The male and female escorts push us into our seats and demonstrate how to properly strap ourselves in as we prepare for takeoff. The engines roar to life. A crushing force shoves me against my seat as the craft shoots upward into the sky and bursts forward away from the Island. My body is unable to move. The force desists, and I regain my normal sense of balance.
The escorts quickly unstrap themselves and move swiftly down a hallway in the ship and disappear from view. I unstrap myself as well and move to the nearest window I can find to get a view. I look out only able to see water now. The Islands are no longer in view. And in an instant, the Hawk Islands are out of our lives forever.
The escorts return seconds later no longer wearing the bland blue identical jumpsuits. They have navy blue military fatigues on now with jackets displaying their names on the right side of their chest and a badge with the word FREEDOM sewn directly over their hearts. I am puzzled. They are dressed like they are soldiers. Hasn’t the war been dead for more than a decade now? Hadley told me about the Rebellion, or else I never would have known. She told me about the cruel nature of Cromus, and the two different factions who led the Rebellion. Jackson Maddox led Vurthoes and Laurel Creed led Dopicance if I remember correctly. We only talked about it once because we both knew it would be too risky to bring it up again. I am thankful now because I know how much our conversations were monitored over the years. I am positive Tokens learning about the history of the Rebellion against Grodar is not exactly something they would have tolerated.
“I am Jayce. This is Daylen,” he says as he gestures to the girl.
“We want to congratulate you on being purchased by Ridian. It seems like just yesterday we were being purchased too.”
“You are Tokens?” I blurt out reflexively.
“I’m sorry, it’s just, you don’t seem like you came from the Islands,” Nayze follows backing my initial assessment.
They didn’t. Their body movements, eye contact, their general demeanor seemed to indicate they were more like Grods than Tokens.
“It’s quite alright,” Daylen replies. “I was from Island 8, Jayce was from Island 6. We have both been out for quite a while now. I forget the way we may come off to others.”
Jayce interrupts, “Before we continue this conversation, there is a little bit of business we must take care of first. I need all of you to stand up.”
We do as he says, and he walks up to me first.
“You will understand why we have to do this later. I am sorry.”
Sorry? Sorry for what I think until he pulls out a weapon and aims it directly at my chest. I have no time to think before he fires, and my body feels an immeasurable pain far worse than any jolt I have ever received. Fortunately, my mind allows me to black out so I can avoid any further anguish. I hear the thud of my body hit the ground, and I see the weapon now being fired at Nayze as my eyes close.
As I regain consciousness, I immediately realize I am in a detainment chamber similar to the one I was held in at the Ambassador’s mansion. At least this time, I am not handcuffed to the wall. I stand up to go knock on the door to summon a guard, but the doors slide open at the slightest detection of my movement. Maybe this isn’t a detainment chamber. I peak my head out into the hallway to see if there is anyone standing guard, but no. I step out and immediately hear a noise. I quickly jump back into my room. But the sound was familiar. It was one of the doors sliding open from the rooms next to me. I step back out into the hallway and see Nayze standing there.
“What is going on?” I ask.
“I don’t know. After you got shot, they turned the weapon on me, and the girl was shooting the others.”
Rogan, Butler, and Cydnee all begin to exit the chambers at about the same time as we congregate out in the hall.
Jayce comes walking around the corner and exclaims, “Good, you are all awake. Follow me to the dining room. I will explain everything there.”
We are all incredibly confused. First, we are treated cordially, and then shot, now they are acting as if nothing has happened and everything is business as usual. Regardless, we are Ridian property now and don’t have much of a choice. We all follow Jayce to the dining room where Daylen is already sitting there waiting.
“Please, have a seat,” she says. “Dinner will be served shortly.”
We all reluctantly take our seats around the large table. Jayce sits down at the head of the table and eyes us all.
“First, I would like to apologize for the pain from the shot. Trust me, I remember how excruciating it was.” He pauses to snag a piece of bread from the table and takes a bite as he continues to address the table.
“It was necessary, however,” with morsels of bread still swirling around in his open mouth. “The pain you were experiencing from the shot was the tracking chip being fried from your spinal cords. We cannot take the chance of those chips giving away any of our plans to Grodar. The Islands leave them in place and give us control of your jolting devices to use for obedience the same way they did, but Ridian is not about control, we are about freedom and choice.”
Wait. My mind begins to comprehend what he just said. If we no longer have our tracking devices internally attached, we could leave. We could escape. I begin to look around the table and understand everyone is having the exact same thought.
Jayce is swallowing down his last bite of bread with a sip of water.
Daylen continues, “You are the lucky ones to be coming back with us. Your friends who were sold with you at auction, all the other Tokens sold before you to the other Elite camps. Let’s just say, being a Token is not what the Grods and the Federation make it out to be. You have all been lied to your whole lives. There is no glory in it. Only violence, brutality, humiliation, and eventually, death.”
Uproar of protest and anger erupts from us all.
“What do you mean death?”
“Our friends are out there.”
“That can’t be true.”
