spacious skies - 10. the wall and the mountains

by american joe

part 10 of 40

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after years of debate and indecision, the wall was starting to go up all over the city, in order to block the view of the mountains, which brought back so many unfortunate memories to so many. small crowds had gathered at various points in the city perimeter, to watch the first stages of the construction. two persons who were too young to remember the invasion from the mountains, were part of one of the smallest groups, on the west side. danny foster, number 3496740-6, watched silently as broadbacked workers unloaded trucks of shiny steel beams fresh from the underground factories of j_______. danny, like 32.8 percent of the inhabitants of the city, never spoke unless he was spoken to. if he entered a food shop or other type of sales establishment, and the person or thing in charge was occupied, even if by idly chatting with one of its fellows, he would never speak or call attention to himself, but wait until he was noticed. another observer appeared at his right side. nancy coleman, number 8542968-5, would talk to anybody and especially liked talking to complete strangers. she struck up conversations with everybody she encountered, if she had the time. standing beside danny as they watched the trucks being unloaded and the mighty strongarmed workers stacking their glittering piles of steel beams, she had nothing but time. i have always liked the mountains myself, especially the way the sun hits them when it goes down behind them, she began. how about you? i - uh - i guess they are o k, danny mumbled. o k? have you ever wanted to get out of the city, and climb them? climb them? danny replied incredulously. what about the demons? aw, there ain’t no demons. that is just something they made up to scare you. danny felt himself on firmer ground in responding to this. and who was this person anyway - probably an agent for the bureau or the rebels or both. danny knew all about such things, having been warned about them from birth. who are “they”? he asked, innocently. that is a good question, nancy answered a little too promptly. next