Young Writers Society

Main Story, Chapter 1

“Where are we going?” she yelled as they ran past the twin guard towers, their white stone stained a golden yellow by the sunlight.

“This way!” her guide said as they fled through the open gates and sped to their right, into the vacant plaza. She could hear the heavy thud of boots against the stony surface as the palace guards pursued them. Her friend had barely escaped to warn her of the uprising, and now that warning may have arrived too late. “Don’t worry.” he called over his shoulder as they raced along the palace’s outer wall, “We’ll be safe once…” But his words were cut short as he stumbled and fell in front of her. The cobblestones turned red from his wound, hit by an archer above.

“Caden!” she screamed, trying not to trample him and dropping the dagger he’d given her earlier as she stumbled over him. He sat up heavily, the arrow lodged in his chest.

“Go.” he said forcefully, glancing over her shoulder at the approaching soldiers.

“But…”

“Go!” he yelled over her objections, pulling his dagger out with his left hand. She glanced back at the troop chasing her, then squealed as another arrow fell from the wall, this time barely grazing her shoulder and causing little damage. Her eyes locked with Caden’s, and his stare was firm, telling her to go. She turned away reluctantly and ran.

She sprinted as fast as she could, the ragged edge of her skirt, which she’d cut much shorter with the dagger Caden had given her, beating against her thighs. The road was almost completely empty, save for the sounds of the palace guards behind her and the few wandering birds overhead. The Imperial Garden loomed up ahead, but her hopes of escaping pursuit were no greater there than anywhere else: the nearest buildings were well over three-hundred paces away. The Garden, only one-hundred square paces, was barely twenty paces away, and the few trees it contained were poor cover. Nevertheless, that was her only option at this point, short of someone coming to her aid. She could see the iron fence surrounding the Gardens, its two high gates open to admit the nobility into their small, private forest. The lane leading to the fountain in the Gardens’ center was clear, leaving a perfect view of the sparkling water shooting up out of the cement fountain. Under less threatening circumstances she would have stopped to admire the natural beauty of the cascading streams, but her legs were already tiring and the guards were catching up. She glanced behind her and gasped as she saw two scouts with blades drawn sprinting towards her, easily outdistancing the heavier guards. She looked back at the fountain and struggled to regain her breath. No more screaming, she decided, as she ran the rest of the way and fell stumbling through the gate, then collapsed onto the rough dirt path. She tried to push herself back up, but fell heavily back onto the ground, and fought a losing battle to keep the world in focus. Her vision began to blur, and then went black as she heard several others rush up to her. The last thing she remembered before passing out was a pair of hands gently grabbing her by the shoulders.

“Where did she go?” the sergeant demanded as he surveyed the troop of soldiers surrounding the place where their query had supposedly vanished. The two scouts had reported that when they had run over to where she’d fallen, she simply disappeared. There was no suspicious smoke, no flash, and not even a small animal to suggest that she’d been taken or had orchestrated any escape. She’d simply fallen down on the ground and then she was gone. “You there,” the sergeant said, turning his attention to the two scouts who had pursued her. “Where did she go? You were the last to see her.”

“We told you, sir.” the first said, “We were pursuing her as ordered, and she collapsed, from fatigue or from the poison in the arrowhead we’re not sure, and then when I reached her I attempted to grab her and she vanished.”

“People don’t just vanish into thin air, fool.” the sergeant growled, glaring at his inferior. “How did she manage to escape two well-trained scouts and an entire command of palace guards? Can anyone answer me that? One lousy woman! She’s not even an adult yet, you imbeciles, and she made you look like a bunch of school children.” He began to wave his fists in the air to vent his frustration, then pulled them down at his side and breathed heavily through his nose.

“Sir, we still have the prisoner.” the second scout said, trying to calm his superior.

“Ah yes, the traitor who helped her get away. Bring him over here!” the sergeant ordered, his head snapping up to search for the captured elf. The sergeant watched almost hungrily as two soldiers brought the injured Caden, bound hand and foot in chains, and roughly shoved him onto the ground in front of him. “Well, Caden, what do you have to say?” the sergeant asked as he kneeled down to Caden’s height, a wicked gleam in his eyes. “You are guilty of treason, and as such I should have you executed.”

“I’m already going to die.” Caden said through muscle spasms as the poison worked its way through his system. He curled over his knees to try to alleviate some of the pain, but the sergeant reached over and pushed his head back up to look into his eyes. Their eyes locked silently, Caden’s full of resolve and the sergeant’s dripping with acidic hatred.

“Well, then we’ll just have to fix that.” the sergeant replied, grinning cruelly. “Tell you what: you tell me what happened to Kira, and I’ll give you the antidote and a day’s head-start. Fair enough?”

“I wouldn’t tell you even if I did know, Masa.” Caden said, a contented grin on his face. “I’m going to die…” He slumped over, and his breathing stopped. The sergeant stood up angrily, shoving the limp form down, and kicked the body over.

