2. Chapter Two
Chapter Two
Astrid
It was a long day, and I’m giddy as I lock the clinic door behind me, excited to spend some much-needed time with my oldest friend. I make my way through the crowded street; Shadow Guards lurk on the fringe of the district, keen eyes watching for any infraction of the law. As the second leaves the fields they spent the day working on, a third shift heads in to start their workday,d crowding the dirt roads. A rancher forces me to come to a stop as he leads one of the community herds through the street toward the stream that flows down from the Market District. Groups of Curators walk together, their neon beanies causing them to stand out. Healers in pastel blue robes scurry, always in a rush, and Harvesters with brown, leather gloves move down the street like they are caught in a current, just drifting along with the flow of traffic. Their eyes are the only part of their faces that are visible over the masks they wear. It doesn’t take me long to arrive at the square. I sprawl out in the lush grass dozing off as I wait for Reyna. She never leaves me waiting for long, and soon she is stretching out next to me.
“We should just go somewhere,” I muse, folding my arms behind my head as I stare at the dome. The thick grass of Center Square cushions my back, the blades tickling my arms. Reyna was off work today, and we spent the entire afternoon right here, catching up. It has been days since we could just talk uninterrupted, and I crave this rare time with her. Orange and reds of the sunset paint the small slice of sky visible between Mt. Egarl and the dome.
“We can’t just leave. What about our families?” Reyna asks, not looking up from her book. We have this conversation every couple of years , and it always goes the same way. I haven’t been able to convince her that life could be better on the other side of the walls. King Daemon inspires enough fear to make her stay.
“Let’s take them with us. We can find a safe home, and then we can find an adventure. We’ll find a quest!” I jab my arm into the air as if I’m holding a sword.
“Have you figured out a way to safely get out of the walls?” This is the question she always asks. She’s always been the logical one in this relationship.
“We could—”
“Guaranteed safe?” Reyna asks, cocking an eyebrow. Nothing is guaranteed safe. We could walk down the street and be taken down by Lincoln, the district’s wandering bull that goes after anything and anyone who looks at him sideways. But Reyna wouldn’t risk her family, and their safety is a guarantee I will never be able to give.
“Not yet, but I’ll find a way. I was thinking earlier at work that maybe giving up on escaping this place was the wrong thing to do. There’s an entire world out there waiting for us, I know it,” I whisper. If I was overheard, it would be enough for the Shadows to drag both of us to our doom.
“Leaving is suicide. And yet you’d risk everything when anything you could possibly want is right here. We have our work, and each other.” Reyna’s tone is final, ending the conversation. She turns back to her book , and I watch the sky fade to night before heading home. I can’t help feeling lost and aimless. Reyna doesn’t feel the same call to the outside as I do, but I don’t know if I believe this small district is all life has to offer me.
I always thought I was meant for more.