Over the Wall

Chapter one

Chapter one - Jasmine

I pry open my eyes with a tiny bit of a struggle to wake myself up. I wish I'd been around for alarm clocks, because one would be extremely useful right now. My mom tells me stories about all the electronics that had been in her childhood years, like cellphones, computers and such. It's been a very long time since we've had any gadgets like that, closest thing would be the walkie-talkies we use.

It's been long enough to rebuild a sustainable society but not long enough to discover a cure or a vaccine to the virus. Mom was 13 when the outbreak had first started, that was 25 years ago. Now, she's 38 and a pain. She's the mayor of our little town, the leader of the people. She used to be stress-free and fun, but that was before dad died. Now she lacks emotion.

My little brother Jackson is 8 years younger than me, sitting at the age of 9. He doesn't really understand what goes on beyond the walls; he just knows what goes on inside them. He is knowledgeable in ways like farming, self-defence and cooking. Just like he was taught.

I don't want to be like the other girls, sewing ugly little dresses or learning family skills. I want to adventure and actually do something with my life instead of having four children to keep up the population.

The goal for females around here is to have four or more children, mother did as told and had 4 children, got married at 20 years old and even opened up a shop for clothing. Dad was a part of the wall watchers. He was just your average Joe. 6 years ago something went wrong and a woman had crossed the wall with the virus. She turned and.. well, mom will not go into detail. I had 2 other siblings- Jessica and Jeremy. They were 10 months a part, Jessica was 13 when she had snuck out after curfew, Jeremy – 14 at the time – went after her. They were both gunned down by officials.

I sit up, rubbing my tired eyes. I wince at the soreness around my neck from my hard bed. Mom may be considered a leader here, and yes, she gets this gigantic house but we have a shortage of beds, so we gave ours up to the hospital. So now I'm sleeping on a table with a couple blankets across it.

I swing my legs off the table and scan the room. Sunlight peaks around the blinds on the window and shines throughout my yellow room. The beams of light reveal an insane amount of dust and allow the mold to pop out. The grimy walls greet me- like always. The wooden floor is damaged and wet from the leaking ceiling. I push my long blonde hair behind my ear, females are supposed to trim their hair short due to the fact that it's easy to grab, but I just put it in tight braids and nobody notices or cares. Not like anything can grab my hair when I'm stuck behind these walls anyways.

I yawn as I extend my arms to stretch. I shuffle over to my window and open the blinds. I squint my eyes as they focus on the bright sunlight. I examine the small town in front of me; it isn't a big town, just enough space for our population of 275. I peer out at the school and my breath catches in my throat. Jackson! I didn't wake him up! I race out of my room and down the hall. My warm toes hit the freezing floor hard as I stomp all the way to his bedroom. I push his door open without knocking but to my surprise, he's not in his bed. That's odd.

His makeshift bed on the floor is made, his backpack is gone and even his knife is missing. Oh, right. It's self-defence Tuesday. I sigh as I gently close his door.

"Good morning, Jasmine." I hear my mother's voice behind me. I spin around and face her.

Her thin, delicate body is being covered by an old long-sleeved blue shirt and long black pants. Her dirty-blonde bob looks wet and brushed; she must've taken a bath already. Her wide, brown eyes are waiting for a response as she keeps her thick lips pursed. She's tall with a long torso and a thin face. Her cheekbones are high and defined like some of the women's appear in the old magazines. She truly is gorgeous, but cold.

"Good morning, mother." I reply with a groggy tone.

"Jackson woke himself up this morning, it's a special day for him. Remember? We have to go to his school at 10 to see his progress and when he's able to start training to become a part of the wallmen." She informs me. I hold in a groan, "So, I'm allowing you to miss school today. It's only a knitting class, you'll catch up quickly." She adds. That's a bonus I suppose.

If you work on the wall, you get looked up to. That's the second toughest job; of course, the scavenger is the first. I've always dreamed about being one, but I'm female and the only thing we're apparently good for is popping out babies and knitting mitts. I mentally gag.

"Oh!.. Right. Alright, I'm going to go visit with Kenzie first, if that's okay." I tell her. She lifts her chin and arches an eyebrow. She nods twice and walks past me, probably off to her bedroom. I inhale and walk back to my bedroom. I braid my hair into one loose braid and pull it so it sits on my left shoulder. I strip out of the pyjamas nana knit for me and throw them onto my bed for tonight. I walk over to my night stand and snatch up a white t-shirt. I yank it over my slim body and smile at the little two-pack I have. I work out in my room every night, training for when I finally decide to leave this town. I've heard stories of towns that have next to no rules.

I reach down and pick up a pair of black leggings. These are seriously the best. You can run in them, sleep in them, walk around in them and much more in complete comfort.

I slip my legs into them and walk in front of the cracked mirror I found last year in an old house. I smile at my reflection, satisfied with my simple outfit.

I walk out of my room once again and down the hall, the paint on the walls is chipped and worn out. The ceiling is supposed to be white but looks more grey than anything. The living room looks more dead than living with the lack of furniture and dark splotches on the walls. The couch is ripped and old, one of the 8 scavengers found it outside the wall. It's decent.

I skip over to my boots and push my feet into them, just as I reach for my jacket a red book stands out to me across the room. It's underneath the chair in the corner of the living room. I gasp and gallop over to it, I quickly pick it up- "What are you doing, Jasmine?"

I turn around and face my mother, "Uh, nothing." I answer.

She gives me a stern look and walks forward. I hide the book behind my back. She clears her throat, "I know what you're holding." She snaps.

I widen my eyes, "What?"

"A book." She spits angrily. Just as I open my mouth to defend myself she reaches behind my back at lightning speed and grips onto the book, she throws it behind herself. My jaw drops, "You know that reading is a privilege. I's only meant for the people who have worked hard enough and have some free time. You are 17 years old; you do not get to read. You should be out there finding yourself a husband, having children. Don't be so selfish." She lectures me. I stare dumbfounded at her. I miss the old her. I miss when she'd read to me at night.

 She turns around and begins to walk away from me, "Clean yourself up a bit, we have a reputation and I'd like to keep it." Is the last thing she says before she leaves out the back door.

I scoff. I can't believe her. She's made all these rules to apparently keep order but I'm finding them a little too much. I can't read?! Yeah, I should be starting a family, but I just can't. I can't handle it if I lose them.

I look down at the pink watch around my wrist, oh, it's already 9:00am.

I storm out the front door, heading for my best friend's house. It's only a 15 minute walk.