Challenge Number: #1- Rocky Horizons

Date Posted: April 1st, 2013

Fandom: Matched Trilogy

Rating: PG(13?)

Genre: AU

Content Descriptors: Romance and Adventure

Character Pairing: Cassia and Ky

The rugged wind blew in my face as I reached up, grasping at the edge of the cliff. "We're almost there!" Ky encouraged. With a final heave, I pulled myself up and sat on the rocky ground. Looking out into the sun peaking over the horizon, I sighed and leaned closer into Ky.

"They'll never find us up here," Ky whispered in my ear.

"We're safe," I finished. In the midst of the confusion between the rising and the society, no one was safe. Except for us, for now.

The smell of the earth filled my lungs and I breathed in happiness. The thought that had been lingering in my head since the week before finally came out. "Who will win? The rising or the society?"

"I hope no one wins. I hope they destroy each other. The rising's no different from the society. They call themselves a rebellion, while they are nothing different." Ky's voice was bitter.

I turned to look at him. "They'll take us to the Otherlands."

"Would you go? No one has come back yet. You don't know what's there."

"Some people," I began, "imagine the place is so amazing that no one would want to come back." The wind howled to the bird's early morning call.

I stood up and walked to the edge of the cliff. Gazing into the view, my mind clouded with worries, I stepped further.

"Cassia!" Ky called out. I slipped and fell from the side of the edge. My heart raced as I tried to find something to hold onto.

I dug my nails into the ground, not letting go. Ky rushed over and grabbed my hand. "Ky," I gasped. "Don't let go."

"I won't . Hold on." He reached down to grab my other hand, but slips. We fall onto another ledge carved into the side of the cliff from the wind and rain. Ky wraps his arms around me. I hug him back, gasping with relief.

Suddenly, I realize that we had left our ropes on the top of the cliff. "We're stuck. There's no way to get down, or up."

Before, while flying in the helicopter making a delivery for the rising, Ky had stopped by here to tie the ropes, leaving them hanging by the side of the cliff.

"How will we get out?" I asked. Below us we had thousands of feet until we reached the ground. If we were to fall, we'd die immediately. "We've spent days to get this far, and now we're trapped. How would we survive up here?"

Ky stood up and started looking around. There wasn't much to see. There was a tree, full of ripe oranges. a few bushes, and a small cave. "It seems as it someone had lived here before," he said.

I reached up to pick an orange. I couldn't remember the last time I ate. The orange gleamed in the sun, and I could literally smell it. After peeling the orange, i brought the fruit to my watering moth.

"Cassia don't!" I heard Ky yell.

Startled, I dropped my food. "Why?" I asked, worried.

"It's poisoned. It's not even a real orange." He squeezed the juice onto a bug passing by. The bug jerked around, as if in pain. Then, after a few moments, it stopped moving. "If you had even taken one bite, you would've died, and painfully, too."

I shuddered at the thought of how close I had been to death. "How did you know?" I wondered out loud.

"The ground's too rocky and dry for anything to be able to be grown here. All the other plants are poisoned, too. Someone must've planted them here to lure someone else to this ledge. The question is, why pick this cliff? It's isolated, and I've never seen anyone come here before."

"What if it's for us?"

"They've been here for a long time. Just look at the way the tree has completely rooted itself into the ground," Ky answered.

By now, the sun was almost in the sky, shining brightly to the world, announcing its arrival that brought day. Even though we had been climbing this cliff for days, the officials and the rising were bound to notice our absence soon.

"How many days has it been?" I asked wearily. "How long has it been since we left the society and the rebellion?" The days had seemed timeless, just me and Ky, together, working our way towards our goal, to get to the top of the cliff.

Of course, Ky would have easily been able to fly us in his helicopter here, but a helicopter's absence was easier to note than two people.

"It's been four days; this is our fifth." Ky's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Do you have a plan to get us out?" I questioned again.

"The cliff above us shouldn't be too hard to climb."

I watched in amazement as Ky reached up and climbed towards the top using the small cracks and dents in the side of the cliff. He seemed to move as swift as a shadow, gliding forever upwards. As he climbed, it felt as if he was melting into the rocks, becoming the wind itself, floating gracefully until he had reached his destination.

When he had finally reached the top, he threw the ropes down to me. I wasn't so sure about climbing myself; I always had Ky behind me to catch me in case I fell. It wasn't a long distance, but anything could happen.

Taking a shaky breath, I took hold of the rope and hoisted myself up. One step at a time. Take it slowly, I thought to myself. Finally, I took my last step and jumped onto the ground.

I laid on the ground, not wanting to move, not wanting to lose the moment. There wasn't much time left until we were to leave and go back to the society.

There, again, I looked out into the fields and said, "We'll always be safe."

"Nothing bad will ever happen, as long as we are together," Ky said, finishing my thoughts.