This is the only somewhat serious story I have written. This was created throughout the "Utopian Literature" section of the Utopian Literature/Creative Writing class I took back in 11th grade. Anyway, I honestly hate this entire story. It's around twenty pages long, so I've put extra spaces between chapters so you can find your place easier if you don't read this in its entirety the first time around. This is going to be the only somewhat serious story I post here, because I'm honestly not that good at writing this type of stuff.
Chapter One
In the giant metropolis of
This concept of eternal loyalty disturbed Kino on a daily basis. His head was always filled with thoughts such as “why did they ever follow them?” in which “they” meant his and everyone else’s ancestors. He never approved of the Kriznika and what they did throughout the world. And it seemed like the members of the Kriznika knew this, seeing as they had stuck him in that building. It was a tall skyscraper with over 100 stories to it, yet the elevator only stopped on the bottom floor and the top floor. The stairs had always been boarded off and always had two scary guards next to it. Kino loathed his job, but also understood that if he did not follow orders he would be killed immediately. This is the sense of fear that was imbedded inside every single person on the planet. The one and only punishment was death. The Kriznika viewed people as useless tools that could always be replaced if need be.
By the end of the day, Kino exited the building and departed for home. On his way home he had finally escaped into the only sanctuary he knew, the recesses of his own mind. He thought about what life was like back in the time before the Kriznika came to power. He thought about all the freedoms that were given to people. He daydreamed about life returning to how it once was, and he always saw himself as the one who lead the way for it to be a reality. But he was much too scared to act on those dreams and feelings. He was so deep in thought that he accidentally ran into someone. The next thing either of them knew, they were on the ground.
“How about next time you watch where you’re going,” said a voice familiar to Kino.
“Wait a minute, I know that voice! Maya, is that you?” asked Kino.
“I see you’re still as sharp as ever Kino. Were you daydreaming again?”
“What if I was? It’s not against the law…yet.”
“Just be careful Kino. You’re going to act on those dreams if you keep going back to them. I don’t want to see you end up dead!”
“Don’t worry about me Maya, I’ll be perfectly fine. I’d never act on them.”
“Don’t be too sure about that Kino. People have been known to do that and have been killed without hesitation. They thought that they would be able to make the world better. You believe that same thing, don’t you?”
“I…I…I have to get going now. It was nice talking with you again Maya,” said Kino as he got up from the ground.
“Okay, I guess I’ll see you later then,” Maya said as she got up as well. “Please try to not run into me next time.”
“I’m sorry about that. Goodbye.”
The two parted and went their separate ways. Kino started thinking once again about a free world, but not deeply this time. He wanted to make sure that he didn’t have another accident. If it had been a member of the Kriznika he would have been sentenced to death for being a danger to others or something like that. He turned into his yard and walked through the doorway. It was a one room apartment with a bed, a shower, a toilet and a refrigerator. As far as the Kriznika was concerned, humans did not need to know how to cook as they are perfectly capable of eating uncooked items. They did not need to slave over a stove when they were supposed to be resting to slave for the Kriznika. This was yet another thing that Kino did not like. He sat on his bed and buried his face into his hands.
He spoke in his hands so that the words became muffled and incomprehensible. “I cannot take much more of this. I’m going to snap soon.”
He then put his head against his bed and fell asleep, hoping that the next day would be a bit better for him.
Chapter Two
Kino sat up in his bed after a rough sleep. A constant nightmare had been haunting him for the past few weeks. He stood up and went to get some water.
“Why do I keep having this dream?” Kino asked himself after he drank his water.
He walked back to bed and laid down on it with his eyes open for a few minutes before falling asleep from exhaustion.
The next morning Kino woke up in a hurry. He had slept in late. He put on his work clothes and rushed off to his elevator. He ran into the building. There the two guards who block the staircase grabbed him. Kino struggled to break free, but to no avail.
“What are you two doing? I need to get to that elevator! It is my JOB,” yelled Kino in a frenzied voice.
A strange voice on an intercom system spoke to Kino. It was one of the Kriznika members themselves.
“Kino, for failing in your duties of punctuality and serving us, we have relieved you of your services. This means that you are now of no use to us. Your execution has been scheduled for five this afternoon. Guards, bring the prisoner to the waiting cell.”
The guards started to drag Kino to the mysterious staircase on the other end of the room. Kino managed to kick one of the guards in between the legs. The guard fell to the ground in pain. The other guard reached for Kino’s neck, but he grabbed his arms and threw him across the room. He then ran out of the building and took off down the street as fast as his feet could carry him. Kino sped down the street with the wind blasting against his frightened face. He ran into, once again, Maya.
“Kino, you clumsy dolt! Why are you running like that?” she asked Kino.
“I have no time to explain! If you want to know what’s going on, then come with me,” he said as he got up from the ground and started running again.
Maya got up from the ground and ran after Kino. She caught up with him near the outskirts of the city and looked at his panicked face. She could tell that Kino was frightened tremendously.
“What’s going on Kino?” asked Maya.
“I...I was late for work,” Kino said while panting as they ran together out of the city.
“Oh no, are they trying to kill you? Is that why those men are chasing you?”
“Yes. That is exactly why.”
“I’m coming with you Kino. I cannot leave you alone out here!”
“No, go back to the city Maya. You haven’t done anything. If you follow me, they will kill you as well.”
“I am not going to let you wander alone. I’ll never see you again if I return to the city. I’m coming with you, end of discussion!”
“...there truly is no talking you out of something, is there Maya?”
“No Kino, there isn’t,” Maya giggled.
The two ran out into the forest. They continued to run and run for a few more minutes before jumping behind a bush. Kino fell onto his head. Maya started to laugh, but covered her mouth, remembering that they were being followed. She looked in the direction that they had been running from. There she saw nothing.
“It’s okay Kino, we’re safe for now,” Maya said, still looking.
