Slam. 

My eyes flew open to see the source of the sound. On high alert, I scanned the car. I met eyes with Ezra who smirked as he walked around to my side of the car and opened the door. 

"You drool when you sleep."

I shook my head as I relaxed into the seat. "That's not true." 

"Saw it with my own eyes." He touched the side of my mouth then wiped his hand on his pants. "We can't drive any longer. The roads become rough. We will take a hovercraft for the next part of the journey." He stepped aside and behind him was a small black aircraft. It looked like the same one I took to get to the capital a few months ago.

I stood up too quickly from the car, forgetting about my wounded side and yelped in pain. 

Ezra eyed me with concern. 

"I'm fine," I muttered as I leaned against the car to catch my breath. 

In the distance I heard an explosion. Birds flew from their trees and smoke plumed in the distance. 

"We can't stay here for much longer." 

I nodded as the smell of smoke filled my nostrils. With a deep breath, I pushed myself off the car and walked towards the aircraft. 

Ezra offered his hand, but I shooed it away. I was in a better shape today then last night and I wasn't interested in giving him hero complex. He was taking me from the capital, but I shouldn't have been here to begin with. There shouldn't be a talent program, and I knew Ezra thought the same. 

Once I got into the metal machine and sat down, the hovercraft quickly took off. It lurched forward with a hum. 

"Are we going to Hell?" 

He nodded. 

My insides felt gooey just thinking about it. I missed the place I called home. But as much as I wanted to go, I was afraid that I would bring danger. "But don't you think that's where the Motherwealth will look first?"

He shook his head. "They aren't going to look for one person when they are scrambling to save their country." 

"The attacks...." my voice trailed off as I thought about the explosion. 

Ezra nodded. "The neighboring country has been fighting the Motherwealth for years. That is why we have the Talent program. Some of the talent stays to help fight against our enemy, other's knowledge gets transferred to the dedicated families that live here."

"And that is what happened to Eydis. Her knowledge got transferred to someone else?" I asked as my stomach clenched at the thought of it. 

Things were finally making sense, falling into place. I was getting answers that for days, I was seeking. Maybe Ezra felt safe enough to share now that we were outside the city. 

"That's exactly what happened. But what shouldn't have happened was her escaping. She shouldn't have escaped back to campus. My dad talked about it for days. He only stopped when the attacks came. Now, his mind is distracted with something else."

If he wasn't distracted with the attacks, who knew when I would be able to sneak out. I could see fear in Ezra's eyes as he talked but for the first time in days, I wasn't afraid. The attacks brought a cloak of invisibility around me. The attacks made me free. 

"I can only take you another hour before I need to return, sir," the pilot said to Ezra. 

"I understand. We can manage on our own from there," he replied then sighed. His attention turned back to me. "Can you walk alright?"

With my side aching just while sitting, I knew I couldn't go far. But there was nothing I could do about that. I would just have to bear the pain and carry forward. "I think I can go a fair distance."

"Good because I think we need to walk a day to get there." 

I swallowed the lump in my throat, holding the grimace as I thought about walking the distance. 

If this was what I had to do, I would do it. 

For a moment we were silent as I thought about the events of the last few days. The town we went to, the attacks. Now Eydis wasn't the only thing on my mind. In fact, she slowly moved to second place.

"The capital is hording the wealth but are they hording the knowledge too. Why?"

He shrugged as he leaned forward, resting his head in his hands. "Because they think they are better than everyone. They think they are doing the right thing. They are in the capital for a reason. They believe that they are protecting us."

"Do you believe that?"

He gave a long-tired sigh. "Don't know what I believe." 

"I hate the Motherwealth..." 

He nodded silently. 

The hovercraft jerked, making my head smack against the wall. I hissed in pain as I rubbed my head. My hand then dropped to my throbbing side. Gingerly I touched the gauze. Pain still shot up my side with every breath I took but I tried not to focus on it. 

"Sorry," he muttered. "We have to fly low to avoid detection."  

"From who?"

He turned his attention out the window. Through the tree tops we saw smoke lifting into the air. "The neighboring country. They are the ones that will shoot at the aircrafts."

I thought about how I traveled to the capital and how jerky the ride was. I thought the pilot was just terrible. "How long have they been fighting this war?"

He shrugged. "Too long. Decades, maybe."

"And no one has won?" 

He shook his head. "In my opinion, no one will. But my dad hates when I say that. It's what 'losers' say. Psssh."  

"What would happen if the Motherwealth stopped fighting back?"

"You mean gave up?" He asked as his eye grew wide. 

I shrugged. "How bad would it be?" 

I saw that the Motherwealth had and what it gave. Surely whatever the neighboring county had couldn't be any worse.

He opened his mouth then closed it. "To be honest, I don't know much about the country. I don't actually know how bad it could be." 

I nodded as my eyes drifted towards the window, watching as we passed shades of green. The hovercraft jerked again, but this time, I was ready and hung on to my seatbelt to steady myself. 

Even though we were on our way home, I couldn't relax. Fear consumed me. With this war going on, this trip seemed even more dangerous. What if we got caught. What if the neighboring country got us? What would they do? What would the Motherwealth do?

