The Wall

Prologue

Looking back, I recalled how quickly the water had been stained crimson. The lake lapped gently on the banks that were stained red with the blood of the dead men. The frosty air bit at my unprotected face, the smell of rotting flesh making me want to gag. I was huddled in a small ball, legs drawn up to my chest, sitting amidst the ravaged bodies. They had come so quickly, and were gone like ice in a fire. I shivered as a stiff wind blew through my thin layers of clothing. The coals of the dying fire were long since cold, the blackened ash all that remained of a once brightly lit fire. The sun was hidden behind layers of dark clouds, but it had been last night when they had come. In truth, no one had seen one and lived. It had been too dark for me to see anything other than lifeless bodies slumping to the ground. The fire was supposed to protect us. The warmth was supposed to keep them away. That's what we got for listening to the alley rat. He had grinned a lopsided grin, tilted his head, and downright giggled at us.
"The fire shall keep the things away," he sang. "There's your information, now I'd like to be paid!" He cocked his head and raised his shoulders. Grudgingly, he was given a coin, which he tucked into a pouch and swept his ragged cap off his head in a solute. "Toodle-loo Toodle-loo!" and then quieter, with no one to hear, "It was nice knowing you!" I watched as flies buzzed around the still forms. There were about a hundred dead men lying around me at this freezing lake, but I hadn't been touched by them. For how long I sat huddled by the lake I never knew. It could've been hours. Days. Hell, I don't think I ever left.
But then, whenever it was, I heard shouts. At first they were faint, something I could only hear when the wind dropped. It sounded like a group of people, but I didn't know. I didn't move. Just sat still and quiet, strangely calm. The lake was surrounded by a dense forest of trees on one side and, in the distance, a towering mountain on the other. We were going to try to get through the mountains, and get out. To the other side. Away from the restricting control of the power-hungry government and to the fabled freedom that lay behind the massive mountain. The government wasn't worried about people sneaking out, who could be mad enough to try and travel outside the limits alone? I heard the shouts again. If I had turned my gaze slightly to the left, I would've seen a group of men clambering over a ridge and running towards me. As it was, I was jolted when one grabbed my shoulder and spun me around. He gripped both my shoulders and yanked the muffler from his face.
"What happened?!" he demanded. I stared up at him mutely. He shook me briefly, then again, "What happened?!" I met him with a blank stare. His words rung around in my head after so many hours of roaring silence. The other men were rolling the others onto their backs, trying to find some form of life. The man kneeling by me barked something, and another shook his head. Then there was a shout from those checking the ones closest to the lake. The man turned back to me. "Stay here," he commanded. I stared after him as he ran to the crowd surrounding someone. Had someone survived? Disconnected thoughts buzzed in my head as I rose to my feet unsteadily and staggered to them. I passed through the tall men easily with my skinny form and gazed down at the ravaged form of Charles Park. He had mussed my russet brown hair and let me ride on his back when my small legs grew tired during the long journey. His hair was matted with the dark blood, almost black, that seeped through the wound that almost tore him in half. His eyelids were fluttering, raspy breaths escaping into the frigid air.
"It's ok son," one said in a gruff but soft voice. He gasped and his eyes opened, one sky blue, the other pure black. There were muttered curses and muffled gasps from the surrounding men.
"Canis," he whispered. "The Canis...." A bubble of blood welled at the corner of his mouth as he weakly coughed. "I'll see you all in hell..." and he gasped once more, and a single black tear ran down his pale cheek. A maniacal laugh tore itself from my throat and I collapsed on the freezing ground.
"Charles," I choked, laughing until tears streaked my cheeks as well. "Charles, your eyes don't match...you look so silly...." A sob was mingled in with the fits of laughter. The sun peeked out from behind a cloud as it sank, dying the sky with the deep red of blood.