Side Effects

17 - On The Run

In the beginning, Ray had not minded this society he now lived in. There was free housing, the neighbours were quiet, and everybody around him were all in the same boat. All had gone through the same confusion he had when he arrived.

No. He had not hated this place previously - though he had suspicions.

But the more Tina grew on him and connected with him, the more Ray began to realise what a messed up society New Orbis really was. At first, he had been unhappy with the fact that the English language was forced upon her without speaking a word of it. Tina had been thrown into the city without a single clue of what was going on, and no translation to inform her until Donnamira arrived at their flat.

Only recently did Ray truly start to loathe New Orbis. But his hatred had grown to its fullest once he discovered Tina's true identity - being branded as a dangerous, unfeeling monster by those who did not spend time to learn her language and know her like he did.

Even Ray himself was at fault. He jumped off a building right in front of her and spoke to her as if she would be okay with it. No wonder she stabbed him. There were times when he wondered if she disliked him, but every time he pondered it it caused him to work harder at learning Ukrainian. It was the least he could do.

Carrying a heavy bag, yawning at the daylight, Ray trailed behind Tina, who lightly announced in her whispery voice:
"My tse zrobyly."

Had they finally made it? Was she sure? This was it? With just one sight of the boarder, Ray wanted to sit down and take it all in, but there was no time.

Neither of them were quite sure what they felt about this - aware, disappointment, dispirited? Instead of sitting or speaking their mind, the two stayed stood, unblinking at what could either be a trap or an easy way out.

New Orbis' boarder was but a medium-sized wall, reaching just above Ray's height. Ray, himself, was not a particularly tall person, so it made him wonder whether tall people could see beyond the city. Maybe if he had stood on a high place, he would have witnessed what lied beyond.

Mentally kicking herself, Tina did not move, wondering why - out of all the miles she had ran through the streets escaping police and government - she had never seen or come to this place. The boarder could have easily been her escape route all along.

Awakening her from these thoughts, Ray gave Tina a shrug and an unsure smile, a gesture for them to begin climbing.

Using all the strength he could muster, he hurled the bag over the wall, watching it fall to the other side. It was a sign that it was not a trap, and they had finally found their exit. Not an electric fence, not a force field - but a small, thin brick wall embracing the restless city.

It caused them to rhetoricalise why no one had left after all this time during all this chaos.

Raking through the rough concrete between the bricks, Ray began to climb, but to no avail. Every time he lifted a foot, his weight would drag him down and his nails would damage from the wall's material. Tina, however, clambered up as quick as a squirrel, reaching the top within seconds.

Her first look at the outside world came when she pulled her arms to see the view...

And that was when Tina Petrenko found herself staring into a bottomless abyss.

Over the wall, the ground could not be seen. All that lied as far as the eye could see was a thick sheet of fog over the deep, dark unknown below. The bag that Ray had hurled was now lost to the abyss outside the city, and no noises allowed the knowledge that it ever landed.