The next morning was a very important morning for the town, especially for it’s ruler Adamson. This was one of the few days during the year when skilled construction workers go on ropes to repair any cracks and holes on the inside of the wall.

“Sir, I know our workers take good care of the inside of the wall, but whom is it that cares for the outside?” Adamson’s young right hand assistant, George Tillman asked.

“Don’t you worry about that Tillman, no one in this town has to worry about the outside,” Adamson said sternly, fixing gears on his bionic leg.

“Yes, sir,” Tillman said obeying his boss.
Adamson and Tillman were on there way to the starting of the construction site, which is near the starting of the town’s running path that goes around the circumference of the wall, and since the following week the town is having their annual marathon, they do not want debris falling from the wall and injuring runners.
They rode their small car there, the power and electricity in this town is very down graded, and is similar to that of the 1920’s.
Once they arrive, they are greeted by the head construction team.

“Hello Adamson, we were thinking about starting at this large crevice here, if that will work for you,” the lead construction worker suggested.

“Yes, that works fine try to work on all of the cracks and holes in a clockwise manner around the wall. It will be more convenient,” Adamson explained. “Tillman here will be following you fine gentlemen from the ground and taking note on all the spots fixed. As for me, I have a meeting to attend today and will not be here until later,” Adamson waved goodbye and started towards the head office building.

At midday, the teams of construction workers had gotten halfway done with the walls, hanging from their carabiners and ropes, with Tillman taking notes from the ground.

“How much longer do you think this will take?” Tillman yelled at the head worker while wiping sweat from his brow.

“Well my boy, probably till dusk if we are lucky. Our teams work at an efficient rate and it makes us able to complete this whole ding dang wall in a day,” the worker explained.

“Okay sir,” Tillman said sitting down on the nearest rock.

Once dusk fell, the workers were wrapping up and Adamson had just returned from his own busy day.
“We counted twenty fixes today, sir,” Tillman said to Adamson.

“Great, have everyone get their things together and close up. Everyone put in a great effort and our wall is safer now for everyone,” Adamson explained.
The construction crews got their tools and items together and went back to base. Tillman and Adamson got back into the car and drove back to the office base, to get ready for the week to come.

Allison and her mom had a day of gardening, it was a family bonding thing they did every few months, but this next day was going to be different.
“Are you ready to go, hon?” Allison’s mom called from the living room.

“Just about, Mom, hold on a second,” Allison replied.
Allison appeared a few minutes later wearing her colorless grey trench coat she had made a few years back. She was holding a bundle of daisies her and her mother had grew in the garden. Today was the day when they were going to go out into the small forest the town has and pay respect to Allison’s brother’s secret grave.
“You picked out lovely flowers, Allison,” Her mom said almost silently.

“Thank you mom, I still remember where he is buried,” Allison promised.

“I’ll let you lead then,” Her mom assured as they were walking out the door.

To get to the forest, they had to pass Jared’s house, and Allison did not want him to know where they were going, or let alone be suspicious. Allison and her mom tried to make themselves look like they were anyone else just walking down the path. Jared was outside, still working on the shed, he was painting it with a hazy red that was going to cover the entire base. Jared turned around just as they began walking past their home.
“Oh, hi Allison! Hi Ms.Seymours!” Jared called.

“H-Hi Jared,” Allison replied, trying to seem casual.

“Where are you two off to?” Jared asked.

“We are going to go for a walk in the woods,” Allison’s mom said.

“Ooh! Could I tag along?” Jared exclaimed.
Allison looked at her mom, asking for help with her eyes.

“Oh sweetheart, maybe another time. Allison and I wanted to go by ourselves for some family bonding,” Her mom explained.

“Oh okay that’s cool, I’ll be here if you want to come over later, Allison!” Jared said forgivingly.

“See you later,” Allison’s voice was full of relief.
Allison and her mom walked away and started towards the forest.

The forest is small, but still quite big to be able to fit in the wall and not take over the whole town. With its glistening trees with broad trunks. Allison and her mom crossed a small river and shortly arrived at her brother’s secret burial ground.

“I hope you like daisies,” Allison whispered as she laid the flowers on the grave. There was a long piece of wood that was not very distinct sticking out of the ground, Allison and her mom remember it from the two thick sticks sticking from the wood. They mourned for about thirty minutes and then began their walk home. Allison was going to check on Jared and spend the afternoon with him like she said.

“Hi Allison! How was the walk?” Jared asked as Allison approached his home.

“It was very peaceful, Jared,” Allison replied. “Do you need any help with anything today?”

Jared scratched his head, wondering if the shed needed any last minute details. “Nope, we have the evening to ourselves I believe,”

“What do you want to do then?” Allison stepped into his home, Richard was cleaning dishes.

“You two can help with chores if you want,” Richard joked.

