Beyond the Walls

Chapter 2

We stand at the mouth of the gap, where the Wall of Segment Six used to be. The first thing that I see is water. There is an enormous lake that engulfs the land in a deep blue hue. Just past the barrier of the Wall, is a narrow strip of pebbled beach. It seems to wrap around the base of the Walls, with large boulders scattered around the side. The water in the lake is calm. It gently laps over the shore, receding with a quiet whoosh. In the far distance, on the other side of the lake, there appears to be a forest. It extends seemingly endlessly, stretching up to the horizon, and beyond.

Every ounce of my being urges to step out and explore what lies beyond the walls. What does that forest hold? Could there be pockets of human civilisation out there that we have no knowledge of?

"I'd say at some point we need to venture out of our city," Ajax says. "Without Sneya, the possibilities are endless. We could stretch ourselves further than these Walls. But for now, I think we need to rebuild Segment Six for the safety and security of everyone else in the Floodgates. Perhaps once it is rebuilt, we can organise a group to go beyond the walls."

"I want to be a part of that group," I say, never taking my eyes off the view before me.

"Well, that was a given, Elle," Ajax snorts.

I grin absently. "When are we going to begin building the Wall? I want to help."

"Tomorrow," Ajax says. "But don't worry, I also figured you would want to be a part of that, so I already put your name on the list."

----

Sweat drips into my eyes. I irritably wipe it away with the back of my hand, muttering a curse. My breath, hot in the still icy air, swirls visibly before me. I inhale deeply and heave another slab of stone from the pile. I lumber the stone the short distance from the pile to the foundation of the wall, carefully placing it down on the wet concrete. The stone will become cemented to the stone below it with the concrete. This is how the rest of the 12 Wall Segments were built 110 years ago. I then turn back to pick up yet another slab of stone from the pile, gritting my teeth and ignoring the strain in my muscles as I do so. As I put the stone in place, the strip of material around my palms and knuckles comes loose for the second time in the last hour. Huffing in frustration, I pull the material off and examine the small cuts on my fingers from the stone. Ajax did not have enough gloves to provide all his volunteers, and so I opted to just use a soft canvas material to protect my hands from the rough stone. I wrap the material around each palm and knuckles again, pulling the knot especially tight with my teeth.

"It's tough work, isn't it?" a girl says from my left as I reach for another stone piece. The girl looks to be about only 15 years old, with long dirty blonde hair that she has pulled into a ponytail. Despite her youthful look, she is easily a head taller than me and slim. Like me, she has dirt smudged on her face.

I sigh, offering her a smile. "Definitely."

"You're Elizabeth Fallon." It is a statement, not a question. She peers at me intently with pale green eyes, studying me curiously. She has a noticeable light brown birthmark on the side of her neck.

"Yes. But I go by Elle," I tell her kindly.

The girl frowns. "Why is that? Do you not like the name, Elizabeth?"

"I do," I say earnestly. "I was called Elle often as a child and Elizabeth was also the name of my mother. She was banished when I was young. Bearing her name became too much for me from then on." I lift up a slab of stone and put it in place on the gradually rebuilding wall.

"I like Elle," the girl says when I return to the stone pile. "But I also love the name Elizabeth, it's so classically pretty."

I open my mouth to respond when Ajax's green head appears to my left. "Hey, Elle. It's your turn to go to lunch now," he says. "Ruben is also on lunch, so you can go with him." He winks playfully and I swat him before he turns and joins Killian and Sterling at the concrete machine.