Alex was pretty tempted to do what everyone else did and go back inside the tent, but he held himself No good would really come out of him going inside. Running away from the problem doesn’t help anyone. The best course of action is the one wherein people actually do something. Of course he couldn’t really blame the people who did, especially Maybaleen. From what Alex understands the woman has just lost a son, and that’s something she has to figure out. Saying he understands what she’s going through of course would be a great lie since he doesn’t know what it means to lose someone like that. The same thing could be said about everyone else who went inside the. The two teenagers from the other boat looked angry and shocked themselves so they would need to figure their own things out. Alex could do with some quiet and thinking on himself, but staying inside wouldn’t do hi any good. Past experience has taught him that going down that path never lead to anything good and only made things worse outside. There was also the matter of the unconscious guy who he should take care of since the two people on their team left, and the only person who seemed to know what needed to be done needed his help. “So…Doc, what should we do now?” Alex asked the doctor in a nonchalant and casual tone. He’s never been much of a good leader and the doctor obviously knows more than him so she should be their defacto leader. [center]---[/center] In all honesty, Maddie thought there would be shouting and violence. Her years of experience working in a hospital has toughened her skin and taught her to anticipate angry patients. Delivering good news was easy because good news meant being alive and not being hooked up to machines. Bad news always meant saying things like “I’m sorry, but there was nothing we could do” Or “We need to prepare for the worst”. No one takes new like that well, and some lash out. It’s just something that you have to forgive people for because no one should hear news like that. The sheer fact that they managed to be rational and calm adults about it made her kind of proud. Most of them left and went back inside their respective tents. It made sense for them to shit themselves off for now. The only people that stayed outside was Deepti, the little Indian girl, and Alex who Maddie could not figure out why he would stay here. Arrios was also outside, but he was unconscious so he doesn’t really count. It was a much better turnout than he thought. “Well Mr. Barrientos.” Maddie began addressing the young tattooed man’s question. “Like I said our priority right now is to get to land. Our supplies won’t last and I doubt the weather won’t always be this peaceful.” Maddie said calmly. There was also the matter of sea creatures. Although the chances were quite low there was no guarantee that there wouldn’t be any predators out in the open. In the modern world death by sharks or any other sea creatures were low, that was the norm back then, but now she was sure that was not the case. “The three of us” Maddie referred to herself, Alex, and Deepti. “should be good enough to get the boats moving in the right direction. If we are where we are supposed to be the closest land mass should be mainland America, Houston best.” The other two were listening fairly intently, which was a good sign. Maddie crouched down next to her backpack and took out a small compass inside the side pocket. “Each backpack has a compass so make sure not to lose it.” Opening the device Maddie looked at the compass. “According to here north is that way” Maddie adjusted herself and pointed towards her left. The “way” that she was referring to was covered in nothing but thick fog. “There are oars located on each boat, four each. Grab one of each and meet me back here so we can go to where we need to. Understood?.” [center]---[/center] If it was up to him Simon would have stayed outside instead he went back inside his own room inside the raft by the door inspecting the bag. It was too hard to be outside. He wanted to ask the doctor more questions. More specifically, he wanted to know about why they were the one’s chosen. The biological and physical qualities aside there would be more things that went into this program other than simply being great. If they were chosen based only on their genetics then that meant his family could be here as well. There was also the matter of the other teams. The doctor’s answers weren’t enough he needed more information. If there are other teams then where would they be, how would they find each, were they awake yet, and did they even survive the experience these were among his most prominent questions. Survival was also another question he wanted to know. How did the people to expect them to live in this world, what resources did they provide and did they even provide resources for the last ditch effort to save humanity surely they would have Simon thought. The doctor also mentioned shelters were made. How many were there, where were they, how many people could they contain, could his family have been in there and are they even. These questions were aimed specifically at them, their group, and the United States, but what would that mean for the other countries. Did the other countries survive, did their teams wake up yet, what of their shelters, or are there even countries outside of the United States. Thinking about the other countries made Simon realize that the world outside would be different as well. All the things he knew about the world would have been gone by now. The places he wanted to visit would have been destroyed by now. The food he’s always wanted to eat would be long gone because those people would be dead. The culture of the people would be lost forever. Knowledge that humanity has gained over the centuries would be reset and people who mastered the sciences would be long gone. Simply thinking about it drained all of the color on his face. [center]---[/center] Maybeleen didn’t want to be alone. She didn’t want to go back into the dark room. It reminded her of a cage. She wanted to be outside in the open sea. She wanted to feel the ocean beneath her feet, smell the salty breeze, and experience the wet air. All the things that her body needed contradicted with what her mind told her to do. She didn’t feel sad, she felt anger and frustration and the worst part was that she didn’t know who to get angry at. She could be angry at the people who put her here, but she couldn’t hate them. The members of this team, especially that doctor was also an option, but when Summer looked at her she was reminded of her mother, a no holds barred type of woman who was simply doing what was told of her or what was necessary. There were also her parents, who if that doctor was telling the truth agreed to let her get taken away, but they were her parents and no matter how horrible may them see she didn’t have it in her heart to hate them. Summer was lying down in her room listening to the soft sound of the ocean. The sound that she once loved slowly became more frightening and suffocating as tears ran down her face. She cried because she understood what the doctor said. She cried because she did not want to believe what she knew could be real.