Just Beyond the Fence...

Ahmed stared at the fence and the woods just beyond. He couldn’t see anything moving out there with the exception of a few birds flitting around through the branches from time to time. There was so much talk but never any evidence. Still, his eyes continued to scan the forest floor and strained to search the shadows. After a short time one of the security guards took notice of him standing there so he moved along with everyone else towards the cafeteria for breakfast, which was sure to be some kind of flavorless gruel or maybe the soggy wheat flakes in that watery white liquid that they tried to pass off as milk. It had been a long time, but he still remembered what real milk tasted like. Almost.

Like everyone else he had not grown up there. They told him his parents were killed in the drone strikes during the protests at the embassy and that same day he was exposed to the strange gray-green gas at the school. After that he was rushed by ambulance to the hastily erected set of field hospital tents at the airport, where he received some initial medical treatment and was then immediately relocated to the compound here in this strange and foreign place called ”Montana“, along with a few of his fellow students who also survived exposure to the gas. Most did not. He was around sixteen or seventeen now. He didn’t know his actual birth date.

There were kids from many other places here as well. Ahmed’s friend Ali was also from Karachi but they were both close with Marcel, who came from Toulouse, and Rafael, who was from Bogota. The four of them sat together, as always, disinterestedly picking at their breakfast, which turned out to be the powdered scrambled eggs and artificial bacon that day. No fresh fruit. Dry toast.

“I was looking out past the fence again on my way here this morning. I saw nothing. Like always.“

The other three just stared at Ahmed.

“I think it’s all a lie to keep us from trying to run.“

After a moment, Rafael spoke up.

“Do we really want to find out?“ His English was pretty good at this point, but he still had a strong accent. They all did.

Ahmed locked eyes with him in an attempt to convey the weight of his next words.

“I think we do. I think it’s a lie and I think we can get away.“ After a moment he added, “Inshallah,“ and nodded, closing his eyes briefly before turning his gaze to Marcel.

Marcel just stared back at him.

“You know I do not believe in God.“

“Yes, but I pray that one day he will reach your heart. Anyway, that’s not what we are talking about.“

“And where would we go if we ran?“

“Anywhere. Somewhere far from here.“

The group was quiet for a short time and then Rafael spoke up.

“I think Ahmed is right. I think it’s all just a lie. I think I’m ready to leave too.“

Ali quietly chimed in. “I don’t know if it’s a lie but I don’t want to be here without friends. I am ready to leave as well. I just don’t want to enter those woods at night.“

“That’s the only time we will be able to go. You know that there is no choice in that,“ Ahmed replied softly.

Marcel pushed his plate away and leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers across his chest.

“When? When would we go?“ He lifted his chin and narrowed his eyes.

Ahmed thought for a moment. “We need to gather some food and supplies and make some plans. Maybe three or four days?“ He looked around at the uneaten food on their plates.

They were all quiet, thinking about this idea in a very real and immediate sense for the first time ever. After this pregnant pause lingered for a bit Ahmed broke the silence.

“I believe we can do this. I think it’s all a lie and I think we can get away and find a place to live a real life somewhere else. A better life. Anywhere but here.“

Ali quietly added, “Alhamdulillah“ and Marcel just stared at him for a second but then he lightly squeezed the small Muslim boy by his shoulder in a brotherly fashion and looked away.

Marcel wasn’t the biggest kid in the compound, but he almost always had the same dark, smoldering look in his eyes and on the few occasions when the other kids there challenged him physically, they quickly regretted it. There was a quiet storm constantly raging somewhere inside of him. His fists were always his most clear and immediate form of self-expression, but he was also unfailingly loyal to his friends. One time when another kid started bullying little Ali, Marcel instantly charged at him and shoved him down a flight of stairs, breaking the boy’s left arm, right ankle and jaw in the process. There were harsh disciplinary consequences for this, but Marcel didn’t seem to care. He never explained himself or apologized for anything, to anyone, not ever.