“We have to do something. Turn around, we have to save them.”
I cannot even speak. I am frozen with fear. The fear of Hadley being sold anywhere else. The fear of never getting to see her again. I am not the only one who is distraught. Everyone’s faces are distorted with angst worrying about their friends. The friends we thought were safe. Benja and Yency run through my mind. We always thought it was bad to be left behind on the Islands, to live your life as a Hold. I look across the table and notice Cydnee. Although I know she is worried about those who were sold to the other Elitists, she cannot hide the relief she must be feeling. Only hours ago, she was disturbed at how Miles was left behind, unwanted. Now, she must be overjoyed he is still on Island 3. Safe.
“It is too late to turn back now, but you will all get your opportunity soon enough. To save your friends who have been sold. To set those free who are still on all of the Islands,” Jayce says.
“We have started the beginning of a new Rebellion against Grodar. We are stronger than last time, and we are the key to success,” Daylen says as she gestures towards everyone in the room. “Those of us who have toiled our lives away on those Islands just so Grodar can profit from our existence. We are nothing more than slaves, pets for the Elitists’ amusement. We are now the leaders of the Rebellion.”
Jayce passionately interjects, “Yes! You have all been specially selected. You are the ones that were identified as leaders. People who could become commanders. You are all head strong, independent, and have a mind of your own.”
Rogan asks, “Commanders? Why would you make us commanders?”
“Think about it. Who knows Island 3 better than you? Those who have lived there all of your lives. You must know every inch of the place. This will be to our advantage when we raid all of the Islands and set the captives free. You will be the ones who lead the charge. Grodar has spent the past 16 years training your bodies, your minds to become stronger and faster. They have made the perfect soldiers, and when we reveal the Truth to you, we know you will be on our
side, as well.”
Butler interrupts, “You said our lives in Ridian will be about freedom and choice. If we don’t want to become a part of this Rebellion or become commanders, do you think we really expect them to just let us walk away?”
Daylen replies, “I know it’s hard to believe that anyone would spend their money in such a way and just let it walk out the door, but yes. If it is your decision, we will respect it. All that is asked of you is to go through the orientation once we arrive. There are things you need to see. Things all of you need to see before making that decision.
“Things like what?” I ask.
“Things that can’t be described in words. Things you would not believe even if I told you. You will all see the Truth.”
“How about you just tell me now,” I smirk back.
“Soon, you will know everything, Kincaid” Jayce replies. He places his hand on my shoulder and promises, “In due time. You must remain patient.”
I am not sure if these people can be trusted yet, but I need to use them as long as I can until I can find out if Hadley is safe or not.
An intense aroma drifts into the room, and we are all distracted from our fears momentarily. They serve a dinner of splendid foods we have never encountered before. Understanding we have never seen these foods on the Island, Daylen explains what is being placed in front of us. Filet mignon steaks covered in a garlic butter sauce. Marmalade roasted duck with gravy. An entire cart is rolled out with pecan and apple pies, and cobblers of many varieties; peach, blueberry, blackberry, plum.
I begin to realize how hungry I am. Whether it was the adrenaline from after the auction or the elation from thinking I was going to see Hadley again, I could not even eat anything at my Retreat Feast. And now, they serve the most delicious assortment of foods I have ever seen in my life. How can we eat at a time like this? When they themselves are the ones who told us our friends, loved ones, are in danger.
Jayce beckons to us all, “Please, enjoy the meal we have prepared for you. I know we have thrown a lot at you. But you must all be hungry, and we need you to maintain your strength. I promise, we will answer as many questions as we are able to after dinner.”
We all look around the table to each other, and apparently we have all heard exactly what we needed to. We begin to dig in to these strange new exotic foods. Meats so tender they fall off the bone at the touch of our fingers. Desserts so exquisite our pallets have never come across such sweetness. Daylen comes by and convinces me to try the apple pie with a dollop of sweet cream on top. I am thankful for the suggestion because I eat three more slices of the sweet pie.
After our bellies are stuffed, possibly more than we have ever had in our entire lives, I plan on seizing the opportunity to finally get some questions answered. As our plates are cleared from the table, I look up only to find Jayce and Daylen have disappeared on us. I suspect they may have just been using the false promise of answers as a ploy to get us to eat and distract us as they leave. I quickly get up from the table disgusted I allowed myself to give in to my hunger now.
I leave the dining room without speaking to anybody. I exit through the first door I can find, not even knowing where I am going. I just keep marching down the hall, but I come to a rapid halt. I can barely hear the voices of Daylen and Jayce talking in one of the rooms from the hallway. I am certain because I can make out Jayce’s distinct deep voice.
“Do you think he knows yet?”
“No, but we have been instructed to keep quiet until she has a chance to talk to him.”
“What about the girl?”
“He cannot know about her, especially where she is.”
I am bothered by their conversation deeply. It sounds as if they are talking about me. Is the girl they are talking about Hadley? Where is she? Who needs to talk me?
