The Wall by Max Annas

Author:Max Annas
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Catalyst Press
Published: 2019-06-10T16:00:00+00:00

55

How could someone get out of a gated community? Through the gate you entered through. But how could he get back to the gate?

Moses was still standing behind the shoulder-high wall, trying to figure out where he was. The walls, the electrified wire, and the surveillance conveyed the message that nobody was allowed in unless they belonged here. All the burglars and tramps, all the poor and disadvantaged, you needed to defend yourself against. It was the same regardless of where you had to live in South Africa. But he wanted to get out. He hadn’t come here voluntarily.

But how to get out? And where? Was there something like an emergency exit here? A gated community didn’t need a fire escape or an evacuation plan. After all, there was only the one exit. He had to get there. But how? The security company’s bakkie drove across his field of vision. An older black man was sitting at the wheel. A few minutes ago, he hadn’t even paid attention to who was driving the car that tried to run him down.

Maybe the nanny could help him. He should have asked her. The first friendly person he’d encountered in here. Moses ducked and crept back to the parallel street. He heard the white guy’s voice again.

“If I were in charge here, none of this would have gotten so far.”

“What do you mean?” a second voice asked. Also masculine. Also white. Also no longer young. Was that the referee? He couldn’t remember how his voice sounded.

“You know what I mean.”

“Yes…” The second voice sounded teacherly. “It’s different than it used to be. Be careful. You don’t want to end up in trouble when all’s said and done.”

“Burglary. Rape. Who knows what else he’s up to?”

The two men were standing on the other side of the wall. Moses tried not to breathe.

“Still, there shouldn’t be any shooting unless it’s an emergency. Got it?”

“Yeah, yeah…Sure, only in an emergency.”

“And even then…Think about what the newspapers will write about it.”

The footsteps faded. Moses began to breathe again.

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