-Worlds Apart- Ruination (16 page)

“Two nights ago the top contestants were told that the second place boy and girl would take the distinguished and most important new role of scout. It was for this reason that these two brave and honorable citizens stayed. They made the ultimate sacrifice to forgo a life in Central in pursuit of providing protection for all the Inner citizens.” We nod our heads in agreement, just like the note told us to.

“They’ll serve as an elite task force like shadows in the night. They won’t live among you; instead they’ll patrol the walls, providing valuable information about the strengths and weaknesses of the Inner
and
those of the rebel foreigners. They’re prepared to sacrifice
everything
so we’ll continue to be safe!”

Tyler grabs my hand and I instinctually try wrenching it free. He holds strong and raises our arms in a triumphant pose. His smile isn’t like the one I saw that night by Grove Street. It’s forced but still convincing. He squeezes my hand, reminding me to follow suit. I force the best smile I can manage. The humming of the cameras cease and the spotlight dulls, the show’s over. Natalie steps from the stage, leaving us standing with our arms raised.

“Let’s hope that was enough for both of your sakes.”

I retract my hand from his warm grasp. I’m about to ask what’s next when the hum of a hovercraft breaks my thoughts. I exit the stage running to the sound. I don’t know why I’m running, why I’m in a hurry to begin my death sentence. As soon as I fling the doors open the wind from the craft nearly knocks me off my feet. Tyler steadies me and I instantly recoil. I glare at him.

“Don’t touch me.”

“Sorry, I was just tryin’ to help.”

“That’s the thing, I don’t want your help. The sooner you get that the better. Got it?”

“Yeah. Got it.” He looks wounded. For a minute I almost feel bad for him but then I think of Garrett being dragged off stage. I hear him yelling my name as Central took him from me. My hate’s re-kindled.

The wind from the craft calms as it maintains its position fifteen-feet off the ground. Blades of grass bend from the wind pressure. The base of the silver craft expels a steep ramp that glides to the ground. Without hesitation I square my shoulders and enter. I want to look back for one final glance at the place I call home but my pride won’t let me. I climb aboard with my eyes fixed forward. I hold my head straight and steady.

I’ve never been on a hovercraft before. As I seat myself across from Tyler I’m suddenly jolted upward. My head hits the bar above me, bursting my vision with patches of light. I recognize he didn’t jolt when the craft took off. My eyes narrow and I see he’s fastened a belt around his waist. My hands sweep my sides finding the straps, I secure them around my stomach.

I’m not sure how long we’ve been flying; it’s hard to tell time without a window to watch the sun. All I know is my mind’s been wandering as I picture Emma and Papa sitting together tonight, all alone. I didn’t have a proper goodbye. I can’t help wishing I could go back and hug them more, kiss them more, and tell them how much I love them. Looking back I see all the wasted moments in my life. Moments with them and Garrett.

Suddenly my stomach’s sent into a cartwheel as the craft abruptly drops before it holds steady. Sadness is instantly replaced by fear. I appreciate that this is it, I’m about to exit into territory that’s completely foreign to me, no food or shelter and wearing only the clothes on my back.

My fingers fumble with the buckle; it reminds me of my leap-test. The way my fingers danced across the cuff right before Natalie rescued me. My mind’s brought back to the present as the hovercraft opens its floor, lowering the ramp. I push from my seat, determined to exit the craft before Tyler. I don’t want him thinking I’m scared or need anything from him.

The first thing I notice is how dark it is outside. It’s the blackest black I’ve ever seen. I stride down the ramp, my foot sinks into calf deep mud. I want to curse but I know that’s what Central wants. They want to see me struggling one last time before they leave me to die. I bite my tongue and lift my leg from the sinking mud. It makes a sucking noise as it breaks the surface. Tyler shouts as he hits the mud.

“Shit! Can you believe this?”

“Yes I can, and I can handle it. If you can’t, that’s your problem.” I’m annoyed and it’s obvious. “Listen, I’m going to live out here alone. I don’t want you around so just go your own way.”

“Vanessa, you can’t be serious? It’s too dangerous out here alone. We can look after each other. We don’t have to be friends, but we can keep each other alive.” He sounds almost desperate.

