It was a bright summer day and the birds chirped in the bird bath. The bees buzzed in the garden and the neighbors' dog barked loudly. The breeze whisked by and the leaves rustled with early morning dew. A camper van went by with a family ready to start their vacation but nobody knew that they had forgotten an important thing, or, rather a person. Cara slept peacefully as she had stayed awake all night thinking of the Bahamas. At 9 'o 'clock she awoke and rubbed her eyes excitedly. Cara couldn't wait. Her family would start their vacation in a just a few minutes. As she came downstairs she realized that she had woken up late and there was nobody in the hall. "Mom? Dad ?Where are you?" Her voice turned an octave higher and the panic clearly showed on her face. A terrible thought stuck her and her mind came to an horrifying conclusion. The remains on the kitchen table clearly showed her the answer. She could see that Mom,Dad,Edward and Bell had eaten bacon and eggs. She curled onto the floor and began to sob. She felt indignant and insulted but more than that, she felt scared. She just had begun to read the Agatha Christie books and she knew crimes and murders were committed in isolated areas. She felt that her house was a prison and one way or another,she had to escape. With a jolt she realized that her train ticket was set on top of the refrigerator, where she had put it so Edaward and Bell ,her baby siblings wouldn't get them. Her sorrow turned to anger, and her anger to determination. She grabbed her suitcase, dressed into a soft blue pullover and her neon pink shirt and got ready to head out the door. She raided the larder and packed sandwiches for the journey. She also took money from her piggy bank. Cara thought that a hundred and eight dollars would be enough to hitch a ride. She spent much of her time yelling and persuading a taxi man that she was not insane going to the local train station alone. The middle aged, beefy man who stank of sweat, finally let her in. "I will kill mom and dad when I find them" Many other insults raged inside her head. After what seemed like eternity , they reached the train station. Cara stormed to the ticket booth and held out her ticket "I'm sorry honey, but the train left a few minutes back."she cooed. "There must have been a mistake.The ticket says that the train will not leave for another 10 minutes". Cara felt her voice shake. " I'm sorry dear, the train was preponed because of a minor problem." "Fine." Cara slammed the ticket onto the booth and walked away.She felt close to tears but she felt she couldn't give up. She had come so far. She gazed around, for the docks had many interesting sights to see. She happened to glance at sign stuck on the third pillar of the docks. It was enough to permanently plaster a grin on her face for the rest of the day. About an hour later Cara was sitting at the inner deck of a luxury boat eating a delicious dinner of spaghetti, lasagna and ravioli . She was quite hungry after skipping lunch. How she had done it? It was simple. The sign at the docks was an ad for boat rides. When Cara had called up the number, the person who answered was none other than Mr.Smith, her dad's best friend. He had offered to give her the ride for free. So there she was, sitting in the luxury boat taking her time to plan a sweet revenge for her parents. Soon after dinner, she confided Mr.Smith,who wholeheartedly agreed with her plan. The next day, Cara awoke in peace. She had already decided that this day would be one of the best days of her life. Cara was in her own world until Mr. Smith interrupted. "Cara, your cab Is ready. I only agreed that you could spend your day out because I think you are a calm and careful girl. I am sure your parents would agree with me that you should exercise caution while you are out." "Oh grown-ups and their speeches. But he doesn't know a thing." She said out loud "Ok, Mr Smith." Cara practically glided into the cab ,although she missed her favorite place on the boat's deck where she felt as if could see the whole ocean. The floor of the deck showed the ocean floor carved with lapis lazuli. She wanted to be on the ship but she had business to attend to. For the rest of the day she played at the beach, arcade and spent time in the park garden. Cara knew that her parents will be frantic by now. She felt a little guilty but she wanted her parents to experience her worry, the worry she had felt when she was alone. She shivered. "Serves them right." All the same, Cara set off to find Marriot Ocean View at late evening, where she knew her parents would be staying. She had just enough money to pay for her bus ticket. She got off a few minutes later and approached a tall white mansion which she assumed was the hotel. She collected her room card at the front desk and crept up to room 663. She cautiously slid the card and opened the door just a crack. Inside, she heard hushed voices. "How could we have left Cara alone like that?" " It must have been all the work and stress." "Why didn't Edward and Bell not tell us?" " Don't blame them, they're only babies." "We should have remembered sooner. Oh, why did we remember on the train?" "What do we do?" "We have to call the police." This was it, the moment of Cara's triumph.She opened the door with a squeak. Her pale skin and red hair shone in the sudden brightness. "Hey Mom. Hey Dad. I'm home."
