The Wall by Ramz Artso

Chapter 1 – Cause to Worry
     
    After one thousand and twenty-three years of faithful service, the wall that had kept our nightmares at bay and protected us from the things abiding on the either side finally began to fall apart. It began at sunset, when the last shafts of sunlight were swallowed up by the omnipresent darkness, and nothing but the distant stars could be seen in the cold autumn skies.
    Word of the disaster spread through New New York, faster than wildfire and by the time the Controllers got there, the whole city was out to ogle.
    ‘W-what does this mean?’ my boyfriend, Klarkson, who was seventeen and therefore an entire year older than me, mumbled under his breath with a shadow of confusion hanging over his handsome face. ‘What’s going to happen now?’
    I had no idea. In fact, everybody around me appeared to be just as bewildered and clueless as I was. Of course, just like the rest of them, I had heard the numerous stories about the ancient Great War with the wildlings from space, which had lasted for well over two decades and culminated in the near extinction of the human race and the building of the Wall.
    ‘The Controlers should get everything in order,’ I finally answered, never removing my eyes from the disintegrating top of the white structure. ‘I mean, that’s their job, after all – to keep everything up and running.’
    ‘Yeah, yeah. You’re right.’ But despite his playing it cool, my converser sounded just about as calm and relaxed as me, which wasn’t a good thing – not a good thing, at all. ‘Look, er, it’s already dark. So, I think it’s a good idea I walk you home.’
    I took him up on the offer, knowing full well that darkness was the least of his worries. We walked hand-in-hand in complete silence, ignoring the jogging passersby as they endeavored to get to the safety of their homes as fast as possible. I heard some of them exchange a few words of concern, occasionally voicing my fears as they did so.
    Finally, unable to keep it in any longer, I turned to Klarkson and asked the following, ‘K, do you think the wildlings will–’
    ‘Nothing will happen, Denise,’ he cut me off, throwing an arm over my shoulder. ‘Everything will be fine. The wildlings are all probably dead by now, and if not and they’re stupid enough to attack us, then the Controllers will make sure they regret it.’
    I wanted to counter his argument, yet some part of me liked the idea that everything was under control and that NNYC was perfectly safe under the auspices of our ever-vigilant government. That being the case, I chose to remain quiet.

Chapter 2 – The Happening
     
    I was woken in the middle of the night by my mother, who seemed to be extremely upset about something and was therefore screaming at my dad, not to mention using swearwords while she was at it. The latter of the two kept trying to calm her in hushed tones and muffled endearments, and as I exited my bedroom and headed in their direction I heard him say – beg, really, ‘You’re going to wake Denise, Margaret. Please, lower your voice!’
    ‘What’s going on here?’ I demanded, wiping sleep from my eyes and instantly registering their concerned facial expressions.
    ‘It’s nothing, dear, go back to bed.’
    ‘No,’ Mom protested, ‘she has the right to know, Richard.’
    ‘Margaret, leave her out of this!’
    ‘No, Richard, don’t tell me what to do!’ Mom faced me with tears in her eyes. She had just opened her mouth to say something, when my ears detected a soft buzz and instead of uttering words, she gasped in surprise and released a heavy sigh before dropping dead to the ground.
    ‘Mom?’ I barely had the time to voice, when the buzz sounded again and my father divide right at me, carrying us both to the floor just in time to avoid a tiny black arrow from lodging right in my chest. That was when I noticed that an exact same projectile was protruding from my mother’s back. All of a sudden, I felt