We woke up at four the next morning to the old digital alarm clock on Alex’s nightstand blaring an unpleasant alarm. He groaned and reached to turn off the noise. As I came to, I remembered the long conversation we had last night. We must have drifted off while sharing theories. I was at the bottom half of the bed, freezing from the lack of a blanket, and my back aching from the odd position. Alex was curled up in his spot, his feet kicking at mine as he attempted to stretch and hit them. He looked down to discover that the obstacle was me, and realized that I’d fallen asleep there.

He laughed as he looked down at my contorted sleeping position, “Are you okay down there?”

I groaned in response and rolled myself off the edge of the bed towards the floor in a desperate attempt to re-align my back. I landed on the floor and sighed happily as my back popped and a good stretch eased the pain. “Sorry,” I mumbled from the floor, “I messed up keeping us up so late.”

Alex dismissed my apology and helped me off the floor. We went over the game plan again as we hurried to finish packing the few things we could stuff in the already full backpacks. We ate a quick breakfast and we were off. We hiked north along the edge of the lake. Alex referred to the paper map every so often to figure out where we were and mark a small x on the path he’d drawn before.

The hike started fine. It seemed more like a regular vacation. We were quiet, just enjoying the views and the peaceful sounds of nature. We walked like that, our steps falling in sync with each other, for several miles. Other than a few short breaks to update our location on the map and drink some water we were setting a good pace. We reached the north edge of the lake, and from there it was only a few more miles until we passed the border of the quarantine zone. It was still early in the morning, the sun was out, but not fully overhead yet.

From the border we would head north-east towards the town where we planned to steal a car, and we’d take that all the way to the town closest to the new lake. Then we would hike out from there, and hopefully find a new cabin to call home for the time being. We toyed with the idea of renting a car legally, but anything attached to our names would just leave a trail if they’d discovered who we were after the graduation incident. Thankfully Alex had thought to pull cash out of his account before graduation so we could make a stop for food once we were out of quarantine.

We walked two more miles at a brisk pace, then took our last break before the border. We had a small snack and some water, and resituated ourselves on the map. Once we made it over this ridge we would be able to see the border. The border section we would cross was still in the woods, and it was likely the safest area to cross at. We were banking on it being unguarded, since they’d only announced the official zone the night prior. Then we’d turn east and make a beeline for the next town. We would hopefully make it to the town around 2pm, then we could stop for lunch, get a car, and drive straight down the highway to the area where we’d ditch the car.

With the next phase of the plan ironed out we continued our hike. We stayed mostly quiet while walking so we would be able to hear anyone nearby. Neither of us were too exhausted yet, but the roughly ten miles thus far were definitely starting to have an effect on our pace. We reached the top of the ridge in short order and I paused to stretch my legs and look out over the ridge to the border below. It was only about a mile away until we’d reach some level of safety. It would’ve been a beautiful view that I would stop and spend a while at on any other day. But today, being so close to freedom instilled a new sense of urgency in me. We were almost there.

I strained my eyes to get a look at the edge of the border, and saw what looked like a large set of temporary walls, with barbed wire adorning the tops. I couldn’t see or hear any people from here, but the walls alone made me wary of our approach. I brushed Alex’s arm to get his attention, and pointed out the wall in the distance. He nodded silently and pointed somewhere else. It was between us and the wall, deep in the tree cover. I scanned the area he was pointing to, and tried to figure out what it was. Then I saw what had alarmed him. Smoke. Most likely from a campfire. If we were lucky it was just people camping for fun who had no idea what was going on, but more likely it was a type of special border patrol. They’d know exactly what type of people they were on the lookout for. We were the only types who’d be trying to cross.

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I took a shaky breath and tried to mentally plan a route to the wall that would stay as far from the sign of people as we could. Alex got out the map, confirmed where we were, and traced in the air with his finger where we’d walk. From this point we needed to be silent. We slowly descended the path down the ridge. It wasn’t as steep as a cliff face, but it wasn’t far off. The path was only wide enough for one at a time, and it was littered with roots, and rocks that would fall towards the bottom as we stepped past them. I winced at every rock that bounced down the side. Each noise made me increasingly more unsettled.