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“Taylor, we’re leaving." "Hey Toodles, watcha gonna choose? The ceremony is in about ten minutes you know.” Anna, my stepsister cocked her head and laughed. “ I don’t know.” I said forcefully. “Coming.” I ran towards our house, an ordinary brick bungalow. It wasn’t really home, but, it would probably the last time I’d see it. We climbed in the sled and step dad signaled our huskies to move. I heard that cars and aeroplanes were used in Nora, where our capital was located. In Eura, all we saw was the occasional motorcycle because of all the snow. "Sixteen years is a good age to ripen the fruit of adulthood. Think carefully.” my father had once told me. That was before he left with my mother to Forage. The memory seemed a lifetime away, in a place that I could never reach. I pinned on my lucky charm, the peacock feather brooch my mother had given to me. My mother. Oh, gods, my mother. The way her hair swept behind her, the smile on her face……. “No, no, no, Taylor. Pull yourself together. You can’t afford a trip down memory lane, especially now.” Life in Eura was pretty hard. The World War had taken everything from us. Well everything but our lives. I was told that our ancestors landed here 200 years ago, with a mix of people from all counties who wanted as less bloodshed as possible. So much for that idea. I recalled the politicians on TV, The shortage of food, everything that had happened last year. Their fight over land had resulted in the formation of a different tribe, the ones they called the outcasts. The ones we still war with today. “ Don’t become a history textbook.” I scolded myself. Which should I choose? Foragers were eliminated. Going out to the mainland, gathering materials and food, thats what my parents had chosen………and now they were gone. Two options left. Warriors…..fighting the outcasts, leading an adventurous life or a reacreationalist……….building houses, carving furniture….? Which should I choose? The sound of snow whizzing by, the birds chirping……it was so peaceful….. “Taylor Holland. You had the nerve to sleep? Get up right now. Its almost your turn to Choose.” As if to prove my stepmother’s loud exclamation, at that exact moment the loud speaker went up. “Taylor Holland, please come down to the pavilion.” The booming voice of Reyna, the grandchild of the first Reyna, who landed on Atlantis 200 years ago, silenced the crowd. The people parted for me as I made my way to the pavilion. I stepped into the forum and faced Reyna. “Here, child. Write your name on this." I wrote it in the slip she carefully handed to me. "Now you see these three locks. You are going to drop your paper into either the green, black or red one. You know what job they represent.” My hands suddenly turned clammy and my mind froze with panic. Which should I choose? My hand hovered over the red, then the black and it even wandered to the green. I was about to drop it into the red, the color of a recreationalist, but then memories flooded into me. My mothers voice filled my head. "Choose what I was never able to choose. Fight when I was forbidden to fight. Prevent what I was never able to prevent. No matter what, I love you.” I remember my father saying "Fight, Taylor, fight. It’s better than seeing your loved ones die." I made up my mind. Swiftly. I dropped it into the black and locked it with the key Reyna gave to me. I hung it with all the other black locks on the wall. Then I knelt beside the small stream that went through the Forum and dropped my key into it, watching as it flowed into Euphoria lake. Cheers erupted on all sides and I felt something melt inside me. The burden I had been carrying since my birthday last month was all gone. I walked over to the the Warriors, who greeted me with high-fives and hugs. I realized that I hadn’t lost my family, after all. I had just found them. My days as a Warrior were a blur of action, training, activity and (believe it or not!) fun. Admiral Sharon was pretty strict but, she taught cool things like how to recognize our weaponry logo. There was no time to think, just to do. I was so disoriented by the end of the day, I probably didn’t even know what my name was. I was so tired, I couldn’t even have nightmares anymore. My sixth day was when it happened. The day I saw her. I had just gone to sleep after pulverizing Mackenzie in a long, hard pillow fight. It seemed just a few seconds ago, I had fallen asleep, when I was woken up by the shrill ringing of the alarm. Red lights blazed overhead. In a flurry of excitement, we pulled on our black suits and helmet. Admiral Sharon assigned Shirley, Mackenzie and I to scout ahead on horse. "They’re in Sephra, Firala mountain range, near the borders. We think they’re attacking Euphoria, the capital. Hurry!" We ran to the stables and I had time to ponder if it was a coincidence that it was the last place l had seen my parents. “Hey, girl. Stay still.” I murmured softly to my horse as I adjusted the saddle. Black Beauty nickered and snorted in response. Shirley and Mackenzie had chosen Max and Molly, our grey mustangs. We started off, heading south, towards Sephra. The mountains were not easy to tackle, but Black Beauty leaped over every crevice with energy. “Go girl. Faster! Faster!” Black Beauty gathered speed. Then I spotted something that drew me to a standstill. “Stop.”I hissed. “Mount off, draw your sword and advance slowly towards the dark heap at the base of the hill.” I pointed my sword at the pile, but I sensed an ambush before a dozen arrows were nocked and pointed at our neck. “Surrender.” A voice came from the darkness. “Drop your weapons and hand over the horses…..” A girl, the ringleader, I