I keep pulling myself through the mud toward the tree line. “I’d rather take my chances and die alone than be with you.”

He groans, exasperated. “What’d I ever do to you, besides save your ass that night with the Borgs. Remember?” I freeze, I’d hoped he wouldn’t recognize me.

“So what? You saved me from a stupid mark. Who cares about marks
now
? Look where we are! I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. I was supposed to be with him. You ruined that, you ruined my life.” He doesn’t say anything for several minutes, then finally he talks.

“I did what I had to. One day you’ll get it.”

“Whatever Tyler. I’m going to those trees and I expect once I’m there I’ll never see your face again.” He gets the message because he finally stops talking and breaks his trail in the opposite direction.

The only sounds are my heavy breathing and the sucking noise of my boots sinking into mud. My body’s trembling from exhaustion. Sweat pours across my forehead. By the time I break the trail to the tree line my body feels weak and ragged. My muscles knot and burn as I scramble on my hands and knees, clawing my fingers into the mud-ridden grass.

I reach the first trees, they’re weak and snap under my pull but I keep trying to grasp at their weak silhouettes. I need them to wrench myself the last few feet onto solid ground. I break the first three saplings in half but on the fourth I finally have hold, wrenching myself out of the mud onto the hardened ground. 

I need a moment to rest, a few minutes to regain my strength. My breath steadies and my burning thighs turn to a dull ache. I’ll move in a minute…

Chapter 23

I awake dazed and utterly confused. The first thing I’m able to focus on is the aching pain radiating throughout my entire body. I prop myself onto my forearms, listening to the loud rapping noise of a bird. I sit listening, it becomes clear: I’m at the edge of the Inner, exiled, and alone. Alone, the word’s hollow yet holds so much weight.

I can’t dwell on that now, I need to find water. There’s got to be some around here; the mud didn’t come from no-where. Turning around, I see last night’s mud pit’s glazed with frosted tips. My fury ignites, Central did it on purpose, they probably spent an entire day melting the ground so it would be thick mud for our arrival. Just another reason I’ll get my revenge one day.

My legs shake as I break my way through the thick masses of trees. The smallest rustling in the bushes makes me jump. My confidence and courage have left me. The woods near my home used to be a welcome retreat. I suppose knowing home was just a short walk away gave me security and strength that I don’t have here. The midday sun’s just breaking through the clouds when I see a small winding stream that’ll be my water source.

I drop to my knees, scooping handfuls of water, sipping it slowly. It’s cold and earthy but I drink. Sitting back on my heels I see a rolling hill that looks down over the stream. It’ll suffice as my home base, its got high grounds to protect me from flooding plus I can keep watch for any incoming foreigners.

My boots seal out the water as I walk through the stream toward the hill. My stomach knots in hunger but I keep climbing toward the peak. The hill’s somewhat steep, barren the first half before it becomes closed off by towering trees. I make my way around the hill, finally finding what I was looking for: saplings bordered by strong trees to support a shelter.

I rest my hand on one of the giant oaks; I can’t believe this will be home. It’s not right. My home was supposed to be with Garrett, supposed to be with family and friends. Home is a place where food is served in a pavilion, where there’s a live oak tree by the water and Garrett waiting for me. I have to move forward, I have to survive here until I get revenge.

I stalk out the closest animal trails, fastening snares like the one I’d shown Emma just last week. I’ll have to come back tonight to check them. I make my way back to the river, praying they’ll work. Along the way, my eyes dart wildly searching for rocks I can use to clear my hilltop. I collect a handful of them and spend my afternoon sharpening the stones to hardened blades.

I start cutting down the smaller saplings nestled among the towering trees. I work from sunrise to sunset, cutting through the brown bark of the small trees littering the landscape. Cutting, clearing, and re-sharpening my stones, over and over I repeat the process.

I dedicate my first week to clearing my space. By the time it’s freed of tangling brush my hands are raw and my skin’s taken clear off. The first days are unbearably exhausting. I hardly remember to eat and what I do is barely enough to keep me alive. The occasional rabbit or squirrel my snare catches is hardly the diet I’m accustomed to.

