Stasis

“Security camera disabled.”

A contented grin crept to August’s lips as the words came to the screen. He’d finally succeeded in shutting down all the cameras that could capture his intended action and now, all he had to do was execute his plan.

Fortunately for him, the time happened to be two in the morning, meaning his controlling parent was still asleep. When he looked up, he saw the wall of small screens, all saying those three liberating words.

There was no going back now.

Nerves clawing at his stomach, August stood from his seat and left the surveillance room, which brought him to a long hallway. He’d heard this hallway was fancy and traditional, but to him, the whole place was boring.

The entire building had become bland after spending all twenty-one years of his life there. He was ready to escape. He grabbed his old backpack up off the floor and began to swiftly walk down the red carpet that decorated the dark hallway.

One thousand, August thought to himself as he walked. One-thousand dollars should be enough to get by for a while. And then, I’ll get a job and save up to go to another country. Canada, probably. I’ll have to use the alias I came up with so people can’t figure out who I am. Changing my last name should be fine for getting a job, but getting a passport might be hard without being able to use my real name. I guess as a last resort, I can either forge a passport or go into the country illegally, but I don’t think I really want to-

“Hey!”

A deep, masculine voice snapped August out of his thoughts and he found himself face-to-face with a man who clearly didn’t want to be there; the two were in a stare down.

“You’re the boss’s kid, right?” The man asked. “What are you doing out here at this hour? And what’s with the backpack?”

August chuckled nervously. “Not stealing food from the kitchen, that’s for sure.”

The man sighed. “What is it now? You got so caught up in playing that new video game and now you need a snack to help you stay up even longer?”

If there was anything August was good at in his boring life, it was lying. “Don’t tell my dad.”

“I won’t,” The older man groaned as he began walking past the younger one. You’re lucky all the security cameras randomly decided to go down tonight.”

August turned his back, feeling anxious as he watched his father’s employee start to walk away. He silently clutched a strap of his backpack and began walking even faster, realizing he only had a few minutes before that technician fixed the security cameras.

The door to the staircase was now within reach, which he promptly pushed open in order to begin his downward sprint.

The sound of rapid footsteps echoed through the stairway and he held his breath, hoping he wouldn’t wake anyone up. With each corner he turned, the more it felt like someone would catch him at any moment.

The first floor door was in his sight. From this point forward, all that mattered was getting out of this prison he’d been forced to call home. Everything that came afterwards could wait until he was free.

Catching his breath, August pushed open the door and dashed down the hallway he was all too familiar with. High ceilings and century-old relics would’ve intimidated anyone but him.

His breathing pattern became heavier and more rapid as he got closer to the double doors that would hopefully be his salvation. Those old, hardwood doors that hundreds of thousands of tourists went through before their leader rose to power were right in front of him. All he had to do was push one open as fast as he could, mustering all his strength.

A shrieking alarm pierced his ears. He froze in the midst of opening the door, trembling. He’d completely forgotten about the alarm on the front door.

Footsteps sounded from above and around him and his legs went on auto pilot, carrying him into the cold night.

Shouts and even more footsteps could be heard from behind and August instinctively put up his hood in order to partially conceal his face. He didn’t want to be identified from the back, after all.

Ignoring the trembling of his body, he veered right and headed to the wall that surrounded the entire perimeter of the building he was tired of seeing. There was a hole underneath it that his thin figure could easily fit through, and he knew exactly where it was.

Near the front of the building, August swung his backpack off and threw it into the exact hole he needed. He allowed himself to collapse onto his stomach, crawling underneath the massive wall that stood between him and his freedom.

He frantically pushed the ragged object in front of him, making sure he escaped with it. His incentive to hustle even more came to him in the form of footsteps growing closer, and he moved all four limbs at a speed he didn’t know he was capable of reaching on the ground.

At last, he made it through to the other side, where he quickly put his backpack back on and continued to sprint into a small forest. Footsteps and voices continues to sound from behind, indicating he was being followed.

In this moment, August’s only instinct was to run. Even with the cold biting at his hands and face, the heavy backpack weighing him down, and the rough dirt that tainted his clothes from underneath the wall, he ran. He ran until he reached a sudden cliff, where he had to force himself to halt.

City lights were in view; he’d never seen such a thing in person before. For a second, he couldn’t help but stop to admire the sight. If he could just manage to lose the guards following him, he’d be able to enjoy it for much longer.

With that motivation, he began to tread down what he realized was not a cliff, but instead a steep incline that he happened to be on top of.

There was apparently a river at the bottom of this incline. For a moment, he debated swimming across, though he wasn’t the best swimmer at all and would probably get swept away.

Logically, his best chance was a very large rock that caught his attention, one that he thought he could possibly hide behind. The footsteps and voices were getting closer, so this was a chance that had to be taken.

Hoping for the best, August sat against the rock, holding his backpack against his chest. He saw beams from flashlights dance around from different sides, searching for the person that had escaped from the prison owned by their employer. They were like hunters, stalking and tracking their prey until it inevitably gave in.

August, however, wasn’t the typical prey.

Lights continued to dance around, drawing dangerously close to their target. All he could do was sit in silence, listening to the very clear drum of his heart that pounded in fear.

Voices drew closer, saying things that August still couldn’t make out. It wasn’t long before he realized that they weren’t even speaking English.

It sounded as if there were two men searching behind him, trying desperately to do their jobs. Despite not being able to understand them, August could hear them sounding concerned, almost frightened, as if they would face terrible consequences for not completing the task at hand.

After a few agonizing moments, the voices faded. Tension that had built up in the air seemed to release as the sounds of footsteps grew farther away. August loosened his grip on the backpack, feeling relief flow through him.

His next plan was to go into the city and find a place to sleep, even if it was just a cheap hotel with cold showers. Unfortunately, he knew that leaving now could possibly result in still being caught, so he waited.

While he sat, he turned his attention to the city that was finally in view. It was much more beautiful in person than any screen could ever portray.

After years of staring at screens, he could finally have his own experience. The thought of something like being at a real hotel was mind-blowing to him, but exciting at the same time. At long last, he was out in the world; the real world, not the one he’d been told about.

So many dark, horrible things had been taught to him about the world he had longed to see. For the first time, he was able to see it for himself. And all he could see was beauty.