The sun set on the forgotten Fifth Territory of Markom. A glimmer of hope in the darkness as the sky moved from yellow to red and then black. In the distance, sparkling towers shone like diamonds. They reached for the clouds as if blessed with all the secrets of the world. Perri Viate sat high up in a Sycamore tree, looking out. But it was not the glittering skyline that captured her eye, it was the sea.
Her amber eyes watched as the light descended on the water. Shimmering foam swirled before crashing into the sand, forgotten like dreams in the early hours of day. The ocean had always called to Perri. Ever since she was a girl, it whispered in a tongue that only she could hear. But even Perri Viate knew that the water, the waves, the wall, it was all forbidden.
Just then, the snapping of twigs broke through her serene silence. Perri froze. This far up, she could only hope to be mistaken for part of the tree. But the snapping of twigs and whistling branches only grew as her thundering heartbeat did its best to soothe her shaking palms.
Perri squinted at the figure that approached, messily attempting a climb that seemed dubious. Perri chuckled. Only she was stupid enough to climb a tree such as this.
“If you don’t stop right there I swear I’ll fling this squirrel poop right into your mouth.” Not the most convincing threat, but she didn’t have many options and she was determined to stand her ground. The heavy breathing and scratching along the trunk of the tree continued.
“I’m not joking,” she hissed. This time Perri dared to grab a fistful of droppings before spilling them below.
A few expletives reached her ear as the figure below retreated, only to call up, “Damnit, Perri - it’s me, it’s Benja.”
The girl roared with laughter as she took one last look at the sea and began to climb down. Perri couldn’t see him in the dark but imagined the charcoal eyes of her oldest friend looking up at her.
“You’re insufferable, I hope you know that.” Benja Green mumbled as Perri finally lowered herself onto the last branch of the tree. She wasn’t ready to let her feet touch the ground, not yet.
“You should know not to sneak up on a woman in the dark!” She teased, flashing the boy a wide grin.
“Good thing you’re still a girl, so I’ve got nothing to worry about.” He leaned his back against the tree as the pair of them faced the quiet street.
“Well, I will be tomorrow. And I assure you, if I find myself in better circumstance, you shall pay.” Perri pushed his shoulder playfully as the taller boy’s eyes met hers.
Only Science knew what part of the city Benja would find himself in after Placement. He wasn’t as coordinated as she was, nor nearly as quick. Perhaps his genetics had caught up with him too.
Perri tried to change the subject. “And you chose tonight to finally risk it.” She said simply, the hint of a question. For years Perri had tried to convince him to join her for her weekly ritual, to leave reason behind and attempt the impossible; but Benja had no interest in climbing, no interest in anything that might break his neck. Typical Five.
“It’s my last night,” the boy said sadly, and she looked down, both paralyzed by the fear of the future. Tomorrow was Placement Day, the day when each nineteen-year-old would finally take their place in society, duty-bound to the future of Markom. It was normal at her age to feel nervous on the Eve of Placement, her Father had told her. But that was all she could beat out of him before his eyes glazed over and he danced around any topic of substance.
“It’s not the end, it's the beginning,” Perri whispered with saccharine sweetness. The Placement slogan felt slimy on her tongue. “We could end up in the same grouping you know.” Another lie. In her wildest dreams, Perri was blessed with a modest room facing the skyline, a routine job -- perhaps a janitorial position in the inner city where she could finally see a life of grandeur up close; But out of the thousands of young adults, the chances of them being even a mile away from one another were slim to none.
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“Fine, if tonight’s the night. So be it! We don’t have to go all the way up, just that big branch right there.” She pointed at a spot about fifteen feet up. “You’ll be able to see most of Markom at least.”
At the cusp of adulthood, they began their climb. Perri instructed Benja along the way, pointing where to step and telling him which branches might snap at any moment.
Tomorrow was the start of their new lives. They would leave their families and everything they knew for a formal evaluation of innate weaknesses by the most brilliant Scientists and scholars in the land. There they would glimpse at the futures laid out for them; both who they were and who they might become.
Perri didn’t wait for a response before grabbing Benja’s hand and helping him find the right footing. She instructed him along the way, pointing where to step and telling him which branches might snap at any moment.
After what felt like literally hours, the pair had made it to their modest perch. Perri straddled a taller branch as the boy stood with his back to the trunk, shaking in fear.
“Relax! Going up is the hardest part.” Another lie. But his shoulders lowered a bit.
“See, that’s where we’re going to live!” She pointed to the Towers, a series of sturdy grey buildings out in the distance. They were sad-looking, marked by broken windows and cracking murals that no one bothered to clean. But they were strong and sturdy, a reminder that stability was far more important than aesthetics.
That was the worst part of Placement - the knowledge that any inkling of outward inferiority might be too much of a burden on the good people of Markom; The knowledge that Fives were better off dust in the wind than a cancer that fed off the hard-working people of the Lands
Lost in their dreams of the future, neither of them noticed the ring of Iurers that surrounded them.
“Better luck next time, Fives.” A voice hissed through the trees as Perri felt the hair on her neck stand up. She didn’t need to look down to know her fate.
Hundreds of nights of climbing, and this was how she was found. She cursed the night air, trying not to direct her bubbling anger and fear towards Benja. Nice as it was to share this place with him, his inability to climb higher had surely cost them. Her golden eyes spied their gold hats and overly-shined yellow boots.
She knew it was dangerous to be caught alone at nightfall. But the wicked officers that roamed the Low Lands rarely ventured this far on the outskirts of the city, so close to the Wall. No, they preferred to spend their time in the Lower territories near concentrated residencies, like the Towers, where they were more likely to find Fours and Fives sneaking out past curfew. At least here, in the slums, invisibility clouded any whisper of curiosity. Or so she thought…
Perri’s heart threatened to collapse in on itself, there was no way they could escape their twisted fate. A voice whispered to her, “Unless…”
“Don’t.” Benja whispered as Perri resisted the urge to shout back at them, something equally sinister. Perhaps she could anger them, infuriate them. If she could just distract them then they could make a break for it. She was fast, certainly quicker than every Five that she knew. They didn’t know the lowlands like her. With enough luck she might dart through the trees and over the riverbank. Science, she could easily lose them in their estuaries, their heavy boots heavy among the silt. Only, Benja could never keep up. No, to run from an Iurer was to sign a death sentence. The glimmer of hope in her eyes faded to dust as the boy spoke for them both,
“We’re coming down, please don’t shoot.” Benja ruined everything.
“Wait,” Perri pleaded, stealing just one more moment. Her eyes scanned his freckled face and the shaggy brown hair that fell to his shoulders. There was the shadow of a smile on his thin lips. “I just…” His dark eyes looked straight through her as if he was waiting for something. Something that would never come. “Thank you.” She said in return, her golden eyes didn’t leave his face but she could see that glimmer of hope fading fast.
They had shared so much in this life, it was fitting for things to end this way. If they were to be Taken it was best together. “If this is it, I am happy to spend these last moments with you.”
“Don’t you ever say that,” he hissed back. He took her hand and pressed it to his ever-beating heart. “All blood runs red. Don’t let them make us forget.” Perri raised an eyebrow, she’d never heard anything so conspiratorial from Benja before.
She found strength in response, “It’s not the end, it’s the beginning.” But the beginning of what?