Token (Token Chronicles)

by Ryan Gressett

  “These are our quarters. Everyone lives in these hallways.”

  The hall is pretty long with other halls intersecting perpendicularly, and there are a lot of doors, but I cannot imagine this is a very big community. Maybe the crowd of people I saw when the doctor was working on me was all. It could not have been more than fifty.

  We stop at the sixth door on the right. Briel begins to bang on the door and yells out, “Open up Ollie. Come on. I know you are in there.”

  The door opens with a tall black-headed boy who looks as if he just woke up. He may be my height, but he looks about twelve years old.

  “What is it Briel? You know I have to be a Gatekeeper tonight?”

  “I know, but Kincaid here is in need of some dry clothes, and you two are about the same size.”

  He looks at me confused. I reach my hand out ready to greet him.

  “Is this the outsider we threw in prison? Why is he out?”

  “Don’t worry about it. Just go get the clothes.”

  “Fine,” he says annoyed. He comes back and throws a shirt and pair of pants at me and shuts the door in our faces.

  Briel takes me to an empty room so I can get dressed. I neatly lay out my wet clothes so they can dry. As I come back out to finish our tour, I say, “Well, your friend is quite pleasant.”

  “I know. He can be moody sometimes, but we did just wake him up. He has to go work at the gate tonight. You remember where we came in at, right?”

  “Oh, yeah.”

  “Well, we all have jobs to do around here. Some of us are sent out as foragers for food. Some of us are in charge of cooking. Some of us are Gatekeepers.”

  “What do you do?”

  “Well, I prefer to forage because I get tired of staying down here all the time. I love the outside, but we all rotate jobs from time to time.”

  “Well, let’s hope you are not as grumpy of a Gatekeeper as Ollie is.”

  We begin to start walking out of the hallway, but she does not say anything at first. She just keeps walking with her head down as we continue to proceed down an unfamiliar hall.

  “I am sorry. I didn’t mean to say anything to upset you about your friend. He just was not very nice.”

  “No, it’s not that, it’s just…”

  “What is it?”

  “Well, he is technically my fiancé. I am supposed to marry him when we are both old enough.”

  “Do you not want to marry him?”

  “Well, he is a nice enough boy and all, but I just don’t feel anything for him. He is four years younger than me. Maybe my feelings will change over time.”

  “How old are you?”

  “17. I was born down here right before the Vurthoes Rebel forces were destroyed. My mother died giving birth to me. My father was off fighting with your father and mother. He didn’t find out until he came back. It has just been me and him together all these years. There are not many of us down here. I am the oldest of our generation, Ollie is the next oldest. They have paired many of us off already. There are not a lot of children here.”

  “I am sorry,” I reply. “I believe you should only be with someone because of love. Nothing else matters.”

  “Have you ever been in love?”

  “Yes. Her name is Hadley.”

  “Where is she now?”

  “I don’t know. We were both Tokens raised on the same Island. She was sold before me to a different camp. She very well could be waiting on me when I get back to my camp. My mother promised me she would get her back. But it’s complicated. I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Okay. But for what it is worth, I bet she is there waiting for you when you get back. I just know it.”

  If Briel is right, then Benja will be dead. I push the thought out of my mind quickly.

  “Maybe,” I say trying to sound hopeful.

  “Do you really think the new Rebellion will be successful? Do you think you can really win?”

  “If your father is able to help me, I like our chances.”

  “I hope so. I would like that. To not have to be afraid anymore. To be free to live outside. To have the opportunity to fall in love. Yes, freedom sounds nice.”

  “I want it for you too,” I say as I put my hand on her shoulder. She has a way of staring at me that makes me forget where I am for a second.

  When I look away, I realize we had come out of the hallway and were back in the room with the familiar lagoon.

  “Well, this is our main floor. Almost everything is located down here.”

  We begin to descend down the steps to take a closer look. Those people that are still bustling about continue to look at me with fear in their eyes.

  “Don’t worry about them,” she says. “They are just afraid of what they don’t know.”

  We begin to walk over to the cooking area where an intriguing aroma is delicately hanging in the air.

  “Aunt Nilly, what’s on the menu for tonight?” Briel asks as she jumps into a wooden chair at a table close to the cooking area. I grab the seat right next to her.

  An older woman with her graying hair wrapped up in a bun turns around with a dazzling smile.

  “Well, I was going to make a rabbit stew from one of the critters we caught yesterday, but your father has requested us to prepare the deer tonight. I think he is planning a festivity, and I am guessing it is on the account of this young man. And you are?”

  I respond, “Kincaid, ma’am.”

  I take the hand she has extended out as she introduces herself.

  “My name is Nilly, Briel’s beautiful and quite young aunt I may add,” she says in a theatrical manner

  “Nice to meet you,” I say chuckling.

  Briel interrupts, “What time do you think it will begin tonight?”

  “Shouldn’t be any more than a couple of hours, I’d imagine.”

  “Alright, we will be back by then. Come on let’s go,” she says quickly as she grabs my hand and starts pulling me away.