“We need to find a place to hide away in,” Kino groaned as he got up from his painful position. “You do know that they’re going to kill you as well if they catch us, right?”
“Yes, I know,” Maya said as she turned her head to catch sight of Kino’s face. “And I do not care. I’ll take my chances.”
“Let’s go Maya. We need to find a place to hide as quickly as possible. Who knows when those thugs will be back to find us.”
Meanwhile, back in
“Please forgive me,” one of the guards yelled out as the hot iron touched his spine.
“You have failed to catch that elevator boy! You are no use to us if you cannot perform your job efficiently,” said the same voice over the intercom that had spoken to Kino. “Both of your executions will be scheduled for
“Honorable Kriznika. Before we are executed, may we please speak?” spoke the other guard.
“I have no time to hear your pitiful sniveling, guards,” said the Kriznika member over the intercom.
“But it is about the situation! I have some information that you may find important!”
“Hm? Really?” said the Kriznika member, in a sarcastic voice. “What is it then?”
“That friend of the fugitive, Maya I believe her name is. She is now with him.”
“And what’s the point you are trying to make?” said the Kriznika member in an impatient voice. “This is useless information! We are rescheduling your execution for
“But...you can use her to capture him! Find her and you will find him!”
“That does not help our case that much! This just means that there is one more person to kill!”
“But sir...”
“I have had enough of your whining!” said the Kriznika member in an enraged voice. “I am going to deal with you personally!”
The elevator started to move from the top floor downward. The guards started to cry, wondering what was going to happen to them. The elevator door opened. There stood a giant muscular man, standing over six feet. His eyes appeared to have the essence of pure evil inside them. His face was scarred, and one of his eyes was cut out. He looked utterly battle-scarred all on his body. He wore a wrinkled and tore-up shirt and pants that looked like shorts on him. He walked over to the guard who had been whining to him. He took out a gun and shot the guard five times in the spine, each time on a different part of it. He then shot the back of his head. The guard fell to the ground dead. The other guard started begging for mercy. The Kriznika member then took a dagger and shoved it through the guard’s heart. He too, fell over dead.
“Now we must find new guards,” he said as he walked over to the intercom. “Council members! We must assemble a small force of undercover units to kill those two.”
“Agreed,” said another Kriznika over the intercom. “Make it so!”
Chapter Three
Kino and Maya were still running. They kept running until Maya came to a sudden halt. Kino did not notice and kept on running. Maya laughed.
“Kino!” she called out.
“What is it Maya?” he shouted as he looked back at her, realizing that she had stopped running. “Why’d you stop runni…”
Kino had forgotten to look at where he was running and ran into a tree before he could finish his question. He fell backward and ended up landing on his side. Maya was laughing hysterically as Kino rose to his feet.
“Do you find that funny?” asked Kino.
“Oh, come on Kino! That was just hilarious!” cried Maya, still laughing at him.
Kino thought on her response for a quick moment. “Yeah, I guess it was,” he said as he started to chuckle. “But seriously, why did you stop?”
“Look at this,” said Maya as she pointed to a strange structure attached to a tree.
The two of them stopped all the chuckling and walked cautiously up to the tree. Kino found a small hidden metal bar that was hanging from the tree and pulled down on it. A loud clanging noise filled the air. The two of them jumped back in shock as metal plummeted down toward them. The noise from this was louder than the one before, and once again the air was filled with a loud clanging noise. It had formed as rather odd looking staircase.
“We’re going to be caught in no time if we keep finding these death traps!” said Kino, who was still holding his head from the shock of the entire situation.
“Is it just me, or did that stuff make stairs for us?” asked Maya as she pointed to the staircase. “Let’s go in!”
“But…” Kino paused for a brief moment to catch his breath. “You don’t think this is a trap set by the Kriznika?”
“Well, I don’t think it is. They wouldn’t use something like this!”
“But we are dealing with maniacs here, Maya. We still need to be careful.”
“Yeah, but if they had the time to do this, don’t you think that they would have just killed us instead?”
“I don’t know. You can’t tell what those losers are going to do.”
“The two of them hugged each other for comfort and they walked up the metal stairs cautiously. They could not afford to be reckless, since their lives were at risk. They entered the tree and found a weird metal structure inside. They walked around a little and stopped. They found nothing inside.
“There’s nothing here,” Maya pointed out.
“I wonder if this place was abandoned…” said Kino, slowly and in a low voice as to not make too much noise.
The two of them started to walk forward a few steps. Suddenly, they fell through a hole in the floor. They screamed as they plummeted down into the unknown abyss. Down and down they fell, until they landed on soft and plushy padding. The two observed their surroundings.
“Where are we?” asked Maya.
“I have no idea,” Kino replied.
“Stay where you are!” yelled an unfamiliar voice.
A small number of guards came rushing toward Maya and Kino. They had swords and pistols armed and ready. They mumbled for a brief moment, and then one turned to the two.
“Take them to the prison cell,” the guard said calmly.
The rest of the guards grabbed hold of Maya and Kino and hauled them away. They came upon a rusted hallway, lined with small old metal doors. One of the doors was opened and both Maya and Kino were thrown into it. The door was then shut behind them. There was no source of light from the door, and there were no windows placed at the walls either. The only light in the room emitted from a dim lantern that was sitting in the back. There they sat as prisoners, completely at the mercy of an unknown captor.
Meanwhile in
“You all know why you have been called here today, no?” said a voice over the intercom of the capitol building. “You are to find that Kino fellow and his friend Maya as well. I don’t care if you bring them back dead or alive, just do it! Is that clear?”
“Yes,” replied one of the troops. “We will not disappoint you.”
“Good,” said the voice over the intercom. “Now move to the town on the other side of the woods. The town’s name is Melm. They are sure to be going there, seeing as it’s the only other town around the woods for miles.”
And with that, the troops moved toward the woods. They split up into several groups so they would not draw attention to themselves. The sight of twenty people all moving together was never a common sight. They continued on their ways to Melm, completely unaware that the two that they were all searching for had already been captured.
