Beyond The Barrier [COMPLETED]

Chapter 5 - "Do you trust him?"

There was hardly a stir in the Cage as Louie pulled on her boots and tugged on the rain jacket. The rustling of sheets and the occasional yawn followed her as she slipped from the confines and headed for security. Marc was stationed at his usual post behind the counter, talking with a broad shouldered man. Louie clasped her hands behind her back and waited until the conversation ended before stepping forward. Marc nodded, not surprised to see her so early in the morning.

"Good morning, ma'am."

"Marc have you done the perimeter check yet?"

"No, I was about to do it now."

"Good, I'm coming with you."

Marc nodded and reached behind the counter pulled out a knife holster and handed it to Louie. She strapped it to her leg, feeling the handle of the knife before tucking it away. Marc appeared from around the counter, lifting the strap of his gun over his shoulder. He handed another rifle to Louie.

She took it and followed suit, the weight of the weapon against her back feeling foreign, but not uncomfortable. They made their way to the gates and Marc signaled to the man beside them. With a low grind of wheels and the clanging of metal, the gates where lifted, revealing a wide open expanse, covered in a thick layer of mist. Louie followed Marc's lead and they headed out into the chilly morning.

Through the gray fog the skeletons of buildings could be seen in the distance, crumbling structures worn down by time and the elements. A sturdy, ten feet tall, chain link fence surrounded the Compound, the tops riddled with coils of barbed wire. Bare trees with long gnarled arms rose through the mist, their bent elbows and contorted limbs reaching up to the sky, as if begging for release from the world.

Louie kept pace with Marc's steady strides as they turned left and walked towards the fence. Their boots thudded against the rough cracked pavement, rocks and stones jumping and scurrying away from their heavy treads. Weeds and grasses poked up through the gravel, that time had covered in rivers of fractures. No noise came from the rest of the world, as if the mist had slipped into every crevice and was muffling even the sound of the last wildlife that roamed the barren land.

They made their way along the fence, neither speaking, neither feeling there was much to say this early in the morning and this close to the Compound. As they moved past the large building, the orchard and green houses burst through the fog, the stout trees in neat rows looking like soldiers ready for action. Louie scanned over everything with a searching gaze, looking for the slightest thing that could be off. Her gaze wandered to the world beyond the fence, to the dilapidated buildings, sagging houses that looked like bones picked clean.

The familiar tug in her stomach settled in as she looked out, thoughts wondering to what it was like beyond the barrier. She mentally shook herself and pushed the feeling away. The mist rolled in and out, wiping away the images and then making them reappear.

"How is Chief doing?" Marc asked.

Louie pulled her focus from the desolate world back to the one within the protective walls.

"He's doing fine. He's still strong and I expect him to stay that way for a long time," Louie said, tightening her shoulders as if daring the world to defy her statement.

"Good. How is Peyton adjusting to being out of the Med Wing?"

"His first day seemed to go well, the Compound has welcomed him easily and it seems most are very taken with him," Louie said, holding back the bitterness that rose into her throat.

"What he did was very heroic. It's hard to ignore such a fact, but not all heroes make great leaders."

The corners of Louie's mouth twitched but she held in the smile.