Untitled - Chapter 2 - The Outsiders - Seg.2

{Segment 2 of Chapter 2}1

We of the City built our world around the small amount of land that can provide food. There are other places on the planet that are fertile; we didn’t leave the Outsiders to starve. I know it sounds cruel of me to speak this way about other people, but we can’t just let everyone into the City. This place, the last safe place anywhere, must be protected.2

“Where is he?” the General barks. “Where is Garn? We’re leaving soon.”3

“I’m here,” I smirk, making him turn around in surprise. I move silently and enjoy people’s reactions when they finally notice me. The closer I can get, the more fun it is. But the General just scowls. 4

“You should have been here half an hour ago. We’re about to open the wall.”5

“Sorry, sir,” I say half-heartedly and move away to check my bags again for anything I’ve forgotten. It’s been a while since I’ve been outside the City, and for some reason I’m kind of nervous. I feel like something big is going to happen to me out there this time. I wonder what could be so big that it would give me this feeling. Will I die out there? Or maybe I’ll blow my cover for the first time in all these years of working for the City. It hasn’t been that long I suppose. About 8 years I think. But 8 years is a large fraction of your life when you’re only 23 years old.6

Then again, my fears could be unwarranted. What happens to me out there could be a good thing. Maybe I’ll accomplish the mission. I doubt it though. When the General told me I was to find and report any suspicious activity among the Outsiders, possibly arresting certain culprits or sabotaging their efforts to enter the City, he probably just meant for me to gather information. One person can only do so much.7

After going through my bag and reasserting that I have everything, I swing the bag over my shoulder. It’s tattered and dirty like my clothes. For good reason; no normal looking person would blend in with the Outsiders. They’re savage and violent people because of their need to survive. Not all of them are brutish animals I suppose; just most. Some of the other soldiers saw it as funny when I purposely cut some shallow scratches into my cheek. But if someone looking as healthy as me didn’t look like he’d been in a fight or two, the Outsiders would know who I am immediately. 8

And when I asked the soldiers to give me a few bruises they were more than happy to go along with it. It was a bit irritating that they were enjoying hitting me as hard as they could while I stood there and did nothing, but what could I do? I did ask them to do it. They probably just wanted revenge from all those times I beat them up in training.9

I watch them as they listen to the General’s orders and prepare the craft to leave the City. The craft is a huge steel beast hovering a few feet off the ground. The main part of the body is structured like one of the ancient ships from before the great war, with a deck and lower quarters beneath with any cargo and sleeping accommodation there. It’s propelled forward with huge motors that push it through the atmosphere. The difference is that on basically every part of the ship imaginable is a weapon, and our design is more angular, sleek, and as a result, very intimidating looking. 10

More soldiers are waiting by the wall to trigger the machines to create an opening just big enough to let the craft through. Most of the troops here are just here to protect the place from any Outsiders who might take the opportunity of entry. That’s why there is at least a hundred mechs swarming around as well. My peaceful thoughts are interrupted at the sight of the general yelling at a young soldier for something small and unimportant. The soldier looks only to be about fourteen; give him a break. 11

I miss the old guy, Sefton. He was killed in the last big mech revolt. Damn robots. Something about them makes me uneasy. But in spite of that I don’t think it’s their fault that they keep malfunctioning of late. Every time the mechs go nuts, a group of Outsiders is right there to attack at our convenient time of weakness. Somehow, the Outsiders are causing the madness. 12

The new General calls me over impatiently. The craft is ready for me to board. Reluctantly I obey his haughty command to get on the ship. Following me up the long ramp is about twenty mechs, all in perfect formation.13

My bag is light. All that’s in it is what could almost pass as a tent, a little bit of stale bread (my reason for being late was that I was taking a last full meal,) a blanket, and a dirty flask of water. The water is fresh and clean, filtered through the City’s great machines just this morning. Because I live in hygienic conditions most of the time my body doesn’t handle the murky, often poisonous water of the outside very well. But as long as I don’t let anyone else drink my water they won’t know that it’s clean. So now I have nothing that could prove that I’m an Insider. Not even a marked palm.14

Insiders have their palms marked when they’re born so that they can’t be mistaken for Outsiders. But for reasons I keep secret (and barely understand myself) I was never marked. 15

Once on the deck I greet the only other three people aboard. I’m happy to find that one of them is a guy I’ve spoken to a couple of times. I barely know him but it’s better than not knowing him at all.16