I am considering opening the door to confront them, but I quickly reconsider when I hear the ship’s intercom go off.
“We are on final approach. We will be landing shortly.”
I scamper out of the hallway back to the main room. Everyone is still sitting at the table with miserable expressions on their face. I am sure from overdoing it at dinner as I did. As Jayce and Daylen re-enter the room, Daylen takes her seat while Jayce walks over to one of the windows.
“Just a few more seconds. Everyone hold on to something,” he calmly says.
The light coming through the window abruptly goes black, and I can feel the speed of the hovercraft decrease steadily until I am almost thrown out of my chair as the craft appears to be in a complete nose dive. Are we crashing? The lack of light has hidden the faces of my fellow Tokens, but I can hear their worried sounds of panic.
“Relax, everything is fine,” Daylen says still sitting in her seat.
I pull myself back up into my chair and everyone’s alarm has seemed to subside. The hovercraft has leveled back out, and I feel a tremendous rumble from the engines as they are powering down, and the craft is slowly lowering to land. As soon as the thud from the landing legs outside sounds, Jayce wastes no time. He opens the hatch and dispenses the ramp in seconds. He eagerly beckons us over to the exit urging us to come see. I am the first to make my way over.
He barks with a loud voice of pride, “Welcome to Ridian! Welcome to the Rebellion!”
When I approach the door, I now understand the blackout and the unexpected nosedive the craft took. We are in a large underground cavern with wooden stairs leading up to the floors carved into the walls filled with hundreds of doors and hallways. The walls of the cavern all surround the main octagonal base floor filled with soldiers.
As I warily step through the exit onto the ramp, I hear thunderous sounds emanating from the thousands of people in front of me all dressed in the same blue fatigues.
“FREEDOM, FREEDOM, FREEDOM, FREEDOM, FREEDOM!!!” they all proudly roar.
Chills flow from my neck down through my spine. As I make my way to the bottom of the ramp, a large stocky man who looms over me by almost an entire foot greets me. His scalp is completely shaved, and he has only a light brown moustache.
“Welcome, Captain Kincaid,” he says with a deep voice. “We have been highly anticipating your crew’s arrival.”
Captain? Why is he calling me Captain?
“Captain,” he says. I am still astounded by the magnitude of this crowd who all appear to be cheering our arrival. “Captain.” He nudges me, “Sir.” I finally realize he is referring to me again.
“I have been instructed to inform you upon your arrival that we have arranged a meeting for you. Someone you are going to want to see.”
My heart skips a beat with excitement. There is only one person in this entire world I want to see right now.
Chapter 7
Ridian Elite Camp
Paralysis. A terrible torture I have had the misfortune of experiencing in several different forms. The extreme physical pain of being jolted time and time again. The crippling pain of Hadley being stripped away from my life. But I have never felt this pain before. Not like this. The sting of learning the truth. A truth we have all been shielded from. Your whole life building up to one glorious moment was all a devastating lie. I know the truth now. We all know. After we left the ship, they brought us to the orientation room where it was revealed to us. My exultation withered. There was a fire of infuriation burning inside of me. At Grodar. At Cromus. At every single person who had lied to us our entire lives. Especially at every parent who had given their child up so they could be raised to be slaughtered and abused. I have to wonder how much the Grods and Holds on the Islands knew. Did Zeke know? Surely he would have warned us of what we could have been walking into if he had. Or maybe he was more loyal to Grodar than I originally thought.
I was elated as I had stepped off the ship into our new home. The crowd of soldiers was passionate and believed the words they were cohesively chanting. I had already begun to grasp the strong sense of comradery among them, the sense of pride and dignity in their voices and postures.
They were the soldiers of the Rebellion. New and improved. Ready for battle and courageously willing to take on any obstacle. They wanted their freedom, and so did I. For the first time, so did I. I began to feel it was truly within my grasp. But the true reason for my happiness was because I would be seeing Hadley again. Who else could they have meant when they said someone I am going to want to see?
After they played the video for all of us in the orientation, I was stunned. I am not sure what I should have expected. We were all taught from our birth until now to give all glory to Grodar. We were the fortunate kids. Always being taught that to be a Token is a great honor to have bestowed upon us. But had any of us known the fate we would be forced into, we may have very well revolted as the kids from Island 10 did.
“Follow me, Captain.” Jayce is escorting me to the meeting room. The place where Hadley and I will be reunited.
“You have made the right choice, Kincaid. We will proudly follow you,” he says. He stops at a set of iron double doors. He clicks the handle and forces the door open, “In here.”
“Captain Kincaid, please have a seat,” the stocky Rebel soldier with the moustache directs after we have entered the arranged meeting room. He introduces himself as Sgt. Merk.
“She will be with you shortly.”
At least I have the comfort of knowing Hadley did not have to go through what so many others have before us. She was lucky enough to be purchased by Ridian as well, but Benja and Yency will not be as fortunate, however. If there is a way to save them, I will find it before it is too late. Before they meet their impending deaths or worse.
Token (Token Chronicles) Page 9