Estranged [Completed]

A Party to Remember

Kalei heard the sound of a voice blaring over a speaker. The thick distortion the microphone added to his voice reminded her of the time she went to see a comedian with Fenn. The man had pranced back and forth across the stage, sending the entire audience into fits of laughter with his quips.

But this voice wasn't telling jokes. He sounded serious, impassioned, excited. She tried to focus her attention to hear what he was saying, "...proven ourselves to be the best this city has to offer. Every single person in this room has the power to make a difference in this city. And we already have. Take a look around, between the tech and port industries, Celan has the biggest economy of any other city in Dendara. Why? Because we made it that way."

Kalei's head was groggy. She couldn't fully wrap her thoughts around what he was saying. She couldn't even make sense of where she was. She felt like she was... floating. Her arms and legs hung limp before her, but they came in contact with nothing. Around her, she felt... nothing. The only thing she felt was a tight pressure across her chest and hips.

In the background, somewhere out in the nothingness, the voice continued. She recognized belatedly that it was Landen Franklin's voice. "...isn't the only valuable resource in this city. We are a valuable resource to this city. So why should we let our resources go to waste? Why should we lose our minds and our bodies to the ravages of old age? Why should we let everything we are, and everything we've built fade away just because time has decided we're done?"

Kalei forced her eyes open, tired of being left in the dark. She saw another pair of eyes about forty feet below, peering back at her. She blinked and realized she was looking at a lion. Abruptly, she yelled and tried to pull back, but there was nothing to grab, nothing to push off. Instead, her sudden movement sent her spinning as she realized she was dangling by a harness, with the cord attached firmly to the center of her back. And beneath the harness, she was appalled to find that someone had dressed her in tight blue, polyester shorts with a black halter bikini top. The harness fit awkwardly around and under her breasts, acting more as a push-up bra than an actual restraint. Around her, the world slowly slid by and she saw curtains, a dark recess with lights and scaffolding, and then – an audience. About fifty to a hundred people looking up at her. She glanced down again and realized she was dangling above a stage, with the lion penned in a small glass enclosure below her.

Kalei knew she had to find a way out. Her hands scrambled to find the clasps of the harness. She knew she could survive the fall, even if it was a forty-foot drop. 

I mean, I'm Estranged. I survived a gunshot to the head. A little fall should be nothing. 

Her racing heart didn't seem to agree.

But as her hands closed on a clasp, she noticed the lion shift with anticipation below, and she realized that it wasn't the fall she would have to worry about.

At the head of the stage, Landen Franklin turned around, a small microphone pinned to his shirt. He saw her and smiled as he said, "Ah, our first guest is awake. See? This is what I'm talking about. Not even a bullet could quench the fire in this young woman." The crowd roared and cheered in response.

Kalei tried in vain to stop herself from spinning, but the world continued to turn, and as the clapping died, Kalei found herself facing the left half of the stage. Lying on the floor, dressed in halter-top and shorts to match Kalei's, complete with a harness strapped around her chest and a cable stretched out slack behind her, was Shenaia.

"Shenaia!" Kalei didn't know why she called out. Perhaps it was just to make sure the young woman was alive. Seeing her lying limp like that awoke fierce emotions of fear and concern in Kalei that she didn't know she could feel toward the teen. "Hey! Shenaia!" Kalei couldn't see if her efforts were working. She was already spinning away.