Chapter Four
Maya and Kino laid in their prison cell, waiting for something, anything, to happen. But what they were waiting for, even they did not know. The dimness and solitude of the room made time pass so slowly it was almost unbearable. Every minute felt like an hour, every hour felt like a week. It was almost like a time paradox. Kino sat up and stretched his back out. Maya turned around to look at him. They both had no idea how long they had been imprisoned in this strange place. Were they prisoners of the Kriznika? Were they going to die? They both had so many questions that they could not begin to answer.
“Kino…” started Maya. “I’m…” she stopped short.
“Worried about what will happen to you?” Kino said as to finish Maya’s sentence.
“What’s going to happen to us Kino?”
“I don’t know. I can’t answer that. There are a lot of questions that we cannot answer.”
The door opened and two figures came into the room. They were wearing dark clothes, so they could not be seen all that well. They grabbed Maya and Kino, tied their arms together, and led them into the hallway. Maya and Kino closed their eyes as soon as they entered the hallway. It was much brighter than in their prison cell. The two mysterious people continued to lead them down the hallway until they found themselves in a large room. There were computers all around, with people working on them. There was a large rounded table in the center of the room. One of the people from the table rose and walked over to them.
“Are these the intruders?” he asked the two mysterious figures.
One of them nodded and threw the bounded Maya and Kino to the table. The man who rose walked over to Maya and Kino calmly. He wore a dark cloak and oval glasses. He stood in front of them and gazed down upon them.
“What are your names?” he asked the two prisoners.
“Why should we tell you?” Kino asked the man in an impatient tone.
“I’m only curious,” the man quickly replied. “But perhaps you should remember that you are our prisoners. We control what happens, so you may want to start thinking about being a bit nicer to me.” He looked onto Maya. “What is your name?”
“My name is…” Maya started to answer.
“Don’t tell him! It’s none of his business!” Kino interrupted. “We don’t even know who these people are! What if they’re with…you know?”
“I can see where you’re coming from, but we need to think about the situation at hand. We could die if we don’t cooperate!”
“…you’re right, as always,” Kino said in a sigh. “Alright, my name is Kino…”
“And my name is Maya.”
“Why are you two here?” asked the cloaked man.
“We were running away from…” Kino stopped his words from coming out as fast as he could.
“You were running away from what?” the man asked Kino.
“Kino, tell him. I don’t want to see you get hurt! Seriously, we don’t know if these people are mean or not!” Maya pleaded to Kino.
“I can’t tell them, Maya! For all we know, they could be with them!”
“Wait, who are you talking about when you say ‘them’?” interjected the cloaked man.
“Why should we tell you?” Kino asked in an irritated voice.
“You’ll tell me because…wait a minute…” the man paused for a brief moment. “When you say them…do you mean the…Kriznika?”
“Yes,” Maya said calmly. “We’ve. They want to kill us.”
“I see,” said the cloaked man.
The man freed the two from their ropes. He sat down at the table and signaled them to do the same. They sat down at the table.
“Please excuse our behavior,” the man apologized. “We thought you were undercover agents working for the Kriznika. I don’t expect you to accept my apologies. We just can’t take any chances, that’s all.”
“We understand,” said Maya.
“Yeah, but what is this place?” said Kino, in a surprisingly calm voice.
“This, my friend, is an outpost for a resistance movement against the Kriznika,” answered the man. “We wish to restore the world to the way it was before they came to power.”
“I never knew there was a resistance…” Kino stuttered in a shocked tone.
“It’s not something they want you to know about. They fear us; they know people would flock to join. We would overthrow them if everyone knew about us; this is why they keep it a secret.”
“Why don’t you just tell people about it then?” asked Maya.
“It’s simple Maya,” interjected Kino. “If they were told about it, then they would have to give out some location. This would make it much too easy for spies to infiltrate the resistance. It would end the entire operation.”
“You have great understanding of us Kino,” said the man. “Oh, where are my manners? I have not introduced myself! My name is Elk.”
“That’s a nice name,” said Maya.
“Thank you,” said Elk. “Anyway, where were you two headed before you found this place?”
“We were making our way through the woods,” said Kino. “We are trying to escape the Kriznika.”
“If you don’t mind me asking,” started Elk. “Why are they trying to kill the two of you?”
“Well…” started Kino. “I was a bit late for work. I ran the elevator in the Kriznika’s main building.”
“And I decided to follow him as he ran past me,” added Maya.
“You were…late for work?” Elk started to chuckle. “I’m sorry, but that is just funny!”
“Yeah, it was pretty stupid,” chuckled Kino. “But the result is awful.”
“I can see that,” Elk replied. “Say, would the two of you care to join us?”
Maya and Kino looked at each other. They stood up and turned to Elk.
“It’s a nice offer,” started Maya.
“But it would just put us in more danger than we’re already in. All we want is a place to hide,” Kino finished.
“I see,” Elk replied. “If you ever want to join or anything, just drop by. We trust the two of you.”
“Thank you,” replied Maya.
“Here, allow us to make up for what we did,” said Elk as he led the two down the hall. “We will give you an escort to Melm.”
The three of them reached a door. Elk opened it and they all walked inside. Here, there was a man with a suit on. It was colored just like the forest, it was camouflage. The man walked up to Elk.
“Maya, Kino, this is my brother,” said Elk. “His name is Cray. He will lead you the rest of the way to Melm.”
“Let us move quickly,” said Cray in a deep and somewhat intimidating voice.
Cray led them to the back of the room, where there was a small hole. He pushed them down the hole and then jumped down himself. They found themselves back outside in the forest. Cray walked ahead of Maya and Kino.
“Move it, and do not talk. Neither of you will talk until we reach Melm,” said Cray.
And with that, the three of them made their way through the forest.
