Purified Secret


We passed through the old wired fence on our stomachs; luckily it hadn't rained in the past days or so. The four of us ran past the old withered down factory building to the back where we hid our traveling bikes. A twenty five mile ride outside Chicago to reach the wild territory, and never once have we been caught.

We always rode in silence for the first hour, in fear of getting caught. Bay, Petrick, Cam, and I followed the familiar beaten down bike path that had once been a road where cars used to drive down. I always tried to picture what it would look like to see a real car driving down a road filled with people inside of it. People used to drive thousands of miles from state to state traveling. Now it was illegal to leave the borders of the city you lived in.

Once there was a time where millions lived in a nation called The United States of America. Now all that was left was The America. No city was united and there was no such things called states. The America held eight cities total; San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Miami, Seattle, Atlanta, Dallas, and Pittsburgh. No one was allowed to leave the city they were born in, in fear of creating water shortages, pollution, and population growth. Our cities hadn't heard from the rest of the world for over five decades.

We were on our way to a small ruin which was an abandoned city that used to go by the name Ballwin. For three years we had been coming there creating our own little hiding area away from the city. It was our place where we were allowed to speak and think freely among ourselves. In The City new ideas and different thinking could get you in a lot of trouble.

“At least its nice outside today, maybe we could go fishing.” Cam spoke first, and always did. My muscles relaxed knowing we were close to Ballwin which meant we could speak without getting heard or caught.

We rode quickly now wanting to get to Ballwin as soon as possible. Our hideout was called Lincoln Memorial Library. At school we had learned about libraries that people used in the Wasteful days but I had never heard of the name Lincoln before. I loved the library because of all the books that were stored inside. The books held many ideas and different information that was never talked about in The City. There were couches, tables, carpet, and even vending machines.

Bay and Petrick always would leave Cam and I at the library so they could go on adventures in Ballwin. They were never interested in our studies at the library and they always wanted alone time to be together anyways. They always seemed intimate with each other which made it ok whenever they wanted to leave Cam and I.

Cam had been my best friend since forever. We had grown up together, always at each other’s side. “Lia, you’re my person.” Cam would always say to me, dazzling me with his perfect smile. Cam was handsome. Tall, built, blonde hair, and he had deep blue eyes. I always felt dirty next to him with my knotty long curly brown hair. I was extremely small compared to him but his body language always set off a warm welcoming to himself.

We had been working on this project for a year and a half ever since I turned sixteen. It was to get a car running with actual gas so we could learn how to drive it. Back in the wasteful days people got a special card that told them they could drive when they turned sixteen.
The wasteful days were a time in society about 150 years ago when the world became over populated. The people polluted the waters with all the natural resources they were abusing. The food became bad which meant starvation went worldwide. They say at the time about 45% of the world’s population died out. Along with another 8% while the world went at war fighting for clean water. Cities became big factors on surviving this time. They created cities like the ones in The America to help put order to the world. The cities held security where no crime was allowed to happen. If you brought crime to the city you were sent to the wild to survive with nothing. In exchange for security you were given a job you were trained to do. You worked for The City as a thank you for your life, and you get paid in gallons of water. Water cost more than people could afford which meant everything else you owned all seemed to cost the same, no matter how expensive the item.
Only a few people owned their own water purifier in The City which was usually kept quiet because of the fears of it being stolen. My parents were scientists who were allowed to travel city to city in the search of a cure for water pollution's. They left about four years ago and left me to stay with my aunt. They only left me a purifier with a note that said; there’s more to the story. I haven't heard from them since.
“You’re thinking about your parents, aren’t you?” Cam asked, looking at me across the library table. I looked up into his smoldering eyes not making a motion.
“You know they would be very proud of you right now, don’t you? You’ve figured out how to get a car running and today we are going to drive it. You think just like your parents, and wherever they are in this world you know they love you.” Cam said trying to make me feel better.
“Do you realize there is a whole world out there and we are trapped in Chicago? Living inside The City waiting to die!” I snapped at him.
“Oh Lia please don’t start with this again, we have been through this a million times. And you know we don’t want to stir up any problems or suspicions with the head leaders of The City.”
“But you guys are still breaking the rules by leaving The City with me correct? Which means the three of you still have your doubts about this society?” I fought back at Cam.
“We don’t say it out loud like you do Lia, we try to except what has been given to us.”
“Cam my water purifier says the water is clean to drink from the well we dug up last year, nature has replenished itself for a while now and everyone in The City needs to know about this secret.”
Cam was quiet for a moment thinking choosing his words wisely. He took a deep breath and walked around the table towards me. “I know you miss your parents, and today is a big deal for you. For us.” I nodded my head agreeing with him.
“We don’t know why they left exactly, but you must know they love you, they still love you. And I’m here for you too.” Cam held out his arms for me and I leaned my body into his, feeling a sense of peacefulness and tasting reality.



The car had been running smoothly for the past month, everything was going perfectly with this project. Cam learned how to drive first, and then taught me afterwards. Bay and Petrick were too scared to learn how to drive yet they still enjoyed every car ride we went on. Driving became something we did every weekend. When we drove, we drove to places an hour away from Ballwin looking for different cities and towns that had become ruins.

