Broken Worlds: A Class Collection of Dystopian Short Stories

Hinter den Wanden

Hinter den Wanden

Silence. A sound that consists of sadness and mournfulness. A sound that I had grown an attachment to. The clicking of steel toed boots along the gravel roads and guns slightly cracking with the marching of the soldiers. Keeping us quiet. Only silence was allowed. Why were we here? Stuck in this black hole filled with a future of nothing? That's what I looked forward to. It's what we all looked forward to. I never expected any more or any less. I was nothing. Another citizen, stuck in these walls, keeping us from the dangers that lie outside.

I still have faint memories of before. Waking up every morning, smelling the fresh lilacs from outside of the paned windows, smelling my Oma's Brotchens with margarine spread across the top. She loved black coffee in the mornings, she would sit on the same wooden rocking chair, sipping the bitter drink, adding in sugar every so often. I remember the soft beats of the music she would play, the bass smoothly caressing my ear drums with each note that passed. I miss the sound of music. Being able to dance to each note and feel the emotion that consisted of a certain lyric. I remember her sitting me down telling meaningful stories consisting of morals on how we should always treat each other with the uttermost respect. But I guess morals have changed since such a time of grace and serenity. Growing up, it was claimed that morals lie not within oneself, but within the environment that person is raised upon. As times have progressed, I can state that this claim is completely inaccurate. Throughout the horridness I've witnessed I've learned multiple things; your life can change in almost a blink of an eye, so never take a moment for granted.

I remember the morning perfectly with every detail. I was sitting on my Oma's floor, reading old books such as the "struwwelpeter" that were over exaggerated in explaining the consequences of misbehavior. The sun was shining through, with birds chirping little tunes. Oma had been outside pulling the weeds from amongst her garden, trying to keep the rabbits away from the asparagus and vincas. She had been very odd that day. She told me I mustn't go outside or open any windows. She had been hectic trying to gather up any plants ready to be harvested. As I was scanning the miscellaneous children stories, the skies abruptly turned black. The sun was no longer showing. The emergency signals alarmed with a deafening sound that echoed throughout the country. I looked through the window only to be met with smoke and buildings collapsing. I remember screaming for my Oma, but never hearing her respond. A hand clenched my upper arm with an astringent grip. I looked up and was greeted with a pair of dark grey eyes, filled with fear. He threw me over his shoulder, taking me out into the world. He would attempt to cover my eyes but he couldn't mask the horridness and harrowing sights I witnessed. I never believed in such evil ways until that day. I never knew such evil existed. From there the soldier took me to where I am now. Hinter den wanden: behind these walls. Living in silence to only keep the chaos away. To keep safe and have hope towards the fact that the iniquity that lies outside will someday disappear.

Now, sitting in my "home" the clocks all dawned at 4 0'clock, as it does every day. Signalling us into single file lines in front of our homes. The soldiers slowly walk in front of us, glaring at us with stern looks as they look back and forth from our faces to the clipboards in their hands. They check to see if every citizen is still trapped inside of these walls, making sure that no one has escaped. Having to stay inside of these walls tortured our mentality, but it kept us safe. It gave us a feeling of someday being able to live our lives normally again. Sergeant Marshall called out each name in a monotone deep voice, as if he were trying to set some type of fear factor into us. "Jonathan, Alexis, Ashlyn, Mark, Mathew" different citizens all being called upon. Not one citizen has ever dared to escape. Not one citizen has ever felt the desire to do so. To witness the danger that lies outside? No citizen would ever. Not even the soldiers. The soldiers keep the people in order within the walls, making sure that everyone remained peaceful and in order. But outside of the walls, those were where the Kampers fought. For years they've fought to suppress the nefarious darkness. They rarely succeed. They come back with thousands of Kampers either wounded or dead. It was a horrific sight, no matter how many times they came back. Witnessing the suffering and blood pouring from each single person, it brought back horrendous memories. Sergeant Marshall continued calling out names, "Rick Smith?", present, "Jessica Miller?", present, "Kevin Rinehart?", present, "Victoria Winchester?" no response. He called her name once more, "Victoria Winchester?" silence. We all stood still, wide eyed and in shock. Sergeant called over Sergeant Gabe, whispering to each other incoherent sentences. Minutes later Sergeant Gabe walked away, and alarms sounded, signalling all citizens to retreat back to their homes. The soldiers pushed us roughly with the sides of their arms, screaming in a harsh voice to stay calm and stay inside of our homes until told otherwise. Once inside, I immediately turned on my tv. We only had one channel. It was called the "nachrichten" which always remained the same. "Kampers have retreated back into safety inside of the walls, but many are injured and have not returned. We will still be on the lookout for any more returning" and that was it; over and over again. So whenever I switched the tv on I expected to hear news on the Kampers and their movement in and out of the wall; but this time things were different. The same lady on the tv announced something terrifying, something us citizens inside of these walls never wanted to hear. We were no longer safe here.

