Government News

Roxie yawned as her eyes blinked open. She sat up and left the bed. 

Her mind strayed to the uncompleted mission she had.

She had to find a way to get livestock as soon as possible. She was already wasting too much time.

Roxie freshened up and grabbed her bag. 

She walked to the living room. Ambrose wasn't present. Linda was not present either.

Nobody knows if the lashing she got yesterday affected her too much. Roxie didn't care about that.

She was just reaping the consequences of her action.

Did Linda think she would be able to run her mouth and go scot-free?

The electricity hadn't gone off. Kai was sitting in front of the television. A remote was in his hand.

He was flipping through the available channels.

Suddenly, he stopped on a news channel. A beautiful lady with white skin was the news anchor. 

She had a pretty smile on her face. Her curly brown hair reached her shoulder.

She looked neat and smart.

"The Vima government wants every civilian to listen to this message. Call your family members and friends or relatives to tune in with you." The news anchor started.

Roxie stopped walking towards the door when she heard the news anchor mention the government. 

She turned around and joined Kai on the chair.

The news anchor continued, "The government knows the civilians are suffering and they want to assure everyone to not panic. The government is working on solutions for the acid rain. All work, businesses and everything else must close down temporarily till a solution to this acid rain is found. The source of the acid rain would be found soon and the path to viable solutions would open."

"Finally, we have a lead on where we would meet government officials." Kai commented.

Roxie nodded to show she was listening. Her eyes were still trained on the television. 

"In the meantime, the government of this city has created bases for temporary inhabitation. Once the solution to this acid rain is found, everything would return back to how it had always been." The news anchor said.

Footsteps sounded.

Ambrose walked into the living room.

His eyes fell on Roxie first.

She noticed him looking at her. Roxie didn't have to look at his direction to know. Ambrose's eyes had a way of raising the temperature of the area he was looking at.

Ambrose took his seat.

"The addresses of the bases are on the screen. Please, write it down. We don't know how long the electricity would remain active. The acid rain is destroying more things as time goes on. On the left side of the screen are also numbers you can call during emergencies. They are connected to satellite phones." The news anchor continued.

Roxie glanced at the screen and memorized the addresses. There was a base that was closer to this downtown area. Going to that base was still a long journey but it was the closest base among the ones on the screen. 

Her plan to go out to look for livestock and domestic animals was put on hold temporarily. The journey to the closest base was still a stretch. She might find areas with livestock on the way. It was best for them to set out towards the base as soon as possible. 

The news anchor said a few more encouraging words before the channel switched to music and advertisement. 

Kai turned to Roxie, "We should try to leave soon. I don't want to spend one more second in this level E world if I can help it."

"Me too." Ambrose concurred. 

"Alright. It is best if we make the journey now. Doing so would control variables. We don't know if the base would have a limit on population so we must leave early." Roxie said.

The other people nodded in agreement. 

A new person walked into the living room. It was Linda.

She headed towards Roxie. She didn't even glance at Kai and Ambrose. Linda fell to her knees. 

"Roxie, I am so sorry for speaking to you out of turn yesterday. I didn't know my place and I polluted the mood of this group. I am so sorry once again." Linda apologized. 

Nobody knows if the apology was sincere or not. 

Roxie clicked her tongue. She should stop thinking the worst of people. 

She waved her hand, "Don't worry, it is okay. Just don't try it next time. The government has created bases for civilians to head to if they can. We are heading to one of those bases right now."

"Can I follow you guys? I promise you. I will be on my best behavior. I am sure you need a nurse, right?" Linda pleaded in panic.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

"If you want to go with us, it is fine. Just know you have to follow instruction strictly. Besides, you must not act in a weird way." Roxie instructed. 

Linda nodded frantically, "Yes, I will behave properly. I will follow everything you ask me to do."

Roxie shook her head, "I just want you to refrain from doing what I told you to avoid. That's all. Nobody is controlling your every move. You are not in a slave camp."

Roxie rose to her feet and looked at everyone in the living room.

"You guys should pack your belongings and luggages now. We should reconvene in the living room in the next 30 to 40 minutes." She said.

Once the last word drop for her lips, she turned around to go back to her bedroom. 

Roxie stuffed most of the things that wouldn't fit into her bag into the space. She grabbed the things she liked from the bedroom too.

'Sorry miss or mister.' Roxie apologized to the owner of the house mentally.

The rest of the items remained in the bag she had been carrying around.

Roxie went back to the living room.

The time to leave arrived.

Kai, Linda and Ambrose appeared in the living room. 

Roxie unlocked the door and walked out. The others followed.

Fortunately, rain wasn't falling at this moment. They would have to postpone their journey if the sky decided not to agree with them. 

Roxie locked the door and kept the key on the windowsill. She didn't know if the owner of the house was going to come back.

It was against her conscience to just leave the house open.

The sun wasn't covered by the glooming grey clouds overhead. It was a beautiful morning. 

After making sure everything was as it should be, they started their journey.