The Cage, The Vine And The Tiger
A Short Story By Olivia Morffew
The cage was small, cold and smelt like death. Roland and his brother Simon were trapped little animals, held captive by the Masters. A feminine scream sliced the silence.
“Mother,” Roland whispered under his breath. He felt Simon tense beside him. The Master dragged her out on the chain, she should be dead by now but with the gloves the Masters were wearing, they couldn’t possibly kill her, only torture her. The Master dragged the chain and all the other prisoners in the holding room held their breaths and watched as the scene unfolded before them. Her fear rolled off in waves, as they dragged her onto the black marble table and strapped her down with metal chains and no mercy to give.
Her emerald eyes, the same ones both her sons have, scanned the crowd, looking for her boys. Finally her eyes landed onto the two frightened children in the holding cell and she smiled sadly at them.
This was it.
This was her final breath.
“I love you,” she whispered to the air as the Master’s non-gloved hand touched her heart. The smell of burning flesh began to linger in the air as the Masters commenced to burn their mother with a single touch. Her cries of agony made both her sons flinch and whimper out of the torment of seeing their mother burn before their innocent eyes.
The fire that burned from the Master’s hand began at her heart. A soft hum of pain trickled into her main organ, which then spread throughout her entire body. The pain intensified as a crescendo of suffering and agony filled her body and in the air around her. The finale of it all eventually came and her cries finally died down and both boys knew that she was dead.
Roland’s ten-year-old hands clenched into fists and the vines that forever lingered in the room sprung to life and darted towards the cage. The vines evermore whipped the cage, creating metal clangs that sounded like a sword on sword battle for freedom. Then the bars of the cage trapping Roland and Simon finally broke, losing the battle that went on between metal and nature. Although their moment of triumph was abrupt as Simon held back a cry when the Masters began to walk forward, their robes following silently behind them. Roland unclenched his fist and held a hand out, palm facing up. He yearned to not lose this battle, but desired to not lose his brother. Within seconds the vines from before sprang back to life and slowly encircled the Masters, suffocating them.
“Let’s go Simon,” Roland declared once the Masters weren’t breathing and were lying on the ground dead and motionless.
Simon nodded and they walked out of the cage and into the middle of the room where the table was and also where their mother was lying perished and inanimate. Roland, now knowing the extent of his power, held his hands out, palms up facing the decaying ceiling, and raised them into the air. In less than a second two large vines emerged out of the ground, sending debris, dirt and detritus into the space around them. Roland held his hand out for his brother to take, but he wasn’t there. He started to panic and his palms began to sweat with worry and fret. He killed them all. All of the Masters, he was sure of it. He rushed to the table and circled it with wide and frightful eyes. As he looked under the table a snarl rippled through the air making Roland freeze in his stance and his eyes widen in shock and trepidation. He stood and turned around slowly from the table and his eyes contorted into confusion at what he saw. He saw his brother riding a gleaming white tiger that had a chain around its neck.
“He won’t hurt you Roland. He seems to understand me and I can understand him,” the young boy explained with a triumphant grin.
The tiger growled lowly and Simon gave a curt nod to the tiger as he accepted what the tiger was saying with great depth.
“He says that the Masters are coming and that the exit is this way,” he pointed behind him with his thumb.
Roland, still in shock of what his brother can do from what he has seen, didn’t realise that his feet were carrying him towards his brother and the graceful beast that Simon was seated on.
Once Roland was at the tiger, it lowered itself and Roland reluctantly got on. He held his brothers back as the tiger spun around and took them to freedom, with the cries of the other prisoners following the duo and beast behind them.
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Howdy!! So if some of you remember reading "The Puppeteers" this was Roland and Simon's prologue. If you didn't well, it was a bad story line anyway hahaha. But I entered this in a short story contest today and I thought I might post it and I would like to see what you guys think : )
Also if you want to know what "The Puppeteers" was just comment/post on my message board and I'll try and give you a quick summary of it all : )