supposed, stepped out of the darkness. Her companians seized two horses. She looked familiar. I was thinking why when my heart skipped a beat. I knew that look. Underneath the dark facade, it was the same look I saw when I looked into the mirror. A weird sensation of deja vu came over me. Suddenly,I was back in Firala, but this time eight years ago. Watching as my parents prepared to go to the mainland on a Forage. “Bye, honey.” they said as the currents carried them to the mainland, almost as if they knew I would never see them again.”See you soon!” I had said happily. Little did I know how wrong I was. I bit my lip and blinked back tears. I could tell my clone was having similar ideas. We had got onto a Jeep and were speeding away. Despite the situation, I grinned. Black Beauty would be halfway back to our base right now. Kaila, as her companions called her, came up to me and asked in a puzzled voice “Who are you and why do you look like me?” “I’m Taylor Holland.” trying to stop my voice from shaking, “And the question is; Why do YOU look like me?” She laughed “ You’ve got spirit, I can say that. Pleased to meet you, I’m Kaila.” “Kaila……?” Her expression became serious.”Kaila Holland. Have you met your parents?” “Yeah, until they disappeared two years ago. You’re not born December 9th, are you? Or 16 years old?” Her mouth twisted back to a grin. “ Let’s just say………..maybe.” “No…” My voice sounded terribly incredulous, even to me. “Yes…….I’ve always wanted an evil twin…” “Hey I was about to say that…….” “Shhhhhh.” Her voice turned grim. “Nobody finds out, ’kay? It wouldn’t be good for you or me. I’ll help you escape. In return, you’ll take me to Atlantis. I have heard about it many times. Its been my dream..But I couldn’t betray them……I had friends. I’ve waited long enough.” We both thought in silence for a while…… “Here’s the plan. You and your friends will be taken to the prison. Wait there till you are allowed a bathroom break….don’t do anything suspicious..I’ll meet you there.Third stall. “Okay, you’re the boss.” The jeep stopped abruptly. "Michael, Kate, take them to the prison. Bathroom break for five minutes only, understand?” Kaila said harshly. We were led away to a grim-looking, grey building. A flicker of doubt raced through me. What if Kaila was just playing with me? No….it couldn’t be. The facts matched a little too perfectly. But, I promised myself I would be on lookout for deception. I told Shirley and Mackenzie the plan. There were three cots in the cell and I suggested we get some rest. I went to sleep, which I knew was a bad idea in enemy territory, but my body betrayed me. I awoke to the sound of voices. Kaila, talking with the guards. "When they wake up, send them to the restroom. I’ll supposedly help them escape to Atlantia. We’ll rendezvous from there” More conversation. “More food……..control…….war…” I couldn’t hear anything. Drilling sounds came from below us. The kind that came from weapon making factories back in Atlantia. I got up and awoke my friends. “Use the restroom…” A guard growled. She led us through a passageway that led into a large room. Outcasts were everywhere, unloading food and raw materials from crates. More drilling sounds. I noticed an emblem on our guard’s gun. An infinity ring with flames. Strange. We finally reached the restroom. The guard stepped outside the door and motioned for us to do our work. We entered and i immediately knocked on the third stall. Kaila stepped out. “I’ll have to be careful. I only need her help to get out.” I thought . “Ta-da!” Kaila exclaimed at a trash chute. “ Thats our way down?” Shirley asked skeptically. “Well, duh.” Kaila went in on her stomach facing the opening. She was followed by Shirley and Mackenzie. I went in last. As I was climbing in, another woman entered the restroom. She turned and my heart melted. She was one and the same. The same golden hair and amber eyes. "I’ll be back. "I promised. My last words were "I love you.” Then I let go. I felt myself slipping and sliding on the cold, metal surface. The tunnel was steep and smelt of stinky socks and onions. It wasn’t very smooth and I knew my arms would be scabbed when i got down. A few minutes later. I spotted light and shakily sat up and drew my sword. I prepared to jump. Three…..two…one…..Airborne for a few seconds and ……CRASH! Drawing my sword in the chute? Bad idea. I had landed on top of Kaila…..and my sword had cut a gash on my arm. in a flash I was on my feet and my sword was pressed on Kaira’s neck. “ You wanted to betray us, huh? Well, I overheard you talking to your petty guards. Maybe we should just leave you here and go on…..What do you think Shirley? Mackenzie?" “Wait…..check my pocket…Mother gave it to me." I took a brooch out, identical to mine with its peacock feather design and compared it with the one on my shirt. My anger left me as quickly as it had come. “Good plan tricking the guards like that.” Then it clicked….floated into my head like pieces to a puzzle. They were making weapons…all those drilling sounds. And the emblem, it was the same logo used in Atlantian army production. That news report about the missing weapons and food in the newspaper on the Choosing Day. The guards were talking about control and there was only one place the could be talking about…..and my mother. It was her alright. I could swear. I would be back for her. After I got this mess sorted out. But, could I do it? All my life people told me that I was a nobody, without family, without friends, without a spirit. I realize they were wrong. I’m not nobody. I’m Taylor Holland and I’m a Warrior. |
AuthorAnanya Raghu . Archives
March 2017
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