The few soldiers who survived the battle with the dinosaurs were taken to the sa enclousure where Abe, Ellie and Alexander were locked up. Apparently nothing seed to have changed, but in reality the tension was much higher.
Up until that mont, people had been holding on because they were sure that soone would co to help them, that would take them away from that captivity. But now in front of their eyes were the last remnants of Odaria's army, which had been completely annihilated by the dinosaurs. This had destroyed people's souls. Although the more optimistic (or more simply, those who wanted to remain calm) continued to place their trust in other nations and in the NMWA, most humans had fallen into a state of depression.
Abe had noticed this very clearly, especially among young people: people withdrew, avoided talking to others, ate less and were less reactive; furthermore, the discussions had beco more frequent and violent, a clear manifestation of the anxiety that was accumulating. Fortunately, until that mont Abe, Ellie and other peacemakers had managed to calm the spirits and the dinosaurs didn't seem to have noticed anything, but the tension was growing by the day.
Abe knew he absolutely had to find a way to talk to the dinosaur leader. He had to at least convince him to reunite the families. But every ti he had tried to ask for an interview, the dinosaurs had denied him, and their constant refusal only soured the spirits.
Abe didn't dare imagine how the dinosaurs would react if so hothead tried to start a riot. He had to find a solution, and quickly too.
He had hoped that the soldiers would help him: after all they were trained people, having them on his side would certainly have an advantage in an argunt. They were much more intimidating than normal people. But since they had arrived, the soldiers had taken refuge in a corner of the square and had not interacted much with the others.
Abe could understand them. They had probably been traumatized by what they had seen. After all, they had lost all their companions. Most of them sat motionless all day. The only exception was a dark-haired soldier who seed strangely reactive. When it was ti for the al, she was the only one who got up to go get food.
Abe decided to try talking to her. When she separated from the others, he cautiously approached her. "Hi" he greeted her, not knowing how to approach. "I am… Abraham Kenyatta, but you can call Abe. And you are…?"
"Dariela Marzan" was the dry reply of the woman, that remained expressionless. "Sergeant of the army of Odaria, seventh battalion, assigned with my team to protect General Davies"
"Oh... well, it's an honor to et you, sergeant" Abe answered not knowing what else he could say. "Can I help you in so way?"
"No. Go away, please. I don't have ti to flirt" the woman answered sourly.
"That wasn't what I ant!" Abe hastened to specify . "It's just that I noticed you're going alone to get all the food for your entire troop..."
"My troop is in shock. They don't have the courage to go near dinosaurs" Dariela said. "This is what happens when you see thousands of your comrades slaughtered in a desert plain by a pack of monsters"
Abe swallowed as he felt the anger in the woman's words, and he had no intention of contradicting her. He had guessed that this was the situation. After all, the annals of the Three Hundred Years War taught how much the brutality of conflict could affect the human psyche. And since Eden had been at peace for generations, modern soldiers had no idea what they were really getting into, and they broke much more easily than ancient ones. It was no wonder that all the survivors of the battle were in a state of shock... indeed, it was surprising that Dariela hadn't lost her mind, proof of the ntal strength that this woman possessed.
"I understand it, and I'm sorry. But that's what I'm here for. It doesn't have to be easy to carry all that food alone. I am not a soldier, but I have strong arms. I can help you, if you let " Abe explained.
Dariela looked at him sideways. It was clear that her first impulse was to flatly refuse, but the woman was not stupid and she knew that Abe's words were not nonsense. "Okay" she said gesturing for him to follow her. "But after we bring the food, you will leave"
"If that's what you want" Abe said with a shrug of her, starting to follow her towards the food distribution point. As she walked she noticed that many people were looking at them sideways. "What's wrong with them?"
