Harmony Cage
Hi! As I write stuff I'll add more stuff here later on. . . Anyways, I'm kind of writing this from scratch, so we'll see how this goes.It's gonna be a dystopia novel, which I rarely write, so bear with me!
Sometimes people say they want to disappear when all they really want is to be found
Harmony Cage
CHAPTER 1: DAWN
I wake up from my dream, startled and confused. I'm slightly irritated. It was one of the best dreams. Where it's last year and everything's normal. I can tell it's still early. I yawn. I rub my eyes. And I see my little brother, Ryder standing at the foot of my bed, no doubt the alarm in his brown eyes. I almost jump in shock. It isn't everyday your 9 year old brother wakes you up at 5 AM. Why is he awake this early? My heart races. My brain floods with questions. My worries come rushing back.
"Kaia, I've been trying to wake you up! It's really important," Ryder says. A year ago, I would have told him to go away, to go back to bed. To let me sleep. But it's not a year ago. So I sit up. "They're here, Kaia, They're here! What do we do? Why are they here? Did we do something wrong? Kaia, what do we do?"
I leap out of bed, no longer tired. I change to nicer clothes, the nicest I have, just in case it helps. You never know. As I'm changing, I nearly trip over my own feet.
I tell Ryder, "Get changed. Hurry up, you know they don't like to be left waiting. It's gonna be alright. Don't panic."
My words help Ryder, and he seems to calm down. Even though I sound confident and sure, on the inside I'm shaking. Why are they here so early? I'm scared. Did we do something? A visit from them is never good. What if they take us away? I'm all Ryder has left. And. . . well, he's all I have left. I try to stop worrying. Worrying never helps the situation. He picks up Gem, our dog, holding him tight as I walk to the door. My hand lingers on the knob. I take a shaky breath and push it open.
Five men stand at our doorstep. It's soldiers from the Bureau. I can tell by the small bird embroidered on their right sleeve of their gray uniform. The birds range in color based on how high in rank they are, with white being the lowest and black being the highest. I swallow hard. The birds are red, in the middle, but still high enough to show that they mean business. The leader, an older man, with graying hair that sort of matches his uniform. He clears his throat and looks me dead in the eye.
"Kaia Torin. We have waited far too long. You haven't paid the money for this house or worked in a year. Your house is a mess too. This is unacceptable living space for you and Ryder. You pay back in 7 days or else. You know the consequences," His eyes are cold and bleak, not a trace of emotion in those dull, staring eyes.
He looks me in the eye again. "Do you understand?"
There is only one answer. "Yes."
It comes out in such a whisper that I don't think they heard me. But they leave, and I watch them disappear into the horizon for who knows how long. Because I know this is much worse than not paying the house and not going to work. This is much, much worse. Even though he didn't say that much, I realize this was a warning. A warning for what we did. I think I have a vague idea why they came. But I'm too scared to even think about that.
The fact they came so early in the morning— Why couldn't they come in broad daylight? Why did they have to come so early? What did they have to hide? Questions flood my brain.
I crumble to the cold floor, barely able to breath. Tears threaten to fall, not believing what happened. How much do they want to take from us? How much more do they want from us? We're dirt poor, we have two meals a day. If we're lucky. Ryder's clothes don't fit anymore. Mine probably don't either.
Then I just stare. Trying not to think. I'm just so confused right now. Eventually, the bright sun peaks out of the nearby mountain, and shines painfully into my wet eyes. Dawn. The beginning of the day.
I wish I could go back to when I was sleeping. Where it was dark and quiet. And I didn't have a worry in the world. That's the thing about sleeping. It's so different from the real world.
I wake up from my dream, startled and confused. I'm slightly irritated. It was one of the best dreams. Where it's last year and everything's normal. I can tell it's still early. I yawn. I rub my eyes. And I see my little brother, Ryder standing at the foot of my bed, no doubt the alarm in his brown eyes. I almost jump in shock. It isn't everyday your 9 year old brother wakes you up at 5 AM. Why is he awake this early? My heart races. My brain floods with questions. My worries come rushing back.
"Kaia, I've been trying to wake you up! It's really important," Ryder says. A year ago, I would have told him to go away, to go back to bed. To let me sleep. But it's not a year ago. So I sit up. "They're here, Kaia, They're here! What do we do? Why are they here? Did we do something wrong? Kaia, what do we do?"
I leap out of bed, no longer tired. I change to nicer clothes, the nicest I have, just in case it helps. You never know. As I'm changing, I nearly trip over my own feet.
I tell Ryder, "Get changed. Hurry up, you know they don't like to be left waiting. It's gonna be alright. Don't panic."
My words help Ryder, and he seems to calm down. Even though I sound confident and sure, on the inside I'm shaking. Why are they here so early? I'm scared. Did we do something? A visit from them is never good. What if they take us away? I'm all Ryder has left. And. . . well, he's all I have left. I try to stop worrying. Worrying never helps the situation. He picks up Gem, our dog, holding him tight as I walk to the door. My hand lingers on the knob. I take a shaky breath and push it open.
Five men stand at our doorstep. It's soldiers from the Bureau. I can tell by the small bird embroidered on their right sleeve of their gray uniform. The birds range in color based on how high in rank they are, with white being the lowest and black being the highest. I swallow hard. The birds are red, in the middle, but still high enough to show that they mean business. The leader, an older man, with graying hair that sort of matches his uniform. He clears his throat and looks me dead in the eye.
"Kaia Torin. We have waited far too long. You haven't paid the money for this house or worked in a year. Your house is a mess too. This is unacceptable living space for you and Ryder. You pay back in 7 days or else. You know the consequences," His eyes are cold and bleak, not a trace of emotion in those dull, staring eyes.
He looks me in the eye again. "Do you understand?"
There is only one answer. "Yes."
It comes out in such a whisper that I don't think they heard me. But they leave, and I watch them disappear into the horizon for who knows how long. Because I know this is much worse than not paying the house and not going to work. This is much, much worse. Even though he didn't say that much, I realize this was a warning. A warning for what we did. I think I have a vague idea why they came. But I'm too scared to even think about that.
The fact they came so early in the morning— Why couldn't they come in broad daylight? Why did they have to come so early? What did they have to hide? Questions flood my brain.
I crumble to the cold floor, barely able to breath. Tears threaten to fall, not believing what happened. How much do they want to take from us? How much more do they want from us? We're dirt poor, we have two meals a day. If we're lucky. Ryder's clothes don't fit anymore. Mine probably don't either.
Then I just stare. Trying not to think. I'm just so confused right now. Eventually, the bright sun peaks out of the nearby mountain, and shines painfully into my wet eyes. Dawn. The beginning of the day.
I wish I could go back to when I was sleeping. Where it was dark and quiet. And I didn't have a worry in the world. That's the thing about sleeping. It's so different from the real world.
Sometimes people say they want to disappear when all they really want is to be found