Twisted Deceit ON HOLD

Escape

Kate's point of view

As I fled from our home, I glanced at the dead forest surrounding me. Death Valley had acquired its name as no crops could possibly grow here. President Davidson had ensured that the weather here would not enable us to grow crops as he feared that we would have another source of income. Of course, he denied that he did this on purpose but everybody knew of his evident hatred towards the Death Valley.

My grandfather had told me that the lower district  was where the rebels were sent as President Logan (President Davidson's great grandfather) wanted to execute the rebels who had opposed his rule. But instead, he had built a forcefeild surrounding the lower district to ensure that we could not escape and behind the forcefield stood towering grey walls so that we could never know about the world outside Pangenda.

The only way of escaping from the lower district was by taking the train but he knew that we could never work outside of the lower district as the middle and upper districts would never let us work there.

Sara's great maternal grandparents had been citizens of the upper district but her grandparents had defied the laws ofthe upper district by allowing people from the lower district to work at their hotel. Thus, they had been banished to the lower district.

 This was where Jeremy and Tanya had met and wed. Three years after their marraige, they had a daughter whom they named Sara. Sara used to be my neighbour thus she used to come over often. This was the start of our supposedly unbreakable friendship.

When she was ten years old, however, her father had found a loophole in the upper districts' laws. Her great grandparents were never citizens of the lower district although they were banished here. Since they were officially citizens of the upper district, their offsprings were citizens of the upper district as well. 

Since Tanya was officially a citizen of the upper district, she decided to move her family back there. I still remember the day Sara told me that she was leaving.

We were both watching the sunset in the meadow-the only patch of land which was not effected by climate control-,when she suddenely turned to face me, with tears in her eyes.

"Kate...I'm going...back to the upper district."

It had taken awhile for her words to register in my head.

"What about our friendship?"

"We'll have to...end it."

"You've got to be kidding me." I said, after awhile.

"Goodbye Katherine," she said, her voice devoid of any emotion as she walked away.

The dry leaves crunched under my feet as I approached the train station, an old building that had been here since the War of Rights. President Davidson and the presients before him did not bother to refurbish the train station as buildings in the lower district were often left in their dilpilated state.

Walking into the scorching train station, I spotted an overworked, exhausted ticket assistant.

“One ticket to the upper district please."

“Alright ma’am, that would be a hundred dollars,” she replied, slightly fazed by what I had asked her. People from the lower districts generally do not travel to the upper districts.

Pushing the hundred dollar note into her awaiting palm, I hopped onto the train, ignoring the whispers and the glances stolen at me.

Unlike the station, the train was a beauty; it had everything that I could imagine. The cabin I was let into had chairs upholstered in plush, velvet fabrics, the bed had a canopy of sheer silk hanging above it, the intricately carved mahogany table stood somewhere near the front of the cabin.

I wandered into the apparently "small" toilet. The shower panel had so many buttons, to arrange the jet speed, to choose the soaps, to chose the shampoo... If this was budget class, I couldn't imagine what first class looked like.

“Madam, how may I help you?” someone asked. Spinning around, I noticed a male in a black suit, a butler, opening the polished door behind me.

I had my own butler?

“I’m fine, thank you,” I replied, smiling sweetly, being the polite girl that I am. He just nodded and walked out of the room with a scowl on his face, slamming the door.

Well, someone has had a bad day, I thought to myself. But honestly, who wouldn't when ninety percent of the people on this train were stuck-up snobs?

I let out a stiff yawn and glanced at the antique grandfather clock. It was only three p.m but I felt my eyes droop. Maybe I’ll sleep for a little while then I can experiment with all the gadgets on the train and not break anything. Everything here seemed to cost a bomb.

As soon as I flopped down on the heavenly bed, I was awoken by an announcement stating that we were in upper district.

Glancing at the clock, I realized that only ten minutes had passed.

Oh, right, the trains manufactured in the upper district were fast, uber fast. I just paid ten dollars for a minute in luxury, what a rip off.

I walked out of the train with the others and the sight that met me took my breath away. A place full off mansions, skyscrapers and neon lights, yes, that "utopia" was the upper district.

I immediately spotted a towering shopping mall in the midst of the hustle and bustle. I decided to go in there and just see what was inside, knowing that I couldn't possibly afford anything but it would be nice to mock the magnificent prices that the stores here held.

The minute I stepped inside the mall, a cool rush of air hit me. I panicked, I had never experienced this before, other than Winter, it was Winter in the outer cities but the inner city had climate control, they experienced Summer all year round.

What could this be?

Suddenly, a stampede of people with bulky cameras and microphones charged my way. Jumping aside, I thanked my quick reflexes.

Curiosity got the better of me and I shoved my way to the front of the crowd, the girl clutching a woman’s hand tightly was none other than Sara Parker.

“Go away before I call for security!” the woman yelled, holding a cell phone in her hand. The paparazzi slowly dispersed, muttering to themselves about what a spoil sport Sara was. Not all of them went away, but most of them did.

Wow, that woman had a great effect on people.

“Kate? Is that you?” Sara asked, squinting in my direction. Well, at least she remembered me.

“You two know each other?” the woman asked, pursing her lips.

“What's wrong with that ?” Sara asked while enveloping me in a hug. 

“Sara…Kate, you are...um...just sit down,” she replied wearily.

Author's note: Hi! Pease don't forget to click on that vote button if you liked my story, it would mean alot to me :) Oh yeah, can anyone guess what Jally stands for, I'll give you a hint, it has to do with alpacas and something BIG :D. If you can guess what it means, I'll give you a dedication in the next chapter!

This chapter doesn't have much action but some chapters have to be like this to lead up to the big climax. The next chapter will be written in Sara's point of view.

Cheers, Jally :D