Beyond the Border | ✔

47 | rule 22

𝐑̶𝐔̶𝐋̶𝐄̶ 𝟐̶𝟐̶:̶ 𝐃̶𝐎̶ 𝐍̶𝐎̶𝐓̶ 𝐆̶𝐑̶𝐈̶𝐄̶𝐕̶𝐄̶ 𝐅̶𝐎̶𝐑̶ 𝐓̶𝐇̶𝐎̶𝐒̶𝐄̶ 𝐖̶𝐇̶𝐎̶ 𝐒̶𝐓̶𝐑̶𝐀̶𝐘̶𝐄̶𝐃̶ 𝐀̶𝐖̶𝐀̶𝐘̶. 𝐈̶𝐓̶ 𝐈̶𝐒̶ 𝐀̶ 𝐒̶𝐈̶𝐆̶𝐍̶ 𝐎̶𝐅̶ 𝐖̶𝐄̶𝐀̶𝐊̶𝐍̶𝐄̶𝐒̶𝐒̶, 𝐀̶𝐍̶𝐃̶ 𝐖̶𝐇̶𝐄̶𝐍̶ 𝐓̶𝐇̶𝐄̶𝐑̶𝐄̶ 𝐈̶𝐒̶ 𝐖̶𝐄̶𝐀̶𝐊̶𝐍̶𝐄̶𝐒̶𝐒̶, 𝐓̶𝐇̶𝐄̶𝐑̶𝐄̶ 𝐈̶𝐒̶ 𝐑̶𝐎̶𝐎̶𝐌̶ 𝐅̶𝐎̶𝐑̶ 𝐃̶𝐎̶𝐔̶𝐁̶𝐓̶ 𝐓̶𝐎̶ 𝐆̶𝐑̶𝐎̶𝐖̶. 

✷ C H A P T E R      F O U R T Y - S E V E N ✷

Three days. It had been three days since Pa passed away — three days since he was murdered. The days came and went, and as usual, the world kept on spinning as if it had not just been turned on its axis. The sun rose and set, yet I remained unmoving, lying in bed with each passing hour. Theo brought me back to his house to recuperate, but my mind was not my own. I was my own prisoner, locked in a state of empty thoughts. For most of the time, my mind drew up blank: I would lay, stare, and blink, mind empty. Sometimes, I could muster up a nod to acknowledge I was still there. Other times, it was too much to even have my eyes open.

Each night, despite my lackluster response, Theo would come home from work – usually in the wee hours of the night – and debrief me on the day's events. He was always cautious with his wording like I was too fragile to take reality, and maybe I was.

Theo had his hands full with the collapse of the Borderlands. The Border had fallen, and the people inside were now his responsibility. The surviving Borderlanders were all refugees, having no real place to call home; the Borderlands was no more. Theo allowed them to stay in their homes for the time being. However, it would not be permanent. The Borderlands would need to be updated after eighty years of isolation, and every Borderlander would need to be assimilated into modern culture — even if they were not too keen on the idea.

In fact, many Borderlanders fled in the aftermath of the fight. Not knowing the potential physical effects the Outside world could bring, many Borderlands did not make it very far before some sort of illness — be it a cold or the flu — set it. Acting quickly, Theo sent out a couple of search parties, but the message was clear: even though the Border fell, it did not mean most Borderlanders would embrace this stark reality. Instead, many chose to live out their last days fighting the illness head-on.

It was the way of my people. They'd rather die than live a life on the Outside. We were all as good as dead.

For the small number of Borderlanders who still lingered around, Flynn and Heath were in charge of working with them while Theo questioned and detained the Council. Theo and his pack were still looking for Si; it was like he left without a trace. Bile rose up my throat at the mention of Si; I imagined my eyes would enlarge, terror, rippling through me.

Si had been my friend – or so I thought. We shared our first kiss. We grew up alongside one another. Yet, he acted as if none of that mattered, as if my Pa's life did not matter. I did not know what I wanted to become of Si, but, no matter what, I wanted him to pay for the pain he caused. He owed us – all of us – that much.

Going through the motions, I slipped on a black dress Mina brought me. The zipper struggled to pull up, my hands shaking from the effort. Standing up straight proved to cause all the blood to rush to my head. Closing my eyes, I waited for the lightheadedness to wear off. Once it did, I contorted my body to try and get a better angle of the zipper, but, no matter how hard I maneuvered, I was not able to accomplish the small feat. I sighed loudly in defeat, ready to crawl back under the covers.