M.R 7
Time passes by so slowly when your locked in a tiny cell with nothing to do. But I don’t have nothing to do. I have plans to make and plotting to do.
Having guards on a regular routine help. They don’t always get the guards attention but it was possible. One of the guards seemed a little different from the others. He or she would call us by name and not just bark orders at us. I don’t know if it is a man or woman because of the robotic voice. The figure again was indecipherable thanks to the uniforms. All the padding and array of weapons that I didn’t know the capability of.
I was fe”eling like I was missing something. Something important. Then it hit me. My health was suffering. I could feel myself getting out of breath easier and I was just wanting to sleep all the time.
This place was starting to get to me. It will not break me. I will not let my body become weak. Did the others in here feel the same and do the same things. Was Susan a fraction of her original self? If we have half a chance of escape we all need to be as fit as possible. I decided to call out to Susan.
“Hay Sue. You awake?”
“Yeah, I’m awake. What’s up?”
“Since you have been here how much have you changed fiscally?”
Susan let out a deep cackle. It rolled on into a thundering laugh. I waited silently embarrassed. Across from me I saw the gnome come to his bars. I waved a hand at me.
“She doesn’t know why not ask someone who does?”
“I know I have lost a bit of weight. Nothing to bad and I sleep a bit more than I used to.”
The gnome let out a loud HA sound before speaking.
“Ha see what I mean she has no idea. When she first came here she was nearly double the size she is now. It’s the slop we get to eat. There is like they say just enough vitamins and minerals in it to keep us alive and some sustenance. Just a little more than we need. You didn’t have a lot to lose when you came so your not going to be as drastic.”
“Ok thanks. What is you name?”
“Nigel.”
That was it Susan was off again. Scream laughing. I could hear her slapping her hand on the floor like she was bent double and on her knees.
“Nigel the gnome. I know they don’t start the same way but it sounds like your parents were taking the piss.”
“I come from a long line of Nigel's. My father my fathers father and so on back as far as our family goes. If I ever have a son he will be a Nigel.”
The gnome was obviously outraged by Susan's reaction. She calmed down almost instantly. It was really hard to have a conversation with someone when you can’t see them. It is now that I see how important body language is. Susan let out a soft sigh and started with her apology.
“I'm sorry Nigel. You saw how I got with Eddie the elf here. Don’t ever try and tell me a Limerick. I can’t handle it.”
Nigel decided to test Susan out.
“There was a boy from Dubai.”
“Oh God stop.”
Susan squealed. But Nigel continued.
“Who was accidentally baked in a pie.”
“Eddie make him stop. I can’t breathe.”
It sounded like Susan was slapping her hands on the ground. Now starting to choke on her laugh. She night die laughing if I don’t step in.
“Nigel. Enough ok I think you might kill her if you don’t stop.”
The little fella held up one hand in a way that said he was done. While I had both if there attention I saw this as a good time to ask about the man at the end.
“Do either if you too know who the loud fella is at the end of the hall? You know the one who lets us know that the coast is clear.”
Nigel was the first to speak.
“That’s Bob. He’s a dwarf.”
I couldn’t help myself with my comment.
“What no alliteration this time?”
“Do you think Susan could handle it if we all were like that?”
“Hay I’m not that bad.”
“Fair enough. What do you know about him? Was he some kind of leader? With him being so loud.”
“Bob? A leader. Haha fuck no he's a bit deaf. Because he is closest to the exit he shouts loud to let us know they have gone.”
Just my luck not a commander of some ancient army. Just a deaf dwarf. I hope to God that I don’t start finding everything as funny as everyone else around here seems to. Maybe they have been here too long and their minds are now much. If that’s the case then I don’t stand a chance of escape.
After getting a slight glimpse into my future I set my mind to escape. I will not be a giggling buffoon. I needed a friend in a better position than in a cell.
Mealtime came. The bland tasteless slop three times a day. This didn’t help with knowing ilife-changing noon or night. It looked like today was my lucky day. Mr slash Mrs nice.
“Edward. Step to the back and face the wall with your hands behind your back please.”
This is one of those golden life-changing opportunities that you hear about. If I don’t take it now then I might never get the chance again.
“Thank you for showing me some humanity.”
If I can get her to feel sympathy then she slash he might be coursed into helping us break out.
“Shut up Edward.”
The guard gave me a forceful shove in the back. With my hands tied, I fell face-first into the wall. The guard leaned in and whispered in my ear.
“Don't mistake manners for kindness. I will still kill you if you step out of line.”
I wanted to reply with something witty. Well, it didn’t even have to be witty. The wind was knocked out of my sales and I had nothing to say. It looked like escape just got harder than I wanted it to
The guard took my head in one hand and cracked my skull on the wall. I didn’t pass out but the room was spinning. By the time I was on my knees my cell had been vacated and my meal left on the floor. I just kneeled on the floor for a moment waiting for the ringing in my ears to stop and the world to still.
Slowly everything returned to normal. Picking up my slop I noticed it looked a bit off. There was something poking up slightly. It looked to be plastic of some sort.
With my spoon I investigated more closely. Pushing it around and then lifting it a little. It was a small clear plastic bag with a piece of paper inside.
Eagerly I plucked the bag out of the slop. Opening it trying to keep my fingers as clean as possible I pulled out a small note folded twice.
“Sorry about your head. Need to make this look good. Wait to for your next message. Don’t speak to me. Eat the note.”
My heart missed a beat and I don’t think I breathed in for a minute. We now had an insider. Escape is not as much of a pipe dream as it was ten minutes ago. I won’t tell the others yet. I can’t be sure yet that this is all above board. Patients is a virtue.
