In the center the mainland continent, is a sprawling city named Capara. It expands across the arid landscape, collecting tumbleweeds and varied vegetation at its farthest edges. Each of section of the city rests like contours on a map, with each line becoming a step leading to the level below and above. At the bottom of the thriving cliffs are the dusty collections of tents and trader's dens. The impoverished masses live there, in full submission to those above them. Their ramshackle tents and homes stretch like interlocking fingers inside the valleys, surrounded by the layered cliffs higher up. Intricate windows look down on those below, circling around each upper cliff layer like a ribbon. They reflect colors against the rise and fall of the sun, like a prism. The decorative windows peer onto the masses in the valleys, only overlooked by the moving jet-packs in the sky.

In the center of the city rests its history with a circle of old streets and run-down buildings. The newer portions form an outer circle, separating the old from the new. The property of clergy and of wealth can be seen from afar, surrounding the older sections like the rings of a cut tree. The outskirts become increasingly wealth, filled with the life of traveling merchants.

In the middle of Capara rest the king's palace and religious complex. It competes with the distant and outlying mesas of the nobles. Various forms of irrigation lined the highest cliffs, swaying with the organized colors of thick and succulent plants.

In one such valley, a caravan of moving cages moves into the impoverished tents. People clamor at the newcomers and small children jump up and down to touch the foreigners they've never seen. The caravan carries slaves to the many sellers, while flying killers hover above. Nearby, a man leaves his slave tent as his product sits inside.

Inside a slave tent....

“That's sickening, Tayt. Don't let that fall on you. Here wipe it off with my petal.”

Drops of blood fall from the sky staining my shirt. I was locked in a new cage and Nahlia was in the one next to it. We could still reach out and touch each other. Nahlia hands me a cloth coupon from her arm. I snatch it from her. She still wore her stupid FauX clothes.

We were in a storage room somewhere getting ready to be sold. Caparans were around us. I could hear them through the fabric that covered the room. There were all sorts of goods to be sold. There were exotic animals, canned and dried spices, rusted body armor, and spare jet-pack parts. Above me there was a generator and cool air would flow in bursts around us. It was worse at night when everything was cold. Barrels of beer and wine were around us too, insulated with special blankets. Other slaves came and went. The last ones had already been purchased and were waiting for pick up. Ellen was likely dead and buried. She had already been sold to someone.

“Ah man. It's still dripping.”

I scoot over. My wooden cage had little room and blood was dripping from the ceiling. Someone had killed and pushed someone onto the fabric of the roof. I could still see the dark outline of his body. The street noises fill the large tent as our new seller enters and exits. It was just a bad day. My cage shakes and I see purple eyes.

“Tayt, what if they don't sell us in time?'

“You should be more worried than me,” I shoot back.

“I am more worried than you,” adds Nahlia quietly to herself. She starts to pick at her cage with her sunglasses. They break and she looks at the pieces. She holds up a shard figuring out which one to use and scrape the wooden bars. She smiles at me and I don't smile back.

Nahlia and I had a limited amount of time to be sold, before Luer took us to another seller. It meant we could be separated again. I still wanted to be sold together. Someone had to buy us. Didn't they have a two for one deal or something? It would be crazy if they didn't. Both of us had been through too much and we were Neandelerians. We spoke the same language, so it was better that way. I reach my arm through the bars and try to grab a can of crackers on the table. We were stacked high above everything. There was a table to the side of the room where the seller had his documents and tinned snacks. I reach harder.

I pull my hand back as someone enters the tent entrance. A priest in robes enters the area. He takes a look around, before signing some documents and handing a bag of coins to our seller.

I blink as the two men pull my cage and hold me steady. They put me on a small cart with wheels. I hear hammering as they nail my cage to the moving cart. I look back at Nahlia. She was watching as distraught as the animals around me. She was the only quiet one.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Nahlia still felt bad about Ned, and I did too. There was a silent wall between us. We were separated in more ways than one. I tried to forgive her, but my hidden bitterness remained. Whatever I told myself never seemed to penetrate my hardening heart. I look over at Nahlia one last time.

“Still a backstabber...”

My body jerks away. The priest receives his bow and yanks me through the tent. We roll out onto the streets of Capara. I grip to my cage bars, watching the many legs go by. I look at the flowing robes of the priest as he moves around the daily crowds in the valley. I could smell savory foods and there was a man scooping thick porridge with a ladle. An elderly woman was yelling at her kid for not bowing to the priest. The cart rolls on and I shake my cage.

