The thought of just spilling the truth, to ask for actual support in trying to understand what exactly it is he found and what it might mean for them all crossed Markus’ mind, but he was quick to dismiss it. They wouldn’t understand. No, even worse, they would fear Ede. Fear has always been the first reaction of the council whenever something ‘new’ knocked at their door. And more often than not, this fear lead to a violent reaction. He could picture the scavengers to set out to find this bunker he had found just fine...equipped with explosive charges to seal it for good. To bury Ede for all of eternity. And him? They’d probably lock him up for making contact with Ede. Especially if he told them about what Ede can do. About this ‘second voice’ that appeared in his head.
‘No,’ he thought to himself, ‘I cannot tell them about Ede.’
“Well?” Mark inquired again, while the other four members of the council fixated on him.
Marcus sighed and replied, “I found another bunker. But it was abandoned and empty. Has been for a long time.”
“So you did not find this ‘Garden of Eden’ you set out to find?” Mark kept probing, but Marcus shook his head, replying, “No, I did not. I fear it might not exist after all. And if it ever did, it probably was destroyed a long time ago.”
Mark leaned back in his chair again, resting his hand against his forehead and sighed.
Marcy took the word and said, “Of course you understand that your actions will need to have consequences, right? By your recklessness, you not only endangered yourself, but all those brave people who ventured out to go find you. And, by extension, the entire settlement.”
Marcus lowered his head in defeat. The urge to tell them what he really found, even if only to save himself from the punishment, even if it meant the ultimate end of his conversations with Ede pushed itself back to the front of his mind, but he pushed it back forcibly.
Mark returned back into the round and said, “Well, if that is all you have to say for yourself...I believe two weeks worth of surface labor should suffice. Everyone in agreement?”
The rightmost council member, a sly man called Rufus, in charge of bunker maintenance, rose to his feet and said, “In fact, I do not agree. Two weeks of surface labor? That’s hardly more than a slap on the wrist, Chief. Let us not forget whom we are talking about here.”
“Cut him some slack, he’s just a kid,” Mark argued, but Rufus would have none of it, “He is your son, Mark! You cannot afford to be lenient with him. Especially not now! Not after you spearheaded the search for him yourself! I have been hearing the murmurs, you know? About how you’ve left many of our children and brothers to die, because it was ‘too dangerous’ to send out a search party? But for your son? You didn’t even hesitate for a single second! As soon as you got so much as a hint where to look, you assembled a search party and ventured into the outside world, leaving us without our most capable defenders! What if the raiders had attacked us, huh? How many were you willing to sacrifice for one young man, who doesn’t care for our rules at all?!”
Marcus’ eyes darted back and forth between Rufus and his father and it took him a moment to realize what he had gotten in the midst of. Rufus was putting his father on the spot. Either he would demonstrate strength and dish out a draconian punishment against his own son...or he would be perceived as ‘playing favorites’. An absolute no-go for the leader of the settlement, who needed to treat everyone equally, no matter who they were. Who needed to act in the best interest of the settlement, no matter the circumstance. His father had made a grave mistake when he set out to look for him. And Rufus was intending to make use of it. He had heard the rumors, of course. That Rufus’ family had always been ‘in the shadow’ of Marcus’ family. The engineers. The lifeblood of the bunker, who kept everything running. Who kept everyone alive. But they always had to listen to what Mark and his ancestors had said. And now, Marcus had become the lever to topple the chief. And Rufus intended to pull it by forcing him to make an impossible decision.
He took a deep breath, shook his head again and muttered, “Only one way out…”

He raised his head and addressed the council, “If I may, I am also not in agreement with the punishment. For...for what I have done, for the dangers I have put the settlement into, I demand a harsher punishment.”
Rufus stared at Marcus’ completely dumbfounded, while the facial expressions of both Mark and Marcy became alarmed.

“As I said earlier, I only found an empty and derelict bunker. Hardly a ‘Garden of Eden’. But it has breathable air and is hidden well. I believe, a month of Exile would do me well to set me back straight. I just ask for some basic supplies to tide me over. No more than I can carry by myself.”
“Unthink—“ Mark yelled, jumping from his chair, but Marcy quickly silenced him by tugging on his arm, motioning him to let her do the talking.
“Exile, even temporary exile is the harshest punishment we are capable of administering. It is a hostile world out there. That you have survived the past days is nothing short of a miracle already. Chances are, that you will not be able to return to the settlement. You will also not be able to return here for further supplies. You understand that, correct?”
Marcus nodded, whilst Mark shouted, “What, are you actually supporting this madness?!”
“I am supporting the settlement, Mark. As I should. As all of us should. Every mouth we have to feed is a strain on the settlement. And if he comes back, he’ll no longer be a boy we need to drag along. He will be a man who can, and will, support the settlement, even if only to not have to live in the outside world any longer. He will make his rescue worth the effort. The danger.”
“...and what if he doesn’t return?” Mark asked, slowly sitting back down.
Marcy looked at Marcus and asked, “Do you not intend to return?”
“I do intend to return. As I intended to return when the search party found me.”
Marcy clapped her hands and said, “Well, I believe that settles it then. All in favor of Marcus’ punishment raise their hands now.”