“How about I show you my recent sketches?” Jared suggested to Allison. She always loves seeing what Jared draws in his brown leather sketchbook.
“Oh yes please!” Allison pleaded. Jared went to his satchel that was propped on the side of the living room couch, that happens to be Jared’s bed and grabbed out his book. He turned to the page that Allison has not seen yet.

“These two are my most recent,” Jared explained as he handed the sketch book to Allison.

“Oh they are so beautiful! I have never seen one of these in real life,” The picture Allison was referring to was a charcoal sketch of an iguana. “I have seen them in library books, so cool,”

“The other one is a sketch of a log in the forest I saw, it was so cool because it had these flowers growing around it,” Jared pointed to the graphite sketch on the other page with his left wrist. For having only one hand, Jared was very artistic.Allison looked at the drawings for a few more minutes, admiring ones she had seen before as well.

“Hey Al, are you going to stay for dinner?” Jared’s Dad asked as he entered the kitchen.

“Oh can I, Mr. Burnsten?” Allison asked. “What will we be having?”

“Chicken, with mashed potatoes,” He replied

“Oh yum!” Allison exclaimed.

Dinner was ready about twenty minutes later. Dinner was prepared by Richard and their mom, Ms. Burnsten. The aroma of the cooked chicken filled the kitchen and living room. Everyone gathered around the kitchen table and was served the food.

Once finished, Allison thanked them all and headed back home, the sun had just set so it was almost dark. Allison hurried back home. When Allison got home, she was greeted by her mother. She could tell her mom had been crying. Allison did not ask about it, she understood. She quietly went to her room to prepare for bedtime. The night was cold and long, Allison laid in her bed, sleepless. Thinking of what things will be and that things already are, sleep fell upon her hours before the sun came up.

Adamson rushed to the desk of his secretary from the fifth floor of the office base. He had to schedule and cancel appointments for the upcoming week due to his own plans. Adamson was a busy man and did not want other people controlling his life. Tillman trailed behind him holding his clipboard of notes about things Adamson has done and things him and Adamson want to remember.
“Tillman, when we get to the secretary’s desk, give her the notes you have takes so she can record them for later reference,” Adamson stated.

“Yes, sir. What appointments do you have this upcoming week?” Tillman asked.

“The usual, Water lines, broken gas pipes, food industry and forest conservation,” Adamson said.
They soon arrived at the secretary’s desk.

“Any appointment changes today, sir?” the middle-aged secretary asked dully.

“Only three, Tuesday’s 3:00 will now be on Monday at 4:30, I have an appointment from 2:40-4:40 on Wednesday I need added, and I want to cancel Thursday’s 5:00,” Adamson demanded.

The secretary’s eyes widened. “Isnt that Thursday meeting really important, it was about the financial crisis, correct?”

“Yes, but I have a private meeting I do not need written down,” Adamson said warily.

“What is this private meeting about? Who is the meeting with?” The secretary sounded interested.

“Oh, um just a personal issue with a friend of mine, it is a bit urgent,” Adamson stared at the ceiling while talking about this subject. ”Just do not write this appointment down.”

“Okay, sir,” the secretary questioned. Before leaving, Tillman handed the papers to the secretary. Adamson and Tillman began their walk back to Adamson’s main office room.

“What is that meeting about, sir?” Tillman asked.

“That is none of your buisness young Tillman,” Adamson said sternly. This meeting was beginning to make Tillman suspicious about Adamson.

Allison hardly slept that night, she felt something was wrong, very wrong. Maybe no one else knew it yet but Allison felt it in her gut. Allison was very groggy, considering she was so tired, she still got up due to the smell of eggs and bacon coming from the kitchen.

“How did you sleep last night, dear?” Allison’s mom asked as Allison came into the kitchen.

“I hardly slept,” Allison groaned. Her mom could tell, she did have bags under her eyes that were strongly defined.

“Don’t worry Allison, breakfast is almost ready!” her mom said cheerfully. Allison walked to the small dining table and sat in a chair. Her mom soon handed her a plate of eggs and crisp bacon. Allison was hungry, and finished it very quickly.

Today was Monday, and Mondays are days when Allison and Jared go out into the woods to draw and bird watch. Once Allison was finished with her breakfast, she grabbed her shoulder bag with pencils and emergency needles and threads in it, and walked to Jared’s house to see if he could come out today for a walk.

“Oh hi Allison, Monday right?” Jared asked when he opened the door.

“Yeah, can you walk today?” Allison asked him.

“Yes but until noon, mom needs help with chores later,” Jared explained.

“Okay, well let’s go!” Allison cheered. Jared got his satchel and they headed toward the forest.

They were at a different part of the forest from where Allison’s brother was buried, this part of the forest had more wildlife and animals to be seen. They walked around for a while, then Jared saw a cool rock formation that almost looked like concrete, but it did not look like it came from the wall, It was much more thin, and it had metal beams sticking from it. They had never seen anything like it.
“Allison, what is this?” Jared asked kneeling down and running right hand down one of the thin beams.

