The Escape

The Escape
My senses had long become dull to the smell of rank animal skins covering the cot I laid on, the place where I was currently contemplating death. Death would be merciful; it could end this psychological and physical torture I had experienced for three months. The night sky suffocated me with dread and the reason why I hated the night, a man, entered the shelter.
The small of harsh alcohol hit my senses as the figure loomed in the doorway. He wavered with indecision as I lay still on the cot, taking slow, calculating breathes to appear to be asleep. The man moved closer and stood above me, taking deep, shaking breaths. I opened my eyes enough to see through my heavy eyelashes. Iceberg water hit my body and I sat up with a sharp gasp, the chain around my ankle rattled. I reached up and struck my fist into his stomach.
“Oompf!” the man fell back slightly. “Kirra, its Nikaii.”
I wiped the cold water from my face as goose bumps erupted over my mostly bare skin. “What?”
“Don’t ask questions, Kirra, just get up,” he whispered harshly as he dropped the wood bucket on the ground. I blinked in the darkness with confusion. “Get up,” Nikaii’s voice pleaded desperately as his hand found my arm and yanked.
I fell off the makeshift cot and onto the dirt floor. Immediately he jerked me up again like a rag doll until I stood on shaking legs. A knife was thrust into my hand before Nikaii bent to unshackle my ankle. I stood frozen like a deer looking at the end of a strung arrow. “What are you doing?” I asked, whispering harshly. Yurik was furious to find any of the other Rogues talking to me; I could only imagine what he would do if one showed up in his shelter.
“Sorry for the water, I thought you were asleep, although I guess the punch makes us even. I’m getting you out of here because I can’t bear to hear your screams anymore,” Nikaii whispered as he rose. His soft brown eyes swam in anguish.
I licked my dry lips as my grip on the knife trembled. The cold weight of it was dead in my fingers. Yurik’s mental cloud that has made a home in my brain slowed my thoughts like a drug. My conscience countered with Nikaii’s proposal. You belong here, you belong to Yurik. The only way to keep the other young girls and myself in the camp was to leave us mentally incapacitated, like lifeless zombies without our own thoughts. Unknown to me at the time, all the other girls had been rendered completely useless, but Yurik didn’t damage me completely. He liked me to put up a fight. That was until I no longer did, knowing it was pointless.
“I have to stay,” I said, my eyes glazed over. I struggled to give him back the knife and pushed him out of the room.
Nikaii restrained me and I felt his fingers on my head. His eyes closed and a gust of wind flew through my mind, pushing out the dense fog. I blinked and stood straighter, feeling a tremendous weight off my shoulders.
“How do you feel?” he asked, studying me.
My only thought, now that I am armed, was revenge. “Where is Yurik?” I demanded. I looked over Nikaii’s shoulder, preparing to slice off something between Yurik’s legs.
“I’ll take that as you’re no longer psyched. You’re mad if you think I’m letting you get near him. You’d die,” he said as he jerked me out of the shelter. He immediately pulled me to the right and I glanced over my shoulder, catching sight of the Rogues passed out by the fire. The strewn bottles glittered in the dimming firelight.
I stumbled but caught myself. I turned around, “I need to help the others-…Fina…” I said as I walked back towards the makeshift camp.
He shook his head and grabbed for my arm, “Damnit, Kirra! You’re the only one who can make it. Go!” he hissed at me, looking over his shoulder as if expecting to see the other Rogues awakening.
A lump formed in my throat as I realized he was right. My heart was stabbed with a pain so profound it brought tears to my eyes. “Thank you,” I croaked out before I turned and walked blindly away from the camp, my feet like cinderblocks. Free was a strange word in my mind that coats my tongue like rancid milk. It did not feel right, like it did not belong to me anymore. I never expected to be free of Yurik. Each night I had prayed for a merciful hand to smother me. Now, a merciful hand has set me free.
“Wait, Kirra.” Nikaii ran to me and reached around my neck. I heard a click and looked down to see a small, silver medallion. “I almost forgot.” He placed the charm in my hand and folded my fingers over it. “Protection,” he said quietly as warmth spreads in my palm like a comforting blanket. Nikaii’s lips brushed my forehead before he pushed me away for the last time.
I stumbled in the uneven grasses as the moon disappeared behind clouds, an ominous forewarning. The pale light that tickled the long grass disappeared, swallowed in the endless midnight bruised-black sky. Streaks of light raced above me, rivers of light that split off into little streams. Thunder cracked like a whip, urging me on. I would come back for the others. I would get help and come back. A drop of water kissed my nose and I lifted my arm to brush away at the tear. Another fell onto my cheek and I lifted my head towards the blanket of black above me. Two more drops landed on my face and more fell to caress my arms and legs as the wind pushed against my back, blowing me towards the woods. Faster, faster, it called to me. Although nothing looked familiar to me, I obeyed its call as a storm started to blossom.
“Kirra!” an angry voice carried on the wind. Yurik. My body ceased to move as my blood turned to ice. The bad weather must have woken them from their drunken slumber. I whimpered in panic as horses cried into the night. They have saddled up to find me, the only captive to ever escape. I turned and ran, fear making me fly.
Pain seared my cheek as I crashed into the forest. My heart continually pumped blood into my weak legs and away from my head, leaving me dizzy as I tried to maneuver over fallen logs and duck under low branches. Behind me, the approaching Rogues closed in. My tattered gown suffocated my legs, slowing me down as it absorbed rain and mud.
