Don't give up on me ✓

[66] The Visit

I saw one closest to me and ducked as he fired at me. I pounced on him, smacking the bow out of his arm and blocking his other hand that had a knife in it. I kicked him in the chest, punched him in the neck and as he fell over, I grabbed the knife in his holster. 

I limped onwards, leaving a trail of blood behind me, and came face to face with another human. This time a woman. We sparred with knives. I swept her legs and pushed her over, holding my knife over her. I hesitated. She didn't look like a demon. She really did look human.

"Drop the knife," someone said.

They had surrounded me.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I guess not all humans are friendly. They tied me up to a thick wooden pole with the shape of a lion's head carved on top. 

There were many poles like it, and each one had a prisoner like me tied to it. Why didn't I come from a realm with pretty palm trees and a sparkling forest? This universe was hell. I literally came from hell.

And I could just imagine Hugo somewhere dancing in a universe of candy canes and daffodils.

These people were dressed in gold, matching the yellow barren soil and the yellow clouds of dust that formed like balls in the air. They held a bonfire this night. I was fading in and out of consciousness when I heard the screams that woke me.

A man was being dragged from his pole to the middle of the celebration. He was kicking and screaming but they pulled him on. Then in front of everyone, they made a speech that generated cheers. They pulled him upright and, with a knife, slit his throat.

I felt shock waves through me, my body was heaving but being tied to the pole kept me constrained. He was dying. They chucked him onto the fire. He burned alive and died either by the fire or the cut. Whichever came first.

I couldn't watch. I only opened my eyes after all the noise had subsided, including the crackling of the fire. I smelled the embers and burning flesh. When I opened my eyes, I saw the charred human remains and threw up. I hadn't eaten in so long I don't know what I threw up exactly.

"Ssh," a man hissed at me.

I stared at him. He was wearing green and black, clothes were tattered. I didn't know how long he had been out here for. 

"Are you a scepter too?" I whispered.

Then my eyes zoned in on what he was doing. He had hidden a broken spear in his shirt and was using it now to break through the rope. It was working.

"Can you pass it to me when you're done?" I whispered.

"Sssh."

He was terrified. Soon the ropes fell down around him and he collapsed into the ground. I stared around and realized that our captors were sleeping.

"Please," I begged in a quiet whisper, "Please pass it-"

He dropped it and ran, not caring about me for a moment.

I hung my head down. I get it. He was just trying to survive.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Moments passed. The captors still had not been alerted. The other prisoners tied to poles had either not noticed or were too delirious to tell. Was I really going to die this way? 

Didn't Mohan make us practice this exact task... as if he knew...

Where was Nathaniel? A tear fell from my cheek.