“I have no idea, let’s not mess with it too much,” Allison suggested.

“Well, let me take note on it, for reference. I brought cookies if you want one while I sketch it out,” Jared said.

“Oh okay,” Allison sighed as she was handed one of Jared’s cookies from his bag. Jared was done with the dark graphite sketch within fifteen minutes. He realized it was close to noon so they headed back to his home.

“Jared? Don’t make a big deal about what we saw in the woods. If it was a big deal I do not the community to worry. Or worse, have Adamson question us,” Allison demanded.

“Why would I? I was thinking the same thing as you, the less worry the better,” Jared agreed. Once they were at his home, Allison and Jared said goodbye and Allison went back to her own home. On the way back, she was still wondering where that slab of weird rock had come from, it looked man made, but she had never heard of people being able to fuse metal poles into rock. This concerned her, was there something the ruler was hiding from his community?

Once home, Allison recalled that she had her own chores to attend to. She swept the kitchen and wiped down the countertop. Her room was very dirty, so she cleaned up the floor a bit to make it look a little better. Her mom was reading a book in the living room as she was doing her chores.

The day went by quickly, Allison was finishing up a new project once she was done with her chores. This project was a new hand sewn coat for Jared. Allison loved making clothes for her friends, and with fall on the way it was good to be prepared for the cold ahead. She was close to being done with the coat, she was sewing on the last buttons. Allison was planning on giving it to him next weekend, because it was said that it would get much cooler next weekend.

On Tuesday, Allison and her mom went into town to do some shopping for groceries. They got about four heavy bags, and since Allison and her mother did not own a car, the walk home was exhausting. They unloaded the groceries and then pulled out a jigsaw puzzle to do together. Tuesday was a very quiet day and tomorrow, Allison was planning on visiting her friend, Rory who lives on the other side of the town, Jared wanted to meet him too so he was going to tag along.

“Good Morning,” Allison squawked when she arrived at Jared’s house on Wednesday morning. “We have a long walk ahead of us, we should start now.”

“Okay, okay, I’m coming,” Jared called, and walked out with his satchel. He felt ready for a long walk. “So, is there anything out of the ordinary I should expect from Rory?” he asked as they began walking down the path.

“Only that he gets really affectionate once he gets to know you,” Allison giggled. They passed most of the west residences and were now walking between small shops and retailers. They walked quietly for a while.

“Studying my sketch of that weird slab yesterday, I think I found out what it came from,” Jared said, breaking the silence.

“Where?” Allison sounded interested.

“Outside the wall,” Jared answered. “Have you ever seen that kind of material on structures in our town? Adamson must’ve missed it or something when creating this place.”

“You are probably right,” Allison pondered. “It was very strange.” Chills ran up her spine, thinking that she has seen something that was not from anywhere she knew. They walked for another twenty minutes, then they could see the residencies where Rory lives, but, something was wrong. There was a gate where there usually is an open path, and it did not look accessible.

“Has that gate always been here?” Jared asked. “It looks like it was put up recently. Why would they cut off an entire neighborhood?”

“It hasn’t been here before,” Allison explained. “Maybe we can ask one of the locals to this area.” They looked around to see if they could find anyone on their side of the gate. They spotted one man sitting in a chair by a fruit stand.

“Excuse me, Sir? Why are the homes blocked off? Is there something wrong?” Jared questioned as the approached the man.

“Adamson has been quiet lately, not giving much order. This part of town has more access to what Adamson says to do and new laws, y’know the wealthier always have better access to what rulers are saying. But, they are not trusting old Adamson, say he is losing his mind. I won’t blame them, the man is shady, and now that her is giving less rule and order, it is worrying,” The man explained. “Everyone in that neighborhood is stuck behind the gate stocked with supplies.”

“Wow, is Adamson already starting to lose his mind? I would guess it is from past memories,” Jared stated. “Do you want to go back home, Allison?”

“Well, I might as well tell my mom the news. I will write Rory a letter tonight,” Allison explained. The two thanked the man for the information and they headed back to their part of town.

“Well this was an eventful day,” Jared sighed as they walked up to his porch. He pulled his satchel off with his left arm and with his right, pulled out a drawing. “I was going to give this to you sooner, but I forgot,” Jared explained. It was a beautiful charcoal sketch of a yellow wildflower commonly seen in the forest, Allison adored these little flowers so she was touched that Jared remembered she liked them.

“Oh Jared it is beautiful, thank you so much,” Allison exclaimed. She folded it up and put it in her little hand sewn sack.

“Hope to see you tomorrow,” Jared said.

“We will,” Allison promised. She turned around and started towards her house. The sun had fallen over the wall and the sky was a dark blue as she came to her home. “Hi mom,” Allison called as she entered her house.

