Chapter 20: Reestablishment
IAN
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRoOJraKVtt
The meeting room was unusually quiet.
The kind of quiet that didn't bring peace.
It carried anticipation. Questions. Suspicion. Everyone filed into their usual places with practiced familiarity. The members of the squad occupied the seats engraved with their names, while the remaining shelter members settled into the chairs opposite , facing the table where Caine would lead the discussion. The newcomer the woman who had introduced herself as a reporter sat alone at the center of the room. She looked calmer than she had outside the gates, but only just. Her shoulders remained tense, and despite trying to hide it, exhaustion lingered beneath her eyes. I didn't sit. Instead, I leaned against the concrete wall near the back of the room, my arms folded across my chest as I silently observed everyone.
My gaze drifted toward Katherine. She hadn't taken her eyes off the reporter since we'd entered. Strange. Then another thought crossed my mind. Actually... maybe not. Everyone in the shelter knew things that nobody openly spoke about.
It wasn't gossip. Just... observations.
Everyone knew Katherine had the feels for Caine. She'd never admitted it. She never had to. The way she looked at him whenever he walked into a room said enough. Just as everyone knew Hog cared deeply about Katherine. Unlike Katherine, though... Hog never showed it. Never chased it. Never complained. He simply carried those feelings quietly, as he carried everything else. Caine... Caine was different. He kept every emotion buried beneath layers of discipline and responsibility. I honestly believed the man had forgotten how to truly show any other emotion Until today. The second that reporter had walked through the gates...
I'd seen it. Just for a heartbeat. A faint flush across his face I couldn't believe my eyes ... He blushed. Like actually blushing.
So subtle that most people would've missed it. I hadn't. Neither had Katherine.
Yeah... That definitely didn't help. Before my thoughts could wander any further, Caine cleared his throat. The room fell completely silent. He folded his hands on the table. "Now..." He looked toward the woman. "Leila." So that's her name.
His voice remained calm. "Please share everything with the members of our shelter." Leila gave a small nod. For a moment, she simply sat there, gathering the courage to speak. As she did, my attention drifted toward Elena. She was seated only a few feet away from me.
Her injured leg rested awkwardly beneath the table. The swelling had become more noticeable. Even from where I stood, I could see it. That dumbbell really did a number on her. A knot tightened in my chest. She'll probably need Doctor Briar to look at that properly. Elena seemed unaware I was watching. Or maybe she was pretending not to notice. Either way...
I forced myself to focus. There will be time to worry later. Right now... We needed answers. Leila slowly lifted her gaze, looking around the room. Dozens of eyes stared back at her. Some curious. Some cautious. Some are openly suspicious. Eventually, her eyes settled on Elena.
She inhaled deeply before finally speaking.
"Hello..." "...fellow members of the clan."
Her voice was steady. "I am a former reporter." A faint, bittersweet smile touched her lips. "Or..." "I was a reporter before everything happened." She paused briefly.
"I was young." "I had achieved more than most people expected someone my age to achieve." There wasn't pride in her voice.
Only remembrance. "After the infected outbreak..." "I had nowhere to go."
She shrugged slightly. "But that wasn't exactly new for me." A sad laugh escaped her. "I'd always had nowhere to go."
She lowered her eyes. "I was an orphan."
"The little time I spent living with my aunt..."
"...she eventually decided I had become too much of a financial burden." The room remained silent. Nobody interrupted.
Nobody dared. "I wasn't only a reporter."
She looked up again. "I am also a digital engineer." Several people exchanged glances. Even Hog straightened slightly.
Leila continued. "After the outbreak..."
"I wandered from place to place..." "...doing everything I could not to get killed."
She paused. "Then..." "The people from the Reestablishment found me." Her expression darkened. "They told me they could offer me safety." Another bitter smile.
"I accepted." Her eyes became distant.
Looking back... "I should've stayed where I was." Silence settled heavily across the room. Then she spoke the words that sent a chill down my spine. "Dying would've been better..." "...than becoming a puppet of the Reestablishment." Nobody moved.
Her voice remained calm. "They took me."
"I don't know where they first heard about me..." "But they already knew who I was."
"They immediately began asking questions." Questions about my work.
Questions about what I could build.
Questions about what I could create from scratch... "...if they gave me the right machines." The room felt smaller somehow.
Heavier. Every person inside seemed to understand the same terrifying truth.
The Reestablishment hadn't rescued Leila.
They had recruited her. No... They had claimed her. Like another resource to exploit. I stared at the floor for a long moment. A single thought echoed through my mind. Just how many people had they done this to...? The meeting room had never felt this heavy. Even the usual creaks of the wooden chairs seemed to have disappeared beneath the crushing silence.
my eyes fixed on the woman who had arrived only minutes earlier. Leila drew a slow breath before speaking again , "I didn't know they'd use me..." Her voice was quiet. Steady. "But because of that..."
