Alt+Control 22

So it’s finally Saturday, after 2 days of anxiously waiting. No one’s at home, so I can leave the house without anyone questioning my outfit.

I’m wearing a knee-length black skirt overtop sheer black stockings with a grey blouse I got from my mom. I stole some of my mom’s makeup and I used some of her darker lipstick, eyeliner and eye shadow to make myself look older than my 14 years. Finally I take out the one pair of high-heels I own and slip them on. I grab my a small purse, my tablet, and my brand new phone and head out the door.

My phone beeps at me, notifying me of a new text. I check it, and see it’s from Marc.

“Meet me at the south end of Queen Station,” it says. If I catch the Skytrain 5 minutes away from here, I’ll be able to get to Queen Station by 15:45, which gives us enough time to get to the building and be prepared.

I speed walk the best to my ability in the heels to the station. I catch the Skytrain just as it was about to leave, but I manage to step in right before the doors shut behind me.

I sit down, relieving my now aching feet. The train is oddly quiet. No one else is in here as far as I can see. No murmuring, children babbling…just silence.

This peculiar hush was even more pronounced by the train silently gliding over the tracks. The magnets that make the train quiet is a blessing when it’s already loud inside of the train, but when there’s nothing creating noise, it’s creepy.

I shift, uncomfortable in my seat. I can feel something watching me, but it might just be the cameras that are used for safety precautions. Nothing’s going to happen right? I’m just being paranoid. I’m nervous about the meeting. Nothing more.

I can’t stop shaking though.

When the doors finally chime and opens to Queen Station, I rush towards the door. Unfortunately, one of my high heels slips off. I turn backwards and grab it off the floor. There’s no time to put it on now.

I awkwardly limp towards the door when I see that it has shut. I look around, panicked. The chime didn’t signal the closing at all. The train isn’t moving either. Is something malfunctioning?

I look up at the screen where all transit notices are posted. What I see is a scrolling script in tiny green print. I put on my other heel and walk towards it. What I see makes my mouth go dry and my hands start to shake again.

It’s a message repeated over and over again. In tiny little script, repeatedly, it says: “We caught you Kaya!”

I frantically look around. The government couldn’t have found me yet, have they? I run down the train, and the message is printed on every notice board. I reach the driver’s cab and knock on the door. I hear a robotic titter from the inside, along with a cheerful, “Come in!”

I back away from the cab door and race to the car I came from. There’s a tiny crack between the doors, but no viable means of escape. The instructions for escaping in an emergency has mysteriously vanished, as it’s usually on the notice boards.

The train intercom beeps, and the tinny voice I heard from the driver’s cab giggles. “You can’t escape, Kaya! No you can’t!” it says in a singsong voice.

“Screw you!” I shout back. It probably can’t hear me, but I might as well release some stress.

“Naughty naughty!” says the voice. Ok, maybe it can hear me. “Little girls like you shouldn’t put up so much of a fight.”

“I’m not a little girl! Shut the hell up!” I shout back.

“Don’t make me come over there to punish you, Kaya. You know I will.” The voice clicks and giggles. That shuts me up a bit. I don’t want to deal with a robot when I’m unprepared and let alone in a movement restricting skirt.

I check my phone so I can tell Marc where I am. Perhaps he can help me! But those hopes are crushed when I realize that my phone has inexplicably died. It was fully charged when I left this morning! So now all my lifelines are cut.

I kick the door, hoping that I will at least weaken it. Instead, I find my foot stuck to the door, thanks to my heels. I swear under my breath and try to yank my foot out. My foot comes out of the shoe, but the shoe itself is still stuck in the crack.

I yank hard, but it won’t budge. I try again and again, but it seems like the shoe isn’t moving anywhere. Hmm… I guess brute force won’t help. Maybe if I wiggle it…

Bingo. The shoe pops out. I look at where the shoe was stuck, and see the gap has widened a tiny bit. That gives me an idea.

I take my shoe and insert it back into the hole. I yank on it to the side, forcing the door to open. I stand there, pulling with all my might. The door groans and creaks in protest, but I don’t give up.

The door gives a sudden jolt, and I fall backwards. I check on the door. The gap is now big enough for me to fit my hand and I bit of my forearm. A bit of progress I suppose.

“Kaya, you silly, silly girl. You shouldn’t have done that,” says the robotic voice. “Now I’ll have to come and punish you!” The intercom falls silent, and I hear something coming towards me from the driver’s cab. 

Since it's March Break, I'm writing more! Enjoy this chapter, and I'll get the next one up ASAP