by Sara Daniell
I teasingly ask, “Are they afraid of something?”
“Probably. You know that Dwellers are supposed to remain indoors during meetings.”
I laugh. “Then, what are we doing out here?”
“Stop trying to act like you follow the rules.” She sits up, I assume to allow all the blood to find its way back to her brain, smoothing her hair with her hands. She smiles.
“What do you want to do since all of our other friends are too busy following the rules?”
This is why I love Sage. She is level-headed and definitely the reasonable one in our friendship, but she also likes to find a little bit of trouble.
My lips curl into a mischievous smile. “I think we should eavesdrop. I want to know what is so damn important that they called a meeting tonight without alerting everyone first.” I sit down next to her on the bench. Plus, I have the slightest feeling it was to discuss me.
She scrunches her eyebrows together as she thinks about my idea. “Orion… I don’t know. We would be hanged in front of everyone first thing in the morning if we were caught.”
I laugh. “And? What point are you trying to make? It’s bound to happen sometime.”
“Fine! Let’s go.” I jump to my feet with enthusiasm when she agrees.
We sneak down a side street, and I can tell that Sage is reluctantly following my lead. I ignore the fear in her eyes and continue creeping along a wall. We make it to the building where the Constables are meeting and stop at a nearby window. I look up at the window and then to Sage. She is shaking her head, but using no words and a lot of hand gestures, she finally lets me climb on her shoulders to peek inside. I place my ear to the cold window but can’t hear anything.
When I realize that this is a total fail, I jump off her shoulders and then slam myself, as well as Sage, against the wall at the sound of heavy footsteps. We both almost fall from the force in which we clung to the wall. I stare urgently at Sage, trying to communicate with no words. We both hold our breaths as the footsteps get eerily closer. I can already picture us hanging in the center of town. Me and my brilliant ideas.
When the walking stops, we both let out a sigh of relief and start quietly laughing. We are both quickly silenced again at the sound of a deep, coarse male voice speaking to someone.
“Were they executed?” His words portray that as an order, not a question.
I try to keep my breathing quiet, but it’s difficult.
Another male voice nervously answers him in a hushed tone. “Well, no. We are still searching on Earth.”
I knit my brows together and look at Sage and mouth “Earth”. She shrugs her shoulders and puts her finger to her lips.
The deep male voice demands, “Search harder. The ones who escaped the Sphere will surely expose our kind. It will be both of our heads if they are not found soon.”
“I will leave immediately and notify the Hunters,” the other male voice replies, and then I hear footsteps again.
I grab Sage’s hand and lead her to start following the footsteps. She quickly pulls her hand free from mine and whispers, “What are you doing?”
“Seeing what Earth is. That is where he is headed. Have you ever heard of it before?” I have to speak so low that I’m unsure of whether she can hear me.
“We are not going. Obviously, it’s something we’re to know nothing about if we have never heard of it before. This is a bad idea, and it will get us killed.” I ignore her and keep walking. It takes her a second to follow.
We get to the edge of Dandux, the forbidden area blocked off by an electric fence. Anyone who passes this fence is guaranteed death. Is this why? Because it leads to this Earth he spoke of? My forehead is sweating as well as the palms of my hands. I admit, I’m scared. But there’s no turning back now. By the way those two men were talking, this is serious and top secret. I have to find out what is going on. Plus, I can’t help it. Curiosity is a large part of my genetic make-up.
Sage looks at me with skeptical eyes, but I motion with my hands to keep following the man. I quickly look in each direction to make sure no one has spotted us. When I’m satisfied, we continue following him from a safe distance. When he fades from view, we stop. Where did he go? I frantically look around, afraid that he knows we are following him.
“What now?” Sage whispers, panicking and breathing heavily.
I grab the knife out of my shoe. “I don’t know! Do you think he saw us?”
“I hope not! If he is part of the Constables, we will be dead by morning, and that little knife isn’t going to do a thing to protect us!” Sage states the obvious, and I roll my eyes as I tuck the knife back into my shoe.
“We should keep walking.” I take a step, but she grabs the back of my shirt to stop me.
Her intense eyes meet mine. “No. We are going home. We have seen enough.” Just as the last word leaves her mouth, a blinding light knocks us both to the ground. When it’s gone, we both remain on the ground. I tremble from fear and am overwhelmed with curiosity.
Breathing heavily and in a whisper, I ask, “What the hell was that?”
She moves her hair from her eyes with shaky hands and says, “How the hell am I supposed to know? Is that enough reason for you to take your wanna-be, brave self back home?” I quickly nod my head, and we both get up.
ONCE I’M SAFELY in my house, I shut the door behind me and take deep breaths to slow my heart rate down. I see Felix sitting on the couch, watching a movie, totally oblivious to anything else going on around him
“Felix!” I say loudly, but not yelling.
“What is wrong with you?” He begrudgingly looks away from the television.
I wipe the sweat dripping from my forehead and debate whether or not I should say anything. “Where are mom and dad?”
“Sleeping. Why? Are you okay?”
“Come with me to my room. We need to talk.”
