Next Up

Chapter 3

The crater was sloped enough to slowly walk down the side of the hole and have a slim chance at survival. Almost a two-mile decline...it would be a treacherous hike up and down for anyone; loose rocks, strange beasts, and other dangers riddled the inside of the mountain.

Disregarding safety, Ivy slid down the cliff face, narrowly avoiding sharp rocks, dead trees, and the occasional mountain beast. She was able to move down the length of the crater with the only harm coming to her already torn clothes and hands.

Ivy stumbled and landed at the crater's base; she got up and pulled the sticks and leaves from her hair. Her originally bright white jacket was now a dusty brown. She was at the colony's perimeter edge, and now that she was so close, Ivy realized how big it was. Judging by the size of the massive tan concrete wall that surrounded it, she guessed ‌it was the size of a small town—about a twenty-mile(32 km) width. Its shape was oval, with openings at its front—the main gate, and the back—the docks and harbor. Bordering the walls was grassy farmland, the length and width of which was a football field's size. Corn, wheat, potatoes, and rice were all being grown.

Ivy looked back and forth and saw no entrances to the colony. "Hmm, right or left?" clicking her tongue. She gave up, flipped an imaginary coin, and circled the wall going left. She trudged through the soggy harvest fields, the mud feeling like quicksand as it tried to hold her in place. Ivy reached the wall, stood on the small brick walkway at the base, and stared toward the top. "Hey! Is anyone up there?" She waited a moment, but there was no response. She highly doubted that she could scale up the side, either.

She reached what looked to be the front of the colony. The surrounding crater dipped down and created a massive gaping opening. An ancient cobblestone road was built right through that entrance from the front gate and leading down the mountain. A log railing was on either side of the lane.

The front entrance was seven meters tall, only being eclipsed by the wall itself, which was seventeen meters. The gate was made from faded brown marble, several feet thick, and weighed several tons.

There was an ear-splitting sound like two metal chunks being ground together, and a plume of dust billowed from the front gate as it swung open. Several people walked through the gateway and quickly surrounded Ivy. Usually, there was no need for in-person watchers; for no outsider would have the will to make it this far through the mountains—on this occasion, though...

Her head swiveled as she took the time to examine all four of the men. They held swords, hammers, and one had a rifle, a bullet chambered but aimed at the ground. Her eyebrows knit together in confusion. Not sure what else to do, she just stood there, staring back at them.

A voice called from inside the gate, "I can't allow you inside without permission or an ID. And I don't recognize you either. So whadd'ya want?" Ivy looked over to see a young man, slightly shorter than the other four, with a camo baseball cap pulled low over his face so she couldn't see his eyes. His right hand hovered over a gun holster on his side.

"My mom told me to come here!" Ivy said. The confusion on her face melted away into a smile.

"Your...mom?" He squinted at her, then looked towards the group surrounding Ivy to make sure he heard her right. "Okay then...Who's your mom?"

"Lilith."

"Never heard of her."

"She doesn't live 'here,'" Ivy said while pulling out the note from her backpack, stepping forward, ignoring the men surrounding her.

He took the letter, reading it over a few times. He pushed his hat up, revealing bright green eyes and a teenage face. Handing the note back to Ivy, he said, "Alright, I'm going to take you to Neph and see what he has to say. Any funny business, or you start acting any way 'I' deem weird, you'll end up right back outside, aight?" He accentuated his statement by tapping his fingers on his gun.