Annik 3

More... finally.

Annik tried hard not to scream in frustration and helplessness. She paced back and forth, wearing a groove in the floor. Nobody spoke, and all you could hear was the footsteps on the wood floor, clicking and creaking quietly. Finally depleted of any energy to pace, Annik sat down in a corner away from the other Puppets. Lang slithered out of her bag and laid her head carefully on Annik’s neck. The air Puppet came over and put a hand on Annik’s shoulder.

“What’s your name?” she asked.

“Annik,” she replied, and moved away from the weight of her hand. The air Puppet just inched closer and gave Annik a small hug.

“I’m Katani. Katani Oru,” she said, quietly. “I’ve been in here for most of my life.”

Annik just stared in amazement.

“How can you stand this place? It’s awful to be in a building full of hate and fear…” Annik trailed off.

Katani was silent for a moment, then said, “I don’t know any better than this. I haven’t been outside of these walls since I was 3 years old. For me, all of this is normal.”

Annik shook her head slightly. “You were kidnapped when you were 3? What do these people think they are, the rulers of the world? Do they think everything belongs to them, even free citizens? God.”

“I’m not the only one. All of the Puppets here were, except for you, kidnapped at very young ages. So obedience and fear has been printed onto our consciousness,” Katani said, a little uncomfortable with the topic.  Annik stood up and started pacing once again, trying to sort things out.

‘Hmm… there must be a way out… but what is it? There are no windows, and there’s no other exit other then the door out front,’ Annik thought. ‘But, the odd thing is, Drake and Nathaniel didn’t open the door themselves. Someone else did for them.’

She stopped her striding and asked Katani, “Who opens the doors?”

“Oh. We do. If we don’t open the door quickly enough for visitors or the masters, they punish us.”

“And do they monitor the door?”

Katani started to smile in realization. “No! And do you mean to…”

“Yes. But here’s the thing. They’re going to notice if they check on the room when we’re in the middle of leaving. So, here’s what I am going to do.” Annik started to draw out her plan with her finger on the dust on the ground. The other Puppets inched closer to the plan, curious and excited with the hope of leaving.

“I’m going to go and make some trouble, while you guys sneak out the door. I’ll be as far away as I can from the door, and I’ll keep the people occupied. As soon as you get out, leave. Don’t worry about me.”

“What?! You’re going to stay here while we go free?” asked a fire Puppet.

Annik realized the huge burden she was carrying, but she nodded her head. “I’ll be ok.”

“But Annik, you can’t! We can’t just leave you here…”

“Yes you can,” snapped Annik, now determined to set these miserable Puppets free. “We act. Tomorrow.”

The other Puppets solemnly agreed. Katani just gave her a sorrowful look, but nodded her head as well.

“Now let’s get some sleep,” said Annik. “We have a big day ahead of us.”








Kiki