I flopped down on my bed, snatched my hologram-laptop, and found a search engine. Hesitating, I typed in the words, “Kaya”, “revolt”, and “the Kal”.
A page came up with a picture that took up most of the page. I gasped, recognizing the face.
It was the girl of my dreams.
Okay, that sounds REALLY weird.
But let’s ignore the awkwardness and get a move on. Shall we, folks?
Good.
I examined her sharp features, the ragged brown hair, the creepy, bright blue eyes. She looked like she’d been put in a food processor set on “whip”. Finally, I scrolled down to avoid her scathing gaze. A message just underneath the photo said, “If you have information about this girl, please contact an emergency center immediately.”
That’s not what I was looking for.
I went even further down the page, to a set of tiny words at the very bottom: “For those with access, log-in here.”
Bingo.
I looked at the single box, thinking.
Kal is Supreme.
The box flashed red and my typing disappeared.
Down with the revolts.
Nope.
Eat my bubbles, you jerks!
Okay, that one was desperate.
I thought long and hard, until I came up with something that just might work.
Casanova.
The box turned green and the screen went black.
“Um, is that supposed to happen?” I murmured.
Another log-in box popped up, with the words, “State your name” hovering over it.
Gotta love the totally immersing hologram techno-gadgetry-stuff that was around these days.
I knew my dad well enough to know that his sense of humor was a little whacked, so I tried typing in, bunny slippers.
It worked!
So much information whizzed by in the next couple hours, I started to feel dizzy.
Where the revolts were. When they’d happened, down to the millisecond. Who was involved. What they did.
How they were punished.
Gruesome stories flashed past my eyes. It was terrible, inhumane.
Did my dad really do all this?
BRING BRING!!!
I jumped so high, my phone bounced on the mattress. I snatched it up and held it to my ear. “H-hello?”
“Kay, guess what, guess what?!” Esmerelda yelled into the phone.
I heaved a huge sigh and went back to surfing the information. “What’s up?”
She started babbling about some dance at school, but I didn’t listen to any of it, ‘cause I’d found what I was looking for.
I started reading the article.
LEADER OF REVOLTS:
Kaya
Last name unknown. From the village of Taq. Employed making weaponry for the Officials. Her family discovered information about the Kal, and were executed by hanging. Oldest daughter (Kaya) escaped and staged a revolt. Was captured. Is now in prison in the Kal’s village. To be punished.
“Kay? Kay, are you still there? KAY, ANSWER ME!!!”
“Gah! Calm down, Esmerelda, I was just reading something.”
“Well, you want to come with me or not?”
“Come... where?”
I could practically hear her rolling her eyes. “To the dance tonight.”
“Ohh.” I looked at the article one more time, then made up my mind. “Not tonight, sorry.”
“A date?” she asked coyly.
“Sorta,” I replied. I said goodbye and hung up. Then I went downstairs and slipped into a average car (my dad liked to be undercover sometimes). The driver turned and said, “Where to, Miss Kaydance?”
“The prison,” I said with as much authority as I could muster.
I saw his skeptical look, but he drove me there anyway.
He knew what would happen if he didn’t.
***
As we arrived, I looked at the plain brick building with insecurity. Was I doing the right thing?
Sensing the fear in my silence, the driver decided to figure somethings out. "Miss. Kaydance, may I ask, why you're going to the prison?"
"No, you may not."
"Yes ma'am." He got out of the car and opened my door, all fancy like.
"Thank you, Frank."
"I am most honored, Miss."
I rolled my eyes at him and then walked confidently up to the double doors where I, again, found a hologram computer that required several passwords. I wondered how many passwords there could possibly be until I got to the actual dungeon and how in the world my dad remembered all of them!
After solving the first set of passwords a huge door unlocked and swung open into a large room containing five doors.
Gee, more passwords. Exciting. But which door was I supposed to choose? I put my ear to each door and only on the last door did I detect a slight noise. This had to be the door. I tapped the hologram-pad to wake it up and was surprised to see a keypad of numbers instead of letters. Alright, I tried my dads birthday, my birthday, his office number, our zip-code, his age, my age. The only thing left that I could think of was cellphone numbers.
I tried his. No.
Mine? Finally, yes! I was slightly intrigued at why MY cell number was the answer.... but whatever.
Behind the door was a long hallway with ten, yeah you guessed it, doors. How was I to know that I was going the right way? Was all this work for nothing? Maybe this wasn't the right door... But suddenly I knew that it was. I heard a faint ruckus of a girls screaming and threats from an official. Kaya. It had to be! I quickly ran over to the door that was hiding the screamer and selected a likely password. Bingo! THe door swung open, revealing a stone chamber with another hallway that led to the dungeon. I ran as lightly as I could and peered around the corner. The coast was clear so I snuck through the next door way and saw several cells. Moving as quickly and quietly as possible I glanced into each one searching for something living, if ya know what I mean...
In the fifth cell I saw a small girl chained to the wall. She looked tortured and weary.
"Kaya?" I whispered gently.
She jerked her head in my direction, wild eyes darting, searching for my face. "What do you want with me?"
"I want to get you out of here."
"Hah, impossible." She scoffed.
"Prisoner! To whom do you speak!?" A voice boomed, echoing of every wall.
"Oh no! Run!" Urged Kaya.
Just as I swiveled around to escape a rough hand grabbed my neck and seized my crazed hands. A sweet smell filled the room and my vision blacked out.
***
I woke in a dimly lit room, sitting in a hard chair, across from a buff, hard looking man.
"What is your name?" Said the voice that I recognized from the dungeon.
"Where am I?"
"I asked you a question and I expect you to answer it." He said coldly.
"Fine...Jeez, my name is Kaydance. As in the Kals daughter. So you can just untie me from this chair and let me go."
"Ha, I don't think so. The Kal's daughter... Do you know how often we get that excuse? I don't think so."
"But I am!"
"Doubt it. Now you will be quiet and I will take you to your cell."
He untied me and handcuffed my hands. They didn't take any risks around here, did they? He walked me down a hallway and into a pitch-black cell.
"You expect me to LIVE here!?" I surveyed the closet sized box of concrete, my eyes adjusting to the light. In the corner was a mat for sleeping, in the wall there was a small slot that food could be served through on a tray. I looked at the man, his rough graying hair, stubble on his chin, bent nose, as if it had been broken once. His face, surprisingly, had smile wrinkles. He must not be as hard as he appeared to be.
"May I ask your name?" I asked kindly.
"Bruno."
"Ah well, Bruno, am I permitted to use a phone?"
"We do not have a phone."
"Oh, ok."
He shoved me into the cell and locked the door behind me. I felt alone and scared. Bruno didn't believe
that I was The Kal's daughter... There was definitely no cell service in this cement cave, and I couldn't see any means of getting out of this cell.
Gosh Kaydance. I thought. You really did it this time.
I slumped against the wall and began a series of dreams, none of them good.
