The Walls

One of us commited the crime. One of us did not. One of us will be banished from the Safe Zone, while one of us, will live. We are the entertainment of tonight’s live show, with deadly consequences. Except, it’s not really up to us to decide who lives. It’s up to the community. Using the evidence brought against us tonight, one of us will be deemed guilty, while the other liberated. 

A case of mystery and betrayal. They won’t listen to either of us.

Murder has always been considered the worst crime to commit throughout history, but more now than ever. With our dwindling numbers, every person counts. You’d think, it would be the other way. Once the planet was overpopulated, now we hide from our predators who have hunted us down. 

We stand in the dirt arena in front of the colossal wall, the wall that protects us, as angry people pelt mini stones at us. We duck with our hands tied around our back, trying our best to avoid the small rocks. Luckily, so far we have managed to evade all flying rocks. Soon enough, one of us will be pushed outside these walls that have managed to protect us so far. 

Standing on the bleachers, the Commander holds up his hand, signaling for the crowd to stop, and it works. No one disobeys the Commander. Except for us.

“It has been declared that the council member Anthony Tarantino was murdered yesterday. The suspects, proven by witnesses, here stand as Iphigenia and Koa. One of them is guilty by committing the murder, and one of them is wrongfully convicted,” he turns and spreads his broad arms to the audience, “Citizens, which one is guilty? What evidence do you bring to prove their liability?” Commander Smith was enjoying this way too much. 

All I want in that moment is to wrap my arms around Koa, but we don’t dare. Instead, I sneak a glance at him. He looks at the ground, dark hair falling over his eyes. He refuses to meet my gaze, because he is afraid. We both know what will happen. Thrown out of the gates of the Safe Zone, (such a creative name, I know. How long until we are no longer safe?) and into the hungry jaws of the dinosaurs.

The justice system in our small community was developed over a few days when the first crime was committed. There wasn't much time put into the process when the dinosaurs were brought back into existence. So, as humanity was killed off and our numbers died, the walls were built quickly. People evacuated to shelters, and underground, islands, and such, but they won’t last long without the resources necessary. Here, we still have access to sunlight and agriculture and such. But, the walls were built so quickly the city never became properly organized. Thank god none of those carnivorous flying dinosaurs were brought back, we’d be dead meat. 

One of the “witnesses” stands up to declare. 

“I found Anthony Tarantino dead in the lab, when I went to send him a message.” Everyone knows he is dead. Yeah he was dead. He was found in the EcoLab, the lab for monitoring our environment and looking at our available resources. Only a few months in after the dinosaurs were brought back, there was already an entire lab set up with the few tools we had left and some courageous voyagers managed to go outside the walls to collect scientific tools. Most of them didn’t make it back. 

Another man stands up to announce, “He was found with a knife in his back, and Koa here was found limping and with blood on his clothes. I found him hiding with Iphigenia in the storage center.” 

Even he knows it was self defense. But here, closed off from the rest of the world where the monsters lurked, any murder is murder. Even self defense shall be punished. Apparently, “it’s only fair.” Since when? 

“That settles it then, the answer is clear. Koa, how do you plead?” My stomach lurches. I can’t breathe or function. I nearly faint for one second. They are going to banish him, and I will never see him again. Koa, the boy who I fled with to the Safe Zone. We promised to protect each other, and here he was, about to be slaughtered by a bunch of dinosaurs that were supposed to be extinct. They don’t understand. 

Koa starts to speak, but I cut him off.

“No! Listen! We tried to tell you, Anthony Tarantino was one of the scientists who brought the dinosaurs back into existence! He is the reason we have to live behind these walls as our very own species heads to extinction! When Koa and I-”

“ENOUGH!” Commander Smith roars, enraged.

“NO! LISTEN TO ME! We found out that Anthony had been behind the works along with documentation on the computer and his science reports he had locked up, and we confronted him. He tried to kill Koa because he knew his secret!” I struggle to free myself from the ropes behind my back but the attempt is useless. 