A hole had been created in the northern part of the wall. Victoria had exited the walls. The question was, why? Why would any citizen want to leave and enter the danger that lie outside? How did she even create the hole? My mind wandered as to how she was right now, where she was. My mind wandered thinking of how it must look out there in the world now. How things may have changed. I knew she was in danger. The monotoned lady continued talking, explaining how they were going to fix the hole immediately before danger entered. They were going to send out a group of specialized Kampers to search for her. It was terrifying. The thought of what pushed her over the edge, what caused her to leave.

Everyone remained in silence and continued their normal lives. I had sat in my house pondering the thoughts of leaving. The thought of Victoria leaving influenced me. It caused me to think, is everything still horrible out there? I was curious, stuck in pondering the commodity's that may exist. I stood up, and slowly walked towards my window, looking at the sad city that lie below. Everyone remained miserable with despair. Was this the life I wanted to continue living? I mean, the official leaders stated we would one day return to normal life once the fighting was over but, would I be alive whenever that day came? I was tired. Tired of living my life in a depressive state. I had to leave. I had to find a way out. It was in that moment I decided, I'm going to escape from within the walls.

It was 3 am, every citizen remained tucked away asleep in the safety of their homes. We weren't allowed outside after 10 pm, due to the danger somehow being "extremely high" at night. I packed my backpack with a few necessities which included some mini sized water bottles, canned cocktail fruit, a red metallic flash light I had snuck in whenever I first came here, and simple map I had also kept. I looked around at all of my surroundings once more, taking in every detail before I left, I knew it was the last time I'd ever be in this house. I slowly crept out of my back door, locking it behind me. I had to be extremely quiet, if I were to be caught I'd be killed on sight, instantly. There were tall dark woods standing in front of me, taunting me with darkness. I had to pass through in order to reach the wall. I headed towards north, in hopes to find the hole somehow able to be reopened. I walked silently but calmly throughout those few hours, the wall was huge. Whenever it was first built it was meant to be used for some type of cult dystopia, but then officials found out and took over. Saving it for "emergency purposes" and after hell broke loose they decided to put it to good use, and so here we are now. I walked and walked, never thinking I see the end, but then, I seen it. I seen the concrete grey slab suddenly appear from among the trees. I ran, I ran with all of my strength. Filled with excitement and fear, I wanted to see what lies outside. The hole was surprisingly poorly patched. I studied it for a few minutes, how was danger not entering the city? I slowly started to take the patch apart, there were random wooden boards stacked in front of the tiny hole, once uncovered, even though it was 4:15 am, light began to shine through. The hole was just big enough to crawl through. I crawled through slowly, scared as to what I would view. Once outside of the wall, I stood up only to be met with something I would have never expected. My mind was filled with confusion. I looked around in shock and awe, startled. My eyes were mesmerized.

Everything was ordinary. The towns and cities and parks all were in tact. Where was the blood and horridness the officials had told us still remained here? Why were citizens still kept from the outside world? After all of these years being kept inside of these walls, it was all a lie.

And then it hit me, the officials weren't who we thought they were. They weren't looking out for us, they were keeping us hostage. Yet that one question still remained, why?

THE END