Beyond The Walls (NOW ON AMAZON!!!)

Optimism

"Hadley! Wake up!"

Hadley's vision was blurry when she opened her eyes, her cheeks wet.

She'd had the dream again. The one she'd woken up to in the underground clinic. The one where she was back at the Compound. Back at the Initiation and Exaltation Ceremony. But this time, she'd been five years old, and it wasn't just a dream – it was a memory. She'd slid her hand into Jamila's as the names of the new Elders were called out. Jamila had squeezed Hadley's hand tight enough to hurt, but Hadley had barely noticed. It was their mothers' Cohort facing Exaltation. Hadley had wondered if she should be feeling awful knowing that she would never see her mother after that day – because she didn't.

It had been obvious that Jamila's and Jael's mothers would be chosen from that Cohort as the new Elders of the Compound. Just like their mothers before them. It was fitting too. Jamila's mother had been one of the best and most kind-hearted people in the Compound, not to mention a talented Horticulturist, responsible for some of the best Compound harvests. Everyone had loved her. As for Jael's mother, she was a talented Repairer who could fix virtually any machine in the Compound, while also being an amazing mother and mentor.

Jael's mother had been chosen, as expected. But not Jamila's mother. Instead, it had been Aadya, Hadley's mother and best Educator, chosen as the second Elder from their cohort.

Five-year-old Jamila had fallen apart at Hadley's side at the loss of her mother, collapsing to her knees as her body shook with silent tears...

"Are you okay, Hadley?"

Hadley turned to the voice.

Drew.

"What?" Hadley whispered as the dream/memory bled away and their current predicament slowly replaced it.

"You're crying," Drew said, concerned. "Are you okay?"

Hadley tentatively reached for her cheek, surprised to find a river of tears still flowing from her eyes. The profound melancholy from her vivid dream clang to her like smoke from the campfire and more tears fall. She wiped them away and fought to focus on the little boy.

"I'm fine, Drew," she said, her voice clogged with emotion.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

Hadley cleared her throat and nodded, not trusting her voice wouldn't betray her. She looked around. They were still in the small space between a fig tree's roots, hiding from the Healer and whoever else might have been searching for them, like the "floating monsters". Drew's explanation of them was wanting. Not his fault. He was just seven, and the rainforest wasn't a Progeny's usual surroundings, not to mention the fact that it was a frightening place for any sane adult, let alone a child.

It was early morning. The sun's rays were just making their way through the jungle canopy. A few birds tweeted out calls and the wind whistled gently past the trees.

"We need to keep moving," Hadley told Drew.

Brownie was already up and furtively looking back at them and then towards the forest, clearly anxious to move too.

"Okay, Hadley," the little boy said cheerily.

He held out a hand. She took it and stood up. With no map, no plan, no supplies, and no idea of where they were, Hadley had to figure out exactly what they were going to do next, because they wouldn't survive the forest on their own for too long. Not even with a vampire dog on their side. These trees hid a world of evil! But unseen monsters weren't the only danger they faced. Despite those two juicy maggots she'd shoved down her gullet the previous day, Hadley was starved, and she was lost in more ways than the obvious.