No Where They Could Run

Chapter 1

From The Eye and Ears of a Dragon

A mother dragon was gathering food for feeding her newborn young when she found what appeared to be an abandoned toddler wondering alone in the forest. Immediately her motherly instinct was to take it and protect it from the robots or the male dragons, but out of fear that it was a trap she stopped herself. Robots were known for luring and trapping mother dragons so they could capture their babies only for them to never be seen again.

In fearful hesitation the mother dragon stood behind the trees and gazed silently at the young toddler as it aimlessly wondered the dark forest. The little one had an expression of amazement all the while looking at everything in her path with newfound curiosity. Her concentration was broken when suddenly she heard the sound of more humans coming from the distance.

"Solara! Solara- where did you go?" The voice of an older girl rang out. Apprehensive the dragon flew away to find food for her young elsewhere. She wasn't like the other mother dragons that lived around the forest, and would never attack any of the humans. Yet the past taught her to never get hurt again trying to help anyone else.

Little did she know that they had all just escaped the district and that they needed her as they knew nothing about the forest and little about surviving. The thought of going back flashed in her mind as she surveyed the land for another place for food, but all she could remember is how trying to save a human from the village before almost got her killed.

She flew over the desolated valley on the opposite side of the forest in hopes that she could find something, but there was nothing in sight. There usually wasn't, but there had been a couple of times when her and the other dragons got lucky. There had been little to nothing for them to eat on that side of the valley since everything died down after the last attack.

Years ago was the last time robots captured baby dragons and animals while taking samples from the ground in the valley past the forest. They scared off the majority of the animals and their toxic chemicals harmed the wildlife. After escaping one their last escapades she watched people from the village be forced to help them find resources after having babies kidnapped. Along with the others she eventually migrated.

A decade prior after a century of fighting the homosapien village and the dragons made a truce, and than the robots from the district came along destroying the balance. The robots were a threat to the dragons and the humans, and after years of the dragons killing the humans and the humans fighting back they weren't exactly on the same side. The humans feared the robots, the robots feared but were powerful over the dragons, but the dragons didn't fear the humans.

When she was rescued from a trap set by the robots by a human the last time they came she knew it was her purpose to always protect the village. Yet years had gone by and she didn't know why there was young in the forest so far from the village, and assumed it was a trap set by the robots. Rescuing the young and returning it to the village could mean putting everyone else in danger, including the baby and she couldn't risk being vulnerable.

The thought was eating away at the mother dragons mind but soon went away as she found some food for her young. It was the first time she ever had baby dragons, and keeping them fed and safe was her one and only priority. Because they were too young to fend for themselves their safety was more important than risking her own safety for anyone that could be from the village.

The mother dragon eventually found some food closer to the other side of the valley closer to her hatchlings. Relaxing and feeding her young while the sun was setting she curled up next to them and began falling asleep as they finished eating. It had been a long day and she was tired. Her thoughts were racing with anxiety as she pictured what it could mean with young humans being nearby in the forest.

Chapter 2

Escaping From Behind Closed Doors

Four girls were ready to escape the district that night. A toddler named Solara, and three of the older girls. They shared a room and had planned it out strategically. They needed Solara out of there before she got any older because they knew her secret was powerful. Unlike the other girls Solara was only three when she was kidnapped from her home. They had been taken away from their families in the village when they were three and knew that it existed.

The girls waited to tell Solara about this in fear that the people of the village may no longer be alive. If the right time came after they escaped they would tell her, but until then they had to keep it a secret. At times they wondered amongst themselves if anyone had ever successfully escaped the district, and if they had if they made it to the village.

Their hearts were all racing as they went about their daily routine and tried not acting suspicious. As excited as they were they were afraid and didn't want to give themselves away. During their last part of their duties of the day the time passed by slower than usual, and they all had the same question. How much time would they have before the robots would realize that they were all missing, and send a search team out for them?