“Oh hi dear, how was Rory?” She asked.

“Yeah, Rory… we were not able to see him today. His whole community was blocked off by a huge gate,” Allison explained.

“Really? Why is that? Do you know?” Her mom sounded concerned.

“Adamson is apparently losing it, and that part of town is closer to his news of things so it makes it more unsafe I guess. Everyone in that community is locked in to their neighborhood and is stocked with supplies,” Allison said.

“Oh how terrible! I hope they will be okay, I hope we will all be okay,” Her mom looked worried.

“We will be okay, I think, I am going to write Rory a letter tonight to ask him how he is,” Allison added. She walked into her room and pulled out a pencil and paper. She began writing the letter. It said the following:

Dear Rory,
I heard that you are trapped in your community. Do you have enough food? If not, my mother and I would gladly send your family some. Is Adamson really losing it? When is he going to go off the deep end? If you all need any help or need someone to message, we are here to help. I hope we see each other soon!
         Best Wishes,
                   Allison

Allison put it in an envelope and put it in the closest mailbox outside. She had a laid back evening, talking with her mom and drawing silly doodles. What they didn’t know was what would come the next day.

Adamson had been preparing for tomorrow for a long time, for since today was Wednesday, Adamson had to prepare for Thursday. He did not anyone know what he had been up to that day, people started fearing what would come the next day, especially the neighborhood that Rory lived in. People were huddled in their homes afraid to step forward outside, even though nothing was going on out there currently, completely nothing. Adamson sat in his office chair at his desk with his hands covering his face. He was thinking, thinking of things he should do, things he wants to do. Adamson was losing his mind, and there is no other reason why it hit him so fast other than stress and past memories. He was at the verge of insanity, only few knew, others made it sound worse than it was. Were they really right though? Just as Adamson was about to go into deep thought, there was a knock at his office door.

“Sir, Mr. Adamson, are you doing okay? Everyone is worried,” it was the voice of young Tillman, he was very concerned for his boss.

Adamson snapped out of thought and stared at the door, silently. Unsure if he should get up and open the door or just sit there making him think he was not in there. He stood up, but his bionic leg as off balance, and he fell to the ground. “Tillman, I am down, help me up!” Adamson screamed.

“I-I can’t sir, the door is locked,” Tillman stated.

“There is a key above the door, boy!” He sounded angry.

Tillman saw the key and opened the door. He helped adamson up and tightened loose screws on the leg for him. “Gotta be more careful, sir,” Tillman said.

“Yeah, more careful,” Adamson looked up at the ceiling blankly, for a very long time. Tillman felt uncomfortable with the situation so he stood up and left Adamson alone for the rest of the evening.

Thursday finally arrived. Allison woke up to a silence that she had never heard before. This was dead silence, almost too quiet to be real. She walked into the living room, expecting to be greeted by her mother, but to her surprise her mom was not in the living room, or the kitchen. Allison began to worry so she went and checked her mom’s bed room. She was not there either, but, there was something on her mom’s bed. Allison approached the bed and realized it was a photo, of her brother. She lifted it up and noticed there was writing on the back side of the photo. It was a letter for Allison written by her mom.

Allison,
I was called into town by the authorities. Apparently all peoples over 18 are needed for an urgent emergency. I will hopefully be home before supper. There is banana bread in the kitchen, you can go see Jared too.
        Hugs and Kisses,
                  Mom

Allison was confused, why did her mom write this on the back of one of the only photos they had of her brother? This worried Allison, so she decided to go see Jared. His brother would not be there because he is nineteen, and Jared is sixteen. Allison was almost seventeen and she wished she could’ve gone with her mom.

Allison grabbed her bag, put the photo in it and sliced a piece of banana bread, wrapped it up, and put that in her bag for later. Before heading out the door she stopped and thought about that coat she had been working on for Jared. Should she bring it now in case things take a turn for the worse? She decided to take that along as well. Allison wrapped her knitted scarf around her neck just in case it was a bit chilly. She headed out the door.

Jared was on the front porch when she got to his house. “Hi Jared, how are you holding up?” Allison asked.

“I’m worried for my brother,” He explained. “Apparently they were not called by adamson but the authorities, there is a rumor going around that Adamson has disappeared. So, they are gathering up all of the ‘mature’ individuals in case things get ugly and we need to fight back.”

“Fight back?’’ Allison sounded worried. “Against who?”

“People that have no humanity in this town,” Jared said.

“Oh, well how about we go inside?” Allison stated. “And I brought you a little something.” She handed him the coat.

“Oh my gosh thank you Allison! Did you make this?” Jared sounded a lot happier at this moment.

“Yes I did, it took me awhile,” Allison giggled as they walked inside.

“I am glad to see you so happy today,” Jared said. “I am worried sick about our town.”

