Lux

Chapter Two - Lux

Eleven years later

Lux woke up to a warm light in their eyes. They yawned, and got up. Today will be a good day, they thought. Lux walked past their small, rickety table and over to the cabinet. They took out a baguette that they stole from the bakery the night before. Sometimes Lux felt guilty for not paying the bakery, but they had no money to pay with. How else would they get food?

Lux took a bite out of the baguette, and their mouth watered. It was so good. They hadn't eaten yesterday and they were debating on whether or not to save the rest for later. Their hunger won the battle. They gave in to their cravings and chowed down.

Lux stared at the carnation on the table. They had always wondered why the flower hadn't died, after it was picked so long ago. It sat there for years and never lost any color. The carnation was the best memory Lux had about their mother. They wondered why their mother gave herself up to save them. Lux felt so guilty. Their mother could have lived. It was all their fault. Lux shook their head. Not today, they thought. Lux was going to do something productive.

Lux got up and thought about what to do. Should I work on inventions? Or should I gather supplies? Lux wanted to learn how to build a machine that could bring them up and down the stairs, so they wouldn't have to walk up four stories every time they came back. They got out their blueprints and began drawing.

Lux had a magnificent talent for inventing and drawing. Their drawings were immaculate, they drew with such precise detail. They could create palaces out of paper, castles out of color. Their drawings looked so real, it appeared as if they popped out of the paper.

I should have a comfortable seat to take me up the stairs... hmm... I'll use a bicycle seat for that, Lux thought. They drew a large, soft seat on one of the last empty pages of the cream colored book that the shop owner once gave to them. They remembered the day, when they were about five. A shop owner saw Lux sitting in front of the shop, drawing on a large rock. The owner chuckled heartily and said, "You might need something better with that talent!". He handed Lux a thick book, full of cream colored pages with potential for beautiful drawings. That was a good day.

Lux continued drawing their blueprint. A pole emerged from the bottom of the page, bending and attaching to wheels. The wheels were trapped in a square rod structure with the side cut off on the wall. This would allow them to roll up and down.

Lux got lost in their thoughts, and many hours passed. They drew out many elaborate ideas for the stair machine. Eventually, the sun set, and Lux realized that they had to get food for the next few days.

Lux set their blueprints down and stood up. They pushed in their old, rickety wooden chair and started walking towards the staircase. Lux hopped down the steps playfully, two at a time. They almost tripped but caught themself just in time. They stopped, because they knew it would be dangerous to fall down so many stairs.

When Lux got to the bottom, they opened the door and walked out. Lux inhaled the night air, and smiled. They had a feeling that they would get an abundance of food tonight, it felt like a good night. The breeze was very calm and the town was sleeping happily. The moon was close enough to grasp on the tall, sloping hill.

Lux headed towards the bakery, which they normally get their food from. They had to be careful, because sometimes guards roamed the streets, searching for people to arrest. Lux kept walking, and they wondered what they would eat that night. They were hoping to get a few muffins for the morning after. They could just smell the delicious blueberries, waiting to be eaten. Before Lux knew it, they were yards away from the bakery.

Lux had almost strolled into the door, when they spotted a flashlight pointing at them from several yards away. A guard was coming closer! Lux couldn't run, there might be more of them that could catch them. Lux stood in suspense, waiting to see the guard's reaction.

The chubby guard walked suspiciously toward them and spat, "Where are your parents?". Lux panicked. The guard raised his baton in the air. "I SAID-" Lux stuck their hands in front of their face, to block it from the guard.

Lux kept their hands out, while slowly backing away, and they heard the guard scream. Lux peeked out of their arm-blocked face and they realized that the guard's hat was on fire. Lux used the diversion to run away, and got back to the clock tower. They were puzzled, what had happened? Maybe it had something to do with their hand? Lux stuck their hand out again. Nothing happened.

A couple of weeks later, Lux was walking outside at night to take a meal from the bakery. They walked inside the bakery, and all of a sudden, the world was black. Someone had slipped a sack over their head! Before Lux had time to react, they were fully enclosed in darkness.

Lux struggled, but the rope restricting them inside the sack didn't budge. They kicked and screamed as the kidnapper dragged the sack behind them. Lux thought back to the day the soldiers came. They remembered hearing the ear-piercing gunshot followed by silence. They remembered hearing their mother scream. Lux's mother did nothing wrong, yet she was gone. This made Lux angry. So angry, that without noticing, they began heating up.

Lux's hands were turning red, and they could hear something odd. A thick layer of smoke appeared around them. The sound got louder. Lux angrily shouted to let them out. They heard the sizzling sound get even louder, and suddenly, thunk. They were looking at the sack in front of them, with a Lux-sized hole burned in the bottom.

The kidnapper was holding the burned sack and walking out of the town. The person noticed the loss of weight in the sack, and turned around. Lux sprung up and took the opportunity to bolt for it. Lux ran, and ran until they couldn't feel their legs. When Lux reached the clock tower, they started dashing to the top floor. They slipped on a stair, and fell flat on their face. They slid down a few more and groaned in pain. I knew I shouldn't have done that, Lux thought. They continued to jog up the steps until they reached the top, and then they locked the door and hid under the table. Who knew if the kidnapper would come back?