Colour was a rarity in my city; only the very young or hidden had it. Everyone and everything was black, grey or white. There was no in between, it was the same everywhere. Looking around I could only see shades of nothing. My eyes craved a change even if it was only seeing a newborn baby with its unchanged eyes. Wealthy families like mine took conformity to a new level. When I was two, my wicked witch of a step mother took me for my first hair bleaching and eye dyeing. Going back each year was not a highlight. Photos of before we became 'soulless' as Gran and I called it, were unheard of in my house. The witch wanted everyone to think we were born perfect and Grey. Everywhere I looked the city slaves had destroyed the once lovely natural city. They built a giant wall around the city and a cover to block out the sun's golden rays. Lights lined every street, the only way tell day and night was by the chime of the clock. The river that once separated the north and south of the city had long since been filled in. It's inky depths covered by Grey sludge.
My Gran was a gypsy always wondering from here to there, never following silly conventions about class or the correct way to live, before the disaster she lived in the slums. Books were banned in the unfair city they apparently produced thinking, that of course was not allowed. Gran had always taught me that knowledge is power, she kept all her books from before The Grey took over. They are filled with so many tales of colours and freedom. I don't understand how any intelligent person that has ever read a book could blame a plague on colour. Gran was one of the few people to survive the plague and remember all the magic of the city. She was a survivor and a hero even with all the pressure to become 'soulless' she never caved. Behind her sunglasses that she always wore were the greenest eyes. Her salt and pepper hair was all natural, not bleached.
Rebelling is was lot easier in the slums. It may not have been the cleanest place or the best smelling but everyone stuck up for their neighbours instead of hanging them out to dry. The best and worst part of the slums was nothing could stay a secret for long. This is how I heard of the lucky people that found a gap in the wall. Someone had managed to escape to freedom. As soon as I heard I made a promise to Gran that no matter what, I was going to get us out of here.
I think life since The Grey had been hard on Gran. I dreamt of seeing colours and escaping this life but she was once free and lived in a better world. To have that taken away would be heart wrenching. Gran wasn't especially old considering she was only nineteen when the plague hit forty years ago. She had my father that year which is crazy considering she was my age. I'm certainly not ready for babies let alone surviving when people you love have died. Gran looks a lot frailer than she is I think The Grey sucks the life out of a person.
Puzzles and tricks were a speciality of mine, I adored then. I had a particular fascination for the labyrinth. Hidden doors, secret traps and trying to escape it all hit very close to home. I had been so glad at the time that I did have a time limit, little did I know that I did.
All of my problems had been my step mothers fault, she would not just let me be. It was like she wished to lock me in a tower. After spending an extended vacation with Gran to escape Dad and the witches' uncaring, spiteful parenting ways I received a very suspicious phone call.
Up until this point I had never really believed a person could be truly evil. The witch certainly kicked that in the bum and buried it alive. If someone had given you a chance to have a perfect life to certain degree, would you take it? Even if it had a clause, a catch? This is exactly what the witch proposed if I got rid of Gran, she offered me a home all to myself beside the wall away from the city. Where I'd be free to do almost anything, being 'soulless' was still a must but the offer had some freedom. I didn't take the offer as seriously as I should have. Not the killing Gran part but the witches' threat, I took it as some sick joke that deserved none of my attention. I was far too busy trying to get out of this hell hole. I still felt guilty about that every morning and night. I had just come home from searching the wall when the news came. I had never thought that our escape plan wouldn't work, I should have.
T
he people that lived in the slums had given me some clues as to where the exit might be. The boy that left told his family it looked like a crack in the wall but was big enough for an elephant! This wouldn't be that hard to find if you knew what you were looking for. The wall was completely smooth except a few strands of grass that had learned to grow it. I prayed to any force that would listen to let me find the it before something terrible happened.
The news I had received was life destroying, mind changing and path altering. Gran had been convicted and tried for terrorism.
For some reason when I saved this the end got cut off :S
