Across the River

The Torchbearer will come today, He’ll make the same deal he always makes. He will bring some vital piece of knowledge, claiming he wants to help us with it, knowledge that we need to rebuild our society. The price of this knowledge remains fixed, as it always has. He will take one of us with him when he goes. No one knows what happens to them. He always claims he will bring them back one day, but no one has ever returned. There aren’t many of us left. Even with the progress we’ve made there is still hardly enough food or supplies to go around. No one has stepped outside the walls of The Neighborhood in almost 10 years because we are not allowed to leave. Whatever we don’t grow or make is brought in by a group known as The Enders. We are told that the last person who stepped outside these walls was consumed by the untamed and unhealed land that lives beyond our tiny civilization.

It’s been 15 years since our world fell apart. The Great Severance; a slow burn of minor catastrophic events, all came to its horrifying climax the day the bombs were dropped and the Oligarchs disappeared.

First came the virus, it's still killing people all over the world according to The Torchbearer. Then the gas lines shut down. Leaving most of us trapped and unable to go anywhere. Without fuel, the supply chains collapsed, preventing food and supplies from getting around. Then the lights went out and the water stopped running. The sick got sicker; and the healthy, usually the young ones, were left to provide and care for their families. It didn't take long for people to turn on each other. I was only 10 at the time, but my memories still weigh heavy on my mind. I used to have a family. A brother and sister, and a mother and father. I try not to think of them too often.

We call this place The Neighborhood. Before the Great Severance, this small little utopia in rural Virginia was built for the rich. Built only a few years before the world went mad, this little oasis had everything one might need in one destination. Just off the main road it begins with an idyllic little downtown area. Filled with a small grocery, restaurants, and other shops and offices. Just beyond the square is a small lake. On one side of the lake are several apartment buildings filled with unnecessary amenities. The other side of the lake looked like something from the old movies; A picture-perfect neighborhood with front porches and matching mailboxes. The original residents of this area have long since left. Since then people from all over made their homes here. A shell of what it once was, the people are doing their best to make this place a home. To look around it would seem that given the circumstances things could hardly be better for us. The people seem content and healthy. No one appears to really be suffering. But to some of us this illusion no longer feels convincing.

The day they call the Great Severance has become the source of a newfound religion that's developed all over the country. If the stories are to be believed, the day of the Great Severance was a day of great sacrifice. It is said that without any warning of attack, some unknown enemy dropped bombs all over the entire country. Turning most of the major cities and industrial areas to dust. We were later told that many of the country's wealthiest and most powerful families, the Oligarchs, were called upon to prepare their resources in case of an attack; and that when the bombs were dropping they all fought selflessly with their collective resources to save the soul of America.

The man they call The Torchbearer, the source of our news, tells us he is one of the last of America’s great heroes, an oligarch of a forgotten time. His power and influence over The Neighborhood is absolute. Still feeling the echoes of fear and desperation, most people here worship him like a God. They see his stories and his knowledge as a symbol of hope and progress, but ignore the fragile facade that cloaks our corner of the world.

A few months ago while foraging out on the edge of The Neighborhood border, I caught a whiff of a smell I could never forget. Gasoline. I hadn’t smelled gasoline in years, and as far as we knew it all ran out years ago. Off in the distance I heard the undeniable sound of a car engine turning over. This had been enough for me to decide that I was going to sneak out later that night. It was the first time I’d stepped outside of The Neighborhood in 7 years. It was a journey worth the trouble, that was the night I met Tahlia.

