Beyond The Fence

Chapter 21:

"You could've gotten caught!" Nelson exclaimed, not for the first time since Clary had filled him in with yesterday's adventures.

Expecting him to be overjoyed over the previous day's events was too much to ask for, but Clary certainly didn't imagine Nelson to be so furious, as if she had triggered the start of some apocalypse.

"But I didn't, right?"

From her spot on the floor, she could see Nelson throw his hands up in the air, making his frustration with Clary evident.

It was fairly early in the morning, around five am. It did come as a surprise to Clary, how she had been able to wake up at the crack of dawn, when on other normal days, it was difficult for her to arouse from her slumber, even with the incessant beeping of her alarm clock. There was barely any light in the room, and outside was as dark as the night when Clary had woken up.

Tip-toeing her way to Nelson's side of the bed, she had positioned herself on the floor, crossing her legs under her. After shaking him lightly, Nelson had woken up from his slumber, slightly annoyed at his sleep being disturbed. But his annoyance then was nothing compared to how ticked off he looked now after Clary had told him in hushed tones, all about her trip to the restaurant and back.

"Why are you always so reckless, Clary? And I thought you hated Jason," he said now. His hair was disheveled, the loose brown curls falling in his eyes. With an irritated move of his hand, he pushed them away.

"Hate is a strong word, you know."

"Is that your way of saying that you don't completely loathe him?"

"Maybe," Clary responded, with a lopsided grin.

"You're unbelievable."

With that, Nelson turned away from Clary, lying flat on his back, shutting his eyes close. A moment's silence followed which Clary interrupted, saying,

"You're missing the big picture, Nel."

On the sound of his nickname, which Clary hadn't used in what felt like centuries to him, Nelson opened his eyes a fraction, before closing them again. Clary took that as her cue to continue talking,

"So coming to the big picture...what do you think about this whole Menticide business?"

Nelson opened his mouth to speak, but beside him, Austin stirred in his sleep, probably disturbed by their talk. Not wanting Austin to overhear their conversation, Nelson pushed himself out of the bed, beckoning Clary to follow him to the sofa.

With a self-satisfied grin at finally being able to take Nelson out of his spoiled mood, Clary flopped herself down on the sofa, where her best friend had already seated himself. The springs of the sofa voiced their protest of the two masses, whose weight they had to bear, in creaks.

"Goodness!" Nelson exclaimed, his eyebrows creasing together in distaste, "How do you even sleep here?"

"I manage. Now, come back to the point."

"Right," Nelson spoke, running his hands along his left thigh, "I think you should stay away from Jason."

"What?" Clary asked, giving him an incredulous look.

"I'm saying this for your own safety."

"We are talking about the Menticide, Nelson," she insisted through her gritted teeth. "Let's just stick to that for now?"

"This is related in some ways to the Men-"

The death-glare that Clary shot Nelson was enough to make him shut up.

"Fine," he scoffed, throwing his hands up into the air. "What is that you want to discuss about the Menticide?"

Clary bit on her bottom lip. "Do you think we can put an end to all of this? To all the chips?"

"Austin won't ever tell us how to."

"We can persuade him."

Nelson rolled his eyes. "Persuade, Clary? Ask yourself, will persuasion ever work with Mr Stony-faced?

So she asked. Not actually asked, she pictured herself persuading him. It looked ridiculous.

"Maybe we can force him?" she now suggested.

"How?"

"There has to be a chink in his armour. We find that."

"So say, we do find the 'chink in his armour', succeed in figuring out about how to destroy the Menticide as well, even destroy it if you want to. But what good will any of that achieve?"

"We can start an uprising."

"What?" Nelson asked, utterly perplexed.

"An uprising, Nelson," Clary began, turning herself so she was face to face with her best friend. "Do you really want some other child to starve the way you used to? Do you honestly want another soul to share our fate?"

"No, I don't Clary...but an uprising? You are being ridiculous! If anybody figures out about this plan of yours, then the both of us would turn into a burnt French fry before you can even say the word uprising."

Pushing a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, Clary pressed on, determined to convince him of her idea. "It doesn't have to be just the two of us."

"Who else do you think would contribute to this cause?" Nelson let out a harsh laugh. "Jason?"

"No. The other Albamians."

"Huh?"

"Look, if we can recover the memories of all those people in Albama, they'll be as furious as we are to see the luxuries of the world outside. They would want to start an uprising."

"And what chances are there that all the other Albamians would not turn into burnt french fries with us?"

Before Clary could reply to that, a voice reached her ears. Cold, calculated and familiar.

"That is a very valid question."

Austin.

                                                                                       *****

Author's note: So what do you guys think? Is there a possibility that Clary and Nelson would survive the next chapter without being turned into a burnt French fry, or do you think Austin wouldn't hesistate at all in turning them into that?

Comment your opinons below! I love reading what you people have to say!

I hope my immense writer's block isn't too visible in my writing.