by A.L. Svartz
"Are you finished Kaj?" His uncle yelled. He was sitting by the radio again, listening to the same man from before go on about withdrawing the troops.
Kaj ran out of his room and over to his uncle. He came out fully packed and ready. Kaj wore his blue bandana that covered most of the hair that stood up on his head. He also had on his dirty white shirt, and over it was a black vest. The ripped shorts that he had on were a beige color. Kaj also had on his sandals. On his back he wore a small back pack as well as a small sac.
His uncle stood and gave his nephew a hug. "I'm gonna miss you Kaj. Ever since you were little, I've been taking care of you. Now, it's time for you to carry on the legacy of the Daj." There was a long pause. "Take care, my son."
The uncle let go of his nephew. "I'm gonna miss you too." He kissed the top of his head.
They both walked over to the porch. The two stood there for a minute, overlooking the entire village, as they knew this would be their last moment together.
Kaj pulled his blade out from its little case that was attached to Kaj's back and walked over to the wire. He wrapped the blade over the wire, holding on each end with both hands. He took one last look over at his uncle. Kaj closed his eyes, looked back ahead of him and jumped off. As he opened his eyes, he hadn't realized how long he had been zipping down the wire. He hesitated for a second before eventually dropping off the wire. Kaj dropped to the ground, before rolling a little bit.
"Ah, dammit!" he yelled. As he got up, he brushed some of the dust off of his shoulders and knees. "My blade?" He looked around and noticed that his blade was lying next to a crate. Kaj reached down and picked up his blade, placing it back in its little case.
The village was quiet. Not a soul was present. All the kiosks were empty. The lights in peoples' homes were off. Kaj noticed this and thought it was strange. He didn't pay much attention to it, and made his way over to the Galactic Soldiers' base.
The base defiantly stood out from the surround buildings. It was a large oval dome. The white color that surrounded the building was the brightest thing Kaj had ever seen. Around the sides of the base were large, dark oval windows.
As Kaj approached the base, the doors slid open. When he first stepped in, he was blinded for a second by all the lights that were inside. Kaj rubbed his eyes. When his vision came back, the inside of the base was swarmed with everyone from the village. At the very back of the base was a long desk and a group of Galactic Soldiers.
One of the Galactic Soldiers got on the intercom. "Attention everyone." The loud shouting from all the Daj quickly went quiet. "We realize that all of you want to get off this planet. The problem is that we have a limited amount of room aboard the shuttle to transport us to United City." The shouting started up again.
Kaj fought through the crowd of Daj until he made it to the front desk. "Excuse me?!" Kaj yelled. The shouting from everyone else completely blocked him out from being heard.
Kaj began to grow irritated. He tried several more times to get the Galactic Soldier's attention. It didn't work.
Without thinking, Kaj pulled out his dagger, jumped on top of the desk, and started to yell. All the Daj quieted down. When they noticed the weapon in the young humanoid's hand, the group of Daj started to back up. "Yeah," Kaj yelled.
"Come down, son," one of the Galactic Soldiers said, tapping on Kaj's ankle.
He jumped down from the desk, and placed his dagger back in his case. "I'm sorry," Kaj apologized to the Galactic Soldier. "It's just ... I ..."
"It's alright little one," the Galactic Soldier reassured. "We need brave warriors like you on this trip." The Galactic Soldier pressed a small silver button on the desk. The part of the desk that was in front of Kaj quickly fell to the ground. "Come on."
A smile appeared on Kaj's face. He walked on through to the back. A tall, silver door stood in front of him. Kaj waited as the Galactic Soldiers' were cautiously picking others in the crowd to join them on their adventure.
Four more Daj followed up behind Kaj. The first was an older one with a long white beard. He wore a straw hat and big, dark glasses that took up most of his face.
The second was a younger girl, about the age of Kaj. She wore a purple shirt with shorts, and her red hair was tied up in a ponytail. Her ears were significantly smaller than the average Daj.
The third was another young Daj. Looking a little younger than Kaj, he was the most obese of the four. His round stomach poked out from underneath his grey shirt. He wore a small backpack, similar to Kaj's.
The last was a middle-aged Daj. He seemed somewhat familiar to Kaj. It was then he realized that he was the town mayor. He wore a black jacket and long, dark pants. A tall hat lay upon his head. His nose was long and pointed, and his eyes were constantly looking down.
"Congratulations!" a Galactic Soldier behind the group of five said. "You five have been chosen to be spared and to continue the legacy of your people. Others from around this planet have also been chosen and are heading to United City as are we." The Galactic Soldier pressed a button on his wrist. When he did, the silver door in front of them opened up. A long hall of stairs that led up was revealed. "We may proceed." The group then followed the Galactic Solider up the stairs.
It seemed like hours had gone by. As the group finally approached the top of the stairs, they were halted. In front of them were two Galactic Soldiers. They stood in front of an old, wooden door.
"Are there anymore that are coming up?" one of the Galactic Soldiers asked.
"Negative, this is the last group," the other responded. He then turned to face the group. "Alright. Before you go out there, put on these mask to keep the sand from kicking up in your face."
He then handed the five the black masks, which they placed on. They were similar to the helmets that the Galactic Soldiers wore.
"As soon as we open this door, I want all of you to follow quickly behind us. Ready?"
To Kaj, it all went by in a flash. The door was kicked down. Sand filled the room they were in. They all charged though the open world. As they ran, Kaj glanced around only to see the brown sand being picked up in the air.
"Get in the shuttle!" the one Galactic Soldier yelled, trying to yell over the wind.
Up ahead was the shuttle - barely visible to the group, Kaj could make out a pointed front only. He then saw the bottom portion of the shuttle door open. They ran up the platform and into the shuttle. The platform quickly closed behind them.
CHAPTER FOUR
THE CRASH