In the end, it was a 3 to 2 decision in favor of Marcus’ suggestion, both Mark and Rufus being opposed to it, albeit for vastly different reasons. Whilst Mark feared for the safety of his son, Rufus saw his prime opportunity for toppling Mark just walking away.
Marcy nodded and said, “Well, that’s a majority in favor. As it is customary, you have the last word, ‘Chief’. Any objections?”
Mark sat back down, and muttered, “...no objections, no.”
“Splendid. I suggest your people get to preparing right away, so he can leave at dawn.”
Boris rose to his feed, “Very well. I shall have my people prepare some supplies for him. A week’s worth of food and water will have to do though.”
“I appreciate your trouble,” Marcus thanked him.

After the meeting was adjourned, Marcy escorted him back to his room, a sorrowful expression on her face. Only after the door was closed after them, she dropped the facade and herself to the sole chair within the room and asked, “Seriously? Exile? You couldn’t have picked something even remotely less dangerous?”
“...why’d you support me if the idea was so terrible.”
“You know what Rufus was aiming for, don’t you? He wanted to expose your father as weak. The settlement cannot afford a weak leader. After you dropped that suggestion in front of the council of your own volition, I had to support you, otherwise Rufus would have seen to it, that we both get removed from the council, so he and his cronies could take over. I shudder to think what would happen, if Rufus was put into charge of security and social affairs. So now...what did you really find? What is so damn important that you would risk your life to get back to it?”
“Why do you think—”
Marcy smiled benign and explained, “I would be a very bad head of social affairs if I couldn’t even tell when my own nephew is trying to hide something. No, that’s wrong. I’d be a terrible aunt if I couldn’t even tell that much. That said, I promise that whatever it is will not leave this room. You cannot shoulder the weight of the world alone. Nobody can. So let me help you carry. Help me understand. What did you find?”

Marcus sighed and said, “I...I’m sorry. I cannot tell. Not even you.”
“...that’s a shame. But it am relieved to now know that there is something out there you consider important enough to keep it a secret. I won’t press you any further. Just...promise me you’ll be careful out there, okay? Your dad’s a little stuck up at times, but he cares for you. As do I. Regardless of what happened back in the council room, you still have a lot of friends here. And if times ever get too rough, do come home.”
Marcus smiled faintly and replied, “That wouldn’t be very good for your reputation if you let me back in before I served my time though, would it?”
Marcy laughed, “No, it wouldn’t be. But when all is said and done, you’re still one of us. And always will be. Just...try to last longer than two days, okay? Anything after that I’ll sort out somehow. Just leave it to your aunt.”
“...thanks.”
“Oh and, I suggest you at least say Goodbye to Claire this time. I really don’t want to clean up that mess again.”
“Why, what happened with Claire?”
Marcy smiled knowingly and replied, “Let me put it this way...she was not very happy when you suddenly disappeared without much of a trace.”

Marcy got up and left the room again, leaving Marcus alone with his thoughts.
He laid himself on his bed, looking up to the ceiling and muttered, “Claire, huh? I really wish they would stop trying to hook us up…”
“And just what’s wrong with hooking up with her? From what I can tell, she’s kind and caring. That she’s quite a looker doesn’t hurt either.’
“Ah...you’re back, huh? I really could have used your help back there, you know?”
“Eh, I think you did fine. Didn’t need me at all.”
“Yeah...I managed to get myself exiled just fine, that’s right.”
“And that’s a bad thing...how exactly? A month is great. That gives you ample of time to interface with Ede, figure out what he’s all about and probably get me sorted out along the way.”
“Yeah, and if all goes well, it’ll be him coming back in my stead…”
“I don’t think he wants that.”
“Of course you would say that.”
“No, really, I’m serious. I mean, remember what he told us? That it took the original Ede no more than 5 minutes to change those soldiers into mindless drones? You’ve been talking with him for hours. No, if he really wanted that, he would have done it straight away during the first encounter.”
“...I hate it when you make sense.”
“Look, I’m not telling you to trust Ede blindly. I’m just asking you to give him a chance. And after that month...you might want to give Claire a chance too.”
“That again?! What is it with you people, honestly?!”
“Hey, gotta work with what you have. And what, you think anyone better than her will just pop into existence? Or are you, by chance...you know, that’d be okay too. There’s anything wrong with not liking girls.”
“What are you—. Know, what? Forget it. I’m going to sleep.”
“Sure thing...get yourself rested. You’ve got a long way to go in the morning.”