It was a Sunday afternoon in late October. The four of us were on our way home from a lake we had found thirty miles south of Ballwin. Cam dropped Bay and Petrick off by our bikes and drove with me to the garage where we stored the car. If I would have known that was the last time I would ever see that car, Ballwin, or all the leaves changing colors, something we didn’t get to see in the city rarely, I would have taken the time to look around and appreciate what I had found for the past three years.

Cam and I turned the car off and closed the garage down. We walked silently to where our bikes were, I couldn’t hear the familiar voices of Bay and Petrick. That should have been a red flag right then, yet we still kept walking. We turned the corner of the old factory; we should have never turned that corner.

Bay and Petrick were standing by a City Government Officer, twenty plus more were behind them. Guns were pointed straight at Cam and I faces. The officer standing by Bay and Petrick took a step towards us.

“Cam Rons and Lia Tallas, you two are under arrest.”


Bay and Petrick sold us out to the government, for the exchange of more water given to them every year. Our best friends betrayed us, and now only one of us was going to be punished for our actions.
The City had been watching us since the beginning of the three years we started going to Ballwin. It was when we left off exhaust from the car is when they became suspicious. That’s when they teamed up with Bay and Petrick to find out what was going on.
I sat in a dark tinted room while I waited for the head officer, Geatto Han, to come in and question me.
“Hello Lia.” Han said to me. He was a tall built man who had gone bald, tattoos covered his whole head. I sat there silent.
“Lia you have caused so much disturbance while being up here in The City Headquarters, you are just like your parents.” My head snapped up and Han smiled knowing he had caught my attention.
“My parents where are they?” I demanded shaking in my chair.
“Just like your parents you discovered the water has replenished itself, a secret we have been keeping from the people of The City. When your parents discovered the water was clean they created a plan to inform everyone and of course we had to stop them.”
“What did you do to them?”
“We banned them from The City; we dropped them in the middle of nowhere to survive.” Han laughed to himself.
My heart dropped. My parents were sent to the wild to survive on their own with nothing to help them.
“Then why did you arrest me for the car I got running?”
“That is quite simple; we needed something to arrest you on. It’s not actually illegal to get a car running; no one is just smart enough to get one started.”
“Then I am free to go? You can’t hold me here forever.” I started to get up from my chair.
“Not so fast.” Han said in a stern voice. “Don’t you understand my dear; we have to ban you from the city because you know too much.”
I closed my eyes the second he said this. The room felt like it was spinning in circles and I felt nauseous.
I spoke with my eyes close in a very still voice, “What about Cam? He also knows more than the others.”
“We scared him straight, and he isn't as smart as you. We offered him a higher paid City job to keep his mouth shut and to never leave the city again. Bay and Petrick never knew about the water situation, it was just one person we have to worry about and that would be you. Why take the risk of you exposing our secret if we could just ban you anyways.”
“So just me then, alone?” I whispered to him.
“Yes Lia. I’m truly sorry you had to turn out just like your parents too, its such a shame. We really hoped you wouldn’t become curious about the outside world, but you did. You only get to see one person before we ban you, which one would it be?”
My poor aunt, I hadn't seen her in days. She’d be losing her only family left without even a goodbye.
“I need to see Cam.” I said quietly pushing my aunt in the back of my head.
“Need?” Han questioned me.
“Want.”

Cam sat properly in the metal chair as he waited for me to walk inside. The City had changed my apparel putting me into into heavy thick clothing. They gave me a backpack to carry, but I wasn't allowed to open it until I got into the wild.

The City guards pushed me towards the room’s door and told me I only had five minutes, I opened the door. “Hello.” I said calmly to Cam.
“Oh Lia!” Cam said jumping out of his seat and wrapping his arms around my small body. I told myself I couldn’t cry.
“Cam, I’m going to die out there and you’ll still be here in The City alive.”
“Don’t say that Lia, you are quick and smart when it comes to these types of situations. That’s another reason why you’re being punished. You are the example to all to not break rules here, everyone in The City is talking about you, even people we have never even met or seen.”
“They banned my parents.”
Cam sucked in air quickly, “I had no clue.”
“They told me I’m just like my parents.” Cam hugged me again shutting me up. We stayed there until our time was up in that position. “Times up.” A guard said opening the door.
Cam quickly kissed my forehead and whispered, “You'll always be my person.” He turned quickly and walked out the door. Right when the door shut the room went black, and then my mind did also.


I woke on a hard ground, I was outside for sure. The breeze was strong and I could feel my cheeks getting wind burn. I looked around and noticed I was in a field used for farming back in the wasteful days. There were no trees or landscape in any direction my eye could see. I scrambled to my feet opening up the black backpack. The only thing inside was my parents purifier and a note that read;
Good luck, the key is clean water. - The City
It was overcast so I had no clue which direction I was standing, but I had to start walking before it got dark. I was alone with the world because I knew too much, the thought of Cam and my parents made me cry. But I was smart so maybe The City thought there was a chance for me to survive, and I knew I had too. With a deep breath I took my first step into the wild.