The terrain changed beneath my feet as I pressed on, gasping to pull air into my burning lungs. To my right, three Rogues equipped with throwing knives and axes closed in when the pathway opened up. Instinctively, I cut to the left to change direction. They would have difficulty keeping sight of me in the dense forest when forced off the path. The ache and burning in my muscles sent signals to my brain that made me want to scream. But I pushed on, knowing the consequences if I stopped.
I jumped a small boulder and my knees nearly buckled beneath me. As I struggled to my bare, calloused feet, five Rogues appeared behind me. I cursed and pumped my arms and legs, willing myself to go faster. Being on foot and not on an animal, I liked my chances better than theirs, despite my malnourished condition. I was no longer Kirra the Fuegera, for I had not been myself for a long time. They had changed me into a primitive woman and for the first time, I embraced it. I was running for my life, my skin thick with dirt, grime and the will to live. I would act on instinct and harden my resolve to kill if I need to.
My ears picked up a Rogue among the rain and hoof beats, “Over there! To the left!” I flinched as I pressed on, a dagger stuck in a tree trunk I have just passed.
“Come on Kirra, we just want to have some fun! Stop so we can play!” They jeered. The thought of them having “fun” with me made my muscles seize in momentary panic and I stumbled over a tree root. I lay on the damp earth, panting, as the horses were reigned in.
“Woah, woah!” cried out a deep voice. All movements ceased. A horse snuffed out fog as the rain drummed on fallen leaves. I envisioned their eyes searching the dark and pushed the wet hair from my face to see. “If you come voluntarily, Kirra, your punishment will be far less. Yurik might even reward you for being a good girl,” someone proposed. The only answer was the other’s malicious, knowing laughter. My skin was brushed with a slimy feeling but it never takes hold; they were searching for me with the magic of their minds. They could incapacitate me with the blink of an eye, but it never came. Confused, I looked down at my chest and saw the Rogue Amulet. Nikaii had given me his protection. They could try as hard as they wanted, I would not be touched. My eyes stung with tears as I realized the sacrifice Nikaii had made.
I pushed the tears away and refocused on escaping the forest alive. My heart threatened to burst from my chest as I slowly crawled around on the wet leaves, trying to separate myself from them.
A twig snapped under the weight of a soldier to my right. To get some space between us, I decided to create a little distraction. Nikaii had removed the fog that settled in my mind. With a mental clarity, I could finally perform my magic. I was no longer a puppet.
His silhouette was hardly visible among the already black surroundings. I saw him move towards me. I concentrated and puffed once softly, the left arm of his jacket responded to my call and flames erupted.
“Get it off! Get it off!” the man pleaded. He yanked off his leather gloves and used them to bat at the growing flames.
“Damn that Fuegera, bring a canteen!” Someone else called out as two men rushed their friend’s aid. Still affected by the heavy amount of alcohol, they struggled to put the flames out. I watched as the flames spread to the entirety of his jacket. It had been three months coming to use my magic. I silently thanked Nikaii for finally removing the last puzzle to my power.
I turned and began to move, causing birds in tree tops above me to erupt from the branches. “There!” Someone called out and the remaining horses headed to my location. I cursed and burst from the bush. I sprinted again, sliding in a muddy patch beneath a willow tree but I straightened, pumping my arms faster to combat fatigue with adrenaline. It was all I had left in me.
I had no knowledge of the forest’s layout and I could only hope I was heading east to the Redstone Desert. Because I had to maneuver left earlier to escape the Rogues, I had gotten off course and was unaware we were fast approaching a mountain with a ravine. A very deep one. The Rogues knew, however, and a voice shouted, “We’ve got to get her before she jumps!”
Jump? Why would I want to do that? Ending my life after I had escaped captivity was not first on my agenda. I strained my eyes but could see nothing, just more darkness. A horseman appeared at my left and made a swipe for me. I ducked and slid through the leaves and mud. I whipped out Nikaii’s knife and dug it into the horse’s underbelly. Hot blood gushed on my arm as I yanked the dagger out. The beautiful creature’s knees buckled and the Rogue went down hard, he was lost in the darkness of the forest as the remaining Rogues closed in after me. Exhaustion crippled my muscles as horses screamed in protest from stopping abruptly.
The earth disappeared like a rug had been pulled from beneath me. I swung over the edge of the ravine, my legs scrambling against the weak rock face. Frantically, my head turned to see Yurik’s strong grip on my arm. Once again, he held my life in his hands. He started to pull me up the ravine’s edge. I gasped as a rock cut into my side. “Not so fast, Kirra,” he grunted as he almost had me back onto solid ground.
My head jerked back down to the dark, seemingly endless pit beneath me. My free hand still gripped the dagger as I weighed my options. Yurik’s other hand grabbed for my hair and pulled on it. Screaming, I took the dagger and shoved it in his thigh. He growled with fury and released me to remove the knife from his muscle.
My back scraped the rugged earth, tearing and ripping through my skin and my tattered red gown. I winced and scrambled as I started to fall faster, grasping for anything that resembled a vine. My skin ripped with torture. My hands wrapped around something like a rope. I bit my lip as the vine burned through my hands while gravity pulled me to my death. I flipped onto my stomach and brought my feet up towards my chest to use them as a breaking system. I dug my toes into the hard dirt and started to slow down. My teeth ground together as I tried to gain control, exerting the last of my energy of the night.
My backside hit the rocky platform before my feet did, but they soon followed and I landed with a sickening thud onto my back. My body screamed with exhaustion and physical damage from the slide and I had to roll onto my stomach. My breath wheezed as blood trickled down my sides, turning the dirt a crimson red. The rain felt good on my back, lulling me to sleep. I drowned in the darkness and was dragged in its current.