Climbing the wall

I've been watching it all night, the wall, sizing it up.

We all have.

With only two hours to dawn, we are gearing up for our climb to freedom.

The wall looms over a ghostly, pungent expanse of sage.

I stay low, crouching with the others, waiting for a signal from the leader.

And there it is, a red blinking penlight at the foot of the wall,

So the rope ladders must be in place.

Dressed in dark body suits, and gloves with silicon grips

We rise and hurry toward the wall, staying low,

Running with low impact like dancers,

We resemble nothing less than a troop of ghosts.

Even though we can't see the black ladders,

As the pitch monolithic barrier looms

We trust that we will soon be climbing for our lives

Just as we rehearsed a hundred times.

Thirty feet straight up and shinny down the other side.

The sensors have detected us,

The automatic warning resounds: Stop or be shot! / Detenerse o recibir un disparo!

Within five minutes, sentinel drones will be swarming,

Some with assault capability,

But within four minutes we will be free, all eight of us,

Free from the land of shattered dreams and broken promises.

Hasta nunqui. / See you never.