I picked the skin around my nails as thoughts swarmed my mind. Even if managed to get to safety, the Talent program would still be around. No one was there to protect them. "What will happen to the rest of the people in the Talent program?"

He gave a tired sigh. "I think you know the answer to that."

He was right. I did. It would have been my fate possibly. 

But if there was no war, then there wouldn't need to be a Talen program. None of this would happen. "Can you tell me what you know about the neighboring country?" 

He shrugged. "They speak a different language. It's warmer there. The people look different too and dress differently. I remember meeting a few of them one time when I was young. They were trying to negotiate peace or something like that. But obviously nothing was agreed upon." 

"Has there been many times where peace was negotiated."

"I only remember that one time. But my father mentioned a few other times before I was born. For whatever reason, the peace talks never amounted to anything."

The pit in my stomach wanted to blame the Motherwealth for failed attempts. But when it came down to it, I didn't know who was at fault. 

"There needs to be change."

He gave a sad nod. "Maybe one day the Motherwealth will be better." He sighed wishfully. 

Maybe. But I doubt it.

"Sir, I have to land. I've gone as far as I can," the pilot said back to us. 

"Thank you for all of your help."

"Of course." 

In a matter of a few seconds, the hovercraft was landing, and we were getting off.

I looked up as the machine lifted into the air then shot off.

"Hell should be that way," Ezra said as he looked at a compas.

"You have one of those?" I asked in shock. I was familiar with them in Hell, but I never saw one in the capital. Probably because they had so many digital tools. Why would you need something old fashioned?

He shrugged. "My dad got it from one of his travels when I was a kid. Showed me how to use it. I can't take any of my capital things with me so this the only option." He placed the compas in his pocket and started walking into a tree line. 

I followed after him with my head held high. I would be in Hell soon enough. That was enough to keep me going. 

Minutes turned into hours as we walked. Occasionally we would share a few words, but for the most part, the only sound between us were the rustling of freshly blossomed tree leaves, here to stay for the warmer months. 

As I walked beside Ezra, occasionally my fingers would brush against his before I quickly pulled away.

I don't think I could ever forgive him for the information he kept from me. Even though he was helping me escape, there were so many complex feelings swirling around my mind. 

The trees were slowly replaced by open fields, tilled and ready to be planted. 

Ezra struggled to step over the mounds, but I walked with more ease. I was used to walking across fields. Seeing these gave me hope that we were close. 

I rubbed my side as I tried to ease my throbbing side which had only increased in pain. I wasn't going to be the first to ask for a break, so I held my mouth shut and pushed forward. 

We walked over a hill and on the other side was a field of wildflowers. My eyes widened at the sight. With the sun beginning its descent, casting a golden hue over the sprawling field of wildflowers it looked more like a painting.

The air was filled with the sweet scent of blossoms and the gentle buzz of bees. The vibrant colors swaying in the breeze us were a small welcoming distraction.

Ezra stopped with his mouth open at the sight in front of us.  

"Isn't it beautiful?" I asked. 

Ezra nodded, a soft smile playing on his lips. "Yeah, it really is. I don't think I've ever seen so many flowers in one place."

But I had. Flowers like this grew in the late spring early summer every year. The pond where I would skate was surrounded by flowers like these. My heart soared with excitement. I forgot how beautiful it was. I forgot what I had missed. 

As we continued walking, the flowers brushing against our legs. Pushing back my pain, I bent down to pick a particularly bright flower, twirling it between my fingers before tucking it behind my ear. 

Ezra stared with a small smile which made me smile back at him. "You look like you belong here," he said softly.

I laughed. For the first time in a while, it sounded as light and carefree as the petals around us. "Maybe I do. Hell is like this."

Being away from Hell made me realize that I never belonged from it. Hell was my home. I didn't want to be anywhere else. 

"It sounds like it's beautiful." 

I nodded as I touched my side. "It is." 

"How about we stop for the night."

That was the phrase I was hoping to hear for a while now. "Do you think it is safe?"

"The war is being fought close to the capital, not in the Commonwealth. We should be fine here." 

I smiled as I practically clasped onto the ground. "These flowers will make a good bed."

"I think it'll suits you."

I laid my head against the flowers with a small chuckle. 

He laid down beside me and we looked up at the multi color sky. "I was taught that the Commonwealth have nothing of beauty. That they were waste lands." He sighed. "I am starting to believe that is a lie." 

There were plenty of other places within the Motherwealth that were wastelands. Did he never go anywhere? "Have you ever left the capital?"

He shook his head. "Never. Always wanted to, but my parents said that it wasn't worth it when the capital had everything." 

Maybe that was true. But there was a reason for that. The capital was to blame, but Ezra knew that. I didn't need to say anything. "Well, at least you get to see things now. Hell in the summer is beautiful, just you wait." 

His gaze drifted to me again. "That is what I'm looking forward to."

We stared at each other for a moment in the sea of color and life. In that moment, surrounded by nature's beauty, everything felt calm. Everything felt fine.