After years without an attempted escape, the night patrol has developed serious holes in it’s security. I started in the direction from which I heard the car engine. The night was clear and the full moon shone like a pearl in the perfect sky. I could no longer smell the gasoline, I wasn’t sure where I was going, or what I would even do if I found the source of the sound. I almost turned back, but my gut was telling me to press on. Looking through the thick forest I could see there was a narrow, dirt road a few yards in front of me. I froze in my tracks as I noticed the moonlight reflecting off something shiny near the base of a tree. Seconds later I was able to make out the shape of a young girl slouched against the tree. There was a heart-shaped locket around her neck, I could see it outlined in the moonlight. I hadn’t seen any jewelry in years. We were told that all jewelry had to be confiscated to be melted down. Before I could move again she snapped her head up and found my eyes, the fear in hers was hard to witness. I remember feeling that way constantly before I found The Neighborhood. She looked to be completely alone. She was hesitant to talk to me, and didn’t share much that night, but I couldn't leave her out there all alone. I’m still not sure how we pulled it off, but I was able to sneak her inside with me and she's been hiding in my apartment ever since.

No one can know that she is here. If they knew, most would not hesitate to throw her out, or dispose of her in other ways. No outsiders are allowed in The Neighborhood according to The Torchbearer. If only they knew the secrets she told me, the truth of this so-called savior of humanity. She knows The Torchbearer. Tahlia and her mother lived within his grand estate. Her mother was able to steal a car and they tried to get away, but eventually The Enders caught up with them. The sound I heard that day was Tahlia’s mother dropping her off near The Neighborhood. Tahlia told me her mother had hoped we would take her in. It was a good thing that I was the one who found her and not The Enders. Her story is what gave me the fuel for what I am about to do today.

The answers I seek cannot be found within these walls. This afternoon The Torchbearer will leave The Neighborhood with his entourage and one of our people. In the midst of the excitement I will take my chances and sneak out to follow him into the unknown. I know this may be foolish but I cannot go on pretending everything is alright here. Despite my better judgement, Tahlia insists she is coming with me. Though she has not admitted it I think she hopes to find out what happened to her mother. She has endured much and she is strong, but I fear her hope may be shattered. I don’t know what we are going to find out there, but I hope the truth will set us free.

Part 2

I was not ready for the truth that is unfolding before me.

We have had no choice but to make camp and stay the night out in the wilderness. I doubt either of us will sleep tonight. If not from the horrors that lie beyond our shelter, certainly from the truth that we have fallen headfirst into.

We expected that we would be following The Torchbearer back to his estate, only about two hours away on foot. Tahlia knows of an old treehouse on the massive property that we could have stayed in. Instead we found ourselves travelling for the rest of the day and into the night. At some point during the journey I began to smell other long lost but familiar smells. Gasoline, trash fires, and sewage. I even started to hear the quiet hum of what I thought I recognized as machines. For the last 15 years everyone has believed that the city of Richmond had been completely lain to dust on the day of the bombings. Including all the bridges and the railroad tracks that soared over the river. As the caravan made its way over the new bridge that's been built, we secured a decent vantage point on some old construction equipment. The old parts of the city had been bombed, but a large portion of the metropolitan area was standing tall, engulfed in a massive fortress of walls and gates.

The massive gates stood almost as tall as the tallest skyscrapers in the city. At first I was in awe at this feat of engineering for a world without machines, but as the gates opened and the city revealed itself my awe turned to shock. The gate remained open for several minutes as the caravan piled in. The first thing that caught my eye was the massive digital screen mounted to a building in the distance.

To my utter surprise I saw the screen was displaying an ad for perfume. I instantly recognized the model's face, but my memory recalled her smooth skin and dark brown hair, while my eyes could clearly see the signs of aging on her face. I also saw that despite it being well into the night, there were well-dressed people out everywhere, with other people trailing behind carrying their things and driving them around. Buildings were lit up with electricity, not candles or fires. It was like this place had not been touched. Or that part of the world has healed and deliberately kept us out. This place is elaborate and costly. It could not have been built without an enormous amount of resources.

Is it now my duty to carry this message back to my home? I share all this in hopes that if I do not make it to the other side of this war I am about to embark on, that someone will find this and continue to fight to reveal this truth. I have made the choice to see this through. I will refuse my doom in this quest for knowledge, truth and peace is all I seek.