Uncharted

Chapter 3

I'm nearing the city. The air thick with smoke and smog, the silence of the trees completely evaporated. The noise was deafening. I still didn't know how i was going to find a way into the city undetected. The gates heavily armed, only allowing citizens inside. I'm not dumb enough just walk through hoping they won't notice. As far as they know I'm dead. If they find out I'm alive they're going to take me. 

All of this time alone, i still haven't figured out who "they" are of what they do. Sitting in the trees staring at all of these filthy housing situations. I may live in the woods among the dirt and plants, but in a different way, it's clean. Not crowded, and the fresh air purifies everything.  I can't think clearly in this place, it's so hot and stuffy. I can feel my entire body coated in sweat. This place is disgusting. I want nothing more than to leave right now. 

I spot the gate. It's thick metal walls would be next to impossible to penetrate. The gate itself doesn't open. There are armed guards atop of it, and on either side. I sit and observe a little bit. The only time the gates open are for armored cars, and they have some type of key they flashed and a small portion of the gate opened. It was barely big enough for the massive truck to squeeze through. 

That's my way in. Those trucks. Get in those undetected, get in the city. There is no telling how guarded they are on the inside other than to get in. So I might as well go for it. But I need to regroup. I return to my makeshift camp. I gather some extra food and weapons in my pack and sit down and rest. It's hard to get anything done on no sleep. 

I climb up a tree and use a vine to tie my legs to the branch beneath me. Satisfied that I was prepared to leave to the city at dawn, I let sleep take me.

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I woke to the rustling of bushes. With the cooler temperature I thought it would have been the wind. Then I heard whispers. Slowly, I moved to look over the edge of the branch. It was the same two men from the other day. I shrank down into the branch, trying to stay out of sight.

They continued to move around for a little bit, and it seemed like they were going to leave soon. My pack had started to slip off from where I was on the branch. Everything went in slow motion. I made a grab for my pack, but as I leaned over, I heard a terrifying snap. The vine. My eyes went wide with fear and I could feel the breath from my lungs escape, and I waited for the impact. 

I crashed on the ground and pain radiated through my side like it was on fire. The two men turned around with wide eyes and open jaws. They rushed to me before I got the chance to get up. They kept asking if I was okay and why I was in the trees. They also asked why I ran away before. 

Of course I had no response to any of these questions. My throat felt as if there was something shoved down it, suffocating me. I quickly stood up and tried to leave. They weren't going to have any of it. They caught up to me and pulled me to sit against a tree trunk and continued to assess me, making sure there were no injuries from the fall. I couldn't be sure there weren't any, but it's nothing that hasn't happened before and nothing that wasn't manageable. 

It was obvious they weren't going to let me go, and running was excruciating on my side and chest. They tried to get me to say something, that I was alright. Every time I tried to speak my throat swelled and there was no sound. 

Eventually they backed off a little bit. None of us were going to be able to sleep. We all just sat and stared awkwardly into the fire. It was going to be a long night.