Shun

Rain fell on and off all morning. I had gotten caught in it once, but only for a brief moment. After that, I was at Anna's home to repair her damaged floor. Lucky for me, the rain had ceased for a while, which allowed them to go outside while I worked without all of the residents crammed around me.

Outside, the sun was peeking out from behind an opening in the storm clouds. Although a decent amount of rain fell, it was still hot enough to cause me to sweat. I sat back on the floor, wiping the sweat from my forehead. I had only a few more nails left, and then I would be done for the day. As long as nobody else needs anything done. I sighed, and picked up another nail.

Quickly, I finished patching up the hole in the floor, and walked out of the house, relieved that I was finally done with the task. I looked up at the gray sky, then down at the City. Alice had gone there sometime in the morning, and still wasn't back yet.

I couldn't help but feel that something had actually happened to her grandfather, or something may have happened to her. Just as my worry was starting to build, I saw her running through the Wastelands. I darted off towards her, wanting to know what all had happened.

When I got closer to her, I saw that her eyes looked red and puffy. She had definitely been crying. We stopped right in front of each other, and before I could say anything, she wrapped her arms around me and started to speak. "They took him away….They took my Grandfather away."

Her voice was shaking as she began to start crying again. I felt my stomach drop when she said what happened to her grandfather. I had been telling her that he was okay. That nothing had happened to him, and that everything was fine.

I hated the feeling I had of not being able to keep my word, but it wasn't like I could do anything. All I was able to do, was try and comfort her as much as possible. Deep down though, I felt that both of us knew something happened to him.

She let go of me, wiping away a tear from her eye and apologizing for the unexpected hug. I told her there was nothing wrong with it. She needed as much support as she could get. Then, it was like a switch flipped in her, and she began to dig around in a pocket on her dress.

"I think you should look at this. It was something my Grandfather hid in our house, and I'm pretty sure it was what the Officials may have been looking for." She pulled out an aged piece of paper, and handed it to me. It was rough and brittle, and I was scared that it would turn to dust at any moment. I was about to unfold it, when a tiny drop of water landed on my arm.

We looked up and saw the storm clouds were rolling in again, bringing more rain along with them. I handed the paper back to her and said, "Keep it in your pocket so it won't get wet. I'll look at it when we get back to the house." She nodded and tucked the paper away like I had said.

The bottom fell out of the sky, and we began to get dowsed with rain. Alice made sure to cover the pocket with her hand, but I was sure that the paper had gotten a little wet. We ran up the stairs to the house, and slipped through the door. Both of us were already dripping wet, which didn't bother me since I had been covered in sweat and dust for most of the morning.

Alice had already pulled the paper out, and remarkably, it was still dry and intact. She was handing it back to me, and I took it. Carefully, I unfolded it without trying to tear any corners or sides. This was something of her grandfather's after all, and I didn't want to ruin it. Another piece of paper fell out and landed on the floor. It was newer than the sheet I held in my hands, but I still made a note to handle it with care as well.

I smoothed the older sheet of paper out on the floor, and saw it was a map that had been drawn by hand. Words and symbols were scribbled on random locations, but there were several that stood out to me. One, was the fact that the City was circled, along with our little town of Outcasts.

Another thing that stood out for me, was the fact that lines were drawn from circle to circle, and ended at the mountains, where a question mark was drawn behind them. Alice then picked up the other sheet of paper, unfolded it, and handed it to me.

"I found these under the floor in my house. They were locked away in a metal box. It was just the map and those instructions." The newer paper had a list of directions to take through the Wastelands. An escape route. It ended right behind the mountain range, but it was clear that not even her grandfather knew what was beyond them.

This map was only for those who had to be truly desperate to get out of the City. But, then why had all my home, along with other places, been circled and designated as stops along the way? Anyone who was desperate enough to trek across the Wastelands, wasn't going to make stops along the way.

They were going to go right to their destination. I stared at the map and directions, still trying to figure them out. While I did that, Alice began to fill me in about her grandfather. "The Officials, they took him away because they said he was planning an escape, and was also conspiring with Outcasts. I didn't believe it, until I found all of that. I just…I can't believe he kept something like this hidden from me."

I understood why she hated secrets being kept from her. Especially when they directly involved her. I thought back to how people tried to pretend that my parents hadn't died in order to protect me. But I was old enough to see past that. I knew and accepted it as life, they just didn't want to. I placed my hand on Alice's and said, "He probably kept it from you in order to protect you.

Something like this could have gotten you in trouble, even though you knew nothing about it." She nodded, which told me she already was aware of this. Her eyes moved from my hand, to the map on the floor. "What I don't understand is the reason that anyone would need an escape map. I mean, I know the City is strict and all that, but running away would only result in certain death. Grandfather had to of known that something was going to happen."

I stared down at the map with her, trying to solve the puzzle that she had just given to me. There was some validation behind the issue of why this map was created. I was sure her grandfather didn't make escape route maps for a hobby, and I was sure he wasn't the type to make something like this as a joke.

I re-examined the aging on the map and directions. It was clear that the map was made before the instructions. The only thing that made sense to me, was that the instructions were made in case something happened to the map. That way, there was still a way to make it through the designated spots on the map.

