Chapter 2

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JACK

2 months later


The winds roar and cartwheel violently around my head.  Dark, ashy rain pelts me, soaking through my clothes and encasing me in a thin layer of ice. The jagged black rocks jutting out of the snow are streaked red, as their serrated edges carve bloody patterns into my hands. My body is on the brink of saying goodbye to this world. I can feel it teetering on a precipice somewhere on the edge of this existence.

Death has been following me for quite some time now. Stalking in my shadows. Patiently waiting for me to fall into its clutches. And it would be so easy. Just close my eyes and let go. Tumble peacefully into its welcoming arms. And it would be so welcome. The months of walking that seem never to end. Each step a battle of wills, testing every single screaming, aching fiber in my body.

But I have to see it. I have to see what lies beyond the steep rise I now cling to. I grab the next rock; another dagger, another red streak, another stab of pain.

At the start of this journey, it had been the green leaf, now frozen in a block of ice that had kept me going. The dreams I had of it at night, when it came alive and danced around me, fueled my days. But when the dreams stopped, it was the memories of my mother laughing, her fiery red hair tumbling into her face, that kept me moving. But as the days, weeks, months passed, her memories began to fade. Dissolve. Disappear. And just when I thought I couldn't go any further, I saw it.

Tiny. Faint. Yellow. It appeared out of nowhere. A glow peeping over the horizon that beckoned me. And every painful step brought me closer to it. Some steps were so painful that I'd screamed as the cold pounded my bones like a hammer. But each night, as I lay down to sleep, the glow was a little bit closer and closer, and closer until...

I reach up and grab the next rock, hoisting my body onto it. I look up at the top of the rise, a few more to go, a few more to go. The glow is no longer faint, it illuminates the sky, painting everything with a warm orange light.

A few more. A few more.

The muscles in my arms tremble. My joints strain painfully. My lungs burn, sucking the cold air in, in short, sharp painful bursts. I close my eyes for a second... death immediately calls for me. He's right beside me, waiting. I flick my eyes open as fast as I can, escaping his grasp yet again.

It takes everything I have to grab hold of the last rock and claw myself onto it, and when I do, when I'm finally at the top and peer over the rise... there it is.

A strange structure in the snow. It's huge. Green and gold and incandescent. I'm mesmerized. It pulls me in, exerting a force on me that is stronger than anything I've ever felt. I taste the salt on my lips as tears of relief stream down my chapped face, stinging it as they fall. For a second the light in the structure seems to dim. I blink a few time to make sure I'm not hallucinating, but then it's bright again, and I know for certain... this is real.

I've found it.

I take the horn from my bag and raise it to my lips. I taste blood, and the pain is almost unbearable. But I blow. As hard as I can. I'm not sure whether the sound with cut through the cries of the wind, so I wait and listen. And then... I hear it.

The cheer of a hundred voices rises up from the ground below. The hundreds who've been following me for months. The hundreds who put all their faith into a leaf, a leaf frozen in a block of ice.

****

RUBY

2 months later

The tension is tangible. It buzzes and pulses around me, making the hairs on the back of my neck prickle. I'm standing on the balcony of our house looking out over the lagoon. My father's in his study, holding court. His study has always been strictly off-limits to me with a keypad controlled entry.

Men, some I've met before, have been coming and going for over an hour since the lights in the Greenhouse dimmed momentarily . And just like on the night of the party, our central message board has lit up. I look down at my watch to see what everyone's saying. Fear- fueled speculation runs rampant...

"The Greenhouse wasn't meant to sustain us for this long. Is it failing?" Someone asks.

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Another man rushes past me into the house. His breathing is rapid as if he's been running and urgency thunders in his footsteps. The last time I witnessed this kind of panic was after the party, but this time, it's worse. Since that night my father hasn't been home much, and when he is, he's in his study. That feeling in the pit of my stomach is back...wordless terror.

