deal with shit differently. You gotta respect that.”
Jenny’s shoulders sank, her eyes followed.
“Hey, don’t be doin’ that.” Grant dropped his arm around her shoulder. “I ain’t tryin’ to get you down. Those just some facts you gotta understand. I know these things ‘cause I’m older than you, and that means I’m smarter,” he joked. “Seriously though, everythin’ I said about you before still stands. Don’t get it messed up. You’re brave and able to do stuff I ain’t ever dreamt of doin’. Someday, you’re gonna be a great leader. In some ways you already are. We just need to work on your people skills.”
She cracked a smile.
“There we go. Now, you think you ready for this?”
“I…” Unnoticed by Jenny, the line for soup had worked its way through—every set of eyes in the crowd were now focused on the two of them. She felt a tremble in her hand, slight, but there. Just tell your story, Jenny. Let them know the truth about where you came from. What you’ve been through.
A few groans slipped through the crowd because of Jenny’s hesitation.
You know what to say and what not to say.
“Alright, let’s quiet down now,” one of the women shouted in an effort to squash the restlessness and last remaining bits of whispers.
Let’s—let’s do this. She took a deep breath, looking over the crowd. Each person in front of her wanted an answer, wanted to know what the hell had happened over the last 24 hours.
When Jenny finally spoke, her words were shaky at first, but tightened with every truth put forth, with every head that nodded along with her. She told them everything about River’s Edge. Their life there. All they had accomplished together since Almawt. Then, their downfall at the hands of the Second Alliance, explaining how the enemy had managed to do it through a plan of deception and false camaraderie. The same way they planned it with the Depot.
“I told you they were trouble,” a woman said.
“Yeah, you did call that one.”
“You think I missed anything?” Jenny asked Grant.
He shook his head.
“That’s all well and good, but what about Griffin and Danny?” a man with a large scar across his forehead demanded. “What the fuck happened to them? The Second… whatever they’re called, they did this? Is that what you think?”
“That’s what I know.” And there it was—the lie Jenny knew she’d have to tell. It was the tricky part, but the most important. If she was to convince the Depot to mobilize against the Second Alliance, the lie had to be told.
Briefly, she brought it together in her head so as not to fumble through it when it mattered.
The S.A. came here to strike up the deal with the Depot. When the S.A. took Matt and Grant prisoner, the discussions fell apart. A fight broke out, but none of us saw it. I was outside, then later in my tent cleaning up. Grant and Matt had been put in a secured room. Unfortunately, the only people who saw everything were the S.A., Griffin and Danny. After the gunshots, I found the bodies and took Sherman and tracked the S.A. I rescued Matt and Grant. Simple. Keep it simple…
If anyone asks why they took Matt and Grant, it’s because they knew the truth about the S.A. And, the reason I wasn’t taken is simple. They didn’t find me. Hopefully, not many people know how Griffin died, but if anyone brings that up… Again, you weren’t there. You have no idea. Stick with that.
“Well, out with it!” the man yelled.
As Jenny brought forth the lie, the scarred man fell silent—the rest of the crowd did the same, all of them listening intently. She hit on all her points, but in the back of her mind, she apologized to Danny for disrespecting the truth, hiding what really happened. In this way, no one would know Griffin, the monster. No one would know what he’d planned for the Depot—for Grant, Matt, for Jenny. The fact that Danny had saved her would never be known. He gave his life for her. The lie was a disservice to him. A disservice to the truth that everyone deserved to know but couldn’t. The S.A. had to be the enemy. It was Jenny’s only way to fight back.
Danny, I’m sorry… but it won’t be for nothing, I promise. River’s Edge is worth it. Taking the S.A. out is worth it. If we don’t, they’ll keep coming for me, Grant, Matt. They’ll keep tearing everyone else down.
The joy which had swept over the crowd earlier had quickly evaporated with Jenny’s explanation. Most struggled to keep their chins up and their eyes toward her while she finished. “…and if you think this is bad, this is only the beginning. The Second Alliance will be back. They won’t quit.”
“We believe you, but how—how do we stand up to them?” Lars asked. “If what you’re saying is true—”
“We don’t know it is!” the scarred man said. “The Second Alliance could all be bullshit. How the hell do we know how big this group is? It’s probably just some bullshit operation. You think people are that organized already? Like some big-ass army?”
“It is possible! Why the hell not?” a woman interjected. “We’re going on three years since Almawt.”
“Seems crazy to me is all…” he let his defeated voice fade.
“Is there any other proof? Anything at all?” the woman asked Jenny.
“I do, but… you have to understand, when I bring him out, he’s not one of them. Yes, he has their uniform on, but he’s—”
“A prisoner?!”
“We took a prisoner?”
“No! He’s not a prisoner!” Jenny shouted out to quell the notion before it got out of hand. “He’s the one they hung from the scaffolding at River’s Edge. Well, the one we thought was hung, but the truth is, the S.A. didn’t kill him. They faked his death. It’s—it’s complicated.”
“And we’re supposed to trust that? Come on!”
Grant stepped forward and cut into the fray, “Shut it! Now!” He shifted his attention to where Matt stood post—the second set of doors toward the back which led inside the Depot. “Matt! Go ahead and bring him out.”