THE TOWN OF HILLVIEW had no hills and no view. It was tucked in a valley surrounded by hills, but it was impossible to see them over the enormous stone walls protecting the town, each one fifty feet high. Inside those walls, the grassy ground was as flat as a table. There wasn’t a lump, a bump, a gulch, or even a gully to vary the terrain.
Hillview was home to a magical people called the Lysors. But they hadn’t always lived there. For centuries, the Lysors had been hailed as protectors of the world. Their ruler, Queen Ailix, had worn a Crystal Crown that gave the Lysors tremendous power. But eleven years ago, everything changed. The Crystal Crown was stolen. The Lysors had to hide. They retreated deep into the valley, built their secret settlement, and walled it off forever. They enchanted the walls so that the entire town vanished into the surrounding landscape like a bird’s nest hidden in a pile of twigs.
There was no way in and no way out, and that’s how the Lysors liked it. Inside, they were safe. None of them wanted to see the outside world ever again. None of them, that is, except for Laura. And she had a secret.
On the north end of Hillview was the Never-Dark Forest, where the trees always glowed with a faint green light. It was one of the rare signs of Lysor magic in Hillview, a dim reminder of the power the Lysors once had. The forest grew all the way to the northern wall. Hidden behind the softly glowing leaves of a tall tree was a spot on the wall with three thin cracks, just big enough to see through to the other side. Only Laura knew about it. And it was her favorite place in the entire world. Every day after school, she veered off the path that led to her house and spent hours trying to see what was on the other side of the towering wall.
One pleasantly sunny, utterly windless day, Laura was looking through the cracks in the wall when she spotted a fiery orange fox. Laura stared as it sniffed around the dark soil and pulled a worm out of the ground with its teeth. She tried to sketch as many details as she could in her notebook, but she knew that the dull gray markings of her pencil could never truly capture the fascinating creature. She pressed her face closer to the stone to try to sear the fox into her memory forever—its inky black eyes, its pointed ears, its white tail so bushy, it looked like it was being followed by a cloud of fur. She didn’t even want to breathe for fear of frightening it away.
“Laura!” a loud voice called out from behind her.
Startled, the fox ran away into the hills. Laura sighed, wishing she could do the same. She turned around to see her cousin Millie charging through the trees.
“I’ve been searching all over for you!” said Millie. “You’re going to be late for rations!”
At the beginning of each week, the whole town gathered to collect the food and water that was to last them through the next seven days. Being late was strictly forbidden.
“Already?” Laura said, closing her notebook. She had been staring at the fox for who knows how long.
“Yes!” Millie narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “What are you doing out here anyway?” She looked behind Laura and gasped. “Are those cracks in the wall?!”
“Shh!” said Laura. “It’s no big deal. They’re barely big enough to look through.”
“You were looking through them?!” Millie said even louder.
“What’s the harm in that?”
“What’s the harm?” Millie grabbed Laura’s arm. “Anything outside the walls is terrifying!”
Laura sighed. “It was just a little fox eating a worm.”
Millie shuddered. “Terrifying and gross.”
“Just don’t tell anyone, okay?”
Millie put her hands on her hips, looking more stern than a twelve-year-old should be capable of looking. “Fine. But if we’re late for rations, I’m blaming it on you.”
Lara and Millie took off through the Never-Dark Forest, ducking under the glowing branches that blocked their path.
“Hurry!” Millie shouted, her gangly legs kicking behind her so that she looked like a panicked ostrich.
“I’m running as fast as I can!” Laura panted.
They reached the edge of the forest and saw everyone else in Hillview congregated in the center of town. Lysors from dozens of different families lived in Hillview, but they all had one striking resemblance—a lock of glowing green hair, the same green as the trees in the Never-Dark Forest. They were gathered around the Food-Giving Tree, a massive tree with bark the color of chalk. Its branches sagged under the weight of hundreds and hundreds of gray pears, the only fruit that grew in Hillview.
Laura and Millie slipped into the crowd just in time. Laura spotted her dad, Micah, toward the front. Micah was the town healer. He had a friendly, round face, a deep voice, and a silver beard that made him seem older than he was. He tugged nervously at his beard, looking around for Laura.
When he saw her, a relieved smile spread across his face. “There you are! I was worried you were going to be late!”
Laura sidled up next to him. “You worry too much.”
Micah chuckled. “You sound just like your mother.” He ran his hand through Laura’s glowing green lock, which stood out against the rest of her jet-black hair like lightning in the night.
Then a hush fell over the crowd. The sea of Lysors parted as Torian, the mayor of Hillview, walked toward the Food-Giving Tree. He was tall, with wheat-colored hair so thick, it nearly hid the shock of green above his forehead. Like everyone in Hillview, he wore a simple beige tunic over cotton trousers—just thick enough to keep cool in the mildly warm days and warm in the mildly cool nights. Torian was Queen Ailix’s brother. When the Crystal Crown was stolen, he led the Lysors in retreat. It was his vision to build the walls, keeping the Lysors hidden—and protected—forever. But he was a humble man who even disliked the title of mayor. He preferred to go just by his given name, Torian. The only sign of his status was a green pin on his collar shaped like a crescent moon.
“Friends,” he addressed the town warmly. “Let’s begin.”
