Civilian had been right. It didn’t take long, and they had finally reached their destination.


A tall concrete wall loomed before them, stretching up toward the sky, massive and impenetrable, as if dividing two worlds. Its surface was layered with peeling paint, faded warning signs, and newer graffiti mocking anyone who had tried to get in. Or out.


“You sure this is the right place?” Soldier asked, eyeing the scrawled messages, none of which promised kind treatment for those who broke the rules.

And that’s exactly what they were about to do.


“Of course I’m sure,” Civilian replied, but his confidence faltered ever so slightly in his eyes.

“Trust me, I know this place. I’ve been through here more than once. It’s abandoned. Been empty for a long time.”


He stepped up to the terminal. Old and rusted, its surface was caked in grime and streaked with the dried prints of hands that had tried before them. Above it, a half-rotted sign still read: PASSPORT CONTROL. Once part of a rigid system designed to control the chaos, now a bitter joke for anyone still clinging to the idea of order.


Civilian placed his palm against the scanner and waited.


Nothing.


Silence.


“So...?” Soldier frowned, shifting his weight. He didn’t look surprised. As if he already knew how this would go.


Civilian tried again, pressing harder this time, his fingers spread firmly against the cold surface, as if force might make a difference.


Still nothing.


He pulled his hand back and wiped his palm on his pants. A useless gesture. It didn’t help.


“Guess the juice ran out,” he muttered sourly, tapping his fingers against the dead terminal.


This wasn’t part of the plan. It had worked not that long ago…


Soldier sighed heavily and scanned the towering wall stretching into the distance.Rows of barbed wire glinted in the sun, and the warning signs stared down like silent guards.


“So now what?”


Civilian scratched the back of his neck and let out a sigh.

“Guess we’ll have to go around…”


Soldier let out a louder sigh and lowered his head.

“Of course we will.”


They looked at each other, then back at the wall, stretching endlessly in both directions, with no hint of a weak spot. No break. No door.


The goal was within reach.


And yet, still so far away.