Austin moved before he thought anything through. He made his way to the head of the crowd and before Reya, who, surprise written on her face briefly, nodded her approval. "Yes," Austin looked at the crowd of teens and adolescents before him, heart racing a mile a minute, but his resolve to ease everyone's minds somehow maintained. "Scarleteye is my sister," he continued, as another wave of ambivalent murmurs spread through the 45 or so youths before him. When the crowd died down enough[major thanks to Aaroon and Reya], Austin continued on with "But I am not my sister and I cannot justify her misguided actions, but leaving either her or Terrora here would be murder, and we aren't savages, are we? We aren't Savagers, nor are we Annihilators 𑁋 Because we are better. Besides, had I not broke the Taboo, I wouldn't have been able to save our friends and I definitely wouldn't have found the way out of this place!"
"Are we even sure this 'way out' is a - ahem, way out?" Zackery asked, surprising Austin. "What if it isn't and we're walking to our deaths?"
"What if it is, tho?" Aaroon countered. "You're too critical sometimes, Zackery. Honestly, too critical for your own good."
"It's the only lead we've got," Reya spoke up. "In fact, it's the only lead we've received in a long time, guys. Why not take it?"
"Gee," the dark eyed boy from earlier snarled, sarcastically. "I don't know. We could die!"
"We'll die if we do nothing. We'll die if we stay," Austin countered, passionately. "At least, if we go, we have a shot to survive this place. You can stay if you want. Any of you can. But, if I do die, I'd rather go down fighting."
As the murmurs died down from the crowd, no one objecting, no one arguing where Austin's loyalty lies anymore, and, luckily, no one opting to stay there and die, there was only one final question to answer, this one from Cleo: "Are we...really gonna make it out of here alive?"
"Yes, Cleo," Austin turned to the little girl. "I'll make sure we all make it out of here alive. No more dying. No more running. No more being whatever kind of… of lab rat these Watchers think we are to them! I say… I say we escape this place, run down any Annihilator or Savager who dares get in our way and give those assholes what's coming to them for the torture they sent us through for 2 years! We've been locked in this helhole for too damn long. Surrounded by monsters and beasts that wants to kill us. Used a lab rats, and tortured both physically and psychologically. But no more. I won't stand by as we're being picked off one by one by an enemy made by these Watchers. We rise today, tonight, and, by tomorrow, we'll know what it's like to be free! Who's with me!?!"
As a cheer went up through the crowd, Austin found himself less surprised at their approval; instead, he felt more pride at just being one of them: A Meadower. He wasn't necessarily expecting to feel so accepting of his friends before him, but, as his eyes locked with Reya's dark pearl black eyes, he found himself smiling with her, as she nodded her own approval. It was a smile that caused something warm to spread through the pit of Austin's stomach, and it was something Austin didn't necessarily hate.
But then her face hardened with determination and she turned to face everyone else, before speaking "Now, everyone, list to Aaroon𑁋 He has the game plan," Reya said to the others.
"We have about 10 minutes tops tops to leave the Meadows and reach the Alcove before we encounter the bulk of Annihilators that r'e more n' likely waiting for us there," Aaroon said to the crowd. "Once there, Austin is going to find the hidden chamber, enter the passcode and we'll be freer after than we are now. Any questions?"
As Aaroon went on to answer questions and explain the rest of the plan, Austin was certain that the overseer of the Scouts had sent scouts ahead to make sure what he was saying was accurate; He figured he must've done so when Austin was unconscious.
Anyways, Aaroon was just getting to the positioning of everyone on the run to the Alcove, what with the scouts first line of defense in their crew of Meadowers due to their athleticism and experience incase they run into Annihilators or Scavengers on their way to the Alcove, next Overseers, then everyone else and Austin making up the rear, when the sounds of groaning, high pitch chittering, and moaning clicks and roars was sounded from the inside of the Labyrinth and heard by everyone in the Meadowers. This caused a wave of anxious adolescent murmurings to pass through the crowd, and Reya, Aaroon and Austin locked eyes and came to the same conclusion after seeing the position of the sun in the sky, just over the wall of the Meadows' northern gate: the Annihilators were waking up early.
But, surprisingly, no one chickened out and, as they all gathered in their positions, and headed out the northern gates, Austin, despite being the last to leave, wasn't the only one who decided to steal one last glance at the place they have called their home for what have felt like forever, and Austin, frankly, couldn't blame them: The place was the only safest place some of them had known for nearly half a decade and, for those 4 years, it was the only home any of them ever remembering having due to their amnesia. Austin was only there for a week, but even he couldn't think of a safer place than the Meadowers.
'But it isn't safe,' his mind supplied him with his friends being abducted, the invasion and the battle that happened only the day or two before. 'Not anymore.'
But, even as he was the last one to exit the North Gate, he, too, gave a last glance behind, at the first place he can ever remember calling his home, and he still had the nagging sensation of familiarity, or deja-vu, as if he'd known the Meadows for longer than just the week he can recall knowing the place. And, as he shook the still-nagging feeling of dejavu away to no avail, he turned around and exited through the North Gate for the last time.