Silent Fog

Chapter 3 - Beyond the Wall

The next day, Nana came back in the morning with a small breakfast for Clara who, as soon as she saw her, asked:

"You're not going to leave me without answers again, right?"

Nana laid the tray down on the bedside table and gave a slight laugh while she looked at her amusing.

"No, of course not." And sitting down while watching her eating, continued: "OK. We are in Cell 5. Here used to be a college before the big pandemic. That is why we still have some books" She gestured at the books used as a bedside table base. "We have a few hundred-people living here today, further the contingent of fighters who come and go from one Cell to another or go to other missions." Nana kept her gaze at Clara for a second before turning to the glowing embers.

"Missions?"

"Yes. When the Government troops strikes us, the combatants fight for us, understand?"

"What do the people who stay here do?" Clara took a sip of water with a reddish color and strong earthy flavor.

"There are people working in the kitchen, in the radio operations, the ones who check surroundings, doctors, nurses, wounded..."

"Children?"

"Yes, a few. Unfortunately, we've been through hard times. Men and women in health conditions go to the fronts, and we have many casualties. In addition, although this is a safe place as you will see when you can leave here, our resources are very precarious. We can only treat the patients with herbs we farm and find in the surroundings and then the number of children is decreasing ..." a heavy silence settled between both.

Clara reflected upon what the old lady had told her. Considering her scars, the calluses in her hands, and being young, within the cell-organizing logic that Nana had told her, she, for sure, was also a Combatant.

"When can I get out of here?" Clara asked, trying to disguise her anxiety. "I cannot stand being locked in this room anymore. I need to walk, see the daylight. I'm already fine!"

"My dear, calm down. Maybe in a few days if you're stronger..."

And then, once again Nana let Clara frustrated, lying on her pillows. That was no sense! Nana said she was no prisoner, but she would not let her get out, and neither had Clara seen anyone else besides her during those days. How could she be in a place with a few hundred more people and no one else showed up? Not even steps in the hallway she heard... That was very strange...

She sighed once again in frustration and looked up at the ceiling when something caught her attention: a sprinkler and, if there was a sprinkler, would have a smoke detector ... And there it was, in the room's corner! With a smile, she got off the bed, picked up one of the books under the nightstand, and tore a few sheets. She already knew how she would get out of that room... if the system still worked and she hoped so.

Later in the night, the fire alarm rang, while the sprinklers spouted waters jets all over the place. Shortly after that, someone burst through the door while Clara silently slid out and locked the door behind her with the bolt. The girl was in a long corridor, with small windows at the top, partially illuminated by several torches almost extinguished from the water flowing. She ran along the way signaled by old dirty identification signals as "exit", taking advantage of the poor light. Climbing a flight of stairs and another, she emerged in a courtyard lit by the light of some torches on the walls, crowded with people who, wet and dazed, seemed lost.

Once more, Clara looked over the place hidden behind the shadow of a pillar and saw guards entering through a gate on the other side. In the darkness of the evening while torches faded, she ran through the corridor that bordered the patio until reach the gate. There was so much confusion that nobody noticed her running on the opposite way until she arrived at a huge set of doors, probably leading to the exit.