None of them wanted to know, but they knew it was a race against the clock. Everything could go wrong, but all they really cared about was if it went right. Their buzzers went off for dinner time and broke through their thoughts, and they all wiped the sweat from off of their hands. Nothing in their life in the district had prepared them for the moment they were all awaiting, but they were ready to be free.

The three girls were in charge of Solara because she was the youngest in their bunker. Solara had no idea that they were escaping and taking her away that night. She was too little to understand everything and was likely to give it away, but they knew she would trust what they were doing and that she would go with them. None of them questioned this as they all silently stared at each other eating their dinner in the district cafeteria.

When the timer got up they ditched their trays at the counter and one by one went back to their room nervously. With shower rotations they were the last in line and they were using that to their advantage. Since the robots never checked the bathroom vents at night and there were no cameras in the shower room they had the perfect escape plan. They had learned that a vent from the ceiling in their room led to the bathrooms and they needed to leave it open.

To do this they all had to cut their showers short since they were on a strict time schedule. In order for them to get it open one of the girls stood on the other girls back and removed the pins so she could push open the vent. Afterwards she left it so they could climb through it later that night. They hurried out before they were checked on so the robots wouldn't come in their and see that they had opened it.

Solara was confused asking them questions but they hushed her to stay quiet. It would make sense and it was for a fun game they were planning is what they told her and she stopped asking questions. Even though they didn't tell her something inside of her knew and she went along with it. Excited Solara clapped and giggled, but they all put a finger to their mouth and silenced her.

They all put an extra layer of clothes on under their pajamas and crawled into their bunk beds. The robots checked the girls room as they did their nightly rounds and made sure they were in bed and shut their lights off. They pretended like they were already asleep and told Solara to as well so that they could play their game after bed time without getting caught.

Everything was in place and they had to move fast. They awaited the loud chime of the hallway clock after the bed time accountments on the loudspeaker. Moving the vent in their ceiling was going to be loud, but luckily one of the girls had already removed the pins the night before with a tool she stole from one of her classes. As soon as the chime of the clock blared through the hallways they moved fast and took their chances.

If any time was wasted before the robots did their second round after the chime of the clock they would be caught and trapped forever. There's no saying what the robots would do but they knew they would at least go to the dark room. No one spoke of the dark room, but they knew it was the last place they wanted to be. There was a rumor that had gone through the district that when one of the girls got in trouble the robots left her there and she died.

None of them said a single word as they moved the bed closer to the vent. They had exactly one minute to open it so they could escape. They slid it open and hurried to get their prepared bags up there so they could move the bed back. Their pillows were under their blankets and if the robots checked their room again they would still look like they were there. Solara looked up at them in bewilderment as one of the girls climbed in the vent.

She kept quiet and followed their lead. All of the girls but one were in the ceiling, and they silently hurried her. She had to move the bed back as quietly as she could, but that wasn't hard. They pulled her up by their arms and she climbed it. Without making any noise they set the cover back over the vent and sat for a moment cramped in the small space they had to climb through.

Suddenly a flash of light went over their room and they froze. For five minutes they sat there and didn't move, but nothing happened. The robots didn't open their room, no alarms went off, and there was no announcement over the speaker. They were safe, but they weren't free yet. The easiest part was done, and the girls tried their best not to worry as they crawled slowly through the dark cold ceiling.

As they silently climbed through the tiny space they could hear some of the girls below them whispering, laughing and playing quietly past their bedtime. This provided them with some comfort in that no one would really be able of hearing them. Still they made as little noise as possible. Finally they got to the other open vent, and they were relieved to get out of the ceiling.

One by one two of the girls levered themselves and jumped down cushioning their fall with their bags that they dropped on the ground beneath them. The last carefully lowered Solara and the three year old smiled. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement, and she wanted to speak but she remained quiet. The bathroom was dimly lit and all they could hear were the sound of each others heavy breathing and the drips of water coming from the shower heads.

