The Wall

One of the leaders spoke again, trying to regain some order. “Look! The Spiders have reported unease amongst the people. They have now a

The room swayed and swirled with hundreds of voices. Some angry, some scared. Most just trying to understand what she had just said—me especially.

A man on the panel coughed and said finitely, “We’ll step up patrols of the wall border but no more talk of takeovers. We’re not ready.”

Takeovers? The idea filled me with equal measures of hope and fear. They couldn’t possibly, could they? If they could free the people… my mind started wandering. I could see my mother, Rash, Henri. But what if the people didn’t want to be freed? My thoughts turned to Paulo. Someone I hadn’t really allowed into my head since I’d left. Freedom was a hot coal in his hands; he’d sooner fling it back over the wall. I couldn’t imagine the people in Pau staging an uprising. They were too beaten down, too scared. I had an idea where the Survivors could start, though, to get those numbers they needed—Clara’s hometown, Palma.

The idea of a Woodlands without the dark shadow of the Superiors hovering over it was an attractive idea, dangerous, but deliciously enticing. I knew if they wanted to do it, I wanted to be part of it. I needed to be.

Someone yelled out, “Has no one thought about the nursery? All those i

“We will help them. These things take time and pla

“All in favor of holding off on the plans for the Woodlands, raise your hand.”

The crowd shuffled then two thirds of them raised their hands. Did I get a vote?

Joseph raised his hand with the majority. The same man with the plait looked down at us and said, “Not yet, young man. You are not pledged.”

I knew very quickly, and so certainly, that I was surprised at myself. I was ready to take the pledge. I wanted a say. I wanted to be part of this community, to protect it and perhaps help it spread to my old home.

“So it is decided. Now, will the young couple who so bravely and kindly helped Feliks in his final hours please step onto the stage.”

I found myself leading Joseph, eagerly wanting that charm around my neck.

It wasn’t really a ceremony. It was too casual for that but it had weight to it. I felt the sense of history I was being welcomed into. This would be our home, our people, and I was pleased with that.

The man placed the necklaces in each of our palms.

“Do you know the pledge?”

We nodded.

We spoke separately. I went first. I let the words roll around in my mouth, making sure I really believed them. Realizing, of course, I did.

I am a survivor. I live beyond the wall. I give shelter to those that need it. I am n ot chosen but I choose to live.

It was done. And as I sca

The weeks had rolled by like the rolling hills I saw when I looked out my window. The white was less than the green, the scales tipping. Winter was receding and I could see the changes, in the land and in the people. My people. I never thought I would belong anywhere. In fact, I was sure of it. But now I belonged to a place, a person, and a family.

The sense I got from these people was that they were independent but chose to be around each other. No one was forced. They were encouraged. I probably needed more encouragement than most. Trust was hard for me. It always would be.

Now that we had made our choices and our pledge, we were left to our own devices. Our home was taking shape slowly as I started receiving payment for my work. A small pile of salvaged toys had accumulated in the corner. Toys were another fairly foreign thing to us. Joseph said I should make a box to put them in until Orry was old enough to play with them.

They had tracked the pack of tigers past the city and set up surveillance at the known entry points to make sure we were never caught unawares again. Things had settled and I felt safe and comfortable. There was still talk about approaching the Woodlands but until winter was over, it wasn’t practical.

Alexei said it was fascinating that the tigers now hunted in groups. Prior to the Woodlands, they were a solitary, shy species. Prior to the Woodlands, when people had consumed most of the planet, they were nearly extinct. I guess our near extinction had been a blessing to the wildlife.

“It’s a fast forward in evolution,” he said excitedly. He had decided to do what he was best at, categorizing and organizing the Survivors’ history and what they’d found in the city. Apella had been asked several times to assist in helping them with their reproduction problems but she couldn’t. She said she didn’t trust that she would get it right this time and it brought back too many bad memories. She was content to return to doctoring.

I liked visiting them but found it easier on my own. With Joseph there, it felt like we were all keeping a secret from him. Apella was still so adamant that he never learned why she lost her baby.

I found out that Gus had approached Joseph to join him in their little surveillance group but he declined. I was relieved; the idea of him and Cal working together conjured up small horrors. He enjoyed studying under Matthew in the hospital. He took Orry with him half the time; there were always people willing to watch him. It was quite far from where we lived but transport was not a problem. Everyone used the spi

As I was accepted into the community and accepted it myself, I learned more and more about the way things worked. The technology was baffling. Instead of using all their energy to control people, they had developed far beyond the capabilities of the Woodlands in a lot of ways. Their biggest problem seemed to be infertility. There were no kids. I mean, no kids. Cal was the youngest person in the whole town. Although, now, I guess Orry was, followed closely by Hessa.

I looked over at my pile of work, eager to get started. Bataar had asked me to modify his sled, streamline it but also camouflage it better. The woman down the road had asked me to fix her dining chairs. I didn’t do it for money. Money was inconsequential here. Bataar said he would give me furs and the woman down the road would cook me four di