“I am too, but I think that our town can make it, without a ruler,” Allison reassured. They sat in the living room and Jared put on his new jacket. The smell a smoke was faint but was still able to be noticed. “Smoke? Do you think that the gathered citizens are making that?” Allison asked.

“Possibly, heaven knows why,” Jared responded. They sat there quietly for a long time. All of a sudden, a loud boom was heard not far from Jared’s home. Jared stood up he tried grabbing a hold of something due to the shock, but was not able to with his left hand because it is missing. “What was that?” He yelled.

Allison heard it too “Should we go out to look? Or would our parents want us to stay indoors?”

“Oh I hope my family is okay,” Jared whined. “That no good Adamson just had to leave thousands of people to fend for themselves, does he have humanity?” he walked over to a kitchen stool, sat down and held onto his empty left wrist with his right hand, this was a comforting thing Jared has done since he was a younger child.

Allison was worried for her mom, she pulled out the photo of her brother her mom had left for her and looked at it for a moment, not thinking that Jared was even there.

“What is that?” Jared asked.

Allison’s heart jumped, she had zoned out and forgot that he was there. “Oh, n-nothing,” Allison quickly shoved the photo back into her bag.

“Was that a photo of someone, looked like there was writing on the back of it,” Jared was curious.

“Oh, yeah, it is a letter my mom left for me today. Personal stuff, do you understand?” Allison said.

“Oh yeah, sure, I guess,” Jared wanted to know who was on the photo. The figure of a young boy did not look familiar to him, then again he only saw it for a split second.

Allison sighed, and slouched back on the couch. “Will anything ever go back to how it was?”

“It is always light at the end of a tunnel, so you tell me,” Jared replied. Allison just looked down at her pants, still hoping Jared was not suspicious about her photo. “Oh, I know!” Jared stood up and went to a kitchen cabinet, seconds later he pulled out a half eaten apple pie, Jared knew that this was Allison’s favorite.

Allison sat up. “Apple pie?” She walked towards Jared and he handed her a plate, she sliced apiece and devoured it. “Well that made me feel a little better, luckily you guys had that,” Allison tried to smile.

“And I thought you were happier today,” Jared said.

“Well, I guess it is hard to be happy with the situation that the town is in,” Allison sighed. In the distance they could hear the constant screams and yells of people, they could not make out the words but they sounded like shouts of anger. Allison walked back to the couch and sat down, she pulled a couple patches of fabric from her bag, along with some thread and a needle. She was working on a pair of gloves. Allison was always working on some sort of sewing project.

Jared put away some of the dishes and then sat down next to Allison with his sketchbook. “Hobbies help the time pass,” He said. Allison gave him a quick smile, keeping her eyes on the project.

They had been in Jared’s house for about six hours when they finally heard a knock at the door. Allison jumped due to it breaking silence and Jared went up to answer it, hoping it as his mom or dad. To his surprise, it was his brother, Richard. “How are they? What are they doing?” Jared asked his brother.

“We are rallying, whatever that means, all it has been all day is a bunch of yelling. This place it turning into an anarchy.” Richard huffed.

“So, why are you here?” Allison asked.

“I was able to escape, I don’t want to go through with this stuff, I would much rather be here with you two,” Richard sat down in the living room armchair and gave out a sigh. “What a day.”

“Do you mind, if they don’t come home soon, if I could spend the night?” Allison asked Richard.

“Of course, we could use the company,” He re assured.

A knock was heard at the door once again, this one was much louder and firm. Who could want to enter so badly?

“Is a young man by the name of Richard here?” A low unfamiliar voice called.

“He is here,” Richard said shakily. The door swung open and one of the new town soldiers appeared in the doorway.

“You were reported missing, you are not allowed to leave without permission, you are part of this town not by god boy show respect!” His voice boomed through the house.

“But I-,” Richard was cut short, the man grabbed him by his shirt collar and in a heartbeat, they were gone and the door slammed shut. Jared and Allison were staring at the door for quite a long time in complete shock.

“I-I think Richard will be okay,” Jared reassured himself. The sun was beginning so set already, and the yells of troops was heard in the distance. Jared thought that he should prepare some leftovers if the adults would not be home soon. He pulled out some turkey from a couple nights ago and made two plates for him and Allison. Allison walked over and sat at the dining table.

“Thank you, Jared,” She said as he handed her the plate of food. They ate silently listening to the non stop sounds of men and women. Allison was wondering what civilians were thinking that were pulled from their daily routine just to help with whatever they were doing. They all must be miserable and worried about their children. Once dinner was done, Jared cleaned up the plates and the two of them went back to the living room. Jared pulled out a deck of cards.

“Wanna play go fish?” Jared asked Allison.

“Why not,” She replied dully.

They played a couple rounds before Allison was beginning to get sleepy. Jared could tell she was tired. “Do you want to sleep on my couch?” He asked.

