Post Plague Kidnapping - Published!

Chapter 6

7/21/2019: Updated to the published version.

Leah woke early, dressed, and left the house as quietly as possible. She walked around the block, getting the lay of the land, and trying to remember the drive there. She didn't know which direction was closest to the inner perimeter but made an educated guess and began walking. An hour later, she found the wall. It was stupid to try to escape with no plan and no supplies. She was just there to gather information, today.

The wall looked about twenty-five feet high. It was smooth stone, well fitted together, and totally unclimbable. Surely she would be spotted if she tried it anyway. Guard towers were built along the wall, every one hundred yards. They were wooden structures with ladders, more like look out platforms. However, every tenth tower was made of stone.

These were higher and had stairs coming straight down, then splitting to the left and right further away. A small room sat atop the wall. She wondered if there were any stairs on the other side of the wall. If she were designing them, she would put them there. How else would they get to someone on the other side if needed, but perhaps that was wishful thinking. Still, it was an option she planned to check somehow.

She wondered if fully half the population were guards and what dangers they thought necessitated such vigilance. Eventually, she came to a larger road. There was a gate in the wall over it, but it was very well guarded. She decided to test it and walked right up like she had somewhere to be and expected to be let through without a hassle. The gate itself was closed, so she had to stop and wait.

A man came forward. "Pass?"

She nodded.

He just looked at her, waiting.

"Yes, I would like to pass."

He looked confused. "You need a pass to go through the gate. Do you have a pass?"

She shook her head and smiled at him. "Sorry, no. I'm new. Where do I get a pass?"

When she said the word new, he looked at her with more interest and smiled. "What's your name?"

She smiled back and lied easily, "Susan."

"Susan, welcome to the Colony. I'm Emmett."

She let her eyes move down his body and back up slowly. He was tall and muscular but nowhere near as big as James. She supposed he was nice looking but not as attractive as James either. She hooked her thumbs into the pockets of her jeans. "Hi, Emmett."

His eyes lowered to her hands for a second but returned to her face. "What brings you out this way?"

"I was just exploring the neighborhood. They said it was safe to do so." She bit her lip as if second guessing that now.

"It is."

She smiled again. "They said there are horses in the outer ring. I just love horses."

He nodded and smiled. "You can get a pass at the Town Hall. If you want to work with them, you can apply for a job there too. Job comes with a permanent pass."

"Okay, thanks, Emmett." She turned to leave.

"Wait."

Leah faced him again.

"Uh, do you know your way from here?"

"Yes."

"I could give you a ride, if you like?"

She smiled. "That's okay. It's not far."

He smiled back. "I'd sure like to see you again."

"When do you get off work?"