"I told them everything." She lowered her gaze, as if replaying the memories in her mind. "For the first week..." "Everything was fine." "They kept me inside my room."
"They fed me well." She paused. A bitter smile crossed her face. "I actually believed they had rescued me." The room remained silent. "After that first week..." "The Commanders..." "...and the other authorities..." "They started visiting me."
She clasped her trembling hands together.
"They asked me to make devices for them."
I frowned slightly. Devices? Leila continued.
"At first..." "I helped them." "I made simple things." "Trackers." "Beeper systems."
She swallowed. "I thought..." "...if I cooperated..." "...they'd leave me alone."
Her eyes slowly lifted. "They didn't."
A chill crept through the room. "They kept asking for more." Her breathing became heavier. "Eventually..." "They wanted me to build something else." She hesitated. Then
"They wanted me to make a bomb..." "...that could be attached to human beings." The words landed like a gunshot. No one moved. For a moment, I wasn't even sure I'd heard her correctly. A bomb... Attached to people? Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Katherine's jaw tightening. Thomas looked horrified. Doctor Briar's expression had turned pale. Even Hog... A man who rarely showed emotion... Looked disturbed.
No one spoke. Everyone wanted her to continue. Leila inhaled shakily. "I refused."
"Again." "And again." "And again." Her voice cracked. "But they didn't stop asking."
She lowered her head. "They tortured me."
The room seemed to grow colder. "They starved me." "They beat me..." "...every single time I refused." Her words echoed through the room. No embellishment.
Just facts. And somehow... That made them even harder to hear. I felt my hands slowly tighten into fists beneath the table.
Monsters. Leila continued before anyone could respond. "Eventually..." "They stopped asking." A pause. "They made me their reporter instead." Her laugh carried no amusement. "Not because they cared about journalism." "They wanted records."
"They wanted every operation documented." "Every order." "Every mission." "Every person." She looked around the room. "I wasn't just storing information." "I had to personally report everything to the Chief Commander."
Her shoulders tensed. "There were always one or two guards beside me." "Watching."
"Supervising." "Making sure I never forget who owned me." Silence swallowed the room once again. I glanced toward Elena.
She hadn't looked away from Leila once.
Her expression wasn't a surprise. It was recognition. Like she'd already known every word before it had been spoken.
Leila followed my gaze. She turned toward Elena. A faint smile appeared despite the sadness filling her eyes. "Elena..."
Her voice softened. "She was the first one."
"The first person to protest what they were doing to the children." I looked at Elena instinctively. She lowered her eyes.
Leila continued. "She escaped."
A small breath escaped her lips. "When I realized she'd actually gotten away..."
"...I knew I had to leave too." She smiled sadly. "We didn't talk much." "Our encounters were mostly in the hallways."
"Sometimes..." "...in the canteen." "But every time I saw her..." "I saw someone who still had hope." She looked directly at Elena. "And when that hope escaped those walls..." "I realized I couldn't stay there any longer." I slowly leaned back and adjusted myself trying to process everything we'd just heard. The Reestablishment had always sounded cruel. Corrupt. Power hungry. But hearing it from someone who had survived it... Who had lived through it...
Made it something else entirely. Something tangible. Something real. I found myself looking at Elena again. She sat quietly, her gaze fixed on the table. She hadn't interrupted Leila once. Hadn't corrected her. Hadn't denied anything. She simply listened. How much did she endure inside that place...? The thought settled heavily in my chest. And for the first time... I realized that escaping the Reestablishment hadn't been the end of Elena's story. It had only been the beginning. Leila spoke again after taking a deep breath, Like every sentence she spoke forced her to relive something she desperately wanted to forget. She swallowed before continuing. "Things are much worse inside the Reestablishment now." "They've managed to create something far more disturbing." Before she could continue, Katherine leaned forward.
Her expression had hardened. "Did you end up making this human bomb thing?"
The question landed like a punch. Leila froze. She didn't answer. She couldn't.
Her silence was answer enough. The guilt in her eyes spoke louder than any confession ever could. She lowered her head. For a brief second, she replied, "I was forced too . But I know how to turn that bomb off too .. more than three ways . I only told them about the obvious one way" the room feel silent . Hog finally broke the silence. His voice remained calm. "Continue, Ms. Leila." Leila nodded weakly. She took another slow breath before speaking again. "They managed to create an infected..." "...that feeds on its own kind." My stomach tightened. Around the table, several people exchanged uneasy glances. Katherine interrupted again , " did you help in this matter too?" Leila answered, "no .. there were more intellectual minds like me . Scientists and many more" . Leila continued. "They experimented on the infected using different scientific methods."
"At first..." "They failed." "Again." "And again." "They couldn't control the infected."
Her fingers tightened around one another.
"But eventually..." "They achieved the results they wanted." A chill crawled up my spine. "They successfully created two infected capable of feeding on another infected." She paused. "They're controlled by the Reestablishment." "The worst part..."
