Untilted Story

Untitled story

Chapter One
A Cold Dark Place

In this world there are few who sacrifice themselves for others. Few who fight for freedom, for the right to live. Few people rarely become heroes. Few people are held up to the light, lifted upon our shoulders, and praised like a God. Ah but I have seen it, I was there.
This story begins when I was a child yet remember very well . This was a time before order, before established law, when it fell to normal men to defend others from evil. This was a godless land, of little hope little faith,of motherless and fatherless children. Our food sources were low to say the least, Some times I thought it would have been better to die at birth than to live through the hunger and cold, or worse the fear of becoming a meal. This is the way it was, it is in the natural order for the weak succumb to the strong, only here the strong subside on the week. Although, not everyone was like this. Some peoples paternal instincts would compel them to protect their children, but starvation brings out more powerful instincts, survival.
I was fortunate enough, if you want to call it that, to be born before the animals died off. It was short lived, now down to eating roots and grass blades when I could find them. The soil was dry and cracked, to say the least plant life was scarce. I had never seen rain that I could remember clearly, maybe once but it could have been a dream.
The air was cold, crisp, clean, it felt like death. I had become accustom to traveling at night. It was horrible but necessary, at night your piss would freeze before it hit the ground. Even after the loss of a toe and a ear It was worth it. But the night can play tricks on your mind. Often I would here screams and cries. It was so hard to tell what was real and what was fake.
I slipped quietly through the darkness, I heard a faint cry. Again and again, as I moved forward the sound became louder. It was not the sound of a man or a woman, but a child. A child, screaming as if they had lost there mother. Normally, in this case I would run the opposite direction. Cowardly you might think, but imagine a man, more beast then human with a hunger driving them to insanity, tearing the flesh off of your lifeless arm blood running down their face getting their fill before some one else comes along to take it away, be it they are they are the stronger challenger! But your not dead! You were subconscious, you regain conciseness but you can’t move, while you slowly bleed to death as they eat you alive. Lucky for that kid I was still a kid, I still had some innocence and good left in me, so I ran towards the cries.
it seemed like and eternity I ran and I ran as fast as I could. As I came to the crest of a hill I could see the faint embers of a dying camp fire. I crept quietly down the hill with ease thanks to the lack of twigs and grass. A make shift tent was flapping in the wind. I could hear the child screaming and the sound of a grunting man accompanied it. I crawled closer and peered through a hole. The child was hitting the man with his skinny arms screaming for his mother, as I look up I shuttered and vomited in my mouth. The woman's gut was split open and the monster was eating her insides, her body still twitching. I slipped in through the crack and grabbed the child, the man was to busy with his meal to worry about the child, or so I thought.
We had no more than cleared the door of the tent when I felt the large hand grab my hair and pull me back into the tent. I flailed my arms wildly, I panicked. Some people say that your life passes before your eyes in your last moments. This is not true, I could see nothing but black as he chocked the life out of me. Suddenly he releases me, as I rolled to the ground I saw the child knife in hand, screaming and stabbing the monster in the neck. The man fell to the ground blood pouring out of his mouth. I grabbed the boy and ran.
“Mum! Mum!” He screamed
“Quiet! Shut up! Others will hear us!” I scowled
I pulled and he fought back. My heart was pounding, my chest burned from the cold air. I could feel my pulse in my head.
“Come on kid, do you want to die? Do you want to be dinner? Come on.” I said.
I could here yelling behind us. A man and a woman.
“Mum! My mum! I have to save my mum!” He yelled.
I stopped grabbed him by the shoulders shaking him. “YOUR MOM IS DEAD! Damit and were next.”
Not a tear fell from his eye. He just nodded and we took off again. I could feel the sweat in my arm pits, then on my face. Death by freezing would be much better than at the hands of a cannibal. We ran until we couldn’t any more. “Okay let’s stop, let’s sleep.” I found a pile of logs in a dry creek bed, so built a shabby shelter. No fire tonight, not while people so close. I pulled him towards me, he fought. “No! No!”
“Im not going to eat you. We need to stay warn or well die.” I whispered. He nodded and drifted off to sleep. No sleep for me. I began to think about the recent events and wondering what the hell I was thinking. I cannot feed myself, how can I take care of a little kid. I thought about leaving him there and slipping away. I could imagine him waking up in the morning and going back to where we left his mother. He would walk in broad daylight, not looking or being at the least bit aware of what is around him. He would be captured by some sick son of bitch and be kept like a pet till they got hungry. Or maybe he would be fine. Maybe a good person would find him and raise him. On the other hand I haven’t met anyone like that for as long as I can remember.
I wondered if I could leave him behind after I had saved him. I suddenly realized we saved each other. He most certainly would have died if I had not interfered. But what would posses a child could stab a full grown, well fed, man to death. I could not leave him behind.” I owe this boy my life. Just stay awake to morning. Just until morning,” I said to myself. My body was shaking, his was not. I placed my hand in front of his mouth to be sure that he was breathing. I could feel the warmth of his breath. I began to nod off, fighting to stay awake.
The sun was high in the sky when I woke up. As i stretched I realized the kid was gone. I panicked again, and yelled, “Kid where are you? Where the hell are you?!”
“Shhhhhh!” A small voice said. He was crouched on the bank, looking over the edge. “Come here. I see someone.” He whlspered. I crawled up the edge beside him. “I don’t see anything.”
“look.” He pointed at a distant hill. “People.” There was a building in the distance with men standing at the gate. “Food.” He said.
I hadn’t eaten in a few days. “Let’s get a closer look.” I said. In my few years I had learned many tricks to stay out of sight. We crept around to the East side of the structure, staying in the sun, hoping that it would cover our approach. As we drew closer we could here children laughing! We ran as fast as we could, we may as well have been flying with the birds. We ran and ran and the building became larger and larger! It wasn’t a single building it was a town. It was like nothing I had seen before I was ecstatic to say the least. As we approached the gate men lined up on the two tall towers beside.
“Halt! What are your intentions” the shortest one said.
“Help us please!” I pleaded. “We are starving. The little ones mother was killed and eaten. We killed the man but there were others behind us. They could be following us. Please let us in!” “Open the gates!” He said. As they swung open men with spears ran out and surrounded us. Their spears were bright as the sun, their clothes were white like the snow. I had never seen anything like it before. Fear and panic overcame me as they backed toward the gate, tightening like a noose around us.

