The Wall - A Dystopian Novella

By Scott Gelowitz

Sixteen-year-old Kanen dreams of finding a way over the Wall.

Old stories tell of things on the other side like automobiles, computers, and entire buildings where food sits on rows of shelves stretching as far as the eye can see - things they used to have in Canada before the Wall was constructed.

During the century the Wall has been standing, many in his community have attempted to cross over. All have failed, sometimes killed in the process, so the Elders have forbidden anyone from trying.

But that doesn't make Kanen's desire any less, especially since the food supply around him is dwindling daily.

Are things really better on the other side?

Come follow Kanen as he tries to find out.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Scott Gelowitz
• Release date: Nov 27, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386909811

Book preview

For Jennifer,

Jessica, Zachary, Rachel and Rebecca.

Special thanks to Clayton Schneider for sharing his hunting and trapping knowledge.

"I will build a great wall - and nobody builds a wall better than me, believe me."

Donald Trump

"When the Wall went up, all Canadians knew they were in trouble."

CNN - sometime in the near future.

Chapter One

I stalked my prey.

My eyes were trained on my target and I watched for any indication I had been heard, and, so far, I had not.

Step after step I heard my heart race, but no noise reached my ears as each foot fell on the short, brown grass.

My left hand raised the bow in a slow upward arc as I neared the furthest point from which I could accurately hit my prey, and I crept forward to position myself for the best shot possible, aiming in anticipation.

A barely audible crunch sounded as I put weight on my right foot, making the rabbit’s ears perk up before its head turned in my direction.

I knew there would only be a fraction of a second before it scampered away, so I let the arrow fly. It hit the ground where the rabbit had been a moment previous.

Full of disappointment, I walked over to retrieve the arrow from where it had come to rest. It was too valuable to leave behind. I made sure the arrow was undamaged before slipping it back into the quiver alongside the few arrows I possessed.

It had been a long day and that particular failure brought my hunt to an end, so I sighed and turned toward home. I hoped the others fared better than I did or we’d all be hungry later, but I wouldn’t find out until I arrived back home.

I dreaded being teased about my hunting skills once again. It wasn’t that I was a bad hunter, I thought. There just seemed to be less and less edible animals around. I hoped it was only the time of year – early spring – but seasons weren’t much different anymore, unlike they had been in old stories I heard throughout my lifetime.

Maybe we chased too many of our prey too close to the Wall, where they met the same fate as countless others. The piles of bones stood as a grotesque monument near it, I was told, but I never ventured close enough to get a good look.

My failure played over in my memory as I wandered through the odd-shaped hills. The Elders told us those hills were man-made, back in the days when the area had been mined for coal. Thankfully, a huge stockpile of that same coal was left over when the power plant quit working, and it was used ever since to keep us warm in the winter.

I made it to the top of one of the largest hills and from the high vantage point I saw our home. The word ‘Shand’ was still visible on one side of the large building we lived in, so that was all we called it – Shand. No records remained and none of the stories told of the origin of that name, but the empty shell of the former power plant worked well to house our little community. For some reason, it was still standing when all other buildings were destroyed further than the eye could see.

An hour after I first spied it, I arrived back at Shand. The two boys I was dreading to see were sitting near the door, and I regretted returning empty handed even more than before.

The great hunter returns, said Matwau, the larger of the two.

And he brings his usual bounty, I see, said the smaller boy, Ahanu.

Both laughed.

I felt both shame and anger fighting for dominance, and once again, I let shame win. I hung my head and walked through the door, ignoring them both as I did. Their laughter followed me inside, because even the large steel door couldn’t stop the memory from echoing in my head.

Even though I had known Matwau and Ahanu all sixteen summers I had been alive, they had always teased me. I didn’t know if it was because I was a year younger or because I was smaller. Either way, it didn’t make me feel any better.

I walked straight to the hub, where all of the activity happened. No one knew what purpose the room served when the power plant was still operating, but it was a large open area with a twenty-foot ceiling that housed most of our activities. We cooked in the hub and the heat from the cooking kept us warm. When the outside temperature was reasonable, each of us kept our own private rooms elsewhere in the structure. When the outside temperature dropped, we would all sleep in the hub, and the combination of dwindling kitchen fires and thirty bodies kept the temperature inside the hub comfortable for the entire night.

When I arrived, the usual hum of busy people filled my ears. It was comforting for those fleeting moments before I heard my name called out too loud and too close.

Kanen, I heard on my right side. I turned to see Elder Echa staring at me, a well-worn scowl on his face.

Nothing again? he asked.

I shook my head and remained silent.

He sighed. We need food to eat, you know.

I knew.

And Elder Echa knew that I knew.

I’m sorry, I said in a dry monotone voice. I hadn’t spoken all day, so my apology came out hollow and uncaring. I felt bad enough already, and I knew my response was about to make it worse.

Elder Echa didn’t look impressed.

Do you need another hungry night to remind you? he asked.

I shook my head.

Elder Echa stared at me for many heartbeats, but I was too busy watching him to keep count.

We will see what the others bring back, he said, and if there isn’t enough, you will go hungry again.

It wasn’t the first time I’d gone without eating because of an unsuccessful hunt. That’s what I’d signed up for when I asked to become a hunter. If you were a hunter, fisher or gatherer in our community, you had the most important job of all. Failure meant we could all starve, so days when we were unsuccessful were sometimes met with a day of hunger in order to remind us of just how important the job truly was.

I hadn’t eaten for two days already. Most of the time the Elders wouldn’t let anyone go hungry for three days in a row, understanding you need energy to hunt.

It felt like that day would be the exception.

Elder Echa walked away and I wandered toward the fire at the center of the room. A few of the other Elders were cooking in various