“Shh,” I whispered. My gaze darted around, but there were few people near us. “I don’t know.” I glanced at the two people standing near the truck again. “Do you think the rumors of experiments are true?”
Lisa leaned closer to us. “I think most of the rumors are true. None of us know what goes on over the wall. I don’t trust those news broadcasts for one minute. We only know what they tell us, and I believe most of it is a lie. And why did they start handing these fliers out four years ago? The volunteering has been going on for eleven years now. What happened four years ago that madethisstart?”
“I don’t know,” I muttered as I glanced at the flier again. “Maybe I should talk to them.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Lisa said firmly. “Nothing good is going to come out of whatever it is they’re looking for. Mark my words on that one.”
“What if they find out?” I looked pointedly between her and Gage. “I could be putting you both at risk.”
“I’m willing to take the risk.” Lisa pulled the flyer from my hand and crumpled it into a ball. She snatched Gage’s next and crushed it with hers. “Stay away from whatever this is.”
I had to agree with her on many things, but the idea of something happening to any of them petrified me.
I didn’t have much time to think about that as the man who had been standing by the truck stepped forward and lifted his hand into the air. Some conversations continued to swirl around us but they died off when more people realized he was about to speak. With the sunlight beating down on the man, the metals on the chest of his blue uniform shone. I didn’t know what they used for material for their clothing, but it was of far better quality than anything any of us wore.
“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,” he said in a clear, booming voice. “I am Colonel Ulrich MacIntyre and I’m so happy to see all of you here today for the volunteering. I so enjoy coming to these seaside communities, and who doesn’t love a good lobster?” Polite chuckles followed this statement. “Now, could we have all of the sixteen-year-olds in the community come forward?”
Finally finished with licking the caramel off his apple, Bailey toddled over to me and settled in my lap. Gage handed me his glass of water and a cloth to wipe off Bailey’s fingers and face with. From amongst the crowd, people made their way toward the trucks and the pair of military personnel.
The teens lined up beside the colonel with their parents behind them. My mother hadn’t bothered to come on the day I’d stood up there, but Lisa’s mother had stood behind me throughout the experience.
I finished cleaning Bailey off and settled him in my lap as a heavy air of expectancy descended over the crowd. There were at least fifty teenagers up there waiting to declare their fates. I didn’t envy them; it had been such a simple choice for me, but it wasn’t for many others.
Clearing his throat, the colonel drew everyone’s attention back to him. “Volunteering is a sacred duty only few are brave enough to undertake. All volunteers will leave their homes and families behind for a life spent protecting the wall and the many who reside outside of its borders.”
Lisa shot me a pointed look.‘From what?’she mouthed.
We’d all heard this speech before, but that had always been the question. What was on the other side of the wall? The rumors were anything from animals and humans deformed by radiation, to brand new creations as a result of the radiation, to Russian, North Korean, and Chinese fighters who hadn’t been beaten like we’d been informed, and still waged war on the other side.
It was a question I was dying to know the answer to, but we were too far from the wall to ever know. The closest section of the wall to us was over three hundred miles away. My feet definitely weren’t going to make the trek.
We’d heard stories that howling screams, ghostly calls, and other strange sounds could sometimes be heard in the towns residing closest to the wall. Sometimes those who were allowed to cross the bridges onto the Cape, or enter the ports in order to trade with us, said the towns closest to the wall lived in fear of what was on the other side. It was whispered those people would have fled if there had been a guarantee they would be able to find someplace else to live.
I tried to believe they were only campfire tales, meant to scare people away from the wall, but I couldn’t shake the belief that at least some of it had to be true.
“The volunteers will be well compensated for their bravery with a home, clothing, and food behind the wall,” the man continued. “They will never again have to wonder where their next meal will come from. Not only that, but their parents or guardians will receive a stipend of food from the Guards for the rest of their lives to help offset their needs.”
This was the reason most people volunteered. It wasn’t so much the promise of something new, better clothing, and steady shelter that made them step forward, but the ability to help take care of their family too.
“All volunteers will receive training and be taught how to take care of themselves and how to protect others,” the colonel continued.
Again, we were told this, but we had no way of knowing what happened after the volunteers were taken away. Letters were sent home from past volunteers and families were allowed to send mail to the front, but the letters arriving here never revealed any info about what went on at the wall.
“All volunteers take pride in what they do as they help to rebuild our great nation. They are amongst the many celebrated heroes of this majestic land. Now, as you all know, all first year volunteers are sixteen years of age. If you are not sixteen, please return to where you were seated. You will have your chance soon.” No one moved from where they stood lined up beside him. “If you have not come forward yet, please do.”
The only mandatory attendance for today was for the sixteen-year-olds in town. I didn’t know why they were all required to stand up there, if they weren’t going to volunteer. Maybe the government felt it would embarrass some of those who didn’t volunteer into doing so, or maybe they thought people would look down on those who didn’t volunteer. Either way, they were wrong. Standing up there, I hadn’t felt embarrassed, ashamed, or looked down upon when I hadn’t stepped forward. I’d only wanted to return to Gage in the crowd.
“Now,” the man stepped forward and turned to face the kids. “Who amongst you is brave enough to face a whole new world and to protect and serve your great nation?”
Lisa leaned over to whisper in my ear. “Volunteersmustbe down this year in the other towns. He’s really pouring it on thick.”
I nodded my agreement as the man walked in front of the people gathered before him. “Please step forward if you are willing to become one of the great many who have kept this country alive.”
There was a shuffling within the group, and then five boys and two girls stepped forward. My gaze focused on a small girl at the end. Her hands were folded together before her, and her head was bowed. A willowy woman with two twin boys, one on each hip, stood behind her. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the young girl as I waited for her to do what Iknewshe was going to do.
With a dejected look at her mother, the young girl took a step forward. The woman gave an awkward lurch forward as she tried to grab hold of her daughter’s shoulder and pull her back. The young girl brushed away her mother’s grasping hand.
Tears streaked the woman’s cheeks; she glanced between her daughter and the others standing forward from the group. The kids were all trying to look so proud with their tilted chins, thrown back shoulders, and gazes fixed on something in the distance. On most of them, their shaking hands, trembling lower lips, and misty eyes belied their brave front.
