Eli was being shaken awake violently, that wasn’t normally what his mother did. She was much more soothing than this. 

“Eli. You have to wake up. Wake up Eli.” She was whispering harshly against his ear. Eli blinked a few times to see his mother fully clothed, a bag in her hand. “Get up. Dress quickly in your outer gear.” 

“What’s going on?” Eli asked. 

“Don’t ask me questions.” His mother said, her voice quick and frantic. “Do as I say. Get ready quickly.”

Eli got out of bed, his eyes stung with sleep. It was late, still night. He dressed in his warmest clothes, his outer gear heavy and bulky against him. He tied his good leather shoes and stepped out of his room. His mother was writing something quickly on her pad. 

“Do you have your pad?” she asked. 

Eli nodded. 

“Give it here.” She extended her hand. He obeyed, his eyes wide as she threw it to the ground, crushing hers and his with the heel of her boot. “We’re leaving.” 

“What’s happened?” Eli asked. 

Raiza sighed and shook her head. “Your insemination failed. We’ve been fortunate that I found it. We have to leave now before they come for you.” 

“Leave?” Eli asked as his mother grabbed things around him. “What do you mean leave? Where could we go that they won’t find me?” 

“We’ll go to sector five. I have passage waiting for us.” Raiza said grabbing his cloak and pulling it tight around him. “Come now. Do exactly as I say. Do you understand.” 

Eli took a breath and nodded. “Yes.” 

“You carry this.” She handed him a pack that he threw over his shoulders. “Should we get separated, this has everything you need in it. Go for the boarder towards the wall if we ever get separated.” 

Eli could feel his body tensing with panic, but he followed his mother out of their home, the only home he had ever known and into the bridge. No one was on the walkway now as the rest of Sector zero slept. Eli squinted at the bright light of their star as his mother dropped to her knees, unlocking to orb from the base. 

“We’ll climb down through here.” She said dropping to a maintenance ladder. Eli watched his mother climb down the hundreds of feet below them as he dropped down, shutting the maintenance door and following her down. The air was cold against his skin. Rarely did they leave the protection of the tunnels and building. 

“Pull this over your face.” She pulled up the mask in his cloak. “Come quickly, be as silent as possible.” 

Eli followed behind her, the ice crunching against his new boots. She had known this would happen, at the very least she had suspected it. They walked in silence until they reached a fence. His mother looked at the data stamp and began walking along it. Eli followed her, wishing he could ask her the questions that were trying to force their way out of his brain. He looked up at the sky, bright as ever, but different without the shield of windows and orbs. It was crisper and cleaner than he had expected. Large hunks of ice could be seen if you squinted hard enough circling the planet in rings. They were actually quite beautiful, racing around the planet. One thousand years ago it was said a large ice meteor flew to the surface of Thill, wiping out almost all the population, taking Thill off its axis point, shrouding half the planet in darkness. Those that once lived on that side of the planet froze to death and it became a hot spot for ice creatures made to live in the frozen tundra. That was only one theory though, the other was that half the planet was never meant for life beyond the deep creatures that had dwelled since its creation. 

Eli’s legs were tired, they had been walking for hours he was sure. What was the purpose of walking? They were at the edge of the sector, that much was obvious. Clearly his mother was trying to avoid the boarder authorities, but how long could they walk before world began bustling? 

“Mother?” he whispered stepping closer to her. “Where are we going?” 

His mother stopped and looked out further. “We’re almost there. A blind spot, perfect for smuggling.” 

“How do you know that?” Eli asked. How long had she been planning their escape? Had she always known he’d fail? How could she?

His mother said nothing else as he followed her. A man was standing against what could only be a broken part of the electric fencing. 

“You Raiza?” he asked quietly. 

“I am.” his mother dug into her bag, pulling out a slip of tech. Credits. “Passage for myself and my son.” 

The man glanced towards Eli who watched his eyes. He looked every which way before ushering them through. “You’ll climb under here.” He opened a small hidden compartment barely big enough for the two of them to lay flat. “It will be a long journey. So piss now.” He turned away. 

His mother was obeying, pulling her pants down and squatting against the icy surface. Eli took a few steps away and pulled his own pants loose. This was insane. What lengths had his mother gone to for this to be possible? 

He climbed in first, his mother second. “Don’t talk too loudly. I’ll tap when we’re at borders. You must be completely silent then.” the man shut the door and it was completely dark. 

Eli waited for his eyes to adjust, slowly they did, but he could only make out the figure of his mother laying next to him. “How long have you been planning this?” He whispered. 

His mother said nothing. 

“Answer me.” he whispered again. “Please.” 

“A while.” She finally said. “Not in earnest until your first failure. I had to have a backup plan.” 

“How many credits did you pay that man?” Eli whispered. 

“That’s unimportant.” 

“It is important. How long have you been saving for this? How could you have known I would fail?” 

“I didn’t know for certain.” Raiza whispered. “I had to take precautions.” 

“How long did you save the credits needed?” Eli asked. 

“Eli…” his mother whispered. She sighed. “There is so much that you don’t understand. So much that I need to tell you.” 

“So tell me.” 

His mother said nothing, he wished he could shake her and beg for answers. This was not a sudden decision she made. He couldn’t even understand how she could have possibly planned this all in the single month it had taken after his first insemination failure. 

“Mother.” he asked again. 

There was a knock against the metal and he covered his mouth with his hands, holding his breaths as closely as he could. 

Someone opened the hatch, looking into the interior compartment, not seeing the smugglers compartment he and his mother were squished into just under the surface of supplies hiding them. The hatch shut again and the vehicle began moving. Another knock to let them know they were safely through a border. 

“Please,” Eli whispered. “I need to know.” 

“There is a lot I need to tell you, Eli. You are very special. You know that.” His mother hesitated, giving him enough time to yawn. He had barely slept. He tried to conceal the yawn, but it gave his mother just what was needed. “Sleep now. There will be time to explain everything. I promise.” 

Eli slept for a long time, his dreams frantic and unhinged. He kept himself silent though, forcing his body to stay quiet, knowing it was dangerous if he were to cry out like he used to when his dreams were particularly bad. 

They were allowed out once the next day to eat empty, as the man said. His mother handed him dried leathery meat and a water sack. He drank and ate and looked around. 

He couldn’t be entirely sure, but this looked a great deal like Sector three. All large steel building and a distinct smell of metal in the air. There were a few people huddled next to one another for warmth under a tent. 

“What are they doing?” Eli asked. 

“They’re outcasts, Eli.” His mother said quietly. 

Outcasts. Eli had never seen one before. People who had no family or credits to take them in when the decay took over. They were cast out, left to die alone in the cold. It was cruel. Their last bits of life lived in such horrible conditions, starving to death and freezing constantly. 

“Back in.” the man said opening the compartment for them. He climbed back into the small space, his mother climbing in after him.

She reached down and grabbed his hand, holding it tightly in hers as she had done his entire life. She was thirty five this year. Her mind was starting to go slowly. Her health would leave her next. How could he care for her while they ran. Had she let him be taken, she would have been sent to a lovely care home in sector zero. Now she would die like those people. He bit down on his lip as his throat constricted shut. He held in sobs as tears pooled into his neck and his many layers.