“Only if you don’t mind,” She replied. Jared got up and pulled out extra sheets from a cabinet in the side of the wall and laid them over the couch. Allison stood up and sat on the couch now with the fresh clean sheets neatly tucked into the sides. “Where will you sleep?” Allison asked.

“In my parents’ bed, they will probably not be home till late,” he explained. Jared went to his parents’ room and got ready to sleep. Allison laid on the couch, slowly drifting away into sleep while hearing the faint yell of men in the distance. She knew she would not get much sleep tonight, but she thought she should try. Who knows what the next days would bring upon her and Jared? It was for the best that they have as much energy as possible for tomorrow. Allison’s eyes soon closed for the night and she was asleep.

Thursday finally arrived. Allison woke up to a silence that she had never heard before. This was dead silence, almost too quiet to be real. She walked into the living room, expecting to be greeted by her mother, but to her surprise her mom was not in the living room, or the kitchen. Allison began to worry so she went and checked her mom’s bed room. She was not there either, but, there was something on her mom’s bed. Allison approached the bed and realized it was a photo, of her brother. She lifted it up and noticed there was writing on the back side of the photo. It was a letter for Allison written by her mom.

Allison,
I was called into town by the authorities. Apparently all peoples over 18 are needed for an urgent emergency. I will hopefully be home before supper. There is banana bread in the kitchen, you can go see Jared too.
        Hugs and Kisses,
                  Mom

Allison was confused, why did her mom write this on the back of one of the only photos they had of her brother? This worried Allison, so she decided to go see Jared. His brother would not be there because he is nineteen, and Jared is sixteen. Allison was almost seventeen and she wished she could’ve gone with her mom.

Allison grabbed her bag, put the photo in it and sliced a piece of banana bread, wrapped it up, and put that in her bag for later. Before heading out the door she stopped and thought about that coat she had been working on for Jared. Should she bring it now in case things take a turn for the worse? She decided to take that along as well. Allison wrapped her knitted scarf around her neck just in case it was a bit chilly. She headed out the door.

Jared was on the front porch when she got to his house. “Hi Jared, how are you holding up?” Allison asked.

“I’m worried for my brother,” He explained. “Apparently they were not called by adamson but the authorities, there is a rumor going around that Adamson has disappeared. So, they are gathering up all of the ‘mature’ individuals in case things get ugly and we need to fight back.”

“Fight back?’’ Allison sounded worried. “Against who?”

“People that have no humanity in this town,” Jared said.

“Oh, well how about we go inside?” Allison stated. “And I brought you a little something.” She handed him the coat.

“Oh my gosh thank you Allison! Did you make this?” Jared sounded a lot happier at this moment.

“Yes I did, it took me awhile,” Allison giggled as they walked inside.

“I am glad to see you so happy today,” Jared said. “I am worried sick about our town.”

“I am too, but I think that our town can make it, without a ruler,” Allison reassured. They sat in the living room and Jared put on his new jacket. The smell a smoke was faint but was still able to be noticed. “Smoke? Do you think that the gathered citizens are making that?” Allison asked.

“Possibly, heaven knows why,” Jared responded. They sat there quietly for a long time. All of a sudden, a loud boom was heard not far from Jared’s home. Jared stood up he tried grabbing a hold of something due to the shock, but was not able to with his left hand because it is missing. “What was that?” He yelled.

Allison heard it too “Should we go out to look? Or would our parents want us to stay indoors?”

“Oh I hope my family is okay,” Jared whined. “That no good Adamson just had to leave thousands of people to fend for themselves, does he have humanity?” he walked over to a kitchen stool, sat down and held onto his empty left wrist with his right hand, this was a comforting thing Jared has done since he was a younger child.

Allison was worried for her mom, she pulled out the photo of her brother her mom had left for her and looked at it for a moment, not thinking that Jared was even there.

“What is that?” Jared asked.

Allison’s heart jumped, she had zoned out and forgot that he was there. “Oh, n-nothing,” Allison quickly shoved the photo back into her bag.

“Was that a photo of someone, looked like there was writing on the back of it,” Jared was curious.

“Oh, yeah, it is a letter my mom left for me today. Personal stuff, do you understand?” Allison said.

“Oh yeah, sure, I guess,” Jared wanted to know who was on the photo. The figure of a young boy did not look familiar to him, then again he only saw it for a split second.

Allison sighed, and slouched back on the couch. “Will anything ever go back to how it was?”

“It is always light at the end of a tunnel, so you tell me,” Jared replied. Allison just looked down at her pants, still hoping Jared was not suspicious about her photo. “Oh, I know!” Jared stood up and went to a kitchen cabinet, seconds later he pulled out a half eaten apple pie, Jared knew that this was Allison’s favorite.

Allison sat up. “Apple pie?” She walked towards Jared and he handed her a plate, she sliced apiece and devoured it. “Well that made me feel a little better, luckily you guys had that,” Allison tried to smile.

