Chapter 216: Chapter 216 - TAL
They walked back to the hidden room, and the painting slid open as before, revealing the metal door behind it.
Only two people were left in the observation room this time, both focused on the screens, barely sparing them a glance as they entered.
Phillip led them straight through and into the conference room.
It was full.
More than thirty people sat around the table and along the walls, and every head turned toward them the moment they stepped in.
Iyisha slowed, her shoulder brushing Malcolm’s arm before she shifted closer, almost slipping behind him without thinking.
"You’re here," Arnulf said with a small smile as he gestured to the open seats. "Sit. Let’s begin."
They took the empty chairs, and Iyisha glanced around as she settled in.
The room held a mix of people, young and old, men and women, but they all wore the same expression she had seen since arriving.
Serious. Tired. Focused.
No one looked away.
Arnulf stepped forward and faced the room. "We did it," he said. "We got them out."
The room answered with applause. Not loud, but firm.
He turned slightly and gestured toward them. "This is Malcolm... Iyisha..."
Iyisha held their gaze and gave a small nod, a brief smile slipping through before she steadied herself.
"Lance. Marybeth. And the one Phillip brought in... Aljun."
Voices rose in low murmurs. Welcomes. A few nods. Some studied them longer.
Arnulf looked back at them, then at the room. "Friends," he said, his voice carrying, "this is TAL."
Arnulf stepped forward. "First, Iyisha won’t be used as bait."
A murmur spread across the room.
Iyisha felt it immediately, the shift in the air, the weight of their attention pressing in.
She straightened in her seat, suddenly aware of every eye on her.
"Quiet," Arnulf said.
The room stilled.
He looked around, letting it settle before he spoke again. "We go back to Plan A," he said, looking at everyone. "We take the platform by force."
Some nodded. Others didn’t move. A few looked down.
"Those who want to continue," he said, "raise your hand."
Hands went up. Not all. About half.
The rest stayed still, eyes lowered, shoulders tight. Fear sat heavy on them.
Arnulf took off his glasses and set them on the table. He breathed in and held it for a second before speaking again.
"We built this because we lost them," he said. "Every one of you walked in here with a name you couldn’t let go of."
He looked around the room.
"When you first knocked on my door, I had already given up," he said. "I told myself they were gone. That it was over."
His jaw tightened.
"But you didn’t believe that," he said. "You brought that back. The hope. The idea that they’re still out there."
His voice rose, steady but heavier now. "That we can still find them. That we can still hold them. That we can still see them again."
Iyisha felt her chest tighten. Her hand found Malcolm’s beside her and held on.
"This plan," Arnulf said, "is the first real chance we have to make that happen."
Iyisha felt Malcolm’s hand shift under hers.
She stilled. For a second she didn’t move, her fingers hovering as she tried to read it. Was he pulling away, or letting her stay?
She glanced at him. He didn’t look back. His eyes stayed on Arnulf.
Her chest tightened.
Slowly, she turned her hand and pressed her palm against his.
Her heartbeat picked up the moment their hands settled, the contact unfamiliar and too clear to ignore.
He didn’t pull away.
Arnulf turned, facing the room again.
"But I won’t force you," he said. "I won’t make you pick up a gun. I won’t make you kill people you know just to get through a door."
The room shifted. Some exhaled. Others sat straighter.
"I won’t take away the safety you have here," he added.
He paused, letting it sink in.
"This is your choice."
No one spoke.
"No one here will judge you if you stay," he said. "Because we all know what we’re asking."
His voice dropped for a second.
"We don’t even know if we’ll make it."
Then it rose again.
"But if you’re staying because you’re afraid..." he said, his eyes sweeping across them, "then remember why you came here in the first place."
Silence.
"Will you take that chance?" he asked. "Will you stand with us?"
He leaned forward slightly, voice firm.
"Will you take arms and fight to bring the people you love back into your arms?"
Silence settled in the room, and all Iyisha could hear was her heartbeat, loud in her ears.
People shifted around them, glancing at each other, weighing the choice.
She turned her head slightly and caught Marybeth and Lance staring.
At their hands.
Marybeth’s brows lifted as she mouthed, what is that, pointing at their joined hands with each word.
Lance nodded beside her, grinning like he just figured something out.
Iyisha snapped her eyes back to the front, her face heating. She kept her expression straight, like she was still listening, like nothing had changed.
But her hand stayed where it was.
She wasn’t the one who moved next.
