Chapter 2

I woke up early in the morning being extremely happy. Today is the big day, the day I will set off again. As the first rays of sunshine poured on the small window of the so-called house where I lived, and where I lived for four years, I got up, brushed my face and teeth, dressed in some black pants and a red shirt, and still jacket, then I went outside. For four years we lived in the city of Proxima 3. People got tired of running away from the ranks, so they built many cities surrounded by walls to protect themselves from their attacks. The largest city is Maxima, a city to which few have access. The city of Maxima is best equipped against fighting with the wounded, with numerous weapons and defense machinery. Or so the rumors say. Personally, I have never seen this city, but in the evenings when more people gather at Jeha's tavern, a few meters away from my small home in the city of Proxima 3, many stories were told about all kinds of places, things, such as the southern deserts, the walls of the city of Maxima, the western swamps, the frozen north. I was always happy to listen to all the stories. Many times even old Evrik delighted everyone with a new story. Such evenings were wonderful, and for a moment everyone forgot about all the hardships, all the upsets, all the troubles. I'm going to miss Jeha's tavern, but unfortunately I have to leave town.

The city of Proxima 3 is one of the four cities of Proxima. All four cities are arranged in such a way that if you joined them all together in a straight line, a square would form. The cities are very close to each other and in the year when the walls are lowered, the cities collaborate. They help each other even when two pieces from two different cities end up being framed in the same area when the walls rise. This is the most effective way to fight the wounded.

Once out of the house I started heading towards the western wall of the city of Proxima 3. Beyond the wall, just a few meters away is hidden the molehill machine built by the old Evrik. Fortunately, when the walls were erected four years ago, the town of Proxima was split in two, and the area formed included a large area of ​​land that was used in agriculture throughout these four years. People in this area have done well over the years. We were lucky to find ourselves in this area.

After a few good minutes of walking we reached the western wall of the city. Here at a large metal gate were two guards, Luke and Mike. Luke was a tall, thin young man, while Mike was short and fat. They complement each other you could say.

-How are you? , I asked.

"Pretty good," Mike said.

"What time is it?" Luke had asked me.

-11: 50, I said.

"Another 10 minutes," Luke said in a shaky voice. Let's hope we get through this day well.

Usually the first day or even the first week after the walls came down, it was the hardest, and that was only because of the injuries. Once the walls were lowered, ordeal often began, and people had to and still have to fight and shed blood to defend themselves against these monsters. It was 10 minutes before the walls came down, but every minute felt like hours. Everyone was ready. The windows and metal doors were tightly locked. The children were hidden and all the adults were on the streets, each with a gun in his hand. Everyone was silent. No one said a word. But the silence sounded louder than any other noise. Everyone counted the seconds in their minds, and when a minute passed, everyone was put in a knot in their throats.

The last minute came, and everyone's hearts were pounding. They were all staring at the huge wall, which might bring them misfortune. They prayed and hoped that the other side, or the other parts of the city (they had no way of knowing exactly how many parts the city was divided into only when they came down the walls) would not be occupied by the wounded. The countdown began, 10..9..8..7..6… 5..4..3..2..1..0, and suddenly a long sound was heard and the walls began to descend. In just a few moments the walls had already entered the ground. The wait is over. The moment of truth has come. Most of the people in the area where I was were sitting near the place where the wall used to be and looking frightenedly to the other side of town. Nothing could be seen. A thick fog had enveloped the other side of town. It was still quiet. Far too quiet. The silence was not an ordinary one. It was a torturous one, and everyone could feel the blood pulsing in their veins. No one dared blink. They were afraid that if they closed their eyes for a moment, they would be dead the next moment. They were all staring at the other side of town. Suddenly the silence was broken by a long roar and dozens of green, blue and red wounds began to emerge from the thick fog. People unloaded their weapons and a rain of bullets and arrows passed through the first wave of wounded. To kill an entire ranger, you have to shoot him or stick something in his head. If you hit the brain, they're like dead, but it's not that easy, because their skull is very hard. The massacre began. People were constantly shooting at the thick fog, and the wounded were dying like flies. The wounded stopped defending me for a moment. No one thought for a moment that it was all over. They were all equally tense and focused. But the massacre was just beginning. Another wave of wounded came out of the fog and the fight continued. I was still by the west wall, away from the battle. I think you're wondering why I'm not there too. The truth is, I don't want to risk my life for this city. Maybe you will consider me a coward, a selfish man who thinks only of his life, or even a bad man who instead of helping to save the city, the place you can call home, he runs away. You have every reason to believe that. But you see, someone once said, that home is where your loved ones are. Old Evrik was the only person I ever cared about. He was my only family, and once he died, I can only call the city of Proxima 3 "home." I don't want to risk my life for a place where I have no reason to stay. That's right, I've had some good times here, but now I feel like I'm suffocating inside these walls. I'm sure many of you think I should help save the city after I leave, but I really can't. Hate me. You only have. I'm not going to die in this city. My goal to get to the City of Wishes is above all else. And something else. So you don't think I'm such a bad man, I'm going to do one thing. When I was 10, old Evrik discovered something. He discovered that the wounded were maddened by a certain sound, a sound he called Dorma. Apparently, this sound makes the wounded more violent and goes to the sound source to stop it. Old Evrik did not find out why the wounded behaved like this because of this sound, not even until the day of his death. In the mole car, there is a mechanism that emits this sound, in the form of a song, which is really very pleasant, giving you a state of peace and calm. I even made a tape that contains the song consisting exclusively of this sound. I honestly really hope it works to attract all the wounded after me.

