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respond. So they continued on in
silence.
    They walked on, along the outskirts of
the city, and Clover wished Arma was with them. Rye made her nervous to begin
with, and the lack of conversation only seemed to heighten the tension. But
what else could she talk about with this angry boy? Clearly they had nothing in
common.
    She noticed a group of men digging in a
trench near one of the factories. She viewed this as something to discuss, so she
asked him what they were doing.
    “Replacing some electrical wires that
run to the building.”
    She stopped walking to stare at him. “Electrical
wires?”
    He stopped too, and nodded, sighing as
if the last place he wanted to be right now was standing there with her.
    “So, the factories have electricity?”
    “Yes,” he confirmed. The smile from
earlier had long vanished as aggravation took over his face. She wondered now
if he really had smiled or if she had only imagined it. It seemed like
something very out of character for him.
    “And running water,” he added.
    She couldn’t believe it. This was an odd
place. “So, why don’t you have those things in your house?”
    He gave her a strange look, like she was
an idiot, and then he continued walking. “The gods won’t allow us to have such
conveniences in our homes.”
    She took a few sprints to catch up to
him. “Gods? Who are they?” She remembered hearing once that people long ago
believed there were gods, something like all-powerful beings who dictated how
they should live. It seemed to her like such an incredible, archaic idea.
Especially since she lived in a world where people did whatever pleased them. They
only had to follow the laws.
    Rye only mumbled something she couldn’t
make out and increased his pace. She had to jog to keep up with him. He sure
wasn’t the friendliest person she’d met.
    When they reached the tall bush that hid
the door on this side of the Wall, he stopped.
    Clover bent over slightly and worked at
catching her breath. It had been hard, keeping up with his steady, fast-paced
walking.
    Her breathing evened out after a minute
or two, so she straightened up and asked him, “What’s the plan?”
    “I’ll meet you right here, at the door, just
after dusk tonight.” He didn’t even wait to see if that was a convenient time
for her. He spoke the words and then immediately turned and hurriedly walked
away without even a glance over his shoulder.
    “Okay,” she muttered to herself as she
ducked through the door. “No need to thank me. I do this kind of thing every
day. You know, break the law and go to the other side of the Wall where the
monsters live, all so that I can help ungrateful people like you.”
    She closed the door and started removing
the dress that Arma had loaned her. “That’s right,” she uttered under her
breath, “I’m going to meet you at dusk, when it’s getting dark…” And that’s
when it hit her - Arma had said the monsters come out at night. What had she
gotten herself into?
     

CHAPTER FIVE
     
    The weather did not show any signs of
improving. The dark clouds continued to loom above, but as she left the woods of
Eadin and entered the city streets, she marveled at how bright and pretty her home
was. Even the gloom couldn’t take away from the beauty of the colorful houses
and brilliant grass. Quell was drab, perfectly matching the way the people in
it dressed. Her parents were right; they were lucky to live where they did.
    She’d been gone all morning and into the
early afternoon and, as she smiled with pride at her perfect city, Clover’s
stomach reminded her she hadn’t had lunch, so she walked quickly toward home. 
    She was approaching the house when a quick
glance up the street showed her somebody sitting on the front step at Zander’s
house. He’d been acting so strange lately, and she really wanted to talk to him,
to spend time with him. Ignoring the rumbling of her stomach, she passed by her
house and headed in the direction of his. As