The Greatest Wall | Pentagon

Prologue

Go.

He didn't know how-

Strike that. He knew how.

He had been asleep. Fast asleep. Lying in bed, ending the day- which was all it was, a day, just like any other day- only to wake up in the middle of the night with the insane urge that something, or someone, was calling him.

Crazy, he knew. He knew! But he couldn't ignore it. His heart had pounded, his thoughts raced, and every last brain cell he still had control over was screaming at him: Go.

He got dressed, ran out the door, and started the hover car.

"User: Hyojong. Time: 2:10 am. The work day has not begun. To conserve energy, please turn off your car and return to your dorm. Driving hours are from 8am to- from 8 am- from- a-"

Screwdriver in hand, he got up from under the driver's seat dashboard, successfully rewiring the hover's notifications to off. He tapped at the space next to the steering wheel, bringing the control panel to life. A black screen popped up, flashing its all too familiar five-sided logo before the settings appeared in neon dark blue text.

"Autopilot off." The car announced as he pressed "Manual" and grasped the steering wheel, the feeling of driving for himself being foreign to him.

He revved the engine and drove anyway.

Leave. Get out. He didn't know where he was going. He just knew he had to.

It's not safe.

There's more.

"What more could there be..." he whispered to himself.

"Dead end. Danger."

Hyojong stopped the car confused. The road ended, but there was still desert, the nature making him realize just how far he'd drove from the city. He started the car again and slowly began to pull forward only to immediately hit something in front of him, hearing what sounded like broken glass follow after. He hit the brake and looked around him.

None of the windows or mirrors were broken. In fact, nothing was broken. That didn't really surprise him, hover cars were made for their durability. But then what did break? He parked and got out of the car, leaving the headlights on to see in the dark.

He walked to the front. Then saw it.

A wall? he thought. It was clear and would've been nearly invisible, if it weren't for the gaping hole his car seemed to have created and was the weirdest part about the wall. Iridescent colors seemed to reflect around the opening, moving like water. He reached his hand out to touch the wall only to flinch back at the contact. It felt solid like glass, but... alive.

This wasn't tech. This wasn't human made. This- Hyojong didn't know what this was. He was supposed to know everything. How-

No.

Why.

Why am I here, he thought. I shouldn't be here. I knew I shouldn't have gone. I-

I can go back. They were right. There's no escape. There's nothing out there.

He turned around to head back. He thought he couldn't see anything worse.

Then he noticed the smoke.

He ran into his car, locking the doors tight.

"I was heading back," he cried. "I was heading back. I don't know anything... I don't know... why... I..."

His vision blurred as the gas seeped into the car. His pleading useless.

"Hoetaek... I'm sorry," he whispered.

He heard the car door open and felt hands grab him from behind as he blacked out.

-

The outskirts where were it was most quiet, yet he still found himself huddled on the ground, breathing shallowly. Days like these when emotions ran high were the worst. He knew the farther he walked, the better though, and forced himself to keep going.

Someone screamed off in the distance. He winced in pain.

Please. Stop. I don't want to feel anymore.

So much was wrong with the world he lived in. Pollution. Crime. Disease...

He felt everything. Now, all alone. Too much energy radiated off of every person he passed by. Too much nostalgia buried in every piece of junk he got close to.

Different auras swirled his vision, the colors causing him to lose balance and trip over something sticking out of the ground. Close to the ravine, he was afraid he was going to fall in, but instead found himself landing safely on his knees. He continued to crawl forward, hoping he could get further away.

Please. Just let me feel-

Nothing. So suddenly it hit him. He stopped, releasing his arms from their position clutched around his stomach. He stood up, being perfectly fine now, and looked up at what was in front of him.

An opening?

He took note of his surroundings and saw that he had traveled farther than he had ever before. He had crossed the ravine that usually stopped him with what appeared to be a hidden, narrow land bridge, blocked with vines and rubble he would have never noticed if he hadn't fell.

He stared at the wall in front of him, mesmerized by its reflections. He had never seen anything like it before. Hesitantly, he raised his hand to press against it, willing to risk the pain again to satisfy his curiosity about where it had come from.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he felt the wall's history.

There's a girl, no- there was a girl, then emptiness for a long time- years- a century, then a car...

He moved his hand away, only experiencing a mild stomachache.

Besides the creation of the wall and the opening, nothing more had happened.

But this magic was old. Protective. With secrets. He learned that there was life on the other side. Actual civilization. A world with no freedom. Just what he needed.

He passed through the opening.

The abandoned car he felt stood exactly where he expected it to be. He got inside.

"Unknown user." He flinched at the sound of the car's voice. What was all this stuff? He thought staring at the keypad's various buttons on the black screen next to him, fingers running across the cold, silvery metal.

"Please state your name." The car announced.

"Uh... Hyunggu?" He answered.

The car chimed. "User: Hyunggu." The ignition turned on. He grasped the steering wheel, grinning. He turned the car around and began driving toward the city he saw off into the distance. As the desert became concrete and he reached the limit line, an electric sign marked where he was before the black, glass skyscrapers swallowed him.

"Welcome to Lost Paradise."