Finally they were closer to freedom than they had ever been. All they had to do was get past the cameras without getting spotted. This was easier said than done but they had studied everything meticulously over weeks as much as they could and knew how to trick the cameras. As soon as they got past them they could go through the gate door of the courtyard, and past the courtyard was their freedom.

Chapter 3

The Storm After The Calm

Suddenly a thundering roar from the distance broke through her deep sleep. The sound of drones awakened the mother dragon and her hatchlings from their sleep and she knew. They were near, the moment she dreaded had come. The last thing that she ever wanted was her babies in danger, and after years that is exactly where they were. Her survival instincts kicked into full gear and she moved quickly.

If a drone spotted them that would be the end. They would either trap or kill her but no matter what the robots would find a way to take them. One by one she gently and swiftly carried them to a big tree. She broke off the biggest branch she could find and hid them carefully underneath its leaves. They were crying and scurrying, but unless they got courage enough to try to start flying for the first time they weren't going anywhere.

Although more protective of her young she knew she had to get away fast and warn the others. They were sure to already know, but some of them were farther away. Besides if a drone spotted her the robots were more likely to leave her alone if they didn't see her anywhere near where the babies might be. Anxious and worried she flew away in a hurry, and to her surprise the sound of the drones ceased in the distance and there was no sign of anything.

She flew in a large circle around the valley screeching and breathing out fire that if any of the dragons who saw her could heed her warning and be ready. It had been the longest it had ever been since their last attack, and it was unexpected. It had been such a long time that the majority of the dragons forgot about constantly living their life on guard ever since migrating to the other side of the valley.

Fearlessly the mother dragon circled back and still no longer hearing the drone and spotting it no where insight she went and grabbed her young. Swiftly taking them under her wing she flew. As fast as she could she left and didn't look back. Wherever her mate had gone off the night before she went hunting he hadn't come back, and he would have to find her or it would mean that they would be lost to each other.

Her heart ached but she would rather have her hatchlings safe than wait for her mate that didn't return. The sun had fully risen in the horizon and she was in plane sight, but she wasn't scared. Flying towards the desolate side of the valley she found a clearing in a brush for her young. Cleverly the mother dragon hid them again making sure they were invisible to the eye and that no predator would be able of reaching them.

Snakes were prominent in the desolated valley, but she carried a vile of cinnamon and clove oil around her neck. Remembering the human from the village that gave it to her the past flashbacked in her memory as she sprinkled some around her hidden young. It would keep them away, and she knew they would be safe from them. Their ravenous appetite was making them cry in hunger, and she had to find something quick so she could keep them quiet.

The village wasn't too far from where she was, and she wanted to warn them too. Her motherly intuition told her that her young were safer just as long as she was not around, but first she had to find them food. They were too young for her to leave them for any long given period of time, but she would have to watch them from a distance until she knew that they were safe.

They were in the last place that the robots would come searching. There was nothing left for them to do there, and she knew she could trust they would be safe. She flew towards the village and cried out loudly that they could hear, and upon circling back around she spotted an animal below her wondering away from the village.

Without hesitation she swooped in biting the lambs neck stopping it in its tracks. The mother dragon heard commotion from the village, but didn't hesitate carrying her food in her mouth she flew back towards her young. The best that she could hope for was that she successfully warned the people of the village. Hoping that it brought a sense of urgency that they would be prepared and more able of protecting their babies if they invaded.

Usually the mother dragons would never hunt near the village since the truce, but this time the mother dragon had no other option. She had to eat and feed her babies quick, but she also needed to warn them before it was too late. In the past whenever there was a drone sighted before long many robots and whirring of machines would follow. In an effort to protect the people she had to do something that she wouldn't normally do.

Chapter 4

Seeing Past The Walls

One of the girls picked up Solara as they walked one behind another towards the shower room doors. Opening it silently the first girl signaled for Solara to stay silent putting her finger up to her lips. The cameras that were used to surveillance the hallways were activated and triggered by sound. They would know if one picked up any noise they made if the light turned blue and followed their movement.

