Foot steps echo down the darkened hallway. Trevor ducks around the corner, pulling me with him. He places a finger in front of his lips to encourage my silence. My heart pounds hard inside my chest. Moments later two guards go tramping past. Dressed in tactical black, with a belt full of weapons and rifles swung across their backs. Neither of us take a deep breath until they turn the next corner.

“Why so many tonight?” I whisper.

“You haven’t heard? A drone was spotted flying over this morning.”

“A drone? Like a spy drone?”

Trevor shrugs. “Who knows and who cares…if the government does finally discover this place maybe we can actually go out on a real date, instead of trying to slip out just to get fifteen minutes of privacy.

“You don’t really mean that…” my voice trails off as his blue eyes take on a hardened expression.

“Do you? You hate it here that much?”

“What’s the difference between following rules and following laws? All restrict freedom and keep us under someone else’s thumb.”

I study his face in the dim light and observe how his jaw muscles move in his frustration. “So when you said we should leave this place, you actually meant it? You truly want to leave?”

“Of course I do,” he snaps back in a husky voice.

“Then why don’t you?” I ask bluntly. “Just pack up and tell everyone you’re finished here. You’ll be eighteen in another month.”

Trevor snorts a sarcastic laugh. “It’s not that simple. This fortress stands within plain sight, yet has remained undetected for over 75 years simply because this community stays silent. No one leaves except the elders for supplies and they don’t permit anyone our age to venture too far.”

I press my lips processing this new understanding. Growing up behind these stone walls I always saw them as a protection against outside forces, not a prison to hold us against our will. Maybe Trevor was right though…maybe our mighty fortress was actually more like an inescapable prison and instead of keeping us safe those guards were just holding us within. I shutter as a cricket drops from one of the crevices in the wall.

“Will you come with me?” He asks suddenly, dispersing my thoughts.

“To where?” I ask timidly.

“To anywhere but here…”

“No. Not tonight anyway.”

“Tomorrow?” He asks hopefully.

I place my hand inside of his. “Perhaps tomorrow.”