"They're trying to make more." Her voice cracked. "They use those creatures against anyone who refuses to obey." "They unleash them on civilians." "They harvest people..." "...people like me." Her eyes slowly drifted downward. "They strip away our identities." The words settled heavily inside my chest. I thought of Elena. The number branded into her past instead of a name. The memories she'd been forced to bury just to survive. Leila inhaled shakily before continuing. "After Elena escaped..."
"They became worse." "They started taking even more children." Her voice trembled. "They executed more elderly people than they had in months." I clenched my jaw. "The parents who protested..." She stopped. Closed her eyes.
Then forced herself to finish. "They fed them to the infected." Silence. Utter silence. "They're trying to build something bigger." "Something stronger." Her breathing became uneven. "One day..."
"I sneaked into the Chief Commander's office." "I searched through his drawers."
"I was trying to find information about the missing children." Even then... She'd still been searching for them. "But..." "They caught me." I watched her instinctively rub one of her wrists. "They beat me."
Her voice barely rose above a whisper.
"They electrocuted me..." "...for days."
Nobody around the table looked away.
"They wanted me to submit." "They wanted me to stop asking questions." She swallowed painfully. "I finally escaped."
A faint smile appeared. Small. Broken.
"Some parents helped me." "They were desperate." "They knew they might never see their children again." "They didn't help me because they believed I'd survive."
"They helped me..." "...because they hoped their children would." Tears rolled silently down her cheeks. She looked around the room. At every unfamiliar face. Then finally toward Elena. "This place..." Her voice cracked completely. "Elena..." "...was my last hope". I looked toward Elena. She was already crying. Quietly. Without making a sound. Doctor Briar slowly stood. His expression carried the calm reassurance only he seemed capable of offering. "Ms. Leila." His voice was gentle. "As Elena already knows..." "We're here to help."
He folded his hands together. "And we cannot deny that the information you've given us today is invaluable." He paused.
"We're going to do everything within our power to rescue those children..." "...and return to civilians what the Reestablishment has stolen from them."
Another pause. "But it will take time."
His expression grew more serious.
"From everything you've told us..."
"It's clear they're equipped with advanced weaponry..." "...and equally advanced security." Leila nodded silently. Caine finally leaned forward. "Ms. Leila." His voice immediately drew everyone's attention.
"This week..." "We're sending out a children's search party." He looked directly into her eyes. "Considering your experience..." "We'd like you to accompany our soldiers." Before Leila could respond Katherine stood abruptly. The scrape of her chair echoed through the room.
Her expression was openly offended.
"How come she gets to go with the soldiers..." "...while I'm stuck here training people?" Nobody answered. She wasn't finished. "We don't even know if we can trust her." Her eyes narrowed. "For all we know..." "She's a spy." "A spy sent by the Reestablishment." "Maybe she found our shelter..." "...and now she's here so they can take it over." The accusation hung heavily in the room. Leila's face is drained of color.
Her eyes instinctively found Elena. Elena immediately moved closer, silently reassuring her. Hog rose from his chair.
He placed a firm hand on Katherine's shoulder. "Katherine." His voice remained calm. "Your concerns are valid." She looked at him. "But think about what she's done."
He gestured toward Leila. "She crossed infected territory." "She risked her life."
"She came all the way here." "Not to save herself." "To give us information." "To help other people." His gaze softened. "We can't ignore that." He paused before continuing. "And there's another reason."
He looked around the room. "Leila knows the Reestablishment." "She knows its people." "She knows how they operate."
"If something goes wrong..." "She'll recognize it before any of us." He continued. "She also knows the missing children." "She knows how they're disguised." "She can identify them." "She can guide our soldiers." "And because of that..." "Our chances of bringing those children home increase." The room fell quiet once more. Caine slowly nodded. "I agree." Katherine remained silent. She didn't argue again. Instead... She simply turned and walked out of the meeting room. The door closed quietly behind her.
Caine let out a slow breath before looking at the rest of us. "That'll be all." His voice returned to its usual authoritative tone.
"Everyone is dismissed." His attention shifted back to Leila. "Ms. Leila..."
"You've had a long journey." "You should get some rest." Then he looked toward Emma. "Emma." "Would you show her to her apartment?" Emma smiled warmly.
"Of course." She gently offered Leila her hand. Leila accepted it with visible hesitation. As they disappeared through the doorway, I remained seated for another moment. The room was emptying. Conversations had already begun outside.
But my thoughts stayed behind. A giant infected. Rhys . Mind controlled infected that fed on their own kind . That explained the bullet dodging in the last mission. Children disappearing. Parents sacrificed. The Reestablishment wasn't trying to rebuild civilization. It was trying to reshape it. Into something none of us could yet comprehend. And somehow... Deep in my gut... I couldn't shake the feeling that everything we'd survived so far . The meeting room slowly emptied, but the weight of Leila's words refused to leave with the people. It lingered. Like smoke after a fire. My thoughts broke apart when I noticed Elena.
ns216.73.216.253da2
and then Add to home screen.