Chapter 19:Smoke In The Sky

By the second day, word had spread beyond the city.

Radio signals bounced across towns. People without electricity were using battery radios and even megaphones. Some zones had started putting up posters with Lara's voice printed into speeches, others with Elena's quote: We remember what they took.

But the city was changing too fast.

Barricades had gone up in every direction. The south bridge was on lockdown, and government forces had begun marching through central streets, armed and armored. Protesters were being pulled away in trucks. Some didn't come back.

Lara stared from the window of the bookstore. Her fingers shook around a cold cup of tea.

"We can't stop now," Marco said beside her, but his voice wasn't steady either.

Elena came running into the room, breathless.

"They found the west signal camp. It's gone."

"Gone?" Adrian stood up. "How?"

"They burned it. Took everything. Nobody's answering from there anymore."

Lara felt like the floor tilted beneath her. "How many people were there?"

"Twenty... maybe more."

Nobody spoke.

It hit all of them. This wasn't just rebellion. This was war now.

"We need to move," Mira said. "They'll come here next."

Lara looked down at the streets, where kids still handed out flyers, and people held makeshift banners. They believed. Even with everything going on, they believed change was coming.

"I'll speak again," she said quietly.

Mira raised an eyebrow. "It's risky. They're tracing signals faster now."

"I don't care. I'll keep talking until I can't."

They prepped quickly. Elena stayed by the window, watching for patrols. Marco helped Mira rewire the antenna to shift the signal every few seconds. Adrian found an old gas lamp and lit it, just in case.

Lara sat in front of the mic again.

"Yesterday... we lit something. I saw it in your eyes, heard it in your voices. But now, they want to smother that light. They want you quiet, hiding."

She swallowed.

"They want to scare you into silence. But we've lived in silence too long already. So don't stop now. Talk louder. March further. Protect each other."

Her hand clenched into a fist.

"They took our schools, our friends, our peace. But they can't take the truth. The truth lives in us now."

The moment she finished, Mira hit the off switch.

They all stared at the blinking screen.

"Signal bounced," Mira said. "We're safe... for now."

But as the sun dipped lower, they heard it.

Gunfire in the distance.

More smoke rising.

Another camp had fallen.

Lara closed her eyes. She knew what would come next. They weren't just fighting words anymore. They were fighting fire.

But the city wasn't afraid.

And neither was she.