“Curse it!” Masa growled. He spun and glared at the soldiers standing nearby. “Well? What are you waiting for? I want this entire area searched top to bottom: under every tree, stone, even the fountain. Find that girl!”

Kira opened her eyes and sat up groggily. She was sitting on lush, green grass, in an unknown park, and she had no idea how she got there, or even where she was. Her shoulder ached slightly, and as she sat forward she saw the rough, shaggy bark of the tree she was slumped against. Although her mind was still a little hazy, she remembered being chased from the palace by the turncoats serving Obsidian, and fleeing with Caden from the palace into the Inner Sanctuary, then losing Caden and running into the Imperial Gardens. But after that, she wasn’t sure what had happened. She had fallen, and now, she had woken up in another place, or she was still lying on the Gardens’ path, dreaming. She’d had a dream like this once, but that was nothing like this one, if it were a dream. She glanced at her surroundings, sitting up off the tree which was to her right; off to the right, around the tree, was a strange, triangular structure made of steel. She thought it was called a swing-set, and then didn’t know how she knew that. There was a corkscrew slide next to the swings, and a spherical jungle gym across the playground from where she sat. Beyond the bench at the left edge of the playground were four metal poles supporting white backboards and orange hoops. Only one of the basketball goals had a net, fraying from its exposure to the elements. There were apartment buildings maybe a hundred paces beyond the far side of the playground, and a cement sidewalk ran from the buildings towards the road behind her, dividing the basketball courts from the playground. The park was quiet, except for the sounds of cars driving on the road.

“Are you okay?” a voice asked behind her. She gasped, and turned around. A boy, perhaps sixteen years old, stood looking around the tree trunk at her. His brown hair was a tangled mess that fell into his face, and his dark eyes were bright and inquisitive. “You ran into the tree. That must’ve hurt.”

“I…” she said uncertainly. She didn’t recall running into the tree, but her head started throbbing to reinforce his point. “I did?”

“Yeah, you ran into it at a dead sprint.” he said, grinning. She cringed at his use of the word ‘dead’, but he didn’t seem to notice. “Are you sure you’re okay? You must’ve hit your head pretty hard to not remember that.”

“Yes, I’m fine.” Kira said, gently rubbing her forehead. “Where am I?”

“Where are you?” the boy asked, smiling more broadly. “You seriously don’t know? You’re in Indy, the greatest place on Earth. ‘Course, that’s just my opinion.” he said sheepishly, shaking his head. “I’m Landon. What’s your name?”

“I’m not sure.” she said, her training kicking in. She didn’t know if she could trust him, and she had no idea where Indy was. As she wondered about her new environment and this strange boy, Caden’s words echoed through her head, ‘Talking is always last: look, analyze, strategize, talk.’ Her thoughts were interrupted by the boy’s response.

“Well, why don’t you come to my place and get a drink or something? Maybe you’ll feel better after you’ve been out of the sun for a while.” he said, offering his hand to help her up. She cautiously took it, and he firmly pulled her up. “Come on, it’s just over there.” he said, pointing at the nearest apartment building.

They walked on the sidewalk towards the complex, and she easily outdistanced him with just a few steps. She stopped and looked back, and saw that he was staring at her in shock.

“Well, you’re obviously feeling fine.” Landon said, shaking his head in wonder, “You just glide over the sidewalk. I wish I could walk that easily, then running wouldn’t be so hard.” He jogged over and caught up, then ran ahead. “Come on.” he called over his shoulder, a broad grin on his face. She looked at him strangely, but went on. He was running, yet he seemed so…slow. She was barely walking and she was keeping pace with him.

He turned onto the right lane, which was a dead end lined by an apartment building on both sides. He ran up to the main door of the building on the right, and pulled out a key from his pocket, quickly unlocking the door. “After you.” Landon said, holding the door open. She walked through with a sideways glance at him, and found herself standing on a dimly lit landing of a staircase. To her left, a hallway opened into rows of doors, presumably leading into individual apartments. Directly in front of her was a staircase that led up to the second floor, then turned and went up to the top floor.

“My mom’s unit is on the top floor.” Landon said as he stepped around her, fishing in his pocket for the other key. Kira waited until he was halfway up the second flight of steps before coming up after him; they reached the top floor at the same time. “You move fast.” he said, eyebrows arched, as she came up beside him.

“You move slow.” she retorted. He laughed and stepped around the railing into the hallway. He walked past the apartment doors, which had their numbers affixed to the center in golden metal plates. “Three…two…one…” Landon said, counting his steps before stopping in front of a door marked ‘314’. He stuck the key into the knob and turned, pushing the door open. It swung in gently, then squealed loudly on its hinges as it slowly came to a rest. Landon cringed at the sound, and smiled apologetically. “Sorry,” he said, “We still need to oil that.” He stepped in, and motioned Kira in after him. “Mom, I’m home!” he called, shutting the door behind Kira.