At the same time that Cray, Maya and Kino made their way towards town, the agents of the Kriznika had all converged in the town. They were waiting for them, knowing they would be there. It was only a matter of time. They had spread out across the town. One of the agents had decided to wait in the local pub for the two. Here he drank much, and quickly became intoxicated. Of course, drunken killers are still very dangerous. But excluding that one exception, the agents were on their guard, ready to seize the fugitives.
Chapter Five
Cray picked up the pace even more so than before. To Maya and Kino, it looked like he was flying. They were having a very hard time keeping up with him. After a few moments more, they were losing sight of him.
“Can you please slow down?” called out Kino.
Cray ran back to the two, whom were still rushing toward him. He met up with them, and the two stopped.
“…thank…you…” said Kino, between breaths.
Cray hit Kino across the face so hard that he flew near a tree a few yards away. “I told you to stay quiet until we arrived,” he said calmly.
Kino stood up, holding his stricken cheek on one hand. “Why did you hit me?” he asked as he got to his feet.
“You agreed to not talk when you decided to follow me. Follow my rules or some bad things may happen to you.”
“Like what?”
“There could be Kriznika agents around here. Do you want to get caught by them?”
“If there were any around, we would have been caught by now!”
“You do bring up a good point. But you never know what they’re going to do!”
“Well, if you keep shouting like you are, they’re sure to find us!”
Cray backed off a little, realizing that he was indeed yelling at Kino in a very loud voice. He then picked Maya and Kino up and placed them over his shoulders. He ran with them through the trees.
“Is this better?” asked Cray.
“This is…surprising,” said Maya, somewhat dumbfounded.
He continued to run towards the town. He gradually picked up speed as he made his way through. The wind was blowing against the three of them with lots of force. Cray continued to speed up, and the wind blew against them even more.
“How did you get so fast?” asked Maya.
“This is what happens to you when you’ve been in the resistance as long as I have,” replied Cray.
“How long would that be?”
“Since the beginning. Elk and I started it up well over twenty years ago.”
“You’ve been out here that long?”
“Well, I don’t know exactly how long we’ve been out here. We have really high-tech technology…maybe we should have sprung for a calendar?”
“Yeah, they can be pretty useful.”
“Maybe I’ll get one once we get into town.”
“What’s that?” asked Kino as he pointed to a strange structure in a clearing ahead of them.
“That would be Melm,” replied Cray. “This is where you two were headed, no?”
“Yes, thanks for your help Cray,” said Maya as she climbed down onto the ground. “How can we ever repay you?”
“There’s no need to do that…” Cray paused for a brief moment. “Just stay alive, alright?”
“We plan on it,” replied Kino. “I guess this is where we leave, isn’t it? Well, goodbye Cray. And thank you.”
“Yes, goodbye!” said Maya in a cheerful voice.
“Good luck…” Cray said darkly as he ran back towards the tree.
“I guess he’s not going to get that calendar after all,” said Kino, jokingly.
“Poor guy, doesn’t even have a calendar,” giggled Maya.
“Yeah, I feel sorry for him. But right now he’s better off than us.”
“What do you mean by that Kino?”
“Think about it Maya. He has a hiding spot while we don’t. He can run really fast and we can’t…”
“But they’re getting hunted too, aren’t they?” Maya asked while interrupting Kino.
“I don’t know. I’d assume so.”
Maya looked around and a worried look grew on her face. “Something doesn’t feel right Kino.”
“What do you mean by that Maya?” asked Kino.
“Think about it! Cray said that he has been hiding for twenty years. That’s a long time!”
“Yeah…what’s your point, Maya?”
“Think, Kino! Think! We found that place the first time we went into those woods! Yet they haven’t been discovered by the Kriznika in over twenty years? It just doesn’t add up!”
“What are you saying? Do you think that they’re working with the Kriznika?”
“I don’t know about that, but I’m sure about one thing. They’re not who they say they are.”
“Do you think we can trust them Maya?”
“All I’m saying is that it looks like one big coincidence. But I’ve never believed in those, and you know that. Everything happens for a reason, good or bad.”
“I see where you’re coming from here Maya, but…” Kino paused in mid-sentence.
Maya grabbed Kino by the arm. “Come on, let’s find a place to stay.”
The two of them walked into the town of
“Welcome to the Melm Inn,” said the worker at the front desk. “My name is
“We’d like a room please,” replied Kino. “How much will it cost to stay?”
“Let me see here…”
“Um…thank you…” said Kino with a shocked voice.
“We came from far away,” replied Kino rather quickly. “Here is your money.”
He handed
“Let’s flip a coin to see who gets it,” Maya suggested.
“No, you can have it. I don’t mind sleeping on the floor,” replied Kino.
Maya jumped onto the bed and laid herself flat on top of it.
“It’s so comfortable,” she sighed. “Are you sure you don’t want to flip for it?”
“It’s okay Maya,” replied Kino. “It’s okay, really! You deserve it more than I do anyway.”
She stared at him for a brief moment. “Thank you, Kino,” she said in a soft, tired voice.
Kino spread himself out on the surprisingly comfortable carpeted floor. He fell asleep rather quickly. Maya, still awake on the bed, sat up and looked at Kino.
“Kino, are you still awake?”
Kino did not answer. Instead, his breathing became slower and a tiny bit louder. It was a partial snore, but not loud like one. Maya smiled and stood up. She grabbed one of the extra blankets from the bed and covered Kino with it.
“Good night,” she said as she then made her way back to her bed. She slipped underneath the covers and laid her head on the pillow. She soon fell asleep.
After a couple of hours had passed, the door to their room opened. A yell came from outside the door in the still darkness.
“I have them right here!” the voice boomed in a familiar sound.
The sound of stomping feet filled the small inn. A few people rushed into the room. By this time, Kino had awakened. He sat up and saw a large shadowy figure in the doorway. In the room, he was able to make out a couple of identities. To his left stood
“Elk! They found you?”
Elk walked over to Kino, his head still facing downward.
“Elk, why is your head hanging down? Did they hurt you or something?”
