Beyond The Fence

Chapter 5:

"You think we can trust you, now that we know that your dad is the president of this district?" Clary shouted at the boy.

"Yes, because you have no other choice." Austin replied, smirking.

Clary gave him a sour look, then continued walking with Nelson as Austin led the way to his house. He turned to glance back at Clary's face, whose eyes were smoldering as if with rage. He couldn't guess if the anger was directed at him, but it seemed quite pointless to him.

Austin continued to walk in silence, occasionally turning back to see Nelson and Clary lost in deep conversation, till they reached his house.

Clary could look at the colossal structure which loomed behind the humongous iron gates forever and never get tired of admiring its beauty. The gushing of water from the fountain at the entrance sounded almost melodic as it resonated in the silence. She would have stayed there and admired the beauty, but was interrupted by a tap on her left shoulder.

"Come on. We've to jump through that window before dad finds us here." Austin said, pointing towards a window.

The window was on the first floor, open and inviting. A curtain with floral patterns printed all over it was blocking the view of the room behind it, but you could catch some glimpses of the aqua-marine paint on the walls when the wind forced the curtain to sway in the air.

"Too bad there isn't any Rapunzel to throw her hair down for us to climb." Nelson remarked.

Austin rolled his eyes at him, crouching on the floor as he prepared himself to jump. In a swift move of his legs, he was hanging on the window ledge, struggling to get in the room. Soon enough he was inside and throwing a rope from his window for the two best friends to climb so that they could break into his room.

Clary pulled herself forward through the rope, struggling to get in the room. Nelson was right behind her.

When they successfully made it, the two friends were breathless from all the exhaustion.

"I don't think I need the help of any princess." Austin remarked.

"Yeah, maybe you don't need it now, but what if you ever end up working for a cruel king who is going to have you murdered and only his daughter can save you from that fate?" Nelson said back.

"Well: a) That ain't happening and b) I'd rather die than have his daughter save me."

"That's so misogynistic."

"No, I just don't think my life would be worth saving if I can't save it on my own."

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Clary and Nelson changed into the clothes Austin gave them. Clary thought it wasn't fair that she got to wear a man's clothes, but did not argue. To her, Austin didn't seem like the type of a guy who would listen to people ranting about petty problems, especially if that person was woman.

Once seated on a couch in Austin's room, Clary could see his features more clearly than she had been able to till now. He was a fair-skinned boy, with eyes the color of a perfect rainy sky and jet black hair which kept falling in his eyes. To be fair, he was quite good-looking, but the aura of mystery emanating from him made the young boy...suspicious?

"Okay, so where were we?" he asked.

"The continents." Clary replied.

"Right, so these continents were made into districts." He said, pointing towards a map which he had retrieved from under his bed.

He explained how Europe was made district A and was under the control of his dad, while Asia was district B and Africa was district C. He continued telling the names of the districts and pointing them out in the map till Clary asked:

"Where is Albama?"

"I was just coming to that. It's right near the border of District A and B." He told, pointing towards the map.

He then went on to explain that the leaders of the districts held meetings to discuss how they would combat rising poverty and starvation levels.

"It was agreed that it is essential for the prosperity of our world that each person makes a contribution to the economy of their district." He said.

"How can people do that?"

"Every individual is required to pay an additional tax of $40, monthly."

"Tax? Tax on what?"

"For getting to stay alive, I guess."

"But what if someone does not have enough money to give?"

"That's where Albama comes in. See, if you aren't able to pay that amount, then your parents are required to sacrifice their child to the State of Albama. Haven't you ever wondered why there's always famine in your country, when your people are the most hardworking ones around the globe? Why the Albamaians work tirelessly in their farms, yet hundreds die yearly of starvation in your country?

"That's because all the work that you do, all the crops that you grow. All of that is directly handed to the president of your district."

Clary could feel herself trembling as she let the fact sink in. She knew the answer of the question she was going to ask was going to break her, shatter her from the inside, but she asked it anyway:

"T-the people I-I grew up-p with.....a-are they my real parents?"

Austin looked down at his folded hands, trying to avoid Clary's gaze.

"No, the people you grew up, they aren't your parents. They are just people with the same blood group as you. That explains why you and your parents don't look alike."

Clary's eyes widened in shock, she felt as if the ground beneath her was shaking. The truth was too much for her to take, but it was better than living in ignorance. She wanted more of it.

"But aren't you not supposed to look like your parents?"

"I almost forgot! They teach you their own made up biology too."

Sure the truth was bitter and disturbing, but Clary could not stop herself from knowing more of it.

"Do the p-people I grew up with....do they know I'm not their daughter?"

Austin bowed his head down even more. It was almost touching his knees.

"No, no they don't. Once two people get married, a chip is planted on the back of their ear, on the cartridge bone. It alters your memory and makes you believe whatever the programmer wants you to believe. They then assign the couple a child, change their memories and make them believe that the child is theirs."

Clary's mouth dropped open. Tears burned behind her eyelids and before she could respond to the fact, to how brutal and inhumane it was, there was a knock on the door.

"Austin? What are you doing up this late?" a manly voice asked.

Austin's eyes widened and he mouthed the word "hide" as the person on the door banged it one more time.

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Author's note: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much guys!

Beyond The Fence is officially no.444 on Sci-Fic!

I couldn't have achieved this without you guys. You people are the BEST!