knew I was being careless, but I wanted to see what they were doing. I got up on my knees in front of a cracked window and peered into the dim house. I couldn’t see anything. So strange. I could have sworn I saw guards enter there just a moment ago. And then a candle was lit right on the other side of the window, and everything inside suddenly came into view.
I saw the group of people, men and women alike, standing against the opposite wall. They were shedding their clothes, and I wondered to myself if this were a place where dirty uniforms were laundered. But the clothes these people tossed to the floor weren’t all pieces of the guards’ normal attire. Some wore a guard’s shirt but regular linen pants. Others wore the guards’ traditional blue and yellow braided pants but only a white t-shirt on top. Now that I could see these people in some kind of light, they didn’t seem like guards at all.
One by one, the people all sat on folding chairs against the farthest wall, waiting for someone or something. I stared, spellbound, my hands resting on the windowsill. Finally, a man started talking, and I could make out a few of his words through the cracked glass.
“Thank... for coming... know it is... great caution... made it here tonight.”
A few people murmured agreement from the sidelines, and the main speaker continued. “Quiet, quiet. We must remain... as possible... many... to discuss tonight.”
The man, whose back was still toward the window, leaned down. When he came back up holding a large metal object, I realized what I was witnessing in this deserted part of town.
The speaker held some sort of saw, but when he flicked a switch, the thing shuddered to life. His audience gave great sighs of appreciation, trying to keep their excitement contained behind hands over their own mouths.
“...so pleased to show you... fixed this machine... tinkering... assure you! But... not all we have to speak of tonight! Tonight... venture... more interesting topics... fall of the Elected family!”
At this, my fingers broke away from the window, pulling out a mass of the sill’s rotten wood as I fell backward. I scampered like an insect on its back, pushing my feet against the dirt to scrunch along the ground.
From within the house I heard movement and then the speaker’s voice again. “What... that? Did... hear something?”
I needed to get away from there, and fast! But the front door of the thatched house opened, and a big man looked all around. I couldn’t get up for fear he’d see me.
“Come back in!” hissed the speaker. Now that the door was open I could hear his voice clear as day. It sounded slightly familiar. “Don’t show yourself; it isn’t safe. Here, put this on. Then go out and see what the noise was. If it’s a spy, maim the bastard!”
At once, the big man was out again in a flash, something dark wrapped around his head. I scrambled backward again, hoping he wouldn’t spot me, but my foot caught on a branch and the noise instantly set the man toward me. I crawled to my feet in a flash. My hood was off my head too, but it didn’t matter. I ran like my life depended on it, because most likely it did. If the man caught me, he’d hurt me as instructed by his leader. And if he saw I was the Elected, I’d be in even more danger. But no matter how fast I ran, the big Technologist was right behind me. And since he seemed to know the outdoors much better than me, he enjoyed a large advantage. I stumbled multiple times on roots and other brush, and the man pressed on, gaining the advantage.
I ran amidst houses in the dark and back out to the Ellipse. But, out in the open, the Technologist gained even more of an edge on me.
I looked over my shoulder frantically. One of his beefy arms reached out, and it was on my cloak in a second. I shed the material, but the man grabbed onto my ankle, drawing a knife with his free hand. We both fell down onto the ground in a fit of grunts. We struggled together
I saw the group of people, men and women alike, standing against the opposite wall. They were shedding their clothes, and I wondered to myself if this were a place where dirty uniforms were laundered. But the clothes these people tossed to the floor weren’t all pieces of the guards’ normal attire. Some wore a guard’s shirt but regular linen pants. Others wore the guards’ traditional blue and yellow braided pants but only a white t-shirt on top. Now that I could see these people in some kind of light, they didn’t seem like guards at all.
One by one, the people all sat on folding chairs against the farthest wall, waiting for someone or something. I stared, spellbound, my hands resting on the windowsill. Finally, a man started talking, and I could make out a few of his words through the cracked glass.
“Thank... for coming... know it is... great caution... made it here tonight.”
A few people murmured agreement from the sidelines, and the main speaker continued. “Quiet, quiet. We must remain... as possible... many... to discuss tonight.”
The man, whose back was still toward the window, leaned down. When he came back up holding a large metal object, I realized what I was witnessing in this deserted part of town.
The speaker held some sort of saw, but when he flicked a switch, the thing shuddered to life. His audience gave great sighs of appreciation, trying to keep their excitement contained behind hands over their own mouths.
“...so pleased to show you... fixed this machine... tinkering... assure you! But... not all we have to speak of tonight! Tonight... venture... more interesting topics... fall of the Elected family!”
At this, my fingers broke away from the window, pulling out a mass of the sill’s rotten wood as I fell backward. I scampered like an insect on its back, pushing my feet against the dirt to scrunch along the ground.
From within the house I heard movement and then the speaker’s voice again. “What... that? Did... hear something?”
I needed to get away from there, and fast! But the front door of the thatched house opened, and a big man looked all around. I couldn’t get up for fear he’d see me.
“Come back in!” hissed the speaker. Now that the door was open I could hear his voice clear as day. It sounded slightly familiar. “Don’t show yourself; it isn’t safe. Here, put this on. Then go out and see what the noise was. If it’s a spy, maim the bastard!”
At once, the big man was out again in a flash, something dark wrapped around his head. I scrambled backward again, hoping he wouldn’t spot me, but my foot caught on a branch and the noise instantly set the man toward me. I crawled to my feet in a flash. My hood was off my head too, but it didn’t matter. I ran like my life depended on it, because most likely it did. If the man caught me, he’d hurt me as instructed by his leader. And if he saw I was the Elected, I’d be in even more danger. But no matter how fast I ran, the big Technologist was right behind me. And since he seemed to know the outdoors much better than me, he enjoyed a large advantage. I stumbled multiple times on roots and other brush, and the man pressed on, gaining the advantage.
I ran amidst houses in the dark and back out to the Ellipse. But, out in the open, the Technologist gained even more of an edge on me.
I looked over my shoulder frantically. One of his beefy arms reached out, and it was on my cloak in a second. I shed the material, but the man grabbed onto my ankle, drawing a knife with his free hand. We both fell down onto the ground in a fit of grunts. We struggled together
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