Out and Caught

"Get on, don't fall off"

I put on the helmet, twisting on the throttle. our journey home kicked off.

Since the maps did not work and there was no cell reception, we were completely dependent on paper maps, compass, and road signs, but in some places, the signs were not to be seen and at some, they were damaged and at places, nothing like roads existed, it was like going off-road, at places water went just below my neck.

We followed the direction the compass pointed at, relying on the compass and following the road based on it was the best way to get out of the maze that had been created out of the city.

With every turn we would come across a path that could not be travelled on, then we did try another one and found it to be blocked too as such it took a while just to get to the outskirts of the city.

As such we went through many more places than I had expected. the collapsed bridges blocking the roads, the traffic signals with their glass broken, at places where the ground had caved in due to water creating sinkholes, collapsed buildings, unrooted trees, and such things. Things that gave glimmers of the disaster that fell upon the city.

I saw them.

As we got to the outskirts of the city the landscape turned much more into a hilly forest, the multi-laned highway turned into a one-lane mountain road. We continued on it. Sometimes it went up and at some places, it went down surrounded by cliffs on one side of it and woods at other places.

It was completely deserted, only the chirping of birds and sounds of animals that accompanied us.

At last, we were at the border of the closed-off area, the temporary wall that had been inducted to seal off the city was in our sight in the distance.

"Kill the bike, turn off the bike, hurry"

"Stop, here, they might hear us"

Before she told me,

"We can't enter from here, I don't have a permit and you are alien to them. I sneaked in here, at that time the wall was not there, let's find someplace else to get inside."

"Let's abandon the bike here and go down the forest and find a place to cross over from there"

I agreed with what she said but I did not like the idea of abandoning the bike, since it would be of great use, thus I attempted to put the bike in the <> which thankfully worked out.

"So, there is no size constraint?"

I tried to put an uprooted tree inside the <> which also worked.

[1x tree]

With a surprised look on her face.

"So, what else can you get in there"

We heard the cars Before she grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the road into the forest. We went downwards as we walked through the thick wood.

"Shouldn't we leave some markings? what if we went in circles?"

"Don't leave any mark," she said.

We walked down but it did not seem to end. There was no wall but there was fencing with barbed wires. The trees close to the fence were cut to make way for it.

It was also probably to create better visibility along the fence.

We walked alongside the fence through the trees.

"This fence is never going to end"

I turned towards her.

"Let's come back when the sun is down, visibility will be low inside a forest at night, we can cut the fence and get inside."

"No, there could be heat sensors, cameras, and the fence could be electric. Do you have a death wish?"

"Let's come back at night, the visibility will below we can probably find another way around"

Thus, it was decided we will come back at night to the fence if we are unable to find an alternate route and find out if the fence is electric, and if it was not then cut through the fence and cross to the other side.

Thus, we retracted back and hid inside the forest looking for another way in, and stayed hidden there till the sun went down.

trying not to create any commotion that might jeopardize us, we went far from the fence and stayed hidden between the trees. We did not even use fire for food and ate packaged stuff, So as not to bring their attention to us.

There was only one way to cross the fencing and a thousand ways to get caught.

What will happen to us only the night will know of it we waited for the night unable to find an alternate route.

At night we returned to the fence again, this time in the dead silance we listened for the humming sound of that high voltage line. The phenomenon is known as corona discharge.

But unable to hear anything we held a compass close to it but it did not react either so, so, either the fence was not electrified or it did not react but to confirm it just to be sure.

I took out a metal stick and threw it at it. Just to be sure if it sparks or something but nothing happened.

So we got out some insulated wire cutters and started to cut the wires.

[Warning: Man approaching]

Before a spotlight was on us. Sound of a helicopter.

The man came down from ropes as I froze with the cutters in my hand.

Voice in a loudspeaker,

"Put down the objects in your hand and lay down in the ground"

Men surrounded us with guns pointed toward us.

I put down the cutter before two men quickly grabbed me and put me on the ground and put cuffs on me with my hands behind my back.

I looked beside me. It was the same for her.

They put a bag on my face, everything got dark but I could still hear them.

Sound of Cars, the light, speck of light that came in through it of the headlamp.

We were put in a car. I could hear her voice, there were more than one car that I could understand due to the sound of multiple cars starting up.

I didn't know where we were being taken, before they injected something and I passed out.

When someone removed the bag from my face, there was a big light that blinded me in front of me. I could only make out a silhouette of someone.

Tied to a chair I couldn't move.

That voice, I know that voice.