Chapter 13
Thomas
For my first reveal party, as a member of the team, I serve as a guide. I watch from behind a mausoleum as the two attendees appear and wait by a statue of a guardian angel that watches over one of the nearby graves. I lead them to the event, then help serve as one of the lookouts until the party is over, communicating with the others via two-way radio. There are no mishaps, no police raids; it works just like it’s supposed to. The next party goes pretty much the same, with no complications.
My third time at bat, I’m asked to come as an attendee and help select a potential recruit in the same way that Veritas selected me. I go to the meeting, ask the question to each person about why they wanted to come, and identify three potential candidates. They each have really strong feelings about wanting to live in a free society where all people can express their ideas openly and themselves for who they really are without being forced to hide or censor what they say or believe. I give the three names to Pam, who is the organizer for this reveal party.
Everything is going smoothly until we’re being escorted back to the drop-off point by our guide. Then we see flashlights in the distance coming down the alleyway we’ve just entered. Our guide freezes. He’s supposed to lead us away from the danger, but he just stands there, motionless. I have to act.
I move ahead of the other person in our group and tug on the guide’s arm, motioning with my head to indicate that we should head down the alleyway just to our left. He stares at me, still frozen. I take the lead, and they both follow me. When we get to the end of the alley, the guide seems to snap out of his trance and steps to the front again. He peers both ways down the street we’ve come to and motions for us to quickly cross over to an alleyway on the other side that runs between a feed and seed store and a small post office. We get across without incident. In fact, we make it the rest of the way back to campus without a problem.
As we part ways behind one of the gyms, the guide grabs my arm.
“Hey. Thanks for what you did back there. I don’t know why I froze.”
“You’re welcome. It could happen to anybody.”
“Yeah, but if you weren’t there, we could’ve been caught. I messed up.”
I nod, not knowing quite what to say. He’s right, of course.
“The next time you’re in a tight spot like that, just think of how much you don’t want to be sent to re-education camp. That should get you moving.”
He nods, and I pivot away from him, taking my turn to leave.
* * * * *
Tonight, I’m meeting Veritas at the schoolhouse on what has become a regular twice-a-week date. When we meet at the shed and deposit our helmets inside, I can tell she’s excited about something. She grabs my hand and leads me inside the building. As soon as the door closes, she begins talking excitedly.
“I have some great news!”
“What is it?”
“We’ve been invited to a freedom movement conference!”
“Cool. What exactly is that?”
“It’s a meeting that happens once a quarter where all the local freedom movement workers get to meet with some of the national leaders for training and stuff. Isn’t it so cool?!”
“Neat.”
“I know, right?”
I smile. I love seeing her so excited. She’s like a little kid unwrapping a present on Christmas morning as she pulls a piece of paper out of her jacket pocket and shows it to me.
“I was supposed to give this to you in the next dead-drop, but I just couldn’t wait. It’s the coordinates and time for our pickup. It’s this Friday. I’m so excited!”
She jumps up and wraps her arms and legs around me, giving me a tight squeeze. I laugh as I put one foot back to steady myself, so we don’t topple over into the hallway floor. She lifts her head off of my shoulder, pushing my hair out of my face as she stares into my eyes.
“And the best part about it is that we’re going together.”
She gives me a kiss and then quickly drops down onto the floor and runs away.
“Catch me if you can!”
We spend the next half hour running around the schoolhouse, playing tag, laughing, talking about the conference, and playing a game we call ‘truth or kiss’. Per usual, when it’s time for us to go, neither one of us wants to leave.
“How far do you think this will go?” I ask as we sit on the back steps delaying our departure more than we should. “—the freedom movement, I mean.”
She looks out into the woods and doesn’t respond for a few seconds.
“I think it will go far. I don’t know how long it’ll take, but it’s going to be amazing. I can see it in my mind,” she says as she closes her eyes and turns her head towards the sky. “And we’re going to be there to see it.”
She squeezes my hand before popping up and heading towards the shed.
“Come on. We can’t stay here any longer.”
I hope she’s right about the movement. I hope what we’re doing will help bring about some real and lasting change.
* * * * *
Our assignation for the conference is on Friday night. Once everyone arrives, we’re all led to a warehouse where we’re loaded into the back of some sort of moving truck. There must be about fifteen of us. After depositing our helmets in a locker in the back of the truck as instructed, Veritas and I find a spot about halfway up the right side and sit down with our backs against the sidewall. When everyone is loaded up, one of the organizers jumps in the back with us, and then the back door is rolled down from the outside.
There’s a dome light on, so we can still see each other. The organizer stays standing and starts to speak.
“Hi, everyone. I’m Jay. Some of you know me from the reveal parties we’ve helped work together. We’re going to be on the road for about an hour. When we start moving, the dome light is going to go off, and we’ll be in the dark. I’ve got a flashlight and a two-way radio to talk to the driver in case we have an emergency and need to stop. Any questions?”
No one says anything.
“Okay, here we go.”
Jay takes a seat along the wall and speaks into his radio.
“We’re all good.”
Moments later, the truck starts up, and we begin moving. After a few minutes, the dome light goes off, and we’re in total darkness. Veritas loops her arm around mine, giving me a quick peck on my cheek before she leans her head on my shoulder, settling in for the ride.
An hour or so later, the back door is rolled up. We’re inside another warehouse.
“I guess this isn’t going to be a scenic weekend,” one of the others says.
“Sorry, guys,” Jay responds. “We’ve got to keep the location secret for everyone’s safety.”
We all file out and are led through a maze of hallways into another section of the warehouse, which looks like a sort of team meeting room. There are already about forty or so people there. The space looks like it could hold maybe a hundred. Jay leads us inside and then turns around to face us before addressing the group.
“Okay, so the rules are simple. Stay in this room unless you need to go to the restroom. If you do need to go to the restroom, tell the guide at the door, and they’ll lead you there. Water and some snacks are over there,” he says, pointing as he speaks. “You’ll get more instructions later about where you’ll be spending the night. Welcome to the conference, everyone. Are there any questions?”
He fields a few basic questions, and then we’re all left to find our seats as he leaves to parts unknown. You can feel the excitement in the room. Veritas and I find two seats in the middle and begin introducing ourselves to the others. It feels strange and comforting all at the same time—like a reunion where you don’t really know most of the people you meet, but you feel the shared bond of knowing you all belong to the same family. These are my people. I’m one of them. I’m excited to see what happens next.