Chapter Two

Sacrifice, Revelation, and beauty.


This place was a different world from all that I knew. There were animals and plants and people everywhere. No one was screaming, or dying at that, children were laughing. And as I watched them I began to remember that I was a kid myself. We ran and played with the others until the short man at the gate called us over. He was strange looking. His face was hairless and his close were clean. Shiny rocks adorned his neck and wrists. He said. ”What is your name boy?” I stood there silent, I had not used it in so long that I did not know for sure. “I said what is your name boy? Don’t you know your name? As he raised his voice.
“Mine is Adden Aram Detoro” The little One said. “Then we shall call you Addy.” He replied. “Mine name is Detenian Reo Safai. You can call me Dete. Now back to you. What is your name. Do you not have a name.”
“I can’t remember. “ I said. “I have been alone since I can remember. Doesn’t make much sense to have a name if no one is there to call it.”
We both were quiet for a bit and i though about my life and how it was. I had always been able to remember little bits of my past. I remember a woman with brown hair, a soft voice. And a man was yelling, holding the door. The yelling stooped and it began to get warm. It was hard to breathe, we were coughing. The man, who I now believe to be my father, picked me up and rushed me out of the door, leaving my mother behind. He ran as fast as he could to some nearby trees and told me to be quiet and to stay there. I saw him run back to the hut fighting through the men outside. He reached the door and it collapsed. He fell to his knees calling out to here crying, and the men stabbed him with spears. I lay there for what could have been days till they were gone and I began to walk. and I have been walking alone since that day.
“Boy.” he said. “Boy! listen to me!” as I faded back to reality. “We shall call you Theo. For you to survive on your own, and take care of this child, yes Theo, you must be god like.”
I did not smile, I knew better than that. I had survived by running and hiding, there was nothing god like about me. I would steal food and do any thing to get what I needed even if it hurt someone else. Although I never would have survived if I had helped others. I tried to help the boy and I was almost killed. I didn’t say any thing to him. Maybe he saw something in me that I did not, but then I thought that he didn’t know anything I had done to survive. It still was nice to have a compliment, I never had a conversation with a adult where I wasn’t worried if they would hold me down and proceed to eat me. He could tell that I was hiding something but who wasn’t in these times. We all had our dark secrets, we all had our demons.
A bell ran and everyone stopped what they were doing and walked toward the center of town. “Let’s go.” he said. We followed them to large building. It was adorned with shinny rocks and flowers and paintings. The bell rang again and two large doors swung open. We entered the palace and everyone gathered around tables that were covered in food. The bell rang again and everyone began to sing. I could not understand the words that they were saying. It was a low chanting and singing mix. Them men were saying something about Uman Aram bring us to something. The women were singing a soft melody. As the song ended they looked up to an altar. Dete walked up onto the altar with a spear end in his hand. Then two men followed him dragging a young woman up the stairs. Fear filled my body and my knees became week. I began to sweat and I tried to move but I could not. Adden could not see and he asked. “ What is wrong, what is happening?”
Dete laid the woman on the table and yelled. “ Uman Aram! For this food we offer this woman. Will you take her? Will you protect us from the outsiders?” He looked to the sky and yelled “Yes!” And the rest repeated “Yes!” I shuttered as he struck the blade into here chest and cut out her heart. I tried to run but I still couldn’t move. “Is this what I traded the cold and the fear of being alone for!” I thought. But that was not the end. Dete walked down the isle right towards me. He was smiling, the friendly face I saw in him before now was filled with evil and darkness. He walked right up to me. “Open your hand! Open your hand!” I complied. He placed it in my hand, It was still beating. “Are you willing to sacrifice yourself to live in safety and peace? Are you willing to sacrifice another to appease Uman Aram!? Eat the heart of this woman, Eat the flesh of Uman Aram! Prove your strength, prove you will protect this community.”