Elk raised his head to where his eyes met Kino’s. There was a look of sadness in Elk’s eyes.
“Elk…?”
Kino was punched in the face by Elk before he could finish his question. Kino fell to the floor, unconscious. His face was covered with his own blood. Elk had apparently broken Kino’s nose. He picked up Kino and brought him over to the dark figure.
“What do you think?” asked Elk. “Leave the other, or bring her with us?”
“You know our orders Elk! They are both fugitives, and we were told to apprehend them both!” said the shadowy figure.
“Of course…brother.”
Cray walked into the room and looked at Maya, who was still snoozing.
“I’ll take her, you take him,” said Cray with no emotion in his words.
Cray grabbed a hold of Maya. He situated her on top of his shoulder and walked out of the room. Elk followed Cray out of the room, dragging Kino by the shirt collar.
“Wait up a minute!” said
“What do you want now,
“I want to know where my reward is!”
“You’ll be rewarded soon enough
“But you have fugitives in your possession!”
“What are you ranting on about this time
“You just don’t get it, do you?” replied
“Don’t be a fool
“But as I said, you have fugitives in your possession. You can’t possibly take me with them!”
Both Elk and Cray dropped whom they were carrying and surround
“You forgot one thing
“They’re not capable of doing anything right now,” finished Elk.
“Hmm…it seems I forgot about that,” said
Cray grabbed a hold of
“You shouldn’t have betrayed us,
“…please…Cray…stop before…you kill…me…” gasped
“I don’t think so,” replied Cray, who sounded like he was going mad.
Cray snapped
Chapter Six
Maya awoke in a dark room after regaining consciousness from her deep sleep. She looked around, wondering why she was not in the bed in the room at the Melm Inn. She found Kino on the opposite side of the room, still unconscious on the floor. She limply walked over to him and knelt down beside him.
“Kino, Kino!” she called out to him. He did not answer her. “Kino, wake up!” There was no answer. “Wake up, Kino! What happened?” But Kino still did not even move.
“He won’t be coming back to for a while,” said a voice from behind the door. “And you would do good to keep your voice down. You’re going to give us all headaches if you keep at it.”
Maya turned her head around to face the door. “Who are you? Where are we?”
“What, you don’t remember my voice?” said the person behind the door. The door suddenly opened and revealed Elk. He walked into the room with a lit lantern and closed the door behind him. “That hurts, Maya.”
“Elk…? Is that you?” asked Maya in a shocked voice. “Are you here to rescue us?”
“You just don’t get it, do you?” chuckled Elk. “We’re holding you two here as our prisoners.”
“Prisoner? Why are you doing that? Does that mean that we’re in your tree?”
“You’re not as stupid as I thought you were,” said Elk, still chuckling a little bit. “Yes, you’re in the tree.”
“But why are you keeping us here?”
“We’re going to hand the two of you in.”
Maya sat still for a moment, dumbfounded. “So…the resistance…”
“Doesn’t exist?” finished Elk, as he started to yell. “Yeah, pretty much. It never existed. Did you honestly believe that anyone could hide from the Kriznika for any length of time in a tree?” He stopped for a moment to calm himself down. “We’re going to be getting a very nice reward for this.”
“Why’d you trick us? You had us locked up here before, and we said everything. Why did you bring us to town if you could have just finished everything then?”
“First off, we wanted to crush your spirits. Moreover, we just wanted to have some fun with our prey before we pounced on it, if you will.”
“That’s evil!” cried Maya.
“No, it’s genius!” called out Elk, “Now you won’t struggle when we go to turn you in.”
By this time, Kino had woken up and heard what Elk had been saying. He looked at him with a look of pure hatred, and was still furious over what had happened back at the inn. “Elk!” yelled Kino. “You tricked us!”
“Yeah, and your point is…?”
“My point is I’ll make you pay for it!”
Kino started to run toward Elk. Elk started to chuckle as he pulled out a pistol from his pants’ pocket. He held it up to where it was pointing right at Kino.
“Kino, stop!” yelled Maya.
Kino stopped dead in his tracks. Elk had started to laugh in amusement as he pulled the trigger and shot Kino twice. Kino fell down to the floor with blood coming out of the wounds that the bullets had left in him. Maya ran over toward Kino and started to cry, then looked at Elk.
“Why did you shoot him!? He didn’t deserve this!” cried Maya.
“I don’t care. I told you, we like to have fun, and this has been very fun!” said Elk with a grin on his face. “I’ll leave you two alone for now.”
With that, he left the room with the lantern and closed the door behind him. Maya and Kino were left alone in the room. Kino had not been fatally wounded, but he was in a lot of pain. Maya was still right next to him, crying.
Chapter Seven
Some time had past since the incident in the cell where the two were being held. Kino’s wound had somewhat healed. It wasn’t bleeding anymore, but it still caused him a lot of pain. Maya and Kino had been sitting in a corner in the room for a couple of days without being fed. They were very hungry and weak. The door opened and revealed Elk, once again holding a lit lantern. He entered the room with two guards.
“Alright, it’s time for us to bring you in,” said Elk.
The two guards grabbed a hold of Maya and Kino and hauled them out of the cell. They threw them into the hallway. Maya and Kino fell to the ground. They noticed a pair of feet to the side of them and they looked up. There they saw Cray’s face.
“You’re part of this too, aren’t you?” asked Kino.
“Yeah, I’m part of this. Now, don’t talk until you’ve been instructed to,” replied Cray.
The guards picked Maya and Kino up and raised them to their feet. They pushed them down the hallway and led them out of the tree. Elk and Cray followed them, making sure to stay slightly behind. All of them started to make their way toward
“So Cray, have you had fun with these prisoners?” asked Elk.
“Yes, I have,” replied Cray.
“You should have seen the look on their faces when I told them what was happening!” laughed Elk.
“I bet it was priceless.”
“Shut up!” yelled Kino.