I need a distraction. I pull out my tablet, connect to the intranet and go straight to 'The Green Report', it's a division of our newspaper, which I run. I report on the social happenings in the Greenhouse. I need to write my review of the Opera, update the weekend happenings; sports day on Beach C for the kids of A and B sector. Wine tasting at the French Court, for Sector A. But I'm unable to focus. Unable to shake the feeling that something is very wrong. 

I stroll down the passage towards my room, trying to look casual, even though every cell in my body feels like it's on high alert. Poised, ready and waiting... but waiting for what? I pass his study, and I know I shouldn't, but I stop. I close my eyes, hold my breath and listen. Nothing. Not a whisper, not a shuffle, just silence. My shaking hand reaches out and tries the door handle. It's locked. I peer over my shoulder to see if anyone's watching, and when I'm sure the coast is clear, I drop to my knees and peer under the gap at the bottom of the door.

But still...nothing. No movement. No shadows. It's as if the room is empty, but that's impossible. Then something calls out to me; the almost inaudible sound of secrets, whispering. Suddenly my mother's words are racing through my mind, my consciousness grabs hold of them for just a second...

"How can you live with yourself Silas?" And then they're gone again.

Without warning, as if a switch has been flicked on...noises, voices, footsteps. I scramble to my feet and climb into the laundry cupboard in the passage. I pull the door closed, but not all the way and peer through the tiny crack. My father and two men exit. I hold my breath as I watch his fingers glide across the keypad.

20170905. The date Yellowstone erupted. And in that moment I vow to myself, that as soon as I can, I intend to find out what secrets lie behind that door.

******

Jack

2 days later

It takes two whole days to get everyone up the rise and down the other side. And as soon as we're at the bottom, another obstacle stands in our way.

"This fence has to be twenty men high," Travis says, looking up at the massive fence that overshadows us.

"At least." I nod in agreement. Travis and I seem to agree on most things. He and a few of his villagers were the first to join me on my journey. Before I'd ventured out, all I'd ever know was my little world by the bay. But the further I walked, the more I realized just how many of us had survived. And the more survivors I met, the more of the same stories I heard; machines that steal people in the night.

Travis grips the fence and stares through it at the bright structure in the distance. It looks about 300 steps away.

"Do you think people live in there?" He asks. Everyone's reaction to seeing the structure at the top of the rise had been the same. And as a result, we'd all walked the rest of the way in a stunned silence.

I shake my head, "I'm not sure."

"They're definitely trying to keep something out." He says.

"Or in," I offer, "This has to be where our friends and family are."

"We need to get inside." Travis begins walking up and down the fence, searching it for a weakness. But it's built like nothing  any of us have ever seen, impenetrable.

I also examine it. It's covered in sleet, and ice and snow and looks impossible to climb. But we have to.

"I'm going to climb it," I announce to him and the others standing behind me. They all look at me and a collective nod starts. I've become accustomed to eyes that look to me for the answers- even if I don't have them. It was never something I wanted or asked for, but somehow it has happened.

"I'll come with you," Travis offers, but I shake my head.

"Stay with the others, just in case..." I don't finish my sentence. I don't need to. He knows excatly what I mean.

In case the machines come. In case cannibals and looters come. In case hungry animals come. In case, in case, in case. Every single night has been an 'in case' and it's a miracle we've made it this far.

A small, strangled voice calls out from the crowd. "I'm coming too." Adam pushes his way through the people, grabbing onto shoulders for support as he flounders forward.

I walk up to him and carefully lay my hand on his shoulder. He immediately topples, and I grab him under his arms for support. "You're too weak," I whisper gently into his ear.

He looks up at me; eyes barely able to open or focus, and with ashen cheeks sunken to the bone. I can see that death already has one eager hand wrapped around him. Pulling.

"I'll look for your wife. I promise you. " I look up at everyone, "I'll look for them all," I announce loudly. In my head I quickly remake that same promise to my father that I made all those months ago when I left him and my brother; I'll find mom. I indicate for Travis to take Adam and he collapses into his arms. I'm not sure he'll ever hold his wife in his arms again. I'm not sure he'll make it through the night.

