S
ShadowPL
Guest
- Thread Author
- #1
I've finally made it out.
I feel... weightless. I know that place had always held me down, but for the first time, I can feel the unity that I had hoped for. It's been only one night now, and my breathing has changed - it's slower, and fuller. It's like the air out here is actually worth taking in.
I can see it back in the distance, and I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't constantly on my mind. I wish I could turn that fear off, but maybe the further I go, the less that fear will affect me. I feel betrayed by what I assumed was home.- If I ever end up back there, I won't be able to look at it the same way.
This new world surrounds me. I used to think the walls back home were massive- everything out here engulfs me, and places me right in the middle. The Outlands are quite precarious at times, and it's easy to grow weary. But it's real, and it's true, and I'd much rather endure reality than mindlessly be obedient to a life that someone else created for me. I've obsessed about this world for so long that it feels more like home than anything I've experienced. Somehow, in this vast openness, I feel more protected than ever.
The landscape feels endless, and I've found myself walking for hours without any true evidence of getting further down. But I've seen plants and colors out here that I'm not sure I've witnessed before. There's a beauty in the strangest places,— and the curiosity of what's next continues to motivate me. I wonder who else is out here. If what I assumed inside is true, there's got to be more like me. Sometimes I'll feel a presence, only to look up and see nothing. It's just another thing that I'm afraid of that also excites me. It all just confirms all of the things that I hoped to be true for all of this time.
For 402 days, you have kept me in there. Tortured--beaten, starved. Not a apologetic breath exhaled from your mouth. I'm sorry our way had to part like this, Twenty Four; your idea would have gotten us killed, and I am not dying for the Combine.
I am out here, and I am very alive. I'm sometimes scared, but always discovering something new, and I will not stop.
A new era begins, now.
I'm glad it's with you.
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