-Hey Luke, I shouted at him, who was looking at the massacre with fear. Please open the gate.

-I cant do this. They could be hurt on the other side as well.

-If you don't open the gate, you won't grab tomorrow, believe me.

Luke, he was looking at me in amazement, and he didn't know what to say. I could very easily have put them both down, but it's too much of a hassle and I really don't want to hurt these two bastards, who have no idea how they came to be responsible for guarding the western gate of Proxima 3. I stared at Luke and he felt the determination in my eyes. He obeyed my request and opened the large metal gate.

-By the way, leave it open.

"Why?" Luke asked.

"You'll see," I replied.

I went out the gate and ran as fast as I could to a dry tree with a very thick stem. Part of the stem is missing so that it fits 2 people easily. Once I got to the tree, I took a deep breath and got on my knees. I began rummaging with my bare hands in the soft earth. After a few seconds I found what I was looking for, the "mole hatch." I opened it quickly and went inside. Everything was as I remembered, only much more dusty. The same smell of oil and syrup was felt in the air. "The mole car is a very spacious machine. In it, old Evrik improvised two beds. In addition to the seat and the control panel of the machine, the mole also contains an area where we kept our food supplies and an area with fans." "There's a table in the living room where old Evrik and I always made something. I tried all sorts of things and even had fun watching and learning from old Evrik. But now he's just there, and he's missing you in the car." .. Once inside I quickly sat down in the driver's chair, made of sponge and covered with a layer of brown leather.The chair itself is quite comfortable and the old man often slept on it.I sat comfortably in the chair, I I turned on the lights, I entered s the ignition key and I started the engine. I think you're wondering how the mole machine works and what fuel it uses. You won't believe me when I tell you, but the machine runs on water. Yes Yes. With water. Old Evrik was a genius, you might say. He discovered a method of absorbing water from the air and the earth with the help of machinery. All water accumulates in several tanks. Once the engine is started, you choose the tank you want to use and it is heated by a device that heats up in just a few seconds. The steam formed sets the machine in motion. I chose tank 4, and immediately the steam formed set the machine in motion and came to the surface. I got up from the chair. I took the tape on which I recorded the Dorma sound, and then I put it in a special hole connected to a megaphone. The time has come. I press the button again, and immediately the megaphone makes a loud sound that spread everywhere.

In the city, people were fighting hard with the wounded. Everywhere you looked you saw blood and corpses of people and wounded. The wounded kept coming, but no one was running away. Honestly, I admire these people for their courage and strength. But unfortunately I really couldn't risk my life being there in the city, fighting the wounded. I just hoped I could somehow save the people of the city by dragging the wounded after me, and that's exactly what happened. At the sound of the wound they could no longer see the people. They passed them, heading for the sound source. People were staring at what was happening and didn't know what to think. Thousands of wounded people came out of the gate of Proxima 3, and I had been moving the mole for a long time. Although the mole was designed to move mostly underground, it was also equipped with wheels, and I often went with it to the surface with old Evrik, and whenever there was any danger, I would enter the ground and escape.

The wounded still kept after me and after an hour of being watched, I stopped the song and the wounded stopped chasing me. Now I don't know what to choose for the city of Proxima 3. Either way, I helped them as much as I could. It is up to them to revive the city again. As I continue to go west. I only have one year to get to the city of Wishes. It's now, or never. I need to find out the truth about this city at the cost of my life.