“Guard, shut him up,” commanded Cray.
One of the guards took a club and hit Kino in his side. Kino let out a yelp of pain as he fell to the ground, holding his side.
“Kino!” called Maya.
“Guard…” said Elk.
The same guard took his club and hit Maya in the back of her leg. She went down in a scream of pain. She had not been hit as hard as Kino had, but it was still pretty hard.
“Now maybe you’ll listen to what we say from now on!” bellowed Cray to the two prisoners on the ground.
Maya and Kino were pulled back to their feet and started walking. As they started to walk, Kino turned his head and said, “Yeah, we’ll remember.”
“That’s better. We’ll hold you to that,” laughed Elk. He was getting much enjoyment from watching this.
All six of them continued to walk through the woods. After a couple of hours, they reached the outskirts of
“Alright, we’re almost there,” said Cray. “Enjoy the last time you’ll have together.” And with that, they led them down the street toward the capital building where the Kriznika were hiding.
Chapter Eight
Kino and Maya were led into the Kriznika’s building by Elk and Cray. There they saw the sight that Kino had seen all of his working days. The bottom floor was exactly the way it was before Kino had run away, for the most part. The only thing that had changed was the blocked off staircase and the guards who guarded it. The staircase was actually accessible, and the guards that were killed after Kino’s escape, had not been replaced. Elk walked to the staircase and turned back to look at Cray.
“Don’t let them get away,” ordered Elk.
“They’d be stupid to even try,” replied Cray. “Don’t worry, I’ve got them.”
“Elk nodded and then turned back to the staircase. He walked past the doorway and up the stairs. Kino and Maya watched him walk out of sight, not knowing what was going to happen to them.
“It won’t be long now,” said Cray aloud to himself.
“What won’t be long?” asked Maya.
“It won’t be long until the execution chamber is ready for use again,” replied Cray, chuckling.
“Execution chamber?” cried out Kino. “You mean there was an execution chamber there the whole time?”
Maya turned around and stared at Kino. “Like you didn’t know…”
“I didn’t!” cried out Kino. “I had no idea what was behind there, I swear it!”
“But you worked here for a long time…” Maya’s voice sounded very skeptical.
“It was always boarded off and had guards standing next to it!”
“Right…fine, I believe you,” Maya said slowly.
“Why would I be lying to you?” asked Kino in a soft voice.
“I…don’t know…maybe for…never mind. I didn’t know what I was saying.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
A voice over the intercom blared throughout the room. “Yes, get at each other’s throats. It makes it so much more entertaining for us to watch!”
“Who are you?” asked Maya.
“That would be one of the Kriznika at the top floor here,” Kino answered. “They never come down to talk to people.”
“Ah, I see you haven’t forgotten us, Kino!” said the voice on the intercom. “Even in the midst of betrayal, you still remember.”
“How could I forget? We’ve been hunted down ever since we left!”
“Why do you insist on saying ‘we’?” asked the voice. “You brought that girl here along with you! You never explained yourself to her, so she had not choice but to go with you. You forced her into this entire situation!”
Kino’s face changed from anger to disappointment. He knew that what had been said was the truth. He didn’t say anything until it was too late. He never wanted to admit it, but he knew all the same that it was indeed the truth. Maya yelled suddenly, “That’s not true!”
“You’ll do good to not talk back to me, little girl!” yelled the voice, almost sounding like a hiss of anger.
“But what you said isn’t true!” said Maya. “I went along with him on my own free will. He never forced me to do anything! You’re the ones who forced him to run away in the first place, with all of your death rules!”
“First off,” started the voice, “we never made him run away. He could have stayed and died like he was supposed to! Secondly, it’s not anyone’s fault but his own for running away from his job. It was up to him to put up with everything that happened.”
“He’s right,” said Kino, bleakly. “I got you into all of this. I brought you to your death…”
Maya slapped Kino across the face and started to yell at him, “Stop saying things like that! It’s as much my fault as it is yours!”
“That will be quite enough,” yelled the voice of the Kriznika over the intercom. “Cray, I want you to help Elk finish up. I will be down there to deal with them personally.”
And with that, the voice disappeared. Cray walked up the staircase to join Elk in preparing for the execution. Kino and Maya looked at each other.
“Why did you do that?” asked Kino.
“What do you mean by that?” asked Maya.
“You had a chance of getting away. You should have taken it.”
“It wouldn’t be fair to let you go alone, Kino. I’m as much to blame as you.”
“But I dragged you into all of this. It’s my fault that you…”
Maya slapped Kino across the face again. “Just stop acting like that! Be like the way you were before! You’re giving in too easily!”
Kino’s face changed to a look of slight shock and went into deep thought. All of a sudden, the elevator sounded. A moment later, the door opened. There stood a very short man, no taller than three and a half feet. He was kind of portly, but wore a powerful expression on his face. He walked over to them, holding a gun in his right hand.
“Hello there,” he said, surprisingly polite. “My name is Heimlich von Guberhagen, and I am a part of the Kriznika council. You must be Kino and Maya, no?”
“Cut the small talk, Guberhagen!” said Kino, rather shortly.
“Nobody orders the Kriznika around! Who do you think you are?”
Kino blinked and then smirked widely, holding his face where Maya had slapped him and said, “I’m the one who’s going to take you down!” Kino lifted his foot and kicked Heimlich flat in the face. Before Heimlich could even react to the attack, he was flying across the room. Kino rushed over as Heimlich hit the wall and he took away the gun. He picked Heimlich up by the collar of the shirt and held the gun to his skull. Kino chuckled and said, “Well, it looks like the tides have turned, Guberhagen!”
Chapter Nine
Guberhagen started to chuckle under his breath. Kino looked at him strangely, still holding him by the shirt collar and the gun to his head. Guberhagen then started to laugh hysterically. Kino got really annoyed with this, so he walked over to the intercom and started speaking.
