P r o l o g u e

The air was pushing down on him. As Eli laid on his back, unmoving, the dry earth seemed like a hollow shell, moments away from cracking under his weight. He would fall bellow the surface, into a world of icy darkness. Above him, he would see the light peering through the crumbling shell where he had been only seconds prior. Through it, he would catch one last glimpse of the sun before it became only a small light emitting into the cavern. He would reach out to it, but it would only shrink the further he reached. Soon, he would become unable to tell if he was getting farther away from the light or if the light was becoming more distant from him.

“Eli.”

His eyes flickered open, revealing a world of a thousand more lights dotting the black velvet expanse above him.

“We have to get going. You slept all day long.”

“Sorry.” Eli's dry voice reminded him that he hadn't had anything to drink since yesterday. His head was pounding. He hardly felt refreshed. Rather, he wanted to turn over and drift back into sleep; hopefully dreamless. His dreams always left him feeling more exhausted than before he fell asleep.

Groggy, he sat up, holding onto his head. “Do you have water?”

JaeSeop's face was difficult to see in the dark, but the way his gaze shifted to the ground told him the answer. “No. But, we're almost to the next town, so, if we hurry, we can refill our canteens by morning.” He looked back over at Eli. “Geez, you didn't even bother to roll out a sleeping bag. Wasn't it uncomfortable sleeping on the ground?”

Eli shrugged, although, as he stood up, he could feel the pain in his back as he rose to his feet. “I didn't really plan on falling asleep like that, it just kind of happened.” Remembering the events prior to his sleep, he added, “Sorry; I only said I wanted to take a break.”

“It's fine, you needed it. I slept a bit, too.”

“Where's Hoon?”

JaeSeop handed Eli his backpack. “He went ahead of us; how do you think I know there's a town nearby? He called just now and told me what he found. He even managed to find a cheap motel we can stay at a few days.”

The idea of staying in a real room, with air conditioning and a bed, was enticing enough to get Eli moving. Pulling on the backpack, the familiar weight almost comforting, he set out after JaeSeop.

They walked towards the mountains in the distance, towards the one that was just a bit taller than the others. It was how they made sure not to get lost. Just keep aiming for the mountains.

Eli preferred walking at night. He thought it was unbearable to trek through the desert during the day, although the others seemed to prefer the opposite, for some reason. Maybe it was the dangerous feeling that comes with night, when your vision is limited and it seems anything can jump out at you.

They walked for hours. Walking seems to take up the majority of their time. The sun was just beginning to peek above the horizon when they first saw the town approaching. The idea of food and rest carried them to their destination, pushing themselves to further extents than they normally would have.

Eventually, a road swerved into their path, and they followed along its side, signs of humanity becoming more apparent as they walked. Occasionally, a car would pass by, making their hearts pound in excitement after seeing nothing but rock and dry grass for days.

A gate marked entrance into the town. Out of habit, Eli tensed up, even if he knew this city was part of Region D; If not, how would Hoon have gotten in? They walked up to the window of the guard tower, where a officer laid back in his chair, book in hand. Seeing them approach, he stood up.

“More refugees?” The officer wrinkled his forehead.

“Something like that. You've been getting a lot?” JaeSeop asked, pulling his ID Tag out from underneath his shirt.

The officer scanned the barcode on JaeSeop's tag as he said, “A few, lately. Must have been another attack, or something. Where are you guys coming from?” He gave JaeSeop a nod to let him know he's clear.

Eli stepped up to let the officer scan his tag as JaeSeop replied. “Region D-3. There wasn't anything that really happened, but, with some of the threats Region B has been giving D lately, a lot of us have decided it would be safer to go somewhere less populated. I don't think we'll be staying here very long.”

The officer came out from the booth to give a security pat down. “Mm, yeah, I can see that. We've been taking our own precautions here in D-9.” When approached, Eli put his arms out, not giving a second thought to the procedure he'd become so used to.

The officer retreated back into his booth and hit a few keys on the keyboard. The screen's glow changed colors, and the officer gave them a friendly smile. He pulled something out from below the counter and offered it to them.

“What are these?” JaeSeop looked surprised as he was handed a gas mask.

“One of the precautions I was talking about.” The officer grabbed a couple pamphlets out of a pile near the window. “These should help clear up a few other things. Take a look when you get settled. Make sure that you have located nearest bomb shelter wherever you are, at all times. We test our sirens every Monday morning at exactly 6:00 am, but, to be safe, we ask, but do not require, you to retreat to a shelter during drills, for the sake of practice. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

The tall, barbed wire gate opened for Eli and JaeSeop. The information just recited to them was standard; nothing new. Eli pulled the gas mask over his head, letting it hang loosely around his neck.

Eli noted the sign at the entrance. They were in Region D-9, City 239.

The town was small; antique buildings and scattered houses among shrub. The roads were worn to a dull gray color. The lines on the street were faded. Power lines ran alongside them.

JaeSeop stopped to call Hoon. Their conversation was brief, and Hoon's voice wasn't particularly loud. All Eli could get out of it was directions to the motel, a quick comment about the safety procedures here, and something they needed from the store.

JaeSeop hung up with a sigh. “Here,” he offered Eli some money from his wallet, “Get us food for the next few days. I'll meet Hoon at the motel.”

“This isn't very much...” Eli commented, eying the money in his hands. “You know I don't have that much money on me, either.”

“I don't have much more than this, either. I wanted to keep some of it in case we needed it. We're going to have to settle down and find work soon; we won't last much longer this way. Maybe we'll stay here?”

“We'll get a job and rest up so that we can run around some more later, that's how it is?” Eli's bitter words were only loud enough for himself to hear, and JaeSeop didn't ask what he had said, although his expression was curious.

They parted ways. Eli searched for a place to buy food. There was a mini-mart not far from where he and JaeSeop had entered from, and he figured a place like that would do fine. He only bought the cheapest food, and only what was necessary for survival. Despite the fire burning his throat, he refrained buying and liquids, reasoning that they could get water from the sink at the motel.

On one of the walls was a fairly large television screen, identical to the ones Eli knew rested inside every building in Region D. It was on, displaying the face of a young man who seemed to be giving a news report. At the bottom of the screen, the reporter's name was shown; Kevin Woo.

“...but we will update you when we are able to obtain more information on the topic. Tomorrow, at 3 pm, a conference will be held between the major representatives in Regions D and B. The goal of this meeting will be to resolve the conflict arising between the regions. Media coverage of this conference has been banned. However, representative from Region B-9, Shin SooHyun, will be providing a summary of the conference. Now we have your early morning weather report with...”

Eli lightly noted that the representative mentioned was from the region he was in right now, before taking his basket of food up to the counter. The cashier rang up the content, and Eli was left with little cash.

He walked outside. It was like walking into a different world.