“We have to go back! You need to buy my friend!,” I shout.

The priest looks back at me and ignores my noise. We were heading to the palace temple. The religious complex was to the side of the king's palace. It was massive and I stop and forget my worries as I take it in. It was dark with a colorful roof. There was so much gold outlining the palace structure's borders, I wanted to grab a handful. I listen to a roar. The five torched pillars light up and release flames into the sky. They loomed above me. Even in the day, they were bright and rippled the dry air with heat.

I cough on the dust from the moving traffic. The roads were worn and old, making a bumpy ride. Most of the inner city had roads that moved in disorganized directions.

The priest pauses as we make our way to the king's palace. There were steps and he has several palace guards pry the nails and lift my cage. They walk me to the religious complex. I was being taken somewhere I didn't want. I try to remember my history class, but it was a blur. Something about a high priest.

The religious complex was huge. I could tell just by the main floor. It could see several priestesses swaying around with the other priests. All of them were loitering and engaging in small conversations. My cage is dropped at a nearby table. I stare at a man with fine clothing of brown, gold, and lavender. It was just as fine as the food he was gorging on. There were others next to him. I take a look up at them. All of them were talking with several courtesan priestesses standing nearby. Candles were lit on the table with several lamps, stolen from Neandeleria. There was also a stylish FauX flashlight taken from the refugees.

“Luer must have gave them to him.”

I wanted to blame someone, so that's who I blamed. It didn't matter. This whole mess was getting worse. Even though my trip to the religious complex was short, Nahlia seemed ages away in the past already. I was stuck watching the guy eat. He didn't care about my fate.

The high priest continues eating, He takes a bite of a steak and chews is scrumptiously. He throws the gristly part with bits of meat on it at me. It lands at my cage and he looks at me. He murmurs something to the others and they continue laughing and talking. I grab the meat and shove it away. It was better than nothing.

“They better not send Nahlia to the brothels,” I think. “You guys better not send her there!”

I try to think about Nahlia for a short time. My concerns grow to fear and I shake my cage again in anger. Everyone ignores me, until I reach out and grab the high priest's robes. I smear the meat on it and stares down at me. He gets up from his seat and points. There's some yelling as the palace guards come get me. They lift my cage and take me to one of the many ornate doors.

A hallway passes with decorations that matched the high priest's robes. Everything was carved and aging, with several relics encased in glass. There were statues of cave creatures and charts showing the different types of eyes that lived in the city. My cage drops and I feel the shock in my wrists.

The palace guards set me down in front of a room. They find the right key and unlock the door. Chains drop and I'm taken inside and placed on a bed. A key is placed in front of my cage. The palace guards leave me and walk to the door. I snatch up the key.

“Do it yourself escape kit.”

The lock falls off. I hop out and take a quick glance around my room. It looked like the room was going to be mine for a while. There were folded clothes and decorative furnishings in it. There were several books on a shelf collecting dust. Some had stains on them. There was a closet converted into a bathroom with a candle. My room didn't have a window, only a picture of a flying killer striking down a flying beast. A beautiful lady was hovering over the two.

The door shuts, pulling my attention. I hear chains and a lock click.

I wanted to go home, but I had none. Being with the refugees that came from Neandeleria would be better. They had their own camp and I saw the crest of Neandeleria over the many tents and dune buggies. We passed it on the way in and it was like Capara had an unwanted add on. The Caparans hated seeing the flowers and lips in the middle. They wanted our guns, but not us. We were foreigners.

There had to be disputes going on between us. The Nethelicose jet-pack company had an outpost next to Capara. It touched the city and served as small colony if things went wrong with The Far Away Dream. It was filled with Neandelerians. I had to get there. I didn't care how.

“This is lame and hopeless...”

I pull my heavy cage to the side of my bed and knock it over. The Caparan bugs were all around in the city and I was the stranger. I scramble near the door bottom and try to see if there were passers. I run to wall and knock on it for a bit. I barely get a response. I wasn't the only one stuck here. Finally, I lie down on my bed and stare at the ceiling. It was painted with ornate pictures of the five noble houses that competed for the crown. The competitors and their families changed over time like names forgotten in history.

I sigh and just try to enjoy my cool pillow and room. It was dry and hot outside, but not the same as in Cepertine. It smelled worse. I decided to fall asleep. I would wake up to everything tomorrow, instead of worrying about it now.