Utopia

Part 7

7.

   Outside is nothing and everything. I think what strikes me first is the silence, the complete absence of noise. Back in the Field there were people and machines and always constant motion. Here there is a calmness, a stillness. Peace. And yet I know that even the air carries a weapon, every second is potentially fatal.

   “We need to hurry, we won’t last long,” Kai tells me as he artfully weaves his way through the underbrush. He’s part of this place, belongs here. I chase after him, following every footfall with one of my own, trying to prove that I can belong here too.

   “Do you think we’re being followed?”  I ask, resisting the urge to look behind me, afraid of what I might find.

   He whips round, still walking backwards and to my amazement, he doesn’t even stumble. His infamous grin makes another appearance as he says, “Maybe.” The glint in his eyes says that he doesn’t mind the threat of action one bit. “But we all went in different directions to throw them off so probably not.” Somehow his easy going confidence has me feeling a little better.

   Though only a little.

   “This still seems so surreal, I can’t even explain it,” I confess, speeding up to so we can walk side by side.

   All around me there is something new – something strange. Trees that reach right up into the clouds then others which bow down to claw at my clothes. Small creatures striped black and yellow land on exotic flowers with petals blooming colours I’ve never even seen – stingers as sharp as a knives guard their behind. This place is almost too stunning to look at but everything is stained with ever-present danger; every delicate beauty as fatal as the Sickness itself.

   I stick to Kai like his shadow, seeking safety in a boy I barely know.

   “I’m Lyra by the way,” I tell him after a little while of walking. It isn’t strange to be walking with him, silence as our only conversation – but maybe that’s exactly why I feel the need to speak. To feel normalcy right now is strange in itself.

   “Lyra,” he tries it out, rolling my name with his tongue like a sweet new flavour. “Pretty.”

   I have to look down to hide my blush but his fingers find my chin and force my face up to look at him. I squirm, aware that this boy, this stranger, shouldn’t be standing so close. Shouldn’t be touching me so softly. Shouldn’t be causing my heart to beat faster.

   “You can’t go home, Lyra,” he tells me slowly, his deep voice punctuating the hush of Outside. “Once we get there and you’ve seen us, we can’t let you leave.” The blood from where I cut his cheek has mostly dried but it still clings to his skin. At that moment his easy grin has turned into a serious line, all laughter drained from his eyes. He’s confirming that if I don’t turn back now then I never can.

   “But my clips won’t last forever, I’ll…” I’ll get Sick. I can’t bring myself to say it.

   “We can help, you won’t need your clips. But this isn’t just some day-trip so that you can go back and tell your little Fielder friends about what it’s like Outside. This is serious.”

   “I know that,” I protest, jerking my face out of his grasp, only making him see me as more of an immature little girl.

  Before he can stop me, I’m running off in the direction of the striped creatures, further into the legion of blooming flowers. Scents tickle my nose: lavender, honeysuckle, rose – all laced with other aromas as strange and sweet as this place. Kai calls my name but I don’t stop, instead focusing on the velvety caress of petals under my fingertips.