[ WP ] Since childhood you 've been told that only death awaits you outside the wall . For years you have been curious . Today is your chance .

All his life, he'd lived in a cage. 
 
 To most, Ferris was a metropolis. Clean water, enough land for crops and livestock. More importantly, a massive wall that surrounded the entire city. 
 
 The wall was what kept the outside out, and their microcosm of peace and prosperity in. On the otherside, the badlands were said to be filled with all manner of monster, from giant, twelve-eyed tigers to cruel, twisted abominations that looked like they might have once been human. You'd hear all manner of tales from the scouts and rangers who braved the outside world in search of rare discoveries and glory. Most of these accounts could n't be trusted, as for the most part, only the clinically insane were willing to venture out into the outlands. Well, them and Arlo. 
 
 Arlo was the kind of kid that spent his time in class looking out the window and never at his books. He was the kind of kid that did n't want to spend his time indoors -- and Ferris, due to its always visible wall, always felt like it was `` indoors.'' Arlo wanted out. He wanted adventure, he wanted escape, he wanted to see the world, whether it would kill him or not. He did n't want to live and die like a pig in a cage. He was a lion -- he was meant to roam from the moment he was born. 
 
 When he was 18, he was finally old enough to get a job doing patchwork on the inside of the wall. Every now and then, small cracks and dents could be found on the surface, and a crewman with a weld a supply of scrap metal patches would have to find it and fix it for fear of the oh-so-deadly outside getting in. Two years of a scaling the expanse of the inside of the wall every day meant Arlo had the experience needed to land a job working the outside of the wall. 
 
 The job was the same, except the pay was markedly better, and a sword and whistle were added to his supply kit. 
 
 Today... today was his chance. His supervisor was on leave since his wife was in labor. No one would be checking on him at the normal rate. He'd have a few extra hours to explore outside the wall before anyone noticed he was gone. 
 
 Repairmen of the outside had one rule. They always had to be attached to the wall by tow cable, their life line in the event of an attack by something from the outside. But, if Arlo brought a large enough rock along, tied it to his cable, and detached from the line, it would stay within reach of the ground outside. He could roam around the badlands for a little while and get just a taste of what freedom was like. Nothing would happen; it had been months since the last BIG `` thing'' was spotted. Mostly there were just your typical feral dragodogs and leobears, scratching away at the base of the wall, smelling the meals waiting blissfully inside. Nothing he could n't handle on his own. He had graduated at the top of his combat class during wall training, and any of these beasts were pretty easily dispatched with his standard-issue blade. If there was a pack of them, sure, he would be in trouble, but the flat plains offered a long view of the surrounding area, and he'd be able to see them from a long ways away. 
 
 He started his plan, attaching the rock to the tow cable, tugging on it and testing his knots to make sure it would still be there when he got back. Once he was satisfied with his work, and turned and faced away from the wall. 
 
 Open air. Expanse. Freedom. All sensations he'd never once experienced living inside Ferris, but now... now he felt right. He looked back at the upper ring of the wall, making sure none of the other repairmen saw what he was doing. Relieved at their absence, he checked the plains. Nothing except for a solitary wolfstag trotting in a line perpendicular to his view. 
 
 Perfect. 
 
 Arlo started walking north of Ferris. He could see a large collection of jungle to the west and some hills far off to the east, so he figured he'd just stick to the wide open flatlands of the north for his first foray into the outlands. 
 
 He walked for an hour, taking in the fresh air, the uplifting breeze, the flat horizon. All of a sudden, he wind started to pick up, and Arlo found himself struggling to stay upright. A moment later, a shadow covered him. He looked up, just in time to see the massive claws of an enormous flying reptile he had never seen before. 
 
 He screamed as he was lifted off of the ground, the claws of the beast digging into his body, puncturing his right shoulder. After only a few moments, he was high up in the air. He could see down into Ferris, his home growing smaller and smaller as the monster took him off to its nest. 
 
 It was so cruel, so, so cruel that he'd finally experienced freedom, only to be snatched away by a monster he'd never knew existed, a creature that viewed him no differently than all of the other unfortunate beings it plucked from the ground feasted on. 
 
 At least... at least he'd seen the horizon. That was the last thought before he passed out from shock, the blood loss from his shoulder growing only worse with time.
