The television mutters in a broken hum, its voice drained, as if it's forgetting how to speak. The sound presses against my skull in dull waves, not sharp enough to pierce, but heavy enough to make my teeth ache. It's not noise anymore, just a flat vibration, a hollow buzz that gnaws at the silence like something half-dead.
The walls around me bleed red, paint peeling in strips of where wrappers cling and tear, their edges curling like old scabs. The only light comes from the screen, pale and sickly, spilling across the room in an uneven pulse. Shadows stretch long and wrong, swallowing everything except the head that pops from the couch, stiff and turned towards the TV.
I shifted, but the air is cold, and my body aches with a dull, spreading numbness. Dizzy, I feel the sound of the television seep into me, draining warmth, draining through, until it's not just the room that's going numb— it's me.
Her name cut through the dark. The TV's hum was gone, the red walls vanished. I blinked hard, my heartbeat going fast.
"Romie? Romie? Walk up. We have to go. C'mon." Zack leaning close, his hand brushed my shoulder, guiding me upright. The dizziness clung to me, but the world was different now. In my left ear, I could still hear the static echo.
I got up and fixed my hair and headed outside with the others waiting. Zack brushed past me, giving me a warm smile before taking the front line position. Andrew to the right side, munching on a sandwich while Victor carried their backpack. Anny in the middle, hopping on the small rocks as she sings a nursery rhyme.
"One, two, three, four, five
Once I caught a fish alive."
she hopped on the other stone.
"Six, seven, eight, nine, ten
Then I let it go again."
hop
"Because it bit my fingers.
Which finger did it bite?
This little finger on my right."
She pointed her finger. I watched her silently at the back, keeping my distance from them. "How childish" I muttered to myself. How old is she? Six?
- - -
We stopped at a lake, taking a short break from walking. I wanted to talk to Zack, but he was always busy with Andrew, talking, pointing at their map. I sat near a log, waiting for them to start walking again.
Zack flipped the paper : "See that mountain Andrew? That's the one we need to climb. The guy should be there, waiting for us." Andrew looked up, squinting his eyes,
— I think his name was Hashur.
— 'Hashur'? It sounds foreign, have I met him before?
Andrew spread his legs and messaged them slowly, "Nah, none of us met him. Only kim"
"Who's Kim?" Anny throws herself in their conversation.
— Kim… uhm, he's kinda like our leader.
Anny looked at them, waiting for an answer. Zack looked down at her and back to Victor who was standing beside a tree. "It's an organisation, our organisation in
— No, no it's— cool. I mean, charity! You guys are truly heros.
Andrew glanced at Anny, "Do you even know what a charity is?" Taken by surprise, she coldly replied, "Of course! I know what a charity is! I love charity! Our palace did it during the new year." Andrew got up and put on his shoes.
— I wanna join it!
— You wanna join our club?
Anny pouted, "Yes. I wanna join the club."
Andrew let out a small chuckle before accepting her request. Meanwhile, Zack was trying to remove any trace of their presence as Victor watched him, not saying a word.
What is that man's deal, honestly. I should've killed him while he was tied around my string. What a mistake, I bit my lips.
- - -
By noon, we reached the top of the mountain.
The summit was swallowed in shadow. A ring of dark, towering trees encircled the mountaintop, their branches knitting together so tightly that no light pierced through. The air was damp, heavy.
At the center of this eerie clearing sat a man in a camping chair, smoke curling lazily from the cigar between his lips. He looked utterly out of place. Just what the hell is he actually smoking? He looked almost theatrical. As we approached, he rose with deliberate ease, brushing the ash from his jacket patterned with leaves and flowers. His shorts, sandals, and mirrored sunglasses. Why the hell is he wearing SUNGLASSES? There's barely any light hitting the top. He looked like someone who had wandered in from a beach.
"Welcome!" He said, opening his arms large. "Kim's companions, am I right?"
The group exchanged glances. It was Andrew who stepped forward, hesitant at first. "Yeah…uhh..Hashur, isn't it? Nice to meet you."
They clasped hands, Hashur smiling through his cigar as the smoke drifted to Andrew's face. He quickly backed away. "So, how does this work?"
Hashur observed the rest of the group. He checked all of us one by one. Even though we can't see through his sunglasses, his movement indicates it. "Two children…" He pointed at Anny and me.
Hashur placed his hands on his hips, thought for a few seconds then declared,
— With kids, it might be difficult if they make any noise or mess up the steps, not only are we getting spotted by the guards but we'll get blown away instantly. So make sure you guys get that under control.
I decided to step in alongside Andrew. It was difficult to cross but I had another plan in mind.
In the original time line, we didn't cross the wall, instead I got purposely sent to jail for illegally crossing the main gate. It was with Victor's help that they didn't execute me on the spot.
However, things aren't the same, the pace is much faster. I still have no idea if this is all messed up because I woke up 2 months late and now, it's moving fast to catch up with the original period.. I cleared my head. Hashur knows it. Hashur knows it's impossible not to get caught at least once when we're 6 crossing the wall. The only thing that both of us know is that there's no safe spot from the bombs. One of us will trigger it and we'll explode.
Hashur cleared his throat and headed inside his tent to grab his instruments.
Andrew glanced at me. Unlike him I wasn't sweating nor was I trembling. I placed my arm on his shoulder : "Andrew, will you trust me if I tell you not to use your skills until I command you? Even if we're in the worst condition?" Andrew took a few steps back, his eyebrows drew closer. "Zack. Have you traveled this path before?"
He gently shoved my arm away.
— Nope, only Kim did. The only thing I know is his experience that he told me a long time ago. Although Kim was traveling with a few people, he only made it out.
Andrew slowly backed away, not breaking eye contact.
— Are you scared Andrew?
"How could I not be?" He shouted at me. His scream caught everyone's attention.
As chill and relaxed Andrew looked, he was never the type of guy who could handle high pressure situations. So I had no choice but to lie to him. He has great assists and I need them but his weak mentally can be bothersome sometimes.
Hashur came out from his tent. He carried a jacket alongside a bag.
— Is everything alright?
I turned towards Hashur and reassured him. Hashur didn't seem to buy it but he had no choice but to continue. "Alright, let's go over a few rules."
— Make sure the kids don't mess up anything, always be on guard, always watch your steps and only step on the ground I tell you. One inch off and we're all dead, understand?
Hashur pointed at Andrew, "You! You're the tallest in the group, You're gonna be useful. I want you to be by my right side." Hashur continued, "The bombs aren't the only problem when it comes to crossing the wall. Since we'll go through a crack, the mountain on the other side is deserted with a few military camps. If we run face to face with a soldier, we kill him quickly without warning the others. And lastly, the most important. In case of ANYTHING, we run. It doesn't matter where or with who. Once we cross over the mines and bomb and land is safe to freely run."
I watched silently as Hashur explained the rules. Those rules held no real value because everything was a set up.