Blackness. I came to in a tent, and a bed. I had never been in a bed. I wondered if the last day was just a dream. Dete came in. “Ah awake at last. We were wondering if you would come through.”
“Where is Adden?” I asked. “He is safe.” Dete replied. “Just get some rest and eat some food. We want you to be healthy by the next moon. “
“What happens then?” I said in a fearful voice.
“The return of Uman Aram.” He said with smile
Have you ever had that feeling when you are suppressed or scared, that a wave of fear comes from your head and radiated through your body. It is like a vibration of fear. You can feel it in your soul. Your body shutters and your ears ring. He walked out the door. I flew out of the bed and ran to the door. I crashed to the ground. My foot was tied to the bed with a chain. I tried to get it off, but I could not remove it. Footsteps approached the door. It was a woman. She walked in with a bucket and some white clothes.
“Let’s get you cleaned up.” She said with smile. She washed my face and hands. As she dried my face I could see a tear running down her cheek. “You should be honored. To give your self to Uman Aram is the greatest honor that can be given. The girl last night was my friend, more like a daughter.
:”Please help me.” I said “I’m not one of you. Just let me go and I won’t come back.! Please I don’t want to die!”
“It’s for the best.” she said as she tried to hold her smile. “By the end of the ceremony you will understand. Now eat your food.”
I ate. I thought that If I could regain my strength I would have a better chance of escaping. I was afraid for Adden and I wondered what he did. Did Dete tell him to eat the heart. Did he refuse and fight back. Or did he eat it and give in to Dete.
“What is your name?” I asked “Raquel Iri Liam” she replied . “I had a boy that would be about your age. He was taken by fire. And my husband wouldn’t submit to the will of Uman Aram, so he was taken. I will take care of your until it is time for you to go to Reanium.
She walked away. I thought. Her hair, her sort voice, her name Raquel Iri Liam. Liam, Liam. Liam. Zoran Dia Liam. “My name is Zoran Dea Liam! Raquel is my mother! She is alive! Kinda.”
I waited anxiously for her to return. One day, two, then three. I wondered if something had happened to her. Four then five, finally early one morning she returned. She came with some fruit, as she nursed may numerous sores and open cuts I probed her for answers hoping she may remember me. I asked “Tell me about your man. What was he like?”
“He was strong. He would never give in to the slightest temptation of evil. He was a good fighter. I was first with him for protection, but I soon fell in love. He was gentle yet stern. His name was Sunam. He loved our boy. He was proud. Our boys name was...”
“Zoran Dea Liam!” I interrupted.
“How could you know that?” she said as her eyes welled up with tears.
I put my hands on her face and said “Mum It’s me Zoran, dad saved me before he died.”
She broke down. “Were have you been. Im sorry i failed you. I failed you.” They made me come. They forced for to eat part of a chills heart. I have nowhere to go and if I tried to leave they would kill me.” I tried to find strength in my self. I said. “It will be okay we will escape. We can run. I've made it this long alone, we can do it together. is there others that want out.”
“If they do they do not say it out loud. They will we skinned as an example for the others. We have ten days to get out.” She said as she dried her tears. Just in time, as Dete walked in. “How are we today he asked.”
“How do you think you bastard!” I screamed as I ran at him swinging till I ran out of rope.