“And I thought you were happier today,” Jared said.

“Well, I guess it is hard to be happy with the situation that the town is in,” Allison sighed. In the distance they could hear the constant screams and yells of people, they could not make out the words but they sounded like shouts of anger. Allison walked back to the couch and sat down, she pulled a couple patches of fabric from her bag, along with some thread and a needle. She was working on a pair of gloves. Allison was always working on some sort of sewing project.

Jared put away some of the dishes and then sat down next to Allison with his sketchbook. “Hobbies help the time pass,” He said. Allison gave him a quick smile, keeping her eyes on the project.

They had been in Jared’s house for about six hours when they finally heard a knock at the door. Allison jumped due to it breaking silence and Jared went up to answer it, hoping it as his mom or dad. To his surprise, it was his brother, Richard. “How are they? What are they doing?” Jared asked his brother.

“We are rallying, whatever that means, all it has been all day is a bunch of yelling. This place it turning into an anarchy.” Richard huffed.

“So, why are you here?” Allison asked.

“I was able to escape, I don’t want to go through with this stuff, I would much rather be here with you two,” Richard sat down in the living room armchair and gave out a sigh. “What a day.”

“Do you mind, if they don’t come home soon, if I could spend the night?” Allison asked Richard.

“Of course, we could use the company,” He re assured.

A knock was heard at the door once again, this one was much louder and firm. Who could want to enter so badly?

“Is a young man by the name of Richard here?” A low unfamiliar voice called.

“He is here,” Richard said shakily. The door swung open and one of the new town soldiers appeared in the doorway.

“You were reported missing, you are not allowed to leave without permission, you are part of this town not by god boy show respect!” His voice boomed through the house.

“But I-,” Richard was cut short, the man grabbed him by his shirt collar and in a heartbeat, they were gone and the door slammed shut. Jared and Allison were staring at the door for quite a long time in complete shock.

“I-I think Richard will be okay,” Jared reassured himself. The sun was beginning so set already, and the yells of troops was heard in the distance. Jared thought that he should prepare some leftovers if the adults would not be home soon. He pulled out some turkey from a couple nights ago and made two plates for him and Allison. Allison walked over and sat at the dining table.

“Thank you, Jared,” She said as he handed her the plate of food. They ate silently listening to the non stop sounds of men and women. Allison was wondering what civilians were thinking that were pulled from their daily routine just to help with whatever they were doing. They all must be miserable and worried about their children. Once dinner was done, Jared cleaned up the plates and the two of them went back to the living room. Jared pulled out a deck of cards.

“Wanna play go fish?” Jared asked Allison.

“Why not,” She replied dully.

They played a couple rounds before Allison was beginning to get sleepy. Jared could tell she was tired. “Do you want to sleep on my couch?” He asked.

“Only if you don’t mind,” She replied. Jared got up and pulled out extra sheets from a cabinet in the side of the wall and laid them over the couch. Allison stood up and sat on the couch now with the fresh clean sheets neatly tucked into the sides. “Where will you sleep?” Allison asked.

“In my parents’ bed, they will probably not be home till late,” he explained. Jared went to his parents’ room and got ready to sleep. Allison laid on the couch, slowly drifting away into sleep while hearing the faint yell of men in the distance. She knew she would not get much sleep tonight, but she thought she should try. Who knows what the next days would bring upon her and Jared? It was for the best that they have as much energy as possible for tomorrow. Allison’s eyes soon closed for the night and she was asleep.

It was an advanced society. Largely more advanced than the town Allison had lived in. Allison knew of cars, but these cars that she saw were very sleek and had loud motors that rumbled. Lights everywhere, and buildings thousands of times taller than the main office building that was destroyed. People were wearing clothes with shiny gem like things and sleek coats and tuxedos. Was this what everyone was missing out on? People from this society began noticing them, looking at them like they were from another time. Soon larger vans pulled out and a lady with curly blond hair wearing high heels walked out of one of them. She had a device in her hand that she was talking into while staring at a larger contraption that a man was holding towards the lady's face. Allison could hear what she was saying.

“A large crowd of people have appeared in our city, they seemed to have came from that large wall that Robert Adamson had put up years ago. As we all know Adamson has taken refuge in the gold leaf hotel where he has told us that he is going to live out his days doing nothing involving the town he left to fend for itself. I am here to see if these people even speak our language, let us see if I can communicate with one of them,” the woman noticed that Allison was the closest one towards her and she walked towards Allison. “Young lady, what was life like in the wall?” She asked Allison. The man with the weird contraption was now pointed towards her and the lady put the device close to Allison’s mouth.

“Oh, um, I have always had a pleasant life. I always thought that Adamson was a nice man, until a few days ago. I can speak for everyone when I ask, what is this place called?” Allison asked. The lady smiled at Allison like she was a dumb puppy. She pulled the device away from Allison as she was about to speak.

