Beyond The Wall

Chapter 3.2

/THREE/

There was no direction. Everything was the same. Trees, bushes, roots, leaves, branches. I smacked my way through, crunching over sticks and leaves, willing myself to just keep going. My lungs were on fire. When I sucked air, my lungs refused to expand to my liking, and I just couldn't catch my breath. But I pushed on.

Branches tore at my jumper, fabric once taut now flying in the wind. I didn't care. I didn't have time to. Even though I was going to get lost in these woods, as long as I kept running, and as long as it meant that they wouldn't find me, then I wouldn't stop.

Slowing down to catch my breath, I fell against a tree and panted. I slowed my breathing, focusing on calming my racing heart, and listened. Blood drummed in my ears, making it difficult to hear, but there were no footsteps behind me, I was certain of it.

I focused my attention forward. A gasp escaped me as my eyes looked up. Towering above me, its gray and looming stature taunting me, was the Wall. I stumbled forward, gawking at the massive structure, feeling so minuscule in its presence, as if I didn't matter at this moment. How could something be so massive? I strained my neck to see the top, from where the trees were cleared out, and could only see it kiss the brilliantly clear sky above.

If there had been... something, or someone out there looking over me, I surely felt it then. When I tore my eyes from the sky, I spotted a drain. It was a massive hole into the ground beside the wall, and I knew this was it. I stumbled towards it, collapsing onto the raised concrete and peering into it.

Darkness greeted me, with a faint sloshing sound echoing from afar. It was covered by bars, but... if I just moved right, I could slide through with ease. Huffing, I first made sure my head would fit, and it only did when I turned to the side. Pulling myself out with a bit of a panic, I sat at the edge of the drain and sighed. If I didn't go down, I'd never survive. They'd surely find me and send me away, or worse...

"Dammit." I clicked my tongue.

After another sigh, I turned and climbed into the drainage pipe without allowing another thought of doubt to come through. Sliding past the bars and getting stuck for a minute, I eventually slipped, falling a solid ten feet or more, landing on my feet and rolling. My torso smacked into the wet ground, water splashing up around me. I dug my fingers into the pavement, a giddiness building inside my chest. Pushing off the ground, I took off running with a wild grin on my face.

I was free.

#

I never knew what the world outside of the walls were like. Up until now, I didn't even think there was anything other than the Inner Circle. I just never bothered to think about it. We had everything. Life was perfect. And I loved my life.

Accidentally biting my tongue, I winced, slowing my pace to a walk. This sewer, or whatever it was, had many winding paths to it. I didn't know where I was going but I continued forward. There was no turning back now. It was pitch black at this point, with a few exit points above me allowing a bit of sunlight to come through once in a while. I looked at the cuffs still around my wrists as a bit of light reflected off of them. I needed to get them off as soon as I reached safety. I hugged the walls, gliding my hands across the musty rock.

It could have been hours, I didn't know, but my legs grew weak. I tripped forward a few times, until there was light. Not from above this time, no. It was in front of me. There was an end to this madness. My eyes widened and my heart leapt in my chest. I hurried forward, a laugh on my tongue.

A bright light beckoned me from this darkness, a warmth holding out its arms to embrace me in its safety. I ran to it, welcoming it, yearning for that embrace.

I ran out of the pipe, the sun blasting my eyes, and stumbled forward. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust, but by the time I'd managed to collect myself and soak in my surroundings, I was falling.

A scream escaped me. Gravity tugged me down. I only caught a glimpse of the end of the pipe that stuck out of a massive cliff face. How could I have been so stupid?

Before I knew it, I was being thrown about, smashing into tree limbs, branches scraping me, until I was caught. Something snapped and I knew it wasn't the branch. At first, I noticed that the cuffs around my wrist had broken off. Then, I looked down at my arm, bent in a manner I'd never seen before. I growled hysterically, biting back the urge to roar like a hurt animal.

Hyperventilating, I tried to control the panic that filled my chest, squeezing my eyes and looking away from the broken bone. This couldn't be happening. My arm throbbing as if a knife had just gone through it, I forced myself to relax.

At least I wasn't dead.

Climbing the rest of the way down was a process. I'd never broken a bone before. I was always careful, even when I played baseball. Mom made sure I never got hurt. Physically.

Pressing my broken arm against my chest, I hugged the tree and slid down as much as I could before deciding to jump. My feet hit the ground with a thud, and I fell forward, nearly on my arm. I winced, tears stinging the edges of my eyes.

I had to live. If not for me, then for my mom. For Ophelia and Perol. I pinched my eyes together, forcing out a breath, and then stood up. I pushed on, holding my wrist against me, breaking through the treeline until I was met with a breathtaking sight.

Before me was a vast, empty field of brown with some green. And beyond that were buildings. The sun shined across the ruddy brown rust and metallic walls of what was a mysterious city that expanded across the massive, muddy plains. It was endless. It touched the horizon.

I never saw the horizon. Not like this. At that moment, I couldn't feel the pain in my arm, or in my heart. I had felt small compared to the wall, but here... I felt like a molecule in the galaxy. And I smiled.

The warmth embraced me. The blue sky wrapped itself around me. And for just a second, I finally felt safe.