Kalin followed Danta down the mountain. She wasn't quite sure where he had gone, but she was determined to find him. Since she was raised on the mountain, she was sure footed as a goat.

Kalin had studied all that The People knew about the people down the mountain. She was sure that she could blend in with them.

The clouds were high up covering the peaks as she was traveling down the slopes. She moved slowly and the city showed itself as in a dream, hazy and rippling, gradually becoming real to Kalin.

It was morning as she entered into the city. Even though she had been prepared, she wasn't fully ready for the crowds, the smells, the filth. The people of the city didn't even notice her. Where would Danta go? He would be conspicuous in the city. Unlike The People of the mountain, the people of the city had many who were crippled and sick. These sick people did not own anything, especially an animal. Kalin was afraid for Danta.

Kalin was aware of someone following her. It seemed that two men were behind her wherever she went. She tried to walk fast to evade them, but she couldn't seem to shake them.

She saw a busy marketplace, so she went into it. She couldn't see the men, so she stopped at a bread booth, and pretended to be shopping for bread. The men did not appear, so she slipped around to the back of the booth. She felt a dull pain in the back of her head, and everything went dark.

Danta felt a coldness, and a dark fear. "Kalin. Why did you follow me?"

Kalin awoke in dark damp room. The smell was worse than the city. She was pressed against many bodies. As she looked around she noticed that the room was filled with many people. She also realized that she was in a building. Kalin had never been in a building before.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Kalin saw that there was a wooden door to the room. She wondered why the people in the room didn't try to leave the room. The sudden realization came over her that the door was locked and that these people couldn't leave.

"How can that be," she thought "that someone would cage another person like this." This was something she had never imagined. Then to her horror she knew something else. There were both men and women in this room. These people were both half naked and fully naked. Many of them were involved in lovemaking. Kalin was amazed that they had so little love for themselves.

Kalin woke up. The day was dark. She could smell an awful odor. Kalin was pressed between many warm bodies.

"Decided to wake up?" A voice said.

Kalin kept silent.

You'll never get used to it"

"Used to what?"

"The smell, the filth, the shame. Anything."

"When do I get out?"

"When you die."

Kalin looked out. "There has to be a way."

"You're dead now. You might as well kill yourself."

"I can't give up."

"There is no other way. You're dead now."

Kalin lay down and stared out to the crowd of people. "Is there anything to eat? I haven't eaten for days."

"You have to be awake to eat. You have to be strong to eat. Only the strongest will survive. If you don't have enough strength you will die."

Kalin sat back and waited for the food to come."

Kalin felt so pressed in. How could these people live this way? She had always lived in the outdoors, in a tent. The closest neighbor was miles away from her family. These people were cramped body to body, and had no apparent problem with being so intimate.

"Are you ready to eat dear?" Her new found friend asked? "You had better be ready. When they feed us it is everyone for themselves. You'll have nothing if you don't fight for it."

"What do you mean?"

"Just you follow my example. If you don't, you won't eat. And believe me dear, I won't save any for you."

Just then the door opened. Standing outside were three guards. One of them held a large basket. He started flinging bread in different directions into the room. There was a frenzy of people madly climbing on top of each other fighting for the food. Kalin wouldn't have joined in, but she was starving. She finally grabbed a chunk of bread about half the size of her hand. That was all she could get.

After the fury died down she settled back on the floor. She started greedily eating her precious catch. Immediately she spat the bite out, and flung the bread down. The bread disappeared as soon as it hit the floor.

"You shouldn't have done that dear. You'll not get a chance to eat for a whole day."

"How could you eat that? It's full of bugs and almost all mold?" she screamed.

"Well sweetheart, if you don't you'll die sooner. I guess it's not a bad choice though. You're going to die here anyway, you might as well die as soon as you can."

Kalin curled up in a ball. She did wish she was dead. How could she live this way? How could these people live this way?

Her companion stared at Kalin. Kalin looked back at her.

"You have to eat some time. You'll think the food is bread from heaven" Her old companion said.

"Maybe so. How can you live this way? How can you be so confined?"

"We live in a prison all of our lives. This is no different. I can tell you are not from here. You might as well accept that you are dead. You will not get out of here."

"I will, someday I will get out of here. I will go home." Kalin said, almost to herself.

"You will learn - dear. Some day you will learn"

Kalin sat in her little space in the middle of the floor. She looked at her friend. She decided that she had better make friends. "And what is your name?"

"I am Marta." she replied.

"And how did you come to this place?"

" I am a victim of the times."

"How so?"

"The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer." Marta paused.

Kalin prompted. "Go on."

"People always want enough." Marta began, "As they get enough they seem to think they need more. As they get more they forget that they are taking away from others. As they possess they imagine that what they got was their right. If someone protests the rich put them away to shut up their own consciences."

Kalin was confused. "I don't understand. Did someone steal your property?"

"I was a woman of some station. My husband was a rich merchant. We had slaves, and much property." Marta began.

"You had slaves? What are those?"

"Slaves? You don't know what slaves are?" Marta was aghast.

"No, what are slaves?"

"What! Did you just come down off of the mountain?"

"Why, yes." Kalin said.

"What? O well never mind. Slaves are people who work for you. People of lower class. They do all of your work, while you do more important work."

"You make people do your work for you?"

"Why of course, as I said I was a woman of some station. My husband has money, and of course we had slaves. We owned these people and they did whatever we asked them to do."

"Even what is against their conscience?"

"They have no conscience. They only have their own conscience."

"That is not right. The only way to keep a society right is for each to keep their own conscience."

"You are a strange woman. No wonder you are in here."

"I am in here because someone clubbed me over the head and put me in here."

"Someone probably could not find who they were supposed to bring to prison, so you were convenient."

"Well, to go on with my story." Marta continued. "My husband was a merchant, working with another man. This man was much more powerful than my husband. It turns out that a wagon load of supplies was missing. This other man decided to blame my husband, and put him in prison."

"Is that how you came to be here?"

"No, I was put in here because I could not keep up with the expenses of living when my husband was put in prison."

"What are expenses?"

"What? Oh well, expenses are um well. I've never had to explain this. Expenses are what you need to live. Expenses are money to take care of your needs."

"What is money? What are needs? I don't understand what you are saying?"

"You are really primitive. Where are you from?"

"Far away - in more ways than one."