Ordinaries

Chapter 5

After what I estimated to be about an hour, the trees thinned out to reveal a field of long, luscious grass that came up to about my navel, stretching out as far as the eye could see, a sea of restless green. The moon's light shone down blueish-white, reflecting off of the plants' thin, linear bodies, giving the scene a haunting kind of beauty. Patches of grass rustled here and there as what I hoped were harmless animals made their ways about. I looked around at my friends, who were still breathing hard from our ceaseless running, but otherwise standing in stunned silence. I didn't blame them one bit. The only times I'd ever seen places like this were in movies that I used to watch back in Elys. In the distance, the land rose into a slight hill.

"It's beautiful," Jade breathed. "Absolutely beautiful."

The members of our group nodded collectively. "I've never seen anything like it," Eric said, casting his gaze across the scene in front of us in awe. "It's nothing like Ether, that's for sure."

"Where are we, though?" Camila asked uneasily. "It's nothing like Elys, either. It's just...open air."

I shared her uneasiness; while running, I'd noticed more than a couple of unsettling things—odd shapes crashing through the forest, howls and animalistic noises that didn't sound like anything I'd ever heard before. After a year in Ether, I wasn't used to quiet—or the subtle noises that came through the dark with it. But I remembered the term people had developed back in Elys in the day after the rebellion, on the few occasions I'd heard whispered conversations about the group that had tried to break through the wall—the day before I became Ordinary and got shipped to Ether.

"The Outside," I said. "That's what this place is called."

"Right," Jade muttered. "I remember now. Very comforting. I'm sure I'll sleep great tonight. Speaking of, how about we just make it to that hill and sleep there? It's probably more comfortable than the forest floor."

We all murmured our assent and set off into the field. After even more running, we all reached the crest of the hill and flopped down in the grass. The plants in the field, whatever they were, had really done a number on my legs—they were all scratched up and itchy. I breathed heavily, surprised at how winded I was. This running-away-from-your-government thing sure was tiring.

"Were we right to do this?" Camila finally asked.

"You mean run?" Jade said. "Hell, yes, we were. That wasn't detainment—the Necrose were killing people. And besides, you act like right and wrong matters in Ether. We got dropped there because we were unnecessary, and we've been in danger every day since thanks to the Necrose. They don't care about us. I would've taken any chance I could to get out. I don't blame that Ordinary girl."

Camila giggled, which sounded weird after the night we'd had. "Well, when you put it like that." Personally, though, Jade's words made me wonder if I would have done what that Ordinary girl had done. She couldn't have known what would happen as a result of her escape, but still—I thought she must have been pretty brave to go into The Outside alone.

The animal and insect noises which had been so prominent before sounded muted now that we'd made it to the hill. But the quiet and the calm weren't comforting at all—just unnerving.

Despite my nerves, I felt myself begin to doze as I lied in the grass. The slight wind felt comforting on my skin, and the cool texture of the grass worked wonders to relax me just that extra necessary bit. Before I knew it, I found myself drifting off. The moon disappeared from my sight as my eyes slowly closed, my breathing becoming rhythmic and easy. The exhaustion all throughout my muscles was too much. I finally let myself fall into sleep's clutches, sinking down into a deep sleep.