Vigo's Lament: A Dystopian Thriller (Age of End Book 3) by Chris Yee Page A

up in other districts. Right now his men are located in the Eastern District. They have no reason to hop over to the west when there are plenty of other places in between doing the same thing.”
    “What if you’re wrong?”
    “That’s a chance I’m willing to take. This cause is too important to flake out just because we’re scared. Fear is never a good reason to give up.”
    Trish nodded and peered back out at the empty square. “How big is the stage again? Where will we be standing?”
    Warren placed the stack of fliers down. “Let me show you.” He walked to the center of the square and took a few steps back. “The stage will be here. We’re on a tight budget, so it’s not the biggest stage ever, but it’s good enough.” He pointed out to the empty space in front of him. “The rest of this area will be for the crowd. Everyone is welcome. We’ll have speakers set up there and there.” He pointed to the sides. “And along the front of the stage as well. We want to make sure everyone can hear us.”
    “You really have this all planned out,” Trish said, crossing her arms.
    “I’ve never organized something like this before, but I’ve seen plenty of Mr. Greene’s conferences. I’ve seen Simon’s rallies too. They all have the same setup, so I figured I would copy it. If it works for them, it’ll work for us. The only thing I’m missing is the jumbo screen above the stage, but like I said, we’re on a tight budget. We were just barely able to afford the speakers.” A look of panic hit his face. “Or maybe we should get a jumbo screen. But how in the world am I going to afford it?”
    Trish shook her head. “Relax. It’ll be fine. We don’t need one. Mr. Greene and Simon are all about showmanship. They go over the top with their conferences and rallies. They’ve been trying to outdo each other for ages. We have no competition. We just want to get our message across. What we have already will do just fine.”
    Warren sighed with relief. “Good. This whole thing is very stressful. Everything has to go just right. The fate of the City depends on it, after all. With stakes like that, there’s no room for error.”
    “Don’t think of it like that. I have no doubt it will be a success. People need a way to grieve, and this is the perfect opportunity. Not much can ruin that.”
    “You’re right,” he said, walking back to the fliers. “I’m overthinking it. Everything will go smoothly, I’m sure.” He pointed to the wall across the square. “Go put some fliers on that wall. We have enough over here.”

ELEVEN
    ALAN PEERED AT the City wall, a distant relic that was slowly approaching. They had been gone for no more than two weeks, and now they were back. Vince saw him deep in thought and walked over to join him by his side.
    “Do you think she’s mad at me?” Alan asked.
    “No, she’s just confused. We all are. With everything going on, it wears on you. We all handle these situations differently. She wants to keep the group together. That’s understandable, respectable even, but we all have different visions of the future. Ours isn’t in Snow Peak, it’s back in the City.”
    “She still has Rupert at least.”
    Vince nodded. “There’s no doubt she’s mad at me.”
    “With good reason,” Alan said, turning to face him. “I know you were put in a difficult situation. I know Greene is the real one to blame, but everyone we know is gone, and you’re the one person who could have stopped it.”
    “I could have tried, but the odds were unlikely, even if I did tell you.”
    “Yeah,” Alan said, looking back to the wall. “You’re probably right. It doesn’t make it any easier to forgive you, though. I’m doing my best, but Ella is a tough nut to crack. It’ll take some time for her.”
    “Maybe it’s good we’re splitting up. She needs her space from me, at least for now.”
    “But not from me,” Alan said. “If anything, she needs me even closer now.”
    “It’s