The Urbem (Completed)

Chapter Nine: Home Sweet Home

(Nephele)

No one came up to me for the rest of that day and it irritated me that I had not seen Twelve; he should never have left my side... I pushed that thought aside, and, instead, as the day  progressed, I formed a plan. It wasn't complex or ingenious; in fact it could be argued that it was based more on luck than actual intelligence, but as long as it got me out of this hell, it did not matter.

Everyone who walked past my prison today had either stared, snickered or shied away from me like I was an infested rodent such as themselves. Lyra stayed far away from me for the entire day, although the man she claimed to be related to did not follow suit; instead he plagued me with meaningless conversation and uncomfortable questions. I tried really hard to look uninterested and brave... But inside all I wanted to do was cry. 

This fear I felt from being totally at the men's mercy was awful. Every time I heard a shuffle of feet or a low unfeminine voice, all the hairs on the back of my neck would stand up and I'd start to panic. This is not to mention the increased fear I got every time one of their animals would look over here as well; it felt like they were analysing me. 

As the sun set, Lexio was the last person to come to me. He didn't speak, but I felt his eyes on mine as he threw me an apple through the bars and then left me to my own devices. I let the camp fall into silence before making my move to freedom. I shuffled over to the metal gate and nudged the rusty lock with my arm, feeling for give. I can't tell you the relief I felt when it crumbled slightly under that light touch. Granted, it didn't fall apart on the first try, but I knew that for once my heavy approach may come in handy.

Luckily for me, the gate was badly pushed into the soft ground and not nailed into the stone floor of my cell. Working quickly, I clawed away at the soft mud, slowly managing to create a hole at the base of each one of the bars. When that was done, I again checked how loose the lock was and I was not disappointed to find it rattle easily. I backed up and took a deep breath; I had to hope I had dug the base out enough so that, when combined with my force and the weakness on the lock, it would swing open. 

I couldn't dwell anymore, so, ignoring my nerves, I ran. My right shoulder collided with the metal gate, the lock broke and crashed to the stone floor with a clang. The next thing I knew, I was outside sprawled out on the wet grass. My first thought was that someone must have heard that, and so I had to move. 

The handcuffs made everything difficult, so even getting to my feet was a task, but once I was up and moving, the adrenaline and fear of being caught again was enough to keep me going. The forest was pitch black and horribly silent; as I ran I must have tripped over thirty times, but everytime I thought about slowing, I could swear I heard footsteps behind me and so I forced myself to keep going. 

I must have ran for well over an hour before my legs finally stopped working and gave up from underneath me. By this point I was so lost and confused as to wear I was... I was sure I was going to die. I crawled to the base of a large tree and huddled my knees close all the while the only sound I could hear being that of my laboured breaths. 

"You're done, Nephele," I whispered softly to myself, "This is were it ends for you."

For maybe ten minutes more I sat there and accepted my fate, allowing it to sink in. It was only when I had finally come to terms that here, under this tree, is where I would take my last breath did someone jump on me and press a gun under my chin. 

Naturally I tried to wriggle away; it was still too dark to make out facial features, and, because my hands were bound, every blind punch I threw never even got close to making contact. 

"I need a light over here," said a voice that I thought I may have recognised. Suddenly a bright light was shone in my eyes and I squinted against it until they finally adjusted. "Nephele?" I blinked a few more times and looked up at the voice. I let out a sigh of relief.