Page 4 of Fleeing from the Monster

“You mean, you ran?”

“Yes.”

“Are you out of your God damn mind, Keri? Do you know what they'll do to you and Leah when they catch you?”

“I do know, which is why I need you to finish what you started with getting us out.”

“Hell, no. It would have been hard before, but it'll be impossible now. Everyone will be looking for you. Shit, I'm looking at your picture on the TV screen right now. There's no way you'll both make it out.”

“Please. We need to get to another quadrant. The longer we're here, the more likely it is we'll be caught. Please, Edwin. We've known you all our lives. They already took Grace. They can't have me and Leah, too.”

“HaveLeah? What do you mean?”

“Just…Please, Edwin. Can you do it or not?”

Silence answers me for only a few seconds, but it feels like an eternity with so much hanging on whether he decides to help us or not. Leah was against calling him, saying they could be listening to calls now to find us, but I don't know any other way for us to escape. And staying in this quadrant is out of the question. Like Edwin said, it's only a matter of time until someone notices me and reports us.

I look at Leah sitting at the corner table, biting her lip while she picks the skin around her nails. A few of her fingers are already bleeding. When we felt we were far enough away from our house, we started to slow down and look for somewhere to hide instead of running more. We ended up at this bar, where we knew we could buy a drink and be left alone in some dark corner. But just like Edwin, I see my picture on the TV screen here as well, people talking about what a shock it is to have a sister to last year’s sacrifice picked this year. I, at least, get the satisfaction of hearing them say how unfair it is, but just like every other year, it’s all simply accepted. Eventually, conversation in the bar turns to what I'll be wearing when I come to the balcony of the processing center later or what my final words will be. It’s clear that, so far, no one has told the press that I've run. Good, that buys me a little bit of time, but as it gets closer and closer to when I should be sacrificed, I know they’ll be turning over every single stone to look for me.

Only, they'll be searching for me now to make a very public example of me, and Leah. When the drafted woman runs, not only she but her family goes to prison for treason, and her new home, a prison cell, is shown to everyone in our quadrant. A warning to future sacrifices. A new sacrifice will be chosen, to be sent down and devoured. A woman must always be sacrificed, no matter what.

“Edwin?” I ask when Leah looks up at me, hope renewed in her eyes.

“I…Fuck, Keri. It's gonna take me at least a few hours to get everything ready. And I want another three thousand for this. I'll have to pay a lot of people to look the other way.”

I'm already paying him ten thousand, but if another three gets us out of here, then I'll gladly pay it.

“Done. How long do you think?”

“I can have it ready by five.”

“Five?” I exclaim.

“I'm making two people entirely new identities that will hold up to scrutiny in this quadrant and the new one you're going to. That takes time, Keri. If I'd had any type of notice—”

“Yeah, well, they don't exactly tell you when you're gonna be drafted.”

“Sorry,” he murmurs. “Where can I meet you and Leah?”

“Go to Murphy's. I’ll be waiting there for you at five. Please, Edwin, don't let me down. I have nowhere else to turn.”

“I won't. Stay safe and lay low.”

“Thank you.”

I hang up and make sure no one's looking my way before I head back to the table where Leah sits.

“What did he say?” she asks as I sit down.

“He’ll do it. But he won’t have everything ready until five. I told him we’ll meet him at Murphy’s.”

She squeezes her eyes shut. “That’s too long from now. What are we going to do until then?”

“Look at me, Leah.” Her eyes open slowly and I hate the fear that I see in them. “We're going to be okay.”

“You can't promise me that, Keri. God, what was I thinking, telling you to run? We're gonna end up in prison, starving and—”

“Leah,” I whisper harshly. My voice raised enough to make people look our way. We cannot afford those stares. “We ran because we had to. And there's no going back now, so we just have to make sure we don't draw attention to ourselves while we're still here. But we've been here too long already, and we need to go.”

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