Beyond The Fence

Chapter 2:

A/N: If you have any confusion about how this whole editing thing is working, check the latest message that I posted on my message board.

"I hate you for making me do this," Nelson muttered under his breath.

After days of thinking over Clary's plan of escaping, Nelson had finally agreed to it. Not because he was as curious as Clary to go to the other side, but because he knew that she would have gone all by herself, even if he hadn't agreed to accompany her. He resolved that it would be better to go along with her for he couldn't even imagine life without her.

He was also aware of the fact that Clary was unstoppable, but that often worried him. A spark that burns too brightly isn't meant to last.

The two of them stood just near the fence now, clad in completely black outfits, wearing balaclavas over their heads.

It had been easy for them to leave their houses late at night when everyone was asleep. Before leaving her home, Clary had kissed each one of her family members a goodbye on their foreheads, trying her level best and succeeding too, in not waking anyone of them up.

"Get the pliers out," she whispered to Nelson.

"Are you sure that the fence isn't electrified, Clary?" he asked, searching his pockets for the tool.

The government of Albama had told their people that the fence was electrified with high voltage. However, Clary had found it to be a lie, long ago, when she was too lazy to cook her sausage in a frying pan and had tried to get the fence to cook it for her by passing it through the barricade. When the sausage remained raw after ten minutes of waiting for it to get cooked, Clary had realized that not even a spark of electricity ran through those wires.

"Yes, completely sure," she replied.

She then glanced at the security guards, who lay asleep in their chairs, oblivious to what was going on around them. The two of them had bribed the child responsible for making the guards tea with an apple, to add opiate to their drinks. The kid's eyes had gleamed with such pure joy when he was offered the apple, that it made Clary feel as if she were the one doing the favor.

Clary's mom had told her that back when she was young, the security around the fence used to be very tight. Patrols would move around, from day to night, but now, the guards only came in the night and they weren't very alert either. The government probably thought that in all the years since the fence was first laid, no one had ever even attempted to cross it, so no attempts would be made in the future either.

They could not have been more wrong.

Taking one step closer to the fence, Clary turned to face Nelson, whose face was as pale as a ghost.

"Are you scared?" she asked.

Clary herself was terrified too. She could hear her pulse banging in her ears and perspiration rolled down her back. Her breathing came uneven and ragged as adrenaline coursed through her veins. The dread of what she was going to face beyond the fence was making the hair on her neck prickle.

"Aren't you?"

The terror was like a pillow on their chests, making it difficult for the both of them to even breathe. People usually try to run away from their worst fears, but not Clary. She might have been afraid of a lot of things, but fear was never one of them because she knew that fear was a precursor to bravery. It is what makes us human, and we need it to wake us up to what needs to be done. She was always ready to embrace her fears and let them ignite her thoughts.

"A little, I guess. But that doesn't mean I'm backing out," Clary replied.

Nelson then moved to the fence, using his pliers to make a hole big enough for the both of them to pass through. When he was done, he turned to face his best friend.

"Ready?" he asked.

Taking a deep breath, Clary nodded her head in response.

Nelson gave her an encouraging thumbs up, and they both held hands as they walked to the  opening Nelson had made in the fence, together. Nelson was visibly trembling, and Clary could feel how cold his hands were, even though he was wearing gloves. She turned to face him and embraced him tightly, knocking the breath right out of him. A tear made its way down her cheek, wetting her balaclava.

"If we don't survive this, I want you to know that you are the best friend a person can ever wish for."

"Hey, there's nothing to be sad about. If we die, we will die together and not many people are lucky enough to die with the people they love the most."

A smile played on Clary's lips, and she took hold of Nelson's hand again. Together, the two of them jumped out of the territory of Albama, hand in hand, ready to face whatever lay beyond the fence.
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Author's note: I'd like to give a huge shoutout to rzwrites . You guys should definitely check out The Beauty In Our Storms!
And thank you for reading!