A New Era

The next few weeks have been pretty quiet. Ever since we captured President Martin, it's like the world shut down. The ones who followed him had no idea what to do, so they kept quiet. The entire thing was starting to freak me out. Why was everyone being so quiet about this?

We all took advantage of these past few weeks, to rest, relax. Something we haven't done in years. More so my grandparents and the rest of the older generation of the rebellion. It was actually pretty funny. Everyone was scattered around, Joe, Noah, Dave, Alec, my dad and grandfathers were cleaning out the weapons. Linda, Jill and my mom were looking at the map and my grandmothers were in the kitchen cooking away.

My eyes shifted over to the couch where Ben and Krista were. The two of them were cuddled up just talking. I smiled to myself and turned to look for Kyle, probably out somewhere with Lilly. The two of them have gotten pretty close these past few weeks. I was honestly really happy for him. After everything we've been through he definitely deserved to be happy.

"Sam!" My mother shouted from across the room. I turned to look at her and rushed on over.

"What's up?" I asked raising an eyebrow looking at the three of them.

"We were thinking of heading back home, to the capital." Linda spoke this time. Both my eyebrows raised in shock as I gave each of them an 'are you crazy?' Look.

"Viktor and his troops are handling things down there, if they needed extra bodies they would have sent word. We have the President, we won."

"I know Samantha, but things aren't over yet. You think these people are gonna sit and do nothing?" Jill spoke this time.

"So...what? You wanna go down there and eliminate them?"

The three of them got quiet and looked at each other. My mother opened her mouth to speak but I beat her to it.

"No, it's a terrible idea." I crossed my arms over my chest. I may be the younger one here, but the three of them were acting irrationally and childish. We had already achieved what we wanted, everything was calm and there was no retaliation or riots coming from the capital, which was a good thing. Us barging in and shooting everyone, was going to make things worse.

"Samantha-" Jill spoke but I quickly interrupted her.

"No, no don't Samantha me. This is a bad idea. Attacking for no reason, no motives. It's a terrible idea. Why am I the only one here thinking rationally?"

My mom let out a sigh rubbing her face with her hands. She turned to Jill and Linda and they nodded their heads.

"Fine, we won't do anything. But if we wait too long-"

"Stop..." I interrupted her waving my hands. "I don't wanna hear it. This discussion is over." I added before walking away.

I headed towards my room and slammed the door shut. I plopped down on my bed and placed the pillow over my head letting out a muffled scream. I wasn't going to lie, but what my mom, Jill and Linda decided to do was ridiculous. I knew they were worried, scared. For years they were all looking over their shoulders, to not only protect themselves but others around them.

What they wanted to do was something we shouldn't have to do. Not unless we were threatened or felt threatened by the people in the capital. Ever since Martin was locked up, things got quiet. Viktor reported back to us every few days. The people who followed Martin kept to themselves, went about their lives.

The rest of the world though, it was going to take time for them to get used to the fact that the Regulations of Lawrence was over and done with. Everyone who never spoke up, those who were too scared to join the rebellion, those were the people that were going to have a hard time adjusting.

"Sam?"

I didn't even hear the door open. I glanced up to see Noah standing at the door, a concern look on his face. I sat up and let out a sigh.

"I'm alright. Just...annoyed.." I huffed while rubbing my face.

"Yeah, I can tell. I heard what your mom and Jill and my mom were discussing."

"I don't even wanna talk or think about it."

"Fair enough. How about we go out for a walk, take your mind off things?" He suggested. A small smile formed on my lips and I nodded my head in agreement. I stood up as he held a hand out for me. I quickly took his hand, our fingers interlocking as the two of us stepped out the room and made our way outside of the bunker.

The streets were fairly empty, but there were some people out and about. Some tending to their plants, others cleaning their windows. Noah and I strolled down the quiet streets, hand in hand. My other hand was placed on my belly, which was now starting to show.

The two of us ended up in the woods by the lake. I slowly took a seat on the fallen trunk and kept my gaze focused on the scenery in front of me. A mom duck was swimming around, her three chicks following after her. My eyes shifted towards the sky where the sun was slowly coming down to set for the day.

I turned to Noah, opening my mouth to speak but my eyes widened at the sight in front of me. He was down on one knee, holding out a little box with bright diamond ring and a wide smile spread across his lips.

"Noah.." I breathed out.

"Samantha Perry. The moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you were special. I didn't think I would ever find someone to share my life with in this crazy, fucked up world, but I did. You are strong, smart, independent, badass and a lot more. I love you with all my heart and there's no one else I would rather spend the rest of my life with. So with all that, Will you marry me?"

I blinked a few times taking in the words that came from his mouth. I gazed down at him and opened my mouth to speak but no words formed, just the nod of my head. A wide smile spread across his lips as he placed the ring on my finger before the two of us pulled each other into a deep passionate kiss.