“Hey. It’s Jonn, right?”17

He grins. He’s a friendly type. “Yeah, that’s me. And you’re Garn. Did I remember correctly?”18

I nod. Looking around the deck, it doesn’t take me long to figure out where I’m going to be standing when they open the wall. A small pile of chains is waiting for me in the centre of the deck. Jonn follows my gaze and laughs. “Yeah, sorry about that. We’re going to be pretty cruel once we get through that wall in order to be convincing, so don’t take it to heart.”19

“It’s ok, I know. I’ve been on missions like this a few times now.”20

Jonn raises his eyebrows. “Really? You must be pretty good at undercover work then.”21

I shrug. “I’ve worked among the Outsiders so many times now that I know more about them than they do. That’s all.”22

One of the other soldiers taps me on the shoulder. “Sorry to break up your party but we have to get you chained up before they open the wall.”23

“Oh, sorry,” Jonn apologises and holds out his hand to me. “I’ll take your bag for now.” After I give it to him he looks at it with a raised eyebrow. “What the hell happened to it?”24

“I rammed it into the dirt a couple times, ripped holes in it and crudely sewed them back up, gave it a few stains and then left it out to dry.”25

“Ah.”26

I turn back to the other two guys. “Get on with it then.”27

They bind together my wrists behind me with a knot of chains. One of them explains that when I get dropped off they’ll leave this chain on. Their reasoning is that they wouldn’t let me go free without some sort of punishment. The idea is that I can’t do much with my hands tied behind my back. If I get into a lot of trouble they explain how I can slip out of the knot, but if I was in enough trouble to blow my cover like that, I wouldn’t need to know this to get free anyway. 28

Next they chain my upper arms to my torso using a sort of brace around my neck so it doesn’t fall down. Surprisingly, that’s it. Then again I couldn’t escape no matter how little I was restrained with all these mechs standing by. Jonn returns to my side after conferring with the mechs so they might grasp what’s happening, and a sudden jolt in the wall tells us we’re heading out. The craft edges forwards. These heavy ships take a while to pick up speed, but once they do they’re unstoppable.29

Jonn notices the chains and is amused. “They trussed you up tight, huh? Hey,” he frowns at my upturned hands. “You don’t have a… Where’s your mark? Are you an Outsider by birth?”30

“Hmm? No,” I mutter. “My parents just refused to give me the mark.”31

“Why?” he asks. “It keeps us safe.”32

“You think I’m not safe?” I ask pointedly. “My parents didn’t believe in marking people like… animals,” I say. What a total lie. I never even met my parents. There’s a blank stretch in my memory right up until I’m eight. From there I’m raised by soldiers; trained in camps with a class of other orphans. But the other orphans were lucky enough to have all of their memories. I don’t know how it happened, but the first years of my life definitely have something to do with my ability. 33

“Hey,” Jonn says, waving his hand in my face. “Forget you were talking to me?”34

I laugh. “Sorry.” 35

He looks ahead at the wall, still gradually inching open. It’s nearly completely open now. “It’s ok,” he says. “You’re a lot like a friend of mine. He follows his train of thought and forgets what’s happening at present. He stops talking halfway through our conversations all the time.”36

“Really? Who is he?” I ask out of curiosity. The craft picks up speed slightly. 37

He scratches his head and considers the question. “You might have heard of him. His name’s Logan. He works on mechs and stuff, but helps the troops out in crises.”38

“You know him? What’s a common soldier doing with a mate like him?”39

Jonn laughs. “I was lucky enough to be his roommate a year before he was rapidly promoted. I guess I just stayed his roommate.”40

“Wow,” I snigger. “It must suck to be friends with someone so well-known and powerful. On the other hand I’m sure it has its advantages.” The front of the craft crosses the threshold and the wall stays open while we go though. “Better stop talking now,” I observe. “Be as cruel as you want when we get out there; hit me if you must. The more realistic, the better.”41

Jonn says nothing; we’re now too far outside for him to acknowledge anything I say. It’s time for me to get into character as well. I look up at the wall; its width is the same as two roads. As the wall closes behind us with a low boom, I stare longingly back at the City. John whacks me roughly over the head so I know he listened, and I obediently look ahead. The ship builds up speed, heading out, far out, to the Outside.42