I still couldn't figure out the 'why factor' of the map. Why was it made, other than for use of making it through the Wastelands? Everything had a reason, so what was this map's? I probably would never know. The only person who did, was her grandfather. And he was somewhere in the City, either dead or locked away in a prison.

Alice then stood up. She straightened the skirt of her dress and said, "You can look over that map all you want. I just felt that I needed to show it to you." She started to walk towards the door. I scrambled up to my feet and asked, "Whoa. Where are you going now? I could really use your help figuring out why your grandfather made that map."

Outside, I heard that the rain had stopped. She looked up at me with her brown eyes. They looked tired and filled with sadness, showing all that she had gone through recently. There was something about that look on her face that made her look like she had lived out in the Wastelands for most of her life.

"I'm going back to try and find my Grandfather. I know what happened to him, so I have a good idea of where he's at…..All I want to know is if he's still alive or not. That way, I can try and ease my mind as much as I can." I hated the idea of allowing her to go back to the City.

Especially now that I knew that her grandfather had been taken away because of his plans. Now, she could be taken away as well, just for being related to him. I wouldn't know if something happened to her unless she didn't show back up. I didn't like the idea of something happening to her.

I cared too much about her. Maybe even more than my own self. Which wasn't saying much, since I put most people ahead of my own needs. But I did really care about her. Or at least, assumed what was caring. Because I couldn't place how I really felt about her.

"Be careful when you go back. From what you've told me, things are getting worse in the City." Alice nodded and said, "They are. And don't worry, I'm going to try my best not to get caught by any Officials." She ran out of the house and back through the Wastelands.

It kept feeling like her visits here were getting shorter and shorter. Maybe they were, and I just didn't realize it. The clouds had gone from a dark gray, to a lighter shade. The rain was probably over for the day. I stepped out onto the little patio of the house, and looked out in the distance.

Dark water flowed through the Wastelands in its little stream. We would have water for a couple of days or weeks, which seemed to be the only good thing I could think of. Everything else was the worst outcome that could happen. With my eyes, I was able to make out the shape of Alice going back through the fence. She's really not like the rest of them.

Alice

I wished I had stayed behind to help Shun out with the map, but all that was on my mind, was my grandfather. I was running behind people's houses in order to not be seen. There was no telling where or when an Official would pop up. I knelt down behind a staircase. The mud and water underneath me was dampening the ends of my dress. I looked down at it, and saw my reflection.

With my bright orange hair, I stood out too much. As far as I knew, I was the only one with this color of hair in the City. I would easily be spotted if I walked through a crowd of people. This inconvenience needed to be fixed somehow if I was going to find my grandfather.

I looked around, trying to find something I could use to my advantage. My eyes fell on a cloak that somebody had hung up to dry after the rain. I ran over to it, snatched it off the line, and ran back to my staircase. It was damp, but it would dry quickly.

I pulled the cloak over my head, and flipped the hood up over my hair. I wouldn't look all that suspicious; it was cooling down outside, so I had every right to wear something warm. I ran from around the houses and blended into the crowds of people that were walking down the muddied road. Things felt normal, but I knew that they weren't. Something that was going on in this City, wasn't right.

It was like I could see, even smell, the corruption and evil that was at play. I slipped away from the crowd, and jogged down the street that held the City's jail. People were allowed to visit, but I didn't need to take the chance of walking into the building and getting recognized.

So, I went around the back of the jail. Little square openings were along the ground. When you looked through the iron bars of the squares, you were looking into cells. Most of the time, they were empty. But not now. Almost all of them were full with people. They all had probably been taken to jail during the home search, just as my grandfather had been.

I checked everyone of the cells. None of them had my grandfather in them. Slowly, I felt my hope that he was alive, slipping away. I kept walking around the jail, and slipped through a small alley that was between the very back and another building. There were little whimpers coming from one of the cell windows. I knelt down and looked through the bars, then gasped. It was Margret.

She was laying in the middle of the call, her limbs tied with duct tape and rope. Her mouth was also taped closed, and her eyes were blindfolded. Blood was coming from her wrists and ankles where the ropes were at. She had probably cut them open while struggling to break free.

How long had she been like this? She looked emaciated, which told me they hadn't been giving her any food for a while. "Margret," I said under my breath. My voice's tone was filled with shock and sadness. Margret must have heard my voice, because she held her head up and began to thrash about.

Under the tape that was on her mouth, she was screaming and crying. Her sounds were like that of a dying or trapped animal. I shut my eyes, trying to hold back tears that were starting to form. I hated seeing anyone like this, and in this much pain.

But what was worse, the Officials could have been doing to same thing to my grandfather as they had done to Margret. The cell door slid open, and I panicked. Before they had a chance to see me through the window, I ran. I didn't know what they were about to do to Margret, but I wasn't going to stick around and find out.

I pulled the hood of my cloak further down so it covered more of my face. I went back behind the houses, and followed my way back to the fence so I could get away from the horror that I just witness. My world froze, when I saw the hole in the fence was gone.

I'M HOME! I'M HOME! I'M HOME! I'M HOMMMMMMMMMEEEEE! you have no idea how happy i am about that. four days of getting up at 6:30 and walking in the heat until 10:30 at night is just too much. Disney World was fun though. i certainly don't ever want to bring a little kid there though. o.o that would be too much trouble. ah well, good to be home. read, review, and other things. ~Copperpelt~