The Fence
They didn’t have any other option than to hide. Without any chance to figure out logistics, they hopped on the highway and drove due northeast for several hours.
Most everyone knew where the Outer was. It was plotted on any GPS map and people avoided it at all costs. Nobody wanted to hear about or see it, and for that same reason plenty of tales circled around about it.
Including the rumors about Doctor.
Benji drove toward the Outer but decided to stay a few miles away from the site. He parked his car on an old dirt road that was currently snow-covered and led deeply into the woods.
Once he was sure that the car was covered up enough with loose branches, they made their way to the back of the Outer. By the time they got close enough, it was dark.
A mile before they arrived, an eerie blue glow had begun to reflect in all directions on the white snow. The Fence.
They ventured closer until they saw a large, lit-up cobalt- colored electric fence live with thousands of volts. This monstrous design now stood between them and entry. At first glance they noticed objects draped from the blue wires.
It was cold and Lina blinked as the first snowflakes fell into her eyes. As they peered upward they identified human remains hanging from the fence that stretched out for miles. Benji gasped recognizing what he saw. Galina covered her mouth.
“The smell,” she whimpered.
“Bloody hell. Doesn’t make a difference that it’s winter to the dead, does it?” Benji whispered.
Suddenly, they heard yelling and the reply of several shouts. They both startled and then crouched down.
As they watched, multiple people were seen running and screaming while another one cocked a revolver hammer and took shots at them.
One younger looking female was dropped to the ground. She screamed louder as the gunman walked over to her. He gripped her by the back of her hair, dragging her behind a beaten down shed.
Benji and Lina’s pupils widened from mutual surges of adrenaline in response to the sound of her cries. Then things became silent for a moment.
“He killed her!” Lina mouthed to Benji in terror with the periwinkle-blue light upon her tiny face.
“Stay calm,” Benji whispered, trying to stop his own shaking. They both searched where they saw her last, hoping she’d emerge.
Then, out of the silence came a blood curdling scream from a man in the same direction. The smell of cigarette smoke wafted to them and they saw someone enter the shed. Two people emerged. The man yelled again, kneeling on the ground, begging.
“I’ll listen to the worms clear out your rot, you dirty Vneshniy gypsy,” they heard a woman say quietly in a Cockney or Estuary accent melded with southern states. It was the same woman that the man had just grabbed, smoking over him. She began to hit him with the back of a hammer.
“Iris, you cool?” they heard someone shout from the shadows.
“I am, thank you!”
“Groovy.”
“No, please, Iris, I didn’t know it was you!” the man screamed as she laughed maniacally at him
“Sure, you didn’t, you nasty, despicable specimen. Whad’ya think? I walk around here without protection? I’m half-metal you twat. How could ya miss me?”
She gave him one abrupt kick to the face and then slammed the hammer in the back of his skull, once, pulled it out with force, then slammed it again. She repeated several times.
By the tenth hit, he was silent. Benji and Lina both shuddered hearing the loud crack of the bones and the gurgle of blood in the throat.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” Lina whispered, trembling so hard that her teeth were chattering in fear and cold.
“I know her.” Benji stared at the woman; the dusty-blue light caused his facial features to iridesce. Within seconds they both heard robotic movements closing in on them near the hill they were standing on.
“Benji,” Lina began, biting her fingernails, her face drawn tightly down in fright. “What should we do?”
“That would be Redeemer, no doubt. We’ve to get inside.” Benji glanced over her shoulder toward the mechanistic crunching.
“Maybe he’ll help us.” Galina nodded emphatically.
“You really believe that?” He tilted his head toward her, raising his eyebrows at her with skepticism. She nodded naively.
“Tsk, Lina, he ain’t what you think he is. Everyone knows that. He’s a bloody Titan.”
“It doesn’t matter that he’s a Titan. They all feel.”
The blue lights barely illuminated the heavy snowfall in front of them. The rest was darkness. They had to make a decision soon.
“I’d rather not find out if I’m right.” Benji began examining the individual fence bolts on the web. Large, rounded headlights suddenly pointed in their direction. The mechanistic crunching upon the snow continued. Beams of hazy yellow were shining down.
Galina was pleading with Benji to stop as she said, “You’ll get killed. You’ve never done this before.” She had to force the pressure of her voice to remain in a whisper.