We walk to my room and close the door quietly behind us. I play back everything that happened in my mind, trying to figure out the best way to explain this.
“First of all, what I’m about to say is going to piss you off because I know you hate when I do stupid things. And tonight, I admit, what Sage and I did is at the top of the list of all of the stupid things I have done.” He raises his eyebrows at me. I have done a lot of dumb things, so he is probably wondering what could top them.
Noticing I have his complete attention, I continue, “Tonight the Constables had a meeting. Instead of coming home, we sneaked to where they were meeting and tried to listen to what they were discussing.”
“Dammit, Orion! The minute you found out they were having a meeting, you should have brought your stupid ass back home!”
“I know, I know! Usually they announce meetings by a letter in the mail, so we know not to leave the house. I was already out and didn’t know about it. Trust me… bad decision.” I sit down on my bed and take off my shoes.
Felix sits in a bean bag on the floor and impatiently asks, “Well? What happened?”
“We couldn’t hear anything through the window. So, we were about to leave when we heard two men talking. Have you ever heard of Earth before?”
He thinks for a brief moment. “Nope, never heard of it.”
“Well, one of the men said something about going there to find Dwellers who escaped. I’m assuming there is a world outside of our own. So, we sort of… followed the guy who was going to this so-called Earth.”
Felix rubs his temples and sighs heavily. “You followed him?”
“I know. Bad decision. But I was so curious and-“
“And you could have gotten yourself killed. When will you learn to stay out of trouble?”
“Please, let me finish.” I roll my eyes and continue, “Then a bright light appeared, literally knocking me and Sage to the ground. The best way I can explain it is as if lightning struck us, only different…” I look at Felix, waiting for him to say something. He is staring daggers at me, and I know he is cursing me in his mind.
/> Finally, he says, “Did anyone see you?”
I shake my head. “No. I don’t think so.”
He lets out a sigh of relief. “Promise me you will leave this alone, and no more snooping.”
“I promise. I really want to know what Earth is, though. Why would Dwellers want to escape? I didn’t even know you could escape from our Sphere. Did you?” I lie back on my bed and replay the conversation between the two men.
“No, and maybe they were talking about another town we haven’t heard of.”
“Maybe. But they said something about killing the Dwellers who escaped in fear of being exposed.” I look at my brother to gauge his reaction to my words, and I don’t think he could look more serious.
“That is even more reason to leave this alone. It sounds like they are up to no good.” He stands and walks towards me.
“Obviously.” I yawn. “I’m going to bed. It was a crazy night.” Felix kisses me on the top of my head before leaving my room.
Maybe those men were talking about another town. But wouldn’t I have learned about it when I was in school? We learned the entire geography of our Sphere, and Earth was never mentioned.
To my knowledge, Dwellers and the Sphere we live in are the only things that exist. I know I promised Felix I would leave this alone, but I have to find out what they were talking about and what they are afraid of being exposed to others.
I sit up to stretch and notice the sun’s rays shining through my window. I rub my eyes and slowly make my way out of bed.
“Hey, mom?” I say as I walk into the living room and plop myself down on the couch.
“Good morning, sweetheart. How come I didn’t see you at all yesterday?” She continues to sweep the floor.
“I was home for a little bit, but you and dad were in town. Then I went out with Sage and didn’t get back until after you were already asleep.” I’m trying to keep a straight face. My mom can tell when I’m keeping something from her, and I know I will be in serious trouble if she finds out about last night.
She stops sweeping and looks at me with a look that parents give you when you do something that they don’t approve of. “There was a Constables’ meeting last night. Might I ask, what were you doing out?”
“I was at Sage’s house.” I quickly lie.
She starts sweeping, her expression turning soft again, and says, “Oh, okay. Have you thought anymore about college?”
I groan. “Mom, do we have to talk about that first thing this morning?”
“Morning is as good a time as any. So, have you?” She sweeps dirt into a dust pan and pours it carefully into the trash.
“A little bit. Look, if you promise me that we don’t have to talk about it now, I will apply to some schools.”
A smile appears as she says, “Deal.”
“Where is dad?” I turn on the TV.
“Helping the neighbors fix something. I told him not to do it on his day off from work, but you know how he is. Always helping others. He is a good man.” I nod my head in agreement. My dad is amazing and always putting others before himself.
I spend most of the day vegging in front of the television. I was going to hang out with Felix, but he is helping my dad at the neighbors’. I finally break free from couch potato mode and take a quick shower. I get ready and head out to see what Sage is doing tonight.
WE DECIDE TO hang out at the Quest with the rest of the teens in Dandux. Sage pulls me away from the group, and I can tell she is upset. I cross my arms over my chest, waiting for her to start freaking out about last night. I know her too well.
“Did you tell anyone about last night?” she asks nervously and in a hushed tone.
“I told Felix. Did you?”
She shakes her head no. “I’m scared. You know they see all and hear all. What if-“
“Don’t do this, Sage. Please don’t play the what-if game. If they saw us, we would already be dead.”
“I know. I’m just being paranoid. You have to promise me you won’t go searching for this so-called Earth.” I’m about to promise her I won’t when I realize that I really can’t promise that.
