Mary+Peyton+Vignette

All four of us lined up in front of the Head, glaring into his dark cold eyes, waiting for him to speak in that deep, cold voice. His hands were clenched in tight fists and his large face was turning an angry purple. We knew we shouldn’t have done it. Voyaging past the Limits was illegal, especially at such a young age. My three friends and I knew in our hearts, however, that it was the only thing to do to get the attention of the Head and his massive body guards. It was hard to get such attention. None of them even turned their heads when both of my parents were killed by the famine and diseases. No one even cared, and it kills me every day inside to think their death was left unannounced, uncared for. I guess some of the greatest people in the world aren’t so special to everyone else once they’re dead. But they were special to me.

In the midst of my angry thoughts, I was cut off by the shrill, disturbed shout coming from the Head’s mouth.

“You KNOW what this means, don’t you?!” He looked almost pleased. And we did know what it meant: extreme punishment. I had endured it before, survived. But not everyone was as skilled at swimming as I was.

“You KNOW that you will have to endure such pain and danger for such an action. I now ask all of you to behave and turn around!” His mad cackling was audible from behind as the seven foot guards tied up our hands with hefty, torn cloths. I’m sure they would have used shackles or something, but nothing like that could be found after the Flood of 2050.

Just before the blindfolds were wrapped aggressively around my face, I took in my surroundings. I was standing on top of Head Quarters, or as some may call it, the top of the Memphis Bridge. A massive platform had been built across the top of it for walking and other activities…such as punishments. Tops of buildings were slightly visible, their roofs crowded with tents and surviving furniture. Small families drifted nearby on their homemade rafts. What had the world come to?

Suddenly, I looked over at my best friend Lily. I could see the tiny lead weights being placed in her pockets so that it would be even more difficult to swim. Soon, I felt the weight of them in mine as I began to peer over into the deep green waters of the Mississippi River.

“Lily, are you going to be okay?” I asked, my head turned in her direction without the ability to actually see her anxious face.

“No. No!” she exclaimed. “I’m scared, Jane, I’m so scared! What is going to happen?” I felt her hand grip my forearm. I was assuming she was asking me literally because of all of my previous punishments.

“Just calm down. Everything will be perfectly fine. Just remember to take a deep breath a few seconds after you're pushed in and swim upward as fast as you can. Once you can get your body onto a ledge, you’re fine.” I knew these words, "you're fine," were somewhat of a lie. Most people aren't fine...

I could hear her breathing quickly. I gave her hand a quick squeeze, just for good luck.

From out of nowhere, an eerily amused voice whispered into our ears.

“Hope you survive…” And with that, we all plummeted to an unknown fate, fighting for our lives. Fighting for our freedom.