Skinhead Redemption

Gorilla in their midst

 Chapter 7 ~~~~ Gorilla in their midst~~~

Yu Yan was a light sleeper. The House of I ho was a treacherous abode.

She knew allegiance and loyalty to I ho was a fleeting wind in his world. At any moment she could suffer his ire if any inadvertent error on her part offended her master.

It had been difficult for her to gouge out Bastardo's eye and cut his tongue out. Her maternal instincts had rebelled against the act but if I ho commanded it then it was an order that must be obeyed.

Bastardo had been wary of her since she relieved him of his eye and tongue. She noticed he cowered upon her approach and knew the bridge to reconciliation would be arduous and long. It puzzled her as to why his ear had not healed since she had last looked upon him.

Food was a necessity and her orders were to keep Bastardo in the closet and ensure his nourishment was maintained. I ho wasn't a cruel man. He would not let Bastardo die of starvation. Nor would he totally blind him.

'No' she thought. Lord I ho had shown great mercy by permitting Bastardo to live. Perhaps in time, I ho would embrace young Bastardo and get him new quarters. For now he was banished to the broom closet.

Yu Yan reflected on the interpreters gossip about the crusader.

The warrior had confided in her that he was a prodigal son, an outcast from his fathers eyes. His God had taught him that a Father could embrace the wickedest of sons back into the gold'

This intrigued her. She was superstitious and the Crusader scared her.

Perhaps he was a demon and yet that day he had showed defiance in front of I ho and there was a proud bearing to his countenance.

She feared he would kill the gorilla. Or his God would.

Then he would only trade places with the beast. For I ho would ensure his terror pits were kept open.

A fear rose up in her psyche. A premonition of something dreadful.

She did not know that I ho had planned to throw her to the beast.

Even as she thought of this, a scream broke the night.

It was a death shriek. She knew that sound immediately as she had done many a soul in during her years in the pits.

This sound had a tone to it. The scream of surprise. Death had touched someone unexpectedly and the pause between the realisation of imminent death and the pouncing of death had dwelled a little longer than she had experienced with her victims.

The sound had come from the gorilla pit.

Surely all in the area had heard it. She cautiously opened her room door and glanced out.  I ho was running like blazes to the pit.

Two guards had been placed on duty as always.

When he got there only one was alive. Barely alive.

I ho noticed the gorilla cage was empty. The second guard lay in the pit. Dead as a door nail. His limbs had been ripped asunder.

His head lay on the dirt floor with its purple tongue pulled from its throat. The eyes were glazed in terror. Blood poured from the torso.

Only the beast could have done this. Some of the guards limbs had been feasted upon.

The second guard was covered in blood. He had been mauled to death. His crusaders uniform was matted in spit and blood as if a gorilla had blown its nose in it.

He was at the point of death.

'Master I ho?' ' Forgiven your humble servant'

'What has happened here? ordered I ho