“Listen up, you scum!” he said in a somewhat loud and triumphant voice. “I’ve captured one of your own members! Agree to my demands and I’ll let him go free!”
Guberhagen started laughing louder and harder than ever before. He then started to talk in a mocking voice. “Oh, help me!” he started to laugh even more. “I’ve been captured and I’m completely helpless!”
“What’re you laughing about, Guberhagen?” asked Kino, who was extremely confused from the behavior of his captor. “You’re going to die if they don’t listen to me!”
By this time, there was laughter coming from both Heimlich Guberhagen and the rest of the Kriznika over the intercom. Kino looked in worry, finding this to perplex of a situation.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“You really don’t remember our view toward humans, do you?” asked another voice over the intercom, which was also laughing.
“You think that we’re replaceable. Everyone knows that!”
“Okay then, ‘Mr. I Know Everything About Everything,’ why are you acting so stupid if you understand that concept?”
“I’ve never understood it; I just know that’s what you all believe.”
“We don’t care if you understand it or not. You still know the truth of how we think.”
“But what does that have to do with this?” asked Kino.
“You just don’t get it, do you?” asked Heimlich, whom by this time had stopped laughing. “Are you really that dumb? I’m expendable, just like everyone else.”
“What!?” gasped Maya. “You mean that the same rule applies to all of you as well!?”
“Well, well. I almost forgot that you were here,” snickered Heimlich. “But yes, in this sense, we are all equals in that sense alone. There will always be future Kriznika, so what’s the harm of bringing one in early if necessary?”
“You’re…you’re insane!” Maya shrieked. “Human life shouldn’t be wasted like that!”
“But why not?” asked Heimlich. “We can always replace the lost lives with new or developing ones. The truth is, there are too many people on this planet. We can’t run out of human lives that easily. Therefore, there will always be people to work for us.”
“But not just anyone can be replaced. Aren’t you supposed to be the ‘greatest’ humans on the planet?”
“That may be true, but it’s like I said before. There will always be future leaders. Nothing has to change, nothing will change. It’s as simple as that. Everything will remain the same forever.”
“You can’t possible expect your reign to last forever, you scummy heads of cabbage!” yelled Kino.
Maya looked over at Kino and gave him a weird glare. “Scummy heads of cabbage?” she asked.
“It’s all I could think of!” Kino replied quickly. “I’d like to see you come up with something better, Maya.”
“Alright, give me ten seconds!” Maya chuckled.
“That was just uncalled for…”
Maya started to scratch her head for a moment, pondering what could defeat Kino’s ‘scummy head of cabbage’ remark. She pondered for a few more seconds before Kino cut her off from her train of thought. “Well, we’re waiting”
“Alright, I got a good one!” Maya paused for a moment.
“Let’s hear it, then!” Kino interrupted.
“Shut up and let me say it!” Maya snapped back. “Okay, instead of calling them ‘scummy heads of cabbage’, why not call them…”
“Call them what?” Kino interrupted once again.
“Would you just shut up and let me say it?”
“Fine, go ahead.”
“Maya walked up to Heimlich Guberhagen and stared right into his face. “Shut up, you spineless little…thing!”
Kino looked down in embarrassment as Maya made her comment. “Okay, how does ‘spineless little thing’ even come close to ‘scummy heads of cabbage’?”
Maya turned around and stared Kino right into the face as his head came rising back up. “I don’t know, it just does!”
“Um, excuse me…” Heimlich interjected. “But, uh, may we continue with what we were doing before this random conversation started up?”
“Sure, I guess we could…” Kino started.
“I guess so…” added Maya.
By this time, Elk and Cray walked out of the execution chamber and back into the main lobby.
“Sir Guberhagen?” started Elk. “What’s going on here? Why are you being held up like a rubber ball?”
“Just shut up and get me away from these freaks!” yelled Heimlich.
Cray rushed over and punched Kino right in the stomach. Kino was knocked back as the wind left him. As he fell backwards, he lost his grip over Heimlich. Heimlich landed on his feet as Kino fell on his back. Elk grabbed hold of Maya’s arms and dragged her over to the chamber.
“Time for our fun time!” said Elk. His voice had a sense of giddiness in it.
Cray picked up Kino from the ground and followed Elk into the chamber. Once inside, they placed them in two separate chairs. Both Maya and Kino were strapped down to the chair to prevent further escape. Once they securely fastened them to the chairs, elk and Cray walked over to a control panel. Cray turned off the lights and Elk pressed a big red button as he said, “Goodbye.”
Chapter Ten
As Elk pushed the big red button, a curtain moved out and blocked the view of Maya and Kino. Then, as the curtain stopped moving, the darkened room was illuminated from a reddish light coming from behind the curtain. There were screams of agony and pain coming from Maya and Kino. They were being burned alive. The room started to smell of burning flesh and rubber. The screams become louder and louder as smoke came up from behind the curtain. The temperature inside rose as the fire continued. Elk then pushed the red button once more. The light from behind the curtain disappeared as the room temperature began to cool off. The curtain moved out of the line of vision as Cray turned the lights back on. As the curtain stopped moving, the sight of two charcoaled bodies became visible. Maya and Kino had been killed, turned into charcoaled ash. Elk started to laugh maniacally.
Then, out of nowhere, a loud voice yelled “Cut!”
Lights came on, and Elk and Cray moved away from the chairs. Elk pulled on his hair and it came off. It was a wig. Cray went over to wash his face. A man wearing a red cap and holding a megaphone walked over to where Elk was standing.
“That was amazing, Joey!” the man exclaimed. “You really had me believing that your character was real!”
“Thanks, Adam,” he replied. “But did we really have to do the entire movie in one take?”
“That’s
“Thank you, Adam,” said the man who played Cray.
“I just said that I should be thanking you!” said Adam. “Weren’t you listening to me, Jared?”
“I thought you were talking to Joey over there,” Jared replied.
“Sorry about that. I should be thanking you BOTH! Was that better?”