“Whoa that won’t do you any good. Where did that come from. If you had acted like that yesterday I would have finished you quickly. The boy fought back, but he is young he can still be saved. You are to old I am afraid. You need to learn to accept your fate. It is your destiny. Oman Aram commands it.
“Where is this Oman? Who is Oman? Why do you submit to someone you can’t see?
“Quiet child. All in good time.” Raquel replied as she touched my hand. I had not felt a loving touch since that fateful day when we were last together.
“Yes boy all in good time. you will see that is will be okay. You will accept your fate, you will be pleased and happy.” Dete said. “The council will see you tomorrow and decide if you will do.”
“They both walked out , desperation was now replaced with anger. I had never felt rage. i had never felt a burning within my heart and soul. I imagined Dete stabbing my father with a spear. That grin on his face, his eyes dead to the world. My blood boiled i grabbed the chain and pulled. Harder, harder, harder! It did not give. I fell to the ground. “Don’t give in, don’t panic, keep it together!” I said out loud. I pulled my self to the bed, placed my feet against it and pulled as hard as I could. The chain strained and squeaked, snap! the chain broke, my hands hit my face.
I heard voices coming my way. I jumped in the bed and covered the chain with the blanket. I could feel something warm running down my face. I put my hand under my nose and looked, it was bleeding! I franticly tried to wipe it off as two people walked it to the room. I was relieved to see two girls, pretty girls at that.
“What happened to your nose?” one said.
“I tripped over this damn chain and fell on my face.” i replied under my breath.
“What is your name?” she said.
“Zoran.” I said
“My name is Rissani. You can call me Rissa. And this is Chinnon. I shall call you Zo.” She said in a flirtatious voice.
“How can you live here, how can you let them do this to me? Can’t you see that I am a child like you?. Help me and we can leave together!” I pleaded.
“We are Dete’s daughters. We live to praise Oman Aram. We must do his bidding or be sacrificed our selves. The elders overrule our fathers wishes. He must answer to them, if he does not do their bidding he will be punished. No ones is above the law and the will of Oman Aram.” She said.
“Why does he smile when he is cutting out the heart of a living woman? Why does he smile when he leaves me, not one of your own, here to wait for death? I have lived to long alone, in the fear and cold to die like this. I won’t go out that way, I won’t die without a fight.”
“U can’t escape. Our walls are to high and you are chained to the bed. How could you escape?” she asked.
“I will find a way. Where is Adden, the boy that was with me?” I asked. I was getting angry. I felt as if the scared boy that I once was, was gone. He was dead.
“He is safe. He will not be harmed he is young. We can’t teach him. In time he will see it our way.” Rissa replied
“I am taking care of him, so that I can learn to raise a child. I am promised to Vleman Yucana, one of the elders.” Chinnon added.
I asked her to tell me about the elders and Oman Aram. As she was going on and on I was watching Rissa as she was cutting slices of fruit. She was beautiful, or what I knew to be beautiful. I had not seen very many women in my life. She was slender, almost a woman. She must have been at least a few years older than me. She was my way out! I jumped to my feet, pushing Chinnon out of the way. I grabbed RIssa and took the knife from her hand.
“Scream and your dead!” I said. Chinnon and Rissa both began to cry.
“Please don’t hurt me.” she sobbed.
“Be quiet and I won’t have to.” I scowled.
I moved them both to the bed, Tied the chain around Chinnins ankle.
“I’m sorry I have to do this.” as I hit her on the head with the but of the knife. It knocked her out. I covered her with the blanket and I grabbed Rissa and went for the door. It was getting dark. I said. “If you get me out of the walls I will let you live. I don’t know you, I don’t care about you, I will take yours if I am caught.”
“If they find out they will sacrifice me. Either way I will die.” She sobbed.
“Then you have no choice. If we do not get out than we both die.” I said. “Let go.”