The bell signaling that breakfast time was over sounded and the boys all joined the line of other kids leading up to the injection tables. They did this every morning right after breakfast, and the only explanation provided was that it was an important daily inoculation to keep them safe from the various pathogens in the outside air since the days of The Great Breach and the second war with China. The truth of this claim was widely in doubt, and it was the topic of frequent speculation by many of the older kids but there was simply no sure way to know the truth. In any case, the injections were mandatory every morning. One time when Ahmed was in the infirmary for a few days with a high fever they gave him his injections there at the same time of day without fail.

Afterwards they split off. Rafael and Ali were a bit younger and still in their training, so they headed towards the academy buildings. Ahmed and Marcel went out to the fields to begin their workday. The skies overhead looked angry and they both hoped for an early release back to the dormitory due to the weather, but it was not meant to be. The darkening clouds never opened up wide enough for the whistles to blow so they worked until an hour before sundown and then returned to the dorms, sweating and nearly exhausted, as always.

On their way back, Marcel said something unfriendly in his native tongue to one of the security guards and received a swift kick to his left thigh in return. He stumbled briefly but he was generally unphased and never even looked back. He just kept walking and angrily muttered something else in French, his tightly-shaved head faced down towards the ground.

Later, back at the cafeteria over dinner, the four boys spoke again.

“Why do you think they keep removing them to that lab? Why don’t they ever return?“ Ali extended his hands, palms out.

Everyone was quiet for a time, looking down at their food with minimal enthusiasm. Once again, it was that unappealing mix of mushy pasta, brown sauce and the plant-based “meat" protein.

“I think it is true that they are performing experiments, or something worse maybe,“ Ahmed replied. “That is the reason we must leave as soon as possible. One of us could be next. It could happen at any time.“

Again there was silence, but eventually Rafael spoke up.

“Do you think it has something to do with the gas? That seems like the reason why we are all here. It’s what we all have in common.“ He looked around and then just looked down at his plate and took another small bite of his dinner with zero enthusiasm.

“I don’t know,“ answered Ahmed.

“Of course that’s what it is,“ Marcel quickly replied.

They all just sort of stared at each other for a few seconds before Ahmed spoke again.

“Let’s just tuck all the food we haven’t finished into our napkins and take it out with us. I know a place where we can store it in the tool shed and it should be cold enough out there to keep it unspoiled for a while. We need to get as much as we can over the next few days.“

They all quietly did this and then headed towards the cafeteria exit and out to the fenced pathway back to the dormitories. When the lights went out later that night and the boys were lying next to one another in their bunks the conversation continued very quietly on the most concerning topic for all.

Rafael started it off.

“What if it’s true, about the things out in the woods, just beyond the fence? Should we try to find some weapons to bring with us?“

Ahmed just stared up at the ceiling from his bunk.

“Either it’s true or it is not true. If it’s true what they say, weapons probably won’t help us. But I do not believe it's true."

Ali spoke up quietly.

“What if the guards come after us? What if they catch us and bring us back? What do you think will happen to us then?

Marcel answered him.

“They never go after the ones who escape. That’s the one thing everyone says. It makes sense, no? Fewer mouths to feed? Why should they care?”

After a while, Ali responded. "But then why would they make up stories about things out in the woods to keep us from running?"

Marcel thought about that for a moment and then replied, "Va te faire foutre, Ali!"

They all laughed at that for a while but then they went silent and, eventually, the four boys drifted off to sleep one by one.

**********

Three days later, just around two hours before sunrise, the four boys slipped out one of the backdoors of their dormitory building. They made their way to the tool shed where they had hidden their supplies. There was sufficient food to hopefully get through the first two days. After that they would have to beg, borrow, steal or scavenge. They had no idea what to expect or what they might find when the time came. They also brought a few tools and utensils that might prove useful, but they were mostly traveling light.

They had a flashlight but didn’t use it at first. The moon was only half-full but the sky was clear of clouds and the light was sufficient for them to make their way out to the agricultural fields and from there it was simple enough. They knew the location of all the guard stations and stayed clear from view and soon they reached the outer limits of the fencing just across from the tree line.