“You are the greatest director I’ve ever worked with,” said Joey.
“Yeah, this was great,” added Jared. “It’s been a lot of fun working with you.”
“You two are great as well!” said Adam. “Thanks for taking the parts! Nobody else could have portrayed those characters as well as you two.”
“Well, we have had a lot of practice,” said Joey.
“That’s obvious. Now, let’s just hope the public likes our movie!”
The two who played the parts of Maya and Kino came over to join the three.
“Ah, there you are,” said Adam as he turned around to look at them. “Alex, Miranda, where have you been?”
“I was washing up. That chair was pretty filthy,” said Alex.
“And I had to get some water,” replied Miranda. “My throat was really dry.”
“No problems, then,” said Adam.
“Do you really think that people are going to like this movie?” Alex asked.
“Of course I do!” Adam cried in an excited voice. “I directed it!”
“What does that have anything to do with people liking it?” asked Miranda.
“What did you just say?”
“I was just joking around with you, Adam!” Miranda quickly replied. “Everyone knows you’re the greatest director alive!”
“You’re too kind,” said Adam, who at this point was blushing a little.
A month had passed since the movie had been finished. The time had come for the annual Film Awards Show. The FAS honored films from all ends of the film spectrum, from the greatest to the worst, they were all here. Adam had a front-row seat along with some of his acting cast. With him were Alex, Miranda, Joey and Jared. The other actors who had smaller parts had not bothered to come to the awards show, as they figured they would have just gotten in the way.
“Alright, it’s time for the show to begin!” the announcer of the FAS yelled through a microphone. His voice rung and squeaked throughout the entire room. Everyone was holding their ears in pain. “Sorry about that,” he said as he turned the bottom knob on the microphone. “Let’s begin, shall we?”
An hour or so had passed. Awards for best storyline, most dramatic film, best comedy, most terrifying horror, and most creative film had been given out.
“And now, it’s time for the most sought after award the FAS has to offer,” said the announcer. “Yes folks, it’s time to announce the candidates for this year’s greatest film!” A screen above him lit up and showed four panels, each showing a frozen-shot scene of each movie. “The first candidate for this year’s greatest film is The Little Gray Bunny, directed by Doug Breaker.” The first panel became unfrozen and showed a little gray bunny hopping down a reddish cement road. “Alright, then. The next candidate for the award is Great Things Come in Small Sizes, directed by Ethan Ronald-McDonald.” The second panel unfroze and showed a bunch of small people running around a field of giant flowers. “Now, for the third contestant. This one is Happy Little Puppies Doing What Happy Little Puppies Do, directed by Kayla MacDog.” The third frame showed little puppies running around and playing with each other. “And for the final choice for the award. Behold the splendor of…” the announcer paused for a moment. Adam was holding his breath so much that his face was turning purple. “World of the Lost, directed by Adam Get-A-Clue!” the announcer finished. Adam breathed in and let out a large sigh of relief as the last panel showed the scene where Kino picked up Heimlich Guberhagen and held the gun to his head.
“And now it’s time to reveal the winner of the award!” called out the announcer. “The screen above me will eliminate two of the scene panels. The movies that the panels do not belong to are out of the contest.” The panels started to spin around. As they were spinning, two of the panels disappeared discreetly. The panels stopped moving as the announcer said, “It looks like the two remaining films are Happy Little Puppies Doing What Happy Little Puppies Do and World of the Lost!” Adam started to breathe heavily. “And the winner is…” Adam started to act like he was about to have a seizure. “Happy Little Puppies Doing What Happy Little Puppies Do!” Adam fell backwards in his chair, his head hitting the back. He acted like he was out cold. “Congratulations to you, Kayla,” said the announcer.
“Thank you so much!” said Kayla. “I’m glad you loved this movie so much! Everyone loves puppies! I wanted to bring them to the masses, and I’m glad you see that puppies are indeed cute!”
“Thank you for the speech,” said the announcer. “But there is still one more award to give out. This award is never sought after. Yes, I am indeed talking about the award for worst film of the year!” The room grew unnaturally silent. “The winner of the worst film of the year award was had such low ratings that there were no other candidates! The winner of the award goes to…World of the Lost, directed by Adam Get-A-Clue!”
Adam stormed up to the stage. Joey and Jared started to chuckle silently as the rest of the room started in an uproar of laughter. Alex and Miranda were the only ones who stayed completely silent.
“I only have one thing to say,” started Adam. “To all the critics out there who gave our awesome film such low ratings…you all suck!” he started to yell in a mad frenzy. “How could you not see the genius that is World of the Lost? How could you do this to, not only me, but to all the actors who worked so very hard? We filmed this entire movie in only one take! That takes serious skill! If you’re going to overlook all that, then you are all stupid and you should all die!”
“Okay, thank you for those words of rage, Mr. Get-A-Clue,” said the announcer. “And with that, we conclude our awards show. Goodnight, everybody!”
Epilogue
The film that made up the entire storyline for this story, World of the Lost, had more life than expected after the conclusion of the Film Awards Show that took place at the end of Chapter Ten. Well, let me be more precise on that. The actors that were in it were more successful than you would think. Alex and Miranda won an award for most convincing victims and for funniest couple. The whole ‘scummy head of cabbage’ and ‘spineless little thing’ argument went over very well with viewers. All in all though, the movie was not very successful. Film critics gave World of the Lost the lowest rating possible. They even brought up the idea of making a rating lower than the lowest for the film alone. No critic really cared for it. It was a big hit with the portion of the public that did go see it. However the critics gave such a bad review that not a lot of people really went to see it. World of the Lost never made it to DVD or Blu-Ray disks. Not even in the bargain bin at a car wash. It never made it to the internet sharing communities either. The film brought in a total amount of around $500,000. After taking out production costs, the profits were minimal, around $500 in total. The director, Adam Get-A-Clue, was so shamed by his masterpiece that he retired from his profession. He was found a week later murdered in his