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“Before we go any further, how about some introductions?” Nick suggested, eager to know more about this beautiful young woman in the blue shirt who seemed to be risking it all to help a purple and a red she didn’t even know.  He wondered if she even knew AJ’s timer was flashing.  Punishment for concealing or helping a person wanted by the guards could be quite severe, and that’s why it rarely happened.   “I’m Nick and this is my friend AJ”
 
“Yeah well as much as I’d love to stand here passing the time of day getting to know you both, we’ve gotta run” the blue looked to the tunnel they’d just exited, hoping they hadn’t been followed, then back to Nick who was looking at her expectantly.   “Emma, now let’s move it”
 
The three fugitives ran through the ruins of a once great city, but which city they had no idea, nor could they see much of it.  It was cold and dark outside, with only a couple of glow sticks which Emma had thoughtfully packed to guide their way through the night, plus the brightness of the full moon high up in the sky.  Nick didn’t think he’d ever seen anything as beautiful as the night sky.  He’d seen pictures in books, but they didn’t do the real thing justice.   
 
“Do you know where we’re going?” AJ asked as he tried to keep up with Emma.  There was no doubt about it, he found her attractive.
 
“No, I’ve never been outside, but I was told to head west” Emma replied, checking the pocket compass which had been given to her.  She hoped it wouldn’t let her down.  This was her first time outside, the first time she’d been given the opportunity to lead a mission for the rebels.  She didn’t want to let them down.
 
“How do you know we’re going west?” Nick asked curiously.  He tripped on some overgrowth and fell to the rough ground with a thud.
 
“You alright?” AJ asked helping his friend up.  This wasn’t the first time one of them had tripped over and it wouldn’t be the last either.  The ground was hard, rough and uneven in some places, making running quite a task.
 
“Fine” Nick replied, grabbing a handful of the offending green stuff and tossing it to the side “what is all this stuff?”
 
“Vines” Emma replied, wishing they’d stop with all the questions. 
 
They didn’t have time for questions now; there would be plenty of time to talk once they’d got a safe distance away.  In just a few hours the Luminary would be alerted that a blue and purple were missing from work and the guards would be sent to investigate.  If they weren’t home then questions would be asked.  You didn’t not show for work; you had to report in with a valid reason.
 
“Vines?” Nick questioned.  He didn’t know what that was; it wasn’t something he’d seen in a book, at least not any book he could remember.
 
“It’s a name given to climbing plants or plants which spread” Emma replied matter of factly.  “We’re going to see a lot of this kind of thing and so much more”
 
“And the Luminary told us there was nothing outside…” AJ mused.  They’d always been told that nothing existed outside the city, and nothing was able to exist in the old world.  That’s why they lived the way they did.  No people, no animals, no plants, no nothing.  Why would they lie? 
 
“Well the Luminary is full of shit” Emma huffed.  “Let’s keep moving, I don’t want to stop until I know we have a good distance between us and the city”
 
After having a quick sip of water – which again Emma had been thoughtful enough to bring – the three of them carried on running.  It was hard to really take in their surroundings due to the darkness, but one thing was for sure, life outside was indeed possible.  They’d been outside for a while and nothing had happened to them.  Surely they would be dead or dying by now if what the Luminary said was true?
 
“Can we stop now?” Nick pleaded after they must’ve been running for hours.  His legs were aching and he was breathing heavily.  He took his shirt off and mopped up the sweat which was running down his face, then tied the shirt around his head.  He was no longer cold.
 
“Surely no one will come this far!” AJ exclaimed, also ready for a rest.  He didn’t know how he’d managed to keep going for so long, but he guessed that fear played a big part in it.
 
“We don’t know that” Emma replied.  This was all new to her.  She wasn’t sure how far the others had got before they’d been captured.  Maybe they’d got further, or maybe they’d hardly made it out of the tunnel before being apprehended and marched back to face execution.  “But I think we should be alright to rest for a couple of hours”.
 
It was still dark as the three of them settled down to rest on a soft patch of ground, but the sky was beginning to change colour and was no longer pitch black anymore.
 
“One of us should keep watch” Emma suggested as she looked out into the darkness “I’ll take the first hour”
 
“Fine by me” AJ closed his eyes and within moments was asleep and snoring softly.
 
“You ought to get some sleep too Nick, you’ll be on lookout after me”
 
“Why are you running?  You’re only a blue and have years left…” Nick began then stopped when he noticed the color of the sky.  It was changing color before his very eyes.  Obviously he was aware of day and night, back home in the city there were clocks everywhere to tell them the time and there were also zones where natural daylight flooded in.  But Nick had never seen natural light before.  He didn’t work in the agriculture zone.  He didn’t know that what he was seeing was a sunrise as he lay there just staring at the beauty of it.
 
Emma was looking up at the sky too.  “Why did you run Nick?” she asked.
 
“Because there has to be more” Nick held his arms up “like this for example”.
 
“My reasons too.  Good night Nick”
 
Nick took the hint that she didn’t want to talk anymore, but he couldn’t sleep.