11 Chapter 11

Right then, I hear footsteps, and I clutch his arm tighter, terrified. "I don't know why we have to search for them," a gruff, deep voice says. "The fall definitely killed them."

"Orders are orders," a woman's voice replies firmly. "It's the least we can do. The two of us have to do our part to get rid of these two."

"Yeah, but what's the big deal?" he whines. "They're just two kids."

"These two kids are what could stop humanity from flourishing," she replies almost mechanically. "This is for the greater good, for order and prosperity."

"I still don't get it. Why won't you tell me what's going on?"

"You idiot," she hissed. "Do I have to explain everything to you? Our superiors spawned a generation of humans and brainwashed them to believe in routine and order. If they succeed, they'll implant chips into everyone's brains to give people that mindset. Did you even read the pamphlet you got when they hired you?"

"I skimmed it," he said defensively. "But they spawned the kids, so they're like aliens?"

"You read too much science fiction. They took DNA and bioengineered it. Jeez, it really is a wonder that you got this job."

"Then what happened to these kids we're looking for?"

"Backfired. I don't know exactly, but there's something wrong with them."

I feel Thomas tense angrily, and I touch his arm lightly, reminding him to calm down. At this point, they're out of earshot. "Can we get up?" I mutter.

Thomas shakes his head, holding me tighter, "Not yet."

I sigh softly. It's not that I'm uncomfortable, I just want it to be over. Finally, it is. Thomas stands up, stretching, but I just stay where I am, putting my head in my hands. Is it going to be like this forever, with people saying we're messed up? He puts a hand on my shoulder, interrupting my thoughts. "We gotta get out of here. They'll come back soon, and trust me, we don't want to be here when they do."

He grabs my hand, pulling me up, and I follow him, winding between piles of trash until we end up at the fence. Even though we've been silent, a hush seems to go over us. "Thomas... you know this is the fence, right? No one... no one's ever gone past it. We can't do it."

Thomas grins. "Who says?" he asks tauntingly as he begins to climb.

"Everyone says that going over the fence is pretty much suicide!"

"After all the lies they've told us, you believe this one?"

He has a point, and I don't see any other options that would stop us from getting killed. I follow him, lifting myself up onto the tall chain link fence looming above me and climb. I don't bother to look at the other side until I'm safely down, but once my feet hit a hard ground, I gasp. Thomas lands next to me with an astonished look. "Wow." That's all I can choke out, the sight is so amazing. No, that's not the word for it. More like different. There are houses, all shapes, sizes, and colors. They look so strange compared to the plain white houses I'm used to. Different cars in each driveway, and people. Walking around, talking, like they don't have a schedule to attend to. Even more strangely, they don't even seem to notice us. If we landed in our city, the authorities would be on us in a second. I glance at Thomas. "Where do we go now?"

"I dunno, maybe just walk a little." We do just that: walking down winding roads, past parks, schools, houses, stores… Until we reach what must be their downtown. It's huge, with buildings twice the size of the tallest one in our city. "We should go in one of them. The buildings, I mean," Thomas says suddenly.

I shrug, and walk with him towards a tall gray one that must be at least 50 floors. Once we open the huge door, we're overwhelmed once more. There's a waterfall. Inside. And plants, couches, a tall desk. It must be a lobby of some sort. I go up to the desk, Thomas trailing behind, mouth hanging open. There's a woman with dark hair sitting behind the desk, talking on the phone. Once she sees us, she puts the phone down and says, "Hello and welcome! How can I help you two?" At home, she would have told us to go back to our houses and mind our own business. "Ummm… I just wanted to say this building is amazing!"

She smiles and laughs a little, responding, "Oh, it's not that special. Where are you two from?"

We glance at each other, debating whether to tell the truth or not. "We're from outside the fence," Thomas says quickly. Her look is one of utter shock.

"Outside the fence?" she asks quietly. We nod slowly, trying not to overwhelm her. She's still staring at us when she picks up her phone and calls someone. "Hi, sorry to bother you… yes… just wanted to let you know that they've arrived." She then hangs up, saying, "We'll be with you in a moment."