  We begin to leave the main floor, but I can still feel many eyes boring into my back as I walk away.

  “Bye,” Nilly yells as we are already making our way off the main floor.

  “Where are we going?” I ask once we are out of hearing distance.

  “Just saving you from Nilly. She is not my real aunt, just an old family friend. But she has always been very protective of me, especially since my mom died. She has known Ollie since he was a baby and still doesn’t approve of him for me. She probably would have kept you there and questioned you for hours since you are with me.”

  “That’s nice. To have family looking out for you I mean.”

  “So you just met your mother? Must be exciting for you after all those years.”

  “I thought it would be. I had so many images of her in my head over the years. But she definitely isn’t what I expected. She may be my mother, but she is not my family.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean I am having trouble loving her. I don’t know if I can forgive her. She abandoned me to the life of a slave. How could someone do that to their own child? Your father went into hiding. He protected you. My mother could have done the same, but instead, she decided to discard me like a piece of trash.”

  “You know, you may be surprised at what people would do to protect those they care about. She did what she thought was best to save your life. You are alive, aren’t you? She bought you back. Just give it time. You get a second chance with your mom. I wish I could be so lucky.”

  “I am sorry, Briel. That was inconsiderate of me.”

  “It’s okay. I love my father very much. From the stories, I have heard over the years, your father was a great man too. He admired him. I am sorry you never got to meet him.”

  “Me too.”

  “How about we go do something fun? We have a couple of hours before dinner. What do you say?”

  “Sounds good.”

  She stops in the middle of the dimly lit hallway and drops to a knee. She
rolls away a stone revealing the presence of an opening big enough to fit a person.

  “Where does that go?” I ask.

  “Well, won’t that just ruin the fun of it? You trust me, right? I will be right behind you.”

  “You mean you want me to get in there?”

  “Well, yeah. It will be fun. I promise.”

  I walk over to the hole and slowly begin to climb in feet first. I look back up to Briel and ask, “Are you sure about this?”

  “Absolutely,” she says as she gives me a push, and I go flying down the chute. I see the light at the end of the slide, and I come flying out and find myself in midair plummeting towards a large body of water. I plunge in feet first, and come back up quickly for air. I can hear Briel’s screams of excitement as she comes flying out of the same chute landing in the water right next to me creating a big splash.

  When she comes up for the air, she has the biggest smile on her face.

  “I am glad to see you can swim,” she says. “I didn’t know if I was going to have to save you or not.”

  “Well, so much for Ollie’s clothes,” I say laughing as I reveal the large rip in the shirt that happened while I was sliding.

  “Eh, he will get over it.”

  She splashes water in my face, and begins to swim off immediately. I give chase to her, but she is much faster than me. When I reach the side of the pool, she is already out and has climbed on top of the large rock holding a vine in one hand with her other hand placed on her hip.

  “You are going to have to be faster than that if you want to catch me.”

  She jumps off the ledge with both hands and legs wrapped tightly around the vine. She lets go in mid flight and does a flip in the air before she hits the water. When she comes back up, she shouts at me to try it.

  I climb up the same rock, grab the swinging vine, and leap off. The adrenaline rush fills me. Briel and I keep taking turns swinging on the vine. For a moment, I feel like a kid with no worries. A kid who doesn’t have the entire Rebellion’s success resting solely on his shoulders. A kid whose friends aren’t being forced to fight to the death. A kid who hasn’t lost his true love. I feel guilty because of my self-indulgence. Because it was the first time I have had fun in months.

  I am treading out in the middle of the pool when Briel swims over.

  “Everything okay?” she asks me.

  “Yes,” I lie.

  “I have been meaning to ask you, what was it like growing up on the Islands? I have only ever been in here in Edena and the forests outside.”

  “Edena?” I ask.

  “It’s what my father calls the caverns. Our own little slice of heaven in this terrible world.”

  “Well, the Islands were a beautiful place surrounded by despair and mistreatment. As long as we did our jobs and didn’t cause any trouble, everything was okay. We got by the best we could one day at a time, but the only thing that made it bearable was the friendships. We were a family, which is why this whole system appalls me. It is why I agreed to help the Rebellion. I don’t want this to keep happening to anyone else. To have to watch innocent people die in the Elitists’ sick games. It isn’t fair.”

  “Did you lose someone?”

  “I don’t even know yet. It’s the worst part, not knowing. When you found me out in the woods, I was just trying to get away. I honestly did not want to know. Because one of my friends was going to die, or Hadley was going continue to suffer where she was as a prisoner, and there was nothing I was going to be able to do about it. Not until I develop my abilities, anyways.”

  Briel just stares back at me with her eyes welling up with water. Before I know it, she has her arms wrapped around me embracing me in a hug. We are basically strangers, but it doesn’t feel that way in the least bit.

  She puts her hands on my shoulders and tells me, “I am so sorry Kincaid. This may be unfair, but there is a force of good I can see in you that I think you are underestimating. You are destined for great things; you just need to believe in yourself. Abilities or not, you are capable of anything.”