“Murder is murder, Iphigenia. You know the rules. He could have a chance at survival, out there, you know,” Commander Smith responds in an attempt to act calm. That’s the whole point of this justice system: break the rules, they won’t kill you. Instead, they banish you from the safety of the walls into the now jungle of monsters. You’ll probably die, but there’s a chance you won’t. And if you don’t die then you can rebuild society in another civilization, to help restore the population of humanity. So, you die from dinosaurs, or you live and contribute. I don’t know which is worse, a chance at survival and a chance at dying a terrible, painful, gruesome, death, or a quick easy death with a bullet. 

I look at Koa. He finally looks back at me, remorseful and his eyes well up with tears. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen him cry. 

I have to do it. I have to. 

“NO! Koa did not kill Anthony Tarantino.” The audience becomes silent and grows still, and Commander Smith stops in his tracks.

“Then who did?” he asks, his voice apprehensive.

“I did.” The crowd erupts into angry shouts but I can’t hear anything. Instead, I look at Koa, who is now sobbing and running over to me with his hands tied. He risks getting shot down for me.

“I was protecting him! Anthony Tarantino, the man who started this madness was trying to kill Koa!”

Commander Smith’s face grows to an intense shade of red, as if he will explode at any moment.

“Iphigenia! You are banished from these walls, and you can never return as the price of murder of your own kin-” Koa cuts him off.

“No! Banish me instead. Please. Let her live. I will go instead.” I scream, but the Commander Smith yells over me.

“That is not how the rules of this society works! Iphigenia is now forbidden to set foot to the land behind the walls once she leaves. You Koa, will stay here.”

Now I’m sobbing, collapsing to my knees as Koa bends over me, and I lean against him.

“If she has to leave, then I’m going with her. Either we both die, or neither of us do,” Koa says in a powerful voice. “You choose.”

“That’s not how it works, we need to stick together. Humanity needs to live on, every person counts.”

“You choose.” I’m sobbing harder now. No, no, no, no. We can’t both die. He has to live for me. 

“Don’t do this,” I whisper as tears stream down my face. 

“I love you. We will always be together. I will never leave you,” he whispers back, gazing into my eyes.

“FINE! You both are forbidden from this region as collaborative murder.” He turns to another member of the city, “Send them to the gates.”  He doesn’t care about us.

I remember when we both came here, after the continent became Jurassic Park. Before everything exploded into chaos, other countries decided it was a bright idea to bring back deadly animals that died off millions of years ago. I couldn’t find my family after I lost them in the stampede of people when the dinosaurs escaped. Instead, I found Koa. He was lost too. We managed to survive on our own just in time to find the Safe Zone. We have lived here for only six months, and now we are to be kicked out and killed. We all die sooner or later, I just hoped my own death would be a little less terrifying. 

We humans were supposed to know all, conquer all, according to some people. And now, we are dying at the hands of our own work.

Someone grabs me and pushes me to the gates, and another grabs Koa. Soon enough, we are standing right before the giant doors, strong and powerful. They look like the doors of the Maze Runner, a movie I saw when life was normal. Their presence commands awe and power. The person behind me cuts off the ropes tying my hands.

“Don’t try anything,” he hisses into my ear. Like I would.

Once those doors open, there will be another set of doors in front, so no one will be at risk of letting dinosaurs in. Open the gates, push us out, close the gates. And then, open the second doors so that we will be forced into the wilderness.

The colossal doors slide open, widening the gap that wasn’t there before. All eyes are on us. The man behind me jabs me in the back, pushing me forward. 

We take a step forward, and then another. Koa grabs my hand, and I look at him. We will have to do this together. One more step, and then another. We’re in front of the walls now, and they close loudly and slowly. We are inside the area before we are released into the wild, the sides interconnecting with the next set of doors before us. They open. Breathe in, breathe out into the jaws of a hungry dinosaur. A few more steps. We can do it. 

The mammoth doors close painfully slow once again, and we stand before the jungle confronting us. Ever since humans went into hiding, Earth recovered from the previous damage done by humans, and life claimed what was rightfully theirs. Wildlife thrives. 

Long vines smother long abandoned objects, and trees cloud our view. An abundance of green hides the monsters lurking inside the forest and jungle of disaster. There’s no right way to go, all we need to focus on is surviving to see the next day. Standing here calls the attention of predators.

“Okay, let’s go.”

Hand in hand, we step into the forest and dangers that await us.