"Ignore them, they always do this" Dariela replied without even seeming touched by the angry looks of the people around them. "They hoped to be saved, but they didn't. Now they need soone to bla and we soldiers are the perfect scapegoat. We have failed, so we must be blad"
"But that's not fair. You couldn't do anything"
"Maybe, but that's not how people think. This is an ergency situation, and in ergency situations people lose their mind. They cling to anything to stay lucid. And often resentnt is an excellent foothold, so they gladly choose to take it"
"Did they bother you? I an, have they disturbed you?"
"No… they are harmless. They look us with angry eyes and sotis they hurl so insult at us, but we just have to ignore them and they leave. They aren't stupid: they know very well that by unleashing a fight they would attract the attention of dinosaurs. None of them want them to intervene"
"I understand. Wise decision"
"Right. So the best thing to do is keep quiet, ignore them and wait for them to leave. I tell you because they will soon co to you too: you are helping , so now you will be pointed out as a supporter of the soldiers who have failed"
Abe hadn't calculated that detail; he was stunned for a mont, worrying about what that na might an, but then he realized it wasn't really a problem. As Dariela said, no one would be stupid enough to risk attracting the attention of the dinosaurs, so they wouldn't risk being attacked or killed. He could easily bear the insults. Dariela was right: they just had to ignore them.
As they approached the food dispensers, he noticed Dariela's frown getting more and more frown as she watched the dinosaurs. "I don't recomnd looking at them like that" he told her. "They might notice. They don't seem to care much what we think of them, but it's better not to risk"
"I can't do anything about it. I hate them" Dariela whispered sourly. "It isn't easy to forget thousands of people massacred in front of your own eyes. These creatures are real monsters"
"Maybe, but now these monsters are holding us hostage. We cannot act stupidly"
"I'm aware of that, but that doesn't an I have to like them. What is that?"
Suddenly the dinosaurs had moved to let a large ankylosaurus pass which had brought itself to the center of the square. Abe noticed that he had a moon on his forehead and jumped. "He must be one of the high ranks" he whispered.
"How do you know?"
"The tattoos on their faces aren't casual. Their leader has a sun, while everyone else has a star. However, I have noticed that there are so with a moon. And seeing how they talk to them, I would say that they are high-ranking individuals, like generals or councilors"
Dariela was surprised by those words. She too had noticed the tattoos on the dinosaurs' faces, but she had never mulled it over. She had always attributed them to so wild and primitive custom. Instead, they apparently served to indicate role in the hierarchy.
The ankylosaurus raised his voice and addressed the whole square: "Humans, listen to !" he proclaid. "Tonight we will honor our fallen, and all the dinosaurs must be present. Since we cannot leave you unsupervised, you will need to be there too. Soon, a troop of our soldiers will co to pick you up and take you outside the walls. The ceremony will be swift, so please keep quiet and don't be silly. As soon as we finish saying goodbye to our teammates, we will bring you back here and everything will be back to normal"
The ankylosaurus concluded his speech and left the square. The humans began to argue with each other, surprised at what they had just heard.
"Honoring the fallen? Are these monsters having a funeral?" Dariela murmured.
"Apparently. It may be an opportunity" Abe reflected. "All the people of Cartago will be present at the funeral, and we will probably all be massed together. As a result, families could reunite and we could redistribute ourselves to ensure that we are not separated from our loved ones"
In fact, it seed like a golden opportunity. The dinosaurs had only asked them to be quiet: they had not talked about not mixing. In that short space of ti they could have found friends and companions and redeployed to make it possible to go together in the sa enclosure.
Dariela seed of the sa opinion too, but she was more skeptical. "There are over a million humans here in Cartago. It will be impossible for everyone to find themselves in such a short period of ti"
"Maybe, but soone could" Abe replied. Maybe, Alexander and Ellie could have Malcolm back… it would have been good. "Co on. We must inform everyone of this idea!"
In fact, Abe was also interested in seeing what a dinosaur funeral was like; the proposal alone piqued his curiosity. But his priority now had to be the preservation of the population, and he couldn't allow his interest to cloud it.
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