𝑇𝑅𝐴𝑃𝑃𝐸𝐷 𝐼𝑁 𝐹𝑅𝐸𝐸𝐷𝑂𝑀

𝐹𝑂𝑈𝑅𝑇𝐸𝐸𝑁~ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒

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I was only eight years old when I came to terms with the idea of death. I had only just begun to notice the treachery unfolding in the city around me. I was old enough to have experienced situations where death was a prominent factor. Old enough to decipher whether or not a person sleeping in the streets was alive or not. To notice how one's face paled as the life left their body. To witness many innocent people breathe their last breaths.

In a way, I believe that living in Mada helped all of us to prepare for the hardships we would encounter in In-Between. We had learned to be constantly on alert for danger, to be strong under immense pressure, and the true power of our friendship. Together, we had accomplished so much. Escaping our restricted lives, taking on the horrors of In-Between, overcoming betrayal, and facing death head on a number of times.

I had never personally experienced a death in my family, however, knowing that Callum had been doomed to a short life by the government, I figured it was only a matter of time before I would have had to face it.

Back in Mada, death had been normalized. It was so conspicuous that the citizens were accustomed to seeing lifeless bodies in the streets, the bodies of people who were shot for commiting public crimes. In Mada, there was only one cemetery, but people were only buried there if they had earned it throughout their lives, and very few people did earn it. More often than not, carcasses of the dead would be left to waste away on the streets, only to be picked up once they'd disintegrated to the bone. I had witnessed all of this as a child, while walking to school during the day, and in my nightmares when it came night.

Even considering everything I had experienced in the horrible city of Mada, I don't believe that anything could have prepared me for this.

"ARLO!" I screamed as I sprinted towards him. I couldn't comprehend the scene playing out in front of me. Dizzily, I collapsed at Arlo's side, my vision blurred with tears. I could make out Callum beside me, turning over Arlo's seemingly lifeless body. I could make out Sariah in front of me, tears pouring down her face, holding tightly onto Nola, who I could tell didn't understand what had happened.

Knowing everything we would be forced to overcome, deep down I always feared that we would lose someone from our group along the way. While In-Between, I had been desperately trying to push these awful thoughts out of my mind, choosing instead to focus on getting to freedom. But it didn't stop the thoughts from coming. It felt so incredibly unfair. We had fought endlessly together to survive all our lives and had succeeded under every circumstance. We had conquered the unthinkable, unpredictable events In-Between thus far, after leaving behind our families and homes. We had overcome all odds against us, all while still practically being children. We were so close, I could almost taste freedom. The vision of us finally arriving to Sarosa becoming clearer in my imagination by the day. The vision of all of us arriving to Sarosa. 

Kneeling on my knees in the dirt, I felt completely numb. Although I had always been mentally strong, I wasn't certain I could move on without him. I wasn't sure if I could come back from Arlo's death. If I even wanted to try.

I closed my eyes, my entire body shaking. Through the sound of my shrieks and tears, I could hear movement around me. I felt a hand on my back. "Cam-" my brother said, his voice gentle. I looked up at him. Callum was pointing at Arlo, who was stirring lightly on the ground. My brother was smiling, his face also covered in tears. He began encouraging Arlo to wake up, and he did.