The Differents | ✓

S E V E N

My subconscious reaction to the decision I had made was almost immediate. It was if a weight had lifted off my shoulders and I could finally see clearly. I had settled into my bed, going through the absurdity of the choice I had just made. I had absolutely no idea how I was going to do it, but the more I thought about it, the stronger my resolve was to get out. I wanted to discover what the glint on the horizon was, but more importantly, I wanted to discover the world. I had never been outside of the Barrier and didn't even know what was on the other side of it, but I knew that there must be something. Why bother even having a Barrier if there wasn't anything to keep away?

That realization hit me with such force I sat up in bed. Why hadn't I ever thought of that before? There's no point having a Barrier if there's nothing that needs keeping out. People don't just put up a fence for the sake of putting one up. Suddenly, with that in mind, I realized something; something, very exciting.

What if there were others?

From that day onward, I started planning. If I was going to pull it off, I needed a better plan, one that wouldn't fail like the one at the Barrier did. It was risky enough even contemplating it, balancing my life precariously in the process, but I was willing to do it. To this day, I'm still not entirely sure what made me decide so suddenly on doing it, but I had my mind set and I was not veering off that course.

I started by doing little things, taking an extra couple of minutes each training class to stay behind, practicing my running and climbing, or discussing weaponry with the arms Instructor. I started eating less, taking a box to the dining hall with me and tucking away little bits of food here and there when no one was noticing. Not that anyone cared to notice anyway -- as soon as my ex-teammates and I were out of confinement, we went back to ignoring each other. Even Sniper and Bear weren't speaking. I really started paying attention during the lessons, taking detailed notes in my notebook, and would often see the Instructors after class, asking them about the vegetation around the Core, and other small things I thought might help when it was time. Although I still had no idea when I was to make my escape, my plan was slowly coming together.

One morning, I was up early, using the field outside the Core to test my endurance, when I saw someone walking down the path leading through the field. I wasn't close enough to see who they were, but after a few moments, they stopped and turned in my direction. I nodded curtly at them and continued to run back and forth, touching the lines painted onto the dirt, a few metres apart. When I looked up again, they were still there, leaning against one of the trees, staring at me. A chill ran down my spine -- I didn't like being watched. I pushed my hair out of my face and took a break, grabbing my flask of water from the bleachers nearby and sitting down.

My breaths came in puffs of white against the chilled morning air, the sun barely risen from underneath the earth. I watched the winter sky, seeing the birds fly through it, squawking noisily at each other as they went. My thoughts strayed to my plan to escape, almost finished but for the way out. After several weeks, I still hadn't the faintest idea of how I was actually going to escape, and distracted myself by training as hard as I could. My Instructors had definitely noticed my sudden boost of participance in their courses, but took it as a student wanting to improve her marks. I had had a few Instructors come up to me, congratulating me on suddenly becoming invested in my learning, but I had shrugged most of them off, telling them it was just a change of heart.

"Mind if I sit?"

I looked up, and to my surprise, Sniper was standing above me, looking questionably at the empty seat to my right. I muttered some surprised acknowledgements and moved over. He sat down with a sigh and leaned back onto the seats behind him, putting his arms behind his head. I shifted uncomfortably. What was he doing here?