M.R8My exercise routine was rigorous and relentless. With no distractions and nothing better to do I worked out. I ran on the spot. Crunches touching knees with my elbows. Holding plank position. Press ups. Squats. Its amazing the amount of exercise you can do with no equipment when you out your mind to it.I will not let myself get out of shape. No one has ever escaped here until me. My determination was doubled. Now I had to figure out how to convince the others to work out.Nigel was watching me intently through the bars. I pushed my self harder. Watching him slowly creep closer. Inch by inch he got. It was like trying to catch a wild animal. Ignore it let it think you haven’t seen it wait until it is close enough to catch. Then pounce. That’s what I was doing now waiting to get Nigel in a position that he can’t get away from without losing face to the others.If I judge this right he will have no choice but to start working out. He
M.R9There was an atmosphere since our last outside exercise period. The guards were rougher and shouted more. You know like someone higher up has come down on the underlings. Now they were coming down on us. It’s true what they say shit rolls down hill.The guards were making more patrols than the days or weeks before. They seemed to be walking up and down the hall constantly. There was no distinction between them. So I had no idea if the softer one was ever near.On one of the guards passes a note was tossed into my cell. I was up off my bed in a flash and palmed it. When I was a sure as I could be that there was no guard near I read the note.“The boss is suspicious of you. We have been punished for not paying attention. She thinks your trouble. We have been ordered to keep a close eye on you. Keep a low profile. You are one step away from death. Don’t make any more moves until things calm down.”For some reason, I could
Mythical Rising 1The air was still but cold as I sat in my little rowing boat. Rod propped on the side. A light mist over the lake in the early morning light. Nothing ever bites at this time of day, not even the insects. It’s not the fishing that brings me out but nature. It’s like it talks to me.On days like this, I know that the trees are happy. Flowers will bloom. Bees will collect the nectar and plants will get pollinated. No matter what people do to the world life will go on.Nature has always been a huge part of my sixty-five years of life. My dad used to bring me into forests and leave me. From the age of eight, I was able to hunt kill gut and cook a squirrel. I could tell you what animal made what tracks and how long ago with a glance by the time I was ten. At eleven I was making weapons and shelters. By the time I was fifteen I was able to live for days in the wild with nothing but the clothes on my back to start. Schoo
Humanities crime 2I was tired up and gaged with some kind of strange rope and thrown into the back of a van. It was strange in that every time I moved it tightened up. I couldn’t see my bindings. My arms were behind my back. But every move made them get tighter.The van drove sensibly. No excessive revving of the engine. Smooth left and right turn. Easy breaking no sudden stops. After being in the back of the van for so long I started to get drowsy. It was an effort to stay awake. My mind worked overtime though. Fear and confusion making sleep impossible. It felt like we had been driving for at least six hours but not having a watch or the sun to look at I had no idea. Eventually the va stopped and the driver’s door opened and closed.The back doors didn’t open for minutes. I got to my feet and thought about making my escape. When the doors opened I was going to run at the man hopefully knocking him down. Then run. Run as fast as I could for a
When I opened my eyes there was no change in the light it was still dull. Not having a window or anything was giving me no idea of time. Nothing looked any different and to my disappointment, I was still in this cell.Voices we’re still chattering on around me but at least the one in my head was quiet. When I heard one of them shout.“The new guys awake.”How the fuck do they know that there is no way they can see me. I’m going to ask they don’t seem to care about asking questions.“How did you guys know I was awake?”It seemed like everyone had something to say all at the same time. Every voice at the same time shouted something. None of them made it to my ears it was too loud like trying to listen to every conversation in a bar at the same time. I never liked being in loud places my ears couldn’t cope with it. Someone shouted for them to be quiet.Then one voice came to me
Opening my eyes I found I was back in my cell. I didn’t want to call it my cell but it was looking more and more like it was going to be. Tossed on the floor was a small manual. On the front it simply said rules.“Hey you up?”The girl in the next cell called to me. I’ve just opened my eyes and they are talking to me already. How did she know I was awake.“Yeah. How did you know?”“ There is a telepathic unicorn here he knows when your awake if he wants.”“Oh ok. I forgot about him. What’s your name anyway?”“Susan.”“Susan?”Who the fuck has ever heard of an Orc called Susan. Don’t they normally have names like Mursha or zoguz? Weird things like that.“Yes, Susan. My parents thought it might help hide us if we took human names. Most of us have them now. To be honest it is easier to have a human name than a
M.R 5Time passed by. How much I don’t know and it was playing havoc with my mind. I wanted out of this place. I needed to get the Gnome to speak. He was always in the back of his cell in the darkest part. I had been trying to get him to talk for what felt like hours. Over and over I called to him always being polite. No matter how frustrated I got I refused to use bad language or raise my voice in anger. The others were getting mad at me but I would not stop. Susan even told me to stop.“Hey Eddie.”“Yeah.”“Shut up.”I have never known anyone who will never answer you if you don’t stop poking at them. Eventually they will give in. They might not give you the response you want but you will get one. At least there were two sets of bars and a hall way between us. So he wouldn’t be able to get to me. If it went the wrong way. Not that he would be able to punch me above my thigh. Gnome was th
M.R6The Elf started to walk with me. I had never listened so intently to anyone in my life. His voice was rough and raspy like he smoked heavily and had for many years.“Many years ago. Roughly three thousand to be closer to the point. That is what I should say. Humans and all other beings lived alongside one another. For a long time, we managed to keep peace. That is until a king took over the Humans. He preached that humans were the master race. That they had great numbers and better weapons. That they should not have to breathe the same air as none humans. That we were nothing more than animals that should be used in such a way. Slowly other humans began to start thinking like him. The way he did it was incredible. The way the story goes he rallied an army. An army so big no race could defeat them. They marched and rode across the country attacking any village they came to. No mercy was given. They gave no warning of their attacks. Before any of us knew what