They walked as closely and as quietly as they could out of the door. It felt almost impossible and they were trembling with every step that they took. Keeping their eyes on the cameras placed five feet apart above them they snuck along side the wall. Silence filled the hallways but they could all hear each others shallow breathing. They knew it would only take one mistake, and they would be done for.

With success they made it to the end of the hallway. On the left and right of them were two key operated doors. One went to the courtyard, and the other went somewhere they had never seen before. The door on the right is the one that would take them down a long narrow hallway to the courtyard. They were only unsure of one thing, and that was if the sound of the door would trigger the alarm for the cameras.

If it did they would be trapped, but if it didn't they would be free. There were no more cameras in the long hallway and there were no cameras in the courtyard. Silently leaning alongside the wall without making a sound the first girl took the keycard from the front pocket of her backpack. Putting it up to the reader it flashed green and she felt a slight shock from it. The door buzzed opened and a gust of cool air welcomed them.

Before the last girl walked out of the door following the other three she glanced at the camera. The light was blue and it was facing her, and her body reacted faster than her mind. "Run!" She yelled at the girls, "Follow me." Harshly she pulled Solara out of the other girls arms. She didn't know how far they would get past the courtyard, but she knew that she was the fastest.

Getting Solara out quickly became her only priority. Flashing in her mind was the thought of what it would mean if she didn't. Solara was the key to setting the rest of the humans free, but she could never do it trapped behind the walls of the district. The door leading out to the courtyard was closed, and she felt for the keycard again. She fumbled with Solara in her arms but swiped it to open the door.

The light turned red, and nothing happened. It was only a matter of time before one of the robots would come looking for them, and she couldn't let them catch them. She could hear the alarms going off in the main hallway and a rush of adrenaline surged through her as she calmly set Solara down. The other girls were still a couple of yards behind her, and with all of her strength of both of her fists she punched the sensor and held the card back up to it. It beeped again and turned green.

The door slid open and she briskly picked Solara back up and the other two girls followed her and she ran. The sound of a motion sensor went off and one by one lights turned on in the courtyard. The girls looked at each other and nodded. They were sticking to the original plan. Solara wiggled around tiredly yawning in the girls' arms and tried pushing her away so that she could get down. "I don't like this game anymore. Can we go back home now?"

"Solara we are going home now." The other girl pulled Solaras' golden teddy bear from her backpack and the three year old took it gratefully. Holding onto it she stopped fighting and rested her head on the girls shoulder and yawned. The lights were nearly blinding and she sunk her face into the girl and stayed quiet. It was past her bed time, and she was ready for bed.

They all ran towards the left corner of the courtyard where the tables were. The girl nudged Solara with her hand and gently set her on the ground against the wall. Together the three girls pushed one of the tables as close to the left corner of the wall with less than a foot between the legs and the wall. With all of their strength they carried another table stacking it and leaning it against the wall so it would catch and not fall.

One of the girls picked Solara up off the ground and the other two climbed up the tables. One by one the lights around the courtyard turned back off because there was no more motion around the sensors. The first girl climbed up on the wall and took the rope out of her backpack. She threw it down for the other girls to hold onto it while she climbed down the wall. Without the flashlight from the other girls bag she couldn't see anything.

The sweet smell of the fresh air and grass overwhelmed her senses as she climbed down the knotted rope. There was a chirping coming from the grasses and she assumed it was crickets. One of the other girls turned on the flashlight and threw it down for her. She looked around and could see nothing but the green of the forest, and the dew on the grass glittering. It was like the pictures of paradise she had seen, but better. It was more than she could have ever imagined.

The air felt cool and clean in her lungs as she took deep breaths in. She held the flashlight up for the girls to see what they were doing, and one girl stopped so they could pass off the tired toddler safely. The last girl tied the rope to the bench and followed after them. The robots would know where how they escaped, but it didn't matter. A buzzing of alarms came from inside as the lights went on again and the only thing they could do now was run.