“Why this is our fair city of Abbonsana! You folks have never seen things like this hm?” She asked Allison while waving her hand in the air, referring to the whole town.

“Uh, no ma'am,” Allison said. She looked up, still astounded at the large buildings. Allison looked at the lady then asked her a question. “Where is this gold leaf hotel?”

“Down this street, take a left,” She replied. The lady was about to say something else, but Allison stopped her, she was gone in a flash. Heading towards the hotel. The way down she saw cars and things she still questioned, even feared. Once she took a left, he saw a very large building that was labeled ‘Gold Leaf’. Allison pushed on the huge glass doors and they slowly opened. She saw a man at a desk. Allison approached him.

“Where is Adamson?” She asked slamming her hands on the desk.

“Oh, the crazy man?” The man laughed. “Floor 7 room 26.” Allison saw a door that frequently was opening and closing, it seemed to do it by itself. People would go in and out, she walked towards it, a light was blinking by it. Soon, the metal doors slid open. A group of people bustled out and then there was one man left in it, he wore a uniform and seemed to work at the hotel. Allison stepped in and the man smiled at her and asked her a question.

“What floor?” He asked.

“Oh um, 7?” Allison requested.The man pushed a button with the number 7 labeled by it. The button lit up, and the small room felt that it began to move. A strange feeling of going up and soon the doors opened again and they were on a new floor! This astounded Allison. But, there was no time for admiring, she thanked the man and ran out. She looked for the room labeled 26. She ran down a thin hall and soon, she found it. Room 26. Allison knocked loudly. “Adamson, I know you are in there! I need to talk,” she commanded. The door slowly opened. The face of a very pale man appeared in the crack of the door.
“Who are you?” He grunted.

“My name is Allison, I am from the town that you abandoned. The wall broke and everyone is out roaming the city!” Allison exclaimed. Adamson looked at her, astounded. He had no idea the wall fell. He slowly opened the door more and more. Allison could see behind him. The room was a mess! Everything was everywhere. Adamson stepped back as to let Allison into the room. Allison only took a few steps into the room, then stopped.

“I did not want them to know,” Adamson said flatly. “You shouldn’t of left.”

“But people were literally slamming sledgehammers at the wall!” Allison exclaimed. A slight breeze was coming from the open slide glass door that opened into a dangerously low gate balcony.

“They won’t know,” Adamson said as he walked towards his dresser. He had a limp, probably from his bionic leg gears being off balance. He opened his dresser drawer and pulled out a large knife. Allison’s heart started beating very fast. He ran towards Allison but she shoved at him. He stumbled back. His bionic leg was off, then he walked pack and hung onto the slide door for a second. He stopped, and looked down at the balcony behind him. He walked closer to the edge. He jumped off. Allison ran towards the balcony, but did not want to see the body of the crazy man broken on the ground. Allison backed away and ran out of the room. She noticed that there was a door in the hallway that lead to a staircase. She knew what a staircase was so she used it to run down them and to the lobby. When she got down there were already cars surrounding the dead body with red and blue flashing lights. Adamson was gone.

Allison has lived in Abbonsana for twenty years now. She lived in a small apartment house and was used to the advanced technology that confused her at the beginning of it all. Her mom was offered a job, for Allison had found out her mom was one of the most independent women in her town. She now worked for the Abbonsana police. Allison got her own business opened up for handmade custom clothes, just as she has always wanted. Jared still lived with his brother in a home five blocks from Allison. Jared’s father passes away five years after the town wall broke from heart failure.Rory was reunited with his mom. She went to a mental institute for three years just like a handful of other townspeople, where they learned to be independent beings.Jared never found out about Allison’s dead brother.

Allison sits in her apartment building. Looking at the cars and people rushing by. She stands up and goes to a little table drawer and opens it. Inside it the photo of her brother that her mom had given to her on the day the town began falling apart. A tear made it’s way down her cheek. Allison had made up her mind. Today was the day she would tell her long known friend, Jared. She walked over to her cell phone and dialed his number.
“Hello?” The voice of Jared said on the other line.

“Jared, can I tell you something? It is something my mother and I have kept secret in our family forever but since you are my closest friend, I find that I need to tell you.” Allison stated.

“Oh what is it?” Jared sounded enticed.

“I had a brother, when we lived in the town. But I accidentally killed him with a falling pot when we were only toddlers,” Allison cried.

“Oh,” Jared sounded surprised. He never thought of Allison having a sibling. “I am very proud of you telling me this. We have always told each other secrets but I am touched that you had the guts to tell me.”

Allison looked down. “Do you want to meet me for coffee? In maybe fifteen minutes?”

“Sure, see you in fifteen,” They hung up. Allison looked at the photo one more time before leaving out the door.