Chapter Three

Life, Death, Deceit, and love.

We slipped as quietly and as quickly as we could. “There is a secret door my father had shown me when I was a child. If I get you there will you let me go?” she asked.
“Yes I will.” I said. “It is here.” She said as she pulled on a board and it swung open. “You are coming with me till I am out.” I said.
The walls were thick and the passage was winding. We made our way through till we could not see any more. She grabbed my hand and walked behind me as I felt my way through the darkness. Suddenly the path ended. I felt around frantically.
“Go till the end and look to the stars. That is what my father told me.” She said excitedly. We both looked up. We could see the stars. and just above my head there were two ropes. Rissa says,”Can I go? Please.”
“Come with me. It’s only a matter of time before you or one of your family will be killed. It is not easy to live in the fear and cold, but at least we will be free. I will take care of you. I will protect you.” I grabbed her and wrapped the large rope around my wrist. “Pull the other.” I said. “And we will be free.” I could see her blue eyes looking into mine. The stars may as well have been a part of her. She reached up and pulled the rope. “Hold on! I said with a smile. We began to rise up the shaft faster and faster. The roots were hitting us in the face as we flew through them.
“Close you eyes. And hold on tight.” I yelled. We flew up out of the hole and I let go. We crashed to the ground, Rissa landed on top of me. She was warm and soft, like nothing I had felt before.
“We must go.” She whispers. “We are just outside the wall.”
We moved as quietly and as quickly as we could. We ran till once again I could feel a bead of sweat run down my face. I could imagine poor Rissa freezing wishing she was in the warmth of her bed. “I should have left her there, there was a chance that she would have been fine.” I thought to my self. We began to tire, our foot steps became heavy and staggered. “We have to stop. “ I said. “We can’t stay get wet. Or we will freeze to death.”
We found the river bed that Adden and I slept in. We cuddled together under a wash out. She fell fast asleep. Once again, no sleep for me. My mind was always spinning. I spent the night thinking of the day before and of my mother and Adden. I knew I had to do some thing but I did not know what. What could I do against so many. How could I save them, how could I barely a man myself, stand against many men, let alone one.
My head was bobbing to the rhythm of Rissas breath. I held her tight, telling her it would be okay. Telling her that I would protect her. She awoke with a smile as the first morning sun glinted through the distant hills. “I never thought that there was any thing different from the life that I have known. I have never been outside the walls. My father told me that it was our only choice, that we could not survive outside of the walls. We would be raped and eaten he said. We had no choice. We had no choice.” She cried. Tears were running down her face. “We hurt so many others. I can hear there screams always, but not now, not last night, not since you.”
I had nothing to say. I had never had anyone compliment me, or put so much faith in me. No one had ever said that I was the reason they were happy or the reason they were at peace. I just held her tight.
“Let’s get moving. It won’t be long before they find we are gone. They will come for you.” I said. “My father wont give up.” She said. “I pray that he will realize that the council will have my heart if they even believe to the least that I helped you escape. Let’s go down river i has to lead to a lake or a sea. There may be water and food at the end.”
“No.” I said. “If we find a ocean we will be trapped.” I've heard of floating islands, but I cannot make one my self. We will head up towards the mountains. Where we can hide. Some white waters still falls from the sky at the top. There is wood for fire and where their is water there must be food. We can hide there till we figure out what to do.”
“What to do? What do you mean what to do? We can’t go back.” She said.
“I have to. The woman that was charged to take care of me is my mother. I thought she was dead. And Adden, he saved me, I must do the same.” I said. I could tell that she could see the fear in my face and hear it in my voice. But she said nothing. She only took my hand and we walked towards the mountains. I felt as if I were starting a new life. That a new dawn was coming, a different world, a better place. It was short lived though, for the hunger began to set in. I had gone days without food, she had not. I could last, she would drag on, most likely on my back when she passed out from exhaustion. I though to myself that we must make it at least a day before we could stop.