My heart stilled as I considered what he was suggesting but as more convicts began to scramble over the bank, I had to accept we had no choice.
“Maya?" Laurie caught my arm as I made to follow him. "Contamination is worse than death." Her eyes were wide with panic and she dug her heels in stubbornly.
“He said there's no contamination. Laurie, it's this or death."
Coal had already crossed most of the barren land and was nearly at the green barrier.
“But-" A bullet slammed into the dirt by our feet, spraying lumps of mud and rock up over our legs and I leapt back in fright.
“Laurie, come on." I grabbed her wrist and started running.
Within another moment, she was keeping pace beside me and we were sprinting to catch up with Coal.
Taylor was bouncing on Coal's back as he ran ahead of us but still showed no sign of waking up. The shouting and gunshots behind us were getting louder, closer. A meter to my right, another patch of dirt exploded in a puff of dust and I shrieked in fear.
I twisted to look back at our pursuers, swinging my shotgun up between us but they were already falling back. They weren't going to follow us once we hit that green wall. They wouldn’t risk death for the sake of us.
Coal slipped straight between two huge trees and disappeared without a moment’s hesitation.
But I couldn’t help but slow down as I reached the edge of the forest. I'd seen pictures of trees and leaves from the old world but the sight of them was unlike anything I’d ever imagined. They towered above me, casting a thick shadow which ran across the wasteland.
A leaf as tall as me and twice as wide blocked the path ahead and I pushed it aside to let Laurie pass through. She didn't look happy and I gave her a shove before she changed her mind.
I paused briefly to run the waxy leaf between my fingers taking in the strange, damp, earthy scent rising up around me.
If I was wrong about this, I was going to die.
But it didn’t feel wrong. It felt right.
I took a deep breath to steel my nerves and stepped into the cover of the trees.
The green swallowed us whole.
I blinked furiously, unable to adjust to the new colour after a life spent in tones of grey, white and brown. The air was moist and everything dripped with dampness that created a constant changing melody and movement amongst the foliage.
It was so alive. There were sounds of scampering and scurrying as all manner of things moved about unseen. Movement above us caught my attention as a chipmunk, no bigger than my hand, darted up the rough bark of a giant tree, chattering away as it went. I couldn't tear my eyes away from its progress as it went. It was like looking at a ghost, a legend, a damn myth. I'd never seen any animals in the flesh before and looking at them on a screen didn’t begin to compare to the reality of looking upon one as it raced along above my head, full of life and purpose. It was like waking up in a dream or a fantasy. My brain couldn’t compute it and my mouth fell open as I stared around at everything in wonder.
My boots squelched on a layer of springy moss that carpeted the forest floor. Trailing vines brushed my hair and shoulders, hanging from outstretched branches and connecting all of the trees.
The chipmunk was joined by another and I watched as they used the vines like a pathway, zipping along them as they chased each other in circles and ran out of sight.
Coal was just visible ahead of us between the trees with Taylor still slung across his shoulders.
Laurie pushed her way through the resisting vegetation towards me. She hadn't moved for several moments after entering the trees and she looked as though she’d still rather turn back.
Coal stopped and laid Taylor down on the soft moss amongst the roots of a monstrous tree which reached up high above our heads. I had to crane my neck to see where it disappeared into the canopy.
"I can't carry him the whole way and he doesn't seem keen on waking up any time soon," Coal said, moving away as he took a lethal looking dagger from a sheath at his hip. "We'll need to make a litter to transport him the rest of the way." He started climbing the tree with the knife between his teeth and was soon high above our heads.
I eyed him anxiously, biting my lip as I watched him navigate the huge branches above our heads.
“Where are we going?" Laurie asked me in a low voice.
“I have no idea."
Coal moved to straddle a large branch and leaned down to hack at the stem of a gigantic leaf with his knife. He grunted as he worked to break the resisting stem and I watched him curiously, wondering what he was doing. His muscles flexed through his shirt as he worked and a faint blush reach my cheeks as I tried not to stare.
The stem finally gave way and the enormous leaf sailed down towards us, catching on an updraft and floating lazily before coming to rest at my feet. I stepped forward and ran my fingers along it, the leaf was firm and waxy to the touch. It was nearly as big as a bed and set in a dome shape which didn't flex under pressure.