  She is only a few inches away from my face, both of us still treading water, with her eyes locked into mine. This is probably the closest I have ever been to another woman other than Hadley. For some reason, her words are sincere and strike me to the core. I believe her because I think she actually believes in me.

  From a distance, I hear someone yelling, “Briel, are you down here?”

  I look above the large rock we climbed and see a door I didn’t notice before open. Aunt Nilly appears and says, “It’s time for the dinner. Did you forget?”

  “No, Aunt Nilly. I guess we just lost track of time,” she replies.

  We both begin to swim to the ledge of the pool so we can climb out. When we are both out trying to dry off, I ask, “There was a door the whole time. Why didn’t we use it the first time?”

  “What fun would there be in that?” she says playfully.

  When we get out into the hallway, she suggests I go back to my room and change into my old clothes.

  After I am all changed, I head back towards the main floor for dinner. She once again has already beaten me there dressed in new clean clothes with her hair completely dry. No evidence at all she had just been swimming. The whole community is sitting at a long table with one open seat across from Briel next to the head of table where Magnus is sitting.

  “Please have a seat,” Magnus says as I walk up.

  Everyone else just stares at me in confusion. When I sit down, Briel, while laughing, says “Late to your own party. What a shame.”

  Magnus clanks his spoon several times against his large wooden mug. I pick my mug up and examine the contents finding it to be filled with water.

  “I have gathered us all here today for this feast to celebrate our new guest. I will admit, we may have gotten off to a bit of a rocky start, but he is a special guest we are very fortunate to have. For tonight, in our presence, we have the long lost son of Jackson and Rhetta Maddox, Kincaid Maddox.”

  Maddox. It is the first time I have ever heard my name like that, with my father’s surname. I like the sound of it. There are several gasps continuing to circulate around the table and the faces of the older people continue to display shock and amazement. They must all be familiar with my parents.

  “I want you to make Kincaid feel at home here during the duration of his stay,” Magnus continues over the sounds of small chatter. “Let us join hands so we may bless him and the daunting task that has been placed on him.”

  Magnus extends his hand out to me which I take while my other hand is taken by Nilly.

  “We are so very thankful and blessed enough to be able to gather tonight in good health and harmony, to have food on our tables and family by our sides. We ask that you continue to guard us and guide us in the best way you know how. But tonight, we pray that you please give our new young visitor the strength and courage to see him through his task. To give him the power to get through his time of trial, and allow him to become the man he is destined to be. To become a gateway to a New World. To become the Savior of Knav. Amen.”

  After the prayer, everyone continues to chat and come up to meet me asking to hear my story. I try to indulge as many of them as possible, but I am out of sorts. My body is there, but my mind is not. Those words keep reverberating through me. The Savior of Knav. My destiny.

  Chapter 14

  There is a light tapping at my door. I hear a voice softly from the other side gently repeat my name. I quickly rise and go to open the door. Briel is standing there waiting on the other side.

  “My father sent me to get you for breakfast. Sorry for waking you so early. He just thought it might be best if you wake before everyone else so there is not a big commotion like last night. Meet us on the main floor in ten minutes.”

  “Okay,” I reply.

  She didn’t wake me. Sleep managed to elude me all night. They see me as the Savior of Knav. I cannot let these people down. I cannot let anyone
down. I have to learn how to control my abilities. But I’m worried everyone is wrong. What if I’m not who they say I am? What if I do not have any abilities? I have already supposedly had my sixteenth birthday, but I don’t feel any different.

  I leave my room and try my best to leave my doubts behind, as well. I need to be optimistic. For Magnus to help me, I need to be fully committed. I walk down the steps to the main floor, and there are only three people there. Magnus, Briel, and Nilly.

  “Good morning,” Nilly brightly exclaims. “Do you like eggs?”

  “I have never had them,” I reply.

  “Well you are in for a treat. Have a seat, and I will bring them right over to you.”

  “Thank you.”

  I walk over to the same table from the festivity last night. Magnus and Briel are seated in the same position so I also take my same seat.

  “Sorry for the early start, but I was guessing you didn’t want a repeat of last night,” Magnus says. “I apologize for the uproar, but you have to realize, your father and mother were heroes to a lot of people. You being here is quite the surprise.”

  “It’s okay. It was nice to meet everyone.”

  Nilly walks over with several plates of food. She places one in front of me with several foods I have never seen before, but the smell is quite pleasant.

  “Eat up, son. We have a long day ahead of us,” Magnus says.

  I thank Nilly for the food as she walks back to the cooking area.

  “What exactly will we be doing?” I ask Magnus.

  “It’s best for you to just wait and see. I don’t want you over thinking this. Just try and clear your mind.”

  I nod my head and begin to scoff down the eggs Nilly gave me. They are quite scrumptious, so I accept her offer for seconds when I finish. After we are done eating, Magnus instructs me to follow him. As we begin to leave, I ask Briel, “Will you be coming with us?”

  Magnus interrupts before she has a chance to answer.

  “No, not today, Kincaid.”

  “I am sorry, but father thinks it may be too dangerous for me to be in there. He said you might be unpredictable. But good luck. Come find me afterwards.”