“You can’t honestly tell me that you are not at least a little bit curious about it?”
“I’m curious, but I’m not stupid.” She places a firm hand on my shoulder. “Promise me.”
“I think I may go tonight… see if I can find it. Whatever it is.” I admit. She rolls her eyes at me because she thinks I’m joking. I play it off as just that, joking, knowing that it is exactly where I will be headed later tonight.
“Well, I don’t believe you. But if you do decide to go, you will be going alone. I don’t want any part of this.” She starts walking back to her group of friends, and I follow her.
I don’t know why I hang out with this group of Dwellers anymore. Ever since I was diagnosed as angry, their parents have forbidden them to be around me. I mainly come here because Sage wants me here, and the lack of better things to do.
AFTER I CONFIRM that everyone in my house is asleep, I put on my boots and grab my messenger bag. I quietly leave my house and sneak down the back roads of Dandux. If someone sees me out, I will be taken into custody for questioning or possibly killed. Being killed is more likely. Dwellers are not allowed to be out past 11:00 P.M. and can’t leave their homes until 6:00 A.M.
The rules of Dandux, as well as the other towns in the Sphere, are never ending. The Constables claim that they are protecting us from destruction by putting ridiculous rules in place. The rumor is there were once more Spheres, but they were destroyed because they were rebellious. I seriously doubt that theory after what I heard the two men talking about last night. I believe that Dwellers have been kept in the dark about something. Why else would Dwellers want to escape? Do they know something us other Dwellers don’t? There are questions I need answered, and I’m going to find out for myself.
I reach the end of the line, the edge of Dandux that is forbidden to cross. I throw my hood over my head to shroud my face. I cross my fingers behind my back, wishing myself luck, then crawl cautiously under the fence that could fry my insides. I turn my head, avoiding the surveillance cameras.
“Oreo!” I jump when I hear Sage say my nickname in a whisper loud enough for me to hear.
I squint my eyes to look around. It’s dark, and I can’t see a thing. Once I spot her, I say, “Sage? What are you doing here?”
She crosses her arms across her chest and says, “I knew you would be here, and I refuse to let you do this alone.”
I smile and whisper, “Have I told you lately how much I love you?”
I can barely see her roll her eyes, and she laughs quietly. “Do you remember where that guy disappeared when we saw that bright light?”
I point into the wooded area ahead and say, “I think over there.” I curse silently at every stick that pops as we walk in that direction.
We reach the spot where I think he was, and I stand confused. “What should we do now?” I ask.
“Do a dance? Hell, I don’t know!” She starts doing a dance that involves flopping her arms around which makes me laugh.
“Stop doing that before you get us caught!” I cover my mouth, trying to silence my laughter.
She smiles and sits down on the ground. “Well, I don’t hear you coming up with any suggestions.”
I sit down on the ground and run every possible idea through my head. “I don’t know… I don’t even know what Earth is…”
I look at my watch to check the time and notice it isn’t working. I thump it with my finger, trying to make it work.
“What are you doing?” Sage asks.
“My watch stopped working.”
She looks down at her watch, tapping it gently and says, “Shit. Mine too.”
I’m about to comment how that is strange, but I start feeling extremely dizzy. My vision blurs, and it is as if I’m going blind. I’m completely bewildered at my physical state. I quickly try to get up but stumble forward and fall to t
he ground. Through blurred vision, I try to look for Sage. I can’t find her. I immediately start panicking. Instead of being quiet, I start yelling for her. Something is very wrong.
I can no longer see, and I’m feeling around for a way out of whatever mess I’m in. “Sage!” I beg, but she doesn’t answer. I’m as good as dead. This must be some sort of punishment. A slow and miserable death for passing the forbidden perimeter.
I close my eyes. There is no point in keeping them open. Why do I not listen to my better judgment and stay out of trouble? Now I’m going to die.
I feel someone slap my face multiple times, and when I open my eyes I see Sage, freaking out above me. Her lips are moving, and I can tell she is yelling, but I can’t hear a thing. She keeps looking over her shoulder and shaking me.
Finally, my brain is able to make out what she is trying to say. I watch her lips form silent words. Get up! Get up! Run! It takes a minute for my body to listen to my brain. I get up and start running. I stumble on legs that feel like Jell-O, but I’m somehow able to keep a close pace with Sage.
I start to look around and realize there are large shiny objects on wheels moving all around us. The Dwellers, or some other beings are operating them, trying to miss us. We finally reach a spot on the edge of the black concrete where Dwellers are standing. I look around and wonder what these large machines are. I notice Dwellers inside of them, as if they are the ones operating them. My heart is racing, and I look at Sage for answers. She shrugs her shoulders.
“Are you going to cross the street?” A voice says, and then he pushes past us. I notice all of the machines with wheels are stopped and quickly realize they are controlled by lights that tell them when to stop and go.
Sage and I start aimlessly walking with the crowd, and she grabs my hand. I can feel her hand shaking, and I give it a squeeze to try to comfort her. Once we get across the street, we move out of the way of others and stop.
