After the Fear (Young Adult Dystopian)

After the Fear (Young Adult Dystopian) by Rosanne Rivers Read Free Book Online Page A

Book: After the Fear (Young Adult Dystopian) by Rosanne Rivers Read Free Book Online
Authors: Rosanne Rivers
out on a camera lens. The wind stings both eyes in different ways but I strain to keep one open. I want to drink this sight in. I’ve never noticed just how beautiful Juliet is. I see now why the Shepherds are so proud of this city. It’s a place worth fighting for.
    The many pavements twine around each other, lit up by the street lamps like illuminated grey letters scribbling words around tall buildings. Through the blanket of night, the bull’s eye image I always pictured when thinking of the rail has vanished, replaced by moving light from the rail carriages. They run circles around the city, each one a giant glowing insect guarding a section of Juliet, which gets smaller, and smaller, and—
    We’re leaving the city.
    I don’t know where I thought we would go. I’ve seen the spinners flying around before and knew Demonstrators came in from other cities, but I thought it would be through some kind of mythical guarded gate somewhere around the border. Despite everything, this is what panics me. It goes against years of instinct. Wherever I go, I won’t be welcome. No one is.
    It’s all explained in the Book of Red Ink. With each city trying to pay back their Debt, competitions arose. People began fighting. Now, we’re only safe in our own city. With our own people. The Shepherds protect us from each other.
    Unfortunately I’ve learned that being afraid of something doesn’t stop it from happening. I lean farther out of the spinner and as we rise, I see it all. My breath is stolen by the sight and the choking wind. The night above us is pure, untainted by the thick mist of pollution. I swear I can taste the clouds. Everything is salty. Cold and crisp and clear. It’s as if I’ve been cured of cataracts, or tuned the digiscreen so it’s no longer fuzzy around the edges.
    For that second, I’m hovering in the apex of the world. It’s one of those moments where everything stops and the city inhales, about to wish me goodbye. I suddenly see Juliet as one big, puffy cheek; a cheek which blows me away with a great huff as the spinner angles and zooms higher.
    I’m thrown sideways. Alixis nearly falls through the gap on her side and our eyes meet in joint terror. Thankfully, we straighten up, and by the time I can breathe again we’re no longer in Juliet.
    Even as we fly away, I look back, straining to keep the city in view. When it finally disappears into nothing but a collection of sparkles in the distance, I breathe out a long, slow breath. I know it’s time to look ahead. But I’m scared. Because I know that once I stop staring at the world through a layer of pollution, everything will become clear.

HOURS INTO THE JOURNEY, I spot the first clues of sunrise. Time has gone all too fast, and I’ve spent most of it peering out of the side of the spinner. My face is pretty numb right now, which is exactly the opposite of how I am inside. Everything has come alive; each sight sending waves of excitement right down to my toes.
    I’m the only person who seems to be enjoying the view. Alixis has somehow managed to fall asleep, her head occasionally lolling onto Dylan’s shoulder. He ignores her, spending the whole journey staring ahead. When I notice another city on the landscape, maybe Bravo or Foxtrot, I can’t hide my excitement. I tap Dylan’s shoulder ferociously until he turns to look. He nods a stony acknowledgment, but when he glances at me I see a sudden, genuine grin. I’m aware that my expression is probably similar to an astonished monkey, and I think he’s laughing at me, but I don’t care. It’s the first time I’ve seen him smile since Coral’s party. It’s enough to make me feel as though I’ve drank a hot drink. It’s like that second before your body gets used to it and the heat travels right down your throat.
    After that, I become acutely aware of how close we are sitting. Our shoulders are practically squished together, and my crushed hip aches from being pressed into his side.
    Part

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