AVENIR

Chapter 2: The Man Who Shatters Glass

They tell me my "training" will begin in one month's time. Until then, I'm stuck on high security alert in a cell about the width of a person and the length of two people. I was never good at measurements, but let me tell you, it was a claustrophobic's worst nightmare, saved for only the biggest delinquents in our society. People like me.

Here's the thing about being stuck in a cell with no windows and one bulletproof door for an entire month...with two small portions of food a day and only a book to keep you company. You get to know that one book inside and out. For a book I'd read several times over, this meant memorization. I began memorizing descriptions of students, dialogue, and the speeches...I knew every line of Enjolras's last monologue by the time day 31 rolled around. My last night in this dungeon before I would be dragged forth (literally) to a place much worse.

I was tossing and turning on the cold stone floor, trying desperately to get some sleep. It was deathly quiet, but I knew there was no chance of escape – there were four guards outside my cell. If I talked to them, I was previously warned, I would be shot. Even if I could get past the guards, mine was the only cell in that part of the hallway. There was no getting out of this; I was too isolated. Tossing, turning, awaiting my fate as the hours passed...then, out of the darkness, there was an enormous CRASH. The sound of glass breaking reverberated throughout the entire compound. Flashlights shone in on my cell, weapons pointed. I shot my hands up, awaiting the worst, until the announcement came over the facility's loudspeakers, thundering in everyone's ears. One of those soothing voices – like the ones you hear in the movies – was calmly stating that there was apparently a "Breach of Code #387. This is not a drill. All officers, please report to the ground floor immediately. Side panel windowpane, shattered."

Someone had broken into the compound! Someone, somehow, had gotten past the bulletproof glass. Whoever it was posed a big enough threat that the guards left me with my hands up...

They...just left me! I bolted to my senses, glancing at my cell door – made of the same bulletproof glass as the rest of the compound. If they can do it, so can I! Rushing to my feet, I slammed my full body weight against the heavy glass. Nothing. Slamming, clawing the smooth surface uselessly, grasping for something, anything to get me out of here. Punching, kicking...my thoughts were racing. What would I do once I escaped? I couldn't go to the ground floor. I'd have to! It was the only way out! What about the criminal? They could be an even bigger threat! No. I'd take my chances running into a criminal before I took my chances at tomorrow's training. Running, slamming into the side of the glass again and again. Yet my efforts were futile. There was no way out. I stopped, panting, and listening. I heard gunshots coming from far below me. I grabbed my book and held it close to me for strength. It was warm. "Wha-?" I whispered, staring down at Cosette's haunting face on the cover, wondering, when suddenly I heard the sound of heavy boots running toward the cell.

I shot my hands back up in surrender, staring as a tall, dark figure loomed behind the glass, no more than a few feet in front of me. The figure appeared to be about 6 feet, and although their face was covered in shadow, I could tell they weren't from around here. They quickly shot out a gloved hand, pressing it against the glass. Staring, I watched as the glass melted, cracking and coming crashing to the ground. The shadow then beckoned me forward. "Quickly, Avenir. Let's get you out of here." The low, male voice sounded like charcoal, or a fire roaring. It seemed he was telling me to run. In a stupor, I lurched forward, grabbing his outstretched gloved hand. It was surprisingly cold. He raced down the hallway to the nearest window, and placed his other hand upon it. The window instantly shattered. We stepped out onto a thin ledge, about the width of my foot. The voice behind me growled, "Climb!" and I obliged, quickly climbing down toward the ground, finding footholds in the stones. I was scaling the building as if I had done it countless times before. Scaling five stories, I heard yells and gunshots from both above and below. A bullet whizzed past my ear. I heard the voice of my rescuer yell, "To the horse!" Jumping to the ground, I ran for my life, towards a black stallion chained to a gate two hundred yards away. It seemed to glow in the dark, its eyes ablaze, hoofs rearing into the air. Whispering "shhhh..." I clambered onto its back and it immediately was soothed. My savior was close behind, jumping on right behind me and snapping the reins. "Yah!" he shouted, and the stallion bolted, breaking its chain and heading for the solid wall of iron surrounding our compound. Toward a solid iron wall. "We are going to DIE!" I hollered. There was no reply from behind. Faster, faster, faster...I squeezed my eyes shut tight and screamed. Nothing came.

I quickly opened my eyes and saw that we had made it to the field outside of the facility. I paled. What had just happened? No horse could jump three stories high, and the walls were made of solid iron! There was no more time to think about it at the moment...soldiers were now coming at us from all sides, on land in tanks and by air in their army pods. There would be no escape. No horse could outrun government equipment! "Where are we going?" I yelled, teeth chattering, unable to look back at the face of my mysterious savior. "Forward, to the border!" he yelled back. "The BORDER?" I retorted, bewildered. He actually meant it – the border between our society and The Lands Beyond, the border between the only life I'd ever known and the unknown. But there we were, racing east, outrunning the guards on a stallion the color of midnight. Past the city lights, past busy traffic, people staring at us with open mouths...and then, there it was. A foggy shimmer of gold – the stinging electric boundary between here and there, now and then.

The border.

Those who tried to pass it were instantly killed by the intense electric current, but that didn't seem to bother my savior. We charged onward, through the boundary...with no stinging at all. We were alive. And yet we still kept going, the stallion's pace never slowing.

It was like something out of a fairytale. Trees flew past, and then mountains! Rivers! We were sailing through towns, over and down steep hills! It felt as if we were flying! I accepted the fact that I was dreaming as we flew along, past pastures and farmlands and fields of flowers...and then we stopped. I collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. The first thing that hit me was that there were no guards in sight. They couldn't pass the boundary. I was free. I certainly hoped I wasn't dreaming now! Collapsing into the grass, my second coherent thought was, "My book!" I had left Les Misérables back at the compound. But then I felt a gloved hand on my shoulder. "Is this what you were looking for?" asked the brittle voice, the voice of my savior. I stared at his other outstretched hand.

And there it was. Cosette's wan face stared out at me from its cover. Refusing to touch it, I slowly looked up into the eyes of my rescuer.

Here's the thing about being stuck in a cell with no windows and one bulletproof door for an entire month...with two small portions of food a day and only a book to keep you company. You get to know that one book inside and out. I had memorized Hugo's descriptions...of people, of faces, and of voices.

And this person, with his face of granite and voice of charcoal, perfectly matched the description.

I gazed in absolute wonder into the eyes of Inspector Javert.