Rachel Yan (11) | STAFF REPORTER
Meghan was roused from her sleep by a series of sharp pinging noises. She opened her eyes to see another pebble hit her bedroom window.
Sighing, she got out of bed. The window slid open with a click and she cautiously ducked her head out. A dark figure stood in the alley below.
“All right, I’m coming down,” she whispered. “Stop with the rocks. Do you want to pay for a new window?”
Aaron shrugged. “Take your time.”
Meghan hurriedly got dressed, then climbed out of the window, holding onto the wooden slats as she made her way to the ground. “Right. Where are we going tonight?”
“Oh, the wall. Our usual place.” They walked to the front of the alley, where Aaron’s tandem bike leaned against the wall.
Meghan got onto the back seat. “You sure the curfew patrol isn’t going there tonight?”
Aaron smiled. “I have it on good authority.”
“I really wonder where you get all your militia friends,” Meghan said as they set off.
He shrugged. “Must be my naturally charming personality.”
They biked through the alleys of the compound, quiet and empty of bikes at this time of day. Above the grids of wooden houses, punctuated by the occasional concrete storehouse and administrative building, they could catch glimpses of the city wall. It rose high above everything, its edge distinct even against the gloom of the clouded sky.
Eventually, they got off their bike, leaving it chained to a fence as they made their way through the sparse vegetation lining the edge of town. They stopped before the metal wall. Aaron clipped two harnesses around the bars running along the inside of the wall. “Ready?”
“Yeah.” They made the slow climb up to the top of the 40 feet high wall, stepping on the metal struts reinforcing the structure and sliding their harnesses along as they went.
They had been coming to the east side of the wall for a month; the same place they had gone for their second date. Aaron had been shown the secret way to scale the wall by his “militia friends” – a popular illicit activity among young militia members that was supposedly almost a rite of passage, though they typically did it without using a harness. This was a favourite sport because of the lookout post situated at the top of this part of the wall, built in the initial construction of the wall, and hidden from sight when viewed from the ground.
Now, they sat in the same lookout post. Meghan gazed out over the dense forest stretching in every direction. “The sight still hasn’t gotten old. How can there be so much open space?”
Aaron nodded. “We must be almost at the height of those ferris wheels my mom likes to talk about.”
“A what?”
“Those tall circular things people used to ride on.” Aaron traced a circle in the air. “Before. Didn’t you ever go on one?”
Meghan shook her head. “I was too young then. You?”
“Same.” He leaned back against the railing. “So, I’ve been thinking. About the future.”
“Yeah, and?”
“Where do you want to go?”
“Go?” she asked incredulously. “There’s nowhere to go.”
“I mean, haven’t you ever thought about moving to another compound?”
“My family has only ever been here since the start. Besides,” Meghan said in a pointed tone, “not everyone has enough credit to afford tunnel clearance.”
Aaron looked away. He was about to speak when they heard a loud rustle far beneath them, on the ground. “What’s that?”
They peered over the edge. A few moments later, they could see two human figures moving along the side of the wall, half hidden by branches.
“They’re people!” Meghan exclaimed. “How did they get out there?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Aaron breathed. “They’re stuck outside. We need to help them before they get horribly mauled or eaten.”
“I’ll go.” Before he could protest, Meghan lowered herself over the edge of the wall. “Go back down and get a rope.”
“What are you doing?” Aaron demanded, tugging on her harness. “Are you insane? What if you get stuck?”
“That’s what the rope’s for,” Meghan said as she navigated the unfamiliar surface. “So you better go get it.”
“No, I’m staying. If you run into any trouble, I am coming down after you immediately.”
“Hey!” Meghan shouted down as she moved down the wall. Below her, the two figures glanced up in surprise. She was now close enough to see that they were two boys, both slightly younger than Aaron and herself. “Just wait. I can help you get back inside.”
Unexpectedly, the boys did not seem relieved. Instead, one of them asked, “How did you get up there?”
“What?” She stopped, dangling from the wall a few feet above them. “Doesn’t matter. There’s a secret path up from the east side of the wall–”
“You mean you came from inside of the…” The taller boy pointed at the compound wall.
“Of course. Where else?” Meghan surveyed them warily. “Are you from another compound?”
“You live inside of the tower?” They took a step back.
“The compound. Yes. Don’t you?”
There was a long pause. “No.”
“Wait, you’re from…” The words were too absurd for her to voice them. “You’re from out here?”
“Of course.”
Meghan stared at them. “But how do you survive with all the monsters?”
The two boys looked at each other. “They told us the monsters were trapped inside the towers.”