I grab ahold of the fence and wince. The combination of cold metal and ice burns angry red lines into my fingers.

"Here." Zhang steps out of the crowd. He removes his gloves and gives them to me. Zhang is from the fifth settlement we came across. I'd never seen people like him before; yellow skin, pitch-black hair and eyes that look half-closed. I smile at him, even though my lips feel like they're about to split the corners of my mouth.

"See if there's food." He ads quickly, desperation quivers in his voice.

"Yes. Food. Food." Others say. I nod at them and immediately feel the growl of hunger in my empty stomach.

I put the gloves on and grip the metal once more. I try to climb, but slip down several times. Finally, I get the hang of it and start making headway. When I'm halfway up, I stop and look behind me. A massive black cloud writhes in the air.

"A storm is coming. Build the igloos." I shout down and watch as everyone rushes into action. We're used to doing this. We've been playing this out every night for months; build shelter, light fires, eat, sleep, wake-up, walk and do it all over again. Day after day, week after week.

I keep climbing. I don't know how long it takes me to get to the top, but it feels like forever. The descent is even more difficult; all my weary body wants to do it fall. And when I'm at a safe distance from the ground, I let go and drop the rest of the way landing in the soft snow. Travis and Zhang are still standing there.

"Good luck," Zhang says through chattering teeth while frantically rubbing his bare hands together.

"What're you going to do when you get there?" Travis asks.

"I don't know," I confess, "I want to see what it is first. Then we'll figure it out."

I turn and start walking, and I'm accurate almost to the exact number; it's 300 steps away from the fence. I stop when I'm a few feet away from it as an unfamiliar sensation ploughs into me. Heat envelopes me. It wraps me up and holds me tightly. I close my eyes and smile as the warm air thaws my aches and pains. But there's no time to indulge, so I open my eyes and start examining the structure.

It's surrounded by some kind of transparent wall. I walk all the way up to it and peer inside. Not even my book could have prepared me for this...

Colors so vivid and intense, that they're almost blinding. Greens, in so many different shades and textures, all coiled together tightly like the innards of an animal. I take off my gloves and lay my palms to it. It's so warm. I press my cheek to it and the warmth moves through me in waves. I could close my eyes and stay like this forever, but I have things to do.

I bang against the wall. It emits a low, dull sound that I hadn't expected. I yell and bang and walk up and down the perimeter looking for a way inside. But can't find one. I'm just about to walk in the other direction when a  gust of wind knocks me off my feet. I look up at the sky, the hungry black clouds have all but swallowed it, and if I don't take shelter, I too won't make it through the night. I need to head back, but there's one last thing to do.

I take out my knife, run the blade across my palm and watch the redness burst through the surface.I grab a handful of ashy snow and let the blood pour into it. It melts the snow, combines with the ash and makes a paste. I raise my finger to the wall and start drawing. I draw the only thing I can think of before turning around and walking back to my people.

RUBY

2 Days Later

My father's finally gone. He's at the central tower for the weekly governance meeting; they usually take hours, so I have time. Benjamin wanted to come around tonight, but I said no. I know that he and my father have been speaking. And I know what my father wants, but I'm just not ready.

I punch the numbers into the keypad and the door opens with a loud click, like a safe...

What the hell is my father keeping in here?

But the room is exactly as expected. A desk, a computer screen, chairs, and suddenly I'm not even sure what I'm looking for. I look at the screen on his desk; photos dance across it. They're pictures of the construction of the Greenhouse, not of my mother and I. A dull ache of discomfort forms in my chest. Even though it's expected, it still hurts. The Greenhouse has always been his first love. His obsession. I move away from his desk and something catches my attention. My heart thumps.

Sandy footprints lead up to the cupboard and stop. I walk over to it, swing the door open and my breath hitches in my throat. There's a door inside and that same feeling of dread drops into the pit of my stomach. It twists and turns and almost stops me from reaching out and opening the door, but I do. An almost vertical staircase stretches out in front of me. It's so steep and long that I can't see what's at the bottom of it.

