Freegans part 60

Ben
"What do we do?" cried out one of the members of the Resistance to the Ox. "There's no way we can outrun them!"
"We won't have to!" he called back. "Deep Thought! Can you plug in sequence 82X into the computer system?" Deep Thought gave us one of his crazy grins, and sprinted to the keyboard, where he began tapping feverishly away.
"Everyone, as soon as it goes dark, you need to be very still and quiet!" the Ox said. "It's a matter of life and death!"
What's sequence 82X? I signed to Madiza.
It activates the cloaking device on the submarine, she replied. It's a special modification the Resistance made for this particular vessel, in case of such an event as this. Once it's turned on, it will make the submarine seem to disappear to the people chasing us. But we need to stay quiet, because any movement or noise will show up on their radar. I wondered how she had learned this. Sensing my confusion, she said aloud, "He told me," and pointed at Deep Thought.

Without warning, there was a flash of light, and then the cabin went dark. The only lights came from the computer system.
What happened? I signed to Madiza.
Cloaking device activated, she answered, and covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. It was then I noticed that Cara, Matt, and Lucy were huddled next to us. I guess the fact that it was dark made us feel a need to join together. It was odd that after so much time being locked up, I had become used so quickly to having friends again. Granted, we were joined together in an escape from certain death, but still. I hoped fervently that we were not also about to become dead.

The whole submarine had gone silent. We were afraid even of breathing, not sure if the enemy's radar would be able to pick that up. I was sure that every time my heart beat, it was detected. My eyes flicked from face to face of my comrades, and I could see that they felt the same. Only Madiza seemed unperturbed. She was grinning, and her hand was twitching slightly. I gently put my own over it, wanting her to stop. She complied, and suddenly laced her fingers through my own. I let her.

Hours seemed to pass, though it was only a minute or two. I could hear ragged breathing from the rest of the crew, and slight rustlings, and a few shushing noises. Finally, Deep Thought whispered, "They've gone past us. The cloaking was successful." I breathed again. The lights came back on, and we all gave each other looks of pure relief.
"...So, what now?" asked Cara.
"Now," said the Ox, "we take you children home. I think it is far past time."
"Me too!" Lucy agreed.
"Yay!" Madiza cheered. Everyone chuckled at that.

However, I felt troubled. Where was home for me? The government had told my family I was dead when they failed to fix me, and even created a clone corpse of me for them to take home. Where could I go? Madiza, at least, belonged with the Freegans. But I was sort of an intruder. I looked down at my disguise, frowning.
"Don't worry, Ben-ben!" exclaimed Madiza. "I'm sure my cousin will allow us to stay with her!" I looked up, and frowned.
"Your-what?" asked Matt. Everyone else looked as confused as I did.
"Oh, didn't I tell you?" She looked straight at Cara. "You're my cousin!"