Society of the Kuvek

Chapter 14

    I step out of the elevator and walk into the room that Wequline gave me, shutting the door behind me. I drop my bag by the door and walk to the open space of floor at the foot of the bed and sit, I rest my head against the bed and close my eyes. I feel outside this vehicle and search for all living people, Ferse, Kuvek, and citizen alike; THE SKD ARE FERSE I signal. Now, I find all those working for the SKD, so long as they're not Ferse, and signal them. DESTROY THE HEADQUARTERS I finish and open my eyes, hopefully everyone will listen; though I'm sure a few will ignore the warning. I sit back and feel the world outside, the sun falling, the sky getting darker and the air growing colder. Young children yawning and tired, trying to stay up with their older siblings and parents, listening to them talking about the message and what it means. Families and friends talking together to decide what to do, whether they will attack or ignore the message. As I listen, my body grows more tired and instead of fighting sleep, I let it take me, bracing for the dreams that I know will come.

    I am two years old and sitting on my dad's lap, holding a book with our hands touching the words.

    "Read that," my dad says, pointing to the first page of the sixth chapter.

    "The Rectorei snake is neither poisonous nor venomous, but rather harmless, choosing to live burrowed in the ground with its' family," I say, reading the first line.

    "Very good, and more," my dad says, pleased.

    "The mating habits of a Rectorei snake are quite similar to those of humans. They 'date' for a while, choosing through potential partners and mate for the first time with one snake, thus choosing their lifelong partner," I continue and my dad laughs.

    "Such a wonderful reader!" he exclaims and kisses me on the forehead, "I wish your mother were still alive. She taught me to read, she'd be able to teach you much better than I ever could," my father muses, and I, not knowing what to say turn around and hug him. There's a knock at the door, my dad lifts me off his lap, and I cling to the book.

    "Sarea, I've got to go for a little while, I'll be back before dark," he says, setting me down; my dad walks to the door and as he opens it I see an old man standing outside, a man that will become so familiar in under a year's time. My dad turns around just before stepping through, blows a kiss in my direction and leaves, shutting the door behind him. I walk across the small room and walk to the wall with no doors; I press my small right hand against the center of it, the book still in my hand. The wall moves; a panel slides open, twice as wide as me and three times as high, leading into a small, dark room. I step in and walk carefully, my eyes shut and my mind remembering the way; I stop in front of a bookshelf and feel with my fingers until I find the empty spot, I then put the book into the empty space. I place the fingers of my left hand to the bottom of the books on that shelf and place the fingers of my right hand to the opposite shelf. I walk around the room, feeling the spines of the books, trying to find one that I want to read. I continue this until I feel something odd about the spine of one of the books on the bookshelf to my right and stop. I turn and run my hands throughout the bookshelf until I find the odd feeling book; I take it out of the bookshelf and walk back to the other room, closing the panel as I leave. I sit in my dad's chair, tap the book with my fingers and I am answered with the sound of metal. It's a metal book, painted to look like a real one; I look to the side with the painted pages and grab the two sides of the cover to pull it open. The book opens and inside it is another book; why would someone go through all the trouble to make a fake book to hide a real book? I carefully take the book out and read the title, SOCIETY OF THE KUVEK.

    I wake up to someone shaking me by the shoulders but I keep my eyes closed for a bit longer, still sleepy.

    "Sarea, wake up," the person shaking me whispers and I open my eyes to Terin and he stops.