Alone Together

Chapter 1

Black clouds loomed over the horizon, remaining deathly still as the rain fell almost continuously from the sky, drumming violently against the concrete floor. It was extremely dark, and the small flashes of lightning provided only dim light. The only streetlight was flickering like a candle, threatening to extinguish itself and let darkness take over.

Bailey paced through the street as quickly as possible without drawing attention to herself. It was after midnight, but Bailey had something she needed to do. She was looking for someone.

She stopped dead in her tracks when she heard the sound of footsteps, that seemed to be following her. Bailey immediately spun around to find that the noise had disappeared with the wind.

It's nothing, she thought to herself, you're just being paranoid.

Shaking slightly, she forced herself to continue down the dimly lit road, and soon, she too was swallowed up by the darkness.

Bailey must have been searching for around fifteen minutes now, and she was already becoming overheated. The air was ghostly still and not a single breeze swept through the streets. The warm air was extremely dry and by just breathing it in, Bailey felt parched and dehydrated. But she couldn't give up. He was out there, and she knew it.

Her arm brushed against her pocket, and she suddenly remembered something. The note! Yesterday, when Bailey returned home, she discovered a small note attached to the wall. However, she did not get a chance to read it until now. Maybe it would give some hints as to where he had gone. She unfolded the shrivelled up paper and quickly scanned the page.

It read:

Dear Bailey,
I have finally, after months of planning, made my final decision.
Yes, I am finally escaping from this nightmare of a city. Tonight.
I know my chances are slim, but it's all I've got.
If I don't make it, just remember that I love you.
From Axel

As soon as Bailey finished reading, she was completely in shock. Axel always dreamed of escaping the city, but she never thought he would actually follow through with his plans. It was just too dangerous, and anybody who attempted to escape got executed immediately if they were caught. A single tear slid down her cheek, but Bailey knew that it wasn't too late yet. She knew Axel hadn't yet escaped from the city, otherwise there would be sirens, lights flashing and much more drama. She still had time. She just had to find him and stop him before it really was too late.

Stuffing the note in her pocket, Bailey broke into a run. She sprinted down the alleyways, no longer caring who saw her or who noticed her. She only cared about Axel. She had a pretty good idea as to which part of the city Axel was in, as there was a certain section of the city where the city gates aren't as heavily guarded. If anybody attempted to escape, this would be the place.

Bailey was running for as long as ten minutes, and she was approaching her destination. She could see the tall fence looming over the city, and it was even taller than she remembered it being. The fence extended further than Bailey could possibly see, and in either direction of her. There seemed to be no end to how far it stretched. There were equally huge posts to hold up the fence, and the top of it was covered in gigantic blades of barbed wire.

She had almost approached the edge of the city, and was about to call out Axel's name.

That was when the sirens started.

At first, the noise was soft. Then, after a few seconds, the noise heightened to an ear-piercing screech. The sirens were closely followed by flickering lights coming from the top of the posts, scanning the area below.

This was when Bailey knew that she was too late.

"Axel! Where are you?" she shouted, her voice coming out surprisingly calm.

There was no response.

Bailey ran along the edge of the fence towards the only source of light, feeling her heart beginning to race underneath her chest. She reached a crowd of dark, anonymous figures, and froze as she heard a very intimidating sounding voice.

"This'll teach you lot a lesson; don't ever try to escape from the city unless you want to die,"

The loud, sharp noise of a gunshot arose immediately after.

Axel, Bailey thought, It can't be, it can't be true. He can't be gone...

Bailey screamed at the top of her lungs for everyone to let her past, but it was no use. She tried to push through the crowd, but one of the armed men hit Bailey in the face. Hard.

She hit her head on the concrete hard as she fell, blackness soon invading her vision. Bailey knew that this was the end. She didn't get there in time to save the only person she ever loved, and now she had no one. For the first time in what seemed like forever, Bailey felt a pang of loneliness. Emptiness. She was alone.

"Axel..." Bailey chocked out, tears streaming down her face.

She closed her eyes for what she thought would be the final time...

Bailey woke with a jolt. Dreams like this still plagued her, even after 3 years, they were still just as powerful.
They were dreams about when she lost Axel- the only person that chose to remain by her side as they witnessed their own city becoming a dangerous, unforgiving place.
That dream, the one she just had, was the most common.