I woke up feeling rested. I remembered dreaming that I heard Kiya's voice asking me something, but I wasn't able to answer her. But when I tried to stretch and yawn, I discovered that I couldn't move. My arms were stuck and my legs seemed stiff. When my eyes were finally able to focus, I saw that I was tied with sturdy hemp ropes that strapped me to a tree, standing up, facing more trees with other "people" similarly tied up.
I have always carried several knives. Not because I am a violent person, but because I like tools and a knife is the universal tool. As luck would have it, one of my knives was near enough to my hand that I could reach it and begin sawing at my ropes. It took several minutes, and created two nasty blisters on my fingers, but I was able to free myself from the ropes. That's when I realized that the knife wasn't one of mine. It looked older somehow, a strange dagger-shaped thing.
That's when I heard Kiya's voice again. But this time I wasn't dreaming. She was tied to the nearest tree, but I think she may have been talking in her sleep. For some reason she thought she was tied to a chair and needed a book.
"Or maybe", I reflected, "I am still asleep and I'm dreaming all of this. After all, I should still be in the conference room listening to Lar telling us about the 'change in plans.'"
Kiya started to wake up as I began cutting her ropes.