“They’re all powered individually underground,” he replied then said, “The shock will knock out their transformers.”
“How do you know that?” Galina asked him.
“Your brother, Ivan, told me. We can speak more about it later.” His voice was quietly urgent.
Benji placed his hands on a section of the Fence and there was a slight spark at first, then loud popping. He jerked his palm back in surprise. The sound echoed, but it wasn’t any comparison to the bullets and other raucous shouting that they could hear throughout the Vneshniy.
They both searched the area to see if anyone had noticed the two of them lurking. The dusty-blue lights dimmed and then suddenly went out creating more cover for them. Gripping them again, he was able to knock out section by section; three in total.
“C’mon,” he said, speaking gravely. “I don’t know how long we have before they return to live.” He stretched open the now darkened tubes of the fence and Galina rushed in.
They were able to hide in the shadows to the left. Someone had planted several trees in rows for a small orchard. It was fenced in with metal covering it from top to bottom. They scrambled behind it as best as they could. Pads and combination locks were peppered along it.
Benji dropped down and pulled Lina into a crouching position with him. They could see animals eating some of the fallen fruit. A couple of pigs and dogs rooted together.
Both Benji and Lina took care not to draw attention to themselves, but then a group of mutts slinked out, sniffing the air. Within seconds they began to bark.
It didn’t take long for them all to be frothing with anger against the fence. Galina and Benji both noticed that two beings came out to check on the dogs. “Silvers. They really are living here,” Galina whispered then asked, “Why?”
Benji and Galina didn’t want to wait around to see what could happen. They quickly scrambled along the back of one of the buildings. Its foundation was lifted off the ground and they could see pieces of rebar with chunks of concrete underneath.
They crawled under the building between the rows of rolled steel and broken blocks in hopes to conceal themselves. As they moved farther under, they noticed a unique-looking cat. The two crawled toward it slowly.
“Why is it different colors?” Galina asked.
“Looks like armor to me.” Benji pointed out. They could see that the creature was protected in a suit, “Metal!” There was purple on the chest, blue on the back, and red on the head. Galina slowly crept closer to it.
“That’s really well made.”
“Wonder how it keeps warm,” Benji mentioned, reaching to touch it but then quickly reconsidered. “Best not try that. Sorry mate.” With that, the cat darted up the street away from them.
To the right, they suddenly heard shouting and saw fires lighting. Some people were laughing, and then random gunshots erupted again. Galina whimpered in fear.
When it became quieter, they dared to peek their heads out to spy up the hill. The road was mixed with dirt and snow; it was clearly slippery.
The neighborhood was made up of old apartment buildings that had once been condemned but reworked. Some dwellings had been newly erected, all of which were built quite well, surprisingly. In certain areas, there appeared to be professional architecture involved.
The two remained underneath the rebar building for a while, but it wasn’t long before they began to shiver uncontrollably. Benji pulled Lina in close to him, and he used his fire to build up some heat for them. It was hard not to notice his hands and the brightness it created, however.
A few silhouettes were coming down the dirty, snow-covered road with flashlights and lanterns. He quickly stuffed his hands in his pockets. As they saw that the group was imminently getting closer, Benji and Lina rushed to the other side of the street.
The two were able to find a small alleyway that had stacks of barrels lining one side. It was heavily snowing on them now. They were nearly chest to chest since the path was so small. The footsteps hastened. Lights flashed to life up above them suddenly. They both whipped their heads straight up to see what was happening.
Their breathing was visible now and they carefully tried to conceal it. As the raggedy group walked by, Lina and Benji remained as motionless as they could. Benji pointed to his chest and then beckoned to her.
Galina hesitated and then entered Benji. Upon melding, she felt his heart pounding and the electricity of elevated metabolism pumping through his veins. Several deeply green, nearly black squares fluttered around in front of her. It was his fear. Galina gripped one.
He squeezed his way out toward the other end of the alley where they were completely covered in darkness. He found an empty hole that appeared dug up by an animal.
Benji began digging around it to enlarge the space. There he uncovered something person-made. He pulled a rope up and discovered that it led down to a tiny cellar; he dropped down in and abruptly pushed the door back in place.