Chapter 5

Using their best judgement the girls ran around the building and to the left in attempts to hide. One of the girls ripped off an article of her clothing and threw it the opposite direction from where they were going. Solara was crying as they ran and the girl carrying her covered her hand with her mouth. Her teddy bear was gone and she was scared, and if she didn't stop they were sure to find her.

An unfamiliar sound echoed in the distance and it was like a rumbling. The girls didn't look back as one turned the flashlight off and they kept running. They had never seen the drones before that the robots used, but had they known they might have never tried escaping. It was like a flying camera that could find them anywhere, and they would have been terrified. They didn't stop until they made it to the trees.

A bright ball of light in the sky surrounded by glittering white sparkles that Solara had never seen helped them see where they were going. They no longer heard the sound of the whirring of the drone, but didn't slow down. When they got past the first row of trees they stumbled on each other as they fell through a vortex.

They stood up confused as it was no longer night time around them. They were there in the clearing of the forest but the sunrise was showing through the trees. Surrounding them were different directions and paths all surrounded by beautiful green plants, colorful flowers, small scurrying little creatures and the sounds of birds. They could hear a waterfall somewhere in the distance and stopped amazed at the magical scenery around them.

The first girl set Solara down on the ground as they gazed around them at the forest. Filled with energy again the little three year old ran away from them looking at everything in her path. When suddenly she went through a clearing of trees and they could no longer see her and followed behind her calling her to come back. Sneakily the little girl veered of towards more trees getting lost in the darker part of the forest.

Calling after her the first girl stumbled through the forest when she saw something big flying through the sky from the corner of her eye. She jumped back at the large winged creature and gasped. It looked almost unreal as it's long brightly colored wings of red and yellows sped off away from the forest and back around disappearing from the girls sight. Frightened she caught up with Solara and scooped her up so she could get back to the other girls. They had to leave.

Excitedly she told them of what she had seen when suddenly in front of them they could see something hovering in the sky. It was moving back and forth and making a loud buzzing noise. It slowly got closer and closer, and the closer that it got the louder the buzz was. It was almost deafening and the girls covered theirs and Solaras' ears. Solara was screaming at the foreign instrument, and the girls tried quieting her.

The first girl was in flight or fight. She signaled her hands to go to the right in an obvious motion towards the drone. Nothing happened as hovered above them watching their every move. This meant that they were doomed, and that before long the robots were sure to come trap them so they could bring them back to the district. Solara was squirming and the girl holding her let her go. "Run Solara, run!" and so Solara did.

She ran past the trees but stopped suddenly when she saw nothing but a desolated dip below her which she would later know as the valley. It looked almost barren compared to the forest and the little girl didn't know what she could do and ran back. She held onto the first girls legs while they stood there staring at the drone. Without warning one of the girls grabbed a clump of dirt off the ground and threw it at the drone before running.

Picking Solara up the third girl went in the opposite direction from the other two girls, but the buzzing sound followed. Sending out an electric shock through the air the girl stopped in her tracks with Solara in her arms. It was almost as though she couldn't move, and any movement she tried making was stuck in slow motion. She tried screaming only for it to feel like one of those dreams that she used to have where she would scream, but no sound would come out.

They were stuck, and there was no way around going back. Standing there the girl watched as five robots came two of them holding the other girls by their arms. All of them were terrified and found little comfort when the shrill buzzing of the drone finally stopped now that they were caught. If only, had they known about the drone they wouldn't have tried running away on their own.

In the distance the girls could hear a loud screeching sound and looked at each other. It was like the sound of a crying animal coming from the distance. One of the girls figured that it was the animal she had seen earlier, and said nothing. She didn't know anymore what was better. Being trapped in the district or trying to survive in the outdoors without knowing where the village was if it even existed anymore, and so she reluctantly followed to robots back home.

Photo Credit #1

Photo Credit #2