We reached the bottom of the tricky part of the hike as delicately as we could, and then continued on towards the wall. With each step I was careful to avoid twigs snapping or leaves crunching. I tried to only step on dirt. I was beyond terrified at this point and wanted desperately to avoid any unnecessary noises that I could. We took a curved path around the possible campsite. We were nearing the wall and I could see clearly that there was barbed wire on top of them, and between each section of the temporary wall. We had underestimated how serious they were taking this, and how quickly they would have a perimeter built.

“I’ll have to fly us over,” I started to whisper to Alex. He interrupted me by throwing a hand over my mouth, and pointing behind me. I turned around quietly and saw a slight movement in the bushes. They were here. This seemed more like a war than a quarantine zone. I saw the edge of a long gun poking out of the bush. If they noticed us now the guns would be on us in no time. We could get no closer on foot, nor could we take to the air without them seeing us. We were trapped.

I pointed to my back, gesturing that I’d use the wings to get us out of this. I thought back to the lesson Alex had taught me at the tree near the cabin. My wings were weapons, whether I liked it or not. Powerful weapons. I knew if the roles were reversed Alex wouldn’t hesitate to do what I now had to do. Our lives were on the line. One twig snap at this point and we were gone.

“Fog,” I mouthed the word to Alex.

He nodded silently and started to secrete a large wave of thick fog. It pooled around us, and made its way towards the bushes. We were close to the bushes they were in. Only a few meters. I didn’t know how many people were there but I knew that the second they noticed the fog I had to leap into action and take advantage of the confusion it caused. I would do what I had to do. For Alex. I silently lowered the backpack to the ground and unleashed the wings as Alex’s fog worked to conceal them. I readied my stance and pulled my wings up into a lethal position. I pictured the tree I’d cut down during training. In my mind that tree was right in that group of bushes. I was ready. I could do it. I had to do it.

“Oddities!” a voice from the bushes screamed out.

“Shoot into the fog!” Another commanded.

A second later a bullet bounced off my wing. A sharp metal ringing sound accompanied it. Alex crouched down behind a tree for cover. They couldn’t see me, but they knew they hit something. If they wanted to kill us without any further questions then it made what I had to do easier. I sprinted for the bushes, my wings up beside me. I saw three men crouched in the bushes. They were decked out head to toe in military gear. I adjusted my wings to the neck height of the men, and closed my eyes.

Straight through, just like the tree. I wasn’t even slowed down. Their bodies dropped to the ground with a thud, and then there was silence. My wings felt warm and wet, and I'd felt the flesh as I cleaved through it. I couldn’t even bring myself to turn around and look at what I’d done. I crossed the point of no return. I murdered three men in an instant. From here on out, running and fighting were the only options I had.

I dropped to the ground and gagged violently. I unleashed the remaining contents of my stomach as the disgusting feeling looped in my mind. Alex came over and squatted in front of me. He wiped my mouth off with a small cloth and offered me water. After I finished drinking he placed his hands on my face and stared at me. His eyes were full of sorrow and guilt, but he didn’t look scared. Even after the terrible crime I committed, and the ease with which I’d done it. He didn’t look even the slightest bit hesitant to approach me or my wings.

“I’m sorry you had to use them,” he whispered softly, as he wiped a tear from my cheek.

“You would’ve done it for me,” I sniffled.

“In a heartbeat, but still, if there was any way I could’ve prevented it I would have. I’m sorry.” Alex wrapped me in a hug. His arms were around my waist, and I could feel blood still dripping from the wings right above where his arms rested. It was probably dripping right onto him but he seemed largely unbothered by it. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the hug, or anything other than what I’d just done. Our lives as we knew them before were officially over.