The Differents | ✓

N I N E

Sniper dragged his chair closer, the wooden legs scraping over the floor. Glancing over his shoulder, he lowered his voice. "First of all, I don't think this is the best place to be talking, but before we start planning, I want to make sure we're on the same page." He raised his eyebrows, mouthing the word plane.

I smiled. "Exactly what I was thinking. And I know just where we can plan this thing."

Sniper had a bit of a struggle settling himself into a comfortable position on the top of the roof, but eventually managed. He picked his way around the drying puddles and the vents and sat down near the middle, sliding my notebook over to him. "I don't know much about the surveillance planes, but I do know that they send them out without a pilot," he said, starting to draw a detailed version of one of the surveillance planes in a blank page of the notebook. "I took a couple classes in piloting earlier this year, but then one of the planes broke down and they had some sort of technical issue and we had to cancel the rest of the lessons, so I know the basics of flying, and the layout of the plane. I think we'd probably just have to figure out how to get into one without being seen."

I was getting giddy with excitement. We finally had a plan! "So we're completely moving forward with this? Are you sure it will work?"

"To be honest, I'm not. I have no idea if it will work and even if we somehow succeed in getting into a plane, there's no telling if we'll be able to override its programmed course or even figure out how to get to where we're going." He paused, turning to me. "Where are we going anyway?"

I stammered. "I... I don't actually know."

The statement seemingly had no effect on him. He simply smiled and went back to drawing. "I guess it'll be a little bit of an adventure, then, won't it?"

I laughed a little. "I suppose it will be."

"What even made you decide on this, anyway?" he asked, shading in a section of the plane. "I mean, people don't just decide to escape out of the blue."

"I could ask the same for you," I said. "It was actually something I saw up here, one day in confinement. I was up here because I had some free time and I saw this glint way out by what seemed to be the Barrier. And later on that night, I went out there and tried to see if I could find out what it was, but I didn't find anything. On my way back, I actually met a Mask who for some reason encouraged me to get out. Something seemed weird about him. I don't think he's like the rest of them."

"That's not good," Sniper said. "Well, for the Masks, anyway. For us it just gives the brave ones an incentive," he added.

"On second thought, the glint was probably the reflection of a tower or the gun of a Mask or something," I mused. "But it was just the starting point."

"And now look where you are; planning an escape by hijacking a plane with the friend you've barely known for a year," Sniper laughed. "We're friends, right? I can call you that?"

"Of course. Now what have you done to my notebook?" I craned my neck to see the drawing he'd done. "Wow, that's beautiful! I didn't know you were an artist."

"One of my Differences, I suppose." He shrugged, brushing it off. "Do you know anything about the surrounding area? I think we should probably have some sort of map before embarking on this wild goose chase to nowhere."

"All I know is what they told us. I have no idea what's beyond the Barrier."

"Me neither. I guess there might be some history books in the library, though. It wouldn't hurt to check it out."

Closing the last of the books in the pile with a huff, a cloud of dust billowed into my face, making me cough. Sniper laughed as I started sneezing and brushing the dust out of my hair.