I shouldn't be doing this? I shouldn't be doing this?

But I'm incapable of stopping myself. As if autopilot has kicked in, I place my foot on the first stair. It shakes slightly, but I take another step. There's a railing on the wall, and I grab hold of it, steadying myself as I walk further and further and further. It feels like it will never end. It feels like I'm descending into the bowels of the earth. The belly of the beast. Finally, I reach the bottom and there's another door. I place both my hands on it and push...

Noxious smells invade my nostrils, suffocating heat smothers me and the jarring sounds of machines grinding hurt my ears. This place is an immediate assault on all my senses. But I also know this place. This is the base of operations under the Greenhouse. My father has brought me here many times before as a child to show me the innermost workings of this amazing machine- as he calls it. But I've never been to this part of it, and never through his own private entrance.

I move away from the door and start exploring the knotted maze of metal that surrounds me from floor to ceiling. I walk past barrels and pipes and panels full of switches. I keep going... more pipes, more barrels, more switches.

But the further into the machine I go, the more the lurid stench overwhelms me. I gag involuntarily and am forced to cover my nose and mouth with my hands. It's almost unbearable. Maybe I should just turn back?

Then I hear it. It's distinct and stands out from the blare of the machines. It's unmistakable. A scream. Faint at first, and then it quickly becomes louder as if it's coming straight for me. I whip around, looking for the source of the noise and when I lay eyes on it, I freeze.

She's unlike anyone I've ever seen before. Skin so pale and translucent that her veins look like the crisscrossing lines of a map. Her hair is a tangled mess of scarlet curls, and her eyes are so green and piercing, that I feel completely disarmed by her stare. It takes everything I have to force myself to move again, but it's too late. Hands grab my shoulders, nails dig into them, and I feel myself being turned around forcibly.

"Help me. Help me." She hisses into my face. Breath like rotting flesh.

"I... I.. don't know what you are... you, uh..." I stutter in terror, and she digs her nails deeper into my skin.

"Let me go." I whimper in pain. But she doesn't release her grip.

"Help us, help us." She grunts desperately and widens her wild, green eyes. I try and push her away, but she's too strong. The sudden wail of a siren fills the air, followed by the sound of voices and footsteps that seem to come out of nowhere.

"They've found me. They've found me." She squeezes my shoulders one last time and then runs. The voices and footsteps get louder and I panic. I run. I think I'm running towards the door, but I'm not. I'm lost.

"STOP!" Someone yells, and I realize that I'm being chased.

I think of stopping and telling them who I am, but I don't. There's another door in front of me. I push it open. A corridor. Long and dark and wet. I carry on running. More shouts behind me. More footsteps. Another door. Another corridor. Another staircase. The voices are closing in on me, and I feel like giving up. But I can't.

Another door. I run as fast as I can and throw myself onto it. It bursts open and I tumble through and then... light.

The sound of birds chirping and leaves rustling is such a contrast to the blaring siren, that for a moment, I feel completely disorientated. I look around. I'm outside; but where? The trees are thick and tangled here which means I can only be in one place; the place I've been avoiding for years. The perimeter.

I hear the door open behind me and I know I have to start running again. I beat and push and charge my way through matted foliage, and then suddenly my foot catches something, and I'm airborne. Falling forward fast. The ground gets closer and closer until I collide with it. The footsteps and yells are almost upon me.

And in that moment, I know I've been caught. I pull myself up onto my hands and knees and stare straight ahead of me and...

It takes my brain a few moments to register what I'm seeing. I blink a few times to make sure it's really there. But it is. The sound of steps comes to an abrupt stop behind me and then someone speaks.

"What the hell?"

I stand up slowly and walk towards it. I rest my shaking hands against the glass. It's definitely on the outside. Then I place my finger on one of the lines and start tracing it. I continue until I've traced the entire picture... the smiling,

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