Marcel helped each of the other three get up and over the fence and then he scaled it himself with little trouble. There was some noise, not much, and no one came to investigate. Once they reached the woods and made their way in, Ahmed shielded the flashlight with the cloth of his shirt and pointed it down at the ground before him to light his way and the others followed, listening for any strange sounds coming from the darkness surrounding them.

They made their way deeper into the lush green forest, not traveling in any particular direction other than away from the compound, and eventually the muted flashlight became unnecessary. The sun began to rise and they relaxed a bit.

Then they reached a clearing at the base of a shallow rise in the ground and they heard a twig snap and when they looked up in that direction they saw movement. Ahmed was fairly certain that it was a boy. A naked boy, filthy from his feet up, but he disappeared behind the trees and Ahmed never had more than a brief glance. The others saw a flash of something but they weren’t sure of what. Ali thought it might have been a deer. Ahmed said nothing. They kept moving and remained quiet.

As the morning went on, they made good distance and never heard any sounds of pursuit from security guards coming after them; no bullhorns, no sirens, no barking dogs. They did hear some other sounds from the woods around them, however. At one point a faint screaming sound came from somewhere not too far off.

As the sun rose higher above the forest canopy and midday drew near, Ahmed started to feel unwell. It began with an odd sort of unrest in his stomach but before long he was feeling some strange aches in his extremities and his head was starting to hurt. His breathing grew labored as well. The chirping of the birds in the trees began to take on a strange and unpleasant echoing effect in his ears. He felt like he might need to vomit.

He kept these concerns to himself but soon he saw that Ali was beginning to stumble and stagger a bit, and then the small boy clamped his palms over his ears and took a few more steps before falling to his knees.

Ahmed turned to help him but then he saw that Ali’s eyes had turned bloodshot. The veins in his neck and temples had darkened and appeared to be throbbing ever so slightly. Ali removed his hands from his ears, his fingers digging into the dirt down by his knees now. He was starting to drool a bit and there was a trickle of blood in the saliva running down his chin.

“Ali, are you all right? You look…” Ahmed didn’t know how to finish the sentence.

His head hurt badly now. His hands were starting to clutch involuntarily by his thighs. He felt a strange and sudden need to just howl and run off into the forest, just some animalistic need that he could not really comprehend. His teeth felt like they were slowly starting to emerge from his gums in a painful fashion. The nails on his hands and feet felt this way as well. He realized that he was breathing heavily. His clothes began to feel uncomfortable and his vision was starting to blur at the edges but sharpening in focus at the center.

Ali looked up at him and began to rise to his feet, his eyes unfocused and starting to twitch slightly. Suddenly, Rafael lunged forward and erupted in a snarl. Ali instinctively snarled in return and lunged back a step or two, on all fours. They stared at each other for a tense moment and then Ali broke it off and ran into the woods behind him, screaming. A similar scream came from somewhere deeper in the woods. Then another from the opposite direction.

Marcel began circling around from Ahmed’s left, staring at him through bloodshot eyes, the veins in his arms and neck all elevated, dark and pulsing. His mouth was open and his incisors appeared to be slightly extended and sharpened, along with the nails on his hands. He tore off his shirt in one swift motion and dropped it to the ground then shook his head violently. He spit down at his feet and coughed and growled for a few seconds and then crouched a bit and resumed staring at Ahmed, the left side of his upper lip quivering with a mix of hostility and anticipation.

Rafael let out a sudden scream and then ran off into the woods in the same general direction where Ali had run. Marcel made a strange canine sound and moved a little closer, cocking and lowering his head as he circled around Ahmed, saliva starting to run down his chin.

And that was when it all made sense, in the final moments before Ahmed's rational mind ceased to function, just before everything turned primal and carnal and red. Among his last human thoughts - just before he ripped off his shirt without even thinking about it, tearing a deep and bloody scratch across his own chest - stood the clear and terrible understanding that there was a very good reason for the daily injections every morning at the compound.

And, in the end, the last thing that Ahmed realized was that he had now become one of the things out there in the woods, just beyond the fence.