Malcolm’s fingers shifted and tightened, fully intertwining with hers.
Iyisha stiffened.
Her breath caught, and she fixed her eyes on Arnulf, refusing to look at him.
Her palm burned where they touched.
Oh God.
They were in the middle of something serious, something that could decide everything, and all she could think about was his hand holding hers.
"Now I’ll ask again," Arnulf said from the center of the room. "Who among you will join us?"
Chairs shifted.
"I will."
"Me too."
"Count me in."
Hands started to rise.
Some slow. Some firm.
Then more followed.
Until everyone had their hand up.
"Thank you," Arnulf said as he looked around the room, pride clear on his face. "You made the right choice. Right now, our families could be suffering."
He turned. "Iyisha."
She straightened in her chair.
"Tell them what you found."
Iyisha looked at Malcolm.
He gave a small nod.
She stood, her hand slipping from his, and the loss of it hit before she could stop it.
Arnulf gestured beside him.
She walked forward and stopped at the center, facing the room. All eyes were on her.
She drew a breath and held it for a second.
"Thank you for getting us out," she said. She glanced around. "We wouldn’t be here without you."
A pause.
"But I won’t act as your bait," she added, meeting their eyes. "Like my friend Marybeth said, that won’t help you or us."
A ripple moved through the room.
Some frowned.
Some leaned back, arms crossing.
A few nodded quietly.
"You have fixed guards," she continued. "With or without a distraction, you’re still going to face them at the entrance."
The murmurs grew.
"She’s right."
"So we just charge in?"
Arnulf didn’t interrupt. He let them react.
Iyisha held her ground and waited until the noise dipped.
Then she spoke again.
"You need to understand the danger you’re walking into," she said. "The people who went missing... we believe the ERF took them."
The room stilled.
"And if you kill today," she added, her voice tightening, "it won’t be the last time."
Silence followed.
"Why would ERF want them?" An old man asked beside her.
"To find a cure."
The room stirred louder.
"The memo they released," she continued, steadying her voice, "identified families with specific markers in their DNA."
"What memo?"
Iyisha blinked and looked at Arnulf. "You didn’t receive it?"
Arnulf frowned and shook his head.
The room shifted.
Iyisha glanced at Malcolm. He didn’t react. He just watched her.
She faced them again.
"They’re not just taking people for a cure," she said. "They’re looking for individuals who can evolve."
The room broke.
"What do you mean evolve?" Arnulf asked, his voice cutting through the noise.
Murmurs spread fast.
"That’s not possible."
"Evolve into what?"
"You’re saying they don’t turn?"
Iyisha felt it hit her all at once. The eyes. The questions. The pressure.
She looked at Malcolm again for a second, steadying herself, then faced them.
"Some people don’t turn when they’re bitten," she said. "They survive it."
Silence dropped hard.
"They overcome the virus," she added. "And they come out... different."
The reactions came slower this time.
"No."
"That doesn’t make sense."
"Then why haven’t we seen them?"
Arnulf stepped forward. "Stronger how?"
Iyisha swallowed.
"Like nothing you’ve seen before," she said.
The room broke into noise as voices piled over each other, people standing, asking questions all at once, some stepping forward like they needed answers immediately.
Iyisha felt it press in on her and looked at Malcolm, worry clear on her face.
He stood and slammed his hand on the table so hard the cups jumped, the sharp sound cutting through the room and forcing everyone to stop.
"We’ve told you what we know," he said, his voice steady but firm. "Sit down. We continue."
No one argued, and the room settled as chairs scraped back into place.
Iyisha let out a breath and moved to his side, sitting close.
Arnulf stayed standing and paced once, his hand on his chin, then stopped and drew in a deep breath as he faced them.
"We don’t know what they’re doing to them," he said, his voice steady, "and we don’t know exactly where they’ve been taken."
He paused, letting it settle.
"But they’re alive," he added. "They took them for a reason."
His gaze moved across the room.
"That means there’s still time."
His voice lifted, firmer now. "We’re not too late."
He stepped forward.
"And we’re not leaving them there."
The door opened before anyone could respond, and the man in pajamas stepped in, his face tight. "Bad news," he said. "They know you’re involved."
The room shifted again, tension snapping back into place.
Arnulf didn’t hesitate. "Then we don’t wait," he said. "Get ready. Tonight, we move."
This time the voices that rose were different, louder and stronger with no hesitation left.
