BEYOND THE DEAD ZONE | COMPLETE

Five |

Five |

            "W-What are you talking about?" I whispered full of fear.

            "I won't say anything else about it," she replied looking away.

            I balled my fists, "Do you know what's beyond the dome?"

            "Yes and no," she sighed, "The only one who knew was Rose."

            "But...?"

            "But I was the one who picked her up at the edge of the dead zone, I was the one who brought her back to the island," she replied softly.

            My eyes widened—I didn't know that.

            "What happened that day?" I asked slowly, my eyes burning with tears, "When you went to pick her up what happened? W-Was she alright?"

            She looked away, "Yeah she was. So we thought. That's all I can say."

            "Why can't you say more?"

It came out a hiss of anger. I was angry, I was tired of things being kept from me for no reason. I was going to the dome myself so I had the right to know of everything. Hell, Ophelia was taking me there herself and she still was keeping things from me.

"That'll be enough," she replied in a clipped tone, "We're almost at the land."

I looked towards the fallen city and sure enough, she was right. The cement harbour lay as dark as night in front of us. Empty too. It was quiet, more quiet than I've ever heard before. I felt calm and I wondered what exactly was there to fear? Every kid born in the past twenty years have been born immune to the Lyssasolanum.

"Why would getting past the wall mean war?" I asked slowly.

She looked at me, I could practically see her gears turning and I knew either she'd ignore me or lie to me. Whichever it was, it meant that there was still something she refused to tell me and it meant more than simply hiding the truth of my sister's death. So I said nothing, looking at the approaching cement as our boat bumped into the side of the harbour.

            "The war of resources of course," she mumbled.

            I blinked, surprised. That was the lie? Then what was the truth? Whatever reason mom sent Rose to the wall, Ophelia knew more about it than she let on. Not to mention she was there when Rose left the wall. I licked my lips and nodded, as if believing her words. Her face relaxed and she moved to climb out of the boat, grabbing one of the supply backpacks but this time not bothering with the rope.

            "Let's move. We need to make as much distance between us and the island," she said quickly, "Your friends won't come after you but your mother will. Or your father."

            My fingers twitched, did she not plan on coming back to the island? Everything about this was suspicious, I didn't trust her one bit and I've been trusting her less and less. I breathed slowly, following her out of the boat, grabbing the other pack and my weapons. I had half a mind to tie off the boat but I didn't want her knowing I had noticed her actions.

            "Right," I replied.

            I looked around the harbour, noting the large metal chain-link fence. For a moment, I hesitated, my gaze drifting back to the island where the lights could be seen. It looked beautiful, lights dancing on the lake's surface almost reflecting the stars that danced in the night sky. I could feel the dread fill my heart, seizing it and I inhaled sharply, the cold air stinging my nose as I did. Giving myself no time to doubt my actions, I looked back to Ophelia who hadn't wasted any time moving over to the fence door and pushed it open.