I wonder what Papa and Emma are doing back home. With each sunset I’m relieved knowing they are home in time for curfew. It’s the only time of day that I’m certain where they are. Each night as the sun slopes down I picture them in our house and I pretend I’m there with them too. The nights stretch for an eternity. I lay on my back looking into the darkened skies. I see past the blackness to the stars and a part of me relaxes. It’s familiar; I know the stars and what they mean. Education taught me about the stars, moon cycles, and farming. I hate Central but I do appreciate what they taught me. Without them I’d be dead. I wouldn’t have the shelter I’ve made, the food I’ve caught, or the fire to cook it in.

Every night I let myself be thankful that Emma and Papa are safe. I carry them inside my mind, in bins made for happy and protected thoughts. I focus on the good and pure always before I pull open the ugly box of hate. I open my mouth and say the only words that bring me comfort, “Natalie, Tyler, and Central, I will get my revenge.” It’s my nightly promise I make, the one thing that keeps my body warm in the cold.

Chapter 24

I got her name at the banquet. I was crawling in my skin, I couldn’t wait to say it out loud. It was obvious she was with Garrett but what did that matter? I knew I was meant for her. That didn’t make it any easier watching her crumble to the floor and reach for him. I was jealous and embarrassed, she loved him not me. I should have expected it, it’s not like she knew what I’d given up to be with her.

Turns out she’s more than a little complicated, she’s downright impossible. On the hover over here I wanted to make her understand
why,
but I couldn’t find my tongue. How would I even explain myself? What would I say, “Hey Vanessa, sorry to ruin your life but I saw the future and I know we love each other?” Ridiculous to even think about it, so I let her keep on hating me.

Luckily the two years I’d spent looking for her prepped me for sleep deprivation. Since Central exiled us to the wilds I’ve spent almost every hour fishing or trapping for myself and searching for a way out. 

I saw her on fire and if I’m gonna save her she’ll need a healer. Every morning after I eat I head toward the wall, looking for an exit. It took a week to find the closest border of the massive concrete wall. Now that I’ve found it I run the length looking for a fracture in the enormous structure. I finally accept that I’m gonna have to dig my way to the other side. I scout the concrete until I find ground easy enough to break. I wonder if anyone from the Inner has ever made it to this wall. Probably not, it’s too far from civilization.

I lift my head, glancing up the wall that boarders the lands between my two homes. It cuts a divide between the Inner where I’m standing and the Outer, the sector I was born in. I collect my rocks for digging and start the process of tunneling to the Outer.

Hour after hour I dig like a dog, dirt flying to the sides. I’d learned how to make strong tunnels in the Outer. It was a skill we needed as miners. The brown dirt mounds at my sides and by the end of the fourth day I’m waist deep. The wall keeps plunging into the ground, with each inch I think I must almost be there.

My body aches and my hands are raw from digging. It’s the end of my seventh day and my body’s slowing down. My hands hardly move but I’ve got to keep going. Somewhere dozens of miles away Nessa’s by her river, she’s a day closer to dying. I drive my rock into the hard ground, finally meeting the end, I found bottom. With renewed energy I pull inch after inch of rock and dirt from the concrete barrier.

Night falls and I’ve dug a full three inches closer to the Outer. I fall asleep inside my hollowed hole, too whipped to find cover. I wake-up aching and dazed before I’m able to focus. The sun’s just rising as I make my way to the watering hole I found. Unfastening my pants I lower into the cool pool waiting for breakfast. The fish scatter as soon as I sink in but I hold still, my man-made spear in hand. Eventually forgetting the danger, the fish return. They swim past me wildly. I pick my target and release, spearing the fish right through the gut. I devour my breakfast and am back to work, making my way to the wall again.

I count my days in inches exposed, not hours. After three weeks I’m through the wall. I lay on my belly and pull my way along my tunnel. For a blink I get hung up. My uniform snags on one of the jagged pieces I left hanging down. I roll and kick, I’m afraid I’ll be stuck for good. At last the fabric rips and I pull myself into the Outer sector. Seventeen inches of wall and twenty-one days of work separate Vanessa and me now. I’m back in the sector I was born in. The same sector my family is in now. I never thought I’d be this close to them again. Part of me wants to go to them and stay but I can’t. I have to move forward towards saving Vanessa.